Seth Stohs

Yup, but he was a contributor to a winning team and still in their organization.

It's almost inexplicable...

A couple of weeks ago, he had a walk-off triple for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2nd? 3rd best team in baseball?). Drew Butera, considered elite defensively... has played for the Royals and the Angels... Good teams want these types of players around.

That's amazing. He went from crushing pitchers on the inner half at the thighs to crushing pretty much everything from the thighs down!

Today, I would vote Correa... After 30 more games, the games-played difference won't matter any more. Sano can definitely win it yet.

Pat Meares had a nice little career for the Twins and Pirates. I still think Michael will, can and should get a chance. Should go to AAA next year. He's a solid ballplayer and just needs to stay healthy!

The Southern League announced their post-season All Star team this morning. Outfielders Max Kepler and Adam Brett Walker were named to the team. Between the two of them, they led the league in 8 offensive categories.

They have some tough 40 man decisions, but they can still make tough decisions if they want to get him up here. I was looking and only 5 of those guys do I think they would lose if left unprotected... Rogers, Zack Jones, JT Chargois, AB Walker and Engelb Vielma. And that happens in November, after 8-10 players come off the roster.

He was... considered a five-tool potential, though hitting was the question mark. Even when he was drafted, the idea of pitching was close at mind. After two years, they moved him. He's been alright. They've been patient with him. He was old when drafted out of high school and signed at 19, so he's actually eligible for the Rule 5 this year.

Last year, Rogers threw about 152 innings between New Britain and the AFL (he pitched in the championship game and I don't think that's included in the stats, but maybe). He should make one more Rochester start this week and get to 165 innings. He should get another 25 innings in the Fall league, putting him near 190. (that's 25% more than last year) Also, Rogers will turn 25 shortly after the fall league. Berrios turned 21 in May. Two very, very different situations.

He still won't be in any top 30s and probably not top 50 Twins prospects due to his age, but he has had a tremendous season and frankly,if he keeps on moving up, I don't care if he doesn't debut until he's 27. It's a nice honor for him and a chance to be seen.

