Seth Stohs

All I'm saying is that each player is case-by-case. I've been touting Hildenberger getting promoted to over a month. I don't know why he's not up. But I won't pretend I know why he hasn't been moved up. The Twins evaluators know more than I do. There obviously are Also, there is no automatic default, as you call it. There are a ton of examples where that isn't the case.

I agree that with Santana, a large part of it is confidence. That said, plate approach is also a huge part of it and that's probably the piece that will determine if/when/how he makes it back.

Byron Buxton was promoted one week ago. He remains in the lists below and will for some time. There are some names who have started to really move up these lists of late. The biggest mover of the week is, without question, Max Kepler. As the league All-Star games take place, expect to see several promotions. Here is a look at the updated Twins minor league standings and statistical leaders through Friday, June 19. Feel free to discuss.STANDINGS Here is a quick look at where the teams rank in their divisions as the first half for three of the Twins affiliates seasons come to a close very soon. Rochester is 34-32, 3-3 since last week. They remain 3.5 games behind Scranton/Wilkes Barre in the International League North Division. They are two games ahead of Pawtucket for second place. Chattanooga is 41-25. They went 5-1 in the last week and on Thursday night they clinched a playoff berth with their win over Jacksonville. They currently have a 4.5 game lead over Tennessee. Their All-Star Game is on Tuesday, June 23. Ft. Myers has gone 4-2 since last week. They are 35-32 and still nine games back of Charlotte despite another good week. They were eliminated from playoff contention a week ago. The Florida State League All-Star Game is tonight. Cedar Rapids is 40-28, and they went 4-3 the last seven days. They are five games behind Quad Cities. Earlier this week, they were able to clinch a playoff berth as the runner up in the West Division of the Midwest League. Their All-Star Game is on Tuesday, June 23. HITTERS For batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, IsoD and IsoP, we used a minimum of 175 plate appearances. Plate Appearances: Zach Granite (282), Byron Buxton/Jorge Polanco (268), Nick Gordon (265), Travis Harrison/Adam Brett Walker (263) Batting Average: Trey Vavra (.346), James Beresford (.335), Max Kepler (.330), Alex Swim (.320), Jorge Polanco (.301) On-Base Percentage: Trey Vavra (.406), Max Kepler (.391), Travis Harrison (.376), James Beresford (.372), Zach Granite (.370) Isolated Discipline: Mitch Garver (.125), Niko Goodrum (.114), Travis Harrison (.110), Tanner English (.108), Miguel Sano (.100) Slugging Percentage: Adam Brett Walker (.581), Max Kepler/Trey Vavra (.538), Miguel Sano (.491), Byron Buxton (.469), Danny Ortiz (.465) Isolated Power (IsoP): Adam Brett Walker (.311), Miguel