Seth Stohs

Tha'ts just how "comps" work. You don't hear a lot of players getting comp'd to like Scott Leius or Cleatus Davidson. The comparisons to Ortiz are real. Doesn't mean the results will be exactly the same. 99% chance they won't be. But the comp is legit.

As a terrible writer, I would say, "I don't know."

Good list... I hope lots of people will share their lists here in the Blogs for people to discuss.

Yeah, it was great to see Hicks do well, and as others have said, will be good to see him do well in Rochester. I think it's wise they're letting him play and succeed. Confidence is such a big part of this game. As for the large 1B, I don't mind it at all. Vargas is up. Gonzales and Hicks have good power. I don't mind having a few thumpers around.

I'm confident there will be. I'm less confident it will be what we want to hear... but I'm hopeful.

I don't get the rush. The guy doesn't need to be added to the 40 man roster for another year or two. He'll be 23 years old in AA next year. No one is saying that if he puts up these kind of numbers in the big leagues, he won't be just fine as a player. There's a reason he's not a Twins top prospect. He'll never be a high, high average guy, and he will always strike out, but there's no harm in trying to cut down on the Ks. The game does get harder and pitchers do get smarter and have better stuff as they move up. The Twins are a team that has its top prospects generally spend 1/2 year in Ft. Myers and 1/2 year in AA in a season. It's not about age or anything like that.It's about the evaluators believing he can be successful. I'll trust Mientkiewicz and Jim Dwyer in their evaluation that the best thing for him is to stick there for the full season. Also, very few players with sub-.300 OBP last in the big leagues very long... So I do think it's important for him to make these adjustments. So, in my opinion, this is a clear case where spending the full season in Ft. Myers, I believe, is the right there. People can show examples like Jose Abreu as a guy with a low-OBP, but it's still .330. People can suggest that Alfonso Soriano is a guy who had a long, productive career despite a low OBP... I'd say that's the exception.

Kevin Correia posted his fifth quality start in his last seven games, but Glen Perkins blew the save in the ninth and Anthony Swarzak gave up a Seth Smith home run in the tenth. The Twins lost 5-4. The Twins will now head to Oakland to start a four-game series. Two Twins affiliates had the day off on Wednesday, but there was still plenty of action in the Twins farm system. Here is the Minor League Report for Wednesday:RED WINGS REPORT Rochester had no game scheduled Wednesday. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 5, Akron 6 Box Score The Rock Cats went into the bottom of the ninth, holding on to a 5-4 lead. Unfortunately, a solo homer followed by a single, a sacrifice bunt and a single led to a loss. Virgil Vasquez started and gave up four runs on eight hits in six innings. He didn’t allow a walk and struck out six. Ryan O’Rourke struck out two in a scoreless seventh inning. Cole Johnson pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Johnson came out for the ninth inning and gave up the two runs on three hits to take the loss. Down 4-3 going into the sixth, Brandon Waring and Mike Gonzales hit back-to-back home runs to give the Rock Cats the lead. It was Waring’s 12th home run, and Gonzales’ second with the Rock Cats and 11th overall this season. Eddie Rosario and Tony Thomas each had two hits. Jorge Polanco hit a two-run double early in the game. The Rock Cats are now 55-60 on the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, St. Lucie 6 Box Score The Miracle held a 5-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth. Unfortunately, five unearned runs came across the plate, and the team lost 6-5. Matt Tomshaw made the start. The left-hander gave up six unearned runs on ten hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out two. Todd Van Steensel pitched the final two innings. He gave up no runs on two hits and two walks and he struck out two. Levi Michael went 2-5 and knocked his first home run of the year. Adam Walker went 2-3 with a walk. Travis Harrison went 1-3 and walked twice. Tyler Grimes, playing at third base on this night, went 1-2 with two walks. Dalton Hicks had a two-run double early in the game. Byron Buxton went 0-5 and is now 2-19 in his last five games. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Wisconsin 6 Box Score Joe Mauer played six innings at first base for the Kernels in his second rehab game. He went 0-3 in the game and is now 1-6 in his two rehab games. He is scheduled to have Thursday off and will then play in Cedar Rapids this weekend. Mitch Garver went 2-3 with a walk. Tanner Vavra went 3-4 and stole his sixth base. Chih-Wei Hu started and was very good through three shutout innings. However, he was charged with six earned runs in the fourth inning. In all, he gave up six hits, walked two and struck out two. Brandon Bixler threw two shutout innings. Josue Montanez struck out three over two scoreless innings. Nick Burdi came on for the ninth and struck out two and walked one. He was clocked at 101 mph. The Kernels are 57-58 overall this season, but this is the first series they have lost in a month, according to the team. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton did not have a scheduled game on Wednesday. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score For the third time in two days, the GCL Twins lost a one-run game to the GCL Orioles. They fall to 14-27 on the season. Lefty David Hurlbut made his first appearance on the mound in about two months. He gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk in three innings. Seth Wagner came in and worked the next five innings. He gave up just one run on four hits. He didn’t walk any and struck out one. Trevor Hildenberger worked a perfect ninth inning. Corey Wimberly and Zach Granite continued their rehab stints in this game. They were the top two hitters in the lineup and each went 1-4 in the game. Rainis Silva went 2-4. TJ White played in his second game and collected his first professional hit. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Seth Wagner, GCL Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tanner Vavra, Cedar Rapids Kernels THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Indianapolis (6:05 CST) – Sean Gilmartin New Britain @ Akron (6:05 CST) – Tyler Duffey Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (6:35 CST) – Ethan Mildren Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – Mat Batts Danville @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00am CST) – Brandon Easton Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Wednesday games. Click here to view the article

