Seth Stohs

After a brief hiatus to present our June Minor League Awards, we again consider the organizational depth within the organization. We have already looked at the outfielders and catchers. Today we look at the infielders throughout the system. Coming into the season, it looked as though the Twins finally had a lot of organizational depth at shortstop. However, Eduardo Escobar and the two top shortstop prospects have already spent time on the DL. Jorge Polanco has played just one game at shortstop. Jermaine Palacios is dwelling around the Mendoza Line in Cedar Rapids. Wander Javier will spend the season in the Dominican Summer League. The position is still strong in the big picture, but it is a good reminder that it is important to have strong depth.Minnesota Twins - 1B: Joe Mauer, 2B: Brian Dozier, 3B: Trevor Plouffe, SS: Eduardo Escobar, DH: Byung Ho Park, Utility: Eduardo Nunez Joe Mauer had a strong April, but then he struggled in May. He has shown more power this year than in the last couple of seasons. Hard to believe that the top performing infielder in the system, and the current favorite to represent the Twins in the All-Star Game in July, has been Eduardo Nunez. Park has expectedly struggled to adjust, while at the same time showing the type of power potential he has. Dozier has struggled since after the 2015 All-Star Game. And, Escobar and Plouffe have each spent time on the disabled list while not performing up to their previous levels. Rochester Red Wings - 1B: Kenny Vargas, 2B: Jorge Polanco, 3B: James Beresford, SS: Wilfredo Tovar, Utility: Stephen Wickens, Buck Britton, Tommy Field, Heiker Meneses (DL), Reynaldo Rodriguez (Suspended) Polanco is clearly the prospect in this group, though as mentioned above, he has not played shortstop with the Red Wings this year. He has spent plenty of time in the big leagues already, though rarely played when he was up there. Beresford is continuing where he left off in 2015, building off an All-Star season. Vargas got off to a very slow start, and is still not hitting for average, but in recent weeks, he has shown off his power. Tovar has been the everyday shortstop for the Red Wings. He’s always been known for his defense and has helped his pitchers many times already. Wickens, Britton and Field are all veteran minor leaguers who have played around the field, in the infield and outfield. Chattanooga Lookouts - 1B: Dalton Hicks, 2B: Ryan Walker, 3B: TJ White, SS: Leonardo Reginnato, Utility: Levi Michael, Engelb Vielma (DL), Niko Goodrum (DL) Engelb Vielma began the season with the Lookouts, but he has been on the disabled list twice. He was activated last week and sent to Ft. Myers where he and Nick Gordon are flip-flopping in the middle infield positions. TJ White came up early in the season, and he has certainly struggled at the plate, but he is a terrific athlete and hopefully will take off soon. Hicks is back after missing several months last year. His batting average is low, but he continues to show power and drive in runs. Leonardo Reginnato was a minor league free agent signing and he’s done a nice job offensively and defensively. Ryan Walker came up in early May and has played very well. Always a good glove, he has hit well for the Lookouts. Levi Michael has played well the last couple of seasons in AA when healthy but this year he is losing time to Walker and Reginnato and playing more of a utility role. Goodrum had a stress fracture in his foot. Ft. Myers Miracle - 1B: Trey Vavra, 2B: Tanner Witt, 3B: Chris Paul, SS: Nick Gordon, Utility: Logan Wade, Alex Real Gordon is one of the organization’s top prospects, and he’s a Top 100 prospect in baseball. He’s had a strong start to his 2016 season as well. Trey Vavra is healthy after missing half of the 2015 season after ankle surgery. TJ White was