Seth Stohs

At 6:00, the Minnesota Twins will take on Cleveland in the middle game of a three-game series. Australian James Beresford will make his Major League Debut! While the Twins are trying to avoid 100 losses, Cleveland is in the thick of the pennant race, holding a lead over the Detroit Tigers. They also have the fourth best record in the Major leagues behind the Cubs, Rangers and Nationals. Here are a few Twins notes before tonight's game.James Beresford was on the field about five hours prior to the start of tonight's game, taking ground balls at third base. He was wearing his green Mr. 1000 shirt that his teammates in Rochester gave him. He had found out that he was going to make his Major League debut. He will be hitting eighth and playing third base tonight. In the clubhouse before the game, he said he was very excited but not nervous. He thought that would come later on. I asked him if he truly did not know that his parents were flying in from Australia or not. He said he didn't know anything about it, although the fact that he didn't hear from either of them after his first game was very surprising. It did make him wonder a little bit. He said when Brian Dozier told him to follow, he did. Dozier said it was a lot of fun to surprise James that night. It was the first time he had met the Beresford family. At tonight's game will be Beresford's family, his brother Simon and his wife. His girlfriend arrived in town on Friday. So, there will certainly be a cheering section for Beresford in the family section tonight. NOTES I chatted briefly with lefty Pat Dean in the clubhouse. Players were starting to head out for their pregame stretch, so I said, "I better get going and write something." He responded, "Keep it positive!" I laughed and said, "Hey, I'll try." Let's start with Dean. He said he has enjoyed his time in the big leagues this year and by season's end, it will be a half-season. He said it was a little different coming out of the bullpen, something he had to adjust to. I asked if he had come into a game with runners on. He smiled and noted that he allowed two of Pat Light's runners to score. "that is an awful feeling." That was positive, right Pat? It was a positive learning experience.Byron Buxton was really happy with how he's playing right now. A quiet, humble guy, Buxton said there were times he was frustrated after being sent down the second time. But he said it's nice seeing the hard work paying off with numbers and stats finally. He said, "The key has been patience."Alex Wimmers said that big league life has been everything he thought it would be and more. He said "After all the things I've come back from, injuries and such, it's really rewarding to get this opportunity. I was at the point where I didn't know what would happen at the end of the year."Wimmers also said that becoming a father this season has been instrumental in his success on the mound too. He said it's provided him with a proper perspective on the game and everything.The other thing he enjoyed was being a co-closer in Rochester with JT Chargois. He said it put him into the mindset of the pitchers before him did a great job to put the team in position to win, and he didn't want to let the whole team down, so it really pushed his focus on the mound to a different level.I verified with Andrew Albers that he is NOT on Twitter. There is a twitter account that has his name with a number and the profile picture is of the southpaw, but it is not him.Cory Provus said that he'd be doing college football and basketball on the Big Ten Network again this offseason.Tonight there is a Brian Dozier blaze orange winter hat giveaway with certain, special tickets to get them. In the clubhouse before the game, he had a duck call that he sounded off a few times. Dozier's obviously a big outdoorsman who spends a lot of his offseason hunting, in addition to traveling to third-world countries helping as he can. Some of the proceeds from tonight's event will go to Pheasants Forever.1987 Minnesota Twins World Series hero is at Target Field tonight. Before the game, he was seen talking with former teammates like Bert Blyleven, Dan Gladden, and Tom Brunansky, as well as Tony Oliva.It was good to catch up with Jose Berrios as well. He talked a little about how frustrated he was when he was optioned to Rochester the first time. He said it took him almost a week to kind of get over the disappointment and feeling like he let people down. He said, "Once you go to the big leagues, you don't want to go back to the minor leagues." He said he got back to work and figured some things out. He knew why he was optioned and what he needed to do. He said he never lost confidence or the drive to be great. He also understood why he was optioned again in late August, but he said that time he was able to go to Rochester and be successful right away, pointing out the 14 strikeout in eight-inning outing. He's excited to be back.David Laurila from FanGraphs is at Target Field for this three-game series. Be sure to follow him on Twitter. @DavidLaurilaQA.When I got to the stadium and was approaching the clubhouse, I saw lefty Taylor Rogers walking through the halls with his Twins brother Tyler to his side. It's a good thing Taylor was in his Twins garb or there's no way a person could tell the two apart. How fun would it be if the two decided to swap for a day. Frew would notice, at least not until Tyler got on the mound and threw right-handed, and submarine. What a story that would be!Byron Buxton and Ryan Pressly had their eyes on one of the clubhouse TVs watching the end of the Oklahama State/Central Michigan game. When the "hail mary/lateral/TD" was completed, giving Central Michigan the upset, Pressly and Buxton leapt in amazement, and understandably so. I was talking to Alex Wimmers at the time and we looked up at the monitor. A minute later, Wimmers sat and pointed to the TV right across from his locker, perfectly situated so he could watch. "That's my game" It was showing Ohio State.Trevor Plouffe was officially placed on the 15-Day Disabled List before the game. Click here to view the article

Brady Anderson starting Game 1 tonight, and Sam Gibbons starting tomorrow in Game 4.

