Seth Stohs

A VERY HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY from TwinsCentric and the Twins Daily staff!! Scott Diamond did it again. In a repeat of his first big league start of the season, the left-hander threw seven shutout innings. That he lasted seven innings is most impressive since he was drilled in the left shoulder by a line drive in the second inning. He gave up some hits, and a lot of line drives, but seven shutout innings is always appreciated. Brian Dozier had two hits, including his first big league home run. The Twins had several opportunities to add on to a four-run lead, but did not capitalize. That proved large when Jared Burton gave up three runs in the 8th inning. Burton, who had not allowed a hit to his last 34 batters faced, gave up three straight hits before being replaced by Glen Perkins, who got out of the inning thanks to a great diving play by Joe Mauer. Matt Capps closed out the game with a big strikeout and the Twins won 4-3 to split the series with the Blue Jays. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Sunday:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 2, SYRACUSE 4 The Red Wings got a very good start from Liam Hendriks. The Aussie right-hander gave up just one run in six innings. He gave up three hits, walked two and struck out four. Deolis Guerra came in and gave up runs for the first time in a month. Guerra gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and three walks in two innings. Ben Revere and Clete Thomas were each 2-4. Matt Carson hit his tenth double. The Red Wings went 1-6 on this road trip. NEW BRITAIN 4, READING 6 The Rock Cats lost on Sunday but split a four-game series against the division-leading R-Phillies. Andrew Albers started the game with five shutout innings. He gave up two runs in the sixth inning and the first batter of the 7th inning got on before he was taken out. Albers gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings with four strikeouts. Caleb Thielbar came in and gave up three runs on five hits in 1.1 innings. Bobby Lanigan got the final five outs. Chris Herrmann hit his fourth home run of the season. Evan Bigley had a big, two-run single in the 7th inning. James Beresford was 1-3 with a walk. FT. MYERS MIRACLE No Game Scheduled on Sunday. Their first day off in the past 23 days. BELOIT 3, CLINTON 1 For the second straight game, the Snappers topped Clinton 3-1. The Snappers managed just four hits, but they were efficient. In the fourth inning, Miguel Sano came up with two runners on. He blasted a three-run homer to give the Snappers a 3-0 lead. It was his league-leading 11th home run of the year. Eddie Rosario added his 13th double. Matt Tomshaw was the Twins 42nd round pick in 2011 out of Jacksonville. The lefty has been terrific as a pro. On this day, he threw six scoreless innings. He gave up just three hits, walked one and struck out six. Michael Tonkin picked up his second save. He gave up one run on four hits over the final three innings. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, May 13, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Miguel Sano Download attachment: MiguelSanoMug.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Matthew Tomshaw Download attachment: MattTomshaw.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Monday, May 14, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Syracuse – RHP Cole DeVries New Britain – No Game Scheduled Ft. Myers @ Charlotte – RHP Madison Boer Beloit vs Clinton – LHP Steven Gruver --- 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! Click here to view the article

The Twins lost for the second straight game to the Texas Rangers on Saturday. The story of the game was all of the runners stranded on bases, but it was a day full of stories for the Twins. The Yu Darvish Show made its first appearance at Target Field, and the right-hander from Japan didn’t disappoint. He showed all seven of his pitches and did a nice job of working out of some tough situations. Just before the game started, it came out that the Twins had claimed Clete Thomas, an outfielder who was DFAd by the Tigers. They made the easy 40 man roster choice by putting Scott Baker on the 60 Day Disabled List. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] However, following the game, they made the not-quite-so easy decision to option Ben Revere to Rochester. It actually wasn’t a difficult decision. It will allow Revere to play five or six games each week instead of two or three. Thomas is a backup and it’s no problem having him sit on the bench. Nick Blackburn actually pitched quite well, but he left early after experiencing some discomfort in his right shoulder. An MRI was conducted on Saturday afternoon, and according to 1500espn.com, it showed no serious shoulder damage. Liam Hendriks will take the mound for the Twins on Sunday to try to keep the talented Rangers from sweeping the Twins on their own field. There was a lot going on in the minor leagues as well. A hitting streak continues. A slump was broken. Each of the four games was decided in the 8th inning or later. One affiliate lost in extra innings, and there was a two out, Miracle walk-off win. For much more on the Twins affiliates and players, keep reading… it gets good! Like, Hunger Games good!! ROCHESTER 2, LEHIGH VALLEY 5 This was a close game until late when Esmerling Vasquez served up a three-run, bases-clearing triple to Dominic Brown that gave the IronPigs a 5-2 lead. Sam Deduno started and gave up two runs on six hits. In six innings, he walked two and struck out five. Brian Dozier went 2-5 and extended his hitting streak to nine games. Joe Benson and Drew Butera were each 2-4. Aaron Bates went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI. The Red Wings are now 5-5 on the season, despite losing three consecutive games now. ROSTER NOTES – With Rene Tosoni on the DL, Darin Mastroianni was promoted from New Britain in time for Saturday’s game. However, with the Twins’ claim of OF Clete Thomas on Saturday, Ben Revere was optioned to Rochester following the Twins game. It is possible that Mastroianni could be sent back to New Britain right away, but it is also possible that Brian Dinkelman and/or Ray Chang could be put on the Disabled List. NEW BRITAIN 7, NEW HAMPSHIRE 6 The Rock Cats got some early offense, terrific pitching most of the game and then held on to hold off a later furious attempt by New Hampshire to tie the game. Chris Colabello went 3-5 with his second and third doubles. Aaron Hicks went 2-4 with a walk, his fourth double and second stolen base. Deibinson Romero was 2-5 with his fifth double and three RBI. Logan Darnell improved to 2-0 with five strong innings. He gave up no runs on just three hits and two walks. Bobby Lanigan gave up one run on three hits in two innings. He struckout two. Blake Martin struckout two in his scoreless inning. David Bromberg came in for the ninth and recorded one out. However, he gave up three hits, walked on and hit another batter. Daniel Turpen came in and gave up a hit, but was able to get the final two outs and preserve the one-run win for the Rock Cats. The win gives the Rock Cats a 7-3 record. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 8 BRADENTON 7 Danny Santana actually got a day off. Or, he was supposed to. Suddenly, with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, game tied and a runner on third base, Jake Mauer looked at Santana and called on him to pinch hit. Santana came through with a game-winning single to score Lance Ray, who had doubled to lead off the 9th inning. Four Miracle hitters carried the team to the first seven runs of the day. Angel Morales went 4-5 with his first double, first homer and three RBI. Dan Rohlfing was 2-3 with two walks and his first homer. Morales and Rohlfing each homered against last year’s #1 overall pick Gerrit Cole. Levi Michael was 2-4 with a walk. Josmil Pinto was 2-5 with his third double and first home run. Adrian Salcedo got the start and gave up three runs (2 earned) on seven hits. In five innings, he walked two and struckout three. Jose Gonzalez walked one in two otherwise perfect innings. Bruce Pugh pitched a scoreless eighth inning, but Pinto’s home run in the 8th gave the Miracle a 7-3 lead. Pugh came out and gave up four hits in the ninth. With two outs, Tony Davis entered the game clinging to a one-run lead. He got a ground ball, but Michael committed an error allowing the game to be tied. Davis got the final out. Santana came through in the 9th inning for the Miracle and pushed their record back over .500 at 5-4. BELOIT 3, CLINTON 4 (11 innings) Down 3-1 in the 8th inning, Eddie Rosario doubled in two Snappers runners to tie the game and send it to extra innings, but the team fell in 11 innings and fall to 4-5 on the season. Rosario was 2-5 in the game. His single earlier in the game ended a 0-15 stretch that saw his batting average fall from .429 to .200. Jhonathan Goncalves was 2-5 with his second double. Miguel Sano was also 2-5 and drove in the Snappers other run. Jason Wheeler started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on five hits and a walk in five innings. He struckout three. Nelvin Fuentes came in and struckout four in two perfect innings. Ryan O’Rourke struckout two over the next two scoreless innings. Clinton Dempster threw a scoreless 10th frame, but gave up the game-winning run in the 11th. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, April 14, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Angel Morales Download attachment: AngelMorales.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Logan Darnell Download attachment: LoganDarnell.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Sunday, April 15, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Lehigh Valley – RHP PJ Walters New Britain @ New Hampshire – LHP Luke French Ft. Myers vs. Bradenton – RHP Marty Popham Beloit @ Clinton – RHP Matt Summers --- 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! Click here to view the article

On Friday night, the Minnesota Twins fell 4-3 to the Texas Rangers. A three-run home run off the bat of Oswaldo Arcia with two out in the bottom of the ninth accounted for all the Twins' scoring. Scott Diamond was immensely hittable and the defense failed to make a couple of plays. However, for the second straight night, all four Twins full-season minor league affiliates were winners. One power-hitting prospect homered for the third time in four games. An equally powerful young man drilled two home runs on Friday night and drove in seven runs. One prospect had two extra base hits and is attempting to reclaim his status in the organization. There are hitting streaks worth following and big offensive displays. RHP Josh Burris will be joining the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Saturday as a busy week of transactions continues. Here is Friday night’s update.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 4, Syracuse Chiefs 2 Box Score PJ Walters was a winner for the second straight start. The right-hander gave up one run on three hits and two walks in 6.2 innings. He struck out four. Michael O’Connor came in and gave up one run on three hits in 1.2 innings. Bobby Lanigan made his 2013 Red Wings debut and got the final two outs for his first save. Joe Benson fought his way back to a .200 average. In this game, he was 2-4 with his second triple and his first home run. Eric Farris went 2-5 with his second double. Chris Herrmann was 2-5. Doug Bernier followed his 5-hit game on Thursday night by going 0-1 and walking three times on Friday night. New Britain Rock Cats 7, Richmond Flying Squirrels 4 Box Score Logan Darnell was on the mound for the Rock Cats. He earned the win and gave up three runs on eight hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out five. Bruce Pugh gave up one run despite giving up no hits in 1.2 innings. He walked three. Blake Martin came on and gave up two walks and a hit (which scored an inherited runner), but no runs were charged to him before he got one out to end the inning. AJ Achter came on for the ninth and struck out the side to record his first AA save. Josmil Pinto went 3-4. Dan Rohlfing went 2-3 with a walk. James Beresford and Mark Sobolewski each had two hits. Antoan Richardson went 1-3 with two walks; he also scored three run and stole his 8th, 9th and 10th bases of the season. Jhon Goncalves homered for the second time this season. Ft. Myers Miracle 10, Charlotte Stone Crabs 4 Box Score On Friday night, the Miracle won for the third straight time. Josh Wheeler was the recipient of all the run support. The lefty went 6.2 innings and gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out two. Nelvin Fuentes came on and got the next four batters out. Miguel Munoz gave up one run on two hits in the ninth. AJ Pettersen went 2-5 to extend his hitting streak to ten games. He is hitting .370 during that stretch. Eddie Rosario was 2-5 with a triple. Kennys Vargas was 2-4 with his first triple. He later scored on an RBI single from Drew Leachman, who was 2-4. Andy Leer went 2-4 with his second home run. Miguel Sano launched his ninth home run of the month, his third in four games. Photo courtesy Rinaldi Photos Cedar Rapids Kernels 13, Great Lakes Loons 8 Box Score We’ll try to ignore the fact that Kernels pitchers have given up 15 runs over the past two games. The reason we might be able to successfully do that is because the Kernels offense has put up 29 runs in those two games. On this night, Adam Walker was the star of the show. The powerful right-handed batter hit a three-run homer in the first inning. In the fourth inning, he came up with the bases loaded and hit a grand slam. Two home runs and seven RBI equates to a fairly productive game. His five home runs and 22 RBI lead the Midwest League. JD Williams added a home run in the fourth inning, his third. Jorge Polanco went 3-4 with a walk and his fifth double. Travis Harrison and Jhonathan Arias were each 2-5. Candido Pimentel was 2-4 with a walk. Byron Buxton was hitless, walked three times and stole his eighth base. He also had no unsuccessful stolen base attempts. Hudson Boyd got the start for the Kernels. The right hander gave up four runs on five hits in four innings. He walked four and struck out just one. Steven Gruver earned the win after coming on to give up one run on three hits in 2.2 innings. He walked one and struck out six. Chris Mazza gave up three runs on three hits in 1.1 inning. He struck out two. David Hurlbut came in and struck out two in a scoreless ninth. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

