Seth Stohs

#FreeHildy might be easier.

The comp Jeremy always uses for Wade is David DeJesus, so he'll have some extra base pop, but he won't be a big power hitter. If he's Joe Mauer 2.0, we should all be incredibly thankful. Most likely a 4th OF type with good OBP skills.

If he pitches like he has the last two times out, he'll be up by next June.

No.

I was more impressed by the K rates of the starters. To have four guys with K/9 over 9 at this late stage of the season is unusual, and Tyler Jay is close too.

I wrote several articles on how Ramos and Mauer could co-exist. Here's one, though I know I wrote about it several times: http://www.startribune.com/how-can-ramos-make-the-roster/89545302/

Very similar. But then again, all side-winding types get compared to just a handful of guys. Hildenberger throws a little bit harder and has more pitches.

That was the only trade that I really, really was "upset" about. I didn't like the Hu/Jepsen trade, but taking a step back, it wasn't horrible. Ramos was easily a top 100 guy, a catcher no less, who had enough bat to DH and allow Mauer more time at DH, and he had already had some quality big league success, even if only 8-10 games. In other words, he was pretty much ready.

I'm generally the prospect guy, and don't like trading prospects, but as much as I hated giving up Hu, I get that you have to give up something to get something. Jepsen has been a 'solid' MLB reliever for several years. I get that the Twins played above their heads most of last year, however, they had a shot to make the playoffs, so I can't criticize going after a bullpen arm. Even if they didn't make the playoffs, they were in the race until the final weekend. If this and If that, but they had a real playoff shot last year, even if it wasn't "real" in many people's eyes. They didn't give up one of their top 10 pitchers or top 5-7 pitching prospects to get it.

I mean, I don't know that he's been 'unsung.' He was twice the Twins Daily minor league RP of the month last year and generally in the top 5. He was our choice for RP of the Year last year which had a story, and he's on the cover of the Prospect Handbook that Jeremy, Cody and I put together. He's got a 5-6 page story in there with lots of quotes about his background, pitching and more. And, he was just named RP of the month in June. So, I don't think he's unsung around here. Also, for a side-winder, he throws pretty hard, hitting 92-94 quite often. He's also got a very good slider that moves the other way. He's got a changeup. He's got confidence in all of his pitches and angles, and he throws a ton of strikes.

To me, the trade reinforces that they should be looking to trade Fernando Abad and Brandon Kintzler this month and see what they can get back. Maybe someone else's mid-20s starting pitching prospect in return, and then maybe that guy can take off and become a Top 15 Twins prospect.

I don't think anyone expected Jepsen to pitch like he did in 2015 for the Twins, but I think it was very fair to expect that they would get what he has always been, which is a reliable 7th inning guy who could also work some 8th innings. I struggle with this one because I truly like the idea of getting a guy that you have control of for more than just the two months. I hated the trade at the time, but I get it, and Hu would likely still be behind Berrios, Jay, Gonsalves in Twins prospect rankings and probably behind (or near) the likes of Felix Jorge, Fernando Romero and Kohl Stewart. Again, not saying it was the right move, but when you add in The Expensive Three (Santana, Nolasco and Hughes, who are all still signed for awhile), Milone, Duffey, Gibson, we're talking about a starting pitcher who was somewhere around 9 or 10 in the pecking order. Like I said, I still hated the trade, but I can't say that I completely disagree with the idea of getting a guy with extra control. The trade worked well for the Twins in 2015, and it isn't unfair for the Twins to have expected some level of competence from Jepsen in 2016. EDIT: I was just curious where Chih-Wei Hu ranks among Rays prospects by various sources, just to try to put some context into this for myself. For me, I ranked Hu about 15 among Twins prospects at midseason last year, which was higher than most. He was outside the Top 20 (or even 30) for many. 2016 rankings with Rays (a generally-respected system): Keith Law - 8 MLB.com - 12 Rays Index - 12 FanGraphs - 13 Baseball America - 15 John Sickels - 20