Earlier in the week, we looked at the long lists of Starting Pitchers and Relief Pitchers in the Minnesota Twins farm system who had strong July performances. Fortunately, there were also a lot of hitters who were up for consideration for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month in July. It’s fun to review July because it’s the first time that short-season players, many drafted in June, spend their first full month in professional baseball. So, these lists can contain players who are in AAA and been in pro ball for many years or players who have been in pro ball for one month. Let’s get to it. Here are July’s top hitters:Let's start with a few players who are outside of the Top 5, but certainly warrant mention. Honorable Mention Rochester Doug Bernier 31-103 (.301/.376/.447 – .823), 8-2B, 2-3B, 1-HR, 13-RBINB/Rochester Reynaldo Rodriguez 27-93 (.290/.382/.419 - .801) 9-2B, 0-3B, 1-HR, 12-RBINew Britain Mike Kvasnicka 34-111 (.306/.345/.505 – 849), 7-2B, 0-3B, 5-HR, 20 RBIFt. Myers Travis Harrison 31-102 (.304/.393/.402 - .795), 7-2B, 0-3B, 1-HR, 10-RBICedar Rapids Alex Swim 34-95 (.358/.402/.411 - .812), 5-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 12-RBICedar Rapids Mitch Garver 25-91 (.275/.333/.538 – .872), 3-2B, 0-3B, 7-HR, 19-RBICedar Rapids Bryan Haar 23-83 (.277/.344/.446 - .790), 4-2B, 2-3B, 2-HR, 10-RBIElizabethton Tyler Kuresa 28-96 (.292/.349/.510 - .859), 9-2B, 0-3B, 4-HR, 23-RBIAnd now this month's Top 5 Hitters: #5 – Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers - Jason Kanzler, 29-92 (.315/.402/.489 - .891), 3-2B, 2-3B, 3-HR, 13-RBI Kanzler was the Twins 20th round pick in 2013 out of the University of Buffalo where he won a couple of college Gold Glove awards. Though he began the season in extended spring, he was called up to Cedar Rapids quickly. With the Kernels, he took over centerfield and showed the tools that made him an intriguing draft pick. He’s got extra base power that he showed with eight doubles, eight triples and nine home runs in 84 games with the Kernels. He also stole 15 bases. Late in July, he received the promotion to Ft. Myers that he was ready for. He homered in his first at bat. Kanzler is definitely much more than the mustache. He’s got legit athleticism, talent and baseball acumen to continue to rise. #4 – Ft. Myers - Dalton Hicks, 30-107 (.280/.344/.561 – 0.905), 7-2B, 1-3B, 7-HR, 23-RBI As you recall, Hicks led all of baseball in RBI in 2013. This year it’s been more of a struggle for the 6-5, 250 pound first baseman. His OPS' by month since April have been .720, .696, .616, but he increased that to .913 in July. For the month, his 15 extra base hits were more than the three previous months combined. He has missed time with injury throughout the year, but he is now back to being the run producer in the middle of the Miracle lineup that was expected. #3 – Ft. Myers – Mike Gonzales 29-76 (.382/.442/.684 – 1.126), 11-2B, 0-3B, 4-HR, 20-RBI Gonzales was the Twins ninth round pick in 2009 out of Diablo Valley College. At 6-6 and 260 pounds, he had a long swing. A second year in Beloit was very beneficial for him. His career has been slowed, in part, by a medical condition that makes it difficult for him to play full games in Ft. Myers, or in back-to-back games. However, things certainly clicked for him with the Miracle in July. He carried a 19-game hitting streak right up until the day he was promoted to New Britain (July 27). In his second game with the Rock Cats, he was 2-4 with a home run. Gonzales and Hicks combined for a dominant 1B/DH team with the Miracle. Both have tremendous power and profile very similarly. #2 – Elizabethton/Cedar Rapids – Max Murphy 33-98 (.337/.433/.622 – 1.056), 4-2B, 0-3B, 8-HR, 17-RBI Murphy was the Twins ninth round pick this year out of Bradley University. He is from Robbinsdale, Minnesota. He signed quite quickly after the draft and reported to Elizabethton where he started to hit immediately. Like Kanzler, Murphy is a good combination of skills, though none of them jump out as great. He is a solid baseball player who has few weaknesses. Before the end of July, he was promoted to Cedar Rapids. The July Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is... New Britain Rock Cats – OF Aaron Hicks (35-101) .347/.427/.554 (0.982) with 10-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 18 RBI After starting the second straight season as the Minnesota Twins starting centerfielder, and then struggling for two or more months, the Twins decided to option Aaron Hicks to AA New Britain. As expected, he started out quite slowly, but once the calendar turned to July, Aaron Hicks started putting up numbers. He went back to switch-hitting and likely relaxed and found it again. He hit for average, got on base and showed some extra base power. He was playing all three outfield positions and put himself in position for a promotion. On Monday, he was promoted to the Rochester Red Wings where he will attempt to continue doing what he was in New Britain. Hopefully he can put up another terrific month in August in Rochester and spend September in the big leagues. There you have it. The top five hitters in the Twins system for the month of July. Now it’s time to debate. What do you think? Please feel free to discuss. ---- Twins win last night and you do today. Order a large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com using the promo code TWINSWIN and get it for 50% off. Click here to view the article