So far we’ve reviewed the catchers and the first basemen, and today we will be looking at the third basemen in the Minnesota Twins organization. The Twins have had an issue getting consistent third base play since the days of Corey Koskie. Danny Valencia was called up and had a very strong showing as a rookie, but he then struggled in his second season. That opened the door for Trevor Plouffe who had a huge two-month stretch in 2012, showing tremendous power. He struggled in 2013. What will 2014 bring for Plouffe? With one of baseball’s top prospects coming up quickly on the horizon, it will be a big year for the incumbent.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Big Leaguers Trevor Plouffe will begin the 2014 season as the Twins starting third baseman. Though it will be the fifth season that he has seen time with the Twins and his 11th in the organization, he will not turn 28 until mid-June. There’s no question Plouffe has some talent and the ability to hit the ball a long way. His .254 average in 2013 was his career-high. However, despite playing in a career high 129 games, his home run total dropped from 24 in 2012 to 14 in 2013. He did miss time with a concussion and when he was ready to return, he went right back on the DL with a calf injury. Download attachment: TrevorPlouffeHR.jpg Eduardo Escobar is out of options and will most likely be the team’s primary utility infielder in 2014. There is little offensive upside with Escobar, though he can play the infield positions quite well and can provide depth in the outfield too. He also had caught some bullpens and would be the Twins emergency catcher. The Non-Roster Invites Last week, the Twins announced their non-roster spring training invitees. Three of those invites are primarily third basemen. In 2013, Deibinson Romero was supposed to head to the Twins' big league camp for the first time since he was put on the team’s 40-man roster in 2009. Unfortunately, he had problems getting a visa due to MLB’s more stringent age reviewing process. He came to the States after the season began and put together a solid year. In 90 games between AA (where he just played in just a handful of games) and AAA, he hit .275/.374/.448 with 17 doubles and 13 homers. A year earlier, in AA, he had 23 doubles and 19 homers. Hopefully the 27-year-old can have a healthy, productive season. Brandon Waring (28) came to the Twins early in the offseason as a minor league free agent. After spending more than half the 2012 season with the Orioles AAA team in Norfolk, he spent all but ten days of the 2013 back at AA Bowie. He hit just .213. However, he did post a .102 IsoD with 23 home runs. He primarily played 3B, though he can also play 1B. The Crown Jewel The third non-roster invitee at the hot corner is someone who would likely be the #1 prospect in about 28 of baseball’s organizations. In the Twins system, Miguel Sano is the #2 prospect behind only Byron Buxton, the top prospect in baseball. After hitting 28 home runs and driving in 100 runs in Beloit in 2012, Sano performed even better as he moved up the ladder in 2013. In Ft. Myers, he hit .330/.424/.655 (1.079) with 15 doubles and 16 home runs. The day after the Miracle clinched the first half title, he was promoted to AA where he played in 67 more games. There, he struggled and hit just .236. However, he got on base 34% of the time and hit 15 doubles and 19 home runs. So, combined, he had 30 doubles, 35 homers and 103 RBI. His defense also greatly improved. He reduced his error total from 42 in 2012 to 23 in 2013. As exciting as Sano’s power is, he will have to continue to make improvement in his contact rate. When he connects, the ball generally travels. A return to New Britain will be beneficial to his development. However, he could move up quickly as long as his defense remains solid. And, of course, assuming his elbow turns out to be healthy. Prospect Rankings Miguel Sano is one of baseball’s best prospects, and rightfully so, but he was my choice (and most people’s) as the Twins #2 prospect. My #14 Twins prospect, Travis Harrison, put together a solid showing in his first full season. At Cedar Rapids, he hit .253/.366/.416 with 28 doubles and 15 home runs. After committing 24 errors in 59 games in E-Town in 2012, Harrison had 26 errors in 129 games in Cedar Rapids in 2013. The 2011 supplemental first round pick will likely advance to Ft. Myers for the 2014 season. Amaurys Minier was my choice as the #16 Twins prospect this year. He was the Twins big international signing in 2012 when the then-16-year-old signed with the team for $1.4 million. He was limited to 31 games in his professional debut with the GCL Twins in 2013 due to injury. He hit just .214 and got on base 25% of the time. However, he hit five doubles, two triples and six home runs. When he made contact, good things typically happened. He has work to do on his defense as well, as you would expect. Roster Projections In each installment, I’ve made my roster projections. Additional signings and injuries would affect all this, and that’s why I sometimes have more than just two or even three at each level. There are also always players put on disabled lists. As a disclaimer, these are my projections and not meant to be used as anything official. This gives an idea of who could be at each affiliate at the start of the season. Minnesota: Trevor Plouffe, Eduardo EscobarRochester: Deibinson Romero, Brandon Waring, Nate HansonNew Britain: Miguel SanoFort Myers: Travis Harrison, Stephen WickensCedar Rapids: Javier Pimentel, Chad ChristensenExtended Spring Training: Amaurys Minier, Roni Tapia, Ruar VerkerkFeel free to discuss the players and the roster. Click here to view the article

On Wednesday, the NFL decided to take the news headlines away from the other sports again by announcing the penalties for the Saints “Bounty” situation. Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for a year and the team will lose its next two second round picks. Others, such as Rams’ Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was ‘credited’ with offering the bounties was also suspended. Bla Bla Bla… it’s football, so it really doesn’t matter. It’s baseball season. But the story did get me thinking… is there a baseball scenario that would be equivalent to Bounty Gate? What would a baseball manager have to do to warrant a one year suspension? [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Obviously, things like betting on baseball (see Rose, Pete) or accepting money to throw games (see Jackson, Joe and the 1919 Black Sox) will get a player or manager suspended for life. So that is a different scenario. Baseball has, and continues to fight, its steroid era in which players now get suspended 50 games for a first offense. Could a manager (or pitching/hitting coach) put a bounty on an opposing player? How would that scenario play out? One of baseball’s unwritten and very well known rules is that occasionally a pitcher will be instructed to hit an opposing player with a fastball in retaliation for one of his teammate’s being hit. Do you remember in 2006 when then-White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was so upset at rookie pitcher Sean Tracey for not throwing at an opposing batter that he sent him to the minor leagues and never called him back up. Around the same time, Guillen was very upset at veteran Jon Garland for not hitting an opposing batter in retaliation. If you recall, Guillen was not suspended or fined for his comments, lashing out against his players for not hitting opponents. Of course, if the pitcher does intentionally hit (and potentially hurt) the batter, the most he would get would be a six game suspension. Even if the batter charges the mound, the pitcher will likely only get a six games off, and the batter will probably get three games off. What if a manager told a player to charge the mound? And then the manager told one of his bench players, his 25th man, to beat up the opponent’s best pitcher in an attempt to not have to face him the next game? Using Ozzie Guillen as an example again, what about AJ Pierzynski’s antics? What if we learned that Guillen had offered a bounty to Pierzynski for taking out first baseman Justin Morneau? Maybe he would get a few thousand dollars for stepping on Morneau’s Achilles every time he ran out a ground ball? Maybe that's why AJ continued to do it? So, give it some thought. What would the baseball equivalent be to the Bounty Situation? I really can’t imagine a situation in baseball which would ever bring about the kinds of ramifications that this New Orleans Saints “Bounty” situation has. Then again, baseball’s that sport where you think you’ve seen it all and then something new happens. Download attachment: dollar-signs.jpg ---- At TwinsDaily, there is a ton of Twins information. Nick posted his Twins Centerfield Position Analysis. Twins Fan from Afar posted a nice blog on the Twins possible Centerfield Trade Bait. Parker wrote about Ron Gardenhire saying Brian Dozier will start the season in Rochester. In the forums, there are a ton of topics being discussed including the Twins ranking as the 14th most valuable baseball organization by Forbes. John asked if Justin Morneau could start the season on the DL. There was also discussion on the Twins sending Terry Doyle back to the White Sox. Terry Ryan talked about having six guys in mind for the #2 pick in the June draft. There was also a fun discussion asking readers to rank what order Brian Dozier, Chris Parmelee, Liam Hendriks and Joe Benson will be called up by the Twins in 2012. As we like to say at Twins Daily, come for the content, and stay for the discussion! Click here to view the article

It was a terrific pitcher’s dual through five-and-a-half innings. In fact, Carl Pavano was one out from getting out of the bottom of the 6th inning. Then came a blooper and an error. The Rays had a 3-0 lead, made it 4-0 later, and despite a late run for the Twins, they fell 4-1 to the Rays. In reality, after the Rays got the lead, thing were not pretty for the Twins. Jamey Carroll committed his first error. Danny Valencia misplayed a ground ball. Jeff Gray inexplicably did not allow a run in the 8th despite having zero control. Tomorrow is another day, and the Twins will hope that we get to see good Francisco Liriano against the Rays’ Jeff Niemann. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Saturday: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER, LEHIGH VALLEY - Postponed The Red Wings game was postponed by rain on Saturday afternoon, so these two teams will play a double-header on Sunday afternoon. NEW BRITAIN 4, NEW HAMPSHIRE 1 Lefty Andrew Albers was again tremendous in his start against New Hampshire on this night. He gave up just one run on five hits in seven innings for the Win. He walked none and struck out seven. Bobby Lanigan struck out two in hit two scoreless innings. The Rock Cats got plenty of hits in this game. Estarlin de Los Santos (playing LF) went 2-5. Chris Herrmann had his fifth and sixth doubles in five at bats. Evan Bigley went 2-4 with a walk. Pedro Florimon was 2-4 with his second double. Aaron Hicks was 2-3 with a walk and his first triple. The Rock Cats improve to 12-5. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 8, BRADENTON 6 Down 6-1 going into the top of the 8th, the Miracle put together a miraculous comeback. They scored two in the eighth. Then in the top of the ninth, they scored three runs. Danny Santana drove in one with a triple, then Levi Michael drove him in with a sacrifice fly to tie the game. The game went to the 10th and the Miracle offense continued. Dan Rohlfing drove in the go-ahead run with a single, and then Lance Ray doubled him in for an insurance run. The bullpen held and the Miracle came away with a very nice win. Marty Popham was on the mound to start. He gave up three runs on six hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out five. Tony Davis came in to start the sixth. He faced four batters and gave up two hits and two walks. Three runs scored were charged to him. Ricky Bowen threw two perfect innings in relief. Then Caleb Thielbar struck out six, walked just one and gave up no hits in his three scoreless frames. Levi Michael went 2-4 in the game and drove in three runs. In the first inning, he hit his first career home run. Danny Santana was 3-5 with his first triple. Josmil Pinto remains hot. He had another 3-5 game. The Miracle broke a four game losing streak and are now 7-8 on the season. INJURY NOTES – The Miracle put Danny Rams and Manuel Soliman (sore shoulder) on the Disabled List, and they activated RHP Miguel Munoz. BELOIT 5, SOUTH BEND 8 It was seven-run fifth inning that did in Matt Summers and the Snappers. The big right-hander gave up eight runs on five hits, four walks and two hit batsmen in 4.1 innings. Matt Tomshaw came in and threw 2.2 scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out one. Nelvin Fuentes then gave up two runs in the eighth inning. The Snappers got plenty of base runners, but they were unable to make up for the one inning. Tyler Grimes was 1-3 with a walk. Miguel Sano was 1-3 with a walk and his second stolen base. Eddie Rosario was 0-1 but walked his first three plate appearances. Wang-Wei Lin was 2-2 with two walks and his first triple. The Snappers fall back over .500 at 8-8. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, April 21, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Levi Michael Download attachment: LeviMichael.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Albers Download attachment: AndrewAlbers2.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Sunday, April 22, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs. Lehigh Valley (DH) – LHP Scott Diamond, RHP Daryl Thompson New Britain vs New Hampshire – RHP David Bromberg Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie – LHP Pat Dean Beloit @ West Michigan – RHP Madison Boer --- 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! Click here to view the article

