Seth Stohs

I enjoyed doing The Wave when I was 6 and 7... Now, I hate it more than anything, especially because the times it seems to happen is in the late innings of close games. I won't participate and I'll roll my eyes and all that... But I'm imagining a situation where my 9-year-old daughter is at a game with me... if the wave goes around, would I stop her from doing it? I don't think so. Anything to help her enjoy the experience.

The GCL Twins season ended in unfortunate circumstances. The game was cancelled by more rain. Cedar Rapids was able to complete their two games. The Miracle took all the free passes that they could. And two left-handers in the upper levels were remarkable on Saturday night. Two Red Wings made strong cases for getting back into a Twins uniform in September.It was a busy night in the Twins farm system. Check out all the game stories and highlights below. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Pawtucket 1 Box Score On August 7th, Logan Darnell pitched a scoreless inning in relief for the Red Wings. It dropped his season ERA to 4.20. Through his first 30 games this year (two spot starts, but the rest out of the bullpen) batters hit .307 against him in 45 innings. On August 13th, he got another start and gave up just one run on one hit over 5.1 innings. Five days later, he gave up no runs in 5.2 innings. On Monday, he threw a five-hit, complete game shutout for the Red Wings. One run over three starts and 20 innings is pretty impressive, so how did he do on this night? Darnell started with five shutout innings and was terrific again. In all, he gave up one run (in the sixth inning) on five hits and a walk. He struck out eight. As impressive, he was efficient. He needed just 91 pitches to work the eight innings, 69 of them were strikes. With Terry Ryan in attendance, he’s made a strong showing in hopes of a September call-up. Michael Tonkin gave up two hits in a scoreless ninth inning. By the way, after his four starts, he is now 5-1 and his ERA is down to 2.84 on the season. The offense managed just six hits, but they too were efficient. Danny Santana led off with his first Red Wings home run. In his second at bat, he hit his second homer. James Beresford drove in two runs with a single. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Birmingham 2 Box Score The Lookouts also got a terrific start from a left-hander. David Hurlbut gave up only an unearned run over the first seven innings. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out five. He improved to 10-6 with a 3.66 ERA. DJ Johnson gave up one run on three hits and a walk over the final two innings. Stuart Turner went 2-3 with a walk and his 13th double. Travis Harrison was 2-5. Max Kepler went 1-3 with two walks. Niko Goodrum hit his sixth double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Bradenton 3 Box Score The Miracle scored seven runs and it’s fair to say that they should have had twice as many runs. They had nine hits in the game and 12 walks. The first six hitters in the lineup each got to first base via walk or hit batter at least once. Engelb Vielma led off and went 1-3 with three walks. He stole his 33rd base of the season. Marcus Knecht went 1-3 with two walks. Logan Wade went 1-3 with two walks and his 20th double. Jason Kanzler went 2-5 with his eighth triple. Blake Schmit went 2-5. Mitch Garver and Chad Christensen both walked twice. Stephen Gonsalves didn’t have his best stuff. He went just 4.2 innings and gave up three runs on five hits. He walked four and struck out three. Trevor Hildenberger came on and went the next 2.1 innings. He walked one and struck one out but allowed no runs. Zack Jones struck out three over the final two scoreless innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1 – Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 6 Box Score Lewis Thorpe made the trek up to Cedar Rapids to watch fellow Australian Sam Gibbons. The right-hander gave up four runs (three earned) on 11 hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out one. Jared Wilson gave up two runs (one earned) on one hit over two innings. He struck out one. TJ White went 2-2 with a walk. Austin Diemer went 2-3. Nick Gordon added his 22nd double. Edgar Corcino and Max Murphy each threw out a base runner at home. Game 2 – Cedar Rapids 4, Kane County 3 (9 Innings) Box Score Randy LeBlanc got the start. He got two outs in the fifth inning, but three runs scored in that inning before he was removed from the game. In his 4.2 innings, he gave up three runs on eight hits. He struck out five without allowing a walk. Luke Bard replaced him. He went 2.1 innings without allowing a run. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out one. Jeff Johnson from The Gazette in Cedar Rapids tweeted that Bard was “throwing mid-90s and a tad higher.” Nick Anderson came on and threw a scoreless eighth inning. However, he gave up a solo home run in the ninth, the first run he’s allowed in professional baseball, to take the loss. The Kernels scattered eight hits in the second game. Nick Gordon went 2-4. . E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Kingsport 5 Box Score Christian Cavaness picked up his first E-Twins hit in the first inning when he led off with a triple. He scored when second-place hitter Jermaine Palacios grounded out. Zander Wiel was also 1-3 with a walk. Miles Nordgren started and went the first five innings. He gave up five runs (four earned) on eight hits and three walk. He struck out three. CK Irby came on and gave up no hits and no runs over the final four innings. He walked one, hit one and struck out five. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins, GCL Red Sox The teams were supposed to be playing the final regular season game of the GCL season. However, they were unable to play due to rain and the game was cancelled. The Red Sox end the season with a 41-17 record and will advance in the playoffs. The Twins end the year at 27-32. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Logan Darnell, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Danny Santana, Rochester Red Wings SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (12:35 CST) – LHP Pat Dean Chattanooga @ Birmingham (DH @ 1:30 CST) – RHP Greg Peavey, LHP Brett Lee Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (5:00 CST) – RHP Keaton Steele Kingsport @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) – RHP Andro Cutura GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (9:00) – TBD (final game of their season) Feel free to leave any questions or comments below Click here to view the article

