Seth Stohs

The feedback I received from readers in Cedar Rapids said they preferred Chattanooga Chatter. For what that's worth.

Regarding Joe Mauer, I watched an inning or so of the Twins game yesterday with Jake Mauer in his office. Later, after the Kernels game, I went into his office again and, after an interview about his game, just said, "Isn't it nice to see a Twins box score where there is a ".300" after Joe's name?" Jake smiled and said, "Yeah, he's definitely feeling better than he did a year ago." I'm paraphrasing, but he said that the concussion played more of a factor than Joe ever let on. In fact, Joe never used it as an excuse. But there were a lot of times that he was just foggy. As Jake said, "the fog has lifted." I think Mauer has a chance to have a really good year. Maybe not 26-year-old Mauer good, but happy-he's-hitting-3rd-in-the-lineup good.

My opinion on Arcia: I think he's too young to platoon. I would play him (nearly) every day with the exception of the Sale's and Price's of the world who he understandably has little chance against. Can he hit lefties? So far, not so much, but at his age, I would let him work through some of that... or at least give him more time to see if he can improve at all. If it's late in the game and the opponent brings in a tough lefty against him in a close game, I have no problem pinch hitting for him, but in my opinion, he is still developing and let's see if he can make any adjustments.

Just got to Cedar Rapids. The Kernels are on the field stretching before batting practice. I'm sure I'll be taking a bunch of pictures, so be sure to follow @TwinsDaily on Twitter and like Twins Daily on Facebook. You can follow my personal twitter account, @SethTweets as well.

They have a couple 19 year olds, and they have a few guys who are 3 and 4 year college senior draft picks. That's pretty normal. Guys drafted after their junior year last year got a quick taste in Elizabethton last year (and a few got to CR). So, they were 21 when drafted and 22 this year. It's not at all slow promotion, just the way it works with college guys versus high school guys.