The Twins got a great mound performance from Samuel Deduno who picked up his first MLB win, giving up just one run in 6.1 innings. He got plenty of run support on this day. Ryan Doumit was 3-4 hit two home runs, one from each side of the plate. He drove in four runs. Brian Dozier drove in two more runs with a double off the wall. The Twins bullpen struggled but hung on for a 7-5 win. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the Sunday games in the minor leagues.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester finally has a ten-home run hitter. The Snappers had a newcomer arrive on Sunday and he helped the team put on quite a power display. But there was a lot of power shown throughout the system. GAME 1 – ROCHESTER 5, DURHAM 1 Jeff Manship improved to 6-1 with another strong performance. He gave up one run on three hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out four. Luis Perdomo pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He gave up one hit and a walk. Clete Thomas won the Rochester Race to Ten Home Runs! He went 1-2 with a walk and the home run. Sean Burroughs went 2-3. Pedro Florimon hit his 13th double. GAME 2 – ROCHESTER 3, DURHAM 4 Luke French started game two for the Red Wings. The lefty gave up three runs on six hits in 3.2 innings. He walked three and struck out four. Dan Sattler came in and got the next four batters out, two of them on strikeouts. Lester Oliveros came in and pitched a scoreless sixth innings, but he gave up the winning run in the seventh. Tsuyoshi Nishioka went 2-3 and drove in the team’s first run. Sean Burroughs was also 2-3. In the 5th inning, Clete Thomas and Danny Valencia had back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game at three. NEW BRITAIN 8, HARRISBURG 4 The bats showed up for the Rock Cats in this game and Steve Hirschfeld pitched well yet again in this Rock Cats win. Nate Hanson led the offense by going 3-5 with his third home run and four RBI. Deibinson Romero was 2-4 with a walk, his 14th home run and three RBI. Chris Colabello went 2-4 with a walk and his 29th double. Aaron Hicks was 0-2, but he walked three times and stole his 22nd base. Hirschfeld won for the 7th time this season. He worked the first six innings and gave up three runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out four. David Bromberg gave up one run on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out three. Bruce Pugh got his fifth save by getting the final four outs. FT. MYERS 2, LAKELAND 4 Madison Boer falls to 4-9 after this game, but he pitched quite well. The Eden Prairie native gave up two runs (1 earned) on five hits in six innings. He walked one, hit one and struck out six. Cole Nelson came in and gave up two runs on three hits, a walk and a hit batter in one inning. Ricky Bowen then pitched a scoreless inning. Josmil Pinto had another very good game. He went 3-4. Jhon Goncalves went 2-3. Danny Santana hit a two-run homer in the 8th inning that cut the deficit in half. It was his fifth home run of the year. The Miracle had 11 hits in this game, but left too many on base. BELOIT 7, GREAT LAKES 10 It was a big day for the Snappers offense. There was a big return and a huge power display, but it wasn’t enough on this day. Kennys Vargas was having a very strong season last year at Elizabethton when it suddenly came to an end at the hands of a 50 Game Suspension for Performance Enhancing Drugs. He served about 18 games last year, so he had to serve another 32 games in 2012. Unfortunately, he needed to serve those games with the team he was with when he got the suspension. That means that his suspension couldn’t continue until the Elizabethton season started in late June. Instead of returning to the E-Twins at the end of the 50 games, the Twins had him go directly to Beloit. In his first game in almost a year, Vargas went 2-4 with a walk. In his first at bat, he hit a solo home run. In his second at bat, he hit a two-run home run. Not a bad return. Vargas wasn’t the only Snappers hitter who displayed power in this game. Steve Liddle hit his third home run. Wang-Wei Lin hit his second homer of the year. Nate Roberts was 4-4 with his eighth double and his fourth home run. He was also hit by a pitch. Tyler Jones started for the Snappers. The right-hander went just three innings and gave up seven runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out three. Ryan O’Rourke replaced him in the fourth inning and after allowing the inherited runners to score, he threw three shutout frames and struck out three. Mason Melotakis gets the loss because he gave up an unearned run on one hit and one walk in two innings. Corey Williams pitched the ninth inning and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. ELIZABETHTON 5, JOHNSON CITY 6 Max Kepler continues to rake. On this day, he was 2-4 with his fifth double and fourth home run (all in the last week). Bo Altobelli went 2-3 with a walk and his second double. Travis Harrison added his fifth double. Hein Robb started for the E-Twins. He gave up four runs (2 earned) on four hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out three. Brett Lee gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits over the next two innings. Luis Nunez walked one over the next two innings without giving up a run. GCL TWINS No game scheduled. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, July 22, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Jeff Manship Download attachment: Jeff Manship.jpg Hitter of the Day – Nate Roberts Download attachment: Nate Roberts.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Monday, July 23, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Durham – RHP Liam Hendriks New Britain vs Binghampton – TBD Ft. Myers vs Charlotte – LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs Great Lakes – TBD Elizabethton @ Kingsport – RHP Angel Mata GCL Twins vs GCL Orioles (DH) – 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! Click here to view the article

The Twins got a second win against the Angels on Tuesday night. Joe Mauer got four hits for the second straight game. Brian Dozier was forced into the leadoff spot at the last minute and got on base three times. He was leading off because Aaron Hicks was moved down in the order, and then Darin Mastroianni’s ankle flared up on him again. Following the game, Mastroianni was put on the Disabled List and Oswaldo Arcia [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] as again recalled from Rochester to take his place. In other roster moves, Bruce Pugh was sent from Rochester to New Britain. Aaron Thompson was added to the New Britain roster with Nelvin Fuentes being send down to Ft. Myers. According to Jeff Johnson of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, the word is that J.O. Berrios will be with the Kernels by Thursday. Rochester Red Wings 0, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 1 Box Score Kyle Gibson loaded the bases in the first inning but survived by giving up just one run. Unfortunately, that one run was enough to give him, and the Red Wings, another loss to fall to 2-10. Gibson settled in very nicely after the first frame. He went six innings and gave up the one run on four hits. He walked two and struck out five. Caleb Thielbar came on and gave up three hits but no runs in 2.2 scoreless innings. Luis Perdomo came in and walked a batter before getting the final out. Oswaldo Arcia was back in the Red Wings lineup on Tuesday night after starting for the Twins on Monday night (and now heading back to Minneapolis). He went 1-4 and stole his second base. Eric Farris went 1-3 with a walk and his first double. Eric Fryer was 2-3. New Britain Rock Cats 7, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 6 Box Score The Rock Cats were able to pull out another win in the bottom of the ninth on this night. James Beresford scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch. Beresford has been hot of late. On this night, he went 3-4 with his second double. He was also hit by a pitch. Curt Smith was 2-3 with a walk. Danny Santana was 2-5 with his first double. Nate Hanson was 1-2 and he also walked three times. Josmil Pinto and Danny Ortiz each doubled. Trevor May was back on the mound. The hard-throwing righty gave up two runs on six hits. In 5.1 innings, he walked four and struckout eight. Jose Gonzalez got the final two outs of the sixth inning but not before giving up four runs on five hits. Edgar Ibarra was perfect for two innings, striking out two. Michael Tonkin got the win. He walked one and struckout one in the ninth inning. Ft. Myers Miracle 7, Palm Beach Cardinals 4 Box Score Another day, another win for the Ft. Myers Miracle. This one came in dramatic fashion. Down 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh, the Miracle loaded the bases to bring up Miguel Sano. On the first pitch, Sano launched a long, towering home run. The grand slam was his fourth homer of the season and gave the Miracle their 7-4 lead, a lead they would maintain over the final innings. Sano went 2-3 with a walk. Early in the game, he extended his hitting streak to ten games. Eddie Rosario extended his hitting streak to nine games with an early single. He was 2-4. Jhon Goncalves went 2-3 with a walk and a double. Matt Koch was 2-4 with a double. Stephen Wickens had a triple. AJ Pettersen hit his second double. Jason Wheeler made the start. The lefty gave up three runs on five hits in six innings. He walked four and struck out four. Tim Wood made his first rehab appearance. He gave up one run on three hits. Cole Johnson picked up the save with two shutout innings. He struck out two. Game 1 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 3, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 0 Box Score The Kernels remain quite busy. It was their third doubleheader in four days (7 games in 4 days). Brett Lee finally go to make his first start. The left-hander threw six shutout innings. He gave up six hits, walked none and struck out three. Tyler Jones came on for the final inning to record his second save of the season. Jorge Polanco went 2-3 with an RBI. Travis Harrison went 1-2 with a walk. Niko Goodrum went 1-2 with a walk. Adam Walker went 0-1 with two walks. Game 2 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 9, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 1 Box Score Byron Buxton did not play in the first game, the first game of the season he has missed. He had been hit in the elbow on Monday night. He had it checked out, and it was fine. In the first inning of the second game he returned to the lineup with a single. Later, in the same inning, he doubled in a couple of runs. The Kernels bats scored eight runs in the first inning and maintained that lead with a 9-1 win. Buxton went 3-4 with his second double and two RBI. He is now hitting .474 on the season. Jorge Polanco went 2-4 with his third double and two RBI. Travis Harrison hit his second home run, a two run shot. Steven Gruver also made his first start of the season. The lefty gave up two hits in four shutout innings. He walked none and struck out six. Tim Atherton got the win. He went the final three innings and gave up one run on two hits. He struck out two. Please feel free to comment or ask questions. View full article

The Twins reduced their spring training roster significantly on Monday morning, and there was even a surprise or two. The biggest name on the list was Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Many believed that because he has some ability to play shortstop and the had an inside track on the Twins utility job. But he has struggled throughout spring with many of the game's basics, and the Twins optioned him to Rochester. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Carlos Gutierrez and Rene Tosoni were also optioned to Rochester. Several non-roster players were assigned to minor league camp. Relievers Jason Bulger, Luis Perdomo, Daryl Thompson, Esmerling Vaszquez and PJ Walters will report across the parking lot. Catchers Chris Herrmann and Dan Rohlfing will start preparing for their minor league seasons in minor league camp. Infielder Aaron Bates and outfielder Wilkin Ramirez were also sent to minor league camp. Download attachment: Nishioka.jpg Aside from Nishioka, there are not a lot of surprises. Gutierrez has good numbers but still lacks that second pitch that could make him very good. Tosoni really struggled in big league camp, with just one hit in 15 at bats. Aaron Bates, who blogs for Twins Daily, is a surprise to some degree. The first baseman was 8-20 this spring. He was posting a line of .400/.429/.450 and has had back-to-back multi-hit games. The spring training roster is now at 45 with 21 pitchers, six catchers, 11 infielders and seven outfielders vying for 25 spots. Maybe the most interesting thing about the Nishioka demotion is the possible utility infielders remaining in camp. The most intriguing is Brian Dozier who is now hitting over .300 this spring, and hit his first home run yesterday. The Twins won't keep him up to be a backup, but he could potentially win a starting job still. Michael Hollimon has been terrific the first half of spring training, hitting .533 albeit in just 17 plate appearances. Ray Chang, Pedro Florimon, Brian Dinkelman and Sean Burroughs also seem to be in the hunt for an Opening Day roster spot. Any thoughts on the transactions? Click here to view the article