It’s been almost a month since we last updated you on the Twins Minor League Leaderboard. Some of the names atop these lists have remained while new names are popping up as well. We will also update you on how the Twins six affiliates are faring in their leagues.First, here is how the Twins’ affiliates currently stack up in their leagues. Rochester is 52-40. The Red Wings are 4.5 games back of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in the International League North Division. They’re in third place in the division, just ½ game back of Lehigh Valley for second place.After finishing the first half with a 36-34 record, which was 10 games back in the division (behind Jackson), the Lookouts look to improve in the second half and claim a playoff berth. In the second half, Chattanooga is 11-8 which is tied for the Southern League North Division lead with Montgomery, a half-game ahead of Jackson.Ft. Myers is 12-7 in the second half. That puts them one game ahead of Jupiter in the Florida State League South Division standings.Cedar Rapids is 9-10 in the second half. That is currently tied for fifth in the Midwest League Western Division, five games back of Clinton. However, they are just one game behind three teams who are tied for second place.Elizabethton is currently 7-11 which is four games back of the Johnson City Cardinals in the Appalachian League West Division. They are just a game out of second place.The GCL Twins are 9-7 which is tied for first place in the GCL South division with the GCL Orioles. There are four teams in three of the four GCL divisions, and five teams in the other. They’re very much geographically based and the Twins team competes with the Orioles, the Rays and the Red Sox.With that, let’s look at the minor league statistical leaderboard (through games on Tuesday, July 12). THE HITTERS (Rate numbers- minimum 200 plate appearances) Plate Appearances - James Beresford (366), Daniel Palka (363), Dalton Hicks (357), Leonardo Reginnato (352), Zander Wiel (351), Zack Granite (350). Batting Average - Luis Arraez (.326), Zach Granite (.306), Leonardo Reginnato (.300), Nick Gordon (.296), LaMonte Wade (.289), Jorge Polanco (.283). On-Base Percentage - LaMonte Wade (.407), Luis Arraez (.373), Nelson Molina (.365), Zach Granite (.360), Leonardo Reginnato (.359), Daniel Palka (.355). Slugging Percentage - Daniel Palka (.565), Jorge Polanco (.476), Adam Brett Walker (.463), Kennys Vargas (.435), Luis Arraez (.431), Mitch Garver (.430). OPS - Daniel Palka (.920), Jorge Polanco (.829), LaMonte Wade (.807), Luis Arraez (.804), Kennys Vargas (.788), Mitch Garver (.783), Adam Brett Walker (.772), AJ Murray (.768). Hits - Zach Granite (97), Leonardo Reginnato (94), Luis Arraez/James Beresford (90), Daniel Palka (87), Nick Gordon (83), Dalton Hicks (81). Doubles - AJ Murray (20), Luis Arraez/Dalton Hicks/JJ Fernandez (19), Mitch Garver (18), Nick Gordon/Travis Harrison/Zander Wiel (16), Adam Brett Walker (15). Triples - Max Kepler/Jorge Polanco (6), Nick Gordon/Zander Wiel/Edgar Corcino (5), 6 tied with 