Seth Stohs

Ten days ago, the Twins were holding strong to the second AL Wild Card spot. Twins fans watched the July 31 trade deadline pass and all they got was a t-shirt. Wait. No, they got reliever Kevin Jepsen, but that certainly wasn’t going to be a difference-maker. Optimists pointed out that the Twins have typically fared pretty well in August trades. They could make a deal at that time. In the last week, the Twins were swept in Toronto and barely eked out one win in Cleveland. It wasn't pretty... at all.Now to the present, and the Twins are well out of contention for an AL Wild Card. They are 11.5 games behind the Royals in the AL Central. The Blue Jays and Angels currently hold the two AL Wild Card positions. Let’s be honest, the Blue Jays will win the AL East, so the Yankees are also in the Wild Card race. And the Astros and Angels are separated by a half game in the AL West. The Twins also trail Baltimore, Texas and Tampa Bay now in the race for a Wild Card spot. The Detroit Tigers, who sold at the July trade deadline, are just one game behind the Twins. With all that said, a week ago the hope would have been to make a trade in August to bring in veteran pieces. Now, just a week later, the Twins front office likely needs to switch gears. They should now be looking to get veteran players through waivers so that they can make some deals for more young players. Let’s take a look at some of the Twins veterans who could be dealt in August. As you know, pretty much every player on the roster gets put on revocable waivers. If a player is claimed by another team, three things can happen. 1.) The Twins could work with that claiming team to work out a trade. 2.) The Twins could pull him back. 3.) The Twins could let the player go to the claiming team without anything in return. Before we go any further, Joe Mauer’s no-trade clause (due to his 10-5 status) means that he can’t be traded without his consent, so no need to go there. Kurt Suzuki – The 31-year-old catcher will likely clear waivers and could be traded to a team looking for a backup catcher for this year and next. Unlikely. Trevor Plouffe – He would get claimed, and the Twins would rightfully ask for a ton to actually trade him. Unlikely. Torii Hunter – He will only be traded if he wants to be traded. He’s said that he wants to end his career with the Twins, and my personal opinion is that he should as well. Very Unlikely. Oswaldo Arcia/Danny Santana – The Twins wouldn’t just hand them over, and both would be claimed. They both are out of options in 2016. I do think both could be traded in the right deal. Fifty-Fifty. Eduardo Escobar – I don’t know that Escobar would clear waivers. The Twins would want to get something in return for him. He’s still young and showed last year that he can be a solid MLB shortstop if he’s given that job. Teams are always looking for solid shortstop play.. I wouldn’t give up Escobar unless the team got a very nice return. Unlikely Eduardo Nunez – There is a decent chance that he would get claimed. He’s had a very solid season this year as a utility man, and there is value in that. Do the Twins plan on him being back next year? Possible. Ricky Nolasco – If anyone claimed him, the Twins would happily just hand him over, not worrying about return of any kind. Phil Hughes – We knew he wouldn’t duplicate those 2014 numbers, but he has been very inconsistent. On Sunday, he put in his worst start as a Twins pitcher. His velocity was down. The Twins had him on a three-year deal, but after last year, they chose to give him big money and five years. They wouldn’t just give him away, but he would likely clear waivers. Would anyone take on that contract now? Unlikely. Ervin Santana – After over a decade of solid year after solid year, Santana missed the first 80 games of the 2015 season due to a PED suspension. Since his return, he’s had a couple of very good starts and more poor starts. He’s still got another four years left on his contract. Unlikely. Mike Pelfrey – Pelfrey was actually quite good through much of the first half, but he has really struggled the last month. He did have a game very recently where he went eight shutout innings and gave up just four hits. However, more frequently, he hasn’t been able to get through five innings. That said, the Twins got cash for Kevin Correia, so they might be able to find a taker for Pelfrey too. There could be a team that wants to throw him in the bullpen, and he could get good out there. Pretty good. Brian Duensing/Casey Fien/Blaine Boyer – If anyone is interested at this point, take it. Possible. Following the July 31 trade deadline, Twins fans still thought they would add some talent in August. One week later, it looks like it’d be wise to switch gears and become sellers. People often asked me if I thought that the Twins should “Go for it” this year. My response was that this year we are just starting to see some of that immense talent from the farm system. They’re getting their feet wet and they did get to play in some intense games. But that it was year one of a plan that will hopefully have the Twins competing for division titles for the next eight to ten years. It’s like the first grade year, and yet, it wasn’t supposed to be. It’s more like kindergarten, readying yourself for everything that comes with elementary school. The Twins are pretty close. It’d be nice if they could deal some veterans for more talent. Frankly, the guys that they would be willing to trade won’t bring in a lot. It would still be nice to make a couple of deals to open up more playing time for some of the youth that will be part of that next six to eight years. Click here to view the article

