Seth Stohs

On Saturday, Nick Blackburn was played on the Rochester Disabled list with an inflamed knee, and Virgil Vasquez will make the start for him on Sunday. On the field, there some good starts and a couple of not-so-good starts. A couple of affiliates came from behind to get wins. Kennys Vargas powered the Miracle to a win. Elizabethton doubled their pleasure against Johnson City. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Saturday night: Rochester 4, Norfolk 2 Box Score Logan Darnell was solid again in his Saturday start for the Red Wings. The lefty gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out eight. Cody Eppley came on and gave up a hit to the batter he faced. Edgar Ibarra came on and got two outs, extending his consecutive scoreless inning streak to 22.2 (between New Britain and Rochester). Michael Tonkin recorded the final four outs, two on strikeouts, for his sixth save. The Red Wings bats made short work of Orioles pitching prospect Kevin Gausman. The hard-throwing righty topped out at 98 mph in his 4.1 innings of work. The Wings scored four runs on six hits and two walks off of him. Eduardo Escobar went 2-4 with a double and a stolen base. Deibinson Romero was 2-4 with his ninth home run. James Beresford was 2-3 with a triple. What a month July has been for the Red Wings. With this win and a Pawtucket loss, the two teams are in a virtual tie at the top of the International League North Division. The Red Wings were 11 games behind the Red Sox on July 2nd. New Britain 3, Reading 12 Box Score Miguel Sano sat out for the fourth straight game, and the Rock Cats looked like they needed more than just the ultra-talented prospect on this night. Former Gopher Seth Rosin held the Rock Cats to just one run over the first five innings. Danny Santana was 2-5 with his 20th stolen base. Eddie Rosario was 2-5 with his 11th double and third stolen base. Danny Ortiz went 2-5. DJ Baxendale had another rough start. He was charged with eight runs (7 earned) on ten hits and two walks in just four innings. Blake Martin came on and gave up a run on a hit and a walk in an inning. He struck out two. BJ Hermsen and Ryan O’Rourke each threw a scoreless inning of relief. Cole Johnson then gave up three runs on two hits in his inning. He did strike out three. Ft. Myers 12, Clearwater 11 Box Score This was a back and forth game for the Miracle, but in the end, they walked off with a win. They had to overcome a five-run deficit at one point. Tyler Duffey started and gave up seven runs (5 earned) on seven hits and three walks in just 3.1 innings. Chad Rodgers came on and got the final two outs of the fourth, but not before giving up a home run. Steven Gruver worked the next three innings. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two. Corey Williams gave up a hit in a scoreless inning. Zach Jones came on to hold a two-run lead in the ninth, but he gave up two runs on a hit and a walk. He got a blown save, but thanks to the Miracle winning in the bottom of the ninth, he also gets the Win. JD Williams went 3-5 with a walk and his fifth stolen base. He scored the game-winning run. Kennys Vargas put on a show. He went 2-3 with three walks. He hit his 16th and 17th home runs, both three-run blasts in the game. The six RBI was the most by a Miracle hitter in a game this season. Mike Kvasnicka went 2-5 with a walk and his seventh and eighth doubles. Stephen Wickens was 2-2 with a walk. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4969[/ATTACH] Cedar Rapids 5, Clinton 2 Box Score Tim Atherton gave up a run in the third and a run in the fourth. In six total innings, the Australian right-hander gave up the two runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out eight. Hudson Boyd worked the next two innings, and only allowed a walk. Brian Gilbert came on to protect the three-run lead in the ninth and recorded the save. Max Kepler led the offense on this night. His solo homer put the team on the board in the fifth inning. He went 2-3 with a walk and his fifth homer. Adam Walker hit his 23rd double, a shot off the wall. Elizabethton 8, Johnson City 0 Box Score The E-Twins doubled their pleasure on Saturday night. The team hit nine doubles and a home run in this game and got great pitching for the win. Randy Rosario started and gave up six hits and no walks in seven shutout innings. He struck out nine. C. K. Irby gave up two hits but no runs in his inning. Kuo-Hua Lo pitched a scoreless inning. Bryan Haar led the offense. He was 3-5 with his fifth, sixth and seventh doubles. Rory Rhodes was 3-5 with his eighth double. Javier Pimentel went 3-5 with his eighth double. Mitch Garver went 2-5 with his fifth and sixth doubles. Jake Proctor returned to the E-Twins lineup and hit a double. Logan Wade was 2-4 and hit his second home run. GCL Twins, GCL Red Sox Postponed by Rain. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

The Twins played a late game out in Seattle and did not get a very good start. The Twins minor league affiliates all got pretty good starts. Five of the six starters began the game with four scoreless frames. The Twins starters at the top three affiliates each went at least six scoreless innings. Liam Hendriks had a perfect game going through six while Trevor May had given up just one hit through the Rock Cats first six innings. Each gave up runs in the third. Matt Summers has been incredible in July, and he was at his best on Thursday. Check out his July numbers below, and then see how the rest of the Minor League Affiliates did: Rochester 6, Lehigh Valley 3 Box Score Liam Hendriks certainly had people talking for awhile with his performance in this game. The Australian right-hander had a perfect game through six innings. However, in the 7th, he gave up three quick runs. In total, he went 7.2 innings and gave up three runs on five hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five. Aaron Thompson came in and got the final four outs to record his sixth Red Wings save. All four outs came on strikeouts. Deibinson Romero led the offense. He was 2-2 with two walks, his eighth double and his seventh home run. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 with his tenth double. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4953[/ATTACH] New Britain 1, Reading 3 Box Score Trevor May was terrific on this day. He gave up three runs on four hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out eight. However, through six innings, he had given up just one hit, one walk and no runs. Dan Turpen came in and worked a perfect inning. Danny Ortiz provided three of the team’s hits, including his 24th double. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his 23rd double. Nate Hanson, taking over third base duties for the benched Miguel Sano, went 1-2 with two walks and his sixth home run. Ft. Myers 8, Clearwater 3 Box Score Matt Summers has been the story for the Miracle in the month of June. On this night, he was again terrific. He worked seven shutout inning and gave up just five hits and a walk. He struck out seven. After listening to last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly and hearing his July numbers, I had to go look for myself. In four starts this month, he is 2-1 with a 0.28 ERA. In 31.2 innings, he has given up just one earned run. He has allowed 17 hits, walked just four and struck out 23. Summers was replaced by Manuel Soliman who gave up one hit in his innings. Corey Williams came on for a perfect ninth. Each had one strikeout. The offense was spread out between four players. Utilty man Andy Leer went 3-4 with his ninth double. Byron Buxton went 2-5 with his third home run with the Miracle. Mike Kvasnicka was 2-4 with his sixth double. And Aderlin Mejia’s improbably run at Ft. Myers continues. He went 2-4 with his tenth double and is now hitting .341! Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 8 Box Score Josue Montanez started and through four innings, he did not allow a run. However, he went seven innings and was charged with five runs on ten hits and a walk. Dallas Gallant came on and gave up two runs on two hits and three walks and recorded just two outs. Alex Muren came on and gave up an unearned run in 1.1 innings. Travis Harrison and Jorge Polanco each went 3-5 in the game. Jeremias Pineda went 2-3 and stole his 11th base. Joel Licon’s sixth double drove in two of the Kernels runs. Elizabethton 1, Kingsport 3 Box Score Yorman Landa had another decent start, though his control alluded him at times again. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits. He walked four and struck out five. Austin Malinowski came on and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked a batter. Andrew Ferreira gave up one run on one hit and one walk in one inning. He struck out… one! Zach Granite went 2-4, and Dereck Rodriguez hit his third home run of the season. GCL Twins 4, GCL Orioles 1 Box Score Chih-Wei Hu started and threw four shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out six. Jared Wilson came on and threw two scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out one. Reyson Zoquiel gave up an unearned run on two hits in his inning. Josh Guyer struck out two in a scoreless inning. Derrick Penilla struck out two in his perfect inning to record the save. Alex Swim went 2-3 with a walk as the GCL Twins managed just six hits in the game. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

Not even a little bit. Had no interest last offseason... none this offseason.

Monday night was a full night in the Twins minor league system, and each team provided a couple of impressive highlights. For Rochester, it was LHP Logan Darnell. For New Britain, pick between Miguel Sano and Danny Ortiz. For Ft. Myers, how about Dalton Hicks? Maybe Tyler Duffey? For Cedar Rapids, of course it was Adam Walker. Zach Granite gets the nod for Elizabethton. You can pick between Zach Larson, Chad Christensen and Amaurys Minier for the GCL picks, but you won’t pick their defense. Find out what those players did and how the rest of the minor league games on Monday night went: Rochester 3, Lehigh Valley 1 Box Score Logan Darnell has certainly experienced good and bad in his short time with the Red Wings. On this night, it was very good. The lefty went six shutout innings and gave up just four hits. He walked none and struck out two, needing just 65 pitches. Aaron Thompson came in and gave up one run on three hits in his two innings. Shairon Martis came on and pitched a perfect ninth inning for his seventh save of the season. It was also Darnell’s first AAA win. Oswaldo Arcia remained hot in his return to the Red Wings. He went 2-3 with a walk and his fifth double. Chris Parmelee went 2-4. Game 1 – New Britain 4, Portland 5 Box Score Danny Ortiz continues to be overlooked as a prospect, but he was very good on this night. He went 3-3 with his 23rd double and his ninth home run. AJ Pettersen went 2-3 with his fourth double. Jordan Parraz hit his eighth home run. Miguel Sano was 1-2 with two walks. BJ Hermsen got a spot start in the front end of the double header. He falls to 1-7 after giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks in 3.2 innings. Matt Hauser came on and gave up one run on two hits over 3.1 innings. He didn’t issue a walk and struck out five. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4898[/ATTACH] Game 2 – New Britain 3, Portland 8 (9 innings) Box Score They needed a couple of extra innings to decide the second game of the double header. In the end, five runs in the top of the ninth was too much to overcome. DJ Baxendale made the start and threw well. In six innings, he gave up three runs (2 earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out four. Jose Gonzalez got the first two outs of the seventh. Cole Johnson got the final out of the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth frame. However, both batters he faced in the ninth hit solo home runs. He was replaced by Ryan O’Rourke who gave up three runs on three hits and a walk before getting out of the inning. Angel Morales went 2-3 with his third home run. Miguel Sano was 1-4, but he hit his ninth Rock Cats home run (and 25th overall homer, taking over the organizational lead from Chris Colabello). Ft. Myers 10, Brevard County 3 Box Score The Miracle offense exploded in this game. Dalton Hicks led the way. He went 3-4 with two walks, his second home run and three RBI. Stephen Wickens went 3-4 with a walk and three RBI. Matt Koch was 2-5 with a walk and three RBI. Jhon Goncalves was 2-4 with a walk. Aderlin Mejia and former Gopher Mike Kvasnicka each added two hits. Tyler Duffey put together another Quality Start. He went the first seven innings and gave up three runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out a season-high ten batters. Nelvin Fuentes came on and threw two scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out one. Cedar Rapids 11, Ft. Wayne 4 Box Score The Kernels also put up big offensive numbers, though that happens on nearly a nightly basis. Speaking