Seth Stohs

My only point is that you just never know with prospects. So many want to write off a guy who is 22 at E-Town and that's just silly. Odds they become Tony Oliva... very small.

Agreed... I thought I was about the only Herrmann supporter around these parts the last couple of years, and even I was amazed that they got so much for him in a trade, knowing he was out of options and unlikely to stick around. I also am glad people are starting to realize that building a bullpen via high priced options is never a good thing. Abad, aside from last year, was right in line with the likes of Sipp and to some degree Bastardo. Kintzler was solid before the knee injury. Unless you're talking about the likes of Chapman and MIller, they all need to be put in a similar bucket. I might add tendering Nunez to the list of good decisions, though maybe that's tempered by the decisions to tender Fien and Milone too, but can't win them all.

Another good example of why looking at age to level of competition just isn't as important as we like to think.

It's possible after the E-Town season is done.

The Rochester Red Wings made the 90 mile drive east to Syracuse. The bus was full. They remembered their bats and their hitting shoes as they put together a tremendous offensive outburst. Not to be outshone, their pitchers put in a great night’s work too. The Miracle ended a streak thanks to a quality start from one of the organization’s top pitching prospects. It was one of four quality starts in the Twins system on the day. Without further adieu…For much more information on the scores and highlights from all six of the Twins minor league affiliates in the States, please continue reading. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 11, Syracuse 0 Box Score It was a big night for the Red Wings hitters, but I’ll always maintain that if a team throws a shutout, we’ll talk about the pitching first. Jason Wheeler improved to 7-2 with a 2.57 ERA with some fine pitching (and help from the offense). The left-hander threw 6.2 shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out six. Neil Ramirez made his first Red Wings appearance since being outrighted earlier in the week. He gave up two hits, but he go four outs. Marcus Walden gave up one hit in his scoreless inning. Following the win, Red Wings fantastic radio voice Josh Whetzel noted on Twitter that the 11-0 win was the widest margin of victory for the Red Wings since June of 2013. Their 22 hits where the most by the team since August of 2004. All nine starters had at least one hit. James Beresford led the way with a 5-6 game. It was the first five-hit game by a Red Wings hitter in about two years, when Wilkin Ramirez did it (Again, per Whetzel). He is now hitting .285 on the season. Jorge Polanco went 3-6 with his 14th double. Daniel Palka went 3-6 with his fourth and fifth Red Wings doubles. Byung Ho Park went 3-5 with a walk and his fifth home run. It was the third straight game he has homered. Carlos Paulino went 2-3 with two walks. Darin Mastroianni and Wilfredo Tovar each had two hits. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Jackson 2 Box Score For the second straight game, the Lookouts fell to Jackson. For the second straight start, Felix Jorge was the tough-luck losing pitcher. In this game, he gave up two runs on three hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out three. 71 of his 98 pitches were strikes. Jake Reed struck out two in a perfect eighth inning. Shannon Wilkerson went 2-4. Engelb Vielma notched his fourth double. Dalton Hicks doubled for the 23rd time. Mitch Garver hit his 22nd double, and he also stole his first base. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 9, Clearwater 4 Box Score The Miracle offense came through, and the team was able to snap a five-game losing streak. Nick Gordon led the way. He went 2-5 with his third home run and four RBIs. TJ White went 2-6 with his 10th double. LaMonte Wade went 2-5 with his fifth double. Trey Vavra was 1-2 with two walks and was also hit by a pitch. Alex Perez went 2-4 with a walk. Fernando Romero was on the mound for the Miracle. He went the first seven innings and gave up three runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out eight. Romero improved to 3-1 with an ERA of 2.50. John Curtiss struck out two in a perfect eighth. Luke Bard struck out two in the ninth, though he gave up one run. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4 Dayton 6 (10 innings) Box Score Eduardo Del Rosario has certainly had his struggles in his nine starts. However, on Saturday night, he posted his second straight quality start. He gave up three runs on four hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out six. Williams Ramirez gave up the tying run in his two innings. He walked two and struck out three. Anthony McIver threw a scoreless ninth inning, but he was charged with two unearned runs in the tenth to take the loss. Nelson Molina led the offense. He went 2-5 with his eighth double. Sean Miller hit his 15th RBI. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Johnson City 5 Box Score Lewin Diaz posted his second straight three-hit game. He went 3-5 with his 11th double and is hitting .338. Alex Kirilloff went 2-4 with his fourth home run. His average is now .367. Bryant Hayman went 2-4. Sean Poppen worked the first 5.2 innings. He gave up four runs (1 earned) on seven hits and a walk while strikeout out five. He got the win and went 2-2 with a 2.35 ERA. Austin Tribby gave up a run on three hits over the next 1.2 innings. He walked two. Patrick McGuff recorded the final five outs for his first professional save.. Three of them came on strikeouts. McGuff was the Twins 39th-round pick in June out of Morehead State. He began his pro career with 5.2 scoreless innings in the GCL (0 BB, 9 K). He was promoted to Elizabethton where he is yet to give up a run in five appearances as 7.2 innings. He has struck out 15. So a quick glimpse at his overall numbers as a professional: 13.1 innings, 0 runs, 24 strikeouts. That’s a pretty strong first impression. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 6, GCL Red Sox 5 (12 innings, completion of Friday’s suspended game) Box Score Some of this will be a repeat from yesterday’s report but here is the game’s complete recap. The first nine innings of the game were played on Friday, but the rains came and caused the suspension of the game until Saturday. The game resumed, and they needed 12 innings but it was decided on an unearned run. Brady Anderson started the game and threw six shutout innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none and struck out six. Jordan Balazovic made his professional debut with two innings on Friday. He gave up a hit and walked one but gave up no runs in an inning. He struck out one. Matz Schutte threw the ninth inning. He got just two outs and was charged with five runs (four earned) on three hits and two walks. Both of the outs he got came on strikeouts. Clark Beeker took over on Saturday and worked 2.1 innings. He gave up just the unearned run in the 12th inning. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three. Jorge Andrade wente 2-5 with a walk, his fifth double and his fifth stolen base. Aaron Whitefield went 2-6 and stole two bases. Jorge Munoz went 2-6 with his fifth double. Jean Carlos Arias went 2-4. Roni Tapia hit his second home run of the season. GCL Twins 6, GCL Red Sox 7 (10 innings, regularly-scheduled game) Box Score Of course, the regularly-scheduled game needed extra innings too. Taylor Clemensia started. He gave up three runs on three hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out four. Daniel Martinez came in and gave up one run in his 2.1 innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out four. Callan Pearce gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits in 1.2 innings. He struck out one. Matt Jones pitched the tenth inning. He gave up a run on two walks in the inning. Akil Baddoo went 1-3 with two walks and his first professional home run. He also stole his second and third stolen bases. Heiker Meneses played another rehab game. He went 1-3 with two walks. Aaron Whitefield went 2-4 with a walk. He stole three more bases. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – James Beresford, Rochester Red Wings SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (12:05 CST) - LHP Pat Dean Chattanooga @ Jackson (6:05 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (12:00 CST) - RHP Miles Nordgren Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – RHP Cody Stashak Johnson City @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - RHP Jose Martinez GCL Twins - No Sunday Games. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday's games. Click here to view the article

