Seth Stohs

Corrected... meant 3rd "overall" pick... Yeah, the Twins have missed out on some guys, to be sure. But, obviously we're not looking at all teams. I'm guessing the Twins "success" rate over 50 drafts is pretty much in line with everybody else.

Yesterday, we began a series looking back and ranking the Minnesota Twins first-round picks all the way back to the first MLB draft in 1965. In Part 1 (31 through 53), there were a lot of interesting names, but very few who spent much time in the big leagues. Most from that list never made it to the big leagues. Today in Part 2 (21-30), we start to see some guys who may never have become stars, but did have roles on big league teams for a decent amount of time. You will recognize many of the names. A couple of these guys have a chance to continue to work their way up this list. If you want to look at the criteria was for being ranked or some of the background on this series, please click here to review.With that, here are my choices for 21-30: #30 – 1975 – Rick Sofield – SS A couple of weeks ago, we saw Rick Sofield coaching third base for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1975, he was the 13th overall pick in the draft out of high school in New Jersey. He played in 207 games for the Twins between 1979 and 1981. 130 of those games were in 1980. He played all three outfield positions. Combined, he hit .243/.293/.342 (.634) with 25 doubles and nine home runs. MLB WAR: -0.7. #29 – 2004 – Kyle Waldrop – RHP The Twins third first-round pick in 2004, a lanky right-hander from high school in Knoxville, Tennessee. Waldrop gradually worked his way up to Double-A before he needed shoulder surgery and missed the entire 2008 season. He returned as a bullpen arm and was successful. By the end of 2011, he earned a call up to the Twins. In 2012, he made the opening day roster and posted a 2.53 ERA. However, he fought more injuries including an elbow injury that led to Tommy John surgery. MLB WAR: 0.5 #28 – 2008 – Aaron Hicks – OF With the 14th pick in the 2008 draft, the Twins took Aaron Hicks out of high school in California. A great athlete, he was one of the Twins top prospects for several years. After struggling at some of the lower levels, Hicks put things together in 2012 in Double-A New Britain. He filled out the stat sheet, hitting .286/.384/.460 (.844) with 21 doubles, 11 triples, 13 homers and 32 stolen bases. That offseason, the Twins traded Denard Span and Ben Revere and Hicks won the centerfield job with a strong spring training in 2013. Unfortunately, he has yet to experience big league success. In parts of the past three seasons, he has hit .209/.293/.311 (.604) with 21 doubles and ten home runs. He is currently on the disabled list as Byron Buxton takes over in center field. MLB WAR: 0.9. #27 – 2006 – Chris Parmelee – OF/1B Parmelee was the 20th overall pick in the June, 2006 draft out of high school in California. The stocky hitter showed good power in the lower levels. He repeated in the Midwest League. He also repeated in New Britain. He posted an .801 OPS with the Rock Cats in 2011 and earned a September call up. He played in 21 games for the Twins and hit .355/.443/.592 (1.035 with six doubles and four home runs. Over the next three seasons with the Twins, he was unable to duplicate – or come anywhere near – those numbers. In 252 games, he hit .238/.304/.371 (.675). Parmelee became a free agent following the 2014 season and signed with the Orioles. Through 61 games with Norfolk (Triple-A), he was hitting .312/.381/.444 (.826) with 13 doubles and six homers. He was promoted to the Orioles on Tuesday and in his first game, he went 4-6 with two home runs. He was MLB WAR: 0.3 (could still increase) #26 – 1991 – Scott Stahoviak – 1B/3B Gary Gaetti left the Twins via free agency following the 1990 season. The Twins got a supplemental draft choice in 1991 and with the 27th overall pick, the Twins selected 1B/3B Scott Stahoviak out of Creighton University. The Twins had drafted him three years earlier out of high school in Illinois. He put up terrific minor league numbers before being called up to the Twins for 20 games in 1993. He played in 94 games for the Twins in 1995. His best year came in 1996 when he hit .284/.376/.469 (.845) in 130 games. He had 30 doubles and 13 home runs. The next year, he hit just .229/.301/.400 (.701) with 17 doubles and 10 homers in 91 games. He played in just nine games for the Twins in 1998 and that was it. MLB WAR: 1.0. #25 – 1965 – Eddie Leon – SS Eddie Leon was the ninth overall pick of the Twins in the first MLB draft in 1965. Unfortunately, he didn’t sign, choosing to stay at the University of Arizona. The next year, he was the third overall pick, by the Cubs, and again chose not to sign. In 1967, Cleveland made him their third round pick. He signed and debuted with the team in 1968. He went on to play in parts of eight seasons in the big leagues. In 1970, he played in 152 games. For his career, he hit .236/.296/.313 (.609) with 51 doubles, ten triples and 24 home runs. MLB WAR: (-1.1) #24 – 1987 – Willie Banks – RHP Banks was a highly-touted prep pitcher from New Jersey when the Twins made him the third overall pick of the 1987 draft. He dominated the lower levels of the minor leagues and was to Double-A by the time he was 20. He debuted with the Twins in 1991 with five games. He made 12 starts for the team in 1992. He went 11-12 with a 4.04 ERA in 30 starts in 1993. However, the Twins traded him to the Cubs following that season for Matt Walbeck and Dave Stevens. He spent time starting with the Dodgers and the Marlins, but after not playing in 1996, he returned as a bullpen arm. He spent over a year with the Yankees as well as time with the Diamondbacks. He resurfaced in the big leagues in 2001 and 2002 with the Red Sox. Overall, he went 33-39 with a 4.75 ERA over 610.1 big league innings. He spent a few seasons with Newark in the independent Atlantic League. MLB WAR: 1.1. #23 – 1991 – David McCarty – OF/1B McCarty was the Twins third overall pick in 1991 out of Stanford. He was thought to be an advanced bat who could move up quickly and take over for Kent Hrbek as the Twins first baseman for a long time. He made his Twins debut in 1993. In 98 games that year, he hit .214/.257/.286 with 15 doubles and two home runs. He played in just 69 more games for the Twins before being traded to Cincinnati in June of 1995 in exchange for lefty John Courtright who never posted an ERA below six in Double-A. McCarty stayed in the big leagues until 2005, a part-time player for the Giants, Mariners, Royals, Rays, A’s and Red Sox. He toyed with becoming a pitcher and got into just two games. He struck out four batters in 3.2 innings. MLB WAR: (-2.0) #22 – 1990 – Midre Cummings – OF The Twins got a supplemental first-round pick in 1990, 29th overall, for having lost Jeff Reardon to free agency. The Twins selected Miami prep outfielder Midre Cummings. He signed and hit .316 for the GCL Twins. In 1991, he hit .322 in the Midwest League. Following that season, the Twins traded him, along with Denny Neagle, to Pittsburgh in exchange for a season of John Smiley. Cummings debuted with the Pirates as a 21-year-old in 1993. He spent time in the big leagues, with five teams between then and 2001. He was primarily used as a pinch hitter and fourth outfielder through much of his career. After being released by the Red Sox late in spring training of 1999, the Twins signed him in mid-May. He played in 93 games for the Twins before they dealt him to Boston on August 31, 2000 for a minor leaguer. In 2001, he was on the Diamondbacks post-season roster and played in two games and scored two runs on the World Series championship team. He toiled in the minor leagues in 2002 and 2003, but he resurfaced with the Rays in 2004 and with the Orioles in 2005 before calling it a career. MLB WAR: 1.0. #21 – 2000 – Aaron Heilman – RHP The 2000 draft’s first round was not kind to the Twins. Adam Johnson was their first pick (at #2), and with the 31st pick, received as compensation for losing Mike Trombly to free agency, the Twins selected Heilman out of Notre Dame. He chose not to sign and was the 18th overall pick, by the Mets, in the 2001 draft. He debuted with the Mets in 2003 with 13 starts. He made just five starts for them in 2004. He made seven starts in 2005 before they shifted him to the bullpen where he worked in 46 games. He pitched in at least 70 games out of the bullpen for the next five years. He found a little bit of success which got him a nice free agent contract. He played for the Cubs and the Diamondbacks as well. MLB WAR: 1.8. So there you have it, Part 2 of my series on Twins first-round picks, ranking #21-30. We're starting to see some guys that maybe didn't (or haven't yet) distinguished themselves, but have spent a decent amount of time in the big leagues. Tomorrow, we'll continue the list with Part 3, which will be 11-20. Click here to view the article