of things that happen on nearly a nightly basis, Adam Walker had another big game and hit another home run. The outfielder went 3-5 with his 22nd double and his 22nd home run. He drove in three runs to give him 88 RBI for the season. Michael Gonzales went 3-4 with a walk and his first double. Jorge Polanco went 3-5 with a walk. Max Kepler was 2-5. JO Berrios was on the mound and pitched well for the win. In six innings, he gave up three runs (2 earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out four. Tim Shibuya came on and gave up a run on two hits in his inning. Alex Muren walked on in a scoreless inning. Dallas Gallant walked one and struck out one in his inning. Elizabethton 3, Danville 3 (Game suspended after five innings) Box Score In this rain-shortened game, things started out poorly. Tanner Mendonca started and recorded just two outs. He gave up three runs on one hit and five walks. The two outs came on strikeouts. Andrew Ferreira went the next 3.1 innings without allowing a run. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out five. Austin Malinowski struck out two in the final inning. Zach Granite went 2-3 with his second double and second triple. GCL Twins 6, GCL Rays 13 Box Score Pitching and Defense win, right? Well, on this day, it was the defense that cost the GCL Twins a win. The team combined to total eight errors in the game. Alex Wimmers got the start. He gave up one run on five hits in 3.1 innings. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out four. Brandon Easton got the final two outs of the fourth frame, but not before giving up six runs, just three were earned. Derrick Penilla pitched the fifth and was charged with three runs (2 earned) on three hits. Kohl Stewart came on and pitched the next two innings. He gave up three runs (1 earned) on two hits. He struck out two. Reyson Zoquiel gave up an unearned run in his inning. Josh Guyer didn’t give up a run in his inning despite a hit and two walks. Zach Larson went 3-4 with a walk. Chad Christensen went 3-5 with his fourth double. Amaurys Minier went 2-5 and launched his fifth home run of the season. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

Eddie Rosario has been on fire since his promotion to New Britain. In 33 games, he is hitting .318/380/.473 (.853) with ten doubles, two triples and two home runs. Meanwhile, the offensive adjustment to AA has been more of a challenge for Miguel Sano. In 32 games, he is hitting just .204 with 32 strikeouts. He is talking 10% of the time, and he has 13 extra base hits. Last night, the two of them led the Rock Cats to a 8-7 win. Meanwhile, the Cedar Rapids Kernels got a great start, and some major power production from a guy who has been overlooked much of the season. For all that, and much more, check out what happened in the Twins farm system on Friday: Rochester 5, Syracuse 4 (5 innings) Box Score It was a rain-shortened game, but the Red Wings got another win. PJ Walters started and went just 2.2 innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk. He struck out four. Cody Eppley walked two over the next 1.1 innings, but no hits and no runs. Aaron Thompson gave up one run on three hits in his inning but gets credited with the save. Brian Dinkelman led the offense. He was 2-2 with his second triple. Jeff Clement drove in two runs. New Britain 8, Binghampton 7 Box Score The Rock Cats got a lot of runs and they needed each one. Miguel Sano provided the big hit. He was 2-3 with two walks in the game, but he drilled a grand slam, his seventh homer with the team. Eddie Rosario went 2-4 with a walk and his 10th double. Danny Santana went 2-4 with a walk. He also stole his 17th and 18th bases. Evan Bigley went 3-4 with a walk and his second and third doubles. Following his complete game, one-hitter, Virgil Vasquez gave up five runs on six hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out one. Dan Turpen gave up two hits and a walk in one inning. He struck out two. Dakota Watts gave up one run on three hits in his two innings. He struck out four. Cole Johnson gave up one run on two hits and a walk in one inning. Ft. Myers 3, Dunedin 6 Box Score Manuel Soliman had a rough start. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and five walks in four innings. He struck out two. Matt Tomshaw was perfect over the next two innings, striking out one. Steven Gruver came on and gave up three runs on three hits and three walks and recorded just two outs. Tyler Jones gave up two hits but no runs over the next 1.1 innings. He struck out two. Aderlin Mejia went 3-4 with his 14th stolen base. JD Williams is now hitting .455 in his first three games at Ft. Myers after going 2-4 with an RBI in this game. Matt Koch hit his 16th double. Cedar Rapids 4, Lake County 1 Box Score Great pitching and big hits helps win ball games, right? That’s the formula that worked for the Kernels on this night. It all starts with pitching though, and Brett Lee provided another spectacular start. Lee went all nine innings and gave up one run on six hits. He walked one and struck out ten. It was his second straight complete game! He is now 7-4 with a 3.30 ERA. Adam Walker provided the power. He went 2-5 with his 19th and 20th home runs and drove in three runs. Max Kepler went 3-4 with his second steal. Jonathan Murphy was 2-5 with his second stolen base. Niko Goodrum stole his 10th and 11th bases. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4852[/ATTACH] Photo by Cedar Rapids Kernels Elizabethton 6, Bristol 0 (8 innings) Box Score Another rain-shortened game, but the E-Twins are happy to get any games in of late. Yorman Landa was on the mound and he was good again. He threw five shutout innings and gave up just two hits. He did walk three and hit two more batters. He struck out three. Kuo Hua Lo gave up just a walk over the next two innings. Ryan Walker was 3-4. Rory Rhodes went 2-3 with a walk. Mitch Garver was 2-4. GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 4 Box Score Alex Swim led the offense by going 3-4 with his third double. Jorge Fernandez hit his fourth double. Jared Wilson started. The fifth-year senior went just two innings and gave up three runs on one hit, two walks and two hit batters. He struck out three. Chih-Wei Hu gave up one run on three hits and a walk over the next three innings. Jose Abreu gave up just one hit over the final three innings. He struck out two. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