4.. Home Runs - Daniel Palka (23), Adam Brett Walker (16), Kennys Vargas (14), AJ Murray/Mitch Garver/Trey Vavra (8), Jorge Polanco/Jaylin Davis/Eddie Rosario (7), 6 tied with 6.. Runs Scored - Zach Granite (51), James Beresford (49), Daniel Palka (47), Travis Harrison (46), Edgar Corcino/Sean MIller/Luis Arraez (41).. RBI - Daniel Palka (67), Kennys Vargas (53), Mitch Garver (48), Zander Wiel/Adam Brett Walker (42), Dalton Hicks (41), Sean Miller (39), Travis Harrison/AJ Murray (38). SB - Zach Granite (32), Wilfredo Tovar (22), Nick Gordon (10), TJ White/Travis Harrison (9), Engelb Vielma (8), 3 tied with 7. THE STARTING PITCHERS (Rate number - minimum 68.0 innings) Innings Pitched: Jason Wheeler (114.0), Logan Darnell (106.0), David Hurlbut (104.1),Aaron Slegers (103.2),Felix Jorge (98.1), Randy LeBlanc (95.0). ERA: Randy LeBlanc (1.80), Felix Jorge (2.11), Jose Berrios (2.59), Stephen Gonsalves/Jason Wheeler (2.61), Miles Nordgren (3.08), Tyler Jay (3.13). WHIP: Felix Jorge (0.997), Randy LeBlanc (1.00), Jose Berrios (1.04), Stephen Gonsalves (1.08), Jason Wheeler (1.09), Cody Stashak (1.11). K/9: Stephen Gonsalves (10.0), Sam Clay (9.6), Dereck Rodriguez (9.5), Jose Berrios (9.2), Tyler Jay (8.7), Miles Nordgren (7.9). BB/9: Felix Jorge (1.1), David Hurlbut (1.6), DJ Baxendale (1.8), Jason Wheeler (1.9), Randy LeBlanc/Miles Nordgren (2.1), Andrew Albers (2.3,. K: Stephen Gonsalves/Jason Wheeler (96), Jose Berrios/Sam Clay (85), Felix Jorge (81), Dereck Rodriguez (79), Aaron Slegers (76), Miles Nordgren (74), Tyler Jay (72). Wins: Felix Jorge (9-4), Jose Berrios/Aaron Slegers (8-4), Stephen Gonsalves/Randy LeBlanc (8-5), DJ Baxendale (8-7), Logan Darnell (8-8), Three with 7 Wins.. THE RELIEF PITCHERS (Rate numbers - minimum 24 innings, and less than 4 starts) Innings Pitched: Jake Reed (49.2), Marcus Walden (47.0), Luke Bard (42.2), Raul Fernandez (42.1), Alex Wimmers (41.1), Trevor Hildenberger (40.2), Brandon Peterson (40.0), Michael Theofanopoulos (39.2). ERA: Trevor Hildenberger (0.89), JT Chargois (1.49), Kuo Hua Lo (1.67), Mike Theofanopoulos, (1.86), Marcus Walden (2.11), Mason Melotakis (2.25), Michael Cederoth (2.26). WHIP: Trevor Hildenberger (0.89), Nick Anderson (0.92), Brandon Peterson/Marcus Walden (1.00), JT Chargois (1.02), Williams Ramirez (1.057), Michael Theofanopoulos (1.059). K/9: John Curtiss (13.0), Michael Cederoth (12.2), Luke Westphal (12.1), JT Chargois (11.6), Nick Anderson (11.4), Michael Theofanopoulos (11.3), Brandon Peterson/Williams Ramirez (11.0). BB/9: Trevor Hildenberger (1.1), Anthony McIver (1.8), Mason Melotakis (2.2), Nick Anderson (2.3), JT Chargois (2.5), Raul Fernandez (2.8), Marcus Walden (2.9). K: John Curtiss (56), Jake Reed (54), Michael Theofanopoulos (50), Brandon Peterson (49), JT Chargois/Luke Westphal (47), Nick Anderson (44). Saves: Trevor Hildenberger (16), JT Chargois (13), Alex Wimmers (8), Yorman Landa (7), Marcus Walden (6), Todd Van Steensel (5), Three with Four. Feel free to ask questions about any of the players or teams. Click here to view the article

