Seth Stohs

The Minnesota Twins posted a 1-0 win in Cleveland on Friday night in a very quick game. The minor league games in the system were not as quick, but three out of four of the affiliates won. Rochester had some late-game runs off of an #OldFriend. Chattanooga and Cedar Rapids used plenty of offense and solid pitching to record wins. Finally, an experiment is not going real well in Ft. Myers.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Friday night, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS Following the Twins 1-0 win in Cleveland, the Twins announced (or made it official) that Jose Berrios was being recalled from Rochester and will start on Saturday. The other half of the transaction made for good speculation, but in the end Nick Tepesch was optioned. In Ft. Myers, Shane Kennedy was activated from the temporarily inactive list while Keaton Steele was sent to extended spring training. Down in Cedar Rapids, right-hander Tyler Wells was placed on the 7-Day disabled list. He said that he’s been fighting a bit of biceps tendinitis. He noted that it didn’t affect his velocity, “just discomfort.” He expects to miss just one start. A corresponding move will be made in the next couple of days. The Kernels play on Saturday, but they get Mother’s Day off. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Pawtucket 3 Box Score It was a quick game in Pawtucket on Friday night, but it ended with a nice, one-run win for the Red Wings. Rochester came into the game with a team ERA of just 3.13 which was second in the International League (Buffalo 3.08), and that number went down in this game. Jason Wheeler returned to the Red Wings rotation and provided a very quality start. The lefty gave up one run on five hits over six innings. He walked and struck out none. Trevor Hildenberger provided two innings of scoreless ball, with a walk and a strikeout. The game was tied at one until the eighth inning when Zack Granite doubled. Niko Goodrum followed with an RBI triple to give the team the lead. Matt Hague added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly. The Wings eighth inning runs came off of former Twins reliever Blaine Boyer. Hague's proved to be a needed insurance run. Alex Wimmers came on for the ninth inning and recorded the save despite giving up a run. It was his fourth save of the season. Granite led the offense. He went 3-4 with his first two doubles of the season. He also stole his fourth base. The team had just five total hits in the game. The win kept the Red Wings above .500 at 16-14. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 9, Montgomery 2 Box Score The Lookouts recorded a nice, big win on Friday night, 9-2. LaMonte Wade is becoming a big prospect right before our eyes. The outfielder went 2-3 with a walk, was hit by a pitch, hit his fourth home run, drove in three runs and stole his fourth base. It was kind of a showing of all that he is as a player. Jonathan Rodriguez’s 14-game hitting streak came to an end on Thursday, but he returned on Friday with a 2-4 game including his ninth double. Engelb Vielma went 1-2 with two walks. Dan Gamache added a walk and his third double. Nick Gordon had a walk and a single. Felix Jorge made the start. He gave up just two runs (one earned) on nine hits and two walks over 4.2 innings. He struck out three. Ryan Eades came on and recorded the final out of the fifth inning. He then went the remaining four innings without allowing a run. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out six in what could be his strongest appearance of the season. The Lookouts are now 19-16 on the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Charlotte 11 Box Score The Chris Anderson Experiment is off to a rocky start, and on Friday night, it got really rocky. The former first-round pick of the Dodgers started and gave up 11 runs (10 earned) on 11 hits and four walks in just three innings. (He also faced five batters in the fourth inning. Four of them scored.) Mike Theofanopoulos worked the next two innings without allowing a run. Anthony McIver worked 1.2 innings without allowing a run. He walked one and struck out one. He also hit two batters and was ejected after the second one. Alex Muren recorded the final four outs. The Miracle offense scored two runs on just three hits. Max Murphy went 1-2 with a walk. Chris Paul was 1-3 with an RBI double, his seventh of the year. Red Wing native Ryan Boldt went 2-4 with a walk in the game for Charlotte. Ft. Myers fell to 16-20 on the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Bowling Green 3 Box Score The Kernels put together a solid game on Friday night in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Dominic Carlini IV started for Cedar Rapids. The left-hander worked the first five innings. He gave up three runs on four hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out five for his first win of the season. Alex Robinson came in and struck out two over two shutout innings. Tom Hackimer recorded his fourth save of the season with two shutout frames. Mitchell Kranson led the Kernels offense. He went 4-5 with his ninth and tenth doubles. Jaylin Davis went 2-5 with his third double, which was a two-run double in the first inning. Travis Blankenhorn and Lewin Diaz were also 2-5 in the game. Shane Carrier added his fifth double of the season which drove in a run. The Kernels improved to 19-15 on their season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ryan Eades, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Mitchell Kranson, Cedar Rapids Kernels SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (12:05 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers Birmingham @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (5:05 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez Cedar Rapids @ Bowling Green (6:35 CST) - RHP Clark Beeker Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday’s games. Click here to view the article

