Seth Stohs

Congratulations to the Ft. Myers Miracle. They have had a remarkable first half of this season and on Saturday, the clinched their first playoff spot since 2009 with their win over Bradenton. Tyler Duffey made his Miracle debut. Tom Stuifbergen made his AA debut in game one of the Rock Cats double header. With that, check out what happened in the Twins minor league system on Saturday: Rochester Red Wings 1, Toledo Mudhens 8 Box Score Pedro Hernandez was scheduled to start this game but his back flared up on him. Virgil Vasquez made the start in his place. The right-hander gave up five runs on six hits (3 home runs) and a walk in just four innings. He struck out two. Luis Perdomo came on and gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. Blake Martin came on and got the four batters out that he faced. Shairon Martis threw a scoreless inning. Anthony Slama came on and gave up a run on two hits and a walk in his inning. The Red Wings managed just one run despite six hits and five walks. They had no extra base hits. On defense, the team committed three errors. Game 1 - New Britain Rock Cats 11, Bowie Baysox 8 Box Score Tom Stuifbergen was on the mound in game one for the Rock Cats, making his Eastern League debut. To say it didn’t start out well might be an understatement. He gave up seven runs on five hits and two walks… and that was with just one out in the first inning. He got the final two outs of that inning and got six of the next seven that he faced in his three inning debut. He was replaced by BJ Hermsen who gave up three hits but no runs in 1.2 innings. Edgar Ibarra gave up one hit in 1.1 innings. He struck out two. Dan Turpen gave up a run on two hits and a walk in his inning, though he struckout two. Matt Hauser came on and worked two scoreless innings. Kyle Knudson led the way. The Minnesota native went 3-5 with four RBI. Danny Ortiz went 2-4 with a walk and his 18th double. Josmil Pinto hit his 11th home run and drove in two. Game 2 - New Britain Rock Cats 4, Bowie Baysox 6 Box Score Ortiz continued to hit well in the 2nd game. He went 2-3 with his seventh home run and three RBI. Josmil Pinto (13), Reynaldo Rodriguez (17) and Danny Santana (11) each hit a double. Logan Darnell started and went 5.2 innings. He was charged with six runs (3 earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out five. Bobby Lanigan gave up an inherited run but got the final out. Ft. Myers Miracle 5, Bradenton Marauders 4 Box Score Congratulations to the Ft. Myers Miracle. They have clinched a playoff spot by virtue of capturing the first-half championship with a 5-4 win on Saturday. The Miracle will be in the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Tyler Duffey started, his Florida State League debut. He threw five shutout innings before giving up two, two-run homers in the 6th inning. He went 5.2 innings and gave up those four runs (3 earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out two. Nelvin Fuentes went 1.1 innings and gave up one hit and one walk. Ryan O’Rourke got his first save. He struck out two in the final two innings. Matt Koch went 2-4 with his seventh double, third home run and two RBI. Kennys Vargas was 2-3 with a walk and his 19th double. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4376[/ATTACH] Cedar Rapids Kernels 1, Kane County Cougars 15 Box Score It may be fair to say that this is a game that the Kernels would prefer to forget. Byron Buxton went 3-5. Tyler Grimes was 3-4. But the rest of the Kernels roster managed just two hits. Brett Lee started and went the first four innings. He gave up eight runs on 11 hits (3 homers) and two walks. Kaleb Merck came on for his MWL debut. He gave up four runs on four hits and a walk in two innings. Josue Montanez gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning. Alex Muren gave up a hit in a scoreless inning. Catcher Jhonatan Arias came on for the ninth. He gave up three runs on one hit, and three walks, in the inning. The Kernels are now just 1.5 games ahead of Beloit atop the Western Division of the Midwest League. The top two teams advance to the playoffs. They have a three game lead over Quad Cities for that second spot with eight to play. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below.

