Seth Stohs

With a loss on Monday, the Twins second half began in the same way the first half began, with a loss. When the Twins hit the halfway point of their season, they had a record of 27-54. Simple math tells us that they are on pace to end the season with a 54-108 record. Maybe Murphy’s Law is the best explanation or summary of the Minnesota Twins 2016 season so far. If anything can go wrong, it will, and it has.Let’s start at the end of last year. The Twins were not officially eliminated from the playoffs until after their 161st game. Hope was high as the offseason began. And that’s why 2016 has been so incredibly disappointing for the fans, and likely even more so for the players and the front office. If anything can go wrong… I believe that the Twins were very surprised when they learned that Torii Hunter had decided to retire. As much as we know that his skills had fallen, he really did have a major influence in the clubhouse. To what degree, there is no way to measure, but Hunter’s influence is unquestionably missed.The Twins traded Aaron Hicks to the Yankees for John Ryan Murphy. On the surface, the trade made a lot of sense for both teams. The Yankees have an aging outfield that consists of Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran. Hicks was brought in to be the fourth outfielder and play most of the time. The Twins have some outfield depth and needed to address an organizational need behind the plate. In acquiring Murphy, the Twins had a catcher with solid MLB experience as a backup to Brian McCann over the past few years. He is still just 24 and under team control for four more years. However, Murphy struggled mightily in spring training and at the start of the season and was sent to Rochester by early May. He’s hitting better, and he still has a future with the Twins, but the first half did not go well at all.It was announced that the Twins won the bid on 1B Byung Ho Park for a reasonable $12 million bid. Weeks later, Park arrived in Minneapolis to sign a very reasonable contract of four years and $12 million, with an option. There was a lot of excitement around the signing of the top player in Korea. The man had hit 105 home runs and driven in 270 runs over the previous two seasons, but he also struck out a ton. He showed up to spring training and acclimated himself well to his new teammates. He has shown some of the great power that we all hoped for, but his inability to make consistent contact and declining confidence got him shipped to Rochester last week.While the decision to offer arbitration to Eduardo Nunez has certainly looked wise in the season’s first half, the other three decisions have not been so beneficial for the Twins. Casey Fien got off to a bad start (7.90 ERA in 14 games) and was placed on waivers and claimed by the Dodgers the first week in May. After a brief stint in the minors, he was called up and has posted a 2.33 ERA in 16 games in LA.Tommy Milone was placed on waivers at the same time, though he went unclaimed. He went and dominated the International League for a month before being called up recently. He has been bad in two starts since his return and may not be long for the roster… again.Kevin Jepsen was the final play who was offered arbitration. Like Milone, it was an easy choice to offer it to him. He had come to the Twins in a July 31 trade last year and was tremendous for the team through the final two months. With Glen Perkins unable to pitch, Jepsen was a very reliable closer. Though no one thought he would be that great again, no one could have imagined that he would be completely unable to get anyone out. He was DFA'd over the weekend. Days earlier, it was announced that the primary pitcher the Twins traded for Jepsen, Chih-Wei Hu, was named to the Futures Game roster. Of course, that’s how July deadline trades work out. The Twins got what they wanted for 2015. The Rays got a nice pitching prospect who may be part of their future. It’s the kind of trade that the Twins will hopefully be able to make before July 31.While Glen Perkins has been hurt the past two second halves, he put in the work in the offseason and got in much better shape. The hope was that he would be able to maintain his shoulder strength throughout the season. Instead, he struggled in two appearances and went on the DL. He had shoulder surgery last week which revealed that the labrum had been separated from his shoulder.Phil Hughes was elite in 2014. He struggled in 2015. The hope was that he could