Seth Stohs

CEDAR RAPIDS - As you know I’ve been in Cedar Rapids since Thursday afternoon. As I sit in the press box, five hours before tonight’s game, I thought I’d post some things out of my minor league notebook. Some will be from conversations I’ve had here in Cedar Rapids. Others will be observations, and we’ll also get to an injury update. Having been here for two games (and pre-games), I’ve taken approximately 1,000 pictures so far. Most of them are at least fairly good pictures. But I’d encourage you to “Like” Twins Daily on Facebook where I’ve posted over 100 of them, some of the better ones. Others will be used in reports like this, and the minor league reports, throughout the season. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photo of Tommy Watkins) CEDAR RAPIDS - As you know I’ve been in Cedar Rapids since Thursday afternoon. As I sit in the press box, five hours before tonight’s game, I thought I’d post some things out of my minor league notebook. Some will be from conversations I’ve had here in Cedar Rapids. Others will be observations, and we’ll also get to an injury update. Having been here for two games (and pre-games), I’ve taken approximately 1,000 pictures so far. Most of them are at least fairly good pictures. But I’d encourage you to “Like” Twins Daily on Facebook where I’ve posted over 100 of them, some of the better ones. Others will be used in reports like this, and the minor league reports, throughout the season. I like to encourage fans of the Twins and minor league baseball to make the trek down to Cedar Rapids. From St. Paul, it takes about four hours to get here. Cedar Rapids has such a rich baseball history going back well over 100 years. You’ll want to spend some time in their ballpark gift shop which also holds the Cedar Rapids Baseball Hall of Fame. The ballpark is beautiful. They do a great job with fan interaction and giveaways. This morning, I spent about 18 minutes walking around the stadium and talking about Cedar Rapids. Take a few minutes to watch and listen to this Twitter Live/Periscope video from earlier today. https://twitter.com/twinsdaily/status/860878846035337216 KERNELS NOTES If you’re a prospect hound, it’s fun to see players before they become big leaguers. Think back to that 2013 Cedar Rapids team, the first year of its affiliate with the Minnesota Twins organization. Players from that team who are now members of the Minnesota Twins include Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Tyler Duffey, Taylor Rogers, Jorge Polanco. Which players from this year’s Kernels roster will be future Minnesota Twins? Who knows? But it is likely at least two of them will, and maybe seven or eight of them. It’s fun to watch and see them at this level and try to project for yourself. On Thursday night, Tyler Wells started for the Kernels. At 6-7 and 255 pounds, he can be an intimidating guy on the mound. He throws a good fastball in the 91-94 mph range, and he’s got pretty good command of it. He also has a good slider and a mid-70s slow curve ball. He began the inning with five straight strikeouts. He gave up a couple of runs in the third inning, but two scored on a broken bat bloop double that Christian Cavaness dove and missed. I think he’s one to watch. On Friday night, Sean Poppen was on the mound. He got hit pretty hard in the first inning, but he settled in and held Ft. Wayne to four runs (three earned) over 6.1 innings. I asked him after the game what adjustments he made. He said, “I like to stick with the fastball, but they came out swinging. I wasn’t locating the ball where I should. The next innings, I started working a little more offspeed just to throw them off balance.” Poppen is a control guy, but he also hits 92-93 with his fastball. He is a Harvard guy and obviously smart in a classroom but also on the diamond. “You can’t really judge yourself on wins. You can do your job to get late in the game and get out with a lead, but after that you just have trust in your relievers, and most of the time they pull through. Most of the time we’ve been getting run support and sometimes it doesn’t happen. Today we got plenty of run support.” Tonight we’ll see lefty Domenick Carlini start for the Kernels, and it’ll be right-hander Clark Beeker for Sunday afternoon’s game. Andrew Vasquez came on in the sixth inning on Thursday. He is