Rains were again a factor on Friday night. The games in Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids were delayed by rain. In fact, Cedar Rapids was actually postponed and will play a doubleheader on Saturday. The game in Chattanooga experienced a mid-game rain delay as well. Could Rochester pitchers toss their third straight shutout? Which minor leaguer got on base all five times he came to the plate? Which Australian has multi-hit games in in four of his last eight games. Which 2015 draft pick has 25 walks and just nine strikeouts in August?It was a busy night in the Twins farm system. Check out all the game stories and highlights below. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Syracuse 9 Box Score The Red Wings had shut out Syracuse in the two previous games. JO Berrios struck out 12 in seven shutout innings in Syracuse on Wednesday night. On Thursday night, Michael Bowden struck out nine in seven shutout innings. On Friday, it was Taylor Rogers’ turn. It didn’t go so well. Three batters into the game, Syracuse scored, and they kept on doing just that. Rogers went just 2.1 innings. He was charged with seven runs (six earned) on seven hits (two homers) and a walk. He struck out two. Tim Shibuya came on and gave up one run on four hits in three innings. He struck out four. Next up was Alex Meyer. He was charged with an unearned run on three hits over 2.2 innings. He struck out four without issuing a walk. Cole Johnson gave up a hit and a walk in the ninth, but he did not allow a run. Danny Santana was the only Red Wings player with more than one hit. He was 2-4, and the team had just four hits on the game. Xavier Avery knocked in two runs with his 21st double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Birmingham 0 Box Score The offense provided plenty of runs, but the pitching got the job done with a shutout performance. Jason Wheeler went the first 6.1 innings. He gave up two hits, walked three and struck out four. The game was delayed after the fifth inning due to rain, but Wheeler returned. Nick Burdi came on with one out in the seventh. He finished that inning and two more to earn his second Lookouts save. He went 2.2 innings and gave up no hits, walked two and struck out two. Shannon Wilkerson continued to be an instigator for the Lookouts offense. He went 3-3 with two walks in this game. In the third, the Lookouts got back-to-back singles from Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler to give them a 2-0 lead. That same duo contributed again in the seventh inning. Polanco singled in a run before Kepler gave the team a 4-0 lead with a sacrifice fly. Along with Polanco, Travis Harrison also had two hits. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Bradenton 5 (11 innings) Box Score As has been the case about two dozen times this year, the Miracle needed extra frames to decide this game. Mat Batts started the game and was back on track. The southpaw gave up two runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out two and he walked none. Todd Van Steensel gave up a hit and a walk, but no runs in the seventh. Tyler Jay struck out one in a scoreless eighth inning. It was his fifth straight inning without allowing a run. Alex Muren pitched a scoreless ninth. However, when the game went to the tenth, Muren was charged with an unearned run. Brian Gilbert got the 11th inning. He gave up two runs on one walk and one hit. Logan Wade led the offense. He went 4-5 with his 19th double. He drove in the game-tying run in the 10th inning. He also stole his third base. Engelb Vielma went 3-4 with a walk. He stole his 32nd base. Ryan Walker went 2-5. Chad Christensen went 2-5 and stole his 21st base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids, Kane County Box Score Rain and lightning caused this game to be postponed. They will play two games on Saturday evening. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Kingsport 9 (10 innings) Box Score The Twins had plenty of offense and they held the lead late, but they were unable to hold it and fell in extra innings. LaMonte Wade continues to hit well. He went 2-5 with his ninth home run. In August, he has walked 25 times while striking out just nine times. And in this game, he also threw out a runner at home. Brian Olson went 2-4 with a walk and his second home run. He’s now hitting .372 in his time with the Twins. Amaurys Minier went 2-4 with a walk and his ninth double. Jermaine Palacios went 2-5. Lewin Diaz has just six hits with the E-Twins in about 40 plate appearances, but on Friday, he hit his third home run. Onesimo Hernandez started and gave up three runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out six. Jose Abreu gave up one run on two hits in 1.1 innings. He struck out three. Kuo Hua Lo, who has been terrific this season as the team’s closer, gave up two runs on five hits. He gave up a home run in the eighth and game-tying homer in the ninth. Alex Robinson started the tenth inning. He was charged with three runs on two hits and three walks and recorded just two outs. Josh Guyer came on and walked one runner in before getting a strikeout to end the inning. In the game, Christian Cavaness, signed last month as a non-drafted from agent, led off and played center field. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 0, GCL Red Sox 1 Box Score The season is coming to a close. The team is scheduled to play just one more game, on Saturday, before these players get to travel home. Though they received very good pitching, the hitters looked like they were ready for the season to be over. The Twins had just four hits in the game. Ariel Montesino went 2-4. He stole his third base. Roberto Gonzalez and Kolton Kendrick each walked twice in the game. Gonzalez stole his eighth base of the season and tells me his knee continues to feel better. On the mound, seventh round pick Jovani Moran started and threw five innings. He gave up one run on four hits. He walked one and struck out three. He got seven grounders to just two fly outs. Miguel Gonzalez came in and threw four shutout innings. He didn’t give up any hits, walked one and struck out five. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Miguel Gonzalez, GCL Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Shannon Wilkerson, Chattanooga Lookouts SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – LHP Logan Darnell Tennessee @ Chattanooga (6:30 CST) – LHP David Hurlbut Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (DH @ 5:35 CST) – RHP Randy LeBlanc, RHP Sam Gibbons Kingsport @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (9:00) – TBD (final game of their season) Feel free to leave any questions or comments below Click here to view the article

