Seth Stohs

Twins Daily hopes that you and your families and friends had a fun and safe Fourth of July holiday. The Twins had the honor of facing reigning AL Cy Young Award and AL MVP Justin Verlander. The righty from Old Dominion dominated the Twins with the exception of a solo home run off the bat of Chris Parmelee. It was one of just four hits the Twins had in the game, and two of them were from Denard Span. Brian Duensing left the game after 4.1 innings. Then Kyle Waldrop and Cole De Vries each gave up homers to Miguel Cabrera, who is good at baseball, in case you were wondering. For all this and more, here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Wednesday: ROCHESTER 4, PAWTUCKET 7 Matt Carson hit his seventh home run of the season for the Red Wings. Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Rene Rivera each hit their seventh doubles of the year. Unfortunately, the key #7 was the number of runs that Red Wings pitchers allowed in this loss. Luke French gave up six runs on seven hits and two walks in just 1.1 innings. He gave up two home runs, one of them to former Twins OF Jason Repko. Esmerling Vasquez then gave up just two hits over 3.2 scoreless innings. Caleb Thielbar gave up three hits and a walk, but no runs, in two scoreless innings. Bobby Lanigan gave up a run on two hits and a walk in two innings. NEW BRITAIN 3, TRENTON 2 Logan Darnell started and gave up two runs on seven hits. In 6.2 innings, he walked one and struck out two. Dakota Watts walked one and struck out one in 1.1 scoreless innings to record his first AA win this year. Bruce Pugh picked up his fourth save. He struck out two in one perfect inning. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 with his 11th home run. James Beresford was 2-3. FT. MYERS 7, CHARLOTTE 5 Matt Hauser is now in the Miracle starting rotation. He was good again on Wednesday. He gave up five hits in four scoreless innings. He walked none and struck out four. Jose Gonzalez then struck out five in three scoreless frames. He walked one. Ricky Bowen gave up five runs (4 earned) on five hits and two walks in 1.2 innings. AJ Achter came in and got the final out to hold the lead and to record his second Miracle save. It was a great day for the Miracle bats as several players had multi-hit games. Danny Santana again led the offense. He was 3-4 with his tenth doubles and seventh triple. Jairo Perez went 3-4 with a walk and his sixth home run. Danny Ortiz went 2-4 with his fifth triple. Josmil Pinto was 2-5 with his 14th double. Danny Rams went 2-5 with his second triple and third home run. BELOIT 6, CLINTON 8 Steven Gruver started for the Snappers. The left-hander gave up six runs on nine hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out three. Cole Johnson came in and gave up two runs on two hits in two innings. He walked one and struck out three. Inexplicably, the Snappers scored six runs despite just four hits and only two Matt Koch walks. ELIZABETHTON 8, KINGSPORT 1 Hudson Boyd recorded his first Win as a professional pitcher. The large right-hander gave up only an unearned run on five hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out five. Hein Robb came in and recorded one of those fun, statistical anomalies. The lefty from South Africa struck out four in one inning. DJ Baxendale struck out two in his inning. Dallas Gallant struck out one and gave up one hit in a scoreless inning. The E-Twins continued to hit well. Josh Hendricks was 2-5 with his first home run. Adam Walker went 2-5 with his third double. Romy Jimenez is now hitting .449 after another 2-4 game. Niko Goodrum was 1-3 with two walks and his fourth double. Travis Harrison was 1-3 with a walk and his fourth double. GCL TWINS 5, GCL ORIOLES 2 The GCL Twins got a nice win. Felix Jorge made his first start and threw three shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out three. Markus Solbach gave up two hits in his two scoreless innings. Gonzalo Sanudo threw two scoreless innings in which he gave up just one hit and struck one out. Bryan Haar went 2-3. Byron Buxton more than doubled his batting average with a 2-4 game. --- Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 4, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Hudson Boyd [ATTACH=CONFIG]1477[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Jairo Perez [ATTACH=CONFIG]1478[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Thursday, July 5, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Pawtucket – RHP Jeff Manship New Britain @ Trenton – RHP BJ Hermsen Ft. Myers vs Charlotte – RHP Tom Stuifbergen Beloit @ Clinton – LHP Jason Wheeler Elizabethton vs Kingsport – RHP Ricardo Arevalo 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!