Of course, Buxton didn't play in the playoffs that year because he had been promoted a couple of months earlier. Buxton was essentially replaced by Kepler.

I guess, but his "downside ceiling" (if I can use that term), is like Andrew Miller, who started for several years out of North Carolina and then finally became a dominant reliever. Health is obviously one of the biggest concerns for any pitcher.

Did You Know: Twins affiliates finished the 2016 season with an overall record of 304-257 (.542). That was 5th in MLB behind only the Yankees, Phillies, Mariners and Cleveland this year. Also, their 1,225-1,020 record from 2013-2016 (4 seasons) is third overall in baseball. While development is the most important thing in the minors, developing a culture of winning can and should be a part of that as well.

514 PA, 51 K, 31 BB. Regarding Puckett... who knows? I mean Arraez is only 19. Puckett wasn't signed til he was way after that. Arraez's body will likely change between now and when he's 23.

For me, I look at what their role it. Granite isn't going to provide power, so he can't be compared the same way you would a power hitter. Granite needs BA and OBP whereas power guys need SLG, so I couldn't just look at OPS for my rankings.

Cody... any thoughts on this one??

Over the past week, we have handed out the Twins Daily Minnesota Twins Minor League Awards. Today, we conclude our series of “Of The Year” awards with the minor league Hitter of the Year. As always, there were some terrific seasons throughout the system. There are several players who received votes from our minor league writers that “just” get honorable mention. There are several more who just missed the list and deserve recognition too. Continue on to find out who our choice was for 2016 Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. Here is a quick reminder of our previous 2016 Twins Daily Minor League award winners: Short Season Hitter of the Year- Lewin Diaz, Elizabethton Twins Short Season Pitcher of the Year - Huascar Ynoa, GCL Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year - Trevor Hildenberger, Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year - Stephen Gonsalves, Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga LookoutsHere’s another quick award, the Minor League Story of the Year… Not only was James Beresford finally promoted to the big leagues in his 12th season with the organization, Fox Sports North showed that his parents surprised him by flying to Minneapolis from Australia to be at Target Field before last night’s game. Here is the video: And now, let’s get back to our 2016 Minor League Hitter of the Year award. Before we do our shot profiles on our Top 9 hitters, here is a quick look at some deserving honorable mentions. Honorable Mention Jorge Polanco – Rochester Red Wings – 81-293 - .276/.335/.457 (.793) – 14-2B, 6-3B, 9-HR, 39-RBIKennys Vargas – Rochester Red Wings – 77-330 - .233/.361/.424 (.785) – 16-2B, 1-3B, 15-HR, 58-RBINiko Goodrum – Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts – 57-207 - .275/.352/.464 (.816) – 14-2B, 2-3B, 7-HR, 33-RBILewin Diaz – Elizabethton Twins – 54-174 - .310/.353/.575 (.928) – 15-2B, 2-3B, 9-HR, 37-RBIEdgar Corcino – Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts – 123-450 - .273/.337/.420 (.757) – 20-2B, 11-3B, 8-HR, 59-RBIHitter of the Year Here are the top nine vote-getters for Twins Minor League hitter of the year. #9 – Zander Wiel – Cedar Rapids Kernels (130-501 - .259/.333/.459 (.792), with 27 doubles, 8 triples, 19 HR, 86 RBI) Admittedly, our votes were in before Labor Day weekend. Had we waited through the season’s final few games, it’s very possible Wiel would have finished a few places higher on this list. He ended the season on Monday with a couple of homers and seven RBIs. He captured the Midwest League’s RBI championship. Wiel was the Twins 11th-round pick a year ago out of Vanderbilt. His debut season at Elizabethton was cut short for a month when he was hit by a pitch. He had a pedestrian first half with the Kernels but he ended strong. In 58 games after July 1, he hit .291/.360/.574 (.934) with 15 of his 19 home runs. #8 – Byron Buxton – Rochester Red Wings (58-190 - .305/.359/.568 (.927), with 11 doubles, 3 triples, 11 HR, 24 RBI) After he began the season with the Twins, he was sent down to Rochester. In 29 games he hit .336/.403/.603 (1.007) with 17 extra-base hits. He returned to the big leagues where he struggles continued. In early August, he went back to Rochester. While there, he had a nice streak of homers in four straight games. However, he