Seth Stohs

The Twins and White Sox are playing the lone game in the big leagues on Labor Day evening. The Twins minor league affiliates that played on Monday all had afternoon games, with one exception. The Elizabethton Twins are playing tonight for the Appalachian League championship. The results of that game will be available here at Twins Daily upon its completion. The Rock Cats had a small chance of making the playoffs. Miguel Sano hit a very nice milestone. The Red Wings were able to meet an impressive win total as well. There was plenty to play for in the final day of the season. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Monday: ROCHESTER 6, SYRACUSE 4 The Red Wings ended their season with a win which gives them a record of 72-72. Following the last two seasons, a .500 record is quite something! Shairon Martis started and worked the first three innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out five. Luis Perdomo gave up one run on one hit in 1.1 innings. Anthony Slama got the final out for his 14th save of the season and the 100th save of his minor league career. Tsuyoshi Nishioka went 2-4 with his 18th double. Brian Dozier was 2-4 with his second home run. Wilkin Ramirez was 2-4 with his 18th double. Clete Thomas was 2-4 with his 22nd double. NEW BRITAIN 8, NEW HAMPSHIRE 5 The Rock Cats came into this game knowing that no matter what they did, if Reading won, they would be out of the playoffs. Their hope was that they would win and Reading would lose to Portland. That would have meant a one-game playoff between the two teams for the final spot in the Eastern League playoffs. Unfortunately, late in the game, Reading completed a 7-3 win over Portland pushing the Rock Cats out of the playoffs. The Rock Cats certainly came to play on this day. James Beresford went 4-5. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-5 with his 10th home run. Aaron Hicks was 1-3 with two walks. Shawn Roof went 2-3 with his third double. Josmil Pinto was 1-3 with a walk and his fourth double. Chris Herrmann hit his 25th double. Logan Darnell made the start. The left won for the 11th time this season. He gave up four runs on nine hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out one. Dakota Watts threw two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struckout one. Jose Gonzalez pitched a scoreless inning. Edgar Ibarra gave up one run on one hit in his inning. BELOIT 6, QUAD CITIES 1 David Hurlbut evened his record at 6-6 with the win. He worked the first five innings and gave up one run on four hits. He didn’t allow a walk and struckout three. Cole Johnson gave up two hits in a scoreless inning. Taylor Rogers then threw two shutout frames. Zach Jones gave up a hit, but he struck out three in his scoreless inning. Matt Koch led the offense. He went 3-4 with his 23rd double. Drew Leachman went 2-4. Wang-Wei Lin went 2-4 with a three-run, inside-the-park home run. It was his fourth homer of the year. Finally, Miguel Sano was 1-3. He knocked his 28th home run, a solo homer that gave up 100 RBI on the season. --- Players of the Day for Monday, September 3, 2012 Hitter of the Day – James Beresford [ATTACH=CONFIG]2241[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – David Hurlbut [ATTACH=CONFIG]2242[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, September 4, 2012 Schedule Rochester – Season Over New Britain – Season Over Ft. Myers – Season Over Beloit Snappers – Day Off, playoffs start on Wednesday in Clinton Elizabethton Twins – Season Over GCL Twins – Season Over --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2237[/ATTACH] The past two days, you have seen the top minor league performances by relief pitchers and starting pitchers. Today, you’ll get to see which minor league hitters finished the year with a strong month. Today is the final day of the regular season for all of the full season minor leagues. Rochester will be playing their final game of the year. New Britain has a chance still as they are one game back. They would need to win and hope. Ft. Myers finished its season on Sunday. Beloit has one more tune up today before starting their Midwest League playoff series on Wednesday at Clinton. Elizabethton will be playing a winner-takes-all game tonight against Burlington for the Appalachian League championship. There have been months where it has been hard to come up