Seth Stohs

Blankenhorn is a great athlete. I think he'll add power too, but he's got good speed. He's not as fast as like Kepler, but he's in the same speed range as Wade maybe. and yeah, I would say Palacios is definitely in the top handful of hitter of the year candidates.

I've said for a couple of years that Jake Mauer is the best manager in the Twins system. This year just verifies that in my head. Palacios is solid at shortstop. He absolutely could be a shortstop in the future. Which is great. Jax... Jeff Johnson wrote about it a couple of weeks ago. He had a date, I believe. Early August maybe? But he goes to Cape Canaveral and there was talk that he could head to wherever the Miracle are each weekend, or at least during Instructs in Ft. Myers. And yep, Gee's been good, but there was never any question about when Colon would be coming up. He knew he would be up, or he would have signed with the Mets instead of the Twins. Fair? Not necessarily. But that's reality.

As I wrote last week, I believe he's the best overall (offense and defense combo) in the system, so I agree with you, to an extent. I don't think you trade him. Catcher depth is hugely valuable. So I wouldn't put "trade him" on the table.

Scary story. I'll see what we find out about the bat boy. And, it's zero surprise Tebow got the biggest ovation. He's immensely popular in Florida... and it's minor league ball so there is less of a loyalty to a team/affiliate than to the state hero.

After reviewing the pitchers leader board on Friday, today we turn our attention to the hitters. Since the minor league season is about 2/3 complete, there are a lot of names that are consistent at or near the tops of these lists. There have been a lot of strong offensive performances throughout the system. Before we get to the hitters leader board, let’s take a quick look at how the Twins’ affiliates currently stack up in their leagues. Winning, and learning how to win, is and should be part of the development process. Obviously hitting, fielding, base runner and the like are the key, but there's nothing wrong with players getting accustomed to winning and playing in a winning environment.Did you know that the Twins and Yankees are battling for the best overall record in the minor leagues? Three of the Twins affiliates have half-season playoff berths. Chattanooga and Cedar Rapids already clinched playoff spots in their league’s first half. Three affiliates are working toward making second-half berths. The short-season leagues are going full bore too. Rochester is 51-40. The Red Wings are 6.5 games back of the International League North Division-leading Scranton/Wilkes Barre, and two games behind Lehigh Valley for the wild card. They’re in third place in the International League North Division. In their last 34 games, the Red Wings are 24-10.In the second half, Chattanooga is 18-5. That puts them in first place, four games ahead of Tennessee in the Southern League’s North division. Jake Mauer’s got this team playing some very good baseball.Doug Mientkiewicz’s Ft. Myers Miracle team has been playing very well too in the second half. They are 16-5 in the second half. They are in first place in the Florida State League’s South division, three games ahead of Bradenton.Cedar Rapids is 10-13 in the second half after their current five-game losing streak. That puts them a seven games back of Quad Cities and Peoria in the Midwest League’s Western Division.Elizabethton is 15-8 to start their season. That is half a game better than Greeneville, whom they are playing this weekend. The E-Twins are used to being near the top of the Appalachian League’s Western Division.The GCL Twins are 11-7, which puts them one game ahead of the GCL Red Sox at the top of the GCL’s South Division.With that, let’s look at the minor league statistical leader board (through games on Saturday, July 15). THE HITTERS (Rate numbers- minimum 255 plate appearances) Plate Appearances - Max Murphy (380), Nick Gordon (374), Matt Hague (371), Travis Blankenhorn (369), Jermaine Palacios (361), LaMonte Wade (358), Lewin Diaz (357). Batting Average - Zack Granite (.361), Jermaine Palacios (.321), Jonathan Rodriguez (.310), Max Murphy (.303), Nick Gordon (.299), Matt Hague (.296). On-Base Percentage - Zack Granite (.414), LaMonte Wade (.406), Jonathan Rodriguez (.404), Mitch Garver (.386), Max Murphy (.379), Matt Hague (.377), Nick Gordon (.369).. Slugging Percentage - Mitch G arver (.529), Jermaine Palacios (.515), Jonathan Rodriguez (.495), Zack Granite (.494), Jaylin Davis/Aaron Whitefield (.460), Nick Gordon (.455), Lewin Diaz (.451). OPS - Mitch Garver (.915), Zack Granite (.908), Jonathan Rodriguez (.899), Jermaine Palacios (.875), Nick Gordon (.824), Max Murphy (.814). Hits - Jermaine Palacios (108), Max Murphy (101), Nick Gordon (100), Matt Hague (94), Zack Granite (92), Lewin Diaz (90). Doubles - Lewin Diaz (26), Tommy Field (23), Nick Gordon (22), Jonathan Rodriguez/Zander Wiel (20), Four with 19. Triples - Travis Blankenhorn (8), Nick Gordon/Jermaine Palacios/Christian Cavaness (6), Seven with 5. Home Runs - Jaylin Davis (13), Jermaine Palacios/Mitch Garver (12), Jonathan Rodriguez (11), Aaron Whitefield/Lewin Diaz (10) Runs Scored - Jermaine Palacios (65), Max Murphy (58), Jonathan Rodriguez (54), Nick Gordon (53), LaMonte Wade (48), Aaron Whitefield/Travis Blankenhorn (46). RBI - Jaylin Davis (53), Lewin Diaz (50), Jermaine Palacios (49), Travis Blankenhorn/Nick Gordon (47), Jonathan Rodriguez (46), Zander Wiel (44). SB - Tanner English (22), Aaron Whitefield (19), Zack Granite (18), Jermaine Palacios (14), Ryan Walker (10). Click here to view the article