The Big Picture The Reds are currently 44-37 and one game behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Central. They are just 1.5 games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds last won a playoff game in 1995 when they beat the LA Dodgers in the Division Series before being swept by the Braves in the NLCS that year. The last time they won a World Series title was a year before the Twins last won one (1990, beating the A’s in 4 games). The Reds have former MVP Joey Votto, who is also the odds-on favorite to win the award for the second time in 2012. Why They Will Trade With the Twins Votto and outfielder Jay Bruce provide a ton of left-handed power. When healthy, Scott Rolen is a nice bat in the middle of the lineup. Todd Frazier got an opportunity this year (due to Rolen injury) and played well enough that they are finding positions for him to play. Brandon Phillips remains one of the better second baseman in the league. However, the Reds should absolutely covet a right-handed power bat in the middle of their lineup. If there is a team that might need OF Josh Willingham’s bat more than any others, it would be the Reds. Willingham would slot in well between Votto and Bruce in the middle of the Reds lineup. If the teams couldn’t work out a Willingham trade, the Reds could also be interested in Denard Span. Reds CF Drew Stubbs is a tremendous athlete with great speed and some power, but he is the team’s leadoff hitter and he strikes out about every third at bat and is currently posting a .289 on-base percentage. (to be fair, that’s affected by his last eight games during which he is 0-28.) Span would get on base a lot more often and he could be a 12-15 home run hitter in the Great American Ballpark. Finally, with Zack Cozart at shortstop, they may want some depth at that position. Jamey Carroll would make a lot of sense, except the Reds may not want his 2013 contract. That’s why I think that Alexi Casilla could make a lot of sense for the Reds as a utility infielder. Why They Won't Trade With the Twins Glen Perkins and Jared Burton are the two bullpen arms that Terry Ryan should be getting phone calls about throughout June. Although any team would like to have them, the Reds may not make sense for either. Burton was one of the top bullpen arms for the Reds until he started having arm problems. They may have some interest in bringing back the talented right-hander, but the Twins asking price should be quite high. Perkins is as good as it gets among left-handers in the bullpen, but the Reds already boast lefties Aroldis Chapman, Bill Bray and Sean Marshall in their bullpen. Although they likely would have interest in Perkins (and his very fair contract), the would have little reason to meet the Twins asking price. The Reds are a team that have been linked to Francisco Liriano in recent weeks. They currently have a starting rotation of Bronson Arroyo, Homer Bailey, Mike Leake, Mat Latos and (should-be) All Star Johnny Cueto. They gave up a huge package to acquire Latos from the Padres in the offseason, so they may not be able to match offers the Twins get from other teams. Also, the Reds team ERA of 3.46 is fourth in baseball while their rotation is sixth in quality starts. Conclusion Despite just three playoff appearances in the past 33 seasons, Cincinnati remains a strong baseball community. They have a strong pitching staff in a small ballpark, so I think that the matches between the Twins and Reds would involve a bat. The Reds are currently 20th in batting average (.247), 22nd in on-base percentage (.313), 12th in slugging percentage (.413) and 17th in runs scored. Span and Willingham would each help the Reds get more runners on base. The Reds appear to be fighting the Pirates for the division title which has to bring back memories of the 1970s when the two teams often fought for NL pennants. The Reds went to the playoffs six time in the ‘70s, went to the World Series four times and The Big Red Machine won back-to-back titles in 1975 and 1976. Of course, the St. Louis Cardinals are still likely to make a push as well, which is why I think that the Reds are primed to be quite active at the trade deadline. ~~~ Possible Trade Targets Daniel Corcino - RHP Corcino is often compared to Johnny Cueto, which by itself is kind of exciting. He will turn 22 in late August. Last year he was 11-7 with a 3.42 ERA in the Midwest League (Low A). In 139.1 innings, he walked just 34 and struckout 156. He skipped Hi-A ball this year, jumping straight to AA. He is currently is 5-4 with a 3.17 ERA. In 88 innings, he has walked 41 and struck out 83. Billy Hamilton - SS He has 24 errors right now at shortstop. OK, had to start with the negative because there isn’t much of it. You know of him because he already has 101 stolen bases this season (in 122 attempts). He is the fastest man in the minors. He is a Top 50 prospect in baseball and won’t turn 22 until September. In High-A this year, he is hitting .322/.413/.439 with 17 doubles, nine triples and a home run. He has walked 49 times and struck out 54 times in 380 plate appearances. Can you imagine a lineup with Hamilton and Ben Revere at the top of it? Tony Cingrani - LHP Cingrani was the Reds 3rd round pick in 2011 out of Rice University. He turned 23 years old today. He started this season at High-A and went 5-1 with a 1.11 ERA in 56.2 innings. He walked just 13 and struck out 71. He moved up to AA where he is 3-1 with a 1.75 ERA. In 36 innings, he walked 12 and struck out 47. The Twins obviously scout players at Rice a lot considering they drafted both of their closers this year. Cingrani is a guy who has moved up quickly and could be big league ready early in the 2013 season. (Note – These first three guys are likely unavailable, but if the Twins did send Willingham or Span to the Reds, they should expect one of them in return!) Kyle Lotzkar - RHP Lotzkar is just 22 years old. He had Tommy John surgery back in 2009 and is still working his way back, although he has been quite good in 2012. He began by making five starts in Hi-A. He went 3-0 with a 2.39 ERA. In 26.1 innings, he walked 10 and struck out 27. He moved up to AA where he is 4-3 with a 4.72 ERA yet in 55.1 innings, he walked 29 and struck out 58. He throws hard and misses bats. Still just 22 and in AA, he is certainly intriguing. Didi Gregorius - SS The 22 year old shortstop was signed from The Netherlands. This year, he is hitting .280/.346/.367 with 11 doubles, six triples and a home run. Believed to be a solid defender with plenty of room for improvement, Gregorius could be an interesting prospect in time. Please add your thoughts and trade ideas (and other names the Twins could pursue) in the comments below! [ATTACH=CONFIG]1475[/ATTACH]

Earlier in the week, I posted the June Twins minor league starting pitcher and relief pitcher of the month of June. The starters were not too terribly impressive, but there were a lot of tremendous bullpen performances in June. So today, let’s take a look at which Twins minor league hitters had the best June performances. I’ll let you be the judge of how impressive the performances were. Here are my selections for the Top 5 Twins Minor League hitters in May: Number 5 – Ft. Myers/New Britain – Oswaldo Arcia - (21-77) .273/.371/.468 (.839) with six doubles, no triples, three home runs and 19 RBI. Arcia had a monster May and was selected the minor league hitter of the month for May. Arcia began June in Ft. Myers, played in the Florida State League All Star game and then was promoted to Double A. Although his Rock Cats numbers are much more pedestrian, he has held his own with the promotion. The 21-year-old from Venezuela was added to the 40 man roster and is clearly the Twins top hitting prospect in the upper levels of the minor leagues. Number 4 – Ft. Myers – Danny Ortiz - (24-77) .312/.384/.494 (.877) with five doubles, three triples, one home run and 9 RBI. Ortiz was the player of the month in April of 2011 when he posted an OPS over 1.000 in Beloit. The rest of the year was disappointing for the outfielder from Puerto Rico. He began the 2012 season back with the Snappers but was promoted to the Miracle in early May. After a short adjustment period, Ortiz was very good in June. Listed at 5-11 and 166 pounds, Ortiz has plenty of punch in his bat. The 22-year-old was the Twins 4th round pick in 2008. He missed the entire 2009 season due to knee surgery. Number 3 – Beloit/Ft. Myers – Kyle