Seth Stohs

I certainly hope all of the fathers out there had a wonderful Father’s Day! I hope that is the case even if you did watch the Twins/Tigers finale on Sunday afternoon. The Twins put on a very poor defensive display and fell to the Tigers by a score of 4-3. The Florida State League All-Star game was on Saturday night, and the Midwest League All-Star game will be played on Tuesday. That means we may see some promotions soon. One important thing to watch on Monday is the start of Trevor May in Rochester. If he is pitching fairly well and only throws 50 pitches or so, consider it a sign. On Sunday morning, Trevor Plouffe was put on the disabled list with a strained oblique muscle. Pedro Florimon was in Detroit in case that needed to happen. Below you’ll find what happened in the Twins farm system on Sunday: RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Lehigh Valley 5 Box Score Doug Bernier led the Red Wings offense on Sunday. He went 3-4 with his 10th double and three RBI. Josmil Pinto went 2-4 with his first AAA double of the year. Kris Johnson went just 5.2 innings. He gave up three runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out three. Ryan Pressly then gave up two unearned runs on two hits in 2.1 innings. He struck out four without a walk. Michael Tonkin struck out two in a perfect ninth. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 6, Trenton 2 Box Score Taylor Rogers was my choice for Twins minor league starting pitcher of the year in 2013. After three poor starts at the beginning of the season, he has been quite good. On Sunday, the lefty threw a nine-inning, complete game for the win. He gave up two runs on six hits. He walked none and struck out two. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 3-4. Brandon Waring went 1-2 with two walks and his 15th double. Kennys Vargas went 1-3 with a walk and his 12th home run. MIRACLE MATTERS Florida State League All-Star Break KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Burlington 13 Box Score Coming into the season, the thought was that the Kernels offense would struggle, at least relative to the dominant 2013 lineup. However, the other belief was that the Kernels pitching would be able to help carry the team. What people forgot was that most of the hitters were older minor leaguers while the pitchers were generally very young. It should have been expected that there might be days like this. Ethan Mildren started and gave up four runs on nine hits over 3.1 innings. Jared Wilson replaced him and was charged with three runs, one earned, on two hits in 1.2 innings. Alex Muren was next up, and he gave up four runs on five hits in 2.1 innings. Todd Van Steensel got the final five outs. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out four. Chad Christensen went 2-4. Tanner Vavra went 1-2 with two walks and his fourth stolen base. Ryan Walker hit a two-run double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Taylor Rogers, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Doug Bernier, Rochester Red Wings MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Trevor May (Listen) New Britain – No Game Scheduled (Listen) Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (6:05) – Jason Wheeler (Listen) Cedar Rapids – All Star Break (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Sunday games. CEDAR RAPIDS / TWINS WEEKEND Consider a trip to Cedar Rapids for the series against Clinton June 27-30. It is their Twins Weekend, and they have several fun events. Check out www.kernels.com for more information or to order tickets. Friday, June 27 Friday Mug Club Drink Special Autism Action Jersey Night - fans can bid on jerseys and take players' jerseys home that night. Halfway to Christmas - (Santa, Mrs. Claus and reindeer will be there) Post game fireworks Stadium Snow Globe giveaway Saturday, June 28 Twins Night - Rod Carew, Twins organist Sue Nelson and TC Bear will be there. Post game fireworks Sunday, June 29 Post game run the bases Autographs from Kernels on field after the game Play bingo for a chance to win Twins tickets

The Twins attempted to come from way behind on Saturday but fell to the Tigers 12-9. Injuries were the story. Trevor Plouffe hurt his oblique. He was replaced at third base by Eduardo Nunez, who later pulled his hamstring. Because of these injuries, the Twins will have Pedro Florimon in Detroit on Sunday, ready to play if either Plouffe or Nunez needs to go on the disabled list. In the minor leagues, there were some impressive performances by hitters. One hitter put himself in the spotlight and showcased his skills at an All-Star game. At least eight players had three hits or got on base four times. Even better, all three affiliates that played got a win. Below you’ll find what happened in the Twins farm system on Saturday: RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 11, Lehigh Valley 1 Box Score The Red Wings got off to a fast start and never really looked back in this blowout of the