Seth Stohs

http://www.startribune.com/home-groan-twins-have-trouble-drafting-and-developing-starting-pitchers/386722261/ LaVelle Neal wrote an article on the Twins struggled drafting starting pitchers (or signing international free agents). He reminds us of many names that have come through the system. It was interesting to see that the Twins have drafted and signed the same number of Starters who have 10 WAR as the Royals and the Tigers. There is some optimism as it relates to some recent signings and draft picks.

I don't like that particular example... Manship left the Twins and went to Colorado for a year and to the Phillies for a year. Cleveland was three years later, he was 30 and likely learned a ton in between. I'm not saying that the Twins were right in keeping him starting rather than moving him to the bullpen but there are too many other factors in this example. And, you can find examples in every organization or misses. I'm saying I would trade bullpen arms that they can and aren't part of the future for C prospects, if they can... and then hope one or two becomes something surprising, someone that other organization regrets giving up.

It's underrated... no question, but that's the big difference between potentially a big impact player and a prospect. Because of his age and being a 5-year college guy, and a reliever, adn a side-winder, he isn't going to be the type to show up real high on prospect lists.

Three Red Wings participated in the AAA All-Star game on Wednesday night in Charlotte. Kohl Stewart was on the mound attempting to duplicate Stephen Gonsalves’s Tuesday night performance. He got a lot of support from his offense. The Kernels put up big offensive numbers in the suburbs of Cleveland. Elizabethton powered its way to a win. It was a busy day in the organization, so continue on to read much more. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Kohl Stewart) Three Red Wings participated in the AAA All-Star game on Wednesday night in Charlotte. Kohl Stewart was on the mound attempting to duplicate Stephen Gonsalves’s Tuesday night performance. He got a lot of support from his offense. The Kernels put up big offensive numbers in the suburbs of Cleveland. Elizabethton powered its way to a win. It was a busy day in the organization, so continue on to read much more. If you missed it, here is the Twins minor league leaderboard through Tuesday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester Box Score While the majority of the Red Wings team remains on their All-Star break, three members of the roster were on the International League roster for the AAA All-Star Game. Lefty Jason Wheeler was given the start against the Pacific Coast League All-Stars. He gave up a double in the first inning but was able to get out of it without allowing a run. In the 2nd, he gave up a single which was soon followed by a home run by Travis Taijeron. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in his two innings. He struck out one. Jose Berrios pitched the fourth inning. He gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning. Jorge Polanco was the one hitter in the International League team. He had an infield single in his first at-bat. He doubled in his second at-bat. He ended his evening 2-3. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 11, Tennessee 1 Box Score On Wednesday afternoon, Kohl Stewart was on the mound looking to give the Lookouts a second straight quality start. Stewart was up to the challenge. He gave up one run on seven hits over the first seven innings. He walked three and struck out three. He improved to 3-4 with a 3.74 ERA with the Lookouts. Zack Jones came on and was again very good. He threw two more shutout innings and had one strikeout. He now has thrown eight scoreless innings since his return to the organization. He has given up two hits, walked two and struck out 11. The offense came through to help as well. The top three hitters in the lineup each had three hits. Zach Granite was 3-5 with two runs scored. Niko Goodrum also was 3-5 and scored twice. Ryan Walker hit third and was 3-4 with a walk. He added his fifth double, scored three runs and stole his seventh base. The RBI production came from the five through seven spots in the lineup. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Tampa 8 Box Score The Miracle fell behind early and were unable to come back. Keaton Steele made the start. He gave up six runs on ten hits in just three innings. He walked two and struck out two. Michael Theofanopoulos gave up one run on two hits and a walk over the next two innings. He struck out one. Nick Anderson went the next two innings. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk. He struck out four. John Curtiss struck out one in the final inning. Alex Perez went 2-4 with his fifth double. Daniel Kihle was also 2-4. Nick Gordon (17), Chris Paul (13), Trey Vavra (12) and Brian Navarreto (5) each hit a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Lake County 4 Box Score Cody Stashak was strong again, and the Kernels offense provided plenty of offense, half of the runs coming on one blast. Stashak improved to 6-5 with a 3.16 ERA. In six innings, he gave up two runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out five. Two of the hits he gave up came off the bat of a rehabbing Michael Brantley. Andrew Vasquez pitched the seventh. The left-hander gave up two runs on a hit and a walk. He struck out two. Williams Ramirez picked up his second save. He walked one and struck one out over two scoreless innings. Jermaine Palacios went 3-5 with his eighth double. Luis Arraez went 3-5 with his 20th double. Zander Wiel went 2-4 with a walk. Kevin Garcia was 2-4 with his third double. Casey Scoggins added his second double. Jaylin Davis was 2-4 with his second double. However, the big blast came in the fifth went Davis launched his first Midwest League home run, a grand slam that put the Kernels ahead for good. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 8, Danville 2 Box Score The E-Twins got off to a quick start with a couple of big home runs early. It was plenty of offense on this night. In the top of the first inning, Lewin Diaz hit a two-run homer, his third of the season. In the top of the 2nd inning, Travis Blankenhorn - who had doubled ahead of the Diaz homer - hit a three-run homer to give Elizabethton a 5-1 lead. Alex Kiriloff also had two hits including his fourth double. Trey Cabbage went 1-2 with two walks. Brandon Lopez was 1-3 with two walks. Tyler Beardsley went the first four innings. He gave up no runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out three. Austin Tribby struck out three over the next three innings. He gave up just one hit. Alex Robinson threw the final two innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out four. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Orioles 7 Box Score Bo Hellquist was again on the mound for the Twins in this one. The lefty gave up one run on four hits over four innings. He struck out four without issuing a walk. Daniel Martinez worked the next two innings. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk. He struck out two. Callan Pearce is now up to eight shutout innings on the season after throwing two more scoreless innings on Wednesday. The Twins went into the ninth inning with a one-run lead. Closer Garrett Kelly came on and was charged with five runs on four hits and a walk. Both of the outs he got came on strikeouts. Onas Farfan came on with two on. Both inherited runners scored but he did get the final out. Joe Cronin went 2-4. Aaron Whitefield went 1-3 with a walk, his second double, an RBI and his fifth stolen base. Manuel Guzman was also 1-3 with a walk. Kolton Kendrick walked twice. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Kohl Stewart, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jaylin Davis, Cedar Rapids Kernels THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Norfolk @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Pat Dean Mobile @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - LHP David Hurlbut Ft. Myers @ Tampa (6:00 CST) - LHP Randy Rosario Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (10:00 am CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells Elizabethton @ Greeneville (6:00 CST) - RHP Domenick Carlini GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00 am CST) - No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday's games. View full article