wasn’t walking and was striking out a lot. When there was an injury in the big leagues, he was again called up and has been on a tear hitting four homers in seven games. However, this is about the minor league time, and Buxton continued to put up big numbers and show power in AAA during his 49 games with the Red Wings. #7 – Nick Gordon – Ft. Myers Miracle (134-461 - .291/.335/.386 (.721), with 23 doubles, 6 triples, 3 HR, 52 RBI) Gordon was the Twins first-round pick (5th overall). In 2015, he hit .277/.335/.360 (.696). While his on-base percentage stayed about the same, he did hit three times as many home runs as he did a year earlier. Gordon started the season by hitting .333 in April. In July, he hit .330. The other months, he held his own despite the fact that he had just two at-bats against pitchers who were younger than he is. He was one of the youngest players in the Florida State League and will jump to AA Chattanooga next year where he will again be very young relative to the league. #5 (tie) – Mitch Garver – Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings (117-434 - .270/.342/.422 (.764), with 30 doubles, 12 HR, 74 RBI) Garver was the Twins 9th-round pick in the 2013 draft. In 2014 in Cedar Rapids, he was Twins Daily’s choice for minor league hitter of the year. He was solid in 2015 in Ft. Myers and hit well in the Arizona Fall League a year ago. He moved up to Chattanooga. He was solid the first three months of the season when he posted OPS over .700 each month. He took off in July when he hit .314/.395/.581 (.976) with 13 doubles and five homers. That is impressive because he began the month by going 2-32 in eight games in Chattanooga before being promoted to Rochester. In his first 11 games in AAA, he hit .385 (15-39). Garver will again head to the Fall League. He should be an easy choice to add to the 40-man roster as well. #5 (tie) – Adam Brett Walker – Cedar Rapids Kernels (116-478 - .243/.305/.479 (.784), with 22 doubles, 5 triples, 27 HR, 75 RBI) For the first time since the Twins made him their 3rd round pick in the 2012 draft, Walker did not lead his league in home runs or RBsI. In 2016 in AAA, he was second with 27 homers and his 75 RBIs was third in the International League. For the fourth straight year, he hit over 25 homers. During the first three months of the season, Walker struck out 42% of his plate appearances. Then, after July 1, he struck out in 34% of his plate appearances. It is still high, but that’s the kind of improvement that should encourage Walker and the Twins front office. Let’s say he can cut that number down to 28-30% and he has a chance to be a solid major leaguer. And there is no questioning the power potential. #3 (Tie) – LaMonte Wade – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle (93-317 - .293/.402/.438 (.841), with 14 doubles, 4 triples, 8 HR, 51 RBI) The only thing able to slow down Wade in 2016 was injury. On the field, he was able to hit for average and showed some extra-base power. However, his most impressive trait is his ability to put together great at-bats and work a lot of walks. He was our choice for Hitter of the Month in April. He hit .280/.410/.396 (.806) in Cedar Rapids despite the fact that he went 1-28 over his final eight games with the Kernels. He was promoted to Ft. Myers where he hit .318/.386/.518 (.904). Combined, he walked 54 times and struck out 44 times. That puts him at 101 strikeouts and 80 walks since the Twins made him their 9th-round pick a year ago out of Maryland. #3 (Tie) – Zack Granite – Chattanooga Lookouts (155-526 - .295/.347/.382 (.729) with 18 doubles, 8 triples, 4 HR, 52 RBI) Granite was a little surprised when he began the season, but he put together a tremendous season for the Lookouts. While he doesn’t have a lot of power, but he turns singles into doubles and doubles into triples. He had four home runs, which is three more than he had since the Twins made him their 14th- round pick out of Seton Hall. Granite’s game is all about speed. His 56 stolen bases tied for the lead in all of minor league baseball. Granite made himself a strong candidate to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason. #2 – Luis Arraez – Cedar Rapids Kernels (165-475 - .347/.386/.444 (830), with 31 doubles, 3 triples, 3 HR, 66 RBI) While Arraez had a nice debut season in the States in the Gulf Coast League last year, his 2016 season in Cedar Rapids was a big surprise. His .347 average led the Midwest League. He played somewhat sparingly the first couple of weeks of the season, but when given an opportunity, he took