with a list of five hitters to mention for this report. This month, it was hard to keep the list short. Here are my selections for the Top 5 Twins Minor League hitters in August, but we will start with some Honorable Mentions: --- Honorable Mention: New Britain – Chris Colabello – (37-115) .322/.402/.496 (.897) with 8-2B, 4-HR, 20 RBI Elizabethton – Jorge Polanco – (23-71) .324/.370/.563 (.934) with 3-2B, 1-3B, 4-HR, 14 RBI Beloit – Nate Roberts – (37-114) .325/.442/.447 (.889) with 10-2B, 2-3B, 0-HR, 12 RBI, 11 SB New Britain – Aaron Hicks – (36-113) .319/.402/.496 (.897) with 5-2B, 3-3B, 3-HR, 12 RBI, 9 SB --- Number 5 – Rochester – Wilkin Ramirez - (35-104) .337/.400/.529 (.929) with six doubles, one triple, four home runs and 21 RBI. Ramirez came to the Twins as a minor league free agent this season. After starting the season injured, he rehabbed in Ft. Myer and New Britain. He struggled early in Rochester, but in August, he has been terrific. He has hit for average and power while driving in a lot of runs. The former Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves outfielder is still just 26 years old. Number 4 – Beloit – Kennys Vargas - (36-113) .319/.410/.513 (.924) with seven doubles, no triples, five home runs and 22 RBI. Vargas has been such an important addition to the Beloit Snappers lineup since he joined the team in mid-July. His power has been evident by all of his home runs and doubles, but it has also helped other hitters in the lineup. Aside from his Snappers teammate, there may not be a hitter in the Twins organization with more power potential this this switch-hitter. Number 3 – New Britain – Oswaldo Arcia - (35-106) .330/.408/.585 (.993) with 11 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 28 RBI. Arcia has been a staple near the top of this list each month. Since his promotion to AA New Britain, he has not stopped hitting. He’s hit for average, hit doubles all over the field and hit some big home runs. He also has a knack for driving in a lot of runs. I used to call Rene Tosoni Jason Kubel-Lite when he was first in AA. Arcia may be the Twins next Jason Kubel, and it doesn’t even need the “Lite” designation. The next guy on this list may have the most potential and upside, but right now, it’s clear that Arcia is the best hitter in the Twins farm system. Number 2 - Beloit – Miguel Sano - (30-96) .313/.389/.646 (1.035) with nine doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 23 RBI. Sano is another guy who has been on this list most months. Even when he doesn’t hit for average, his power and his ability to take walks this year have kept his OPS high. Maybe it was the return of Vargas who primarily hit behind Sano that helped him to another month like this. Sano actually walked a little less in August, but his power returned in a big way. He’s missed the last several games with a sprained ankle (or these numbers might be even bigger), but he should be back and ready for the playoffs. The August Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is... Rochester Red Wings 1B Chris Parmelee (32-99) .323/.444/.667 (1.110) with eight doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 20 RBI. I don’t know if there are enough superlatives to describe what Parmelee did in Rochester this year and particularly the last two months. Some get sent back to AAA and sulk or struggle for whatever reason. Like Liam Hendriks, Parmelee has been sent down to Rochester a couple of times this year and each time, he has responded by putting up some monster, video-game numbers. He has hit for average as well as for tremendous power. He has walked more than he struck out. Again, like Hendriks, he worked and earned his August promotion to the Twins where it appears that they will make a spot for him to play at this point. There you have it, the top 5 hitters in the Twins system for the month of August. Now it’s time to debate. There were some great performances, many of them by guys you would hope to see on these lists. What’s encouraging is that they finished strong. What do you think? Please feel free to discuss.