#FreeHildy might be easier.

The comp Jeremy always uses for Wade is David DeJesus, so he'll have some extra base pop, but he won't be a big power hitter. If he's Joe Mauer 2.0, we should all be incredibly thankful. Most likely a 4th OF type with good OBP skills.

If he pitches like he has the last two times out, he'll be up by next June.

No.

I was more impressed by the K rates of the starters. To have four guys with K/9 over 9 at this late stage of the season is unusual, and Tyler Jay is close too.

I wrote several articles on how Ramos and Mauer could co-exist. Here's one, though I know I wrote about it several times: http://www.startribune.com/how-can-ramos-make-the-roster/89545302/

Very similar. But then again, all side-winding types get compared to just a handful of guys. Hildenberger throws a little bit harder and has more pitches.

That was the only trade that I really, really was "upset" about. I didn't like the Hu/Jepsen trade, but taking a step back, it wasn't horrible. Ramos was easily a top 100 guy, a catcher no less, who had enough bat to DH and allow Mauer more time at DH, and he had already had some quality big league success, even if only 8-10 games. In other words, he was pretty much ready.

I'm generally the prospect guy, and don't like trading prospects, but as much as I hated giving up Hu, I get that you have to give up something to get something. Jepsen has been a 'solid' MLB reliever for several years. I get that the Twins played above their heads most of last year, however, they had a shot to make the playoffs, so I can't criticize going after a bullpen arm. Even if they didn't make the playoffs, they were in the race until the final weekend. If this and If that, but they had a real playoff shot last year, even if it wasn't "real" in many people's eyes. They didn't give up one of their top 10 pitchers or top 5-7 pitching prospects to get it.

I mean, I don't know that he's been 'unsung.' He was twice the Twins Daily minor league RP of the month last year and generally in the top 5. He was our choice for RP of the Year last year which had a story, and he's on the cover of the Prospect Handbook that Jeremy, Cody and I put together. He's got a 5-6 page story in there with lots of quotes about his background, pitching and more. And, he was just named RP of the month in June. So, I don't think he's unsung around here. Also, for a side-winder, he throws pretty hard, hitting 92-94 quite often. He's also got a very good slider that moves the other way. He's got a changeup. He's got confidence in all of his pitches and angles, and he throws a ton of strikes.

To me, the trade reinforces that they should be looking to trade Fernando Abad and Brandon Kintzler this month and see what they can get back. Maybe someone else's mid-20s starting pitching prospect in return, and then maybe that guy can take off and become a Top 15 Twins prospect.

I don't think anyone expected Jepsen to pitch like he did in 2015 for the Twins, but I think it was very fair to expect that they would get what he has always been, which is a reliable 7th inning guy who could also work some 8th innings. I struggle with this one because I truly like the idea of getting a guy that you have control of for more than just the two months. I hated the trade at the time, but I get it, and Hu would likely still be behind Berrios, Jay, Gonsalves in Twins prospect rankings and probably behind (or near) the likes of Felix Jorge, Fernando Romero and Kohl Stewart. Again, not saying it was the right move, but when you add in The Expensive Three (Santana, Nolasco and Hughes, who are all still signed for awhile), Milone, Duffey, Gibson, we're talking about a starting pitcher who was somewhere around 9 or 10 in the pecking order. Like I said, I still hated the trade, but I can't say that I completely disagree with the idea of getting a guy with extra control. The trade worked well for the Twins in 2015, and it isn't unfair for the Twins to have expected some level of competence from Jepsen in 2016. EDIT: I was just curious where Chih-Wei Hu ranks among Rays prospects by various sources, just to try to put some context into this for myself. For me, I ranked Hu about 15 among Twins prospects at midseason last year, which was higher than most. He was outside the Top 20 (or even 30) for many. 2016 rankings with Rays (a generally-respected system): Keith Law - 8 MLB.com - 12 Rays Index - 12 FanGraphs - 13 Baseball America - 15 John Sickels - 20

