Seth Stohs

I think he'll only be there for like 2 weeks, so I "think" it's just an off day... but it's possible he could move quickly.

When it rains, it pours. That seems to be a theme for the Twins this season. The Twins have been good in one-run games, but when one gets out of hand, the Twins typically haven't found a way to stop the bleeding. Well, until Chris Gimenez comes in. At least on Tuesday night in Boston, that didn't need to happen. The Twins fell to 39-36 and remain a half game behind Cleveland in the AL Central.Rain put a damper on the night in Boston. Twice. The game was initially delayed by about 50 minutes. Then after the second inning, another big wave of rain came over Fenway Park and caused another delay, this one over an hour. Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz remained in the game after the delay. Twins starter, Hector Santiago, did not. He was making his return to the Twins rotation after missing about three weeks. After going on the DL, he told 1500ESPN's Phil Mackey and Judd Zulgad that he just wasn't able to reach back and get any velocity. So if you're looking for an encouraging sign, it just might be that Santiago was able to find some extra velocity in his two innings. According to Brooks Baseball, and Pitch f/x, Santiago averaged 92.0 mph on his fastball. He peaked at 94.2 mph. Santiago gave up a second-inning home run to catcher Christian Vasquez. Of course, it came after a walk to Sam Travis. That has been another theme for Twins pitchers this year. Walks Will Haunt, right? And really, after the home run, the Twins were unable to mount enough of a comeback to give themselves a chance to win. (from FanGraphs) Defensive Downer The Twins defense has been a huge factor in their return to relevancy this year. However, on Tuesday night, the Twins defense committed three errors. Five of the Red Sox nine runs scored came after a Twins error. As Molitor said post game, there was "not a lot of damage control." In the third inning, Byron Buxton came charging in on a line drive single. The runner was held at third, but Buxton's throw sailed to the backstop, allowing the run to score. In the fifth inning, Brian Dozier booted a potential double play ball. One run scored. In the sixth inning, Eduardo Escobar was unable to handle a ground ball that would have been the third out with a short throw to second base for a force out. Instead, Matt Belisle, who got the first two outs quickly, had to get a fourth out in the inning. Chris Young demolished a pitch well over the Green Monster for a three- run homer. Bullpen Usage AL Central Standings Cleveland 40-36 .526 Minnesota 39-36 .520 Kansas City 37-38 .493 Detroit 34-42 .447 Chicago 33-43 .434 Wednesday's Game At 6:10 central time, the 39-36 Twins will take on the 43-34 Red Sox in Game 3 of this series. Lefty Adalberto Mejia (2-3, 4.93 ERA) will take on reigning AL Cy Young Award winner RHP Rick Porcello (4-9, 5.00 ERA). The key for Mejia's success in his most recent start was finding a way to keep runs from scoring. That's always the goal of any starter, right? Of course. But Mejia gave up a lot of base runners, but somehow he survived five shutout innings. He'll have to find a way to limit damage against this very good Red Sox offense. Porcello has had a disappointing season, to be sure. One thing he has done is work innings. He has completed six innings in 15 of his 16 starts this year. He's completed seven innings just twice. However, he has given up five or more earned runs in three of his last four starts. -------------------------------- This was my first attempt at posting the Game Recap. A big shout out to Tom Froemming for doing these every day until today. He's off the grid the next couple of days, so I'll only try to make it half-way decent... and then Tom can come back and make these reports great again! Click here to view the article