impressive .He’s a big man (6-6, 240), and he throws hard. He has good pop and hides the ball well and has a good slider. To my untrained eye, he looks like a guy who has a chance to keep moving up and being a good reliever. Tom Hackimer posted a 0.58 WHIP in April yet somehow he has already blown three saves. I wouldn't worry about that as he has some really good stuff, and that side-winding delivery will be able to throw off a lot of hitters. The Kernels have three catchers and yet it seems to really work out well. Ben Rortvedt is the 19-year-old high draft pick, so you know he’s going to play. While he hasn’t hit much yet, you can see he’s got a swing that over time will develop well. But behind the plate, he is really impressive. I like to watch catchers, and he just seems to have all the tools. While he’s still got room to grow and will continue to get better, he has the makings of a real fine defender. Let’s start with the arm. He has great throw and catch mechanics, and he threw some absolute ropes to second base to nab would-be base-stealers on Thursday night. As impressive, he really seems to relish the role of leader of the staff. After each inning, he walks in with his pitcher, and I saw them continuing to talk in the dugout. I wouldn’t worry about the offense, though I think that will come. Rortvedt is legit behind the plate. Mitchell Kranson caught on Friday night. He’s a hitter first. That’s not to say he’s not a good catcher. I thought he did real well behind the plate. He too communicated well and blocked a few balls in the dirt. His arm isn’t Rortvedt like, but he has a strong and generally accurate arm. But he can hit. While he hasn’t had a lot of hits in these two games, it’s clear that he has a great approach. He knows the strike zone, but he is incredibly aggressive when he gets a strike. He looks like he wants to damage the baseball, and he’s got good power. In college, Kranson played all over. One year he did catch over 40 games for Cal-Berkeley. Another year, he played mostly third base. He’s listed at 5-10, but he played a solid first base one year for the Bears. He even got time in the outfield. This past offseason, Kranson worked hard. He lost 25 pounds without losing any muscle through workouts and dietary changes. This spring he’s only caught four or five games. He’s played some first and some third, and he’s in the lineup almost every game because of his ability to hit. Caleb Hamilton is another catcher on the roster. He was drafted by the Twins out of Oregon State just last year. He had never caught until last fall at the instructional league. He talked a lot about how much he’s grown to enjoy the position. But he also has played around the diamond. On Friday night, he was at third base. He made a great diving play to his backhand side, near the third base line, Got up and threw a pea across the diamond for the out. He’s played some in the outfield (starting in left field tonight) and first base as well. In college, he played a lot in the middle infield. I tweeted that I talked to Lake County starting pitchers Juan Hillman and Brady Aiken on Thursday night because they both have connection with a couple of top Twins prospects (those stories coming this week). There was another connection. The primary catcher for Lake County was Logan Ice. He was the catcher at Oregon State for three years and the roommate of Caleb Hamilton. Travis Blankenhorn was hit by a pitch on Thursday night, a slider that seemed to just keep coming in on him. He went down. It hit him in the knee, but he was able to stay in the game. On Friday, he had the marks to show it, a huge black and blue bruise. On Friday, he was back in the lineup, though as the team’s DH. On Saturday, he returns to third base. He’s been slumping since early-season success, but on Saturday, he crushed the ball a few times, lining out to right once and having a ball caught at the wall. Lewin Diaz is a big man. He’s not swift, that’s for sure, but he is a very young developing player with a ton of potential. He’s listed at 6-3 and 254 pounds, and that would seem to be accurate. At first base, it’s a work-in-progress, though he does put in the work. He’s a pretty good athlete for his size too. Offensively, he has struggled to connect with some good fastballs, but in the two games, I think he’s got three doubles and a