it and ran with it all season, never slowing down. He hit over .300 every month of the season. His monthly batting averages were .313, .340, .330, .306, .425 and even hit .333 in 12 at-bats in September. Arraez is an ideal top-of-the-order hitter. He knows the strike zone well and makes contact. He fights off tough pitches and puts the ball in play. He doesn’t have much power or speed, but he can hit line drives all over the field. In his 114 games this season, he had 51 multi-hit games. He had 34 two-hit games, 13 three-hit games, three four-hit games and a five-hit game. And last night in the Kernels first playoff game, he had three hits. What a season for the still-just-19 year old. Hitter of the Year – Daniel Palka – Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings (128-503 - .254/.327/.521 (.848), with 24 doubles, 4 triples, 34 HR, 90 RBI) When the Twins traded catcher Chris Herrmann to the Diamondbacks last November, few Twins fans knew anything about Daniel Palka. However, a quick look at his 2015 numbers in High-A Visalia indicated that we should at least feel pretty good about the acquisition. Palka had hit .280/.352/.532 (.885) with 36 doubles, 29 home runs, 90 RBI, and even 24 stolen bases. He came to spring training, a burly left-handed hitting right fielder who could also play first base. Late in spring, he was invited to play with the big league club on the road. He started at DH. He hit home runs in his first two at-bats. A couple days later, he was back in the big league lineup and hit another home run. Strong first impression. He began the season in AA Chattanooga. He hit .270/.348/.547 (.894) with 12 doubles, four triples and 21 home runs in 79 games. He played in the Southern League All-Star Game. Soon after, he was promoted to AAA Rochester where he certainly struggled in many ways, but he still showed his tremendous power. In 54 games with the Red Wings, he hit .232/.296/.483 (.779) with 12 doubles and 13 home runs. Palka was runner up in our April Hitter of the Month awards. In June, he hit .302/.372/.802 (1.174) with three doubles, two triples, an incredible 13 home runs and 30 RBI. Soon after, he was promoted. He was the easy choice for hitter of the month. When he came to the Twins, he was considered pretty similar to Adam Brett Walker in terms of strikeout rate. That was the reason he wasn’t in most people’s Top 20 Twins prospects despite the big numbers in 2015. A quick look at his strikeout rate shows that he struck out 29.0% of the time in his AA time this year. Upon arriving in AAA, he struck out 38.6% of the time. Palka’s 34 home runs combined in 2016 ranked in the top 10 for Twins minor league seasons going back to 1961. It was the most since Miguel Sano hit 35 between Ft. Myers and New Britain in 2013. If you had guessed that a Georgia Tech alum would win a minor league award in 2016, the odds may have been relatively low, but with four former Yellowjackets players in the system, the odds would have been higher than other colleges. Palka joined Luke Bard, Sam Clay and AJ Murray from the school. Palka had a very impressive debut season in the Twins system. The 24-year-old will most likely be added to the Twins 40-man roster in the offseason and come to spring training looking to debut sometime in the 2017 season. So there you have it. There were some really strong offensive performances by Twins minor leaguers in 2016. How would they rank in your opinion? Let us know down below. Congratulations to Daniel Palka and the other hitters written about above. All are deserving of recognition for terrific 2016 seasons. THE BALLOTS In an attempt to be transparent, here are the votes from our Twins Daily minor league writers: Seth Stohs – 1.) Daniel Palka, 2.) Zack Granite, 3.) Luis Arraez, 4.) LaMonte Wade, 5.) Mitch Garver, 6.) Adam Brett Walker, 7.) Zander Wiel, 8.) Nick GordonJeremy Nygaard – 1.) Daniel Palka, 2.) Luis Arraez, 3.) Byron Buxton, 4.) Nick Gordon, 5.) Jorge Polanco, 6.) Adam Brett Walker, 7.) Zack Granite, 8.) Mitch GarverCody Christie – 1.) Daniel Palka, 2.) Adam Brett Walker, 3.) Mitch Garver, 4.) Byron Buxton, 5.) Luis Arraez, 6.) Zander Wiel, 7.) Kennys Vargas, 8.) LaMonte WadeSteve Lien – 1.) Luis Arraez, 2.) Daniel Palka, 3.) LaMonte Wade, 4.) Zack Granite, 5.) Nick Gordon, 6.) Mitch Garver, 7.) Adam Brett Walker, 8.) Zander WielEric Pleiss – 1.) LaMonte Wade, 2.) Daniel Palka, 3.) Zack Granite, 4.) Mitch Garver, 5.) Adam Brett Walker, 6.) Nick Gordon, 7.) Niko Goodrum, 8.) Lewin DiazFeel free to discuss. How would your ballot look? Click here to view the article