It's taken two days to get through ten rounds of the MLB Draft. On Saturday, a conference call of 30 teams, each making 30 picks, will complete the 2013 draft. It'll be rapid fire throughout the day. As soon as one team makes a selection, the next will get about 5 seconds to make their pick. It's actually quite something to listen to. As Twins picks are made, we will continue to update the Twins selections down below. Please comment throughout the day with your thoughts. The Twins have made ten picks through the first ten rounds. The have chosen six pitches (4 college, 2 high school), three catchers (2 college, 1 high school) and a college third baseman. What will they do with their final 30 picks? Well, we can be assured that they will continue to find more pitching, but will they be able to find any hidden gems in the late rounds? Of course, only time will tell. Day 1 1st Round (4) - Kohl Stewart - RHP - Texas (High School) 2nd Round (43) - Ryan Eades - RHP - LSU (College) Day 2 3rd Round (78) - Stuart Turner - C - U. of Mississippi 4th Round (110) - Stephen Gonsalves - LHP - California (High School) 5th Round (140) - Aaron Slegers - RHP - U of Indiana 6th Round (170) - Brian Navarretto - C - Florida (High School) 7th Round (200) - Brian Gilbert - RHP - Seton Hall University 8th Round (230) - Dustin DeMuth - 3B - U of Indiana 9th Round (260) - Mitchell Garver - C - U of New Mexico 10th Round (290) - C.K. Irby - RHP - Samford University Day 3 11th Round (320) – We will update as the picks are made and provide a few thoughts on each pick. .[ATTACH=CONFIG]4374[/ATTACH]

Following the Twins selection of RHP Kohl Stewart, he called in and talked with the media for a while. It was interesting to hear him talk about the draft. For so long, we have heard that he had this strong commitment to Texas A&M where he had a full scholarship to play both football and baseball. Listening to his responses tell me there is no question that, not only will he sign, but he could sign quickly. How did Stewart find out that he was drafted? His parents had 75-100 friends and family at their home, a big rain storm came down and temporarily knocked out their satellite. He had to scramble and found that he had been drafted by the Twins on his cell phone. Below are some quotes from the 18-year-old prep from Texas: Regarding whether or not he’ll sign with the Twins: Honestly, the Twins picked me, and they expect me to sign. I’m not going to say for sure, but I am looking forward to joining the Twins organization. Why I think that Stewart could sign relatively quickly: I’ll definitely be in touch with Couch (Kevin) Sumlin in the next couple of days or whatever it ends up being. I don’t want to say anything, pull anybody any way, but I look forward to being a Twin. (Side Note – Texas A&A football coach Kevin Sumlin was a wide receivers coach and a quarterbacks coach at the University of Minnesota in the mid-90s.) [ATTACH=CONFIG]4364[/ATTACH] His thoughts on the Twins organization and potentially being a part of it: I think that there is extreme loyalty within that organization. I think that they’re committed to winning. They’re looking for ways for the organization to reach the World Series. I’m committed to being part of that organization and work my way up, grind it out until my name is called. And hopefully, one day I hope I can help the Minnesota Twins become one of the winningest organizations in the league. Was he surprised to be drafted by the Twins? I definitely thought that the Twins were the best bet for me. A lot of the communication went through my advisers They obviously relayed that information to me. I definitely believe that this is where I was headed. I’m extremely excited about it, and surely blessed to have this opportunity to be a part of their organization and help them win. His thoughts on playing football and now potentially just playing baseball (also, the comment that makes me most excited about how good Stewart could be): I don’t ever bore. There’s always something for me to be working. Football has always taken rank over baseball, especially in high school with it being so demanding and such a big deal here in Texas. I look forward to being able to just sit down and work on baseball for once. I’ve never been able to do that. I really didn’t start pitching at the level I have been pitching at until high school and then football came again and took away from that. So I’m really looking forward to being able to really focus on one thing and focus on that for a long period of time. I can’t wait to see how the Twins can help me and see how much I can grow. What pitches he throws and what he’s working on (and the information that makes me possibly even more excited about how good Stewart could be)? (I) throw a fastball. This year I threw a slider, a curveball and a changeup. My fastball? There are days where you’re not going to have that pitch, but my fastball is a very comfortable pitch for me. I like to use both sides of the plate and work off my fastball. My slider is probably my second best pitch, with my curveball and changeup. I’m really comfortable throwing any pitch at any count. There are a lot of things I need to develop. I need to work on throwing my slider inside to righties. Sometimes I let it get away, throw it too hard and it will go away to righties. My slider is more effective right now, just because I started throwing my curveball just this year. My changeup has definitely come around. I’ve thrown that a lot more in the last year. And, I even have a little bit of a sinker just to give me something else to go hard in in righties. The sinker has kind of come to fruition, just in the last couple of weeks, just throwing bullpens and messing around with some things. I’m kind of always open to different things and working on different pitches. Always having those different kinds of things to always fall back upon if something else isn’t working. It was exciting to hear from a young man who is clearly very excited to be drafted high by the Twins, and a guy who has confidence, stuff and charisma. He’s got plenty of developing to do, but he has the potential to be the 2013 pick that has the biggest impact.