A day after posting a Q&A with Twins top 2017 draft pick, Royce Lewis, we get the opportunity to learn a little more about right-handed pitcher Blayne Enlow who the Twins signed as their third-round pick. As the Minnesota Twins closed out the first day of their 2017 major league baseball draft, some heads were left scratching. There was talk of below-slot deals and pool money being saved. It came full circle at pick 76, however, when the organization was able to grab (and ultimately sign) high school hurler Blayne Enlow.Committed to LSU, Enlow decided the over-slot deal (reportedly $2 million) would be enticing enough to take his talents to the pro ranks. Highly regarded as a prep pitcher, Enlow was said to have the best curveball in the entire 2017 draft. Minnesota gets a kid that could end up being a rotation stalwart a few years from now, and the Louisiana native begins his journey to the ultimate dream. I caught up with Enlow to talk about the draft, and his game. Here's what he had to say: Off The Baggy: Going into the draft, you were among the top prep arms in the nation. What was your draft day experience like? Did you have any idea where you might go? Blayne Enlow: I had no idea where I would go. I was waiting for the best offer I could get and the first day nobody got to my number so I turned down a few offers, and then the second day the Twins came up to two million, and I knew that's what I wanted to do, so I took it!! OTB: The Twins ended up taking you 76th overall knowing they got a first-round talent. When did you start hearing from them and thinking that may actually be where you land? BE: I was on a golf course with a couple of my buddies, and then I got a call from my agent saying the Twins are putting 2 ($2 million) on the table and I agreed. OTB: Velocity is what gets noted first, but MLB.com called your curveball the best in the draft. What does your repertoire consist of, and how do you like to attack hitters? BE: I like to pound the strike zone and get batters out quick and my finisher is my curve ball. I can throw it first pitch for strike too, and I would say it's my best pitch. OTB: Making the jump to pro ball from high school, what do you feel like may be the biggest challenge? What sets you apart? BE: The biggest challenge will probably be being away from home and meeting the new players, but what sets me apart is that I will work harder than anyone on the field, and I always give it my all. OTB: When looking at your pitching style, is there a big leaguer, past or present, that you emulate or look to build yourself off of? BE: I would say Jacob deGrom would be who I feed off the most. I see a lot of the same mechanics and same pitch work. OTB: Prior to the draft, what did you know of the Twins organization? Have you been to Minnesota or Target Field previously? BE: I've actually never been, and to be honest, I never knew much, being Louisiana grown. OTB: What's the one thing you want Twins fans to make sure they know about Blayne Enlow? BE: That when I make it I will give it my all for the city, and I will continue to work harder than everyone to try to be the best Blayne Enlow I can be! For an organization that is always looking for pitching help, Enlow sure seems like he can give the Twins that lift. He'll be a name to watch for years to come, and one that Twins fans will hope to cheer on at Target Field in the future. Click here to view the article

It is quite rare that a 16-year-old plays in the DSL just because of dates, so for him to perform that well last year was impressive. For him to be in the States already this year is incredible, and he's been in the lineup each game (I believe)... which means he's seen as a priority guy, which is exciting.

I did include Extended Spring. I didn't mention Instructs, though that probably fits into an equation as well.

Yes.

And the funny thing is that everyone on these boards were clamoring for Turley to be given a shot because of the dominance he showed in AA, and in that last start in AAA before the call up. That's why I still think that Turley can be a decent reliever. Even in his good minor league starts, his command and number of strikeouts meant he wasn't going to eat many innings. And I'm not saying that we should compare Turley's AA numbers to Romero, Gonsalves and Jorge, but it is a good illustration that it has to be more than just about the stats.

Granite will be a gritty, pesky type at the top of an order. Let's hope he does a better job of getting on base than Gladden did... but I think there are maybe some similarities.

might be some reason for that...

I wouldn't count Slegers out on potentially being a solid starter in the big leagues at all. I think he could be a guy is who just solid for a long time. He actually touches 94 at times, so it's not like he's a soft tosser by any means. I think he could play into the future, at least as a real possibility which is likely why they haven't pushed him up to the big leagues yet.

They're all individual cases, of course. Radke obviously did alright in his jump from AA to the big leagues, though that took a little time too. My point with that paragraph is that all we have are stats and numbers and a few scouting reports... and so much more goes into evaluating when a player is ready to come up. Some of it is the "intangibles." So, I just don't think we can look at the numbers and say "yes, he's ready," or, to be fair, "No, he's not ready."

Yeah, I'm not sure how that playing time will be divvied up between Lewis and De La Torre. They'll likely both play a lot of short. Lewis could play some 3B too, and CF... and he'll DH probably sometimes too. De La Torre will likely move around the infield too.

You are correct.. Vadim is the eldest... He just turned 24, I believe. And, I don't think this is an older roster than usual. In fact, I was noticing how few college pitchers are on this list. Normally there are a lot of college pitchers taken after the 20th round or so that stay in the GCL to start. I believe most of them are starting with Elizabethton this year, except for a couple of very late picks. Last year, I believe they signed 5-6 pitchers after the draft that were all non-drafted college guys just to fill out the pitching staff in the GCL.

