Seth Stohs

No worries... Only two 21 year olds on the team. The rest are older. Kepler and Burdi are the only 21 year olds. If Berrios would have stuck with the Miracle all season, he is only 20 until next May.

I posted that on Twitter last night... after the excitement of the Miracle winning, it it me that there would be no more minor league box scores for Twins affiliates until April. We'll have the Arizona Fall League and the winter leagues in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Australia... but kind of sad!

Last week, I posted the August minor league award winners, but today it’s time to start the big, year-end, player of the year awards here at Twins Daily. What I’ll be doing is posting write-ups on the top six or seven players, along with several players worthy of honorable mention. I’ll rank my Top 6, but I certainly welcome your feedback.It seems that pitching has come to the forefront in baseball, ahead of hitting. We see it at the big league level and with several examples, we have seen it trickle into the minor leagues as well. It’s happening in the Twins minor league system as well. There were several starting pitchers (and relievers as you’ll see tomorrow) who performed well in 2014. Again, I encourage you to read through the top starting pitching candidates for Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year and then discuss and rank them as you see fit. Note also that this is not a prospect ranking. Before getting to the top six, here are others who are worthy of recognition for strong performances on the mound in 2014: HONORABLE MENTION Logan Darnell – Rochester Red Wings (7-6, 3.60 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 115.0 IP, 108 H, 49 BB, 90 K)Sean Gilmartin – Rochester Red Wings (9-7, 3.71 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 145.2 IP, 145 H, 44 BB, 133 K)Kris Johnson – Rochester Red Wings (10-7, 3.48 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 132.0 IP, 115 H, 55 BB, 102 K)Alex Meyer – Rochester Red Wings (7-7, 3.52 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 130.1 IP, 116 H, 64 BB, 153 K)Brett Lee – Ft. Myers Miracle (10-5, 2.45 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 106.1 IP, 111 H, 33 BB, 54 K)David Hurlbut – Ft. Myers Miracle (3-4, 2.20 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 65.1 IP, 62 H, 13 BB, 35 K)Matt Tomshaw – Ft. Myers Miracle (11-6, 3.50 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 136.1 IP, 152 H, 28 BB, 82 K)Kohl Stewart – Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-5, 2.59 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 87.0 IP, 75 H, 24 BB, 62 K)Lewis Thorpe – Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-2, 3.52 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 71.2 IP, 62 H, 36 BB, 80 K)Mat Batts – GCL/Elizabethton/Cedar Rapids (4-1, 1.78 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 60.2 IP, 40 H, 7 BB, 67 K)Stephen Gonsalves – Elizabethton Twins/Cedar Rapids Kernels (4-3, 3.02 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 65.2 IP, 54 H, 21 BB, 70 K)Starting Pitcher of the Year #6 – Trevor May – Rochester Red Wings (8-6, 2.84 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 98.1 IP, 75 H, 39 BB, 94 K) May came to the Twins, with Vance Worley, in the December 2012 trade from the Phillies with in exchange for outfielder Ben Revere. After spending 2013 in New Britain, he moved up to Rochester this year and took a step forward in his prospect status. May put up best numbers since Low-A ball in terms of WHIP, HR/9 and walks per nine. May looked to be in line for a big league call up in June when, after being named to the Futures Game, he hurt his calf. He missed the Futures Game and nearly a month of innings. However, it wasn’t long after his return to the Red Wings that May made his much-anticipated big league debut. He has certainly taken his lumps with the Twins, but he put together a strong AAA debut and earned a spot on this list. #5 – Chih-Wei Hu – Elizabethton Twins/Cedar Rapids Kernels (8-2, 2.15 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 71.0 IP, 47 H, 15 BB, 64 K) Hu was signed by the Twins out of Taiwan in August of 2012. The 20-year-old began the 2014 season at extended spring training and then made three starts for Elizabethton before being summoned to Cedar Rapids. Though he’s always been intriguing as a prospect since he dominated on his national team through his amateur years, no one could have expected him to do what he did with the Kernels. He became the best starter on a team with several highly-regarded pitching prospects. Blessed with a good fastball that has reached 95 mph, he has several pitches that can be good. With the Kernels, he wasn’t hit, didn’t walk anyone and got a good number of strikeouts. Definitely one to watch! Will he start 2015 back with the Kernels or could he start in Ft. Myers? #4 – Tyler Duffey – Ft. Myers/New Britain/Rochester (13-3, 3.67 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 149.2 IP, 142 H, 30 BB, 113K) Duffey was the Twins fifth round pick in in 2012 out of Rice University where he was a part-time closer. Since signing with the Twins, he has primarily worked as a starter. In 2014, all 14 of his appearances were at the start of ballgames. He began by going 3-0 in four starts with the Miracle before being promoted to New Britain. In 18 starts with the Rock Cats, he went 8-3. Late in the year, he was promoted to AAA Rochester. The assumption made by many was that he would just make a spot-start in a