Seth Stohs

Perkins is the one given, though I don't necessarily think he'd be leading fan voting if fans voted for pitchers. Fan voting results are weird sometimes. I think Dozier should be an All Star, but there are many more quality second baseman than third baseman, so Plouffe may be just as (or more?) likely to make it than Dozier. Gibson (and to this point Pelfrey) seem like the types that will get passed by for an All Star nod by bigger names. Fair or not.

It's definitely not an ideal scenario for a team to have to get more than 3 outs from the closer. Obviously the can do it. We often hear about how Torre did it with Mariano, but he only did that in the playoffs (for the most part). Gardy even went 3 innings with his closer once in the playoffs. I do think the "Different Voice" thing is a big factor. Gardy was pretty set on a lineup whereas Molitor completely seems to go with his gut from day to day, altering Hunter between 2nd and 5th. Suzuki between 5th and 7th. It's all over the place. I also do think that Hunter is a big part of it too.

Yeah, you still get the 'ping' but it's not the same as it used to. They're composites.

I was just going to come here and link to your game story... It is important that Gonsalves work on that breaking ball. He can get away with it not being great in Low A ball, but as he moves up, he will need it. Is it better for a 20 year old to work on that pitch at a level that he can succeed, or move him up to a tougher level where he will need it? (I don't think this is a simple answer at all) Either way, I expect him to move up very soon.

Yep, I thought that Mat Batts would be promoted first because he was also dominating the level and he is 3-4 years older. Jared Wilson is also pitching well and he recently turned 25. All that said, Gonsalves is ready to move up soon.

JO Berrios and Kohl Stewart each made 19 starts for Cedar Rapids. Chih-Wei Hu made just nine starts in the second half of the 2014 season for the Kernels. On Tuesday night, Stephen Gonsalves made his 16th Midwest League start since late last season. It’s hard to imagine, with the numbers that he has put up this year, that he will make too many more starts for the Kernels, if any.Just two games were played on Tuesday night and a couple of transactions occurred, but an interesting day in the Twins farm system. TRANSACTIONS JT Chargois has been promoted from Ft. Myers to the Chattanooga Lookouts. The flame-thrower did not pitch in 2013 or 2014 due to elbow problems and eventually had Tommy John surgery. He returned to the Instructional League last fall and reportedly was hitting triple-digits with regularity. The 24-year-old was the Twins second- round pick in 2012 out of Rice University where he was the co-closer with current Red Wings starter Tyler Duffey. He has pitched in 16 games this year for the Miracle. He is 1-0 with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. In 15 innings, he has walked five and struck out 19.To make room for Chargois on the Lookouts roster, Dallas Gallant was sent to the Miracle. Gallant dominated in 2014 in Cedar Rapids and jumped over the Florida State League. The 26-year-old who has also missed quite a bit of time due to injury and also a 50-game suspension has gone 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP with the Lookouts. In 16 innings (12 games), he walked eight and struck out nine. Like Chargois, Gallant also throws quite hard, though he tops out at about 96.To keep tabs on the transactions in the Twins minor leagues, check out our Twins Minor League Transactions thread. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Durham 2 Box Score The Red Wings went with a bullpen game on Tuesday night in Durham. Casey Fien, in his second rehab appearance, started the game. He needed just nine pitches to get through a perfect first inning. Lester Oliveros came on and went the next 2.1 innings. He gave up one run on two hits. He walked two and struck out four. Logan Darnell was next. The left-hander gave up one hit and walked one over 1.2 scoreless innings. He struck out four. Caleb Thielbar gave up one run on two hits in 1.2 innings. He walked none and struck out three. AJ Achter came on and got the final out on a strikeout. The Red Wings had eight hits, but were able to score just one run. James Beresford was the lone hitter with more than one hit. He went 2-4 with his ninth double of the season. Danny Ortiz went 1-3 with a walk and his 10th double. Oswaldo Arcia played in his first rehab game. He batted third and DHed. He went 0-3, but his sacrifice fly scored the team’s only run. Kennys Vargas, batting fourth, went 0-4. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga Box Score The Lookouts had a scheduled off day on Tuesday after getting rained out on Monday. Two days without a Lookouts game is tough on Twins Minor League fans!! MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers @ Clearwater Box Score Rain fell throughout the afternoon on the west coast of Florida, and after over an hour delay, the game was postponed. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Thursday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 1 Box Score Despite the game being delayed for over an hour, the Kernels got an incredibly well-pitched game. Stephen Gonsalves made the start and it was right up there with his best. The left-hander went six innings. He gave up one unearned run on three hits. He walked one and struck out a career-high 12 batters. On the season, he has now walked 11 and struck out 66 batters in 48 innings. Michael Cederoth, who was recently moved back to the bullpen, came in and continued the domination. He struck out three batters in two perfect innings. He has nine strikeouts and only one run allowed in 6.1 innings in relief. Cameron Booser recorded his fifth save with a perfect ninth inning. Tanner English led the offense. The center fielder went 2-3 with two walks. He also stole three bases in the game and has 16 on the season. Nick Gordon went 1-2 with two walks, and he stole his ninth and tenth bases. Jorge Fernandez went 2-4 with his seventh double which drove in a run. Trey Vavra had an RBI double in the first inning. Vavra left the game in the third inning when he hurt his leg sliding for a ball near the tarp. He walked off under his own power, limping noticeably though. Later in the game, catcher Brian Navaretto re-injured the same wrist that caused him to miss about three weeks of games. (UPDATE - Jeff Johnson from the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported after the game that Navarreto's thumb was bent back on a foul ball. It was not his wrist.) The Kernels are now 29-17. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tanner English, Cedar Rapids Kernels WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Durham (1:05 CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers Biloxi @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – RHP Alex Wimmers Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (DH @ 5:00 CST) – LHP Mat Batts Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Felix Jorge Feel free to discuss the Twins farm system and the goings on from Tuesday. Click here to view the article

