Seth Stohs

We already handed out the “award” for Reliever of the Month to Lookouts RHP Brandon Peterson. Now we turn our attention to the starting pitchers and recognize some terrific performances. This month, the choice was difficult. What’s also exciting is that the Twins are getting strong starting pitching performances each month at the upper levels of the minor leagues, adding to their depth. With that, let's start our list of the Top 5 Starting Pitchers for June. We had a chance to catch up with this month’s choice as well.We begin with a few players deserving of mention. Chattanooga RHP JO Berrios – 5 GS, 2-1, 3.62 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 27.1 IP, 20 H, 7 BB, 12 KChattanooga RHP Alex Wimmers – 5 GS, 3-1, 2.97 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 30.1 IP, 26 H, 12 BB, 27 KFt. Myers RHP Ryan Eades – 4 GS, 1-0, 2.70 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 26.2 IP, 28 H, 5 BB, 21 KFt. Myers LHP Mat Batts – 5 GS, 2-2, 2.63 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 27.1 IP, 29 H, 3 BB, 25 KTOP 5 STARTING PITCHERS IN JUNE Number 5 – Ft. Myers – RHP Aaron Slegers - 4 GS, 1-1, 2.13 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 25.1 IP, 21 H, 7 BB, 20 K The 6-10 Slegers was the Twins fifth round pick in 2013 out of the University of Indiana where he had been named the Big 10 Pitcher of the Year that season. He went 7-7 with a 4.54 ERA in 20 starts for Cedar Rapids a year ago before ending his season with three starts with the Miracle. In 14 starts with the Miracle this year, he is 5-4 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 84 innings. He has terrific control. His 1.8 BB/9 this year is actually higher than his overall pro average of 1.6 BB/9. Slegers was primed to be high on the May starting pitcher ranking until he had a big clunker, but he has responded from his one bad start with a strong May. He doesn’t throw hard, sitting between 90 and 92, but he has a good slider. Number 4 – Cedar Rapids – RHP Felix Jorge - 4 GS, 0-1, 2.28 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 27.2 IP, 17 H, 7 BB, 18 K Jorge was signed from the Dominican Republic in 2010 for $250,000. He has pitched well at each level. He began the 2014 season in Cedar Rapids but really struggled. He went down to Elizabethton and was named the Appy League Pitcher of the Year. In his second shot in the Midwest League this spring, he has been terrific. He has made 13 starts and is 3-3 with a 2.20 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. In his second start of this season, he struck out nine in five innings. He has not pitched less than six starts in any other start this year. He has been very consistent. Still just 21-years-old, Jorge has certainly reclaimed a place among Twins top starting pitching prospects. Number 3 – Chattanooga/Rochester – RHP Greg Peavey - 5 GS, 2-2, 2.56 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 31.2 IP, 24 H, 3 BB, 17 K Greg Peavey was the Twins minor league Rule 5 selection in December from the Mets organization. He began the season in AA with the Lookouts and it wasn’t pretty. In his first five starts, he went just 22.1 innings and posted a 10.48 ERA and a 2.24 WHIP. Doug Mientkiewicz stuck by him. He made eight more starts for the Lookouts and in that time, he went 5-1 with a 2.12 ERA. In 51 innings, he gave up just 37 hits, walked eight. Following that run, he was promoted to Rochester where he made two more starts with the Red Wings and gave up a combined six runs in 11.1 innings. The Scott Boras client was the sixth round pick of the Mets in 2010. He did a Q&A with Twins Daily shortly after the Rule 5 draft. Number 2 – Rochester – RHP Tyler Duffey - 5 GS, 3-2, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 33.0 IP, 31 H, 5 BB, 29 K Duffey was the Twins fifth-round draft pick in 2012 out of Rice University. He was the co-closer there with JT Chargois. Since signing with the Twins, he has worked primarily as a starter. In 2014, he made 25 starts between three levels. He was invited to big league spring training, but he was sent back to AA – this time to Chattanooga – to start the season. He responded well. He made eight starts with the Lookouts and went 2-2 with a 2.56 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. In mid-May, he returned to Rochester. On June 11, he made his second straight start against Scranton/Wilkes Barre and gave up seven runs. He pitched against them six days later and struck out nine over eight shutout innings. In two starts since then, he has not given up an earned run. In his seven starts with Rochester, he is 3-4 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Duffey should debut with the Twins in 2015. If not, he’s almost a given to be added to the 40-man roster following the season. (Read the Get To Know Tyler Duffey story from Spring Training.) And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Rochester Red Wings – LHP Taylor Rogers – 6 G, 5 GS, 3-1, 2.40 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 41.1 IP, 36 H, 7 BB, 24 K Taylor Rogers was the Twins 11th round pick in 2012 out of the University of Kentucky. He split time that season between Elizabethton and Beloit and posted a 2.27 ERA in 63.1 innings after a solid college season. He began the 2013 season in Cedar Rapids but made just three starts before being promoted to Ft. Myers. There, he went 11-6 with a 2.55 ERA and was named the 2013 Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. In 2014, he moved up to AA New Britain. After a slow start in the first month, Rogers ended the season 11-6 with a 3.29 ERA. He finished third in the 2014 Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. He went to the Arizona Fall League where he was hit by a line drive in his first outing. It cost him most of the season, though he did return late in the Salt River Rafters’ championship run. (His twin brother Tyler represented the Giants organization in the AFL as well.) The success earned him a spring training invite this year, an experience he enjoyed. “The spring training invite was great. I was honored to be there and just wanted to watch and see how everyone prepared for their season.” He began this season in the rotation for the Rochester Red Wings. In all, he is 7-4 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He has already thrown 103.1 innings. He has walked just 27 and struck out 71. He has made 15 starts, and he is credited with one relief appearance. Actually, he “started” a rain-suspended game from earlier in the season and worked the remaining seven innings. The transition to AAA has gone well for Rogers and yet it hasn’t been easy. “I think the biggest difference is the quality of the lineups. Everybody can hit and pitch. It's so much fun to compete out there every day.” Rogers has a strong three-pitch mix of fastball, curveball and change up, though he’s continuing to work on the latter. “I’ve been working on using the change up more often and effectively. It's a work in progress so far.” His out pitch? “Usually my curve is more of the out pitch, but situation dependent, it could be anything well executed.” The Twins already have a difficult decision to make. Whose spot in the rotation will Ervin Santana take? Having strong starting pitching depth is unusual in the Twins recent history. Consider there are six or seven options for five starting rotation spots right now, and that doesn’t factor in Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey, Greg Peavey and Jose Berrios who are all now in the Rochester rotation. The bullpen is certainly an option for Rogers as Twins left-handed relievers in the big leagues have been struggling mightily of late. Rogers has dominated left-handed batters in AAA to the tune of a .174/.193/.183 (.376) slash line, including two walks with 35 prospects. He would not be against a call up to the Twins bullpen. “I think having depth in the organization is a strength of ours. And, anyone will tell you a lot of people are deserving of a call. It will happen when it’s supposed to happen.” Rogers can only control himself and he reminds himself, “I just have to stay in the moment.” One thing is for certain, Taylor Rogers had terrific 2013 and 2014 seasons, and he’s impressing with his strong first half in AAA. In fact, today he was named to the International League All Star roster. Rogers could be a call up during the 2014 season. If not, he’s a guarantee to be added to the team’s 40 man roster following the season. Please feel free to post your comments on Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey and the rest of the Twins minor league starting pitchers that pitched well in June. How do you feel about the rankings? We’ll be back tomorrow with the Minor League Hitter of the Month of June. Click here to view the article

