Seth Stohs

This may be much ado about little. If Tepesch has a bad start tonight, he's probably DFAd tomorrow. If Wilk is good or bad on Saturday, he could be DFAd right after his start. If there is a doubleheader, Mejia or Berrios could still be here by Saturday or so.

I mean... Wheeler was one example... and he was just recently moved to the bullpen in Rochester, so it's not a great example.

I feel like Terry Ryan would have called up Jason Wheeler to make a start if that's what they wanted to do, rather than claiming a Wheeler-like guy. It does make me wonder what they're (Falvey/Levine) are seeing or not seeing from Berrios. I get that they want to make sure the mechanical changes he made stick, and if he's still doing the things that he was doing in the big leagues, I get it. But this is just a guy who (like Tepesch) can make 1-2-3 starts while we wait for something from Gibson, Mejia and Berrios.

Wednesday afternoon, the Twins announced that they have claimed left-handed starting pitcher Adam Wilk from the New York Mets. The move puts the Twins roster back at 40. UPDATE: Following the announcement that the Twins game in Chicago on Wednesday night was postponed to August, the Twins announced that Drew Rucinski had been optioned to Rochester to make room for Wilk. Image courtesy of Anthony Gruppuso, USA Today Wednesday afternoon, the Twins announced that they have claimed left-handed starting pitcher Adam Wilk from the New York Mets. The move puts the Twins roster back at 40. UPDATE: Following the announcement that the Twins game in Chicago on Wednesday night was postponed to August, the Twins announced that Drew Rucinski had been optioned to Rochester to make room for Wilk. There is speculation, maybe an assumption, that he will start for the Twins on Saturday. He made just one start for the Mets this season. He made five starts for the Mets AAA affiliate in Las Vegas where he went 2-3 with a 5.91 ERA. Wilk is 29 years old. He made eight appearances for the Detroit Tigers between the 2011 and 2012 seasons. He did not pitch again in the big leagues until 2015 when he pitched two innings for the Angels. He spent 2013 in Korea. His one start for the Mets was an "emergency" start on Sunday when he pitched in place of the suspended Matt Harvey. He gave up six runs (5 earned) on eight hits (including three homers) and a walk in 3.2 innings. Maybe it's just me, but this feels like a move completely meant to be a stop-gap. Maybe it's one start on Saturday. Maybe it's a couple of starts before Jose Berrios, Adalberto Mejia or Kyle Gibson are ready to come back to the Twins. UPDATE 2: View full article

Jose Mijares is one of the most recent. Of course, Jorge Polanco came straight from High-A Ft. Myers.

Yeah, he spoke of process a few times over results. Makes a lot of sense, and it's clearly something being preached.

I'd doubt it unless there is an injury.

Stashak is now 0-3 with a 3.94 ERA despite a very solid 1.03 WHIP. In 32 innings, he has given up 32 hits, but he's walked just four and struck out 32 batters. He's made 6 starts and hasn't gone more than six innings three times...

Regarding Wade's defense.... I'd put it as similar to Kepler (which is anything but bad)... He can play CF, and played there mostly in 2016. But he's more of a corner guy. Average arm.

I think both of those were question marks (in terms of pitching in MLB) coming into the season, so I would agree that this makes it quite a bit less likely.

Yup, lots of walks so far.

Single-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Lewin Diaz is the Twins minor league Player of the Week...in five games for the Kernels, he hit .474 (9-for-19) with four doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, one walk and four runs scored...Diaz has played in 27 games for the Kernels this season, hitting .282 (29-for-103) with 11 doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI...the 20-year-old was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent in July of 2013...previous winners of this award this season have been (in order): infielder Travis Blankenhorn, pitcher Lachlan Wells, and infielder Jermaine Palacios.

LaMonte Wade at AA this season. 1st 10 G: .103/.229/.103 (.332) Past 19 G: .442/.581/.712 (1.293) Total 29 G: .321/.468/.494 (.962) 24 BB, 15 K

Cedar Rapids played at 2:00 on Sunday. They signed autographs after the game, and they were scheduled to leave Cedar Rapids at 6:00 p.m... and arrive in Dayton at 4:00 a.m. Those Eastern Division trips can be brutal. As I told some of the players, it's the glamorous life of professional baseball!

Nice of you to say... Thank you!

