Seth Stohs

Burnsville/Savage's Brandon Peterson was the story on the mound, for me... after they were down 7-3 and things were kind of in doubt, he provided 2.1 scoreless, clean innings in relief and gave the Miracle a chance to come back. He's been remarkable this season too.

Correct. Lots of quality arms...

Yup, Relievers are already determined, there are so many good ones that it's hard to cut to five, or even just rank them. But, that's a good thing.

By midseason, Berrios was the top pitching prospect in the organization, in my opinion. I don't think Meyer is a lesser prospect, though that could be argued too. I think this is more about Berrios emerging. That said, I have talked to a person or two who think that Meyer may be best out of the bullpen... of course, he can be dominant out of the bullpen, but the Twins will want him to start, for sure. In a quick Top 6 I posted on Twitter last night, my current rankings would be: Buxton, Sano, Berrios, Stewart, Gordon, Meyer...

Yesterday, we looked at the top hitters in the Minnesota Twins farm system in August. There were a lot of solid candidates. Today we look at the top starting pitchers in the final month of the minor league season. There is definitely a theme with the top of this group, a theme that we have seen throughout the year. The Twins have found quite a few southpaws that have had terrific seasons in 2014.Honorable Mention RHP – Tyler Duffey – Rochester – 4 GS, 2-1, 3.86 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 23.1 IP, 20 H, 7 BB, 21 KLHP – Matt Tomshaw – Ft. Myers – 5 GS, 2-3, 2.61 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 31.0 IP, 35 H, 8 BB, 19 KLHP – Steven Gruver – Ft. Myers – 6 GS, 2-1, 2.00 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 27.0 IP, 25 H, 7 BB, 15 KRHP – Ryan Eades – Cedar Rapids – 5 GS, 3-0, 2.86 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 28.1 IP, 27 H, 9 BB, 18 KRHP – Michael Cederoth – Elizabethton – 5 GS, 2-0, 2.75 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 19.2 IP, 14 H, 9 BB, 22 K--- Number 5 – Elizabethton Twins – RHP John Curtiss – 5 G, 2-1, 2.52 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 25.0 IP, 17 H, 4 BB, 20 K The Twins used their 6th round pick his June on the right-hander from Texas. He signed shortly after pitching in the College World Series. He pitched in the bullpen for the Longhorns after having Tommy John surgery in 2012. However, after signing, he was moved to the starting rotation. He has been very good. He will likely get another year to start, though many believe his long-term future may be in the bullpen. Number 4 – Cedar Rapids – LHP Lewis Thorpe – 6 G, 1-0, 1.61 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 28.0 IP, 20 H, 16 BB, 35 K The 18-year-old Thorpe has definitely kept his head above water despite his youth. Walks have been his only real downfall with the Kernels. In his 16 overall starts, he walked 36 batters in 71.2 innings. However, he also had 80 strikeouts. In August, he did a good job of minimizing damage despite the walks, but he also racked up strikeouts. Will he be pushed to Ft. Myers to start 2015, or could he use another half-season in the Midwest League to work on his command? Number 3 – New Britain – LHP Taylor Rogers - 5 GS, 3-0, 0.64 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 28.0 IP, 20 H, 10 BB, 27 K Rogers spent a couple of weeks in July on the disabled list with a biceps injury, but he came back in August with some very good numbers. He was limited somewhat in innings due to his return, but he was on his game. He ended strong with an eight-inning, one-run performance. Last week, it was announced that he will be heading to Arizona to pitch in the Fall League. Number 2 – New Britain – LHP Mat Batts - 6 GS, 2-0, 2.20 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 28.2 IP, 21 H, 3 BB, 34 K Batts has only been in the Twins organization for a little over two months. He has been a top five starting pitcher both of the last two months. He was the Twins 17th round pick this year out of UNC-Wilmington. Though the college only has a handful of big league alumni, Twins fans are familiar with reliever Carl Willis (from the 1991 championship team). It’s impressive that he’s been so strong through the season. He has already accumulated 164.2 innings on the mound this year, with 61 in pro ball). Though he is not a flame-thrower, the lefty mixes his pitches and his speeds and comes from an unusually low angle. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers – LHP Jason Wheeler - 5 GS, 3-1, 1.44 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 31.1 IP, 23 H, 5 BB, 30 K Jason Wheeler was the Twins 8th round pick in 2011 out of Loyola Marymount University. After going 9-4 with a 3.70 ERA in 2013 in Ft. Myers, he began the 2014 season with the Miracle. In 13 starts, he went 6-5 with a 2.51 ERA before a promotion to New Britain where he has been every bit as good. In fact, when the Rochester Red Wings needed a spot starter, Wheeler was promoted to AAA and gave up just two runs in 5 innings of a no-decision. He returned to the Rock Cats right before the calendar turned to August. He had a terrific month. Aside from the impressive numbers you see above, batters hit just .202 with a .546 OPS off him. Wheeler has improved his status within the organization a great deal in 2014. In an interview in May, Wheeler talked about trusting his fastball more to go with even improved command. When I talked to Miracle pitching coach Gary Lucas, he talked about Wheeler being more confident with his fastball while at the same time improving all of his secondary pitches. So there you have it. The top pitchers in the Minnesota Twins farm system in August. What do you think? How would you rank these starting pitchers? Click here to view the article