Well, that's a fun take! Ha! He's not in the same prospect level, but he's had a tremendous first full season in the minor leagues despite a very slow start in the first couple months.

The best thing a team can do in a playoff game is jump out to an early lead. However, if said lead is blown a couple of innings later, the new best thing a team can do is put up a five-spot in the very next half inning. That’s what the Kernels did in Wednesday night’s Game 1 of their Midwest League Round 1 playoff series in Appleton, Wisconsin, against the Wisconsin TimberRattlers.The Kernels got off to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Zander Wiel led off with a triple. Travis Blankenhorn was then hit by a pitch. JJ Fernandez gave the Kernels a 1-0 lead with a single to right. Blankenhorn advanced to third and then scored when Nelson Molina grounded into a double play. In the third, they added a run to make it 3-0. With one out, Luis Arraez tripled. He then scored on a Zander Wiel single. 19-year-old Lachlan Wells did well early, too. In the first inning he gave up two hits and a walk, but he was able to get out of the inning without allowing a run. Through four innings, he had eight strikeouts to go with those two hits and a walk. However, in the fifth inning, he gave up three runs and the game was tied. However, that’s when the Kernels came through with their big, five-run top of the sixth. The inning started with doubles from Zander Wiel, Travis Blankenhorn and JJ Fernandez for the first two runs. After a pitching change, Nelson Molina singled Fernandez to third. Jaylin Davis followed by hitting a single that scored two runs. The Kernels now had an 8-3 lead. Wells’ night was complete. He gave up three runs over five innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out nine. Michael Cederoth came in. He was perfect for three innings and struck out five batters. The Kernels added some insurance in the 8th inning. With two outs, Casey Scoggins singled. Christian Ibarra walked. Luis Arraez tripled to score both runners, and he then scored on a wild pitch to give the Kernels an 11-3 lead. Colton Davis got the ninth inning for the Kernels. He struck out the first two batters before getting the final out on a foul pop to first base. Luis Arraez led the way going 3-5 with two triples and two RBI. Zander Wiel was also 3-5 with a double and a triple. Travis Blankenhorn was 2-4 with a double and a triple. JJ Fernandez was 2-5 with a double and two RBI. Nelson Molina and Casey Scoggins also had two hit games. Jaylin Davis went 1-3 with two walks. Final Score: Cedar Rapids 11, Wisconsin 3 Box Score WHAT’S NEXT? Game 2 will be in Cedar Rapids on Thursday night. Eduardo Del Rosario will take the mound for the Kernels against the TimberRattlers. Click here to view the article

Another cool moment, adding to an already tremendous story!

It's an award/reward for what they did on the field/mound this year. Who performed best at the level they pitched at.

I don't think anyone is down on Berrios at all. But Gonsalves was better in 2016. Yes, Berrios pitched at a higher level, but he also pitched in the big leagues and had less minor league innings. Also, this 'award' has nothing to do with prospect status.

Again, with his defense and flexibility and the quality at bats he takes, he's just fine to be up as the 2nd utility infielder. That's the case whether it's September or June. And yes, he will likely be DFAd after the season, and hopefully they bring him back as he's a nice backup plan at second base.

I had Romero #2, but I don't think we can or should completely ignore the 80 inning difference in innings pitched. Hard to predict what Romero would have done over those 80 innings (hypothetically speaking)... maybe Romero gets pushed up to AA and struggles there to the same level as Jorge did.

Just for fun, here are the rankings for the last couple of years: 2015: #1 - Jose Berrios #2 - Stephen Gonsalves #3 - Tyler Duffey #4 - Mat Batts #5 - Felix Jorge #6 - Pat Dean 2014: #1 - Jose Berrios #2 - Jason Wheeler #3 - Taylor Rogers #4 - Tyler Duffey #5 - Chih-Wei Hu #6 - Trevor May 2013: #1 - Taylor Rogers #2 - Andrew Albers #3 - Brett Lee #4 - Kyle Gibson #5 - Matt Summers 2012: #1 - BJ Hermsen #2 - Liam Hendriks #3 - Jason Wheeler #4 - Esmerling Vasquez #5 - David Hurlbut #6 - Matt Tomshaw