It’s been almost a month since we last updated you on the Twins Minor League Leaderboard. Some of the names atop these lists have remained while new names are popping up as well. We will also update you on how the Twins six affiliates are faring in their leagues. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs It’s been almost a month since we last updated you on the Twins Minor League Leaderboard. Some of the names atop these lists have remained while new names are popping up as well. We will also update you on how the Twins six affiliates are faring in their leagues. First, here is how the Twins’ affiliates currently stack up in their leagues. Rochester is 52-40. The Red Wings are 4.5 games back of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in the International League North Division. They’re in third place in the division, just ½ game back of Lehigh Valley for second place. After finishing the first half with a 36-34 record, which was 10 games back in the division (behind Jackson), the Lookouts look to improve in the second half and claim a playoff berth. In the second half, Chattanooga is 11-8 which is tied for the Southern League North Division lead with Montgomery, a half-game ahead of Jackson. Ft. Myers is 12-7 in the second half. That puts them one game ahead of Jupiter in the Florida State League South Division standings. Cedar Rapids is 9-10 in the second half. That is currently tied for fifth in the Midwest League Western Division, five games back of Clinton. However, they are just one game behind three teams who are tied for second place. Elizabethton is currently 7-11 which is four games back of the Johnson City Cardinals in the Appalachian League West Division. They are just a game out of second place. The GCL Twins are 9-7 which is tied for first place in the GCL South division with the GCL Orioles. There are four teams in three of the four GCL divisions, and five teams in the other. They’re very much geographically based and the Twins team competes with the Orioles, the Rays and the Red Sox. With that, let’s look at the minor league statistical leaderboard (through games on Tuesday, July 12). THE HITTERS (Rate numbers- minimum 200 plate appearances) Plate Appearances - James Beresford (366), Daniel Palka (363), Dalton Hicks (357), Leonardo Reginnato (352), Zander Wiel (351), Zack Granite (350). Batting Average - Luis Arraez (.326), Zach Granite (.306), Leonardo Reginnato (.300), Nick Gordon (.296), LaMonte Wade (.289), Jorge Polanco (.283). On-Base Percentage - LaMonte Wade (.407), Luis Arraez (.373), Nelson Molina (.365), Zach Granite (.360), Leonardo Reginnato (.359), Daniel Palka (.355). Slugging Percentage - Daniel Palka (.565), Jorge Polanco (.476), Adam Brett Walker (.463), Kennys Vargas (.435), Luis Arraez (.431), Mitch Garver (.430). OPS - Daniel Palka (.920), Jorge Polanco (.829), LaMonte Wade (.807), Luis Arraez (.804), Kennys Vargas (.788), Mitch Garver (.783), Adam Brett Walker (.772), AJ Murray (.768). Hits - Zach Granite (97), Leonardo Reginnato (94), Luis Arraez/James Beresford (90), Daniel Palka (87), Nick Gordon (83), Dalton Hicks (81). Doubles - AJ Murray (20), Luis Arraez/Dalton Hicks/JJ Fernandez (19), Mitch Garver (18), Nick Gordon/Travis Harrison/Zander Wiel (16), Adam Brett Walker (15). Triples - Max Kepler/Jorge Polanco (6), Nick Gordon/Zander Wiel/Edgar Corcino (5), 6 tied with 4.. Home Runs - Daniel Palka (23), Adam Brett Walker (16), Kennys Vargas (14), AJ Murray/Mitch Garver/Trey Vavra (8), Jorge Polanco/Jaylin Davis/Eddie Rosario (7), 6 tied with 6.. Runs Scored - Zach Granite (51), James Beresford (49), Daniel Palka (47), Travis Harrison (46), Edgar Corcino/Sean MIller/Luis Arraez (41).. RBI - Daniel Palka (67), Kennys Vargas (53), Mitch Garver (48), Zander Wiel/Adam Brett Walker (42), Dalton Hicks (41), Sean Miller (39), Travis Harrison/AJ Murray (38). SB - Zach Granite (32), Wilfredo Tovar (22), Nick Gordon (10), TJ White/Travis Harrison (9), Engelb Vielma (8), 3 tied with 7. THE STARTING PITCHERS (Rate number - minimum 68.0 innings) Innings Pitched: Jason Wheeler (114.0), Logan Darnell (106.0), David Hurlbut (104.1),Aaron Slegers (103.2),Felix Jorge (98.1), Randy LeBlanc (95.0). ERA: Randy LeBlanc (1.80), Felix Jorge (2.11), Jose Berrios (2.59), Stephen Gonsalves/Jason Wheeler (2.61), Miles Nordgren (3.08), Tyler Jay (3.13). WHIP: Felix Jorge (0.997), Randy LeBlanc (1.00), Jose Berrios (1.04), Stephen Gonsalves (1.08), Jason Wheeler (1.09), Cody Stashak (1.11). K/9: Stephen Gonsalves (10.0), Sam Clay (9.6), Dereck Rodriguez (9.5), Jose Berrios (9.2), Tyler Jay (8.7), Miles Nordgren (7.9). BB/9: Felix Jorge (1.1), David Hurlbut (1.6), DJ Baxendale (1.8), Jason Wheeler (1.9), Randy LeBlanc/Miles Nordgren (2.1), Andrew Albers (2.3,. K: Stephen Gonsalves/Jason Wheeler (96), Jose Berrios/Sam Clay (85), Felix Jorge (81), Dereck Rodriguez (79), Aaron Slegers (76), Miles Nordgren (74), Tyler Jay (72). Wins: Felix Jorge (9-4), Jose Berrios/Aaron Slegers (8-4), Stephen Gonsalves/Randy LeBlanc (8-5), DJ Baxendale (8-7), Logan Darnell (8-8), Three with 7 Wins.. THE RELIEF PITCHERS (Rate numbers - minimum 24 innings, and less than 4 starts) Innings Pitched: Jake Reed (49.2), Marcus Walden (47.0), Luke Bard (42.2), Raul Fernandez (42.1), Alex Wimmers (41.1), Trevor Hildenberger (40.2), Brandon Peterson (40.0), Michael Theofanopoulos (39.2). ERA: Trevor Hildenberger (0.89), JT Chargois (1.49), Kuo Hua Lo (1.67), Mike Theofanopoulos, (1.86), Marcus Walden (2.11), Mason Melotakis (2.25), Michael Cederoth (2.26). WHIP: Trevor Hildenberger (0.89), Nick Anderson (0.92), Brandon Peterson/Marcus Walden (1.00), JT Chargois (1.02), Williams Ramirez (1.057), Michael Theofanopoulos (1.059). K/9: John Curtiss (13.0), Michael Cederoth (12.2), Luke Westphal (12.1), JT Chargois (11.6), Nick Anderson (11.4), Michael Theofanopoulos (11.3), Brandon Peterson/Williams Ramirez (11.0). BB/9: Trevor Hildenberger (1.1), Anthony McIver (1.8), Mason Melotakis (2.2), Nick Anderson (2.3), JT Chargois (2.5), Raul Fernandez (2.8), Marcus Walden (2.9). K: John Curtiss (56), Jake Reed (54), Michael Theofanopoulos (50), Brandon Peterson (49), JT Chargois/Luke Westphal (47), Nick Anderson (44). Saves: Trevor Hildenberger (16), JT Chargois (13), Alex Wimmers (8), Yorman Landa (7), Marcus Walden (6), Todd Van Steensel (5), Three with Four. Feel free to ask questions about any of the players or teams. View full article