Twins fans have been waiting for the draft since the team finished last year with the fourth-worst record in baseball. It meant that the Twins would the fourth overall pick in each of the 40 rounds of the draft. Day 1 was quite eventful, filled with rumors and hope and more. The Twins ended up with the guy they wanted, right-handed prep pitcher Kohl Stewart with their first pick. They followed it by selecting right-handed college pitcher from LSU, Ryan Eades, represented by Scott Boras. The Twins acknowledged that they would be going after pitching, and that is likely to continue on Day 2 (and probably Day 3). We will continue the draft discussion in this thread. The draft itself starts at noon (Central Time) and will include Round 3-10. We will update the below list as the Twins continue to make their picks. Later, Twins Daily's draft expert, Jeremy Nygaard, will post his thoughts on information on each pick. So check back throughout the day. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4362[/ATTACH] 1st Round (4) - Kohl Stewart - RHP - Texas (High School) 2nd Round (43) - Ryan Eades - RHP - LSU (College) Day 3 3rd Round (78) - Will be updated when picks are made.

With the fourth overall pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft… the Minnesota Twins select right-handed pitcher Kohl Stewart. With the first pick, the Houston Astros picked Stanford RHP Mark Appel. With the second pick, the Chicago Cubs, in a little surprise, went with 3B Kris Bryant. At Number 3, the Colorado Rockies selected RHP Jonathan Gray. There were so many rumors flying around the past few days, but after three picks, The Big Three were gone. That left the Minnesota Twins with RHP from Texas Kohl Stewart. As you know, he has the football scholarship to Texas A&M, but he also has a mid-90s fastball and a mid-80s slider. It may take him a little time, but he’s got Ace-potential written all over him. Here’s much more on Stewart from our Draft Profile. The Twins got the guy they wanted. He as 5-1 with a 0.18 ERA. In 40 innings, he was 16 and struck out 59. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4356[/ATTACH] What are your thoughts?

With the fourth overall pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft… the Minnesota Twins select right-handed pitcher Kohl Stewart. With the first pick, the Houston Astros picked Stanford RHP Mark Appel. With the second pick, the Chicago Cubs, in a little surprise, went with 3B Kris Bryant. At Number 3, the Colorado Rockies selected RHP Jonathan Gray. There were so many rumors flying around the past few days, but after three picks, The Big Three were gone. That left the Minnesota Twins with RHP from Texas Kohl Stewart. As you know, he has the football scholarship to Texas A&M, but he also has a mid-90s fastball and a mid-80s slider. It may take him a little time, but he’s got Ace-potential written all over him. Here’s much more on Stewart from our Draft Profile. The Twins got the guy they wanted. He as 5-1 with a 0.18 ERA. In 40 innings, he was 16 and struck out 59. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4356[/ATTACH] What are your thoughts?

With the fourth overall pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft… the Minnesota Twins select right-handed pitcher Kohl Stewart. With the first pick, the Houston Astros picked Stanford RHP Mark Appel. With the second pick, the Chicago Cubs, in a little surprise, went with 3B Kris Bryant. At Number 3, the Colorado Rockies selected RHP Jonathan Gray. There were so many rumors flying around the past few days, but after three picks, The Big Three were gone. That left the Minnesota Twins with RHP from Texas Kohl Stewart. As you know, he has the football scholarship to Texas A&M, but he also has a mid-90s fastball and a mid-80s slider. It may take him a little time, but he’s got Ace-potential written all over him. Here’s much more on Stewart from our Draft Profile. The Twins got the guy they wanted. He as 5-1 with a 0.18 ERA. In 40 innings, he was 16 and struck out 59. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4356[/ATTACH] What are your thoughts?

