Seth Stohs

Three batters into the game, Nick Blackburn had given up two mammoth home runs and the Twins were down 3-0. He actually settled down nicely after that, giving up just one more run (a second long BJ Upton home run) and working into the 7th inning. The bullpen did a nice job and kept the Rays at four runs. Unfortunately, the Twins offense didn’t do much in this game off of David Price. Justin Morneau and Darin Mastroianni each had two hits. Brian Dozier hit hit sixth home run. The Twins fall to 49-64. Ben Revere and Joe Mauer each went 0-4, and tomorrow they will both appear among the top 10 hitters in the American League. Revere (.319) reach enough plate appearances to qualify. He’ll be just ahead of Mauer (.317). Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the Saturday games in the minor leagues. ROCHESTER 5, PAWTUCKET 3 Lefty Pedro Hernandez, who came to the Twins in the Francisco Liriano trade, made his second start for the Red Wings. This one went much better than the first. In this game, he gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out three. Bobby Lanigan pitched two scoreless innings. He gave up no hits, walked one and struck out three. Anthony Slama came in to protect a three-run lead in the 9th. He got the first two batters out (which dropped his ERA to 0.37). However, he gave up a single to the third batter, who advanced to second on a passed ball by Rene Rivera. The next batter got an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-3. It was just the second earned run allowed by Slama all season and raised his ERA to 0.74. Daniel Turpen came in and got the final out on a fly ball to record his second save. Trevor Plouffe batted fourth and played third base. He was terrific in the field. At that plate, he went 0-4 with weak ground balls to the pitcher and to first base and two strikeouts. Chris Parmelee went 1-3 with a walk and his 13th double. Clete Thomas was 2-4 and drove in two runs. NEW BRITAIN 10, READING 6 Oswaldo Arcia has made it pretty clear that he is the top hitter in the Twins farm system. On Saturday night, he continued his remarkable season. The outfielder went 3-3 with two walks, his 14th double and his seventh home run. He drove in four runs, and as Twins Fan from Afar points out, he now has 47 RBI for the Rock Cats in just 176 at bats. Chris Herrmann got the team started. In the second inning, he hit a three-run homer (his 9th) to give the team a 4-2 lead. Herrmann was 2-3 with two walks and the home run. Chris Colabello went 2-3 with a walk, his 34th double and two RBI. He now has 87 RBI on the season. James Beresford was 2-3 with his eighth double. Blake Martin got the start on the mound. The lefty went the first five innings and gave up two runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out five. Matt Hauser went the next 1.2 innings without allowing a run. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out two. Bruce Pugh was charged with one run on three hits in 1.1 innings. He struck out three. Edgar Ibarra came in for the 9th. He got the first two outs. He gave up three runs (1 earned thanks to his own error) on three hits. Dakota Watts came in and got the final out. With the win, the Rock Cats take a 1.5 game lead for the second playoff spot in their division. FT. MYERS 0, ST. LUCIE 3 Tom Stuifbergen gave up two unearned runs in the first inning, and that proved to be enough. In all, he gave up three runs (1 earned) on three hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out two. Ricky Bowen came on and threw three scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out four. The Miracle managed just four hits in the game. Lance Ray and Josmil Pinto each had a single and a walk. BELOIT 3, PEORIA 5 Jorge Soler is the highly publicized Cuban defector that signed earlier this year with the Chicago Cubs. Last week, he was promoted to their Low-A affiliate in Peoria, and on Saturday, he played in Beloit for the first time. In this game, he had just one hit. It happened to be a grand slam that made the difference in this game. Taylor Rogers started for the Snappers. He gave up four unearned runs on six hits in 5.2 innings. He walked two and struck out five. Steven Gruver came in and worked the final 3.1 innings. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk. He struckout three. Miguel Sano led the offense. He went 2-3 with his 23rd and 24th doubles and his 88th and 89th RBI. Eddie Rosario drove in a run with his third triple. JD Williams was 1-3 with two walks. Wang-Wei Lin walked twice from the leadoff spot. ELIZABETHTON 8, BRISTOL 0 Twins supplemental first round pick J.O. Berrios made his first appearance in the Appalachian League. The right-hander went 3.1 innings without giving up a base runner. In total, he went four innings and gave up no runs on one hit and one walk. He struck out five. Travis Huber came in and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and struck out two. Luis Nunez struck out three in his two shutout frames. Tyler Herr pitched a 1-2-3 ninth. Max Kepler again led the offense. He went 3-5 with his 11th double and two RBI. Jhonathan Arias also went 3-5. Candido Pimentel was 2-4 with a walk and his 7th and 8th doubles. Jorge Polanco hit his third home run. Byron Buxton doubled for the second time. Niko Goodrum walked three times. An update from last night’s report. The Twins second supplemental first round pick, Luke Bard, left last night’s game after facing just one batter. He was to be re-evaluated on Saturday, but to this point, there has been no updated. It was an arm injury though. GCL TWINS 3, GCL RED SOX 6 Minnesota native Austin Malinowski started for the Twins. It wasn’t his best outing. The lefty gave up four runs (2 earned) on six hits and four walks. In just 1.2 innings, he struck out one. Hung-yi Chen came in and went the next 2.1 innings. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. Alex Muren then threw two shutout innings. Melciades de la Cruz struck out four in two scoreless innings. Bryan Santy led the offense by going 2-3 and was hit by a batter. Javier Pimentel went 2-4 with his first stolen base. Zach Larson hit his first double. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, August 11, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Oswaldo Arcia [ATTACH=CONFIG]1955[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – JO Berrios [ATTACH=CONFIG]1956[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Sunday, August 12, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Lehigh Valley – RHP Liam Hendriks New Britain vs Reading – RHP Steve Hirschfeld Ft. Myers vs St. Lucie –RHP Carl Pavano Beloit vs Peoria – RHP Tyler Jones Elizabethton @ Bristol – TBD GCL Twins – No Game Scheduled --- 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!