It's still a very big deal, and should be... I like giving a name to it.

Before tonight's All Star Game, MLB announced that Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn have been honored with an award. From this time forward, the American League batting average leader will win the Rod Carew Award. The same award in the National League for Gwynn. Very appropriate! Special!

I posted this on Twitter earlier today:

He'll turn 20 next week. The average hitter in the MWL is 21.6. Average pitcher is 21.9. On Opening Day, Luis Arraez hadn't yet turned 19 and was 5th youngest in the league. Palacios was just outside the Top 10. Most players are 21 and 22. It's where most college guys start their first full season and they're already 22 usually, so unless they're a top pick or a top reliever they'll be there.

I wish I could help, but I do the media thing when I go, so I don't really know. There isn't a lot right around the ballpark, but there isn't a real big distance between it and anything else. Follow Steve Buhr on Twitter and ask him for more... I go with him to Bushwood, though the Stadium Bar is right across the street and that's a nice little place too. I went to Genghis Grille, but there is a Buffalo Wild Wings and a new Chipotle and quite a few other placed. Cedar Landing is a nice place more downtown. I just stay at the Rodeway Inn when I go there, but there are more spendy places downtown, I believe. I like to make the trip to the Field of Dreams site often. It's about 45 minutes from Cedar Rapids, and you only need to be there 45 minutes to an hour, but it's worth it. OTher than that, I'm not much help. Ha!

I just tweeted about him this morning. I'd call him up August 1st. He can become a free agent at the end of the season. I think they should see his recent success and give him a two-month tryout to evaluate whether to keep him on the 40-man roster or let him become a free agent.