supposed to spend the season in Ft. Myers, but injury pushed him to Chattanooga. That pushed Chris Paul up to Ft. Myers a little earlier than anticipated, but he’s been solid, hitting a lot of doubles. Alex Real has been the primary DH and played some first base. Tanner Witt was signed a month ago from independent ball and played well. Logan Wade can play all over the infield and in the corners of the outfield. Cedar Rapids Kernels - 1B: Zander Wiel, 2B: Luis Arraez, 3B: Nelson Molina, SS: Jermaine Palacios, Utility: Sean Miller, Alex Perez, Manuel Guzman (DL), Rafael Valera (DL) 19-year-olds Jermaine Palacios and Luis Arraez have been in the lineup most games. Arraez has hit well over .300 and is a catalyst at the top of the Kernels lineup. Palacios hasn’t hit like he did last year in the two rookie leagues. They’re so young but gaining really valuable experience. Wiel played three years at Vanderbilt. After a slow start, he had a real solid, productive May, including an increase in power. Sean Miller has been on-fire since he had a week in Ft. Myers as an injury replacement. Nelson Molina has not hit in his three seasons in the rookie leagues. He began in EST and has since being recalled in early May has hit over .300 and played well at third base. Perez also started in EST, and when he plays, he hits at the top of the order and gets on base at a strong clip. Rafael Valera was off to a strong start but he’ll be out for awhile with a labrum injury. Extended Spring Training - 1B: Lewin Diaz, Amaurys Minier, Kolton Kendrick, 2B: Emmanuel Morel, Travis Blankenhorn, Jorge Andrade, 3B: Trey Cabbage, Ruar Verkerk, Roni Tapia, SS: Ariel Montesino, Jorge Munoz. We have already seen several infielders moved up from extended spring to Cedar Rapids, but there is still a ton of big talent. Top international signings in recent years, Lewin Diaz and Amaurys Minier have huge power potential. Diaz had a hip injury that cost him most of spring training. I thought Minier would be in Cedar Rapids by now. Travis Blankenhorn (3rd), Trey Cabbage (4th) and Kolton Kendrick (8th) all have big potential as well. While Kendrick’s tool is his power, Blankenhorn and Cabbage are both gifted, well-rounded athletes who will be known for their bats, but who have worked around the field defensively.Speed is the name of the game for Emmanuel Morel, Ariel Montesino and Jorge Munoz. Munoz is a gifted shortstop with the glove. All three fit into the classic mold of a middle infielder; speed, defense, slappy, line drive hitters. Andrade, Verkerk and Tapia are looking to take a step forward in 2016. Top Prospects Corner Infielders: 1.) Travis Blankenhorn, 2.) Trey Cabbage, 3.) Lewin Diaz, 4.) Amaurys Minier, 5.) Zander Wiel. Top Prospects Middle Infielders: 1.) Nick Gordon, 2.) Jorge Polanco, 3.) Jermaine Palacios, 4.) Luis Arraez, 5.) Jorge Munoz. Draft Thoughts: There is a lot of depth and talent here at the various levels.They have a lot of middle infielders who have a chance to stick at shortstop. They also have several big boppers - particularly at the lower levels. However, as it relates to the draft selecting shortstop make a ton of sense. Why? Because generally they are some of the best athletes. As you recall, even Miguel Sano was signed as an athletic shortstop. Obviously it was well known that he wasn’t going to stick at shortstop and was immediately moved to third base. Same thing with Cabbage and Blankenhorn from last year’s draft. They played a lot of shortstop in high school but were drafted as third basemen and played various positions last year in the rookie leagues. Because of their athleticism, it’s easier for them to move to other positions of need. And it is important to draft a couple of guys that you think have the potential to stick at shortstop too. Click here to view the article

