Seth Stohs

No question that they would want to get him back and send him to AAA.

Tweeted a few minutes after that one noting that he stayed in the game. He seems to be just fine, and he's back in the lineup tonight.

I can't imagine that entered his mind. I'd say he just had a bad inning.

1.) That sounds like a good timeline for Thorpe (late 2019). 2018 is his first option year. 2019 will be his second option year. If he's ready early in 2020, that's a nice plan. 2.) Good information on the ballpark and how Rooker hit the ball. That's a good report and I'm sure that Tommy Watkins and Jose Valentin reported those hits as well. He'll be alright. Since starting out 1-14, Rooker is hitting .289/.308/.421 (.729) and has hit in seven of his last eight games. If his season had started that way, it would have just been a slow start, so there's no reason to worry about him. AA is a big jump. 3.) I don't know what "focus" has to do with it. I'm pretty sure that Gordon is as focused as anyone. Errors happen, and Gordon has continued to work really hard at his defense. Yeah, he's not a big guy, but he can hit, and I think he has some power potential. I've seen him turn on some baseballs and hit them a long way. I also think he's at his best when he's driving the ball toward the left centerfield gap. 4.) Wade's plate appearances are always professional. I've talked to him a couple of times about it, and it's really enjoyable to hear his thoughts about approach. But so far, six walks, three strikeouts. And, he can hit and I think he's got a lot of power. 5.) Vasquez can touch 91-92 with his fastball, but his breaking ball/slider can be devastating and likely makes his fastball appear to be even faster. 6.) Gonsalves is a pro's pro. He's classy and he gets it. He's a good guy, and obviously a really good pitcher too.

