Seth Stohs

To answer the original question: The catchers call the game, and obviously the pitcher can call him off. Obviously the pitch calls are based on: 1.) scouting reports, and 2.) pitcher strengths and other things like situation, etc. I would be shocked if that wasn't the case with all 30 major league teams... and probably all of their affiliates. I know that in the minor leagues, it's part of the player development. I've talked to Jake Mauer about it a few times. They talk before the series and before games... They allow catchers (with pitchers) to call the game, and then they have discussions between innings about pitch selection, location, etc. It's how they learn.

There is definitely a strategy to the timing of placing players on waivers. I have tried to figure it out for years and haven't. I'm sure there is something... It's not random.

He was drafted in 2011, so he can become a 6-year minor league free agent after the 2017 season. He's been Rule 5 eligible the last couple of years, but since he hadn't pitched in a full season team yet he wasn't a risk to be taken. They may need to consider adding him this year... but they would have to add him before the World Series ends next year when he would become a free agent.

O'Rourke has completed two innings three times this year. He's gone more than two innings just once (the 3.2 inning stint that HitInAPinch mentioned above). He's more of a 1-3 batter guy. and yes, he's so good against lefties that he can fill a key role.

According to multiple reports from Target Field today, Miguel Sano will have an MRI on his elbow on Monday. He says it has been sore for a week, so they are checking it out, though he doesn't think it's serious. He has played 3B just twice since the beginning of August.

Not sure there's much incentive to doing so, unless the Lookouts have a chance to be in the playoffs.

He's had two stints on the disabled list. That could be a big part of it.

I think it's very possible, especially if the Kernels end up in the playoffs.

To be determined... My guess is Albers will be back in Rochester and on their roster by Monday night. I'd guess Bencomo will go back to Chattanooga. But it would be good for a Van Steensel or Anderson or Westphal or something to move up to Chattanooga.

