Seth Stohs

When last night’s minor league report was completed around midnight, there was seemingly nothing on the horizon. Eight hours later, we learned that Pedro Hernandez had made a six hour drive from Louisville, Kentucky to Cleveland to make a spot start because Mike Pelfrey was put on the disabled list with back spasms. He got the win despite walking six in five innings and was immediately demoted following the game. Soon after, we learned the Kyle Gibson was promoted and will start on Saturday. Less than an hour later, Twins Daily became aware Byron Buxton was going to be promoted and soon after that, Jim Crikket got verification from Jake Mauer. Two big moves in one day![PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Gibson tweeted the following late on Sunday evening (OK, early on Monday morning): "As much as I would love to personally thank each and every one of you who have helped me along the way, as well as thank each and every person for the kind words on here, it would be impossible!! So a broad "Thank You" will have to do for now!! God has blessed my wife & I with great family and friends, and we are excited for this new journey and opportunity He has put in front of us! Thank you all for your support and I am looking forward to living out my dream as long as God has it in His plans! Thank you all very much!!!" In all my time covering the Twins minor league system, so many Twins players have been just tremendous people. Kyle Gibson may be at the top of the list when it comes to class. He is as genuine as it gets, so it is great to see him finally get this opportunity, likely two years after he had hoped. There were more than just transactions. There were five games on the Twins' minor league docket. The Kernels offense kept things going. The E-Twins offense hasn’t clicked yet. Chris Colabello has yet to slow down. Check out what happened in the Twins' farm system Sunday: Rochester Red Wings 8, Louisville Bats 5 Box Score Chris Colabello was at it again Sunday. After hitting his 16th home run Saturday, he went 2-4 with a walk and his 17th home run on Sunday. Drew Butera was 2-4 in the game. All nine Red Wings starters had at least one hit. Andrew Albers continued to pitch well. He improved to 7-2, going five innings and giving up one run on five hits and two walks. He struck out six. Cody Eppley came on and gave up two runs on three hits in two innings; he walked none and struck out two. Blake Martin came on to start the eighth and got one out, was charged with two runs on two hits and one walk. Michael Tonkin recorded the final five outs for his fifth save. New Britain Rock Cats 3, Akron Aeros 4 Box Score There was talk of Trevor May making the 45 minute drive north from Akron to Cleveland to make the spot start on Sunday for the Twins, but rightfully, the Twins nixed that. It certainly would not have been the ideal situation for a big league debut. Instead, he made his scheduled start for the Rock Cats in Akron. He gave up three runs on six hits and a walk in 5.2 innings. He struck out five. Dakota Watts came on and was perfect for 1.1 innings. Bobby Lanigan entered and gave up a run on two hits and a walk in his inning. He struck out one. Josmil Pinto led the offense, going 2-4 with his 16th double. Eddie Rosario added his second double while Curt Smith doubled for the eighth time. Ft. Myers Miracle 7, Jupiter Hammerheads 5 Box Score Manuel Soliman made his first start in Ft. Myers in over a year. He missed most of the 2012 season after having had shoulder surgery. He rehabbed throughout he offseason and began this season in the Cedar Rapids bullpen. Recently, he was promoted to Ft. Myers. He gave up two runs on eight hits and two walks in 5.2 innings. He struck out three. Nelvin Fuentes came on and gave up one hit and walked a batter, but didn't allow a run in 1.1 innings. Corey Williams gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and four walks in one inning. Zach Jones came on and got the final three outs, two of them on strikeouts, to record his ninth save. Mike Kvasnicka kept his hot streak going. He went 2-4 with his second homer (in as many days) and drove in three runs. His home run came right after Matt Koch’s fifth homer. Aderlin Mejia and Jhon Goncalves each went 2-5. Cedar Rapids Kernels 13, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 9 Box Score The Kernels had 18 base knocks on Saturday night. On Sunday, they had 20. Interestiingly, Wisconsin’s starter was Marco Estrada, the Brewers starter who was making a rehab appearance. Jorge Polanco went 4-6 with his 20th double. JD Williams was 3-4 with a walk, his sixth home run and his 13th stolen base. Max Kepler went 3-6 with his second and third doubles and three RBI. Adam Walker went 2-5 with his 11th home run. Travis Harrison was 2-5 with a walk and his 22nd double. Dalton Hicks was 2-4 with a walk. In his final Kernels game, Byron Buxton went 2-5 with a walk and his 10th triple. The chief beneficiary of the run support was Hudson Boyd, who really needed it. He was able to get through five innings with Terry Ryan in the stands. However, he gave up five runs on eight hits and six walks. He struck out just one, but he gets credit for the win. Caleb Brewer came on and gave up four runs on four hits in two innings. Steven Gruver struck out two over the final two scoreless innings. Photo by Tim Gale Elizabethton Twins 5, Bristol White Sox 3 (10 innings) Box Score The offense of the E-Twins has not yet been able to get it going. Through seven innings, they had just two hits. Down 3-0, the team scored three in the 8th. A Bryan Haar RBI single was followed by a two-run double from Rory Rhodes. The game went to the tenth and it was Mitchell Garver who came up with the two-run single that put the team ahead for good. Garver was 2-5 with a double. Rhodes was 2-4 with a walk. The double was his second. Tanner Vavra hit his first double. Hein Robb made his first start for the E-Twins. He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out one. Andrew Ferreira worked two perfect innings. Dallas Gallant gave up one hit in two scoreless innings. Luis Nunez gave up two hits, but no runs, in one inning. He struck out two. GCL Twins No Games on Sundays. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below.