triple. Yes, a triple. I think he’s got a world of offensive potential. Brandon Lopez is a pretty solid all-around player. Drafted last year out of Miami, he has a real professional approach at the plate. He knows the strike zone and does a nice job. He also isn’t afraid to take a real big swing and has some pop. He played shortstop at Miami, but he’s played mostly at second base for the Kernels. That’s because Jermaine Palacios is back. After what had to be a frustrating 2016 season, he is off to a great start this year. He was the Twins Daily Hitter of the Month. Of course I got here on Thursday and his 15-game hitting streak came to an end. But he has stung the ball, and on Friday night, he had a bases-clearing double off the base of the wall in left center field. Defensively, he has looked real solid too. He just looks much more confident this year, or at least right now. I chatted for quite some time yesterday with Aaron Whitefield. It’s still amazing to me that he didn’t play any baseball until he was 17. Before then, it was just fast-pitch softball (and some other sports like soccer and Australian Rules Football). He is a great athlete, at 6-4 and 200 pounds. He can run and he’s got a lot of power. I’ll write up a story on him this week as well. Impressive young man, and he won’t turn 21 until September. As I’m typing this, it’s now 4 ½ hours before the game. The relievers are set up in two groups. JP Martinez is hitting ground balls for pitcher fielding practice to one group on the main field with minor league pitching coordinator Eric Rasmussen observing. Down the right field line, LaTroy Hawkins is working with another group of pitchers (looks like the starters maybe) on pick-off plays at second base. LaTroy Hawkins has been here since Wednesday, and today will be his last day before he heads back to Minneapolis for a while, but he will be back. The players seem to really enjoy it. I was told by one player that Hawkins had a session with the pitchers and catchers and just had the players feel free to ask him questions about anything. What an opportunity for these kids. Brian Dinkelman is back for his second season as the Kernels hitting coach. I learned last night that when he got the job last year, he and his family moved to Cedar Rapids, so he’s hear all year around. He is originally from a suburb just outside of St. Louis, so he was very excited last night watching the Blues hold on to a late lead and win their Stanley Cup series. Tommy Watkins is in his first year as manager, and he has this team playing very well right now. While there aren’t a lot of high-end prospects on this roster, they have a good team, and all reports are that Watkins is doing a terrific job. I’ll have a chance to go one-on-one with him later today to see how he’s enjoying this experience. Again, if you ever have a chance to get down to Cedar Rapids, try to do it. It’s definitely worth it. INJURY UPDATES I got some reports today on several Twins minor leaguers who are currently on the disabled list. Here’s the quick report: Stephen Gonsalves threw three innings on Thursday. He’s still getting stretched out and is expected to miss three more weeks. That is the same timeline projection for Tyler Jay. Jake Reed is starting a throwing program now and will likely be out about another month. Byungho Park is playing in extended spring training games now. Working his way back from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, Alex Muren is still working his way back to where he was pre-injury, but he’s getting close. Lewis Thorpe is also continuing to work. He’s healthy but working to get back to where he was. Others who are currently playing in EST and could be back soon, pending roster developments or other moves include outfielder Ryan Strausborger, infielders TJ White and Brian Olson, catcher AJ Murray, and pitchers Cam Booser, Michael Cederoth and Zack Tillery. Henry Centeno is rehabbing his elbow. Yohan Pino is still getting stretched out. Nick Greenwood is supposed to throw an inning down in Ft. Myers today. Well, this is probably enough ready material for a Saturday afternoon. I’m going to go watch some more infielder/pitcher practice and some batting practice. Again be sure to follow me on Twitter, as well as the Twins Daily Twitter account. And “Like” Twins Daily on Facebook. View full article