Finally! A full night in the Minnesota Twins organization. Not only did the Twins play, but all four of their affiliates played as well. Even the Cedar Rapids Kernels played for the first time in a week. They returned to Veterans Memorial Stadium and the first 1,000 through the gates were given Royce Lewis bobbleheads. If you’re going to Cedar Rapids on Saturday, you will be there for their Star Wars theme night. Image courtesy of Ted Schwerzler (photo of the Royce Lewis bobblehead) Finally! A full night in the Minnesota Twins organization. Not only did the Twins play, but all four of their affiliates played as well. Even the Cedar Rapids Kernels played for the first time in a week. They returned to Veterans Memorial Stadium and the first 1,000 through the gates were given Royce Lewis bobbleheads. If you’re going to Cedar Rapids on Saturday, you will be there for their Star Wars theme night. The Red Wings had a tough start, but quickly recovered. The Lookouts scored early, and that’s about it. The Miracle had another big comeback (from injury) and won in the ninth. Find out how. And the Kernels struggled a bit in their return to the playing field. Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system. TRANSACTIONS The Ft. Myers Miracle announced that RHP Andro Cutura was activated by the Cedar Rapids Kernels and then he was promoted to Ft. Myers. Cutura last pitched for the Kernels in May of 2016. He had Tommy John surgery and is now returning to the mound. Rochester announced that RH RP Jake Reed has been placed on the 7-Day Disabled List with a right shoulder impingement. Jeff Johnson from The Gazette in Cedar Rapids posted the following tweet which indicates other transactions could be coming. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 13, Columbus 5 Box Score It was a rough first half-inning for the Red Wings in this game, but it didn’t take long for Rochester to take control. Adalberto Mejia made the start for the Red Wings. The left-hander gave up four runs on three hits and a walk in the top of the first inning (though he struck out three in the inning). Then came the bottom of the first. 13 Red Wings came to the plate and they scored eight runs. The big hit came off of the bat of Brock Stassi. His second home run of the year came with the bases loaded. Taylor Featherstone followed with his first homer. https://twitter.com/RocRedWings/status/987475666605092864 The Red Wings added one run in the third inning and four more innings in the fourth inning. The big knock that inning was the first home run of the season for Willian Astudillo. Mejia certainly settled down after that first frame. He worked three more innings and gave up just two hits and a walk. Tyler Duffey came on for the fifth inning and threw three more scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked one and struck out four. In his 11 innings this year, he is yet to give up an earned run. He has walked one and struck out 14 batters. John Curtiss threw the final two innings. He gave up a run on two hits. He walked one and struck out four. Red Wings play-by-play man Josh Whetzel passed along this note about the rarity of a Curtiss home run allowed: https://twitter.com/JoshWhetzel/status/987502797489889280 Astudillo went 3-4 with his first double to go with his first homer. Gregorio Petit went 2-4 with his second double and three RBI. The Red Wings improved to .500, at 5-5. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Jacksonville 5 Box Score Lewis Thorpe made the start for the Lookouts on Friday night. He was one out from a Quality Start, but his pitch count crept high enough that he was removed from the game with two outs in the sixth inning and a runner on base. Anthony McIver came on and allowed Thorpe’s runner to score and another run. So, Thorpe’s final line probably doesn’t look quite as good as he threw. The lefty gave up four runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out eight without issuing a walk. McIver gave up one run on five hits and a walk in one inning. Andrew Vasquez came on to get the final out of the seventh inning without further damage. Vasquez got four outs. He gave up two hits, but no runs. He struck out two without walking a batter. Cody Stashak walked two and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning. There wasn’t much offense. In the first inning, Brent Rooker hit his first triple of the season. Nick Gordon knocked him in with a sacrifice fly. That was it for the Lookouts scoring. Chris Paul added his fifth triple of the season. The loss drops the Lookouts to 9-6. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Bradenton 3 Box Score There have been a couple of big returns for the Miracle the last couple of days. On Thursday, it was second baseman Luis Arraez returning after missing a year following ACL surgery. On Friday, it was Andro Cutura who returned to the mound for the first time in nearly two years. More on that later. Charlie Barnes made the start for the Miracle. The lefty gave up no runs on one hit over the first three innings. He walked three and struck out six. He needed 74 pitches to finish three, so he was replaced by Logan Lombana. Lombana gave up two unearned runs on one hit and a hit batter over two innings. The error was his own. At that point, Andro Cutura entered the game. He ended up giving up one run on four hits, two walks and a hit batter over four innings. He struck out five and was credited with the win. Tied at three going into the ninth, the Miracle got a bases loaded sacrifice fly by Jimmy Kerrigan to score Taylor Grzelakowski from third. And it was deep enough that Aaron Whitefield