Anyone who is reading this site is a big Minnesota Twins fan. Anyone who is a big Twins fan realizes that this team needs pitching. A lot of pitching. The bullpen has certainly had its fair share of implosions this season. At the same time, it seems those bullpen implosions have had some direct relation to a short start. The Twins have called up a couple of solid relief pitcher prospects in the last ten days (Alan Busenitz and Trevor Hildenberger). But they need starting pitching. Right now, it’s Jose Berrios, Ervin Santana and question mark after question mark. Hector Santiago will return to the rotation on Tuesday after spending the last three weeks on the DL. Kyle Gibson has been better in his last three or four starts, but he remains inconsistent. Adalberto Mejia has shown us glimpses of what will potentially be a reliable mid-rotation starter. At just 23, he’s got a chance. Adam Wilk. Nik Turley. Dillon Gee. The revolving door continues.Unfortunately, there aren’t really AAA starting pitchers that are ready yet. There are three guys in Chattanooga who have fans talking, and for good reason. They may not be ready today, but in a month, it could be a different story. The Lookouts have had three starting pitchers who have been really good in the past month or so. Today we’ll talk about them and try to figure out if they are close to being ready to contribute in 2017, or if we’ll have to wait. Fernando Romero The hard-throwing righty who was chosen the Twins #1 prospect by Twins Daily before the season has been solid for the Lookouts. In 14 games this season, he is 7-5 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. In 78.2 innings, he has given up 70 hits, walked 30 and struck out 76. These are solid numbers, especially when you consider that 84% of his batters faced this season have been older than he is. He won’t turn 23 until Christmas Eve. In his last six starts, he is 5-0 with a 1.16 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Opponents are hitting .183/.266/.282 (.548) off of him in that stretch. We know about Romero’s stuff. He’s got a big fastball that sits 95-96 and touches 98 at times. He’s got a terrific slider that can be devastating at times. He also has worked on his changeup, which remains inconsistent, but it’s something he really works at. The nice thing has been seeing improvement. Opponents’ OPS against him by month shows it. Opponents posted an .656 OPS off him in April, then .632 in May, and so far he’s at .617 in June. Last year, he was shut down at 90.1 innings (Between Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids). Let’s assume he threw another 25 innings in extended spring training. That’s a total of 115 innings. If there are some who subscribe to there being concern when a young pitcher throws more than 25% more innings from year-to-year, then Romero should be shut down when he reaches about 143 innings in 2017. He is currently at 78.2 which means he has approximately 60-65 innings to work with before the end of the season. If he averages six innings, he could make 10-11 more starts which puts them right to playoff time. Romero was added to the 40-man roster last November and is on his first option year. One way to keep or control his innings may be calling him up to the Twins as a relief pitcher for the last month or two of the season, if the Twins are competing. There may also be value in having him pitch in the Southern League playoffs if the Twins are out of contention at that time. Felix Jorge Jorge turned 23 years old in January, a little over a month after being added to the Twins 40-man roster. The Twins were able to sneak him through a Rule 5 draft a year earlier, but would have lost him had he not been protected this year. He had a strong season in 2016 between Ft. Myers and Chattanooga. After a slow start this year, Jorge has taken off. Overall in 14 starts, he is 8-1 with a 3.26 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. In 85.2 innings, he has given up 89 hits, walked 22 and struck out 61. Seventy percent of his batters faced have been older than him. Like Romero, Jorge has continued to put up better numbers each month. The OPS against him in April was .853. In May, that dropped to .705, and in June so far, it’s just .676. While he is not a strikeout guy, Jorge attacks the strike zone. He has a good three-pitch mix and is able to throw strikes with each of them. His fastball sits 91-92 and touches 93. He has a good curve and a good changeup. He will give up some hits because of how many strikes he throws, but he doesn’t hurt himself with walks. He also is able to work deeper into games consistently. In his last six starts, he is 4-0 with a 2.41 ERA. He’s walked