Seth Stohs

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 in the sixth. 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 one did that happen twice in one game). Combined, that is 33 runs out of the 44 earned runs (and 46 unearned runs) he has allowed. 75% of his runs allowed have come during big innings. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4461[/ATTACH] 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. 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 though. 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 a run, he’s allowed more than a 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.

It's been about six weeks since we last updated which people in the Minnesota Twins organization are on Twitter. Since that time, several players have started tweeting while other players are new to the organization. This list does include several of the Twins 2013 draft picks. If they choose not to sign, they will be removed from the list, of course. Twitter is a great way to interact with players and with your favorite Twins bloggers. Be sure to follow the following Twins Daily writers on Twitter: @TwinsDaily, John @TwinsGeek, Parker @OverTheBaggy, Nick @nnelson9, Seth @SethTweets, and Brock @rocketpig76. If we're missing someone, please let us know. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4451[/ATTACH] [TABLE=width: 577] First Name Last Name Twitter 6/16 Update 5/9 Update 6 wk change AJ Achter @ajachter35 528 491[TD=align: right]7.5%[/TD] Bo Altobelli @BoAltobelli 156 148[TD=align: right]5.4%[/TD] Oswaldo Arcia @arciaoswaldo 1,020 718[TD=align: right]42.1%[/TD] Ivan Arteaga @IvanArteaga 75,365 70,737[TD=align: right]6.5%[/TD] Tim Atherton @TimAtherton89 235 226[TD=align: right]4.0%[/TD] Luke Bard @Luke_Bard 1,002 1,007[TD=align: right]-0.5%[/TD] DJ Baxendale @DBax24 4,441 4,173[TD=align: right]6.4%[/TD] James Beresford @JamesBeresford2 1,055 943[TD=align: right]11.9%[/TD] Doug Bernier @dougbernier 218 215[TD=align: right]1.4%[/TD] J.O. Berrios @JOlaMaquina 977 868[TD=align: right]12.6%[/TD] Evan Bigley @Bigley3 641 626[TD=align: right]2.4%[/TD] Brandon Bixler @BrandonBixler 295 AJ Bogucki @AJBogucki31 449 Hudson Boyd @boyd_hudson 435 355[TD=align: right]22.5%[/TD] Joshua Burris @Josh_Burris_ 206 197[TD=align: right]4.6%[/TD] Drew Butera @DrewButera 16,501 16,094[TD=align: right]2.5%[/TD] Byron Buxton @OfficialBuck103 4,057 1,822[TD=align: right]122.7%[/TD] Chris Colabello @CC20rake 2,004 1,268[TD=align: right]58.0%[/TD] Logan Darnell @ldarnell15 221 162[TD=align: right]36.4%[/TD] Pat Dean @PDean15 370 355[TD=align: right]4.2%[/TD] Dustin DeMuth @_doubled16 298 Scott Diamond @Scott_Diamond58 15,157 14,160[TD=align: right]7.0%[/TD] Brian Dinkelman @BrDink 1,719 1,686[TD=align: right]2.0%[/TD] Brian Dozier @BrianDozier 12,668 11,453[TD=align: right]10.6%[/TD] Brian Duensing @BrianDuensing52 15,565 14,780[TD=align: right]5.3%[/TD] Tyler Duffey @TheDoof13 229 194[TD=align: right]18.0%[/TD] Ryan Eades @R_Eades37 4,348 Eduardo Escobar @escobarmaracay 1,004 653[TD=align: right]53.8%[/TD] Eric Farris @eRoc86 3,037 Andrew Ferreira @Get_Meaty 4,612 4,804[TD=align: right]-4.0%[/TD] Dallas Gallant @DGallant18 412 385[TD=align: right]7.0%[/TD] Mitchell Garver @MitchGarver 665 Kyle Gibson @KGib44 7,697 7,181[TD=align: right]7.2%[/TD] Jhonathan Goncalves @jhong1305 112 105[TD=align: right]6.7%[/TD] Niko Goodrum @NikoGoodrumTC 551 415[TD=align: right]32.8%[/TD] Steven Gruver @sgruv30 95 83[TD=align: right]14.5%[/TD] Deolis Guerra @deolisguerra 2,080 1,791[TD=align: right]16.1%[/TD] Bryan Haar @BryanHaar24 154 134[TD=align: right]14.9%[/TD] Nate Hanson @NHans12 463 440[TD=align: right]5.2%[/TD] Matt