Knudson - (22-59) .373/.427/.474 (.901) with six doubles, no triples, no home runs and 10 RBI. The 24-year-old former Gopher catcher missed the early part of the 2012 season due to injury and rehab. He rejoined the Snappers in early May and hit just .250 in 18 games with the Snappers. In mid-June, he was promoted to the Miracle and many assumed he would fill a backup role. He went 0-3 in his first Miracle game. Then came the All Star break. Knudson then had three hits in three straight games. He hit .400 in 15 June games with the Miracle and found himself in the middle of the lineup. He was the Twins 9th round pick in 2010. Number 2 - Beloit – Nate Roberts - (24-65) .369/.481/.554 (1.035) with six doubles, no triples, two home run and 11 RBI. Roberts was the Twins 5th round pick in 2010 out of High Point University. In 2011, he hit .302/.443/.446 with the Beloit Snappers. Unfortunately, he only played 68 games due to injury. Same story this spring for Roberts. He missed the first six weeks of the season with a bad knee. He played in just six games in May. However, in June, he took off, showing off his all-around game. He has extra base pop and a great willingness to get on base. The 23-year-old should move up to Ft. Myers soon. The June Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is... New Britain Rock Cats OF Evan Bigley (34-101) .337/.367/.624 (.986) with nine doubles, one triple, six home runs and 23 RBI. 25-year-old Bigley is in his third season with the Rock Cats. After hitting just .165 in May and the subsequent promotion of Arcia, the assumption was that Bigley would lose some playing time. Instead, he has gone on a prolonged hot stretch. At one point, he went 16-28 (from June 19-24). Bigley was the Twins 10th round pick in 2008 from Dallas Baptist. He hit .336 for the Rock Cats in the final 27 games of the 2010 season, then hit .253 in 2011. Bigley is a solid all-around player who has put up decent numbers throughout his career. There you have it. The top 5 hitters in the Twins system for the month of June. Now it’s time to debate. What do you think? Please feel free to discuss. [ATTACH=CONFIG]1471[/ATTACH]

Maybe I should read instead of just jumping down to the list: "this is not a particular "fragment in time", but year-to-date cumulative performance."

What is this list? Is it who's hot, or is it who has the best numbers for the full season?

Last night, I posted the Twins Minor League Starting Pitchers of June. It was clearly not a strong part of the organization during the month. One area where the Twins minor league system was very strong was in the bullpen. There were plenty of very strong candidates. It was difficult to rank the relievers because there are some very good relievers who have really pitched well into this middle part of the season. However, here are my choices for the Top 5 Twins Minor League Relief Pitchers in June: Number 5 – Ft. Myers/New Britain – RHP Dakota Watts - 9 G, 1.32 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 9 H, 4 BB, 13 K Watts missed nearly the first two months of the season with some shoulder tendonitis. He returned in late May to the Miracle where he pitched seven games. There was little question that the team wanted to push him up to AA when it was clear he was healthy. He ended the 2011 season with the Rock Cats before going to the Arizona Fall League. Watts has a big-time back-of-the-bullpen ceiling, if he throws enough strikes. Number 4 – Ft. Myers – RHP Matt Hauser - 8 G, 1.59 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 17 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 15 K Earlier in June, Hauser got to start a “Bullpen” game and threw three good innings. Hauser throws very hard and mixes pitches well. He can be dominant in the bullpen. Late in the month, he got a second start and had a no-hitter through four innings. He is going to be in the starting rotation at least for the time being. Number 3 – Beloit – RHP Tim Atherton - 7 G, 0.61 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 5 H, 7 BB, 24 K Atherton was a hitter in the Twins system a few years ago, but he resurfaced last year as a pitcher. He throws hard and he throws a very sharp slider. He has walked too many, but his stuff is terrific and he misses a lot of bats. The Australian is one who could move up quickly. Number 2 – New Britain – Bruce Pugh - 10 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 5 H, 7 BB, 18 K Bruce Pugh had a frustrating 2011 season with the Miracle, the Rock Cats and then in the Arizona Fall League. He was promoted to the Rock Cats at the end of May. He still walked too many, but he gave up few hits and missed a lot of bats. Like the others on this list, Pugh throws gas and does have a second pitch as well. He and Watts are both candidates to be added to the 40 man roster after the season. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Beloit/Ft. Myers – Michael Tonkin - 9 G, 0.63 ERA, 0.42 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 28 K Tonkin had an incredible month of June. He began the month in Beloit where he dominated. In eight innings, he gave up ZERO hits, ZERO walks and struck out 18 batters. Fans (and bloggers) wondered aloud when he would be promoted to Ft. Myers. He pitched in the Midwest League All Star game and was promoted following the game. He has been very good with the Miracle as well. He throws hard and from a different arm slot. He gets a lot of movement and missed a lot of bats. 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 (and feel free to include others)? Be sure to check back later for the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month of June. [ATTACH=CONFIG]1465[/ATTACH]

Liam Hendriks was again unable to pick up his first career win. Despite being given a five run lead going into the bottom of the 5th against the Tigers, he was unable to get an out. However, the Twins bullpen did what they’ve done all year. Anthony Swarzak came in and maintained the lead. Alex Burnett was tremendous again. And Glen Perkins got the save. All the efforts gave manager Ron Gardenhire his 900th career win. Quite an accomplishment! The Twins have now won four in a row and play the Tigers again tonight. For all this and more, here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Monday: ROCHESTER 1, PAWTUCKET 2 The Red Wings got terrific pitching. Unfortunately the defense and the offense didn’t have enough for a win on this day. Sam Deduno started and gave up two unearned runs on five hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out five. Casey Fien struck out the side in his inning. The offense managed just five hits in the game. Zach Stewart threw the first six for Pawtucket. Daniel Bard threw the seventh inning. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 with his fourth double. Ray Chang added his fourth double. NEW BRITAIN 2, BOWIE 11 Former big leaguer Shairon Martis made his first start for the Rock Cats since he was acquired last week from the Pirates for cash considerations. Martis gave up eight runs (7 earned) on eight hits and three walks in just 4.2 innings. He struck out five. David Bromberg returned to the Rock Cats and pitched out of the bullpen. He threw 2.2 scoreless innings and gave up one hit, walked two and struck out two. Daniel Turpen then gave up three runs on three hits in the final 1.2 innings. He walked two and struck out four. Chris Colabello led the offense. He went 2-4 with his 19th double. Evan Bigley was also 2-4. Oswaldo Arcia was 1-3 with a walk and his first Rock Cats triple. FT. MYERS 2, ST. LUCIE 5 The Miracle offense was again pretty quiet in this game. They combined for just five hits. Levi Michael returned to the lineup and had an RBI triple. Josmil Pinto was 1-3 with a walk. Pat Dean was the Miracle starter. The lefty gave up four runs (3 earned) on nine hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out two. Miguel Munoz came on and gave up a run on two hits in his two innings. He struck out two. Nelvin Fuentes threw two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and one walk and struck out one batter. BELOIT 6, CEDAR RAPIDS 5 Defense is such an important variable at all levels of baseball, but it is often more magnified in the lower levels of the minor leagues. The Snappers committed five errors in this game and yet still came out victorious. My choice for Twins Minor League starting pitcher of the month of June, David Hurlbut, was