Just saw this on Twitter... regarding Burdi last night... (For those who can't get Twitter at work, the summary is that he hit 101 last night)

It shouldn't be a big concern, but when you're making the choice to keep a Rule 5 guys as a long man with the hope of keeping him beyond this year, probably as a starting option, it can limit it. I just think that what is best for Burdi (or Melotakis, or whichever prospect) is what is best for the Twins long-term.

Of course, but if they (or a scout or someone) saw something in his stuff that says if he throws just his top two pitches, he might have a chance to be a dominant lefty reliever, why not? If he's here for 2-3 weeks and it's clearly not going to happen, or someone in AAA (or AA) dominates, you drop him and bring them up. They said they only see him as a reliever. That's not to say he can't start. Obviously he can. But my guess is they have enough track record on him as a starter that they don't have interest in that.

Yup, he hurt his side in the last exhibition game. I wrote this last Saturday... http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/minor-league-notebook-injuries-and-kernels-report-r5562 Regarding Reed, he's now started a throwing program and will likely miss about another month.

Yup, it was much ado about nothing... Falvine saw Wilk as a reliever, and they are calling up Berrios to start on Saturday...

This is all good stuff... nice work, Tom... I'm less worried about the age of the starting staff, and I would guess that by season's end, they'll be closer to league average.

probably not... though in the minor leagues they probably (without looking at all indepth) starting and finish innings more than in the big leagues. Not as many pitching changes. I could be wrong.

I'm very curious what they do with him this season. Maybe he gets a September call up. Even if he doesn't, he's still young and full of potential that maybe they would add him to the 40-man roster after the season so he doesn't become a free agent. He's incredibly talented and gifted, and just needs to stay healthy. Of course, after a full season of AAA, we'll know a lot more about where he stands.

With relievers, one bad outing can be tough on an ERA. Consider his season ERA is still over 3 despite throwing 17+ consecutive scoreless innings since his first outing. It's like Matt Belisle. Something like 13 of his 15 runs allowed have come in two of his 15 outings. He's been fine 13/15 appearances, but those two bad outings put his season ERA at 9.00.

Yeah, it was weird to see that in the Southern League transactions yesterday. We noted that in the Minor League Report last Friday.