I think it would be fair to say that the biggest issue for the Minnesota Twins in 2016 (and well, since like 2011) has been starting pitching. As the majority of the Twins hitting prospects have reached the big leagues, most of the top prospects in the Twins system are starting pitchers. There is a lot of talent and most of them had very good seasons in 2016. Today, we hand out our award for 2016 Minnesota Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year.Below, you’ll find short profiles of our top five starting pitchers, but first, some players worthy of honorable mention. Honorable Mention Randy LeBlanc, Cedar Rapids/Fort Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts: 24 G, 23 GS, 12-9, 1 Save, 2.64 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 140.0 IP, 123 H, 37 BB, 87 K.Aaron Slegers, Chattanooga Lookouts: 25 GS, 10-7, 3.41 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 145.1 IP, 137 H, 46 BB, 104 K.Kohl Stewart, Fort Myers Miracle, Chattanooga Lookouts: 25 GS, 12-8, 2.88 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 143.2 IP, 130 H, 63 BB, 91 K.DJ Baxendale, Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings: 37 G, 14 GS, 8-8, 2.79 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 116.0 IP, 110 H, 24 BB, 99 K.Pitcher of the Year Here are the top six vote getters for Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. #5 – Jason Wheeler, Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings: 28 GS, 12-7, 3.30 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 169.1 IP, 157 H, 40 BB, 135 K. If there were such a thing, Jason Wheeler might be the comeback minor league player of the year in the Twins system. Added to the 40-man roster after the 2014 season, he struggled mightily in 2015 in AAA before being sent down to AA and later taken off the 40-man roster. But really, since then he has pitched very well. He was the MVP of the Southern League championship series in 2015. He began this year in Chattanooga where he walked three and struck out 22 in 24 innings over four starts. He was promoted to Rochester where he was terrific. In fact, he was chosen to start the AAA All Star game for the International League. While he slowed later in the year, he went 11-6 with a 3.53 ERA. Wheeler will turn 26 in October. I’m a little surprised that he wasn’t promoted to make a few more starts for the Twins in September. He was the Twins eighth-round pick in 2011 out of Loyola-Marymount. #4 – Fernando Romero, Cedar Rapids Kernels/Fort Myers Miracle: 16 GS, 9-3, 1.89 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 90.1 IP, 66 H, 15 BB, 90 K. It was a long road to recovery, but Romero came back as strong (OK, probably stronger) than ever. In May of 2014, Romero was a 19-year-old flame thrower promoted to Cedar Rapids. He made just three starts for the Kernels before being shut down. Soon after, he had Tommy John surgery. He missed the remainder of that season and all of 2015, in part due to needing a knee surgery too. The Twins had him start this year in extended spring before promoting him to the Kernels in mid-May, almost exactly two years after he went there the first time. In five starts (and 28 innings) for the Kernels, he posted a 1.93 ERA and 25/5 K/BB rate. He was quickly promoted to Ft. Myers where he continued to pitch very well. In 11 starts (62.1 innings), he posted an ERA of 1.88 with a 65/10 K/BB rate. Romero has very good control of a fastball that sits 95-97 and touches 98 at times. His secondary stuff is a work-in-progress, but doing well. He’s got a good changeup and a slider with real potential. When it comes to potential, Romero has the ability to be a future ace. Romero needs to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason or he will likely be selected in the Rule 5 draft. #3 – Felix Jorge, Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts: 25 GS, 12-8, 2.69 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 167.1 IP, 159 H, 23 BB, 109 K. As you recall, Jorge’s first stint in Cedar Rapids in 2014 did not go well. He returned to EST and was the Appy League Pitcher of the Year that year. He returned to Cedar Rapids in 2015 and was good again. In fact, he finished fifth in last year’s Starting Pitcher voting. He took that success to another level in 2016. While Jorge doesn’t yet get a lot of strikeouts, he is a strike-throwing machine who hits 92-94 on his fastball and has a good changeup and curve ball. He was fantastic with the Miracle. In 14 starts (93 innings), he went 9-3 with a 1.55 ERA. Over his final seven starts with the Miracle, he was 7-0 with a 1.13 ERA. He earned his promotion to AA, though he found some rougher times with the Lookouts. After a slow start, however, he had a stretch of seven games in which he gave up three runs or fewer. And, he ended the season giving up one run over nine innings. In 11 starts, 74.1 innings with the Lookouts, he went 3-5 with a 4.12 ERA. His 167.1 innings was just two behind Jason Wheeler for the organization lead. The Twins were able to get away with not putting Jorge on the 40-man roster last offseason, but one would have to wonder if he would be lost if left unprotected