Seth Stohs

Terry Ryan informed assembled media before Friday night's game that Fernando Abad was heading back to the Dominican and on the bereavement list due to the death of his grandmother. He indicated a move would be made following the game today. Since it will just be for Saturday and Sunday, it will be someone on the 40-man roster. I think the options will be Ryan O'Rourke, to have another lefty or JR Graham, who has pitched well so far in Rochester and was good through most of spring training. Tonight for Rochester: Ryan O'Rourke got the one batter out that he faced, a lefty, on one pitch. JR Graham worked two innings to record the save. Pat Dean is another lefty out of the bullpen but he pitched 8 innings yesterday. There are other options on the 40 man roster as well, including JT Chargois, but i think O'Rourke makes the most sense.

Thought this was pretty interesting... and good... https://twitter.com/SethTweets/status/721039100292108288

http://www.captivephotons.com/Events/Miracle/Players/Kohl-Stewart/i-x2H9DtL/A Since that didn't work, click here: http://www.captivephotons.com/Events/Miracle/Players/Kohl-Stewart/i-x2H9DtL/A

Hurlbut isn't a strikeout guy. AA and AAA hitters aren't going to miss it. Hurlbut needs his control because those are good pitches in keeping the ball off of the meat of the opponent's bats, getting weak contact. He tops out at about 90-91, so he's not blowing anyone away.

Probably a 2B only. OK defense.

Just a DH day. It can be a challenge at AAA creating lineups. For instance, James Beresford has played pretty much only 2B the last few years. For him to come back, he wants a real chance with the Twins. That means playing him all over, so he has. Lots of guys like that. Pretty much the Twins don't think that Polanco can be an every day SS and more of a 2B. He could play some 3B. But, Thursday was just a DH day.

I 100% guarantee that what I bolded is NOT the issue. Buxton is s a very focused young man. He''s struggling on a number off levels right now, but focus is not one of them. Effort is none of them.

He's very interesting, especially because of his age. I admit that I was quite surprised to see him star the season in Cedar Rapids. And then he didn't start the first two games of the season, so I figured maybe he was there to learn for a couple of months until the E-Town season begins. That's still possible, but if he keeps playing well, he'll stick. Ironically, aside from TJ White, Manuel Guzman was the key during the 8 days I was in Ft. Myers who jumped out to me. Solid middle infield glove. Terrific speed. Not a big guy. Good approach at the plate. Nice line-drive swing. He often was kept around for the AAA or AA game and would get a couple of ABs, and he looked calm in the box and slapped several singles. I thought Guzman would start in CR with Arraez in EST. Now they're both there. Both are little ,and so is Jermaine Palacios, but all three know how to hit.

JT Chargois is close. No question about that. I think he could come up at any time. Too early to have him jump ahead of JR Graham right now, but if Graham struggles and Chargois does well, I think he could certainly move up anytime. I like Meyer starting as well. I think that he gets stretched out, he gets to work on all three pitches and he gets to pitch in more situations. I think the rhythm comment you made is a good one too. I also think it's way too early to call Duffey a bust.

I would think you are not alone in this opinion.