The All Star breaks are all over, and there was a full schedule in the Twins minor league system on Thursday. A couple of old college teammates helped the Kernels provide most of the organization’s offense on the day. A couple of now-former Twins were on the mound. However, on this day, Taylor Rogers stole the show with one of the best pitching performances by a Twins pitcher this season. See below for more. Also last night, I was a guest on Twins Minor League Weekly podcast and answered several questions on players throughout the Twins farm system, so check that out here. Here is a look at what happened in the Twins farm system on Thursday: Rochester 4, Syracuse 11 Box Score The pitching wasn’t good and the offense managed just five hits on this night. Logan Darnell got the start and in just 1.2 innings, he was charged with six runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out one. Luis Perdomo came on and went the next 1.1 innings. He gave up four runs on two hits and two walks while striking out one. AJ Achter came on and provided the team with three shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out two. Blake Martin came on and one run on three hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out two. Edgar Ibarra then made his AAA debut. He walked one and struck out one I a scoreless inning. Deibinson Romero had just one hit, but it was a three-run homer. It was his sixth homer of the year. Chris Parmelee batted third and played first base. He was 1-3 with a walk. Eduardo Escobar went 0-3. He batted seventh and played second base. New Britain 3, Binghampton 4 Box Score Nick Blackburn made his second start for the Rock Cats. He gave up one run on three hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out two. Ryan O’Rourke came in for his AA debut. He struck out two in his first inning and then struck out the side in his second inning. It was a pretty impressive debut! He turned over a 3-1 lead to closer Matt Hauser. Unfortunately, the right-hander gave up three runs on three hits and two walks and recorded just two outs. BJ Hermsen came on to get the final out. Josmil Pinto went 3-4 and drove in a run. Eddie Rosario went 2-4 with his second Rock Cats home run and two RBI. Ft. Myers 1, Dunedin 0 Box Score Taylor Rogers was the story in this one. The lefty out of Kentucky who was taken by the Twins in the 11th round of the 2012 draft was tremendous on this night. He faced just 30 batters in a complete game shutout. He gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out eight. He improved to 8-3 and dropped his Miracle ERA to just 2.63 with the performance. Rogers needed to throw every shutout inning because the Miracle bats were quiet. They managed just five hits. In the sixth inning, JD Williams doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch. He scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Byron Buxton. Cedar Rapids 9, Lake County 7 Box Score The Kernels have continued to lose great hitters to Ft. Myers, but they have so many that they’re still scoring like crazy. Jonathan Murphy led the way in this game. The outfielder went 3-5 with his third double and first home run with the Kernels. He drove in three runs. His college teammate, Adam Walker, went 2-5. Jorge Polanco went 2-3 with a walk and two runs driven in. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4837[/ATTACH] Photo by Cedar Rapids Kernels Josue Montanez started and went the first six innings. He gave up five runs (3 earned) on seven hits, three of which were home runs. He walked three and struck out six. Hudson Boyd came on and gave up two runs on three hits over two innings. He walked none and struck out two. Madison Boer gave up two hits and a walk, but no runs, in the ninth inning for the save. He struck out two. Game 1 – Elizabethton 2, Bristol 1 Box Score Rained out a night earlier, the E-Twins had a double header on Thursday. Of course, Game 1 included a rain delay of nearly an hour and a half. Felix Jorge returned to form in the first game. The hard-throwing righty gave up one run on five hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out six. He was replaced by Carson Goldsmith who struck out two in a scoreless inning. Brandon Peterson struck out two in a perfect seventh for the save. The E-Twins managed just three hits in this game. In the sixth inning, a Bryan Haar sacrifice fly scored Carlos Avila with the team’s first run to tie the game. Zach Granite then scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Game 2 – Elizabethton 2, Bristol 1 Box Score Josh Burris started the second game. He gave up two runs on three hits in four innings. He walked four and struck out five. Ethan Mildren gave up one hit in a scoreless fifth inning. In the sixth, Aaron Slegers came on and gave up one hit in a scoreless inning. He struck out one. Andrew Ferreira pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. Javier Pimentel went 2-3 in the game with his first two triples of the season. The first plated the first two runs of the game for the E-Twins. Bryan Santy went 3-3. Bryan Haar went 2-4 with his third double and fourth home run. GCL Twins 4, GCL 4 (Game Suspended in 7th by Rain) Box Score This game was not completed, but enough happened that we’ll discuss where it is at. Lewis Thorpe went the first four innings. He gave up three runs on four hits. He walked none and struck out six. Sam Gibbons came on and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out one. Derrick Penilla then gave up one run on one hit and one walk in one inning. Yes, he had one strikeout. And then the rains came. Amaurys Minier hit his third triple. Brian Navaretto hit his fourth double. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

