Seth Stohs

Three one-run games. Three extra-inning games. Two teams clinched division titles on Wednesday night. Though the Cedar Rapids Kernels had already clinched a playoff spot, with the help of an unlikely power source, they were able to claim a number one seed in the playoffs. Elizabethton makes it a habit of being in the playoffs and with their win tonight they will return again. Check out all that and more below in today’s Twins Minor League Report for Wednesday.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Syracuse 4 Box Score Chris Herrmann got things going in the right direction for the Red Wings. He came to bat in the first inning with a runner on base. His fourth home run gave the team a 2-0 lead. They scored a third run in the first inning, but that would be it for the rest of the game. The team had just six hits. Pedro Florimon hit his 17th double. Kris Johnson was terrific. He threw six shutout innings. He returned for the seventh inning but both batters he faced reached base. Lester Oliveros came on and allowed those inherited runners to score. Oliveros also gave up two runs of his own in the eighth inning and recorded just one out. Michael Tonkin came on and was able to record the final outs. The loss to division-leading Syracuse officially eliminated the Red Wings from winning the division. Fortunately, Pawtucket also lost on Wednesday so the Red Wings remain two games back in the wild card race with five games to play. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 11, Altoona 7 (11 innings) Box Score They needed a couple extra innings, but the Rock Cats exploded for five runs in the top of the 11th inning to take the win in this game. Eddie Rosario drove in the first of those five runs. Mike Gonzales hit a two-run double and later Jorge Polanco had a two-run single. On the mound, it was a bullpen game, so extra innings were likely not wanted. Cole Johnson started and gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits and a walk in the first three innings. Jim Fuller threw two shutout innings. Alex Wimmers gave up a run on two hits and a walk in his two innings. He struck out three. Mason Melotakis got the next four outs and didn’t give up a run. Dan Turpen went the final 2.2 innings for the win. He gave up one run (in the bottom of the 11th) on five hits and a walk. Kyle Knudson led the offense. He was 3-4 with his 14th and 15th doubles. Corey WImberly went 3-6 with his 12th double. Jorge Polanco went 3-6 with his first Eastern League home run and three RBI. Tony Thomas hit his 10th home run to cut the deficit to just one in the ninth inning. They scored another run in the ninth to tie the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Bradenton 8 Box Score The Miracle managed just six hits in this game and struck out 14 times. Adam Walker went 2-4 with his 19th double. Aderlin Mejia walked twice and stole his 22nd base. Matt Tomshaw started the game. He was charged with five runs (three earned) on eight hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out five. Tyler Jones gave up three runs on five hits over the next two innings. He struck out three. BJ Hermsen pitched a scoreless inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Kane County 2 (11 innings) Box Score Jonatan Hinojosa led things off and finished things off for the Kernels. The win officially clinched a number one seed in the playoffs for Cedar Rapids. Hinojosa led off for the Kernels with his first home run. The homer extended his hitting streak to 14 games, at least one in every game since his return to the Kernels. The score remained tied going to the bottom of the 11th. Tanner Vavra led off with a single. He advanced a base on a successful Zack Larson sacrifice bunt. Logan Wade struck out which brought Hinojosa to the plate with two out. He drove a single to right field. Vavra had to do some creative sliding, but he was able to avoid the tag and score the winning run for the Kernels, initiating a celebration. Video by SDBuhr Ryan Eades started. He gave up two runs, but he went six innings and gave up just four hits and a walk, while striking out six. Brandon Bixler walked one and struck out two in two innings. Jake Reed dropped his ERA to 0.38 with two more scoreless innings in relief. It extended his scoreless streak to 21.2 innings. Josue Montanez pitched a scoreless top of the 11th and got the win. Cedar Rapids now knows that it will host Burlington in the first round of the playoffs, starting on Wednesday, September 3. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 9, Kingsport 8 Box Score The E-Twins will return to the playoffs again in 2014. On this night, the Twins got offense from pretty much everyone. Eight of nine starters had at least one hit (6 had two hits), and seven of the nine had a walk. Nick Gordon went 2-5 with a walk and stole his 11th base. Trey Vavra went 2-5 with a walk and his 19th double. Tyler Kuresa went 2-4 with a walk and his 13th double. He also stole his first base. Jorge Fernandez went 2-4 with a walk and his second triple. Pat Kelly was 2-4 with a walk. Felix Jorge started and gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk in just three innings. He struck out five. CK Irby came on and threw three shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out four. Cameron Booser came on was charged with three unearned runs on four hits and a walk in two innings. Dereck Rodriguez gave up one run on two hits and a walk over the final two innings. 2014 draft picks Zach Tillery and Trevor Hildenberger were promoted to the E-Twins for their playoff run. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Rays 5 Box Score Mike Theofanopoulus started for the GCL squad. He gave up three runs on six hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out five. Jhon Silva then worked three scoreless innings. Leonel Zazueta gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in the ninth inning. The Twins had just three hits in the game. Rafael Valera stole three bases and has 13 on the season. The team will play their final game of the season on Thursday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Kris Johnson, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jonatan Hinojosa, Cedar Rapids Kernels THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (6:00 CST) – Virgil Vasquez New Britain @ Binghamton (5:35 CST) – Jason Wheeler Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – TBD Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – Chih-Wei Hu Kingsport @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) – Derrick Penilla GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (9:00am CST) – TBD (Final game of season) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Wednesday games. Click here to view the article

