Seth Stohs

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

Patrick McGuff is being promoted from the GCL to Elizabethton.

Thursday was a busy day in minor league baseball as the Twins shuffled their affiliate rosters, moving more than a dozen players around. Transaction Report: Daniel Palka has been promoted to Rochester, David Martinez has been released, Edgar Corcino, Tyler Jay, and Felix Jorge have all been promoted to Chattanooga. Omar Bencomo has been placed on the disabled list. Sam Clay, Miles Nordgren, and Daniel Kihle have been promoted to Fort Myers. Max Cordy, Andrew Vasquez, Casey Scoggins, and Christian Cavaness have been promoted to Cedar Rapids. Christian Ibarra has been placed on the disabled list.Continue reading to find out more detail about Thursday in the Twins farm system: RED WINGS REPORT Rochester @ Lehigh Valley IronPigs Box Score In his first at bat in Triple-A, Daniel Palka hit a home run, and for good measure he hit another one later in the game, helping power Rochester to victory. Here is a video of Palka's first home run of the evening. @https://twitter.com/MorrieSilver8/status/751249706794180608 Palka also added a double as part of his 3-5 evening that included three runs scored, a pair of RBIs and a couple of strike outs. The Red Wings also benefited from a big night out of Adam Walker, who was also 3-5. Walker had a pair of doubles, a run scored, a pair of RBIs and a strikeout. There is a lot of power in the middle of that Rochester lineup with those two hitting fourth and fifth, respectively. Pat Dean struggled on Thursday, giving up 12 hits and seven runs (all earned) over just 4.0 innings. He walked one, struck out three, and gave up three home runs. He was lifted for D.J. Baxendale who pitched two scoreless innings and earned the victory, as Baxendale and the rest of the Rochester bullpen shut down Lehigh Valley the rest of the way. Ryan O'Rourke pitched a scoreless inning and earned his fourth hold of the season. Closer J.T. Chargois came in for a six out save, striking out three and giving up just one hit, earning his sixth save. Final: Red Wings 8, IronPigs 7 LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN Birmingham Barons @ Chattanooga Box Score Lookouts starter Aaron Slegers gave up a first inning run, but the Lookouts rallied, including six runs in the bottom of the fourth, carrying Slegers to his eighth victory of the year. Slegers final line was 6.0 innings, 7 hits, 2 earned runs, a walk, a strikeout, and he gave up a solo home run. Mason Melotakis pitched a perfect seventh, striking out the side on 12 pitches. Rual Fernandez finished the final two innings, giving up a pair of runs on a hit and two walks. He struck out three. Chattanooga had contributions up and down the lineup as all nine players recorded at least one hit, and six players had multi-hit games. Zach Granite was 3-5 with a run scored, a double, and two RBIs as the leadoff hitter. D.J. Hicks had a big game, too, 2-5 with a home run and three RBIs. Travis Harrison and Niko Goodrum added home runs as well, both solo home runs. Final: Barons 4, Lookouts 10 MIRACLE MATTERS Bradenton Marauders @ Fort Myers (continued from June 26th) Box Score With Bradenton back in Fort Myers, the two teams continued a rain-shortened June 26th game, picking up in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and a 4-0 Miracle lead. In an interesting statistical note, Niko Goodrum hit a home run early in that game prior to the delay, meaning he had a home run in High-A and Double-A in games that ended on Thursday night. Using a total of 13 different hitters, the only Miracle with multiple hits was Joe Maloney, going 2-2, including a triple. The Miracle added one additional run in the seventh. Miracle starter Randy Rosario did not return to his start, replaced instead by Luke Bard, who earned the win with 2.0 scoreless innings. Brandon Peterson added 2.0 scoreless innings of his own, before being replaced by Todd Van Steensel who pitched a scoreless ninth to finish off the June 26th game in a shutout. Final: Marauders 0, Miracle 5 Bradenton Marauders @ Fort Myers (Game 2) Box Score Coincidentally, Randy Rosario was on the bump to start the second game of the evening, meaning