Not really... it's somewhat surprising.

The Twins found a way to beat the Astros on Saturday night. I know that isn’t related to the minor leagues, but just felt like it should be stated again. The Red Wings got a well-pitched game. The Lookouts pitched a shutout. The Miracle had a walk-off. The Kernels gave up just one run. E-Town grabbed a lead with a comeback in the ninth, and a slugger returned to the field in the GCL. You’ll want to keep reading to find out which players contributed on Saturday.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Saturday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Lehigh Valley 1 Box Score With his opt-out looming (and maybe passing by the time you read this), Dillon Gee went out and put together a terrific start. The right-hander gave up just four hits and a walk over seven shutout innings. He struck out four. In his three starts for the Red Wings, he threw 15 innings without giving up a run. He gave up ten hits, walked three and struck out eight. Mason Melotakis came on and got one out. He was charged with a run on a hit. He also struck out one. Drew Rucinski came on and got the final five outs. He gave up just one hit. Byungho Park led the offense. He went 3-5. Niko Goodrum went 2-5 with his 19th double. He also stole his fifth bag. Matt Hague went 1-3 with two walks. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Jacksonville 0 Box Score It was a well-played game for the Lookouts on Saturday night. Obviously a shutout means pretty solid pitching. The offense did its part as well. Dereck Rodriguez made the start and clearly didn’t have his best stuff. He needed 77 pitches to get through three innings. He gave up four hits, walked two batters and hit another. However, he threw three shutout innings. Raul Fernandez came on and went the middle three innings. He gave up just one hit, didn’t walk anyone and struck out five. Todd Van Steensel struck out three over the two innings he worked. Nick Anderson worked a perfect ninth inning to finish the shutout. Nick Gordon was back in the lineup after missing a couple of games after being hit by a pitch earlier in the week. He went 2-4 with a walk. Jonathan Rodriguez continued his terrific season. He went 3-4 with his 20th double and 11th home run. Carlos Paulino was 2-4. TJ White added his seventh home run of the year. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, St. Lucie 3 Box Score Tim Tebow and the St. Lucie Mets were back in Ft. Myers for their final series against the Miracle. He went 0-4 in this game and is now hitting .298. Over 4,600 fans showed up to see the former Heisman winner, but they got to see a dramatic win for the home team. Cody Stashak gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out six. Tom Hackimer, Alex Muren and Sam Clay each worked a scoreless inning. The Miracle were down 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. Tanner English was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. He scored on Brandon Lopez’s fourth Miracle double to tie the game. The next batter, Jermaine Palacios, then knocked in Lopez with his fourth double to end the game. Palacios and Lopez were each 3-5 with a double. Sean Miller went 3-4 as well. Nelson Molina went 2-3 with a walk and his fifth double. Zander Wiel added his 20th double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, South Bend 1 Box Score On Saturday night, the Kernels lost for the fifth straight time. For the fourth time in those five games, they were shut out. In this game, the Kernels managed just four hits. Griffin Jax put together another strong start. He gave up one run on three hits in seven innings. He walked three and struck out two. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 9, Greeneville 6 Box Score Nick Brown, the Twins 32nd-round pick this June out of William & Mary, made his first start as a pro. He went four innings and gave up four runs on four hits (three home runs). He walked two and struck out four. Bryan Sammons went the next 4.1 innings. He gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits. He walked three and struck out five. Juan Gamez came on to get the final two outs and record his first save. The E-Twins went into the ninth inning down by a run. Brent Rooker came up with the bases loaded and cleared the bases with his fifth E-Twins double. He then scored on a single by Shane Carrier for the final tally of the game. Rooker went 2-4 and drove in four runs. Carrier was 2-5 with his fourth double and four driven in. Andrew Bechtold went 0-0, but he walked four times. The E-Twins had nine walks in the game. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Red Sox 6 Box Score The Twins played the Red Sox in a Saturday morning game. Daniel Palka played in a game for the first time since breaking fingers. He went 0-3. Brian Olson played in his second rehab game and went 1-3. Akil Baddoo had another strong game. He went 3-5. Royce Lewis went 2-5 with his first triple. Ben Rodriguez, Alex Robles and Victor Tademo each went 2-4. Robles also stole his third base. Lefty Taylor Clemensia gave up two runs on two hits in 4.2 innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Amilcar Cruz gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits over 2.2 innings. Jose Bermudez came on to get the final two outs, but not before giving up a run on two hits. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dillon Gee, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jonathan Rodriguez, Chattanooga Lookouts SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (12:35 CST) - RHP Tim Melville Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (4:15 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (3:30 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (1:05 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi Elizabethton @ Greeneville (6:00 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. 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We should have an article on what "old" means. Ha! 27 feels really young to me. Turley has good stuff, really good stuff. He struckout a lot of AA hitters, then struck out a lot of AAA hitters. He had 3 bad starts, but that doesn't mean he's bad. Personally, I think he can be a really good reliever. And, what "ratings" are you talking about? Stat Leaders have little to do with prospect rankings.