Sano (.239), Max Kepler (.208), Byron Buxton (.206), Danny Ortiz (.197), Trey Vavra (.192) OPS: Trey Vavra (.944), Max Kepler (.929), Adam Brett Walker (.904), Miguel Sano (.842), Byron Buxton (.840) Hits: Alex Swim (77), Jorge Polanco (75), Max Kepler/James Beresford (70), Zach Granite (69), Byron Buxton (67) 2B: Max Kepler (19), Danny Ortiz (18), Adam Brett Walker (17), Travis Harrison (16), Reynaldo Rodriguez (14), Three with 13. 3B: Byron Buxton (12), Max Kepler (8), Max Murphy/Tanner English (6), Aaron Hicks/TJ White (4) HR: Adam Brett Walker (18), Miguel Sano (12), Danny Ortiz (7), Byron Buxton/Trey Vavra/Josmil Pinto (6) Runs: Adam Brett Walker/Miguel Sano (45), Byron Buxton (44), Zach Granite (43), Max Kepler (39), Travis Harrison/Nick Gordon (38) RBI: Adam Brett Walker (57), Danny Ortiz (39), Miguel Sano (38), Zach Larson (35), Mike Gonzales (31), Travis Harrison (29) SB: Byron Buxton (20), Tanner English (19), Engelb Vielma (16), Nick Gordon (15), Jorge Polanco/Zach Granite (14). STARTING PITCHERS (>50 IP) Innings: Taylor Rogers (90.0), Tyler Duffey (83.0), JO Berrios (78.2), Greg Peavey (73.1), Pat Dean (72.0) ERA: Stephen Gonsalves (1.83), Chih-Wei Hu/Mat Batts (2.10), Felix Jorge (2.44), Ryan Eades/JO Berrios (3.09) WHIP: Felix Jorge (0.90), Stephen Gonsalves (0.94), Mat Batts (1.04), Chih-Wei Hu (1.06), JO Berrios (1.16), Tyler Duffey (1.18) K/9: Stephen Gonsalves (11.4), Alex Meyer (9.7), JO Berrios (9.5), Tyler Duffey (8.9), Alex Wimmers (8.6), Mat Batts (8.3) BB/9: Greg Peavey/Felix Jorge (1.7), Mat Batts/Tyler Duffey (1.8), Pat Dean (1.9), Aaron Slegers (2.2) Strikeouts: JO Berrios (83), Tyler Duffey (82), Stephen Gonsalves (81), Taylor Rogers (64), Alex Wimmers (62), Mat Batts (59) Wins: Stephen Gonsalves (7-1), JO Berrios (7-3), Greg Peavey/Jared Wilson (6-2), Taylor Rogers (6-4) RELIEF PITCHERS (>20 IP, Games: AJ Achter (27), Alex Muren/JT Chargois/Todd Van Steensel (23), Zack Jones/Brandon Peterson/Madison Boer (22). Innings: Todd Van Steensel (40.1), Alex Muren (39.0), Randy LeBlanc (38.1), Madison Boer (37.2), Mike Theofanopoulos (35.2) ERA: Trevor Hildenberger (0.52), Brandon Peterson (0.83), Cameron Booser (1.30), Randy LeBlanc (1.64), Todd Van Steensel (1.79), Alex Muren (1.85) WHIP: Trevor Hildenberger (0.58), AJ Achter (0.59), Brandon Peterson (0.92), Alex Muren (1.00), Tim Shibuya (1.01), Todd Van Steensel (1.09) K/9: Cameron Booser (13.7), Todd Van Steensel (12.7), Brandon Peterson (12.4), Jose Velez (12.2), Trevor Hildenberger/Lester Oliveros (11.7) BB/9: Trevor Hildenberger (1.3), AJ Achter (1.6), Tim Shibuya (1.7), Alex Muren (2.5), Lester Oliveros (2.7), Randy LeBlanc (2.8) Saves: AJ Achter (10), Zack Jones (9), JT Chargois/Todd Van Steensel (8), Trevor Hildenberger/Cameron Booser (7) There you have it. The Twins Minor League Leader Board through Friday, June 19. What are your thoughts? What surprised you? Click here to view the article