This would be my guess as well.

I completely agree... Hunter needs some days off, but he needs to play. He's been alright.

That's my one issue with it. If he's on a major league rehab, he gets paid a major league salary. If he is optioned, he makes his minor league wage. That's the one part that bothers me.

This is such a non-issue. Buxton has now played three games in the last 6-7 weeks. Letting him play another 10-12 in AAA isn't hurting anyone. The Twins OF can manage. He'll be up within 20 days so that the option doesn't count. it's all good. Much ado about nothing.

From the time they called up Duffey, Berrios has gone from 3 consecutive good starts to 5 consecutive good starts. At the time of the call up, Duffey was the right call and I believe he was the one that gave them a better chance to win. We don't know if Berrios would have done well. Maybe he would have, but no way to know. Berrios is the better prospect. It didn't make him the right call at that time. Right now, it's clear that Berrios is pitching better and looks ready. Duffey hasn't pitched since his outing against the Blue Jays.

He is not on the 40 man roster. He has returned/stayed with the organization that signed him as a 16-year-old in 2005. He has become a free agent after the last three seasons but came back. He has played almost exclusively 2B the last 3-4 years, but he can play 3B and SS as well.

Plenty of action on a Sunday in the Minnesota Twins minor leagues. Which prospect knocked in six runs on this day? Which prospect had a four-hit game? Which reliever finally got a chance to start… and pitched just as well as he had out of the bullpen? There was a blowout, and there were three, one-run games.All that and more can be found as you work your way through Sunday’s minor league report. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Charlotte 5 Box Score Michael Bowden made his third start for the Red Wings and got his first win. He gave up four runs on eight hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out six. Alex Meyer walked two but did not allow a run in his inning. Mark Hamburger gave up a solo home run in his inning. Michael Tonkin gave up one hit in a scoreless inning to record his 11th save. Xavier Avery went 2-4 with his fourth home run. Argenis Diaz was also 2-4. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his 13th home run. Byron Buxton went 1-4 with a walk. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 14, Mobile 2 Box Score The Lookouts bats showed up for this game as they got contributions from almost everyone in the lineup. Stephen Wickens had a very productive day. The infielder went 3-5 with his 11th double. He also drove in six runs. He had a two-run single and a bases-clearing double. Kennys Vargas went 2-4 with a walk and his seventh Lookouts home run. Heiker Meneses went 2-5. Stuart Turner and Niko Goodrum were each 1-2 with two walks. The team scored their 14 runs on 11 hits and seven walks. They were ahead 7-1 after just three innings before scoring seven runs in the fourth frame. DJ Baxendale was solid and recorded the win. He gave up two runs on seven hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out three. Brandon Peterson gave up one hit in a scoreless inning. Alex Wimmers struck out two over two perfect innings. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach 3 Box Score Not much offense for the Miracle, but they held a late 2-1 lead. Ryan Eades started. He gave up one run on five hits and a walk in 5.2 innings. He struck out four. Corey Williams got the final out of the sixth and three more outs in the seventh. Holding a 2-1 lead in the eighth, Trevor Hildenberger gave up two runs on three hits to take the loss. The Miracle took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when a Marcus Knecht ground out scored Engelb Vielma. In the sixth inning, In the sixth Mitch Garver provided the second run. He doubled in Aderlin Mejia, who had walked. Garver was 2-4 with his 17th double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Bowling Green 0 Box Score Randy LeBlanc has been one of the top relief pitchers in the Twins system all year. He leads all relievers in Innings pitched. On Sunday, he finally was given the opportunity to start. He came through as hoped. He worked five shutout innings. He gave up just one hit, walked three and struck out two. He recorded ten groundouts to just one fly out. Ethan Mildren and Yorman Landa each pitched two scoreless innings in relief. Pat Kelly went 3-4. TJ White hit his first home run of the year, a two-run shot in the seventh inning. Tanner English went 2-4 with a walk and his 35th stolen base. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Bluefield 5 Box Score Jermaine Palacios continues his incredible season. He went 4-5 in this game to raise his Twins batting average to .455. AJ Murray went 3-5. LaMonte Wade was 2-3 with two walks. He also stole his fourth base. Brad Hartong was 2-5. Amaurys Minier was 2-2 with a walk. However, the E-Twins had four errors which kept the game close. Palacios committed his fifth and sixth errors in his ninth game with the E-Twins. Nelson Molina also had two errors. Miles Nordgren got the starting nod for the Twins. He gave up just two unearned runs on three hits over 6.2 innings. He walked one and struck out three. Tyler Stirewalt came on and was charged with three unearned runs on three hits in one inning. Kuo Hua Lo struck out three and walked one in 1.1 scoreless innings. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins Box Score No GCL games scheduled on Sundays. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy LeBlanc, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Stephen Wickens, Chattanooga Lookouts MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (6:05 CST) – RHP Tyler Duffey Mobile @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – RHP Tim Shibuya Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (5:30 CST) – LHP Mat Batts Cedar Rapids – No Game Scheduled Greeneville @ Elizabethton (DH @ 5:00 CST) – RHP Andro Cutura GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 CST) – TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below Click here to view the article