Minier's numbers were incredible, but usually I'm looking for 80+ at bats for the month which would be about 3 per game for the team. In the GCL, a lot of times play is more evenly split. It's hard to rank the performance of a guy in 62 at bats versus 105. I also acknowledge that I have a thing for doubles in the minor leagues. Doubles generally mean the guy is making real solid contact and hitting gaps. With experience, gappers could become homers. We shall see. I'm comfortable with my rankings, but the purpose of these are to recognize the good performances and to discuss players.

Shane, It's player of the month. it's not a prospect ranking.

I'm guessing this is a bit trolling, but why would they want to call up a top prospect to play part time, or to play multiple positions... makes so much more sense for him to play every day, in AA where he didn't dominate, at the position they hope he can take over in two years?

Polanco is probably a Top 6 Twins prospect, but that doesn't equate to September call-up. He struggled (as one would expect) in the jump to AA. he's had a very good, encouraging season. They need to evaluate Santana at SS already and that's not really happening. They need to evaluate Hicks at all three OF spots. Dozier and Plouffe will still play nearly every day, and Escobar has had a pretty solid season as well and they can evaluate further if he can be an every day SS or utility guy. Most of the other guys called up will be depth.

As of Monday, minor league baseball is done for the 2014 regular season. Twins Daily will have a ton of minor league content throughout the offseason. Over the next few days, I’ll be posting the August award winners. Today, I’ll post the top hitters for the month before discussing the top starting pitchers and relievers in August. Next week, we’ll start discussing choices for the minor league players of the year. In between, we’ll also continue reporting on the Twins affiliates in the playoffs. Rochester just missed, but ended with a very good season. The New Britain Rock Cats finished above .500. The Ft. Myers Miracle and Cedar Rapids Kernels will begin their playoff runs in the next couple of days. Elizabethton is already playing a must-win playoff game. Check out the minor league report to see what’s going on. However, let’s get back to the topic at hand. Here are August’s top hitters in the Twins minor leagues, starting with some honorable mentions:THE HITTERS Honorable Mention: Rochester Chris Herrmann 25-84 (.298/.359/.512 – .871), 7-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 11-RBIRochester Josmil Pinto 33-108 (.306/.367/.444 - .811) 10-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 16-RBIRochester Danny Ortiz 23-76 (.324/.355/.493 - .848) 6-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 9-RBINew Britain Levi Michael 26-84 (.310/.408/.345 – .753), 0-2B, 0-3B, 1-HR, 6 RBIFt. Myers Stuart Turner 19-70 (.271/.346/.457 - .803), 5-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 11-RBIET/CR Jonatan Hinojosa 33-103 (.320/.358/.447 - .804), 2-2B, 4-3B, 1-HR, 15-RBICedar Rapids Tanner Vavra 17-56 (.304/.409/.375 – .784), 4-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 6-RBIGCL Twins Rainis Silva 20-58 (.345/.391/.466 - .856), 7-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 11-RBI#5 – GCL Twins – Amaurys Minier, 20-62 (.323/.475/.645 – 1.120), 4-2B, 2-3B, 4-HR, 16 RBI Yes, just 62 at bats, but that 1.120 OPS certainly stands out among the candidates. Minier was the big international signing in 2012 when the Twins inked him for $1.4 million. He spent 2013 in the GCL and after having shoulder surgery and switching positions, he returned to the GCL in 2014. The 18-year-old has tremendous power from both sides of the