I posted this on Twitter earlier today:

He'll turn 20 next week. The average hitter in the MWL is 21.6. Average pitcher is 21.9. On Opening Day, Luis Arraez hadn't yet turned 19 and was 5th youngest in the league. Palacios was just outside the Top 10. Most players are 21 and 22. It's where most college guys start their first full season and they're already 22 usually, so unless they're a top pick or a top reliever they'll be there.

I just tweeted about him this morning. I'd call him up August 1st. He can become a free agent at the end of the season. I think they should see his recent success and give him a two-month tryout to evaluate whether to keep him on the 40-man roster or let him become a free agent.

In February, Twins Daily published its annual pre-season Top 20 Minnesota Twins prospect rankings. As we get to the middle of July and the big league All-Star Game tonight, today we take a look at how the top 20 has performed in 2016. As you’ll see, several players have increased their prospect status with strong starts. Injuries have affected a couple of players and a couple of guys may drop some. But for the most part, the prospects have played well this year. Tonight, Major League Baseball will showcase its 2016 All-Star Game. I think it’s pretty neat that most of minor league baseball shuts down for a day, allowing its players to watch the game. (The GCL Twins play this morning, and the Lookouts have a game tonight) It’s a good reminder of what they are striving for, getting to the big leagues and maybe getting a moment like Eduardo Nunez will get tonight.Let’s take a quick look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects have done so far in 2016. 20. Jake Reed, RHP, 23 After posting a 6.23 ERA in Chattanooga a year ago, Reed struggled out of the gates again in 2016. However in his last 19 games (31.1 innings), he has a 2.87 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. His control has been much better. That run dropped his season ERA to 4.15. Still just 23, Reed throws hard and gets a lot of movement on his pitches. He has averaged a solid 3.4 BB/9 and has a very good 10.0 K/9. 19. Randy Rosario, LHP, 22 In his first full season back after Tommy John surgery, Rosario has had some ups and downs this year. The 22-year-old is 5-5 with a 3.25 ERA in 13 starts this year with the Miracle. In 69.1 innings, he has 22 walks to go with 44 strikeouts. Like Reed, Rosario has been much better of late. In his last five starts, he is 3-0 with a 2.51 ERA. The left-hander throws hard and has good secondary stuff. He’s just been inconsistent. He was added to the 40-man roster last fall. 18. Lewin Diaz, 1B, 19 Diaz finished last year by hitting .167 in 14 games with Elizabethton. However, of his eight hits, three of them were home runs. The 19-year-old returned to the E-Twins in 2016. He is hitting .263. He has ten hits on a the season including six doubles, a triple and two home runs. At 6-3 and about 250 pounds, Diaz is going to need to keep mashing to work his way up the ladder. 17. Engelb Vielma, SS, 22 Vielma was invited to big league spring training in 2016, largely due to his defensive reputation. He just turned 22 and has played in 43 games for the Lookouts. Unfortunately, he has spent two stints on the disabled list already this season. However, he is hitting .276/.325/.322 (.648) with three doubles and two triples. At 5-11 and just 155 pounds, Vielma isn’t going to hit for power at all, but if he can play good defense and hit around .275 and get on base around .325, he could have a solid major league future because of his glove. 16. Taylor Rogers, LHP, 25 Rogers had worked his way up the ladder, one step at a time. After a season of starting in Rochester last year, he was added to the 40-man roster and given an opportunity to compete for a big league job this spring. He began in Rochester, but a week into the season Glen Perkins went on the DL and Rogers came up. He’s been up and down a couple of times, but he is now 3-0 with a 2.93 ERA in 27.2 innings (24 appearances) out of the Twins bullpen. In his last 10 outings (12.1 innings), he has not allowed a run. In that stretch he has allowed 11 hits, walked one and struck out 14. True to his minor league form, Rogers has been especially tough on left-handed bats. They have hit just .167/.186/.286 (.472) off of him so far. At 25, Rogers has a chance to be very good for a long time. 15. JT Chargois, RHP, 25 Sure his big league debut didn’t go real well and he went back to Rochester right away, but Chargois is getting close to being with the Twins full time. He began this season where he ended last year, in Chattanooga. In 11.2 innings over 11 games, he posted a 1.54 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP, along with 3.9 BB/9 and 10.8 K/9. That earned him a promotion to Rochester where he has been even better. In 24.2 innings over 20 appearances, he has a 1.46 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He throws hard and has two secondary pitches that are on most of the time. He’s ready and is just waiting for a chance again. 