On Saturday, the Twins farm system was complete with no-hit bids, big home runs and clutch hits, shutouts and a walkoff win. A couple of the Twins big prospects connected for their first home runs of the spring. On Sunday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels will be playing their home opener. I’ll be reporting from Cedar Rapids throughout the three-game series.Jeremy Nygaard, Cody Christie and I are excited about the start of the 2015 Minor League season and are offering the 2015 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook in paperback right now at a 15% discount. Get your copy today, if you haven’t already. It’s also available as an electronic book which is available for immediate download. We have had two days’ worth of Twins Daily readers participating in this year’s Adopt-A-Prospect. At this point, feel free to adopt more players – whether you have or haven’t – and start by posting their initial bio/profile in the Adopt-A-Prospect 2015 forum. Let’s get to today’s report. The Rochester Red Wings announced following their game that Pat Dean would be taking Trevor May’s spot in their rotation RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Buffalo 0 Box Score After being weathered out on Friday, the Rochester Red Wings played their home opener on Saturday afternoon against Buffalo. Fans in attendance watched quite the pitcher’s duel, and then were sent home in dramatic fashion. Lefty Taylor Rogers was given the nod to start and was fantastic. He didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning. He finished the day with seven shutout innings. He gave up six hits, walked two and struck out six. In that fifth inning, he gave up three straight singles to start the inning. On the third, he got help from Aaron Hicks who threw a runner out at the plate. The next batter hit into a double play. Ryan Pressly threw a perfect seventh and got the first two outs of the ninth inning. Caleb Thielbar recorded the final out of the top of the ninth inning, maintaining the shutout. Meanwhile, Bisons starter Scott Copeland was really dealing as well. He had a perfect game into the fifth inning when Brock Peterson walked. He gave up a single with one out in the seventh inning to lose the no-hitter. Ironically, it was an infield single by Josmil Pinto. The Red Wings did nothing in the eighth and the first two hitters of the ninth struck out. However, with two outs, Eddie Rosario walked. That brought Pinto to the plate, and he ended the game with a walk-off home run. The Red Wings are now 2-0 on the young season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Montgomery 3 Box Score Nick Burdi got another save opportunity in this one. Things got interesting, but the team was able to hang on for their second win of the season. The power bats showed up in this one too. Greg Peavey, who was the Twins minor league Rule 5 selection from the New York Mets organization, made his first start for the Lookouts. He gave up single runs in the first two innings, but provided his team with a quality start. He gave up two runs on six hits and a walk in 6.1 innings. He struck out six. Adrian Salcedo came on and got the final two outs of the seventh inning. Jake Reed was given the eighth inning. He gave up two hits and hit a batter, but he was able to get out of the inning without allowing a run. Then Nick Burdi came on for the ninth, given a two-run lead. He got the first two batters out, but then he walked the next two and gave up a run-scoring single to cut the lead to one. Fortunately, he ended the inning and the game with a strikeout, his second of the outing. In the fourth inning, Mike Gonzales hit a two-run double that tied the game. The 2-2 score remained until the seventh inning when Adam Brett Walker led off the inning with his first home run of the year, a line drive to right centerfield. Two outs later, Byron Buxton connected for his first home run of the year. Travis Harrison led the offense by collecting three hits, including a double. Miguel Sano was 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Charlotte 3 (11 innings) Box Score The Miracle needed a miracle, or at least some clutch hitting, as well as some extra innings to steal this win from Charlotte. The Miracle were down 3-0 heading into the seventh inning. Chih-Wei Hu started and was charged with two runs on three hits in five innings. He struck out six and did not issue a walk. Tim Shibuya pitched the sixth and seventh innings. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Chad Christensen led off with a double. He later scored on a single off the bat of Engelb Vielma. The Miracle remained behind 3-1 until the bottom of the ninth. Down two, Michael Quesada led off with a walk, and Marcus Knecht “knechted” with a two-run, game-tying home run! Todd Van Steensel pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Brandon Peterson gave up two hits but no runs in his two innings. He struck out five. Madison Boer pitched a scoreless 11th inning for the Miracle. With one out in the bottom of the 11th inning, Marcus Knecht singled, which was followed by an Engelb Vielma single. With one out, a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third, so Goodrum was intentionally walked. Alex Swim then singled in a run to give the Miracle the win. Knecht, a Candian outfielder signed by the Twins after he was released by the Blue Jays, went 3-4 with a walk and the home run. Vielma and Swim each had two hits. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Kane County 3 Box Score The Kernels jumped to an early lead and got strong pitching to gain the three-game sweep in Kane County. They will head home and play their home opener on Sunday against Beloit. Left-hander Stephen Gonsalves made the start for the Kernels. He gave up a home run to River Falls native Marty Herum in the bottom of the first inning and then settled down. He went six innings and gave up just that one run. He gave up five hits, walked none and struck out nine for the win. Randy LeBlanc came on and threw two shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out two. Trevor Hildenberger got the ninth. He was charged with two unearned runs but struck out two to end the game. After going 3-5 in his first game action on Friday, Jorge Fernandez had two doubles in four at-bats on Saturday. Zach Granite set the tone at the top of the order. The speedy outfielder went 2-3 with two walks. His speed came in to play. He had a hustle double. At one point, on second base. Nick Gordon tried to bunt for a base hit. He was barely thrown out at first base, but on the play Granite scored from second base easily. Gordon went 0-4 but drove in two runs. Trey Vavra hit his first double of the season in this game. He had 20 doubles in fifty games at Elizabethton last year after being drafted. T.J. White added a triple. 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 – Marcus Knecht, Ft. Myers Miracle SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (12:35 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Chattanooga @ Montgomery (2:05 CST) – RHP DJ Baxendale Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (12:00 CST) – RHP Ethan Mildren Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (4:05 CST) – RHP Michael Cederoth Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

Wonderfully written and a great topic. I'm sure many of us are in the same boat when talking about Mauer with some people... well told!

Completely agree, and their ability to recognize and lay off of them will determine their future success. It will take time and adjustment.

Yeah, I don't believe Kepler is at 100% Also, I thought there was some chance Harrison might start in Ft. Myers.

I noticed that too, but I think he does do that a lot, just to shake it out, keep it loose.