It was an interesting day in the Minnesota Twins minor league system on Tuesday even though the Chattanooga Lookouts had an off day. The Ft. Myers Miracle had a Miracle Win in the bottom of the ninth. And, congratulations to Jake Mauer and his Cedar Rapids Kernels as they will head to the Midwest League playoffs for the third time in their three seasons as a Twins affiliate.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 6 Box Score Pat Dean has been tremendous for the Red Wings all season. However, on this night, he struggled. The left-hander gave up five runs on nine hits and a walk in five innings. Mark Hamburger came on and threw two scoreless innings. Ryan O’Rourke faced two batters. He struck out one, but the other homered. Cole Johnson made his AAA debut and recorded five outs, one on a strikeout. Reynaldo Rodriguez led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk and two RBI. Oswaldo Arcia went 1-3 with a walk and hit his first home run in the ninth inning. Ryan Wheeler added his third double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga Box Score No Game Scheduled. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Daytona 4 Box Score The Miracle were down 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth. The first two batters got out. Then things got crazy. Tanner Vavra was hit by a pitch, Engelb Vielma got on because of an error, and Zach Granite walked to load the bases. Next, Alex Swim then walked in a run to cut the deficit to one. After a pitching change, Marcus Knecht came up and hit a slow roller back to the pitcher. However, the throw one-hopped the first baseman. Vielma scored the tying run, and on the bobble, Zach Granite continued around third base and raced in to score the winning run. Swim went 2-4 with the walk and the seventh double of his season. He drove in two runs. Granite was 1-3 with two walks. Ryan Eades got the call to start this game on the mound. He gave up three runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings. He didn’t walk any and struck out seven. Brian Gilbert went 1.2 scoreless out of the bullpen. Matt Summers gave up one run on two hits in the top of the ninth inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Burlington 1 Box Score The offense didn’t show up for most of this game, but Felix Jorge was terrific and the Cedar Rapids Kernels will be going to the playoffs for the third time in three seasons as a Twins affiliate. Down 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth, the Kernels loaded the bases on singles by JJ Fernandez, Brian Navarreto and a TJ White in between. With two outs, Tanner English walked to score the tying run. Next, Nick Gordon worked a walk to score the go-ahead run. Felix Jorge was terrific. He went the first seven innings. He gave up just one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out five. Luke Bard came in and despite giving up three singles in the eighth, he did not allow a run. Once the team had the lead, Jake Mauer went to Trevor Hildenberger to close it out. Three batters later, Bard had improved to 4-0, Hildenberger had his seventh save, and Mauer had his third straight playoff berth with the Kernels. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Felix Jorge, Cedar Rapids Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Alex Swim, Ft. Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – TBD Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – LHP Brett Lee (vs Matt Tomshaw) Daytona @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Tuesday games. Click here to view the article