After weeks of writing about the MLB Draft, today is finally the tonight. Sometime shortly after 6:00 central time, the Houston Astros will make the first pick of the draft. The Twins will pick soon after. By night’s end, 73 picks will be made. The Minnesota Twins will make two picks. By the end of Saturday, the Twins will have made 40 selections. Over 1,200 players will have been drafted. That is a lot of draft day stories, and that’s what this article is. Below, you will find the draft day stories, in their words, of several players at various levels of the Twins farm system. I asked two questions. What was their draft day like, and when they found they had been drafted by the Twins, what was their reaction? [ATTACH=CONFIG]4346[/ATTACH] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Niko Goodrum, Cedar Rapids Kernels, 2nd Round, 2010 [ATTACH=CONFIG]4347[/ATTACH]I remember my computer freezing up, so I decided to go to my room and relax. While it was frozen, I had been selected in the second round, 71st overall. I received a phone call from my scout, Jack Powell, telling me Congrats. I asked him, “For what?” He said, “We gotchya man! We drafted you!” So, I sprinted back to my computer, and it had unfrozen perfectly to be playing my highlight video. It was a great day for me and my family. Words couldn’t express the amount of joy and happiness that went through my body. Dalton Hicks, Cedar Rapids Kernels, 17th Round, 2012 It obviously was great seeing my name, specifically called by the Twins. They were the team I wanted to get drafted by after hearing so many good things about the organization. Draft day, for me, was just another day. We had end-of-the-year meetings with our college coaches. I was on campus, about to meet with my coaches, when I got the call from my family. The first thing I did was go to the mall and buy a shirt that said “Big League Swag” on it. I saw it a month before and said, when I get drafted, I’m getting this shirt. I still have it hanging up! Alex Wimmers, New Britain Rock Cats, 1st Round, 2010 I remember when I was drafted, there were so many happy emotions going through my mind. I always wanted to play professional baseball, and in the big leagues. And, on that day, my dream came true. I couldn’t be happier that all my hard work and dedication paid off. As far as getting drafted by the Twins, I was super excited to be a part of a wonderful organization that has the reputation of not only winning, but winning the right way. It’s such an honor and a great feeling knowing how much they believe in me to help out and carry on the tradition. Tyler Duffey, Ft. Myers Miracle, 5th Round, 2012 I really had no expectations. I had heard from maybe one or two teams. I was actually taking a makeup test at school and heard my name come up. I was beyond exciting just to be picked, let alone in the 5th round, and I couldn’t wait to get started. (It was) definitely an emotional day, to say the least. Oh, and I hadn’t really heard from the Twins much, but I knew that had taken (JT) Chargois in the 2nd round. Matt Hauser, New Britain Rock Cats, 7th Round, 2010 Well I was actually still in San Diego packing my stuff up after finishing my senior baseball season. We had gotten back from the ASU regional, and I was hanging out with a lot of my teammates I wouldn't really be seeing much of. We had a good amount of guys that we knew were getting drafted. I think it turned out to be 10 or 11 my senior year. So we were just kind of hanging out, thinking about the last couple years, how close we all got, and how much life was about to change for most of us. I had a pretty good idea I was getting drafted in the 6 or 7 round by a couple of teams. So I was basically just waiting for those rounds to come along. But nothing really prepares you to hearing your name on the draft board. It's a pretty amazing experience. The Twins called me earlier in the 7th round and asked if I was ready to get my pro career started. I told them, of course. And once my name got called, it was just pretty crazy. All my buddies started yelling. It wasn't really real until that point. The Twins called me back. I talked to them. They told me they would call back in a couple of days, and to enjoy the next couple of days with my family. I talked to my mom, dad and had a lot of texts and calls from my buddies. It was just exciting. I had always wanted to play professional baseball. I was just happy to be able to have a shot at one day playing in the big leagues. Not many guys get that opportunity. It's a special feeling. It still is. Luke Bard, Cedar Rapids Kernels, 1st Round, 2012 The draft was a really exciting time and something I will never forget. It was great to be able to spend that special moment with the people closest to me. I was thrilled when I heard the Twins call my name. I had heard nothing but great things about the Twins, and could not wait to begin my professional career with such a great organization. Kyle Gibson, Rochester Red Wings, 1st Round, 2009 [ATTACH=CONFIG]4348[/ATTACH] My draft day was a lot of fun! had a lot of people over at the house just grilling out and having a good time hanging out with friends and family. With my arm injury still a recent happening, it offered a bit of uncertainty with what was going to happen during the draft. 2) As each pick went by it was creating more and more anxiousness at the party, but as soon as Mr. Selig announced my name, there was a loud cheering and yelling that still gives me chills thinking about today. For more from when Gibson was drafted by the Twins, Gibson joined me on a podcast in early July. Click here (and then fast forward to about the 3 minute mark). And, you may recall, he also called into my podcast less than 90 minutes before the signing deadline, right before he signed with Twins. Thanks again to those players for their thoughtful responses. Best wishes to all of the players that get selected. Good luck the Twins whose scouts have been working tirelessly in an attempt to find the best players and the diamonds in the rough. To the cross-checkers, and to Deron Johnson. Draft day is a fun day, and Twins Daily will be covering it extensively, as we have the past few weeks. Please feel free to comment.