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2231[/ATTACH] Happy Labor Day to all!! Labor Day is also the final regular season game for full season minor league affiliates. Correcting myself from yesterday, the New Britain Rock Cats will go into the final day of the season with a chance at a playoff spot. On Sunday, Elizabethton fought elimination. Would they be able to force a Appy League championship-deciding Game 3 against Burlington? The Twins and Royals completed three games within a 24 hour period. Unfortunately, after winning the first two games on Saturday, the Royals got the win in game three. Esmerling Vasquez started and after some early control issues, he settled down some. In all, he gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks in 5.2 innings. Joe Mauer had three hits, including his 27th double. Chris Parmelee hit his fourth Twins homer, one of his two hits. The Twins and White Sox will play on Labor Day. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Sunday: ELIZABETHTON 4, BURLINGTON 3 After losing by a score of 3-2 in 12 innings on Saturday night in Game 1, Elizabethton would need to win on Sunday to force a championship-deciding Game 3 on Monday. The E-Twins needed overtime again, but thanks to a big home run and some incredible bullpen work, they fought out an 11-inning, 4-3 win. On Monday, the Twins will send top pitcher J.O. Berrios to the mound in an attempt to win their first Appy League title since 2009. The weather tried to keep the teams from playing. They were delayed for about two hours before starting the game. The E-Twins had to start 5th starter Hein Robb in this all-important game. The lefty from South Africa game up three runs on four hits in four innings. He walked two and struckout five. He gave up a two-run homer to Bubba Starling before giving up a solo homer to Fred Ford. Adam Walker got the E-Twins on the scoreboard in the fourth with an RBI single. Down 3-1, Max Kepler hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 6th to tie the score at three. That’s where the score stayed for a while thanks to great work by the bullpens. Tyler Duffey struckout five batters in two perfect innings. Kaleb Merck then struckout two in two scoreless innings. JT Chargois threw three scoreless innings. He walked one and struckout five. That brought the game to the bottom of the 11th. DJ Hicks led off with a single to right field. Thanks to an error, he got all the way to third base. Kelvin Mention pinch ran for Hicks. Adam Walker and Byron Buxton were intentionally walked, setting up a force at home. With Travis Harrison at bat, Mention scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch. Max Kepler was 3-5 with the homer and two RBI. Candido Pimentel went 2-5 in the game. ROCHESTER 7, SYRACUSE 8 Wilkin Ramirez and the offense continued to put up runs, but on this day, it wasn’t enough. Ramirez went 2-4 with his 17th double, 15th home run and two RBI. Rene Rivera was 2-4 with his 15th homer. Tsuyoshi Nishioka hit his 16th and 17th doubles. Nick Blackburn made the start. He went just 2.2 innings. He gave up six runs (3 earned) on eight hits. Two were home runs. Bobby Lanigan went the next 3.1 innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and hit a batter. He struck out four. Daniel Turpen went the final two innings and did not give up a run. He gave up a hit, walked one and struck out two. NEW BRITAIN 10, NEW HAMPSHIRE 3 The Rock Cats kept their playoff hopes alive with a win on Sunday afternoon. Steve Hirschfeld started but got just two outs. He gave up one run on three hits. David Bromberg came in and gave up one run on two hits over the next 3.2 innings. He walked two and struck out one. Aaron Thompson gave up one run on four hits over the next 2.1 innings. Matt Hauser went the final 2.1 innings and gave up just one hit. James Beresford went 3-4 with his third triple. Nate Hanson went 2-4 with his 16th double and seventh home run. Oswaldo Arcia was 2-5 with his fifth triple. Josmil Pinto was 2-5. Chris Herrmann went 1-2 with two walks and three RBI. FT. MYERS 6, CHARLOTTE 3 Andy Leer has had a difficult season with the Miracle in terms of his batting average. However, his ability to play several positions has given him value throughout the season in the eyes of manager Jake Mauer. On this day, he went 2-2 and drove in four runs. Three times he drove in Angel Morales who was 2-3 with a walk and two stolen bases. Anderson Hidalgo went 2-3 with his 13th double. Danny Santana homered for the 8th time, and Kyle Knudson ripped his 11th double. Lefty Pat Dean started and gave up just one hit over the first three innings. He struckout