The Twins lost 12-6 to the Tampa Bay Rays. It was not a pretty game. Sure, Joe Mauer had three hits, and Ryan Doumit had a home run, but that was not a pretty game. Down 8-1 after an inning and a half makes for a long game. At least we have plenty of positives throughout the Twins farm system, so let’s just jump right into that! Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the Friday games in the minor leagues. ROCHESTER 3, PAWTUCKET 9 A couple of former Twins were instrumental in a big loss for the Red Wings on Friday night. Eric Hurley started and gave up seven runs on eight hits and three walks while recording just six outs. He did have three strikeouts. David Bromberg came in and provided three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out two. Luke French went the next three and gave up two runs. He gave up four hits and one walk. Anthony Slama made his first Red Wings appearance since June 6 when a Miguel Tejada line drive broke his fibula. He didn’t miss a beat. The righty walked one, but struck out three, in a scoreless inning to drop his ERA to 0.38. Chris Parmelee hit a 2-run homer, his 13th, in the first inning off of Daisuke Matsuzaka that gave the Red Wings an early lead. He went 2-3 with a walk. Ray Chang was 3-4. Pedro Florimon knocked his 15th double. For Pawtucket, Jason Repko hit a double and his seventh home run. Danny Valencia went 3-3 with two walks and two doubles. NEW BRITAIN 5, READING 1 BJ Hermsen continues to impress. Despite not throwing real hard or recording “enough” strikeouts, Hermsen continues to get people outs and eat innings. He is now 10-5 with a 3.09 ERA in New Britain after yet another terrific start on Friday night. The lanky right-hander pitched a complete game. He gave up one run on ten hits. He walked just one and struck out four. He needed just 94 pitches to complete the game, and 71 of those were strikes. Aaron Hicks led the offense. He was 2-4 with a walk and drove in a run. Rene Tosoni went 1-2 with two walks and hit ninth double. Chris Colabello hit his 33rd double and drove in his 85th run for the Rock Cats. Pretty impressive debut in affiliated ball for the 28 year old who was the independent leagues’ MVP last year according to Baseball America. FT. MYERS 1, ST. LUCIE 2 Cole Nelson gave up two runs in the first inning. And that was it. Those were the only two runs scored by the St. Lucie Mets. Unfortunately, the Miracle bats were only able to score one run. The run came on an RBI double off the bat of Anderson Hidalgo which scored Danny Ortiz. The Miracle managed just four hits. Nelson gave up those two runs on six hits and two walks over the first four innings. The lefty struck out four. Miguel Munoz went the next two innings, giving up just one hit while striking out three. Ryan O’Rourke pitched the final three innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out three. BELOIT 2, QUAD CITIES 1 It was a very quiet game for the Snappers on Friday night. In fact, both offenses in this game were quite quiet. David Hurlbut was terrific. He gave up just one run on six hits in seven innings. He walked none and struck out five. He left with his team down 1-0. However, in the top of the 8th, the Snappers finally got on board and tied the game. Drew Leachman singled to score Wang-Wei Lin. Corey Williams pitched a scoreless eighth inning. In the top of the ninth, AJ Pettersen, who went 2-3 as a replacement for Miguel Sano who got a rare day off, came up and drilled a single up the middle to score Stephen Wickens. The hit gave the Snappers a 2-1 lead. Williams returned to the mound for the 9th. He got one out before being replaced by hard-throwing Zach Jones. Jones gets his fourth save by getting the final two outs. Nate Roberts continues to be an on-base machine. He got on via a walk and a single and stole his 19th base. Wickens was 1-2 and was twice hit by a pitch. GAME 1 – ELIZABETHTON 3, BRISTOL 2 Pitching is the name of the game, and in this one the E-Twins got a great start and a nice finish. Angel Mata started and gave up just two hits and one walk in five shutout innings. He struck out five. He gave way to Christian Powell who threw a scoreless sixth frame. In the seventh, he got one out, but a two-run double put the game in jeopardy. With the tying runner on second and one out , Tyler Duffey was brought in. He recorded the final two outs, one on a strikeout, to get the save. Byron Buxton continues to show he’s not intimidated by his recent promotion. In this game, he was 2-3 with his first double and an RBI. Adam Walker and Jorge Polanco were each 2-3. Niko Goodrum added his tenth double. GAME 2 – ELIZABETHTON 5, BRISTOL 2 The E-Twins were able to complete the double-header sweep in the second game. Ricardo Arevalo started and gave up only an unearned run on two hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out five. Chris Mazza came in and worked the next two innings. He gave up one run on two hits. He struck out two. Luke Bard came in to start the seventh inning. He faced one batter and walked him. He came out of the game, replaced by Kaleb Merck. Merck gave up one hit, but struck out three, in his inning to record his second save. (Note – I am trying to find out why Bard left the game and will report as soon as I have any information.) Travis Harrison led the way in this game. He was 3-3 with his ninth and tenth doubles. Adam Walker hit a two-run double, his sixth. Jorge Polanco hit his 14th double. GCL TWINS 4, GCL RED SOX 8 Randy Rosario started, and the lefty went the first three innings. He gave up three runs (1 earned) on three hits. He walked two and struck out three. Josue Montanez came in next. It was his first appearance since June 11 when he threw five shutout innings. On this day, he struckout five in two perfect innings. Trent Higginbotham came in and gave up four runs on five hits in 2.1 innings. He walked three, hit one and struck out one. Gerardo Ramirez gave up one run on four hits in 1.2 innings. He struckout one. Joel Licon went 2-4 with two RBI. Logan Wade drove in the other two runs. Jorge Fernandez and Brian Compton each hit a double. --- Players of the Day for Friday, August 10, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – BJ Hermsen [ATTACH=CONFIG]1950[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Travis Harrison [ATTACH=CONFIG]1951[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Saturday, August 11, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Pawtucket – LHP Pedro Hernandez New Britain vs Reading – LHP Blake Martin Ft. Myers vs St. Lucie – RHP Tom Stuifbergen Beloit vs Peoria – LHP Taylor Rogers Elizabethton @ Bristol – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox – LHP Austin Malinowski --- 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!

#Access!