Below, you will be able to find out which starting pitchers and relief pitchers have performed the best to this point in the minor league season. Obviously injuries can effect a player's numbers, but when players are promoted to a new level, it is a new challenge. They face better hitters, so if they are able to maintain a high level of success, they are more and more intriguing. There are some very familiar names in these rankings, but there are also a lot of Twins minor league pitchers that do not get talked about as much. They deserve to be recognized. Feel free to discuss, and ask as many questions as you would like.Find out which pitchers have been leading the way for their team(s) to this point in the season. There are about seven weeks left of the minor league seasons. THE STARTING PITCHERS (Rate number - minimum 61.0 innings) Innings Pitched: Sean Poppen (97.0), Dereck Rodriguez (96.2), Aaron Slegers (96.0), Clark Beeker (93.0), Eduardo Del Rosario (92.1), Felix Jorge (91.2). ERA: Nik Turley (1.81), Tyler Wells (2.21), Sean Poppen (2.60), Clark Beeker (2.71), Fernando Romero (2.78), Stephen Gonsalves (2.86), Dereck Rodriguez (2.89). WHIP: Nik Turley (0.91), Stephen Gonsalves (0.97), Tyler Wells (1.00), Clark Beeker (1.01), Sean Poppen (1.04), Dereck Rodriguez (1.107), Cody Stashak (1.111). K/9: Nik Turley (13.2), Tyler Wells (12.1), Stephen Gonsalves (10.6), Fernando Romero (9.0), Eduardo Del Rosario (8.3), Cody Stashak (8.2), Sean Poppen (8.1). BB/9: Clark Beeker (1.2), Sean Poppen/Stephen Gonsalves (1.7), Lachlan Wells (1.9), Dereck Rodriguez (2.0), Nick Anderson/Aaron Slegers/Cody Stashak/David Hurlbut (2.2) K: Nik Turley (95), Fernando Romero (91), Sean Poppen (87), Eduardo Del Rosario (85), Tyler Wells (82), Dereck Rodriguez (81). THE RELIEF PITCHERS (Rate numbers - minimum 31.0 innings, and less than 4 starts) Innings Pitched: Sam Clay (46.2), DJ Baxendale (44.0), Colton Davis (41.1), Luke Bard/Tom Hackimer (41.0), Logan Lombana/Alex Robinson/Andrew Vasquez (39.0). ERA: Andrew Vasquez (0.92), Nick Anderson (1.00), Tom Hackimer (1.32), John Curtiss (1.35), Drew Rucinski/Sam Clay (1.54), Randy Rosario (1.64). WHIP: Tom Hackimer (0.76), Drew Rucinski (0.77), Randy Rosario (0.835), Alan Busenitz (0.844), Mason Melotakis (0.85), Nick Anderson (0.86), Hector Lujan (0.90). K/9: Luke Bard/Andrew Vasquez (14.3), Alex Robinson (12.5), John Curtiss (12.4), Mason Melotakis/Michael Theofanopoulos (10.5), Trevor Hildenberger (10.3). BB/9: Drew Rucinski (0.8), Hector Lujan (1.0), Randy Rosario (1.9), Tom Hackimer (2.2), DJ Baxendale/Nick Anderson/Trevor Hildenberger (2.3). K: Luke Bard (65), Andrew Vasquez (62), Alex Robinson (54), Michael Theofanopoulos (48), John Curtiss (46), Sam Clay (45), Tom Hackimer (43). Saves: John Curtiss (14), Tom Hackimer/Hector Lujan (8), Sam Clay/Trevor Hildenberger (6) Feel free to ask questions about any of the players or teams. Click here to view the article