on the hill for the Snappers. He gave up five runs on six hits in five innings. Zero of those runs were earned. He walked three and struck out five. Ryan O ‘Rourke came on and provided the team with three scoreless innings of relief. He gave up two hits and a walk and struck out three. Corey Williams came on in the ninth and despite allowing two hits, he recorded his 12th save of the season. He struck out two. On offense, Jhon Goncalves was a home run away from the cycle. The speedy centerfielder was 3-4 with his 14th double and fourth triple. Steve Liddle went 2-4 with his seventh double. The story of the game, however, was Miguel Sano. He was 1-2 with an RBI double, his 17th of the season. However, he was removed for a pinch hitter in the fifth inning. Wang-Wei Lin batted for him and then went into the game in left field. AJ Pettersen, who started the game in left, moved in to third base. In the top of the fourth inning, Sano had three errors. He now has 31 on the season. He batted in the bottom of the 4th and flew out. So it is not immediately evident that defense is the sole reason he was removed from the game. He is, however, on pace for 54 errors on the season. That is a large number, but it is not unusual for young players in the low levels. Derek Jeter had 56 errors in the Midwest League. There are many such examples. However, it is going to take a lot of work for Sano to be a viable third baseman. ELIZABETHTON 13, PRINCETON 1 Romy Jimenez was again the leader of an E-Town offensive attack. The team had 13 runs on 16 hits. Jimenez went 3-4 with a walk, his fourth and fifth doubles and his fifth home run. He is now hitting .439. Max Kepler was 3-5 in the game. He was hit by a pitch and hit his second triple. DJ Hicks went 2-4 with a walk, his third double and his first professional home run. Rory Rhodes was 2-4 with a walk and his fourth double. Adam Walker went 2-5 with his second double. Angel Mata got the start and gave up one run on two hits. However, he was only able to complete 3.2 innings because he walked four and struck out four. Josh Burris came in to the game and continued to pitch great. He struck out three, and walked two, in 2.1 scoreless innings. Steve Evans gave up no runs on one hit and struck out four in his two innings. Kaleb Merck struck out one in a perfect ninth. If you thought the 3B defense of Miguel Sano was bad wait until you read about Travis Harrison. The Twins 2011 supplemental first round pick can flat-out hit. He is hitting .354 even after going 1-10 in his last two games. However, in 12 games played, he has committed 11 errors at 3B. He is on pace for 54 errors in the Elizabethton 68 game schedule. Again, not a concern at this point, but it does show that a lot of work will need to be done. GCL TWINS 0, GCL RAYS 1 (10 innings) It was quite the pitcher’s duel in the GCL on Monday! The Twins managed just four hits. Kuo Hua Lo went the first five innings. He gave up no runs, no hits, no walks, no hit batters through five innings. He struck out five and got good defense behind him. Alex Muren came on and was perfect in the sixth. Trent Higginbotham came on in the seventh and gave up a leadoff single, but after a sacrifice bunt, he was able to get a line drive double play. He then walked three straight batters in the 8th inning after he got the first two outs, but Melciades de la Cruz got him out of the inning with a strikeout. De La Cruz pitched a scoreless ninth as well. However in the bottom of the 10th, he hit the leadoff batter. The next batter bunted and De La Cruz had a throwing error that led to runners on second and third. Then the game ended on a wild pitch. --- Players of the Day for Monday, July 2, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Kuo Hua Lo [ATTACH=CONFIG]1460[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Romy Jimenez [ATTACH=CONFIG]1461[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, July 3, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Pawtucket – RHP Steve Hirschfeld New Britain vs Bowie – LHP Blake Martin Ft. Myers vs St. Lucie – LHP Cole Nelson Beloit vs Cedar Rapids – RHP Tim Shibuya Elizabethton @ Princeton – RHP Taylor Rogers 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!