I wonder if Pinto would be considered for a September call-up as a pinch hitter option. He has yet to catch in any of his rehab games or games with Ft. Myers or Rochester. Also, a while ago we noted that Jorge Polanco came back from a minor injury and played two or three straight games at 2B. He has played SS every game since then.

Just tweeted:

Makes sense instead of four lefty relievers... and they still have a 13-man pitching staff. I'd think there'd be a move Aug. 31... and they could now.

I mean, if Sano's ball doesn't hit the catwalk, maybe things are completely different. The Twins add another run that inning and maybe the momentum changes.They won 6/10 on the road trip after starting 0-3. Big picture, they've won 6 of their last 7. Weird stuff happens in baseball. Now they come home and we hope they continue to play well. Will be vital to start getting some innings out of the starters.

Note - a player and a player's trainer are always going to say that their player is ready for more. No question Berrios put in the work ,but the Twins need to keep him to 175, maybe 180 innings at most (in my opinion).

Lefty Pat Dean was the Twins third-round pick in the 2010 MLB draft out of Boston College. While JO Berrios gets all the press clippings and Tyler Duffey got the promotions, Dean has probably been the most consistent (in a good way) starter for the Rochester Red Wings this season. He has gone from a “suspect” to potentially on the verge of his first call up to the Minnesota Twins. Twins Daily recently chatted with Dean about his 2015 success and much more. When the opening day rosters were set, Pat Dean found himself in the bullpen for the first time in his career. However, Ervin Santana was suspended, Trevor May was promoted and Dean was back in the rotation. He responded well early, and has continued to pitch well throughout the season.On the season, he is 10-11 despite a very good 3.06 ERA. In 162 innings, he has walked just 35 batters and struck out 94. It was important for him to get off to a fast start because 2014 was a difficult, frustrating year for the southpaw. After going 3-2 with a 2.02 ERA in six starts in Rochester to end the 2013 season, the Connecticut native went back to New Britain to start the 2014 season. He spent the full season there and went 8-9 with a 4.81 ERA in 26 starts with a 1.55 WHIP. “Last year was a tough one for me. Mentally, it wore me down. I had high expectations for myself and when I struggled early, I continued to put a lot of pressure on myself. I quickly found myself in a hole I couldn’t figure out how to get back out of. I lost confidence in myself and that was the worst part.” After taking a little bit of time off following the season, Pat Dean played some winter ball in the Dominican Republic for the first time. The experience was important to him and his career. “I went and played winter ball and pretty much hit the reset button. I did my best not to worry about results and only focused on some things I wanted to work on from a mental and mechanical stand point. I think that helped tremendously. I also was able to talk to some older players and pick their brains on how they had success. I definitely learned a lot down there.” On and off the baseball field, the whole Dominican experience was something he enjoyed. “My experience in the Dominican this winter was a great one. The Gigantes took great care of me. The talent level of the league was great, and it helped me learn a lot about myself. Playing against experienced guys and talking to experienced guys created a great learning environment for me. I learned a lot about reading hitters and setting them up, and how to utilize my strengths. Most of all, it helped me prove to myself that I can pitch at a high level and to use last season as a learning experience and put the negative results behind me.” He continued to learn once he came back home from the Dominican Republic. “When I got back to New Jersey, I worked with my boss where I give pitching lessons, and he helped me tighten up my curve and slider. Last year’s struggles were tough, but I feel they made me stronger and smarter.” That brings us to 2015, a new start for Dean. He came back to Ft. Myers for spring training having learned a lot and feeling better about baseball, pitching and his perspective. “Coming in to this season, I tried not to put any pressure on myself, especially with things out of my control. My thought-process in spring training was to be happy to have a jersey and to take advantage of every day I had one. I was fully prepared to be a bullpen guy. I knew I hadn’t earned anything and was just planning on taking advantage of any role the Twins wanted to put me in.” With Trevor May summoned to Minnesota before the season started, Dean found himself back in the rotation, back in Rochester for the first time since six starts in 2013. He responded very well. In his first three starts, he worked 20 innings and gave up just two runs while striking out 22 batters. He has thrown three complete game shutouts. He has completed six innings 19 times in 25 starts. In one start, the game was postponed by rain after two innings. He has only not gone five innings one other time. Dean is a left-hander who knows himself well as a pitcher. He knows what he needs to do to be successful. He throws both a four-seam and a two-seam fastball, as well as a curve ball, a slider and a change up. Knowing that he doesn’t throw hard enough to blow fastballs by hitters, he has to mix and match to be effective. He also knows that he has to have pinpoint control. “I am definitely a control pitcher and am constantly working to tighten up my control of every pitch I throw.” As for an out pitch, Dean says that two pitches have really been working for him better this year. “My curve and slider have both become effective tools for me this year. They have helped me get out of some tough jams.” The strategy is simple even if the execution at the AAA level isn’t always because of the talent and experience of hitters in the International League. “My strategy with approaching hitters is to be aggressive in the strike zone and work ahead. I know I don’t have an electric fastball, but I trust that I will be able to hit my spots with all my pitches. By working ahead, I am able to expand the zone and make the batter hit my pitch instead of having to give in to making a pitch they can handle.” Red Wings manager Mike Quade and especially pitching coach Marty Mason have also played a large part in Dean’s resurgent 2015 campaign. “A big thing Marty (Mason) has helped me with this year is really to just be me out on the mound. All year, he has told me to be me out there, not to try and be a pitcher I am not. I am not a guy that will light up a radar gun, so why would I go out there and try to do that? He just wants me to be Pat Dean out there, and his and Quade’s confidence in me as a pitcher has meant a lot this season.” So what would a September call up mean for Dean after such a resurgent, comeback season? “After six seasons with the Twins, getting a call up would mean more than words can describe. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career so far. So, for that dream to come true, especially after the year I had least year in AA… I can’t imagine how great it would feel.” Dean knows himself well, even when talking about his golf game. “On off-days, I enjoy playing golf with the guys. I am not very good at it, but I am getting better.” He enjoys staying busy after the season too. “In the offseason, my fiancé and I like to do a lot of exploring and traveling. I like going to new places and trying new foods.” Hopefully he and his fiancé will get the chance to travel to Minnesota and Target Field following the Red Wings season before starting a more formal, relaxing offseason. 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OK, there's one.

I generally agree with postponing Free Agency, but the Twins are in a playoff race right now. IF they believe he can help them get there, they can call him up. I can't think of (any?) many top-notch Twins players that the team hasn't signed to an extension beyond their free agency timeline going back 20 years.