He's been through a lot, so he's a little order. Tommy John was a big thing. Having the control issues for half of a season was a big thing. He's overcome a lot, and I would be thrilled if he got a chance. I definitely believe he's got a realistic shot at a September call up, especially if he continues pitching well like this most times out.

He was 20-something round pick just one year ago. He went to college for 4-5 years. He's not Nick Burdi or Jake Reed. He'll move up, and he deserves to. But he's not someone we need to worry about age-to-level with. They have years before they need to make a decision on him. He's got a chance to be a 6th-7th inning guy. I don't care if he gets up at 25 or 28. Doesn't matter at all.

The Lookouts had a couple of great performances on Friday night. A night after clinching a playoff spot, they continued their winning ways thanks in large part to a couple of first-round draft picks. Check out everything that happened on Friday night in the Twins minor league system including a very special night in Rochester.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Louisville 3 Box Score Rochester scored two runs in the fifth inning to take a 2-1 lead in this game. Unfortunately, they gave up two runs in the top of the seventh frame. However, a five-run bottom of the seventh gave them a lead that they were able to hold on to. Taylor Rogers made the start. Through six innings, Rogers gave up one run. In the top of the seventh inning, he gave up two singles. After a sacrifice bunt advanced the runners, Rogers was replaced by lefty Logan Darnell. Darnell gave up two straight singles, allowing both runners to score before he was replaced by Mark Hamburger. The right-hander got the next two batters out to keep the deficit at 3-2. He worked another scoreless inning as well. After the Red Wings reclaimed the lead, AJ Achter pitched a scoreless ninth. The Red Wings got a lot of production from their top two hitters. Leadoff man Danny Santana went 3-4 with a walk and his fourth double. James Beresford was 3-5. He had the first three Red Wings RBIs. But the big hit in the team’s five-run seventh came off the bat of Danny Ortiz. He hit a bases-clearing triple (his third of the year) to give the Red Wings the lead and some insurance. Doug Bernier was 1-1 with three walks in the game. On the other side of things, Oswaldo Arcia went 0-4 with three strikeouts. It may have been a tough outing for Logan Darnell, but it was a good night for the left-hander. He was the Red Wings recipient of the Harmon Killebrew Award in 2014. He has continued to help in the community. On Friday night, he helped organize an Alzheimer's awareness night in Rochester. Darnell's mother was diagnosed with the disease a couple of years ago. Players wore special jerseys that were auctioned. Two season ticket holders bid $650 for Darnell's jersey. They then gave it to the Darnell family and made the $650 a donation. Alex Meyer's jersey went for $500. In all, they raised over $7,000 for Alzheimer's awareness in Rochester. If anyone is interested in donating, click here. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Jacksonville 2 Box Score A night after clinching the first half North Division title in the Southern League on Thursday night, the Lookouts returned on Friday and continued their winning ways. There were two primary stories in this game, and both involved former Twins first-round draft picks. Let’s start on the mound. Alex Wimmers made the start and threw seven shutout innings. He gave up three hits and walked two, but he also struck out 11 batters. He needed just 96 pitches, and 67 of them were strikes. An observer at the game reported afterwards, “Did you see Wimmers tonight? He was outstanding! (The Jacksonville hitters) could not do much. If it wasn’t for having a big leaguer (Michael Morse had two hits) in the lineup, they would have only had maybe one hit through six innings.” In Wimmers’ past three starts, he has thrown 21.2 innings without allowing an earned run. He has given up just eight hits, walked seven and struck out 23. Overall, he is now 5-1 with a 4.31 ERA for the Lookouts this season. Minnesota native Madison Boer came on and finished the final two innings. He gave up two runs on three hits, but was able to record his first save with the Lookouts. 2011 top pick Levi Michael returned to the field for the first time since injuring his ankle on May 4. He had singles in his first two at-bats, which were followed by a walk. He was 2-4 with that walk and he also stole two bases. Miguel Sano went 2-4 with his eighth double. Max Kepler had just one hit, but it was his eighth triple of the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers Box Score The Miracle and the rest of the Florida State League are on their All-Star break. The Miracle will be represented by Chih-Wei Hu, Alex Swim, Todd Van Steensel, and Ryan Eades. JT Chargois and Brandon Peterson had been named to the All-Star team, but were promoted to Chattanooga. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Clinton 4 Box Score According to Jeff Johnson of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, manager Jake Mauer was pretty vocal about his team’s lack of offense following Thursday’s game. He said, “We’re going to have to get creative and figure out a way to reach them, or we’re going to have to get new guys. It’s one of the two. It sounds harsh, but that’s the nature of the beast." The Kernels had eight hits on Friday night, but they were only able to muster one run in the game. Brett Doe led the way. He went 2-3. Zack Larson drove in the lone Kernels run. This is the second time already this season that Mauer has gone public with his disappointment in some of the Kernels hitters. Zach Tillery made the start. He gave up two runs on three hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out five. Jose Velez gave up two runs on four hits in his two innings. He struck out two. Luke Bard walked one and struck out one in his scoreless inning. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Alex Wimmers, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Danny Santana, Rochester Red Wings SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Louisville @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – RHP Ervin Santana Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – RHP JO Berrios Ft. Myers – Florida State League All Star Game Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:30 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. Remember to check back on Saturday morning for the updated minor league statistical leaderboard. Click here to view the article

I believe that the Midwest League All Star game is on Monday (or something like that), and I would assume that we'll see a few promotions. Hildenberger needs to be one of them.

such a great movie... I may have to watch all three tonight... after the game, of course.