plate. This season, he has posted a .900 OPS from both sides of the plate. He will likely start the 2015 season in extended spring training, but there is some chance he could get to Cedar Rapids at some point in the season. #4 – Cedar Rapids – Mitch Garver, 28-91 (.308/.442/.440 – .882), 9-2B, 0-3B, 1-HR, 13-RBI Garver has had a very strong season, certainly among the best in the organization. He has also been quite consistent throughout the year. He has hit for average, shown an ability to get on base and hit for a lot of power. The 23-year-old was the Twins 9th round pick just a year ago. He should move up to Ft. Myers next year and hopefully get a chance to jump up to New Britain at some point. #3 – Ft. Myers – Max Kepler 33-105 (.314/.357/.495 – .852), 9-2B, 2-3B, 2-HR, 16-RBI It’s been another frustrating season for Kepler. He missed a lot of time early in the year due to various injuries, and he did struggle when he did play. He’s now putting up some very solid numbers for the Miracle, including 31 extra- base hits in a pitchers league. He has certainly hit the ball with much more authority of late. The 21-year-old is on the 40-man roster and could spend another half-season with the Miracle. That said, his second half may put him in position to advance to New Britain right away. #2 – Ft. Myers – Adam Walker 30-102 (.294/.374/.490 – .864), 6-2B, 1-3B, 4-HR, 18-RBI Walker put together another strong month in August. He hit for average, had a very solid walk rate, and continued to mash the ball and drive in runs. He was the Twins 3rd round pick in 2012 out of Jacksonville. He has been a powerful run-producer wherever he has played. He has made some good strides in 2014. His power is legit. He’s still got work to do, but still just 23 years old, the organization can certainly be patient with him. The August Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is... Elizabethton Twins – 1B/LF Trey Vavra (34-100) .340/.417/.470 (.887) with 13-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 16 RBI The Twins used their 33rd round pick, the 980th overall, on the versatile Trey Vavra. He had finished his senior season at Florida Southern, a Division II school, where he led the team in hits, doubles, home runs and RBI. His coach there was Lance Niekro, former big leaguer and son of former Twins pitcher Joe Niekro. He had played six different positions in college. Since signing, he has been a doubles machine in Elizabethton. In just 50 games, he knocked twenty two-baggers and drove in 34 runs. The 22-year-old primarily played 1B, but he also played over a dozen games in left field. He had also had the game-winning hit in game one of the Appy League playoffs on Saturday night. Vavra is the son of Twins 3B coach, Joe, and the brother of Cedar Rapids infielder Tanner Vavra. Younger brother Terrin is a high school senior in Wisconsin. There you have it. The top 5 hitters in the Twins system for the month of August. Now feel free to debate. What do you think? Please feel free to discuss. -------- The Twins won on Labor Day in Baltimore, so you can enjoy a large or extra large pizza for 50% off by using the "TWINSWIN" promo code at PapaJohns.com. Click here to view the article

Yup, call up Polanco and let him sit on the bench for the month. Makes sense. Would people even be worrying about Polanco getting a call up if not for the two, two day stints that he got only because he was on the 40 man roster? Don't get me wrong. I think that he could be OK, and it's just a September call-up. That said, lots of other people that the Twins need to evaluate.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10203257883780723&set=vb.1018149691&type=2&theater Did this like a week ago and challenged the TD and VJ guys as well.