14. Jermaine Palacios, SS, 19 Palacios came out of nowhere a year ago. In his US debut, he began by hitting .421 over 106 plate appearances in the GCL. He moved up to Elizabethton and hit .336 over 145 plate appearances. He was pushed to Cedar Rapids at the start of this season and struggled out of the gate. Overall, he is now hitting .212/.262/.270 (.532) with seven doubles, two triples and a home run. Surprisingly, his defense at shortstop has been real solid (.953 fielding percentage). He turns 20 later this week. Looking for silver linings, Palacios has hit .321 with three multi-hit games in his last six games to push his batting average over the Mendoza Line he’s been straddling most of the season. 13. Wander Javier, SS, 17 Javier was the big international signing a year ago when he was inked to a $4 million deal. The plan was for him to spend this whole season in the Dominican Summer League. The 17-year-old played seven games before pulling his hamstring and being out just over two weeks. He returned and played in parts of two games before re-aggravating the same injury. He now hasn’t played in about a week. However, when he has played he has shown his talent. He’s hitting .308/.400/.654 (1.004) with three doubles and two home runs among his eight hits. 12. Lewis Thorpe, LHP, 20 In spring, it looked like Thorpe was on schedule and hopefully ready to make a return to an affiliate in mid-June or so. Unfortunately, he was slowed for over a month due to a bout with mono. Having lost strength, he has had to take a couple of steps back and has restarted a throwing program. At this point, it will be interesting to see if he’s able to return before the end of the season or if he’ll need to look to 2017 for his return. 11. Adam Brett Walker, OF, 24 We have a pretty good idea of what Adam Brett Walker is as a hitter. He can hit a lot of home runs and drive in a lot of runs. Despite his low contact rate, he has been productive and the Twins have continued to push him a year at a time. After being added to the 40-man roster following last season, Walker is in Rochester this year. Overall, he has hit .235/.308/.463 (.772) with 15 doubles, 16 home runs and 42 RBI for the Red Wings. He has also struck out 130 times in 321 plate appearances (40.5%). However, over his last 18 games, he has hit .328/.392/.537 (.929) with eight doubles and two homers. His strikeout rate over that time frame has been 33.8% With Walker at this point, it will be about finding a way to drop that K-rate and being more consistent. 10. Nick Burdi, RHP, 23 It has been a lost year for Burdi to this point. He ended 2015 strong in Chattanooga and in the Arizona Fall League. He was invited to spring training and impressed the coaching staff there. However, before the season, he experienced some soreness and was shut down for a couple of weeks. He rejoined the Lookouts on April 23rd. He pitched in three games before going back on the DL with a bone bruise in his humerus. He hasn’t pitched since and is in Ft. Myers on a throwing program. 9. Kohl Stewart, RHP, 21 In 2015, Stewart posted a 3.20 ERA in Ft. Myers. However, his peripherals were not great. So, he returned to the Miracle for the first two months of 2016 and the numbers improved. In nine starts with the Miracle, he posted a 2.61 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP and he nearly doubled his K-Rate to 7.7 K/9. He has since made seven starts in AA for the Lookouts where he is 2-4 with a 4.21 ERA. No surprise as that jump from High-A to AA is a big one. He’s been inconsistent, but he has shown some flashes as well. He has four quality starts including six shutout innings in one start and seven shutout innings in another. He’s taking some lumps, but he’s making adjustments. He should spend most of 2017 with the Lookouts. 