I was asked to be a guest on KFAN’s Baseball Weekly with Gleeman & The Geekon Sunday. I was on the second segment of the show and shared a Good, a Bad and an “Other” story. It was a fun segment and I encourage you to listen to the podcast, if you haven’t already. It was fun to do some research on each of those topics, and I thought that I would share some of that with you today. Obviously we could talk about Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario, and that’s good, but we want to make sure that other guys get discussed too. Would we mention that Sano is hitting .308/.438/654 (1.091) with 18 extra base hits and 28 RBI. We could mention that he is 10-20 (.500) with three doubles and two home runs in his last five games. Or, we could mention that he had three errors in a game this weekend and ten on the season. Rosario is hitting .308/.438/.455 with ten doubles, a triple and a home run. He has also walked more than he has struck out (17-15). He also has seven stolen bases… and nine errors, although it is at his new position of 2B. You take the good, you take the bad… you take them both, and there you have… Life in the Minor Leagues![PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] THE GOOD On the show, I mentioned Deolis Guerra and Anthony Slama from the Rochester bullpen. I should have also mentioned Jeff Manship currently is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA. Guerra has given up one run in 19.1 innings between AA and AAA. He has two walks and 24 strikeouts. Impressive, to say the least, and yet I am hearing reports that he is only hitting 88-89 mph with his fastball. His changeup is sometimes described as Santana-like, and that’s great, but it will be interesting to see how AAA hitters adjust to him before the Twins call him up. Slama is the guy that most of us Twins fans have wondered about for years. He has a 0.63 ERA this season and seven saves. In 14.1 innings, he has 10 walks and 24 strikeouts. If it is the walks that concern people with the Twins, that is understandable. The walk total is high. Yet, in the last couple of years, the Twins have added lots of pitchers that throw harder than Slama, yet walk just as many. Names like Jim Hoey, Juan Morillo, Esmerling Vasquez and now Jeff Gray come to mind. If the argument is about his “stuff,” which generally sits between 88-91 mph, then how do they explain his incredible strikeout rates? I know I can’t explain it. However, with the Twins 2012 (and 2013?) seasons in serious doubt, it would seem like a good time to give him an extended look! Slama was removed from the Twins 40 man roster following the 2011 season. Soon after, David Bromberg was also removed from the 40 man roster. Bromberg missed most of the 2011 season after taking a line drive off the forearm that cost him 3 months and then he came back and struggled. He began the 2012 season in the New Britain bullpen, and he struggled. In his first three games (2 IP), he gave up nine earned runs. Since then, he has thrown 15 inning and given up just one run. In his last two starts, he has thrown ten shutout innings. When the Twins traded Kevin Slowey to the Rockies last December, they acquired right-handed Daniel Turpen. Turpen was a hard-throwing, side-winding, ground ball-throwing reliever. However, in 59.2 innings at AA last year, he walked 35 and struck out 33. He is pitching out of the New Britain bullpen