As you recall, last Thursday, I had the opportunity to interview Lake County (Cleveland Low-A affiliate) left-handed pitcher Juan Hillman about the start to his young career and his relationship with top Twins prospect Nick Gordon (The article was posted yesterday here). That same day, I was also able to interview another Lake County left-handed starting pitcher about his early career and his relationship with another top Twins prospect. Let’s get to know a little more about Brady Aiken and Twins prospect Stephen Gonsalves. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photo of Brady Aiken) As you recall, last Thursday, I had the opportunity to interview Lake County (Cleveland Low-A affiliate) left-handed pitcher Juan Hillman about the start to his young career and his relationship with top Twins prospect Nick Gordon (The article was posted yesterday here). That same day, I was also able to interview another Lake County left-handed starting pitcher about his early career and his relationship with another top Twins prospect. Let’s get to know a little more about Brady Aiken and Twins prospect Stephen Gonsalves. As you recall, lefty Brady Aiken was the #1 overall pick in the 2014 draft, but he chose not to sign with the Houston Astros. In 2015, he fell to Cleveland with the #17 overall pick. However, he had undergone Tommy John surgery several months earlier. As he recalls, he talked to a lot of Cleveland executives, including current Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey, upon being drafted. “Obviously there are a few teams you’re talking to, and you have a general idea of where you’re going to go in the draft. I talked to, from the Indians, a lot of people .I did speak with him (Falvey) a bit. I talked with pitching coordinators. Especially with where I got drafted, it was more the rehab side of it because I’d had surgery and I was coming into the Cleveland organization going straight into rehab. I talked a lot to some front office guys about the rehab side of it, and what would happen if I got drafted by them. Where I would go? What would happen and what that process would be like?” In 2016, he worked a combined 46.1 innings between the organization’s rookie league and short-season affiliates. So 2017 is his first full season of pitching. Although he’s off to an 0-4 start for Lake County, he feels good about where he is at so far in the process. “I’m doing good. Surgery was a couple of years ago, so that’s kind of behind me. Health-wise, I’m doing good. Looking forward to this year. It's been a good year so far, but I’ll just continue to keep working.” Looking back to his high school days, a smile crossed Aiken’s face as he discussed the incredible talent that they had. He went to high school at Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego. Aiken was a year behind to Twins pitching prospect Stephen Gonsalves and 2016 Twins draft pick Alex Schick (who is currently on the Kernels disabled list with elbow inflammation). Can you imagine a high school team that has produced three professional pitchers? How could they lose? “Our team… my junior year, we had nine guys who were committed to D1 schools, and they were high-level D1 schools too. It was pretty awesome! There was a guy who now plays for the Reds who had Tommy John. Stephen’s with the Twins. Schick is with the Twins. I’m sure I’m missing some right now, but I know there’s a bunch of guys in college who are still playing and doing well.” He continued, “It was pretty cool. We were pretty good, and like you said, we had really good pitching and really good hitting. We’d play three or four games a week. Stephen would throw one. I would throw another, and Schick would throw another. And we had a guy, Andrew Wright, who would throw another one. It was that kind of rotation. If we had more games in a week, we had another guy who’s at Irvine that would throw. So it was pretty crazy how much talent we had at one school.” Aiken still heads back to San Diego during the offseason and hangs out with Stephen Gonsalves. “We are pretty good buddies. We talk pretty often. He’s one of my good friends from back home. I always see him in the offseason. We always spend time together.” But Aiken also has seen how Gonsalves has improved on the baseball diamond since the two led their high school team on the field. “From high school, the one thing that’s been big, from the changes he’s made… the command is there. He’s always been one who knows the game and is ahead of the game mentally, and that’s something that you can see paying off for him now. Working on some pitches. I know he didn’t throw a curveball or a slider in high school and I know he has one now. His command is really good. His mental side of the game is really good. He knows what he wants to do, and that’s what he does. It works for him.” Despite the fact that Gonsalves, the Twins (and Twins Daily) minor league pitcher of the year in 2016, has not pitched yet in 2017, Aiken thinks that there is a chance Twins fans will see him pitching at Target Field in the near future. “I know he’s in a really good spot right now, and I wouldn't be surprised if he’s up with the big squad by the end of this year, or maybe even next year.” However, asked which of the two is the better golfer, Aiken chuckled and gave it some deep thought. “I know he’ll find this somewhere, but I’m a better golfer than he is. He’d like to think otherwise, but we played many times together in the offseason. I’ll beat him. He’ll beat me. It’s a pretty good matchup, but I’d say I’m better than him.” Competition is a good thing, right? Back to Brady Aiken. What are his goals for the remainder of the 2017 season? “For me, it’s kind of a personal thing. This is my first full season. Not really thinking about where I want to be at the end of the year. Just kind of focusing on what I want to do now. Maintaining health is most important, obviously. So maintaining the health and growing every day. I’ve kind of been working on some mechanical things with my coaches. Just trying to lock that in. Make sure I can be repeatable and stuff like that. Go out there and compete on a daily basis.” Aiken is off to a slow start, He did not pitch against the Kernels. He missed them by one day as he was the Lake County starter in their Friday night game at Quad Cities. He’s struggled with control, but it is likely just a matter of time before he takes off and returns to the status of one of baseball’s best starting pitcher prospects. Gonsalves should return to the Lookouts rotation in about two or three weeks and will likely soon reclaim his spot as a top Twins starting pitching prospect. Can you imagine that high school team at Cathedral Catholic? Two top left-handed pitching prospects who were on the same high school team! How fun would that have been to watch? How fun for those who did watch them to see them both making their climb up the minor league systems toward the big leagues! View full article