The news came from Twins PR Director Dustin Morse following Sunday's win in Cleveland. Kyle Gibson will be promoted to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday and will make his major league debut on Saturday at Target Field. Sunday's winning pitcher, Pedro Hernandez, was sent back to Triple-A. Gibson has been a big conversation piece for Twins fans throughout the season. There has been his recovery from Tommy John surgery. There is talk of an innings limit. There has been talk of Consistency. All the rumor and speculation can end now with Gibson getting the call. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In Rochester, he has made 15 starts. He is 7-5 with a 3.01 ERA. In 92.2 innings, he has given up 78 hits, walked 29 and struck out 79. He was very inconsistent through the season's first ten starts, alternating good and bad starts. Since then, aside from one clunker, he has been terrific. The Kyle Gibson Era is about to start, and Twins fans should be excited.

Saturday was a very busy night in the Twins farm system. It started with the Minier Show in the afternoon. There were a ton of great performances and very exciting games throughout the Twins system. Vance Worley continued to pitch as we all hope. Taylor Rogers continued his tremendous run with the Miracle. The Rock Cats used a few big innings, but could they pull off a win? A couple former Gophers had a big day. So much to get to! Check out what happened in the Twins farm system, Saturday in the minor league parks:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 2, Louisville Bats 1 Box Score Chris Colabello provided Vance Worley with all of the offense the Red Wings' starter needed to help manager Gene Glynn to his 300th career win. Worley worked nine innings and gave up only an unearned run on two hits and a walk. He struck out five. In his past three starts he has given up just one earned run in 23 innings. Overall in Rochester he is 3-3 with a 3.10 ERA. Doug Bernier went 2-4 with his 11th double. Colabello went 2-4 including a two-run homer, his 16th of the season. New Britain Rock Cats 12, Akron Aeros 7 Box Score This game was pretty uneventful until the 8th inning. Going into the eighth, the Rock Cats were down 3-0. They scored three in the top of the 8th to tie the game, but gave up three runs in the bottom of the inning. The Rock Cats then scored four runs in the top of the 9th to grab a one-run lead. However, in the bottom of the ninth Akron scored a run to tie the game. The game went to the 11th inning. After three in the eighth and four in the ninth, the Rock Cats scored five runs in the top of the 11th. Eddie Rosario singled in one run and Miguel Sano hit a two-run triple. That was followed by a two-run homer off the bat of Reynaldo Rodriguez. The Rock Cats had 17 hits, with all nine starters getting at least one. Danny Santana and Eddie Rosario each went 3-6. Rosario stole his first AA base. Nate Hanson hit his 10th and 11th doubles. Miguel Sano was 2-6 and his triple was his first with the Rock Cats. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his 19th double and 11th home run. Danny Ortiz also had two hits. Virgil Vasquez went the first 5.2 innings. He gave up three runs (1 earned) on seven hits and two walks, striking out two. Edgar Ibarra got the next five outs. Dan Turpen came on and gave up three runs (2 earned) on one hit and four walks. Cole Johnson came on and got the final out of the 8th. Matt Hauser entered the game for the ninth and gave up the run that tied the game. He then worked a scoreless tenth frame. AJ Achter came on to protect the five run lead in the 11th, and he got all three batters he faced. Ft. Myers Miracle 7, Jupiter Hammerheads 1 Box Score Taylor Rogers was given terrific run support, but on this night it wasn’t all needed. The lefty improved to 6-1 with a 1.56 ERA since his late April promotion. On Saturday he went six innings and gave up one run on four hits. He uncharacteristically walked four while striking out two. Jose Gonzalez came on and walked one and gave up one hit in two scoreless innings. Ryan O’Rourke worked a scoreless ninth. Former Gopher Mike Kvasnicka missed the first two-plus months of the season due to a broken hamate bone in his hand. On Saturday, he went 2-4 with his second double, his first home run in the Twins organization and four RBI. Aderlin Mejia went 4-5 and is now hitting .351. Kennys Vargas had another two-hit game, including his 23rd double. Andy Leer was 2-3 with a walk. Cedar Rapids Kernels 8, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 3 Box Score The Kernels brought their hitting shoes to the park. Their eight runs came on 18 hits. All nine starters had at least one hit and six had two or more. Travis Harrison went 3-4 with a walk and his 20th and 21st doubles. Dalton Hicks and Jorge Polanco each went 3-6. Adam Walker was 2-4. Niko Goodrum went 2-6 with his 14th double. Byron Buxton went 2-5 with a walk and his ninth triple. He also stole his 32nd base. Michael Quesada singled in the 9th, the last Kernel to get a hit, after previously walking twice. Brett Lee was on the mound to start for the Kernels. The left-hander gave up three runs (2 earned) on five hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out three. Alex Muren came on and got all nine batters he faced. Tyler Jones came on for the ninth inning and walked one and struck out one before getting the final out. Elizabethton Twins 6, Bristol White Sox 2 Box Score Yorman Landa is one of the talented starters from last year’s GCL squad. He began his 2013 campaign very well, working five innings and giving up just one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out eight. Ethan Mildren came on and gave up one hit in his inning. Brandon Peterson then struck out two in his inning. Lefty Austin Malinowski went the final two innings. He gave up an unearned run on one hit and three walks. He struck out two. Kelvin Ortiz led the offense. The right fielder went 2-3 with a walk and a double. Rory Rhodes hit a home run and stole a base. Romy Jimenez went 1-3 with a walk and a double. GCL Twins 4, GCL Red Sox 5 (11 innings) Box Score Amaurys Minier was again the top story for the GCL Twins. After going 2-4 with a double and a home run on Friday, he went 2-3 with two walks, a single and a triple. 4-7 with two walks, a single, a double, a triple and a home run in two games! Chad Christensen went 2-5 with a double. Lance Ray (rehab) was 1-4. Fernando Romero started and went the first three innings. He gave up two unearned runs. He didn’t allow a hit, walked two, hit a batter and struck out four. Josh Guyer struck out three (and walked one) in a scoreless inning. Leonel Zazueta gave up one run on two hits and a walk and recorded just two outs. A rehabbing Bruce Pugh got the next four outs, one on a strikeout. Reyson Zaquiel recorded two outs. He walked one and struck out a batter. Damian Defrank gave up one run on six hits in 3.1 innings. In the 11th, Jose Abreu came on and gave up the unearned, winning run. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below.