The Twins got some great pitching on Saturday and won both games of a split double-header against the Kansas City Royals. In the first game, the Twins won 7-2 and Scott Diamond worked eight innings for the Win. In the second game, it was Cole DeVries who was promoted and who recorded his second big league win with a terrific performance. Of course, he was immediately optioned back to Rochester following the game. There was a lot going on in the Twins system on Saturday. I had the opportunity to go to Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, ND, to watch the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks take on the St. Paul Saints. Former Twins minor leaguer Tony Davis made his Redhawks debut with a scoreless inning in relief. Other former Twins farmhands, Kyle Carr and Matt Schuld pitch for the Saints. The night was great. The atmosphere for baseball in Fargo is incredible, and I will write more soon. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] But this is a report on the Twins minor leagues, so see below to see what Danny Valencia did for the second time in a week. Just how far did Miguel Sano hit one? Did the Rock Cats double their pleasure with a win against Bowie? Three players had four-hit games on Saturday, and one of them completed the cycle. For all this and more, here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Saturday: ROCHESTER 4, EMPIRE STATE 6 Things were looking good for the Red Wings through the first four innings. They held a 2-0 lead thanks to two solo home runs off the bat of Danny Valencia. Also, Jeff Manship had thrown four shutout innings. Unfortunately, Brendan Wise came in to start the fifth and the floodgates opened. Wise was charged with six runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out three. Esmerling Vasquez they struck out six in 2.2, one-hit innings. Bobby Lanigan pitched a scoreless inning. Valencia ended the game 3-4 with the two homers, his fifth and sixth on the season. They were the Red Wings first in seven days. It was Valencia’s fourth multi-homer game. His most recent was one week earlier against Charlotte. Matt Carson was 2-4 with his sixth home run. Despite the loss, the Red Wings finished June with a 15-14 record, the first time they had a winning record during a calendar month since August of 2009. NEW BRITAIN 8, BOWIE 9 New Britain scored three in the bottom of the ninth but fell one short, losing 9-8. Dan Rohlfing led the offense by going 4-5 with his third double. He drove in three runs. Evan Bigley was 2-5 with his 17th double. Chris Herrmann was 2-5 with his 19th double and first triple. In all, the Rock Cats managed six doubles. Deibinson Romero hit his 10th home run. Brett Jacobson made a start I am certain he will already be second-guess himself. The right-hander gave up eight runs (7 earned) on four hits and NINE walks (with no strike outs). Edgar Ibarra came out of the bullpen and gave up just one run on three hits and a walk in four innings. Dan Sattler went the final 2.2 innings without alloqing a run. 1B Matt Rizzotti has been released by the Twins. FT. MYERS 7, CHARLOTTE 2 Tom Stuifbergen picked up his first win of the season, and he needed it. The right-hander gave up two runs on six hits in five innings. He worked quickly, walked none and struck out two. Jose Gonzalez struck out two over the next two innings. Finally, Marty Popham came on and struck out two in two perfect innings. Jairo Perez went 2-4 with two RBI and his fourth stolen base. Danny Rams went 2-4 with his first triple. Lance Ray entered the game early and went 2-3 with a walk and his 14th double. Angel Morales went 1-3 with a walk and his fourth home run. BELOIT 3, CLINTON 6 This was not a great night for the Snappers. They managed just three hits in the game although two of them traveled well. Jairo Rodriguz hit a solo home run, his second of the season. Miguel Sano then connected for his 17th home run. An on-site report from K-Bro Baseball tells us that Sano’s home run was a moonshot and towered over the scoreboard in left center field. Jason Wheeler struggled again on this night. The lefty gave up seven runs on eight hits and a walk in three innings. Cole Johnson came in and struck out five in three scoreless innings. Bart Carter pitched two frames and gave up three runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out three. Clinton Dempster pitched the final inning without allowing a run. The loss meant that the Snappers were swept by Clinton in this three-game series. A record-high number of fans (2,564) crawled in to Pohlmann Stadium to watch the Snappers. ELIZABETHTON 6, PULASKI 4 It may be just a statistical anomaly, but hitting for the cycle is still a very cool, very rare occurrence in baseball. On this night, Niko Goodrum did just that. In five at bats, he had a single, hit his second double, his sixth triple and his second home run. He also drove in four runs. Travis Harrison continues to rake. He was 3-3 with a walk. Stephen Wickens went 2-4 with his second triple. Ricardo Arevalo started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on five hits and three walks in just 2.2 innings. Brett Lee came in and gave up a run on three hits in 2.1 innings. Tyler Herr struckout two in two scoreless innings. Mason Melotakis pitched a scoreless eighth frame. Dallas Gallant struck out two in a scoreless ninth to lock down his first save of the season. GCL TWINS 4, GCL RED SOX 3 Lefty Austin Malinowski, the lefty from Minnesota, came in after a couple of rehabbing righties and recorded his first professional win. David Bromberg started and threw the first two frames. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. He struck out two. Next, Adrian Salcedo struck out two in a perfect inning. Malinowski came in and gave up an unearned run on three hits and a walk in three innings. Hung-yi Chen and Gerardo Ramirez each threw a scoreless inning. Gonzalo Sanudo struck out five in two scoreless innings. Aderlin Mejia led the offense by going 4-5 with his fifth double. Dereck Rodriguez was 3-5 with two RBI. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, June 30, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Niko Goodrum Download attachment: NikoGoodrum.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Jeff Manship Download attachment: Jeff Manship 2.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Sunday, July 1, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Empire Island – RHP PJ Walters New Britain vs Bowie – LHP Aaron Thompson Ft. Myers vs St. Lucie – TBD Beloit vs Cedar Rapids – RHP Matt Summers Elizabethton vs Pulaski – LHP Corey Kimes GCL Twins – No Game Scheduled --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them! Click here to view the article

The Twins had a rough weekend series with the A’s, so on Monday night they picked on another vowel, the O’s. The Twins scored seven runs in the first inning and kept on adding on their way to a 19-7 win over Baltimore. Scott Diamond wasn’t in finest form after a ten day break since his last start, but he did go six innings for the Win. Justin Morneau had four hits, extending his hit streak to 14 games. That is the same hit streak that Trevor Plouffe has as well after he had two hits. Ben Revere had four hits and another highlight reel catch in right field. Denard Span had three hits and after a misplay, he made two terrific catches in center field. Joe Mauer had two hits including his sixth home run. Jamey Carroll added two hits. Ryan Doumit was the only starter without a hit, yet he had two RBI. Josh Willingham, the team’s RBI leader, was the only Twins player without an RBI. 19 runs on 20 hits and five walks. They added a homer and six doubles. It was a long game, but those are just fine when the right team is winning! Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the Monday games in the minor leagues. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 4, NORFOLK 11 The Red Wings have Liam Hendriks and Nick Blackburn, but someone has to pitch after they do. That pitcher is Luke French who has really struggled since his promotion from New Britain. On this night, he went four innings and gave up seven runs on nine hits and a walk without a strikeout. Caleb Thielbar came in and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in his inning. Kyle Waldrop gave up two runs on four hits in his innings. Bobby Lanigan came in and threw two scoreless frames. Tsuyoshi Nishioka led the offense again. He went 3-4 with his 10th double. Chris Parmelee was 2-4 with a walk. Wilkin Ramirez went 2-5 with his eighth home run for the Red Wings. Evan Bigley played in his first AAA game and went 0-3 but drove in two runs. GAME 1 – NEW BRITAIN 8, NEW HAMPSHIRE 5 (9 innings) It took Oswaldo Arcia a couple of games to figure out AA pitching, but he’s been hitting very well for a month now. On Monday night, he went 2-4 with a walk and a walk-off. He came to the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning with two runners on and a tie game. He proceeded to end it. He was part of a top of the order that provided most of the offense. Aaron Hicks led off and went 2-5 with his 11th double and his 20th stolen base. Chris Herrmann batted second and was 2-4 with a walk. Those top three hitters were 6-13 with 7 runs scored. Joe Benson made his return to New Britain, batting fifth, and he was 2-3 with a walk. By the way, Hicks and Arcia each threw a base runner out at third base in this game as well. Logan Darnell started. The lefty gave up four runs (2 earned) on ten hits. He walked none and struck out two. Daniel Turpen went the next two innings and gave up one run on three hits and an intentional walk. He struck out three. Dakota Watts recorded his second win. He struck out two in two scoreless innings. GAME 2 – NEW BRITAIN 4, NEW HAMPSHIRE 0 The Rock Cats completed a very nice doubleheader sweep against the other “New” team in the Eastern League. This game was about the pitching of Steve Hirschfeld, just returned from Rochester. The righty improved to 6-4 with seven shutout innings. He gave up six hits, walked none and struck out six. The offense remained at the top of the order. Aaron Hicks knocked his 12th double. Chris Herrmann went 2-3 and scored two runs. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-3 with his fifth double and drove in two runs. Deibinson Romero hit his 13th home run. FT. MYERS, DUNEDIN The Miracle game against the Blue Jays affiliate was postponed by rain. The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Tuesday. BELOIT 8, LAKE COUNTY 9 Miguel Sano gave the Snappers a 1-0 lead with his 19th home run in the top of the 1st inning. However, Lake County scored three runs in the first inning and two runs in the third inning. The Snappers tied the game at five in the top of the fifth, but they then gave up three runs in the bottom of the fifth. In the top of the sixth inning, Drew Leachman cleared the bases with a double to tie the game at eight. That was all the scoring until there were two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Eight Snappers hitters tallied one hit each. Sano was 1-3 with two walks and the home run. Steve Liddle hit his second home run. Wang Wei-Lin hit his fourth triple. Tyler Jones started for the Snappers. He gave up five runs (4 earned) on four hits and three walks in four innings. He struck out four. Steve Evans then gave up three runs on three hits and three walks in 1.1 innings. Tim Atherton walked three and struck out one in 1.2 scoreless innings. Corey Williams pitched a scoreless eighth inning. However, the ninth inning began with an error on the left-hander. He walked a batter. Then with two outs, he issued another walk and on it threw a wild pitch that allowed the game-winning run to score. GAME 2 - ELIZABETHTON 8, BLUEFIELD 0 In the first of two on Tuesday, the E-Twins played a very well-rounded game. Max Kepler provided the big blow with a second innings grand slam. Niko Goodrum added his third home run of the season in the 5th inning. This was a team offensive win because no player had more than one hit. Hudson Boyd was back on the mound, but he was only able to complete four innings before reaching his pitch count. He gave up just two hits, walked three and struck out two. Lefty Brett Lee came in and gave up just one hit and one walk in two innings. Tyler Duffey struck out three in the final inning. Boyd’s season ERA is now 1.24. Lee’s is 1.06. GAME 2 - ELIZABETHTON 7, BLUEFIELD 13 After beating Bluefield bad the first two games of this series, the E-Twins were beaten badly in this one. Ricardo Arevalo started and gave up seven runs on two hits and six walks in just 1.2 innings. He struck out three. Luis Nunez got two outs, but he gave up four runs on one hit, two walks and a hit batter. Tyler Herr went the next 2.2 innings and gave up two runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out five. Josh Burris raised his season ERA to 0.95 as he gave up one run on three hits and two walks in two innings. He struck out three. Josh Hendricks went 3-4 with his second double. Jorge Polanco went 2-4 with his eighth double. DJ Hicks walked twice. GCL TWINS, GCL ORIOLES Game postponed by rain. --- Players of the Day for Monday, July 16, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Oswaldo Arcia Download attachment: Oswaldo Arcia NB.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Steve Hirschfeld Download attachment: Steve Hirschfeld MUG.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, July 17, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Norfolk – RHP Jeff Manship New Britain vs New Hampshire – LHP Aaron Thompson Ft. Myers vs Dunedin (2) – LHP Cole Nelson Beloit – No Game Scheduled Elizabethton vs Johnson City – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (2) – 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! Click here to view the article