Jones was dominant the first two months, but he really struggled in June. My assumption is that is what has him on the DL, just a break, rather than a "groin" injury as it's being called.

I 100% agree... just curious what the other pieces will be. Who will get traded for cap room? Will they be able to sign anyone else. Stuff like that.

I'm not worried about the money either. Doesn't affect me at all. I worry about the ramifications. I don't want them losing the ability to sign more players because of it.

Hey Jeremy, The Twins international signing pool was something shy of $4 million. They haven't made any trades yet. Can you explain the ramifications of going over their spending limit or what they need to do?

Each month here at Twins Daily, we post our choices for Twins minor league relief pitcher, starting pitcher and hitter of the month. Today, I want to share with you some of the top relief pitchers in the Twins minor league system in the month of June. You can get to know a little more about this month's choice for Top Reliever of the Month. I'll follow up over the next 24 hours with the starting pitcher and hitter of the month.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 Cole Johnson – Chattanooga/Rochester – 8 G, 11.2 IP, 0-0, 2-Saves, 1.69 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 8 H, 2 BB, 8 KRHP JT Chargois – Chattanooga – 9 G, 8.2 IP, 1-0, 5-Saves, 2.08 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 6 H, 6 BB, 9 KRHP DJ Johnson – Ft. Myers – 10 G, 13.1 IP, 1-0, 3-Saves, 1.35 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 10 H, 4 BB, 13 KRHP Brian Gilbert – Ft. Myers – 9 G, 13.1 IP, 1-0, 2.03 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 10 H, 5 BB, 13 KRHP Trevor Hildenberger – Cedar Rapids – 8 G, 9.2 IP, 0-0, 3 Saves, 2.79 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 10 H, 2 BB, 13 KRHP Luke Bard – Cedar Rapids – 7 G, 13.1 IP, 3-0, 1.35 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 11 H, 3 BB, 8 KThe Top 5 Twins Relievers for June 2015 Number 5 – Rochester – AJ Achter – 11 G, 14.0 IP, 0-0, 6 Saves, 2.57 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 7 H, 2 BB, 14 K Since moving to the bullpen in 2012, Achter has been one of the best – and certainly the most consistent – relief pitcher in the Twins minor league system. He has pitched in every role. He has been in long relief, used as a set up man and now he is succeeding as a closer this year. Overall this year, he is 3-2 with 13 saves. He has a 2.27 ERA and a miniscule 0.63 WHIP. He throws strikes (1.8 BB/9) and yet still doesn’t give up hits. He also has struck out 8.6 batters per nine innings the last two seasons in Rochester. With the issues we have witnessed in the Twins bullpen this year, it is surprising that we have not seen Achter yet this year. Number 4 – Ft. Myers – Todd Van Steensel – 10 G, 16.1 IP, 0-0, 5 Saves, 1.10 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 7 H, 6 BB, 20 K Since coming back to the Twins organization before the 2014 season, Van Steensel has turned himself into a big-time strikeout weapon out of the bullpen. He began this season in Ft. Myers after spending the final month of the 2014 season with the Miracle. Overall, he is 1-2 with a 1.97 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has nine saves already. He has been a workhorse for the Miracle. In 45.1 innings, he has given up 31 hits. He has walked 23 (4.5 BB/9) which is a bit high, though he improved on that in June. He has been able to get a lot of strikeouts, averaging 12.2 K/9 on the season. With recent bullpen issues in Chattanooga and already some transactions, Van Steensel could, or at least should, end the season with the Lookouts. Number 3 – Ft. Myers – Alex Muren – 9 G, 16.2 IP, 1-0, 1 Save, 0.54 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 13 H, 2 BB, 20 K Muren was the Twins 12th round pick in 2012 out of Cal State - Northridge. He spent the final two months last year with the Miracle and has been a workhorse with the team so far this year as well. In 26 games, he is 2-2 with a 1.60 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He has good control (2.6 BB/9) and has been much-improved this year in terms of strikeout rate (8.4). But he is a ground ball pitcher. Managers often put him in with runners on base, needing a double play. His month culminated with