Two weeks ago, my brother and I made the trek south to Cedar Rapids to watch a couple of Kernels games. It was fun to catch up with several people there and also talk with a few people from the Twin Cities area who had the same idea. Following batting practice one day, I had the chance to sit down in the Kernels dugout with their pitching coach Gary Lucas to talk a little about some of his and the Twins philosophies on pitching and pitcher development at the Low-A level. Watching him work, Mr. Lucas is clearly very passionate about his job and his ability to help these young men develop into the best that they can become. He is a terrific person who was happy to answer my questions, and those answers are below. As we were talking off of the recorder, the name of JO Berrios came up. He was quite excited when talking about his talent and his potential, but he made a great comment that speaks to what we must remember about all of these kids. “Sometime Berrios looks like he can be a future ace in the big leagues. Sometimes he looks like a 19-year-old kid with a lot to learn.” Such is the job of a pitching coach at this level. Gary Lucas was the first round pick of the Cincinnati Reds twice in 1973, first in the June Draft and later in the Secondary Phase of the draft. He decided that college was the right direction for him at that time. In 1976, he was drafted in the 19th round by the San Diego Padres and decided to sign. He moved up the system and debuted with the Padres in April of 1980. He made 18 starts that season, but quickly was moved to the bullpen where he had a very solid, eight-year big league career. He spent four years with San Diego, followed by two years with the Expos and two seasons with the Angels. So, what was the transition for him from player to coach? Was it a difficult decision for him? According to Lucas, “I wouldn’t say it was a difficult decision. It was a process to get to that point to make a decision. I think when I left the game, I wanted to be full-time dad and husband and just kind of take a step away. There was some interest from some people and I had some interest in coaching, but I did it at the junior college level near home in San Diego at the time just to, kind of, as I remember, see if I liked it and stay involved. I wasn’t really ready to just wash my hands of baseball, but I kind of wanted to do it on my terms.” [ATTACH=CONFIG]4829[/ATTACH] Photo by The Gazette He began his coaching in the professional ranks soon after, but he acknowledges that he probably wasn’t ready, “I was home for awhile and then there were a couple of offers that came along. I took the Giants offer to see if I’d like it. I remember coaching back in the ‘90s. I think I was kind of doing it just to stay in the game, and to be in uniform and to hang out with the guys. It’s all the wrong reasons.” And then the Twins came calling and he has been the pitching coach for the Twins affiliate in the Midwest League since the year 2000. “When I came to the Twins, I had more focus in making the players better. It wasn’t about my career, and hanging on. It was about devoting my energies and focus to giving back to the game. And the Twins, thank God, gave me that opportunity. I think I’ve handled it the right way. I don’t think I handled it the right way in the early going. I wanted to get the players better, but I didn’t really know how to go about it the way you do with experience.” I had to ask Mr. Lucas if his current players know that he pitched in the big leagues and if they ask questions about that time. “They know it. Some of them are interested. It comes up from time to time. I think there’s a little bit of credibility there. I try to buffer that with (the fact that) I’m a resource for them. I’ve certainly been at every level they want to be at. I had a good major league career, but it all came with hard work. I was not the most talented guy in the world. If they want to tap into that work ethic and drive and desire and determination, and all that, when I didn’t have many tools, I mean, so be it. I was kind of a mental part of the game pitcher and that’s how I got there and stayed there.” [ATTACH=CONFIG]4828[/ATTACH]The conversation then turned to his role as the team’s pitching coach and how he is able to work with the pitchers and some of his philosophies. “I think the main thing that I try to give them is everything they would want out of a coach. I mean, everything, and more, so that if they were coaching me, they could equal that. They would want to have that same thing if they were coaching me. I try to set an example of work ethic, focus, drive, determination in getting them better. If I’m working with Tim Atherton or Mason Melotakis, I need to remember that Tyler Jones and Kaleb Merck, they need my attention to. I need to let them know that I care, and if the major league thing plays into it, so be it.” How hard is it to work with all of the different individuals, experiences, talents, personalities of a team? “You have to understand each one of them, and each one of them is different. For instance, Hudson Boyd is 20, and then you have some veteran guys who are really ready to take off and you can see they belong and they’re confident. Tyler Jones, Steve Gruver. Guys that are repeating in this league are handling the transition from starters last year in Beloit to relievers here. Hudson’s just trying to figure out how he dominated everybody in high school and he can’t do it here. So there’s a different scenario for each guy and I have to handle each one of them differently along with the parameters that the Twins have set up for me for their development.” What is he looking for mechanically from pitchers, knowing that the Twins have put more of an emphasis on medical concerns? “The medical is big. We want to keep them healthy. The mechanics are certainly part of this. We have a peak performance focus that Bill Springman, our hitting coordinator, puts out for both hitters and pitchers, and that’s part of the mental game. I think there’s a little bit of balance to all of this without throwing so much at them that it overwhelms them. They’re all pretty good, but I think you have to balance what you’re giving. I mean, if you’re not careful, you’re giving Hudson (Boyd) so much mechanical stuff that you forget that he needs to know about the mental part of the game too. Vice versa, you might think that a Tyler Jones and Steve Gruver are pretty polished in all areas, and yet, they’re only in Low-A ball. So, there’s a balance with everything, the teaching and development requires that you try to balance out.” I have had the opportunity to watch Lucas work with his pitchers. On one day, about five hours before game time, Lucas was on the field with a half-dozen of his pitchers doing PFP (Pitcher’s Fielding Practice) and working on pickoff moves. The pitchers all went to the warning track. They would jog to centerfielder where they flipped the ball to Lucas who essentially became the Quarterback. The pitcher would keep running, look he was running a post pattern, and Lucas would try to hit him with a perfect pass. The pitchers appeared to be having a great time while still getting their pregame work in. However, watching Lucas work with a pitcher in the bullpen was intense. Instead of just stepping onto the bullpen mound and throwing some pitches, Lucas encourages his pitchers with