four. Matt Summers came in for the middle three innings. He gave up three runs on two hits and two walks. He struck out three. AJ Achter didn’t allow a single base runner in the final three innings for his sixth save. BELOIT 1, QUAD CITIES 2 Matt Tomshaw was very good again on this day. The lefty went the first seven innings and gave up two runs on six hits. He walked none and struckout six. He was replaced by Steven Gruver who gave up two hits and two walks in his two innings but did not give up a run. The Snappers had just three hits. Jairo Rodriguez went 1-2 with a walk and his 12th double. He scored the team’s lone run on a Wang-Wei Lin sacrifice fly. Kennys Vargas went 1-3 with a walk. Most important, Miguel Sano was back in the lineup. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, September 2, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Max Kepler [ATTACH=CONFIG]2233[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Matt Tomshaw [ATTACH=CONFIG]2232[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Monday, September 3, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Syracuse – TBD New Britain vs New Hampshire – LHP Logan Darnell Ft. Myers vs Charlotte – Season Over Beloit vs Quad Cities – LHP David Hurlbut Elizabethton vs Burlington – RHP JO Berrios GCL Twins – Season Over --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

Hopefully everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend!! The Twins certainly enjoyed their doubleheader sweep in Kansas City on Saturday against the Royals. I know I look forward to the first start of Esmerling Vasquez’s big league career this afternoon. Yesterday, I posted the August relief pitchers of the month, and today, I’m back to present for you the August Twins minor league starting pitchers of the month. There are a couple of new names, but it’s been nice to see some names show up on these monthly reports consistently. Below, you will find my rankings of the Top 5 starting pitchers in the Twins farm system in the month of August, along with a couple of honorable mentions. Be sure to vote for your choice and discuss the nominees in the comments. --- Honorable Mention: Beloit – LHP Taylor Rogers – 7 G, 3 GS, 2-1, 2.30 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 27.1 IP, 26 H, 6 BB, 31 K New Britain – RHP BJ Hermsen – 3-1, 3.29 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 6 GS, 38.1 IP, 43 H, 7 BB, 20 K --- Number 5 – Beloit – LHP David Hurlbut - 4 GS, 1-1, 2.88 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 25.0 IP, 21 H, 2 BB, 18 K Hurlbut was the pitcher of the month just a couple of months ago and has quietly put together a very solid season for the Snappers. The lefty doesn’t throw hard, but as you can see, he doesn’t walk many at all. Number 4 – GCL Twins – LHP Randy Rosario – 4 G, 3 GS, 1-1, 0.50 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 18.0 IP, 9 H, 8 BB, 19 K Another lefty, Rosario is young and has a long way to go in terms of development, but he is certainly intriguing. He already throws consistently at 92-93 mph and touches 94 and 95. He can strikeout batters now, but as is normal with many hard-throwing young pitchers, he has to work on finding the strike zone more consistently. Number 3 – Rochester – RHP Esmerling Vasquez – 5 G, 3 GS, 4-1, 0.88 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 30.2 IP, 17 H, 13 BB, 31 K Vasquez has split his time between the bullpen and the rotation this season in Rochester. Although he made just three starts in August, one of his relief appearances came following a PJ Walters rehab start. Vasquez came in with two outs in the first inning and left after getting an out in the 9th, his longest outing of the season. He throws hard. Control has always been his downfall, but he’s been much better when starting. Number 2 – Rochester – Liam Hendriks - 4 GS, 2-1, 1.61 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 28.0 IP, 18 H, 7 BB, 21 K Hendriks continued his mastery of AAA hitters in August. Maybe he should be higher on this list if we include his complete game, 1-0 loss to Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: GCL/Elizabethton Twins – RHP JO (Jose) Berrios - 4 GS, 2-0, 1.62 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 16.2 IP, 11 H, 2 BB, 28 K The numbers are pretty similar to Hendriks’ numbers in August, but Berrios