I don't like going all over to get numbers, so 1.) it's easy to calculate, and 2.) It tells me how much of his OBP is based on BA. Can't make too uch of it, but it's another tracking point.

Wade isn't doing what Max Murphy did a year ago in E-Town. He's been very solid, but it's OK to leave him there a bit. I wouldn't be surprised if he moves up for the playoffs. Palacios also has like 6 games played in E-Town. I'd for sure let him finish out the season there.

And Reynaldo Rodriguez and Danny Ortiz, and Tanner English, and Trevor Hildenberger and Stephen Gonsalves and Aaron Slegers...

To be fair, Buxton and Sano are up (or at least below the minimum PA limits). And, it's important to remember that the top pitching prospects have moved up a level and they're not going to get the same K rates as the lower level, at least not at first.

He has been tremendous the last couple of weeks. He's been in the daily reports and usually with at least one extra base hits.

Like Buxton, Berrios doesn't (or didn't) need to be added to the 40-man roster until after the 2016 season. Like Buxton, if Berrios is ready to contribute now, they will call him up. I agree that a September call-up, unless they're still contending, doesn't make much sense.

And by me, and at the time that decision was made, I 100% stand by it... I didn't say it was by a lot, but Duffey earned that promotion and he deserves to still be up here. That said, Berrios is at the point where he should be up too.

Duffey is on the same prospect plane that Trevor May was at this time one year ago... Let's not start bashing him because he got beat up in his MLB debut against the best team in baseball.

