Seth Stohs

Nope... it's not... I'm pretty sure it's Ryan Walker... (he was with the Miracle early in the 2016 season).

Mauer was also a catcher, so he didn't play everyday either. If the Twins would have promoted Lewis to E-Town, he would have been far and away their best prospect (maybe player) too. That's why any time we talk about GCL or ET numbers, we have to remember that none of them really play every day. There are guys (prospects) that play more, but even Watkins said that they are not going to play Lewis every day, remembering that he is still acclimating to pro ball, playing so many games, etc.

here's some... http://twinsdaily.com/organization-chart.html/_/moran-jovani-r278

I have little doubt that if Joe Mauer wants to keep playing in 2019, he will be with the Twins. And Twins fans should want that and applaud that. Obviously they won't sign him to an extension. He's not going to make $23 million in 2019. He's likely get somewhere between like $2-6 million, and he'd likely be worth that easily on the field, much less the value he bring to the organization and with fans who aren't as analytical as we are and still lover the little things and memories and better appreciate the greatness that Mauer has been in the Twins organization and history. Obviously his role would be potentially diminished, depending on his performance.

We talk often about how the bullpen needs the starters to do their part, and when the starters go three straight starts without completing 5 innings, the bullpen gets extended. If worked for a couple of games, but in time, it'll always cost them. The offense was good, but yeah, Sano is pretty clueless at the plate now.

I thought he was going to go one... get a day or two, and then do the back-to-back thing. No word on any sort of set back. Without digging too much, I think Zander Wiel is at 9 HR, and Tanner English has 7. So yeah, Rooker could definitely lead the way. I think Trey Vavra led the Miracle with 7 or something last year.

When he was drafted, (I think it was) Jonathan Mayo said that before spring, some considered him a 1st-round talent. He's hit a little bit in the GCL. He's said to have the potential to stick as a shortstop, so I think he's quite intriguing. I'm not sure that Baddoo and Miranda have controlled the strike zone as well as Lewis, so that could play into it. They're where they need to be. I think people need to just appreciate the talent that Lewis is. He's a very, very rare talent. And how's he's promoted will likely be far different from anything we've seen.

Sam Clay gave up 6 ER in 0.2 IP in his first outing with the Miracle this year... Had 2 stretches of 20+ scoreless innings, and he stiil was over 2.00 for the year. (I believe until recently)

Yup, same number of hits in his first four at bats as he had in 33 at bats in August in the GCL. But as I talked to someone in the Twins front office earlier today and was told that the quality of his at bats was terrific.

Isn't that crazy? All on one team! Bo Bichette, Vlad Guerrero, Jr., and Cavan Biggio. When I went to Cedar Rapids in early May, I got to see Fernando Tatis, Jr. It's fun seeing younger versions of our baseball cards like this... Of course, it also makes me feel old! Ha!

That's a good point... It certainly could be a candidate!!

High Minors: AA and AAA... Low Minors: High-A and Low-A. Rookie Leagues: E-Town and GCL