walked less and struckout more, giving him the edge for pitcher of the month. The Twins first supplemental first round selection this June has been remarkable in every one of his appearances. He made one start for the GCL Twins in August before he and top pick Byron Buxton were promoted to Elizabethton where he has been even better. Add to the above numbers his Game 1 playoff win and his numbers are even better. He threw six shutout innings against Danville, allowing one hit, walking one and hitting one while striking out seven. And, if the E-Twins can get a Game 2 win against Burlington tonight, it will be Berrios starting Game 3 for the Appalachian League championship. What do you think? There have been a few months where I’ve only mentioned four starters instead of five. This month, I referenced seven pitchers. The relievers have been pretty strong all year, and wait until tomorrow when you see the impressive August output from many hitters, including some of the top prospects. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2226[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2214[/ATTACH] Here we are. It’s September 1st which has so many meanings to a baseball fan. Rosters can expand. Elizabethton and Beloit will play in their league playoffs. It also means that it is time to report the August players of the month for the Twins farm system. I know it’s a holiday weekend, but that’s no reason not to check out Twins Daily, right? The plan is to post the top relievers today, followed by the top starting pitchers tomorrow and the top hitters on Labor Day. Having looked at the numbers, there were a lot of terrific performances in August. That’s encouraging as you want to see improvement in players throughout the year. With no further ado, here are my choices for the Top 5 Twins Minor League Relief Pitchers in August: -------- Number 5 – Ft. Myers – RHP Ricky Bowen - 8 G, 0.69 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 13.0 IP, 13 H, 4 BB, 14 K The 25-year-old Bowen has been a very consistent performer for the Miracle all year. His ERA pre and post All Star break have both been over three. Number 4 – Ft. Myers – RHP AJ Achter - 6 G, 0.90 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 11 K Achter had to wait awhile to get his promotion to the Miracle. However, he has made the move flawlessly. He has terrific control and strikes out more than a batter in the inning out of the bullpen. Number 3 – Ft. Myers – RHP Michael Tonkin - 9 G, 2.38 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 11.1 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 21 K Tonkin finally got the promotion to Ft. Myers in mid-June, and he has not missed a beat. He continues to show great control and an ability to miss bats. This week, he found out that he would be representing the Twins in the Arizona Fall League. Number 2 – Elizabethton – Josh Burris - 7 G, 1.32 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 7 H, 5 BB, 14 K Burris was the Twins 17th round draft pick in 2012. He signed on the deadline date which means that his debut came this June with the E-Twins. He has been a key component in the team’s bullpen. He is now 7-0 on the short-season. A great athlete, he has a very live arm. Occasionally, he struggles with his control, but he has a very good fastball and a sharp 12-6 curveball that helps him miss a lot of bats. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Elizabethton – Tyler Duffey - 7 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 18 K Duffey was the Twins 5th round pick this summer out of Rice. This summer, he has been filling a role similar to the one he filled in college, setting up JT Chargois (Twins 3rd round pick). In August, he has been completely dominant, walking none, giving up few hits and striking out a batter and a half per inning. Overall, he has walked two and struckout 29 in his 19 innings. Duffey, like many of the other hard-throwing relievers drafted by the Twins, could move quickly through the Twins system. So what do you think? I’ve listed five relievers here that deserve be recognized for their terrific performances this past month. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys? Feel free to include others like Anthony Slama who recorded four saves in his nine appearances. In his 11.1 innings, he gave up ten hits, walked five and struckout 19.