doubleheader and return, but instead, he finished the season with three starts for the Red Wings and went 2-0. Though he averaged just 6.8 K/9 overall, his strikeout rate actually increased with each promotion. As a starter, he has a three-pitch mix and throws his fastball 91-93 mph. When he ended 2013 in the Miracle bullpen, he hit 97 at times. Will he be able to continue starting right up to the big leagues? We shall see. But for now, he had a very solid 2014 season as a starting pitcher. He should start 2015 in the Red Wings rotation. #3 – Taylor Rogers – New Britain Rock Cats (11-6, 3.29 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 145.0 IP, 150 H, 37 BB, 113 K) Rogers was my choice for Twins minor league starting pitcher of the year in 2013 when he went 11-6 with a 2.55 ERA in Ft. Myers after opening last year with three starts in Cedar Rapids. This spring, he jumped right to New Britain and got off to a slow start. Through his first five Rock Cats starts he was 1-3 with an 8.14 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP. His strikeout and walk rates were very good (9.6 K/9, 1.8 BB/9), but he was very hittable. And then a switch flipped. In his final 19 starts, he went 10-3 with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. His strikeout rate dropped to 7.2 per nine and his walk rate increased 2.4 per nine, but he was pitching so much better. The left-hander is able to maintain 92-94 mph throughout a game. He also has a very good slider. He was the Twins 11th round pick in 2002 out of the University of Kentucky. The 23-year-old will head to the Arizona Fall League next month. He will likely begin 2015 in Rochester and we could see him sometime in 2015. #2 – Jason Wheeler – Ft. Myers/New Britain/Rochester (11-9, 2.67 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 158.1 IP, 151 H, 37 BB, 115 K) Wheeler will likely become a lawyer at some point after his playing career is over. After his 2014 season, those days may have to wait a while. The 6-8 left-hander was the Twins eighth round pick in 2011 out of Loyola Marymount. In 2013, he went 9-4 with a 3.70 ERA at Ft. Myers but returned to the Miracle to start 2014. It proved to be quite beneficial. Encouraged to be more aggressive with his fastball, his performance was much better. In 13 starts, he was 6-5 with a 2.51 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He was promoted to AA New Britain where he made 12 starts. There, he went 5-4 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.14 ERA. He even made a spot start for Rochester and gave up two runs in five innings. Not a strikeout pitcher, Wheeler averaged 6.5 K/9 through the season. His fastball sits 89-91, though at times he has hit 94. He also has a good changeup and curveball as well. The 23-year-old will likely start 2015 with the Rock Cats depending upon who remains in the Rochester rotation. Starting Pitcher of the Year – Jose (JO) Berrios – Ft. Myers/New Britain/Rochester (12-8, 2.76 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 140.0 IP, 118 H, 38 BB, 140 K) 2013 was a long year for Berrios. He went to big league camp in preparation for representing Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. Then, after pitching in the bullpen for Puerto Rico, he was stretched out for a month before joining the Cedar Rapids Kernels. He went 7-7 with a 3.99 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP as a 19-year-old, but he clearly tired late in the year. Fast-forward to 2014 and Berrios was pushed to Ft. Myers. In 16 starts for the Miracle, he went 9-3 with a 1.96 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. In 96.1 innings, he gave up 78 hits, walked just 23 and struck out 109. Pitching Coach Gary Lucas informed me that in June, he sat down with Berrios, as he did with all pitchers, and discussed his goals. Berrios quickly responded with three goals. First, he wanted to start in the Florida State League All-Star game. Second, he wanted to be named to the Futures Game. Third, he wanted to get promoted to AA New Britain. Check-Check-Check. Berrios was the starter for the World Team in the Futures Game at Target Field and threw a 1-2-3 inning. Three weeks earlier he had been the starting pitcher in the Florida State League All-Star Game, and one week before the World Game he had made his AA debut. With the Rock Cats, he made eight starts and went 3-4 with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in 40.2 innings. There was a scare involved though. In one start, he wasn’t hitting the same velocities he had been all season, and he left the game with a shoulder problem. It turned out to be some shoulder stiffness. He skipped one start and came back without missing a beat. On the final weekend of the season Rochester was still in playoff contention. Berrios was called up to make a start. It didn’t go so well. He gave up six runs in three innings, but what a learning experience for the guy who is, with little doubt, the top pitching prospect in the organization. He was the Twins supplemental first-round draft pick in 2012 out of Puerto Rico. He won’t even turn 21 years old until next May. Though unlikely, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Berrios could debut with the Twins around that time. In January, JO Berrios was kind enough to do an interview with Twins Daily. Thanks to his aunt, that interview is available in both English and Spanish. --- There you have it, my Top 6 Twins minor league starting pitchers in 2014. Feel free to discuss. Click here to view the article