Yes, the big news of the day was the promotion of #1 overall pick from June, Royce Lewis, to the Cedar Rapids Kernels. I’ll leave just a teaser here. He had an impressive Kernels debut. But there was a lot more happening throughout a busy Saturday in the Twins system. First, you’ll want to see how Dereck Rodriguez performed on a night his Dad’s jersey was retired by the Rangers. He opposed Michael Kopech and matched zeroes with him. Read his thoughts on probably his best performance of the year. Brent Rooker stayed hot, coming up with yet another big hit for the Miracle. Shane Carrier had a huge hit for the Kernels and has been raking for over a month now. And Aaron Slegers was terrific again for the Red Wings, keeping a streak alive. He was helped by another big game from Mitch (#CallHimUp) Garver. Image courtesy of Steve Buhr (photo of Royce Lewis) Yes, the big news of the day was the promotion of #1 overall pick from June, Royce Lewis, to the Cedar Rapids Kernels. I’ll leave just a teaser here. He had an impressive Kernels debut. But there was a lot more happening throughout a busy Saturday in the Twins system. First, you’ll want to see how Dereck Rodriguez performed on a night his Dad’s jersey was retired by the Rangers. He opposed Michael Kopech and matched zeroes with him. Read his thoughts on probably his best performance of the year. Brent Rooker stayed hot, coming up with yet another big hit for the Miracle. Shane Carrier had a huge hit for the Kernels and has been raking for over a month now. And Aaron Slegers was terrific again for the Red Wings, keeping a streak alive. He was helped by another big game from Mitch (#CallHimUp) Garver. Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Saturday. Let’s start with the transactions of the day: You might have heard. Royce Lewis, the first overall pick this June, was promoted to Cedar Rapids from the GCL. Aaron Whitefield was also removed from the disabled list for the Kernels. To make room for his return, Hank Morrison was released. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Norfolk 2 Box Score Rochester got yet another strong start from Aaron Slegers, and used some power to take this win. Slegers won his ninth straight decision (10 starts). He gave up just two runs on eight hits over 7.1 innings. He struck out six. Mason Melotakis recorded his first Red Wings save by getting the final five outs, two on strikeouts. Byungho Park put the Red Wings on the scoreboard in the fifth inning with a two-run homer, his 10th of the season. In the sixth, Mitch Garver added his 17th home run to give the team a lead they’d hold on to. Garver added his 27th double later and walked once. Kennys Vargas was 2-4. Zack Granite added a single and a walk. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Birmingham 0 Box Score The Lookouts faced White Sox pitching prospect Michael Kopech for the fourth time on Saturday night. In his three previous starts, he had struck out nine, ten and twelve batters. In this game, the flame-throwing righty struck out ten again. Fortunately, Dereck Rodriguez was up to the challenge. On a night when his dad was honored by the Texas Rangers, who retired his number, Dereck Rodriguez was fantastic. He outpitched Kopech, just without the same number of strikeouts. Rodriguez threw seven shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out five. He improved to 5-2 on the season with the Lookouts. Rodriguez said that he just had things working tonight. “I was getting ahead of hitters and throwing my pitches for strikes.” That it was opposite a talent like Michael Kopech didn’t faze Rodriguez. “It could have been Nolan Ryan on the mound. Rodriguez continued with a chuckle, “It didn't matter to me... I don't have to face him.” Todd Van Steensel worked out of trouble in the eighth inning. He gave up a hit, walked one and hit a batter, but somehow did not give up a run. Nick Anderson picked up his sixth save with a scoreless ninth frame. The Lookouts scored their run in the seventh inning. Ryan Walker hit his 12th double. Nick Gordon singled, and Walker scored on an error on the play. Jonathan Rodriguez added his 26th double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 9, Dunedin 6 Box Score Brent Rooker stayed hot and gave the Miracle a big lead in the first inning again on Saturday night. He hit a three-run homer, his sixth with the Miracle. And when he’s hit them of late, he’s picked some big moments. https://twitter.com/SethTweets/status/896499294609559552 Eduardo Del Rosario was given run support, but he wasn’t able to fully take advantage. He gave up four runs on five hits and four walks in four innings. He struck out three before being removed. Williams Ramirez struck out four over two scoreless innings. Alex Robinson gave up a run in his inning. Michael Theofanopoulos gave up nothing over the final two innings to finish it off. Jaylin Davis went 2-4 with two RBI. Sean Miller had a single and a walk and scored twice. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Quad Cities 1 Box Score Royce Lewis was the big story in the Twins minor league system on Saturday, and he came as advertised, so let’s start with the rest. Shane Carrier continues to absolutely rake. He went 2-4 and hit his fourth home run, a two-run shot to put the Kernels on the board. Jimmy Kerrigan went 2-3 including his third home run and two RBI. Jordan Gore went 1-2 with two walks. https://twitter.com/TCAnelle/status/896525758620868608 And how good has Carrier been of late? https://twitter.com/jeje66/status/896537522133749760 Lefty Anthony Marzi started and gave up just one run on four hits over six innings. He walked three and hit two, but limited damage. Max Cordy bent but didn’t break.He gave up a hit and walked five, but somehow didn’t give up a run over his two innings. He struck out three. Hector Lujan struck out two in the final inning. OK, on to the Royce Lewis portion. Lewis led off and played shortstop for the Kernels. In his first at-bat, he lined a single to left field. Soon after, he stole second base. We won’t mention though that he was then picked off. In his second at-bat, he lined a single to right field after fouling off several tough pitches. In his third at-bat, he drove in a run with another single to right field. His fourth at-bat, he had a line-drive-in-the-book, even if it really was a pop up that landed right between the right fielder, the second baseman and the first baseman. OK, he proved human in his fifth at-bat, striking out. But 4-5 with a run, an RBI, a stolen base and no errors is pretty good, I’d say! First hit: https://twitter.com/TCAnelle/status/896524709558407168 Third hit: https://twitter.com/TCAnelle/status/896545299358994433 Fourth hit: https://twitter.com/TCAnelle/status/896554287152713730 Oh, and the Kernels had one of their theme nights. It was Beach Night and the Kernels wore special jerseys that get auctioned off by silent bid through the sixth inning. Royce Lewis’s jersey went for $900. Here’s a fun look at that jersey: https://twitter.com/Mr_Shucks/status/896511028623749120 E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Johnson City 12 Box Score It was a rough night all around for the E-Twins on Saturday. Offensively, they managed just five hits. Jose Miranda hit his first triple. Ariel Montesino added his third double. JJ Robinson drove in two of the team’s runs. Ryley Widell started for the Twins. In 3.1 innings, the left-hander gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits. He walked two, hit two and struck out five. Moises Gomez gave up six runs on three hits and three walks in just one innings. Blair Lakso went two innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and three walks. Jose Martinez got the final five outs (two on strikeouts) and gave up just one hit. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Red Sox 5 Box Score Henry Centeno made another rehab start in the GCL. The right-hander walked one over three, no-hit innings. He struck out three. Matt Jones was next up. The left-hander gave up two unearned runs on three hits and two walks in three innings. He struck out three. Kevin Marnon gave up one run on two hits over two innings. He struck out three.Derek Molina gave up one run on one hit and one walk in his inning. Zach Featherstone came in and got two outs, but gave up an unearned run to take the loss. Victor Tademo led the offense. He went 2-4 with his fourth double. Ricky De La Torre was also 2-4 and drove in two runs. Alex Robles went 2-3. Chris Paul had a double in five at-bats. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dereck Rodriguez, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Royce Lewis, Cedar Rapids Kernels SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Norfolk @ Rochester (12:35 CST) - RHP Tim Melville Chattanooga @ Birmingham (3:00 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero Dunedin @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) - RHP Brady Anderson Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - LHP Charlie Barnes Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 CST) - RHP Melvi Acosta GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. View full article