Download attachment: MaxKepler3.jpg Happy Labor Day to all!! Labor Day is also the final regular season game for full season minor league affiliates. Correcting myself from yesterday, the New Britain Rock Cats will go into the final day of the season with a chance at a playoff spot. On Sunday, Elizabethton fought elimination. Would they be able to force a Appy League championship-deciding Game 3 against Burlington? [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Twins and Royals completed three games within a 24 hour period. Unfortunately, after winning the first two games on Saturday, the Royals got the win in game three. Esmerling Vasquez started and after some early control issues, he settled down some. In all, he gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks in 5.2 innings. Joe Mauer had three hits, including his 27th double. Chris Parmelee hit his fourth Twins homer, one of his two hits. The Twins and White Sox will play on Labor Day. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Sunday: ELIZABETHTON 4, BURLINGTON 3 After losing by a score of 3-2 in 12 innings on Saturday night in Game 1, Elizabethton would need to win on Sunday to force a championship-deciding Game 3 on Monday. The E-Twins needed overtime again, but thanks to a big home run and some incredible bullpen work, they fought out an 11-inning, 4-3 win. On Monday, the Twins will send top pitcher J.O. Berrios to the mound in an attempt to win their first Appy League title since 2009. The weather tried to keep the teams from playing. They were delayed for about two hours before starting the game. The E-Twins had to start 5th starter Hein Robb in this all-important game. The lefty from South Africa game up three runs on four hits in four innings. He walked two and struckout five. He gave up a two-run homer to Bubba Starling before giving up a solo homer to Fred Ford. Adam Walker got the E-Twins on the scoreboard in the fourth with an RBI single. Down 3-1, Max Kepler hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 6th to tie the score at three. That’s where the score stayed for a while thanks to great work by the bullpens. Tyler Duffey struckout five batters in two perfect innings. Kaleb Merck then struckout two in two scoreless innings. JT Chargois threw three scoreless innings. He walked one and struckout five. That brought the game to the bottom of the 11th. DJ Hicks led off with a single to right field. Thanks to an error, he got all the way to third base. Kelvin Mention pinch ran for Hicks. Adam Walker and Byron Buxton were intentionally walked, setting up a force at home. With Travis Harrison at bat, Mention scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch. Max Kepler was 3-5 with the homer and two RBI. Candido Pimentel went 2-5 in the game. ROCHESTER 7, SYRACUSE 8 Wilkin Ramirez and the offense continued to put up runs, but on this day, it wasn’t enough. Ramirez went 2-4 with his 17th double, 15th home run and two RBI. Rene Rivera was 2-4 with his 15th homer. Tsuyoshi Nishioka hit his 16th and 17th doubles. Nick Blackburn made the start. He went just 2.2 innings. He gave up six runs (3 earned) on eight hits. Two were home runs. Bobby Lanigan went the next 3.1 innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and hit a batter. He struck out four. Daniel Turpen went the final two innings and did not give up a run. He gave up a hit, walked one and struck out two. NEW BRITAIN 10, NEW HAMPSHIRE 3 The Rock Cats kept their playoff hopes alive with a win on Sunday afternoon. Steve Hirschfeld started but got just two outs. He gave up one run on three hits. David Bromberg came in and gave up one run on two hits over the next 3.2 innings. He walked two and struck out one. Aaron Thompson gave up one run on four hits over the next 2.1 innings. Matt Hauser went the final 2.1 innings and gave up just one hit. James Beresford went 3-4 with his third triple. Nate Hanson went 2-4 with his 16th double and seventh home run. Oswaldo Arcia was 2-5 with his fifth triple. Josmil Pinto was 2-5. Chris Herrmann went 1-2 with two walks and three RBI. FT. MYERS 6, CHARLOTTE 3 Andy Leer has had a difficult season with the Miracle in terms of his batting average. However, his ability to play several positions has given him value throughout the season in the eyes of manager Jake Mauer. On this day, he went 2-2 and drove in four runs. Three times he drove in Angel Morales who was 2-3 with a walk and two stolen bases. Anderson Hidalgo went 2-3 with his 13th double. Danny Santana homered for the 8th time, and Kyle Knudson ripped his 11th double. Lefty Pat Dean started and gave up just one hit over the first three innings. He struckout four. Matt Summers came in for the middle three innings. He gave up three runs on two hits and two walks. He struck out three. AJ Achter didn’t allow a single base runner in the final three innings for his sixth save. BELOIT 1, QUAD CITIES 2 Matt Tomshaw was very good again on this day. The lefty went the first seven innings and gave up two runs on six hits. He walked none and struckout six. He was replaced by Steven Gruver who gave up two hits and two walks in his two innings but did not give up a run. The Snappers had just three hits. Jairo Rodriguez went 1-2 with a walk and his 12th double. He scored the team’s lone run on a Wang-Wei Lin sacrifice fly. Kennys Vargas went 1-3 with a walk. Most important, Miguel Sano was back in the lineup. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, September 2, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Max Kepler Download attachment: Max Kepler.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Matt Tomshaw Download attachment: MattTomshaw2.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Monday, September 3, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Syracuse – TBD New Britain vs New Hampshire – LHP Logan Darnell Ft. Myers vs Charlotte – Season Over Beloit vs Quad Cities – LHP David Hurlbut Elizabethton vs Burlington – RHP JO Berrios GCL Twins – Season Over --- 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! Click here to view the article

The Cedar Rapids Kernels and Beloit Snappers are both going to the playoffs in the Midwest League. Which one will go as first-half champ will be soon determined. The big news in the Twins farm system on Thursday, however, involves a significant transaction. The Twins signed RHP Cody Eppley. Not a major signing, though he did pitch in 59 games out of the Yankees bullpen a year ago. The bigger news, for Twins fans of recent years, is that Anthony Slama has finally been freed. The Twins released the 29-year-old right-hander who has been a strikeout machine since signing with the team after his 2007 college season.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Slama has been a favorite of those of us who follow the minor leagues and believe in the value of things like ‘ability to miss bats’ and dominance at all levels equating to big league opportunity. Here is what I wrote in the 2013 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook about Slama: If ever there was a case of The Numbers versus The Scouting Reports, it might be Anthony Slama. It might even be a case where neither side is wrong. The numbers are undeniable. Since signing with the Twins as a draft-and-follow early in 2007, Slama has dominated at every minor league level. In Low A, he posted a 1.48 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP with a 14.4 K/9. In High-A, he posted a 1.01 ERA, a 0.94 WHIP and a 13.9 K/9. In AA, he had a 2.48 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP and a 12.8 K/9 rate. He has now been in AAA since late in the 2009 season, and in 123 AAA games, he has posted a 2.27 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP and still 11.1 K/9. In 2012, he recorded the 100th save of his minor league career, so he has pitched primarily in late-inning, game-on-the-line situations throughout his career. On the other side, however, most scouts question his ability to be successful in the big leagues. Some say that he has a deceptive motion that big league hitters will quickly adjust to. He may not have a good out-pitch against left-handed batters. Although his minor league stats are clearly better against right-handed, they are still very good versus lefties as well. He walks too many. In the upper levels of the Twins minor league system, he has averaged about one walk every other inning, which is too much and doesn’t bode well upon moving up. Despite the crazy strikeout numbers, he does not have a dominant fastball. At his peak, Slama’s velocity topped out at about 92 mph. In 2012, Slama rarely reached 89 mph with his fastball. Slama has pitched seven innings in seven big league games (5 in 2010, 2 in 2011). To be fair, Slama was pitching very well through the season’s first two months in 2012. In a game against Norfolk, he was hit in the leg by a comebacker off the bat of former MVP Miguel Tejada. A week after the game, the swelling came down and an x-ray showed a broken fibula which kept him out of action for nearly two months. Without that injury, maybe Slama would have had an extended tryout with the Twins. Slama is a very hard worker who has put in the time, and he has experienced the success at every level of the farm system to warrant an extended opportunity. If not, then the Twins’ “work hard and succeed and we build from within” philosophy goes out the window. Slama never really got that opportunity. When he was released on Thursday, he was 0-4 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP in 14 games. In 13.1 innings, he gave up 16 hits, walked 14 and struck out just nine. At this point, the release is completely understandable; I’m hoping that he can be healthy, find a good team and get an opportunity to return to the big leagues. With that, check out what happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday: Rochester Red Wings 8, Gwinnett Braves 2 Box Score Andrew Albers was terrific again. In this game, the Canadian lefty gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out six. He improved to 5-2 with a 3.01 ERA. Luis Perdomo came on and gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. He struck out two. Chris Colabello led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk and his 20th double. He drove in three runs. Antoan Richardson went 2-4 with a walk, his third triple, three RBI and his tenth stolen base. Doug Bernier was 2-4 with his third home run. New Britain Rock Cats, Altoona Curve Postponed by rain Ft. Myers Miracle 1, Daytona 5 Box Score Tyler Duffey was on the mound for his second Miracle start. In 4.2 innings, he gave up three runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out four. Nelvin Fuentes gave up two runs on three hits over the next 2.1 innings. Jose Gonzalez pitched a scoreless inning. The Miracle had just six hits. Aderlin Mejia went 2-3 with two walks. Mike Kvasnicka was 1-2 with two walks. Cedar Rapids Kernels 8, Quad Cities River Bandits 9 Box Score The Kernels clinched a playoff spot on Wednesday night, but they still have a lot to play for before the Midwest League All-Star game. They are in a battle with the Beloit Snappers for the first-half division title. Coming into play on Thursday, the Kernels had a half-game lead. The Snappers split a double header on Thursday, so would the Kernels' lead increase or decrease? Things started out well. Byron Buxton led off the game with his 8th home run of the year. However, through seven innings, the Kernels were down by a score of 4-1. In the top of the 8th frame, the Kernels rallied to score seven runs and take an 8-4 lead. They maintained that lead to the bottom of the 9th. Christian Powell made his second start with the Kernels. He gave up one run in five innings despite giving up five hits and walking five. He struck out four. Alex Muren came in and gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in just 1.1 innings. Tyler Jones got out of the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth frame. That brings us to the bottom of the ninth. Jones got the first two outs, but he walked two as well. He then got a ground ball that should have ended the game, but an error by shortstop Jorge Polanco kept things alive. Jones left the game with the Kernels up 8-7 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. There were runners on first and second, and Josue Montanez came in to replace Jones. The first batter he faced hit a two-run double that ended the game. So, with three games remaining in the first half, the Kernels and the Snappers are tied. The Kernels will play three games against Peoria while the Snappers will play three against Clinton. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

It’s hard to believe that we are already nearly two months through the minor league season. However, it is time to hand out some awards. Today, I’ll name the choice for Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for May. There are fewer candidates this month, yet there were a couple tremendous performances by relievers. The two at the top of the list actually ended the month with promotions to the next levels on their journeys up the ladder. Let's get to the Top 4 Relief Pitchers in May:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Number 4 – New Britain – AJ Achter – 1.64 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 9 K In 2012 Achter was my choice for Twins' Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. He split last year, pretty evenly, between Beloit and Ft. Myers. This year he began the season in New Britain, from where he was promoted last week. The former 46th round draft choice out of Michigan State started the season slowly, but came on in May. For the year, he has now given up 21 hits in 27.2 innings while striking out 26. When Michael Tonkin was promoted to Rochester last week, Achter took over the closer role for the Rock Cats. Number 3 – Ft. Myers – Zack Jones – 0.82 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 3 H, 11 BB, 16 K Zack Jones was the winner of this award last month. This month his numbers were nearly identical to last month's. He throws gas, and he’s still working on a hard slider. He is really hard to hit. I mean, 98 mph heat is tough to square up on. He doesn’t give up hits and he gets strikeouts. However, the difference between April and May for Jones was an increase in the number of walks. Likely the reason he remains with the Miracle is to continue working on his slider and his control of the strike zone. Number 2 – New Britain/Rochester – Michael Tonkin – 0.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 12 H, 3 BB, 20 K Tonkin is the brother-in-law of former Twins OF/DH Jason Kubel, but in the past 12 months he has made a name for himself. He split 2012 between Beloit and Ft. Myers. Last year he was runner-up to Achter in my Reliever of the Year balloting. He moved up to New Britain this year and there, after not allowing an earned run, earned a promotion to Triple-A at the end of the month. He has come into two games for the Red Wings since his promotion. In the first, he threw one pitch and gave up an RBI single before leaving. In his second AAA game, he came on and threw two pitches before giving up a game-winning single to Gordon Beckham. Tonkin is a very good bullpen prospect. He throws hard and gets a bunch of sink on his pitches, producing ground balls and strikeouts. That’s exactly what you’re looking for in a reliever. Not bad for a 30th round draft pick. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Photo by Greg Wagner/Fort Myers Miracle Ft. Myers/New Britain – Cole Johnson – 0.68 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 13.1 IP, 11 H, 3 BB, 14 K Johnson was born in Wisconsin and went to college at Notre Dame. He was the Twins 44th round pick in 2011. A year ago, he was still waiting for an assignment in Extended Spring Training. It was not until the short-season teams started that Johnson was assigned to the Beloit Snappers. He pitched well and was one of their starters in the playoffs. He was assigned to Ft. Myers this spring where he had been overshadowed by bigger name players, but he was nothing short of remarkable. In fact, despite not having as much publicity as others in the Miracle bullpen, it was Johnson who was the first promoted to AA. He was charged with one run in his final appearance of the month, but he’s shown that he can pitch. Again, we wonder how the Ft. Myers Miracle have been so good this year. They have the hitting prospects in Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and Kennys Vargas surrounded by other solid players; they also have good starting pitching and a dominant bullpen. While Zack Jones and Corey Williams get a lot of the credit in the Miracle pen, Johnson had been steady and consistent all season. We hope June will be a very good month for the relievers on the Twins minor league affiliates. As always, please feel free to ask any questions you may have. View full article