According to the Twitter feed of the Atlanta Braves, the Minnesota Twins acquired right-handed pitcher Kevin Chapman in exchange for utility man Danny Santana. Image courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, USA Today According to the Twitter feed of the Atlanta Braves, the Minnesota Twins acquired right-handed pitcher Kevin Chapman in exchange for utility man Danny Santana. The Twins acknowledged the trade with a press release. The Twins designated Santana for assignment late last week, giving them ten days to work out a trade or place him on waivers. The 29-year-old Chapman has struggled early this season, posting a 7.71 ERA in 11.2 innings for Gwinnett, Atlanta's AAA team. He had spent parts of the previous four seasons with the Houston Astros. He had a 3-1 record with a 4.09 ERA in 55 big league innings over that time. In those 55 innings, he walked 31 and struck out 48. While Chapman is far from a prospect, the fact that Thad Levine was able to find a taker for the athletic Santana is great. The fact that Chapman is not on the 40-man roster is even better. Santana was one of the longest-tenured Twins players, having signed back in 2007 out of the Dominican Republic. He debuted for the Twins in 2014 and put up a terrific rookie season. He has not been able to replicate that success, however, in the two-plus seasons since. Santana was DFAd to make room for Ehire Adrianza. Also over the weekend, the Twins DFAd RH RP Michael Tonkin, giving them ten days to work out a trade for him or put him on waivers at some point. View full article