The Twins have moved prospects up quickly since Brad Steil took over when Jim Rantz retired 3-4 years ago. This is more aggressive than normal, more aggressive than we've seen for any pick in MLB in years. (Courtney Hawkins one example). Mauer, Buxton, Correa... none of them did this.

True... but since I have a huge hangup about spelling names correctly, I don't think I could spell Rooker's name wrong and feel good about myself. Ha!

My main point... he's been good 43 out of 47 times (or at least limited it to one or less runs)... he's been pretty good MOST of the time, and so many chose to dwell on what he did in a very bad stretch that had four really, really, really bad games.

Of course those "scrap heap" pitchers are big leaguers... something we don't know about prospects. Most of them were big prospects too in the minors. As for Rooker's stat lines... Overall: .259/.337/.512 (.849) ET (22 G): .282/.364/.588 (.952) FM (24 G): .235/.309/.435 (.744)

The Cedar Rapids Kernels announced this morning that #1 overall pick Royce Lewis will join the team on Saturday. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Royce Lewis) The Cedar Rapids Kernels announced this morning that #1 overall pick Royce Lewis will join the team on Saturday. The Twins promoting Lewis to the Midwest League is something that hasn't been done in dozens of years, at least. The last #1 overall pick, Joe Mauer, spent the 2001 season (his draft year) with Elizabethton before spending the entire 2002 season in the Midwest League. Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios started their pro careers (2012) in the GCL, as Lewis has, before being promoted to Elizabethton. Back in 2006, Chris Parmelee (first round) and Joe Benson (second round) began their pro careers in the GCL. When that season ended, they were promoted to the Kernels to play in their playoff series. The Kernels will be in the 2017 playoffs thanks to their strong first half. Lewis has been slumping of late, but few question his immense athleticism, talent and baseball acumen. In 36 games in the GCL, 18-year-old Royce Lewis has hit .271/.390/.414 (.803) with six doubles, two triples and three home runs. He also has 15 stolen bases. A month ago, GCL Twins manager Ramon Borrega told Pioneer Press's Mike Berardino that he thought Lewis should be promoted directly to the Kernels. The timing, however, is interesting. In July, Lewis hit .321/.412/.464 (.877). However, in 33 at-bats so far in August, Lewis has just four hits. He's hit .121/.341/.182 (.523). As you can see, despite the lack of hits, he's still taking walks (9) and getting on base, and once he does that, he has the ability to steal a lot of bases. This is definitely an aggressive move for the Twins, but Lewis seems to have the makeup. It will be fun to watch. This continues an aggressive trend. Supplemental first-round pick Brent Rooker was promoted from Elizabethton to Ft. Myers a few weeks ago. Lewis becomes the fourth member of the 2017 Twins draft to join the Kernels. Fourth-round pick Charlie Barnes and eight-round pick Bryan Sammons, both left-handed pitchers, joined the Kernels in recent weeks. They are both in the Cedar Rapids rotation. Days after, infielder Jordan Gore was also called up to the Kernels. By the way, have we mentioned that Cedar Rapids is just a 4 to 4 1/2 hour drive from the Twin Cities? Also, here is a first look of Kernels infielder Royce Lewis in his #30 uniform... https://twitter.com/CRKernels/status/896450965863370752 View full article

No question, that was an incredible catch by Buxton... When it's hit that hard, it moves different, and when it's over your head and tailing, you just kind of have to turn and then figure out what it does after the fact. Such a great catch.