The Minnesota Twins announced that they will promote eight players from AAA Rochester for September. In recent days, we have seen the Twins make some moves to make room on the 40 man roster. Three players were added to the 40 man and called up.The Twins have called up pitchers Logan Darnell, Michael Tonkin, Lester Oliveros and AJ Achter. Catchers Josmil Pinto and Chris Herrmann were also called up. Aaron Hicks was called up, and infielder Doug Bernier will also return to the Twins. Aaron Hicks was demoted to AA earlier in the season. After playing well at AA New Britain, he was called up to AAA Rochester where he played well for a month. He has been playing all three outfield positions. Josmil Pinto started the season as the team's backup catcher and got a lot of playing time at DH when Chris Herrmann was on the roster. He struggled early in Rochester, but has been hitting very well the last six weeks. Michael Tonkin has had a solid, unspectacular season in Rochester, but his fastball/slider makes him a possible back-end of the bullpen option. Chris Herrmann can catch, but he will also get time in the corner outfield positions. Lefty Logan Darnell will likely pitch out of the bullpen through September, a role many believe will be his role long-term. Doug Bernier was recently named the Rochester Red Wings MVP after a strong season in which he played six different positions. He needed to be added to the 40 man roster. Lester Oliveros came to the Twins in the Delmon Young trade. Unfortunately, he had Tommy John surgery in September of 2012 and missed almost all of 2013. He began this year dominating AA New Britain before being promoted to Rochester where he has again been dominant. The feel-good story of the eight promotions is that AJ Achter was called up. The 26-year-old was the Twins 46th round pick in 2010 out of Michigan State. He has put up terrific numbers since being moved to the bullpen two years ago. He played in the Arizona Fall League last year, but he was not added to the 40 man roster. He was the lone Red Wings representative at the AAA All Star game. Though he has struggled the past month, he has had another strong season. It's hard not to notice that the Twins have not called up Chris Colabello and Pedro Florimon. Colabello had a tremendous first month of the season and was AL co-Player of the Month. Florimon was the Twins starting shortstop through 2013 and the first six weeks of 2014. The Red Wings were eliminated from playoff contention with their loss to Pawtucket on Sunday night. Click here to view the article

