Seth Stohs

I definitely encourage people to look into the box scores for more details. See all those Kernels and Red Wings with three hit games... Check out how AB Walker did on the night.

I can't remember a night like this. 7 Kernels hitters with at least 3 hits. I think 5-6 Red Wings hitters with 3+ hits. AB Walker ties the Lookouts HR record. Logan Darnell had a perfect game until an error in the 6th, and a no-hitter into the 7th.

I tweeted this earlier today because White has been terrific:

Jeremy Nygaard has tons on him and the rest of the 40 Twins draft picks in his Draft Book. A great purchase option... Jeremy spent time with many scouts, etc., learning about these players and it's incredible.

Following a sweep in New York against the dreaded Yankees, many Twins fans - admittedly myself included - were ready to write off the 2015 season. It was the start of a ten-game road stretch against three teams with playoff hopes remaining. However, after an unlikely four-game sweep in Baltimore, the Twins remain in contention for a wild card berth.It was something that happened frequently in the Ron Gardenhire-led era. When the Twins had a shot at making the playoffs, they played some of their best baseball. Maybe it was that "One-Day-At-A-Time" mantra that Tom Kelly preached. Maybe it was the fire of Gardenhire. Maybe it was having some of the right players on the field for the season's final months. Like many Twins fans, I often get excited and hopeful when things are going well, but when things start to go awry, I'm ready to play the realist. This year, that meant talking about how the Twins weren't really expected to compete yet. They were expected to finish dead last in the American League. 2016 was when this team was supposed to start playing competitive games in August. And then that rough stretch of games out of the All-Star break that moved them from 10 games above .500 to a game below .500. That culminated with that dreadful performance in the Bronx. And yet, baseball is a funny game, and funny things happen. An offense that struggled to score runs began the series in Baltimore with a 15-run performance. After that, they showed a great toughness winning three close games. In fact, instead of being the team whose bullpen was giving up leads late in the game, the Twins were the team overcoming a deficit in the late innings. In fact, the Twins bullpen was terrific in Baltimore. Glen Perkins wasn't available for the first three games of the series, but he pitched on Sunday. Kevin Jepsen was remarkable in that closer's role. Trevor May pitched three straight games for the first time and was absolutely dominant. Even Casey Fien was terrific, returning to the 2013 and 2014 form that made him so good. Adding Neal Cotts to the equation makes the bullpen deeper. The bullpen was a strength in that series and now they get a day off before starting a three-game series with the Rays in St. Petersburg. After that, they head home to play the Houston Astros, another playoff team. It doesn't get easier. What else? This team is being led by some young fellas. Tyler Duffey set the tone for the series with a tremendous performance in Thursday's blowout. He showed Twins fans what he is capable of doing. Miguel Sano continued to bash American League pitching by delivering a couple of home runs in the series and driving in runs. Eddie Rosario continues to impress in left field and came up with some big hits and a big sacrifice fly on Friday. Byron Buxton played great defense. His bat still hasn't come on strong, but he came up with the big, game-winning hit in Saturday's game. Remember the year that the Twins were in contention and Justin Morneau got hurt about as the calendar turned to September? Michael Cuddyer moved onto first base and put up crazy numbers for the final three or four weeks of the season. Maybe this year it will be Miguel Sano who leads the charge? There's no way to know what will happen. Maybe unlikely veterans like Joe Mauer and Torii Hunter will be hot for the final five or six weeks. Will the Twins make the playoffs? I don't know. I don't claim to know. The odds still aren't in their favor. But if there's one thing that I've learned in the last dozen years or so, when the Twins have had a chance, they have stayed resilient. And as we've said many times, with baseball, you just never know what could happen. Might as well enjoy the ride! Click here to view the article

I'd now say two really good starts after one really bad start... That curveball is legit!

Yup, he's back in the lineup today as well.

I agree.. It was his first full season back from Tommy John, so I'm glad they gave him another shot to start. But if he has a big league future, it'd likely be in long relief. He certainly had a couple of stretches that showed he could fill that kind of role.

I think Escobar should be starting. Have most of the year, if not all year. He's playing 2 out of 3 at this point, and I"m fine with that because Nunez has played well too.