It was an eventful day in the Twins system, as you would expect September 1st to be. Lots of moving parts, and still some big games as two teams approach the playoffs and one team isn’t quite ready to give up their playoff hopes. There were some awards named, transactions and the Arizona Fall League rosters were announced. The season came to an end for another Twins affiliate. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Dereck Rodriguez) It was an eventful day in the Twins system, as you would expect September 1st to be. Lots of moving parts, and still some big games as two teams approach the playoffs and one team isn’t quite ready to give up their playoff hopes. There were some awards named, transactions and the Arizona Fall League rosters were announced. The season came to an end for another Twins affiliate. All that and more can be found below. Let’s start with some transactions. ALL-STARS The International League named two members of the Rochester Red Wings to the league’s postseason All-Star team. First baseman Reynaldo Rodriguez and second baseman James Beresford were both very deserving. ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE Major League Baseball announced their 2015 rosters. The Twins will be represented by seven players. The four pitchers from the Twins organization are Nick Burdi, Jake Reed, Trevor Hildenberger and Taylor Rogers. The Twins are sending two catchers, Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver. Adam Brett Walker is the other Twins player who will spend six or seven weeks in the Phoenix area. TRANSACTIONS The Twins made official on Tuesday afternoon what we knew here on Monday night. The team recalled pitchers AJ Achter and Michael Tonkin, and infielders Kennys Vargas and Danny Santana. They also put Eric Fryer back on the 40-man roster and called him up. What we didn’t know is the roster move to make that possible. We have since learned that the Twins have out-righted Jason Wheeler from the 40-man roster. Rochester obviously needed to add some players to make up for the players promoted. Equally obviously, the Twins aren’t going to mess with the Chattanooga roster as they prepare for the playoffs. Eric Farris and Allan de San Miguel came off of the disabled list. Also, Loek Van Mil was in uniform for the Twins. Baseball America had announced that the team had signed him. He last played in affiliated ball in 2013. He has played some in Japan since then. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 2 Box Score The Red Wings are barely holding on in their division. After this loss, Scranton’s magic number to clinch the division over the Red Wings is just one. Rochester does have a little more wiggle room in the wild card hunt, but not much. Michael Bowden started and gave up just two runs on four hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out eight. Alex Meyer came on and worked two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked two (one intentional) and struck out three. Unfortunately, the Red Wings weren’t able to muster much offense. In fact, Reynaldo Rodriguez scored the lone run of the game. He got on after striking out and the ball got by the catcher. He advanced to second. He stole third base (his 13th steal of the year), the throw went into left field and Rodriguez scored. Aaron Hicks had one of the four Red Wings hits. He played the whole game in right field. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Birmingham 1 Box Score Adam Brett Walker struggled for about five weeks, but he’s been providing some extra-base hits again of late. On Tuesday night, he hit his 30th home run of the season to match the number of doubles he has this season. He was 2-4 with a walk and the homer. He also drove in two more runs, giving him 103 on the season, second-best in minor league baseball. Levi Michael went 3-5. Max Kepler went 1-3 with two walks and two RBI. Cleanup hitter Travis Harrison also drove in two runs. DJ Baxendale gave up just one run on four hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out four. Corey Williams pitched a flawless seventh. Nick Burdi gave up a hit and walked two, but struck out three in a scoreless inning. JT Chargois got the final three outs, two of them via strikeout. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1 – Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 2 Box Score Kohl Stewart was again good in this game. He went six innings and was charged with only two unearned runs. He gave up four hits, walked four and struck out three. He improved to 7-8 with a 3.20 ERA on the season. Jake Reed picked up his first save with a clean seventh inning. Chad Christensen led the offense. He went 3-4 with his second and third triples. Mitch Garver was 2-3 with a walk. Logan Wade hit his 21st double and drove in three runs. Zach Granite was 1-2 and notched his 20th stolen base. Game 2 – Ft. Myers 6, Jupiter 1 Box Score Luke Westphal improved his Miracle numbers to 5-5 with a 2.82 ERA. The southpaw went five shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five. Todd Van Steensel struck out the side in the sixth. Matt Summers gave up a solo home run in the seventh. LaMonte Wade hit his fourth triple. Aderlin Mejia went 1-2 with a walk. Chad Christensen walked twice. Zach Granite drove in two runs. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 5 Box Score Sam Clay put together a real solid start, but the Kernels fell with two outs in the ninth. The left-hander Clay gave up two runs on eight hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out three. He walked two and struck out three. Yorman Landa pitched the next two innings. He gave up two runs on one hit and two walks. Zach Tillery came on for the ninth. He got two outs, but he gave up a run on two hits and a walk to take the loss. Sean Miller was leading off. He went 2-4 with his third and fourth doubles. TJ White went 2-4 with a walk. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Bristol 1 Box Score Dereck Rodriguez was named the Appy League Pitcher of the Year last week. Tonight, he put together, arguably, his best start of the year. In six innings, he gave up one run. He allowed seven hits, walked none and struck out 11. He improved to 6-3 with a 2.85 ERA. Onesimo Hernandez threw two shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out two. Kuo Hua Lo worked a scoreless inning to finish the game. LaMonte Wade went 2-4 with his fifth triple. AJ Murray was 2-3 with a walk and his 11th double. Brad Hartong and Nelson Molina each went 2-4. Zander Wiel walked twice. The Elizabethton season is complete. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dereck Rodriguez, Elizabethton Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chad Christensen, Ft. Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (6:5 CST) – TBD Chattanooga – No Game Scheduled Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (12:05 CST) – RHP Ethan Mildren Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:35 CST) – LHP Randy Rosario Feel free to leave any questions or comments below View full article

With the losses to call ups, Rochester has made a few moves: Eric Farris and Allan de San Miguel both off the DL. Loek Van Mil also on the roster. Baseball America had him signing with the Twins a month or so ago, but he hadn't surfaced on a roster until today.

I don't know about desperation, but I do think they want to see how they do, put them in this situation. It's a good challenge for both. During the season, understandably, they want them both playing. I think this is good.

They changed it to TWO players below AA a couple of years ago.

Per the beat reporters, RHP Adrian Salcedo has now been hit with another suspension. This one is 100 games for testing positive for Heptaminol, a stimulant.