this season. So far, in 16 innings pitched, he has 18 strikeouts and ZERO walks. Getting back to Rochester, it isn’t just the bullpen guys who are pitching well. Scott Diamond was called up to the Twins, but he had a 4-1 record with a 2.60 ERA. PJ Walters is 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA. Eden Prairie’s Cole DeVries is 0-2 but has a 2.89 ERA. Daryl Thompson is 1-2 with a solid 3.60 ERA. Walters and DeVries are 27 while Thompson is 26. DeVries is the only one of that group without big league service time… yet. THE BAD The guy I probably should have talked about was Joe Benson. The talented outfielder hit .179/.269/.316 with three doubles, two triples and two home runs in 28 games with the Red Wings. He had 27 strikeouts in 106 plate appearances. It would have been timely because Benson was demoted back to New Britain this morning where he will hopefully be able to turn things around. We did talk about Alex Wimmers and the news from the weekend that he has a partially torn UCL. Of course, talk of UCL tears has to lead to talk of Tommy John surgery. The Twins are choosing to rest and rehab, but we have to believe that the team also has a deadline for when they will want to have surgery in order to minimize his time missed. If Wimmers were to have the surgery, he would join 2009 first round pick Kyle Gibson and 2009 supplemental first-round pick Matt Bashore as guys who have had the Tommy John surgery. Add that 2011 first-round pick Levi Michaels entered Monday morning’s game with a .227 batting average and that can’t be termed “good.” Oswaldo Arcia is a top 5 prospect in most Twins prospect lists. He is hitting a respectable .275 in Ft. Myers this spring despite missing a little over a week with a leg injury. However, he is hitting 4-30 with 14 strikeouts against left-handed pitchers so far this year. Very small sample size, but his prospect ranking could be affected if his future would be as a platoon player. Of course, he is hitting .351 with a .959 OPS against right-handed pitchers. Angel Morales, another Miracle outfielder, started the season by hitting .418 (23-55). Since then (19 games), he is 4-46 (.087) and hitting .267 on the season. Brian Dozier started the season by going 15-34 (.441) through the first nine games. In 19 games since, he is 14-71 (.197). I mention this, not to discount him as a prospect at all. But, people do need to temper expectations a little bit. THE OTHER We spent some time talking about Minnesota native Caleb Thielbar. The lefty has thrown 16.2 innings without giving up a run. He was promoted to New Britain last week, and the day he arrived, he got the final out and a save. The next night, he threw two scoreless innings and got the Win in an 11 inning game. Thielbar was signed by the Twins last year and became the first player the team signed from the St. Paul Saints. Adrian Salcedo left his last start when the second batter hit a one-hopper at the mound which bounced up and broke his nose. He had been struggling to start the season. In his previous start, he had walked five batters, something he just doesn’t do. On Saturday, Salcedo was back on the mound and had his best start. He gave up two runs in five innings. Most important, he walked none. What else is going on in the Twins minor league system? What is standing out to you? Download attachment: Anthony Slama.jpg Click here to view the article