And Jermaine Palacios too.

He hasn't pitched in over two weeks... I woudln't make too much of it either way tonight. Ideally they could get one more look at him, rather than call him up on Tuesday to face the Yankees, but you never know.

I've written up his scouting report in so many of these minor league reports... so I won't bore people again, but Vasquez is more than just a sleeper to me. I think he could be really good, and more than "just a LOOGY."

Are you talking about Miranda? Cuz he's started 10 games at 2B, once at 3B, and three times at DH. He's definitely a 'priority' prospect.

I'm a big fan of David Hurlbut. Really good dude. Solid AAA pitcher. He fits the mold of guys like Jason Wheeler, Andrew Albers, Logan Darnell, Pat Dean, etc. Lefty. Tops out at about 90. Good changeup. Good curveball. Needs to be pinpoint. I'd love to see him get a shot sometime, even if it's just one start. He can become a free agent at the end of the season.

Yeah, I would like to see Rooker move up to Cedar Rapids. I get that people want him to go to Ft. Myers, and that can happen too, but I believe it would be in his best interest to work his way up there. He can use the CR time, and the Kernels can use him. Only makes sense.

You should get the Handbook. Ha! Javier has started 11 games at Elizabethton. Gore has started 9. In those rookie leagues, there are priority guys that will play more than others, but they're going to play everyone to find out what they have in them.

I can't remember off the top of my head whether the Twins took Baddoo or Miranda first in the 2016 draft. They were back-to-back picks following the 2nd round. That was a nice draft potentially. Kirilloff obviously is the top guy with the big bat potentially. But Rortvedt has had a nice six weeks after a rough 4-5 weeks to start his season in Cedar Rapids. Miranda is doing well in E-Town, and power will certainly be his calling card, I think. Baddoo has tons of tools, and I would think when Rooker moves up to Cedar Rapids (or maybe Ft. Myers,though I hope CR), Baddoo could move up to E-Town, probably should. Around that same time, I'm guessing we'll see Royce Lewis moved up to E-Town.

