Seth Stohs

I promised last week we would have a minor league update each day from last Thursday through Labor Day. In a way, I have to go back on that promise. Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids both had a scheduled off day. Rochester and New Britain both had games rained out. So, none of the four full-season affiliates played a game. That said, I thought it would still make sense to post a couple of minor league updates. With the transactions of the last couple of days, there is plenty of good information to pass along. As always, if you have any questions, please let me know.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] CHRIS HERRMANN PROMOTED It was posted here on Sunday afternoon, but the Twins made it official on Monday morning. Chris Herrmann had been promoted to the Minnesota Twins. However, whose roster spot would he take? Would it be Oswaldo Arcia who has a wrist issue that still could put him on the disabled list on Wednesday? Could it be Josh Willingham who was hit on the wrist/hand with a Justin Masterson pitch? No, the Twins put Jason Bartlett on the disabled list with an ankle injury. Herrmann has played nearly everywhere in his career. Obviously he has been a catcher and seen a lot of time in recent years. However, as recently as three years ago, in the Florida State League, he played more outfield than catcher. In fact, he spent a couple weeks playing centerfield before Jhon Goncalves came over to the Miracle. At that time, a source near the Miracle told me Herrmann was arguably the best defensive left fielder in the league. In his college days, at Miami, he played primarily third base, but also some at second base. As you know, this spring, he played some first base. So, he can literally get time at eight positions for the Twins if needed. TWINS ACQUIRE EDUARDO NUNEZ FOR MIGUEL SULBARAN Just a couple of hours later, the Twins announced that they had acquired shortstop Eduardo Nunez from the Yankees in exchange for Cedar Rapids lefty Miguel Sulbaran. This means that the Twins have 39 men on their 40 man roster. The Yankees had DFAd Nunez in recent days and were able to work out a deal with the Twins. Nunez was always thought highly of as a future shortstop, but his performance, and reportedly his attitude, never allowed that to happen. Nunez could compete, in time, to be the Twins starting shortstop, although he will first head to Rochester to get some at bats. Sulbaran came to the Twins in the Drew Butera trade last August. The diminutive left-hander came to Twins spring training out of shape which is a big reason he was sent to Cedar Rapids to start the season. He had pitched in one inning for the Kernels this season. FOLLOW UP TRANSACTIONS I was informed last night that there would not be any follow-up transaction in Rochester. You see, no one was added to the Red Wings roster when Chris Herrmann was promoted, so the team doesn’t need to make any additional room. What will be interesting is to see how Gene Glynn is able to mold his roster and his lineups from day to day. One would assume that the organization will want to continue playing Danny Santana at shortstop. Deibinson Romero has been playing third base with James Beresford at second base. Doug Bernier can play all three infield positions. Eric Farris can play outfield to go along with playing second base. Nunez will likely play all three infield positions as well. WHO TAKES SULBARAN’S SPOT in CEDAR RAPIDS? There was quite a bit of speculation about who would take Miguel Sulbaran’s spot with the Kernels. Of course, the big names are Stephen Gonsalves, Lewis Thorpe and Fernando Romero. I expect Gonsalves to move up to Cedar Rapids sometime before the short-season starts, but Thorpe and Romero will most likely pitch in the Appy League in 2013. However, the easy choice for replacing Sulbaran is the one who was promoted. The Twins decided to send RHP Ethan Mildren to the Kernels where he is expected to start in the next few days. Mildren was the Twins 12th round pick a year ago out of the University of Pittsburgh. He pitched in 12 games for the Elizabethton Twins last year following the draft. POLANCO AT SHORTSTOP Through the offseason, the Twins remained consistent that they wanted to give Jorge Polanco a real opportunity at shortstop. When he was in big league camp, he only played games at second base. However, in the workouts and on the back fields, he took a ton of ground balls at shortstop. When he went to minor league camp, he spent all his time at shortstop. Last year in Cedar Rapids, Polanco played second base 57 times and shortstop 49 times. Most of that time at shortstop was when Niko Goodrum was hurt (concussion in first half, groin injury in second half). However, as this season begins, the Miracle have trotted out a lineup that has