I'll let Jeremy answer your questions however he likes. He's the most tuned in to all of this. I'll just remind people that we started profiles today with Buehler and will be profiling more players each day of the next 2 weeks.

Yup, they'll certainly go Best Player Available. There just seems to be so little (ok No) consensus for who might be there at 6.

I'm sure many would love that. Let's hope Nolasco and Pelfrey continue to pitch well.

They must have decided to have him skip a start (not unusual in the lower levels due to innings limits)... He's scheduled to pitch again on Saturday.

Makes for a long evening, doesn't it?!

Interesting that you'd have Brady Aiken being taken by the Royals.Just last year, they took the guy who everyone thought should go higher, but for injury concerns/performance, fell. Last year is was Sean Manaea in the supplemental 1st round. Good pick for them at that point, if he's willing to sign. This is going to be an interesting draft. Compared to years past, pretty much anything can happen.

On Monday, the Minnesota Twins topped the Boston Red Sox by a score of 7-2. The win, coupled with the Tigers loss, puts the Twins in second place in the AL Central, just two games behind the Kansas City Royals. It’s still early, but we are 42 games in, over one-quarter of the season is complete. That means that three-quarters of the season remains. A lot can happen, good and bad. However, there are several reasons to believe that the team can continue to play well, and maybe even compete long into the season.NOT OVER THEIR HEADS The Twins are eight games over .500 and yet they aren’t being led by any players who are playing over their heads. Looking at the stat sheet, there are some players having solid 2015 seasons, but not to a point where it seems unsustainable. Only three players – Brian Dozier (.835), Trevor Plouffe (.826), and Torii Hunter (.796) – have an OPS over .720. Brian Dozier’s not going to hit 35 home runs (most likely) this season, but we know he can hit 20. Torii Hunter could hit 20, and so could Trevor Plouffe. Joe Mauer has been OK (.712 OPS) It is fair to say that the Twins can get more from Oswaldo Arcia. Kennys Vargas was already sent to AAA to become more productive, and Danny Santana certainly could return to Rochester at any point. It’s not surprising that those two sophomores are slumping, or regressing, if you prefer. Center field was always going to be a stopgap position with Jordan Schafer. He was putting in time until the team deemed Aaron Hicks ready to return. That happened recently and although he hasn’t hit yet, he has played some really strong defense. On the pitching side, Glen Perkins has shown he is healthy and he’s been one of baseball’s best closers all season. That isn’t something that I would consider over his head. His fastball/slider combo is devastating, and he is an All-Star. The bullpen has performed well. Aaron Thompson was very good in the first month, and Blaine Boyer has been far better than expected. However, the Twins have been successful in recent years with signing relievers to minor league contracts, giving them a chance and seeing success. That was the case with Jared Burton and Casey Fien. Speaking of Fien, he hasn’t been a part of the bullpen most of the season, and he’s been very good the last two years. The Twins starting rotation has been the big reason for the team’s success. They are giving up about a run less per nine innings and that difference has been huge to the Twins success. Ricky Nolasco has won five games in a row since a clunker in his first game and a DL stint, but he hasn’t pitched out of his head. He’s had good success in the past. Kyle Gibson may not post a sub-3.00 ERA all season, but there has always been at least some belief from many that he could be a successful ground ball pitcher. Mike Pelfrey hasn’t been good for several years, and he’s not going to post a 3.00 ERA, but he is finally healthy. Phil Hughes has a 4.50 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He certainly can be better. And, Trevor May has been all right, and better of late. As important as anything, it's important to note that the manager, Paul Molitor, does not appear to be in over his head. I