he started both ends of this Miracle double-header. Rosario picked up his fifth win of the year to move to 5-5 with 6.1 innings of 3-run baseball. He gave up 7 hits, 3 earned runs, walked 3 and struck out two. He was lifted for John Curtis who shut down the Marauder threat, retiring both batters he faced to finish the 7-inning game. The Miracle tallied 12 hits in this seven inning game, including a pair of hits from each of T.J. White, Nick Gordon, and Daniel Kihle (making his High-A debut). Kihle was 2-3 with a double, run scored, 2 RBIs and a strikeout. LaMonte Wade also added an extra base hit (a double), plus an RBI and a walk. Final: Marauders 3, Miracle 8 KERNELS KORNER Wisconsin Timber Rattlers @ Cedar Rapids Box Score In a good old-fashioned pitchers' duel, the Kernels held on to a 1-0 lead to defeat the Timber Rattlers in front of 2,077 fans at Perfect Game Field. Kernels starter Cody Stashak was perfect through five innings before a broken-bat single broke things up in the top of the sixth, the only hit Stashak would give up over eight innings of stellar work. Stashak walked three and struck out eight. Tom Hackimer pitched a perfect ninth to earn his first save of the year for the Kernels. The Kernels managed to scatter seven hits against Timber Rattlers starter Jordan Yamamoto over seven innings, but managed to push just that single run across the plate, an RBI groundout from Rainis Silva in the bottom of the second inning, scoring Jaylin Davis. Davis was the only hitter, on either team, with more than one hit, 2-3 with a double and a run scored. Final: Timber Rattlers 0, Kernels 1 E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton @ Bristol Pirates (Game 1) Box Score With a doubleheader slated for the evening, a long night was made longer due to a 1-hour rain delay, pushing first pitch back to 7pm, and pushing the start of the second game back to nearly 10pm. In the first game, Elizabethton managed four runs on just four hits, despite striking out 10 times in seven innings. Lewin Diaz was 1-3, including a home run, and a pair of runs scored. First round draft pick Alex Kirilloff was the only player to record a multi-hit game, 2-3 with a double and an RBI. Kirilloff is hitting .414 through his first 8 games of the season with an OPS over a thousand. Elizabethton starter Domenick Carlini gave up 10 hits and seven runs (all earned) over 4.0 innings. He walked one, struck out two, and gave up a home run. He was lifted for Hecto Lujan who pitched a pair of scoreless innings, striking out three, and giving up just one hit. Final: E-Twins 4, Pirates 7 Elizabethton @ Bristol Pirates (Game 2) Box Score The E-Twins struggled with the bats again in the second game of the evening, with just five hits. Lewin Diaz was 1-3 with a double, and Shane Carrier was 1-3 with a double, as well. Kirilloff was 1-3 with the Twins' lone RBI. Tyler Wells didn't make it out of the fourth inning, giving the Twins 3.2 innings of two-run baseball before being lifted for Griffin Jax (phenomenal name, good luck to ya kid), who gave up a pair of runs as well. Wells struck out six without walking anyone. Jax added a strikeout of his own, and also did not give any free passes. Neither pitched particularly poorly, but without much run support, they needed to be better. Final: E-Twins 1, Pirates 4 GCL TWINS TALK GCL Twins @ GCL Rays Box Score The Twins just barley managed more hits (4) than errors (3) en route to losing handily to the Rays. Ben Rotvedt was 1-4 with a double, the lone extra-base hit for the Rays. The Twins managed just three at-bats with runners in scoring position all evening. Starter Bo Hellquist picked up the loss (0-1), spreading five runs (just two earned) over 4.0 innings, walking one and striking out three. Moises Gomez had a great outing in relief, pitching three scoreless innings, walking no one and he struck out five. Zach Strecker pitched the eighth, giving up two runs on four hits to end the night for the Twins. Final: GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 7 DSL TWINS TAKES DSL Twins @ DSL Orioles2 (Game 1) Box Score Final: DSL Twins 5, DSL Orioles2 3 DSL Twins @ DSL Orioles2 (Game 2) Box Score Final: DSL Twins 1, DSL Orioles2 6 The DSL Twins split a double-header