As the Fourth of July is approaching, I have found myself asking several people, “What happened to June? It just flew by. It seemed like just four or so weeks ago that I was posing my May Twins Minor League Hitter, Starting Pitcher and Reliever of the month. And here we are again. Over the next couple of days, I will post my June recipients. I am going to start by the area that was far and away the weakest for the organization in June, starting pitching. BJ Hermsen won the award in April and May, but in June he fell back to a solid, but unspectacular level. In previous months, I’ve been posting a top five or a top six. This month, I can only give you a top four Twins minor league starting pitchers. I guess if I went to five, I would pick tonight’s Twins starter Liam Hendricks. However, he made just two starts in Rochester in June before being promoted to the Twins. He was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP. In 15.2 innings, he gave up seven hits, walked three and struck out 18. Unfortunately, the starting pitching in June was pretty weak. Hendriks was strongly considered. Below, you will find my rankings of the Top 5 starting pitchers in the Twins farm system in the month of June. Be sure to vote for your choice in the comments. --- Number 4 – Beloit – RHP Tyler Jones - 3 GS, 0-2, 3.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 18.0 IP, 10 H, 5 BB, 23 K The Milwaukee native was promoted to the Snappers in late May. After one relief appearance, he was moved in to the rotation. He made just three starts in June and wasn’t credited with a win, but he showed an ability to throw strikes while still missing bats. The 2011 draft pick out of LSU has a ton of talent. Of course, in his first July appearance, he was again pitching out of the bullpen. Number 3 – Rochester – RHP Sam Deduno - 4 GS, 1-0, 1.42 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 19.0 IP, 8 H, 13 BB, 28 K With Liam Hendriks unable to get through five innings again tonight despite being given a five-run lead, it would hardly be shocking if Hendriks is sent back to Rochester and Deduno gets added to the 40 and 25 man rosters. He missed over six weeks due to a bum shoulder, and when he returned in early June, they were quite patient with him. But Deduno pitched well. Certainly, he walked too many, but the hits allowed and strikeouts are encouraging. The Twins signed him this offseason as a six-year minor league free agent. He does have previous big league service time. Number 2 – Beloit – Matt Summers - 6 GS, 3-1, 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 34.0 IP, 26 H, 10 BB, 20 K Summers was the Twins 4th round pick in last year’s draft out of UC-Irvine where he was the conference’s pitcher of the year. He went to Elizabethton and pitched/dominated out of the bullpen. He began the 2012 season with the Snappers and in the starting rotation. After a rough April, Summers was on this last in May, and had his best month in June. Although the strikeouts are down And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Beloit – LHP David Hurlbut - 5 GS, 1-1, 1.61 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 28.0 IP, 23 H, 9 BB, 26 K The Twins scouts must have liked something they saw in Hurlbut. Despite very mediocre numbers his first year of junior college, the Twins drafted him in 2009. Instead of signing, he went to play at his hometown Cal State-Fullerton. He pitched in just 34 innings out of the Fullerton bullpen over two years, but the Twins still drafted him in the 28th round last year. He came up to Beloit in mid-May and after spending time in the bullpen, he made some starts starting at the beginning of June. He was terrific posting solid all-around numbers. The lefty doesn’t throw hard, but he controls three pitches. [ATTACH=CONFIG]1457[/ATTACH] Photo courtesy Midwest League Traveler. What do you think? Only four pitchers were mentioned for June (unless you count a few words on Hendriks). For those of you who are in Minnesota or the Upper Midwest, this list is another sign that you need to make the trip to Beloit and see the Snappers. Yes, Summers was a known commodity a year ago as a fourth round pick, but David Hurlbut is a late-round pick that is also worth watching. I saw two Snappers game in early June and saw both Hurlbut and Summers pitch. Let’s be honest. This list is a pretty strong indicator of where the Twins are currently at regarding starting pitching. There were few other choices. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)?