Today, we move on to Part 4 of the Minnesota Twins Top 50 Prospects. We'll look at the Twins prospects I ranked 31 through 35. The first three have brought some interesting discussions into the comments, and I suspect that as we move closer to the top of the list, discussions will continue to be terrific. If you click on the links to the previous pieces of this list at the bottom of this article, you can read some background into what I consider when making these lists. As always, feel free to discuss each of these players and the rankings of those discussed to this point. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Tyler Jones 2.jpg Part 3: Prospects 36-40 In this group, there is an athletic on-base machine and four pitchers. As with those on the previous list, these pitchers have experienced some success, yet at this point can't be ranked any higher. Maybe it's a lack of strikeouts despite good pitches. Maybe the reason is strictly health-related. One made the move to the bullpen before the 2013 season while the other three could wind up there as well. All five are certainly worthy of interest and attention. #35 – Matt Summers – RH SP (24) Summers led the Florida State League in both ERA and WHIP in 2013. In 21 starts, he went 6-5. He also made five starts for New Britain in which he really struggled. The 2011 fourth-round pick struck out 6.3 per nine innings in 2013, which was actually an increase from 5.9 K/9 in 2012. He does throw hard, hitting 92-94 with a two-seam fastball and occasionally hitting 97. He’s got a sharp slider and a good slow curve ball, so I can’t explain the lack of strikeouts. #34 – Tyler Jones – RH RP (24) Jones was my choice for Twins minor league relief pitcher of the yearin 2013. He averaged 11.4 K/9 between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. He had been a starter in 2012 in Beloit, but he made the transition to the bullpen and it went well. Having a fastball that touches 98 mph certainly helps, but a much-improved slider helped also. Jones rededicated himself last offseason and got himself in tremendous shape which he credits with some of his success. He's definitely one to watch as he could move quickly. #33 – JD Williams – OF (23) Williams was the Twins 10th round pick in 2010 out of high school in Florida. He is a tremendous athlete who needed time to develop. In 2013, he started the season by repeating in the Midwest League. He needed to do it, and he showed great improvement. In 80 games with the Kernels, he hit .281 with an impressive .391 on base percentage. He has very good speed and increasing pop in his bat. He moved up to Ft. Myers where he got off to a fast start before slowing at the end of the year. #32 – Luke Bard – RH SP (22) Bard was the Twins supplemental 1st round pick in 2012 out of Georgia Tech. He has been hurt pretty much the whole time since. He rehabbed most of the 2013 season before making four appearances in the GCL. He made seven appearances in Elizabethton. He ended the season with one game pitched in Ft. Myers. He’s got the ability to be a solid big league starter or a good big league reliever, if he can get and stay healthy. #31 – Logan Darnell – LH SP (24) The Twins 6th round pick in 2010, he moved from Beloit to Ft. Myers to New Britain in 2011. He spent all of 2012 and began 2013 with the Rock Cats where he made 15 starts and went 6-6 with a 2.51 ERA. He was then promoted to Rochester where he made 11 more starts. The lefty pitched in the Arizona Fall League after the 2012 season and is well thought of. He can eat innings and has a solid four-pitch mix. He just doesn’t strike many out. So there you have it, Part 4 of my Top 50 Twins Prospect list. We'll be back Monday with Part 5, prospects 26-30. Part 1: 46-50 Part 2: 41-45 Part 3: 36-40 Click here to view the article

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

On Tuesday, we took a look at Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier and noted that his performance is certainly trending in the right direction, and that continued on Wednesday night in Kansas City. Today, we’ll shift to the other side of the infield and try to determine whether Dozier’s keystone combination partner Pedro Florimon is meeting or exceeding expectations. If I’m being honest, my expectations for Mr. Florimon were not terribly high. In fact, when I posted my 2013 Twins hitting predictions, I thought that he would be Designated for Assignment in June with an OPS below .500.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Strangely, I was not all that impressed by his defense in his late-season run at shortstop with the Twins. Looking at some defensive metrics, they lined up pretty closely with those of Brian Dozier, who many fans thought was pretty bad at shortstop. Download attachment: Pedro-Florimon.jpg So, let’s start with the defense. When the Twins claimed Florimon after he had been DFAd by the Orioles, he was known as a tremendous defensive shortstop. Offensive expectations were very low, but that only meant that his defense must be incredible. Reports I was hearing out of New Britain and Rochester last year didn’t disagree with that. They were seeing a great glove man. But again, I thought he was disappointing, relative to expectations, with the glove in 2012. So, let’s jump to 2013. How is Florimon doing defensively? He had four errors in about the first week of the season. Not a great start to the season, but in total, he has just ten errors this season. Now to the more advanced defensive metrics. According to fangraphs, Florimon ranks third among MLB shortstops with a 7.7 UZR. Only the Braves Andrelton Simmons (17.7) and the Rays Yunel Escabar (8.2) rank ahead of him right now. By DWAR (Defensive WAR), Florimon’s (1.9) is second to Simmons’ 4.2. Third on the list is former Twins shortstop, JJ Hardy at 1.5. If Range Factor is what you prefer, then Florimon is Number One on your list. His 5.46 is 0.50 ahead of Simmons’ 4.96. The Number Two AL shortstop is Seattle’s Brendan Ryan at 4.30.So, from a defensive perspective, he has been very good. For me, that’s actually a little bit better than I expected. So, let’s turn to the offense. My expectations were incredibly low so it won’t take a whole lot to be better than my expectations for him with the bat. Overall this year, in 300 plate appearances, he is hitting .232/.286/.353 (.639) with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 35 RBI. Looking at those numbers with no context says that they are not very good numbers. So, let’s look at how his numbers rank with other big league shortstops. Of 14 shortstops with more than 200 plate appearances, only Seattle’s Brendan Ryan has a lower batting average. Of the 14 shortstops, only Ryan and Kansas City’s Alcides Escobar have a lower on-base percentage. Of the 14 shortstops, only Ryan, Escobar, the Yankees’ Jayson Nix and the Rangers’ Elvis Andrus have a lower slugging percentage. Those same four players are the only ones who have an OPS lower than the .639 that Florimon boasts.In general, Florimon’s offense has been pretty poor, but he’s not the worst shortstop in baseball offensively, which is what I expected. Imagine if the Twins were paying him as much as the Rangers are paying Elvis Andrus!! So, when you combine the offense of Pedro Florimon with his defense, what happens? Well, if you believe in WAR, the answer might surprise you. Here are the WAR rankings for the shortstops with more than 200 plate appearances: 1. Jhonny Peralta 3.5 2. JJ Hardy 2.4 3. Yunel Escobar 2.3 4. Elvis Andrus 2.1 5. Pedro Florimon 2.0 6. Alexei Ramirez 1.8 7. Stephen Drew 1.7 8. Jose Reyes 1.7 9. Erick Aybar 1.3 10. Jed Lowrie 1.1 11. Asdrubal Cabrera 1.0 12. Mike Aviles 0.8 13. Jayson Nix 0.5 14. Brendan Ryan 0.3 15. Alcides Escobar 0.2 SUMMARY Has Pedro Florimon met or exceeded our expectations? Well, my expectations were immensely low. Again, I expected his defense to be like he was last year, which is to say, look like he should be a good shortstop but the numbers don’t match. I thought he wouldn’t hit at all, especially over the course of a full season where his weaknesses could be more and more exposed. He hasn’t hit great at all, but much better than I expected. So, maybe not to the extent as Brian Dozier, but Pedro Florimon has exceeded my expectations by a decent amount. We said before the season if he could post a .600 OPS and play great defense, we would be happy. I think we can be happy with Pedro Florimon. Click here to view the article

There are Top 10 lists for everything: prospect lists, all-time greatest Philly cheese steaks. Today, I thought I’d work on a similar theme, but instead, I’m going to make it a Top 11 list. Below, I will post, in order, the Top 11 Minnesota Twins players that could be traded in the next 23 hours. Number 11 is the one I would say is least likely (as of right now), and the Number 1 player is the one I would assume is most likely to be traded. Of course, guessing what will happen is a lot of fun.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Twins GM Terry Ryan and his staff will actually have to make real-life decisions on these players, considering what the team can get in return from various teams. So, put yourself in the GM’s seat. Who would be your Top 11 (or 10, or 6, or whatever) players that you think the Twins will trade? If you want, who are the Top 10 or 11 that you think the Twins should trade? I have included a “Percent-Likelihood” for each player. Although I have 11 players listed, the odds of most of them being traded is pretty small. Let’s start with a drum roll, please… (Disclaimer: These are the thoughts of Seth Stohs and not necessarily representative of the thoughts of other Twins Daily writers, the Twins themselves, or any other parties.) #11 – Kevin Correia – 1.9% – Yes, his April was terrific, as it has been in the past, but Correia has come back down to earth each month since then. When he signed with the Twins, I was comfortable with bringing him in, even though no one (myself included) understood the need for a second year. To Correia’s credit, he has been a workhorse. Even with his short start last weekend, he is on pace for over 190 innings. Innings may be very important to the Twins the next two months. #10 – Trevor Plouffe – 2.4% – He had a tremendous 4-6 week stretch for the Twins last season. He’s been more consistent this year. There is a certain Dominican third base prospect chomping at the bit for big league playing time as early as next year (Miguel Sano, not Deibinson Romero). I’d be surprised if there is a lot of interest in Plouffe, and the Twins would be silly to trade him right now. Who knows? He could be the team’s first baseman from June, 2014 forward. #9 – Casey Fien – 6.7% – The Twins signed Fien to a minor league deal before the 2012 season. Since he was promoted to the Twins halfway through last season, he has been one of baseball’s best relief pitchers. Should the Twins trade him while he’s pitching at his peak, or should they plan on him being an 8th (or 9th) inning guy for the next few years? #8 – Josh Roenicke – 8.4% – The Twins claimed Roenicke in the offseason when the Rockies did not tender him a contract. He has been solid, for the most part, with the Twins this year. Listen, he may not have a lot of value, but teams want reliever depth at this time of the year. The Twins have Michael Tonkin waiting in Rochester for an opportunity. #7 – Glen Perkins – 9.1% – Perkins is clearly the big fish. There are a lot of great reasons to trade him, the most important being that he is the one player they could demand a premium for. However, he is also under contract for a few more years at a very reasonable dollar value. He is from Minnesota. He has been quite dominant since moving to the bullpen. How quickly can the Twins contend? That is the question. Will anyone be willing to overwhelm the Twins' GM? #6 – Brian Duensing – 15.8% – When teams call and they can’t (or say they can’t) give up what the Twins want for Perkins, they may still be interested in this veteran Twins reliever. It’s been a frustrating season for Duensing, and for some reason his best trait, his ability to get left-handed hitters out, has disappeared. But, he’s got too much of a track record of success against lefties not to garner some interest. #5 – Drew Butera – 17.4% – This one may come as a surprise to many, but Drew Butera has value in the industry. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not going to fetch a top prospect. It likely would be a prospect few of us have even heard of. However, teams love having a great defensive catcher as their backup. Drew Butera is elite, and there may be a team out there willing to part with a little something to have him as their #2 or #3 catcher. #4 – Justin Morneau – 20.3% – Sentimentality may win with this one. Terry Ryan likely knows that he won’t get much for Morneau in the trade market. Morneau has had a terrific career with the Twins and has long been a fan favorite. So, the little bit that they may receive for two months of his service has to be weighed against what he can bring to the Twins for those two months. The casual fan will not be happy if the Twins trade Morneau for a couple non-prospects, but it may be the right thing to do. #3 – Jared Burton – 22.9% – With a hat tip to 1500 ESPN’s Brandon Warne, it should be pointed out that after a bad stretch, Burton has again become very good. As Warne tweeted earlier, in his “last 11 outings (9.1 IP) - .393 OPS allowed, 0 ER). That is much more reminiscent of what he did in 2012, and what he has done throughout his career… when healthy. He’s signed for one more season at a reasonable rate, which could entice some. #2 – Mike Pelfrey – 24.8% - Pelfrey is set to pitch for the Twins tonight when they open a series with the Kansas City Royals. The right-hander really struggled the first two months, but as Nick Nelson showed us last Friday, he has been terrific since the beginning of June. In seven starts, he has posted a 3.35 ERA and a 29/9 K/BB rate. He isn’t striking out many, but he’s gaining velocity, movement and command. The Twins signed him for just this season. He has the makings of a great mentor for the young pitchers coming up through the minors, but if the Twins can get something for him now, they should shop the Boras client who could be in line for a decent pay raise next year. #1 – Jamey Carroll – 52.1% – There’s little question in my mind that Jamey Carroll will (or at least should) get traded. He is the consummate professional and is a leader on any team. He has played in fewer than half the Twins games this year and because of that, his offensive numbers don’t look very good. But, he is what he is. He puts together solid plate appearances, works pitchers, and he plays terrific defense anywhere around the infield. There has to be a contender looking for some infield depth, and a guy who understands his role. His role on a contender would likely be similar to what it is with the Twins. It wouldn’t cost much for a team to acquire Carroll. In fact, maybe it would just be a Low A reliever, or cash, but it would be good to put Carroll on a team with a chance to win. I can see Cleveland being a realistic landing spot by the end of the day tomorrow. So, there you have it. My Top 11 most-likely-to-be-traded-in-the-next-23-hours Minnesota Twins ranking. It is, of course, subject to change tonight and throughout the day Wednesday as new rumors and opinions present themselves. I’d love to see your thoughts, and your rankings. As you can see, my percent-likelihood of most of these guys being traded is pretty small. View full article