know some were concerned since he had no game-managing experience at any level. However, he's been involved in the game for nearly 40 years and knows it well. DEPTH For a team to win and win over the course of the season, it must have depth. We know that a team won’t go through a season with only five starting pitchers. The Twins have already used six. Odds are, they will need more. Injuries are part of the game. Demotions and promotions are part of the game. The Twins minor league system has been touted as one of the best in baseball the last couple of years. Some of those prospects are getting close to being ready to contribute. This time, let’s start with the starting rotation. The current starting five has been solid. There should be no question that Tommy Milone is a big leaguer. He is a solid back-half of the rotation starter. He’s toiling, and dominating, in Rochester right now. He should be up, but he’s going to have to bide his time until needed. I also believe that if it came down to it, the Twins could get competent starts from the likes of non-roster pitchers Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers. Who knows? By the end of the season, it’s possible that J.O. Berrios could debut in 2015. In the bullpen, AJ Achter and Lester Oliveros have been terrific in Rochester. Caleb Thielbar has been struggling with his control some in Rochester, but Logan Darnell and Ryan O’Rourke are also pitching well out of the Red Wings bullpen as well. Zack Jones has clearly been Chattanooga’s top reliever, though both Nick Burdi and Jake Reed have been significantly better since the calendar turned to May. Those last three guys can all hit 96+ mph consistently. And now, Alex Meyer is pitching out of the Red Wings bullpen. If he can go with his elite fastball and slider, dropping the other pitches and re-finding his control, he can be an upper-echelon reliever in time too. Look around the diamond too. If there were an injury at any position, there would be someone who could come in and not hurt the team. Prospects could also come up and gain experience. Eddie Rosario is a good example of this. He has shown some glimpses of what he can become, but he’s also had moments that show that he’s got more improvement to make before coming up full time. At catcher, Josmil Pinto and Eric Fryer are at AAA. Pinto is slumping, but the general belief is that he will hit. Stuart Turner is in AA. At first base, Kennys Vargas is now at AAA. The Twins signed Ryan Wheeler last week to a minor league deal. He’s still just 26 years old and has big league time in each of the last three seasons. At shortstop, Eduardo Escobar could take over should the Twins decide to send Danny Santana back to AAA. Jorge Polanco is producing well in that stacked Chattanooga lineup. He could play shortstop or second base if needed. Miguel Sano has been on fire since the beginning of May. His defense could aptly be called spotty, but he can make the plays and has the arm to play the position. He would likely strike out a ton if called up for a couple of weeks or a month, but he could also hit a few home runs. In the outfield, Rosario and Hicks are already there. Oswaldo Arcia is starting a rehab stint in Rochester now. Byron Buxton appears to have come out of his slump recently. He’s been really streaky this season, but his athleticism and talent have been on display. He could be an option at some point this season too. SUMMARY The Twins have been one of the bigger surprises so far during the 2015 season. There are still a lot of question marks with the roster, but it’s not hard to be more optimistic than we have been in recent years. Aside from some bullpen guys, where variability should be expected, there aren’t a lot of Twins performing way over their heads. And should some players struggle or get hurt the organization now has some depth that should help it overcome. And finally, some of that touted, elite prospect talent is starting to get close. If nothing else, isn’t it nice for Twins fans to have reason for optimism? Click here to view the article

We hear so much about tall pitchers and release points, but Aaron Slegers is 6-10 and was top 3 in the organization in BB/9 before this 0 walk outing.