tried to score from second but was thrown out at the plate. Cutura got the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth to grab the win. Jaylin Davis was 2-for-4 with his fifth double. Taylor Grzelakowski went 2-for-3 with his first double. Jared Foster was 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base. Luis Arraez went 1-for-4 with a walk, his first hit in just over a year. Grzelakowski was signed as a non-drafted free agent last July and played minimally in the GCL last year. He was one of my Spring Standouts and it as to be surprising that he jumped all the way up to Ft. Myers. But he is handling the job behind the plate and at the plate, and he gives a lot of the credit to others. With his 2-3 on Friday night, he’s now hitting .375/.444/.438 (.882) on the young season. “At the plate I’m feeling confident. I’ve been working with Sing regularly on timing and rhythm. Made a simple change yesterday during bp in Dunedin and felt good tonight. Got a few pitches to hit and my timing was there so I hit them. Attribute my success to Steve Singleton. He believes in me and it shows with the time he puts in with me. Also my family, fiancé Sarah, and her family.” Grzelakowski was also impressed with the pitchers he got to work with. Regarding starter Charlie Barnes, “Gelly” noted, “Everyone knows about Charlie’s changeup, it’s no secret. What they lose sight of is how complete of a pitcher he is. He is smart, aggressive, and he trusts me. Charlie is going to go a long long way in this game and it’s a pleasure to catch him.” He also discussed the opportunity to catch Andro Cutura in his return after missing two seasons with Tommy John surgery. “Cutura was rock solid. That was my first time catching him in a game situation but we were on the same page pretty quickly. He’s been itching to get in and show everyone what he can do. He showed up in a big way and fought for every pitch tonight. It was like he pitched for us last week not two years ago.” Cutura was very happy to be on the mound again, but he used the time away to learn a lot and hopes to implement some of it into his game. Following the game, he said, "It was such a great feeling, I didn’t have jitters or nerves, I was pretty calm and knew what I needed to do. Being out these past two years has really given me an opportunity to learn more about pitching and watching and studying big league pitchers and what needs to be done to be successful. I dug myself in some holes tonight, but to look on the bright side I was happy I was able to minimize the damage. Got more into a groove in my last two innings. I was happy to finish out the game and give it all I got for the team. It was a great team win tonight and I couldn’t be happier for my hermano, Arraez, for getting his first hit! It’s been a long road for him as well and it’s great to see all his hard work paying off." The Miracle moved back above .500, to 8-7. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 5 Box Score The Kernels played their first game in a week. Literally, the team had not played a game since last Friday There final two games last weekend were snowed out, and their three game series in Beloit was postponed due to poor field conditions. The weather was nice in Cedar Rapids on Friday night, great for the fans who came for Royce Lewis bobblehead night. For Lewis, it was special because of a couple of specific fans in attendance. “It was very special for me, and I’m glad to spend the game with my parents here.” Blayne Enlow made the start for the Kernels. The 2017 draft pick gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks over 4.2 innings. He struck out three. Jovani Moran came on and got the final out of the fifth inning. Then Tyler Watson came on and was able to throw three shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out five. Moises Gomez struck out two in a scoreless ninth. The Kernels offense didn’t get going real quickly either. Akil Baddoo launched a long, two-run homer in the 8th inning, his first of the season, but that was it for the team’s offense. Baddoo went 2-4. Shane Carrier went 2-4. Mark Contreras went 1-3 with a walk. Jose Miranda hit his first double of the season. Cedar Rapids loses for the second straight time and and falls to 6-2 on their season. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Willian Astudillo, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Tyler Duffey, Rochester Red Wings TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4 #3 - Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) - 1-3, RBI, SF #5 - Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4 #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 1-4, 3B, R, K #8 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - 4.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K #10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, HR(1), 2 RBI, K #12 - Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) - 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 8 K #13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, BB #14 - LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) - 1-4 #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, K SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Columbus @ Rochester (12:06 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers Chattanooga @ Jackson (6:05 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (5:30) - RHP Brady Anderson Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (5:05 CST) - RHP Nick Brown Please feel free to ask any questions about Friday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. View full article