Friday marked the start of our daily Minor League Reports covering six teams. The GCL Twins began their season with a matinee against the Red Sox in Ft. Myers. It wasn’t a great night for the affiliates, but there were still plenty of good performances worthy of note. Kennys Vargas has been terrific all year, and hasn’t slowed down since Miguel Sano moved to New Britain. Sano added to his home run total. Chris Colabello continues to rake. What else happened? Keep reading to find out what happened in the Twins' farm system on Friday:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 0, Louisville Bats 3 Box Score The Red Wings were beaten by former #3 overall draft pick Greg Reynolds. The team managed just two hits. That said, Chris Colabello went 1-2 with two walks. Cole De Vries gave up three runs on eight hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out seven, lowering his ERA to 8.82. Luis Perdomo came on and struck out three and walked one in three scoreless, hitless innings. New Britain Rock Cats 4, Akron Aeros 13 Box Score It was a rough night for a couple Rock Cats pitchers. Tom Stuifbergen started and gave up eight runs on eight hits and two walks in just 3.1 innings. BJ Hermsen entered and gave up four runs on five hits and two walks in 1.2 innings. AJ Achter struck out two in his time on the mound. Dakota Watts made his second appearance of the season and gave up an unearned run on two hits in his inning. Bobby Lanigan gave up one hit in getting his three outs. Danny Ortiz went 3-4 with his 19th double. Nate Hanson was 3-5. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-4 with his third triple and his 10th home run. Miguel Sano was 1-3 with his second Rock Cats home run. Danny Santana went 2-4. Ft. Myers Miracle 3, Jupiter Hammerheads 8 Box Score The Miracle got neither good pitching nor good defense. Tyler Duffey went the first 5.1 innings. He gave up six runs (5 earned) on nine hits and two walks. He struck out five. Chad Rodgers entered and gave up two unearned runs in 3.2 innings, yielding four hits, one walk and two strikeouts. The teams's three errors were by Steve Wickens, Kennys Vargas and Candido Pimentel. Kennys Vargas' hot streak continued as he went 2-3 with a walk. Matt Koch was 2-4 with his 12th double. Jon Murphy hit his sixth double. Mike Kvasnicka hit his first triple. Cedar Rapids Kernels 5, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 3 Box Score The Kernels replaced lefty Hein Robb in their six-man rotation with lefty Josue (pronounces Ho-sway) Montanez. He started Friday night and gave up three runs on five hits and a walk in three innings. Tim Atherton came on and threw four shutout innings. He gave up two hits and struck out three. Kaleb Merck got the save. He gave up three hits in two scoreless innings. Byron Buxton was 1-3 with two walks and two stolen bases, giving him 31 on the year. Dalton Hicks went 2-5 with his 22nd double. Max Kepler went 1-4 with a walk. His hit was his first double. Tyler Grimes hit his fifth home run. Travis Harrison walked twice and was hit by a pitch. Elizabethton Twins 2, Bristol White Sox 4 Box Score In Game 2 of their season, the E-Twins managed just three hits. Jake Proctor had a triple. Kelvin Ortiz went 1-2 and was hit by a pitch twice. He also stole a base. Josh Burris started. After going 7-0 last year out of the Elizabethton bullpen, he took a loss in his first start of the 2013 season. He gave up three runs, one was earned. The only team miscue was his own throwing error. Kuo Hua Lo gave up four hits, but no runs, in three innings. Miguel Gonzalez gave up a hit and walked one in a scoreless inning. He struck out two. Carson Goldsmith came on and gave up one run on two hits and two walks in his inning. Andre Martinez pitched a perfect inning, striking out one. GCL Twins 6, GCL Red Sox 4 Box Score A five-run inning helped the GCL Twins to a win in their season opener. The big hit came off the bat of 17-year-old Amaurys Minier. The bonus baby came through with a big three-run homer in his third at-bat. He had already hit a double in his second at-bat. He was 2-4 on the day- not a bad debut. Jorge Fernandez hit a triple. Engelb Vielma and Jonatan Hinojosa each walked twice and stole two bases. Australian Lewis Thorpe started and gave up two runs on five hits in four innings. He walked none and struck out four. Chih-Wei Hu came on and walked one and struck out two in two scoreless innings. Miguel Gonzalez gave up a hit and walked one in a scoreless inning; he struck out three. Markus Solbach gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits in one inning. He struck out two. Two players got into the game on rehab assignments. Madison Boer picked up the save. He gave up two hits, but he struck out two, in the ninth inning. Also, Lance Ray went 0-3 with a walk. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

All four Minnesota Twins minor league affiliates played on Thursday night. Two of them won in dramatic, walk-off fashion. One was a two-run single, and one was a lot more dramatic than that. One of the other Twins affiliates won with shutout, just the way you write it up: Starter goes seven, dominant reliever with a strong eighth and another dominant reliever with a scoreless ninth inning.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As of today, the Twins have a new organizational home run leader, so you’ll want to check that out. See, that’s the beauty of following an entire organization. The Twins had an off-day, and yet we are able to follow four games that matter to the organization and likely to most Twins fans. Rochester Red Wings 6, Durham Bulls 5 Box Score The Red Wings entered the bottom of 9th inning down a run. Eric Farris led off with a walk. Doug Bernier came on and was asked to bunt. He got the bunt down and beat the throw to first for a single. Antoan Richardson walked to load the bases. Ray Olmedo came up and knocked in two runs with a single to right to end the game. Olmedo was 2-5 in the game. Jeff Clement went 1-2 with two walks and his fourth homer. Chris Colabello went 2-3 with a walk and the organization-leading 11th home run of the year. Samuel Deduno was very good in his third Red Wings start. Through six innings, he gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. He began the 7th with his eighth strikeout. However, he then gave up an infield single and a walk. Both runners scored- these runs are credited to Deduno- when Tyler Robertson came in and gave up three straight hits. He was replaced by Dan Turpen who got the final outs on a double play. He gave up an unearned run in the 8th. Rafael Perez came in, walked two and struck out one in the 9th inning and he earned his first win of the season. New Britain Rock Cats 2, Bowie Baysox 8 Box Score Overall, it wasn’t a very good night for the Rock Cats. Trevor May started and never really found it in this one. He gave up five runs on nine hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out three. He gave up runs in three of the four innings he pitched. Jose Gonzalez came on and gave up four runs on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Bobby Lanigan gave up two hits over the next 1.2 scoreless innings. Michael Tonkin walked one and struck out one in his scoreless inning. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 with his first double of the year. He had two of the four hits for the Rock Cats. Josmil Pinto walked twice. Danny Ortiz had two outfield assists, one at second base and one at third. Ft. Myers Miracle 2, Dunedin Blue Jays 0 Box Score Taylor Rogers was the story in this game. The left-hander worked the first seven innings. He gave up five hits and no runs. He walked one and struck out eight. Cole Johnson came in and struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning. Corey Williams struck out one in a perfect ninth to record the save. Miguel Sano had an interesting day. He was 1-1 with a walk and was also hit by two pitches. He stole his fifth base. He also committed his 10th error. Drew Leachman and Aderlin Mejia went 2-4. Angel Morales went 2-4 with his 11th double. Jonathan Murphy went 2-3 with his third double. The Miracle improved to 28-10. They are 5.5 games ahead of the second place St. Lucie Mets. Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Burlington Bees 6 Box Score Down 6-3 heading into the bottom of the 9th, the Kernels had their 6, 7 and 8 hitters due up. Travis Harrison led off by being hit by a pitch. Michael Quesada flew out to the wall in left field. Candido Pimentel doubled Harrison to third base. Tyler Grimes came on to pinch hit; he was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Byron Buxton came up and ended the game with a walk-off grand slam. Buxton went 2-5 in the game, and in addition to the home run, he stole his 16th base. Michael Quesada went 2-4 with his first double and his first home run. Pimentel and Jeremias Pineda each hit a double. It was a rough game for the defense. The Kernels committed three errors. Two of them came in the span of two batters in the sixth inning. Mason Melotakis started and worked the first six innings. He gave up four runs, one of which was earned, on three hits. He walked one and struck out three. Tim Atherton came on and gave up two unearned runs on one hit and one walk in two innings. He struck out four. Manuel Soliman gets the win. He walked one in a scoreless ninth frame. If you’re near the Twin Cities, you’re just about four hours from getting to see Byron Buxton, Adam Walker and the Kernels. On Friday night, Tyler Duffey will start for the team. These Kernels are 27-12, and four games ahead of Quad Cities in their division. You wanted video... here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=en&client=mv-google&v=ESFtlpmPxT4&feature=youtu.be&nomobile=1 Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

There was not much offense through the Minnesota Twins' farm system, with the usual exception of the Cedar Rapids Kernels. There was some very good pitching. There was the return of Nick Blackburn to an active roster as he made the start for the New Britain Rock Cats. Alex Wimmers returned to a mound for the first time since his Tommy John surgery last August. One constant through the 2013 season has been the pitching of Andrew Albers, and he was on the mound again for the Rochester Red Wings.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] On Sunday, be sure to watch Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano represent the Twins at the Futures Game. Here is a look at what happened in the Twins farm system on Saturday: Rochester 5, Pawtucket 1 Box Score Andrew Albers was back on the mound for the Red Wings and was terrific yet again. The Canadian southpaw went six innings to improve to 9-4. He gave up only an unearned run on five hits and a walk. He also struck out ten. Shairon Martis recorded his sixth save, of the three-inning variety. He gave up no runs on two hits and two walks. He struck out three. Eight Red Wings had one hit in this game. Five of them went for extra bases. Ray Olmedo hit his second home run, as did Chris Herrmann. Chris Colabello hit his 23rd double. Doug Bernier hit his 15th double. Jeff Clement hit his 13th double. New Britain 1, Trenton 5 Box Score After a few rehab starts with the GCL Twins, Nick Blackburn was sent to New Britain where he made the start on Saturday evening. He gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out two. Bruce Pugh was terrific, not allowing a base runner in 2.1 innings. Edgar Ibarra and BJ Hermsen each threw a scoreless inning in relief. Angel Morales hit his second home run with the Rock Cats. He was 2-3 in the game. Eddie Rosario hit his seventh double. Ft. Myers 1, Lakeland 4 Box Score Matt Summers gets the loss in this game, though he did pitch quite well. He went 7.2 innings and gave up two runs (1 earned). He gave up seven hits, walked none and struck out three. Corey Williams got the final four outs, one on a strikeout. He gave up two runs on one hit and four walks. Mike Kvasnicka went 2-4. Evan Bigley hit a double. Cedar Rapids 6, Bowling Green 3 Box Score Adam Walker remains hot with the bat. He went 2-4 with his 19th double and his 16th home run. Tyler Grimes went 2-4, including an inside-the-park home run. It was his sixth homer of the season. Jeremias Pineda went 3-4 with his second double. Jorge Polanco went 2-4. Tim Atherton improved to 5-2 with a 2.45 ERA. The Australian right-hander gave up one run on two hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out four. Steven Gruver then gave up two runs on four hits in his two innings. Tyler Jones recorded his eighth save, striking out two in one inning. Elizabethton 1, Greeneville 2 Box Score It was a very good pitcher’s duel in the Appy League on Saturday night. South African lefty Hein Robb was charged with two runs on five hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out two. Dallas Gallant and Brian Gilbert each pitched a scoreless inning. The E-Twins had just five hits. Dereck Rodriguez is now hitting .322 after going 2-4. Bryan Haar went 2-4 as well. GCL Twins 3, GCL Red Sox 1 Box Score A couple rehab stints took place in this rain-shortened 5.2 inning game on Saturday. Michael Gonzales returned to the field for the first time since breaking the hamate bone his hand. In his first at bat, he homered. Chad Christensen went 1-2 with his first professional home run. Jonatan Hinojosa went 1-3 with a triple. The big story will be that Alex Wimmers returned to a mound in a game for the first time since he underwent Tommy John surgery last August. The 2010 first-round pick went three shutout innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none and struck out two. Chih-Wei Hu went the final 2.2 innings. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. View full article

