Seth Stohs

I look at it as progress... He's getting there. If he can have even a little bit of plate discipline, he could be a strong big league contributor. Let's also be fair and note that he probably isn't being pitched to as much. Sano, Buxton and others are gone from the lineup. And their whole team is struggling.

Oops!! I guess I forget to write a whole paragraph... my bad! Should be there now!

It was a busy and full day for the Minnesota Twins minor league teams: transactions early and some impressive performances from some top prospects. Byron Buxton made his AAA debut and did well. Oswaldo Arcia’s slump continued. Max Kepler had another big day. Two hitters finished just a home run away from the cycle. Which top prospect hit his first home run of the year? I don’t want to spoil too much, so just keep on reading.TRANSACTIONS Late on Friday night, Twins Daily learned that Jake Reed has been demoted to Ft. Myers. Ft. Myers officially announced the Aaron Sleger promotion. Alex Swim was again placed on the disabled list. They also announced that they had signed 26-year-old right-hander Omar Bencomo. The Venezuelan spent 2007 through 2011 in the Rays system, peaking in the Midwest League. He was 6-1 with a 3.19 ERA with Laredo and Wichita in the American Association. Cedar Rapids announced that they have signed right-handed pitcher Nick Anderson. He went to Mayville State (ND) University and was the Brewers 32nd round pick in 2012. He was pitching for the Frontier Greys of the Frontier League. He was 2-0 with a 0.65 ERA and 13 saves in 27.2 innings. He had walked six and struck out 35. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Charlotte 9 Box Score Byron Buxton was the star of this show, at least for a while. It’s fair to say that Matt Tuiasosopo was the star by game’s end, and as important, Charlotte topped the Red Wings. Pat Dean started for the Red Wings. The left-hander was charged with eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits. He walked one and struck out two. Cole Johnson gave up a run on one hit in his inning. Logan Darnell tossed a scoreless eighth. Tuiasosopo hit a three-run homer in the first inning, a solo homer in the second inning, and a three-run homer off of Johnson in the seventh inning. Buxton made his AAA debut on this night in North Carolina. He had singles in his first two at-bats and ended the game 3-5. He is a career .600 hitter in AAA. Danny Santana also went 3-5 in the game and stole his fifth base. He has been really struggling – just 2 for 20 – since his demotion a week ago. Carlos Paulino, the lone catcher on the Red Wings roster for the game, went 2-4. Oswaldo Arcia went 0-4 and is now two for his last 38 (.053). CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Mobile 6 Box Score The Lookouts tried to give this one away, but got the 27th out just in time. Brett Lee started for the Lookouts. He gave up three runs in the second inning. That was it. The left-hander went eight innings. He gave up those three runs on seven hits. He struck out five without issuing a walk. He improved to 3-4 with a 3.73 ERA with Chattanooga. The Lookouts were down 3-2 going into the bottom of the sixth, but they put up three runs then, followed by two in the seventh to take a commanding 7-2 lead. Alex Muren came on to start the ninth. He gave up two hits and a walk before being replaced by closer JT Chargois. He got two outs, but then gave up a single and a double to cut the lead to 7-6. With runners on second and third, Chargois got a big strikeout to end the game. He gets credit for his ninth save of the season. Kennys Vargas went 3-3 with a single, double and triple (his second of the week!). He also walked twice. Max Kepler went 2-4 with a walk, his 26th double and his seventh home run. Dalton Hicks went 2-5. Jorge Polanco went 1-3 with two walks. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 13, Palm Beach 5 Box Score The Miracle offense was consistent, scoring in five separate innings in this game. Five runs in the ninth gave them some insurance. Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit. Aderlin Mejia went 4-6. Engelb Vielma went 3-5 with a walk. He also stole his 27th base of the year. Logan Wade went 3-5 with a single, double (14) and triple (2). Mitch Garver went 2-5 with a walk and his fourth home run. Jason Kanzler went 2-5 with his fifth triple. Ryan Walker had two hits, and Tanner Vavra was 1-3 with two walks. Lefty Luke Westphal started and gave up two runs on six hits over 4.2 innings. He walked two and struck out five. Zack Jones came on and went 2.1 innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out four. Brian Gilbert gave up one run on two hits and a walk in his inning. Trevor Hildenberger gave up two runs on three hits in the ninth. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Bowling Green 7 Box Score The Kernels gave up a five-spot in the sixth inning. They tried to claw back, scoring two in the seventh and one in the eighth, but they came up short in their comeback attempt. Randy Rosario was on the mound at the start of the game. He gave up two runs in the first inning, but he settled in and threw four straight scoreless. However, in the sixth, he gave up four more. Overall, he was charged with six runs (four earned) on nine hits and a walk. Jared Wilson came on and gave up one run on two hits and a walk over the next 2.1 innings. He struck out three. John Curtiss made his return to the Kernels and struck out one in a scoreless inning. The TrackMan system that was in Cedar Rapids had him hitting 95 mph. Nick Gordon has been hitting well since late May. On this night, he went 3-5 with his first home run of the season. It was his second career homer as he had one in Elizabethton last year. Rafael Valera went 3-4. TJ White went 2-3 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Bluefield 0 Box Score Dereck Rodriguez was terrific again. The right-hander threw another five shutout innings in this game, dropping his season ERA to just 1.22. He gave up six hits, walked one and struck out five. Anthony Mciver relieved and got Rodriguez out of the sixth inning, getting three outs before the two inherited runners had a chance to score. Logan Lombana came on and recorded his first professional save. He gave up just one hit over three shutout innings. He struck out five. The Twins scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. One came on a wild pitch, another came on a Chris Paul double, and the third on a Travis Blankenhorn single. They added two more runs in the eighth inning, both on wild pitches. The E-Twins had seven hits and five walks in the game. Paul went 1-3 with a walk and his seventh double. Travis Blankenhorn went 2-3 with a walk. GCL TWINS TAKES Game 1 – GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score The Twins headed over to jetBlue Stadium in Ft. Myers to take on the GCL Red Sox in two games. Lewin Diaz led the offense. He went 2-4 with his first homer of the season and four RBI. Blake Schmit, still rehabbing, went 2-3 with a run batted in. Jose Martinez started for the Twins. He gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk in four innings. He struck out five. Rich Condeelis went the next two innings. He didn’t give up a run or a hit. He walked one and struck out two. Hector Lujan picked up his first career save, striking out two in his one-hit inning. Game 2 – GCL Twins 0, GCL Red Sox 2 Box Score In the second game, they got good pitching, but no runs. Max Cordy started and gave up one run on four hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out five. Matz Schutte came on and gave up a run on four hits in two innings. Brandon Poulson walked one batter in his scoreless inning. Trey Cabbage went 2-3 in the game. Luis Martinez walked twice and hit a double. Luis Arraez added a double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Logan Lombana, Elizabethton Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, Chattanooga Lookouts SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Charlotte (6:05 CST) – RHP JO Berrios (2-1, 3.58 ERA) Mobile @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – RHP DJ Baxendale (4-3, 3.99 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (4:35 CST) – RHP Omar Bencomo Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Randy LeBlanc Bluefield @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) – RHP Onesimo Hernandez (3-0, 4.50 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (DH @ 9:00 CST) – TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. Click here to view the article