be something in between in 2016. Instead, he really struggled and got demoted to the bullpen. He got hit by a line drive that fractured his leg. Last week, he had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome which will likely affect his 2017 season as well.There was an assumption that Eddie Rosario’s production might drop a bit in 2016 after a strong rookie season. We had seen similar fall-offs in production with guys like Oswaldo Arcia, Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas, but there are exceptions to the rule that plate approach was pretty important in sustaining success. Instead, Rosario made no adjustments and kept swinging at nearly everything and found himself optioned to Rochester by mid-May. He raked in Rochester and has now returned to the Twins. Hopefully we’ll see some improvement.Eddie Rosario is just one example of a young player taking a step backwards (or not taking a step forward) this year. Miguel Sano had a monster first half-season in the big leagues in 2015. He was all right in the first half of this season, when healthy, but certainly not performing to the level we had hoped. Byron Buxton has been great in the field, but he has really struggled with the bat. In fact, he was sent down to Rochester for about a month, and he again dominated the minor leagues. Jose Berrios finally got an opportunity, but he posted an ERA over 10 in four starts and really struggled with his control. He was sent back to Rochester where he appears to have turned things around again. He should be back in the big leagues soon. Finally, Alex Meyer was terrific through his first three starts in Rochester. In fact, he was called up to the Twins. He was to work long relief, but when Milone was removed from the rotation, he was put into the rotation. He made one start, and the Twins wisely sent him back to Rochester after the game to bring up a reliever for a few days before Ervin Santana took back his rotation spot. Unfortunately, in Meyer’s first bullpen session upon his return to the Red Wings, he felt something in his shoulder. That was the first week in May, and he has not pitched in a game since, nearly two months. These four players are a big part of the plans that Terry Ryan and company had. These elite prospects need to become solid (or better) big leaguers for the organization to regain some status. Fortunately, Max Kepler has played very well the last two or three weeks and fits into the same category now as the four listed above. Similarly, Tyler Duffey struggled early in the season but hopefully has made the adjustments to turn things around.As much as the young players struggled early, and they did, in my mind that wasn’t the big issue. I expect some struggles from young players. What really hurt, in my mind, were the struggles of some of the veterans early in the year. Brian Dozier has been on fire since the beginning of June, but through the first two months of the season, he was hitting .202/.294/.329 (.624) with just twelve extra-base hits. Similarly, Trevor Plouffe hit just .246/.273/.369 (.642) with nine extra-base hits through May. Kurt Suzuki was hitting .212/.266/.293 (.559) with five extra-base hits through May. Joe Mauer was terrific in April and has struggled since, other than a power streak in late May. Hughes. Nolasco. Milone. Jepsen. Fien. Ervin Santana. Even Kyle Gibson, who was the team’s pitcher of the year last year, struggled early and then missed about six weeks with injury. The veterans that we were hoping to gett quality play from have struggled as much as the young players.Eduardo Escobar finally went into spring training being handed a starting shortstop job. He earned it. He had tremendous second halves in 2014 and 2015. Unfortunately after a quick start, he struggled mightily and then got hurt and went on the DL. Eduardo Nunez took his spot and he took off and hasn’t slowed down since.I mean, those are just my thoughts from the top of my head. If I spent more time thinking about it, there would certainly be more issues. It was a disastrous first half of the season, and we will see what happens in the second half. There are some reasons to believe they will be better in the second half, and there are plenty of story lines to follow over the final 80 games. But the Twins first half has been dreadful and can be summarized by quoting Murphy’s Law: If anything could go wrong, it probably already has gone wrong for the Twins in the 2016 season. Click here to view the article