It was another exciting night in the Twins minor league system. Find out how the Elizabethton Twins did in the decisive Game 3 in their Appalachian League semi-final against Danville. How did Kyle Gibson do in his second start for Rochester? Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks had strong games, but see how Chris Herrmann got to play hero for the New Britain Rock Cats. It was a busy night in the Twins farm system. The Twins game in Kansas City scheduled for Friday night was postponed because of massive rainfall caused by the overland rains for the storm formerly called Tropical Storm and Hurricane Isaac. The teams are scheduled to play two games on Saturday, the first starting at 3:10. It is also possible that rain will again alter the new schedule. The Twins will send Cole De Vries and Liam Hendriks to the mound. Esmerling Vasquez is expected to have his contract selected and start for the Twins on Sunday. PJ Walters is also expected to be taken off of the 60 Day Disabled List. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Friday: ROCHESTER 5, BUFFALO 8 Kyle Gibson made his second start for the Red Wings. The right-hander gave up three runs on five hits and a walk in 3.2 innings. He struck out five. He increased his workload to 68 pitches. Daniel Turpen came in and walked all four batters that he faced. He was replaced by Luis Perdomo who got a ground out, but an error caused three of the four runs charged to Turpen to be unearned. Perdomo went 2.1 innings without allowing a run. Anthony Slama struckout five in two innings. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk to increase his ERA to 1.32. Deolis Guerra struckout two in his scoreless inning. Michael Holliman went 2-3 with a walk. Brian Dinkelman was 2-4 with a walk. Wilkin Ramirez hit a solo homer in the 9th, his 14th of the season for the Red Wings. NEW BRITAIN 4, NEW HAMPSHIRE 3 The Rock Cats are holding on to some slim odds that they could get the final playoff spot in the Eastern League. In this game, the big names showed up. Andrew Albers started on the mound and gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out six. Aaron Thompson went 1.1 innings, giving up a run on a hit and a walk. He struck out two. David Bromberg went an inning and gave up a hit and two walks but no runs. Bruce Pugh got two outs, and when he left the mound at the end of the top of the 9th, the game was tied at three. The Rock Cats took an early lead. Aaron Hicks doubled to lead off the first. Two batters later, Oswaldo Arcia hit his ninth homer. Two innings later, Hicks singled and stole second before Arcia singled him in. In the bottom of the 9th with two outs, Hicks walked and Chris Herrmann doubled, scoring Hicks with the winning run. Herrmann was 3-5 with his 24th double. Hicks went 2-4 with a walk, his 21st double and his 32nd stolen base. Arcia was 2-4 with hit ninth homer and three RBI. FT. MYERS 1, CHARLOTTE 4 The long Miracle season is coming to an end. Cole Nelson started and gave up four runs (2 earned) on six hits in six innings. He walked three and struckout four. Clinton Dempster came on and gave up no runs despite two hits and two walks in two innings. Michael Tonkin gave up two hits in a scoreless ninth frame. Danny Ortiz went 2-4. Steve Liddle hit his fifth home run. Kyle Knudson went 2-4 with his 10th double. BELOIT 10, WISCONSIN 4 The Snappers fell behind 4-0 after three innings before scoring ten unanswered runs. Jason Wheeler made the start. The lefty gave up three runs on eight hits. In five innings, he walked one and struckout four. Corey Kimes came in and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out one. Corey Williams recorded his 17th save. He struckout four in two perfect innings. Down 4-3 going into the 8th inning, an intentional walk to AJ Petterson loaded the bases. Miguel Sano came off of the bench (after missing four straight games with a sprained ankles) and delivered a game-tying sacrifice fly. Ninth-hitter Tyler Grimes came up and drilled a three-run homer that gave the Snappers a 7-4 lead. The Snappers added three more runs in the ninth inning. Jairo Rodriguez went 2-3 with his 11th double. Eddie Rosario and Drew Leachman were each 2-5. Wang-Wei Lin was 1-1 with two walks. Tyler Grimes went 2-4 with a walk, his seventh home run and four RBI. The 7-8-9 hitters in the Snappers lineup (Pettersen, Rodriguez/Sano-PH/Koch, Grimes) combined for nine of the team’s RBI. ELIZABETHTON, DANVILLE Elizabethton and Danville played in Elizabethton. The winner advanced to the Appalachian League championship series against Burlington. The losing team’s season would be over. To find out who won, click here! --- Players of the Day for Friday, August 31, 2012 Hitter of the Day – DJ Hicks [ATTACH=CONFIG]2210[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Albers [ATTACH=CONFIG]2211[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Saturday, September 1, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Syracuse – TBD New Britain vs New Hampshire – LHP Luke French Ft. Myers vs Charlotte – RHP Miguel Munoz Beloit vs Quad Cties – TBD Elizabethton @ Burlington – RHP Angel Mata GCL Twins – Season Over --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