As I was beginning my trek to Beloit last week, I realized that it was already into August. I have no idea where the entire month of July went, but it was already time to present awards for the minor league hitter, starting pitcher and relief pitcher of the month. To keep things brief, this is a little late, so I’m going to consolidate the reports. Along with the three “winners,” I’ll give a top five as well as post some honorable mentions, if appropriate. I apologize for the delay, but it is important for me to post this as there were a lot of strong performances. In fact, the player selected as the Eastern League Player of the Month finished third on this list. We’ll start with some honorable mentions, followed by choices five through two. It will then culminate with the July hitter of the month. We’ll start with the hitters before moving on to the pitchers. THE HITTERS Honorable Mention: Rochester Brian Dinkelman 27-81 (.333/.449/.580 – .965), 7-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 7-RBI Rochester Matt Carson 26-84 (.310/.370/.500 - .870) 1-2B, 0-3B, 5-HR, 14-RBI New Britain Chris Colabello 38-113 (.336/.400/.487 – 887), 11-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 20 RBI New Britain Deibinson Romero 33-104 (.317/.385/.500 - .885), 7-2B, 0-3B, 4-HR, 21-RBI Beloit Miguel Sano 21-76 (.276/.426/.461 - .886), 3-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 21-RBI Elizabethton Romy Jimenez 25-67 (.373/.475/.597 – 1.072), 9-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 22-RBI Elizabethton Candido Pimentel 36-88 (.409/.464/.523 - .987), 5-2B, 1-3B, 1-3B, 14-RBI Elizabethton Jorge Polanco 22-71 (.310/.417/.507 - .924), 9-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 9-RBI Elizabethton Adam Walker 30-101 (.297/.355/.564 - .919), 3-2B, 1-3B, 7-HR, 26-RBI #5 – New Britain Aaron Hicks 35-110 (.318/.433/.518 - .951), 7-2B, 3-3B, 3-HR, 11-RBI #4 – Ft. Myers Josmil Pinto 31-79 (.392/.437/.582 – 1.019), 4-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 10-RBI #3 – New Britain Oswaldo Arcia 34-96 (.354/.426/.583 – 1.009), 6-2B, 2-3B, 4-HR, 25-RBI #2 – Rochester Chris Parmelee 27-81 (.333/.449/.580 – 1.029), 5-2B, 0-3B, 5-HR, 17-RBI The July Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is... Elizabethton Twins – OF Max Kepler (32-96) .333/.439/.688 (1.126) with 7-2B, 3-3B, 7-HR, 28 RBI Kepler was signed by the Twins as a 16-year-old from Berlin, Germany, in July of 2009. He was immediately touted as the top prospect ever signed out of Europe. It has been a slow progression for the lefty-hitting outfielder. He posted a .689 OPS in the GCL in 210. Last year in Elizabethton, he hit .262 with 11 doubles, three triples and a homer. He produced solid numbers, but it made sense for such a toolsy player to go back to the Appalachian League. After a very slow start at the beginning of the E-Town season, Kepler started hitting very well in July, as you can see from the numbers above. At one point, he hit four home runs in five games and seven homers in 11 games. After four hits last night, he is now hitting .297 on the season with eight homers. He is 6-4 and 180 pounds and hopes to continue to fill out and add more power, but he is also a very speedy player. THE STARTING PITCHERS Honorable Mention: Rochester Esmerling Vasquez – 6 G, 4 GS, 2-1, 3.60 ERA, 25 IP, 20 H, 5 BB, 24 K #5 – Rochester Liam Hendriks – 5 GS, 2-2, 3.09 ERA, 32 IP, 29 H, 8 BB, 19 K #4 – New Britain BJ Hermsen – 5 GS, 4-1, 2.30 ERA, 31.1 IP, 29 H, 9 BB, 21 K #3 – Elizabethton Hudson Boyd – 5 GS, 2-1, 1.82 ERA, 24.2 IP, 22 H, 7 BB, 17 K #2 – Rochester Jeff Manship – 6 GS, 2-1, 1.67 ERA, 27 IP, 29 H, 12 BB, 20 K The July Minnesota Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is... Beloit – LHP Jason Wheeler - 5 GS, 4-0, 2.03 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 31 IP, 26 H, 12 BB, 22 K For the second straight month, a left-handed starter for the Beloit Snappers is our choice for starting pitcher of the month. Last month, he was David Hurlbut. This month, it is 2011 8th round pick Jason Wheeler. Wheeler has been one of the more consistent starting pitchers in the organization. Overall, he is 12-5 with a 3.35 ERA. In 22 starts and 126.2 innings, he has allowed 133 hits, walked 35 and struck out 96 batters. He is listed at 6-8 and 265. He stands out on the field due to his height, but he appears to be in very good shape. He does not throw hard, touching 90, but he does have some very good off-speed pitches that keep batters off balance. It’s surprising to many that the 21 year old from Loyola Marymount has not yet been promoted to Ft. Myers. THE RELIEF PITCHERS Honorable Mention: #4 – New Britain Bruce Pugh – 9 G, 15 IP, 9 H, 7 BB, 13 K, 1-1, 1.20 ERA, 3 Saves #3 – Beloit Cole Johnson – 10 G, 17.1 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 20 K, 1-1, 1.04 ERA #2 – Rochester Luis Perdomo – 9 G, 16.1 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 16 K, 1-0, 0.55 ERA, 7 Saves The July Minnesota Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is... Ft. Myers – AJ Achter – 9 G, 16.1 IP, 12 H, 1 BB, 18 K, 1-1, 0.55 ERA, 4 Saves Last month’s relief pitcher of the month, Michael Tonkin, moved up to Ft. Myers about two weeks before AJ Achter did. Achter was pitching very well in Beloit, striking out 49 and walking just 12 in 40 innings. He was promoted to Ft. Myers where he has been even better. Achter was the Twins 46th round pick in 2010 out of Michigan State. Last year at Beloit, he was used exclusively as a starter. This year, he has been much better in the bullpen and seems to have found a role suited well for him! There you have it. The top hitters and pitchers in the Twins system for the month of July. Now it’s time to debate. What do you think? Please feel free to discuss. [ATTACH=CONFIG]1846[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]1847[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]1848[/ATTACH]