While the Twins focused their draft and signings on pitching in recent years, it’s clear that the focus has again been put on hitting and we’re seeing that in the lowest levels. The organization’s top pitching prospects (still in the minors) are in Ft. Myers and Chattanooga. However, there are certainly some intriguing bats on the rookie league rosters. On this night, the Twins got some nice starts from some of their second-tier pitching prospects, showing that they continue to add depth in terms of pitching prospects. There were a couple of transactions of note on Saturday as well: On Friday night, we learned that Andrew Albers had been designated for assignment by the Twins. On Saturday afternoon, we learned that fellow-lefty Ryan O’Rourke had been added to the 40-man roster and the 24-man roster. The Red Wings roster was down to just 22, so they needed help. As we noted yesterday, lefty David Hurlbut was promoted from Chattanooga and was supposed to start for the Red Wings on Saturday. Jake Reed and Omar Bencomo were also promoted from the Lookouts to Rochester. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photos of Lachlan Wells, Dereck Rodriguez) While the Twins focused their draft and signings on pitching in recent years, it’s clear that the focus has again been put on hitting and we’re seeing that in the lowest levels. The organization’s top pitching prospects (still in the minors) are in Ft. Myers and Chattanooga. However, there are certainly some intriguing bats on the rookie league rosters. On this night, the Twins got some nice starts from some of their second-tier pitching prospects, showing that they continue to add depth in terms of pitching prospects. There were a couple of transactions of note on Saturday as well: On Friday night, we learned that Andrew Albers had been designated for assignment by the Twins. On Saturday afternoon, we learned that fellow-lefty Ryan O’Rourke had been added to the 40-man roster and the 24-man roster. The Red Wings roster was down to just 22, so they needed help. As we noted yesterday, lefty David Hurlbut was promoted from Chattanooga and was supposed to start for the Red Wings on Saturday. Jake Reed and Omar Bencomo were also promoted from the Lookouts to Rochester. With that, let’s get to the Minor League Report for Saturday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester, Scranton/Wilkes Barre Box Score This game was rained out. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Birmingham 3 Box Score Kohl Stewart struggled with control again, and fell to 6-6 with a 3.25 ERA with the loss. The right-hander gave up three runs on four hits and five walks in 4.2 innings on the mound. He also hit two batters. He struck out three. Alan Busenitz came into the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth and allowed two of the three runners to core. He gave up two hits and struck out one in 1.1 innings. Mason Melotakis struck out three in a scoreless seventh inning. Raul Fernandez worked a perfect eight inning. The Lookouts managed just five hits in the game. Ryan Walker hit his third triple. Jairo Rodriguez hit his first double. Zach Granite had a single and added to his league-leading stolen base total with this 41st steal. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Charlotte 1 Box Score It’s hard to remember that Dereck Rodriguez had a 7.71 ERA through his first seven starts in Cedar Rapids. Over his final nine starts in Iowa, he posted a 3.02 ERA. After throwing 6.2 innings of one-run ball on Saturday night, Rodriguez has a 1.98 ERA through his first two starts with the Miracle. He earned his first Florida State League win. The right-hander gave up four hits, walked none and struck out seven in this game. Todd Van Steensel gave up a single before he got the final out of the seventh inning. He then threw a perfect eighth frame. Nick Anderson struck out two in a one-hit, scoreless ninth. The Miracle scored seven runs despite having just four hits in the game. They were assisted by ten walks. Infielder Chris Ibarra went 2-4 with a walk and his first Florida State League double, well, and his first Florida State League single, his first two hits since joining the Miracle last week. Joe Maloney and Tanner English each walked twice. AJ Murray and Daniel Kihle both had a walk and went 1-3. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Kane County 1 Box Score Through six innings, the game was tied at one. However, the Kernels scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take the lead. They added two insurance runs in the ninth to complete their seventh straight win over Kane County this season. Lachlan Wells started the game with five scoreless innings. He gave up an unearned run in the sixth, but that was it. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five to improve to 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA. Max Cordy gave up a hit and walked two, but he didn’t give up a run in his inning. Tom Hackimer worked the final two innings without allowing a run for his third save. Sean Miller had hits in his first three at bats. His sacrifice fly in the seventh inning gave the Kernels a lead they didn’t relinquish. He ended the game 3-4 with two RBI. Luis Arraez with another multi-hit game. He weas 3-5. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Bluefield 9 Box Score It was a rough game for the Twins pitching and defense in this one. Five errors certainly didn’t help the cause. Jose Martinez gave up seven runs (five earned) on nine hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out three. Alex Robinson came on and gave up a run on one hit, three walks and a hit batter over two innings. Johan Quezada walked a batter and hit a batter in a one-run eighth inning. Alex Kiriloff went 2-5 and hit his sixth home run. Ariel Montesino went 3-5. Shane Carrier went 2-5. Lewin Diaz added his 13th double. For Bluefield, Vlad Guerrero, Jr. went 3-5, his second straight three-hit game. The 17-year-old is hitting .277 on the season. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 6, GCL Red Sox 1 Box Score For the second straight day, the Twins topped the Red Sox. Huascar Ynoa set the tone with another strong start. The right-hander gave up one run over five innings. He surrendered four hits, walked one and struck out six. He improved to 3-4 and dropped his ERA to 2.13. Matz Schutte allowed two hits over 1.1 scoreless innings. Zach Strecker struck out three over 2.2 perfect innings to record his fourth save. The Twins had nice offensive performances from several players on Saturday. Zach Featherstone went 2-3. He was hit by a pitch and hit his third and fourth homers. Aaron Whitefield went 2-4 with a walk, his fifth double and his 25th stolen base. Akil Baddoo went 1-2 with two walks and his second home run. Lean Marrero hit his second double. Dane Hutcheon walked three times and stole his fourth base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dereck Rodriguez, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Akil Baddoo/Zach Featherstone, GCL Twins SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (12:35 CST) (doubleheader) - LHP David Hurlbut and RHP Omar Bencomo Chattanooga @ Birmingham (6:30 CST) - RHP Ryan Eades Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) - RHP Keaton Steele Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – RHP Tyler Beardsley Elizabethton @ Bluefield (6:05 CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday's games. View full article