On Tuesday, I wrote about the Twins Core Four (Sano, Buxton, Kepler and Berrios) and how their first half should give Twins fans hope for 2017 and beyond. While those four have already been joined by a few more young players, there are several more minor leaguers that could get an opportunity as early as 2017. If not, they should get an opportunity in 2018. Yesterday, Nick wrote an article asking whether the Twins should consider using Nick Gordon in potential trades later this month in an attempt to bring in some top-level starting pitching.What if the Twins front office is unwilling to meet the high asking price of teams selling off high-end pitchers with years remaining on their contracts? What if they believe that they have some minor league talent that can help them right now in the second half? If so, that allows those players an opportunity to help. It also gives them valuable experience as we look toward 2018 and beyond. With series against the Astros, Tigers, Yankees and Dodgers in the next couple of weeks, we will soon know whether the Twins should be buyers or sellers at the July trade deadline. Today we consider which minor leaguers could help in 2017 or 2018. The purpose of this is to provide readers with the names of prospects who are close to contributing in the big leagues at some point in the not-too-distant future to some degree. Some of these guys may be able to help the Twins in a potential playoff push. Others may be guys you’ll hear about in trade rumors. Pitching It all starts with pitching, and starting pitching remains a concern for the Twins. While Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios have been mostly reliable, there are question marks after that. Adalberto Mejia has been pretty solid his last four starts. Kyle Gibson’s been OK since his return from the minors. Bartolo Colon is the latest in a string of veterans brought in. The front office has said it isn’t particularly interested in trading assets for short-term guys. They may, however, be interested in guys who will be around for awhile. Those names include the likes of Chris Archer, Sonny Gray, Jose Quintana, Marcus Stroman, Dan Straily and others. There is, of course, a wide range of talent in that group, and we have no way of knowing exactly what it would take to acquire any one of them. So who are the options that are relatively close. Several weeks ago, I wrote an article saying that three AA pitchers were probably the next in line internally. We’ve seen Felix Jorge make two starts, and as you would expect from a guy from Double-A, one was pretty solid, and the other didn’t go so well. Fernando Romero has the biggest ceiling of the group. Right now, his innings are being closely monitored, likely in an attempt to keep him on the mound through the season. He could come up to make a couple of starts, or he could be used in the bullpen late, providing a 95-99 mph fastball with two other pitches. The guy who may be the most ready to contribute is Stephen Gonsalves. While he doesn’t reach into the upper 90s, he is consistently between 91 and 94 with a high knowledge of how to pitch. He, however, is not currently on the 40 man roster. The team would hate to call him up only to use an option, so they would want to be pretty certain. At Triple-A, there are the likes of Tim Melville, Bartolo Colon, Dillon Gee, journeyman minor leagues. One pitcher who has not yet had an opportunity with the Twins is Aaron Slegers, and that tells me that they believe he has a chance to be a mid-to-back end of the rotation type. He’s been inconsistent, but he’s had some really terrific games too. He may be a sleeper later in the season. Two other guys fit into the sleeper category, more likely options for 2018. Kohl Stewart got off to a terrible start this year, went on the DL for six weeks and has returned to form since his return. That means not a ton of strikeouts, but good control and a lot of weak contact. Dereck Rodriguez has made a handful of starts for the Lookouts as well. He can become a free agent following the season and will receive some consideration for a 40-man spot. They may try to sign him to a minor league deal and hope he isn’t selected in the Rule 5 draft. Lewis Thorpe is back and pitching well. He’ll be an interesting case this offseason and looking to 2018. The Bullpen has also had its issues at times this year. It can be solid, but every couple of weeks, it has a complete clunker. When the starter provides six of seven innings, Taylor Rogers and Brandon Kintzler have been really reliable. Tyler Duffey was solid too in his transition to the bullpen, though he struggled and needed the All Star break late. I would contend that Buddy Boshers has been quite solid most of the time. There are, as always, a bunch of relievers from sub-.500 teams that will find themselves available. Minnesotans Pat Neshek and Brad Handwere all stars this year, and are at varying ends of the available relief pitcher spectrum. Neshek is in his upper-30s, having a great year, but a free agent at the end of the season. He could be a good stop gap for