8. Alex Meyer, RHP, 26 What a frustrating season 2016 has been for Meyer. After a long, difficult season in 2015 in which he struggled with his control, command and confidence, Meyer began this season by starting in Rochester. He was actually pitching very well and earned a call up to the Twins to work out of their bullpen in long relief. The Twins were struggling and two starters went on the DL, so Meyer was asked to make one start. Following the start, he was optioned to Rochester so that the Twins could get an extra reliever up until Ervin Santana came off the DL and reclaimed that spot in the rotation. When Meyer got to Rochester, he didn’t feel right in his first bullpen and was shut down. That was May 3rd, and he is yet to return to the mound in a game. For those first three weeks, we again saw why many were so high on Meyer. We saw a fastball at 96-98 with a really good slider. Hopefully he can return in the second half sometime and salvage something for the season. 7. Jorge Polanco, SS, 23 Polanco had four cups of coffee between the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Twins. They were typically two or three day stints and only really due to 40-man roster issues. It was understandable that he played sparingly for a day or two. This spring, he has already been up twice. This time his time was extended to a couple of weeks, and he sat, which made no sense. Still, when he did get some playing time, he hit .231/.344/.462 (.805) with three doubles and his first MLB homer. In Rochester, he has hit .283/.352/.476 (.829) with 12 doubles, six triples and seven home runs. He will play in Wednesday’s AAA All-Star game. He just turned 23 last week, and he is ready for a big league job. He is also out of options in 2017, so it would be nice for him to get some actual big league playing time soon. 6. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP, 22 The southpaw just turned 22 last week. He finished the 2015 season going 7-2 with a 2.61 ERA in Ft. Myers over 15 starts. He returned to the Miracle in 2016 and made another 11 starts. He went 5-4 with a 2.33 ERA. However his WHIP dropped from 1.31 to 0.96. His walk rate dropped from 4.3 to 2.7. His strikeout rate increased from 6.2 to 9.0. In other words, while the high-level numbers look fairly similar, Gonsalves showed great improvement. At the end of June, he earned his promotion to AA. Like Stewart, it has been a struggle through three starts in AA for Gonsalves. He is 2-1 but ha a 4.91 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. Yes, it is very small sample size and part of the problem is his 6.8 BB/9 rate. Offsetting that, however, is an 11.7 K/9 rate. The left-hander throws his fastball mainly in the low-90s, but in Ft. Myers, he was clocked a couple of times at 97. He added a pitch in the offseason and looks to continue to build his prospect resume. 5. Tyler Jay, LHP, 22 The Twins top pick in 2015 began this season in Ft. Myers and began making his transition to starting pitcher. Jay turned 22 right at the beginning of the season. With the Miracle, he was up and down in April. He was tremendous in May, and he was some moments in June. Overall in Ft. Myers, he went 5-5 with a 2.84 ERA. In 69.2 innings, he gave up 64 hits, walked 21 and struck out 68. However, he really had just two clunkers and was very solid in his other starts. He earned a promotion to AA Chattanooga where he will continue to start, at least for a little while. He gave up four runs in five innings in his AA debut over the weekend. He’s blessed with a strong, mid-90s fastball with life and very good secondary pitches. To this point, his transition has gone smoothly. 4. Nick Gordon, SS, 20 Gordon has a solid 2015 season in Cedar Rapids, his first full minor league season. He hit .277/.336/.360 (.696) with 23 doubles, seven triples and a home run. He added about 15 pounds during the offseason and has shown improvement at the plate in 2016 to this point, including a good increase in his slugging percentage despite moving up to the pitcher-friendly Florida State League. He has hit .296/.343/.411 (.754) with 16 doubles, five triples and two home runs in 70 games. He had quite a few errors early in the season, but now has a .954 fielding percentage at shortstop. Gordon has tremendous tools and work ethic. The additional strength should help him continue to perform through the second half. Like most 20-year-olds, he’ll just have to be more consistent throughout the long season. 