The names I'm most surprised by are Alex Wimmers and Levi Michael... I like the idea of Cole Johnson too. No need to send Burdi at this point.

No question on Fernandez. He's had a terrific year, and he was drafted a year before Navarreto.

Turner and Garver will move up. Swim seems to have moved to RF, but he should move up to FM as well. Navarreto may move up. He really struggled early and missed time, but he's got some doubles, so there's some chance he could move up to CR next year.

The Twins have put in the time and developed a terrific core of prospects. We saw Santana, Vargas, and now May. Arcia's had more time to go through some ups and downs. Next year, with health, we could see another wave in Meyer, Sano, possibly Buxton and even Berrios, along with Burdi, Jones, etc. I'm of the opinion that you let these guys play and see what you have, what sticks. Hopefully a nice, solid core of players will come out of that. If you noticed one thing about those 87 and 91 teams, the key players were the guys who came up together and developed that core. When they were ready, they complemented the roster with pieces. When the Yankees won 4 WS in a row, it was because of their core four (remember they have only one once since they started spending in free agency). For me, I want to see which of these guys turn into that next core. And, the idea of signing a 30+ year old #1 starter should be about 20 times more scary than the Nolasco signing has been.

Turner - I think that he has the chance to be a solid starting catcher in the big leagues. His floor is a really good backup catcher in the big leagues. Mitch Garver also put himself on that trajectory, making him one to watch too. Thorpe - he's doing quite well in the MWL. It took him awhile, and that control is still something to watch. I would suspect he would spend up to a half-season in Cedar Rapids again to start the season. It'll be good for him to get that time.

We would love that guy (.250/25/100) in the big leagues... but Walker's high-A contact rate means that he would not currently be able to come close to any of those numbers in the big leagues. He's developing very well. he's younger than most of those college guys drafted his year. he's not old for the level. Also, he will get to play extra games by staying with the Miracle at this point. In the playoffs. Why hurt his teammates for an extra couple of weeks of AA time? The organization really likes Walker, but they're doing what's best for him. The organization certainly sees his talent and his gifts. No question about it. They want him to be able to continue doing those things all the way up. You have to be able to recognize (and work on) those flaws to get there. I'm probably higher on Walker than anyone you'll see a Top 50 or Top 30 Twins prospect list from, but I'm in agreement that he is where he should be. He'll start next season in AA either way. He was a top 12 Twins prospect for me coming into the year, and that's where he'll be going into next season too.

Jeremy and I discussed on Twins Hangouts. It could just be that they (or Burdi) decided Burdi wasn't going to play. It could be that they are going to wait until they find out more about Buxton. If they need to replace Buxton, maybe they add Adam Walker meaning that they can't have another Ft. Myers player, so maybe someone like Alex Wimmers goes in place of Burdi. It could be an attempt to get clearance for a player in another Winter League. Could be several things, including nothing.

Wonderful report! I really like how you lay it out and come to the final summary at the end. I completely agree with this assessment!

Playing every day means that the organization believes in him immensely. There's more to the game than hitting HR. Believe me, they're likely very excited about his power/production potential. However, a .290 OBP in Hi-A means a .250 OBP in the big leagues. He does have work to do, no question. It's good that he spent the full season in the FSL.

He's pitched in 2-3 games for the Rock Cats already. He wasn't a PTBNL. He was named right away when the deal was made.

It's the same as has happened the last two years with Eddie Rosario. Sano (like rosario) is not eligible to play in the AFL because he's on the roster of another Winter League team... unless that team gives the Twins/MLB a waiver saying they can. So, Rosario's team in Puerto Rico is allowing Rosario to play. It's unlikely that the Twins asked Sano's team for such a waiver this year, but they could have tried.

Yeah, Burdi will be up quick while not overdoing it. It does make some sense for him to pitch there, though it's been such a long season for a college pitcher, considering he started pitching in january!