That's kind of been my thought all along, that they would likely have him start until they think he's far enough and then move him up to Chattanooga to pitch out of the bullpen. That could still happen. Or, they could have him skip another start or something, or limit his pitches, stuff like that.

That would shock me completely.

That's what happens with July deadline trades though. You give up something to get something. The wins gave up Hu, who they knew had a chance to be good, to get a guy to try to help them get to the playoffs in 2015. Jepsen did WAY more than anyone could have expected. 2016 has been a mess, for sure though. It's the risk you trade when trading prospects, and its what the Twins will hopefully get when they trade some veterans this month. I hated the trade at the time, but it worked out well for the Twins in 2015.

Happy Independence Day to you and your families! Enjoy the day and be safe! On the 3rd, some of the top Twins pitching prospects were on the mound, and they didn’t disappoint. Check out what else happened in Sunday’s Twins Minor League Report.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Syracuse 2 Box Score It appears the Jose Berrios has completely turned things around for his 2016, and on Sunday he put together arguably his best start of the season. The right-hander went all nine innings and needed just 87 pitches. An impressive 67 of those pitches were strikes. He gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits. He walked none and struck out seven. He is now 3-1 with a 0.60 ERA with a strikeout per inning in his last four starts. The offense used some power to generate its runs. Kennys Vargas hit his 14th homer. Tommy Field hit his fifth Red Wings homer. Adam Brett Walker added his 16th home run. Logan Schafer went 2-5. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Pensacola 0 Box Score Kohl Stewart started for the Lookouts and had his best AA start. The right-hander went seven shutout innings. He gave up just four hits, walked two and struck out seven. Mason Melotakis threw a perfect eighth inning. Then Jake Reed came in and struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth inning. Ryan Walker went 2-5 with his second double and two RBI. Dalton Hicks was 2-5 and added his 17th double. Shannon Wilkerson was 1-3 with a walk. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Jupiter 0 Box Score This is the point in the season where it will be interesting to see how the Twins handle Tyler Jay and his workload. He was skipped in his last start. In this game he worked just four innings (and threw 62 pitches, 46 strikes). He gave up four hits and a walk without allowing a run. He struck out two. Brandon Peterson walked two and struck out three over the next two scoreless innings. Luke Bard gave up a hit and walked one over two scoreless innings. Todd Van Steensel gave up two hits but no runs in the ninth. Trey Vavra went 2-4 with an RBI. TJ White was also 2-4 and is now hitting .309 with the Miracle. LaMonte Wade added a two-run double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Beloit 8 Box Score Dereck Rodriguez was back on the hill for the Kernels. He gave up four runs on four hits over 6.1 innings. He walked two and struck out a season-high 10 batters. When he left the game with one out in the 7th inning, he had given up three runs (two of them in the 7th). Williams Ramirez came in and things went further south. He gave up the inherited run and four more runs on three hits and three walks before getting the two outs. Cam Booser gave up a hit and walked two in a scoreless inning. He struck out two. JJ Fernandez went 2-3 with his 17th double. Rainis Silva added an RBI single. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Bluefield 8 Box Score Sean Poppen made his second start of the season. He gave up two runs on four hits over four innings. He walked two and struck out four. Austin Tribby entered and was charged with three runs on two hits and three walks in just 1.2 innings. Max Cordy went the next 1.2 innings. He gave up one run on four hits and a walk while striking out two. Colton Davis was able to give three innings. He gave up two runs on one hit and three walks while striking out four. Hector Lujan got the final two outs, one on a strikeout. Travis Blankenhorn went 2-6 in the game with his fourth home run and four runs driven in. Caleb Hamilton went 2-5 with his first double. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins Box Score The GCL Twins do not play on Sundays. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berrios, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Travis Blankenhorn, Elizabethton Twins MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Logan Darnell Birmingham @ Chattanooga (5:15 CST) - LHP David Hurlbut Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (5:30 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (5:05 CST) – LHP Sam Clay Bluefield @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Jose Martinez GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (9:00am CST) - RHP Brady Anderson Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday's games. Click here to view the article

I'm trying to find out. Because there is no "lower" level for him to rehab, I thought maybe there was some plan for him in terms of playing time coming back. But now he hasn't played for two days in a row, so I'm not sure. Then again, he was spending all of 2016 in the DSL either way, and he'll (most likely) come to Instructs this fall and to Extended Spring next year, so I don't think it hurts his timeline. It just hurt his experience and at bats and game action, and that is too bad.

It's a little misleading... Kepler was hurt in the middle of spring training and began the season with about a week or ten days in Ft. Myers before they moved him to Chattanooga.