C: Stuart Turner 1B: Dalton Hicks/Mike Gonzales 2B: Eddie Rosario SS: Jorge Polanco, Aderlin Mejia 3B: Miguel Sano, Niko Goodrum LF: Travis Harrison CF: Byron Buxton RF: Adam Walker By midseason, with promotions, guys like Kanzler and Garver could be there too. SP: Berrios, Lee, Wheeler, Baxendale, RP: Zack Jones, Nick Burdi, Brandon Peterson, DJ Johnson, Todd Van Steensel, Tyler Jones And I know I'm missing guys... but this is pretty impressive bunch.

So these aren't AREN'T your surprises of the year...

Game 4 had to wait one extra day due to rain in Daytona on Sunday night, but on Monday the Miracle and Cubs were back in action. What a game it was, as extra innings were needed to determine a winner! The Miracle won their first Florida State League title. Keep reading to find out which players were able to play the role of hero in such a big game.MIRACLE MATTERS Game 4 – Ft. Myers 4, Daytona 2 (11 innings) Box Score For the first time in team history, the Ft. Myers Miracle are the champions of the Florida State League. It did not come easily as the team had to work a little overtime to accomplish the feat! In the top of the first inning, Aderlin Mejia led off and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Niko Goodrum. He moved up to third base on a wild pitch. Travis Harrison hit a sacrifice fly to give the Miracle a 1-0 lead. In the fourth inning, Stuart Turner led off with a single. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and then to third on an infield single by Max Kepler. Tyler Grimes came up and hit a double down the left field line to give the Miracle a 2-0 lead. DJ Baxendale started and did not allow a run in the first three innings. However, the Daytona Cubs scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth and another unearned run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at two. That is where the score remained until the 11th inning. Adam Walker led off with an opposite field double. After Tyler Grimes popped up a bunt attempt, Jason Kanzler came to the plate and unloaded a long home run over the left field wall. The blast gave the Miracle a 4-2 lead. It was a lead that would be held by Zack Jones in the bottom of the 11th frame. Jason Kanzler photo by Linwood Ferguson, Ft. Myers Miracle Baxendale started and gave up only the two unearned runs on six hits over 5.2 innings. He walked three and struck out seven. Brandon Peterson came on and got out of the sixth and worked a 1-2-3 seventh. Nick Burdi got out all six batters he faced, four of them on strikeouts. DJ Johnson was hitting 95 when he pitched the 10th inning. He gave up one hit and struck out two. With the lead, Zack Jones was brought in for the 11th and pitched a 1-2-3 inning for the save, wrapping up the championship. Aderlin Mejia did a great job as a leadoff man. He went 2-3 with two walks. Tyler Grimes also had two hits including his RBI double. Max Kepler went 2-4. But the offensive hero on this night was Jason Kanzler. He was just 1-5 in the game and struck out twice, but there was no bigger hit than his 11th inning home run that gave the Miracle the lead. Several of these Miracle players were on the Appalachian League championship team in 2012 as well as being a part of the terrific team in Cedar Rapids a year ago. This team has a culture of winning. Congratulations to Doug Mientkiewicz, pitching coach Gary Lucas, hitting coach Jim Dwyer, all the players and any of the players who spent time with the Miracle in 2014. That was a pretty impressive, talented group of players. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Nick Burdi, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jason Kanzler, Ft. Myers Miracle Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Miracle game and season. Click here to view the article

