Seth Stohs

Glen Perkins announced via Twitter that he will be having shoulder surgery tomorrow afternoon. He took to Twitter to write to the fans about his frustration and plans going forward. Well worth the read.

He did tweak something, though I was told they wouldn't have released Logan Wade if they were worried about Gordon needing to go on the DL. Just making sure he's 100% rather than hurrying it.

By the way... I've started tonight's Minor League Report... Already have 14 player transactions included... Busy day!

The pitchers haven't pitched yet. Jay starts on Thursday, and Jorge will probably start Friday. Obviously Gonsalves moved up. Van Steensel and Landa? I think Landa worked an inning, maybe Todd did too. Vavra's been back in the lineup. Mine was just a guess. I've seen All Star position players get one game off at the start of the second half. It's also possible Gordon tweaked something in the All Star game. We'll find out. I'll dig.

Kohl Stewart was the choice for Prospect #7... let's now vote for Prospect #8... again, help me with some names. Who else should be showing up on the ballot?

He's only thrown 28 innings. I'm sure he'd get at least 72 more innings. He's going to start tonight, so I'm sure he'll get 13-14 more starts. They'll watch it but he may not be shut down since he missed so much time to start the season.

Jeff Johnson also reporting that Fernando Romero will be promoted to Ft. Myers as well. I'll be surprised if Sam Clay isn't promoted to the Miracle in the next day or two. Likewise I would expect Stephen Gonsalves and maybe even Felix Jorge to be promoted to Chattanooga very soon as well. So, who will come up to Cedar Rapids from Extended? And what happens in Chattanooga to make room for a picture or two?

Another tough thing, as evidenced by Guerra, Gomez, Arcia and others... players from Venezuela or the Dominican or other interenational signings that sign at age 16 have to be added to the 40-man roster when they are maybe 20 years old. They are out of options by 23-24 years old, and that is very young for prospects. It almost makes sense that several of these players become the player we thought they might be with their second organization.

Jorge Polanco 'wins' the Prospect #6 vote. Here is the vote for #7. Again, help me determine as well who should be added to the vote. If guys get a low percentage, I can take them out and try other names too.

Very soon... I'll have a roster preview... They are on the bus to E-Town already.

No, but they usually like to give the guys who played and didn't get 3 days off an extra day, at least in the lower levels. I think he's fine.

For the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft, the Minnesota Twins were coming off of a winning season that awarded them just the 15th overall pick. Not selecting in the top 10 for the first time in a while, Minnesota had a few options that would be presented to them. When the dust settled, they ended up going with the power-hitting outfielder Alex Kirilloff. The Pennsylvania native has plenty of potential, and he's ready to unleash it for the Twins. Kirilloff's prep career came to an end one win short of a Pennsylvania State Championship. Losing in the title game, you can bet his hunger to get back on the field and compete in the Twins organization remains high. He's likely going to head to Elizabethton to start his professional career, and his bat should be the thing that carries him early on. Image courtesy of David Hague Photo For the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft, the Minnesota Twins were coming off of a winning season that awarded them just the 15th overall pick. Not selecting in the top 10 for the first time in a while, Minnesota had a few options that would be presented to them. When the dust settled, they ended up going with the power-hitting outfielder Alex Kirilloff. The Pennsylvania native has plenty of potential, and he's ready to unleash it for the Twins. Kirilloff's prep career came to an end one win short of a Pennsylvania State Championship. Losing in the title game, you can bet his hunger to get back on the field and compete in the Twins organization remains high. He's likely going to head to Elizabethton to start his professional career, and his bat should be the thing that carries him early on. Recently, I was able to catch up with the Twins top pick. We talked about his game, the Twins, and a few things in between. Here's what he had to say: Off The Baggy: Tell me a little bit about your game. Most of the national outlets have described you as a solid all-around athlete with a great hit tool and solid arm strength. Likely starting your professional career in the outfield, how would you describe your game as a whole? Alex Kirilloff: I pride myself on being as well-rounded of a player as I can be. I work very hard on all parts of my game. I feel that my biggest asset is my bat. OTB: I believe you really burst onto the power scene with a recent home run derby performance. Was that your first home run contest and what was the experience like? AK: I was 11 years old in my first home run derby. I had just started using a leg lift with my swing, which helped me hit the ball further immediately. I beat a 12 year old who was the favorite to win the whole thing. So the only two home run derbys I have ever been in I won. OTB: Being from Pennsylvania, I'd assume you're a Pirates fan. I saw that longtime Pittsburgh fan favorite Neil Walker congratulated you on Twitter. Who is a big leaguer that you have modeled your game after? AK: Neil Walker is first class and I now have even more respect for him than I already had before. I like watching Andrew McCutchen, he is a pretty well-rounded player himself so I am inspired by him. OTB: When looking at the Twins, what do you know about the organization, its players, and the state of Minnesota as a whole? AK: I know Minnesota is cold...but it's okay, I am used to it coming from Pittsburgh! With two World Series titles, Hall of Fame players throughout the decades, and great traditions built, I am excited to be a part of the culture, history, and richness of the organization. OTB: Tell me about your draft day experience. I believe you got to watch it unfold with teammates and friends as you were still wrapping up your season. What was the call like, and did you have any indications it was going to come from the Twins? AK: It was a great experience being able to share it with my teammates, coaches, family, girlfriend, and friends. The call was a dream come true. OTB: There's been some talk already that Minnesota may have you skip the Gulf Coast League and head straight to Elizabethton for your professional debut. What are your goals in your first professional season? AK: My goals are to train, develop, learn, adapt, and play to the best of my ability while embracing the lifestyle of professional baseball. Let the rest take care of itself. OTB: Let's end it with this, when Twins fans look ate Alex Kirilloff the baseball player, what do you hope they notice most? AK: I hope they notice the baseball player and person that they want representing their fan base, city and baseball team. With a great head on his shoulders, it seems Kirilloff is going to start off on a great foot for the Twins. He is headed to Minnesota this week and then will begin his professional career in the organization. He's going to be fun to watch, and should be another high-ceiling prospect Minnesota can add to the farm system. Recently, he was included in the Off The Baggy Top 15 update. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz View full article