Hauser @mhauser_17 292 268[TD=align: right]9.0%[/TD] Ryan Halstead @ryhalstead 332 BJ Hermsen @BJHermsen12 1,482 1,426[TD=align: right]3.9%[/TD] DJ Hicks @DHicksMTB 949 845[TD=align: right]12.3%[/TD] Aaron Hicks @AaronHicks31 14,260 11,307[TD=align: right]26.1%[/TD] Trent Higginbotham @trenthigg 180 168[TD=align: right]7.1%[/TD] David Hurlbut @leftydh1989 104 88[TD=align: right]18.2%[/TD] Will Hurt @Will_Hurt 646 647[TD=align: right]-0.2%[/TD] CK Irby @ckirbythe3 629 Tyler Jones @TmfJones 36 36[TD=align: right]0.0%[/TD] Zack Jones @Jack_Zones04 432 409[TD=align: right]5.6%[/TD] Jason Kanzler @JasonKanzler 121 Max Kepler @kepleroni 402 330[TD=align: right]21.8%[/TD] Kyle Knudson @KKnudson6 462 438[TD=align: right]5.5%[/TD] Matt Koch @M_Koch4 68 60[TD=align: right]13.3%[/TD] Bobby Lanigan @BobbyLanigan 504 487[TD=align: right]3.5%[/TD] Andy Leer @andyleer12 135 123[TD=align: right]9.8%[/TD] Austin Malinowski @AJMalinowski24 369 353[TD=align: right]4.5%[/TD] Trevor May @TrevMay54 5,944 5,727[TD=align: right]3.8%[/TD] Trevor May (MAZR) @TrevorMAZR 234 238[TD=align: right]-1.7%[/TD] Chris Mazza @ChrisMazza10 255 241[TD=align: right]5.8%[/TD] Tanner Mendonca @TanTheMan13 393 Kaleb Merck @TwinsMerckin 323 316[TD=align: right]2.2%[/TD] Alex Meyer @Meyer17A 5,000 4,731[TD=align: right]5.7%[/TD] Levi Michael @LeviMichael9 319 303[TD=align: right]5.3%[/TD] Ethan Mildren @EMildren4040 398 Angel Morales @AngelMorales24 338 296[TD=align: right]14.2%[/TD] Miguel Munoz @mikemunoz59 139 131[TD=align: right]6.1%[/TD] Jonathan Murphy @JMurph6 269 259[TD=align: right]3.9%[/TD] Brian Navarretto @Brian_Navarrero 66 Lester Oliveros @lesteroliveros 1,984 1,945[TD=align: right]2.0%[/TD] Ryan O'Rourke @RyanO_Rourke 594 581[TD=align: right]2.2%[/TD] Chris Parmelee @CParms27 7,346 5,933[TD=align: right]23.8%[/TD] Derrick Penilla @leftywayz 21 Glen Perkins @glen_perkins 19,646 18,130[TD=align: right]8.4%[/TD] Brandon Peterson @Bpeterson_12 276 AJ Pettersen @apettersen1 791 761[TD=align: right]3.9%[/TD] Chris Pettit @cpettit815 1,491 Trevor Plouffe @TPlouffe24 26,041 24,333[TD=align: right]7.0%[/TD] Jorge Polanco @Jorge_Polanco1 116 Christian Powell @BooPowell20 429 Ryan Pressly @pressly_ryan 1,097 738[TD=align: right]48.6%[/TD] Jake Proctor @JProc23 1,202 1,192[TD=align: right]0.8%[/TD] Bruce Pugh @brucepugh55 85 79[TD=align: right]7.6%[/TD] Michael Quesada @KSada55 191 154[TD=align: right]24.0%[/TD] Antoan Richardson @ARichardson242 304 260[TD=align: right]16.9%[/TD] Chad Rodgers @CMRodg 228 215[TD=align: right]6.0%[/TD] Dereck Rodriguez @DereckRodRF3 329 331[TD=align: right]-0.6%[/TD] Josh Roenicke @JroPrimetime 1,651 Taylor Rogers @trogers34 313 286[TD=align: right]9.4%[/TD] Dan Rohlfing @DanRohlfing 930 810[TD=align: right]14.8%[/TD] Miguel Sano @SanoMiguel 3,451 2,001[TD=align: right]72.5%[/TD] Danny Santana @bigmen07 94 73[TD=align: right]28.8%[/TD] Bryan Santy @BKSanty41 179 167[TD=align: right]7.2%[/TD] Steven Sensley @steven_sensley 182 Logan Shore @LoganShore 1,014 Aaron Slegers @Aslegers 520 Markus Solbach @MSolbach23 57 58[TD=align: right]-1.7%[/TD] Manuel Soliman @Soliman30 594 561[TD=align: right]5.9%[/TD] Kohl Stewart @KohlStewart1 5,581 Tom Stuifbergen @TomStuifbergen 752 727[TD=align: right]3.4%[/TD] Anthony Swarzak @ASwarzak51 8,631 8,038[TD=align: right]7.4%[/TD] Lewis Thorpe @LewisT18 158 Matt Tomshaw @matthewJTomshaw 237 215[TD=align: right]10.2%[/TD] Michael Tonkin @mtonkin37 270 231[TD=align: right]16.9%[/TD] Stuart Turner @sturn26 1,219 Daniel Turpen @DdTuRpEn 147 149[TD=align: right]-1.3%[/TD] Kennys Vargas @kennysvargas 38 33[TD=align: right]15.2%[/TD] Tanner Vavra @tvavs5 401 Adam Walker @walkoff28 743 601[TD=align: right]23.6%[/TD] PJ Walters @PJWalters39 2,851 2,514[TD=align: right]13.4%[/TD] Tommy Watkins @TommyWatkins 1,559 1,507[TD=align: right]3.5%[/TD] Dakota Watts @watts_22 893 872[TD=align: right]2.4%[/TD] Jason Wheeler @Lil_Wheels 189 178[TD=align: right]6.2%[/TD] Stephen Wickens @wicks1221 131 126[TD=align: right]4.0%[/TD] Corey Williams @coreyw24 339 336[TD=align: right]0.9%[/TD] Jared Wilson @DubsDeuces 108 Alex Wimmers @AlexWimmers21 1,385 1,341[TD=align: right]3.3%[/TD] Tim Wood @The_Woodpile 863 850[TD=align: right]1.5%[/TD] Vance Worley @VANIMAL_49 54,340 54,382[TD=align: right]-0.1%[/TD] FRONT OFFICE First Name Last Name Twitter 6/16 Update 5/9 Update Minnesota Twins @twins 158,089 Dave St. Peter @TwinsPrez 16,606 15,990[TD=align: right]3.9%[/TD] Dustin Morse @Twins_morsecode 11,077 10,834[TD=align: right]2.2%[/TD] Mike Herman @HermTT 2,266 2,231[TD=align: right]1.6%[/TD] Mitch Hestad @mitchhestad 123 Jack Goin @jdgoin 364 Bryan Donaldson @MNCommunityGuy 1,559 1,529[TD=align: right]2.0%[/TD] Andrew Heydt @AndrewHeydt 473 461[TD=align: right]2.6%[/TD] Mike Kennedy @TwinsPRMachine 509 457[TD=align: right]11.4%[/TD] Brace Hemmelgarn @bracehemmelgarn 1,279 1,166[TD=align: right]9.7%[/TD] TC Bear @TC_00 10,851 10,052[TD=align: right]7.9%[/TD] Twins Daily 6/16 Update 5/9 Update Twins Daily @TwinsDaily 2,651 2,279[TD=align: right]16.3%[/TD] John Bonnes @TwinsGeek 5,598 5,334[TD=align: right]4.9%[/TD] Seth Stohs @SethTweets 5,246 4,984[TD=align: right]5.3%[/TD] Nick Nelson @Nnelson9 2,809 2,703[TD=align: right]3.9%[/TD] Parker Hageman @OverTheBaggy 3,463 3,165[TD=align: right]9.4%[/TD] Brock Beauchamp @rocketpig76 77 75[TD=align: right]2.7%[/TD] Jeremy Nygaard @JeremyNygaard 481 316[TD=align: right]52.2%[/TD] Cody Christie @NoDakTwinsFan 883 852[TD=align: right]3.6%[/TD] Minor Leagues 6/16 Update 5/9 Update Rochester Red Wings @RocRedWings 6,204 5,717[TD=align: right]8.5%[/TD] Josh Whetzel @JoshWhetzel 1,060 1,013[TD=align: right]4.6%[/TD] Morrie Silver @MorrieSilver8 319 298[TD=align: right]7.0%[/TD] Jim Mandelaro @JMand1 1,164 1,116[TD=align: right]4.3%[/TD] Christopher Fee @CJFee 181 148[TD=align: right]22.3%[/TD] New Britain Rock Cats @RockCats 5,705 5,275[TD=align: right]8.2%[/TD] Ken Lipshez @KenLip1 109 110[TD=align: right]-0.9%[/TD] Jeff Dooley @Jdooleysports 349 287[TD=align: right]21.6%[/TD] @Mnfanfromafar 515 319[TD=align: right]61.4%[/TD] Ft. Myers Miracle @MiracleBaseball 5,965 5,606[TD=align: right]6.4%[/TD] Bryce Zimmerman @ZimMiracle 462 414[TD=align: right]11.6%[/TD] Steve Gliner @stevieGFTM 398 389[TD=align: right]2.3%[/TD] Adam MacDonald @AdamMacMiracle 83 74[TD=align: right]12.2%[/TD] David Dorsey @DavidADorsey 1,137 1,108[TD=align: right]2.6%[/TD] Cedar Rapids Kernels @CRKernels 4,531 3,816[TD=align: right]18.7%[/TD] Morgan Hawk @Morgan_Hawk 351 337[TD=align: right]4.2%[/TD] Matt Cozzi @matt_cozzi 867 Jim Crikket @JimCrikket 476 396[TD=align: right]20.2%[/TD] Jeff Johnson @jeje66 1,112 1,044[TD=align: right]6.5%[/TD] Metro Sports Report @metrosportsrept 814 757[TD=align: right]7.5%[/TD] Andrew Pantini @stadium65 99 88[TD=align: right]12.5%[/TD] Brandon Clemens @brandonclemens 284 262[TD=align: right]8.4%[/TD] Elizabethton Twins @ETownTwins 704 647[TD=align: right]8.8%[/TD] [/TABLE]