Update: WxMan17 - DJ Baxendale SD Buhr - James Beresford curt1965 - JO Berrios Steve Lein - Nick Burdi Hrbowski - Byron Buxton 2wins87 - Michael Cederoth Peanutsfromheaven - JT Chargois JunkWaxTwins - Ryan Eades Jeff Reboulet - Tanner English tyomoth - Mitch Garver MinnFan4Life - Stephen Gonsalves lightfoot789 - Niko Goodrum RollingOaks - Nick Gordon gunnarthor - Travis Harrison curt1965 - Aaron Hicks nicksaviking - Dalton Hicks JaleelWhiteFanClub - Chih-Wei Hu Hrbowski - Zack Jones blue chipper - Max Kepler Jeff Reboulet - Yorman Landa Joe Mulligan - Zack Larson James - Brett Lee Joe Mulligan - Trevor May markos - Alex Meyer teekz - Levi Michael AM. - Amaurys Minier TJG - Max Murphy Shane Wahl - Brian Navarreto scottz - Greg Peavey TheDean - Brandon Peterson milldaddy35 - Jorge Polanco Bill Tanner - Jake Reed bulldozier14 - Eddie Rosario nytwinsfan - Miguel Sano Dance with Disco Dan - Kohl Stewart Stringer Bell - Alex Swim nate10s - Stuart Turner Shane Wahl - Adam Brett Walker always 33 - Luke Westphal Secondary User - Jason Wheeler

I've posted that pronunciation a few times in various articles that have mentioned him lately just so that people get used to it.

From what I've seen, they just need to not swing at the sliders down and away... which is the scouting report on guys like Sano and Walker coming into the season. Buxton just looks really rusty, which of course is understandable. Also, let's see what happens when they start seeing teams' #3, #4, #5 starters.

I don't think he'll ever add a ton of power, maybe 10-12 home run potential... but you never know. He is just solid all around. Scouting reports basically say that none of his tools are elite, but he isn't really weak at any either.

