Seth Stohs

On Wednesday night, the Ft. Myers Miracle were swept out of the Florida State League playoffs by Charlotte. On Thursday night, the Cedar Rapids Kernels, the best team in the Midwest League in 2013, lost to the Quad Cities River Bandits for the second straight night to end their season. Such is the randomness of a best of three playoff series after a 140 game season. Rochester also lost on Pawtucket on Thursday night. The loss evened the series at a game a piece. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]That turns a best of five series into a best of three series. Unfortunately, after playing the first two games at home, the Red Wings will now head to Rhode Island for the rest of the series. Rochester Red Wings 2, Pawtucket Red Sox 7 Box Score The game started with two scoreless innings. However, Pawtucket got to PJ Walters for two runs in the third inning. That was followed by three unearned runs in the fourth inning. Logan Darnell came in and got the final out of the fourth inning, and then in the fifth inning gave up two unearned runs, though the error was his own. Walters was charged with the five runs (2 earned) in 3.2 innings. He gave up six hits, walked three and struck out two. Darnell gave up the two unearned runs on two hits in 2.1 innings. He didn't walk anyone and struck out four. Edgar Ibarra came on and gave up just one hit over two shutout innings. Shairon Martis struck out one in a 1-2-3 inning. Offensively, the Red Wings did little. They did score two runs off rehabbing starter Clay Buchholz. In fact, they had four hits and walked twice against the Red Sox starter. Unfortunately that was about it. They managed just three more hits the rest of the game. The Red Wings had seven hits in the game. Ray Olmedo had three of, and Eduardo Escobar had two more. What's Next? Lefty Pat Dean will take the mound in Pawtucket on Friday night opposite Steven Wright in Game 3. Cedar Rapids Kernels 2, Quad Cities River Bandits 4 Box Score Four batters into this game, things could not have been going any better for the Kernels. Right-hander Tim Shibuya struck out the side in the top of the 1st inning. Then, Jonathan Murphy led off the bottom of the 1st inning with a solo home run. It was all downhill from there, and the Kernels' season ended with an 88-52 record after being swept by the River Bandits. Photo by SD Buhr Shibuya went the first six innings, but he was chanrged with four runs on nine hits. He walked two and struck out five. Mason Melotakis came on and threw two scoreless innings. Brian Gilbert threw a perfect ninth. Unfortunately, the Kernels were able to muster only four hits. Murphy's home run was one. The Kernels also had three doubles, one each by Michael Gonzales, Joel Licon and Jorge Polanco. Polanco scored the second run on a ground out by Max Kepler. The game wasn't without controversy. With a runner on in the 4th inning, Adam Walker blasted a ball down the left field line. The ball was called foul, though onlookers (including SD Buhr) are convinced the ball was well fair. A two-run homer in this two-run game proved pretty large! For at least two more days, we will have a Minor League Report. As long as the Rochester Red Wings are in the playoffs, we'll continue to post updates. When they're done, a lot of minor league coverage will be set into motion, so be sure to continue checking out Twins Daily for much more Twins minor league coverage throughout the offseason.

