Seth Stohs

Things have been tough for the Twins minor league affiliates in the last week or so. That said, there are still plenty of positives to find, even in some of the frustrations. There are a couple of extended hitting streak. There were several home runs on Tuesday. There was an extra-innings win. Miguel Sano also returned to the field after missing two games. Twins Daily is the spot for all of the Twins minor league information! Check back each day. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Adam Brett Walker) Things have been tough for the Twins minor league affiliates in the last week or so. That said, there are still plenty of positives to find, even in some of the frustrations. There are a couple of extended hitting streak. There were several home runs on Tuesday. There was an extra-innings win. Miguel Sano also returned to the field after missing two games. Twins Daily is the spot for all of the Twins minor league information! Check back each day. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Columbus 5 Box Score Alex Meyer was back on the mound for the Red Wings on Tuesday night. He gave up five runs on nine hits in four innings. He struck out two and walked none. Of the 68 pitches that he threw, 42 of them were strikes. It appears that he’s working on throwing more strikes, and he did that, but some of them may have hit too much of the plate. After two scoreless innings, he gave up a two-run double to a rehabbing Nick Swisher. Stephen Pryor got the next five outs, three of them on strikeouts. Logan Darnell got four outs, one via the K. Ryan Pressly came on and struck out four in two perfect innings. The Red Wings were not able to do much against former big leaguer Shaun Marcum, who is now 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA for Columbus. The Red Wings got some power in this game from a couple of players from Puerto Rico. Danny Ortiz homered for the third time this season. Eddie Rosario went 2-4 with his third home run. Both homers were against Marcum in the sixth inning. Australian James Beresford added two hits in the game. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 0-4. It ended a 12-game hitting streak during which he hit .429/.500/.690 with four doubles, two triples, a home run and eight RBI. With the loss, the Red Wings fall to 10-8. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Tennessee 7 Box Score The Lookouts got plenty of offense on this night, but another rough start from Greg Peavey, and the team fell to 8-10. For Greg Peavey, it started out rough. In fact, the Smokies’ lead-off hitter, Jacob Hannemann homered to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Two batters later, Kyle Schwarber hit his second home run in as many days, his fourth of the season. Dalton Hicks stayed hot in this game. In the top of the third inning, he launched a game-tying, two-run homer. It was his third of the season, and his third in the last four games. The lead didn’t last long as Peavey gave up a two-run homer to Bijan Rademacher in the bottom half of the inning. In the fourth inning, the Lookouts got to within a run on a bases-loaded infield single from Buxton. However, in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Smokies got that run back. Peavey was replaced in the fifth inning by Cole Johnson who worked a scoreless inning. The Lookouts took the lead in the sixth inning. Mike Gonzales led off with his second homer. Adam Brett Walker followed it with a double. With two outs and the bases loaded, Dalton Hicks came through with a two-run single. Johnson followed it up with another 1-2-3 inning. Johnson did give up one in the seventh inning that tied the game at six. Dallas Gallant came on for the eighth inning. The leadoff batter hit a liner to right field. Travis Harrison went for the shoe-string catch and the ball got by him. It was called a single with a two-base error. One out later, a soft single scored the go-ahead run. Peavey went four innings and was charged with five runs on eight hits and a walk. He struck out one. Cole Johnson gave up one run on two hits over three innings. He struck out three. Dallas Gallant gave up the unearned run in the eighth inning on two hits. Hicks again led the offense. He went 2-4 with a walk and his third homer. Mike Gonzales was 2-5 with his third double and second home run. Adam Brett Walker hit his third double, but then he walked four times too. Byron Buxton went 1-3 with two walks and his fourth stolen base. Miguel Sano returned to the lineup after missing two games. He went 0-5 with three strikeouts. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Palm Beach 3 Box Score Aaron Slegers got the loss, but he gave the Miracle exactly what they needed in this game. After playing a lot of extra innings in the last four or five days, the Miracle needed a starter to give them some innings. Slegers gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk over eight innings. Alexis Tapia, who will likely pitch for Elizabethton this summer, made his Florida State League debut with a scoreless ninth inning. The offense had plenty of opportunities. The Miracle had seven hits and walked five times, but they were only able to cross the plate once. Bryan Haar hit his third double and scored one batter later when Mitch Garver singled him in. Logan Wade led the offense. He went 2-4 with his fourth double. He also committed two errors at third base. Niko Goodrum walked twice. The Miracle fall to 7-13 through their first 20 games. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Quad Cities 0 (11 innings) Box Score The Kernels began another commuter series with a Tuesday morning game in Davenport, Iowa. After a league-wide day off on Monday, it’s safe to say that the bats may not have made the trip with the team. However, the Kernels scored their first extra-innings run of the season in the 11th to grab another win. Zack Larson led off the 11th with a single. The next two batters had sacrifice bunts and in each case, the pitcher made an error. With the bases loaded, third baseman T.J. White ended the game with a sacrifice fly. Jared Wilson made the start and threw the first five shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked four and struck out two. Randy LeBlanc came on and gave up two hits over three scoreless innings. He struck out three. Cam Booser got the ninth and 10th innings. He gave up two hits, walked two but struck out three. After gaining the lead, Trevor Hildenberger pitched a scoreless 11th inning for the save. It was his second save of the year. Larson led the offense, going 2-5. Zach Granite and Nick Gordon led off the game with back-to-back singles. That gives Granite an eight-game hitting streak. Gordon extended his hit streak to seven games. The Kernels are now 13-6. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ryan Pressly, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Dalton Hicks, Chattanooga Lookouts WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Columbus @ Rochester (5:35 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Chattanooga @ Tennessee (11:00 CST) – RHP DJ Baxendale Ft. Myers – No Game Scheduled Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (7:00 CST) – LHP Mat Batts Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Tuesday games. View full article