According to this Mike Berardino article, catcher Kurt Suzuki is currently on trade waivers. According to the report, Suzuki's 48 hour waiver deadline will pass on Sunday afternoon. If he is claimed, the claiming team and the Twins will have 48 hours to complete a trade. If they don't reach an agreement, the Twins can just send him to that team for nothing or the Twins can pull him back. If he is not claimed, he can be dealt to any team.

While I agree with the first paragraph... I disagree with the second paragraph... Wiel shouldn't be hurt by the fact that no one was in scoring position before he came to bat or drove him in. Five hits in Five at bats is ALWAYS an impressive feat. He didn't get out. But I do think extra base hits are good too, which is why I had a hard time picking.

I'll agree with this. Not sure we'll see any more Milone, and Dean can be the long reliever for the next two weeks and then it's September, so might as well keep him up.

Played SS in high school, drafted as a 3B... They have Trey Cabbage at third base, so they moved him over to 2B. Blankenhorn's 3-4 years from the big leagues, so giving him some flexibility is a good thing.

I don't necessarily disagree, but a couple of things... 1.) he's a second baseman... Cavaness is an OF and Wiel is a 1B, so they have nothing to do with Blankenhorn playing 2B. 2.) Miller's going to play some 2B, some 3B and some SS, and he's worthy of playing time too. 3.) Arraez plays 2B too...

I don't disagree... though Wiel had 5 total bases... Granite had 6 total bases, a single, double and triple and drove in five runs... That's the hesitation for me.

I asked Terry Ryan that question after I'd been there for a day or two, and he said it was definitely by design, similar to lockering Torii Hunter with Aaron Hicks and Byron Buxton last spring training.

The Twins announced that Andrew Albers has been DFAd from the 40-man roster. They noted that a pitcher will be called up for tomorrow's game. (I suppose they aren't ready to name him yet, not until he is on a plane and it is in flight to the Twin Cities) Options for the promotion include: Pat Light Alex Wimmers Ryan O'Rourke DJ Baxendale also possible, though he threw on Friday night. Thanks to the work of Albers and Pat Dean (SAturday), the call up doesn't have to be a long-relief option and can be a one-inning guy like Light. O'Rourke has been tremendous since the beginning of July. Wimmers has been good as one of the Red Wings late inning relievers and can become a free agent at season's end. Might want to see what he can do the rest of the way.