I'll be shocked if Walker and Palka get close to "graduating" this year, but I agree with the point that there is another nice wave of players coming in the lower levels.

I can see this. Seems like a decent comp now. Solarte's had a nice career!

I'm not really down on him as much as I'm really curious to see how he grows and develops in the next couple of years. Obviously in baseball, you don't have to be a great athlete, but I think he should stay in Cedar Rapids the rest of the year and keep working on some things. I know he spent time in Ft. Myers last offseason at a strength camp. It'd be good for him to do the same this coming year.

Brady Anderson was a non-drafted free agent. Teams draft and then look at their rosters and see where they have needs. The Twins needed some pitching for the GCL. Now, the only players willing to sign at that point are college seniors with no eligibility left, guys just looking for a chance. I don't want to say they're "organizational filler" but that's kind of exactly what it is. Then again, there have been plenty of non-drafted free agents who have made the big leagues. The Twins have had a couple in Rob Delaney and Cole DeVries. Those guys took full advantage of their opportunity. 39th round pick, senior pitcher Patrick McGuff has already been moved up to Elizabethton. If the E-Twins starters continue to struggle, we could see Anderson move up. I don't recall the Twins signing so many non-drafted guys right after the draft before though. But they are able to have like 35 players on the two rookie league rosters so they fill them.

I'm honestly not sure what to make of Arraez. He can hit, and he takes good plate appearances. Obviously the numbers speak for themselves. I mean, he's hitting .340. He's not fast. He's not a great athlete. He can play 2B, but he DHs a lot with the Kernels. In my mind, he's easily a Top 20 prospect, but I don't know how much higher I'll be able to move him.

My thoughts... (and I've written at least three articles in the last year saying Berrios is ready and needs to be up) Berrios would make one more start before the trade deadline, and the Twins are likely hoping that they can get anything for one of two of their starters and then call him up. Same for Chargois and Polanco I'd assume. All three should be up on August 2nd.