Congratulations, this blog has been promoted to the front page. Feel free to comment here: http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?751-Mauer-elected-and-fans-revolt

The Sunday Tweet of the Day comes from yours truly (@SethTweets). Before the game started, I tweeted, “After that pregame and national anthem rendition, is there any questions that @TPlouffe24 is planning to hit a home run or two for #America?” Josh Willingham hit a big three-run home run that tied the game at five. He also tied Trevor Plouffe with 17 home runs. Plouffe came up and knocked the first Bruce Chen pitch he saw in the at bat for his second home run of the day (18th of the year) and more important, he gave the Twins a lead that they would hold for the win. The Twins now have a three-game winning streak as they head to Detroit to take on the Tigers. For all this and more, here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Sunday: ROCHESTER 5, EMPIRE STATE 3 PJ Walters made his first rehab start for the Red Wings and it didn’t start out well, but after struggling in the first inning, he did alright. In total, he went four innings and gave up three runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out two. Caleb Thielbar came in and gave up only one walk over the course of two innings. He struck out two and was credited with first AAA win. Luis Perdomo came in and struck out five over three perfect innings to record his first save with the Red Wings. He became the seventh Red Wings pitcher to record a save. Pedro Florimon went 2-4 with his eighth double. Brian Dinkelman and JR Towles were each 2-4. Wilkin Ramirez hit his sixth home run. NEW BRITAIN 6, BOWIE 2 Aaron Hicks has been very good since returning to the field after his sprained ankle. In this game, he was 2-3 with a walk, his tenth double and his 17th and 18th stolen base. Dan Rohlfing went 2-4 with his fourth double. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-4 with two RBI. Chris Herrmann hit his 20th double. He was also hit by a pitch and stole a base. Aaron Thompson started and gae up two runs on seven hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out three. Dakota Watts and then Bruce Pugh each pitched a scoreless inning in which they gave up a hit and a walk. FT. MYERS 4, ST. LUCIE 2 Madison Boer has started to pitch much better and on this day he helped the Miracle to their third straight win. The Eden Prairie right-hander gave up two runs (1 earned) on seven hits and two walks in six innings. Ricky Bowen came in and walked three in one scoreless inning. AJ Achter came in and gave the final six outs for his first save. He was not closing games in Beloit, so when asked about being in the closer role, the talented right-hander said, “I think that Jake (Mauer) and (Steve) Mintzy forgot what inning it was.” Josmil Pinto led the offense. He went 3-3 with a walk and his 13th double. Danny Santana went 2-4 with his sixth triple. Danny Ortiz went 2-4 with his 11th double. BELOIT 4, CEDAR RAPIDS 3 Could it be that Miguel Sano is breaking out of his huge slump? On Sunday, Sano was 2-3 with a walk, his 18th home run and his sixth stolen base. In ten games since the Midwest League All Star break, he is hitting .281/.425/.625 (1.050 OPS) with two doubles and three home runs. The three home runs and all come in the last four games. Steve Liddle went 1-3 with a walk, his sixth double and two RBI. Those were the Snappers only three hits in this game. Matt Summers started and gave up three runs on five hits and a walk in 5.2 innings. He struck out seven. Tyler Jones came out of the bullpen and recorded his first win thanks to 2.1 scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out three. Corey Williams came in and got the final three outs for his 11th save on the season. ELIZABETHTON 4, PRINCETON 6 Romy Jimenez continues to hit well. On this day, he was 3-4 with his second and third doubles. Jhonathan Arias was 3-4. Stephen Wickens went 2-4 with a walk and his second doubles. Candido Pimentel went 2-4. Corey Kimes got the nod for the E-Twins. The lefty went five innings and gave up four runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out one. Hein Robb gave up two runs on four hits in 1.1 innings. He struck out one. DJ Baxendale finished playing in the College World Series and must have been anxious to sign with the Twins. On Sunday, he made his professional debut for Elizabethton. He struck out four in 1.2 innings. GCL TWINS There are no scheduled GCL games on Sundays. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, July 1, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Luis Perdomo [ATTACH=CONFIG]1442[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Josmil Pinto [ATTACH=CONFIG]1443[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Monday, July 2, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Pawtucket – RHP Sam Deduno New Britain vs Bowie – RHP Shairon Martis Ft. Myers vs St. Lucie – LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs Cedar Rapids – LHP David Hurlbut Elizabethton @ Princeton – RHP Angel Mata GCL Twins @ GCL Rays – 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!

Congratulations!! This blog has been promoted to an Article. Feel free to comment here: http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?741-Confessions-of-a-SABR-Newbie