the rest of this season. Hand is just 27 and has come into his own in the Padres bullpen the last two years. He has two years of arbitration remaining after this season. Because of that, the prospect return from each is very different. There are many other relievers in between those two. However, there are also several bullpen options in the minor leagues that are at least intriguing and may deserve an opportunity already in 2017. Certainly a few could help the bullpen moving forward. We have already seen guys like Michael Tonkin and Alex Wimmers. Alan Busenitz has been back and forth between Rochester and the big leagues a couple of times in the last month. Trevor Hildenberger is now with the team and performing well. There is a group of pitchers with big arms and bright futures that are hurt. Nick Burdi had Tommy John surgery. JT Chargois has a stress reaction near his elbow. Tyler Jay had surgery for Thoracic Outlet syndrome. Zack Jones had shoulder surgery last fall and is just now getting into games in the GCL as rehab. Meanwhile, John Curtiss has given up three runs on the entire season. He recently moved up to AAA. He has a big fastball and a barrage of secondary pitches that make him intriguing. Jake Reed started his season late due to an injury, but he’s been pitching well of take for the Red Wings. Luke Bard missed a lot of time early in his career, but he came back last year and was good. He’s been even better this year at AA, putting up silly strikeout numbers. Mason Melotakis was DFAd recently and went unclaimed, but he’s still got a chance to be a quality lefty option. We saw young Randy Rosario get into a couple of games for the Twins in early June. It didn’t go real well for him, but he’s got potential to be a really good fastball-slider lefty. The Nik Turley experiment didn’t work as a starter, but he has the kind of stuff that could work well in short bursts out of the bullpen. Todd Van Steensel has been in the organization for a long time, and a couple of times. He apparently isn’t a big prospect despite the fact that he continues to put up strong numbers year after year, and now in Chattanooga. At some point, that might get him an opportunity. Nick Anderson, signed out of indy ball late in the 2015 season, has been dominant, now at AA as well. Looking toward midseason 2018, Tom Hackimer and Andrew Vasquez are two names to watch as they have good stuff and could move quickly. Hitters Zack Granite is up, and while I don’t know exactly how long he’ll be here or how Paul Molitor will use him, he’s a good guy to have. While he may fit the role of fourth outfielder perfectly behind Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton and Max Kepler, he needs to keep playing most every day. Either Molitor needs to find a way to do that, or Granite needs to go back to AAA and wait for an opportunity. Daniel Palka may have been an option at some point this season, but a broken finger has cost him time. He could return in the coming weeks and be an option in September. At Chattanooga, LaMonte Wade continues to define what a professional hitter looks like. He has more walks than strikeouts while providing a lot of doubles power and good defense. These two may be 2018 guys. A sleeper option for fourth outfielder might be Puerto Rican Edgar Corcino who recently was promoted to AAA Rochester. In the infield, it would be interesting to see what might happen should an injury occur. If they need a shortstop, would they go with the great glove of Engelb Vielma, or jump right to Nick Gordon, who has been strong this year in Chattanooga. If they were to need a utility guy, Niko Goodrum has jumped back into the prospect discussion with a solid showing in Rochester this year. Of course, Tommy Field and his defense may be perfect for the role of utility infielder if that is what is needed. In my opinion, the best overall catcher in the Twins system right now is Mitch Garver. His defense may not be on par with Jason Castro, Chris Gimenez or John Ryan Murphy, but he has become a solid defender with a very strong arm. And, he’s probably got the biggest bat of the three. I say "probably" only because we never know what that transition to the big leagues will be like for any player. But he takes a very professional at bat, walks a lot, and has double and home run power. Now he just waits for an opportunity. Meanwhile, he has become more versatile by getting some time at first base and in left field. So the question that the Twins front office has to be how to incorporate these younger, minor leaguers into the big leagues. What their chances are of contributing to the Twins in a pennant, playoff push in 2017 compared to trading some of these assets for short or long term help. Can both strategies work? Can they get short-term help without losing big prospects to help them this year? Are they willing to give up high-ceiling prospects for long-term help at various positions? Or, can they push their prospects to the big leagues and hope for a boost? Maybe some of both can be done. What do you think? Click here to view the article

