Seth Stohs

I'd take all four of them...

It may not have been a full-scheduled, busy day in the Twins farm system, but off the field, a lot was going on. The Red Wings were rained out, and Chattanooga’s game was suspended after a couple of top prospects gave them the lead. The Miracle and Kernels got some terrific pitching, and both teams got just enough pitching. Image courtesy of Linwood Ferguson (photo Brett Lee) It may not have been a full-scheduled, busy day in the Twins farm system, but off the field, a lot was going on. The Red Wings were rained out, and Chattanooga’s game was suspended after a couple of top prospects gave them the lead. The Miracle and Kernels got some terrific pitching, and both teams got just enough pitching. There were several transactions, so continue reading to check out everything from the Twins farm system on Thursday TRANSACTIONS It’s been a couple of busy days of late in terms of transactions in the Twins minor league system. I would expect there could be more moves coming in the not-too-distant future. Here is what was announced on Thursday: RHP Tyler Duffey was promoted to Rochester and will join their rotation. A corresponding move will need to happen Friday before the Red Wings games. LHP David Hurlbut was promoted from Ft. Myers to Chattanooga. Hurlbut recently returned to action after missing nearly a year with shoulder discomfort. Since his return, he threw 12 innings without allowing an earned run. He was named to the Florida State League All-Star game last year. Dalton Hicks hasn’t played in about 10 days, but he was officially put on the disabled list (trapezius strain) and catcher Jairo Rodriguez was added to the Lookouts roster. LHP Mat Batts was promoted to the Ft. Myers Miracle from Cedar Rapids. The southpaw was terrific in his time with the Kernels late last season and to this point this year. RHP Luke Bard was removed from the disabled list and will be added to the Cedar Rapids starting rotation. He did not pitch in 2014 and missed most of the 2013 season as well. He had another surgery last May 15th and is excited to get back on the mound. LHP Jose Velez was promoted from extended spring training to the Kernels. He has pitched a handful of innings with Ft. Myers when they have needed arms. He was signed after playing the last two seasons in independent baseball. RHP Yorman Landa was returned to the disabled list and returned to Ft. Myers to be evaluated. He had returned after missing almost exactly one year following shoulder surgery. Reportedly, he suffered shoulder pain and will be checked out in Ft. Myers. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester @ Norfolk Box Score This game was rained out. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday, starting at 5:00. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga @ Mobile Box Score The game started late because of rain. It was suspended in the top of the third inning due to rain. In that top of the third, the Lookouts took a 2-0 lead when Byron Buxton doubled in Carlos Paulino, and two batters later Miguel Sano singled in Buxton. Alex Wimmers had thrown two shutout innings. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Brevard County 0 Box Score The story in this game was pitching, and that starts with the starter, Brett Lee. The left-hander completed eight shutout innings. He gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out six. Three of those strikeouts came in the eighth inning when he was still hitting 93 mph. In his most recent start, last Friday, he threw seven shutout innings before given up two runs in that eighth inning. In the start before that, he gave up one run in threw 7.1 innings. In other words, he has been pitching great. The Miracle stayed scoreless in the game for seven innings. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Tanner Vavra led off with a double down the right field line. The ball was booted and Vavra got to third base. The next batter, Zach Granite, singled through a drawn-in infield to score Vavra and give the Miracle the 1-0 lead going to the ninth inning. Granite was the lone Miracle hitter with a multi-hit game. He was 2-4. Alex Swim returned to the lineup and had a double. Minnesota native Brandon Peterson came in for the ninth inning. Three batters and three strikeouts later, the game was over. It was Peterson’s first save of the season. A terrific pitching performance by Brett Lee, and Brandon Peterson slammed the door shut to end it. Not a bad impression to make on Twins GM Terry Ryan who is in Ft. Myers to watch the Miracle. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 2 Box Score For the fifth straight game (and sixth out of seven starts), right-hander Felix Jorge completed six innings. It was also his fifth straight quality start. Jorge gave up two runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out two. The Kernels jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Peoria starter Matt Pearce walked three of the first four Kernels batters to load the bases. Zack Larson flew out to right field to drive in one run. T.J. White came through with a two-out, two-run triple. The Kernels had just two more hits in the game. Trevor Hildenberger came on for the seventh and eighth innings. He did not allow a run, or a hit, or walk a batter, and struck out three to drop his ERA to 0.40 on the season. He has not given up a run in 19 innings. Cameron Booser came on for the ninth inning. He got a fly out and strike out before walking a batter. In came a pinch runner and on the first pitch, catcher Brett Doe threw him out attempting to steal second to end the game. Nick Gordon got a night off. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Brett Lee, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Zach Granite, Ft. Myers Miracle FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Norfolk (DH @ 5:05 CST) – LHP Pat Dean, LHP Taylor Rogers Chattanooga @ Mobile (7:05 CST) – LHP David Hurlbut Brevard County @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – LHP Luke Westphal Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:30 CST) – RHP Jared Wilson Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Thursday games. View full article