Down 5-1 going through six innings, the Twins collected three unearned runs in the seventh inning. Cleveland’s All-Star closer Chris Perez came on and gave up three runs in the top of the 9th, two of them unearned. The Twins won 7-5 in unlikely fashion. Sam Deduno was back on the mound for the Twins. This time, he lasted just four innings and gave up four runs on five hits and five walks. He struck out three. Jeff Manship came on and gave up a run on two hits and two walks in his two innings. He struckout four. Tyler Robertson records his first major league win thanks to two scoreless innings, and Glen Perkins picked up his seventh save. Ryan Doumit led the offense with three hits, including two doubles. Ben Revere extended his hitting streak to 21 and is within one (maybe two) games of his .329 batting average being among league leaders. Brian Dozier and Jamey Carroll each had two hits. Tsuyoshi Nishioka got the game-winning RBI on a sacrifice fly. It was a highlight-filled night in the Twins farm system as well. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Monday night of games in the minor leagues. ROCHESTER 1, EMPIRE STATE 3 (11 innings) Liam Hendriks was terrific again, but the Red Wings bats didn’t show up in this game. The Aussie right-hander went seven shutout innings. He gave up just three hits, walked two and struck out four. Kyle Waldrop came into the game for the eighth inning, but he gave up a run on two hits and a walk. Daniel Turpen pitched two scoreless frames. Bobby Lanigan gave up two unearned runs. He left with the bases loaded. Caleb Thielbar came in and gave up one hit that allowed the two inherited runners to score before getting the final two outs. The Red Wings managed just two hits. Brian Dinkelman singled and later scored on a Rene Rivera double. GAME 1 - NEW BRITAIN 8, BINGHAMTON 9 It was a good offensive day for the Rock Cats, but the pitching and defense cost them this close game. Steve Hirschfeld started and gave up four runs on five hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out four. Bruce Pugh came in for the sixth frame and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. Jose Gonzalez came in for the seventh, but he gave up three runs (1 earned) on one hit and two walks. Dakota Watts got the final out on a fielder’s choice, but two runs scored. Rene Tosoni led the offense. He went 3-4 with his seventh and eighth doubles. Oswaldo Arcia was 2-4 with his 11th double. Chris Colabello went 2-4 with his 32nd double. Nate Hanson was 2-3 with his fifth home run and four RBI. Aaron Hicks was 1-2 with a walk and his 12th home run. GAME 2 - NEW BRITAIN 8, BINGHAMTON 1 In the second game, Andrew Albers made his first appearance since June 17, and he was masterful. The lefty gave up just one hit in five innings to improve to 4-2. He walked none and struck out five. Matt Hauser came in and gave up only a solo home run over the final two innings. Aaron Hicks led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk and his 18th and 19th home runs. Chris Colabello was 2-4. Oswaldo Arcia had the big blast, a grand slam in the sixth inning. It was hit sixth Rock Cats home run. Deibinson Romero and Dan Rohlfing each doubled. FT. MYERS 22, JUPITER 5 Maybe it was the presence of Carl Pavano, but something got into the bats of the Miracle, particularly Lance Ray. The Miracle scored their 22 runs on 20 hits. Lance Ray led the way. The outfielder from Kentucky went 4-6 with his 18th double, his 12th and 13th home runs and seven RBI. Steve Liddle was 4-5 with his second double and three RBI. Josmil Pinto was 3-4 with two walks and his 18th double. Angel Morales went 3-6 with his seventh double and sixth home run. Anderson Hidalgo had two hits. Danny Rams walked twice and drilled his fifth home run of the season. He drove in four runs. Levi Michael was 1-3 and walked three times. Carl Pavano made the rehab start. He gave up one run on two hits (one was a solo home run) in two innings. He walked none and struck out one. Madison Boer went the next 4.1 innings. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on four hits and two walks. Nelvin Fuentes worked the final 2.2 innings, giving up no runs on two hits and striking out three. BELOIT 5, WISCONSIN 3 The Snappers bats were alive as well on Tuesday night. Nate Roberts led off and led the way with a 3-5 night in which he hit his 11th double, his second triple and stole his 18th base. Eddie Rosario was 2-3 with a walk and his eighth home run. JD Williams had two hits and stole his 17th base. Stephen Wickens went 2-4 with two stolen bases. Tyler Grimes was 2-3 with a walk. Miguel Sano hit his fourth triple. Tyler Jones made the start, and he went the first five innings for the Win. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on seven hits. He walked three and struck out three. Steven Gruver gave up a hit and a walk over two scoreless innings. Corey Kimes gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits and a walk. He struck out four. ELIZABETHTON 2, JOHNSON CITY 4 Max Kepler led the offense on this day with his eighth and ninth doubles. Candido Pimentel went 2-4 with a walk and his sixth double. Josh Hendricks was 1-3 with a walk and his eighth double. Travis Harrison was 1-3 with a walk and his eighth double, as well. Hein Robb started and gave up four runs (3 earned) on four hits in 2.1 innings. He walked three and struck out two. Chris Mazza came in and threw 2.2 scoreless innings, give up one hit and striking out two. Luis Nunez walked two in two scoreless innings. Christian Powell pitched a 1-2-3 inning. GCL TWINS 3, GCL RAYS 4 Kyle Gibson made what could be his final rehab start on Monday. He gave up one run on three hits in three innings. He walked one and struck out four. His first appearance came on July 10th, and he gets 30 days to rehab before needing to be activated. The assumption, from me, would be that he will be activated and pitch for the Ft. Myers Miracle. In nine rehab appearances, he pitched 14.2 innings. He gave up four runs on nine hits. He walked four and struck out 16. Andre Martinez came in and faced two batters. He gave up a hit and a walk before being replaced by Gonzalo Sanudo. The lefty went five innings and gave up only one hit. He struckout four. Melciades de la Cruz struck out two in the final inning to record his fourth save. Jeremias Pineda went 3-5 with his 16th stolen base. Bryan Santy went 3-4 with his fourth double. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 7, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Lance Ray [ATTACH=CONFIG]1839[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Liam Hendriks [ATTACH=CONFIG]1838[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Wednesday, August 8, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Empire State – RHP Shairon Martis New Britain @ Binghamton – TBD Ft. Myers vs Jupiter – LHP Pat Dean Beloit @ Quad Cities – LHP Matt Tomshaw Elizabethton @ Johnson City – LHP Brett Lee GCL Twins vs GCL Orioles – TBD --- 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!