On Thursday night, the Cedar Rapids Kernels played their third and final game of a series against Lake County, Cleveland’s Low-A Midwest League affiliate. Before that game, I had the opportunity to interview a couple of their players who have ties to Minnesota Twins prospects. Tonight, let’s get to know a little bit about left-handed pitcher Juan Hillman. Juan Hillman was Cleveland’s second-round draft pick in 2015. The southpaw was a graduate of Olympia High School in Orlando. As you recall, the Twins first-round draft choice in 2014 was a shortstop out of Olympia, Nick Gordon. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Juan Hillman) On Thursday night, the Cedar Rapids Kernels played their third and final game of a series against Lake County, Cleveland’s Low-A Midwest League affiliate. Before that game, I had the opportunity to interview a couple of their players who have ties to Minnesota Twins prospects. Tonight, let’s get to know a little bit about left-handed pitcher Juan Hillman. Juan Hillman was Cleveland’s second-round draft pick in 2015. The southpaw was a graduate of Olympia High School in Orlando. As you recall, the Twins first-round draft choice in 2014 was a shortstop out of Olympia, Nick Gordon. Hillman grew up in a large family, playing a lot of football. As a youngster, he went to visit his godfather, Tom Gordon. They were playing catch and the former All-Star saw that Hillman had a very strong throwing arm. He talked to him about playing baseball, and it was a decision that paid off for him. He moved in with the Gordon family and played his high school ball there. Of course, he was also a very good hitter in high school as well, something he acknowledges that he misses. “I do. Not going to lie, I miss hitting. Every day I want to take BP. But I can’t.” Hillman has moved up one level each year. He is off to a slow start so far this season, but he is choosing to trust the process rather than worry too much about the results. “I’m pretty fine where I’m at. Just sticking to my routines - day in, day out - and just making sure I go with it, no matter how outcomes come on the mound. I can’t change things up. It’s just a process I’ve got to trust. So far I’m trusting it and sticking to it.” Hillman has found Nick Gordon to be a great source for friendship and baseball discussion because he too has experienced ups and downs of minor league life. “He gave me good advice on what I need to do, what I need to focus on. Even though he’s over there, he pretty much knows things I’m going through. Like last year he told me he was off to a slow start, and he told me, Juan, you’re going through the same thing I was going through last year. Just stay positive and stay focused and you’ll overcome it.” The two have a strong bond from years of growing up together and similar experiences. “More of a friendship, but we do talk baseball every now and then. Lately it’s been more baseball, of course, because he sees that I’m going through some things right now. Just telling me that I need to read the batters’ swings and know which pitches to throw in certain counts, things like that.” Of course, there is some occasional, old-fashioned ribbing involved as well when two guys are as close as Juan Hillman and Nick Gordon. “We talk almost every day. I was actually on the phone with him today, talking about his home run (on Wednesday night). I was just joking around, asking him if he’s going to be a power hitter or a gap-to-gap hitter. Just always fun talk.” We learned earlier this year in an interview with Nick Gordon that he works out and gets instruction from Hall of Famer Barry Larkin. Others in their group include the likes of Francisco Lindor and Carlos Gonzalez. Juan Hillman is also there many days. “I know when they’re doing infield, I’m pretty much at first base. I like playing first base because I get to be an athlete a little bit, besides being on the mound. That’s it. I don’t take BP with them. I watch them. I’m the only one in the field shagging. It’s just fun being out there with those guys.” When asked what type of player he believes that Nick Gordon can become, Hillman was all smiles and focused on an intangible. “I’d say a leader on the team. That’s for sure. He’s mature, accountable. He’s a positive person, just wants the best for guys. As you can see, no matter how old he is compared to his teammates, he’s always trying to be that leader.” So back to Hillman, when he’s going good and pitching well, what is working? “If I’m doing good, I’ve got confidence out the roof. That’d be the main thing for me when I’m going good. Having the ability to throw any pitch in any count, that’s what I’m just trying to get back to. Right now, I’m off to a slow start, but I’m starting to get things figured out. Like I said I’m just trusting the process. It’s all I can do.” And his goals for the remainder of the season? “Just stick with my routine. Just make sure no matter what, at any point not get lackadaisical no matter how things are going. Stay healthy. Remain healthy as long as I can and try to get through this long season.” No matter how his season goes, he’s got a good friend and brother who's in Chattanooga ready to answer his calls. View full article