I didn't really factor in draft position, just first-round picks.

Just over one week ago, Major League Baseball’s annual first-year players draft began. The first MLB June draft was held in 1965. The Minnesota Twins have made a first-round selection in each of the previous 50 drafts. Lists are always fun, so today, I am going to start a series ranking the Twins first-round picks (with some exceptions, of course) by ranking #31-53! I am only going to include first-round draft picks selected in the top 32 picks. In some years, such as 2004, the Twins had five first-round picks, and three of them were taken before 32. All three of them will be included in this list. Also, I’m judging/ranking based on the player’s career, regardless of how much, if any, of that career was spent in a Twins uniform.Also, I am not going to rank the Twins first-round picks taken since 2010. Although several of them will likely turn into very good major leaguers, none of them has even played in Triple-A yet (though Byron Buxton now has two games with the Twins.). I’ll encourage you to think about where you would rank some of those players on this list. I would say that none of them would rank last on this list even if their career ended now. Those not included are: Alex Wimmers (2010), Levi Michael (2011), Byron Buxton (2012), JO Berrios (2012), Kohl Stewart (2013) and Nick Gordon (2014). Note – 2012 top pick Byron Buxton has already surpassed many players on this list, in case you were wondering. This year the Minnesota Twins had the sixth overall pick and selected lefty Tyler Jay. Hopefully, if someone ranks the Twins first-round pick in another 20 years, Jay will rank high on it. With all of that, let’s get to the rankings, starting with #53. #53 – 1979 – Kevin Brandt – OF The Twins selected a high school outfielder from Nekoosa, Wisconsin, with the 11th overall pick in the 1979 draft. He played 45 games with Elizabethton that summer. He played two more games with the E-Twins in 1980, and that was it. He was released. Fortunately, the Twins second- and third-round picks that year were Randy Bush and Tim Laudner. #52 – 1966 – Bob Jones – 3B With the 20th pick in the 1966 draft, the Twins drafted third baseman Bob Jones. He spent two years in the GCL, followed by a year in St. Cloud which was the Twins Low-A affiliate back then. In 1969, he played in 66 games for the High-A team of the Houston Astros. Overall, he hit .254/.335/.362 (.697) over those four years. #51 – 1974 – Ted Shipley – SS With the 14th pick in 1974, the Twins selected Vanderbilt shortstop Ted Shipley. He went directly to A-Ball and hit .288. He spent the next two seasons in Double-A, but hit a combined .215/.305/.288 (.593) in two seasons before being released. #50 – 2008 – Shooter Hunt – RHP The Twins received a supplemental first round pick (#31 overall) in 2008 for losing Torii Hunter via free agency. They used it on Tulane right-hander Shooter Hunt. Unfortunately, Hunt wasn’t able to control his big fastball or his plus-plus curve ball. He fought “Steve Blass” Disease for four minor league seasons. In 193 innings, he struck out 219 batters but walked 236. He just completed his second season as an assistant coach at Tulane. #49 – 1968 – Alexander Rowell – OF In 1968, the Twins used the 16th overall pick on an outfield from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He began at St. Cloud and hit .301 in 70 games. He split the 1969 season between High-A and Double-A. He hit just .188 in 28 games in Double-A Charlotte in 1969. In 1970, he played in two Double-A games. #48 – 1977 – Paul Croft – OF The Twins used the 15th overall pick in the 1977 draft on New Jersey prep outfielder Paul Croft. As a 17-year-old, he split that 1977 season between Elizabethton and Wisconsin Rapids (Low A). He did the same thing in 1978. He spent the next two seasons in Visalia (High A). That was it for his time with the Twins. He played two seasons of A ball with the Orioles and one season of Double-A ball with the Braves. #47 – 1998 – Ryan Mills – LHP Ryan Mills was a decorated and successful collegiate pitcher at Arizona State. He (and his father, who pitched in two games in the big leagues) was known for his great mechanics. The Twins got the lefty with the sixth overall pick in 1998. The Twins sent him straight to Ft. Myers in 1999 and he went 3-10 with an 8.87 ERA. In 2000, between Quad Cities and New Britain, he went 3-13 with a 4.75 ERA (0-7 with a 9.28 ERA in Double-A). He went 5-16 over the next two years in Double-A. He got two more years in Double-A, working out of the bullpen. He never pitched in the big leagues. #46 – 1999 – B.J. Garbe – OF The Twins had the fifth overall pick in 1999 and went with highly-touted high school outfielder B.J. Garbe. The Washington product hit .316 that summer at Elizabethton, but he never again hit over .242 in his six seasons in the Twins organization. The Twins sent him to his home state with the Mariners but he went back to Hi-A ball there and ended with a partial season in the Marlins organization. #45 – 1985 – Jeff Bumgarner – RHP The Twins took Bumgarner with the 13th pick in 1985 out of high school in Washington. After going 7-14 in Low A as a 19-year-old, the Twins pushed him to Double-A in 1987 where he went 13-10. He then returned to Double-A the next year and went 3-11, and even made seven starts in Triple-A (going 2-3). After that 1988 season, the Twins trade Bumgarner and two other minor leaguers to the Mets for 2B Wally Backman. He never again pitched in Triple-A. #44 – 1979 – Mike Sodders – 3B The Twins used the 11th overall pick in the 1979 draft on third baseman Mike Sodders from Arizona State. He hit .179 in Wisconsin Rapids during that 1981 season. The following year, he hit .251 in 61 Double-A games and then hit .213 at Triple-A Toledo in 27 games. He went back to Double-A in 1983 and hit just .231 in 67 games before the team let him go. He spent the rest of the 1983 season and then the 1984 season with the White Sox. #43 – 2003 – Matt Moses – 3B The 21st pick in the 2003 draft was Matt Moses, a third baseman from Virginia known for his bat. Almost immediately, they learned that he had a hole in his heart that needed surgery to fix. He would struggle through his time with the Twins, having a solid season before going into a slump. In 73 games at Ft. Myers in 2005, he hit .306/376/.453 (.829) before moving up to Double-A for the second half. He then hit a combined .238/.293/.364 (.657) over parts of the next five seasons in Double-A. He had a 48 game