Fair point... but my point is that sometimes it becomes a personal attack (that's a little strong, I know) when a player is overly aggressive or isn't able to make adjustments. Sometimes it takes a little longer with a guy. Sometimes they never figure it out and don't get there, or don't get back and stick. I just want to make sure people don't think that it is necessarily a lack of effort. But as Tommy said, it's really hard to simulate outside of games.

Having watched Walker, I know that 1.) he's really worked on it, and 2.) Chad Allen and others have really worked on it. He just hasn't been able to lay off of certain pitches. There are many times he is patient and ends up in 0-2 or 1-2 counts. I've seen him lay off of those sliders down and away on 0-2 and 1-2 only to swing at it on 2-2 or 3-2. I think every coach in the Twins system and the front office types get it. You just hope that a guy who is still just 24 can find a way for something to click. But just saying "Take pitches" isn't necessarily the best way to do that.

Yup, you don't want to take away aggressiveness, just need to find a way to harness it. Become patient enough to know which pitches they can drive. You don't want hitters thinking Walk, but knowing themselves and the strike zone enough that if they're given a walk, they're OK with it, but if they're thrown pitches they can drive, they don't miss them.

I think he's played there quite a bit since being down in Rochester.

I think we all would agree that creating cookie-cutter hitters isn’t a good philosophy for hitting. Just as people are all different, it is OK to have different philosophies on hitter. That being said, understanding and having control of the strike zone is something that is (or at least would be) beneficial to all hitters. In baseball history, there have been plenty of good, bad-ball hitters. However, in general, they are the exceptions to the rule. More often, hitters who know the strike zone swing mostly at strikes and don't expand the strike zone too much have a much better likelihood of long-term success. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson, USA Today I think we all would agree that creating cookie-cutter hitters isn’t a good philosophy for hitting. Just as people are all different, it is OK to have different philosophies on hitter. That being said, understanding and having control of the strike zone is something that is (or at least would be) beneficial to all hitters. In baseball history, there have been plenty of good, bad-ball hitters. However, in general, they are the exceptions to the rule. More often, hitters who know the strike zone swing mostly at strikes and don't expand the strike zone too much have a much better likelihood of long-term success. In recent years, there are plenty of examples of players who have been unable to control the strike zone. After fast starts, they fell victim to several sophomore slumps. In 2013, Oswaldo Arcia walked 23 times and struck out 117 times in 378 plate appearances. In 2014, Oswaldo Arcia walked 31 times and struck out 127 times in 410 plate appearances. In 2014, Danny Santana walked 19 times and struck out 98 times in 430 plate appearances. In 2014, Kennys Vargas walked 12 times and struck out 63 times in 234 plate appearances. Those are all certainly not good, but there were some real impressive (or unimpressive) strikeout-to-walk ratios in 2015. Danny Santana - 6 walks, 68 strikeouts, 277 plate appearances. Kennys Vargas - 9 walks, 54 strikeouts, 184 plate appearances. Eddie Rosario - 15 walks, 118 strikeouts, 474 plate appearances. Byron Buxton - 6 walks, 44 strikeouts, 138 plate appearances. Byron Buxton is currently at four walks and 49 strikeouts in 116 plate appearances in 2016 with the Twins. In his time with the Twins at the start of the 2016 season, Eddie Rosario walked just three times and struck out 31 times in 121 plate appearances. Rosario was sent to Rochester on May 18th. In his first 19 games with the Red Wings, he struck out 12 times and did not walk. At all. He was hitting .321 despite a slow start, but in this situation, control of the strike zone had to be part of the evaluation. Continuing the trend of swinging erratically at everything just wasn’t going to cut it. In his last nine games, Rosario has five walks and four strikeouts in 40 plate appearance. It is a small sample size of course, but it is a sign of improvement, and to me, that’s all we should expect. Eddie Rosario is never going to be Joe Mauer, but then again, very few are. Consider that in Mauer’s first nine MLB seasons, he walked 555 times and struck out just 475 times. While that trend changed over the past three seasons (188 BB, 297 K), he still had over 60 walks in each season. In 2016, he is on pace for over 80 walks again. Is it fair to expect a player like Rosario who is ultra-aggressive to become more patient? Is that even a realistic request? How would an organization even go about trying to make that happen? It isn’t as simple as saying, “Eddie, take two strikes every plate appearance. Get used to what is called a strike and what isn’t.” To some degree, a hitter is what he is by the time he reaches age 23 or 24. When I was in Cedar Rapids, I asked Kernels manager Jake Mauer about