We want to create community where fans are willing to comment in the Forums and create their own blogs. We don't want to temper emotion or creativity. We may not have the same lines that a main-stream-media site might be, but we all have a sense of professional pride in this site. That particular article is something that I have no doubt we would see and immediately discuss. I'm confident it would be taken down quickly. Our moderators do a great job keeping tabs on things here. And we appreciate them tremendously. We're not all able to be on this site, monitoring everything all the time. I have a different standard than John and that's likely different than Parker which is different than NIck's. But we do communicate well and I think we are pretty good about being fair. We love opinion pieces, and we encourage them. But, in my opinion, this one went way over the line. For me, it's about just using some common sense, being fair.

Escobar is the best hitter of that group right now. It made all the sense in the world.

They've been tremendous, starters and relievers: ................. IP H R ER BB K WP HR ERA Starters 101.2 83 32 28 23 114 6 4 2.48 Relievers 61 43 15 13 28 73 8 1 1.91 ________________________________________________________________ TOTAL 162.2 126 47 41 51 187 14 5 2.27 Sorry about the formatting!

Why would the Twins DFA Santana? I get that thought on Nolasco because he had one bad year and got hurt to start this year. But Santana is good and has 3 1/2 years left on the deal.

I'ts possible. I don't know that the GCL Twins have an official roster yet.

WCCO a couple of weeks ago ran a story on Twins bench coach Joe Vavra and his sons, Tanner and Trey. Trey is currently with the Cedar Rapids Kernels while Tanner is with the Ft. Myers Miracle. As you saw in my Get To Know 'Em story on Trey Vavra last week, the youngest brother, Terrin, might be the best of the bunch. This is a great story on the three that are currently with the Twins. It's definitely worth taking 3-4 minutes to watch!

Since Kohl Stewart was placed on the Ft. Myers Disabled List last week, there have been several corresponding moves. At the time they were just planning on having him miss one start and not make a corresponding move. They then played a 10-inning game, a 17-inning game and an 11-inning game in a row, so they needed arms. First, Lefty Jose Velez joined the team in St. Lucie, from Extended Spring Training. The next day, he went back to EST and RHP Dereck Rodriguez and RHP Alexis Tapia were added to the Miracle roster. In addition, Brett Lee was removed from the Disabled List and started on Sunday. To make room, Jose Velez, Tim Shibuya and Todd Van Steensel were sent to EST. Now, that may not make a lot of sense, but it does. Velez threw two innings on Saturday. Shibuya threw three innings in the 17-inning game and wasn't able to pitch for a couple of days. Van Steensel threw 2.1 innings in the 11 inning game and wasn't able to pitch on Sunday. Obviously EST is just across the parking lot from the Miracle stadium, so logistics are simple. Now this morning, Shibuya was added back to the Ft. Myers roster and Rodriguez went back to EST. Rodriguez threw two scoreless innings on Sunday. Van Steensel must not be able to pitch on Monday as he was not yet added back, and Alexis Tapia is still with the Miracle in case he is needed. Uffdah... minor league transactions are fun!