3. Max Kepler, OF, 23 I think it’s fair to say that Kepler is figuring some things out at the big league level this year. Last year, he filled up the stat line in Chattanooga on his way to the Southern League MVP and a September call up after leading the Lookouts to the league title. He showed well in spring training and went down to AAA to start the year. However, he came up early in the season and like Polanco found himself sitting most of the time. He was up for just over two weeks and had two hits (both doubles) in 12 at-bats. He went back to Rochester and after an initial struggle, he started hitting again. He returned to the big leagues on June 1st and has been playing every day since. Since then, he is hitting .244/.322/.496 (.818) with nine doubles, eight home runs and 33 RBI in 37 games. A tremendous athlete, Kepler should continue to get better and add more to his big league game. 2. Jose Berrios, RHP, 22 We all wanted to see Berrios with the big league club last year at this time, but he didn’t come up and put together another terrific minor league campaign. He struggled mightily in spring training and in his first two Rochester starts. He had one strong start for the Red Wings and was called up to the Twins in late April, before his 22nd birthday. He made four starts and posted an ERA over 10 with a WHIP over 2.10. He struck out 20 batters in 15 innings and we saw the pitches that can (and likely will) make him a terrific big league pitcher for a long time. He showed a fastball 94-97 with movement. He showed, at times, a devastating breaking ball. And, he threw a few changeups that looked like Bugs Bunny pitches. But he walked 12 batters and got behind on others and that trend had to be corrected. He returned to Rochester and worked. Overall in Rochester, he is 8-4 with a 2.59 ERA. However in his last five starts for the Red Wings, he has a 1.26 ERA. In that run, he had outings of six innings with two hits, eight innings with three hits, seven innings with one hit and a complete game with four hits. In other words, his time will come again very soon, I would think. 1. Byron Buxton, OF, 22 Bryon Buxton continues to flash the types of skills that make it easy to see why he was twice the #1 prospect in all of baseball. Few are able to run like he is. Few have as strong of an arm as he is. He is fearless - maybe to a fault - in center field, helping his pitchers with his great range. To this point, however, we have not seen him able to hit consistently at the big league level. We have seen him crush AAA, so at this point it is about maintaining his confidence and continuing to put him in the lineup every day. In 29 AAA games, he hit .336/.403/.603 (1.007) with nine doubles, two triples and six homers. In 48 games with the Twins, he has hit .212/.253/.364 (.617) with 12 doubles, four triples and a home runs. He has 32 hits and 17 of them have gone for extra bases. Why? That speed turns singles into doubles. Buxton will be a star. We just have to be patient enough to wait for it to happen. So there you have it, a quick review of the Twins Daily pre-2016 Top 20 Prospect rankings and how those guys have done through the All Star break this year. ON THE RISE For the most part, the progress with the prospects has been positive. There are a couple of guys who have had tough 2016 seasons, and injuries are always a factor in that. That is somewhat offset by a few guys who were outside our Top 20 who have really taken major steps forward and would likely be in a Top 20 ranking today. Daniel Palka was just promoted to AAA Rochester and has 23 total home runs on the season after hitting two in his Red Wings debut. Zach Granite has done everything you’d ask of a leadoff hitter in Chattanooga as well as play good defense in center field. Mitch Garver's stock as a prospect continues to rise. LaMonte Wade had a great start in Cedar Rapids and is now doing well in Ft. Myers. Alex Kirilloff is off to a solid pro debut in Elizabethton. On the mound, Felix Jorge has become one of the most consistent pitchers in the organization and made his AA debut last night. Fernando Romero returned to the mound after missing nearly two years. He was throwing in the mid-90s and after a handful of starts in Cedar Rapids, he has now done well in Ft. Myers. Meanwhile, Trevor Hildenberger continues to mow down hitters in AA and should move up shortly, either to Rochester or directly to the big leagues. Meanwhile, Jason Wheeler overcame a rough 2015 season and has pitched better than ever. In fact, he’ll be the starter for the International League in Wednesday’s AAA All- Star game. Feel free to discuss any of these prospects and ask any questions that you may have. Overall, it’s been a positive season for most of the Twins top prospects, and it’s exciting to know that more are on the way. Click here to view the article