stint in Triple-A in 2007. He’s been out of baseball since 2009. #42 – 2008 – Carlos Gutierrez – RHP The Twins lost Torii Hunter to free agency after the 2007 season. They received the Angels first-round pick and a supplemental pick (Hunt, mentioned above). With the 27th pick (from Angels), the Twins selected Miami’s closer, Carlos Gutierrez. He pitched for the 2009 Puerto Rico WBC team. The Twins made him a starter which lasted a couple of years. He was solid as a starter in Ft. Myers, but never found success as a starter in Double-A. In just over two seasons in Rochester, he posted a 4.59 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He then spent a season in the Cubs system and hasn’t played the last two years. #41 – 1971 – Dale Soderholm – SS The 21st pick in the 1971 draft was Miami high school shortstop Dale Soderholm. He sped through the minor leagues and was at Triple-A as a 21-year-old. He played in 308 games in Triple-A, in a bit of a utility role, over five seasons, and he hit just .219/.275/.318. #40 – 1988 – Johnny Ard – RHP The Twins selected right-handed pitcher Johnny Ard with the 20th overall pick in 1988 from Manatee Junior College in Sarasota, Florida. In that season, he went 4-1 with a 1.97 ERA in E-Town and then 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA in Kenosha (Low A). In Hi-A Visalia in 1989, he went 13-7 with a 3.29 ERA. Then in Double-A Orlando in 1990, he went 12-9 with a 3.79 ERA. Following the season, the Twins traded him to the Giants in exchange for reliever Steve Bedrosian who played a role in the Twins 1991 World Series championship team. He pitched well in Double-A, but he really struggled in two seasons at Triple-A. He fought injuries and never reached the big leagues. #39 – 2000 – Adam Johnson – RHP The Twins reached a predraft agreement with Cal State-Fullerton righty Adam Johnson with the #2 overall pick. He debuted with the Twins in mid-2001 and he went 1-2 with an 8.28 ERA in 25 innings. He pitched in two more games for the Twins in 2003, giving up seven earned runs in just 1.1 innings. Throw in there a rant at the manager for being sent to the minor leagues in spring training, and it’s fair to say that the Adam Johnson era wasn’t great for the Twins. MLB WAR: -1.1. #38 – 1969 – Paul Powell – OF The Twins went to Arizona State for their first-round pick in 1969. Paul Powell was the seventh overall pick. He was sent straight to Double-A and after just 54 games, he went to Triple-A. He spent 1960 posting an .835 OPS in Double-A Evansville. He began the 1971 season with the Twins. In 20 games, he hit .161 in 31 at- bats including his only major league home run. After the 1971 season, he spent four seasons in the Dodgers organization and got 11 at-bats with the big club. MLB WAR: -0.1. #37 – 1976 – Jamie Allen – 3B The Twins used the 10th pick in the 1976 draft on a high school kid from Washington named Jamie Allen. He was a third baseman. He did not sign, choosing to instead go to Arizona State. Three years later, he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the second round. In 1983, he played in 86 games for the Mariners and hit .223/.309/.304 (.613) with 10 doubles and four home runs. He never played another big league game. MLB WAR: -0.4. #36 – 1970 – Bob Gorinski – SS The Twins selected a high school shortstop from Pennsylvania with the 22nd overall pick in 1970. He didn’t hit for average, though he showed good power. In 1971 in Wisconsin Rapids, he hit .259 with a .298 OBP, but he hit 25 doubles and 30 home runs. Then next season, at Lynchburg, he hit 23 homers. Over the next two years at Double-A Orlando, he hit 31 homers. He spent a couple more years in Triple-A. Finally, at age 25 in 1977, he played in 54 games for the Twins and hit .195/.226/.322 (.548) with four doubles, three home runs and 22 RBI. MLB WAR: -0.6. #35 – 1982 – Bryan Oelkers – LHP The Twins had the fourth overall pick in 1982 and selected Wichita State lefty Bryan Oelkers. They pushed him up to the big leagues quickly. In 1983, he went 0-5 with an 8.64 ERA and a 2.13 WHIP in 10 games (8 starts). He pitched in 35 games for Cleveland as a 25-year-old in 1986. One pick later, the Mets selected Dwight Gooden. MLB WAR: -0.9. #34 – 1973 – Eddie Bane – LHP The Twins went with a pitcher from Arizona State with the 11th overall pick in 1973. On July 4th of that year, the Twins called him up to make his big league debut. The 21-year-old gave up one run in seven innings. He went 0-5 with a 4.92 ERA that season with the Twins, pitching primarily out of the bullpen. He returned to the big leagues in 1975 for four games and then made 15 starts for the Twins in 1976. That was it for his big league time. He played through 1980 with the White Sox, Royals and Cubs. He was the scouting director for the Angels from 2004-2010 and has been working as a special assistant for the Red Sox since 2012. MLB WAR: -0.9. #33 – 1986 – Derek Parks – C The Twins drafted a high school pitcher from California and turned him into a catcher. He was known for his glove, but in the minors he did show glimpses of power. He made his Twins debut with seven games in 1992. He played in seven more games in 1993. He got into 31 games in 1994. In those 45 games, he hit .200/.258/.278 with six doubles and one home run. That was it for his playing career. Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly is his son-in-law. MLB WAR: -0.5. #32 – 1978 – Lenny Faedo – SS Faedo was the 16th overall pick in the 1978 draft out of high school in Tampa. He debuted with the Twins in 1980 and played in 174 games for the Twins over the next five seasons. In 1983, he played in 90 games. He hit .251/.284/.316 (600) with 17 doubles and five home runs in his career. MLB WAR: -0.2. #31 – 1992 – Dan Serafini – LHP The southpaw was the 26th overall pick in 1992 out of high school in California. He debuted with the Twins in 1996 and pitched with the team through 1998. The next two seasons, he split time between the Cubs, Padres and Pirates. He resurfaced with the Reds in 2003. Then after time in Japan, he pitched in three games (and got a total of one out) with the Rockies in 2007). He kept playing, as recently as 2013, in Mexico. MLB WAR: -0.7. So there is Part 1 of my ranking of the Twins first-round draft picks since the draft's inception in 1965. Part 1 is a friendly reminder that the June draft is not a perfect science. I'll be back in the next few days to show that, in fact, the Twins have gotten it right on some occasions. Click here to view the article