Hurlbut was an All Star last year in the Florida State League, then he went almost a year without pitching. He made 2-3 appearances with the MIracle before moving up to AA, which is where he would have been if he hadn't been hurt. Consider his Miracle time rehab. Batts numbers are also terrific, and he was (like Gonsalves) in Cedar Rapids last year. His age means he moves up. And, frankly, if he hadn't been moved up, people would be complaining about the numbers he was putting up in Cedar Rapids because he's old for the level. So, no matter what, someone would have complained. I agree with both of these moves, as well as the Duffey promotion. Duffey probably should have started in AAA. Berrios, Hu and Gonsalves are the prospects,so they're going to do whatever they believe is best for them.

Note - I'm not saying Kepler is or will be Morneau on the field. I'm talking about physical appearance, talking to him, stuff like that. That said, Kepler's talent level is high. He can be very good.

You are correct: David Hurlbut to Chattanooga. Dalton Hicks to the DL. Jairo Rodriguez added to Chattanooga roster. Jason Adam is on the Disabled List. No timetable.

A few known transactions so far: Tyler Duffey promoted from Chattanooga to Rochester. Mat Batts promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers Luke Bard activated and sent to Cedar Rapids. Jose Velez sent up to Cedar Rapids from EST (he has pitched in FT. Myers at times). Yorman Landa placed on the DL (not good, I'm guessing).

Tyler Duffey up to Rochester. They said corresponding move coming tomorrow. It is possible Hu goes from FM to Chattanooga, but we haven't heard anything yet.

I'm certainl that they will draft some shortstops. It's a premium, athletic position. There are some really good prospects in the system, but obviously more is always better.

Agree with Brandon. They had to call him up. He's got a good track record of being a solid MLB reliever (certainly more than a few others in the bullpen) and he now has had that rest/rehab time. Give him 2-4 more outings to see if he becomes what he was, otherwise Fien will be back soon.

Who knows? Typically they make moves right after the league all star games. I generally agree with that. He's up to 15-16 starts at Cedar Rapids, so really any time. That said, nothing wrong with keeping him there through the All Star game and letting him be recognized or until the Kernels were to clinch (or be eliminated) from making the playoffs for the first half.

First, if any prospect becomes Tommy Milone, the team that developed him should be absolutely thrilled. A very small percentage of players in Low A get to the big leagues, much less have a solid three year career like Milone has. That said, yeah, Gonsalves's upside is certainly higher than that. Will he get there? No way to know. However, he's left-handed, throws strikes, has 3 pitches, is a big kid and still growing and getting stronger and sits 90-92. Most big league starting pitchers sit 90-92. If he can add 1-2 mph, it would probably help. However, one might argue that his best trait is that he just knows how to pitch. He's still very young, but he has a very advanced pitching IQ. He just gets it. That's not always the case. In fact, it's probably more rare than you would think.

The radar gun that goes to teh scoreboard in Cedar Rapids is reportedly 2-3 mph slow. Has been each of the three years that I've gone to games there, and I believe that Steve Buhr can verify this as well. 88 = 91.

Kirby Puckett was on the David Letterman Show (Late Night? I don't know. Never really watched it much.). He did a Top 10 list of ways to mispronounce Kirby Puckett. He also did a segment that includes video from Game 6! (Goosebumps) KFAN.com posted video of both. It's fun to watch.

I've written it many times, but Kepler is so similar to Morneau. Their build, the way they stand, the way they walk, and even talking to them, they're very similar. Kepler's fun to talk to. Very intelligent.

I posted this on Twitter this morning but might as well post it here as well... He's been pretty unreal.

I agree. I've looked through them myself... But sure to include the link when you encourage people to check out a link.