Not long after JO Berrios put together, arguably, his best start of season, he sat in the Red Wings bus just starting the 90-mile drive from Syracuse to Rochester. Instead of sitting back and relaxing, he took the time to take (and welcome) a phone call from a Twins Daily writer. As Jeremy opined in today’s Minor League Report, “He’s arguably the best pitcher in the entire organization right now.” But will he get called up for September? The answer to that question likely has changed in the mind of Paul Molitor, Terry Ryan and others in the Twins front office over the last two or three weeks. I know it has changed for me now.Berrios felt really good about his Wednesday night start. A season-high 12 strikeouts in seven shutout innings will make a pitcher feel pretty good. Of the start, Berrios said, “Tonight, all three pitches were really nice. The best one was the curveball. I used it to strike them out.” Having watched several of Berrios’s starts, it appears that he’s had all three of his pitches working well most times out. He says that it is important and has been a focus for him. “You need to use all three pitches to get out big league hitters. The more I throw them, the more confident I am with all three pitches.” Berrios is quick to credit others for his success. The first thing he said was “All Glory to God!” He also says that he has received great advice from his coaches in Rochester too. “Yeah, here they want me to work with the curveball, and that’s what I’ve done. I’ve worked with that. I’ve thrown it pretty good.” It is interesting that Terry Ryan is watching the Red Wings. Asked if he notices Terry Ryan or thinks about the fact that the Twins GM is in the stands watching, Berrios answered quickly. “I don’t think about him. I just do my work and try to get outs and pitch my game.” However, we all know that Berrios works really hard. It was his goal before the season to make the big league club on Opening Day. He began at AA and dominated there. He wanted to be in the big leagues before he turned 21 in early May. Instead, he started another Futures Game for the World Team. He moved up to AAA where after his first two starts, he has continued to dominate. So, what would it mean for him to get that call in September? “It’s my dream from when I was young. It would be a blessing if they called me up in September. If they give me the opportunity to move up, I would try my best to help the team get to the playoffs.” There is no question that he and his teammates are keeping close tabs on the Twins big league club and their strong success this season. Asked if seeing Tyler Duffey’s success gives him confidence that he can succeed in the big leagues, Berrios replied quickly. “Yeah! They’ve got a lot of talent, a lot of very good pitchers. They have played very well.” It is the youth that has been leading the way for the Twins. Miguel Sano has been crushing pitches since his call up on July 1. Byron Buxton returned to the Twins last week after his injury and has multiple hits in four of his last five games. Puerto Rican outfielder Eddie Rosario has been up since early May and proven that he can play in the big leagues. He has a lot of extra-base hits, and he’s played great defense, showing range and a strong, accurate arm. Duffey has been good in his last three starts. Is He Ready? There are many angles to the Twins decision to bring up JO Berrios or not. As I wrote earlier, the opinions on that have likely changed in the mind of Paul Molitor and Terry Ryan over the last few weeks. I know that it has changed a few times in the last few weeks. First and foremost, JO Berrios is the top pitching prospect in the organization. He has done everything that he possibly can at each minor league level to have earned the right to pitch in the big leagues. In 15 starts at AA Chattanooga, he went 8-3 with a 3.08 ERA. In 90.2 innings, he walked 24 and struck out 92. After last night’s game, he is now 4-2 with a 2.78 ERA in ten starts with the Red Wings. In 64.2 innings, he has walked 13 and struck out 73. He has nothing more to prove. That is a lot of success. That is also a lot of innings. Combined, he is 12-5 with a 2.95 ERA. In a career-high 155.1 innings, he has given up 129 hits, walked 37 and struck out 165 batters. His previous career-high innings was 140.1 innings in 2014. Many teams subscribe to being concerned about a pitcher