David Hurlbut did. I'll post it in the Minor League Award document shortly.

On Sunday, Byron Buxton made his major league debut, the goal of every single minor league player. There were a lot of strong hitting performances on the day, lots of three-hit games. A few of the Twins top pitching prospects were on the mound Sunday. Two of them didn’t get through the fourth inning, but one had a tremendous start. To find out who performed well, you’ll just have to keep reading.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 1 Box Score Taylor Rogers has continued to move up the farm system at a steady pace. At each level, he has had a couple of clunkers, but for the most part, he has been very good for the Red Wings. On Sunday, he posted one of his best starts of the year. The southpaw went eight innings. He gave up one run on six hits. He walked none and struck out eight. He improved to 6-4 and reduced his ERA to 3.23. He needed just 92 pitches and 63 of them were strikes. AJ Achter came on for the ninth and retired the three batters he faced to record his tenth save of the season. The Red Wings needed that performance as the offense didn’t provide much support. They had just four hits in the game. The big hit came from Danny Ortiz in the fourth inning. He drove in two runs with his 17th double of the season. Argenis Diaz recorded his sixth double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Birmingham 3 Box Score There was a scary moment in the bottom of the third inning. JO Berrios started for the Lookouts and had given up just one hit over three shutout innings. On the final out of that third inning, he took a liner to the shin. He made the play, but he left the game with a leg contusion. Reports following the game indicated that he was fine and wouldn’t miss any time. DJ Baxendale went to the mound and threw the next two innings. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks, though he did strike out five. Madison Boer gave up two unearned runs on two hits and two walks in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Jake Reed got the next four outs in order. JT Chargois recorded his third save since his call up to Chattanooga. He struck out two in an inning. Mike Gonzales went 2-4, but Max Kepler had the big hit. Kepler went 1-2 with two walks and a two-run homer. It was his third homer of the year. Jorge Polanco led off and went 0-1, but he walked three times. Niko Goodrum made the start in center field for the Lookouts. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Bradenton 6 (11 innings) Box Score Yet another extra innings game for the Miracle, and this one unfortunately ended in a loss. Stephen Gonsalves had a rough one in his second FSL start. In just 3.2 innings, he gave up three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out two. Before he left the game, he issued two straight bases-loaded walks. He was replaced by Matt Summers who gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits. He walked one and struck out one. Corey Williams came on and got the next seven outs without allowing a run. Todd Van Steensel struck out two over his two scoreless innings. Luke Westphal gave up a run on three hits in the bottom of the 11th to take the loss. Mitch Garver led the offense. He went 3-4 with his ninth double. Alex Swim went 2-5. Marcus Knecht’s tenth double drove in two runs. Bryan Haar added a double, his thirteenth. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Lansing 3 Box Score Good things come in threes, right? Well, four Kernels hitters had three hits in this game to help the team to a nice win on Sunday afternoon. Sam Gibbons got the start and got through seven innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and two walks. Mike Theofanopoulos gave up a run in his inning. He struck out two. Trevor Hildenberger struck out one in a perfect inning. Leadoff man Edgar Corcino went 3-4. Alex Real went 3-3 with a walk and his third double. Rafael Valera was 3-3 with a walk. Tanner English led the way. He went 3-4 with his sixth triple and his second home run. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Taylor Rogers, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tanner English, Cedar Rapids Kernels MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester – No Game Scheduled Chattanooga @ Birmingham (11:30 am CST) – RHP Greg Peavey Daytona @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – LHP Mat Batts Lansing @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 CST) – RHP Jared Wilson Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Sunday games. Click here to view the article

If he ever has an MLB role, it'd be long relief. But, that it's his fourth start says nothing about him having a future as a starter.

To be fair, and accurate, Byron Buxton is as talented as Bryce Harper, but Buxton is a completely different person.

Yeah, the Oliveros thing is just a bullpen game. Not a big deal.

First time I went to Beloit was 2010. Since then, I've made one or two trips to the Twins Midwest League affiliate. That first year, I saw Brian Dozier, Aaron Hicks... and Mike Trout was the Cedar Rapids CF. He stood out on the field. No question he was the best player on the field. In 2012, I saw Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario and later Kennys Vargas. In 2013, I went to Cedar Rapids for their home opener. My assumption is that Buxton would be fun to watch, a great athlete, but I went down there assuming that Sano would remain my #1 Twins prospect. 3 days later (or maybe even quicker, it was clear that Buxton was the best prospect in the organization... In fact, in my eyes, I thought that Buxton was a better prospect at the same stage than Trout. People hear that and think that means that he will be a better player than Trout. Well, that's not how prospects worth. No one would have anticipated Trout becoming what he has. But from a talent standpoint, Buxton is right there. I'm excited about this. I think defensively he can be a difference-maker. Add in what he can do offensively, and it's exciting. I'm tempering my hopes for what he'll be in 2015 with the Twins, but this will be a good thing for him.

I'd expect Molitor to throw him right into the leadoff spot. I would then push Dozier to the three spot, and gasp, Mauer to the six hole. Buxton CF Rosario RF Dozier 2B Plouffe 3B Mauer 1B Vargas DH Escobar SS Suzuki C Robinson LF That's what I'd do. We'll see what Molitor does.

The strikeouts continue, but man, so does the production!

High ankle sprains take a long time to heal. But, it's been almost two months. As Bob said above, he should be back soon.

He's expected to land in Texas at about 11:30 and the game is at 2. He should be in the lineup.