situations, and staying at the knees, and burying a slider, and dropping a curveball just over the plate. “What I’m trying to get out of them (in the bullpen), I’m a big feel guy, I’m trying to get them to feel their delivery, feel their release point, feel their ability to throw strikes down in the zone. It differs a little bit, as far as the work in between relief outings and starts. We have a six man rotation this year, which is new to them this year so the starters have to throw twice in between starts. We do different things on different days. One day it might be a lot of situational pitching. The other days, it might be mechanics. It just differs from each guys certain times of the years. As we get polished up and get ready for a championship run hopefully at the end of the season and a playoff situation, we try to fine tune some things. It’s going to be more of what they’re doing right rather than what they’re doing wrong. So there’s different parts of the season. Different parts to each guy. And you try to keep it fresh.” The six-man rotation was certainly a big topic early in the season as it was not something the organization had done in the past. So, how is that working for Lucas and his pitching staff? “I think it’s played out. I think the positive outweighs the negatives. As the season unfolds at the end, you’re going to see guys not having to come out of the rotation due to innings. That’s what it’s designed to do. Where in the past, we’ve had to rest guys in the middle of the year to rest their arms, then take them out and bring in new guys. We’ve got a chance to keep this rotation intact for the most part.” It has certainly not been easy through the first three months of the season for Lucas and his pitching staff. There have been plenty of challenges. “When you have some of the things we’ve gone through on top of the six man rotation, I think it’s a credit to how these guys have handled it. I’m talking about Tyler Grimes having to learn the catching position after playing shortstop last year. Right out of the gate, he was asked to catch three or four games a week. We had to overcome three relievers that were relievers in college or relievers before with us. (Brett) Lee, (Mason) Melotakis and (Tyler) Duffey having to be starters. We had a 19 year old that just turned 19 in Berrios in May, so he was 18 to start the season (and played in the WBC). So, we had to overcome some hurdles.” But as the old commercial says, “But wait! There’s more!” “In addition, we had (David) Hurlbut, (Steven) Gruver, (Tyler) Jones, (Matt) Tomshaw, who had all been starters last year in Beloit that were asked to be relievers here. So we were in transition as well as having a six-man rotation. So, it was my job to keep them calmed down and not get too distracted by all the drama and so forth. And I think now we’re seeing some of the fruits of that. Some of these guys are starting to pitch pretty good.” Lucas understands the process that the minor league progress: “When they leave Elizabethton, from what I've heard and what they talk about both from coaches and players that have been there, is that hitters swing at a lot of our pitcher's stuff out of the zone. So, I think there can be a false sense of security as far as how we get guys out. Now you this to this level, which I think is pretty fair, pretty equal, as far as the ballparks, the travel. Pitching and hitting seems to be pretty equal. Overall, it's a good test for our guys, as far as command, control and where their confidence level comes from.” Lucas continued, “When you get to the Florida State League, it's pretty traditionally a pitchers' league. Big parks. Ball doesn't go very far. I think if you can pitch here (MWL), you can pitch at AA. And, I mean pitch here. Really, really get a lot of people out. So, this is where you've really to to be good and to polish it up at Ft. Myers and then I think you can really take off potentially. That AA is really a separator league, but this is a big test here, as far as actually being able to deal with what pitching is about rather than getting away with things in the rookie leagues.” I asked Lucas how much statistical analysis he uses with the pitchers at the Low-A level. He said that he uses it as needed, but certainly does not dwell on it. “I don’t do it at this level as much as some of the coaches at the higher levels. I‘m more in tune with staying within the Twins program that they’ve set out for us. It’s mostly to work on the balance I talked about, their deliveries – getting them under control – and where they’re looking to throw their pitches. Making sure that those things are solid and a foundation. Now, I might sit a guy down from time to time and say, you know where you’re at with too many walks verses innings pitched. Or, your WHIP is really high, so let’s look at our walks and let’s look at our hits per inning pitched. Or, let’s look at first pitch strikes. Or, let’s look at base on balls that end up scoring. I might sit them down collectively or individually about a few of those things. By and large, it’s a situation where at this level, I don’t want to overwhelm them with numbers and then they become very distracted by something they don’t have any control over. They have control over some of the other things and that’s what they need to move further is have their delivery under control and able to throw more strikes.” Gary Lucas enjoys his job and his passion for it is very clear by watching him and then by talking to him. So, what is the best part about his job? Lucas said, “Well, the Twins have given me some parameters to work within, but they’ve also have given me the freedom to get to know these guys, develop relationships with the players. They don’t put any restrictions on that. And, I think in the long run, I’ve found out that gets the most out of the player and the player-coach relationship takes off. Then if they’re in a rut, you’ve got them in the palm of your hand because you know then as an individual. So, the Twins have allowed me the opportunity to coach within the realm of their structure, and kind of be personable too.” Gary Lucas experienced the ultimate as a baseball player, and that is to play in the big leagues for eight years. He got there through hard work and a passion for the game. He now shares that passion with the 18 to 23 year old pitchers that work with him in the Midwest League. Rest assured, guided by Manager Jake Mauer, Hitting Coach Tommy Watkins and Pitching Coach Gary Lucas they are in good hands.