just 1.3 per nine (2.3 overall) and struck out 7.0 per nine (6.4 overall). Oppenents have hit just .178/.229/.326 (.555) off him during that time frame. Jorge has been remarkably durable and consistent the last three years. In 2017, left-handed batters have hit .272/.320/.411 (.731) off of him. Right-handers have hit .271/.322/.406 (.728). A year ago, he threw a combined 167.1 innings so he should have no limitations in 2017. If he continues to pitch well, he could make some starts late in the season for the Twins since he’s on the 40-man roster. Again, he can remain in Chattanooga if the Twins are not in contention and pitch in the playoffs for the Lookouts. Stephen Gonsalves Gonsalves was the Twins (and Twins Daily’s) choice for Pitcher of the Year in 2016 when he put up remarkable numbers between Ft. Myers and Chattanooga. He was Twins Daily’s #2 prospect in the preseason. He was invited to Twins big league spring training where he impressed until a shoulder injury cost him the last few weeks of spring training and the first six of seven weeks of the regular season. However, since he has returned, he has been very good. He has made seven starts. He’s 3-3 with a 2.85 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. In 41 innings, he has given up just 26 hits, walked nine and struck out 51. The left-hander understands how to pitch and makes quick adjustments even during a game, or within an at-bat. The one concern with him last year, even while dominating at AA, was a high walk total. To this point, he has really reduced his walk rate, down to just 2.0 BB/9. His fastball has been between 91 and 94 this spring. His changeup is talked about as being great, and it gets swings and misses. He added a slider/cutter before the 2016 season, and that has been a swing-and-miss pitch for him as well. It has also helped him against right-handers. While lefties are hitting .257/.316/.429 (.744) off of him in just 38 plate appearances, right-handers have hit .149/.198/.307 off of him (121 plate appearances). LAST SIX STARTS I’m going to post this here again, just so they’re right next to each other: Jorge: 4-0, 2.41 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 1.3 BB/9, 7.0 K/9, .247/.279/.361 (.640) Romero: 5-0, 1.16 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9, 9.1 K/9, .183/.266/.282 (.548) Gonsalves: 3-2, 2.68 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9, 11.7 K/9, .178/.229/.326 (.555) 0N 40-MAN: Jorge and Romero Not on 40-man: Gonsalves SUMMARY After some early-season inconsistency Fernando Romero has been quite strong the last six weeks. He’s been dominant. Opponents haven’t hit him. He’s been keeping runners off base. His stuff continues to improve. Jorge has been good too. He’s been pretty consistent, and while he doesn’t strike out too many, and gives up some hits, he doesn’t hurt himself. Gonsalves is a good combination of stuff and stats. He’s left-handed and sitting in the low 90s. He’s got the three-plus pitches. He has come back and started right where he left off. In my opinion, Gonsalves is the closest to MLB ready. He’s also the one who isn’t on the 40-man roster. Romero is likely the one with the highest ceiling because of the velocity, but he has work to do, pitches to improve. Meanwhile, I think Jorge has to be a step-by-step type. He can become a mid-rotation type of starter, more likely a back-end type. He needs time at AAA whereas you might be able to make a case that Romero and Gonsalves could be guys promoted right from AA. But then again, two years ago at this time, we all wanted Jose Berrios called up directly from AA Chattanooga, saying that he was clearly ready based on his statistics. Instead, he went to AAA, and for longer than we all thought he should or wanted him to. Just now this year, he has become what we thought he could become. So there is a cautionary tale of us assuming a guy can make the jump from AA to the big leagues… or even from AAA to the big leagues. This game is hard. Big leaguers are really good. But all three of these pitchers will likely pitch in the big leagues. They have different ceilings, but all three of them will get their time. Like I said, I feel like Jorge could be best served by spending the full season in Chattanooga. I think that Romero should spend the full season starting in Chattanooga, unless the Twins are competing and he can contribute out of the bullpen. With Gonsalves, I think a couple more starts in AA and he should move up to AAA. If the Twins pitching situation isn’t much improved, I could see him making starts for the Twins by early August. These three are exciting prospects. What do you think their paths should be? Click here to view the article