Opening Day was exciting in the Twins farm system, but Friday was a good day throughout the organization. Rochester had their game postponed, but Chattanooga, Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids all won. Not only that, but there were a couple of very impressive performances by some pitchers on this night. Offensively, a couple of top middle infield prospects had terrific nights and clutch base hits to help their teams to wins. Oh, and the parent club, the Minnesota Twins… They notched their first win of the season with a 6-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. Check out the rest of the article for all the scores and highlights.Jeremy Nygaard, Cody Christie and I are excited about the start of the 2015 Minor League season and are offering the 2015 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook in paperback right now at a 15% discount. Get your copy today, if you haven’t already. It’s also available as an electronic book which is available for immediate download. We have had two days’ worth of Twins Daily readers participating in this year’s Adopt-A-Prospect. At this point, feel free to adopt more players – whether you have or haven’t – and start by posting their initial bio/profile in the Adopt-A-Prospect 2015 forum. Let’s get to today’s report. First things first. BJ Hermsen had his Tommy John surgery earlier in the week. On Friday, lefty Lewis Thorpe had his Tommy John surgery. Both will now begin that long road back. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester, Buffalo (PPD) Box Score The Rochester Red Wings were set to make their home debut of 2015, but the weather was what won on Friday afternoon. The two teams will make up the missed game as part of a doubleheader in late May. They return to action on Saturday afternoon. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Montgomery 2 Box Score As has been written many times, this Chattanooga roster is full of incredible talent and prospects. I do recall talking to Kyle Gibson when he was the organization’s top prospect earlier this decade. I asked him what it meant to him to be considered a top prospect. He said (paraphrasing): It’s nice and I appreciate it, but being a prospect means that I haven’t done anything yet. This Lookouts group is talented, but they’re not all big league ready, and they all have things that they can continue to improve upon. But man, the talent is remarkable. Things always start on the mound, and on this night, JO Berrios made his 2015 debut and came through with an excellent start. He went 6.1 innings and gave up just one run on six hits and a walk. He struck out 11 batters. He threw 89 pitches, and 63 of them were strikes. DJ Johnson came on in relief and got the next five batters out. Zack Jones came on for the ninth inning. He gave up a run on two hits in the inning, but he also struck out three. The Lookouts didn’t generate a lot of offense, but Jorge Polanco generated all the power they would need on this night. Polanco came to the plate in the fifth inning with no score and the bases loaded. He proceeded to blast a long home run, a grand slam, which gave the team a 4-0 lead. Polanco went 3-5 with a double and a stolen base in addition to the big blast. Dalton Hicks was 3-4 with a walk and a double in the game. Mike Gonzales went 2-4. On the other side of the spectrum, there were some tough games as well. Byron Buxton went 0-5 with three strikeouts. Travis Harrison was 0-5 with four strikeouts. Adam Brett Walker went 1-5 but struck out three times. Miguel Sano went 0-3 with two strikeouts, though he also walked twice. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Charlotte 0 Box Score Earlier in the day, David Dorsey of the News-Press talked to Aaron Slegers about several topics. In the article, we learned that the 6-10 Slegers was actually cut from his high school basketball team as a sophomore, but he was just fine with that. Baseball was his first love. He had the honor of making the start for the Miracle on Friday night in their home opener. He responded well. He threw six shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out three to record his first win of the year. Alex Muren came on and threw a scoreless inning. Brian Gilbert walked two, but he didn’t give up a run in his inning. Finally, JT Chargois entered the game in the ninth and pitched a perfect inning, including two strikeouts. It had to be a special moment for Chargois (pronounced SHA-gwa). It was his first appearance in a regular season game since 2012 in Elizabethton. That is the year he was drafted. The last two years, he has been rehabbing elbow issues and had Tommy John. He returned to the mound at Instructional League last fall, but this had to be a special outing for the triple-digit throwing right-hander. In my Ft. Myers Miracle Roster Preview, I wrote that I thought that repeating at Ft. Myers was the best thing for Niko Goodrum. He did all right with the Miracle last year. The hope is that having that year of experience and learning, he will be able to perform better and more consistently in 2015. With that, more confidence could be developed and he could take the next step in his career. He’s off to a good start so far. After having two hits on Opening Night, Goodrum had two more hits on Friday night. His early two-run home run gave the team a lead they were able to hold on to. Later, he added his first double of the season. Alex Swim also went 2-4 in the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Kane County 4 Box Score The Kernels improved to 2-0 on the very young season with a 6-4 win. Nick Gordon had a second straight strong game. He went 3-5 with two RBI and is now 5-9 (.556) on the season. Jorge Fernandez made his first appearance for the Kernels. He went 3-5 with an RBI double. Zack Larson and TJ White also doubled for the Kernels. If you look at John Curtiss’s baseball-reference page, it shows that he only pitched for Elizabethton in 2014 after being the Twins sixth-round pick out of Texas. However, Friday night was not his first start for the Kernels. He made a start for the team in the second round of the Midwest League playoffs a season ago. In that game, he got a no decision despite giving up just one hit in five shutout innings. On this night, he received a decision, his first win. He was charged with four runs (three earned) on nine hits over 5.2 innings. He didn’t walk anyone, and he struck out seven. Mike Theofanopoulos came on and shut the door over the next 2.1 innings. He gave up a hit and a walk, but no runs. CK Irby recorded the save. He struck out three and gave up one hit in the ninth inning. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jorge Polanco, Chattanooga Lookouts SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (12:35 CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers Chattanooga @ Montgomery (7:05 CST) – RHP Greg Peavey Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – RHP Chih-Wei Hu Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (1:00 CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. Click here to view the article