Rain won the day in Rochester, pushing Jose Berrios back a day. Chattanooga was supposed to play two games on Saturday, but instead they played just one and will play two on Sunday. Steve Martin would appreciate a ‘wild and crazy’ game for Ft. Myers across the state in St. Lucie. And the Kernels took a frustrating loss against Ft. Wayne on Saturday night, but I had a terrific soft taco and some rice at the game! And, I took lots more pictures so again, be sure to “Like” Twins Daily on Facebook and Twitter as I’ll be adding several more photos. And be sure to check back at Twins Daily throughout the coming week as I’ve got some stories and interviews that should be quite interesting. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photo of Zander Wiel) Rain won the day in Rochester, pushing Jose Berrios back a day. Chattanooga was supposed to play two games on Saturday, but instead they played just one and will play two on Sunday. Steve Martin would appreciate a ‘wild and crazy’ game for Ft. Myers across the state in St. Lucie. And the Kernels took a frustrating loss against Ft. Wayne on Saturday night, but I had a terrific soft taco and some rice at the game! And, I took lots more pictures so again, be sure to “Like” Twins Daily on Facebook and Twitter as I’ll be adding several more photos. And be sure to check back at Twins Daily throughout the coming week as I’ve got some stories and interviews that should be quite interesting. Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Saturday. Before diving into the minor league stuff, we veer off just a little. Following a bad Twins loss on Saturday, the Twins announced that Michael Tonkin had been designated for assignment. Now that that is complete, the question must become, who will the Twins add to the 40 man roster and the 25-man roster before tomorrow's game? Well, if the team is looking for a reliever, then the options would include DJ Baxendale, Trevor Hildenberger, Alex Wimmers, Alan Busenitz, and maybe even Nick Burdi. Of course, the team really doesn't have a long relief option should they need one, so it's also possible that the team could lean to a starting pitcher to be able to eat some innings in an emergency. If that's the case, then the Twins could call up Jason Wheeler, David Hurlbut, Nik Turley or even Aaron Slegers to fill that role short term. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester, Pawtucket Box Score Game postponed by rain. They will play a doubleheader on July 5th. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Pensacola 1 Box Score The Lookouts had a nice offensive day on Saturday. Pitching is what wins, so we’ll start there. Lefty Matt Tracy gave up only an unearned run on three hits over six innings. He struck out four and issued no walks. Luke Bard came on and struck out three over two perfect innings. Mason Melotakis threw another scoreless inning, giving him 12.2 innings over 10 appearances without allowing a run. Edgar Corcino led the offense. The outfielder went 2-4 with a walk, his sixth double and two RBI. Tanner English also went 2-4. LaMonte Wade went 1-2 and walked three times. Engelb Vielma and Dan Rohlfing both walked twice. Nick Gordon had a big, two-run single as well. These teams were suppose to play a second game on Saturday, but the second was postponed. They will now play two games on Sunday. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 11, St. Lucie 10 Box Score It was a wild game in St. Lucie on Saturday night. The Miracle scored seven runs in the 3rd inning and led 9-1 after four innings. However, their pitchers allowed four runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings. Chris Anderson made another start. He gave up five runs on 13 hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out four. Anthony McIver started the sixth inning and recorded just one out. He gave up four runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks. Sam Clay stranded the two inherited runners in the sixth inning and went two more innings. He didn’t allow a run, a hit or walk a batter, and he struck out two. Jonny Drozd gave up a run on two hits and a walk in the ninth, but he recorded the save. Zander Wiel led the offense. The first baseman went 4-5 with his 11th double and two RBI. He also stole a base. Shane Kennedy was a triple shy of the cycle. He went 3-5 with his second double and second home run. Sean Miller went 2-5. Rafael Valera added a triple. Playing in front of his hometown family and friends, Casey Scoggins added a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Ft. Wayne 4 Box Score It was a frustrating loss for the Kernels on Saturday night in front of over 3,000 fans at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium. The team had a series of miscues that cost them outs and therefore runs. Domenick Carlini started. The left-hander was charged with four runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks in 5.1 innings. He struck out six. Colton Davis came on and worked two scoreless innings, issuing one walk and recording one strike out. Manager Tommy Watkins thinks Davis can be good and can be a late-inning option for his team. “Yeah, he can (be a late inning guy). He hadn’t pitched in a few days, so we got him in earlier today. He can be really good.” Alex Robinson got the final five outs, and four of them came on strikeouts. His fastball was sitting 95-96 and touched 97 as well. He also has what can be a devastating slider. Control has been a problem for him in recent years, but the Twins have put a lot of time into helping him develop. He’s got great velocity! Regarding Robinson Watkins said, “He’s been very good at locating his fastball.” The Kernels had six hits in the game. They scored one run in three innings, but they were unable to sustain any big innings. Ariel Montesino went 2-4 including a line drive between the first and second basemen. He hustled out of the box and turned it into his third double. Of the hustle, Watkins said “I was pumped about that. I think that will hopefully get him going. He got off to a slow start.” Travis Blankenhorn kept hitting the ball hard and was rewarded with two hits. Jermaine Palacios added his sixth double. Watkins said, “Very good. We talked to him about not trying to get a hit on every pitch. Wait for his pitch and put a good swing on it instead of trying to make it happen. He’s been doing that a lot better the past couple of games, against a lefty no less.” Following Sunday's game, the players will remain on the field and sign autographs for a bit. However, they have quite the road trip ahead. On Sunday early evening, the Kernels will get on their bus and they should arrive in Dayton, Ohio, at approximately 4:00 a.m. Ah, the glamorous life of minor league baseball. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Matt Tracy, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Zander Wiel, Ft. Myers Miracle SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (12:35 CST) - RHP Jose Berrios Pensacola @ Chattanooga (DH at 12:15 CST) - Randy LeBlanc, TBD Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (12:00 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) - RHP Clark Beeker Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday night’s games. View full article