In the past couple of days, as we are leading up to an exciting draft for the Minnesota Twins, we are also looking back at the top performers in the Twins farm system from the month of May. In the past two days, we have named Cole Johnson the Reliever of the Month and DJ Baxendale the repeat-winner of the Starting Pitcher of the Month. Today, we swing our attention (see what I did there?) to the bats. Although there wasn’t a battle at the top spot the way there was in April, there were still plenty of strong performances. The runner of this month, a member of the Ft. Myers Miracle, would win most months and I gave strong consideration to him as well, but the guy at the top put up some incredible numbers… and didn’t even spend the whole month as a minor leaguer. Let’s get to it. Here are my selections for the Top 5 Twins Minor League hitters in May: Number 5 – Ft. Myers – Angel Morales - (27-87) .310/.381/.529 (.910) with four doubles, three triples, three home runs and 17 RBI. It’s been a difficult couple of seasons for the talented, athletic centerfielder of the Miracle. However, he has been on a pretty nice hot streak since the early part of May. First things first, his defense in center has never been a question. Really, his issue has been in strikeouts. Those numbers were still high, but Morales made up for it with ten extra base hits and a .310 batting average. Although he has lost quite a bit of time in past years due to injury, he is now in his fourth season with the Miracle. He’s played 270 games at the level. Now that he’s experiencing success, the time is now to push him to New Britain. Number 4 – New Britain – Josmil Pinto - (33-99) .308/.423/.495 (.936) with seven doubles, no triples, 3 home runs and 18 RBI. Pinto has now been in the top five each of the first two months of the season. Sure, his OPS dropped by about .050 points, but he still posted tremendous numbers, including the ten extra base hits. With Pinto, you don’t even need to add the “for a catcher” addition to the sentences. Because of that, he is a legit prospect as he can be a #3 (or #2) catcher and still feel OK about him DHing. Now, how will he respond as the season continues. Number 3 – Ft. Myers – Miguel Sano - (28-91) .333/.413/.538 (.962) with seven doubles, a triple, four home runs and 18 RBI. Speaking of guys who were on this list last month, Sano was at the top of the list for me. The Twins themselves went with Byron Buxton and I don’t think anyone would complain with that choice. Buxton post an OPS of .833 in May which is very good, but Sano again approached the 1.000 mark with his power. He also has become a stolen base threat with eight on the season. People continue to talk about his ever-improving defense, but it’s his offense that will carry him. He was named a Florida State League All Star recently, and conventional wisdom (and years of seeing how this works with the Twins) says that a promotion to New Britain will be coming shortly. Number 2 – Ft. Myers – Kennys Vargas - (30-96) .313/.407/.646 (1.053) with eight doubles, no triples, eight home runs and 30 RBI. Most months, Kennys Vargas, or anyone who put up these numbers, would be a pretty easy choice for hitter of the month. Unfortunately for Vargas, in May, it was good for #2. There are still some questions about his ability to hit a good fastball, but there should be no questions about his power, and his power potential. The FSL is not a hitters’ league and yet, Vargas had 16 extra base hits, including eight home runs. When I saw him last year in Beloit and watched him interact with teammates, watched him swing, watched him run the bases, watched him point to the sky after a home run, and yes, watched him around first base, the comparisons to David Ortiz are obvious. For Twins fans, that’s a lofty expectation, but there is plenty of reason for hope! The May Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is... [ATTACH=CONFIG]4317[/ATTACH] Photo of Colabello's first MLB hit, by Rick Osentoski Rochester Red Wings 1B Chris Colabello (34-80) .425/.489/.800 (1.289) with 12 doubles, no triples, six home runs and 20 RBI. I struggled with this a bit. Colabello didn’t even play in a minor league game in May after May 21. Should I give him the #1 spot for the month? Should I factor in his 2-15 performance with the Twins? Does he have enough at bats to “qualify” for this ‘award’? Well, he’s got plenty of at bats, and his numbers are incredible. Didn’t play in the last 9-10 Red Wings games of the month and still accounted for 18 extra base hits. Also, his story is remarkable, and for it to culminate with his first big league promotion at the age of 29 after seven years in independent ball, it just adds to the reasoning. Look again at the month he had and remember that he had a very strong April. There is no reason to believe that Colabello can’t be a big league role player. We do know that he can mash AAA pitching, something he’ll be doing again here in June. There were several strong performances in May that weren’t included in the Top 5. Here are some Honorable Mentions: Aderlin Mejia (Miracle) – (28-74) .378/.440/.432 (.873) with four doubles and nine stolen bases. Also nine walks to go with just six strikeouts. Danny Santana (Rock Cats) – (39-115) .339/.353/.435 (.788) with seven doubles, two triples and seven steals. Byron Buxton (Kernels) – (35-119) .294/.380/.454 (.833) with six doubles, two triples, three homers and a remarkable 17 stolen bases. Adam Walker (Kernels) – (30-107) .280/.310/.523 (.833) with eight doubles, three triples, four home runs. It was another very solid month for Twins minor league hitting prospects. Hopefully through several promotions, there will continue to be plenty of options in June! Feel free to comment and discuss.