I'm making an assumption based on my projected rotation the next two weeks (in another thread) that May and Milone will be up in the next week, so Pino isn't the issue. I can see Correia being DFAd at the end of August if they can't get anyone to take him too.

I did the same on Twitter last night... couldn't help myself, but I felt icky.

Yeah, it wouldn't bother me at all either. I do think he comes up at some point, probably after the Rochester season is complete, and just works out of the bullpen. That may be a great introduction to the big leagues for him.

on-base percentage, walk rate and strikeout rate.

He's playing tonight... DHing tonight, and then playing 1B on Wednesday. Off day on Thursday and they'll determine whether he rejoins the Twins on Friday, or stays in CR through the weekend.

Batts was drafted as a 4-year college senior less than two months ago and he's already moved up three levels. We need to stop worrying about such things. Meyer would be in the top 5 if he wouldn't have walked as many as he gives up hits.

Yesterday, we looked at the top relief pitchers for the month of July. There were a lot of great bullpen performances and many honorable mentions as well. It’s much of the same today as we look at the Minnesota Twins top starting pitchers in July. This list is a mix of top prospects and pitchers who deserve much more recognition.Honorable Mention • RHP – JO Berrios – Ft. Myers/New Britain – 5 GS, 2-3, 3.51 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 25.2 IP, 20 H, 7 BB, 17 K (.220/.290/.319) • RHP – Alex Meyer – Rochester – 5 GS, 2-0, 1.55 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 29.0 IP, 17 H, 17 BB, 34 K (.175/.298/.227) • LHP – Sean Gilmartin – Rochester – 6 GS, 1-2, 3.89 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 37.0 IP, 33 H, 12 BB, 31 K (.244/.311/.356) • RHP – Felix Jorge – Elizabethton – 5 GS, 2-1, 2.63 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 27.1 IP, 27 H, 8 BB, 27 K (.255/.319/.321) • LHP – Brandon Easton – GCL Twins – 5 GS, 1-1, 2.45 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 22.0 IP, 19 H, 6 BB, 15 K (.235/.292/.370) --- Number 5 – GCL Twins – RHP Alexis Tapia – 6 G, 4 GS, 3-0, 1.80 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 25.0 IP, 17 H, 4 BB, 20 K The Twins signed Tapia out of Venezuela in September of 2012. Less than two years later, he made his debut in the States and doing a very good job in the GCL. Last year in the DSL, he went 2-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 11 games (seven starts). In 42.1 innings, he gave up 32 hits, walked five and struck out 31. He has continued that with the GCL Twins, giving up less than a hit per inning, minimizing walks and getting decent strikeout numbers. In July, opponents hit .193/.240/.284 (.524) against him. Number 4 – GCL/Elizabethton – LHP Mat Batts – 5 G, 4 GS, 2-0, 1.80 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 25.0 IP, 15 H, 4 BB, 27 K The Twins used their 17th round pick this year on this four-year college senior out of UNC-Wilmington. He is also a former intern at Baseball America. However, it is what he has done on the mound since being drafted that has the 23-year-old on this list. He made just three appearances in the GCL before there was a need at Elizabethton. He then made four starts at Elizabethton. At the end of July, he was promoted to Cedar Rapids where he had a very good first start. In July, opponents hit just .179/.225/.286 (.510). He is not a hard-thrower, but he is a pitcher. He’s got the “Twins Pitcher” profile: throws strikes, mixes pitches, knows how to pitch. Number 3 - Cedar Rapids – RHP Aaron Slegers - 6 GS, 2-2, 1.96 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 36.2 IP, 28 H, 5 BB, 31 K At 6-10, Aaron Slegers has the ability to stand out in a crowd. After a strong start in Cedar Rapids this year, he struggled for a couple months. However, he figured some things out in July and posted his best month. Opponents hit just .224/.267/.328 (.595) off him. He gained control and command of his pitches. In fact, the 21-year-old was promoted to Ft. Myers and made his first start on Monday night. Slegers has a low-90s fastball, and as you would expect, a good, downward angle on his pitches. The Twins 5th round pick in 2013 out of Indiana, he will require some patience, but there is reason to be excited about his potential. Number 2 – New Britain – Tyler Duffey - 6 GS, 5-0, 3.10 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 40.2 IP, 34 H, 5 BB, 34 K Duffey was the Twins 2012 fifth-round draft pick out of Rice University where he shared closer duties with Twins 2nd round pick JT Chargois. In 2013, he was moved into the starting rotation, and he has been very solid. He certainly has had some ups and downs as a starter, but when he’s on, he gives the feeling that he could pitch in the big leagues. His fastballs come in anywhere from 90 to 95 mph. He has a very good curveball, and his changeup remains his biggest question mark. Things were working well in July when opponents hit just .228/.259/.396 (.655) against him. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Cedar Rapids – RHP Chih-Wei Hu - 6 GS, 5-0, 1.25 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 36.0 IP, 20 H, 6 BB, 38 K The Twins outbid several teams for Hu’s services after he had a very impressive amateur career. He was a star in high school as well as in international competitions. The Twins signed him for $220,000 in August of 2012. He spent 2013 in the GCL, and he began 2014 in Elizabethton. In July, he made one start in Elizabethton before a promotion to the Kernels. In each of his six starts, he went six innings. Opponents hit just .156/.206/.195 against him. He has a fastball that can touch 95. He has a good curveball and a solid changeup. He even throws a palm ball. At 6-1 and 215 pounds, the 20-year-old has a sturdy frame. He has an advanced knowledge of pitching and has a chance to be very good. So there you have it. The top pitchers in the Minnesota Twins farm system in July. What do you think? How would you rank these starting pitchers? Click here to view the article