It's always a good thing when there are lots of good choices for hitter (or pitcher) of the day. I agree with Jeremy about RBI not factoring into my equation for the choice. I often look at total bases. It's objective and definitely something that should be discussed and debated in the comments.

As I was looking at my chart of player names this morning, I realized I left out Ruar Verkerk and Roni Tapia, third basemen at Extended Spring Training, who are definitely intriguing prospects in 2015. I've added them to the lists above.

We have written about the catchers and corner infielders in the Minnesota Twins organization. Now, we will discuss the middle infielders where there is a surprising amount of depth. The purpose of these articles is to get to know about the depth at these positions. Who are the players, and as you see their names, you start to realize how much depth (or lack of depth) there may be in the organization. The timing is because the MLB draft starts in less than three weeks. Obviously a team will and should draft best player available in the first 12 to 15 rounds at least, but at that point, they may be looking more at need and depth. Image courtesy of Jim Cowsert, USA Today We have written about the catchers and corner infielders in the Minnesota Twins organization. Now, we will discuss the middle infielders where there is a surprising amount of depth. The purpose of these articles is to get to know about the depth at these positions. Who are the players, and as you see their names, you start to realize how much depth (or lack of depth) there may be in the organization. The timing is because the MLB draft starts in less than three weeks. Obviously a team will and should draft best player available in the first 12 to 15 rounds at least, but at that point, they may be looking more at need and depth. Below are the middle infielders in the Minnesota Twins organization. Minnesota Twins: Brian Dozier (2B), Danny Santana (SS), Eduardo Escobar (UT), Doug Bernier (UT) Brian Dozier had what was deemed a breakout season in 2014, and he has been even better in 2015. He is hitting .264/.349/.500 (.849) with ten doubles, two triples and seven home runs. Danny Santana is struggling in his sophomore season both at the bat (.246/.268/.333) and with the glove (10 errors). No surprise in either case. Eduardo Escobar had a very solid season in 2014 when he played pretty much every day at shortstop the last four months of the season. He’s been playing more left field this year. Rochester Red Wings: Argenis Diaz (SS), James Beresford (2B) Beresford returns for his tenth season in the Twins organization. The 26 year old is hitting .328/.368/.379 with six doubles. Diaz was invited to spring training with the Twins this year. He got 36 plate appearances for the Pirates in 2010. The 28-year-old is hitting .267/.357/.291 with two doubles. Chattanooga Lookouts: Jorge Polanco (SS), Levi Michael (2B), Heiker Meneses (UT) Polanco debuted briefly with the Twins in 2014 as a 20-year-old straight from Ft. Myers. That decision speaks to his makeup and talent. He can flat-out play. He is currently hitting .310/.344/.448 (.792) with six doubles, a triple and four home runs. He is also a trustworthy shortstop. After hitting .340 in a 15-game Double-A debut last year, Michael was putting together a strong 2015 season. In 18 games, he is hitting .246/.353/.509 (.846) with three doubles, three triples and two home runs. Unfortunately, he suffered a high ankle sprain and hasn’t played since. Meneses signed with the Twins as a six-year minor league free agent this year and went to spring training. He is still just 23 years old. Ft. Myers Miracle: Engelb Vielma (SS), Tanner Vavra (2B), Aderlin Mejia (UT), Logan Wade (2B) Engelb Vielma was chosen as the Twins minor league defensive infielder of the year for 2014. The 20-year-old is hitting .218/.250/.268 (.518) with four extra base hits. Aderlin Mejia is in his third season with the Miracle, playing around the infield. He has been hurt. Tanner Vavra is solid defensively and puts the ball in play with the bat. Logan Wade can play second base, but he has spent time in the outfield this year as well for the first time. Cedar Rapids Kernels: Nick Gordon (SS), Pat Kelly (2B), Ryan Walker (UT), Blake Schmit (UT) The 19-year-old Gordon got off to a fast start with the Kernels, but he’s been struggling the last five weeks. He is hitting just .224/.276/.266 (.541) overall with two doubles and two triples. Despite the struggles with the bat, he has been terrific with the glove. He has just four errors and a .971 fielding percentage on the season. Minnesota native Pat Kelly (Red Wing) was drafted by the Twins last year out of Nebraska. He is hitting .214/.250/.350 (.600) with four doubles, two triples and two home runs. He has just three errors. Ryan Walker was injured late in spring training and has yet to play. He’s got a tremendous glove too. Blake Schmit is an Eden Prairie native who the Twins drafted last year out of the University of Maryland. He was just promoted to the Kernels last week. Extended Spring Training: Jorge Andrade, Manuel Guzman, Nelson Molina, Ariel Montesino, Jermaine Palacios, Joel Ramirez, Rafael Valera, Jonatan Hinojosa Hinjosa was really struggling with the Kernels and sent back down to EST recently. Manuel Guzman is touted as one of the fastest players in the Twins system. Rafael Valera was the player with the GCL Twins last year that would be sent up to the Miracle when they needed a player, and he held his own. Most of these guys played in the GCL in 2014. Top 5 Prospects: 1.) Jorge Polanco, 2.) Nick Gordon, 3.) Levi Michael, 4.) Engelb Vielma, 5.) Manuel Guzman The Draft: As we have mentioned before, the Twins (and most teams, I assume) really like drafting shortstops. The reason is because they are generally good athletes and can be moved elsewhere. The problem is that most of them have moved elsewhere. The Twins haven’t been able to develop a shortstop from within the system for quite some time. The hope is that with Santana, Polanco and Gordon, they have found at least one who will be able to stick there and be a long-term contributor at the position. Remember also that there are rumors that the Twins are likely to sign Dominican shortstop Wander Javier this summer. If that were to be true, there is another candidate. It is unusual for teams to draft high school or college second baseman real high in the draft, though don’t be surprised if they draft one or two late. View full article