A ten run second inning was more than enough run support for Scott Diamond who won for the 10th time this season. The left-hander worked the first seven innings and gave up three runs (2 earned). Jeff Gray and Luis Perdomo each threw a scoreless inning. It was the offense in this game. In that ten-run inning, Josh Willingham hit his 29th home run. The next batter was Justin Morneau, who hit his 14th home run. The entire team batted around again, and #6 hitter Ryan Doumit also homered in the same inning. Later, Justin Morneau hit his second home run of the year, his 15th homer of the season, and the 200th of his career. Ben Revere went 4-5 to extend his hitting streak to 20 games. Joe Mauer had three more hits, including two doubles. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from a quiet Monday night of games in the minor leagues. ROCHESTER 2, EMPIRE STATE 9 After playing 19 innings on Monday night, the one thing that the Red Wings needed was a quality, lengthy start. Left-hander Pedro Hernandez, who came to the organization in the Francisco Liriano trade, made his first start for the Red Wings. It didn’t go so well. The 23-year-old went just two innings and gave up six runs on ten hits. He walked none and struck out two. David Bromberg, who was promoted to the Red Wings for such an occurrence came on and gave the team four good innings. He gave up one run on two hits and three walks while striking out four. Eric Hurley, pitching on a bullpen day, struck out two in the 7th inning. Then things got interesting. Matt Carson, who started the game in right field, came in to pitch the 8th inning. He gave up two runs on one hit and two walks. He gave up a home run. For Carson, it was the first time he pitched in a game since 2009… when he pitched six innings over six games for AAA Sacramento. Then, catcher Rene Rivera pitched the ninth inning. The hard-thrower needed just ten pitches to complete a perfect inning. He struck out one batter, and all ten pitches he threw were strikes. He had not pitched in a game in his career. The last Red Wings position player to pitch in a game was Toby Gardenhire, who worked a scoreless inning in July of 2011. There was not much offense for the Rock Cats on this night. Wilkin Ramirez went 2-4. Ray Chang drove in both Red Wings runs with his seventh double. The loss ended a seven-game win streak for the Red Wings. Also, Chris Parmelee, who was named the International League Hitter of the Week, went 0-3 (with a walk) to end his 15 game hitting streak. NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS New Britain did not have a game scheduled on Tuesday. FT. MYERS MIRACLE There were no games scheduled in the Florida State League. BELOIT 5, WISCONSIN 3 The Snappers played another very well-rounded game on Monday. 2012 pick, LHP Taylor Rogers started and provided the team with another quality start. He gave up three runs on six hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Corey Williams came in and gave up two hits and a walk, but no runs, in 1.2 innings. Zack Jones came in and got the final four outs to record his third save. He struck out two. Nate Roberts again did a great job of setting the table for the Snappers. He went 2-3 with a walk, his tenth double and 17th stolen base. AJ Pettersen hit his 10th double. Eddie Rosario drove in two runs and hit his 24th double. Stephen Wickens went 1-2 with two walks and his third stolen base. Miguel Sano hit his 23rd home run. ELIZABETHTON, DANVILLE They just can’t seem to get the rain to stop in the mountains of Tennessee. These teams were supposed to play a doubleheader on Tuesday night, but due to more inclement weather, these two games have been cancelled. GCL TWINS 3, GCL RAYS 4 Kuo-Hua Lo started for the Twins. He threw four shutout innings and gave up just one hit. He walked none and struck out four. Anthony Slama came in and made his first appearance since breaking his fibula. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out three. Yorman Landa came in and gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and three walks in 2.1 innings. He struck out two. The Twins bats managed just six hits. John Murphy hit his eighth double. In his first game in the Twins organization, Jeremias Pineda went 1-4 with his 15th stolen base. He is now hitting .416. --- Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 6, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Nate Roberts [ATTACH=CONFIG]1820[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1823[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Kuo-Hua Lo [ATTACH=CONFIG]1822[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, August 7, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Empire State – RHP Liam Hendriks New Britain @ Binghampton (2 games) – TBD Ft. Myers vs Jupiter – RHP Madison Boer Beloit vs Wisconsin – RHP Tyler Jones Elizabethton @ Johnson City – LHP Hein Robb GCL Twins vs GCL Rays – TBD --- 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!

In a move that is rather surprising, Twins Daily has learned the 2012 first-round draft pick Byron Buxton and supplemental first-round pick Jose (J.O.) Berrios have been promoted to short-season Elizabethton. Buxton, an 18-year-old outfielder from rural Georgia, was the #2 overall pick in this June's draft. He signed a $6 million signing bonus and reported to Ft. Myers. He missed about ten days with a hamstring injury, but has been playing well of late. In 27 games with the GCL Twins, Buxton is 19-88, hitting .216/.324/.466 (.789). He has four doubles, three triples, four home runs and 14 RBI. He has also stolen 14 bases. Berrios, an 18-year-old right-hander from Puerto Rico, was the first of two supplemental first round picks the Twins had in the 2012 draft. He has been terrific for the GCL Twins. In eight games, he has thrown 16.2 innings. He has given up just seven hits, walked three and struckout 27 baters. He is 1-0 with four saves and a 1.08 ERA. Buxton and Berrios will join the Twins other second-round pick in Elizabethton. Right-hander Luke Bard also recently started pitching for the E-Twins after signing and doing some rehab work in the GCL. Also, the two Twins supplemental draft picks from the 2011 draft, 3B Travis Harrison and RHP Hudson Boyd are playing for the E-Twins. The Elizabethton Twins find themselves in a familiar place a top the Appalachian League West Division. They are currently 29-14 and 5 1/2 games ahead of Johnson City and Greeneville. [ATTACH=CONFIG]1815[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1816[/ATTACH] (Check out this site for more "Cards" of top 2012 draft picks)

This is awesome! I've never beento E-Town, but you painted the picture wonderfully. Thank you!