I know on the Twins Hangouts, Jeremy and I have talked about that, and for the last couple of months, my response has been that I think Ryan will tell Gardy that Anderson has to go, and that Gardy will resign. I don't know if that would happen, but that's my guess. Hopefully Mientkiewicz is named the next manager soon after...

It seems that they're continuing to pitch him about every 4th day, which is normal for college relievers their first full year. So, I think that it's a little surprising he'd go 2.1 innings, but not too much.

Rains postponed Game 4 of the Florida State League Championship series in Daytona which might have been a blessing in disguise. Unfortunately, the 2014 Cedar Rapids Kernels season has come to a close as the team fell 4-2 to Kane County. The Cougars advance to the Midwest League Finals.MIRACLE MATTERS Game 4 – Ft. Myers @ Daytona - Postponed The day off may have been just what the two teams need as they have not had a day off since the playoffs began. However, for the Miracle, this delay could prove very beneficial. Had Game 4 been played on Sunday, the Miracle likely would have employed a bullpen game. However, with the game moved to Monday, the Miracle will be able to start DJ Baxendale on regular rest. And, if it were necessary, Matt Tomshaw could start Game 5 on regular rest. The two teams will play again on Monday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Daytona. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 2 - Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 4 Box Score This game started out as quite the pitcher’s duel. The Kernels managed just one hit through the first five innings off Cougars starter Paul Blackburn who struck out seven. John Curtiss, making his first start for the Kernels, was certainly up to the challenge. He threw five shutout innings. He walked three but he did not allow a hit until the fifth inning. The right-hander was the Twins sixth-round pick in June out of the University of Texas where he was that team’s closer. After pitching in the College World Series and then signing with the Twins, he went to Elizabethton where he was a starter. With Lewis Thorpe placed on the disabled list, Curtiss was called up before this series started. Jared Wilson came on to replace Curtiss in the sixth inning. He gave up a solo home run to Jacob Rogers. However, in the top of the 7th, the Kernels were able to get on the board and take the lead. With one out, Jonatan Hinojosa singled. It was followed by a two-run homer by Chad Christensen. In the bottom of the 7th, Wilson issued a walk to lead off the inning and then gave up a two-run homer to Carlos Penalver. One out later, Brian Gilbert replaced Wilson and got out of the inning. Gilbert gave up another run in the bottom of the eighth. The Kernels were not able to get any closer and fell 4-2. The team had just four hits in the game. Besides Christensen’s homer, Max Murphy’s double was the only extra-base hit. The Kernels season comes to an end, but it has sure been a good run. After going just 31-39 in the first half, the Kernels went 42-28 in the second half to earn a spot in the Midwest League playoffs. Then won two of three against Burlington in Round 1 of the playoffs. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – John Curtiss, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chad Christensen, Cedar Rapids Kernels MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Ft. Myers @ Daytona (6:05 CST) – DJ Baxendale Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Kernels game and season. Click here to view the article

David Dorsey from the News Press in Ft. Myers was able to chat with Twins GM Terry Ryan recently about several players. He touched on Adam Walker, Zach Jones, Kennys Vargas, Danny Santana and more. After speaking to Walker's power and good season, here's a quote from Ryan on why Adam Walker didn't get promoted to AA New Britain: I also enjoyed Ryan's comment on Kennys Vargas's charisma. Check out the article. It's good.

As I'm working on my Top Hitters, Starters, Relievers articles... it's very interesting... The names mentioned above are all good. For me, I'd start with Chih-Wei Hu, but Duffey and Wheeler have really surprised/impressed me as well. And as was also mentioned, Berrios has been more than anyone could have thought. Offensively, far less, but Kanzler and Garver would probably fit into the category.