It’s been a couple of weeks since we last updated the Twins Minor League Leaderboard, so it is time. Due to minimum plate appearances, both Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton are now off of these lists. But, it’s interesting to see which names are consistently rising to the top. We’re about a month from the minor league season’s end, the dog days, one might say.Here is a look at the updated list of Twins minor league statistical leaders through Saturday, August 8. Feel free to discuss. HITTERS For batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, IsoD and IsoP, we used a minimum of 300 plate appearances. Plate Appearances: Zach Granite (450), Reynaldo Rodriguez (448), Adam Brett Walker (436), Nick Gordon/Jorge Polanco (431) Batting Average: Max Kepler (.326), James Beresford (.314), Alex Swim (.311), Jorge Polanco (.292), Nick Gordon (.274) On-Base Percentage: Max Kepler (.409), Mitch Garver (.362), Tanner English (.357), James Beresford/Alex Swim/Zach Granite (.349) Isolated Discipline: Mitch Garver (.116), Travis Harrison (.112), Niko Goodrum (.100), Marcus Knecht (.094), Tanner English (.092) Slugging Percentage: Max Kepler (.539), Adam Brett Walker (.526), Reynaldo Rodriguez (.459), Danny Ortiz (.432), Tanner English (.409) Isolated Power (IsoP): Adam Brett Walker (.276), Max Kepler (.213), Reynaldo Rodriguez (.192), Danny Ortiz (.186), Tanner English (.144) OPS: Max Kepler (.948), Adam Brett Walker (.844), Reynaldo Rodriguez (.771), Tanner English (.767), Jorge Polanco (.731) Hits: James Beresford (.122), Jorge Polanco (116), Reynaldo Rodriguez (110), Max Kepler (109), Alex Swim (107), Nick Gordon (105) 2B: Reynaldo Rodriguez (31), Max Kepler/Danny Ortiz (28), Adam Brett Walker (24), Tanner English (21) 3B: Byron Buxton (12), Max Kepler (11), Tanner English (8), Max Murphy (7), Reynaldo Rodriguez (6) HR: Adam Brett Walker (26), Miguel Sano (15), Danny Ortiz (13), Reynaldo Rodriguez (12), Oswaldo Arcia (10), Kennys Vargas (9) Runs: Reynaldo Rodriguez (68), Zach Granite (67), Tanner English/Max Kepler (64), Nick Gordon (61), Adam Brett Walker (58) RBI: Adam Brett Walker (86), Reynaldo Rodriguez/Danny Ortiz (65), Zach Larson (52), Max Kepler (51), Nick Gordon (50) SB: Tanner English (34), Engelb Vielma (27), Niko Goodrum (24), Nick Gordon (23), Zach Granite (22), Byron Buxton (21) STARTING PITCHERS (>95 IP) Innings: Pat Dean (141.2), Taylor Rogers (140.1), JO Berrios (135.1), Tyler Duffey (132.0), Aaron Slegers (126.1) ERA: Stephen Gonsalves (1.77), Mat Batts (2.10), Tyler Duffey (2.66), Felix Jorge (2.76), Aaron Slegers (2.92) WHIP: Felix Jorge (1.02), Aaron Slegers (1.05), Mat Batts (1.06), Stephen Gonsalves (1.10), JO Berrios (1.116), Tyler Duffey (1.121) K/9: Stephen Gonsalves (9.4), JO Berrios (9.0), Mat Batts (8.5), Tyler Duffey (8.0), Alex Wimmers (7.6) BB/9: Aaron Slegers (1.6), Mat Batts (1.9), Pat Dean/Tyler Duffey (2.0), Felix Jorge (2.1), Greg Peavey/Jason Wheeler (2.2) Strikeouts: JO Berrios (135), Tyler Duffey (117), Stephen Gonsalves (112), Mat Batts (105), Taylor Rogers (100) Wins: Stephen Gonsalves (11-2), JO Berrios (11-4), Mat Batts (8-5), Aaron Slegers (8-7), Taylor Rogers (8-9), Pat Dean (8-10) RELIEF PITCHERS (>35 IP, Games: AJ Achter (40), Todd Van Steensel (39), JT Chargois (38), Alex Muren (37), Mark Hamburger/DJ Johnson/Zack Jones (36) Innings: Randy LeBlanc (65.1), Alex Muren (61.1), Mike Theofanopoulos (57.0), Todd Van Steensel (56.0), Trevor Hildenberger (52.2), Tim Shibuya (52.1) ERA: Trevor Hildenberger (1.03), Brandon Peterson (1.65), Luke Bard (2.11), Matt Summers (2.31), Randy LeBlanc (2.48) WHIP: Trevor Hildenberger (0.68), AJ Achter (0.85), Brandon Peterson/Matt Summers (1.00), Luke Bard (1.12), Randy LeBlanc (1.15) K/9: Cameron Booser (12.5), Trevor Hildenberger (12.0), Lester Oliveros (11.6), Brandon Peterson (11.4), Zack Jones (11.3), Todd Van Steensel (11.1) BB/9: Trevor Hildenberger (0.9), Tim Shibuya (1.7), Luke Bard (2.3), AJ Achter (2.4), Matt Summers/Randy LeBlanc (2.6) Saves: AJ Achter/Trevor Hildenberger (14), JT Chargois (13), Todd Van Steenself (12), Zack Jones (11), Michael Tonkin/Cameron Booser (10) There you have it. The Twins Minor League Leader Board through Saturday, August 8. What are your thoughts? Any names jump out as surprising? There are certainly some candidates emerging for the 2015 Twins Minor League Awards. Click here to view the article