Coming into Sunday, the final day of the first half of the Midwest League season, the Cedar Rapids Kernels had won just three of their last ten games. Meanwhile, the Beloit Snappers had won eight of ten. Both teams have clinches a playoff spot, but both teams had a chance to win the division crown. For the Kernels to win the title, they had to win AND the Snappers needed to lose. So, what happened? Well, you’ll need to read below for that answer. Another question to ask yourself is; Did Byron Buxton (And other Kernels) play their last game for Cedar Rapids? With that, check out what happened in the Twins minor league system on Sunday: Rochester Red Wings 6, Gwinnett Braves 3 Box Score The bats showed up for the Red Wings on Sunday. Chris Colabello, Jeff Clement and Dan Rohlfing all homered in a four-run fifth inning to give Rochester the runs they needed. Colabello was 2-4 with his 21st double and the homer was his 14th. Clement’s homer was his 10th. Rohlfing went 2-3 with a walk. The homer was his second of the weekend. He also stole his first AAA base. Chris Herrmann added his sixth home run. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 with his third double. Doug Bernier hit his eighth and ninth doubles. Cole De Vries got the win. He went 5.1 innings and gave up three runs. He allowed eight hits, walked none and struck out five. Blake Martin gave up two hits over 2.2 scoreless innings. He struck out two. Michael Tonkin struck out two in a scoreless inning. New Britain Rock Cats 2, Harrisburg Senators 5 Box Score The Rock Cats had plenty of hits, but were unable score enough runs. DJ Baxendale started. He gave up four runs on six hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out just one. Bobby Lanigan gave up one run on a walk and two hits in the 7th inning. Dakota Watts and Dan Turpen each worked a scoreless inning. Danny Ortiz led the way with a 3-5 day. Kyle Knudson was 2-3 with a walk. Jordan Parraz, Nate Hanson and Reynaldo Rodriguez were each 2-5. Miguel Sano was 0-3 to drop his batting average to just .091 through his first five games with the Rock Cats. He is just 1-11, but he has six walks and just three strikeouts. Ft. Myers Miracle All Star break’s last day. The Miracle start their second half on Monday night, with Tyler Duffey on the mound. Cedar Rapids Kernels 9, Peoria Chiefs 10 Box Score Needing a win and a Snappers loss to win the first-half division title, the Kernels did not have a great game, but they did have a chance at the end. The hitters showed up. The best news came in the form of the return of Niko Goodrum. The All Star shortstop has missed about two weeks after suffering a concussion. He went 3-4 with a walk and his 13th double. Dalton Hicks has been on fire. On Sunday, he went 3-4. He hit his 21st double, and his 12th home run (homered for the 3rd straight day). He also drove in six runs and ends the first half with 63 RBI. Jorge Polanco and JD Williams each went 2-4. Was it Byron Buxton’s final game with the Kernels? We’ll likely find out on Tuesday night or Wednesday, but if so, he ended with two hits. The Kernels scored nine runs. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4442[/ATTACH] Mason Melotakis got the nod on the mound. He gave up five runs on six hits and three walks in 6.1 innings. He struck out two. Tyler Jones came on and took it to the ninth inning. The Kernels held 9-5 lead heading to the ninth. Beloit was down a run in the ninth inning of their game. Things were looking optimistic. Jones was able to get just one out in the ninth and was charged with two runs. Josue Montanez came on and gave up two hits and hit a batter. He left and was replaced by Alex Muren who came on and got the final two outs, but not before Peoria had scored five in the inning and taken a 10-9 lead .The Kernels were unable to score in the bottom of the 9th. It was all for naught as Beloit had won in walk-off fashion to win the western division’s first-half title. The Midwest League All Star game is on Tuesday night, and the second half will begin on Friday. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below.