Within the last week, the Twins have DFAd Danny Santana and Michael Tonkin, two of the longest-tenured players. Santana was traded to Atlanta, so he’s out of the organization. Tonkin isn’t officially out of the organization, though within the next four to six days, he’ll likely be claimed or traded. It is possible that he will be outrighted and go to Rochester, staying in the organization. Tonkin would be #4 on this list if he stays in the organization. Since I last wrote the Longest Tenured article a year ago, five players have left the Twins organization. Trevor Plouffe is in Oakland. He was tied for #2 with Glen Perkins as both were 2004 draft picks. James Beresford was #4 on the list. He is yet to sign with another team despite playing for Australia in the WBC. Oswaldo Arcia was #5 on the list. Danny Santana was #6 with Michael Tonkin at #7.So, here you have it, a look at the 12 longest-tenured players in the Minnesota Twins organization but first, a few honorable mentions. Honorable Mentions November 2011 - Fernando RomeroSeptember 2011 - Rafael Valera, Engelb VielmaJune 2011 Draft - Levi Michael (1st), Travis Harrison (1st supp), Dereck Rodriguez (6th), Jason Wheeler (8th), David Hurlbut (28th)February 2011 - Felix JorgeAugust 2010 - Randy RosarioThe Top Ten Longest-Tenured Twins #9a, b, c, d - June, 2010, the Twins signed four of their draft picks that remain in the organization. Alex Wimmers was their first-round pick. Niko Goodrum was their second-round pick. Eddie Rosario was their fourth-round pick ,and Ryan O’Rourke was their 12th-round pick. Rosario has become a regular. He and O’Rourke were helpful in the 2015 Twins playoff chase. O’Rourke recently had Tommy John surgery. Wimmers debuted last August and remained with the team this offseason. Goodrum also could have been a free agent, but he also chose to re-sign with the Twins with an invite to spring training. Wimmers and Goodrum are in Rochester. #8 – On October 9, 2009, the Twins were playing (another) playoff series against the Yankees, but the big news of the day came off the field. The Twins had signed the #1 ranked international free agent, Miguel Sano, to a $3.15 million signing bonus. Since then, he has been one of the top power hitting prospects in baseball. He looked ready to debut with the Twins in 2014. Unfortunately, he needed Tommy John surgery and missed the entire season. He returned to action in 2015. He struggled for the first month of the season but started hitting soon after. He made his MLB debut in July and played so well he was named the Twins MVP and Rookie of the Year. He finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting. He mostly DHd as a rookie, and in 2016 he was moved out to the outfield (which didn’t go well) and he struggled with the bat too. He seems to have figured some things out in 2017. He’s back at third base and he’s been a force with the bat also. #7 – Within the final hour of the the final day that teams could sign their 2009 draft picks (August 15), the Twins and pitcher Kyle Gibson reached an agreement. He began his professional career with the Miracle in 2010 and got to AAA that season. He returned to Rochester but by midseason, he wasn’t pitching like himself. He had an elbow problem and months later, he had Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire 2012 season. He returned in 2013 and had a ten-start call up with the Twins. He has been in the Twins starting rotation the last two years, making at least 33 starts each season. In 2015, he was named the Twins pitcher of the year. 2016 was injury-plagued for Gibson, and after a rough start in 2017 he is now at Rochester again pitching for the Red Wings. #6 – On July 11th, 2009, the Twins signed highly-regarded German outfielder Max Kepler. Though Kepler was always blessed with great tools, it wasn’t until 2015 that everything came together for him. He has worked slowly up the system. He repeated Elizabethton and has moved up one level each year since. He was named the Southern League MVP and led the Chattanooga Lookouts to the league title. While his team was celebrating, Kepler learned that he was heading to the big leagues. On the season’s final day, he got his first MLB hit off of Johnny Cueto. He began 2016 in Rochester and was called up quickly. He played little. He went back down but when he came up in late May, he played nearly every day and held his own. In fact, we all remember the series in Cleveland where he hit four homers, including three in one game. He went to spring training this year as the Twins everyday right fielder, and after a slow start for a week, he’s been solid with the bat too. #5 – On July 2nd, the Twins signed highly-regarded defensive shortstop Jorge Polanco from the Dominican Republic. He was brought along slowly, spending two seasons in the GCL. He started hitting in 2012 in Elizabethton. He has been a good batting average and on-base hitter since. He even shows doubles power. It’s on defense now where there are question marks. He received a couple of cups of coffee with the Twins in 2014 becoming the youngest player to debut with the Twins since Joe Mauer in 2004. Polanco played in Chattanooga and Rochester in 2015 with a couple more very short stints in the big leagues. He moved up and down between AAA and the big leagues in 2016 until the July trade of Eduardo Nunez when he came up and played shortstop most days the rest of the season. He’s played the position nearly every day so far this season. #4 – The Twins drafted and signed shortstop Brian Dozier in the 8th round of the 2009 draft after four seasons at Southern Mississippi. He was the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2011 at AA. Days before his 25th birthday he debuted for the Twins in 2012. He really struggled. In 2013, he moved to second base and has been a power hitter since. He participated in the Home Run Derby at Target Field in 2014. In 2015, he made the All-Star team and homered in the game. In 2016, he had one of the most impressive seasons in Twins history. He became the first Twins player not named Harmon Killebrew to hit 40 home runs and ended with 42 homers. He was the subject of rumors throughout the whole offseason, but he remains the team’s leadoff hitter. #3 – I bet this one will surprise many readers. Kennys Vargas went undrafted out of high school in Puerto Rico in 2008. In February of 2009, the Twins signed him as an undrafted free agent. He had a 50-game suspension before reaching a full-season team. He worked his way up the system. He was the Twins choice for Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2014 when he played primarily at AA. However on August 1st, his 24th birthday, he was promoted directly to the Twins. He had a nice 53-game showing in 2014. In 2015, he really struggled and was sent down a couple of times. He split his 2016 between the Red Wings and Twins. He got a fourth option season, so the Twins started him in Rochester (in large part because of his time spent with Team Puerto Rico in the WBC). However, he was called up a couple weeks ago and already has four homers. #2 – With the 22nd overall pick in '04, the Twins drafted local lefty Glen Perkins from the University of Minnesota. He came through the organization as a starter. In fact, he won 12 games as a rookie in 2008. He moved to the bullpen in 2011 and was the Twins closer by the middle of 2012. He was an All-Star three straight seasons and twice he closed out American League wins. His 2016 season ended before the first week of the season was over. He had surgery, reattaching his labrum. He’s been working to return, but the process has been very slow. He is signed through this year, though he does have an option for 2018. #1 – Joe Mauer remains the longest-tenured Twins player, having signed in 2001 after being the #1 overall pick in the draft. That makes 2016 his 16th with the organization. It will be his 13th in the big leagues. No need to get into all of his accolades, like his AL MVP, the three batting titles, the Gold Glove Awards, the Silver Sluggers, etc. He moved to first base in 2014 after his Hall of Fame-caliber first decade in a Twins uniform at catcher. He’s struggled offensively the last three years. Last year, had the Twins shut him down (or Mauer was willing to sit out), he could have ended the season with an OPS over .800. Instead, his numbers dropped tremendously in the final six weeks. He’s off to a slow start in 2017, despite a strong average exit velocity and a very low BABIP. He’s signed through the 2018 season. So there it is, the players in the Twins organization who have been in the system the longest, consecutively. I’ll guess that at least a couple of the names may not surprise you. I’m certain that you wouldn’t have guessed everyone on this list. Feel free to leave your thoughts, or let me know if I forgot anyone. Click here to view the article