Those have been topics for a long time. I believe the Midwest League's offices are in Beloit, so that was always part of the concern.

He's not a big guy, but he's fun to watch pitch. He's got some good stuff..

It'll be interesting. According to a press release (I think that's where I saw it), Beloit and Cedar Rapids play just once more in the first half, a three-game series. The Midwest League has a rule that says teams can play doubleheaders on three straight games. So, they'll likely play those doubleheaders and then cancel the third game. Maybe they'll add it to the second-half schedule, but I don't know for sure.

I think they can be on either GCL or ET roster, probably doesn't matter. They're all from EST.

Regarding Vargas/Grossman/Morrison... I wasn't as big of a fan of the Morrison signing as most around here, but if Vargas is the alternative, I don't get too excited about that. Would he be doing better than a guy who's started out 4-46 or something? Sure. Grossman's like 1-23 since his opening day hit. But I'd take both of them over Vargas. Vargas is good depth. Regarding Gordon... 1.) There's no reason to bring him up unless he's ready - and based on his 2nd half last year, defensive question marks and ability to hit LHP last year, there's no reason for them to think that, 2.) He's not on the 40-man roster and no need to put him there yet.

I don't know with certainty, but this is pretty normal around minor league baseball early in the season. All those guys that were signed to minor league deals with big league invites go somewhere. They don't want to lose them right away, so they just make room. Obviously if Gonsalves and Littell pitch well, they'll move up.

Yup,, Granite's on the 40-man roster already (as is Jake Cave). Both are hitting under .200 in Rochester right now, but that's pretty unimportant at this point. Gordon's off to a start again, just like he was last year, and Wade is Wade. Great PAs, walks, solid all around.

I had tweeted that he "Mashed" his first homer of the year. Chris was at the game. Hopefully one wind-aided homer will get him going! Also, Zander Wiel had the walk off the night before. He had doubles in his first two at bats in Game 1. Then his third at bat, he drilled another ball down the third base line. The left fielder had some issues with it and Wiel just kept running for an inside-the-park home run. He's been on fire.