A lot has been going on in the Twins farm system the last couple of days, and after missing a day for the first time this year, I'll be updating you on the last two days in game summaries and highlights. Not sure if people will believe this, but I went from 11:00 a.m. on Friday until 7:00 p.m. on Saturday without being on my computer. I believe that is a personal record for me. I watched a couple of games at the state baseball tournament (check out this Howard Sinker blog on it, please) and kept quite busy. Friday - Rochester 12, Gwinnett 8 Saturday - Rochester 6, Gwinnett 5 The Red Wings back came alive on Friday night. Dan Rohlfing led the way. He went 4-4 with his first AAA double and triple in the game. Chris Colabello went 2-4 with a walk and his 13th home run. Antoan Richardson went 2-5 with his fourth triple. Eric Farris and Trevor Plouffe each went 2-5. Drew Butera drove his first home run of the season, a three-run blast. On Saturday, the Red Wings were down 5-1 going into the bottom of the 9th. Improbably things happen from time to time. The Red Wings scored five runs in the half-inning and won on a two-run, walk-off single from Dan Rohlfing. Rohlfing was 2-4 with a walk and his second double. Antoan Richardson went 0-2 with three walks and his 11th stolen base. Kyle Gibson started and gave up four runs (3 earned) on six hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out four. Cody Eppley made his first appearance in the Twins organization and gave up one run on three hits and a walk in two innings. Luis Perdomo pitched a perfect inning. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4437[/ATTACH] Friday - New Britain 1, Harrisburg 4 Saturday - New Britain 8, Harrisburg 1 On Friday night, lefty Logan Darnell provided the team with another Quality State. He went seven innings and gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits and a walk. He struck out three. BJ Hermsen gave up two hits but no runs in his inning. Matt Hauser gave up a solo homer in the 9th. Nate Hanson went 2-4 with his seventh double. Angel Morales homered for the first time with the Rock Cats. On Saturday, Tom Stuifbergen was back on the mound after a rough first outing. The Dutch right-hander gave up just one run on four hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out seven. Edgar Ibarra worked two perfect innings. AJ Achter gave up a hit but no runs in his inning. Nat Hanson again led the offense. He went 2-3 with his eighth double and third AAA homer. He drove in five runs. Miguel Sano went 0-1 with three walks. Josmil Pinto went 1-1 with two walks and a double. Eddie Rosario hit his first AA double. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his seventh home run. Friday - Off Day in the Florida State League. Saturday - Florida State League All Star Game. Taylor Rogers started for the south squad and pitched a perfect 1st inning. Corey Williams and Zack Jones each pitched a perfect inning in relief. Kennys Vargas batted fourth and played first base. He went 1-3. Matt Koch started behind the plate and batted eighth. He went 0-1. Friday - Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 6 (10 innings) Saturday - Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 8 Cedar Rapids has had a stronghold on the western division of the Midwest League much of the first half of the season. After losses the past two nights and a Beloit win on Saturday, the Snappers now lead the division by one game with on game to play. So, here's how tomorrow lays out. If Beloit wins, they are the division champ for the first half. If Cedar Rapids loses, Beloit wins the title. However, if the Kernels win and the Snappers lose, Cedar Rapids will still claim the division title because the will have played two less games and have a higher winning percentage. On Friday night, the Kernels got a terrific start from Brett Lee. The lefty went seven innings and gave up just one run. He gave up eight hits, walked two and struck out five. Kaleb Merck gave up one run on three hits in two innings. The game went to extra innings and Steven Gruver was charged with four unearned runs on two hits to take the loss. Dalton Hicks went 2-5 with his 10th home run. Byron Buxton went 2-5 with his 28th stolen base. JD Williams and Adam Walker each had two hits. Saturday, it was Hudson Boyd on the mound, and it didn't go well. The right-hander gave up six runs on seven hitss and a walk in 3.2 innings. Caleb Brewer came on and gave up one run on three hits and a walk over the next 2.1 innings. Tim Atherton went the final three innings and gave up one run on two hits. Hicks hit his 11th homer in this game. Travis Harrison went 2-4 with his 11th home run. Byron Buxton went 1-3 with a walk. Please feel free to comment or ask questions.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Beloit Snappers are both going to the playoffs in the Midwest League. Which one will go as first-half champ will be soon determined. The big news in the Twins farm system on Thursday, however, involves a significant transaction. The Twins signed RHP Cody Eppley. Not a major signing in any way, though he did pitch in 59 games out of the Yankees bullpen a year ago. The bigger news, for Twins fans in recent years, is that Anthony Slama has finally been freed. The Twins released the 29-year-old right-hander who has been a strikeout machine since signing with the team right after his 2007 college season. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4425[/ATTACH] Slama has been a favorite by those of us who follow the minor leagues and believe in things like ‘ability to miss bats’ and dominance at all levels equating to big league opportunity. Here is what I wrote in the 2013 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook about Slama: If ever there was a case of The Numbers versus The Scouting Reports, it might be Anthony Slama. It might even be a case where neither side is wrong. The numbers are undeniable. Since signing with the Twins as a draft-and-follow early in 2007, Slama has dominated at every minor league level. In Low A, he posted a 1.48 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP with a 14.4 K/9. In High-A, he posted a 1.01 ERA, a 0.94 WHIP and a 13.9 K/9. In AA, he had a 2.48 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP and a 12.8 K/9 rate. He has now been in AAA since late in the 2009 season, and in 123 AAA games, he has posted a 2.27 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP and still 11.1 K/9. In 2012, he recorded the 100th save of his minor league career, so he has pitched primarily in late-inning, game-on-the-line situations throughout his career. On the other side, however, most scouts question his ability to be successful in the big leagues. Some say that he has a deceptive motion that big league hitters will quickly adjust to. He may not have a good out-pitch against left-handed batters. Although his minor league stats are clearly better against right-handed, they are still very good versus lefties as well. He walks too many. In the upper levels of the Twins minor league system, he has averaged about one walk every other inning, which is too much and doesn’t bode well upon moving up. Despite the crazy strikeout numbers, he does not have a dominant fastball. At his peak, Slama’s velocity topped out at about 92 mph. In 2012, Slama rarely reached 89 mph with his fastball. Slama has pitched seven innings in seven big league games (5 in 2010, 2 in 2011). To be fair, Slama was pitching very well through the season’s first two months in 2012. In a game against Norfolk, he was hit in the leg by a comebacker off the bat of former MVP Miguel Tejada. A week after the game, the swelling came down and an x-ray showed a broken fibula which kept him out of action for nearly two months. Without that injury, maybe Slama would have had an extended tryout with the Twins. Slama is a very hard worker who has put in the time, and he has experienced the success at every level of the farm system to warrant an extended opportunity. If not, then the Twins’ “work hard and succeed and we build from within” philosophy goes out the window. Slama never really got that opportunity. When he was released on Thursday, he was 0-4 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP in 13.1 innings over 14 games. In 13.1 innings, he gave up 16 hits, walked 14 and struckout just nine. At this point, the release is completely understandable. I’m just hoping that he can be healthy, find a good team and get another opportunity to get back to the big leagues. With that, check out what happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday: Rochester Red Wings 8, Gwinnett Braves 2 Box Score Andrew Albers was terrific again. In this game, the Canadian lefty gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out six. He improved to 5-2 with a 3.01 ERA. Luis Perdomo came on and gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings. He struck out two. Chris Colabello led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk and his 20th double. He drove in three runs. Antoan Richardson went 2-4 with a walk, three RBI and his tenth stolen base. Doug Bernier was 2-4 with his third home run. New Britain Rock Cats, Altoona Curve Postponed by rain Ft. Myers Miracle 1, Daytona 5 Box Score Tyler Duffey was on the mound for his second Miracle start. In 4.2 innings, he gave up three runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out four. Nelvin Fuentes gave up two runs on three hits over the next 2.1 innings. Jose Gonzalez pitched a scoreless inning. The Miracle had just six hits. Aderlin Mejia went 2-3 with two walks. Mike Kvasnicka was 1-2 with two walks. Cedar Rapids Kernels 8, Quad Cities River Bandits 9 Box Score The Kernels clinched a playoff spot on Wednesday night, but they still have a lot to play for before the Midwest League All Star game. They are in a battle with the Beloit Snappers for the first-half division title. Coming into play on Thursday, the Kernels had a half-game lead. The Snappers split a double header on Thursday, so could the Kernels increase their lead? Things started out well. Byron Buxton led off the game with his 8th home run of the year. However, through seven innings, the Kernels were down by a score of 4-1. In the top of the 8th frame, the Kernels rallied to score seven runs and take an 8-4 lead. The maintained that lead to the bottom of the 9th. Christian Powell made his second start with the Kernels. He gave up one run in five innings despite giving up five hits and walking five. He struck out four. Alex Muren came in and gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in just 1.1 innings. Tyler Jones got out of the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth frame. That brings us back to the bottom of the ninth. Jones got the first two outs, but he walked two as well. He then got a ground ball that should have ended the game, but an error kept things alive. Jones left the game with the Kernels up 8-7 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. There were runners on first and second, and Josue Montanez came in to replace Jones. The first batter he faced hit a two-run double that ended the game. So, with three games remaining in the first half, the Kernels and the Snappers are tied. The Kernels will play three games against Peoria while the Snappers will play three against Clinton. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below.