One of the best things about following the minor leaguers every day throughout a season and from year to year has to be seeing improvement of young, talented players. Each year there are players who go from relatively unknown to worth watching. One of those guys this year is Australian right-hander Sam Gibbons. He was on the hill again tonight for Cedar Rapids and put up another strong start.He wasn’t the only story of the night, so continue reading for everything that happened on Saturday in the Twins minor league system. TRANSACTIONS There was just one transaction in the Twins system on Saturday: · To make room for AJ Achter in Rochester, Adrian Salcedo was sent back to Chattanooga.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 5, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 11 Box Score Michael Bowden had an opt-out date on Saturday. He was also scheduled to start. Darren Wolfson tweeted earlier in the day that it sounds like he will not opt-out. On this night, he gave up seven runs (five earned) on eight hits and two walks in 5.2 innings. He struck out six. Cole Johnson came on. He was charged with one run on three hits in 1.1 innings, though he allowed two inherited runners to score as well. Tim Shibuya gave up three runs on three hits in his inning of work. Eric Fryer led the offense. He went 3-4 with his first triple. Xavier Avery went 2-3 with a walk and his third triple. Danny Santana went 2-4 with his eighth double. Danny Ortiz was also 2-4. Oswaldo Arcia came into the game without a hit in his previous 24 at-bats. According to a tweet from Brandon Warne, he was 4-64. He went 0-3 in his first three at-bats on this night, but in the ninth, he hit his 11th Red Wings home run off former All-Star Andrew Bailey. Hopefully it can jump-start something, anything. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Pensacola 10 Box Score Jason Wheeler made the start for the Lookouts. The southpaw went the first 5.1 innings. He gave up five runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out five. He was really hurt by the long ball. He was “taken yard” three times. Alex Wimmers came on and got the next five outs and he was charged with two runs on three hits. DJ Johnson pitched an inning and gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk. The offense put up some runs, but it just wasn’t enough. Stephen Wickens remained hot. He went 2-5 with his 14th double. Travis Harrison went 2-4 with his fourth triple. Stuart Turner went 1-1 and walked three times. Max Kepler was 1-4 with a walk and his 32nd double. Jorge Polanco, who played shortstop for the second straight game, walked twice and stole his 17th base. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 0, Bradenton 5 Box Score Mat Batts wasn’t his normal self in this start. He gave up four runs on seven hits in just five innings. He walked one and struck out three. Todd Van Steensel came on and gave up one run on one hit in two innings. He struck out two. Tyler Jay pitched a scoreless inning, striking out one. The Miracle offense didn’t show much, as you’d expect when the team gets shut out. Mitch Garver was 1-3 with a walk. Jason Kanzler hit his seventh triple. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Clinton 0 Box Score Sam Gibbons has become one of the most reliable starters on Jake Mauer’s Cedar Rapids Kernels team. On Saturday, he worked eight shutout innings. He allowed the only hit in the fifth inning. He did not walk a batter and he struck out a career-high 12 batters. However, through eight innings neither team had scored a run. In the top of the ninth, Brett Doe knocked his 11th double and drove in Edgar Corcino and TJ White to give the Kernels a 2-0 lead. Mike Theofanopoulos came on and pitched a perfect ninth for the first save of his career. Gibbons improved to 7-3 and reduced his ERA to just 2.72. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 3, Pulaski 4 Box Score Onesimo Hernandez was the Appy League Pitcher of the Week last week. This start didn’t go as well for the right-hander. He gave up four runs on nine hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out six. Anthony Mciver came on and struck out four over three shutout innings. He gave up two hits. Daniel Kihle led the offense. He went 2-4 with his seventh double. Jermaine Palacios doubled for the ninth time. Rainis Silva added his fifth double. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Red Sox 8 Box Score The Twins held a 2-1 lead after seven innings, but one of their more reliable relievers had his first really rough outing. Jovani Moran started and threw four shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out four. Moises Gomez came in. He gave up an unearned run on one hit and one walk. Max Cordy threw two shutout innings. Miguel Gonzalez gave up two runs on five hits in his inning. Johan Quezada came on. He gave up four runs on two hits and two walks in just one-third of an inning. Callan Pearce came in, but he gave up the inherited runners and one more run on three hits. Luis Arraez went 2-3 with a walk and his 15th double. He also stole his seventh base. Bryant Hayman hit his second triple. Jorge Andrade went 1-3 with a walk and his 10th stolen base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Sam Gibbons, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Travis Harrison, Chattanooga Lookouts SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (12:05 CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers Tennessee @ Chattanooga (4:15 CST) – LHP David Hurlbut Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (3:05 CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (2:00 CST) – RHP Randy LeBlanc Elizabethton @ Greeneville (5:00 CST) – TBD GCL Twins – No Games Scheduled Feel free to leave any questions or comments below Click here to view the article