The shortstops would be nice, but Tate kind of scares me as high as six.

I don't think anyone thinks Milone is suddenly going to be something different or significantly better than ever. However, he's not a AAA pitcher and he's not a AAAA pitcher. He's an MLB pitcher, a back of the rotation guy, probably a #4. Depth is good.

1.) yes, it has. Though when he's been healthy for a decent amount of time in the past, he has produced. He's been terrific. 2.) I don't know. He's certainly moved up, but I don't know that he'd be on any Top 30 lists. 3.) Yes. 4.) College reliever from UC-Berkeley. Throws low-to-mid 90s from a 3/4 arm angle. Gets good movement.

When HE chooses to. I always called him just Adam Walker, but tnhe I decided to ask him. He said he didn't really care too much but he definitely preferred Adam Brett Walker. So, until he tells me differently, I'll go with that.

Great insight. People definitely are aware of the big two, but we try to tout all of the minor leaguers. And I love that idea a midseason "All Twins Prospects game!"

Here is a link to Patrick Reusse's show page. Hour 2 on Friday, he chatted with Doug Mientkiewicz for 15 minutes. Quite a bit on Kepler, Buxton, Sano, Walker, Berrios and more. Great stuff. Gave Chad Allen a lot of credit.

The Minnesota Twins minor league affiliates have all reached the 40-game plateau this week. Their seasons are nearly 30% complete. Each week, we have been posting the Twins Minor League Leader Board in the Saturday morning Minor League Report. This week, we’re going to post it on its own and see how it goes. Each week, we look at a variety of statistics to recognize the Twins minor leaguers who have performed well in 2015. We will start with the hitters and then look at both the starting pitchers and bullpen arms. These lists are fun because sometimes players emerge as guys that you will want to start paying attention to. In the below lists, we are starting to see more of the big-name prospects showing up, which is also a good thing.For most statistical categories, we’ll look at the top 5 players, though some leeway is given in the event of ties (or just common sense). For hitters, I am using 130 plate appearances as the cut off for BA, OBP, SLG and OPS. For pitchers, we’ll look at ERA, WHIP, K/9 and BB/9. I am using 32.0 innings as the cutoff for starters and 14.0 innings as the cutoff for relief pitchers. Here is the Minnesota Twins Minor League Leader Board through games played on Friday, May 22. HITTERS Let’s start with the hitters. When we ran these leader boards after two, three or four weeks, there were several surprising names on these lists. There is a lot of randomness to small sample size. However, now we are to the point where most regulars have between 150 and 170 plate appearances. Not a huge sample, but again, about 30% of their season. Some of those early-season names have remained. Plate Appearances: Niko Goodrum (190), Byron Buxton (184), Zach Granite (183), Miguel Sano/Max Murphy (170). Batting Average: Trey Vavra (.345), James Beresford (.344), Alex Swim (.338), Max Kepler (.336), Zach Granite (.320) On-Base Percentage: Zach Granite (.413), Trey Vavra (.401), Max Kepler (.381), James Beresford (.380), Travis Harrison (.373) Isolated Discipline: Tanner English (.130), Mitch Garver (.128), Miguel Sano (.108), Niko Goodrum (.103), Travis Harrison (.097) (I like this statistic because it’s easy to calculate, but it also shows which hitters are not as reliant on getting hits to get on base. It is simply (OBP-BA). A guy can have a low batting average, but he can still have value if he’s getting on base at a good percentage. Kernels center fielder Tanner