Wells was impressive early with those 5 strikeouts. I talked to him a bit afterwards, and he was frustrated a bit by the bloops that led to the runs. But he pitched pretty well. He's got a chance to move up in time. That bottom of the 9th was crazy. Their pitcher was throwing 95-96, but to the first three batters, he couldn't find the strike zone. Then all of a sudden, he figured it out and became unhittable.. he also got some help from a big strike zone at the point...

All Southern League series are five-game series.There can be some distance between the cities, so lots of morning games. There have been several days off too.

There hasn't been much. He's in Ft. Myers, and that's really all we know.

Twins Daily Minor League Monthly Awards April: Relief Pitcher - Mason Melotakis, Chattanooga Starting Pitcher - Jose Berrios, Rochester Hitter: Jermaine Palacios, Cedar Rapids

In recent days, Shane Kennedy was added to the Ft. Myers roster with Trey Vavra headed to the DL. Also, I'm sure people saw that Zack Granite was added to the Miracle roster.

He said that his last scheduled appearance in EST is May 15th... I wonder if they would have him make a start or two for Ft. Myers before moving him up to Chattanooga? I think I would.

Since Arraez is out for the year, I hope it's before that...

Updated... thank you!

It's kind of like why I picked Berrios over Turley for SP of the Month, because he had 13+ more innings than Turley. Garver had about half, or even a little less, of the plate appearances as the other position players. It's not necessarily fair to a catcher, since he and Murphy are essentially splitting time.

Yeah, I think last night was Granite's third game back, and he seems to be locked in. I wonder if they might send him to Chattanooga briefly too before getting him to Rochester. But yeah, still a lot of season left.