Kepler is really smooth in the outfield. Arm is average in RF, but good for the other two spots. He won't be an MLB CF, but he can play the position well. He runs really well. I mean, he's got 7 triples and several stolen bases, so he could play CF. I do think over time, and as he gains more strength (which he will), LF would probably be his best position, but he'd have no problem in RF or any of those spots. I would add that if you've got Rosario, Buxton, Hicks (maybe a Hicks/Arcia platoon at some point), then playing Kepler at 1B is just what's best for the team. That's where his versatility is nice. If they have a need at 4 (and obviously DH would be a 5th) positions, he could be an option.

I posted this on the Twins Daily twitter feed early this morning: June Stats Max Kepler: .356/.451/.593 (1.044) with 3-2B, 4-3B, 1 HR, 11 RBI AB Walker: .338/.380/.738 (1.119) with 6-2B, 1-3B, 6 HR, 18 RBI

These rankings were arrived at a week ago. Kepler jumped about 5-6 spots to get to 9, but I was just mentioning this morning that if we all voted today, he could be as high as 4-5. I also think that he's likely to go to AAA, but if there was a need, he now joins Sano and Polanco as guys who could get called up at any time.

As we mentioned yesterday here at Twins Daily, we'll be having an event at CHS Field on July 3. I'm really looking forward to getting to the stadium that night. Should be a lot of fun!

I can't imagine a scenario where he wouldn't be.

The Lookouts just clinched a Southern League playoff berth last night, so I would expect it won't be long... though I also wouldn't be surprised if he comes straight up from AA too.

I'm good with trading Arcia, but not right now. He has no trade value.. Hopefully he can build some value up the rest of this season and have a strong September or something. Then they can actually maybe get something for him. He is out of options (so is Hicks) next year, so they'll have to make some big decisions on those guys. Also, they'll have to make 40-man roster decisions on Walker and Harrison (and maybe others). I doubt they'd add Ortiz, but I'm sure they'd be happy if he stayed around as a free agent again.

This is a tremendous article! Captures so much in it. Here are a couple of my thoughts for discussion: I don't know if he will for the rest of this year, but definitely the beyond. I don't know how much rope they'll give him in this first big league opportunity, but he's going to have to make some big-time offensive adjustments quickly to stick this year. Also, I get the idea behind Mauer to the Outfield, but I just can't see that. He is so stiff at 1B, I can't imagine him in the OF. It may be better than Willingham, but Rosario, Buxton and Hicks just sounds so much more appealing. That said, I get the thought that they need to make a spot for Sano. Also, Kepler is such a good corner outfielder that I think he should play out there if they did give up on Hicks as suggested. It's going to be interesting. It's funny how there seems to be this great depth right now, but somehow it always seems to become obvious when it needs to.

Short Answer: No. He's been unreal, and he's the focus of two more articles on Friday.

When I talked to Max for the May Hitter of the Month article, I asked him what he thought was his best position. He said, "Id put myself in one of the outfield corners." But he has the speed to be adequate in CF and obviously he can play 1B too. That might be his role in the big leagues, playing almost every day at 3-4 positions.

Baseball-Reference.

Kepler has been unbelievable since about 2 weeks after he came up to Chattanooga. He was player of the month for May (at Twins Daily, the Twins chose Trey Vavra, who was also terrific). He slowed a bit for a week or two in early June, but he has taken off again of late. Two straight 4-hit games will certainly help the numbers. But, he's got such a sweet swing and is a tremendous athlete.

