Seth Stohs

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.

Worrying about what Polanco did in a one-game call up is silly. He was likely excited, nervous, all that. Worrying about whether Polanco can stick at shortstop is legit but based on his play at the position starting last year when he was moved there full time. He's had a lot of errors and his arm strength has always been a question. That said, Dozier's at 2B, so they need to stick with Polanco at SS as long as they can. I always go back to David Eckstein. He was always good enough to play SS when he was young and made all the routine plays for a World Series championship team. Polanco can do that.

I said on a radio interview that I will be surprised if it's more than two weeks.

And, I had him at 12-14 before the season - which says he can be a solid MLBer, or AAAA type, but again, if those flaws start to get figured out, and he must be making some adjustments because as he's moved up, the numbers have generally stayed the same... who knows. He's still young. And, he was a Top 100 guy in the draft, that's still pretty strong.

On Reusse's show a few weeks ago, Mientkiewicz said that the biggest thing that Chad Allen is working on with Walker is not swinging at anything at his knees or lower. To me, that means recognizing pitches, and staying away from those sliders in the dirt. IF (and yes, big if, he can learn that and keep swinging at pitches up in the zone... could be scary.

Interestingly, Corcino is the only OF they've had to bring up so far, and I'm good with them getting a lot of at bats for Murphy, English, Larson and Corcino.

He'll certainly move up to E-Town this year. He could put up some numbers.

I'm very encouraged by his start in AA... I agree with those that say that his one big flaw (strike zone management) will hurt as he gets to the big leagues, but that's why he needs to stay at the level all season.I want to see 1st half K rate compared to 2nd half K rate. That's the number I'll be looking at most... along with the HR, RBI, SLG, etc, of course.

I'd guess unlikely, but with guys like Sano and Polanco, they had them play in the DSL until the GCL started and then brought them over. Not sure if Ynoa would do that as well.

He's mixed it up a lot all season. His #2 hitter was promoted to the big leagues for that game, so just trying stuff. That lineup is going to be tough no matter what the order. It'd be nice when Dalton Hicks and Levi Michael can get back. Both were playing very well when they were injured. That lineup!

This is great. Like I always say, these minor leaguers deserved to be talked about for all their work and successes. I'd encourage others to look at the Adopt-a-Prospect forum and find players who have yet to be "adopted." Start a new thread for anyone who doesn't already have a thread. And then do google searches and youtube searches and stuff like that to brag up your prospects.