On Tuesday afternoon, Major League Baseball announced the Arizona Fall League rosters. The Twins will be represented by seven players in Arizona. It is a good opportunity for the Twins to learn about these guys, and for the players to see how they compare to and learn from other top prospects from other organization. The Twins will play for the Scottsdale Scorpions with players from the Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and San Francisco. Here are the Twins representatives: Image courtesy of Craig Gordon On Tuesday afternoon, Major League Baseball announced the Arizona Fall League rosters. The Twins will be represented by seven players in Arizona. It is a good opportunity for the Twins to learn about these guys, and for the players to see how they compare to and learn from other top prospects from other organization. The Twins will play for the Scottsdale Scorpions with players from the Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and San Francisco. Here are the Twins representatives: NICK BURDI (22) – Right-Handed Relief Pitcher Burdi came into the year and many of us thought he’d be with the big league club by now. That didn’t happen. He started in Chattanooga, but after posting a 5.93 ERA in his first 22 games there, he was sent down to Ft. Myers in late June. After a solid month there, he returned to the Lookouts. In 10.1 innings (5 outings) since his return, he has a 1.75 ERA. That said, he has 8 walks to go with 15 strikeouts. If he can find some control, he should be terrific. JAKE REED (22) – Right-Handed Relief Pitcher Like Burdi, Reed struggled in AA. In 33 games, he posted a 5.64 ERA. He returned to Ft. Myers (actually, he had skipped Ft. Myers to start the season) where he has a 0.00 ERA in eight games. Reed pitched well in the Arizona Fall League last year. He was the Twins fifth-round pick in 2014 out of Oregon. TREVOR HILDENBERGER (24) – Right-Handed Relief Pitcher Hildenberger was the Twins 22nd round pick just last year from California. He began the season with 28 games in Cedar Rapids and dominated to the tune of a 0.80 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP through 45 innings. He was promoted to the Miracle where he has a 3.00 ERA in 18 innings. He has 17 total saves on the season. He has twice been our minor league pitcher of the month and is a leading candidate for the annual honor. TAYLOR ROGERS (24) – Left-Handed Starting Pitcher Like Reed, Rogers pitched in the AFL last year, though he was limited thanks to a liner to his left arm. He is 9-12 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP with the Red Wings this year in 161 innings. He has struggled more in the second half. He has risen pretty quickly through the Twins ranks since being their 11th round pick in 2012 out of Kentucky. ADAM BRETT WALKER (23) – Outfielder The powerful slugger was the Twins third-round pick in 2012 out of Jacksonville University. This year in Chattanooga, he has slugged 30 doubles and 29 homers. He’s driven in over 100 runs for the second time in three full seasons. And yes, he is approaching 190 strikeouts on the season. For him, continuing to work on his strike zone knowledge and plan will be key. MITCH GARVER (24) – Catcher The Twins are sending Mitch Garver to the Fall League. He was Twins Daily’s Minor League Hitter of the Year last year in Cedar Rapids. He struggled through the first two months this season, but since June 1st, he is hitting .273/.374/.392 (.766). He has thrown out 36% of would-be base-stealers for the Miracle this year. STUART TURNER (23) – Catcher So, the Twins are sending two catchers to the Fall League. That is unusual, I would think, though both are very solid behind the plate. Turner is definitely known more for his defense. He has thrown out 40% of would-be base-stealers in Chattanooga. He is hitting just .220/.318/.307 on the season. However, in his last 34 games, he has hit .284/.384/.371 (.755). These seven will represent the Twins organization in Arizona. What are your thoughts? View full article

The Twins recalled Michael Tonkin, AJ Achter, Danny Santana, Kennys Vargas, and they added Eric Fryer as well. To make room for Fryer on the 40-man roster, they outrighted LHP Jason Wheeler from the 40 man.

Yeah, his walk rate jumped from 7.5% to about 9.4% (as of a couple days ago), and that's encouraging... though his K-Rate jumped from 28% to 35% It's been a very good year for him.

According to the International League, Rochester 1B Reynaldo Rodriguez and 2B James Beresford were named to the league's postseason All Star team. It's a nice honor for both players.

James Beresford and Reynaldo Rodriguez were named to the International League postseason All Star team.

Max Kepler's last 8 games, he's 3-27 (.111/.242/.111). Obviously that's a small sample, but why not let him get it going again before calling him up. Oh, and let him play every day and get 4-5 plate appearances every day. He's had a great year in AA, and he might be ready to help the Twins, but I'd side on the side of more development. He'll (in my opinion) be up for the last 2-3 weeks and get some experience. Regarding Berrios... I think the "mistake" was made earlier in the season in controlling the innings. He's at 161.1 innings now. That means maybe 14-15 more innings. His upside is so high that my biggest concern would be his long-term well-being. I don't think the Twins care about service time. And, even if they do, the 3-4 weeks he'd be up this year can be pitched in Rochester to start next year. I don't think they'd worry about that. I did watch all of his pitches last night. He definitely didn't have his best stuff. He was struggling to put batters away. His fastball was up and that's a concern. I mean, there are baseball reasons to wonder how he can do at this point. I think he should have been up in early August. I think he could be up this year to help as a long reliever. I'm not outraged that he isn't. And frankly, I think he still could be called up in 3-4 days, or in 7 days. Very possible.

Though the Twins will not confirm any promotions until Tuesday (probably because they can't call anyone up before September 1), Kevin Oklobzija indicates that the Twins will call up five players initially. They are: Eric Fryer - Non-Roster- Danny Santana AJ Achter Michael Tonkin Kennys Vargas Again, they will likely call up more when the minor league season is complete. However, they've added power for the bench, speed for the bench, another catcher, and two bullpen arms.