Friday marked the start of our daily Minor League Reports covering six teams. The GCL Twins began their season with a matinee against the Red Sox in Ft. Myers. It wasn’t a great night for the affiliates, but there were still plenty of good performances worthy of note. Kennys Vargas has been terrific all year, and hasn’t slowed down since Miguel Sano moved to New Britain. Sano added to his home run total. Chris Colabello continues to rake. What else happened? Keep reading to find out what happened in the Twins' farm system on Friday:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 0, Louisville Bats 3 Box Score The Red Wings were beaten by former #3 overall draft pick Greg Reynolds. The team managed just two hits. That said, Chris Colabello went 1-2 with two walks. Cole De Vries gave up three runs on eight hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out seven, lowering his ERA to 8.82. Luis Perdomo came on and struck out three and walked one in three scoreless, hitless innings. New Britain Rock Cats 4, Akron Aeros 13 Box Score It was a rough night for a couple Rock Cats pitchers. Tom Stuifbergen started and gave up eight runs on eight hits and two walks in just 3.1 innings. BJ Hermsen entered and gave up four runs on five hits and two walks in 1.2 innings. AJ Achter struck out two in his time on the mound. Dakota Watts made his second appearance of the season and gave up an unearned run on two hits in his inning. Bobby Lanigan gave up one hit in getting his three outs. Danny Ortiz went 3-4 with his 19th double. Nate Hanson was 3-5. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-4 with his third triple and his 10th home run. Miguel Sano was 1-3 with his second Rock Cats home run. Danny Santana went 2-4. Ft. Myers Miracle 3, Jupiter Hammerheads 8 Box Score The Miracle got neither good pitching nor good defense. Tyler Duffey went the first 5.1 innings. He gave up six runs (5 earned) on nine hits and two walks. He struck out five. Chad Rodgers entered and gave up two unearned runs in 3.2 innings, yielding four hits, one walk and two strikeouts. The teams's three errors were by Steve Wickens, Kennys Vargas and Candido Pimentel. Kennys Vargas' hot streak continued as he went 2-3 with a walk. Matt Koch was 2-4 with his 12th double. Jon Murphy hit his sixth double. Mike Kvasnicka hit his first triple. Cedar Rapids Kernels 5, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 3 Box Score The Kernels replaced lefty Hein Robb in their six-man rotation with lefty Josue (pronounces Ho-sway) Montanez. He started Friday night and gave up three runs on five hits and a walk in three innings. Tim Atherton came on and threw four shutout innings. He gave up two hits and struck out three. Kaleb Merck got the save. He gave up three hits in two scoreless innings. Byron Buxton was 1-3 with two walks and two stolen bases, giving him 31 on the year. Dalton Hicks went 2-5 with his 22nd double. Max Kepler went 1-4 with a walk. His hit was his first double. Tyler Grimes hit his fifth home run. Travis Harrison walked twice and was hit by a pitch. Elizabethton Twins 2, Bristol White Sox 4 Box Score In Game 2 of their season, the E-Twins managed just three hits. Jake Proctor had a triple. Kelvin Ortiz went 1-2 and was hit by a pitch twice. He also stole a base. Josh Burris started. After going 7-0 last year out of the Elizabethton bullpen, he took a loss in his first start of the 2013 season. He gave up three runs, one was earned. The only team miscue was his own throwing error. Kuo Hua Lo gave up four hits, but no runs, in three innings. Miguel Gonzalez gave up a hit and walked one in a scoreless inning. He struck out two. Carson Goldsmith came on and gave up one run on two hits and two walks in his inning. Andre Martinez pitched a perfect inning, striking out one. GCL Twins 6, GCL Red Sox 4 Box Score A five-run inning helped the GCL Twins to a win in their season opener. The big hit came off the bat of 17-year-old Amaurys Minier. The bonus baby came through with a big three-run homer in his third at-bat. He had already hit a double in his second at-bat. He was 2-4 on the day- not a bad debut. Jorge Fernandez hit a triple. Engelb Vielma and Jonatan Hinojosa each walked twice and stole two bases. Australian Lewis Thorpe started and gave up two runs on five hits in four innings. He walked none and struck out four. Chih-Wei Hu came on and walked one and struck out two in two scoreless innings. Miguel Gonzalez gave up a hit and walked one in a scoreless inning; he struck out three. Markus Solbach gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits in one inning. He struck out two. Two players got into the game on rehab assignments. Madison Boer picked up the save. He gave up two hits, but he struck out two, in the ninth inning. Also, Lance Ray went 0-3 with a walk. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below.