It was 9-6, and yeah, I somehow completely forgot to do all of the Chattanooga hitting, and there were some guys with big days!

There were five games for the Twins' minor leagues affiliates on Saturday. Actually, there were six as the Twins Dominican Summer League (DSL) team made their 2016 debut. Among the four full-season affiliates, there was an opportunity for a cycle. Several top pitching prospects were on the mound, including the AA debut of Kohl Stewart. Though we don’t necessarily cover them every day, the Twins DSL squad won their first game this year, 6-2 over the Orioles team. Though it is really difficult to know which players on those rosters will become quality prospects over time - stats matter very little at that level - we all know who Wander Javier is. The Twins signed the Dominican shortstop last July to a $4 million signing bonus. Today was his professional debut. He batted second and went 1-4 with a walk and a double.Continue reading if you would like just a little bit more information from your Minor League Report. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Louisville 5 Box Score Jason Wheeler took his turn on the mound for the Red Wings. The left-hander gave up four runs on eight hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out six. David Martinez came on for the seventh and got two outs, both on strikeouts, though he did walk one. Ryan O’Rourke came on and got the final out of the seventh on a strikeout. He stayed in for the eighth and gave up one run on three hits, though he did strike out one more. Logan Schafer batted second in his second game with the Red Wings. In the first inning, he hit his first homer. Later, Eddie Rosario added his third homer with the Red Wings, a two-run shot. Buck Britton and James Beresford each went 2-4. Jorge Polanco and Kennys Vargas each doubled. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 9, Birmingham 6 Box Score The big story in this one was the AA debut of Kohl Stewart. It was a rocky start including a couple of rain delays. He gave up two runs in the first inning, and then there was a rain delay. He went out for the second inning and gave up three more runs (two earned) and got just two outs before lightning in the area forced a second weather delay. In all, he went 1.2 innings and gave up five runs (four earned) on four hits and three walks. He did strike out three. After the lightning got far enough away and the game resumed, Luke Westphal replaced Stewart with the bases loaded and got the final out. He worked two more innings without giving up another run. He walked four and struck out four in 2.1 innings. Omar Bencomo entered and threw two shutout innings. Jake Reed pitched the seventh and eighth innings. He gave up one run in his second inning. Trevor Hildenberger came on for the ninth and despite two hits did not allow a run to pick up his seventh save. The offense came through. Daniel Palka had just one hit, but it was his Southern League-leading 12th home run. It was his fifth home run in this series against Birmingham. Travis Harrison got things going with a bases-clearing triple in the second inning. He went 2-5 and the triple was his second. Zach Granite was again the catalyst at the top of the Lookouts lineup, reaching base five times. He went 2-3 and walked three times. He added his third triple. Leonardo Reginnato went 2-4 with a walk and two RBI. MIRACLE MATTERS In yesterday’s Minor League Report, we mentioned that seven members of the Ft. Myers Miracle were named to the Florida State League All-Star Game, which will be held at Hammond Stadium. On Saturday, the Miracle announced that eight of their players would be participating. With Kohl Stewart promoted to Chattanooga, he has been replaced by Felix Jorge. Also Nick Gordon was added as a replacement. Both are certainly deserving. Game 1 - Ft. Myers 2, Daytona 4 Box Score The Miracle jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Unfortunately, they were unable to hold the lead. Nick Gordon went 2-3 with his 10th double and an RBI. Chris Paul was also 2-3. Lefty Randy Rosario started and gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits over five innings. He didn’t walk a batter but struck out one. Nick Anderson and Raul Fernandez each pitched a scoreless inning in relief. Game 2 - Ft. Myers 1, Daytona 2 Box Score With one out in the seventh inning, Gonsalves gave up a two-run double just inside the third base line that put Daytona ahead 2-1. Gonsalves was on. Through six innings, he had given up just one hit and struck out eight. After seven, he gave up two runs (just one earned) on three hits and no walks. He struck out eight and unfortunately, he is credited with the loss. According to Brice Zimmerman, Gonsalves hit 97 once. The Miracle managed just four hits in the game, none after the first three batters. Edgar Corcino went 2-3 while Engelb Vielma and Nick Gordon each went 1-3. After getting swept on Saturday, the Miracle are now 27-29 on the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Peoria 2 Box Score Saturday was the 22nd birthday of Kernels’ right-hander Cody Stashak. The Kernels offense gift to him was a nice offensive explosion. That said, the 2015 draft pick from St. John’s put together a nice outing. In six innings, he gave up two runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out seven to improve to 3-3 with a 3.08 ERA. Williams Ramirez came on and recorded his first save. He threw three shutout innings, giving up just two hits, walking one and striking out four. JJ Fernandez led the offense. He had an opportunity in the bottom of the eighth to complete a cycle with a triple. He settled for a single and a 4-4 day. He added a walk, his 12th double and his third home run. Zander Wiel went 3-5 with his 10th double. Sean Miller was also 3-5. Daniel Kihle went 2-5. Alex Perez led off. He walked twice and was hit by a pitch. Ron Gardenhire is in Cedar Rapids this weekend, and The Gazette’s Jeff Johnson had a chance to catch up with him on Saturday night for this article. (photo of JJ Fernandez by Seth Stohs) TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – JJ Fernandez, Cedar Rapids Kernels SUNDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Louisville (1:05 p.m. CST) - RHP Kyle Gibson Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (4:15 CST) - RHP DJ Baxendale Daytona @ Ft. Myers (3:05 CST) – RHP Randy LeBlanc Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – RHP Eduardo del Rosario Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