Would be nice to see Deolis Guerra come up this year. He's really been pretty good the last few years (minus missing a year with a blood clot in his shoulder). He was tremendous this spring and shows a good FB/CU mix. Could be a good 7th inning type guy for 5-6 years.

Boyd was suspended. Now that suspension is over.

One of the great things about Twins Daily is that everyone can start up their own Blog. As we have pointed out, the best of the best can be promoted to the front page. Also, we can promote series as well. Download attachment: MarkAppel2.jpg Over the last week to ten days, frequent Twins Daily contributor Thrylos has been working on a tremendous series called Profiles of the Top 22 Pitchers in the 2012 MLB Draft. It's a great series in which we can learn more about future, potential Minnesota Twins. A few of them will be considered for the #2 overall pick. But the Twins have six picks in the top 100, so it's possible that the Twins use some of their extra picks on these guys too. Here are the profiles so far: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] RJ AlvarezMark Appel Jake Barrett Chris Beck Ryan Burr Zach Eflin Max Fried Kevin Gausman Lucas Giolito Andrew Heaney Brian JohnsonBased on the series title, Thrylos is about half-way through his series. Be sure to frequent the Twins Daily Blog pageto see the rest of the profiles as they are posted. For those interested, bkucko, also has a near-daily blog entrythat gives the player and pitcher of the day. Within it, he also shares a document that shows this information for the Twins and their affiliates for the full season. Click here to view the article