working more than a 20% innings increase from year to year. The Twins rarely mention the 20% number though they are aware of it. They monitor it, but they also tend to make those decisions based on how a pitcher is performing on the mound. Beyond numbers, is the pitcher starting to labor more on the mound. Well, based on last night’s performance, Berrios doesn’t appear to be laboring. If he were called up to the big leagues and put into the starting rotation, he could make seven more starts in high-pressure situations. Let’s estimate that he averaged six innings per start and he could wind up just shy of 200 innings. Of course, the Twins could also bring him up and put him in the bullpen down the stretch, maybe getting him 15 to 20 more innings. For what it’s worth, the Twins have not given Berrios any indication that he is on any innings limit at this time. The Business Impact As of Thursday morning, the Twins hold the second American League wild card spot. All season, Twins fans have tried to enjoy the ride, always wondering when they might falter. There have been a couple of times, including one week ago after the series in New York, when it was fair to wonder aloud if that time had come. This team has shown great resiliency. They have played themselves back into contention. They have added two quality bullpen options, helping the area of the team that needed it most. The idea that arguably the best pitcher in the organization would not be part of a playoff quest seems wrong. To a fault, I admit that I tend to look at the business side of promotions too much. If the Twins were not contending, I would fully understand and agree with the idea that if they didn’t bring him up this year, it made sense. Like Buxton, Berrios was a first-round pick in 2012 out of high school. That means that he doesn’t have to be added to the 40-man roster until after the 2016 season. My general belief is that if they are not promoted by early August, it makes little sense for them to call them up and take up a 40-man roster spot. Let him rest and come to spring training as a non-roster invitee in 2016 and come up in late April, gaining another season of his rights before he would hit free agency. It would also allow them to protect another player over the offseason. That’s just smart. However, the Twins ARE in contention. They do have a real chance to make the playoffs. In my opinion, that means finding a way to get Berrios on the roster. At that point, some of those intangibles have to come in to play. Can the player handle pitching in these types of pressure situations in a playoff push? How will he handle success or failure? How mature is he? How will he perform while pitching in innings that he has never pitched before? How will he handle the big league lifestyle? Simply put, there is no way to know with 100% certainty. But they do know JO Berrios. They knew him and watched him before they drafted him in June of 2012. They’ve been able to get to know him better in the past three years. He only turned 21-years-old three months ago, but he is very mature. He is confident yet humble. He clearly has the right work ethic. Beyond that, we don’t know how he will handle it. No one does. Tyler Duffey was pitching best for the Red Wings when he was called up. He was drafted the same year as Berrios, but he is three years older because he went to college. He is mature. He was ready for the big leagues. And, he was clearly nervous when he made his debut. It’s fair to say he’s calmed down well over his last three starts. Summary JO Berrios was great again on Wednesday night for the Red Wings. We talked to him after the game for his thoughts and what a September call up would mean to him. Will he get that call? We’ll find out within the next two weeks. On the mound, he has nothing left to prove, though it is very fair to worry about his innings. He has the makeup and maturity to handle the situation, as well as the confidence and, maybe more important, the pitches. There are “business” reasons for the Twins to wait until about April 20, 2016, to call him up, but the fact that the Twins are in strong playoff contention in 2015 and the opinion that he may be the best pitcher in the organization right now, it seems pretty apparent (in my humble opinion) that JO Berrios should spend most of September with the Minnesota Twins. Click here to view the article