Eades is only 6-2. I don't know that repeatable delivery is as much an issue as it would be for someone who is 6-7 or taller. Eades had a solid month of August, and limited damage last night. 6 walks is a bit crazy though. I think we all had higher hopes for him as a 2nd round pick out of a college powerhouse like LSU.

The Kernels find themselves in familiar territory, losing Game 1 of a Best of Three series at home. They’ll have to win two in a row on the road to keep their season alive. The Miracle had a chance to win their first Florida State League championship in 22 years. They’ll try to wrap that up in Game 4 on Sunday in Daytona.MIRACLE MATTERS Game 3 - Ft. Myers 7, Daytona 8 Box Score After the Miracle won Game 2 on Friday night in Ft. Myers, the team (and their opponents) made the 210 mile drive north to Daytona where Game 3 was played on Saturday. To make it worse, the Saturday game was delayed over two hours due to rain. When it started, the Miracle sent Brett Lee to the mound. The left-hander gave up five runs on eight hits and four walks in 5.2 innings. He struck out one. DJ Johnson came on to get the final out of the sixth inning and worked a scoreless seventh inning as well. Stuart Turner had a great game. In the first inning, he hit a two run double. He ended the game 4-4 with a walk and three RBI. Niko Goodrum went 1-3 with two walks. Tyler Grimes went 2-4. The game was tied going to the 8th inning. With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the inning, Aderlin Mejia squibbed a ball down the third base line and there was no play. It gave the Miracle a 6-5 lead. DJ Johnson remained in the game for the bottom of the 8th. After getting the first out, he gave up a walk and a single before giving up a three-run homer. Johnson finished the inning. With one out in the top of the ninth, Dalton Hicks hit his second home run of the playoffs to cut the deficit to 8-7. However, the Miracle were unable to tack on one more and fell by that score. The two teams will play again on Sunday afternoon and Jackie Robinson Stadium in Daytona. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1 - Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 5 Box Score The Kernels are going to have to repeat their efforts from the first round if they want to advance to the Midwest League finals. On Saturday night, they lost at home to Kane County and will need to win twice in Geneva, Illinois. Ryan Eades got the start in his first playoff start and despite some control issues was able to limit any damage. He gave up just one run through the first five innings of the game. In the sixth inning, he got the first two outs but then walked the next two batters before Brandon Bixler got out of the sixth frame. Eades finished the day giving up one run on two hits in 5.2 innings. He walked six and struck out four. In the seventh inning, Bixler gave up a hit and a walk, but an error allowed two unearned runs to score. After another walk, Josue Montanez came on and got a strikeout and a force out to end the inning. In the bottom of the seventh frame, Ryan Walker reached on an error and scored on a Tanner English triple. English was stranded there with the Kernels down 3-2. Then in the eighth inning, Montanez gave up one run. Hudson Boyd came on for the ninth inning and served up a solo home run to get to the final score of 5-2. Tanner English, playing his first game for the Kernels, went 3-5 with the triple. Jonatan Hinojosa and Alex Swim each had two hits. Max Murphy added a double. Game 2 of this Best of 3 series will be at 6:00 on Sunday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ryan Eades, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Stuart Turner, Ft. Myers Miracle SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Ft. Myers @ Daytona (4:35 CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:00 CST) – John Curtiss Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

There are several players on that roster who need to be added to the 40 man roster or potentially be lost in the Rule 5 draft. Niko Goodrum would be one though there are several others as well. He also just likes seeing the minor leaguers play. I'm sure he's just there to do some player evaluation, like he would always do (though he wasn't able to this year as much as he would like).

That's a great point! Of course, that's also probably a reason why so many people (commenters) seem to think anyone can do the things they do.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels won last night to advance to the 2nd round of the Midwest League playoffs. Tonight they'll be playing Kane County in Cedar Rapids in Game 1. Some of the guys dressed up for the occasion... Check them out here. L to R: Stephen Gonsalves, JD Williams, Dallas Gallant, Mitch Garver, Lewis Thorpe. My opinion is that he Top 2 are these two, so who would you vote for as Best Dressed? @https://twitter.com/JakeyReed5/status/508335118151213056/photo/1

And, Curtiss has pitched better. He's been starting whereas Cederoth was shut down a couple starts ago.