April is complete. May is upon us. Today we look at some of the top hitters in the Twins organization during the season’s first month. As you would expect, there is a good mix of young prospects and veterans. There are some power-hitter types and some guys for whom on-base percentage is a more important indicator of their potential. In case you missed it, here are the previously-announced April winners: Starting Pitcher of the Month, Jose Berrios Relief Pitcher of the Month, Mason Melotakis Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photo of Jermaine Palacios) April is complete. May is upon us. Today we look at some of the top hitters in the Twins organization during the season’s first month. As you would expect, there is a good mix of young prospects and veterans. There are some power-hitter types and some guys for whom on-base percentage is a more important indicator of their potential. In case you missed it, here are the previously-announced April winners: Starting Pitcher of the Month, Jose Berrios Relief Pitcher of the Month, Mason Melotakis Pitching wins, but only if the hitters score enough runs in that game. There were quite a few hitters that started their seasons strong. Let’s take a look at the Top 6 hitters of the month, but first here are some players deserving of honorable mention. HONORABLE MENTION C Mitch Garver (Rochester) - .278/.435/.500 (.935). 10-36 with five doubles, one home run and eight RBI. OF Daniel Palka (Rochester) - .259/.318/.469 (.787). 21-81 with two doubles, five home runs and 13 RBI. 1B/3B Matt Hague (Rochester) - .313/.398/.450 (.848). 25-80 with two doubles, three homers and 12 RBI. 2B/SS Engelb Vielma (Chattanooga) - .320/.373/.387 (.760). 24-75 with five doubles and ten RBI. OF Max Murphy (Ft. Myers) - .297/.402/.432 (.834). 22-74 with four doubles, two homers and eight RBI. OF Jaylin Davis (Cedar Rapids) - .268/.341/.465 (.806). 19-71 with one double, two triples, three home runs and 11 RBI. THE TOP SIX HITTERS Number 6 – Chattanooga – 2B/SS Nick Gordon - .322/.381/.437 (.818). 28-87 with three doubles, two triples, one home run and 12 RBI. Gordon was the Twins top pick, fifth overall, in the 2014 draft out of high school in Orlando. He has gradually worked his way up the system, one step at a time, always well younger than the average player in his league. This year, he is one of the youngest players in the AA Southern League, and he’s off to a terrific start. Gordon has been the team’s leadoff hitter most every game. He’s split his time between shortstop (13 games) and second base (8 games) with Engelb Vielma and done well at both spots. Talking to Nick Gordon in spring training, it was clear that he was ready to have a big season. He told me that his confidence was very high following his AFL performance last year as well as his time in big league camp. He’s still got work to do. For instance, I think that more power will come. But at least to this point, he has taken more walks and better plate appearances, something that will help him in the long run.Number 5 – Ft. Myers – 1B Zander Wiel - .259/.337/.506 (.843). 21-81 with eight doubles, three triples, two home runs and 18 RBI. Wiel was the Twins 12th-round pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt. He led the Midwest League in RBI in 2016. This year he has moved up to the Miracle where he is off to another solid start. To this point, he has been an extra base hit machine which is always impressive in the Florida State League. The first baseman also had 18 RBI in the month, tops in the Twins minor leagues. Last week, Wiel was taken out of a game after being hit by a 95 mph fastball in the face. He had a few stitches put in, missed one game and was back in the lineup. He’s got work to do defensively, but it will be his bat that will have to carry him up the ladder.Number 4 – Cedar Rapids – OF Aaron Whitefield - .289/.304/.566 (.877). 22-76 with five doubles, two triples, four home runs and 12 RBI. Two years ago, Aaron Whitefield was playing softball internationally for Australia. A Twins scout saw him play and decided the tremendous athlete had good size and speed, and signed him. He played just a few games in the GCL in 2015 after signing. Last year, he was the lone GCL Twins player to be named to the postseason All-Star team. He made the jump from the GCL to the Midwest League, and after some early struggles, he has been very good. He has hit mostly first or ninth in Tommy Watkins’ lineup. He has mostly played center field where he has tremendous range and a strong arm. While he will need to be more patient at the plate, He had just two walks to go with 19 strikeouts in the month, he has some natural yet raw abilities that are very encouraging. In time, he’ll hit for more power and can steal some bases. Expect some ups and downs, but the 20-year-old’s talent is immense.Number 3 - Rochester – IF Tommy Field - .314/.380/.543 (.923) 22-70 with seven doubles, three homers and five RBI Between 2011 and 2015, Field played in a combined 47 big league games for the Rockies, Angels and Rangers. The 30-year-old utility infielder came to the Twins as a free agent during the middle of the 2016 season. He showed an ability to play all three infield positions very well, as well as playing well in some outfield time. In 82 games for the Red Wings last year, Field hit .235 (.726) with 11 home runs. Field had a nice showing in big league camp this year before being sent to Rochester again. He had a strong first month. He hit over .300 with ten extra base hits while continuing to be reliable wherever manager Mike Quade puts him in the lineup or on the field.Number 2 - Cedar Rapids – C/1B Mitchell Kranson - .324/.351/.535 (.887) 23-71 with seven doubles, one triple, two homers and 11 RBI After four years at Cal-Berkeley, Kranson was the Twins ninth-round draft pick last June. He went to Elizabethton and hit. In the offseason, he lost 25 pounds and gained strength. He came to spring training looking like a different person. It’s good to see when a guy works that hard sees immediate success. He’s hit anywhere from two to five in the Kernels lineup and been productive all month. He’s hit for extra-base power. He uses the whole field well. He’s a very professional hitter. Defensively, he played first base, third base and catcher this month. He’d like to do more catching in time, though part of his value as he goes forward will be his ability to play multiple positions including behind the plate.And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is: Cedar Rapids – SS Jermaine Palacios - .393/.432/.573 (1.005). 35-89 with three doubles, five triples, one home run and 11 RBI. A year ago, a 19-year-old Jermaine Palacios finished April in Cedar Rapids hitting .186/.256/.214 (.471). It didn’t get better as things warmed up, and his season came to an end after being hit by a pitch in mid-July. 2017 has been completely different. Now 20, Palacios got off to a fast start and it has continued. With a couple of hits last night, he now has a 14-game hitting streak. He’s hit the ball hard all over the field. He leads the organization in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, total bases, triples, and several other offensive categories. And despite this being his second go-round in the league, 85% of his at bats have come against older pitchers. Defensively, he’s played at shortstop every game. He’s been pretty good, posting a .955 fielding percentage. Many believe that he has the ability to stick at shortstop. While it is easy to think that the Twins should move Palacios up to Ft. Myers, and that may happen. However, he’s still got things to work on and it doesn’t hurt for him to experience some extended success at this level. Also, he has just four walks to go with 18 strikeouts, so he’ll have to continue to work on his plate discipline. However, to this point, aggressiveness has paid off for him.Congratulations to the April Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month for 2017, Cedar Rapids shortstop Jermaine Palacios. View full article

I'm pretty comfortable with my choice... I value those 13 additional innings quite a bit.