It's not about hitting them. I don't care if they hit the guy. I'd rather they not. However, they need to be able to gain control of the plate and to do that, the have to come inside. I would never advocate doing that anywhere near the head... but if you throw near a guy's thigh, it moves his feet and he can't dive out over the plate the way all of the Blue Jays pitchers were able to last night.

After being the #1 overall pick out of the best college baseball program of the era.

He was already called up over a year before he needed to be added to the 40 man roster and it was past the Super-2 date, so no, I think it would be because they believe he needs to work on something.

To be fair to him, it would be understandable. I'm sure he was seeing and reading all the rumors, and probably didn't know for sure if he would start that night until 4:00-4:30, two hours before game time.

Not much bugs me more than that... I don't mind taking a second to watch it while jogging but just run the bases. The Encarnacion arm bar is just dumb. They're a fun team to watch because of their power, but man, I can't stand them!

Have to pitch inside... Don't need to headhunt, but hitting a guy in the back side, or in the thigh will keep them from diving out over the plate... It also makes that fastball and changeup on the outside corner and at the knees very effective.

Correct... I can't think of any/many top-level players who the Twins didn't extend beyond free agency in the last dozen years.T They locked up Radke, Santana, Hunter, Cuddyer, Morneau, Mauer, Span and more.

I could argue that there is a 'good' chance that they'll start him in AAA next year

Great article... and it is still very exciting to think about the role that Buxton can (And hopefully will) play in the future of this organization. Regarding the service time - He wasn't called up until after the Super-2 deadline (though that's a moving target, so hard to know), so the service time likely won't factor into him leaving any earlier. But it is still frustrating that all those days of him not playing count. I've tweeted this a few times and would love to get others' opinions on this... I think that the Twins use all 20 days that Buxton can rehab in Rochester, but I think they call him up right at that time. If it was me, unless Buxton is just completely struggling, I would really hate to use an option year on him. Of course, we hope that he doesn't need another 3 years of options, hoping that maybe some time next year will be necessary but then he'll take off, but you never know, so I woudln't want to waste the Option, knowing he'd be back up a week later with September call ups.

I think Navarreto can stay at catcher. He's Mauer's size (though not the athlete) and he caught for a decade in the big leagues.

His facebook page is also Aderling... I usually type Aderlin just cuz it's easier...

I don't know what they changed with Burdi... maybe he should make some adjustments? I don't know what's going on behind all the scenes, but it's not always the organization's or coaches fault. And, that adjustment period is pretty normal. That's why when they get to the big leagues and make those adjustments and get to that third year at just one level (albeit the highest level), it's interesting to see what they become. There are so many levels to get to the big leagues though, so it's quite a process.

Yup, the last couple of weeks, I've been tweeting fairly frequently on Navarreto, Turner and Mitch Garver who have all been hitting well the last month (Garver since about June 1).

There were reports shortly after he came back that the Trackman (or whatever that's called) had him hitting 99.8 a couple of times in Cedar Rapids, so I'd say that velo is pretty good!

Yup, Zander Wiel has a broken hand from being hit by a pitch. He's done for the year, but should be just fine next season. Graterol came to the states to have his elbow examined. Won't be pitching in the GCL. Clemensia not likely to play this year. Also, Rainis Silva has a broken finger.

In his last 26 games, he is hitting .330/.365/.440 (.805) with seven doubles and a homer. He's certainly turned it around. To be honest, he's much more impressive in person than on box scores. He's got great size and that arm is very strong.