a much-deserved promotion to AA Chattanooga. Number 2 – Cedar Rapids – Randy LeBlanc – 7 G, 18.1 IP, 1-1, 0.49 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, 10 H, 2 BB, 17 K Recently, LeBlanc had a streak of 26 consecutive scoreless innings come to an end when he gave up one run. How did he respond? In his next outing, he threw three shutout innings. LeBlanc, a Tommy John survivor, has been a starter most of his life. The Twins 10th round pick in 2014 from Tulane has adjusted well to working out of the bullpen this year. Overall, in 20 games this season for the Kernels, he is 5-1 with one save. He has a 1.59 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP in 45.1 innings. He throws strikes and does have the ability to miss bats. Most months, LeBlanc would be an easy choice for this award, and if you were to tell me that he should be, I wouldn’t have much of an argument. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers/Chattanooga – Brandon Peterson – 7 G, 11.2 IP, 1-0, 1 Save, 0.00 ERA, 0.51 WHIP, 3 H, 2 BB, 15 K Peterson was the choice as Twins Daily Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2014. He had some lofty goals heading into the 2015 season. “My first goal was to be healthy to start the year. That's a huge aspect that can't go overlooked. Also, I wanted to start up in Chattanooga. Last, I wanted to have a better season than I did previously. That's always my goal” Peterson grew up in and still lives in Savage, Minnesota and went to Burnsville High School. After two years at Des Moines Community College, he received a scholarship to Wichita State University. Following one season there, he was the Twins 13th round selection in 2013. He began his 2014 season in Cedar Rapids, but after nine games, he moved up to Ft. Myers. Overall, he went 2-1 with a 1.57 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. In 57.1 innings, he walked just 19 and struck out 84. He began his 2015 season back with the Miracle. Peterson said, “I was slightly disappointed repeating A ball again, but I used it as motivation and worked on a few things that needed to be honed in before making the next step. I had a blast with those guys down there.” He handled any disappointment very well, putting up strong numbers again. In 21 games and 31.2 innings with the Miracle, he posted a 0.85 ERA with a 0.92 WHIP. He also had 44 strikeouts (12.5 K/9). Finally in mid-June, he received that call to AA Chattanooga. “I got the word when we were in Lakeland. It was pretty exciting, as well as seeing your friends happy for you too.” He has begun his Lookouts career with seven shutout innings in four games. He has given up just two hits, walked two and struck out ten. He has handled the success and taken things in stride. “I've been dealt a pretty good hand by God to do what I love and get paid to do it. I try and not take things for granted and see what happens.” Peterson primarily uses a four-seam fastball and a slider to get outs. He is also working to improve a third pitch. “I need to work on the change a lot more. My pitching coaches and coordinator (Stu Cliburn, Ivan Arteaga, and Erik Rasmussen) all have helped work with me, whether it's throwing my slider better or working on a new change up grip.” Now with the Lookouts, Peterson has a front-row seat to their remarkable offense. “It's unreal watching and pitching behind these guys. At any time, they can put up a five-spot like its nothing.” Peterson’s goals for the remainder of the season are very team-oriented. “I want to win the Southern League Championship, to win the 2nd half, and to be a guy my team and staff can count on coming into pressure situations.” After his tremendous 2014 season, Peterson has been in the top five relievers each month this season. He earned his promotion to AA and has started out very well there. As he continues to achieve great success at the higher levels, it becomes more and more likely that he will become a part of his hometown team’s bullpen at some point in the future. So what do you think? I’ve ranked the top five bullpen arms in the Twins organization in June, along with a few more that deserve to be recognized for their great performance last month. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)? Be sure to check back later for the June Starting Pitcher and Hitter of the month. Click here to view the article

MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger tweeted that a "well-placed" person told him that Miguel Sano would be promoted to the Twins in time for Thursday's game in Kansas City. Following the Twins Wednesday afternoon loss in Cincinnati, the team announced that DH Kennys Vargas was being optioned to AA Chattanooga. Speculation immediately became rampant.Since well before signing with the Twins in October of 2009, Sano has been a known commodity in the baseball world. He rose quickly through the Twins farm system. Unfortunately he missed all of 2014 after having Tommy John surgery. He was added to the Twins 40-man roster following the season and reported to spring training this year. He definitely showed signs of rust. Through May 1, he was hitting just .152. Since then, he has been on fire. In 46 games since that day, he has hit .320/.398/.616 (1.014) with 16 doubles and 11 home runs. He has 44 strikeouts in 201 plate appearances (22.9%). The hope is that he will inject some life into a stagnant Minnesota Twins offense. He is expected to be the Twins regular designated hitter, a position at which the Twins have struggled this year. The Twins designated hitters this year have posted a .663 OPS which ranks them second to last in the American League and far behind the league average of .755. The reality is that they've been even worse than that. The number includes an .872 OPS by Torii Hunter and a .777 OPS by Joe Mauer, both of whom play other positions and who only play designated hitter when manager Paul Molitor wants to give them a rest. The bulk of the at-bats at that position have gone to Kenny Vargas, who has had a .587 OPS from the spot. Earlier today Vargas was demoted to AA-Chattanooga. Sano was the #2 Twins Prospect in our Midseason Top 10 Rankings. He joins fellow Top 10 prospects Byron Buxton, Alex Meyer and Eddie Rosario on the Twins big league roster. Jorge Polanco has spent some time in the big leagues this season and last year. And JO Berrios was just promoted to AAA Rochester. It's a good time for Twins prospects. Sano signed with the Twins in 2009 and was one of the mostly widely hyped international prospects in years. If you would like to learn more about Sano, Twins Daily highly recommends the documentary Ballplayer: Pelotero, which you can watch for free if you have a Netflix account. It chronicles the efforts by several teams to sign Sano out of the Dominican Republic, and the seemingly shady tactics implemented by either some agents or Major League Baseball (depending on your interpretation of the events) to question Sano's age and restrict his ability to field offers in order to drive down his signing price. Click here to view the article