It all comes down to this, the final two games of the regular season for the Rochester Red Wings. They need to win their next two games against Pawtucket, the league leader. They also need Buffalo to lose one of their final two games against Syracuse. To help that cause, the Twins have promoted top pitching prospect JO Berrios to make the Sunday start for the Red Wings. Elizabethton starts their playoffs on Sunday. But before we get to Sunday, let’s check out what happened in the farm system on Saturday.TRANSACTIONS Sam Deduno was claimed on waivers by the Houston Astros.On Sunday morning, lefty Aaron Thompson was promoted from Rochester to fill Deduno's roster spot.Alex Meyer was placed on the disabled list for Rochester, which is hopefully just procedural so that they can call up JO Berrios from New Britain.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 0, Buffalo 3 Box Score The Season of Scares continued on Saturday when Alex Meyer left the game after the first two batters of the 2nd innings reached base. It was a precaution, and later it was said that he just couldn’t get loose. Hopefully it was only a precaution and not something more serious. Meyer gave up three runs, two earned, on two hits and a walk in one inning. Mark Hamburger came on and threw seven shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked one and struck out six. Deolis Guerra pitched a scoreless ninth. The Red Wings were unable to muster much offense. They had just five hits. Eric Farris had two singles, and Chris Colabello added his 13th double. On Sunday night, the Red Wings will play a must-win game against Pawtucket. JO Berrios will make his AAA debut opposite lefty Henry Owens of the PawSox. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 3, New Hampshire 1 Box Score It’s almost hard to remember how much Taylor Rogers struggled through his first four starts of the season with the Rock Cats. However, he has ended the season strong and earned the opportunity to pitch in the Arizona Fall League. On this night, the lefty gave up just one run on three hits over eight innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out nine. Dan Turpen got the final three outs, two on strikeouts, for his third save. Rogers improved to 11-6 with a 3.29 ERA. The Rock Cats didn’t get much offense. They had just seven hits. However, five of them came from the two and three hitters. Eddie Rosario went 2-4 with his 20th double and his seventh home run. Nate Hanson hit three doubles and has 26 on the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1 - Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 0 Box Score Ethan Mildren evened his Miracle record at 3-3 with his strongest start in the Florida State League. The right-hander threw all seven innings and gave up just three hits. He walked none and struck out two. The Miracle managed five runs despite just four hits. They also accumulated five walks. Max Kepler had the key hit with a two-run double, his 18th of the year. Niko Goodrum added his 19th double. Game 2 - Ft. Myers 7, Jupiter 3 Box Score This game went to the seventh inning tied at three, but the Miracle scored four runs in the top of the 7th to take the lead. Bryan Haar went 3-4 with his third double. Dalton Hicks went 2-3. Jairo Rodriguez and Jason Kanzler were both 2-4. Kanzler stole his 11th base in his short time with the Miracle. Travis Harrison doubled for the 33rd time. Many pitchers had the opportunity to throw in this game. Brett Lee started and threw a perfect inning. Then Brandon Peterson came on and struck out four over two scoreless innings. BJ Hermsen gave up two runs on four hits in the fourth . DJ Johnson gave up a run in his inning. Nick Burdi struck out two in his scoreless inning. Zach Jones finished with a scoreless ninth. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Clinton 7 Box Score Stephen Gonsalves had his first rough start in his time with the Kernels. He gave up six runs on six hits, five walks and a hit batter in just 3.2 innings. Josue Montanez gave up one run on one hit over the next 2.1 innings. He struck out four. Brian Gilbert then struck out two in a perfect inning. For the first time since he returned to the Kernels, Jonatan Hinojosa did not get a hit on Friday night. So, on Saturday, he went out and went 3-4. Mitch Garver is ending his spectacular season strong. He also went 3-4 in this game. E-TWINS E-NOTES The E-Twins regular season came to an end on Friday. On Sunday afternoon, the Elizabethton Twins will play Johnson City in the first round of the Appalachian League playoffs. GCL TWINS TAKES The GCL Twins season is complete. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Taylor Rogers, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nate Hanson, New Britain Rock Cats SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (5:05 CST) – JO Berrios New Hampshire @ New Britain (12:35 CST) – TBD Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (9:35 a.m. CST) – Steven Gruver Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (2:00 CST) – Lewis Thorpe Elizabethton @ Johnson City (3:00 CST) – John Curtiss Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

I just looked it up. In the college season, Mat Batts threw 103.2 innings. He's now thrown 54 innings in pro ball. That's a lot of innings combined!

Deolis Guerra is another interesting non-roster name that could be considered.

SD Buhr, If you get the chance to ask Jake or Ivan, can you ask them how many innings Thorpe, Hu and Gonsalves pitched in Extended Spring Training. Do they track innings pitched, or pitch count, or bullpens? That's one piece to the Innings Pitched count that we have no access to.

Of players who took a big step forward in 2014, in the minor leagues, Jason Wheeler is right up there!! Terrific year, and he's been better in AA than he was at the lower levels.

I think that June 2015 is possible whether he gets a September call or not. Same with May.

Corrected... thanks for the note! And good to see Hu getting game one and hopefully Stewart will be OK!