how to help these types of aggressive hitters. He went back to our youth for a reminder. “You know, (Kirby) Puckett was a ‘bad-ball hitter,’ and I think Puckett knew himself. He knew which balls he could drive. If you’ve got a guy that ‘swings at everything,’ you don’t want to tell him to take, but I think they need to learn what they can drive.” Mauer discussed the type of conversation that he would typically have with such a hitter. It starts by helping them realize and learn what pitches they can drive. “I know you can hit this pitch, but is this a pitch you can drive? If the answer is No, well, then you shouldn’t swing at it. If the answer is Yes, well, then go ahead.” In Cedar Rapids, Mauer is working with a variety of players. He’s got a guy like Zander Wiel who played at Vanderbilt who isn’t going to be fazed by a big moment under the lights. He’s also got two 19-year-olds, Jermaine Palacios and Luis Arraez. Palacios broke out last season in the rookie leagues. Arraez played well in the GCL and then got exposure in the Venezuelan Winter League, playing against veterans. LaMonte Wade fits into the Joe Mauer category of pitch recognition. The Twins drafted him in the ninth round last year out of Maryland. In his pro debut last season, mostly at Elizabethton, he walked 47 times with 36 strikeouts. In 261 plate appearances with the Kernels this year, he has walked 44 times with just 27 strikeouts. While he has struggled in his last ten games (3-35) to drop his average to .280, his on-base percentage remains .410. And even in those ten games, he has eight walks to just five strikeouts. I asked him about his approach at the plate and if it is something learned. Wade said, “It’s definitely taught. It also has a lot to do with watching the batters in front of you, knowing the umpire’s strike zone. It starts in batting practice, getting your mind right and making sure you’re not swinging at every pitch.” As Chattanooga Lookouts hitting coach Tommy Watkins said that’s good but it takes more too. “It's very tough because it's hard to simulate live pitching, but I think not swinging at everything in BP is good place to start.” Wade and I discussed this topic quite a bit and I’m not going to give away all of his secrets, but it is quite evident that he goes into every single plate appearance with a plan. “0-0 and advantage counts, I’m looking for a ball middle-away, trying to hit the ball the other way. Obviously with two strikes, you’re just trying to battle. Just looking out over the plate and adjusting when it comes inside.” He said that he learned some things in college at the University of Maryland as well. Again, I’m not going to give away the strategy, but it involves “hunting elevated fastballs up over the plate.” At no point in my conversation with Wade did he mention looking to walk. The goal shouldn’t be to walk, but to get on base. Know the strike zone and attack pitches that you can drive. If it’s not there, let it go and take the walk. But it has to start early as a player ages it gets more and more difficult to become a patient hitter. And of course, as you move up the competition only becomes better and knows how to attack your weaknesses. As Mauer said, “Those guys in the big leagues they’re pretty good. They can expose holes pretty quick.” And that’s what we’ve seen to this point. There are more scouting reports now than even ten years ago. Advanced statistical analysis makes hitting much more difficult, and it was already difficult from the start. Rosario, Santana, and Vargas all got off to fast starts despite their inability to control the strike zone. It caught up to them in Year 2 when pitchers had more information. It is now up to them to make some adjustments to get back to the big leagues and hopefully experience more success. It is very unlikely that they ever become patient and frequent walkers, but improvement will be vital. Understanding the strike zone and their strengths is the key. View full article

Player of the Week: Single-A right-handed pitcher Felix Jorge is the Twins minor league Player of the Week...Jorge made one start for the Miracle, allowing one run on six hits in 7.2 innings pitched, with no walks and six strikeouts against Lakeland on Wednesday...Jorge has made 11 starts for the Miracle this season, going 6-3, 1.59 ERA (73.2 IP, 13 ER) with 10 walks and 61 strikeouts.

Here are prospects 1-5, followed by the vote for Prospect #6: 1 - Jose Berrios 2 - Max Kepler 3 - Tyler Jay 4 - Nick Gordon 5 - Stephen Gonsalves Vote on Twitter for the Twins Prospect #6: https://twitter.com/twinsdaily/status/744886826507243521

Yup, hamstring pull. Hopefully won't be out too much longer.

The Twins have pushed Sano and some others up to the GCL the year after they sign. It's rare. I was told earlier in the year that Javier would likely stay in the DSL the whole year though.

He's more low to mid 90s. In his rehab, he really struggled. Keep the expectations down until he's healthy. I'd say for sure no, he won't be up this year.

Thank you to Cody for covering the last 2 minor league reports while my cable and Internet are out. Lightning strike nearby on Friday morning. Still waiting!

Yeah, he was only added to the 40 man last November. This is his first option year.