No question about it.

The news of Vargas's option to Chattanooga makes this even more likely.

Hopefully Dozier's success can make people stop thinking so negatively of 4-year college seniors and realize that yeah, maybe they'll be a little older than the competition until they get to AA, but anything can happen. I first had Dozier on a podcast late in his Minor League Hitter of the Year season between Ft. Myers and New Britain. It was in talking to him that I could tell he was going to be special. Very thoughtful. Very smart. Works really hard. Quiet. Focused. But also really talented. Every time I go into the Twins clubhouse, he'll come over and pat me on the back and ask how I'm doing, how things are. We'll chat for 10 minutes about baseball or just about other things. This is a really great human being, and for me, it's fun to see him taking off into stardom!

I think that Jones' DL stint will be short. He was great the first two months and just had a really rough June. He'll be alright. I'm hearing that Baxendale will go back into the Lookouts rotation.

As Twins fans, we have to (are required to) love the name Kirby/Kerby! Minier was brought up to E-Town last Thursday after getting a couple of GCL games in, kind of a rehab from his broken hand.

I can go with this. I think that makes sense to me.

It's really between him and Jason Kipnis for the top 2B in the AL right now. What makes that such a big statement is that guys like Robinson Cano, Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler and Jose Altuve play 2B in the AL.

I think I'd give Tapia more than two starts to show he's ready, though I don't necessarily disagree. He's very talented. Good size.

For now, it makes room for JO Berrios on the roster.