I think that is very realistic.

Nah, he's been to the AFL the last two years... I think he gets called up and then gets to spend his offseason however he wants... though he could play in VZ or something.

It should be a huge consideration... He'd maybe be a role player with the Twins. He'll be the #2/#3 hitter for the Lookouts in playoff games. It's good for him and it's good for his teammates... Unless he's going to start, getting those playoff at bats will be great. And, he can be up by 9/15 or so.

There's no way he's a Sept 1 call up. They'll let him play every day through the end of Chattanooga season (Sept 7), and he'll play for the Lookouts in their playoffs, however long they stay in it. Also, Kepler is mentioned pretty much every day in the minor league reports.

He's saying that despite the impressive batting average, if he were called up now he would probably still struggle with breaking pitches and such. He's not a finished product. They think he can become an above average player.

This article is awesome! We should be talking about Max Kepler, and we will, but I do need to say that I am incredibly impressed with Chad Allen. I've talked to him a couple of times and he's so knowledgeable and really has a plan. He seems to have a good plan for everyone. I think that's important. But Kepler's been tremendous. I saw him in Cedar Rapids, and that talent was there, but his swing was strange. You could see the quick bat and the power potential, but it was very, very raw. He's a quiet guy, very respectful. Every time I've talked to him, he stands and listens intently. Very polite. It's cool to see more assertiveness.

I think that's the role that would give him a shot...

I kind of think it'll be between him and Mark Hamburger (with Achter and Tonkin as guys I assume will be up). Tonkin may come up Sept 1, but I assume the others would come up after the season, after Labor Day.