You may wonder why big leaguer Max Kepler is on the photo of the minor league report. We find it important to recognize the accomplishments of the Twins minor leaguers, and we’ll do that in the report below. However, Kepler’s two home run, seven RBI game is a good reminder that the big-picture dreams and goals for all of the minor leaguers is to get where Max Kepler - who started the 2015 season in Ft. Myers, you may remember - is today; in the big leagues, having success, maybe even getting interviewed by Marney Gellner.With that, let’s jump into Saturday’s Twins Minor League Report. It was another full day of games. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Syracuse 3 Box Score Pat Dean put together a quality start and the Red Wings powered their way to a win. The left-hander gave up three runs on eight hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out two. Sean Burnett struck out two in his scoreless inning. Trevor May worked for the second day in a row, as planned, and worked a shutout frame. He walked one and struck out two. Marcus Walden struck out one in a perfect ninth. Byung Ho Park made his AAA debut and did well, getting on base four times in the game. He went 2-3 with a walk and was also hit by a pitch. Kennys Vargas was 2-4 with a walk and his 13th home run. Adam Brett Walker went 2-5. Jorge Polanco added his sixth homer of the year. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Pensacola 3 Box Score Aaron Slegers has been solid much of the year for the Lookouts, but he had a season-high in strikeouts on Saturday. The lanky right-hander went seven innings. He was charged with three runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out ten. Zack Jones and Trevor HIldenberger each worked perfect innings and recorded two strikeouts each. Engelb Vielma went 2-4 with a walk and his second triple. Stuart Turner went 2-4 with his 11th double. Travis Harrison was also 2-4. Mitch Garver added his 14th double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 10, Jupiter 1 Box Score Randy LeBlanc got a ton of offensive support, but he was really good in picking up his second FSL win. The right-hander from Tulane went the first seven innings. He gave up just one run on five hits. He didn’t issue a walk and struck out two. Nick Anderson walked one in a scoreless inning. Mike Theofanopoulos walked one and struck one out in a scoreless ninth. Nick Gordon led the big Miracle offensive attack. He went 3-5 with his fifth triple. Trey Vavra was 2-4 with his 11th double. TJ White went 2-5. LaMonte Wade and Joe Maloney were both 2-4. Edgar Corcino hit his fifth home run. AJ Murray notched his first Florida State League homer. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 2 Box Score Lachlan Wells was back on the mound for his second Kernels start. The lefty from Australia completed five innings. He gave up two runs on three hits. He walked three and struck out five. Michael Cederoth came on and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out two. Sam Gibbons gave up a hit, but he struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning. Anthony McIver walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning for his fourth Kernels save. Not much offense for the Kernels on this night. Daniel Kihle went 2-3. Zander Wiel added his 16th double. Down 2-1 in the top of the 8th, Kihle led off with a single which was followed by an Austin Diemer single. Following a wild pitch, Sean Miller brought home the game-tying run with a sacrifice fly. The go-ahead run scored on a wild pitch. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Bluefield 8 Box Score Another day, another Jaylin Davis home run for the E-Twins. In the team’s 10th game, Davis went 2-5 and notched his seventh home run of the young season. Amaurys Minier followed with his second homer. He was also 2-5. Later, Shane Carrier hit his first professional homer. He went 2-4. Trey Cabbage made his Elizabethton debut, playing third base. He went 1-4 with a double. Alex Kirilloff has now hit in all four games he’s played. He doubled in this game, his first. The two University of California pitchers, Mason and Schik, both struggled in this, their second time out. Ryan Mason gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits over four innings. He didn’t walk anyone, but he did hit one batter. He struck out two. Alex Schik went the next 2.2 innings. He gave up two runs on three hits. He walked and hit a batter, and he struck out five. Johan Quezada struck out two over the final 2.1 innings. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 6 Box Score Huascar Ynoa made his second start. The right-hander was charged with three runs (two earned) on five hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out five. With two runners on in the fifth inning Zach Strecker came on and gave up the inherited runners plus three more runs (two earned). He got just one out and gave up a hit and two walks. Onas Farfan got the team out of the fifth inning and worked two more scoreless innings. In his 2.2 innings, he gave up one hit walked one and struck out two. Patrick McGuff gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth inning. Aaron Whitefield continued his hot start. He was 2-4 with his first double. Jorge Andrade went 1-3 with a walk, a double and a stolen base. Luis Martinez went 1-3 with a walk Juan Gamez was 1-2 with a walk and a sacrifice bunt. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nick Gordon, Ft. Myers Mirace SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05 CST) - RHP Jose Berrios Chattanooga @ Pensacola (6:30 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) - LHP Tyler Jay Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (7:00 CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez Bluefield @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday's games. Click here to view the article