The Twins two first-round draft picks this year both had strong days on Wednesday, making Twins fans start to wonder when they will move up a level. One Red Wings player participated in the AAA All-Star Game. The Kernels kept a streak going. A good or a bad one? The E-Twins got a big win, and the GCL Twins put together a complete team win (pitching, offense and defense).Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Wednesday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester Box Score - AAA All Star Game Wednesday marked the third and final day of the International League’s All-Star break. The AAA All-Star game was played in Tacoma, Washington. The Red Wings had two players named to the International League’s roster. Drew Rucinski is one, and Zack Granite was the other. However, with Granite’s call up to the Twins, he did not participate in the All-Star festivities as he remains on the big league roster. Since the Twins DFAd him and sent him back to Rochester, Rucinski has been remarkable. Since the beginning of June, he has pitched in ten games for the Red Wings. He has given up zero runs in 16.2 innings. He has given up nine hits, walked none and struck out ten. In short, he’s been fantastic. He started the sixth inning for the IL and got two outs. He gave up a hit before being replaced, though the runner was stranded. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Pensacola 3 (12 innings) Box Score The Lookouts needed some bonus baseball to determine this one. Down 2-0, the Lookouts scored three runs in the fifth inning. Nick Gordon singled in a run right before LaMonte Wade knocked in two runs with his 15th double. Felix Jorge made his first Lookouts start in weeks. His past two starts have been in the big leagues for the Twins. On this night he gave up two runs (one earned) in six innings. He walked three and struck out three. Raul Fernandez came in next. He gave up the tying run on two hits and two walks over the next four outs. Todd Van Steensel was able to keep the game tied through the ninth inning. Nick Anderson struck out three batters over the next two innings. Nick Gordon led off the 12th inning by being hit by a pitch. Wade bunted him to second. Jonathan Rodriguez walked to set up a double play, but Andy Wilkens came through with an RBI double. Max Murphy followed with sacrifice fly to score Rodriguez. With a two-run lead, Luke Bard was brought into the game. A groundout was followed by a double. However, he got a line out and a strikeout to record the save. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers , Charlotte Box Score Game postponed by rain. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Thursday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, West Michigan 2 Box Score It’s safe to say that the Kernels offense is struggling right now. After being shut out on Wednesday night, they have not scored in 19 innings. On this night, they had just four hits. Trey Cabbage led the way with two hits, including his first double with the Kernels. Lefty Domenick Carlini started and provided the Kernels with a quality start. He gave up two runs on six hits over the first six innings. He struck out five without issuing a walk. Patrick McGuff struck out five (and walked two) over two scoreless, hitless innings of relief. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 9, Burlington 3 Box Score The E-Twins used a five-run second inning to jump out to an early lead and held on throughout the game. Brent Rooker’s sixth home run was the big hit early. He went 1-3 with two walks and his second stolen base. Jose Miranda also homered, his fourth of the season. Mark Contreras went 2-4 with a walk. Ariel Montesino went 2-4 with a walk, his first E-Twins double and first E-Twins stolen base in 2017. Moises Gomez was the beneficiary of the offensive output. The right-hander went the first 5.1 innings. Despite giving up ten hits, he held Burlington to three runs (two earned). He struck out four, with no walks. Ricky Ramirez was the Twins 15th round pick this year out of Fresno State. He recorded his first pro save with 3.2 shutout innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out two. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 14, GCL Orioles 0 Box Score It was a great all-around game for the GCL Twins.There was plenty of offense. There was some fantastic pitching. There was even a triple play. Let’s start with the offense. Humberto Maldonado led the way. He went 3-4 with his first two doubles and his first home run. He drove in four runs. Royce Lewis had another strong game. He went 2-4 with two walks and three runs scored. He also stole his fifth and sixth bases. He is now hitting .340. Victor Tademo went 2-4 with two walks and his second double. Alex Robles and Ben Rodriguez each had two hits. Akil Baddoo added his fourth double. Darling Cuestro hit a double, his first hit in the States. Carlos Suniaga started and gave up just two hits over six shutout innings. He struck out six without walking any. He improved to 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA with the GCL Twins. Matz Schutte threw the final three innings. He walked two and struck out two. With runners on first and second and nobody out in the seventh, there was a ground ball to Royce Lewis. He fielded it, tagged one runner, threw to second and the triple play was complete on the throw to first base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Carlos Suniaga, GCL Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Humberto Maldonado, GCL Twins THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) - RHP Bartolo Colon Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (DH at 3:30 CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe, RHP Brady Anderson Wisconsin @ West Michigan (6:00 CST) - LHP Evan Sanders Elizabethton @ Burlington (6:00 CST) - RHP Melvi Acosta GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday’s games. Click here to view the article

Thank you! I believe the minor leaguers all deserve to be recognized. It's fun getting to know them and see them succeed.