It’s safe to say that 21-year-old right-hander, JO Berrios, is putting up numbers to be noticed. In his last five starts with the Red Wings, he is 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA. In 34 innings, he has given up 24 hits, walked eight and struck out 31. Opponents are hitting .200/.272/.333 (.604) off him. In 22 starts between Rochester and Chattanooga, he is 11-4 with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in 135.1 innings. If it isn’t already, it is getting close to the time to bring him up.After throwing 139.1 innings totally in 2014, it is likely that he has an innings limit of 160 to 170 innings this year. And, there were six other games in the Twins farm system, and plenty of highlights to report in today’s minor league report. TRANSACTIONS A few quick notes on the transactions of the day: Caleb Thielbar, DFAd last week, was claimed by the San Diego Padres. He’ll report to their AAA affiliate.Eric Fryer, DFAd on Thursday night, cleared waivers and accepted his outright to Rochester.As we mentioned here last night, Jake Reed was sent down to Ft. Myers.In Chattanooga, Brandon Peterson was activated from the disabled list.Chris Paul promoted to Cedar Rapids from E-Town.Lewin Diaz promoted to E-Town from the GCL Twins.Down in the GCL, Roberto Gonzalez was activated from the DL, while MiLB.com reports Aaron Whitehead was activated from the restricted list.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 3, Charlotte 0 Box Score The Red Wings scored two runs in the second inning on a long Oswaldo Arcia, two-run homer. That proved to be more than enough for JO Berrios in this game. The right-hander was again terrific, making it difficult for the Twins to not call him up. He threw seven shutout innings. He gave up just five hits, walked one and struck out nine batters. He improved to 3-1 with a 3.02 ERA in AAA; Mark Hamburger and Michael Tonkin each threw a scoreless relief inning. Hamburger struck out one. Tonkin struck out two to earn his 10th save. Arcia went 2-4 in the game, and the homer was his tenth with the Red Wings. Byron Buxton was back in the leadoff spot. In his second rehab start, he played center field. He went 1-3 with a walk and stole his first base. James Beresford was 2-4. The Red Wings improved to 58-56 on the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Mobile 9 Box Score Aaron Slegers made his AA debut on Saturday and performed adequately. He gave up two runs in the third inning and that was it until the seventh when he gave up two more. In total, he went seven innings and gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk. He struck out three. Adrian Salcedo pitched a quiet eighth inning. He came back out for the ninth and was charged with five runs. DJ Johnson allowed his inherited runners to score before getting the final two outs. Travis Harrison was the lone Lookout with more than one hit. Niko Goodrum hit his second triple and stole his 13th base. Max Kepler hit his 11th triple. The Lookouts are now 59-49 on the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Palm Beach 4 Box Score Newcomer Omar Bencomo made his Florida State League and Twins organization debut on Saturday night. He started with three scoreless innings. However, he and the Miracle were done in by a four-run fourth inning. Bencoo went five innings and gave up four runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks. Tyler Jay struck out three in his inning. He gave up a hit and a walk. Jake Reed made his Miracle debut, giving up one hit but tossing a scoreless inning. Nick Burdi struck out two in a perfect ninth. The Miracle managed just six hits. Logan Wade went 2-4 and drove in the team’s lone run. Mitch Garver went 1-3 with a triple. He scored the run. The Miracle are now 61-52. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Bowling Green 2 Box Score Sam Gibbons’ scoreless innings streak ended at 28.1 when he gave up two runs in the seventh inning on Saturday night in Cedar Rapids. He gave up two runs (just one earned) on six hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out four. Nick Anderson came on for his Twins organization and Kernels debut and worked a flawless inning. Luke Bard gave up three hits but no runs in a scoreless ninth. Tanner English went 2-4 with his 21st double and eighth triple in this game. TJ White went 2-3 with a walk and his 13th and 14th Kernels doubles. The score was cut to 3-2 in the top of the seventh, but Brian Navarreto’s three run home (his second homer of the year) gave the Kernels some cushion. The Kernels are 65-47 overall this season. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 10, Bluefield 4 Box Score It was a good night for the Twins offense. Jermaine Palacios had another three-hit night. He went 3-5 with his fifth double. He also stole his second base. All eight others in the lineup had one hit. LaMonte Wade walked and added his seventh home run, a three-run blast. Chris Paul added his third homer. Brad Hartong and Brian Olson each added a double. Onesimo Hernandez started and gave up two runs on five hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out three and did not walk a batter. Josh Guyer gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. Jose Abreu struck out three and walked one in 1.2 scoreless. The E-Twins evened their season record at 22-22. GCL TWINS TAKES Game 1 – GCL Twins 0, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score The GCL Twins are playing a lot of doubleheaders lately after missing nearly a week with Southwest Florida rains. In game one, Lefty Lachlan Wells started. He gave up two runs on four hits over three innings. He walked three and struck out four. Moises Gomez came on and gave up a run on two hits and a walk in two innings. Brandon Poulson went two innings and gave up just one hit. He struck out three. Not a lot of offense for the Twins in this one. Lewin Diaz went 2-3. Kolton Kendrick was 1-2 with a walk. Game 2 – GCL Twins 3, GCL Red Sox 4 Box Score Game 2 was started by Miguel Gonzalez. He went 4.2 innings and gave up three runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out four. Johan Quezada went an inning and gave up one run on one hit and one walk. He struck out two. Callan Pearce got the final out. Christian Cavaness went 2-2 with a walk. He stole two bases. Luis Arraez went 2-3 with a walk and his 12th double. Ariel Montesino doubled for the second time. Bryant Hayman added a pinch-hit double, his fifth of the year. The GCL Twins are now 21-18 on their season. 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 – Jermaine Palacios, Elizabethton Twins SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Charlotte (4:05 CST) – RHP Michael Bowden Mobile @ Chattanooga (1:15 CST) – TBD Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (12:05 CST) – RHP Ryan Eades Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – RHP Randy LeBlanc Bluefield @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren GCL Twins – No Game Scheduled Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. Click here to view the article