On Friday night, the Elizabethton Twins topped Danville (Braves) by the score of 4-2. In doing so, they advance to the Appalachian League Championship series where they will take on Burlington (Royals). The Best of 3 series begins on Saturday. The E-Twins got going early on Friday. In the first inning, Max Kepler doubled. First baseman DJ Hicks then homered to give the Twins a 2-0 lead. Danville scored one in the top of the third, but the Twins came back in the bottom of the fourth. With Appy League Player of the Year Candido Pimentel at bat, a passed ball scored Travis Harrison. Then in the 5th inning, Hicks doubled and scored on an RBI single by Byron Buxton. With that, the E-Twins had a 4-2 lead, a lead that would hold. Hudson Boyd started for the Twins. He gave up two runs on four hits in 4.1 innings. He walked three and struckout four. Kaleb Merck came on and got the next five outs, three of them on strikeouts. Tyler Duffey struckout four over the next two scoreless innings. He turned the ball over to fellow Rice-alum JT Chargois who gave up two hits, but no runs, in the ninth inning to record the save. Hicks led the way, going 2-3 with a walk, a double and home run. Max Kepler was 2-4 with a double. The E-Twins last won the Appalachian League championship in 2008. They won five championships between 2000 and 2008. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2207[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2198[/ATTACH] Sam Deduno put together the best start of his career on Wednesday night. Pitching against the Seattle Mariners, Deduno threw seven shutout innings and allowed just two hits. He struckout a career high seven batters. Most important, and probably most inexplicable, he walked no one. He improved to 5-2 and dropped his ERA to 3.72. To say he has been a pleasant surprise is quite the understatement. Deduno was one of 14 players from outside the organization who signed minor league contracts and were invited to big league camp. Some of them did nothing, some have done a little, and some have proven to be terrific finds. A couple of them may even remain on the 40 man roster after this season. Here’s a quick look: The Keepers Jared Burton came to the Twins this spring after spending 2007 through 2011 with the Cincinnati Reds. He has had arm problems the last two years that cost him a lot of time. However, when hew as healthy, he was one of the Reds best late-inning relievers. For the Twins, Burton has been just that, a great late-inning option. In fact, with Matt Capps out, Burton even has a few saves. He has been very good and very consistent from Day Two (on Day One, he gave up two home runs, but since then, lights out!). Casey Fien came from the Tigers organization. He got a couple of small cups of coffee with Detroit in 2009 and 2010. The Twins signed him and he was one of the final cuts of spring. He did alright with Rochester this spring, and just a few weeks before he was recalled, he really started throwing hard. That is the pitcher we have seen with the Twins, a hard-thrower. He wears his emotions on his sleeve, which is fun when he gets a big strikeout in an important situation, something he has managed to do with regularity. PJ Walters will be an interesting case this offseason. He pitched alright in his first few starts with the Twins, even throwing a complete game shutout. He then had a couple of rough starts but it was found out that he was pitching with some pain. He was DL’d and is yet to return to the Twins. Did he show enough in his seven starts with the Twins to keep him around and give him another shot at a 5th starter gig? Sam Deduno is so intriguing to me. Even when he was at his wildest, it was clear that he had tremendous stuff. My question was always, could the 29 year old find a way to bring his walk rate down to 4 or 4.5 per nine innings as opposed to the 7-8 walks per nine innings we saw early. With his natural pitch movement and great stuff, if he could harness even a little control, he would have a chance to be terrific. We saw an example of what that could look like on Wednesday night, and for my money, I would like to see more! Done Well Luis Perdomo signed with the Twins after seeing some big league time with the Padres in 2009 and 2010. The Bearded One was sent back to AA to start the season, and as you would hope, he dominated there. He was promoted to AAA Rochester, where he was again very good. He struggled with his control with the Twins, something he did not do in Rochester where he has a 24:5 strikeout to walk rate. The 28 year old is likely to come off of the 40 man roster, but it would be good to try to keep him in the organization. Matt Carson is a professional. When he was signed, reports raved about the type of person he is, how hard he works and how