IronPigs. The team scored two runs in the first inning and a Josmil Pinto grand slam in the second frame further got things going on the right note. Wilkin Ramirez went 3-5 with his 12th and 13th doubles. Deibinson Romero went 3-5 with his 16th double. Chris Colabello went 2-2 with two walks. Pinto added a single to his grand slam. Chris Rahl hit his third home run and drove in three runs. Logan Darnell was uncharacteristically wild, and yet he pitched out of some jams. The lefty went five innings. He gave up only an unearned run on three hits. He walked five batters and struck out four. AJ Achter came on and continued his dominance. He struck out three in three shutout innings. That puts him at 13.2 consecutive scoreless innings. He did give up one hit which ended a stretch of ten innings without yielding a hit. Aaron Thompson pitched a scoreless ninth. ROCK CATS REVIEW Game 1 – New Britain 3, Trenton 2 Box Score This game began on Friday night but was suspended due to weather late in the game. It finished on Saturday in walk-off fashion. Down 2-1 going into the bottom of the 9th inning, Nate Hanson and Kennys Vargas walked. Reynaldo Rodriguez singled to load the bases. That brought Brandon Waring to the plate. The veteran singled to left which scored Hanson with the tying run and Vargas with the winning run. Waring finished 2-4 with his 14th double. Rodriguez was 2-4 and gave the Rock Cats their first run of the game with his ninth home run. Virgil Vasquez started the game and went six innings. He gave up one run on four hits. He walked three and struck out six. Adrian Salcedo gave up a hit and walked two but didn’t allow a run in the 7th inning. Matt Summers got the eighth frame. He gave up a run on two hits. Cole Johnson pitched the ninth and struck out two in a perfect inning. Game 2 – New Britain 4, Trenton 3 Box Score It has been a season of ups and downs for lefty Pat Dean, but on Saturday night, it was definitely a good day. Dean gave up just one run on five hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out three. Mark Hamburger gave up a run on two hits in his two innings. Lester Oliveros recorded his ninth save. He gave up one run in the ninth but held on. It was surprising to see Jairo Rodriguez start this game as the team’s designated hitter. It was even more surprising to see that he went 3-4 with the bat. It is most surprising that he stole a base. Mike Kvasnicka went 2-4 with his ninth and tenth doubles. Kennys Vargas went 2-4 with his 11th home run. MIRACLE MATTERS Florida State League All Star Game Box Score Most of the Miracle team was able to take a second straight day off. Four members of the team were named to the Florida State League All Star game. David Hurlbut and Brett Lee didn’t play in the game. JO Berrios and Adam Walker both did, and both performed like stars. JO Berrios was the starter for the South team. He gave up one hit and one walk, but he struck out two in the first inning. Adam Walker put on a show before the game and then during the game. He participated in the annual Home Run Derby and demolished baseball after baseball to win the competition. In the game, he batted fifth and played right field. He went 3-5 with a double and a solo home run. He was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Burlington 6 Box Score This game went back and forth, right up to the final batter of the game, but the Kernels came through with the win. Kohl Stewart was pushed ahead a day, likely to allow him to be able to pitch an inning in the Midwest League All-Star game on Tuesday. The young right-hander threw four shutout innings. He gave up six hits, walked three and struck out three. Josue Montanez gave up three runs on three hits, a walk and a hit batter in three innings. Brandon Bixler gave up one run on one hit and a walk in his inning. That brings us to the ninth inning. Hudson Boyd came in to protect a 6-4 lead, but he gave up home runs to the first two batters he faced to tie the game. He managed to keep the game tied. So, the game went to the bottom of the ninth. The first two batters got on which brought Jason Kanzler to the plate. Kanzler laid down a perfect bunt in an attempt to advance the runners. However, a poor throw got by the first baseman and allowed the winning run to score. Ryan Walker led the offense. He went 3-4 with his third and fourth triples. Engelb Vielma went 3-5. Jon Murphy went 3-4. Chad Christensen went 2-5 with his sixth home run. Jason Kanzler was 2-5. Jake Mauer missed the final inning as he was ejected earlier in the game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Pat Dean, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Adam Walker, Ft. Myers Miracle SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (12:05 CST) – Kris Johnson (Listen) Trenton @ New Britain (12:35 CST) – Taylor Rogers (Listen) Ft. Myers– All Star break (Listen) Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – Ethan Mildren (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games.