Kyle Gibson was terrific, but Brandon Kintzler had to pull a Houdini Act to give the Twins a 2-1 lead on Friday night in Boston. The biggest play was a bases-loaded 4-2-3 double play off the bat of David Ortiz. Our hitter of the day for Friday night in the minor leagues is a guy who was compared to Ortiz when he was signed as a 16-year-old three years ago. Oh, and Jose Berrios was back on the mound for Rochester on Friday night. Like Gibson, Berrios gave up a first-inning run. How did he respond?For much more information on the scores and highlights from all six of the Twins minor league affiliates in the States, please continue reading. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Syracuse 1 Box Score Jose Berrios made another AAA start on Friday night. He gave up a run in the first inning, and that was about it. The red-hot right-hander gave up just the one run on three hits and a walk over eight innings. He struck out nine. Berrios improved to 10-4 and reduced his AAA ERA to just 2.31. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 12, Johnson City 8 Box Score For the second straight game, the E-Twins posted double-digit runs, and they again needed it. The Twins scored seven runs over the first three innings but when they came to bat in the bottom of the 4th inning, they were down 8-7. They got a big blast in the sixth inning and piled on some more. Lewin Diaz had a tremendous game. The powerful, David Ortiz look-a-like went 3-4 with his tenth double, his fifth home run and six RBIs. His home run came in the sixth inning and with the bases loaded. He is now hitting .315 on the short-season. Brandon Lopez led off and went 3-4 with a walk and his first triple. He’s hitting .382. Travis Blankenhorn is hitting .304 after a 3-5 game. Alex Kirilloff went 3-5 and is hitting .360. He hit his third home run. Mitchell Kranson went 2-5 with his fifth double. Roberto Gonzalez added his first home run of the season. Alex Schik was back on the mound. He gave up eight runs on ten hits in just 3.2 innings. He walked one and struck out six. Hector Lujan gave up just two hits over 3.1 shutout innings. He struck out two. Colton Davis struck out four (and walked one) over two scoreless, hitless innings. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 5 (suspended after 9 innings) Box Score Earlier in the week, the GCL Twins played a 15 inning game. On Friday, they played nine innings before the rains came. The game was suspended after nine innings and the rest of the game will be played on Saturday as part of a doubleheader. More will be written on this game tomorrow but there were a couple of highlights from the nine innings that were played. For instance, Brady Anderson started and threw six shutout innings. Jordan Balazovic made his professional debut and threw two shutout innings in relief. Aaron Whitefield and Jorge Andrade each had two hits. Roni Tapia was 1-3 with his first home run which increased his batting average to .067. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berrios, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Lewin Diaz, Elizabethton Twins SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05 CST) - LHP Jason Wheeler Chattanooga @ Jackson (6:05 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (5:15 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario Johnson City @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00 CST) - TBD (completion of suspended game and regularly scheduled game.) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games. Click here to view the article

Eades was moved to the bullpen when Jay and Jorge came up. It hasn't gone well for him to this point there. He actually was good as a starter in June. And, as someone else said. If a pitcher throws 3+ innings in relief and finishes the game, he can get a save regardless of the score.

10th round pick. Senior sign. But yeah, he had a nice college career and he's playing well in his debut. He could move up.

True, but it's very important not to look too much at stats from the GCL. Some of the high draft picks play more often, but some of the players get into a game every three days, so it's kind of an interesting league. Hard to get into much of a groove. But yes, it is extra at bats for a few guys.

It absolutely should be based on what the player did, not what he 'might have done' with more luck or something like that.

I don't think anyone is claiming he's a finished product... Also, send me some names of other rookies in the American League who are playing pretty well. I mentioned Michael Fullmer. I admit I don't watch much other than the Twins, but I don't know many rookies who have been better. I guess the two Korean players, one of the Orioles and the other from the Mariners.

Was yesterday's his arrival, or was his walkoff last month?

I agree, and I laid it out in yesterday's "It's Time" article. Have to get him up and give him a trial.