There were a bunch of transactions, some involving big pitching prospects. There were three one-run games and a two-run game. There was a near no-hitter. There was a huge grand slam home run that proved to be a game-winner by an unlikely source. Which pitcher picked off three base runners? Which pitcher recorded a win about 20 miles from where he grew up?Continue on to read everything that happened in a busy day in the Minnesota Twins farm system. TRANSACTIONS It was a busy day. As has been discussed here all day, JO Berrios was promoted from Chattanooga to Rochester where he will start on Friday night. He’ll be taking the place of Ervin Santana who will be activated by the Twins and start early next week. The Berrios promotion may not be made official until Thursday or Friday when he would need to be added to the roster to pitch. Hard-throwing Nick Burdi was sent down to Ft. Myers. Meanwhile Zack Jones was placed on the disabled list for the Lookouts. To take those two roster spots, relievers D.J. Johnson and Alex Muren were promoted. Dallas Gallant was activated from the Miracle disabled list. Following Rochester's game on Tuesday night, Ryan Wheeler was released by the Twins organization. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Pawtucket 0 Box Score The game was delayed, but Ervin Santana was able to make his final tune-up before he comes back to the Twins this weekend. It went quite well. He threw eight shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked none and struck out five. He only needed 99 pitches and 70 of them were strikes. Michael Tonkin came on for the ninth inning and recorded his seventh save. He struck out one in a 1-2-3 inning. Santana’s counterpart in the game was up to the challenge. Lefty Henry Owens had a no-hitter into the seventh inning. However, Jose Martinez doubled to break it up. A couple of batters later, Danny Ortiz hit a sacrifice fly to score the game’s lone run. Oswaldo Arcia doubled later in the game. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga Box Score The Chattanooga Lookouts had a scheduled night off. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Dunedin 1 Box Score Stephen Gonsalves was back on the mound for the Miracle. He threw well. He gave up five hits and walked two over five shutout innings. He helped himself out by picking off three runners at first base. He struck out five and improves to 2-0. Matt Summers came on and gave up one run in 2.2 innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out three. Corey Williams came on and walked the batter he faced. He was replaced by Todd Van Steensel who got the final out of the eighth inning. He also got through the ninth inning without allowing a run. It was his ninth save. Mitch Garver went 2-4 in the game, continuing his hot June performance. Engelb Vielma went 1-3 with a walk. He stole his 18th and 19th bases. Zach Granite went 1-2 with a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 2 Box Score It may have been a long road to the Twins for Luke Westphal, but on Tuesday afternoon, the southpaw pitched (and won) a game just 20 miles from his hometown. The Clintonville, Wisconsin, native threw five innings against Wisconsin (in Appleton). He gave up one run on one hit. He walked two and struck out five. He was credited with the win. Randy LeBlanc’s impressive 24+ inning scoreless streak came to an end over the weekend when he gave up one run in an inning of work. One Tuesday, he started a new streak. He gave up just one hit and hit a batter over three scoreless innings. He struck out two. Cameron Booser came on for the ninth, trying to protect a one-run lead. He walked on and hit one, but got through the inning with just one run allowed to record his eighth save of the season. Brian Navaretto boosted his batting average to .195 with a 3-4 game. Zack Larson went 2-5. Nick Gordon and Tanner English each hit their ninth doubles of the season. Gordon stole his 18th base. Rafael Valera went 0-1 but walked three times. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 3, Bristol 1 Box Score The E-Twins improved to 5-3 on the season with another strong pitching performance. Alexis Tapia started. The big-boned right-hander gave up one run on two hits over six innings. He struck out six batters without walking any. Sam Clay struck out three batters over the next two innings. He gave up a hit and a walk but no runs. Jose Abreu came on for the final three outs. He walked one and struck out two. Austin Diemer is now hitting .444 on the short-season after a 2-3 game. He hit his second double and a triple. Amaurys Minier had a two-run single. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 7, GCL Rays 3 Box Score Kerby Camacho was the Twins 11th round pick in the June draft out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico. This was his second game played since signing. He had gone 0-7 when he came to the plate in a 3-3 game in the bottom of the 8th inning. He collected his first professional hit, his first home run and his first four RBIs as a pro with one swing. It proved to be the difference in the game. Jermaine Palacios was the other hitting star in the game. The infielder went 3-3 with a walk and two doubles. Luis Martinez added his second double. Bryant Hayman went 1-3 with a walk. Jose Martinez got the starting nod in this game. He went the first four innings and was charged with three runs, two earned, on five hits and two walks. He struck out just one. Dutch righty Matz Schutte walked one and struck one out in the fifth inning. Callan Pearce gave up a hit in a scoreless sixth inning. Miguel Gonzalez got the win. He struck out four over three perfect innings. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ervin Santana, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jermaine Palacios, Elizabethton Twins WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (12:35 CST) – LHP Pat Dean Birmingham @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – LHP David Hurlbut Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:35 CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (7:05 CST) – RHP Felix Jorge Bristol @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00 CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Tuesday games. Click here to view the article

Hicks has been out with a pectoral muscle. He's in Ft. Myers rehabbing, but he hasn't played in any games yet. No timetable that I've heard.