Felix Jorge will replace Kohl Stewart on the FSL All Star roster. Also, Nick Gordon will be on the roster as well.

Are we not to the "even worse" category already?

Somewhat expected, but I just got the Lookouts game notes and it says that Kohl Stewart is starting tonight.

He wouldn't retire for a little while because I guarantee he will spend a BUNCH of time letting all be reminded of his success. HA!

I mean, he can put up the numbers Byung Ho Park is right now, probably... but i think there is a viewable ceiling with him too.

Depends on your definition of prospect. For my "Prospect Rankings" he isn't because he lost his rookie eligibility in 2014. If you're just wondering if he has a chance to contribute again in the big leagues, then the answer is... probably, at some point. Maybe.

Honestly, I was shocked that Granite started the season in Chattanooga rather than Ft. Myers. I thought it was just because Shannon Wilkerson started the season on the DL. But he's been good all year. He has good speed. He's a little guy, but as a Staten Island guy, he's got great confidence and has a lot of fun. He's OK defensively, definitely more of a LF. Offensively, he has always taken very professional at bats. He'll take pitches and slap strikes. He's definitely a prospect at this point.

We'll find out... In the Lookouts press notes, it says Bencomo, but there is a lot of thought that Stewart will make that start - unless they're going to have him skip a start as a way to keep innings down.

On Friday night, the Twins minor league affiliates recorded one win and two losses. Rain took away a Miracle game and they will play a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. Two starters had quality starts. One starter threw seven shutout innings. There was a big grand slam and some extra-base hits from former (and probably future) Twins as well. And, seven members of the Miracle were named All-Stars. Continue reading if you would like just a little bit more information from your Minor League Report.HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL STAR The Florida State League announced its All-Star rosters on Friday afternoon. Seven Ft. Myers Miracle players were named to the initial roster. These players were named All Stars: LHP Stephen Gonsalves LHP Tyler Jay RHP Kohl Stewart RH RP Todd Van Steensel RH RP Raul Fernandez 1B Trey Vavra OF Edgar Corcino Obviously Stewart won’t be participating since he was promoted to Chattanooga last week. Gonsalves is the favorite to get the start. The one surprise is that SS Nick Gordon is not on the initial rosters. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Louisville 0 Box Score Eighteen half-innings were played in this game. Runs were scored in just one of them. In the top of the 3rd inning, Kennys Vargas came to the plate with the bases loaded. He uncoiled for his eighth home run of the season, a grand slam. Later in the inning, the Red Wings scored a fifth run on a sacrifice fly from Adam Brett Walker. Vargas went 2-3 with two walks. Along with the homer, he also knocked his seventh double. Jorge Polanco went 3-5. Eddie Rosario went 2-5 with his seventh double. Logan Schafer made his Red Wings debut. He batted eighth and played right field. He went 1-3 with a walk. Andrew Albers was again terrific. The Canadian left-hander threw seven shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out five. Marcus Walden and Sean Burnett each worked a scoreless inning to maintain the shutout. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Birmingham 3 Box Score The Lookouts got a real strong start from right-hander Aaron Slegers. He gave up one run on three hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out six. Mike Strong came in and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in the seventh. His ERA jumps up to 9.95. Corey Williams pitched the eighth inning without allowing a run. The Lookouts managed just five hits and two walks in the game. Dalton Hicks reached base four times. He went 2-2 with two walks. Zach Granite was 2-5 with his sixth double. He also stole his 25th base. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers , Daytona Box Score This game was postponed by rain. The teams will play two games on Saturday afternoon. The Miracle will send out two talented lefties, Randy Rosario and Stephen Gonsalves. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 13 Box Score Coming off the best start of his career, Miles Nordgren struggled early in this game, but he did show some mental fortitude. In his previous start, he struck out 12 and walked none over seven shutout innings. On this night he gave up eight runs in the first two innings. Yet somehow, he was able to stop the bleeding there and ended up working 5.1 innings. He gave up eight hits, walked two and struck out three. In the sixth, he was relieved by Kuo Hua Lo who got out of that inning. Lo walked two over 2.2 scoreless innings. Cam Booser came in for the first time since his return from the disabled list. It wasn’t good. He gave up five runs on three hits and four walks and recorded just two outs. Sam Gibbons came on and got the final out. Nelson Molina continues to hit. He went 2-4 and drove in two runs. LaMonte Wade went 1-3 with two walks. Daniel Kihle went 2-4, and Alex Perez went 2-5. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Albers,Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, Rochester Red Wings SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Louisville (5:05 p.m. CST) - LHP Jason Wheeler Chattanooga @ Birmingham (6:30 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart Daytona @ Ft. Myers (DH starting at 3:05 CST) – LHP Randy Rosario, LHP Stephen Gonsalves Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Cody Stashak Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. Click here to view the article