Taylor Rogers, an eleventh-round pick in 2012 out of the University of Kentucky, made his MLB debut this afternoon against the Chicago White Sox. Rogers pitched 0.2 innings and gave up just one hit. Rogers spent all of 2015 with the Red Wings as a starter, compiling an 11-12 record with a 3.98 ERA. Finished off the 2015 season with 25 innings in the Arizona Fall League, going 2-2 with a 2.88 ERA but struggled with command walking 11 hitters. Rogers made just one appearance (out of the bullpen) for the Red Wings in 2016, pitching two scoreless innings. Transaction Report: As Seth wrote earlier today, the Twins signed MLB veteran outfielder David Murphy to a minor league deal, and he'll be reporting to Rochester on Friday. Rochester also activated Stephen Wickens from the DL. Chattanooga added infielder TJ White from Fort Myers to replace shortstop Engelb Vielma, who went to the DL with a hamstring strain. The TJ White promotion resulted in a chain of moves with Chris Paul being promoted to Fort Myers from Cedar Rapids, and Manuel Guzman joining Cedar Rapids from extended spring training. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (Luis Arraez and Kohl Stewart) Taylor Rogers, an eleventh-round pick in 2012 out of the University of Kentucky, made his MLB debut this afternoon against the Chicago White Sox. Rogers pitched 0.2 innings and gave up just one hit. Rogers spent all of 2015 with the Red Wings as a starter, compiling an 11-12 record with a 3.98 ERA. Finished off the 2015 season with 25 innings in the Arizona Fall League, going 2-2 with a 2.88 ERA but struggled with command walking 11 hitters. Rogers made just one appearance (out of the bullpen) for the Red Wings in 2016, pitching two scoreless innings. Transaction Report: As Seth wrote earlier today, the Twins signed MLB veteran outfielder David Murphy to a minor league deal, and he'll be reporting to Rochester on Friday. Rochester also activated Stephen Wickens from the DL. Chattanooga added infielder TJ White from Fort Myers to replace shortstop Engelb Vielma, who went to the DL with a hamstring strain. The TJ White promotion resulted in a chain of moves with Chris Paul being promoted to Fort Myers from Cedar Rapids, and Manuel Guzman joining Cedar Rapids from extended spring training. Continue reading to find out more detail about Thursday in the Twins farm system: RED WINGS REPORT Rochester @ Buffalo Bisons Box Score Rochester was in Buffalo on Thursday afternoon facing the Buffalo Bisons and former Minnesota Twins pitcher Scott Diamond. Scott Diamond gave the Bisons a workman like 7.0 innings of six hit, one run ball to go along with six strikeouts, really keeping the Red Wings' bats at bay. Only Buck Britton (on of my favorite names in the Twins farm system) managed more than one hit. He had two, one was the Red Wings' only extra base hit of the day, a run scoring double in the top of the 6th inning to give Rochester a short-lived lead. Britton was a one man machine for the Red Wings. Big bopper Kennys Vargas was 0-3 with a walk and no strike outs. Also a one-man show - Pat Dean. Pat Dean pitched 8.0 innings of 5 hit, 2 run ball (1 earned) and was charged with the loss to fall to 0-2 despite a shiny 2.08 ERA. Dean induced 14 ground ball outs, but did not record a single strikeout. Dean was cruising through five before a Dalton Pompey double followed by an Andy Burns RBI single knotted the game at 1-1. An inning later, Jesus Montero (yes, that Jesus Montero) reached on a throwing error by third basement Heiker Meneses and was eventually doubled in by Junior Lake, giving the Bisons the lead, and ultimately the ball game. Final: Red Wings 1, Bisons 2 Alex Meyer will make his first start of the 2016 season on Friday. Meyer has previously pitched 4.0 scoreless innings of relief on April 10th against Scranton. LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN Jackson Generals @ Chattanooga Box Score After his first game back at third base since 2014 last night, Travis Harrison was back in the outfield on Thursday night. He finished the evening 1-5 and is hitting just .214 on the year. Daniel Palka came into Thursday's game with a team-leading four-game hitting streak and extended his streak to five games with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth. Mitch Garver was the big offensive force for the Lookouts, their only multi-hit player of the evening, going 2-3 with two walks, an RBI and a strikeout. The real story of this game isn't just these individual performances, but the way the team rallied, down six runs. The Lookouts got a big crooked number in the sixth with five runs, and four more in the seventh to come from behind and take the game 11-8. With just one hitter with multiple hits, this was a big team effort. David Hurlbut, the only Lookouts starter to record a decision in every game he started last year, left Thursday's game without a decision. Hurlbut pitched 4.0 innings, surrendering five runs (just two earned), on six hits, two walks, a home run and three strikeouts. In addition to 17 starts for Chattanooga in 2015, Hurlbut also threw briefly for the Miracle after starting the season on the DL, and made a spot start for the Rochester Red Wings. Hurlbut throws a 90+ mph fastball and will mix in a cutter, change and slider. Hurlbut gave way to Mike Strong in the top of the fifth with Chattanooga down 5-2. Strong gave up a double and then walked the next two batters he faced before being lifted for Corey Williams. All three of Strong's runners would eventually come around to score before the inning was over. With the Lookouts down 8-2, the pitching staff shut down the Generals for the next four innings. Corey Williams would pitch two scoreless innings, Jake Reed earned the W with two scoreless innings of his own and J.T. Chargois picked up his first save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning. Final: Generals 8, Lookouts 11 MIRACLE MATTERS Brevard County Manatees @ Fort Myers Box Score Tanner English led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run to left center field. The Miracle added two more runs in the inning to go out in front 3-0 and held the lead the rest of the way. As a team, Fort Myers racked up 13 hits and 5 walks to counter seven strikeouts. Tanner English was 2-4 with that home run, a single and a walk. Logan Wade had a multi-hit night as well, 2-5 with an RBI. Chad Christensen and Austin Diemer also had a pair of hits. Diemer also added a stolen base. Defensively, the Miracle had a poor night, kicking things off with a fielding error by third basement Chris Paul on the first hitter of the night. The Miracle commited three more errors in the first six innings. Kohl Stewart, starting his second game of the year, was unfazed by the poor defense behind him, going 6.0 innings with 6 strikeouts and just one walk. Stewart allowed just one hit and moved his record to 1-0 while lowering his ERA to 1.50. Raul Fernandez replaced Stewart and covered the seventh and eighth innings without allowing an earned run, but not without some trouble, walking three batters, allowing a pair of hits and being charged with an unearned run. Brian Gilbert allowed another run in the ninth, walking one, giving up one hit, and he stuck out one. Final: Manatees 2, Miracle 7 KERNELS KORNER Clinton Lumber Kings @ Cedar Rapids Box Score The Lumber Kings put a run on the board in the top of the first inning to put the Kernels down 1-0, but they rallied in the bottom half of the inning with three runs of their own. Kernels starting pitcher Andro Cutura allowed one more run in the top of the third, but otherwise pitched a very solid 6.0 innings. Cutura gave up just two hits, walked two, struck out six and was charged with two runs (one earned). Cutura is now 2-0 for the Kernels with a 2.45 ERA. Cutura was replaced by C. K. Irby who pitched two scoreless innings of relief and Nick Anderson finished the game for Cedar Rapids to seal the victory. The Kernels leadoff man Luis Arraez put on a show with a home run and a pair of singles as part of a 3-4 night with two runs scored and two RBIs. Rafael Valera and LaMonte Wade, hitting second and third, were each 2-4, giving the Kernels seven hits from the top of their order. Sean Miller, the number eight hitter, also picked up a pair of hits, going 2-3 with two runs scored. All told the Kernels had 11 hits, four for extra bases. Final: Lumber Kings 3, Kernels 7 TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Luis Arraez - Cedar Rapids Kernels Pitcher of the Day - Kohl Stewart - Fort Myers Miracle FRIDAY'S PROBABLES Rochester @ Buffalo (5:05pm, MiLB.tv) - Alex Meyer (0-0, 0.00) vs. Wade LeBlanc Jackson @ Chattanooga (6:15pm) - Sam Gaviglio vs. Aaron Slegers (0-0, 3.00) Fort Myers @ Daytona (6:05pm) - Tyler Jay (1-0, 1.80) vs. TBD Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35pm) - Kyle Wilcox vs. Sam Gibbons (1-0, 1.80) Please ask questions and discuss the Thursday games. -ERolf View full article