Yesterday, we looked at the Top Relief Pitchers in May, and today, we’ll be taking a look at the top pitching performances of the month. There were some starters who put together very solid months, and that list includes more than just the following names. Andrew Albers posted a 2.48 ERA for the month and isn’t in the Top 5. Kyle Gibson threw a couple of shutouts during May and he falls on the outside of this list. Jason Wheeler went 3-0 with a 2.68 ERA and isn’t listed below. So hey, who made the final list? Here are the Top 5 Starting Pitchers for May: Number 5 – New Britain – Logan Darnell - 6 GS, 2-3, 2.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 41.2 IP, 40 H, 7 BB, 33 K Darnell is a 24-year-old left-hander who was the Twins 6th round draft pick in 2010 from Kentucky. He had a very good month in May. As important as any of the other numbers are his innings pitched. He averaged nearly seven innings per start which is huge for any team. Though he isn’t a huge strikeout pitcher, he knows how to pitch. Number 4 – Cedar Rapids – Jose (JO) Berrios - 5 GS, 2-2, 2.63 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 27.1 IP, 31 H, 6 BB, 31 K Last year’s supplemental 1st round pick, Berrios has impressed since signing. He has incredible control. Last year in the rookie leagues, he walked just four and struck out 49. This year, the young Puerto Rican righty has continued his ability to throw strikes and miss bats. He has given up some hits, but hasn’t hurt himself with free passes. His season started in late April due to his time in the World Baseball Classic, but he has been very good despite being nearly four years younger than the average player in the Midwest League. Number 3 – Cedar Rapids – Tyler Duffey - 5 GS, 0-1, 2.93 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 30.2 IP, 31 H, 3 BB, 26 K Duffey was in the Top 5 a month ago as well. He has been the Kernels most consistent starter. Like Berrios, Duffey has a strong control of the strike zone. He has the stuff to get strikeouts, but generally, he just gets really weak contact. He was the team’s 5th round pick out of Rice where he pitched in the bullpen. He has transitioned very smoothly to the role of starter. He is a sturdy young man and has some projection. For his performance in the first two months, Duffey will be making the trek from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers today where he will join the Miracle staff. Number 2 – Ft. Myers – Taylor Rogers – 5 G, 4 GS, 2-1, 1.00 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 27.0 IP, 31 H, 4 BB, 21 K Just look at the numbers that Rogers put up in May. Most months, those would make him an easy choice to win such an award. He made four starts and one relief appearance in the month. In the relief appearance was piggybacking with Cole De Vries who was making a rehab start. Rogers was the Twins 11th round pick last year. Like fellow lefties Albers and Darnell, he went to the University of Kentucky. He has a fastball in the low-90s and a very good slider that can be devastating to left-handed bats. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: [ATTACH=CONFIG]4308[/ATTACH] Photo by Greg Wagner/Fort Myers Miracle Ft. Myers/New Britain – DJ Baxendale - 5 GS, 3-1, 2.20 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 32.2 IP, 22 H, 7 BB, 25 K Baxendale had a rough start in his AA debut last week, and that shows in his numbers. However, when a guy starts a month with four starts and gives up just one earned run in 28 innings, that can’t be ignored. He didn’t give up hits. He didn’t walk batters. The way he dominated in Ft. Myers was like few have in recent years. He was the Twins tenth round pick last year from Arkansas. As I’ve noted, one year ago, he was preparing for the MLB Draft by playing in the College World Series. Now, he’s showing what he can do in AA, two promotions from the big leagues. For the second straight month, DJ Baxendale is our Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month. There were a lot of very good performances by starting pitchers in April, and more could be written on each. Hopefully this helps show you who has been pitching well. As we know, Kyle Gibson is close. Tyler Duffey has been promoted to High-A. How will these and the rest of the pitchers perform at this point as the season starts to get a little long and their arms start to tire. That’s the fun part. We shall find out. We’ll be back tomorrow to discuss the top Hitters in the Twins system in May. Please feel free to comment and ask questions.