This afternoon, the Twins Gulf Coast League team will be playing its first game of the season. As is typical, this is a group with players from all around the world. It is a group of players from the Dominican, Venezuela, Germany, Taiwan, and Australia getting an opportunity. There are several players on this roster who have spent time in the Dominican Summer League. There are young players drafted the last year or two. There are some college picks who are more raw and there just isn’t room for on the Elizabethton roster. It is a mixed bag that manager Ramon Borrego will work with. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Right now, there are just a couple of names to know, to pay special attention to. Amaurys Minier and Kohl Stewart are the big names. However, over the course of the season, we’ll get to know more about several other players and most likely there will be a few more players that we will be excited about. PITCHERS (18) The first six pitchers will begin the season as the starters. Lewis Thorpe – Thorpe is a left-handed pitcher signed by the Twins last July. Still just 17 years old, Thorpe has a fastball in the upper 80s that touches 91-92. Sam Gibbons – The 19-year-old right-hander was signed out of Australia in July of 2011. Last year with the GCL Twins, he was 4-1 with a 2.29 ERA. In 35.1 innings, he walked eight and struck out 22. Fernando Romero – Romero signed out of the Dominican Republic in November of 2011. The 18-year-old went 1-4 with a 4.65 ERA last year in the Dominican Summer League. In 31 innings, he walked 14 and struck out 28. Damian Defrank – Another Dominican right-hander, Defrank signed in April of 2012. He went 0-4 with a 3.06 ERA in 14 starts in the DSL last year. In 53 innings, he walked 16 and struck out 27. He is still 18 years old. Leonel Zazueta – Zazueta signed last August from Mexico. He is an 18 year old who already throws in the mid-90s. This is definitely one prospect to watch. Kohl Stewart – Stewart, as you know, just signed a contract that came with a $4.5+ million bonus. He throws hard and has (at least) four pitches. His future is remarkably bright, but the work starts now. Brandon Easton – The Twins 24th round pick this month out of Lakeland Community College, he also played first base in school. But, at 6-6 with a big fastball, he struck out 78 in 59.2 innings this spring. Stephen Gonsalves – Like Stewart, Gonsalves was the Twins 4th round pick and signed for an over-slot value this week. The long lefty throws in the upper 80s and is very projectable. He’s got a long ways to go, but he has big potential. Derrick Penilla – The 21 year old lefty was the Twins 15th round pick this year out of Mount San Antonio College where he struck out more than a batter per inning. Reyson Zoquiel – The 19-year-old lefty signed with the Twins in July of 2010 from the Dominican Republic. Last year in the DSL, he went 0-3 with a 6.34 Era in 32.2 innings over 23 games. He struck out 37, but he walked 35. The year before, he walked 15 and struck out 11 in 18 innings. Jose Abreu – Signed from the Dominican Republic in September of 2010, the 20-year-old right-hander went 1-2 with a 2.25 ERA last year in the DSL. In 40 innings, he walked nine and struck out 23. A year earlier, he was 3-1 with a 1.30 ERA in 41.2 innings. He had walked 12 and struck out 29. Miguel Gonzalez – An 18-year-old right-hander from the Dominican, he signed in July of 2011. Last year in the DSL, he went 1-4 with a 2.01 ERA. In 44.2 innings, he walked 20 and struck out 35. Josh Guyer – The Twins signed Guyer from Australia last August. He is a hard-throwing 19-year-old who will debut this week. Zach Hayden – The 21-year-old is a right-hander from the University of South Carolina in Aiken. He was the 23rd round pick of the Twins this month after striking out 43 batters in 21 innings. Of course, he also walked 23 batters. Chih-Wei Hu – Signed from Taiwan last August for $220,000, the 19-year-old righty is 6-1 and 210 pounds. He throws in the low-90s already. Markus Solbach – Solbach signed with the Twins out of Germany in February of 2011. This will be his third season with the GCL Twins. In 2011, he went 3-3 with a 1.91 ERA in 15 games in relief. Last year, he was 2-1 with a 5.82 ERA in 11 games, though he walked just one and struck out 14 in 17 innings. He is 6-5 and 195 pounds. Tyler Stirewalt – The Twins 21st round pick this month out of Fresno State, Stirewalt is the definition of a project. He is 22 and 2012 was his first year of baseball in college. He played football at the college before switching to baseball. He is a great athlete and has been clocked at 94 mph. Jared Wilson – The Twins drafted Wilson a year earlier, but he went back to UC Santa Barbara for his senior season. He was their 19th round pick this year. He has very good velocity on his fastball and a good curveball, he just has poor control. He’s also already 23. CATCHERS (4) Jorge Fernandez – Fernandez was the Twins 7th round pick a year ago out of Puerto Rico. He played 30 games for the GCL Twins last year and hit .263/.288/.283 with two doubles. He is 6-3 and 190 pounds, a switch hitter and does have a high ceiling. Joel Polanco – The 20-year-old signed out of the Dominican in December of 2010. In 44 DSL games in 2011, he hit .205/.366/.283 with eight doubles. Last year, in 39 games, he hit .254/.369/.381 with 15 doubles. Brian Navaretto – The Twins 6th round pick this year out of high school in Florida. He is 6-3 and 220 pounds already. However, he’s a very good athlete but very raw, as you would expect from an 18-year-old. Alex Swim – The Twins 22nd round pick this year, Swim is 22 years old. He caught all 46 games this spring for Elon University. INFIELDERS (5) Jonatan Ynojosa – Signed by the Twins in 2009, the 20 year old has played 119 games in the DSL over the past three seasons. Combined, he has hit .171/.297/.217. Will Hurt – The Twins 16th round pick last year from Lexington Catholic (Ben Revere’s alma mater), he got off to a slow start last year. He hit just .141/.221/.141 in 27 games. He is very fast. Nelson Molina – The 18-year-old was the Twins 11th round pick this year from Puerto Rico. He is already 6-3 and 170 pounds, so he’s got some room to grow. Scouts believe that he can stick at shortstop. Engelb Vielma – Vielma will turn 19 tomorrow. Last year in the DSL, he hit .268/.354/.331 in 44 DSL games. He added four doubles and three triples. Amaurys Minier – Minier is the player to watch on this roster. Signed last July for $1.4 million, he is already moving to third base in the GCL. He is 6-2 and 200 pounds, but he has great strength and bat speed. OUTFIELDERS (6) Chad Christensen – The Twins 25th round pick this month out of the University of Nebraska, he was the Huskers shortstop his first two years and played in the outfield the last two years. Jason Kanzler – The fifth-year senior has a very nice power-speed combination. The 22-year-old was the Twins 20th round pick this year out of Buffalo. Zack Larson – The Twins drafted Larson last year in the 20th round out of high school in Florida. The Twins had some bonus money to use and were able to use it to sign this talented player. He is 6-2 and 185 pounds. Lsat year in 15 GCL games, he hit .250/.318/.325 with a double, a triple and three stolen bases. Adonis Pacheco – Last year in the DSL, Pacheco hit .322/.408/.536 with nine doubles, 12 triples, four homers and 34 RBI. He also stole 18 bases in 23 attempts. He was signed by the Twins in September of 2009, and last year was the 21 year old’s third season in the DSL. Rick Schwarz – The Twins signed the 18 year old in May of 2012 from Australia. He was an infielder there, but is a great athlete and has some upside. Ryan Tufts – Tufts was signed recently out of a tryout camp in Florida. The last he played was at Palm Beach State Junior College. He is a very good athlete that the organization thought was worth signing and giving an opportunity. There is the roster. Let the games begin! It’ll be fun to get to know more about these players.

The Appalachian League started on Thursday night and Elizabethton started where they left off last year. On Friday, the Gulf Coast League will begin. The Cedar Rapids Kernels began the second half of their season. Kyle Gibson had another terrific start for Rochester, but it was not the best start in the organization on this day. Keep reading to see what happened in the Twins farm system on Thursday:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 5, Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders 2 Box Score Kyle Gibson improved to 7-5 and dropped his ERA to 3.01 with another strong performance. He gave up only an unearned run on five hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out six. Blake Martin gave up a solo homer in the eighth. Michael Tonkin struck out one in a scoreless ninth to record his fourth save. Chris Colabello continues to lead the offense. He went 3-5 with his 15th home run. Chris Herrmann now has a 10 game hitting streak after a 2-4 game. Doug Bernier was also 2-4. Ray Olmedo was 2-3. ASIDE – It seems to me that too many Twins fans are focusing on the fact that Kyle Gibson is not yet with the big league club. I would love to see him up, and I think it will happen soon, but I choose to look at it differently. He is a much, much better pitcher now than he was six or seven starts ago, and that, to me, is the most important thing. New Britain Rock Cats 2, Erie Thunder 0 Box Score Logan Darnell just keeps on rolling. The lefty put in the best start of his fine season, throwing a complete game shutout. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out nine. He threw just 99 pitches and dropped his ERA to 2.61 (speaking of guys who need a promotion). The Rock Cats had just four hits. Kyle Knudson had two of them. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his ninth home run of the season. Ft. Myers Miracle 5, Jupiter Hammerheads 2 Box Score Kennys Vargas no longer has the likes of Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario in the lineup with him, but he isn’t missing a beat. On this night, he was 3-4. In the last three games, he is 7-11 with three extra base hits. John Murphy went 2-4 and stole his fourth base. Candido Pimentel was 2-3 with his first double. Matt Summers started for the Miracle. In five innings, he gave up two runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out five. Adrian Salcedo came on and struck out two in two scoreless innings. Zack Jones recorded his eighth save with two scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out three. Cedar Rapids Kernels 3, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 1 Box Score The Kernels returned from the All Star break and made the trek to Appleton, Wisconsin to take on the Timber Rattlers. There wasn’t much offense, but Travis Harrison provided what was needed. His 12th home run of the season was a two-run blast that proved to be all the team would need. He also added his 19th double. Niko Goodrum was 2-4. JD Williams was 2-3. Max Kepler went 0-3 with a walk in his first MWL game. Christian Powell won his first game. The right-hander gave up one run on four hits in seven innings. He walked two and struck out five. Caleb Brewer recorded his first Kernels’ save, giving up up two hits in two shutout innings. Elizabethton Twins 3, Bristol White Sox 0 Box Score This season, the E-Twins began with a home series against Bristol. Felix Jorge got the start. He struck out three in 1.2 innings before the rains came. There was enough of a delay that he did not come back. Tim Shibuya came on and went the next 4.1 innings. He gave up no runs on two hits and a walk. Dallas Gallant pitched a scoreless inning. Finally, Luis Nunez struck out three over the final two innings to record his first save of the season. The E-Twins didn’t get much offense but Bo Altobelli had two hits and Rory Rhodes had the lone extra base hit, a double. Tanner Vavra led off and went 1-3 with a walk. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below.