On May 23, 2010, I watched my first Beloit Snappers game - my first minor league game. In it, I saw a solid Brian Dozier play shortstop for the Snappers. After that game, Dozier was promoted to the Ft. Myers Miracle and Danny Santana was called up to the Snappers from Elizabethton. The next night I watched Danny Santana for the first time. Four years later, Santana has been one of the better stories in the 2014 Minnesota Twins season. Despite playing just 23 games in centerfield in his minor league career (and just two games since 2011 in Beloit), he finds himself as the Twins starting centerfielder. I can’t help but wonder what the future might hold for the diminutive speedster. Photo by Brad Rempel In 2010, Brian Dozier was 22 and looked polished. Danny Santana was just 19 years old and looked really rough around the edges. In his first Midwest League game, Santana went 1-5, struck out three times and had three errors in the field. And yet, I came away very impressed. Why? It was obvious Santana was anxious in that first game. However, he showed a very quick swing that despite his small stature suggested that he could become more than a slap hitter. On defense, he made a couple of the more remarkable plays that I have seen, plays that should have been on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays – you know, had there been cameras in Beloit’s stadium. He showed great range and a powerful arm. And yet, he booted a couple routine ground balls. He also had a couple errant throws. He returned to Beloit in 2011 and spent the full season there. In the games I saw, the tools remained clear. He posted a fielding percentage of .924. In 2012, he moved up to Ft. Myers and committed 18 errors for a .950 fielding percentage. Last year, he was in New Britain and had 32 errors and a .946 fielding percentage. Three full seasons later, reports on his defense remain the same. They start with his great range and very strong arm. They always continue with “but he had a tendency to boot several routine plays.” Offensively, it’s hard to look at his minor league track record and get excited about his potential. In seven minor league seasons, he has hit .274/.318/.393 (.711) with 90 doubles, 45 triples and 25 home runs. More important are the numbers he has put up the last couple seasons. In 2012 in Ft. Myers, he hit .286/.329/.410 (.739) with 21 doubles, nine triples and eight home runs. Last season in New Britain, he hit .297/.333/.386 (.719) with 22 doubles, ten triples and two home runs. In those two seasons, he stole 47 bases, but he was caught 24 times (66%). Santana’s minor league track record tells us that he will hit for some average, but he is not going to be a guy who gets on base via the walk often. He will not hit many home runs, but his speed will turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples. Beyond that, he can steal a base though he has a long ways to go to be a good base runner. He is a guy who can score from first on a double. Through his first 25 big league games, he is hitting a remarkable .372/.406/.500 (.906) and has five doubles and two home runs. His Isolated Discipline (.034) is below even his minor league numbers. This is not a surprise. He also has 21 strikeouts in 87 plate appearances. Can Danny Santana be a guy who hits .290/.330/.380 (.710) in the big leagues? If so, and he is able to play solid defense, he can be a very productive major league shortstop. Both these variables – offense and defense – are still question marks. A funny thing happened along the way, however. Suddenly, Danny Santana is the Minnesota Twins' starting centerfield and would appear to be for the foreseeable future. Aaron Hicks has struggled again in a second extended opportunity to take a stranglehold on the centerfield job. Byron Buxton has missed most of the season with his wrist injury. Santana could very well be the team’s starting centerfielder for at least the next calendar year. As many questions as I still have about whether Santana can ever play shortstop well enough defensively, he has generally looked at least adequate defensively in centerfield. His routes aren’t always perfect but his speed has generally been able to make up for it. The plays he struggles with the most have been those where communication comes into play. He and Josh Willingham have nearly run into each other in the left centerfield gap a couple times. We hold our collective breath when Santana charges in on pop ups that the middle infielders are also in pursuit of. Success with those plays takes time and communication, and it would appear Santana is going to get that time. That isn’t to say that Santana should stop taking ground balls at shortstop. Let’s not forget, the centerfielder of the future remains Byron Buxton. Buxton could take over the job as early as next June. Eduardo Escobar has taken over shortstop duties in the last four or five weeks. He has earned it. Can he continue in the role until Buxton takes over center and Santana moves in to the infield? In my opinion, Jorge Polanco won’t debut with the Twins until at least the end of the 2015 season. 2014 top pick Nick Gordon most likely will not be ready for four or five years. In other words, Danny Santana should continue to work at shortstop as well as in the outfield. As the Twins enjoy an off day in Detroit on Thursday, give this topic some thought. What does the future hold for Danny Santana with the Minnesota Twins? What are your predictions for the rest of 2014, and what do you think will happen with him going forward?