There’s no need to even tease our Minor League Hitter of the Month. It’s Daniel Palka. He was named the Southern League Hitter of the Month yesterday, and today we’ll just formalize something that’s been pretty clear since the second week of the month. What a month it was for the slugger in Chattanooga. However, one of his teammates deserves a lot of consideration for the top honor, and find out who else was considered for the award and others that deserve some honorable mention as well. June is always such an interesting and fun month in the minor leagues. Players get named to and play in their league All-Star games in most of the affiliates. The draft adds several players to the organization. The players who have been in Ft. Myers for extended spring training get to start seasons that really count and show up in places like Baseball Reference. We are just past the halfway point of the minor league season, and it’s time to hand out some more awards!Before we jump to the top five hitters of the month, here are other hitters who are very deserving of recognition. These guys had a strong June performances. Congratulations to all of the players mentioned below. C John Ryan Murphy (Rochester) - .279/.346/.456 (.802). 19-68 with nine doubles, a homer and 14 RBIs.IF Leonardo Reginnato (Chattanooga) - .318/.367/.432 (.799). 28-88 with two doubles, one triple, two homers and nine RBIs.1B/OF Trey Vavra (Ft. Myers) - .296/.359/.423 (.782). 21-71 with three doubles, two homers and nine RBIs.THE TOP FIVE HITTERS Number 5 - Rochester – 1B Kennys Vargas - .213/.368/.468 (.836). 20-94 with seven doubles, a triple, five homers and 20 RBIs. Overall, I think it is very fair to say that 2016 has been a disappointing season for Vargas. In 80 overall games, he has hit .231/.348/.415 (.764). Certainly not terrible, but clearly he would prefer to be in the big leagues. He has hit 13 doubles and 12 home runs, and he has driven in 51 runs. He’s done a better job of taking walks too. He has 51 walks to go with 74 strikeouts. He was a bit better in June, though the average was still very low. He got on base and he produced a lot of extra base hits and drove in runs. Number 4 – Cedar Rapids – 2B Luis Arraez - .330/.359/.409 (.768). 29-88 with seven doubles and eleven RBIs. The 19-year-old second baseman from Venezuela was in this exact spot in May when he hit .340 in Cedar Rapids. He continued to do a nice job setting the table at the top of the Kernels lineup. He participated in the Midwest League All-Star Game, held in Cedar Rapids. He led off and had two hits. After playing well in the GCL last year, I don’t think anyone was expecting him to play this well in Cedar Rapids this year. Overall, he is hitting .328/.380/.430 (.810) and made himself into a legit prospect. Number 3 – Rochester – OF Eddie Rosario - .305/.342/.524 (.866). 32-105 with eight doubles, five home runs, and 15 RBIs. OK, I was wrong. Eddie Rosario was not the rare exception of a guy who refuses to walk who still finds success in MLB. A sophomore slump hit him and hit him hard. He, like Vargas and Danny Santana and Oswaldo Arcia, found himself back in Rochester after early success in MLB. However, Rosario didn’t sulk. Instead, after a few games, he has been hitting great. Sure, he still isn’t walking a ton, but he has his stroke back and hopefully he has learned enough to know what he can and can’t hit. He should be back for another opportunity with the Twins very soon. Number 2 – Chattanooga – OF Zach Granite - .363/.420/.529 (.949). 37-102 with four doubles, two triples, three homers and 10 RBIs. In many months, the numbers that Granite put up in June would likely win this award. There was some surprise when Granite began the season in Chattanooga, but he has established himself as a terrific leadoff hitter and even generated a little power. But first and foremost, Granite does a great job of just getting on base. He definitely has led the way, initiating the offense for the Lookouts all season. Granite takes very professional at-bats, stays back well and uses the whole field. The hitter whose stock has grown most in the first half of the season just might be Zach Granite. If you want, you could say he's been Rock Solid! And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is: Chattanooga – OF Daniel Palka - .302/.372/.802 (1.174). 29-96 with three doubles, three triples, 13 home runs and 30 RBIs. This award was won fairly early in the month. Palka was the Twins choice for Twins minor league hitter of the month in April, but he had a very quiet May. He began June with some big power and won the Southern League Player of the Week during the first week. For the most part, he remained hot throughout the month and ended the month on another home run tear. 13 home runs. 30 RBI. That type of production will win a lot of awards. Will it also get him some time at Rochester this season? The Twins acquired Palka from the Arizona Diamondbacks back in November. Chris Herrmann was out of options and likely would have been removed from the Twins 40-man roster. Somehow, inexplicably, Terry Ryan was able to steal Palka in return. Now, Herrmann is playing very well in Arizona, but Palka is looking like he has the makings of a future 30-home run hitter in the big leagues. Palka, who will turn 25 in October, was Arizona’s third-round pick in 2013 out of Georgia Tech where he was a teammate of Luke Bard. Last year in High-A ball, Palka hit .280/.352/.532 (.885) with 36 doubles, 29 home runs and 90 RBI. He even stole 24 bases, something he hasn’t done much of this season. He made a good impression on the big league club this spring. The first time they had him dress with the big league team in a spring game, Palka hit two home runs. He hit another in a later game with them. He is almost certain to be added to the Twins 40-man roster this November. Will he have a spot in the Twins big league lineup in the next couple of years? We shall see. June can be a tough month for these awards since generally players get fewer at bats due to All-Star games and such. But Daniel Palka and Zach Granite led the way with great performances, helping the Lookouts to a terrific month. Congratulations to the June Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month for 2016, Daniel Palka. Click here to view the article