The Ft. Myers Miracle played a morning game on Wednesday. All four Twins affiliates played, but the Miracle game was the only one that didn’t go to extra innings. Kevin Chapman arrived in Rochester. The move also meant that Raul Fernandez was sent down to Chattanooga. Those moves happened before the Twins claimed Adam Wilk and sent Drew Rucinski down to Rochester.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Wednesday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Lehigh Valley 2 (11) Box Score David Hurlbut continued the terrific start to his season. The left-hander went six innings and gave up just one run on seven hits. He walked one and struck out three to drop his season ERA to 1.59 on the season. Trevor Hildenberger struck out one in a perfect seventh inning. Nik Turley then threw two shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out two. Alex Wimmers pitched a scoreless tenth inning. However, he went back out for the 11th inning and gave up a game-winning, walkoff homer. Despite extra innings, the Red Wings managed just six hits. Their lone run came off rehabbing Aaron Nola when Ben Paulsen drove in a run with a single. Daniel Palka went 2-3 with a walk and his fourth double. Tommy Field added a double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Montgomery 4 (12 innings) Box Score The Lookouts also needed extra innings to decide their Wednesday game. And unfortunately, they too came up short. Randy LeBlanc made the start. He gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out two. Raul Fernandez, just sent down from Rochester, threw 2.2 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out two. Mason Melotakis finally gave up a run. The left-hander came into the game with 12.1 scoreless innings. He surpassed 13 innings before giving up a run on a wild pitch, which tied the game at three in the 11th. Todd Van Steensel came in for the 12th frame. He recorded two outs, but he gave up a run on two hits to take the loss. LaMonte Wade went 3-6. Nick Gordon went 2-6 with his seventh double. Engelb Vielma went 2-5 with two RBI. Levi Michael went 2-4 with a walk and his third double. Jon Rodriguez went 2-5 with a walk. LaMonte Wade’s season has been very interesting. In his first ten games, he hit .103/.229/.103 (.332). In his next 20 games, he hit .421/.557/.667 (1.224). And that was before the 3-6 on Wednesday. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 0, Palm Beach 5 Box Score The Miracle played a morning education game with lots of kids at the stadium. Keaton Steele was on the mound to start for Ft. Myers. He gave up two runs in the first inning and three more in the second despite leaving with two outs. In 1.2 innings, he gave up five runs on eight hits. Jonny Drozd came on and provided 3.1 shutout innings. He gave up just two hits and struck out one. Williams Ramirez walked two and gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. He struck out two. Sam Clay and Nick Anderson each pitched a scoreless inning. That puts Anderson at 13.1 scoreless innings to start the season. Sam Clay has a streak of 17.2 scoreless innings. Sean Miller provided much of the Miracle offense. He went 3-4 with his seventh double. Zander Wiel went 1-3 with a walk and his 12th double. Max Murphy went 1-3 with a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Dayton 5 (10 innings) Box Score Apparently the theme of the night is extra innings, and the Kernels needed to go one extra frame before settling their game. Tyler Wells made the start. The right-hander gave up three runs on four hits (including two homers) in five innings. He walked two and struck out six. Hector Lujan gave up four hits over two scoreless innings. Alex Robinson struck out two in his scoreless inning. Colton Davis came in for the ninth inning to protect a two-run lead. However, he gave up a two-run homer which sent the game to extra innings. Lewin Diaz went 3-5 with his 13th double. Ariel Montesino was 2-3 with his fourth double and two sacrifice flies. He also stole his first base. Shane Carrier went 3-4 and was hit by a pitch. He also singled in the game-winning run in the top of the tenth. Colton Davis went back out for the bottom of the tenth inning. He got the first two outs and left with the tying run on third base. Tom Hackimer came on and struck out the one batter he faced to end the game and record his third save. Lewin Diaz hit .224/.264/.358 (.622) in his first 18 games with the Kernels this year. In his past 13 games (including Wednesday night), he has hit .346/.370/.635 (1.005). TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy LeBlanc, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Shane Carrier, Cedar Rapids Kernels THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (5:05 CST) - LHP Adalberto Mejia Chattanooga @ Montgomery (7:05 CST) - LHP Matt Tracy Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (5:35 CST) - LHP Lachlan Wells Cedar Rapids @ Bowling Green (2:05 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday’s games. Click here to view the article