Today we share our sixth Minnesota Twins minor league affiliate roster preview, for the Gulf Coast League Twins. It is an interesting group of players including the top pick in the 2017 MLB draft, and some of the other top young talent in the system. Last Friday night the Elizabethton played their Opening Night game, a day after it was scheduled, so it became a doubleheader. We previewed their roster here. Then on Monday afternoon (well, morning in Minnesota time), the Gulf Coast League Twins played their first game of the season. You might have heard, a certain #1 overall draft pick started his career with a bang! Today, we will preview the GCL Twins roster.The Gulf Coast League has an interesting blend of players. There are kids who signed after being drafted out of high school. There are players in their first year or two from another country There are some late-round college picks. This year, there aren’t any undrafted free agents (yet) to help fill out the roster, but that’s still possible. Like the E-Town roster, it allows for many more players, 35, to be exact. The roster is also subject to quite a lot of change as more players sign, or if some players move up and down from Elizabethton. The team plays at noon six days a week (Sundays off). The playing time is generally split a little more equally, generally, with the exception of the guys who are considered the priority prospects. Same thing at Elizabethton. Look at the number of plate appearances and games played to see who the top prospects likely are. With that mini intro, let’s get to the GCL roster. The team is managed by Ramon Borrego. He is assisted by extra coaching since these rookie leagues are all about player development. The hitting coaches last year were Javier Valentin and Steve Singleton, but they have moved up to Chattanooga and Ft. Myers, respectively. Toby Gardenhire was hired to be a hitting coach in the GCL after coaching at UW-Stout the last several years. He spent the first half up in Rochester, coaching third base after manager Mike Quade hurt his shoulder in a spring training car accident. The pitching coaches are Virgil Vazquez (third year) and Cibney Bello (second year). GCL Twins Roster Catchers: Jhon Alvarez (21), Kidany Salva (18), Kerby Camacho (19), Darling Cuestro (19). Alvarez signed in 2012 and spent three seasons in the DSL. Last year in the GCL, he hit .259/.371/.293 (.665) with two doubles. Salva was the Twins 17th-round pick last year out of high school in Texas where he spent one year after moving from Puerto Rico. Camacho was drafted by the Twins in 2015, but he missed the 2016 season after a 80-game suspension. Cuestro comes over from the DSL where he hit .245/.376/.315 (.690). Infielders: Dane Hutcheon (22), Emmanuel Morel (20), Roni Tapia (20), Mariano Calcano (20), Victor Tademo (17), Royce Lewis (18), Ricardo de La Torre (17), Benjamin Rodriguez (22), Alex Robles (21), Edgar Herrera (DL-20). The big name in this list, of course, is Royce Lewis, the #1 overall draft pick in the June draft. He’s got speed and as we’ve already seen his power potential. He’ll play a lot of shortstop. It will be interesting to see how well he plays, how quickly he develops and just when the Twins will push him up to Elizabethton. Dane Hutcheon is a middle infielder, drafted out of college in 2016. Alex Robles was the Twins 30th-round pick this year from Austin Peay. Benjamin Rodriguez was drafted as a catcher out of Pepperdine. He will likely play quite a bit of first base. Ricky De La Torre is an exciting shortstop prospect from Puerto Rico drafted in the sixth round this year. Some projected him as a early-round pick early in the season, though he fell back a little bit. Emmanuel Morel and Roni Tapia spent time in the GCL last year after signing out of the Dominican Republic. Morel hit just .116 in 104 plate appearances. Tapia hit just .127, although three of his seven hits were home runs. Both are still just 20. Mariano Calcano and Victor Tademo came over to the States from the Dominican Summer League. Calcano is a first baseman who hit .206/.287/.386 last year in the DSL as a 19-year-old. Tademo was probably the most intriguing DSL Twins player in 2016. As a 