He probably doesn't throw quite as hard as Wheeler. But there are a lot of similarities between Hurlbut, Wheeler, Albers, Dean, etc.

This change will most likely affect the Twins and 2016 3rd round draft pick Griffin Jax. This is unfortunate as there was a strong belief by both the Twins and Jax that his commitment would be able to pitch starting this summer. Now, it looks like it could be two years from now. http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2017/05/01/griffin-jax-academy-athlete-policy/

Yup, as you'd hope... and if they do it a second month, they should move up. I would think by mid-May, the organization will start making decisions on some guys to let go and make some moves.

Just missed... if his start last night would have been a day earlier (meaning April 30 instead of May 1), he probably would be on the Honorable Mention list. Either way, he's starting the season off well. I think they'd like to push him, but they will also do what is best for his development. They could add him to the roster after the season and then still have three years of development (options) remaining, so there isn't a huge rush. But he is putting himself into the discussion for adding him.

I'd say his career has been pretty streaky. He moved up to Ft. Myers middle of last year, so maybe he's just making that adjustment... that's certainly possible. Or, it was a nice 10-day stretch. So hard to know.

Based on all his big league success so far?

I gave Berrios some bonus for throwing 13+ more innings and actually being a starter. Turley was tough. I mean, he's a reliever, but he did make two spot starts... so I had to include him with the starters.