The weather has certainly been a factor in Beloit the first three days of this trip. The first two days, it was so hot. Temperatures hovered in the mid-90s and humidity was quite high. On Saturday, however, the weather was a little different and that crazy humidity finally burst into some impressive thunderstorms. Would there be baseball, or would we have to make a tough decision about whether to stay for a doubleheader on Sunday? (Note- we had already decided we would!) Saturday morning started out well with some high-quality blog writing (my opinion, maybe not yours). At noon, Travis, Jeremy, Jed and I went to Jerseys for lunch. I have to admit that the steak sandwich is pretty great. It was fun because it was just four guys, sitting around a sports bar, chatting about the state of the Twins, players in the Twins farm system and other deep questions like Will Jeff Bagwell get into the Hall of Fame and what would we do with Stephen Strasburg down the stretch? Although it was quite warm and the clouds were gray and the wind was picking up, it had not yet rained. However, I had received notice that the Snappers would not be having batting practice and weren’t arriving at the ballpark until 5:00. It was no surprise as the weather reports certainly indicated that some severe weather was headed our way. What it also meant was that we had a couple more hours to kill. We all agreed that a movie would be the best way to do that. So, we went over to the Luxury Theatre, and when we saw that the movie Ted was playing, we all unanimously agreed that it was the one we must see. And we were not disappointed. The four of us laughed most of the movie. Certainly not a cutesy teddy bear movie. That’s for sure. But it was one of the better comedies I have seen in a long time. Plus, there is a baseball connection in the movie as arguably the most emotional moment occurred at Fenway Park! Well, throughout the movie, we could hear thunder and pouring rain outside the theatre’s walls. When we got out of the movie at around 4:20, it was still raining, sometimes even quite hard. We went back to the hotel where we met the infamous Jim Crikket of Knuckleballs fame. He had driven to Beloit from Cedar Rapids and noted that the dark clouds followed him the whole way. We all sat around until about 5:30 when the rain pretty much stopped. We headed over to the field. I was impressed. When we got to Pohlman Field, the grounds crew and the front office had just pulled the tarp off the infield and the field looked really good. Other volunteers were working furiously, toweling off the seats that were soaked from the rain. Again, the Snappers work with a smaller group and what they were able to do to get the field ready to play was remarkable! I talked briefly with Dallas Gallant. The team had all worked out in the morning together. The pitchers had just gone on the field a half-hour earlier to run through another pre-game stretch and their daily work. For the first time, I ventured down the third base line, past the dugout. There is a picnic area that I thought required a special ticket to go into, but it didn’t. During the warm ups, I went out there and was able to get some really good pitchers. I talked to Tommy Watkins and AJ Pettersen down the line. Yes, the below picture of AJ does show him wearing a catcher’s mitt. As he wrote recently at Twins Daily, when he is not in the lineup, he enjoys being a bullpen catcher. I met Justin Rinaldi and his brother Vincent Rinaldi. They are the young guys behind Rinaldi Photos. You’ll definitely want to check out their work here. Also, they will be at the Snappers games the next three days and likely will post many more pictures. They now are traveling the Midwest League taking photos and they are really good. And then it was time to start the game. When you see my July Twins minor league pitchers of the month, you will certainly see Jason Wheeler. The lefty from Loyola Marymount went 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA in five starts. His first August start technically started out shaky as he gave up two runs on three hits in the first inning. However, box scores alone don’t tell you that two of the singles rolled through the right-side of the infield and the other was a well-placed bunt single. After that inning, Wheeler was great. He went a total of eight innings and gave up only those two runs. He gave up a total of six hits and one or two of the other three were of the bloop variety. Wheeler gets the loss in the 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, but he was very impressive. Again, at 6-8, Wheeler stands out. He does not throw hard, likely topping out at 90 at this time. But he has terrific control of his fastball, a very good curveball, and a changeup, and an occasional slider. In this contest, he struck out ten batters. In general, he kept the opposing hitters completely off balance. 2012 10th round draft pick DJ Baxendale came in and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth frame in which he struck out the side. He pitched for Arkansas in the College World Series and then quickly signed with the Twins when his team was eliminated. He has now pitched in nine games out of the bullpen between Elizabethton and Beloit. He he pitched ten innings and given up three hits, walked on and now has struckout 22 batters. He has kind of a deceptive, three-quarters delivery and has a very sharp slider to go along with a plus-fastball. Kennys Vargas provided the offense. In the 2nd inning, he drilled a fastball probably 410 feet, just to the left of center field for his 7th home run in 12 games with the Snappers. He rounded the bases, and he even did the David Ortiz, point-to-the-sky when he touched home plate. Seriously, the resemblance to Big Papi are uncanny. Miguel Sano had a double down the right field line. He might have been able to get a triple on it but was held up at second. Sano is such a big man. Once he gets going, he can fly around the bases. There are little parts of his game that are often forgotten about, or people don’t know or hear about, because all we hear about are the home runs and the strikeouts. Like yesterday, I mentioned his incredible arm. Today, it’s his speed. He can really move quickly. Eddie Rosario was held to just one hit in this game. He played second base and actually was a part of two double plays. One was on a bounding ball up the middle that he fielded, stepped on second and threw to 1B. The second was on a line drive that he threw to first to get the runner who strayed too far from the bag. Another day, another game in which Nate Roberts was on base half of the time. He had a solid single up the middle, and later he had a long at bat that resulted in a walk. One of the highlights for me was in the middle innings, I was going to go walk around. I like standing next to the Snappers dugout, by the on-deck circle once in a while because you get a great view of the hitter. While I was standing there, someone asked if I was Seth. I turned and said, “Yes, I am.” I knew who it was, but he introduced himself as Matt Tomshaw, who the night before pitched a great seven innings. Since he pitched yesterday, he was in charge of filming today’s game which means that he had a list of things that he was supposed to get video for throughout the game. The Snappers pitchers and a couple of their hitters as well. Anyway, he was between duties and it was very nice of him to come up and say hi. It was nice chatting with a guy who has obviously risen up in the eyes of prospect guys like myself since being a late-round draft pick just a year ago. Following the game, we talked to AJ a little bit. Wang-Wei Lin