The best Twins minor league news I heard yesterday came on Instagram. I was on Mariana's live instagram chat, and Luis Arraez came on and told us that he is supposed to be activated and play for the Miracle starting tonight!

City Pages came out with their Best of the Twin Cities 2018 awards. Each year they "hand out" a ton of awards on Twin Cities sports, restaurants and much more. Gleeman and the Geek was named Best Podcast. Congratulations to them. Also, the award for Best Twins Player went to Byron Buxton, which could be argued.

There is no power on the island of Puerto Rico right now... Here are a few tweets, but the first one is from the mayor of San Juan. https://twitter.com/ParkerHageman/status/986630012311916549

I think most would have argued, even then, that Mauer was an elite prospect too.

Without going back and looking, I'm going to venture that it is the first time. Wiel will get a little time in LF. He's spent most of his time in LF since Rooker got to Ft. Myers last year.

That was pretty impressive...

I mean... that's pretty intentional because there is NO answer to the question... there is no way to know what would have happened. The Cubs had Wood, Prior and Zambrano and couldn't win a World Series. So there's no way to know who will win a World Series. So yes, it's all tangents and thoughts and theories.

Yesterday, we took a look back at the 2001 draft. Specifically, we reviewed the decision that the Twins had with the first overall draft pick. Should they take Joe Mauer, or should they take Mark Prior? Well, 17 years later, it sure looks like the Twins made the right choice, though Prior was tremendous before injuries ended his career prematurely. Today, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the situation and just ask what might have been if the Twins would have drafted, and been able to sign, Mark Prior. Image courtesy of Jeffrey Becker, USA Today Yesterday, we took a look back at the 2001 draft. Specifically, we reviewed the decision that the Twins had with the first overall draft pick. Should they take Joe Mauer, or should they take Mark Prior? Well, 17 years later, it sure looks like the Twins made the right choice, though Prior was tremendous before injuries ended his career prematurely. Today, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the situation and just ask what might have been if the Twins would have drafted, and been able to sign, Mark Prior. Back in 2009, Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times opined, “What looked like an incredible break - the Twins passing on Prior and taking the more ‘signable’ Mauer with the #1-overall pick - has turned into yet another example of how fate seems to taunt the Cubs and Cubs fans.” In hindsight, it is easy to say that the Twins made the right choice, but it is also fun to consider what would have happened if things had gone differently. What if the Twins would have drafted (and signed) Prior instead of Mauer? Let’s consider. … for the Twins Let’s start with an assumption that the Twins were actually able to convince Prior to sign. That’s a big assumption as Prior made it clear that he did not want to sign with the Twins at that time. But let’s think more positively. The Twins have a strong history of drafting high school hitters and college pitchers. That was even more the case at that time for years to follow. Looking at some of the pitchers that the Twins employed in the early-to-mid ‘90s, you see a lot of college guys. Starting pitchers included names like Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn, Brian Duensing, and Jeff Manship, who were all drafted out of college. The Twins moved each of them fairly aggressively in the minor leagues, and yet, in comparison to Prior, they were very patient. Of course, none of them were the #2 overall pick, or even first round picks. The Twins likely would have had Mark Prior begin his professional career at Ft. Myers (High-A). He would have maybe spent a half-season there, and after the Florida State League All-Star Game, he may have been promoted to New Britain (Double A affiliate at that time). Honestly, because the Twins were in the playoffs, he probably would have been called up directly from Double A. If not, he would have gone to spring training 2003 with an opportunity to make the Opening Day roster. And he probably would have. The Twins have been known for taking care of their pitchers, especially young pitchers, at least once Ron Gardenhire took over as manager. Dusty Baker was willing to let Kerry Wood and Mark Prior throw 120 to 140 (or more) pitches late into the season. I have no doubt that the Twins would have controlled pitch and inning counts much more tightly. Does that mean that Prior would have stayed healthy? There’s no way to know that with any certainty. It is possible that Prior had underlying arm issues that may have caused inevitable injury. However, it is also possible that he could have been an All-Star, Cy Young-contending starter for the Twins from 2003 through 2008, and maybe beyond. And think about the Twins 2006 team. That roster included the AL MVP (Justin Morneau), a top closer (Joe Nathan) and the AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana. They also had Michael Cuddyer, Torii Hunter, Jason Bartlett, Brad Radke and a strong bullpen. How much could a healthy Mark Prior have helped that team? The thought of Prior and Santana in the same rotation, along with Brad Radke, and ideally a healthy Francisco Liriano is sure fun to think about. (Of course, the AL Batting title winner (Mauer) would not have been on the team.) … for the Cubs Had the Twins taken Prior, the likelihood is that the Cubs would have drafted Georgia Tech third baseman Mark Teixeira who was said to be looking for a $15 million deal after the draft. (With the Rangers, as the fifth pick, he signed a four-year, $9.5 million big league contract with a $4.5 million bonus.) Teixeira would have moved quickly through the Cubs farm system and probably put up numbers similar to those he has put up with the Rangers, Braves, Angels, and Yankees in his career. But would the Cubs have kept Aramis Ramirez or acquired Derrek Lee? Would they have gone after Alfonso Soriano? I would venture to guess that Teixeira would have been a building block for the Cubs and would likely not have played for as many teams in his career. … for Joe Mauer To me, it makes a lot of sense that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays would have selected Joe Mauer with the third pick in the 2001 draft. The Rays were a team that was constantly building at that time. They had a lot of early draft picks that they used to select several talented high school players. They took Carl Crawford in 1999, Rocco Baldelli in 2000, BJ Upton in 2002, and Delmon Young with the first-overall pick in the 2003 draft. Mauer likely would have thrived with the Rays had this scenario played out. While he batted third through most of his career with the Twins, you have to assume that Joe Maddon may not have been afraid to bat him leadoff. As earlier adopters of analytics, the Rays would have loved Mauer’s on-base percentage at the top of the lineup. Assuming health, it’s hard to believe that Mauer would not have been equally successful with the Rays. Now, the economic reality is that the Rays would not have been able to keep him through free agency. The Twins actually extended him for two years beyond free agency before giving him the big contract. The Twins had to do the deal for a variety of reasons, including the new stadium, his performance on and off the field, and being a hometown player. If the Rays would have pushed him to the big leagues as quickly as the Twins did (likely), he probably would have been traded either before or after his 2009 season. At that time, Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek were on their last legs with the Yankees and Red Sox, respectively, so there would have been a big market and the Rays could have received a lot for Mauer. Mauer would likely have gone to a team that was in the playoffs often and would have had some great playoff and maybe World Series moments. Assuming health, he would have received, probably, an even bigger contract than the Twins gave him. CONCLUSIONS The Twins had a huge decision to make in 2001. Should they draft the All-American, can’t-miss college pitcher from a baseball-rich college? Or, should they take the tremendous high school athlete with the full ride scholarship to Florida State for football and baseball - a guy from their backyard with the perfect swing, a strong arm, and the perfect mentality? The Twins went chose Mauer, and have never looked back or questioned it. Fortunately for the state of Minnesota, Mauer has proven the Twins right over time, regardless of what Prior has done in his career, by being one of the best players in baseball. Even if Prior somehow goes on to win three or four Cy Young Awards, the Twins’ selection is justified. It was not a case of the team being “cheap”: Mauer’s signing bonus still ranks among the highest of all time (in part because of baseball going to the slotting system in the draft). It was not a case of picking the hometown kid over a better player (as the Padres did in 2004 when they picked Matt Bush instead of Justin Verlander). Scouting and the baseball draft can be such an inexact science. The Twins have a solid track record in drafting and player development, but no team is perfect all of the time. In 2001, the Twins had a difficult decision, and they made the right choice. View full article

Chatted with a couple of people... There is no longer the rule that two-sport athletes can get their bonus over 5 years.

Without looking, I'm going to guess that this isn't unusual. A guy like Colt Griffin was fascinating... Few had heard of him a year before the draft, then someone saw him hit 102 on the radar gun... didn't pan out.