I couldn't kill it... I rather enjoy eating it though! Ha!

He struggled of late, and even more so, it's to limit innings. Nothing injury wise.

He was... they didn't want him to take the 12+ hour bus ride to E-Town from Ft. Myers. It was his back, though not the same injury as last year. He is now in Elizabethton. Should play soon.

He's not blazing fast, but from all I've read and seen and heard, he sure looks solid defensively. I think he can play at least acceptable defense in the outfield (right field). I haven't seen enough of him at 1B, a couple of games this spring. He looks fine there too, but I just haven't seen enough to know for sure. I think he's got a chance. Like Walker though, the key will be making enough contact.

Yeah, i have a feeling we'll have an article written on him in a few days!

We must have seen 40 deer driving around the woods last night in maybe an hour. That one was just kind of standing at the side of the road. My daughter saw it, and I was in the back seat. We got past it and it just kind of stopped, so my brother said, take a selfie with it. It was still just standing there, so I took a couple and then it just calmly walked across the gravel road, in no hurry. Got a few more decent pictures of the deer. Gotta love it!

My Fourth of July weekend started a bit early. A little much-needed time off from my 8-5 job (which has been more like 8-8 the last month) allows me to hang out and relax for a few days. Maybe even ride around in a truck in the woods, looking for a deer friend. Sorry! But hey, the Twins minor leaguers still play ball, and we at Twins Daily will still cover it. They gave us plenty to talk about on Thursday night. Adam Brett Walker lived up to his twitter handle (@walkoff28) with a HUGE homer in Game 1 tonight for the Red Wings. A couple of Twins' second-round picks had real solid games in Ft. Myers, where another starter has quietly had a solid season. Chattanooga played and it was still June, so of course Daniel Palka homered, again. And another 2016 pick played in his first professional game.All that, and much more, in today’s Twins Minor League Report. RED WINGS REPORT Game 1 - Rochester 5, Pawtucket 1 (8 innings) Box Score I think we know that Adam Brett Walker is what he is on the baseball field, and sometimes that works out really, really well for his team. Game 1 on Thursday was one of those times. He came up big with the walk off grand slam. The Red Wings had just five hits in the game. James Beresford went 2-4 with his 11th double. Logan Schafer hit his first Red Wings triple. Andrew Albers was very good as well. The lefty gave up one run on five hits over seven innings. He struck out three and didn’t issue a walk. JT Chargois gets the win after a perfect, two-strikeout inning. Game 2 - Rochester 1, Pawtucket 6 Box Score There was a different, less exciting script in the second game of the doubleheader, especially for the Red Wings. Nick Greenwood gave up four runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out four without a walk. Ryan O’Rourke came on with a runner on in the sixth and got one out, on a strikeout. However he gave up an intentional walk and a hit and both runners scored. David Martinez got the final out of the sixth and worked through the seventh. Eddie Rosario went 2-3 with his 14th double. Miguel Sano added a double. Tommy Field hit his first Red Wings triple. Stephen Wickens was also 2-3. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Pensacola 3 Box Score The Lookouts had a touchdown and PAT and held Pensacola to just a field goal for the Thursday night win. Ryan Eades improved to 5-3 with six strong innings. He gave up just one run on four hits. He walked three and struck out six. Jake Reed worked the next two innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and two hit batters. He did strike out four. Mason Melotakis struck out two in a perfect ninth inning. Daniel Palka ended an incredible June with yet another homer, his 20th of the season and two RBI. He ends June with 13 homers and 30 RBI in the month. Not too shabby. Shannon Wilkerson entered the game in center field, replacing Zach Granite (who went 1-2). Wilkerson went 2-3 with his seventh double and his second home run. It was a two-run blast to give the Lookouts a cushion in the eighth inning. Dalton Hicks went 2-4 with his 16th double. Ryan Walker was 2-4. Stuart Turner had a single, and he also stole his first two bases of the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach 0 Box Score Keaton Steele is the least known of the Miracle rotation, but he has quietly put together a solid season. He had one of his best starts on Thursday night. He threw 6.2 shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out two. He is now 4-6 but has a solid 3.66 ERA. Steele was replaced by Luke Bard who got the next four outs. Mike Theofanopoulos came in for the ninth inning. He gave up one hit, but he recorded his first Florida State League save. Joe Maloney led the offense. He went 2-4 and also stole his first two bases with the Miracle. AJ Murray notched his third triple. Nick Gordon recorded the lone RBI on a single. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 6 Box Score Eduardo del Rosario started and worked six innings. However, he gave up six runs on six hits (two homers). He walked three and struck out four. Anthony McIver and Cameron Booser each worked scoreless innings. Booser did so while walking one and giving up one hit. Luis Arraez continued to hit. He went 2-4. Nelson Molina, batting third, went 2-4 with his fifth double. Zander Wiel added an RBI double, his 15th of the year. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Pulaski 3 Box Score Travis Blankenhorn gave the E-Twins a 1-0 lead in the first inning with his third homer of the season. But that was it in terms of runs scored. Jaylin Davis was 1-3 and had a walk. Lewin Diaz added his third double. Alex Kiriloff batted sixth again, but this time, he played left field. He went 1-4. Brandon Lopez made his professional debut. He signed a little later since Miami was playing in the College World Series. He went 1-3 with a walk. He batted fifth and played shortstop. Domenick Carlini actually pitched pretty well, but a couple of errors led to a couple of unearned runs, and he took the loss. He gave up the two unearned runs on just one hit. He walked two and struck out one. Hector Lujan went the final three innings. He gave up one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out two. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Orioles 0 Box Score Bo Hellquist, a non-drafted free agent from Savage (Burnsville HS) and Minnesota-Duluth, made his pro debut. The crafty lefty threw 4.1 scoreless innings before meeting his pitch limit. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out five. Daniel Martinez struck out two over 1.2 perfect innings to record his first win. Callan Pearce struck out three over two shutout innings. Garrett Kelly recorded his first save. He struck out two in a perfect ninth. Akil Baddoo led off and went 2-4 with his first stolen base. Jose Miranda went 2-3 with a walk and his first stolen base. He also drove in both Twins runs. Australian Aaron Whitefield went 2-4. Jorge Munoz went 1-3 with a walk and his first steal. Manuel Guzman, in his first rehab game, went 1-3 with a with a stolen base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Keaton Steele, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Shannon Wilkerson, Chattanooga Lookouts FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Jason Wheeler Chattanooga @ Pensacola (6:30 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (7:00 CST) – RHP Cody Stashak Pulaski @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (11:00 am CST) - RHP Miguel de Jesus Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday's games. Click here to view the article