In the top of the ninth inning on Wednesday afternoon in Detroit, Max Kepler hit his tenth home run of the season and of his brief major league career. It gave the Twins a 2-1 lead and they went on to their tenth win in fifteen games. Max Kepler has been one of the most productive hitters in baseball over the last four-to-six weeks. While his batting average remains just shy of .230, he has taken good at-bats, shown a lot of power (nine homers in the past 30 games) and driven in as many runs as anyone in baseball. Kepler was our choice for Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2015. It was a breakout season of sorts for the German outfielder. He made his debut in the big leagues late last September after leading the Chattanooga Lookouts to the Southern League championship following being named the league’s MVP.He became a huge prospect nationally. Now, he has too many at-bats to still be called a prospect. Through Wednesday’s game, Kepler has ten home runs in 196 major league plate appearances. He has quickly climbed the prospect ladder as he worked his way toward the big leagues. Now in the big leagues, he is climbing the list of top rookies in the American League, arguably behind only Detroit’s Michael Fullmer if Rookie of the Year voting were done today. Der Schlager (The Slugger) is also climbing the statistical leaderboard for German-born major league players. According to Baseball-Reference.com, there have been 43 big leaguers who were born in Germany. As of today, Kepler ranks 14th in plate appearances. His ten home runs are already fifth on the list. A brief look at the players born in Germany who have more plate appearances than him tells even more about the unique story of Max Kepler. When the Twins signed him for about three-quarters of a million dollars, it was the highest bonus ever given to a player from the country, or anywhere in Europe. Assuming health, Kepler will most likely set all of the records for players from Germany. Glenn Hubbard - Those of us old enough to remember when most Atlanta games were on TBS in the ‘80s remember the long-time second baseman fondly. He is the current leader in plate appearances with 5,122 over 12 seasons in the big leagues. He was born in Germany, the son of a father who was in the United States Air Force. He moved to the States when he was very young and went to school in California and Utah. Bill Kuehne - Born in the German Confederation city of Leipzig in the mid-1800s, Kuehne accumulated 4,423 plate appearances over his ten year career. He grew up in Chicago. Mike Blowers - Blowers was a power-hitter, mostly playing for the Mariners, during the years that Ken Griffey, Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner played in Seattle. He had 2,585 plate appearances over 11 big league seasons. Born in Wurzburg, he was the son of a US army dad and moved to the United States at a very young age. Jeff Baker - Baker spent parts of 11 seasons in the big leagues. He accumulated 1,958 plate appearances between 2005 and 2015 as a utility player (primarily). He also was born to a military family, his dad being in the Army. Fritz Mollwitz - A Coburg native, Mollwitz played in the big leagues between 1913 and 1919. He had 1,909 plate appearances. Charlie “Pretzel” Getzien - Getzien became the first MLB player from Germany when he debuted in 1884. A pitcher, there are multiple stories on how he earned the Pretzel nickname. Maybe it was based on his country of origin. Some believed it was because of his curveball, which people say curved at least twice, like a pretzel. He came to the plate 1,140 times over his nine big league seasons. Ben Koehler - Born in Schoerndorn, Koehler had 804 plate appearances in just two big league seasons. He played major league baseball in 1905 and 1906. Ron Gardenhire - The long-time Twins manager and coach was born in Butzbach, West Germany. He is the son of a Army man. He moved to the States as a very young child. He came to the plate 777 times between 1981 and 1985. Dutch Schliebner - The Berlin native spent just one season in the big leagues, 1923. He batted 587 times that year but never got another opportunity. Marty Krug - He played in 20 games for the Red Sox in 1912 and then got into 127 games for the Cubs in 1922. He accumulated a total of 571 plate appearances. Born in Koblenz, he left Germany when he was three years old. Heinz Becker - Between 1943 and 1947, Becker spent parts of four seasons in the big leagues. He had 412 plate appearances in MLB. He was born in Berlin but his family left Germany following World War I. They went to Venezuela before moving to the United States. He was the only player from Germany during World War II. Edwin Jackson - Jackson was recently called up to the big leagues again. He has spent parts of 14 seasons in the big leagues, starting in 2003. He has accumulated 412 career plate appearances. Next in line is Max Kepler, just shy of 200 plate appearances. Let’s guess, and hope, that Kepler stays healthy and productive the rest of 2016 and through 2017. He could reach 1,000 plate appearances by the end of 2017 which would rank eighth on this list. As far as the home run list, Kepler already ranks tenth, though it’ll take him a few years to climb the list. Bill Kuehne (25), Jeff Baker (54), Glenn Hubbard (70) and Mike Blowers (78) are the four German-born players ahead of Kepler on the list. So what we see from the list of players born in Germany, they fit into a couple of categories. Players born in Germany before World War 1.Players whose family left Germany when they were young.Players born to military families who were based in Germany for their birth.In some cases, players fit into a couple of these categories. Kepler is unique in many ways, but he is certainly one of the first in nearly a century to be raised in Germany. Though his mother is from the United States and he visited family in Texas on vacations, Kepler grew up in Berlin. When he signed, his only real baseball experience came in Germany. Kepler signed in July of 2009, the same day the Twins signed Jorge Polanco. Miguel Sano was signed in October of the same year. That’s an impressive class filled with a lot of potential. Kepler has the potential to be the greatest player ever born in Germany. He may already be the greatest player who ever grew up in Germany. And he is the first player from Germany ever to grace the cover of the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook.. Click here to view the article

John had the opinion that Ryan should have been given another year, I believe, to allow the young players to get a little more time and see what more there is. John noted that he would have preferred Ryan stick around at least through the trade deadline. He said that the Twins from 2000-2010 were really good, some of the best years in the organization's history. That's a debatable idea, but it's certainly not crazy. John said that the playoffs are a crapshoot. I think most of us agree with that. It's possible to disagree without shutting down and calling the other person basically an idiot. But when someone is never wrong...