After reviewing the top relief pitchers in the Minnesota Twins system in April, today we shift our attention to the starting pitchers. There are some familiar names listed. There are a couple of top prospects. There are are a couple of guys who entered their 2016 seasons in independent leagues. At the top of this list are two guys that you could debate for the top spot, and both are in the upper levels of the system. That’s also always a good thing. Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, USA Today After reviewing the top relief pitchers in the Minnesota Twins system in April, today we shift our attention to the starting pitchers. There are some familiar names listed. There are a couple of top prospects. There are are a couple of guys who entered their 2016 seasons in independent leagues. At the top of this list are two guys that you could debate for the top spot, and both are in the upper levels of the system. That’s also always a good thing. Let’s get to it. Before we get to our Top 6 starting pitchers for the month of April, here is a list of several others who deserve to be recognized for a solid first month. HONORABLE MENTION David Hurlbut - Rochester - 3 GS, 17.1 IP, 1-2, 1.04 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 7.3 K/9 Fernando Romero - Chattanooga - 5 G, 4 GS, 24.1, 2.96 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 4.1 BB/9, 9.2 K/9 Eduardo Del Rosario - Cedar Rapids - 4 GS, 19.2 IP, 2-1, 2.75 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, 11.4 K/9 THE TOP SIX STARTING PITCHERS #6 - David Fischer - Ft. Myers Miracle - 4 GS, 2-0, 0.95 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 19.0 IP, 17 H, 6 BB, 25 K Fischer was drafted three times before signing with the Washington Nationals in 2012. He spent three seasons in their organization. He has pitched in independent leagues the last two years. The Twins signed him to a minor league deal before this season. The 27-year-old was assigned to Ft. Myers, and as you would hope, he’s doing well against hitters three to seven years younger than he is. He worked just 19 innings over four starts, but he limited runs well. In his first two starts, he worked nine shutout innings. In his past two starts, he has given up two runs over ten innings. Opponents are hitting .243 (.649) off him. #5 - Clark Beeker - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 4 GS, 3-1, 1.69 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 26.2 IP, 24 H, 2 BB, 20 K Beeker was the Twins 33rd-round draft pick last June after four years at Davidson University. He was sent to the GCL where he worked 32.1 innings in 12 games (one start). He then jumped up to Elizabethton where he made two starts. Combined, he posted a 2.47 ERA in 43.2 innings. He walked just 10 and struck out 52. Opponents have hit .242 off of him, but his control and command keep him out of trouble. In April in Cedar Rapids, he was consistent. He completed seven innings in his first three starts. He was on his way there on Sunday, but the Kernels game in Peoria was rained out after just five innings of shutout ball.Get to know more about Clark Beeker in his Twins Daily Q&A from November. #4 - Tyler Wells - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 4 GS, 2-0, 1.88 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 17 H, 7 BB, 32 K The 6-8 right-hander was the Twins 15th-round pick last year out of Cal State-San Bernadino. He started out slowly in Elizabethton last season, but he ended strong. In his final three starts, he went 18.1 innings without allowing a run while walking five and striking out 23. Opponents hit just .193 (.545) off of him in April. He went just four innings in his first start, but his next three games were all quality starts. Over those three starts, he walked three and struck out 26 batters in 20 innings. The 22-year-old throws in the low-90s with a good slider and a good 12-6 curveball. Learn more about Tyler Wells in this Twins Daily Q&A from December. #3 - Sean Poppen - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 4 GS, 0-0, 1.67 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 27.0 IP, 19 H, 4 BB, 28 K Another Kernels starter, Poppen was the Twins 19th-round pick last year out of Harvard where he majored in chemistry and physics, engineering sciences. After eight starts and a 2.97 ERA in Elizabethton, he posted a 2.12 ERA in four games in Cedar Rapids. He’s been terrific for the Kernels to start this season. He is four-for-four in quality starts. He’s had good control and he’s been able to work out of some tough situations, often with a big strikeout. Opponents have hit just .188 (.481) against him so far. He has a fastball in the low-90s, touching 94 at times. He also throws a slider and a changeup. #2 - Nik Turley - Chattanooga Lookouts - 4 G, 2 GS, 0-1, 0.44 ERA, 0.54 WHIP, 20.1 IP, 4 H, 6 BB, 36 K Turley was the 50th-round draft pick of the New York Yankees in the 2008 draft. He worked his way up the ladder and was the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2012. Following the season, he was added to their 40-man roster. In early 2014, he was let go by the Yankees. He’s pitched in the Giants and Red Sox organizations since, and spent much of last season in the Atlantic League. The Twins signed Turley this offseason without an invitation to major league camp. After spring training, he was sent to AA Chattanooga where he began the season in the bullpen. He’s been a strikeout machine since the season started. He worked four innings in his first appearance out of the bullpen. He gave up one hit and struck out ten. His next game was also out of the bullpen. He struck out eight in 4.1 scoreless innings. His other two appearances have been starts in doubleheaders. He worked five scoreless innings in his first start. In his next start, he struck out 14 batters in seven innings, though he did give up his first run of the year and took a tough-luck loss. Soon after, he was promoted to Rochester, though he has yet to make an appearance for the Red Wings.And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Rochester Red Wings – RHP Jose Berrios - 5 GS, 2-0, 1.09 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 33.0 IP, 18 H, 8 BB, 35 K Jose Berrios is no stranger to winning