Earlier in the week, we announced Jermaine Palacios as our Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month. Then we named Mat Batts the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month. Today, we’ve got the top performances of relief pitchers in July. We’re posting this a little later than usual, but it’s important to recognize these guys who are often overlooked. Four relievers didn’t give up an earned run all month. A few others had ERAs below one and more than a strikeout per nine innings. This was a difficult decision, so be sure to make your picks in the comments.There were many terrific bullpen performances in June. I’ve ranked the top five, but before getting to them, here are some pitchers who deserve honorable mention. RHP Mark Hamburger – Rochester Red Wings – 10 G, 12.1 IP, 1-0, 1.10 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 8 H, 1 BB, 10 KRHP Matt Summers – Ft. Myers/Chattanooga – 9 G, 16.0 IP, 1-0, 0.56 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 11 H, 4 BB, 9 KRHP Kuo Hua Lo – Elizabethton Twins – 8 G, 14.2 IP, 1-1, 3-Saves, 1.23 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 5 H, 2 BB, 15 KThe Top 5 Twins Relievers for July 2015Number 5 – GCL Twins – Johan Quezada – 8 G, 9.1 IP, 2-0, 3 saves, 0.00 ERA, 0.54 WHIP, 2 H, 3 BB, 8 K Quezada signed with the Twins late in 2012. He spent two seasons in the Dominican Summer League and in 43.1 innings, he walked 74 and struck out 50. The 6-6, 20 year old from the Dominican is certainly showing good control so far in 2015. He’s also showing a fastball that sits in the mid-to-upper 90s. Overall, he is 2-0 with a 0.57 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP. In 15.2 innings, he has walked five and struck out 16. He’s a project, but a project with a very strong arm. That explains why hitters hit just .065/.147/.065 (.212) against him. Number 4 – GCL Twins – Miguel Gonzalez – 6 G, 13.2 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 6 H, 3 BB, 14 K Gonzalez signed with the Twins in 2011 out of the Dominican. He spent a season in the DSL. He pitched in 20 games out of the bullpen in the GCL in 2013 and posted a 1.05 ERA in 25.2 innings (9 BB, 33 K). However, after moving into a starting role in 2014 (also in the GCL), he was injured after just 13.1 innings. He returned this year, back to the bullpen. Overall, in 21 innings, he is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA. He has four walks and 23 strikeouts. In July, opponents hit just .128/.196/.255 (.451) off of him. Most important, the 20 year old is healthy. Number 3 – Ft. Myers Miracle – Nick Burdi – 10 G, 16.1 IP, 2-1, 2 Saves, 1.10 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 10 H, 0 BB, 23 K The 22-year-old was the Twins 24th round pick in 2011, and after three years at Louisville, he was the Twins 2nd round pick a year ago. He struck out 38 batters in 20.1 innings in 2014 between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. He began this season in Chattanooga where he went 3-4 with a 5.93 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP in 30.1 innings. He was demoted to the Miracle, and his first month there was terrific. He had a rough one this week, but he could be ready to move back up to the Lookouts soon. In July, opponents hit just .182/.175/.255 (.430) against him. Number 2 – Rochester Red Wings – Michael Tonkin – 8 G, 15.0 IP, 2-0, 1 save, 0.00 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, 6 H, 2 BB, 19 K Tonkin should get frequent flyer miles. He could probably travel for free all offseason just because he has gone back and forth from Rochester to the Twins literally a dozen times in the last three years. He will be out of options in 2016, so the Twins could have a difficult decision to make. He was demoted by the Twins late in June, and as you’d hope, he responded well with a great month in July. Overall with the Red Wings, he is 2-1 with nine saves. He has a 1.39 ERA, a WHIP of 0.77 and 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings. In the month, batters hit just .120/.154/.120 (.274) against him. It would be interesting to see what he could do in a full season (or even just a full half-season) with the Twins! And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers – Trevor Hildenberger – 9 G, 11.0 IP, 0-0, 6 Saves, 0.00 ERA, 0.55 WHIP, 6 H, 0 BB, 16 K Hildenberger was our choice for Relief Pitcher of the Month in May, and he has earned it again in July. The 24 year old, drafted a year ago out of Cal-Berkeley, finally got the promotion he deserved. He made six appearances for the Kernels in July and earned a save in each of those games. He moved up to Ft. Myers and debuted with them on July 22nd. He began his tenure with the Miracle by giving up no runs on just four hits over 6.2 innings (four games). He struck out 11 and walked none. Last night, he gave up two runs on three hits in an inning. He has now pitched in 33 games this season. He has given up a run in just four of them. He has walked a batter in just five of those games. Hildenberger has a very interesting, deceptive delivery. In July, opponents hit just .182/.200/.250 (.450) against him. So what do you think? Honestly, let me know how you would rank them. I’ve ranked the top five bullpen arms in the Twins organization in July, in my opinion, but I welcome your comments as well. Click here to view the article

And, assuming that is the case - and it probably is - that is wonderful progress. If he can stick with that approach, his athleticism an talent will take over and that will be huge. Also, I would say that his RBI total would have been affected by those in front of him in the lineup.