Through May of 2012, Trevor Plouffe was hitting just .163/.261/.347 (.608) with three doubles and five home runs. Then the calendar turned to June. Over his next 32 games played, Plouffe hit .317/.373/.634 (1.006) with nine doubles and 14 home runs. That's when he injured his thumb and did not play again until mid-August. Over his final 45 games of 2012, he hit .196/.254/.344 (.598) with seven doubles and five homers. 2013 was meant to be a big year for several Twins including Brian Dozier and Chris Parmelee. However, arguably, 2013 was most important for Trevor Plouffe. Was he the sub-.300 on-base percentage guy still looking for a defensive position? Or, could he put up numbers approaching what he did for a month last June? For the most part, 2013 has been a frustrating season for the Twins third baseman. On May 21, he was kneed in the head as a base runner at second base and ended up on the Disabled List with a concussion. Before he could get back in the lineup, recurring calf tightness put him on the 15 day disabled list. When he returned in mid-June, he had a single, double and home run in his first game and had hits in 13 of 14 games played in the month. Unfortunately, July was a tough month as well as he hit just .189/.223/.300 (.523). Since August 1st, he has hit .237/.298/.404 (.702), though that includes the first two games in Houston when he went 7-9 with two homers. There are 20 MLB third basemen who qualify for a batting title (3.1 plate appearances per game their team has played). Here are Plouffe's rankings in several categories: Batting Average - .243 (15/20) On Base Percentage - .301 (17/20) Slugging Percentage - .404 (15/20) OPS - .705 (18/20) WAR - 1.4 (17/20 - only Mike Moustakus, David Freese and Michael Young have lower WAR) So, now what? Trevor Plouffe will likely need to show in the final month of the season that he should be the team's Opening Day third baseman. To assume that is a given is not correct on a couple of fronts: First, there is the Miguel Sano factor. The Twins ultra-talented, immensely powerful prospect finished his 2013 campaign with 35 home runs and will likely be ranked in the top three baseball prospects when the lists come out next spring. He finished the season in AA after spending the first half in Ft. Myers. He will be invited to spring training, but will the Twins be willing to give him the opening day starting job after seeing the struggles of Aaron Hicks coming straight from AA? Sano will be just 21 years old when the 2014 season starts. My assumption is that Sano will start the season in Rochester, but he won't be there for long. No more than two months, most likely. Second, Trevor Plouffe came into the 2013 season with 1.162 years of service. As he spent the entire season with the Twins, that number will be 2.162 at season's end. He is shy of 3 years of service time, but it is almost guaranteed that Plouffe would be a Super-2 arbitration-eligible player. That means that he will likely go from making just over $500,000 this season to somewhere between $1.8 and $2.8 million in 2014. Could the Twins non-tender Plouffe? I don't think that they would. He is still just 28 and although his defense has, at times, been shaky all around the field, he can play multiple positions even if it is in a super-utility role. That kind of position flexibility, and the fact that he does have good power, makes the idea that he could be traded at least feasible. Plouffe has been with the Twins since they drafted him out of high school with the first of five first round picks in 2004. He worked up the system one step at a time, and then was up and down with the Twins for a couple of seasons. He has been on the Twins roster for the last two years. So, what does the future hold for Trevor Plouffe in a Twins uniform? In my opinion, he will likely begin the 2014 season as the Twins third baseman. I do expect that Miguel Sano will be up by mid-June, if not by the end of May, and when he does the third base job will be his. I think that Trevor Plouffe can easily shift over to first base where he can split time with Joe Mauer. I think Mauer will continue to do some catching in 2014, but will also play a lot of first base. Plouffe can be a right-handed bat off of the bench, but he can also be a backup in the corner outfield positions, and yes (gasp) in the middle infield as well. That's how I envision things shaking out in 2014 for Trevor Plouffe. What do you think?

Tuesday marked the beginning of playoff season in full-season minor league baseball. Game 1's were played in the Florida State League, including the Ft. Myers Miracle. On Wednesday, Rochester and Cedar Rapids will begin their second seasons. Ft. Myers Miracle 0, Charlotte Stone Crabs 1 The Miracle had the best overall record in the Florida State League in 2013, and yet, after game one in the playoffs, they are on the brink of elimination. Remember, this is a best of three series. It takes just two wins to win the series. Of course, the Miracle will need to hold court at home to advance to the next round. Game one was played in Charlotte. The series will shift to Ft. Myers for games two and three. For Matt Summers, he saw several nights like this in the regular season. Despite leading the Florida State League in ERA and WHIP, he had a record of just 6-5. He was quite good. The right-hander went six innings and gave up just one run. He allowed five hits, walked one and struck out four. Tyler Duffey came on and threw the final two innings, giving up one hit and striking out one. Unfortunately, the Miracle managed just three hits in the game. The three batters at the top of the lineup (AJ Pettersen, Stephen Wickens and Byron Buxton) each had one single. What's Next? As previously stated, the Miracle series will now head to Ft. Myers for Game 2 on Wednesday night. Lefty Taylor Rogers will get the start for the Miracle in a must-win game. In Rochester, the Red Wings will open up game 1 of their best of five series against Pawtucket (the Red Sox AAA affiliate). The Twins will send Cole De Vries to the mound. In yesterday's playoff preview, I mentioned that Dakota Watts had been promoted to the Red Wings for the playoffs. It was learned on Tuesday morning that Trevor May will also join the Red Wings. Cedar Rapids will be playing in Davenport on Wednesday night against the Quad Cities River Bandits. Left Brett Lee will be the game 1 starter. Awards Eduardo Escobar was named the International League Batter of the Week. The Red Wings shortstop had a huge game on Monday for the, collecting three doubles, a homer and five RBI. He has also hit .307 in his 43 total games for the team. Tim Shibuya threw a complete game shutout for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. On Tuesday, he was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week. He's been tremendous since coming back from his shoulder injury. With the Kernels, he is now 4-0 with a 0.96 ERA. He will get the nod in Game 2. Coming Soon... We will continue our playoff coverage as long as there is a Twins affiliate in the playoffs. There will also be a lot of minor league, season-ending coverage in the next week. As always, if you have questions, please feel free to let me know.