Tonight, the Elizabethton Twins season gets underway. They will attempt to end this season the same way they ended the 2012 season. OK, maybe not in quite as dramatic fashion as requiring a walk-off, extra inning grand slam, but the goal will again be to win an Appalachian League title. Long-time manager Ray Smith, along with long-time hitting coach Jeff Reed and second-year pitching coach Henry Bonilla, have built a bit of a dynasty in Tennessee. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The 2013 roster is quite interesting. It is full of 2013 draft picks from the college ranks along with some intriguing prospects that have been working in Extended Spring Training in Ft. Myers since March. I’m certain they are ready to get some ‘real’ games under their belt. Here is a look at the initial 2013 Elizabethton Twins roster (which is a bit bigger than the full-season rosters). Be sure to check out the Rosters & Payrolls page here at Twins Daily. THE PITCHERS (19) Brandon Bixler (21, 2013 16th round) – The lefty from Florida Gulf Coast was not listed yesterday among signings, but he is on the Elizabethton roster. He walks many and strikes out amny, but he has a very good fastball and solid curveball and changeup. He just needs to control them and he has a chance. Josh Burris (21, 2011 17th round) – Drafted out of LSU-Eunice in 2011, Burris has a tremendous curve ball. He signed late, so his pro debut came last year with the E-Twins where he went 7-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 36 innings. He walked 21 and struck out 40. He spent about a month of the 2013 season in Cedar Rapids where his ERA was just north of ten. In 10 innings, he struck out eight, but he walked nine and gave up 11 hits. Andrew Ferreira (22, 2012 ) – The lefty from Harvard pitched in 10 games last year after being drafted. In 10 innings, he walked seven and struck out 13. Dallas Gallant (24, 2010 23rd round) – Gallant pitched in Elizabethton in 2010 and was 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA. He missed all of 2011 due to Tommy John surgery. Last year, he rehabbed and then started the season with five scoreless innings in E-Town before pitching in nine games for Beloit. However, he had another injury and has been rehabbing in Ft. Myers since. He’s likely a guy that will move quickly once he gets a few innings under his belt. Brian Gilbert (20, 2013 7th round) – Signed out of Seton Hall, the right-hander has a very good fastball. He was a reliever in college and certainly will maintain that role at least this season. Carson Goldsmith (22, 2012 28th round) – Drafted last year out of Northwestern State in Louisiana (where he and Mason Melotakis were teammates), Goldsmith pitched in three games for the GCL Twins before injury. C. K. Irby (21, 2013 10th round) – Drafted out of Samford, Irby will start the season on the DL. He was a reliever in college until this year. He has a fastball that touches 95, but sits more in the low 90s. He also has a curveball and changeup. He will be given a chance to start at some point. Felix Jorge (19, signed in 2011 from Dominican Republic) – Jorge is 6-2 and a lanky 170. After signing, he went 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA in nine games in the DSL. Last year in the GCL, he went 0-3 but posted a 2.34 ERA in 12 games. In 34.2 innings, he walked 12 and struck out 37. Yorman Landa (19, signed in 2010 from Venezuela) – Landa and Jorge have followed about the same path. Landa pitched in 12 games for the DSL Twins in 2011. He was 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA. In 32 innings, he struck out 31 but walked 26. Last year in the GCL, he pitched in 10 games and went 1-3 with a 2.43 ERA. He struck out 27 in 33.1 innings, but he still walked 20. Kuo Hua Lo (20, signed in 2012 from Taiwan) – Just 5-10, Lo is a fairly advanced pitcher. Last year in the GCL, he went 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in 11 games. In 39.2 innings, he walked just seven and struck out 33. Austin Malinowski (20, 2011, 16th round) – Malinowski was Minnesota’s Mr. Baseball in 2011 for Centennial HS. He gave up a scholarship to Arizona to sign with the Twins. In the GCL last year, he went 3-2 with a 2.27 ERA in 11 games. In 31.2 innings, he walked 11 and struck out 32. Andre Martinez (20, 2012, 6th round) – Martinez was set to sign for over-slot last year ($260,000), but his physical showed something in his left shoulder, and they agreed on an $80,000 bonus. He pitched in six games for the GCL Twins. In 14 innings, he walked nine and struck out 11. Tanner Mendonca (21, 2013, 17th round) – The righty from Cal State – Sacramento is 6-4 and lanky. He has a fastball that has been clocked up to 94 mph and needs to work on his breaking pitches. Ethan Mildren (22, 2013 12th round) – Drafted out of the University of Pittsburgh, Mildren is a more typical Twins pitcher. He has a fastball in the low-90s and three other pitches. Generally is a ground ball pitcher. Luis Nunez (21, signed in 2008 from Dominican Republic) – It’s been a slow process for Nunez. In 2011, as a 19-year-old in his second run in the GCL, he went 5-0 with five saves and a 1.67 ERA in 32.1 innings. He walked just six and struck out 37. Last year in his first season in Elizabethton, he posted a 5.09 ERA and walked 17 in 23 innings. He struck out 21. The lefty throws hard. Brandon Peterson (21, 2013 13th round) – He was a very good closer for Wichita State this past year. He could become a starter in the Twins organization. He has a low-90s fastball and a slider. Hein Robb (21, signed in 2008 from South Africa) – The lefty has pitched in a couple of WBC’s already for his home country. He spent two seasons in the GCL. Last year, he pitched in 13 games for the E-Twins (8 starts) and was 2-4 with a 3.74 ERA. In 41 innings, he walked 14 and struck out 38. He made three starts for Cedar Rapids (0-0, 7.59 ERA, 9 BB, 10 K in 10.2 innings), but was sent back to