on Thursday morning. The Twins more or less threw two bullpen games, with Carlos Suniaga the biggest bright spot of the day, pitching 4.0 innings of relief. Suniaga gave up three hits, and a walk, but what really jumps off the page is his nine (NINE!) strike outs. The other six pitchers the Twins used on the evening managed just 7 more Ks. Over two games, the Twins had just two players record multi-hit games, one in each. Ruben Santana was 2-4 with a hit and an RBI in the first game, and Yestin Encarnacion was 3-4 with a run scored in the second game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Daniel Palka, Rochester Pitcher of the Day - Cody Stashak, Cedar Rapids FRIDAY'S PROBABLES Rochester @ Scranton/WB - Jose Berrios (8-3, 2.43) Birmingham @ Chattanooga - Kohl Stewart (2-3, 3.58) Dunedin @ Fort Myers - Randy LeBlanc (2-2, 4.33, also has a great mustache) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids - Lachlan Wells (1-0, 1.74) E-Twins @ Bristol - Ryan Mason (0-1, 14.14) GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox - TBD DSL Orioles2 @ DSL Twins - TBD Please ask questions and discuss the Thursday games. -ERolf Click here to view the article

The Rochester Red Wings are celebrating their 20th year in Frontier Field. The history of baseball and the Red Wings in Rochester, New York, is very long and storied. The Red Wings are asking fans to vote for their All Frontier Field team. Many current and former Twins are on the ballot. It's a fun exercise and a great walk down memory lane for Twins fans who have followed prospects over the last 10 to 15 years. Take five minutes or so to cast your vote and, even more fun, remember some of the players from the past.Professional baseball has been in Rochester for over 140 years. The Red Wings have been an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, the Baltimore Orioles (1961-2002), and the Minnesota Twins since 2003. Ironically, when the Twins moved their affiliation to Rochester, it was the first year of their tremendous radio voice, Josh Whetzel joined the. When I saw the ballot for the All Frontier Field team, I couldn’t help but spend some time voting. It is fun to think back to the dozen or more years that I have followed the Twins minor league system and seeing names of some great players and guys who became well-known for their time in New York. Some went on to have long big league careers. Some barely got a cup of coffee. Seeing the names is such a good reminder of how hard this game can be. So, take five minutes and cast your vote. You can spend more time, if you want, and research the stats of the players in Rochester. You can just vote for your favorite player in each category, or the player who went on to the best career? There is no right or wrong answer for this. So, let’s walk down memory lane and take a look at the ballot: First Basemen: Chris Colabello, Garrett Jones, Justin Morneau, Calvin Pickering, Chris Parmelee My votegoes to Garrett Jones. He spent quite a bit of time in Rochester because the Twins had Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young and Jason Kubel at the positions Jones could have played. So, he just kept putting up monster numbers for the Red Wings. From 2005 through 2008, he played over 105 games for the Red Wings each year and hit a lot of doubles and home runs. He played in just 31 games for the Twins, all in 2007. Since then, he has played in 880 games in the big leagues, mostly with the Pirates, but also some time with the Marlins and Yankees. He’s still playing in 2016, his first year in Japan. Second Basemen: James Beresford, PJ Forbes, Luis Rodriguez, Brian Roberts, Jerry Hairston My votegoes to James Beresford. I was a big fan of Rodriguez (when I wrote of him, I just wrote “Luis!!”), and the other three were from the Orioles era. Brian Roberts had a strong big league career. However, in his three-plus seasons with the Rochester, Beresford has continued to get better and add to his game. He came up and struggled some, but he was a .300 hitter and an All-Star in 2015. This year, he’s playing all over the infield. Third Basemen: Willis Otanez, Ryan Minor, Terry Tiffee, Danny Valencia, Chris Heintz My votegoes to Terry Tiffee. He spent parts