Ryan Pressly had a terrific season in AAA Rochester's bullpen and has come up to the Twins and been solid. However, last night with a runner on second, he spun to throw to Danny Santana at second base and, well... check out what happened: Click here.

I'm 100% on board with this. I'd favor Mientkiewicz or Jake Mauer...

Site has been updated. Brett Lee is starting in Daytona tonight for the Miracle. Ryan Eades is starting in Cedar Rapids tonight against Kane County. I'm also now hearing that it isn't "just" inning limit for Lewis Thorpe. Let's hope nothing serious. Also, heard that Gruver's injury is in his shoulder. Again, hopefully nothing serious.

It was a very good night in the Minnesota Twins minor league system. The Cedar Rapids Kernels advanced to the second round of the Midwest League playoffs. The Ft. Myers Miracle jumped to a 2-0 lead over Daytona in the Florida State League championship series.After winning at home in Games 1 and 2, the Miracle will have a chance to claim the championship in Daytona on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Kernels will host Kane County in Game 1 on Saturday night. There were plenty of heroes in the two games. And, there were a couple of Kernels transactions after their game which will be mentioned later in today’s report. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 2 - Ft. Myers 5, Daytona 0 Box Score Ethan Mildren picked a good day to find ways to work out of trouble. The right-hander gave up five hits and four walks over his five innings, but he was able to keep Dattona scoreless. He struck out three. Todd Van Steensel has been kept busy in these playoffs. He worked one inning and gave up only a walk. Steven Gruver came on for the seventh inning. He gave up a walk and a hit and recorded two outs before leaving the game with an apparent injury. However, Nick Burdi came on and got the final seven outs, three of them strikeouts, to record the save. He gave up just two hits. The Miracle tallied three runs in the third inning. Travis Harrison singled in Aderlin Mejia with the first run. Dalton Hicks followed with a triple to score Harrison and make it 2-0. The next batter, Stuart Turner, hit a sacrifice fly scoring Hicks. The Miracle got a little insurance in the 8th inning. With the bases loaded, Niko Goodrum and Travis Harrison each took a bases-loaded walk to drive in a run and give the Miracle a 5-0 lead. The teams will now travel way north to Daytona where they will play Game 3, and potentially two more games. One more win and the Miracle will earn their league championship. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 3 - Cedar Rapids 4, Burlington 2 Box Score After losing Game 1 in Cedar Rapids, the Kernels were tasked with winning for a second straight night on the road in Burlington. They were up to the challenge. Cedar Rapids took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third. Ryan Walker tripled and scored on a groundout by Logan Wade. One batter later, Chad Christensen hit a solo home run. Young Stephen Gonsalves was given the starting nod. The lefty gave up two runs on six hits and a walk in the game’s first five innings. Both runs came in the bottom of the third inning. Jared Wilson worked the sixth and seventh innings, giving up nothing. He struck out two. Then in the top of the 8th, the Kernels reclaimed the lead. Jonatan Hinojosa singled. He advanced to third base on a double by Logan Wade. Chad Christensen singled in Hinojosa to give the Kernels a 3-2 lead. It was followed by a Max Murphy double that scored Wade. With a late-inning lead, Jake Mauer turned to the dominant bullpen guys. Dallas Gallant got the eighth inning and struck out two. Jake Reed came on for the ninth inning for the second straight night. He didn’t have to work quite as hard as he had on Thursday. He had a 1-2-3 inning to record his second straight save and send the Kernels to the next round. If you’re counting, that is now 24.2 innings since he has last given up a run. The Kernels will start the 2nd round of the Midwest League playoffs on Saturday night. They will be playing host to the Kane County Cougars. Games 2 and 3 will be at Kane County (Chicago area). The Kernels will add outfielder Tanner English and right-handed pitcher John Curtiss to their roster from the Elizabethton squad. To made room, two players were put on the disabled list. Mitch Garver, who hadn’t played since being pinch-hit for in the sixth inning of Game 1, was put on the disabled list for a concussion. Lewis Thorpe was put on the disabled list with “elbow” listed as the injury. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ethan Mildren, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chad Christensen, Cedar Rapids Kernels SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Game 3 - Ft. Myers @ Daytona (6:05 CST) – Brett Lee Game 1 - Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – Ryan Eades Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. Click here to view the article