Elizabethton earlier this week. Randy Rosario (19, signed in 2010 from Dominican Republic) – Rosario is a hard-throwing left-hander. He went 2-4 with a 3.86 ERA in the DSL in 2011. Last year in the GCL, he went 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA. In 38.1 innings, he walked 19 and struck out 42. Tim Shibuya (23, 2011 43rd round) – Shibuya was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year in 2011 when he went 8-2 with a 3.30 ERA. In 73.2 innings, he walked just 11 and struck out 70. He made 15 starts in Beloit a year ago before experiencing shoulder pain which required surgery last fall. He has been rehabbing in Ft. Myers since ,and like Gallant, he could move quickly once he proves his health. OUTFIELDERS (5) Zach Granite (20, 2013 14th round) – He was Seton Hall’s centerfielder and leadoff hitter this year. He’s not a big guy, but he has a knack for getting on base and has very good speed. Romy Jimenez (22, signed in 2009 from Dominican Republic) – Jimenez started the 2013 season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels, but he hit just .095 through 21 games so he was sent back to Elizabethton. Last year with the E-Twins, he hit .347 in 35 games, until a knee injury ended his season. Kelvin Ortiz (21, signed in 2008 from Dominican Republic) – Ortiz is talented but to this point, he hasn’t hit well at any level. In the DSL, he hit .181 and .264. He’s been with the GCL Twins the last two years and hit .189 and .221 (each year getting over 110 at bats). This is a big year for him, obviously. Jake Proctor (22, 2012 14th round) – Proctor is a very talented athlete that the Twins drafted a year ago from Cincinnati. He was considered a Top 200 type of talent in the draft, but he was hurt before the draft and slipped. He was recently cleared to play and hopefully it won’t take him too long to get back into the swing of things. Dereck Rodriguez (21, 2011 6th round) – The son of future Hall of Famer, Pudge, Dereck has a very strong arm and has all kinds of tools. He hit just .156 in 29 games in the GCL after he was drafted and hit .263 last. He started out on fire, but a hamstring injury derailed his season. He will likely get this year to see what his offensive potential could be, but no one should be surprised if he starts pitching if it doesn’t go well. INFIELDERS (7) Carlos Avila (23, 2013 34th round) – Cal State Dominguez Hills’ shortstop, Avila has good range. Bryan Haar (23, 2012 34th round ) – The San Diego native was drafted out of the University of San Diego a year ago. He hit .250 with 11 extra base hits in the GCL last year. He was 1-2 with a double in one game with the Miracle earlier this season. Javier Pimentel (19, signed in 2010 from Dominican Republic) – Pimentel got a nice upper-six figures signing bonus when he was signed as a 16-year-old. His bat has not yet caught up to his talent through. In 2011, he hit .220 in the DSL before hitting .167 in 28 games in the GCL. Last year, he returned to the GCL and hit just .198. Rory Rhodes (21, signed in 2007 from Australia) – I’ve got to be honest, I don’t get this one. Last year, the rule was changed so that each organization could have three players get a fourth year in the rookie leagues (for the Twins, this means GCL and Elizabethton). Rhodes played in the GCL in 2009 and 2010. He has spent time in Elizabethton in 2011 and 2012. Maybe there is another new rule? Anyway, the 6-9 first baseman does have some power potential. Last year at Elizabethton, he hit .262 with eight doubles and six home runs. Tanner Vavra (23, 2013 30th round) – The son of the Twins 3B coach, Vavra starred at Valparaiso and in the Northwoods League. Blind in one eye, he has hit and hit each year, overcoming a lot to prove people wrong. He hopes to do that again in pro ball. Logan Wade (21, signed in 2012 from Australia) – The Brisbane native is a switch-hitter who hit .234/.301/.371 with 11 extra base hits in 124 at bats. Ryan Walker (21, 2013 18th round) – The Twins drafted the Texas Arlington shortstop who hit over .300 this season. CATCHERS (4) Bo Altobelli (22, 2012 21st round) – Signed out of Texas Tech last summer, Altobelli hit .230/.277/.262 with two doubles for the E-Twins. He’ll return to work with some very talented young pitchers. Mitch Garver (22, 2013 9th round) – The Twins drafted Garver following his senior season at New Mexico this year. Bryan Santy (22, 2012 30th round) – Santy hit .296/418/.389 in 19 games with the GCL Twins a year ago after being drafted from the University of Washington. Stuart Turner (21, 2013 3rd round) – The 6-2, 220 back stop was drafted earlier this month from Ole Miss. Known more for his glove, he should be able to put up some solid power numbers in the Appy League. My observations - I see this roster and it's not terribly exciting. There are some really exciting pitchers that are young and came from the GCL last year... But overall, this roster looks a little older than normal to me. I get that Gallant and Shibuya are just there rehabbing and getting a few innings before moving, but I see a lot of 22 year olds and think it speaks to something more. I think the change in the draft rules mean fewer high school kids being drafted after the 5th or 6th rounds, and more college players drafted and signing. They're not really in a position to be in the Midwest League yet, and they have to fill the roster, so it's a great opportunity for them to learn the pro game and the program. Also, frankly, there are a LOT of 2013 draft picks on this roster and we don't know very much about them. We don't know if they got some steals or really much at all. So, I'm of the impression that this is a potentially down roster, but I guess we'll find out starting tonight. From now until late August, the Elizabethton Twins will be playing games with the goal of improving their skills while at the same time continuing the winning tradition that Ray Smith has established in the hills of Tennessee.