Nunez might be as unlikely as any Twins All-Star has ever been, since he didn't even start the season as a starter... but he absolutely earned his All Star spot this year. I wouldn't have him ahead of anyone on this list. He's been tremendous.

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He's got some more innings to go before they move him to the bullpen. I found it interesting that they have Ryan Eades working out of the bullpen after Jay. When Jay gets to his innings limit, they can switch roles.

Hildenberger sits 90-92 and can hit 93, maybe 94. He throws from the side, so he gets good movement on the fastball, but he also has a good slider that obviously moves the opposite way. He also just attacks the zone with strikes.

If he's not called up to the Twins by about early August, wisdom says that he doesn't need to be added to the 40-man roster so might as well wait until next spring. In my humble, pretty-much-meaningless opinion, I'd bring Chargois up right after the Futures Game and move Hildenberger up to Rochester.

I apologized for the lateness of Saturday’s minor league report. Summers tend to be a bit busy for everyone, and the minor league games just keep getting played. So today’s report might just be a little shorter than normal, but it is very important for me that the players that perform get recognized. Continue on to read the highlights of Saturday’s minor league games. As a quick aside, I took my daughter to the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks game last night at Newman Outdoor Field. It’s such a great venue for minor league baseball. Last night, they faced Mark Hamburger and the St. Paul Saints. The Saints, as you know, have several former Twins and Twins minor league prospects. Their manager is former Twins pitcher George Tsamis. Tony Thomas had the night off, but he’s putting up great numbers for the Saints. Tanner Vavra played shortstop, batted second and had two hits and a walk. Nate Hanson played third base and batted third. Chad Christensen batted eighth and DHd. Mark Hamburger threw another complete game and improved to 9-0 on the season. They Saints bullpen also includes left-handers Caleb Thielbar and Mike Strong. Their Friday night starting pitcher was 36-year-old Dan Johnson, a long-time big league and minor league first baseman who is attempting to become a knuckleball-throwing pitcher. There is a lot of great minor league baseball around the Midwest. Several other former Twins minor leaguers are playing well in the American Association. Rene Leveret is playing for Lincoln and picked up his 1,000th career minor league hit last week. Eden Prairie’s Blake Schmit plays for Sioux Falls and he was leading the league in hitting. Check out some American Association ball games if you have a chance. Next weekend, the Saints are at home at CHS Field in St. Paul taking on the FM Redhawks.OK, after that brief former Twins minor league report, let’s get into what happened in the Twins farm system on Saturday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 2 Box Score Logan Darnell was on the mound for the Red Wings. The left-hander was charged with two unearned runs on three hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out three. DJ Baxendale faced one batter and walked him. Buddy Boshers came on and got the next three batters out, two of them on strikeouts. Darin Mastroianni went 2-4. Jorge Polanco went 1-3 and was hit by a pitch. He also drove in the lone Red Wings run. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Tennessee 0 Box Score There was some strong pitching in Tennessee on Saturday night. Lefty David Hurlbut certainly did his part to give his team a chance to win. He went eight shutout innings. He gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out four. He improved to 7-4 with a 3.28 ERA. However, the Lookouts bats were pretty quiet too. Ryan Walker was 2-4. Leonardo Reginnato hit his 12th double. However, in the top of the 9th, Travis Harrison recorded his second hit of the night, and it was a big one. His sixth home run of the year gave the Lookouts a 1-0 lead. With the lead, Trevor Hildenberger came in for the ninth frame. He gave up a hit and issued a walk, but he did not give up a run. He now has 13 saves with the Lookouts (16 on the season) and a 0.89 ERA. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Dunedin 4 Box Score Sam Clay made his first Miracle start. The left-hander gave up two runs on nine hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out two. Nick Anderson struck out two over two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked one. Yorman Landa threw the final two innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk, but he finished out the Miracle win. Eight Miracle players had one hit in the game. Fortunately, half of their hits left the ballpark. TJ White hit his seventh double. AJ Murray hit his second homer. Trey Vavra hit his eighth homer. Daniel Kihle hit his first Florida State League homer. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Kane County 7 Box Score Dereck Rodriguez put together one of his best starts of the season. He had a quality start. He gave up two runs on five hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out seven. Max Cordy came in for his first Kernels appearance. According to Jeff Johnson (The Gazette in Cedar Rapids), Cordy was hitting 95 mph on the radar gun. He gave up three runs on three hits and two walks over two innings. He struck out two. Cam Booser worked the ninth inning. He gave up two runs on one hit. He walked three and struck out one. Jaylin Davis added his first triple. Casey Scoggins was 2-5. Christian Cavaness went 2-4 with his first steal. Brian Olson was also 2-4. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Greeneville 3 Box Score The E-Twins got solid pitching and a big blast early in the game and held on for the win. Travis Blankenhorn had just one hit in the game, but it was a big one. In the third inning, he hit his fifth home run of the season, a three-run homer. Brandon Lopez went 2-3 with a walk. Lewin Diaz added his fifth double. Alex Schik made the start this time around. He gave up just one run on two hits over the first five innings. He struck out three without issuing a walk. Ryan Mason came on and gave up one run on four hits over 2.2 innings. He struck out two. Colton Davis picked up his third save. He gave up a run, but he got the final four outs, each of them on a strikeout. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score Huascar Ynoa put together easily his best start of the short-season. He threw five shutout innings. He gave up two hits, didn’t walk any, and struck out eight. Matz Schutte got the next five outs without any issues. Onas Farfan gave up a run over the next 1.1 innings. He struck out two. Garrett Kelly gave up one run on two hits in his inning. Zach Strecker gave up six hits but somehow just one run over the next 2.2 innings. He struck out two. Clark Beeker got the final out on a strikeout. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – David Hurlbut, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Travis Harrison, Chattanooga Lookouts SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (12:05 CST) - LHP Andrew Albers Chattanooga @ Tennessee (6:15 CST) - LHP Tyler Jay Dunedin @ Ft. Myers (3:05 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (2:00 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons Greeneville @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday's games. Click here to view the article