As Labor Day approaches and fall soon sets in, it's hard to believe that the baseball season is already almost five months complete. Monday is September 1st, and in baseball, that means September call-ups. We have discussed several players who could be promoted. The Twins certainly have a number of options. However, there are a handful of guys not on the 40-man roster who should at least be discussed in the September promotion talks.The Twins will likely call up five to eight players when rosters expand and the Rochester season comes to an end, whether that's on Monday or after a playoff run. They will want to add at least one catcher, an infielder, an outfielder and several pitchers. There are a lot of players on the 40-man roster who could be called up, but here are five players you should know about and not be 100% surprised if they get a shot. Remember last year, we were all pretty surprised when Eric Fryer and Shairon Martis were added to the 40-man roster and called up for September. Doug Bernier - Bernier spent most of the 2nd half of 2013 with the Twins. He was designated for assignment following the season, but he came back and, at age 34, put together the best season of his career. He is hitting .284/.354/.406 (.760) while playing his usual good defense. He has played 62 games at shortstop and 41 games at third base, and has also spent time at second base, first base and both corner outfield positions. He has set career highs in games (118), plate appearances (444), at-bats (384), hits (109), doubles (25), home runs (6) and RBIs (53) with five more games to play. James Beresford - The 25 year-old signed with the Twins in 2005 and has gradually worked his way up the system. 2013 was his breakout season, and 2014 has also been a terrific year for him. He spent the full season as the Red Wings second baseman. He has hit .281/.329/.358 (.687) with a career-high 28 doubles and two home runs. He continues to flash terrific defense and knows how to play the game. Deibinson Romero - The 27 year-old from the Dominican stayed healthy this year and hit well. He had a strong showing in spring training, impressing the big league staff with his potent bat. He has hit .268/.367/.414 (.781) with 31 doubles and eight home runs. The third baseman has been a minor league free agent the last two year and chose to stay with the Twins. Eric Farris – The 28 year-old got time in the big leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers: one game in 2011 and 13 games in 2012. He has one big league hit, a single off Eunario del Rosario. He came to the Twins as a free agent infielder. Last year, he spent a little time in centerfield. This year, he has been the regular Rochester centerfielder all season. In 127 games, he has hit .276/.314/.343 (.657) with 23 doubles and two home runs, while playing very good defense. Reynaldo Rodriguez – The 28 year-old spent all of 2013 in New Britain playing first base. He returned to the Twins this year at a new position, as an outfielder. He has spent time at both corner outfield positions while still getting plenty of time at first base. He did receive a short promotion to AAA Rochester this year where he hit his first AAA home run. He was named an Eastern League Postseason All-Star. He hit .286/.345/.509 (.853) with 37 doubles, two triples and 21 total home runs. When I talked to New Britain hitting coach Chad Allen a month ago, he raved about Rodriguez, talking about his work ethic and his ability to be a good influence on the likes of Kennys Vargas and Eddie Rosario. There are five hitters who are not on the 40-man roster who are deserving of mention. Maybe, just maybe, one of them can get a September call-up to the Twins. Of course, there are challenges for each of them. For Beresford and Bernier, their “competition” for a September call-up could come from Pedro Florimon, who is on the 40-man roster. Aaron Hicks would appear to be a given for promotion in September, which makes it less likely that Eric Farris will get his shot. Deibinson Romero could get called up, but would he play? Trevor Plouffe is the regular third baseman with Eduardo Escobar and Eduardo Nunez capable of playing there. Reynaldo Rodriguez is a hitter and a first baseman/corner outfielder, kind of like Chris Colabello and Chris Parmelee and Chris Herrmann. I didn’t mention the pitchers who are not on the 40-man roster now who could be considered for big league call-ups in September. There are a few. Although he’s struggled in the 2nd half, AJ Achter has put up impressive numbers again in Rochester. Lester Oliveros had a hiccup last night, but he’s been tremendous for the last month or more in Rochester. Alex Meyer certainly is the name that everyone wants to see, although most rumors indicate that he will not be promoted. Some are against promotions of players who may not be part of a long-term plan, who may never be a big league starter. But there are good reasons to give guys like this an opportunity. The Twins have done a terrific job the last several seasons with minor league signings. Casey Fien, Yohan Pino, Jared Burton and Sam Deduno were all signed by the Twins as minor league free agents. Calling up some of these guys would indicate to other six-year minor league free agents that the Twins will reward quality play, even if players are not on the 40-man roster. In general, it’s also nice to know that an organization will reward good players and good teammates if management believes they can help the organization. Will any of these guys get called up for a September with the Twins? Most likely none of them will. Hopefully at least one of them will. In another frustrating season, having a couple of good stories is a good thing. Click here to view the article