16-year-old, he hit .311/.388/.429 with 16 doubles, a triple and a homer last year. Edgar Herrera is out with a fractured hamate bone. He hit .317 last year in the DSL. Outfielders: Jean Carlos Arias (19), Akil Baddoo (18), Humber Maldonado (19), Jared Akins (20), Colton Burns (21). Akil Baddoo was the first of back-to-back supplemental picks for the Twins following the second round of the 2016 draft. Jose Miranda was the other one, and he’s up in Elizabethton. Maybe that’s where Baddoo will end up, but the outfielder will start in the GCL. Jean-Carlos Arias is a big kid, young, but very talented. Last year in the GCL, he hit .202/.265/.266, but he should take a big step forward this year. Jared Akins was the team’s 13th-round pick this month out of Fresno State. Colton Burns was selected in the 18th round this year out of UC-Santa Barbara. It is possible one of these guys will move up to E-Town when Brent Rooker moves up in a week or two. Humberto Maldonado is a big kid with lots of power potential. He’s quite raw, but he hit .283/.363/.404 (.766) with 11 doubles, three triples and a homer. Pitchers: Vadim Balan (24), Petru Balan (20), Jordan Balazovic (18), Brusdar Graterol (18), Matz Schutte (19), Jose Bermudez (19), Amilcar Cruz (21), Pedro Garcia (21), Matt Jones (18), Juan Mojica (21), Landon Leach (17), Blayne Enlow (18), Derek Molina (19), Austin Dizzle (22), Zach Featherstone (21). Let’s start with the starting pitchers. Jordan Balazovic was drafted in the seventh round last year. Many thought he might go up to Elizabethton to start the season, and maybe the Canadian will get there, but he’ll start in the GCL. Brusdar Graterol, coming off of Tommy John surgery and a broken hand, pitched on Opening Day. He’s got a huge arm. Juan Mojica, Pedro Garcia and Carlos Suniaga will start the season in the team’s starting rotation after pitching last year in the DSL. Garcia was 5-1 with a 2.17 ERA. He had 69 strikeouts in 62.1 innings. Mojica was 5-2 with a 2.47 ERA. He had 73 strikeouts in 62 innings. Finally, Suniaga was 7-3 with a 2.03 ERA. In his 57.2 innings, he had 58 strikeouts. (Tyler Benninghoff was the team’s 11th-round pick a year ago out of high school in Kansas. He immediately had Tommy John surgery and could pitch some in 2017.) Twins tird-round pick Blayne Enlow will also start the season in the rotation, though they may stretch him out before he works too many innings. Second-round pick Landon Leach signed last week. He is still working with the Twins to get his visa. When he arrives, he’ll be stretched out as well. Speaking of 2017 pick, 40th-round selection Austin Bizzle will be working out of the bullpen. 14th rounder Derek Molina is going to have his season start late due to a back strain. I think one of the more interesting roster spot here is the last one listed, Zach Featherstone. He was drafted in 2016 as a first base/outfielder. Just a few weeks ago, he began the transition to pitching. Matt Jones, like Balozovic, was a Canadian prep pitcher drafted last year. He signed later last season and will work out of the bullpen initially as well. The Moldovan Brothers are both starting with the GCL Twins. On Monday, elder brother Vadim Balanpitched in a game for the first time in two years due to a back injury. He gave up just one hit over 2.2 scoreless innings. Left-hander Petru Balan is going to make his professional debut with the GCL squad as well. Other bullpen arms who have come to the States from the Dominican Summer League include Jose Bermudez and Amilcar Cruz. Matz Schutte is in his third season out of The Netherlands and still won’t turn 20 until a month after the season. So there you have it… a current look at the Gulf Coast League team roster. The youngest player on this roster is 17 (Victor Tademo) while the oldest just recently turned 24. (Vadim Balan, and that's because he's missed two years with injury) It’s a diverse group in terms of number of countries represented as well. It’s always a fun roster to follow and they’ve now gotten one game under their belts. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, though I may need Jeremy Nygaard’s thoughts on some of the 2017 draft picks. Click here to view the article