It was a busy night in the Twins minor league system. The Red Wings held their Hall of Fame ceremony pre-game and then hit four home runs in their game. Was it enough? The Lookouts got a quality start, but their offense was tremendous. One of the organization’s top pitching prospects put on a display in Ft. Myers. The Kernels had a batter with a five-hit game. The E-Twins had a big inning. And, Minnesota kids got the win and save for the GCL Twins on Friday. We also need you to help vote for today's Hitter of the Day. Too many good choices. There were a couple of transactions of note on Friday as well: With Tommy Milone going on the disabled list, the Twins called up Pat Dean to fill the long-relief role that Andrew Albers successfully filled on Thursday night. Following the Twins game, they announced that Andrew Albers has been DFAd and a pitcher will be added before the game on Saturday. With two of their starters now with the Twins, the Red Wings announced that lefty David Hurlbut has been promoted from Chattanooga and will start on Saturday. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Fernando Romero) It was a busy night in the Twins minor league system. The Red Wings held their Hall of Fame ceremony pre-game and then hit four home runs in their game. Was it enough? The Lookouts got a quality start, but their offense was tremendous. One of the organization’s top pitching prospects put on a display in Ft. Myers. The Kernels had a batter with a five-hit game. The E-Twins had a big inning. And, Minnesota kids got the win and save for the GCL Twins on Friday. We also need you to help vote for today's Hitter of the Day. Too many good choices. There were a couple of transactions of note on Friday as well: With Tommy Milone going on the disabled list, the Twins called up Pat Dean to fill the long-relief role that Andrew Albers successfully filled on Thursday night. Following the Twins game, they announced that Andrew Albers has been DFAd and a pitcher will be added before the game on Saturday. With two of their starters now with the Twins, the Red Wings announced that lefty David Hurlbut has been promoted from Chattanooga and will start on Saturday. With that, let’s get to the Minor League Report for Friday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 12 Box Score In the last few days, the Red Wings have lost ⅖ of their starting rotation to the Minnesota Twins. First, it was Andrew Albers and on Friday it was Pat Dean. Things didn’t go as planned, however. Jason Wheeler, who has been the Red Wings most consistent starter all season, gave up four runs in the first inning. He gave up another in the second and two more in the third. Through three innings, he had given up seven runs. Normally that would be a time to remove the starter. However, manager Mike Quade stuck with Wheeler and the left-hander threw three scoreless innings. So his final line says that he gave up seven runs on seven hits (including three homers) and three walks in six innings. Key Play: If you had a chance to watch the game on milb.tv, you may have seen the unfortunate first inning against Wheeler. With one out and runners on first and second Wheeler coaxed a ground ball to third base. Leonardo Reginnato fielded and threw to James Beresford at second for the first out. Beresford made the turn and made a terrific throw to first base, a step before the batter reached first. However, Reynaldo Rodriguez casually caught the ball and stepped away from the bag... the problem was that he casually stepped off the bag before he caught the ball. The umpire made the correct call. Safe. Could have been out of the inning, and after the blunder, Wheeler gave up four runs in that first inning. Can't help but wonder how the game goes if that play is made properly. At that point, the Red Wings offense had caught up. Adam Brett Walker hit a three-run homer, his International League-leading 23rd homer of the season. Byron Buxton added his seventh Rochester homer, a solo blast. Reynaldo Rodriguez added his third homer to cut the deficit to 7-6. https://twitter.com/RocRedWings/status/764274638264250368 DJ Baxendale came in for the seventh inning. His ERA jumped to 1.67 as he gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks in the inning. Neil Ramirez threw the final two innings. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. He struck out four. John Ryan Murphy added his second homer of the year to give the Red Wings their seventh run. Buxton was the lone Wings player to have multiple hits. He was 2-4 and stole his sixth base. Before the game, the Red Wings added Jason Bartlett and Merv Rettenmund to their Hall of Fame. Bartlett played parts of the 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons in Rochester. In those seasons, he hit .331, .332 and .306. He played ten seasons in the big leagues. Rettenmund played 13 seasons in the big leagues after one season in Rochester. That season he was The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year after hitting .331 with 22 homers for the Red Wings. He was the International League’s Rookie of the Year and MVP in 1968. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 12, Birmingham 1 Box Score Aaron Slegers returned to nearly his pre-disabled list form in this game, and his offense provided plenty of offensive support. Before going on the DL, Slegers had a run of nine straight quality starts. Since his return, he has thrown two innings twice and worked up to five innings in his most recent start. On this night Slegers gave up one run on six hits in seven innings. He struck out five without issuing a walk. Brandon Peterson worked two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out two. The Lookouts scored six runs in the third innings. They got an RBI double from Zach Granite, an RBI double from Niko Goodrum, a two-run double from Stuart Turner and a two-run single from TJ White. They added four more runs in the sixth inning, and two more runs in the ninth inning. Zach Granite led the way. He went 3-6 with his 15th double, sixth triple and five RBIs. Turner went 3-4 with a walk and his 17th and 18th doubles. Goodrum went 2-5 with his fourth double. TJ White was 2-5. Travis Harrison hit his 21st double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 0, Charlotte 2 Box Score The Miracle lost, but Fernando Romero was as impressive has he has been all year. The hard-throwing right-hander from the Dominican went the first seven innings. He gave up no runs. He gave up six hits, walked none and struck out 11. His Miracle ERA drops to 2.39. One of the hits Romero gave up was off the bat of a rehabbing Oswaldo Arcia. Cam Booser replaced Romero in the 8th inning. He walked a batter and then gave up a two-run homer to Arcia which was the entirety of the game’s scoring. It was the only hit Booser gave up. He struck out two. Luke Bard worked a perfect ninth inning. The Miracle offense managed just three hits in the game. Joe Maloney hit his 13th double. Tanner Witt and Trey Vavra were each 1-2. Witt walked once as well. Vavra was hit by a pitch. Miracle Manager Jeff Smith was ejected in the 8th inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Kane County 1 Box Score The game was delayed by rain in the third inning, but it didn’t slow down the Kernels’ bats. Speaking of bats that haven’t cooled down, out hitter of the month of July, Zander Wiel, went 5-5 in this game to lead the way. Sean Miller and JJ Fernandez were both 2-5. Casey Scoggins went 2-4. Travis Blankenhorn added his second double. Brandon Lopez went 1-3 with two walks. It was a pretty unique game for catcher Kevin Garcia. He was on third base early in the game when Christian Cavaness stole second base. Garcia took off for home and scored. In the ninth inning, he hit a three-run homer. I am guessing that it is the first time Garcia has stolen home and homered in the same game in his career. They were his first stolen base and first home run of the season. Miles Nordgren started and returned to the mound even after the 42-minute rain delay. He went seven innings for his fourth win. He gave up only an unearned run on five hits. He walked two and struck out four. Logan Lombana threw two scoreless innings in relief. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Kingsport 4 Box Score A four-run third innings gave the Twins a lead that they were able to hang on to the rest of the way. In the big inning, infielder Caleb Hamilton hit a two-run double. Soon after, Amaurys Minier hit a two-run homer to give them a 4-0 lead. Minier went 1-2 with two walks and the homer, his eighth. Hamilton went 2-4 and both hits were doubles to give him four on the season. Sean Poppen started. He threw four scoreless innings, though he gave up four hits and walked three. He struck out four. He met his pitch count after just four innings, and Austin Tribby came into the game. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits over three innings. He struck out three and didn’t walk any. He was credited with the Win to improve his season record to 4-0. Patrick McGuff gave up a run on three hits over the final two innings to record his fourth save. He struck out three without issuing a walk, something he has called a key to his success so far as a pro. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 1 Box Score Left Bo Hellquist made the Friday start for the GCL Twins. The Minnesota-Duluth alum threw five shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out three. Moises Gomez came on and threw three scoreless frames. Onas Farfan came on for the ninth to protect a two-run lead. He gave up three hits and one run, but he held on to record his fourth save of the year. Hellquist improved to 4-1. Jorge Munoz has been hitting well of late. The infielder went 2-4 in this game with his ninth and tenth doubles. Max Murphy, in another rehab appearance, added a double. Lean Marrero went 2-3 and stole his second base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Fernando Romero, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – You Vote: Zach Granite, Chattanooga Lookouts Stuart Turner, Chattanooga Lookouts Zander Wiel, Cedar Rapids Kernels SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (6:05 CST) - LHP David Hurlbut Chattanooga @ Birmingham (6:30 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells Elizabethton @ Bluefield (6:05 CST) - RHP Jose Martinez GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (9:00 am CST) - RH Huascar Ynoa Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games. View full article

Here's the link to Mike Berardino's article: http://www.twincities.com/2016/08/12/minnesota-twins-ervin-santana-helping-jose-berrios-fix-delivery-flaw/ It was really fun watching Berrios and Santana interact through spring training. That's a great relationship there!

Granted... If Burdi was healthy, based on his spring training showing, he would have likely been in the big leagues by June.

I'm in agreement with the commenters so far, and I hope that came across. I think there are plenty of pros to signing him, but in the end, there just aren't any at bats for him, and he doesn't want that.