Maybe the plan is more clear to the players. It doesn't need to be clear to us...

Article is updated with notes on Rucinski being sent down after the game, and the Twins saying that Wilk is considered a reliever by the team, not a starting option. Saturday starter could be Tepesch, Berrios or Mejia.

I don't think it would bother me a lot as a player. I'd trust in the plan. And, I don't think it tells us anything about their plans for 2017. They are thinking big picture, but with 120 games to play, I'm sure they're willing to adjust throughout the year.

These particular ones, not really. But I also know that they're thinking big picture here. They're thinking marathon while we're all thinking sprint. I'm not even trying to pretend to understand it. But I trust (at this point) that there is a bigger plan that will (hopefully) be beneficial!

This may be much ado about little. If Tepesch has a bad start tonight, he's probably DFAd tomorrow. If Wilk is good or bad on Saturday, he could be DFAd right after his start. If there is a doubleheader, Mejia or Berrios could still be here by Saturday or so.

I mean... Wheeler was one example... and he was just recently moved to the bullpen in Rochester, so it's not a great example.

I feel like Terry Ryan would have called up Jason Wheeler to make a start if that's what they wanted to do, rather than claiming a Wheeler-like guy. It does make me wonder what they're (Falvey/Levine) are seeing or not seeing from Berrios. I get that they want to make sure the mechanical changes he made stick, and if he's still doing the things that he was doing in the big leagues, I get it. But this is just a guy who (like Tepesch) can make 1-2-3 starts while we wait for something from Gibson, Mejia and Berrios.

Wednesday afternoon, the Twins announced that they have claimed left-handed starting pitcher Adam Wilk from the New York Mets. The move puts the Twins roster back at 40. UPDATE: Following the announcement that the Twins game in Chicago on Wednesday night was postponed to August, the Twins announced that Drew Rucinski had been optioned to Rochester to make room for Wilk.There is speculation, maybe an assumption, that he will start for the Twins on Saturday. He made just one start for the Mets this season. He made five starts for the Mets AAA affiliate in Las Vegas where he went 2-3 with a 5.91 ERA. Wilk is 29 years old. He made eight appearances for the Detroit Tigers between the 2011 and 2012 seasons. He did not pitch again in the big leagues until 2015 when he pitched two innings for the Angels. He spent 2013 in Korea. His one start for the Mets was an "emergency" start on Sunday when he pitched in place of the suspended Matt Harvey. He gave up six runs (5 earned) on eight hits (including three homers) and a walk in 3.2 innings. Maybe it's just me, but this feels like a move completely meant to be a stop-gap. Maybe it's one start on Saturday. Maybe it's a couple of starts before Jose Berrios, Adalberto Mejia or Kyle Gibson are ready to come back to the Twins. UPDATE 2: Click here to view the article