came over to say hi again. He’ll be in the lineup again on Sunday. A few other players came over and shook hands. Later, Miguel Sano was walking through the crowd, and as you can imagine, several were asking for his autograph, or to get a picture with him. I have read several places that he can be a difficult sign, but in the three days that I have been here so far, he has been signing quite a bit. Frankly, he seems much more relaxed and seems to enjoy it a little bit. He has acknowledged us each day. As he was finishing up, he came over to shake AJ’s brother’s hand, and then he came over and extended his hand to me and we shook hands. At that time, we went and sat down and enjoyed a tremendous fireworks display. The crowd was announced at just over 2,200 people which was great to see. With that, we have one more game to see here in Beloit. This afternoon at 2, the Snappers will again play the Timber Rattlers. Lefty David Hurlbut will be on the mound for the Snappers. It is Prince Fielder “Beast Mode” bobble arms day today at Pohlman Field so there should be a nice attendance today. Also, the weather isn’t supposed to be quite so unbearable, maybe into the low 80s! A great day for a ball game. When the game finishes this afternoon, Travis and I will be back on the road, headed back as far as the Twin Cities tonight. Then tomorrow morning, an early departure for home. So, I likely won’t get to a Day 4 report until maybe Monday. So, be sure to check out my Twitter feed for updates throughout the day and going forward. However, I do need to give a huge Thank You to Chrissy Scaffidi, the Snappers Director of Media and Public Relations, who has helped us out tremendously throughout our time here. As busy as she is, she’s made time for us and been remarkably helpful to us. GM Matt Bosen also spent some time with us over the first three days which is very appreciative. Again, as the Snappers are working with a six-person front office, and those six have so many duties beyond whatever is in their job description, their support of myself and Twins Daily has been very much appreciated. I can’t encourage Twins fans from the Twin Cities or anywhere enough that it is well worth it for you to make the trek to Beloit. It isn’t that far… I guess it’s about 13 hours each way for me, but it’s likely well less than that for you to make a trip. The baseball is good. This is a good product that they’re putting on the field. There are great prospects. There is some serious talent. The atmosphere at Pohlman Field is awesome, and the players and coaches are so accessible and for the most part, very personable. The team is going to be in the playoffs in September, and tickets are already available for that. IF you are at all able, I would certainly encourage a trip to Beloit to see the Snappers. And now, here are several pictures from Saturday: [ATTACH=CONFIG]1774[/ATTACH] Jason Wheeler pre-game [ATTACH=CONFIG]1775[/ATTACH] Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, Kennys Vargas [ATTACH=CONFIG]1776[/ATTACH] AJ Pettersen [ATTACH=CONFIG]1777[/ATTACH] Drew Leachman [ATTACH=CONFIG]1778[/ATTACH] Kennys Vargas and Miguel Sano [ATTACH=CONFIG]1779[/ATTACH] Miguel Sano [ATTACH=CONFIG]1780[/ATTACH] Kennys Vargas [ATTACH=CONFIG]1781[/ATTACH] Wang-Wei Lin [ATTACH=CONFIG]1782[/ATTACH] Nate Roberts [ATTACH=CONFIG]1783[/ATTACH] Miguel Sano [ATTACH=CONFIG]1784[/ATTACH] National Anthem (Matt Koch Catching) [ATTACH=CONFIG]1785[/ATTACH] Kennys Vargas [ATTACH=CONFIG]1786[/ATTACH] Pohlman Field at Night!

Day 2 in Beloit was a good day. Then again, it was a Friday and I wasn’t at work and it was a day all about baseball. How could it be bad?! Woke up fairly early and wrote yesterday’s Day 1 blog. Realized that it is now August which means that I need to write up my July minor league hitter, starting pitcher and relief pitcher of the month blogs. That means, doing quite a bit of research online. Expect to see those written over the next few days, and I was quite surprised for some reason at all of the very strong hitting during the month. Maybe it is something about the bats warming up as the temperatures continued to rise? That said, there were plenty of very good pitching performances for the month as well. Anyway, there is not a ton to do in Beloit. I’m sure there are things, but I haven’t really found there. We did go to lunch at Applebees, and I definitely recommend the Sizzlin’ N’Allins Skillet!! From there, we went shopping for shoes. I haven’t bought shoes in a long time. My sandals are two years old and have no more sole. My work shoes both have cracks in the bottom from over-use. So, although it took us a while to find Payless, I got two pairs of sandals and new work shoes! Alright, you probably couldn’t care less about my shopping experiences in Beloit, so let’s talk about baseball-related things. We left for the ballpark at about 3:15 but had to make a quick Walmart stop. My car had a temperature gauge in it and as we drove to Walmart, it read 100 degrees. That number got up to 102. Now, as we drove by the bank and later listened to the radio over the speakers at the ball park, it said they reached 95 degrees. Either way, it was incredibly hot. When we arrived at the ballpark, we were again greeted by Chrissy Scaffidi. The Snappers work with a staff of six in their front office, and it is remarkable how hard they work. The grounds crew is incredible and have the field looking great. GM Matt Bosen, in his first year in that role after several previous years in other roles, coordinates it all and does it well. He spent a good 20 minutes chatting with us again on Friday afternoon about all kinds of topics. But he also worked with the grounds crew before, after and even during the game. When we arrived, the Snappers were all on the field. And everyone was working on something. They ran a big round of infield and outfield. Then the pitchers came to the field and they worked through some Pitchers Fielding Practice, but it also turned into another full round of situational infield where manager Nelson Prada would hit the ball anywhere on the field to see where people would go based on runners on base and outs and such. It was very well run. Tommy Watkins walked around the field encouraging players and giving pointers. Gary Lucas talked to the pitchers who were fielding their position, covering first base or backing up a base. Then came batting practice. Again, I can watch BP all day. The first group included Nate Roberts, Wang-Wei Lin, Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas. With Roberts and Lin, it was line drive after line drive. Rosario hits the ball so well, and it’s remarkable, his ability to wait on a pitch and drive everything the opposite way. His bat speed is incredible, and despite his size (probably 5-9, maybe 175 pounds), he is able to generate incredible power to all fields. Sano just hits everything hard in batting practice. Yes, he can hit a few out to dead center field or over the scoreboard in left center, but he works on his swing and hits a lot of line drives. He is just a good all-around hitter, or will be. Vargas is still a little more raw. He has amazing power potential, but he does have a long swing. That said, he does work on staying short to the ball and taking a single to left. He definitely works. During batting practice, the infielders do their work between pitches, getting ground balls from fungo hitters. I’ve likely said it before, but watching AJ Pettersen play shortstop is really something to see. He has very good range, but great hands. He also transfers the ball from glove to throwing hand remarkably quickly and makes a strong accurate throw to first or