He's open more than most GMs but this is definitely not an area in which he should say too much. That said, I noticed that comment too.

Uggh! That's embarrassing! I'm a stickler on spelling people's name right... I must have just been in a hurry... Uggh!

The reason this year was more about numbers in some cases. They brought in a lot of guys to compete for MLB spots and frankly now they've used a lot of them. There is a trickle down. Now, to be fair, Chargois was promoted one month ago, and Anderson one week ago... I suspect Theofanopoulos will be quite soon. Should be.

I was there last weekend. I mean, he looks OK at the plate. I didn't see anything exciting, but he has had some good games the last few days which likely account for a lot of the success in those numbers. He's got a long ways to go...

Again, I didn't say that it was something to credit the Twins for... just an ironic thing that the Royals talked publicly about their plans to model the Twins. And, I think most here would agree that when the Twins were winning from '01-10, it was based on defense, making contact (being piranhas), and their strong bullpens. The Royals deserve all the credit for their success... No one is disputing that.

But in the late-90s, they did trade vets, like Dave Hollins (Ortiz), Roberto Kelly (Mays), Aguilera, Knoblauch, Pierzynski, etc. The Twins aren't the model now, but they certainly were 15 years ago... which is relavent to where the Royals were 8-10 years ago.

The Kernels announced this morning that they are adding RHP Eddie Del Rosario... possible he could start in Rodriguez's place. Was listening to one of my interviews with Jake Mauer from last weekend and he was basically saying that Rodriguez has the stuff, but right now it isn't working. Mauer was clearly frustrated and basically said there weren't a lot of other options, BUT if things kept going, there would need to be a change. This might be that change... (though I don't know that officially).

I just said they were top 5 picks. Of course they had other high-quality players. But most of it was drafting and trading vets for minor leaguers and letting them develop.

The irony is that the Royals used the Twins model for their rebuild. They took their time, trusted scouting, and let guys play. Like the Twins from 5 years ago, the Royals had to rebuild their system, and had a lot of high picks to do that. Gordon, Moustakus and Hosmer were all Top 5 picks, and they complemented them well.

I can't speak to how all 60 of his at bats have looked. Obviously we'd all like to see more walks, but at the same time, maybe he is swinging aggressively at good pitches and leaning better what areas he can attack. I'm kind of looking into that idea of being able to develop a better approach at the plate or at 24-25, are you just kind of who you are. That may be the case, somewhat, with Rosario. He's never going to walk a ton, but improving the approach at the plate would be nice.