On Saturday, Nick Blackburn was placed on the Rochester disabled list with an inflamed knee. Virgil Vasquez will make the start for him on Sunday. On the field, there were some good starts and a couple not-so-good starts. A couple affiliates came from behind to get wins. A couple homers by Kennys Vargas powered the Miracle to a win. Elizabethton doubled their pleasure against Johnson City. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Saturday night:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester 4, Norfolk 2 Box Score Logan Darnell was solid again in his Saturday start for the Red Wings. The lefty gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out eight. Cody Eppley came on and gave up a hit to the batter he faced. Edgar Ibarra came on and got two outs, extending his consecutive scoreless inning streak to 22.2 innings (between New Britain and Rochester). Michael Tonkin recorded the final four outs, two on strikeouts, for his sixth save. The Red Wings bats made short work of Orioles pitching prospect Kevin Gausman. The hard-throwing righty topped out at 98 mph in his 4.1 innings of work. The Wings scored four runs on six hits and two walks off him. Eduardo Escobar went 2-4 with a double and a stolen base. Deibinson Romero was 2-4 with his ninth home run. James Beresford was 2-3 with a triple. What a month July has been for the Red Wings. With this win and a Pawtucket loss, the two teams are in a virtual tie at the top of the International League North Division. The Red Wings were 11 games behind the Red Sox on July 2nd! New Britain 3, Reading 12 Box Score Miguel Sano sat out for the fourth straight game, and the Rock Cats looked like they needed more than just the ultra-talented prospect on this night. Former Gopher Seth Rosin held the Rock Cats to just one run over the first five innings. Danny Santana was 2-5 with his 20th stolen base. Eddie Rosario was 2-5 with his 11th double and third stolen base. Danny Ortiz went 2-5. DJ Baxendale had another rough start. He was charged with eight runs (7 earned) on ten hits and two walks in four innings. Blake Martin came on and gave up a run on a hit and a walk in an inning. He struck out two. BJ Hermsen and Ryan O’Rourke each threw a scoreless inning of relief. Cole Johnson then gave up three runs on two hits in his inning. He did strike out three. Ft. Myers 12, Clearwater 11 Box Score This was a back and forth game for the Miracle, but in the end, they walked off with a win; they had to overcome a five-run deficit at one point. Tyler Duffey started and gave up seven runs (5 earned) on seven hits and three walks in just 3.1 innings. Chad Rodgers came on and got the final two outs of the fourth, but not before giving up a home run. Steven Gruver worked the next three innings. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two. Corey Williams gave up a hit in a scoreless inning. In the ninth, Zach Jones came on to hold a two-run lead, but he gave up two runs on a hit and a walk. He blew the save, but thanks to the Miracle winning in the bottom of the ninth, he also gets the win. JD Williams went 3-5 with a walk, his fifth stolen base and he scored the game-winning run. Kennys Vargas put on a show. He went 2-3 with three walks. He hit his 16th and 17th home runs, both three-run blasts. The six RBI was the most by a Miracle hitter in a game this season. Mike Kvasnicka went 2-5 with a walk and his seventh and eighth doubles. Stephen Wickens was 2-2 with a walk. Cedar Rapids 5, Clinton 2 Box Score Tim Atherton gave up a run in the third and a run in the fourth. In six innings, the Australian right-hander gave up the two runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out eight. Hudson Boyd worked the next two innings, and allowed only a walk. Brian Gilbert came on to protect the three-run lead in the ninth and recorded the save. Max Kepler led the offense on this night. He was 2-3 with his fifth homer, a solo shot, a walk and two RBI. Adam Walker hit his 23rd double, a shot off the wall. Elizabethton 8, Johnson City 0 Box Score The E-Twins doubled their pleasure on Saturday night. The team hit nine doubles and a home run and got great pitching for the win. Randy Rosario started and gave up six hits and no walks in seven shutout innings. He struck out nine. C. K. Irby gave up two hits but no runs in his inning. Kuo-Hua Lo pitched a scoreless inning. Bryan Haar led the offense. He was 3-5 with his fifth, sixth and seventh doubles. Rory Rhodes was 3-5 with his eighth double. Javier Pimentel went 3-5 with his eighth double. Mitch Garver went 2-5 with his fifth and sixth doubles. Jake Proctor returned to the E-Twins lineup and hit a double. Logan Wade was 2-4 and hit his second home run. GCL Twins, GCL Red Sox Postponed by Rain. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. View full article

For all who watched The Byron Buxton Show on Fox Sports North on Monday, there is no question who is the top prospect on the Cedar Rapids roster. Buxton was the clear-cut focus of the broadcast, for good reason. Not only was he 3-4 with a single, a bases-clearing double and a triple, but he made one of the best catches you will see all year. He is also hitting a robust .350/.444/.578 (1.022) with 14 doubles, eight triples, seven home runs 60 runs scored, 47 RBI and 26 stolen bases. He has earned all the attention. However, this is much more than a one-man team. I like to see the other guys get some attention as well. This Kernels team is stacked right now. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Within days, they will claim a playoff spot for the season’s first half and they have eight players on their current roster who were named All-Stars. That doesn’t include Tyler Duffey who was promoted last week after being named to the All-Star team. Today, I am going to give a little bit more information on some non-Buxton players to keep on your radar. Here are eight Kernels that ranked in my Top 52 Twins Prospects last week (my organization ranking in parentheses). JO Berrios (5) – The righthander from Puerto Rico was the Twins supplemental first round pick one year ago. He signed pretty quickly for $1.55 million and pitched great at both the GCL and Elizabethton. Combined, he walked four batters and struck out 49. He is young and he was chosen to play for Puerto Rico in the WBC this spring. Because of that, his regular season was delayed as he built arm strength. However, he earned a spot on the Midwest League All-Star team. In eight starts, he is 4-3 with a 3.61 ERA. He had a bad outing in his most recent start. It was the first time that he had given up more than three runs this year (something he did last year just once as well). In 47.1 innings, he has walked just 12 and struck out 50. He throws a fastball that touches 94. He also has a very good curveball and changeup and knows how to pitch. He turned 19 at the end of May. Jorge Polanco (9) – Polanco signed with the Twins in July of 2009 as a 16-year-old free agent from the Dominican Republic and is still just 19. He was small and thin. He was known for tremendous defense, and that has proven true in his time with the Twins. However, he spent two years in the GCL and hit .233 and 250. He had an offensive breakout season last year in Elizabethton, but how would it transfer to a full-season league? Well, since opening night when he batted second, he has been the Kernels' number three hitter all season. He has hit .291/.342/.447 (.789) with 17 doubles, seven triples, two home runs and 44 RBI, while playing solid defense at second base. He will also continue to get some time at shortstop throughout the year. Travis Harrison (10) – When the Twins drafted Harrison out of his California high school as their first supplemental first round pick in 2011, it was thought he would be a very difficult sign. He had a strong commitment to USC but in the end he decided to sign and play. The $1.05 million signing bonus may have factored in as well. Harrison has tremendous power potential. He is very strong and has a good approach at the plate, potentially making him more than just a home run hitter. So far this year, he is hitting .265/.347/.470 (.817) with 17 doubles, nine homers and 32 RBI. He actually had a tenth homer that went over the fence, but he was only given credit for a walk-off single rather than a walk-off grand slam. His glove at third base is a work-in-progress. He works really hard at it and has improved greatly in 2012. It’s important to remember that he too is still young. He won’t turn 21 until after the season. Adam Brett Walker (12) – Walker’s father (Adam) was a replacement player for the Minnesota Vikings in 1987. He was a great athlete and so is his son. Walker grew up in Milwaukee and chose to go south for college, playing at Jacksonville University. The Twins made him their third round pick a year ago. As the 97th overall pick, he signed for slot value of $490,400. He went to Elizabethton where he hit 14 home runs before hitting some huge homers in the Appalachian League playoffs. Although he doesn’t like to walk and strikes out quite a bit, he has shown great power for the Kernels. He is hitting .272/.325/.525 (.850) with 15 doubles, five triples, ten home runs and 51 RBI. He is a big man at 6-4 and 230 pounds, but he has good speed and plays solid defense in right field. Niko Goodrum (15) – Goodrum was unable to play in the game yesterday because has been on the DL with a concussion. He has resumed baseball activities and hopes to return just before the Midwest League All-Star game so he would be able play in the game. He has had a very solid season. He is hitting .270/.382/.388 (.770) with 12 doubles, three triples, a homer and 28 RBI. He is very patient at the plate and takes good, solid swings from both sides of the plate. He also plays a very good shortstop and has a strong arm. Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 draft, Goodrum signed quickly for $514,800. He was a long, lanky kid. He was proud this spring to have reached 200 pounds and has been able to hit the ball with more authority. Mason Melotakis (23) – The left-hander from Northeastern State was one of the Twins' 2nd round picks last June. He signed for $750,000, about $68,500 below slot. The left-hander was clocked as high as 97 on the radar gun as a reliever in college. He has gotten an opportunity to be a starter and has done a pretty good job so far in Cedar Rapids. Following his seven shutout innings on Monday, Melotakis is now 6-2 with a 3.24 ERA. In 58.1 innings, he has allowed 57 hits, walked 28 and struck out 44. So, he is walking too many, to be sure. He also is not accumulating a lot of strikeouts. As a starter, his fastball is sitting 90-93, enabling him to be able to go six or seven innings. He has the potential to be a solid #4 starter or a potentially dominant left-handed, late-game reliever. Hudson Boyd (31) – Boyd was the Twins 2nd supplemental first round pick in 2011. He pitched his high school ball in Ft. Myers and signed at the deadline for $1 million. Through 11 starts this season, Boyd is just 1-3 with a 6.02 ERA. In 55 innings, he has given up 58 hits, 27 walks and 43 strikeouts. So again, too many walks and not enough strikeouts. Boyd will be 20 years old throughout the season, and I think there’s a chance he could be back in Cedar Rapids in 2014 for more development. However, he has a fastball in the low-90s. He has a very good changeup and a very good curveball, just not all the time. He has the pitches to be successful, but needs to be more consistent. Dalton (DJ) Hicks (41) – If you saw the game on FSN, you saw that Hicks is a big man. He has a big, long, powerful swing. He has used it to hit .288/.363/.493 (.856) with 20 doubles, nine homers and 51 RBI. He was the Twins 17th round pick a year ago out of Central Florida. It was his walk-off grand slam that won the Appalachian League championship for Elizabethton last year. He has already turned 23, so I think he will be moved up to Ft. Myers (with Buxton) after the Kernels clinch the first half title. JD Williams (NR) – JD Williams is a guy who shows that repeating a level can be good. He was drafted in the 10th round as a great athlete out of high school in Florida. He was pushed to Beloit a year ago and struggled. This season, he has been an on-base machine. Despite hitting just .252, he gets on base 39% of the time and has hit 10 doubles, two triples, five home runs and driven in 31 runs. He has also stolen 12 bases. There are nine “other” names to know in Cedar Rapids. That doesn’t even include right-handed pitcher Tyler Duffey or left-handed starter Taylor Rogers, who has a sub-2 ERA since joining the Miracle roster as well. Also in the next month the Kernels will likely be joined by German outfielder Max Kepler. Too, we hope Luke Bard will heal and soon be making starts for the team. In other words, that four hour drive from the Twin Cities to Cedar Rapids will still be completely with it, even after Byron Buxton is promoted to Ft. Myers. View full article

Download attachment: podcast_icon1.jpg OK, so the show hasn’t been exactly weekly of late. Frankly, the ratings haven’t been where we would like them to be. However, tonight at 9:00 central time, I’ll be hosting a 90-minute Twins podcast. We’ll get caught up on the goings-on around the Twins as we are now about one week from pitchers and catchers reporting! We’ll discuss the offseason and look forward to the 2012 season. You’ll want to join because I’m in the process of lining up several guests to discuss the upcoming season. As I get confirmations, I’ll be sure to share them. But put it on your calendar. 9:00 tonight. Listen Live. And, if you have any topics you would like us to cover, be sure to e-mail me at sethspeaksnet@hotmail.com or leave your questions and topics in the Comments Section! [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

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:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] 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. Download attachment: MichaelTonkin.jpg Click here to view the article