Typically, the full season minor league affiliates do not have games scheduled for the night of the All Star game. Earlier in the day, the Gulf Coast League Twins played a game. However, the New Britain Rock Cats played the middle game of a three-game series at Harrisburg. The story of the day was that there were a lot of minor league transactions throughout the system, and frankly, several more must be in the works. Here is what we have as this is written: LHP Edgar Ibarra has been promoted from New Britain to Rochester. OF Evan Bigley, LHP Ryan O’Rourke and LHP Jose Gonzalez have been promoted to New Britain from Ft. Myers. C Kyle Knudson went from New Britain to Ft. Myers. OF JD Williams, 1B Dalton Hicks, LHP Steven Gruver and RHP Tyler Jones were promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers. C Jairo Rodriguez was sent back from Ft. Myers to Cedar Rapids. RHP Dallas Gallant and RHP Tim Shibuya have been moved from Elizabethton to Cedar Rapids. Here is a look at what happened in the two Twins games in the farm system on Tuesday: Rochester Red Wings No Game Scheduled. New Britain 4, Harrisburg 6 Box Score Lefty Pat Dean has pitched quite well of late, but this start did not go so well for him. In just 3.2 innings, he gave up five runs on nine hits. He walked two and struck out two. Tom Stuifbergen came on and after a walk, he got the final out. BJ Hermsen gave up one run on five hits in 2.1 innings. Edgar Ibarra then gave up one hit and struck one out in 0.2 innings. Dakota Watts gave up two hits and a walk but no runs in his inning. Nate Hanson led the offense. He was 2-3 with two walks and his 17th AA double. Danny Santana went 2-4 with a walk. Eddie Rosario went 2-5 with his ninth double. Jordan Parraz went 2-4 with his seventh home run. Josmil Pinto doubled for the 22nd time. Angel Morales went 1-2 with two walks and his second stolen base. Ft. Myers Miracle No Game Scheduled. Cedar Rapids Kernels No Game Scheduled. Elizabethton Twins No Game Scheduled. GCL Twins 2, GCL Orioles 11 Box Score Looking at the game score, and then finding out that Kohl Stewart made the start may give you pause. However, the Twins top pick worked the first three innings. He gave up two hits and walked a batter but did not allow a run. He struck out two. In his two starts, he has now thrown six shutout innings. Brandon Easton came on and gave up four runs on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Miguel Gonzalez was next and he gave up five runs (2 earned) on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. He struck out one. Zach Hayden got the final out of the 6th inning after giving up one hit. Reyson Zoquiel gave up one run on two hits in his inning. He struck out two. Josh Guyer pitched one inning and gave up one run on a solo homer. He struck out two. Although they scored just two runs, the GCL Twins hitters did combine for nine hits. Zach Larson went 2-5 with his fifth double. Engelb Vielma went 2-4 with a walk. Chad Christensen also doubled for the third point. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

Typically, the full season minor league affiliates do not have games scheduled for the night of the All Star game. Earlier in the day, the Gulf Coast League Twins played a game. However, the New Britain Rock Cats played the middle game of a three-game series at Harrisburg. The story of the day was that there were a lot of minor league transactions throughout the system, and frankly, several more must be in the works. Here is what we have as this is written: LHP Edgar Ibarra has been promoted from New Britain to Rochester. OF Evan Bigley, LHP Ryan O’Rourke and LHP Jose Gonzalez have been promoted to New Britain from Ft. Myers. C Kyle Knudson went from New Britain to Ft. Myers. OF JD Williams, 1B Dalton Hicks, LHP Steven Gruver and RHP Tyler Jones were promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers. C Jairo Rodriguez was sent back from Ft. Myers to Cedar Rapids. RHP Dallas Gallant and RHP Tim Shibuya have been moved from Elizabethton to Cedar Rapids. Here is a look at what happened in the two Twins games in the farm system on Tuesday: Rochester Red Wings No Game Scheduled. New Britain 4, Harrisburg 6 Box Score Lefty Pat Dean has pitched quite well of late, but this start did not go so well for him. In just 3.2 innings, he gave up five runs on nine hits. He walked two and struck out two. Tom Stuifbergen came on and after a walk, he got the final out. BJ Hermsen gave up one run on five hits in 2.1 innings. Edgar Ibarra then gave up one hit and struck one out in 0.2 innings. Dakota Watts gave up two hits and a walk but no runs in his inning. Nate Hanson led the offense. He was 2-3 with two walks and his 17th AA double. Danny Santana went 2-4 with a walk. Eddie Rosario went 2-5 with his ninth double. Jordan Parraz went 2-4 with his seventh home run. Josmil Pinto doubled for the 22nd time. Angel Morales went 1-2 with two walks and his second stolen base. Ft. Myers Miracle No Game Scheduled. Cedar Rapids Kernels No Game Scheduled. Elizabethton Twins No Game Scheduled. GCL Twins 2, GCL Orioles 11 Box Score Looking at the game score, and then