There was a pretty exciting transaction on Saturday that you’ve likely already heard about. Chattanooga continued its winning ways even without the man at the top of their lineup. They got big production from their stars, and Niko Goodrum made his AA debut. There were two very strong starts in the organization on Saturday as well. Check out the rest of the news and notes from Saturday in the Twins farm system.To see how the Twins affiliates are doing in the standings and who the statistical leaders are throughout the system, click here. TRANSACTIONS I’m not sure if you’ve heard yet or not… but the Twins promoted an outfielder named Byron Buxton from AA Chattanooga to the big leagues. A corresponding move is expected to be made on Sunday morning. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 5 Box Score Jason Wheeler has really struggled, especially of late, with the Red Wings. He didn’t have a great day on Saturday, but he really helped out his Rochester teammates. The southpaw gave up five runs (4 earned) on 11 hits. He walked one and struck out four. Most important, he threw all eight innings, giving the bullpen a full day off a day after a bullpen game. The Red Wings offense had seven hits, but they were able to score just one run. James Beresford added another two hits to make him the fifth Twins minor leaguer to surpass the 60 hits mark this season. The lone Red Wings run came on a solo home run by Reynaldo Rodriguez, his fourth homer of the season. Danny Santana went 1-4 with two strikeouts. Oswaldo Arcia went 1-4 with a strikeout. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Birmingham 0 Box Score Lost in the excitement of the Byron Buxton promotion, the Lookouts still had to play a game on Saturday night. Alex Wimmers was up to it. The right-hander gave up just two hits over 7.2 shutout innings. He walked two and struck out nine for the win. Jake Reed came on and gave up a hit before the final out of the eighth inning was recorded. Zack Jones struck out one in a perfect ninth inning. Jorge Polanco took over Buxton’s leadoff spot in the lineup. He went 2-4 and stole his 13th base. Niko Goodrum batted second and DHd. He went 2-4 with his first AA stolen base. Miguel Sano batted third. He went 1-2 with a walk, a sacrifice fly, his 12th double and his fifth stolen base. Adam Brett Walker hit an eighth-inning, two-run homer in the 8th inning to give the lookouts some insurance. Max Kepler took over in centerfield. He walked twice in the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Bradenton 3 Box Score The Miracle got seven hits and five walks, but they were only able to score two runs. Chad Christensen went 1-3 and had a sacrifice fly. Marcus Knecht went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI. Zach Granite was 1-3 and walked twice. The lanky right-hander went the first 5.2 innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked three and struck out four. Brian Gilbert came on and struck out two in 1.1 hitless innings. He did walk one. DJ Johnson made his return to the Miracle with two perfect innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Lansing 1 Box Score The Kernels had lost three in a row and seven of their last eight games. What they needed was a strong start, and Zach Tillery did just that. The right-hander started and gave up just two hits and a walk over six shutout innings. He struck out five. Miles Nordgren came on and gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. Cameron Booser came on for the ninth. He had a strikeout, but he also walked two batters. Later, there was an error, but he ended the inning having allowed just one run (unearned). Tillery improved to 4-1. Booser recorded his sixth save. The Kernels got three runs in the first inning and then held on. Edgar Corcino led off with his second triple. Nick Gordon singled him in. Gordon advanced to third base on a Zack Larson double. Brett Doe singled to left to score Gordon, and Larson scored on a wild pitch. That was it. Gordon went 2-4 in the game. Brian Navarreto went 2-3 including his third double of the season. Larson’s double was his 13th of the year. 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 – Adam Brett Walker, Chattanooga Lookouts SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (12:05 CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers Chattanooga @ Birmingham (3:00 CST) – JO Berrios Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (12:00 CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves Lansing @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