Today I’ll start announcing my choices for the July Minor League Awards. Each month, I like to post which pitchers and hitters had the best months. Today, I’m going to start the July versions with the relief pitchers. If you’re looking for a good reason for why the Cedar Rapids Kernels ended July by winning 16 of their final 20 games of the month, look no further than this article. The Kernels' bullpen has been absolutely dominant. Sure, you’ll learn tomorrow when we go through the starting pitchers that they were also a part of that, along with the Kernels' hitters. However, if the Kernels have a lead through five or six innings, they’re most likely going to win.Here are my choices for the Top 5 Twins Minor League Relief Pitchers in July. However, first I just need to point out several Honorable Mentions. It’s encouraging there are this many who warranty recognition this month! HONORABLE MENTION RHP Deolis Guerra – Rochester – 7 G, 12.1 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 16 K, 0.73 ERA, 0.81 WHIPRHP Adrian Salcedo – New Britain – 6 G, 2 GS, 11.1 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 7 K, 1.53 ERA, 0.94 WHIPLHP Jim Fuller – New Britain – 7 G, 12.2 IP, 11 H, 8 BB, 15 K, 2.13 ERA, 1.50 WHIPLHP Mason Melotakis – Ft. Myers/New Britain – 10 G, 13.0 IP, 11 H, 2 BB, 20 K, 1.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIPRHP Alex Wimmers – New Britain – 9 G, 16.1 IP, 18 H, 4 BB, 21 K, 2.20 ERA, 1.35 WHIPRHP Tyler Jones – Ft. Myers – 12 G, 13.2 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 15 K, 1.32 ERA, 0.95 WHIPLHP Brandon Bixler – Cedar Rapids – 9 G, 15.1 IP, 7 H, 6 BB, 19 K, 1.76 ERA, 0.85 WHIPRHP Todd Van Steensel – Ft. Myers – 11 G, 14.1 IP, 9 H, 10 BB, 19 K, 1.88 ERA, 1.33 WHIPRHP Dereck Rodriguez – Elizabethton – 7 G, 10.0 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 7 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.90 WHIPRHP Eduardo Del Rosario – GCL Twins – 8 G, 13.0 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 12 K, 2.08 ERA, 1.00 WHIPRHP Trevor Hildenberger – GCL Twins – 11 G, 14.2 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 14 K, 3.07 ERA, 1.02 WHIPTOP 5 MINNESOTA TWINS RELIEF PITCHER OF JULY 2014 Number 5 – Cedar Rapids – RHP Nick Burdi - 9 G, 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 21 K The Twins drafted Nick Burdi in the 24th round out of high school, but they were unable to sign him. He said he wasn’t ready at that time. After three years as a dominant closer at Louisville, the Twins were able to draft him in June with their 2nd round pick, 46th overall. He signed after the College World Series and a couple weeks later he debuted with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. I was at his professional debut. He threw fastballs between 96 and 99 mph and a couple sliders around 88-89. However, he walked all four batters he faced and later all four came around to score. That was in late June. Since the beginning of July he has been terrific. His fastball has reportedly hit 100 mph a few times, and his slider is at 89-91. He has thrown strikes and missed a lot of bats. My sense is still that the 21 year old will be up with the Twins very early in the 2015 season. Number 4 – Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers – RHP Alex Muren - 8 G, 0.59 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 15.1 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 14 K Muren was the Twins 12th round pick in 2012 out of Cal State – Northridge. He spent the final 2/3 of the 2013 season with the Kernels and went 6-1 with a 2.85 ERA in 60 innings. This year, he was 3-1 with a 2.89 ERA in 56 innings with the Kernels before being promoted to Ft. Myers where he has made three appearances. Though he doesn’t throw real hard, he gets a lot of sink and induces a lot of ground balls. With the Kernels, he has had more than 2.5 ground outs per fly out. He also did a good job of getting the baseball to run below the bats in July, striking out nearly a batter per inning. Number 3 – Ft. Myers – RHP Brandon Peterson - 9 G, 1.29 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 4 H, 8 BB, 21 K Peterson has become a regular on these monthly lists. The Burnsville native was the Twins 13th round pick a year ago out of Wichita State. He began this season in Cedar Rapids, but he was promoted to the Miracle just nine appearances into the season. His transition to the Miracle has been very impressive. The 22 year old has a 1.82 ERA over 34.2 Florida State League innings. He has 50 strikeouts to go with just 13 walks in that time. He was very good in July, and a little better control would likely allow him to move up another level. In July, opponents hit just .089 off of him, but eight walks pushed their on-base percentage over 22% Number 2 – Cedar Rapids – Dallas Gallant - 9 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 20 K I mean, 90% of months, the numbers that Dallas Gallant put up in July would have been easily the top bullpen performance of the month. However, this month, it’s good for only number two. Let’s just say that he, and the Twins, will take more months like this from anyone. He was taken in the 23rd round of the 2010 draft out of Sam Houston State. He has had Tommy John surgery and missed time for other reasons including the first 50 games this season. However, since he has been activated by the Kernels, he has been lights out. Overall, he has 27 strikeouts to just four walks in his 16.2 innings this year. In July, opponents hit just .140/.213/.163 (.376) against him. Frankly, there’s no reason that he shouldn’t be in Ft. Myers right now. He throws mid-90s heat and has good secondary pitches as well. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Elizabethton/Cedar Rapids – Jake Reed - 7 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.18 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 16 K The Twins used their fifth round pick this June on Jake Reed, a closer from Oregon. The hard-throwing right-hander was sent to Elizabethton. However, after just four appearances and six innings, he was promoted to Cedar Rapids where he has continued to pitch great. As the Twins do with current-year draft pick pitchers, they don’t pitch real often, generally getting three days in between appearances. However, when Reed was on the mound in July, he was about as dominant as it gets. Opponents hit just .054/.079/.081 (.160) off him. Reed throws hard, having touched 97 at times. He has an OK breaking ball which will need to improve. He throws a little from the side, giving hitters a different look. He started his first two seasons at Oregon, so he could possibly go back to that role, though he could move much more quickly as a bullpen arm. So what do you think? I’ve listed five relievers here (along with several other Honorable Mentions) that deserve to be recognized for their terrific performances. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)? Be sure to check back the next couple days for the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher and Hitter of the Month of July. ---- Twins win last night and you do today. Order a large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com using the promo code TWINSWIN and get it for 50% off. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2013 is now available, and I’m happy to have it out there for people to order. It’s a great tool for learning more about over 150 players in the Twins farm system. One of the players who received an extra-long profile was Eddie Rosario. This morning, you will find out why the timing of today’s Eddie Rosario, For Better or Worse article is appropriate. Read the following and decide for yourself: Will Eddie Rosario be better or worse in 2013? 2012 Recap When the Twins drafted Rosario in the third round of the 2010 draft, he was said to be the best bat from Puerto Rico that year. Since signing with the Twins, he has proven those people to be right. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In 2011, he was the MVP of the Appalachian League. In 67 games, he hit .337/.397/.670 (1.068 OPS) with nine doubles, nine triples, 21 homers, 60 RBI and 17 stolen bases. Throughout the summer, it was a back-and-forth battle between Rosario and teammate Miguel Sano for the league leadership in home runs. Rosario won by just one homer. The ballparks are smaller in the Appy League than they are in the Midwest League. Some wondered if Rosario would be able to continue putting up those kind of power numbers in Beloit. Simply put, he is not the same type of power hitter as Miguel Sano. However, he is a much more well-rounded hitter than Sano. In 95 games with the Snappers, he hit .296/.345/.490 (.835 OPS) with a team-leading 32 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs and 780 RBI. Impressive extra base hit totals considering he missed just over a month after being hit by a line drive in the mouth during batting practice in early June. He stole 11 bases, but he was also caught 11 times. Something happened after his injury because he could not read pitchers and was thrown out a lot. Rosario made the transition from centerfield to second base. He is a terrific defensive centerfielder with good range and a very strong arm. The move to second base was not simple. When I saw him play in early June, he showed very little range and looked uncomfortable. When I saw him play in early August, he looked much more comfortable, turned a couple of double plays and did have some improved range. Download attachment: Eddie Rosario Def.jpg Photo by Jim Crikket This offseason, he has been very impressive in the Puerto Rican Winter League. In the regular season, he hit .338/.386/.496 (.882) with nine doubles and four home runs. In 31 playoff at bats, he has hit .290/.378/.581 (.0959) with a homer and nine RBI. He has primarily been playing in right field, although he has occasionally played more at second base. When he reports to spring training, he will be playing second base. However, his spring training plans will be somewhat altered as he will be named to the Puerto Rican team in the WBC today when the rosters are announced. Why He’ll Be Worse As was mentioned last week when we discussed Miguel Sano, Rosario will also be moving up a level to play in Ft. Myers. The Florida State League is more advanced than the Midwest League. The dimensions of the ballpark are even larger, matching big league ballparks since they are used for major league spring training. One thing to watch will be his walk rate. After walking 9.1% of his plate appearances in 2011, he walked just 7.2% of the time in 2012. He will also need to show that his second half base stealer drought was just a slump. Why He’ll Be Better First and foremost, he hopefully won’t miss a month in the middle of the season due to a fluke injury. His numbers were very strong, and he was fairly consistent, at Beloit. His strikeout rate actually dropped from 20% to 16% When watching him, I found myself comparing his stance and swing are very similar to that of Denard Span. He has very quick hands so he is able to watch the ball a little bit longer. He also does a great job of using the entire field. He was also able to avoid long slumps. So, which will it be? Will Eddie Rosario get better or worse in 2013? Let us know what you think. If you missed my Live Chat last night, where many minor league topics were discussed, you can read the transcript here.Also, be sure to join us at Huberts (by the Metrodome) on Saturday night from 6-9 p.m., following Twins Fest. The Twins Daily guys will be there, as will Aaron Gleeman and many of your favorite writers. Click here to view the article