Good catch on Nick Burdi being on the AFL team's roster... I can't imagine why the team wouldn't announce that, or what would be going on. The Twins have said for a month or two now that Miguel Sano would not play in the Arizona Fall League or the first half of the Dominican Winter League. He will be rehabbing in Ft. Myers. It's possible he will play in the DWL following the holidays in preparation for big league camp.

On Thursday afternoon, MLB announced its 2014 Arizona Fall League rosters. Six Minnesota Twins were announced as members of the Salt River Rafters, including a couple of their top prospects. According to Dustin Morse, the Twins will add an additional pitcher. The season will open on October 7. The Arizona Fall League is a good place for some of baseball’s best prospects. It’s also a great place for players who missed time during the regular season to get some playing time. The Twins have sent some who fit into either of these categories, and sometimes both.The plan is for Byron Buxton to repeat in Arizona after playing well there last year. It’s been a long, frustrating season for the outfielder. In his 2013 season, split between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers, he was named the Twins minor league hitter of the year and in the offseason was the consensus #1 prospect in all baseball. He received an invite to big league spring training. Unfortunately, he has been mostly hurt since mid-March when he dove for a ball in a minor league spring training game and hurt his wrist. After returning, he was hit by a pitch in the right wrist and missed about a week. More recently, he was promoted to AA New Britain but in his first game he collided with right fielder Mike Kvasnicka and suffered a concussion that cost him the rest of the regular season. He has been named to the Arizona Fall League despite the fact that he has not yet been given clearance to resume baseball activities. If Buxton is unable to play, he will be replaced by another Twins farmhand. Like Buxton, Max Kepler will be spending another stint in the Arizona Fall League. Last year, he was very young and probably not quite ready for the competition, but he generally held his own. He has also missed a bit of time in 2014 due to injury and illness. On the season, he is hitting .257/.330/.386 (.716) with 17 doubles, six triples and five homers with the Ft. Myers Miracle. However, he has been much better of late. The third Twins position player returning to the AFL this year is Eddie Rosario. The 2B/OF from Puerto Rico missed the first 50 games this season due to a suspension for a drug of abuse. In 71 games with New Britain, he has shown flashes despite overall numbers of .237/.281/.389 (.670). He has hit 19 doubles, three triples and six home runs for the Rock Cats. Taylor Rogers will be pitching in the Fall League. He was my choice for Twins starting pitcher of the year in 2013. He really struggled in the first four starts of this season, but he has rebounded very well. Overall in 23 starts, he has gone 10-6 with a 3.42 ERA in 137 innings. He has walked just 37 and struck out 104. Rogers missed a couple of starts last month with biceps tendinitis. Another left-hander, Mason Melotakis, was also named to the AFL. He began the season as a starter in Ft. Myers, but he was moved to the bullpen where he has thrived. He has struck out 17 and walked just two over 14.2 innings in twelve outings. Melotakis missed two of three weeks with elbow inflammation earlier in the month. The final Twins representative in the Fall League is the newest member of the organization, right-hander Jason Adam. He came to the Twins from the Kansas City Royals in the Josh Willingham trade. He had moved to the bullpen with the Royals AAA team, but the Twins want him to start and sent him to AA to do such. UPDATE: For what it's worth, the Salt River Rafters' roster includes RHP Nick Burdi. Of course, injury and other things could alter this roster, but please feel free to discuss. Who could the seventh player be? There are certainly several options. Click here to view the article

Yeah, in a way they do somewhat control their own destiny... kind of.

It's a story I'd told many times, but I was really bored, so I did a Yahoo search for "Twins Dork" and got Twins Geek... This is one that I remember from way back when! Good stuff!

Corrected... thanks for pointing that out... We do hate Mondays! Ha!

that's usually the case...

The pitchers who are able to go from being a mid-90s fastball with plus secondary pitches into guys who sit in the 90-92 range with even better secondary stuff are the ones who have a chance. But to be able to maintain 96+ for more than 6-8 years (or after age 31) isn't likely.

I don't think it has anything to do with maturity... I recall a very veteran Carl Pavano taking a bat to a water cooler. I have no problem with May if he throws his glove down or if he just calmly goes and sit upset. I thought he was better, and that's all I care about. He didn't walk anyone, but gave up hits. Now next start hopefully he can take another step. That's all that matters.

I don't know if I'm convinced that Kepler is heading back to Ft. Myers next year. I was a month ago when he was hitting .220 and missing a lot of time. But since he's been back in the lineup pretty much every day, he's been tremendous. Still think he may start at Ft. Myers again next year, but that's not a given at all.