teammates respond to him. He also is a guy who regularly hits 20-30 home runs a season. He has had another solid season in AAA Rochester this year, hitting .282/.347/.457 (.804) with 28 doubles and 14 home runs. It was nice to see the guy get an opportunity with the Twins a couple of weeks ago, and it’s possible we will see him again in September. He will most likely be removed from the 40 man following the season. Sean Burroughs started the season with the Twins but it wasn’t long before he was DFAd. He was a nice story in 2011 when he resurfaced in the big leagues for the first time since 2006. He is a solid hitter and did alright for Rochester. Unfortunately, he has not played in a couple of months with a back injury. Wilkin Ramirez was a top prospect of the Tigers several years ago and was with the Braves in 2011. Still just 26 years old, Ramirez still has the talent to be a big leaguer if presented an opportunity. He managed to get hurt in spring training and missed a lot of time early in the year. He began his rehab in Ft. Myers, then crushed the ball in New Britain for a couple of weeks. He moved up to Rochester where he has been a little inconsistent, but he has been one of the top hitters in AAA the last three weeks. Nothing Much Frankly, most minor league free agent signings don’t surface back into the big leagues, so this is the category where most will be. To have so many names above this point is impressive. Lefty Aaron Thompson was busted early in the season for 50 games for testing positive for a PED. He served his time and has pitched for New Britain since. He started and recently was moved to the bullpen. He’s left-handed and still just 25 years old, so he’s worth trying to keep around if they can. He pitched in four games for the Pirates in 2011. Brad Thompson was a big part of the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen in 2006 when they won the World Series. He was a good pitcher with a live arm. Unfortunately, he has been a bit of a journeyman the last couple of years. The Twins signed him this spring knowing he had missed part of 2010 and all of 2011 after Tommy John surgery. It didn’t pan out for Thompson as he struggled through a few appearances in New Britain. Daryl Thompson went 1-5 in nine starts for the Red Wings before being released. He had pitched previously with the Reds in 2008 and 2011. He is 26 years old and didn’t latch on with another team after being released. Brendan Wise is a strike-throwing righty from Australia who signed with the Twins after years in the Tigers organization. The last two seasons, pitching in AAA Rochester, Wise had compiled season ERAs of 2.08 and 1.90. This year in Rochester, he posted an ERA of 5.64 before being put on the Disabled List a month ago. JR Towles was a guy that people wanted to take Drew Butera’s spot as the #3 catcher in the organization. Although he had done nothing in the big leagues from 2008 through 2011, he had put up encouraging AAA numbers. This year in Rochester, he hit .211/.271/.317 and has played only 50 games for various reasons. Jason Bulger put together a big league career that spanned 2005 with Arizona and then 2006 through 2011 with the Angels. He had a lot of big league success and some good strikeout numbers. He came to spring training and showed nothing in big league camp. It wasn’t long before the Twins just released him. He signed with the Yankees and has pitched for their AAA affiliate all season. He has 21 walks and 28 strikeouts in 34.1 innings for Empire State. Steve Pearce is an interesting case. He was a draft choice of the Twins early last decade and he signed with the Twins. He went to spring training but was hurt early, didn’t play much, didn’t fit in and the Twins released him. He signed with the Yankees and played in AAA. The Orioles bought him from the Yankees in June and he spent some time with their big league club. The Astros claimed him when he was put on waivers in July. And last week, the Astros traded him to the Yankees to help them at 1B while Mark Teixeira is hurt. He’s always hit left-handed pitching well. So there you have it. A lot of Twins fans are pretty down on the team right now, and that’s understandable. Some are always looking for the negative regardless of the situation and choose to only look at the mistakes. But, I just believe that if we’re going to focus on the mistakes, we also need to look at the successes. Credit is due this year to those individuals in the front office who picked out and signed so many effective minor league free agents. It isn’t often noticed, but these are important signings for the organization. It also says a lot about where the Twins are right now. Normally, a team may see one or two of their minor league free agents come up and contribute. It’s telling that the Twins have had to count on so many minor league free agents. But that shouldn’t take away from those people who did their due diligence and brought in a nice group of minor league free agents. Whoever they may be.