had Jorge Polanco at shortstop in all four games. Niko Goodrum has played at third base all four games. I admit, I am a bit surprised. But now that I’ve been able to give it some thought, the Twins are giving him this opportunity, knowing that he is just fine at second base but needing to determine if he can play shortstop. My personal opinion is he will be at second base by the second half of the season with Goodrum returning to shortstop. That said, there has long been talk about Goodrum eventually moving to third base as he continues to grow and mature. So, in the long run, this time of playing a second position is likely a good thing for both players as well as the organization. ACHTER’S ACT When I first looked at all the minor league Opening Day rosters, one name jumped out to me more than any other as a guy who was a level lower than he should have been. It takes a lock to shock me anymore, but that was the biggest surprise for me. AJ Achter returning to New Britain shocked me. In 2012, Achter was my choice for Twins minor league reliever of the year for his performance between Beloit and Ft. Myers. Last year, he began the season in New Britain where he posted a 2.21 ERA in 25 games. He moved up to Rochester where he posted a 3.04 ERA in 16 more games. He walked too many, but he showed he was ready for the level. He also pitched in the Arizona Fall League. Over nearly a decade of watching minor league box scores, I have seen quite a few players who started back at a level I didn’t think they should be. One of two things happen. Sometimes, they get frustrated and end up not playing well at all. That’s obviously not ideal. Others overcome their frustration and dominate the level before quickly getting a promotion. To this point, which is a very small sample size, Achter fits in the latter category. In two outings for the Rock Cats, he has given up just three hits and a walk over 5.2 innings. He struck out nine. INJURY UPDATES Lefty Corey Williams had his Tommy John surgery last Tuesday (April 1, 2014). He is back in Ft. Myers where his rehab will take place. The surgery was deemed successful. We certainly wish him well in his recovery. RHP Tyler Jones, my choice for Twins minor league relief pitcher of the year in 2013, is getting closer to his return. He had a sore flexor-pronator, which is the same injury that cost him several weeks last season. He pitched two innings in an extended spring training today as part of the rehab. He’ll get two days off before going back-to-back days. At that point, he will be assigned, most likely to the Miracle. It’s been a tough month for Zack Jones. As we reported here first, he had surgery to remove an aneurysm from his shoulder. After that, doctors found that he also had a blood clot in his leg. He recently informed me that he is making very good progress and should be flying to Ft. Myers in about a week to begin rehabbing. TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (DH at 3:35 CST) – Kris Johnson, Trevor May Harrisburg @ New Britain (5:35 CST) – Sean Gilmartin Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – Mason Melotakis Cedar Rapids @ Great Lakes (5:05 CST) – Felix Jorge

There are certain days where you can’t help but get a little bit excited about the day’s games. Sunday was one of those days. The top three Minnesota Twins pitching prospects were making their 2014 debuts. Alex Meyer (Twins Daily’s #3 Twins Prospect) made his first AAA start. JO Berrios (#6 Twins Prospect) made his Florida State League debut for the Miracle. 2014 top pick Kohl Stewart (#4 Twins Prospect) made his first Cedar Rapids start. All three of them pitched well in their season debuts. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Following the Rochester game, the team announced that Chris Herrmann had been promoted to Minnesota. What is the other half of the transaction? According to Twins Daily’s reporter in Rochester Chris Fee, Red Wings manager Gene Glynn said he “hadn’t heard about a move other than Herrmann so far.” RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Buffalo 8 (13 innings) Box Score It took a couple of days, but the Red Wings were finally able to play their second game of the season. Alex Meyer did not disappoint in his much-anticipated AAA debut. He began his day by striking out the first batter he faced, Anthony Gose. On the day, he gave up three runs (2 earned) on three hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out six. Aaron Thompson came in and gave up two runs on two hits in his innings. Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless seventh inning, but gave up a run on three hits and a walk in the eighth. Edgar Ibarra got the final two outs of that inning, one on a strikeout. Michael Tonkin came on and gave up just one hit over the next two innings. Deolis Guerra came on and threw two perfect innings. However, in the 13th, Guerra gave up a leadoff single to Matt Tuiasosopo. Brooks Raley came on to face Juan Francisco, and Francisco launched his second very long home run of the game. Doug Bernier provided the big hit for the Red Wings, a long three-run homer early in the game. He was 2-6 on the day. James Beresford went 3-6. Eric Farris and Chris Parmelee each had two hits. Interesting note from Josh Whetzel, play-by-play man for the Red Wings: the two winning pitchers for Buffalo in the two games they've played have been former Twins Liam Hendriks and Bobby Korecky. Today, Korecky threw four shutout innings of relief. Additionally, the save in both games went to Neil Wagner, a Minnesota native who pitched in college at NDSU. Here were some of Meyer's post-game thoughts (courtesy Chris Fee): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c-HIpA7R1A&feature=youtu.be ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 3, Richmond 13 Box Score For the second straight game, the Rock Cats fell behind early. Matt Summers was charged with three runs in the second, two in the third and three more in the fourth. He gave up eight runs (though just five were earned) on nine hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out four. AJ Achter came on and gave up just one hit over three scoreless innings. He walked none and struck out four. Adrian Salcedo then threw two scoreless innings and struck out one. Three former Minnesota Gophers players were in the lineup for the Rock Cats on this day. Kyle Knudson led the way, going 3-4 and driving in both the team’s runs. Nate Hanson had a double and Mike Kvasnicka added a single and a walk. The trio had five of the team’s seven hits in this game. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 0, Jupiter 2 Box Score Well, the Miracle won’t go undefeated this season. That’s no surprise, right? What is surprising was that the potent offense could be shut out. Hammerhead starter did not allow a base runner until the 14th batter of the game, when Max Kepler walked. Two batters later, Niko Goodrum walked. However, they were unable to score in the fifth inning. John Murphy led off the 6th inning with a single to break up the no-hitter. AJ Pettersen followed with a single, but the Miracle were again unable to score. They didn’t have another runner until Adam Walker singled with two out in the ninth. JO Berrios made the start for the Miracle. The right-hander gave up two runs on five hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out four. Radio man Brice Zimmerman reported that he was hitting 95 mph on the radar gun. Steven Gruver gave up three hits but no runs in two innings. Madison Boer came on for the ninth inning and walked one in a scoreless inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Clinton 2 Box Score Certainly the excitement of this game was that it was the first start for 2013 first-round pick Kohl Stewart. The talented right-handed did not disappoint, though things did not start out well. After a groundout, Stewart gave up a single, followed by a triple and a run-scoring ground ball and the Kernels were down 2-0. However, Stewart gave up only those two runs over five innings. He gave up just one walk and hit one batter. In the third inning, he was hit by a line drive in the back of the leg. He made the play and obviously stayed in the game. Reports from Cedar Rapids, including from Steve Buhr, reported that the radar gun showed 94 a couple times, which means he hit 96 a couple times. Yorman Landa gave up one hit and walked one over his two innings. He struck out two. Josue Montanez gave up two hits, but no runs, in an inning. Hudson Boyd came on for the save and pitched a one, two, three ninth. The Kernels scrapped. They scored one in the first inning on a Bryan Haar double scoring Joel Licon. In the second, they tied the score on Mitch Garver’s first home run. In the seventh, Logan Wade broke the tie with his first homer of the season. The team added an insurance run in the eighth when Engelb Vielma blooped in a single to score Jeremias Pineda and give the team a 4-2 lead. Mitch Garver went 2-2 with two walks and the home run. Logan Wade was 2-4 including his homer. Zach Granite went 2-5. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – JO Berrios, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Mitch Garver, Cedar Rapids Kernels MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Kris Johnson Harrisburg @ New Britain (5:35 CST) – Sean Gilmartin Ft. Myers – No Game Scheduled Cedar Rapids – No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Sunday games. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win over Cleveland on Sunday, it means that on Monday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com.