Rain was the winner of the day for two Twins affiliates. The much-anticipated AA debut of Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario will have to wait another day. Things continued to get much tighter atop the Midwest Leagues Western Division standings as Beloit won for the eighth straight game. Were the Cedar Rapids Kernels able to keep up? We are starting to hear about the Twins signing some of their draft picks and likely several more will sign by the end of the week. The short-season teams are soon starting. Within a week, several players will be making the drive to Elizabethton. The unfortunate side of all of the new players in the organization is that room needs to be made for them. On Tuesday, three Twins minor leaguers were given there releases. According to a Twins source, the Twins released catchers Brian Compton and Kelly Cross, along with pitcher Travis Huber. With that, check out what happened in the Twins minor league system on Tuesday: Rochester Red Wings 5, Toledo Mudhens 9 Box Score In his first start for the Red Wings, Vance Worley threw a complete game shutout. In three starts since then, he is now 0-3 with a 7.47 ERA. On Tuesday, Worley gave up seven earned runs on nine hits and a walk in 5.2 innings. He struck out two. Michael Tonkin came on and gave up two unearned runs on three hits in 1.1 innings. Blake Martin struck out three (And walked two) in two hitless, scoreless innings. Trevor Plouffe was back in the lineup for the Red Wings. After going 0-3 in his first game, he went 2-4 with his first Red Wings home run of the year and three RBI. According to Red Wings play-by-play man Josh Whetzel, it was his 47th career home run with the Red Wings. Chris Colabello was also 2-4 with his 19th double. The team was unable to capitalize one nine walks. Ray Olmedo walked three times. Antoan Richardson and Eric Farris each walked twice. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4404[/ATTACH] New Britain Rock Cats, Altoona Curve Postponed by Rain. Ft. Myers Miracle, Daytona Cubs Postponed by Rain. Cedar Rapids Kernels 4, Quad Cities River Bandits 8 Box Score This was a game full of top prospects. Byron Buxton for the Kernels. Carlos Correa, Rio Ruiz and Lance McCullers for the River Bandits. McCullers was throwing his 98 mph fastball, but he went just four innings. He gave up our runs, all in the third inning. JD Williams singled in a run, and Jorge Polanco followed by clearing the bases with his eighth triple. Unfortunately, that was the only offense for the Kernels. Candido Pimentel went 2-3 with a walk. Hein Robb started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on three hits and four walks in just 4.1 innings. He struck out five. Caleb Brewer gave up two unearned run on three hits and two walks in 1.2 innings. Josue Montanez gave up three runs on four hits and two walks in two innings to take the loss. Here are the standings on top of the Midwest League's Western Division. Remember that the top two teams will make the playoffs. The Kernels have five games to play in the first half. [TABLE=class: grid, width: 500, align: center] Team Wins Losses Games Back Win % Cedar Rapids 39 24 --- .619 Beloit 40 25 --- .615 Quad Cities 35 28 4.0 .556 [/TABLE] Please feel free to comment or ask questions below.

For all who watched The Byron Buxton Show on Fox Sports North on Monday, there is no question who the top prospect on the Cedar Rapids roster is. Buxton was the clear-cut focus of the broadcast, and for good reason. Not only was he 3-4 with a single, bases-clearing double and triple, but he made one of the best catches you will see all year. He is also hitting a robust .350/.444/.578 (1.022) with 14 doubles, eight triples, seven home runs 60 runs scored, 47 RBI and 26 stolen bases. He has earned all of the attention. However, this is much more than a one-man team. I like to see the other guys get some attention as well. This Kernels team is stacked right now. Within days, they will claim a playoff spot for the season’s first half and they have eight players on their current roster who were named All Stars. That doesn’t include Tyler Duffey, who was promoted last week after being named to the team. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4399[/ATTACH] Today, I am going to give a little bit more information on some non-Buxton players that you may want to keep on your radar. Here are eight other Kernels that ranked in my Top 52 Twins Prospects last week (my organization ranking in parentheses). JO Berrios (5) – The righthander from Puerto Rico was the Twins supplemental first round pick just one year ago. He signed pretty quickly for $1.55 million and pitched great at both the GCL and Elizabethton. Combined, he walked four batters and struck out 49. He is young, but he was chosen to play for Puerto Rico in the WBC this spring. Because of that, his regular season was delayed as he built arm strength. However, he earned a spot on the Midwest League All Star team. In eight starts, he is 4-3 with a 3.61 ERA. He had a bad start his most recent start. It was the first time that he had given up more than three runs (something he did just once as well). In 47.1 innings, he was walked just 12 and struck out 50. He throws a fastball that touches 94. He also has a very good curveball and changeup and knows how to pitch. He just turned 19 at the end of May. Jorge Polanco (9) – Polanco signed with the Twins in July of 2009 as a 16-year-old free agent from the Dominican Republic and is still just 19. He was small, and skinny. He was known for tremendous defense, and that has proven true in his time with the Twins. However, he spent two years in the GCL and hit .233 and 250. He had an offensive breakout season last year in Elizabethton, but how would it transfer to a full-season league? Well, since Opening Night when he batted second, he has been the Kernels number three hitter all season. He has hit .291/.342/.447 (.789) with 17 doubles, seven triples, two home runs and 44 RBI all while playing very well at second base. He will continue to get some time at shortstop throughout the year. Travis Harrison (10) – When the Twins drafted Harrison out of his California high school as their first supplemental first round pick in 2011, there was a thought that he would be a very difficult sign. He had a strong commitment to USC, but in the end, he decided he wanted