On Tuesday, we named Jermaine Palacios the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month. Today, it is time for us to unveil the starting pitcher of the month of July and recognize others who performed well in the month. I don’t think I’ve ever had this many candidates for pitcher of the month. Consider this. I am going to place Rochester’s JO Berrios in the Honorable Mention, but he probably would rank 15th or 16th this month. Lots of great performances from starters, which is obviously a good thing.With that, let's start our list of the Top 6 Starting Pitchers for July. We had a chance to catch up with this month’s choice as well. We begin with the big lot of players deserving of honorable mention. Rochester RHP JO Berrios – 5 GS, 2-0, 3.52 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 31.1 IP, 26 H, 10 BB, 30 KRochester LHP Pat Dean – 6 GS, 2-2, 3.20 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 39.1 IP, 41 H, 10 BB, 23 KChattanooga LHP Jason Wheeler – 5 GS, 2-1, 2.84 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 31.2 IP, 32 H, 5 BB, 26 KCedar Rapids RHP Felix Jorge – 5 GS, 3-1, 2.78 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 32.1 IP, 29 H, 9 BB, 27 KCedar Rapids RHP Sam Gibbons – 4 GS, 2-0, 2.42 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 22.1 IP, 23 H, 7 BB, 15 KCedar Rapids LHP Randy Rosario – 5 GS, 1-2, 2.42 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 22.1 IP, 23 H, 7 BB, 16 KElizabethton Twins RHP Cody Stashak – 5 GS, 2-1, 2.42 ERA, 26.0 IP, 24 H, 4 BB, 27 KGCL Twins RHP Jose Martinez – 5 GS, 1-2, 2.57 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 21.0 IP, 16 H, 7 BB, 11 KGCL Twins LHP Lachlan Wells – 5 GS, 2-1, 2.31 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 23.1 IP, 19 H, 6 BB, 22 KGCL Twins RHP Eduardo del Rosario – 5 GS, 2-0, 1.57 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 23.0 IP, 15 H, 5 BB, 28 KTOP 6 STARTING PITCHERS IN JULY Number 6 – Ft. Myers Miracle – LHP Stephen Gonsalves - 5 GS, 3-1, 0.96 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 28.0 IP, 21 H, 13 BB, 21 K Seriously, Gonsalves had a 0.96 ERA over 28 innings in the month and isn’t higher than sixth this month. Gonsalves was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2013 out of high school in San Diego. He began the season by making nine starts with Cedar Rapids. He went 6-1 with a 1.15 ERA in 55 innings. He has now made nine starts with the Miracle and is 5-1 with a 2.11 ERA. 11-2 with a 1.59 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP is pretty solid for the recently-turned 21 year old. In July, batters hit just .206/.296/.225 (.521) against him. Number 5 – Rochester Red Wings – RHP Tyler Duffey - 5 GS, 1-2, 2.48 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 32.2 IP, 25 H, 10 BB, 20 K So, his major league debut didn’t exactly go well, but Duffey was the right choice. He was easily the best pitcher available in Rochester, the most ready. His final start of the month wasn’t real strong, but he still has terrific numbers for the month. The Twins fifth-round pick in 2012 out of Rice, he has been a strong performer as a starter since moving into that role. Generally, he is a ground ball pitcher with good control. He really does typically keep the ball in the park. He can be a solid major league starter, and should they decide to move him to the bullpen in time, he can be very good. Opponents hit just .205/.264/.279 (.542) against him. Number 4 – Elizabethton Twins – RHP Dereck Rodriguez - 5 GS, 2-1, 1.33 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 27.0 IP, 22 H, 6 BB, 19 K Rodriguez was the Twins sixth-round pick way back in 2011 out of high school in Florida. The son of Pudge Rodriguez, Dereck is a lanky 6-1 and maybe 180 pounds. He began his career as a potential five-tool outfielder, but that didn’t work. So before the 2014 season, he was moved to the mound. After working out of the bullpen last year, he has been starting for the Elizabethton Twins this year. He had short stints with the Miracle and Kernels when they needed an arm earlier in the year. Overall with the E-Twins, he is 4-1 with a 1.37 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He is 23-years-old, but patience will be important in this transition. In July, opponents hit just .216/.279/.245 (.524) off of him. Number 3 – Elizabethton Twins – RHP Andro Cutura - 5 GS, 1-1, 1.20 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 30.0 IP, 18 H, 6 BB, 21 K Cutura was the Twins seventh-round draft pick in 2014 out of Southeastern Louisiana University. He didn’t pitch at all last year with injury and spent much of the first half rehabbing. He’s now starting at E-Town and pitching well. Overall, he is 2-2 with a 1.12 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP in 40 innings over seven starts. For the month, opponents hit just .170/.221/.236 (.457). Number 2 – GCL Twins – RHP Williams Ramirez - 5 GS, 2-1, 0.71 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 27.0 IP, 7 H, 13 BB, 29 K Ramirez will turn 23-years-old on Saturday. So, why is he still in the GCL, you ask? He signed when he was a little older and was moved from a hitter to a pitcher at that time. He spent two years developing in the Dominican Summer League, and he has greatly improved his pitching this year. He was a third baseman/outfielder who had never pitched, but he had a strong arm and a good sense for secondary pitches. It’s all coming together. Hitters in the GCL hit ..092/.233/.118 (.352) against him in July. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers Miracle – LHP Mat Batts – 5 GS, 3-0, 1.15 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 31.1 IP, 20 H, 7 BB, 30 K Mat Batts was the Twins 17th round pick just a year ago after pitching for five years and UNC-Wilmington. He began his career in June of 2014 with three outings in the GCL before making four starts for Elizabethton. He ended the season with six appearances with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. He returned to the Kernels to start this season. In seven starts, he went 3-2 with a 2.21 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. He was promoted to the Miracle where he has now gone 5-3 with a 2.04 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Within a twelve month period, Batts pitched for five teams (UNC-W and four affiliates). However, he feels like he was well-prepared for all of this. “I don't know if I really ever thought about it. I will say that pitching in college for five years really prepared me for what I've faced in pro ball these past two years. I think college teaches everybody how to fail and how to make adjustments when you fail. Had I not gone through the experiences I did in college, I don't think I would be prepared for the demands of pro baseball. ” Listed at 5-11 (maybe, Mat?) and 190 pounds, Batts has walked just 23 batters while striking out 105 batters in 111.1 innings. He has made the transition from the Midwest League to the Florida State League look simple. He told us, “There wasn’t a huge difference between the two leagues. Hitters in the Florida State league definitely barrel up more balls, especially if you get behind in the count, but I’d say the benefit of the larger fields makes this league as much of a pitcher’s league as any out there.” That said, with the larger fields, you’d think there could be more hits. In July, opponents hit just .179/.233/.214 (.448) against the left-hander. Though he isn’t a flame-thrower, Batts is able to work with a five-pitch mix. He throws a two-seam and a four-seam fastball. He also has a curveball, a changeup and a slider. There is no truth to the rumor than he also throws a kitchen sink from time to time. In fact, if you ask him about it, he will likely tell you that a kitchen sink would be too heavy to throw and could mess up an arm real quick. As far as what he considers his best pitch, he is non-committal. “It really depends on the day for which pitch is best. I think I can get outs with all four but a lot of it depends on the hitter’s approach and what they are looking to do up there. Generally we look to mix speeds early in the game with the change up but it doesn't always play out exactly how you plan.” Batts has been part of a very impressive, deep, six-man rotation in Ft. Myers. Being around other starters with that much talent certainly pushes the teammates. “We do have a great group of guys in this rotation. Obviously losing Hu last week, and now Slegers, it will be a different group moving forward but I'd say absolutely we feed off one another and compete with each other. Nobody wants to be the guy that can't do their job when it's their turn to pitch.” One key to success for any player is to understand himself as a player. Batts understands why he has been successful and what he needs to do to remain successful as he moves forward, and moves up the organizational ladder. Batts said, “I'd say my biggest key to success is just throwing strikes and being the aggressor. The more you attack hitters with quality strikes the more they are going to get themselves out, regardless of your stuff.” Overall this season, Batts is 8-5 with a 2.10 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in 19 total starts. It is likely that Batts will stick with the Miracle for the remainder of the 2015 season as they hope to get into a playoff position in the 2nd half. Please feel free to post your comments on Mat Batts and the rest of the Twins minor league starting pitchers who pitched well in July. How do you feel about the rankings? We’ll be back tomorrow with the Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month. Click here to view the article

exactly, and I like Berrios as much as anyone, but I definitely think that Duffey gives them a better chance to win. Of course, there's no way to know. Berrios is close. They aren't afraid of calling him up.

My assumption is that at some point, that will happen. I think Duffey can be a solid #4 starter, like May, and that Berrios can potentially be a #2. With the others under contract, I think Duffey will eventually get pushed to the pen. I think Duffey and May are pretty similar. Fastballs are similar (Duffey maybe more movement and control), and May has the very good changeup while Duffey has the very good breaking ball. Similar upsides.

Fair point... I don't know what they'll do, but if they're in contention, I can see them calling them all up. Maybe not.