again. #2 – Jose Berrios, Rochester Red Wings: 17 GS, 10-5, 2.51 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 111.1 IP, 74 H, 36 BB, 125 K. While Jose Berrios has struggled to a 9+ ERA in his three stints with the Twins in 2016, he showed again that he is capable of dominating AAA hitters. Berrios, who was our choice for Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year in 2014and 2015, struggled some with command and control at times, even in AAA, but a quick look at his numbers reminds us of how good he could be when he is in complete control. Berrios went to spring training with a real opportunity to make the big league starting rotation. Things would have had to play out almost perfectly, but control issues pushed him to AAA. He made three starts before being summoned to the big leagues, weeks before his 22nd birthday. After four starts, he was optioned to Rochester where he had three real good starts and two poor starts before catching fire. Over his next eight starts, he posted a 1.46 ERA in 55.1 innings. In that time, he struck out 60 and walked 15. He earned another promotion to the Twins but again struggled mightily. He was sent back to Rochester and in one start he walked one and struck out 14 over eight innings. He’s back with the Twins and looking to figure things out in the big leagues. There’s no real question that he’ll be a quality major league starting pitcher, but the 22-year-old needs to work through a few things (like most pitchers) before he gets there. Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year – Stephen Gonsalves, Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts: 24 GS, 13-5, 2.06 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 140.0 IP, 86 H, 57 BB, 155 K. A year ago, Stephen Gonsalves finished runner-up to Jose Berrios for Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. That’s certainly nothing to sneeze at. In 2015, Gonsalves went 13-3 with a 2.01 ERA between Low-A Cedar Rapids and High-A Ft. Myers. He pitched to very similar numbers in 2016 only he split the time between Ft. Myers and AA Chattanooga. Coming into the minor league season, we talked a lot about the starting rotation in Ft. Myers. Gonsalves was the Miracle Opening Day starter, but Kohl Stewart, Tyler Jay, Felix Jorge and Randy Rosario were also part of the rotation. In the first inning of his Opening Day start, Gonsalves gave up a three-run homer. He gave up a total of three earned runs over his next 41.2 innings. Gonsalves was selected to the Florida State League All-Star team and worked a scoreless second inning. He was promoted to Chattanooga in late June. In his first two starts with the Lookouts, he was charged with eight runs in 8.2 innings. He then gave up just seven earned runs over his final 11 starts (65.2 innings). Over the weekend he was named our August Starting Pitcher of the Month. In that month, he went 4-0 with a 0.28 ERA. He had also won that award in April. Recently we learned that he will represent the Twins in the Arizona Fall League where he should be able to work another 25 innings or so, getting him to 165 on the season. That would mean that he could be ready for 180-190 innings in 2017, when he will be vying for a rotation spot in the big leagues at some point. In chatting with Gonsalves in spring training, he had again worked out with the likes of James Shields and Stephen Strasburg in San Diego. One thing that was very important to him was finding an improved breaking ball. He worked on a cutter/slider type of pitch that he’s now able to use at a couple of different speeds, depending upon the situation. That pitch really helped him boost his strikeout rate. Right-handed batters hit just .174 (.511) off of him while left-handers hit .194 (.582). Overall, opponents hit just .179/.269/.258 (.527) against him. Gonsalves was the Twins 4th round pick in 2014 out of high school in San Diego. He turned 22 in July, and it’s possible he could be in the big leagues by the time he’s 23. There were some fantastic starting pitcher performances from Twins minor leaguers throughout the system in 2016, even more than you see above. That said, Gonsalves was the clear-cut choice for this award. Congrats to all these pitchers on a fantastic season that was loads of fun to follow. The Ballots These awards were voted on by the Twins Daily minor league report writers. In an attempt to be transparent, here are the votes from our Twins Daily minor league writers: Seth Stohs – 1) Stephen Gonsalves, 2) Fernando Romero, 3) Jose Berrios, 4) Felix Jorge, 5) Jason Wheeler, 6) Randy LeBlancJeremy Nygaard – 1) Stephen Gonsalves, 2) Fernando Romero, 3) Jose Berrios, 4) Jason Wheeler, 5) Felix Jorge, 6) Randy LeBlancCody Christie – 1) Stephen Gonsalves, 2) Jose Berrios, 3) Felix Jorge, 4) Jason Wheeler, 5) Randy LeBlanc, 6) DJ BaxendaleSteve Lein – 1) Stephen Gonsalves, 2) Fernando Romero, 3) Felix Jorge, 4) Jose Berrios, 5) Jason Wheeler, 6) Kohl StewartEric Pleiss – 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Stephen Gonsalves, 3) Jason Wheeler, 4) Felix Jorge, 5) Aaron Slegers 6) Kohl Stewart.Feel free to discuss. How would your ballot look? Click here to view the article