Update: WxMan17 - DJ Baxendale SD Buhr - James Beresford curt1965 - JO Berrios Steve Lein - Nick Burdi Hrbowski - Byron Buxton 2wins87 - Michael Cederoth Peanutsfromheaven - JT Chargois JunkWaxTwins - Ryan Eades Jeff Reboulet - Tanner English tyomoth - Mitch Garver MinnFan4Life - Stephen Gonsalves lightfoot789 - Niko Goodrum RollingOaks - Nick Gordon gunnarthor - Travis Harrison curt1965 - Aaron Hicks nicksaviking - Dalton Hicks JaleelWhiteFanClub - Chih-Wei Hu Hrbowski - Zack Jones blue chipper - Max Kepler Jeff Reboulet - Yorman Landa Joe Mulligan - Zack Larson James - Brett Lee Joe Mulligan - Trevor May markos - Alex Meyer teekz - Levi Michael TJG - Max Murphy Shane Wahl - Brian Navarreto scottz - Greg Peavey TheDean - Brandon Peterson milldaddy35 - Jorge Polanco Bill Tanner - Jake Reed bulldozier14 - Eddie Rosario nytwinsfan - Miguel Sano Dance with Disco Dan - Kohl Stewart Stringer Bell - Alex Swim nate10s - Stuart Turner Shane Wahl - Adam Brett Walker always 33 - Luke Westphal

Twitter is possible. Otherwise, go to the affiliate's web page and find an address and send a letter/note. Ask if you can ask them some questions... Not all will want to or even respond... but just some ideas for what people could do.

Update: WxMan17 - DJ Baxendale SD Buhr - James Beresford curt1965 - JO Berrios Steve Lein - Nick Burdi Hrbowski - Byron Buxton 2wins87 - Michael Cederoth Peanutsfromheaven - JT Chargois JunkWaxTwins - Ryan Eades Jeff Reboulet - Tanner English tyomoth - Mitch Garver MinnFan4Life - Stephen Gonsalves lightfoot789 - Niko Goodrum RollingOaks - Nick Gordon gunnarthor - Travis Harrison nicksaviking - Dalton Hicks JaleelWhiteFanClub - Chih-Wei Hu blue chipper - Max Kepler Jeff Reboulet - Yorman Landa James - Brett Lee Joe Mulligan - Trevor May markos - Alex Meyer teekz - Levi Michael TJG - Max Murphy Shane Wahl - Brian Navarreto scottz - Greg Peavey milldaddy35 - Jorge Polanco Bill Tanner - Jake Reed bulldozier14 - Eddie Rosario nytwinsfan - Miguel Sano Dance with Disco Dan - Kohl Stewart Stringer Bell - Alex Swim nate10s - Stuart Turner Shane Wahl - Adam Brett Walker always 33 - Luke Westphal

Burdi threw 32 pitches. That's definitely a limit. Probably more than the limit.

I write my articles elsewhere, like Word or something like that so that I have it. Then bring it over to the site when you're ready. I'm sorry that happened!

Here's where we are starting Friday. For those reading these comments, if you selected a player yesterday, you may now select another player today. If you didn't select a player yesterday, you can select TWO players today. And that can start now. You don't have to adopt the top names and prospects. Sometimes the stories of the other minor leaguers that don't get talked up enough are the most interesting. Ideally, we will have a forum for every minor league player, fully of stories and stats. You can even try reaching out to those players and do Q&As or that kind of thing. It can and should be a lot of fun! curt1965 - JO Berrios Steve Lein - Nick Burdi Hrbowski - Byron Buxton Peanutsfromheaven - JT Chargois JunkWaxTwins - Ryan Eades tyomoth - Mitch Garver MinnFan4Life - Stephen Gonsalves lightfoot789 - Niko Goodrum RollingOaks - Nick Gordon gunnarthor - Travis Harrison nicksaviking - Dalton Hicks JaleelWhiteFanClub - Chih-Wei Hu blue chipper - Max Kepler Joe Mulligan - Trevor May markos - Alex Meyer teekz - Levi Michael TJG - Max Murphy scottz - Greg Peavey milldaddy35 - Jorge Polanco bulldozier14 - Eddie Rosario nytwinsfan - Miguel Sano Dance with Disco Dan - Kohl Stewart Stringer Bell - Alex Swim nate10s - Stuart Turner Shane Wahl - Adam Brett Walker always 33 - Luke Westphal

I'm with you... There are a ton of very interesting prospects and all deserve to be recognized.

He's a very interesting story. It was fun chatting with him in Ft. Myers last month. I hope he does very well. A good outing tonight!