Good discussions. I'll try to catch up in a summary message: Regarding Meyer to the big league bullpen, I don't see how that would be good. Walks aren't good out of the bullpen either. I don't know if he's hurt or what. I might consider giving him two weeks off. Send him to Ft. Myers. Tell him not to pick up a baseball for 7-10 days. Try to get him to not even think about baseball. Or, have him 'coach' some of the EST pitchers and see what he learns from being on the other side of this. I don't know if there's a good answer. There isn't really a guaranteed right answer, so get creative. Greg Peavey - I wondered how long he'd stick in the rotation too. It's tough when players get off to a bad start because those numbers take a while to bring back up. IF they start out hot and then struggle, it takes longer for people to notice. He's obviously a solid pitcher. Threw well in AA last year. Vargas - I speculated that part of the reason for sending him down was the 2 NL games, but in reality, they have more planned for him. It doesn't look like it'll be a ten-game thing. It may be a month, or two. Who knows? He doesn't have to report to AAA for a couple of days after a demotion.

The MLB Draft is less than three weeks away, and Twins Daily is the place to be for some great draft coverage in the coming weeks. Before considering the draft possibilities, it is nice to take a look around the organization and see what kind of depth the Twins have at each position. Now, unlike the NBA or NFL drafts, players drafted this year will not immediately jump to the big leagues. Because of this, drafting Best Available Player is always the best thing to do. It is impossible to know with any certainty what the situation will be in two years much less five or six years down the line. That said, as the draft gets to the 15th or 20th round, organizations can focus on certain needs in the organization and fill out rookie league rosters with guys with talent. After reviewing the Catchers in the Twins organization yesterday, today we look at the corner infielders. Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire, USA Today The MLB Draft is less than three weeks away, and Twins Daily is the place to be for some great draft coverage in the coming weeks. Before considering the draft possibilities, it is nice to take a look around the organization and see what kind of depth the Twins have at each position. Now, unlike the NBA or NFL drafts, players drafted this year will not immediately jump to the big leagues. Because of this, drafting Best Available Player is always the best thing to do. It is impossible to know with any certainty what the situation will be in two years much less five or six years down the line. That said, as the draft gets to the 15th or 20th round, organizations can focus on certain needs in the organization and fill out rookie league rosters with guys with talent. After reviewing the Catchers in the Twins organization yesterday, today we look at the corner infielders. Today, we continue this series by reviewing the corner infielders in the organization: Minnesota Twins: Joe Mauer (1B), Trevor Plouffe (3B), Eduardo Escobar (UT), Eduardo Nunez (UT) Joe Mauer was moved to first base after a decade of catching in the big leagues. Though his offensive game is not the prototype for first base, he still gets on base at a good clip and has greatly improved his defense. Speaking of greatly improved defense, Trevor Plouffe certainly fits into that category. He has become a consistent offensive contributor as well. Plouffe can’t be a free agent until after the 2017 while Mauer was signed through the 2018 season. Eduardo Escobar and Eduardo Nunez have both played a lot of third base in their careers as well. Rochester Red Wings: Brock Peterson (1B), Reynaldo Rodriguez (1B), Nate Hanson (1B/3B), Jose Martinez (3B), Ryan Wheeler (3B/1B), Kennys Vargas (1B/DH) Aside from the recently-demoted Vargas, it would be fair to call this a veteran group. The youngest player in this group, the recently-signed 26-year-old Ryan Wheeler, is the youngest in the group. He has spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues. 32-year-old Brock Peterson was the Twins 49th round pick in 2002 out of his school. He