to sign and play. The $1.05 million signing bonus may have factored in as well. Harrison has tremendous power potential. He is very strong. He also has a good approach at the plate, making him potentially more than just a home run hitter. So far this year, he is hitting .265/.347/.470 (.817) with 17 doubles, nine homers and 32 RBI. He actually had a tenth hit that went over the fence, but he was only given a walk-off single rather than a walk-off grand slam. His glove at third base is a work-in-progress. He works really hard at it and has improved greatly in 2012. It’s important to remember that he too is still young. He won’t turn 21 until after the season. Adam Brett Walker (12) – Walker’s father (Adam) was a replacement player for the Minnesota Vikings in 1987. He was a great athlete and so is his son. Walker grew up in Milwaukee and chose to go south for college, playing at Jacksonville University. The Twins made him their third round pick a year ago. As the 97th overall pick, he signed for slot value of $490,400. He went to Elizabethton where he hit 14 home runs before hitting some huge homers in the Appalachian League playoffs. Although he doesn’t like to walk and strikes out quite a bit, he has shown great power for the Kernels. He is hitting .272/.325/.525 (.850) with 15 doubles, five triples, ten home runs and 51 RBI. He is a big man at 6-4 and 230 pounds, but he has good speed and plays a solid defense in right field. Niko Goodrum (15) – Goodrum was unable to play in the game yesterday because has been on the Disabled List with a concussion. He has resumed baseball activities and hopes to return just before the Midwest League All Star game so that he can play in the game. He has had a very solid season. He is hitting .270/.382/.388 (.770) with 12 doubles, three triples, a homer and 28 RBI. He is very patient at the plate and has good, solid swings from both sides of the plate. He also plays a very good shortstop and has a strong arm. Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 draft, Goodrum signed quickly for $514,800. He was a long, lanky kid. He was proud this spring to have reached 200 pounds and has been able to hit the ball with more authority. Mason Melotakis (23) – The left-hander from Northeastern State was one of the Twins 2nd round picks last June. He signed for $750,000, about $68,500 below slot. The left-hander was clocked as high as 97 on the radar gun as a reliever in college. He will get an opportunity to start, and has done a pretty good job so far in Cedar Rapids. Following his seven shutout innings on Monday, Melotakis is now 6-2 with a 3.24 ERA. In 58.1 innings, he has allowed 57 hits, walked 28 and struck out 44. So, he is walking too many, to be sure. He also is not accumulating a lot of strikeouts. As a starter, his fastball is sitting 90-93 so as to be able to go six or seven innings. He likely has the potential to be a solid #4 starter or a potentially dominant left-handed, late-game reliever. Hudson Boyd (31) – Boyd was the Twins 2nd supplemental first round pick in 2011. He pitched his high school ball in Ft. Myers and signed at the deadline for $1 million. Through 11 starts this season, Boyd is just 1-3 with a 6.02 ERA. In 55 innings, he has given up 58 hits, 27 walks and 43 strikeouts. So again, too many walks, but not enough strikeouts. Boyd will be 20 years old throughout the season, and I think there’s a chance he could be back in Cedar Rapids in 2014 for more development. However, he has a fastball in the low-90s. He has a very good changeup and a very good curveball, just not all the time. He has the pitches to be successful, but needs to be more consistent. Dalton (DJ) Hicks (41) – If you saw the game on FSN, you saw that Hicks is a big man. He has a big, long, powerful swing. He has used it to hit .288/.363/.493 (.856) with 20 doubles, nine homers and 51 RBI. He was the Twins 17th round pick a year ago out of Central Florida. It was his walk-off grand slam that won the Appalachian League championship for Elizabethton a year ago. He has already turned 23, so I would guess that he will be moved up to Ft. Myers (with Buxton) after the Kernels clinch the first half title. JD Williams (NR) – JD Williams is a guy that shows that repeating a level can be good. He was drafted in the 10th round as a great athlete out of high school in Florida. He was pushed to Beloit a year ago and struggled. This season, he has been an on-base machine. Despite hitting just .252, he gets on base 39% of the time and has hit 10 doubles, two triples, five home runs and driven in 31 runs. He has also stolen 12 bases. There are nine “other” names to know in Cedar Rapids. That doesn’t even include right-handed pitcher Tyler Duffey or left-handed starter Taylor Rogers, who has a sub-2 ERA since joining the Miracle roster as well. Also, hopefully in the next month, the Kernels will be joined by German outfielder Max Kepler. Luke Bard will hopefully heel up and be make starts for the team soon. In other words, that four hour drive from the Twin Cities to Cedar Rapids will still be completely with it, even if Byron Buxton is promoted to Ft. Myers.

On Sunday night, Twins Daily's draft expert and myself put together a 35 minute podcast in which we dove into several topics. First, we discussed all that happened in the Twins minor league system on Sunday. You may have heard that a certain 3B prospect was promoted to New Britain, as were Eddie Rosario and Angel Morales, but Kyle Gibson and DJ Baxendale also were on the mound. Cedar Rapids moved one game closer to clinching a spot in the Midwest League playoffs which likely would signal yet another promotion of a player in the system. We then asked Jeremy about several topics from the three days of the draft including potential strategies, sleeper picks, and much, much more. It's only about 35 minutes long, so after you watch the Cedar Rapids Kernels play on Fox Sports North at noon today, be sure to listen to this informative podcast. Also, we at Twins Daily want to sincerely thank Jeremy Nygaard for all of his draft coverage the past couple of months. I know he's already excited about the 2014 draft, but please take a moment to thank him for his time and his expertise. I know we at Twins Daily certainly appreciate it! Listen to podcast here. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4392[/ATTACH] Photo by The Gazette