The Twins are still playing meaningful games in late August, and they’re being led by a trio of players who began this season in the minor leagues. Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario are all performing very well. On Wednesday, they will send a fourth,Tyler Duffey, to the mound.Three of those players began this season in AA Chattanooga. The exciting thing is knowing that there is a lot more talent coming through the pipeline. Check out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Tuesday. The Midwest League announced its end-of-season awards and all-star team and no Kernels were named. The Appalachian League also named its all-stars as well. LaMonte Wade was an all- star outfielder. Kuo Hua Lo was named the league’s top reliever. Dereck Rodriguez was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Syracuse 4 Box Score A night after collecting 20 hits, the Red Wings were only able to muster six hits in this game. Kennys Vargas had a single and a walk, the only player getting on base more than once. Pat Dean’s scoreless inning streak ended at 18 in the second inning when he gave up a run. The southpaw’s night ended after five innings. He gave up four runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out three. Alex Meyer came on and needed just 20 pitches to strike out three over two perfect innings. Aaron Thompson struck out two in his inning of work. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 3 Box Score Shannon Wilkerson has done a nice job for the Lookouts since signing out of the Can-Am League last month. He helped the Lookouts win this game. He had an RBI early, but in the bottom of the seventh, he tripled in Stuart Turner with the go-ahead run. He then scored on a throwing error to give the team the lead. Wilkerson led the offense. He went 2-3 with his third triple and two RBI. Turner went 1-2 with a walk and scored two runs. Heinker Meneses added his tenth double. Brett Lee started for the Lookouts. He gave up three runs (two earned) on eight hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out three. Alex Wimmers came on and threw three shutout innings for the win. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out three. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Jupiter 4 Box Score The Miracle got a quality start from lefty Luke Westphal. He gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out two. Matt Summers came on and gave up one run on three hits in 1.2 innings before getting ejected. He struck out four. Jake Reed came on and got the final four outs. Logan Wade went 2-4 with his 18th double. He has hit in eight of his last nine games and has multiple hits in five of his last seven games. Jason Kanzler cut the Miracle deficit to one with his eighth homer of the season. Mitch Garver doubled for the 23rd time this year. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 7 Box Score The odds of the Kernels coming back on this night and matching their 23-run, 27-hit night against Clinton the night before were not good. They did have eight hits and scored four runs, but it wasn’t enough against Peoria. Felix Jorge went six innings again. He was charged with four unearned runs in one inning which included two errors. In total, he gave up those four runs on nine hits and a walk. He struck out five. It is his 19th time in 21 starts this season that he has completed six innings. Luke Bard came on and gave up three runs on seven hits in three innings. He struck out three. Seven Kernels hitters had at least one hit. Edgar Corcino was the lone player with more than one hit. He was 2-4 with his 14th double. TJ White added his 19th double, and Max Murphy hit his 13th. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Greeneville 8 Box Score Cody Stashak has been very good, but he struggled on this night. In just 1.2 innings, he gave up seven runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out two. CK Irby came on and gave up one run on one hits and one walk in 3.1 innings. He struck out five. Jose Abreu gave up only a walk over three scoreless innings. It’s been a struggle for big Lewin Diaz since being promoted to E-Town. On this night, he hit his second home run. Manuel Guzman and Nelson Molina each went 2-4. Brad Hartong added his seventh double. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 2 Box Score Rain has been, and always is, a force to be reckoned with in Southwest Florida. It was definitely the case on Tuesday afternoon. The Twins and Rays were set to finish a game from mid-July that was suspended after the fourth inning. They planned to finish that as a seven-inning game and then play another seven-inning game. They finished the first game. Brandon Poulson came in and began where he left off a month ago. He finished with 2.2 total innings. He gave up no runs on no hits. He walked two and struck out five. Johan Quezada came in for the eighth inning and gave up a run on three hits. The Twins were unable to come back in the bottom of the inning. In total, Luis Arraez went 2-3 with a walk. Roberto Gonzalez went 2-3 and stole his seventh base. They started game two, but again, it was suspended after four innings with the Twins leading 4-2. The plan is for the teams to finish this game and play another on Wednesday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Alex Meyer, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Shannon Wilkerson, Chattanooga Lookouts WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05 CST) – RHP JO Berrios Tennessee @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers Ft. Myers – No Game Scheduled Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Ethan Mildren Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 CST) – LHP Sam Clay GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (DH @ 11:00) – TBD, TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below Click here to view the article