Despite missing the entire 2014 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last March, Miguel Sano remained the preseason #2 Minnesota Twins prospect here at Twins Daily. It was assumed that Sano would need some time to shake off some rust – and it did – but Sano has come back with a vengeance since a slow start and remains #2 on this list.Age: 22 2015 Stats (AA): .273/.370/.546 (.916), 18-2B, 15-HR, 48 RBI ETA: 2015 2015 Preseason Ranking: 2 What's To Like Since signing with the Minnesota Twins as a 16-year-old “shortstop” way back in October of 2009, Sano has been in the spotlight. Touted as the most talented prospect to come from the Dominican in a while. Baseball America immediately place him in their Top 100 Prospect Ratings (#94) before the 2010 season. He moved up to #60 before the 2011 season. He has been a Top 20 prospect for Baseball America each of the four years since then. Even after missing the entire 2014 season, Sano came in as their #13 prospect this spring. He is a consensus top 15 prospect by all of the major rankings. Despite this being his sixth professional season, and missing all of 2014, Sano only turned 22 years old in May. At 6-4 and 255 pounds, he is an intimidating presence at the plate. His power production has been strong since arriving on the pro scene. His 20 homers at Elizabethton was second only to teammate Eddie Rosario in 2011. In 2012, he launched 28 doubles and 28 home runs in a full season in Beloit. He combined to his 35 home runs in 2013, splitting the season between Ft. Myers and AA New Britain. After missing all of 2014, and starting out slow, he already has 15 home runs in 66 games in Chattanooga. With his power, it is fair to expect some strikeouts. However, Sano has also always been able to coax walks as well. He has made great improvements on his plate discipline and approach over the past couple of seasons. After a look at his overall numbers, it’s easy to say that they look very strong, and they are. However, consider that after going 0-3 on May 1, Sano was hitting .152/.300/.364 (.664). He was displaying some power, but his at-bats were not always pretty. He had 23 strikeouts in 80 plate appearances (28.8%). Since that day, Sano has been very good, reminiscent of his past years. In 46 games since that day, he has hit .320/.398/.616 (1.014) with 16 doubles and 11 home runs. He has 44 strikeouts in 201 plate appearances (22.9%). He has been very good in June. In 21 games this month, he has hit .329/.422/.671 (1.093) with eight doubles and six home runs. On Monday, he was named the Southern League hitter of the week after going 13-28 in his last seven games. In that time, he hit .464/.531/1.000 (1.531) with six doubles and three home runs. On Monday night, he went 1-3 with two walks. What's Left To Work On Twins fans may hate to hear it, but the word that can and will likely be used in describing Sano is “consistency.” Since his slow start with the bat, Sano has been very good and pretty consistent. Defensively, it’s a different story. There have always been those who questioned whether Sano could play third base in the big leagues. I personally have believed that he could since seeing his first half to second half improvement in the Midwest League in 2011. Despite his size, Sano is a very good athlete and has made many diving, spectacular plays. His errors have often come on more routine plays. Some have questioned his arm following surgery. He threw close to 94 mph before the surgery. Even if his velocity drops to 89 mph, that’s a very strong arm for third base. All reports have said that his arm remains very strong. What's Next Any rust that Miguel Sano had following Tommy John surgery and a missed season has been shaken. Sano is back to putting up the types of numbers that we had come to expect from him. The reality is that if Trevor Plouffe were to get injured and need to go on the DL, Sano would come up. He is ready. The other reality is that the Twins have not had much production from the DH position this season. It’s very possible that if the GM wants to inject some offense, Sano could be the guy to get that call. If nothing else, a promotion to AAA Rochester could be coming soon. I tend to think that he will jump from AA to the big leagues. Miguel Sano is the biggest power-hitting prospect that the Twins have had since, well, Justin Morneau? Maybe Harmon Killebrew? Yesterday Nick wrote about JO Berrios who has continued to pitch very well and in most organizations could be the number two, if not the number one, prospect. After missing a year, Sano has come back and been able to maintain that number two ranking which says a lot about the Twins organization. It also says a lot about Miguel Sano. Click here to view the article

That's right. I missed that. Great catch.