Clark Beeker was back on the mound. Was he able to extend his impressive scoreless inning’s streak? LaMonte Wade and Nick Gordon returned to the Lookouts lineup. The Miracle played two, and Brent Rooker played a big part in one game, and there was a walkoff in the other. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photo of Clark Beeker) Clark Beeker was back on the mound. Was he able to extend his impressive scoreless inning’s streak? LaMonte Wade and Nick Gordon returned to the Lookouts lineup. The Miracle played two, and Brent Rooker played a big part in one game, and there was a walkoff in the other. Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Friday, starting with some business, followed by the transactions. Off the field, there may have been some big news. https://twitter.com/ZachVanceJCP/status/896012670259933184 The Twins have asked the city of Elizabethton to make needed improvements to Joe O’Brien Field. The Player Development contract between the Twins and Elizabethton runs out at the end of the season, and there is a real chance the Twins could go elsewhere. Even with the ballpark changes, it’s possible the Twins could go elsewhere, but this certainly helps. LaMonte Wade was activated from the disabled list. Travis Harrison was placed on the disabled list. Brian Olson ended his rehab stint in the GCL and returned to the Miracle. Cedar Rapids placed Travis Blankenhorn on the 7-day disabled list with a lower back strain. Austin Bizzle was also activated from the GCL’s DL. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Norfolk 7 Box Score Looking at the final score, you might be surprised that this game was tied 0-0 through six innings. Lefty David Hurlbut was fantastic. He did give up a run in the seventh to put the Red Wings down 1-0. Hurlbut began the eighth inning, but he gave up two singles before getting a strikeout for the first out of the inning. Jake Reed came on to try to keep it a one-run game, but that’s not quite what happened. Reed gave up a single, but Daniel Palka came up throwing and got the runner out at the plate for the inning’s second out. Uplifting, but then Reed gave up a walk to load the bases, and they were cleared by a double by Mike Yastrzemski. Yaz’s grandson scored when Paul Janish singled him in. Then the inning mercifully came to an end, but the damage was done. Luke Bard got the ninth inning, and he was charged with two runs on two hits in the inning. He struck out two. Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Red Wings had just two hits. In the ninth, Zack Granite scored on Daniel Palka’s ninth double. Palka later scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Hague. But it wasn’t enough, and the Red Wings fell. Mitch Garver hit his 26th double and Kennys Vargas went 2-4. Hurlbut’s final line? He gave up two runs on 10 hits. He struck out eight and didn’t walk a single batter. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Birmingham 2 Box Score Zack Littell made his third start for the Lookouts since coming over from the Yankees organization. He improved to 2-0 thanks to six quality innings. He gave up just one run on five hits. He walked three and struck out three. At 86 pitches, he was removed. Yohan Pino made his first appearance since a long DL stint. He gave up a solo homer in the seventh inning. Ryan Eades pitched two very efficient innings to close out the win. Nick Gordon returned to the lineup after sitting out two games. He went 2-5 with an RBI. LaMonte Wade returned after being out since July 31st. He went 1-3 with two walks and was hit by a pitch. Jonathan Rodriguez walked twice and drove in two runs. Andy Wilkins provided some insurance late with two RBI. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1 - Ft. Myers 6, Dunedin 4 Box Score It’s always good to score early… and then hang on. The Miracle got their double- header started with a big, five-run first inning and held on. With two on, Zander Wiel hit a grounder. Because the ball was misplayed, two runs scored. Next, with two runners on, Brent Rooker hit his fifth Miracle home run, a three-run shot, to give the Miracle a 5-0 lead. That gives Rooker 12 homers since signing with the Twins. Randy LeBlanc started and went 4.2 innings. He gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out three. Anthony McIver worked the final 2.1 innings. He gave up four hits, but no runs and struck out one. Brian Olson came off of the DL. He had a broken foot. He’s been rehabbing in the GCL, but this was his first Miracle game. He went 1-3. Game 2 - Ft. Myers 1, Dunedin 0 Box Score Tanner English came to the plate with a runner on third base and less than two outs. His sacrifice fly scored Jaylin Davis. Not exactly exciting normally, but when it’s tied 0-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning of the second game of a doubleheader, it’s a walk-off. The Miracle were able to sweep two games from the Dunedin Blue Jays. As you would expect from a 1-0 game, there wasn’t a lot of excitement, at least until the seventh inning. But first, we should point out that Sean Poppen started and he was fantastic. He threw six shutout innings and gave up just one hit. He walked one and struck out five. Andrew Vasquez came in for the seventh inning. He gave up hits to the first two batters. He then tried a pickoff play and threw the ball away, allowing runners to be at second and third with nobody out. However, he turned it on at the point. He got a ground out to third base, with the runners holding. Then he got a big strikeout for the second out. Another ground ball to third, and the inning was over. That set up the bottom of the seventh. Davis, who had notched his seventh double earlier in the game, started the inning with a single. One out later, he advanced to third on a single by Nelson Molina. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, English stepped to the plate and stepped up with the game-winning sacrifice fly. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 0 Box Score Clark Beeker was on the mound again for the Kernels, and that’s been must-watch pitching his last several outings. It was again on Friday night. The right-hander threw seven more shutout innings.He gave up three hits and walked three without a strikeout. His consecutive scoreless innings streak now sits at 32.2 innings. He has now given up zero runs in four straight starts. On July 23rd, he threw six scoreless innings. He threw a complete game shutout on July 29th. On August 4th, he went 8.2 innings. And now seven more shutout innings. He is now 11-3 with a Midwest League leading 2.03 ERA. For his part, Beeker says he doesn’t think about the streak, though he clearly doesn’t want to give up runs. He told Twins Daily on Friday night, “I don't think about the streak too much, but it's just so happens the streak is runs allowed and not something like hits or walks. But I definitely do bear down and focus more pitch by pitch once those guys get into scoring position. The defense made some great plays behind me tonight that definitely helped us pick up the win. ” His catcher was instrumental in the Kernels win as well. Ben Rortvedt gave the Kernels a 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the bottom of the second inning. It was his fourth homer of the year. In the fourth inning, he added an RBI single. But Rortvedt’s value obviously is felt by his pitching staff as well. According to Beeker, “Ben does a phenomenal job behind the plate. It really is impressive to watch him work and how much he values the defensive side of the game. Obviously his home run and single were huge to get some momentum going early, and he's definitely swung the bat better these last few months. His dedication to being on the same page with the pitchers and taking control of the game at his age and in his first full season is impressive and has been fun to watch, whether I'm a spectator that day or pitching.” The third Kernels run scored on a Lewin Diaz single. Diaz went 2-3 in the game. Christian Cavaness went 1-3 with two walks. Caleb Hamilton was 1-3 with two walks. Beeker’s bullpen helped finish the shutout. Ryan Mason threw a scoreless eighth inning (despite two walks). Colton Davis recorded his third save with a scoreless ninth frame. He gave up one hit and struck one out. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Greeneville 3 Box Score While the E-Twins lost on the field, it appears that they had some positive news off of it that we mentioned up above. The Twins in Elizabethton is such a great tradition, it would be unfortunate if they were unable to maintain the affiliation. On the field, the offense was able to get some chances, but they were unable to cash in often enough. Their lone run in the game came on a solo home run off the bat of Kolton Kendrick who also walked in the game. Andy Cosgrove went 2-4 with a double. Jose Miranda was also 2-4. TJ Dixon added his third double. Bailey Ober made the start for the Twins. He gave up three runs on four hits, a walk and a hit batter in 5.2 innings of work. He struck out five. Rickey Ramirez came on and threw 2.1 scoreless innings, striking out one. Jared Finkel struck out one in his inning. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score The Twins got an early lead, gave it up, and then won in dramatic fashion on a walk off. Austin Bizzle started for the Twins. He gave up two runs on three hits in four innings. He struck out six without a walk. Carlos Suniaga went the next 4.2 innings. He gave up one run on three hits. He walked three and struck out eight. David Gerics came on and got the final out. Ben Rodriguez led the Twins offense. He went 2-4 with his ninth double. In the bottom of the ninth, Taylor Grzelakowski led off with a single. Dane Hutcheon replaced him on the bases. Victor Tademo sacrificed him over to second. Emmanuel Morel had a pinch hit single to advance Hutcheon to third base. Then Humberto Maldonado singled in Hutcheon to win the game. It gave Gerics his first professional win. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Clark Beeker, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Ben Rortvedt, Cedar Rapids Kernels FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Norfolk @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers Chattanooga @ Birmingham (6:30 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez (vs Michael Kopech) Dunedin @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) - RHP Eduardo Del Rosario Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (9:00 am) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday’s games. View full article