Minnesota Twins Minor League Player of the Week: Week 1: Tyler Duffey, Chattanooga Lookouts Week 2: Stephen Gonsalves, Cedar Rapids Kernels Gonsalves made one start for the Kernels on April 23 at Wisconsin, tossing 7.0 shutout innings with one hit, one walk and 11 strikeouts, earning the win; it was his second straight double-digit strikeout total, after fanning 10 in 7.0 innings April 17 vs. Peoria...he has made three starts for the Kernels this season, going 2-0, 0.90 ERA (20.0 IP, 2 ER) with two walks and 30 strikeouts...the San Diego native was drafted by the Twins in the fourth round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego.

For Week 2, the Midwest League Pitcher and Hitter of the Week were Stephen Gonsalves and Trey Vavra, respectively, both of the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

The Twins have gone 8-7 since getting swept by Detroit (and the same three pitchers that they'll face the next three days), and 7-4 in their last 11. At some point, we need to step back and say, "No, this isn't a perfect roster, but they're not playing terrible."

By "Baseball Definition" a Journeyman is someone who has been around for a long time and been in a whole bunch of different organizations. Plouffe has been in the organization since drafted in 2004. Only Mauer (and possibly Perkins, who was drafted in the same draft, two picks later, but I don't know which signed first) has been in the organization longer.

I think he's been pulling the ball a ton more so far this year. Not just a little bit, or a small adjustment, but it's a huge thing. I think it can be a good thing... I mean, yesterday, he had the double to left-center and a triple to right-center. That's impressive.

Thanks for sharing!

Yes... bat around = all 9 bat.

Pioneer Press's Mike Berardino wrote a terrific article on Torii Hunter and his relationship with former Mariners star and future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr. Hunter recalled a chat with Griffey in centerfield when he was a young player. However, you may recall that Griffey's final game came against the Twins. He surprised many when he just abruptly retired. He drove home from Seattle to Orlando. What I had never heard was that he stopped in Kansas City and called up Hunter and they had breakfast. Hunter was one of the first to know that Griffey had played his last game. Hunter is about a month younger than I am. Griffey Jr was, for me, my favorite player in baseball that wasn't with the Twins. His smile. The backwards hat. That sweet left-handed swing. The glide in the outfield. The power. He was incredible! I'm sure others on this site had that player who they looked up to as well. Many of our readers probably aren't old enough to remember Griffey's greatness, and others may have players from other generations who they admired. Discuss the article as well as your favorite players in your youth.

He might get some time there. HE's played there a lot in his life. It's not like he can't. I'm sure he could.

OK, not sure either of them will play in the GCL in 2015 though.

I don't know. I like Oliveros a lot, but he was DFAd and no one picked him up. Right now, Perkins, Fien and Thompson have been good. Boyer's been pretty good the last 7-10 days. Graham is now in the role of being hidden, which is where he should be.

Just of note: The Twins are 7-4 in their last 11 games...

That's a great memory, a great story! It was great talking to Jose this spring. He's got a very interesting delivery. He's already 25. I believe he is from the Dominican but grew up in the States. I always enjoy reading more about these lesser knowns, guys who fought through the indy league ranks.

Is that what happened??

Felix is great and it's fun watching greatness. I read somewhere today that May said he didn't even see the ball until it was about 3 feet away from him. Definitely not good fielding position, and that's a little alarming if it had been toward his head.

The Twins are still less than 20 games into the season, but very soon the team will have to consider transactions. So, which of these will happen first? Will the Twins call up Aaron Hicks or Josmil Pinto first? here are the numbers worth considering, though it is important to notice the still-very-small sample sizes: Kennys Vargas: 15 games, .161/.230/.232 (.462), 1-2B, 1-HR Josmil Pinto: 12 games, .302/.423/.395 (.818), 1-2B, 1-HR Can Pinto be a backup catcher? Maybe. But he probably can hit enough to be a DH. Jordan Schafer: .132/.154/.158 (.312), 1-2B Aaron Hicks: .291/.375/.473 (848), 3-2B, 2-3B, 1-HR Hicks was sent down because he needed to gain confidence and put up some numbers in AAA. He's done that while playing very good defense too. (It is obviously important to note that Pinto's and Hicks' numbers are coming against AAA pitching.) If Hicks comes up, does Schafer just get DFAd, or does Robinson get DFAd? One a side note, I do think that the Twins made the right decisions in each of these cases in spring training. Vargas showed what he 'could' do in a couple of months last season and even though we knew he would regress some, it was good to give him that spot. Also, Pinto had the concussion right before the season. Schafer showed in 2 months what he is capable of as a regular... Did we think it was sustainable? Probably not. And, Hicks' development was important. Handing him the starting job again probably wasn't the best idea. So, what do you think? Will these happen soon? I'd say within a week if something doesn't happen very soon.