9 figure contracts rarely are worthwhile. Just a couple of very puzzling decisions by Team Larussa. No way that Larussa and Stewart last the winter, do they?

Just missed?

Following their loss on Monday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins announced that they were promoting three more September call-ups. Earlier Byron Buxton, John Ryan Murphy and Jose Berrios had been called up, but on Monday, the Twins announced that Kennys Vargas, Tyler Duffey and James Beresford would be called up on Monday. On Tuesday, the Twins made it official, stating also that Danny Santana was placed on the 60 day disabled list. The moves of Vargas and Duffey were expected. However, while several of us have wanted Beresford to get promoted in previous Septembers, there was some surprise when James Beresford’s name was mentioned as a call up. That moved created a lot of excitement around Twitter and in the real world too. Image courtesy of Dan Wiza According to a source around the Red Wings, before their final game of the season, manager Mike Quade went around and thanked players for the season. He then singled out the subs for the day. He started with Vargas telling him he couldn’t stand to watch him run the bases anymore. He moved on to Mitch Garver and said that he wanted to see the strength coach warm up the pitcher between innings. Finally, he got to Beresford. Quade said (ad-libbing), “and Jimmy, you’re not playing because you’re going to The Show!” Reports indicate that Beresford sat in stunned amazement for a while, until one teammate got him with two plates of shaving cream and a pitcher poured beer over him. If only there was video. Can you imagine the moment, 11 years after signing with an organization, and well over 1,000 minor league games, finally being told that you were getting The Call? Beresford could have left the organization as a free agent three times, but each time he chose to return to the Twins. Last year, he hit over .300 and was an International League All-Star. What a moment yesterday had to be for the Australian infielder. But it was a moment that wasn’t lost on teammates already in the big leagues. Michael Tonkin tweeted this: Brian Dozier had a big day on Monday for the Twins. The infielder hit three home runs and now has 38 on the season. I had the chance to talk to the second baseman early on Tuesday, and he was as excited as anyone. Not about his success, but about the promotion of James Beresford. The first game I went to in Beloit, Dozier was playing shortstop with Beresford at second base. They have been teammates several times and remain very close. Dozier said, “As you know, James and I came up together, roommates at a couple of levels, and one of my closer friends in all of baseball. To be honest, I kinda got a little emotional when hearing that he is coming up because of how hard he has worked over the years and the dedication he has had in order to fulfill this dream. I called him yesterday morning after he was told he was coming up and through the phone it was awesome to hear the excitement in his voice. I know he's been waiting for this moment his whole life and I couldn't be happier for him.” In Australia, the news was huge. He will become the 33rd player from the country to play in the major leagues. He’s been a big part of a few Olympic and WBC and other Team Australia contingents. He has played in the ABL for the Melbourne Aces. He represents, in many ways, Australian baseball. I talked to Beresford this spring, and he talked about when he was a young player in the Twins system, Australian Trent Oeltjen helped him, talked to him, bought him a few dinners. Same thing on those Olympic teams when Beresford was in his late teens. Now the table has turned. The 27-year-old Beresford is the veteran, and he has been helpful for some of the other young Australians in the Twins system. Sam Gibbons is a starting pitcher from Australia for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Regarding Beresford, he said, “It's huge, I think you can tell just just by seeing how everyone back home has reacted, everything I've read about his promotion had been the same. I read one today saying ‘I've never seen a guy being called up make so many people this happy.’ It's so fitting because it's so true. Everyone is so excited for him.” Gibbons played a couple of years with Beresford with the Melbourne Aces, and again this spring in the WBC-Qualifier. He continued “Obviously he's had a lot of experience playing here in the US and just being able to pick his mind about anything and everything has been awesome. In spring training, he would take us young Aussies out for dinner, I think because he had guys do it for him. He's now the older Aussie that he does it for us.” Lachlan Wells is a left-hander in the Kernels rotation. He also was very excited for Beresford. He said, “Well it means a lot to younger Aussie in any professional system not to give up, keep at it because if you work hard results will come. I only met him this year in spring training but he was really helpful with advice about just certain things that would help me during the season and at certain levels when I move up.” Wells continued, “Plus it means a lot for Australia because it's another Aussie in the big leagues. Not many people get to do it and with the baseball community being so small everyone will be supporting 100%” Others tweeted their thoughts: Morrie Silver: Josh Whetzel: Todd Van Steensel: So many want to think this is a Thank You promotion for Beresford, and to some degree it is. However, the Twins have always liked to have two utility infielders, especially in September. With Jorge Polanco starting most games at shortstop, Eduardo Escobar is the team’s utility infielder. They wanted a second utility infielder, and Beresford makes a ton of sense. Beresford is able to very capably play defense at all four infield positions. He hasn’t played much shortstop for the Red Wings in recent years, but that is his natural position. It’s where he played for Team Australia in international competition. Many are excited for James Beresford to finally get this call, and he’s earned it! View full article