of three seasons with the Red Wings and got a couple of cups of coffee with the Twins as well. He played 91 games for the Twins between 2004 and 2006, and then got into a handful of games with the Dodgers in 2008. Valencia has become the best big leaguer in this bunch. Ryan Minor was quite a prospect for the O’s in the late 90s. Chris Heintz spent quite a bit of time with the Red Wings as well. He was signed as a long-time veteran, and his cup of coffee with the Twins was exciting. He was 31-years-old when he debuted for the Twins and played a total of 34 big league games for the Twins, mostly as a catcher. Shortstop: Jason Bartlett, Doug Bernier, Jesse Garcia, Aaron Ledesma, Trevor Plouffe My votegoes to Trevor Plouffe. The Twins really pushed Plouffe up the minor league system despite never putting up big numbers at any level. He reached AAA at age 22 and didn’t debut with the Twins until he was 24, in 2010. He wasn’t always great with the Red Wings, but he grew and improved. He spent parts of four seasons with the Red Wings and has also rehabbed there a couple of times. Bartlett had a solid career in Rochester, where he spent parts of three seasons. I believe he still lives there. Bernier was a very solid producer for the Red Wings for most of three seasons. The Orioles guys didn’t spent a lot of time in Rochester. Catcher: BJ Waszgis, Tommy Davis, Jose Morales, Drew Butera, Eric Fryer My votegoes to Jose Morales. He was drafted as a middle infielder, but was immediately moved to catcher. He worked his way up. When the 2007 season was complete, he went back home. When a couple of catchers got hurt, Morales received a September call up. He made one start and went 3-3 with a double. However, he broke his leg sliding into second base in the game and didn’t get back to the big leagues until 2009. He spent parts of four seasons with the Red Wings and hit over .300. Butera had the defense and has had a solid, lucrative big league career. Fryer has had plenty of time and spent three years playing in Rochester. Outfielders: Danny Clyburn, Lew Ford, Jason Kubel, Dustin Martin, Darnell McDonald, Jason Pridie, Josh Rabe, Michael Restovich, Denard Span, Jim Wawruck. My three votesgo to Dustin Martin, Josh Rabe and Darnell McDonald. I know there are bigger names. Kubel was the IL Rookie of the Year the one partial season he spent there and put up great numbers. Lew Ford spent parts of four seasons there but limited time each year because he spent a lot of time with the big league club. Restovich had a couple of very good years in Rochester after spending a couple of seasons in AAA in the Pacific Coast League. Darnell McDonald was one player who played for Rochester while a member of the Orioles and the Twins. He was a top prospect with the O’s, but by the time he got to the Red Wings, he was move organizational filler. However, he played so well that he earned time with the Twins too. Rabe spent parts of five seasons with the Red Wings. He debuted with the Red Wings in 2003. It wasn’t until 2006 that he finally got a call up to the Twins. He played in 38 games for the Twins over two years and hit three homers. Dustin Martin is in the top 5 in many Rochester categories. He spent three years at the level and went to spring training with the big league club but never got a chance with the Twins. Still just 32, he has played for a couple other organizations, in independent leagues and still in Mexico. Starting Pitchers: There are 14 names to consider on this list, so I’m not going to get into them all. However, you will want to click that link to remember how much talent has come through Rochester on the way to Minnesota. We are to vote for five, so here are my picks. Dave Gassner didn’t have a long big league career, though he did win his big league debut, but he spent parts of four seasons with the Red Wings and put up some strong numbers. On the other side of the spectrum, Francisco Liriano dominated the league in 2005 and early in 2006 before coming up to the Twins where he was more impressive than multi-Cy Young winner Johan Santana during his prime. After his Tommy John surgery, he came back to the Red Wings in 2008 and was again very good. Similarly, Kevin Slowey dominated this International