Doc, your whole response was very good, well reasoned. I don't think the Twins are a team that follow too closely to the 20% thing, at least not as much in the upper levels as the lower levels. But to what I included above... it's an interesting question ,but there's no way to know what getting 1-2 starts and 3-4 relief appearances would do for him in terms of 2016. No way to know. People have been successful with and without that time the year before. There are plenty examples of both.

It was from spring training. He looks young, but he is incredibly mature.

Nick wrote an article about Arcia a week or so ago. He is now like 0-fer his last 24 after last night.

I would agree completely. Once he wasn't up by early August, it doesn't make a lot of sense to bring him up until late April... the Kris Bryant decision...

They're like 2.5 games out. I would sure hope they haven't given up.

The Twins are now 2-0 with Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano in the same lineup after a win in Baltimore. There was a trade. JO Berrios was back on the mound, pitching against the same team he had no-hit for six innings a week ago. One of the more rare plays in baseball was accomplished in the Chattanooga game. There were a couple of blow-outs in the system, but there were also two walk-off games. Continue reading for everything that happened on Friday in the Twins minor league system.TRANSACTIONS There were a couple of transactions in the Twins system on Friday: Following the Twins 4-3 win in Baltimore, the Twins and Brewers announced that Neal Cotts was traded to the Twins for a player to be named later, or cash. To make room, AJ Achter was optioned to AAA Rochester.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 2, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 3 (14 innings) Box Score It was a long night in Scranton, and unfortunately for the Red Wings, the home team won. However, it started with another impressive performance from JO Berrios. One week ago, Berrios threw six no-hit innings against the RailRiders before giving up six runs in the seventh inning without recording an out. On this night, he lost the no-hitter early, and he gave up a run in the third inning. However, he was very impressive. He went the first seven innings. He gave up just the one run on five hits. He walked none and struck out ten. In the top of the eighth inning, the Red Wings scratched out the go-ahead run. Aaron Thompson replaced Berrios. He walked one batter and struck out another. Alex Meyer came on next. He walked one and then gave up a single just past a diving James Beresford to tie the game. Mark Hamburger came in and gave up just two hits over three shutout innings. Michael Tonkin then gave up two hits over two shutout innings. Adrian Salcedo came on for the 14th inning. He got two outs, but he gave up the winning run on the third hit of the inning, to take the loss. In 14 innings, the Red Wings managed just six hits. James Beresford went 2-5 with a walk and his 20th double. Kennys Vargas went 1-3 with a walk and his sixth double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Pensacola 2 Box Score It was a good day for the Lookouts. Adam Brett Walker got the scoring started in the first inning with an RBI double. Later in the game, he had another RBI double. He now has 28 doubles and 96 RBI on the season. Levi Michael went 2-4 with a walk, his tenth double and his fifth home run. Max Kepler went 2-5. Shannon Wilkerson hit his first home run with the Lookouts. DJ Baxendale made the start. He was wild but gave up just one run on five hits in five innings. He walked five and struck out six. Nick Burdi got the next two innings. He gave up no runs and no hits. He walked three and struck out three. Brandon Peterson worked the final two innings. He gave up one run on one hit. He walked two and struck out one. With the game still in the balance in the fourth inning, Baxendale started the inning by walking two straight batters. That brought up former Twins farmhand Ray Chang. The infielder grounded to Heiker Meneses who stepped on third base. He threw to Levi Michael at second for the second out. Michael then threw to Niko Goodrum at first base to complete the rare triple play. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Bradenton 9 Box Score Matt Summers made his first start of the year after being returned to the Miracle. He gave up four runs on four hits and a walk over just two innings. He was replaced by Brian Gilbert who gave up three runs on five hits and two walks in three innings. Zack Jones came on and gave up two runs on two hits and three walks in two innings. He struck out three. Jake Reed struck out one in a flawless inning. Logan Wade and Jason Kanzler both went 2-4 in the game. Mitch Garver hit his 22nd double of the year. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Clinton 2 Box Score As you would expect with someone returning from Tommy John surgery, there will be some ups and downs. That would describe Randy Rosario’s 2015 return, but tonight was a great night for the lefty. Rosario went seven innings. He gave up just one run on two hits. He walked one and struck out eight. He left with a tied game. Luke Bard pitched a scoreless eighth. However, with two outs in the ninth, he gave up the game-winning run. Bard struck out four in 1.2 innings. The Kernels managed just six hits. Sean Miller went 2-4 with his second double. Rafael Valera, Edgar Corcino, and TJ White each had a single and a walk. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Pulaski 14 Box Score Dereck Rodriguez has been terrific for the E-Twins this season, but tonight didn’t go so well. In this one, he went just three innings. He was charged with six runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out two. With this rough outing, he falls to 5-2 with a very solid 2.65 ERA. CK Irby came on and gave up six runs (five earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out one in two innings. Anthony Mciver gave up an unearned run on one hit and a hit batter in two innings. He struck out three. Josh Guyer gave up one run on one hit in his inning. LaMonte Wade went 2-3 with a walk. Jermaine Palacios gets back into these reports, going 2-5 with his first triple. Kamran Young hit his fourth homer and drove in three runs. Lewin Diaz is hitting just .083 since moving up to Elizabethton, but on this night, he hit his first Appy League homer. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 0, GCL Red Sox 10 Box Score The Twins bullpen struggled in this one, but it didn’t matter much because their bats managed just three hits. Luis Martinez hit his fourth double. Roni Tapia had a single and a walk. Eduardo del Rosario started. He gave up two runs on six hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out six. Brandon Poulson came on. He pitched a scoreless sixth inning before a wild seventh inning. Poulson got just one out. He was charged with three runs on two hits and two walks. Rich Condeelis came on and gave up five runs on four hits and a walk in 0.1 innings. Andrew Vasquez got the final out of the seventh, but not before walking two and giving up a hit to score all three inherited runners. Matz Schutte struck out one in a perfect eighth inning. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – JO Berrios, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Levi Michael, Chattanooga Lookouts SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (6:05 CST) – RHP Michael Bowden Chattanooga @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) – LHP Mat Batts Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:30 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons Elizabethton @ Pulaski (6:00 CST) – RHP Onesimo Hernandez GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00 CST) – TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below Click here to view the article