Yup, Ben Rortvedt has definitely appeared to figure it out...

As of a couple of days ago, there was still no resolution to the situation.

Gee is the long reliever for now... Hildenberger and Busenitz are the new guys, so there's some chance.... then again, new regime could make a move with Breslow or Belisle.

He had the wrist injury that cost him his junior season and last year in ET. He was the 8th round pick, but was known as a tremendous athlete who could do a lot. Just 3 games, but so far, so good!!

I was wrong yesterday. I verified that Melotakis can only be traded or placed on waivers.

Four position players from Cedar Rapids moved up. Four position players from Extended Spring got moved up to Cedar Rapids. The Kernels rotation/pitching staff is full. Wells has only made 2-3 starts since returning from missing three weeks. If he's good another 2-3 starts, he could move up too. By then, a Charlie Barnes or someone could move up from E-Town. Blankenhorn's done well walking, and he had a good June, but he is hitting like .230... I have no problem with him staying there for awhile, even the rest of the season. He's got plenty to work on. So does Diaz. He's got to get a quicker bat, and he's got a lot to work on defensively. Those aren't negatives. He's very, very young, so keeping him there is a wise thing.

How many hits for Zack Granite on Friday? Lefties Stephen Gonsalves and Lewis Thorpe made starts. How did they do? Elizabethton finally started their 2017 season with a doubleheader, which included a walkoff winner! And lots of players made their debuts with new teams. Please continue reading for much, much more from a busy night in the Twins system. It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the Twins. There was the draft, and trying to get as many of them signed as quickly as possible. There was getting players to Ft. Myers. There was figuring out the short-season rosters. There was figuring out which players were getting promotions to or from full-season squads, and there were a few releases. And the big league club needed more arms too. So, things have been pretty hectic. But Friday was the first day with five affiliates playing, and next Monday, the GCL Twins will make it six. Of course, the Dominican Summer League Twins have been playing for a couple of weeks already too.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Friday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS Fair to say that it’s been a busy 24 hours for the Twins minor league department. Along with the transactions at the big leagues, which trickled down, there were also the second-half promotions from the lower levels. Some of these were mentioned yesterday, but we’ll repeat several of them here just in case you missed any of them. Nik Turley was optioned to Rochester. Ehire Adrianza was placed on the disabled list.Alex Wimmers and Mason Melotakis were DFAd.Trevor Hildenberger and Dillon Gee were promoted to the Twins.John Curtiss and Matt Tracy moved up to Rochester from Chattanooga.Jose Gonzalez was placed on Chattanooga’s disabled list.Rafael Valera, Trey Vavra and Daniel Kihle were released by the Twins from the Miracle roster.Dereck Rodriguez, Alex Perez and Brian Navarreto were promoted to Chattanooga from Ft. Myers.Keaton Steele was promoted to Ft. Myers from extended spring training.Jermaine Palacios, Jaylin Davis, Mitchell Kranson and Brandon Lopez were promoted to Ft. Myers from Cedar Rapids.Amaurys Minier, Jorge Munoz, Joe Cronin and Lean Marrero were promoted to Cedar Rapids from extended spring training.On Wednesday, the Elizabethton Twins Opening Day roster was announced. On Thursday, four more players were added, and on Friday, 11 more players were added. Click here to see the full Elizabethton Twins roster.A few more injury-related notes on players who have been in extended spring training..Callan Pearce tells me that he’s remaining in Ft. Myers rehabbing a shoulder injury.Johan Quezada had a surgery to clean up his shoulder and will likely miss much of the short-season rehabbing.Catcher Brian Olson has a broken bone in his foot.Right-hander Miguel DeJesus has a UCL sprain.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 3, Lehigh Valley 4 Box Score We have to start with Zack Granite, right? The outfielder went 3-5 in this game and is now hitting .359. Tommy Field was 2-4 with his 18th double. He also stole his fourth base. Matt Tracy got the start for the Red Wings. He gave up four runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings. He walked two and struck out seven. John Curtiss came in for his AAA debut. He got the final out in the fifth inning, and then he worked two perfect innings. Seven batters faced. Seven outs, three on strikeouts. Jake Reed came on and got all six batters he faced out as well. By the way, here is a glimpse of why so many are intrigued by the defense of Engelb Vielma. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Pensacola 1 Box Score The Lookouts were supposed to begin the second half of their season on Thursday, but rain pushed the game to Friday. Stephen Gonsalves was on the mound for the Lookouts and was terrific. The left-hander gave up just one run on three hits over seven innings. He walked just one and struck out nine in his 101 pitches thrown. He improved to 3-3 and dropped his ERA to 2.85. Following the game, Gonsalves got specific when asked what worked for him in the game. “Tonight was little bit of everything. We had fastballs a majority of time getting ahead, had two 0-0 sliders, two 0-0 curveballs that worked nicely to keep them guessing because this was an ambush team, so kept them from swinging at first pitch. Anytime I fell behind tonight (1-0, 2-1), I threw my change up which was either swing and miss or soft ground ball. Struck out seven of nine with the curveball tonight, so it's been very good in 0-2, 1-2. Other than that, my slider has been turning into a backdoor pitch to righties to get back into counts. But tonight was all about getting ahead and staying aggressive in with fastball and soft away.” Nick Anderson gave up two hits, but he struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth frame. Alex Muren gave up a hit, but no runs to close it out in the ninth. Levi Michael may have struck out three