On Tuesday morning, we woke up to the news that the Elizabethton team bus driving from Ft. Myers to Elizabethton was involved in a fatal, head-on accident. Fortunately, none of the Elizabethton players or personnel were injured. The driver of the other vehicle, driving on the wrong side of the road, died. We should be seeing rosters for the E-Twins and the GCL Twins shortly. On Tuesday night, eight Kernels played in the Midwest League All-Star game. We should also hear about any player promotions on Wednesday. There were a couple great performances on Tuesday night, so check out what happened below.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 4, Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders 3 Box Score Andrew Albers continued his impressive season. The lefty went the first 6.1 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out four. Cody Eppley came on and got one out, but he walked two. Aaron Thompson gave up one run on one hit in 1.2 innings and he struck out two. Michael Tonkin picked up his third save, getting the final two outs. Antoan Richardson was on base a bunch again. He went 2-4 with a walk and his sixth double. He also stole his 13th base. Doug Bernier was 2-4 with his 10th double and second triple. Chris Herrmann went 2-5. New Britain Rock Cats 8, Erie Thunder 0 Box Score The Rock Cat bats showed up, but the story has to be the performance of Trevor May. The right-hander acquired in the offseason from the Phillies put together his best start of his season. He went 7.2 innings without allowing a run. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out nine for the win. Edgar Ibarra came on and struck out the batter he faced. Cole Johnson pitched the 9th, giving up just one walk. Danny Santana led off and went 4-5 with his 12th double. Nate Hanson was 3-4 with a walk, his ninth double and three RBI. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-4 with a walk and his eighth home run. Eddie Rosario was 2-4 with a walk and is now hitting .313 in his short time with the team. Miguel Sano was 0-4 to drop his average to .067. Ft. Myers Miracle 15, Palm Beach 6 Box Score Matt Koch has had a good season to this point and on Tuesday he was tremendous. He went 4-4 with a walk, his tenth and eleventh doubles and his fourth home run. Jhon Goncalves went 3-4 with a walk, his second homer and third stolen base. Kennys Vargas went 2-3 with two walks, his 21st double and 13th home run. Matt Tomshaw was the recipient of the run support on his way to his second Miracle win. He gave up three runs on ten hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out one. Ryan O’Rourke picked up his second save with three innings of work. He gave up three runs on four hits. Cedar Rapids Kernels The Kernels are on their All-Star break. However, eight members of the Kernels roster played in the Midwest League All-Star Game Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio. Byron Buxton was the leadoff hitter and centerfielder. He went 0-3. Dalton Hicks batted third and played 1B. He was 1-3. Adam Walker batted fourth and played right field. He was 1-3. Jorge Polanco played 2B and batted seventh. He was 1-2 with a walk. Niko Goodrum came on late to play shortstop. He was 1-1 with a walk and a two-run single in the ninth. Travis Harrison played third base late and went 0-1. JO Berrios got one out in the seventh inning. He gave up one run on one hit and a walk; the out came on a strikeout. Steve Gruver got two outs in the 8th inning, one on a strikeout. The Kerrnels' Mid-West Division lost to the Mid-East Division 6-5. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below.

It’s hard to ignore the numbers. They are pretty glaring. Overall this year, Minnesota Twins starter Mike Pelfrey is 3-6 with a 6.12 ERA in his first 13 starts. He’s allowing over 1.6 base runners per inning. It has been a tough go. In April, he posted a 7.66 ERA. In May, that number dropped to 5.90. Through two Quality Starts in June, he has posted a 4.05 ERA. The numbers are bad, but it seemed to me from watching that things weren’t quite as bad as they seemed. For instance, in his final two starts in May, he was good through five innings. On May 26, he had given up just two runs through five innings before giving up three in the sixth, giving him a final line of five runs in 5+ innings. On May 31, he threw five shutout innings before giving up three runs in the sixth.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] So, I looked into the Game Log and found that Pelfrey has been victimized by the big inning a lot. So far this season, he has given up five runs in an inning once. He has given up three runs in an inning six times. Five times, he has allowed two runs in an inning (but just once did that happen twice in one game). Combined, that is 33 runs of the 44 earned runs (and 46 unearned runs) he has allowed. 75% of his runs allowed have come during big innings. You often hear coaches or announcers say, “The team needs to put up a crooked number.” The goal for a pitcher is to give up no runs in an inning, but it’s not reasonable to expect him to do that all the time. If he can limit a team to just one run, rather than allowing a big inning, it most often won’t hurt too much. Pelfrey has thrown 64.2 innings this year. He has been removed from the game six times in the middle of an inning. So, he has pitched in a total of 68 innings. In 12 of those innings, he gave up more than one run. He has given up exactly one run 11 other times. That means that he has pitched a scoreless inning 45 times. He has given up zero or one run in 56 of those 68 innings in which he has pitched (82.4% of his innings). His ERA in those 56 innings is 1.76. However, he has given up 33 runs in those 12 multi-run innings and that’s how he still has an ERA over six through 13 starts. I’m not sitting here pretending that we can just forget about those 12 multi-run innings that Pelfrey (and Twins fans) have endured. He would be the first to tell you that he isn’t happy with his season to this point. (in fact, 1500espn’s Brandon Warne wrote a nice piece with some great quotes from Pelfrey himself on his season) But a deeper look tells us what has been the problem for Pelfrey. When he has given up runs, often, he is unable to stop the proverbial bleeding. More often than not (12 to 11), when he’s given up run, he’s allowed more than that one run. That, in my mind, has been the key to Pelfrey’s early-season struggles. And, if he is able to limit the damage in those big innings, we should see his ERA (and his pitch counts) drop more quickly.