According to the Twitter feed of the Milwaukee Brewers, the Twins have acquired left-handed reliever Neal Cotts for a player to be named later.Cotts has been around a long time. The 35-year-old left-hander began his big league career in 2003 with the Chicago White Sox. He moved to the bullpen in 2004 and has been there ever since. He pitched for the Chicago Cubs from 2007 through 2009. He had Tommy John surgery in 2010 and missed a lot of time. He signed with the Pirates and Yankees but was unable to pitch. He returned to the big leagues for the Texas Rangers in 2013. He went 8-3 with a 1.11 ERA in 58 games for the Rangers that season. He was then 2-9 with a 4.32 ERA in 2014. He was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers this year. He is 1-0 with a 3.28 ERA in 49.1 innings. He has been very good against left-handers. They have hit just .185/.230/.346 (.576) against him. To make the move official, the Twins will need to make a move on their 25-man roster as well as their 40-man roster. The team would need to send a layer to the Brewers within six months, though generally it happens much sooner than that. To make room for Cotts, the Twins optioned RHP AJ Achter to Rochester. Click here to view the article

I always believed in Goodrum as a shortstop... that said, he hasn't played there regularly in a couple of years, so that will be interesting to watch.

I don't know if that's true, but many hoped that he would make some improvements and become an adequate shortstop.

My sense, and in talking to some, is that Polanco is going to be left at 2B. Michael may be more of a utility guy, playing all over. I don't know if that's true or not. Could play Polanco at both places too. But, there are less and less who think Polanco can play SS.