times in this game, but the one time he didn’t, he launched a three-run homer. It was the big hit for the Lookouts on this night. Jonathan Rodriguez went 2-4 with his 11th double. Edgar Corcino was 2-4 with his 13th double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Florida 1 Box Score The Miracle trotted out a much-altered lineup on Friday night, but it was able to do enough to secure a win. It was a Miracle veteran who led the offense. Max Murphy went 3-4. Jaylin Davis went 1-4 with three strikeouts, but his one hit was a big, RBI double. He batted cleanup and played left field. Jermaine Palacios batted second and went 0-3. Mitchell Kranson was 0-4 batting in the three-spot. Brandon Lopez played third base - a position he had played for just the first time a night earlier for Cedar Rapids. Lewis Thorpe has pitched well since his return, but on Friday night, he earned his first win of the season. He finished five innings and gave up just one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out two. He needed just 60 pitches. Tom Hackimer and Sam Clay each threw two scoreless innings and struck out two. For Clay, it marked his fourth save of the season. After the game, Thorpe said, "I think the best thing for me tonight was command of all four pitches. The Fire Frogs were a very aggressive team which kept my pitch count down. Innings limit is what's stopping me from going deeper into games." KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 7 Box Score The Kernels put together a big rally in the ninth inning but fell just short and lost for the first time in the second half (1-1). Sean Poppen started. The All-Star gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits over six innings. He struck out five and walked none. Logan Lombana struck out one in a perfect innings. Evan Sanders came on for the eighth and gave up one run on one hit, one walk, and one hit batter. He struck out two. The Kernels also had most of their new hitters in the lineup, but it was the guys who have been there who provided most of the offense. Aaron Whitefield went 3-5 with his 10th double. Hank Morrison went 2-4. Travis Blankenhorn walked three times. Caleb Hamilton hit his sixth homer, a three-run shot in the ninth inning. Amaurys Minier DHd and batted sixth. He went 0-3 with a walk. Lean Marrero batted eighth and played right field. He went 0-3 with a walk. Joe Cronin batted ninth and played second base. He went 1-4. E-TWINS E-NOTES The Elizabethton Twins were scheduled to begin their season on Thursday. But tropical storms caused that game to be postponed. Instead, the teams started their season with two games on Friday night. It was a big night for many of the players, but particularly for Matt Albanese. Drafted in the eighth round of the 2016 draft, he missed the season after having a couple of wrist surgeries. He was hurt again in spring training, so a year after being drafted, he finally made his debut. Albanese said, “It was awesome to get in a real competitive atmosphere and play with a good group of guys and get a win. After missing a little over a year I was anxious and ready to go.” Game 1 - Elizabethton 7, Danville 6 Box Score It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. Or at least that’s likely what E-Twins long-time manager (and former Twins catcher) Ray Smith told his team in between games. Down 5-0 after just two innings, things looked bleak, but the Twins kept coming back and scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th for a walk-off win. Edwar Colina made his States-side debut. He gave up six runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks in 4.1 innings. He struck out four. He was replaced by lefty Taylor Clemensia who was fantastic. He faced eight batters, and got each one of them out to earn the win out of the bullpen. Jose Miranda and Matt Albanese provided some base runners. Miranda was 1-1 but walked twice and was hit twice. Albanese singled three times in his professional debut. But it was Kolton Kendrick who provided the power. In the fourth inning, he hit a two-run double to get the team on the scoreboard. Two innings later, he again came up to the plate with two runners on base, and this time he launched a three-run homer. Kendrick told Twins Daily, "Felt unreal. Feels so great to finally play under the lights again and love the adrenaline. And to be up here with this team is even better. Definitely missed this feeling. Great having a crowd again and hearing them and the atmosphere is awesome with the background of the field." Still, the Twins were down 6-5 heading into the bottom of the 7th inning. With one out, Trey Cabbage singled and Brent Rooker followed with his first professional hit. Shane Carrier hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game, and Matt Albanese ended it with a single. Albanese told Twins Daily, “I just wanted to have a good at bat and get a pitch I could hit hard. It felt great to get the job done for my team and win the home opener.” Albanese went 3-4 with the game-winner. Kendrick was 2-2 with a walk, a double, a homer and five RBI. Game 2 - Elizabethton 0. Danville 2 Box Score Huascar Ynoa started the second game for the Twins. He gave up two runs in the first inning before settling in. He gave up just those two runs on five hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out seven. Bryan Sammons came on for the sixth inning, but after recording two outs, one on a strikeout, the game was called due to rain. It was far enough along to call a complete game. Not much offense for the Twins in game 2. They went with the same lineup, except Rainis Silva caught game 2 with Robert Molina getting game 1. Matt Albanese added his first double. The only other hit was from Silva. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kolton Kendrick, Elizabethton Twins THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - RHP Chris Heston Pensacola @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge Ft. Myers @ Florida (6:05) - RHP Brady Anderson Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:35 CST) - LHP Domenick Carlini Danville @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Moises Gomez Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday’s games. Click here to view the article