to second. When you have two raw, works-in-progress in Sano and Rosario at 3B and 2B, respectively, it’s got to be nice to have such a steady glove in the middle of the infield. Before the game, as players were starting to head to the field, it was great to get to meet reliever Dallas Gallant. People told me how nice and polite the kid was, and that was all quite true. I have talked to him via Twitter several times while he was rehabbing from his Tommy John surgery. Consider that he had the procedure done last April. He came to minor league camp in March and although his bullpens were closely monitored, he was pitching at 100% by the start of Extended Spring Training. He pitched in a handful of games at Elizabethton, but quickly moved up to Beloit. He’s excited and happy to be playing at this level. He pitched in last night’s game and I’ll get to more on that in a bit. One of the things I’ve enjoyed about my Beloit trips is the people. The front office people have been great, but so have the fans. There are a couple of families that I won’t mention by name, but who are at every game and who come over and chat every day. It’s great, and I feel almost at home in Pohlman Field thanks to these people. Last night was pretty neat because no less than three people came up to me during the course of the game and introduced themselves to me. One gentleman said he came from about 40 mile south of Beloit to see the game. Another brought his son and came from 40 miles north of Beloit. It was fun to talk to them and hear about how much they enjoy Twins Daily. I hope a few more people come out to the ball park tonight, and definitely feel free to come up and say hi! Alright, to the game, right? Matt Tomshaw got the start for the Snappers. He was coming off of a really rough start, but he has been very good since the Twins drafted him very late in the 2011 draft. The lefty doesn’t throw particularly hard, but he has good control. It took an inning or two, but his curveball is very good. Just as important, he seems to throw it at different speeds. Bert Blyleven is always talking about adding and subtracting from pitchers and Tomshaw does that well. His curveball was good and actually made his fastball look faster than it was. He apparently has a six-pitch mix that includes a version of a knuckleball which he threw a few times. He gave up just one run over seven innings. Very impressive. Dallas Gallant came in for the eighth inning, and was very impressive. He throws really hard, probably mid-90s. But he also threw a slider that was very sharp and appeared to break quite late. He told me later that he normally throws that pitch at 84-85, but it was ‘only’ at 81-82 last night. Well, again, with it’s sharp break, it was a very impressive pitch. He pitched an easy 1-2-3 inning. Corey Kimes came in for the 9th inning. It was his Midwest League and Snappers debut after starting the season in Extended Spring Training and then starting for the Elizabethton Twins. Last week, he pitched five shutout innings and was promoted immediately following the game. He is a big kid, but doesn’t throw remarkably hard. He looked a little nervous, but threw the ball well. He did walk a batter, but the game ended on a very nice 5-4-3 (Sano to Rosario to Vargas) double play. Speaking of Sano’s defense. He did not have any errors, but it wasn’t exactly smooth. I mentioned yesterday that watching him field ground balls at 3B and SS before the game, in batting practice or infield practice, he can do it. You can tell he’s been a shortstop his whole life. In the game, it doesn’t always translate. However, he is knocking the ball down, picking it up, and using a remarkably strong arm to still get hitters out at first. I don’t think I can over-state just how strong his arm is. Will he be a future third baseman in the big leagues? I can’t honestly answer that now, but I do 100% agree with keeping him there as long as possible. His arm is just so incredible. Sano was 2-5 last night. He had two RBI singles, struck out twice and then grounded into a double play in the 8th frame. From sitting right behind home plate, you can see the work he has put in to stop swinging at breaking pitches, those sliders down-and-away. Not every time, but the pitch recognition is happening. On the double play, however, he was a little slow to get out of the batter’s box after the swing. Not a lack of effort, just seemingly a footwork thing. But, he hustled down the line and showed great speed. In fact, he beat the relay throw to first by at least a half step, yet he was called out. Clearly a bad call and from his spot in the third base coach’s box, manager Nelson Prada yelled, “That wasn’t even close! That wasn’t even close! That wasn’t even close!” The third time he said it, the umpire tossed him from the game. I kid you not, that is all he said before being tossed. Now, at that point, he ran out to shallow left field where he let the umpire know a little more about how he felt about his call. It may be good that we were unable to hear all of his words at that point. The music was playing on the speakers by then but, wisely, Three Blind Mice was not the song selected! Eddie Rosario had yet another three hit game. In four games since his return from injury, he has three, three-hit games and is 11-20 (.550) during that stretch. It’s just incredible. Stephen Wickens was a late-round pick last year as a four-year college player. He is a Canadian but went to Florida Gulf Coast. He went 3-5 and has been hitting very well since coming up from Elizabethton. He can play both middle infield positions. Last night, he was the DH and went 3-5 with two doubles. Nate Roberts is an incredible lead-off hitter with an uncanny ability to get on base. He isn’t a big guy, but he is hitting .295 with a .438 on base percentage. He takes great at bats and really knows the strike zone. He is happy to get hit by pitches. He then is fast enough to steal bases as well. He’s a perfect leadoff hitter and just a solid offensive player. This is a very fun team to watch. The offense is pretty strong. The pitchers may not be the big prospects or big names, but they are getting the job done, and that bullpen has some huge arms that are very intriguing going forward. Following the game, I was able to talk to Drew Leachman. He was the Snappers best hitter for much of early July, but he’s been in a bit of a slump of late. He was 1-3 in this game with a walk. He came through with a clutch, RBI single in the 7th frame that really broke the game open. It was a nine-pitch at bat in which he fought off some very tough pitches. I told him that it looked like a huge weight came off his shoulders when that ball dropped in and he was standing at 1B. A group that included Twins Daily contributor Jeremy Nygaard, Dallas Gallant, AJ Pettersen and his brother Josh went to Applebees, watched the Olympics and had a great time. One thing I guess I didn’t realize was that Pettersen and Gallant played together in Hyannis in the Cape Cod League. Lots of stories were told. It was a lot of fun! There are a lot of really good people in the Twins organization. Got back to the hotel room about 12:05, and I think I was sleeping by about 12:09. I don’t think I woke up even once until after 7 a.m. Tonight, the Snappers are scheduled to play Wisconsin. There is a chance for a thunderstorm and its highest likelihood for hitting is between six and nine o’clock tonight. If it were to be rained out tonight, it would be too bad because they have a fireworks show after the game, and those are cool! On Sunday, it is Prince Fielder bobblehead day. Fielder played in Beloit in 2002 and 2003. [ATTACH=CONFIG]1765[/ATTACH]