finding out that Kohl Stewart made the start may give you pause. However, the Twins top pick worked the first three innings. He gave up two hits and walked a batter but did not allow a run. He struck out two. In his two starts, he has now thrown six shutout innings. Brandon Easton came on and gave up four runs on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Miguel Gonzalez was next and he gave up five runs (2 earned) on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. He struck out one. Zach Hayden got the final out of the 6th inning after giving up one hit. Reyson Zoquiel gave up one run on two hits in his inning. He struck out two. Josh Guyer pitched one inning and gave up one run on a solo homer. He struck out two. Although they scored just two runs, the GCL Twins hitters did combine for nine hits. Zach Larson went 2-5 with his fifth double. Engelb Vielma went 2-4 with a walk. Chad Christensen also doubled for the third point. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

Buyers or Sellers The Tigers are certainly buyers at the trade deadline. They had completely stocked up over the last two seasons to make a World Series run. They acquired and then retained Anibal Sanchez. They added Torii Hunter this offseason. After missing all of 2012, Victor Martinez is back in the middle of their lineup. Their top four starters (Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister and Sanchez) are the envy of the rest of the league. Most believed that the Tigers would run away with the AL Central, but at the All Star break, they have just a 1.5 game lead over Cleveland. What they Need The Tigers have spent to win in the very short term. They have a powerful lineup, a tremendous starting rotation and a Joaquin Benoit and Drew Smyly have been terrific in the bullpen. However, the back end of the Tigers bullpen has caused a lot of issues. Bruce Rondon showed that despite a 100-mph fastball, he wasn’t ready. Things got so bad that they brought back veteran Jose Valverde only to soon be reminded why they didn’t bring him back originally. Phil Coke, Al Albuquerque, Darin Downs and Jose Alvarez all have ERAs over five. Octavio Dotel is on the Disabled List. The Tigers can use bullpen help. The only other thing the Tigers may need would be another utility infielder who would play very little. What Might Work Jamey Carroll’s playing time has been limited enough in the first half that he will become a free agent after the season. Although his numbers this season are well down, his inconsistent playing time may play a role in that. If there is a team where Glen Perkins makes a lot of sense, it is the Detroit Tigers. If the Tigers were in any other division, it might make even more sense. Perkins has a terrific contract that any team would be happy to take on. Both teams would be leery about dealing with each other. Obviously, the Tigers want to win now, but they won’t want to see a top prospect star for the Twins against them for the next four to six years. The Twins won’t want to see Glen Perkins coming in to ninth innings against them. So, it would be interesting to see if the two teams can make a major trade. Minor trades are one thing, but blockbusters rarely occur within a division. Sleeper Targets Dixon Machado - 21 - SS – High A Two years ago, I saw Dixon Machado playing in Beloit for West Michigan. I recall thinking that I may not have ever seen such a smooth defender at shortstop. He is 6-0, and he is rail thin, almost Alexei Ramirez like. However, he doesn’t hit like Ramirez. In 2012 in the Florida State League, he hit just .195 with a .535 OPS. This year, repeating the level, he is hitting .231 with a .558 OPS. He’s not going to hit, but his glove makes him a potential utility infielder. Jose Ortega - RHP- AAA Ortega is probably in the middle ground of prospects that make him not a likely candidate to come to the Twins. The hard-throwing right-hander has an impressive 1.47 ERA in AAA right now and has had time with the Tigers. In 30.2 innings this year, he has 33 strikouts… to go with 19 walks. Sound familiar? To me, he sounds a lot like another hard-throwing reliever that the Twins acquired from the Tigers, Lester Oliveros. Dream Target Nick Castellanos was a supplemental first round pick in 2010 out of high school. The Tigers gave him $3.45 million (about $2 million over slot) to sign. Recently, the Tigers have said that Castellanos could be available in a trade for a top closer. Perkins would certainly fit into that category. Drafted as a third baseman, the 6-4 potential power hitter was moved to outfield a year ago when Miguel Cabrera moved to third base. Because he’s 6-4, he could be a first base option as well if the Twins have enough outfielders. With AAA Toledo, he is hitting .281/.353/.455 with 29 doubles and 12 home runs this year. Outfielder Avisail Garcia, who played well for the Tigers in the playoffs last year, is also said to be available. Bruce Rondon throws 100 mph but often without great control. He would also be worth inquiring about. If he’s available, that’s a great arm to consider replacing Glen Perkins with, if that’s the direction the Twins went.