League in 2007, posting an ERA under two and captured the league’s Pitcher of the Year award. Boof Bonser racked up some big strikeout numbers during his (parts of) three seasons with the Red Wings. The fifth choice is Brian Duensing who won 20 games in his time with the Red Wings. That doesn’t include the Gold Medal that he won in the 2008 Olympics with Team USA. There are some impressive pitchers that weren’t in my top five. Andrew Albers is back and had a terrific year with the organization a couple of years ago before returning earlier this season. Liam Hendriks was a tremendous minor league pitcher. And who could forget The Real Deal? Scott Baker pitched well there. Matt Garza didn’t get much time in Rochester during his fast 2006 rise to the big leagues, but he was good and has had a long career. Kyle Gibson put up some solid numbers in Rochester as well, before Tommy John and then after his return. Relief Pitchers: We are supposed to vote for two relievers, and for me, the choices are easy. No one who followed the Twins minor leagues from about 2007 through 2011 will be able to not vote for Anthony Slama. No one will ever be able to explain adequately enough to me how a guy who put up the numbers that Slama put up in the minors, including AAA, could possibly not be given more of an opportunity in the big leagues. #Slama Time and #FreeSlama were frequent hashtags even before we knew what hashtags were. Similarly, few have pitched as well in Rochester as AJ Achter did for the Red Wings over the last three years. He didn’t give up many runs, picked up saves, and generally rarely allowed base runners. He got a couple of limited opportunities with the Twins and has been up and down with the Angels a few times already this season. Pat Neshek put up very similar numbers in Rochester, just in less time. He has gone on to a tremendous, long career. Michael Tonkin wasn’t as good as Achter in Rochester, but he still put up terrific numbers and big strikeouts too. I might not argue too much if you wanted one of them on the team. And I’d also understand your votes for Jesse Crain or Bobby Korecky. Designated Hitter: Karim Garcia, Justin Huber, Randy Ruiz, Julio Vinas, Kevin West Kevin West gets my vote. He spent a couple of seasons with the Red Wings and hit 34 homers. He was a big man with a lot of power, hitting both doubles and home runs. Unfortunately, he got hurt in his third season with the Red Wings and never got a chance. Garcia had a fairly long career but didn't spend a lot of time in Rochester. Ruiz had one monster season with the Red Wings and earned a 22-game call up to the Twins at age 30. He spent time the next two seasons with Toronto. Huber was similar in that he was older. The former prospect from Australia earned a September call up, but got hurt in his one game with the Twins. Utility Player: Alex Casilla, Howie Clark, Brian Dinkelman, Matt Tolbert, Tommy Watkins. My vote goes for Tommy Watkins. Sure Howie Clark spent four seasons with the Red Wings, three with the O's and one with the Twins. He has some impressive numbers. Brian Dinkelman ranks in the top five or six in Red Wings stats during the Twins era and was a Harmon Killebrew Award recipient. He had the cool nickname and chant when he received his call ups to the Twins. Casilla and Tolbert both spent a lot of time back and forth between Rochester and the Twins. But Tommy Watkins is The Mayor. I mean, it's Rochester and he owns it. And, it's my ballot! Manager: There are some quality options on the ballot, but I'm going with Gene Glynn. The Red Wings had just come off of losing 91 and 95 games when he took over. Obviously better players help but Gene Glynn less the team to three straight seasons at .500 or better before moving up to the big league club as the Twins 3B coach. So there you have it, a look at my personal ballot for the All Frontier Field team. This is the 20th season of baseball at the stadium. The Twins have had the Red Wings as their AAA affiliate for 14 years now. Please take 5-10 minutes of time to click here and make your choices for the 20th anniversary Frontier Field team. And share your vote and your memories of some of these players in the comments below. Click here to view the article