In early February, we presented our Top 10 Minnesota Twins prospects. With the minor league seasons nearly half complete and the draft just completed, we thought it would be a good time to update our Top 10 lists. In the next two weeks, you’ll find that our rankings have changed in some ways. Some players have moved up. Others have struggled and moved down, or even out, of this list. Today, we start this series with a look at our choice for #10 Twins prospect, Alex Meyer.The Twins acquired the 6-9, hard-throwing right-hander in a November 2012 trade with the Washington Nationals. Denard Span went to the Nationals where, when healthy, he has been a force at the top of the team’s lineup. At the time, Meyer was viewed as a potential top of the rotation starter while many cautioned that he could wind up being a dominant reliever. Meyer’s career is at an interesting juncture right now. He is currently working out of the AAA Rochester bullpen after early-season struggles in the Red Wings starting rotation. It will be very interesting to see what the future holds for the obviously very talented flame-thrower. Alex Meyer - RHP Age: 25 (DOB: 1/3/90) 2015 Stats (AAA): 50.0 IP, 3-3, 5.76 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 56/30 K/BB ETA: 2015 2014 Preseason Ranking: 3, 2015 Preseason Ranking: 5 What's To Like It has been a difficult 2015 season for Meyer so far and yet, everything that we have liked about him in the past continues to be true. The talent that made him a first-round pick in 2011 in still there. Even through his 2015 struggles, he has 56 strikeouts in 50 innings. He has the ability to miss bats. He does so with a strong pitch mix. His fastball continues to sit 95 to 96 and touches 99 at times. He still has a very good, power slider. What's Left To Work On He was very strong for Rochester in 2014, and even then, he walked 4.4 batters per nine innings. In 2015, he has walked 5.4 per nine innings. It doesn’t matter how hard you throw, that won’t lend to much big league success. In 2014 in AAA, he gave up just eight hits per nine innings. To this point in 2015, he has allowed 10.4 hits per nine innings. In my opinion, after his rough start, an effort was being made to throw more strikes. That led to more hits allowed. However, the strategy makes sense. Get back to throwing strikes, gain confidence in your control, and then start working in the other pitches and worry about hitting corners. I also believe that Meyer needs to work on his confidence. He had a tough couple of months leading up to spring training and then some tough times during spring training, on and off the field. He did lack confidence through his struggles, as most would. There have always been questions about his ability to start. His 130.1 innings in 2014 was his career high. Of his seven starts this season, he completed six innings just three times. He completed seven innings once, just the second time in his four minor league seasons. What's Next In mid-May, the Twins and Meyer made the decision for him to move to the bullpen. At the time, he was 2-3 with a 7.09 ERA. In 39.1 innings, he had allowed 51 hits, walked 24 and struck out 41. Opponents were hitting .325/.418/.427 (.845) off of him. In his six games since moving to the bullpen, he is 1-0 with a 0.84 ERA. In 10.2 innings, he has given up seven hits, walked six and struck out 15. Opponents have hit .184/.311/.237 (.548) against him. He pitched three innings in two of those six outings. So, what’s next? In reality, the Twins have two options with two different timelines: 1.) They can give him one more shot to be a starter. He has made some improvements and maybe he can take that success back to the starting role. If that is the plan, he will have to get several more starts and return to the type of dominance that he showed in Rochester in 2014. He could be a September call up. 2.) The other option is to let him continue in the bullpen, pitching either one inning at a time or in long relief. If that is the decision, he could be up with the Twins very quickly. I think he would just need a few more weeks of work, learning how to prepare for coming out of the bullpen. Of course, the Twins have to account for the return of Ervin Santana as well as find a way to get back to 12 pitchers, but I think that Meyer could be up within a month. The more likely path to success for Meyer is in the bullpen. In that role, he can develop over time into a strong back-of-the-bullpen option with his velocity. The 25-year-old was only added to the Twins 40-man roster last November, so 2015 is only his first of three option years. They can afford to be patient. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw him much sooner than that. What do you think is the best course of action for Alex Meyer and also for the Minnesota Twins? Click here to view the article

I'm including the guys they drafted as I do believe that speaks to talent evaluation. If they didn't sign and went to school or there was some other reason, was the player at least worth the hassle? As for Hicks (Parmelee and several others yet to come), they can certainly continue to move up this list. It's part of why I didn't include the guys from the last 5 drafts. To be fair to this point, they should be placed in the range of the guys that haven't made it yet. It doesn't make sense to put Byron Buxton at #5 (or wherever) when he has only played in 3-4 games.