English is hitting just .220, but he is on base 35% of the time thanks to a good eye at the plate. Miguel Sano gets on base because a lot of pitchers don’t want to throw him any more strikes than they have to.) Slugging Percentage: Trey Vavra (.545), Adam Brett Walker (.533), Max Kepler (.520), Byron Buxton (.497), Miguel Sano (.472) Isolated Power (IsoP): Adam Brett Walker (.286), Byron Buxton (.240), Miguel Sano (.233), Trey Vavra/Danny Ortiz (.200) (Like Isolated Discipline, Isolate Power is easy to calculate. It is just (SLG-BA). In other words, how many extra base hits is the player getting? How much power is he showing? Again, it’s showing that a player can be valuable even if he doesn't hit for high average. No surprise at all with who is on top of this list, is it? Lots of home runs, doubles and triples on that list.) OPS: Trey Vavra (.946), Max Kepler (.901), Adam Brett Walker (.830), Miguel Sano (.819), Byron Buxton (.807) Hits: Alex Swim (51), Trey Vavra (.50), Zach Granite (49), Jorge Polanco (47), James Beresford (44) 2B: Travis Harrison (15), Max Kepler (13), Aaron Hicks/Chad Christensen (10), 4 tied with 9. 3B: Byron Buxton (10), Aaron Hicks (4), Levi Michael/Max Murphy/Tanner English/TJ White (3) HR: Adam Brett Walker (11), Miguel Sano (8), Trey Vavra/Danny Ortiz (6), Byron Buxton/Brock Peterson (5) Runs: Byron Buxton (31), Miguel Sano/Zach Granite (29), Adam Brett Walker/Travis Harrison (27), Nick Gordon (26) RBI: Byron Buxton (33), Adam Brett Walker (32), Trey Vavra/Danny Ortiz (27), Miguel Sano/Zack Larson (24) SB: Tanner English/Zach Granite (13), Byron Buxton (12), Jason Kanzler/Engelb Vielma (10). STARTING PITCHERS (>32 IP) Innings: Taylor Rogers (55.0), Pat Dean (54.2), Tyler Duffey (52.2), JO Berrios (50.0), DJ Baxendale/Jason Wheeler (47.0) ERA: Chih-Wei Hu (1.10), Stephen Gonsalves (1.50), Felix Jorge (2.13), Brett Lee (2.14), Mat Batts (2.21) WHIP: Stephen Gonsalves (0.81), Chih-Wei Hu (0.85), Felix Jorge (0.95), Mat Batts (1.03), Tyler Duffey (1.10) K/9: Stephen Gonsalves (11.6), JO Berrios (10.4), Mat Batts (9.7), Alex Meyer (9.4), Chih-Wei Hu/Tyler Duffey (9.2) BB/9: Greg Peavey (1.5), Pat Dean (1.6), John Curtiss (1.7), Aaron Slegers (1.8), Felix Jorge (1.9) Strikeouts: JO Berrios (58), Tyler Duffey/Stephen Gonsalves (54), Mat Batts/Taylor Rogers (44), Chih-Wei Hu 42) RELIEF PITCHERS (>14 IP, Innings: Zach Tillery (27.1), Todd Van Steensel (26.0), Alex Muren (25.2), Brandon Peterson/Randy LeBlanc (23.0) ERA: Trevor Hildenberger (0.40), Cameron Booser (0.93), Brandon Peterson (1.17), Madison Boer (1.40), Lester Oliveros (1.86) WHIP: Trevor Hildenberger (0.49), AJ Achter (0.63), Zach Tillery (0.81), Madison Boer (0.90), Tim Shibuya (0.92), Zack Jones (0.93) K/9: Cameron Booser (15.4), Zack Jones (14.1), Lester Oliveros (14.0), Todd Van Steensel (13.8), Brandon Peterson (13.3) BB/9: Trevor Hildenberger (1.2), Zack Jones (1.3), Tim Shibuya (1.7), Jake Reed (2.1), Cole Johnson (2.2) Saves: Zack Jones (6), AJ Achter/Michael Tonkin (5), Cameron Booser/Trevor Hildenberger/Todd Van Steensel (4) There you have it. The Twins Minor League Leader Board through Friday, May 22. What do you think? What surprises you? Click here to view the article

We're all guilty of it at the beginning of the season. We make a ton out of a guy hitting .150 on April 15th, not remembering that he's 3-20 and a 4-5 day has him hitting .350. Peavey was off to a very slow start. He was getting crushed. I probably would have removed him from the rotation or dropped him, and he'd been terrific the last 3-4 starts. They're all case-by-case. The big thing is that they just have to do what they think is best for each player and each situation.