Twins Daily Awards. He’s won several monthly awards, and he was the choice for Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year in 2014 and 2015. He is again our choice for April. Jose Berrios is proud to be from Puerto Rico, and there was no way he was going to miss out on the opportunity to play with friends and countrymen in the WBC. He made one start, but then was used more sporadically. So when he came back to Twins spring training, he was a bit behind. So, he went back to AAA. And, as we’ve learned, he puts up fantastic numbers against AAA hitting and April was no exception. He provided innings. He threw strikes. He had control. He displayed a good fastball and what seems to be a sharper breaking ball and changeup. Opponents have hit just .157 off of him so far this season and has more than a strikeout per inning. It’s pretty clear that Berrios should be called up to the Twins soon. The front office is saying that they will be more patient with him this time. But it’s hard to believe that he won’t be called up to be the fifth starter by the end of this week. As the Twins have been patient with Byron Buxton in the big leagues through the first month, they will need to do the same with Berrios. And, for his part, Berrios is going to have to show that he can command his pitches better.Here’s to hoping that this is the last time that Jose Berrios wins a Twins minor league award as we’d all like to see him get moved back up and stick. Feel free to agree or disagree with the order, if you like. It wasn’t as easy a decision as you might think. And it’s always good to have lots of starting pitchers throwing well! 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Monday was a pretty quiet day in the Twins organization. The big news might have been that former Twins GM and long-time Twins executive Bill Smith was hired as an Assistant to the President and CEO of Minor League Baseball, Pat O’Conner. As you know he did a ton of work for the Twins organization, establishing the minor league academy in Ft. Myers and recently the new academy in the Dominican Republic. Jose Berrios was named the Pitcher of the Week in the International League for the second time in three weeks. Outfielder Max Murphy was named the Player of the Week in the Florida State League. And, if you missed it, Miguel Sano was named the American League Hitter of the Week. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photos of Max Murphy, Dereck Rodriguez, Shane Kennedy) Monday was a pretty quiet day in the Twins organization. The big news might have been that former Twins GM and long-time Twins executive Bill Smith was hired as an Assistant to the President and CEO of Minor League Baseball, Pat O’Conner. As you know he did a ton of work for the Twins organization, establishing the minor league academy in Ft. Myers and recently the new academy in the Dominican Republic. Jose Berrios was named the Pitcher of the Week in the International League for the second time in three weeks. Outfielder Max Murphy was named the Player of the Week in the Florida State League. And, if you missed it, Miguel Sano was named the American League Hitter of the Week. The Twins had an off day on Monday. So did the Rochester Red Wings and the Cedar Rapids Kernels. But Chattanooga played an early game and the Miracle had a very nice win in the evening. Find out more of what happened in the Twins system on Monday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester Box Score No Game Scheduled. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Jackson 2 Box Score The Lookouts played an afternoon game, a get-away day before an off day on Tuesday. They were able to leave Jackson with a win. Felix Jorge improved to 3-1 on the season. The right-hander gave up two runs on seven hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out two. Luke Bard came on and struck out three over two perfect innings. Mason Melotakis - our choice for Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - tossed another scoreless inning to earn his third save. He now has thrown 11.2 scoreless innings to start the season. Edgar Corcino certainly helped the team to a win. He had an RBI double, his fifth of the season. He also gave the Lookouts some cushion in the ninth with a run-scoring sacrifice fly. Dan Gamache drove in a run in the ninth inning also on a 2-5 day from the third baseman. Engelb Vielma went 2-5. Levi Michael had a strong game. He went 1-2 with two walks and his second double. Nick Gordon went 1-3 with two walks. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Daytona 1 Box Score On Monday, Max Murphy was named the Florida State League Player of the Week. His first game of the new week was pretty good too. The outfielder from Minnesota went 3-4 with his fifth double and first triple. He was a homer shy of a cycle. Shane Kennedy went 2-4 with his first home run and two RBIs. It was his first home run in affiliated ball, in just his second game. The utility player played for three colleges including his two final college seasons at Clemson. Undrafted, he spent the 2016 season playing for Southern Illinois of the Frontier League where he hit .363/.465/.513 (.978) with 24 doubles and five homers. The Twins signed the 25-year-old this spring to a minor league deal. He went to extended spring training but was called up to the Miracle on Sunday. Dereck Rodriguez was terrific again. The right-hander gave up just one run on five hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out six. It gave him his first win of the season and dropped his ERA to 2.78. Williams Ramirez pitched a perfect eighth inning. Nick Anderson recorded his first save with a perfect ninth inning which included two strikeouts. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids Box Score No Game Scheduled. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dereck Rodriguez, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Max Murphy, Ft. Myers Miracle TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (5:05 CST) - LHP David Hurlbut Chattanooga - No Game Scheduled Daytona @ Ft. Myers (5:35 CST) - RHP Cody Stashak Lake County @ Cedar Rapids - RHP Eddie Del Rosario Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday night’s games. View full article