I'll stand by them not giving up on this year, but I will say that they absolutely should care about what is best for the young players' development.

I'd love to see Gordon move up. I'm guessing if he does, he would mostly play 2B with Vielma at SS, though they could alternate too.

Based on what? Since Steil took over, they've been much, much more aggressive with promotions. Maybe Gordon has grown (he is bigger) and improved and will be ready for AA by midseason... I think he'll have some struggles in the FSL, some ups and some downs. I'm not saying he won't move up. I'm just saying that it's really hard to know now. He got off to an equally fast start last year (as noted above) and after about 10 games, he slumped mightily for a month and then was solid for the rest of the year. He's off to a great start, but let's see where it goes after 6 weeks. I hope at that point, we're both optimistic about pushing for him to be promoted.

Wilfredo Tovar is at SS for Rochester. I can't see Vielma hitting enough to move up to AAA. If Gordon is hitting really well, they'll move him up... But, let's let it play out a little bit more.

I will be surprised, unless Vielma is still on the Disabled List, which I doubt.

I would be surprised if they did.

It's been tweeted by several.

Way too early to give up on 2016.. Murphy is better than Quentin or Sweeney. Kepler should not be on a bench. He should be in AAA playing (or MLB playing). Buxton looks overmatched and as much as it's nice to say he should develop and figure things out in MLB, at some point, it becomes too much. The Twins don't want him to lose confidence and they want to do what is best for him short-term and long-term. Rosario hasn't looked good either. I see no downside to this.

The Minnesota Twins announced that they have signed veteran outfielder David Murphy to a minor league deal. The Red Wings announced he will be there on Friday. It is likely he will not spend much time in Rochester before joining the Twins. Image courtesy of Kim Klement, USA Today The Minnesota Twins announced that they have signed veteran outfielder David Murphy to a minor league deal. The Red Wings announced he will be there on Friday. It is likely he will not spend much time in Rochester before joining the Twins. The 34-year-old Murphy is best known for his years in Texas where he hit .275/.337/.440 (.777) over seven seasons. He spent 2014 and the first half of 2015 with Cleveland before being traded to the Angels in the second half last year. He went to spring training this year with the Red Sox. Of course, this starts an interesting debate about a couple of things. First, when he is called up to the Twins, whose spot on the 25-man roster will he take? Max Kepler would be a likely candidate as he is already not playing a lot. Byron Buxton could be sent down, allowing Murphy to play in left field with Eddie Rosario moving over to center (or Kepler). Could Murphy be a bench bat and replace Oswaldo Arcia? That brings us to the second part of the question. When the Twins call him up, he will have to be added to the 40-man roster? Who would come off of it? There are several candidates, of course, but if it is Arcia, that would kill two stones with one bird (as our friend Domingo Ayala might say). When I initially heard this news this morning, I thought maybe he would just get some time in the Rochester outfield as Adam Brett Walker has missed several days already with a strained oblique, but Murphy will be brought up quickly. What do you think will happen with this over the next few days? View full article

https://twitter.com/SethTweets/status/720636024926277633

Guessing there is a reason that TJ White was promoted to Chattanooga.

Walker is out for a bit with a strained oblique.

Though it should show up on tomorrow's (or tonight's?) Minor League Report... Stephen Wickens was taken off the Rochester DL. Chris Paul was promoted to Ft. Myers. Manuel Guzman promoted to Cedar Rapids. Update: TJ White promoted to Chattanooga.