The bats were quiet through most of the Twins farm system on Wednesday. There were a few really strong pitching performances. I mean, Felix Jorge was on the mound, so you knew there would be at least one strong pitching performance, right? And, we’ve been waiting for it, but Wednesday was finally the professional debut of Twins top pick, Alex Kirilloff. Find out how that went and much more in today’s Twins Minor League Report. We even have Miguel Sano video.Let’s start with a couple of quick notes before we get to the game reports and highlights. First, after missing just over two weeks with a hamstring injury, Wander Javier returned to the DSL Twins lineup. He played about a half a game and got two plate appearances, a walk and a strikeout. While the other affiliates have played their All-Star Games, the AAA ASG is near the MLB All-Star Game. Three members of the Rochester Red Wings will participate in the event. Lefty Jason Wheeler, second baseman Jorge Polanco and pitching coach Stu Cliburn will participate in the event. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Pawtucket 3 Box Score Logan Darnell started for the Red Wings. The southpaw gave up three runs on nine hits and two walks over 5.2 innings. Sean Burnett came on and got the next four outs, including one on a strikeout. Alex Wimmers pitched a scoreless inning despite giving up a hit and two walks. Marcus Walden gave up a hit in a scoreless inning. Adam Brett Walker led the offense. He went 2-4 with his 11th double. Tommy Field hit his tenth double. Carlos Paulino was 0-1, but he drove in two runs. Miguel Sano batted third and played third base. He went 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout. This may not go down as his greatest moment. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 0, Pensacola 3 Box Score David Hurlbut didn’t get any run support from the hitters or his fielders in this game. The lefty gave up three runs (just one earned) on nine hits. He walked one and struck out five. Three errors were committed behind him. Corey Williams and Raul Fernandez each worked a scoreless inning. There wasn’t much offense. There were six hits, though no one had more than one. Daniel Palka went 1-3 with a walk. Leonardo Reginnato went 1-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. Stuart Turner went 1-3, was hit by a pitch and hit his 10th double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Palm Beach 3 Box Score He gave up two runs in the 7th inning, but outside of that, Felix Jorge was tremendous again. In all, the right-hander went 6.1 innings and gave up two runs on eight hits. He walked one and struck out a season-high ten batters. Brandon Peterson got the final two outs in the seventh and then gave up one run in the eighth inning. Todd Van Steensel came on for the ninth, attempting to save a two-run lead. He walked two and struck out one, but he got help from catcher Brian Navarreto who threw out a man trying to steal a base. Van Steensel came through with a big strikeout to end the game. Jorge improved to 8-3 on the season, though his ERA “jumped” to 1.67. The save was Van Steensel’s fifth of the year. The top of the Miracle lineup was very productive. The first five batters each had two hits. TJ White was 2-5 with his first triple. AJ Murray went 2-4 with a walk. Niko Goodrum (4), Trey Vavra (10) and Edgar Corcino (11) each went 2-4 and added a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 4 Box Score For the second time in four games, leadoff man Luis Arraez had a four-hit game. Over those four games, he is 11-17 from the plate. Daniel Kihle went 2-4. Sean Miller added his 12th double. JJ Fernandez extended his hitting streak to ten games with his 16th double. Miles Nordgren fell to 3-4 with just a 2.93 ERA in this complete game effort. The right-hander went all eight innings. He gave up four runs (three earned) on ten hits. He walked one and struck out nine. 75 of his 107 pitches were strikes. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Pulaski 6 Box Score Twins first-round pick Alex Kirilloff has been with the E-Twins since Saturday, but on Wednesday, he finally made his professional debut. He batted sixth and was the team’s DH. It didn’t take him too long to record his first hit. He lined a single to center in his first at bat. He went 1-3 in the game and will likely make his first start in the outfield on Thursday. There wasn’t much offense for the E-Twins on this night. Ariel Montesino continues to hit. He went 2-3 with a walk. Travis Blankenhorn went 2-4 and had the team’s lone RBI. Alex Robinson has a ton of talent. He struck out eight in his season debut, but he also walked six batters. Control has been his issue and it reared its ugly head on Wednesday night in the E-Twins home opener. Robinson was charged with three runs on four hits in just 2.1 innings. He walked five batters without a strikeout. Robinson was replaced by Tyler Beardsley. He gave up two runs on five hits, but he got through 3.2 more innings. He struck out five and did not issue a walk. Max Cordy gave up one run on three hits and a walk in his two innings. He also struck out five. Austin Tribby, a left-hander from Missouri, came on for the ninth to make his professional debut. He walked two and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 0, GCL Orioles 3 Box Score The Twins didn’t have much offense in this game. Twins 12th round pick Zach Featherstone went 2-3 with a walk. Juan Gamez, a late-round pick from NDSU, recorded his first professional hit in this game, a single. Tyler Fox made the start. He gave up two runs on two hits in 3.2 innings. He walked one and struck out two. Matz Schutte gave up one run on two hits over two innings. Moises Gomez went 1.1 innings without allowing a run despite a hit and two walks. Zach Strecker walked one in a scoreless inning. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Felix Jorge, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Luis Arraez, Cedar Rapids Kernels THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (DH @ 5:05 CST) - LHPs Andrew Albers, Nick Greenwood Chattanooga @ Pensacola (6:30 CST) - RHP Ryan Eades Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (11:00 am CST) - RHP Keaton Steele Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (7:00 CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday's games. Click here to view the article

Control, but maybe even more important, command. Absolutely the key for both.

No one would, but as written in the article and throughout the comments, that's not why he's included.