The minor league seasons are about half over. Here is a look at the updated Twins minor league standings and statistical leaders through Friday, June 12. Feel free to discuss.STANDINGS Here is a quick look at where the teams rank in their divisions as the first half of three of the Twins affiliates seasons come to a close very soon. Rochester is 31-29, 1-6 since last week. A week ago, they were 1.5 games ahead of Scranton/Wilkes Barre. Now, they are 3.5 games behind them. Chattanooga is also 36-24. They went 6-1 in the last week and have opened up a four-game lead over Tennessee. Their magic number to clinch a playoff berth is just five. Ft. Myers has gone 6-0 since last week. They are 31-30 and ten games back of Charlotte. Despite a great week, they were eliminated from playoff contention. Cedar Rapids is 36-25. They are 4.5 games behind Quad Cities. They won just one of six games played this week However, their magic number to clinch a playoff spot is just five. HITTERS For batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, IsoD and IsoP, we used a minimum of 160 plate appearances. Plate Appearances: Byron Buxton (268), Zach Granite (255), Travis Harrison (243), Jorge Polanco (241), Niko Goodrum/Nick Gordon (240) Batting Average: Trey Vavra (.346), James Beresford (.324), Alex Swim (.317), Jorge Polanco (.314), Max Kepler (.298) On-Base Percentage: Trey Vavra (.406), James Beresford (.367), Travis Harrison (.366), Zach Granite (.364), Miguel Sano (.357) Isolated Discipline: Mitch Garver (.135), Tanner English (.117), Niko Goodrum (.109), Travis Harrison (.105), Miguel Sano (.102) Slugging Percentage: Adam Brett Walker (.567), Trey Vavra (.538), Miguel Sano (.495), Byron Buxton (.489), Danny Ortiz (.478), Max Kepler (.471) Isolated Power (IsoP): Adam Brett Walker (.309), Miguel Sano (.240), Byron Buxton (.206), Danny Ortiz (.202), Trey Vavra (.192) OPS: Trey Vavra (.944), Adam Brett Walker (.879), Miguel Sano (.852), Byron Buxton (.840), Max Kepler (.825),Danny Ortiz (.804) Hits: Alex Swim/Jorge Polanco (71), Byron Buxton (67), Zach Granite (65), James Beresford (59), Chad Christensen/Max Kepler (57) 2B: Max Kepler (19), Danny Ortiz (16), Adam Brett Walker/Travis Harrison (15), Reynaldo Rodriguez (13), Three with (12). 3B: Byron Buxton (12), Max Murphy (6), Tanner English (5), Aaron Hicks/TJ White/Max Kepler (4) HR: Adam Brett Walker (16), Miguel Sano (11), Danny Ortiz (7), Trey Vavra/Josmil Pinto/Byron Buxton (6) Runs: Byron Buxton (44), Adam Brett Walker/Miguel Sano (41), Zach Granite (39), Max Murphy/Nick Gordon (37), Travis Harrison (36) RBI: Adam Brett Walker (51), Byron Buxton (37), Miguel Sano (36), Danny Ortiz (34), Zack Larson (33), Trey Vavra/Michael Gonzales (28) SB: Byron Buxton (20), Tanner English (19), Zach Granite/Nick Gordon/Engelb Vielma (14), Jorge Polanco (12). STARTING PITCHERS (>49 IP) Innings: Taylor Rogers/JO Berrios (75.2), Tyler Duffey (75.0), Pat Dean (67.0), Greg Peavey (65.1) ERA: Stephen Gonsalves (1.49), Mat Batts (2.01), Chih-Wei Hu (2.10), Felix Jorge (2.57), Pat Dean (2.69), Ryan Eades (2.97) WHIP: Stephen Gonsalves (0.86), Felix Jorge (0.94), Chih-Wei Hu/Mat Batts (1.06), Pat Dean (1.16), JO Berrios (1.19) K/9: Stephen Gonsalves (11.8), JO Berrios (9.8), Tyler Duffey (8.8), Mat Batts (8.5), Chih-Wei Hu (8.2) BB/9: Felix Jorge (1.7), Greg Peavey (1.8), Aaron Slegers/Pat Dean//Tyler Duffey (1.9), Mat Batts (2.0) Strikeouts: JO Berrios (82), Stephen Gonsalves (79), Tyler Duffey (73), Alex Meyer (56), Todd Van Steensel (54) Wins: Stephen Gonsalves (7-1), JO Berrios (7-3), Jared Wilson (6-1), 4 with 5 Wins RELIEF PITCHERS (>19 IP, Games: AJ Achter (25), Alex Muren/Brandon Peterson/JT Chargois/Todd Van Steensel (21), Madison Boer (20). Innings: Todd Van Steensel/Alex Muren/Zach Tillery (36.1), Randy LeBlanc (36.0), Madison Boer (34.0), Mike Theofanopoulos (32.2), Trevor Hildenberger (32.1) ERA: Trevor Hildenberger (0.56), Brandon Peterson (0.85), Cameron Booser (1.40), Alex Muren (1.73), Randy LeBlanc (1.75), JT Chargois (1.83) WHIP: Trevor Hildenberger (0.62), AJ Achter (0.64), Brandon Peterson (0.92), Alex Muren (0.99), Zack Jones (1.00), Tim Shibuya (1.01) K/9: Cameron Booser (13.7), Todd Van Steensel (13.4), Brandon Peterson (12.5), Trevor Hildenberger (11.7), Lester Oliveros (11.3), Zack Jones (10.8) BB/9: Trevor Hildenberger (1.4), AJ Achter (1.7), Tim Shibuya (1.8), Lester Oliveros/Zack Jones/Alex Muren (2.7) Saves: AJ Achter (9), Zack Jones (8), Todd Van Steensel (7), Trevor Hildenberger/Michael Tonkin/JT Chargois (6) There you have it. The Twins Minor League Leader Board through Friday, June 12. What are your thoughts? What surprised you? Click here to view the article

It was last night, so yeah, 13... and Reusse predicted June 15th or something like that, so that's next Monday. Could be interesting

The key is to not to compare him to Berrios. Berrios was pretty polished. Stewart has more to learn, maybe more upside, but a lower floor. It'll take longer.