gradually worked his way up the system and spent over two seasons with the Red Wings before leaving via free agency. He played some independent ball before the Cardinals signed him and gave him his first big league opportunity. Jose Martinez was at big league spring training. Rodriguez and Hanson were two of the top hitters at New Britain last year. We have seen what Kennys Vargas has the potential to be in the big leagues. Chattanooga Lookouts: Miguel Sano (3B), Stephen Wickens (UT), Dalton Hicks (1B), Mike Gonzales (1B), Max Kepler (1B) Miguel Sano missed all of the 2014 season after Tommy John surgery. As expected, he started the season slowly this year, but he has been very good since the beginning of May. Some question his ability to play third base. Dalton Hicks got off to a great start. Twins Daily named him the Hitter of the Month for April. Kepler can play all three outfield positions as well as first base. Wickens has shown the ability to play all over the diamond and hit near the top of the order. Gonzales, like Sano, is a big man. He became a free agent after last season, but he re-signed with the Twins. Ft. Myers Miracle: Niko Goodrum (3B), Bryan Haar (1B/3B) Goodrum returned to the Miracle this year and is hitting near the top of the order. He has the tools, but to this point, it hasn’t translated with the bat. He has the potential to hit for some power, but that hasn’t happened yet. He has very good speed. He does have a good glove and strong arm too. Bryan Haar played mostly third base in Cedar Rapids last year but moved across the diamond this year. He made the same move in college where he moved from third base to first base to make room for Kris Bryant. Cedar Rapids Kernels: T.J. White (3B), Blake Schmit (1B/3B), Trey Vavra (1B), Tyler Kuresa (1B) Trey Vavra has been one of the top offensive performancers in the system. He has hit for average and power while playing first base, left field and DH. He has split time at first base with left-handed power bat Tyler Kuresa who has struggled to start the season but has a great glove. T.J. White has played nearly every day at third base. The UNLV alum has been a good doubles hitter, but he has potential to add more power. He’s very good with the glove. Schmit is an Eden Prairie native who was just recently promoted to the Kernels. He can play all four infield positions. Extended Spring Training: Jack Barrie (1B), Tyler Mautner (1B/3B), Lewin Diaz (1B), Luis Arraez (3B), Ruar Verkerk (1B/3B), Roni Tapia (3B) Lewin Diaz was the Twins big international signing two years ago from the Dominican Republic. He is a big man with a lot of power potential. Jack Barrie is a raw talent. He is big and strong and has a lot of power. He’s still learning the game. Tyler Mautner was a late-round pick last year out of the University of Buffalo. Verkerk is from The Netherlands. Tapia was signed at the same time as Diaz from the Dominican. Top 5 Prospects: 1.) Miguel Sano, 2.) Max Kepler, 3.) Lewin Diaz, 4.) Niko Goodrum, 5.) Dalton Hicks The Draft: Traditionally, the Twins will draft athletic high school and college middle infielders. They will pick some college corner infielders in the mid-to-late rounds. The idea is the middle infielders are athletic enough and can be more versatile, allowing them to move to the corners as needed. Sometimes it’s pretty clear that the player will eventually move. For instance, when the Twins signed shortstop Miguel Sano, it was clear he was not going to stay at shortstop. The Twins drafted prep shortstops Michael Cuddyer (1997) and Trevor Plouffe (2004) and eventually moved them. With Trevor Plouffe looking more and more like a foundation piece and Miguel Sano in the picture, there may not be a need at third base for the Twins for a while. Mauer will likely be at first base for the next few years. Kennys Vargas is in that picture, somewhat. Kepler, and eventually Lewin Diaz, fit into the category as long-term first base options. With the start he’s off to in his pro career, Trey Vavra has put himself into the discussion as well. View full article

Great work on continuing to add players. I'll update the list soon. I want to encourage anyone who hasn't updated their adopt-a-prospect in a while to be sure to do that.