Seth Stohs

Last weekend, Dalton Hicks drove in two runs for the Ft. Myers Miracle and became the second minor leaguer this season to drive in 100 runs. The other? His teammate for the first three months of the season, Kernels outfielder Adam Walker. As of today, Walker leads minor league baseball with 106 RBI while Hicks is second at 103. The only other minor leaguer with 100 RBI this year is Astros slugging prospect George Springer, at 102. While Walker has driven in each of his runs for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, Hicks has spent a quarter of his season with the Ft. Myers Miracle. He has 21 RBI with the Miracle after knocking in 82 runs with the Kernels. During the first half of the season, the two sluggers benefited from hitting in the middle of a lineup that including Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco setting the table. Walker, the Twins 3rd round pick in 2012 out of Jacksonville Univeristy, has hit 29 doubles, seven triples and 26 home runs. Hicks, a lumbering first baseman drafted in the 17th round of the 2012 draft out of Central Florida, has hit a combined 37 doubles to go with 17 home runs. We frequently talk about how RBI are so much dependent upon those hitting in front of the batter. I do believe that RBI can be overrated, but as we watch a Twins team struggling to hit with runners in scoring position, I think it's important to remember that someone needs to drive run in! The two become the 33rd and 34th Twins minor leaguers since 1980 to have a 100 RBI season. The list of names below tell us that RBI is certainly not a indicator of future big league success. (However, it is fun at times to go into the Way Back Machine and read about names we may not have thought about in years.) [TABLE=class: grid, width: 500, align: center] 2013 Adam Walker 106+ Cedar Rapids 2013 Dalton Hicks 103+ Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers 2012 Miguel Sano 100 Beloit 2005 David Winfree 101 Beloit 2004 Kevin West 109 New Britain/Rochester 2004 Jason Kubel 100 New Britain/Rochester 2002 Michael Ryan 101 Edmonton 2002 Todd Sears 100 Edmonton 2000 Brian Buchanan 103 Salt Lake 1999 David Ortiz 110 Salt Lake 1999 Michael Restovich 107 Quad Cities 1999 Steve Hacker 100 New Britain, Salt Lake 1998 Tommy Peterman 110 Ft. Myers 1998 Corey Koskie 105 Salt Lake 1997 David Ortiz 124 FM/NB/SL 1996 Todd Walker 101 Salt Lake 1994 Bernardo Brito 122 Salt Lake 1992 Marty Cordova 131 Visalia 1992 Steve Dunn 113 Visalia 1991 Paul Russo 100 Kenosha 1990 Ray Ortiz 102 Visalia/Orlando 1989 Paul Sorrento 112 Orlando 1989 Terry Jorgenson 101 Orlando 1986 Gene Larkin 104 Orlando 1986 Tim Schwarz 101 Visalia 1985 Mark Funderburk 116 Orlando 1985 Mark Davidson 106 Orlando 1985 Gene Larkin 106 Visalia 1984 Stan Holmes 101 Orlando 1983 Stan Holmes 115 Visalia 1983 Tim Teufel 100 Toledo 1982 Greg Wells 107 Toledo 1981 Kent Hrbek 111 Visalia 1981 Tim Laudner 104 Orlando [/TABLE] There are a few guys on that list that have a couple of World Series rings and tremendous careers. There are several players who never got a taste of the big leagues. Miguel Sano is currently at 94 RBI, so there is a chance that he will hit the century mark for a second straight year. Kennys Vargas currently has 86 RBI and would need a torrid stretch to get there, but it's possible. I'm sure people reading this will also be excited to hear that Scott Ullger drove in 108 runs for Visalia. Next season, Walker should join Hicks in the Ft. Myers lineup to start the season. However, I would anticipate that both will be up in New Britain by season's end, maybe even by the All Star break.

On Monday night, Twins fans with Fox Sports North had the opportunity to watch the New Britain Rock Cats on television. In the game, fans were able to see good and bad, and most important, that even at the Double-A level, there is still a lot of development left, even for the best prospects. On Wednesday night, Twins fans saw a terrific pitcher’s duel in Detroit between Kevin Correia and Anibal Sanchez. However, in the 7th inning, we saw that even the big leaguers make the types of mistakes you expect to see in the minor leagues.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] That’s why I encourage Twins fans to go to minor league games if you have a chance. It’s enjoyable to see the play improve as players move up the system. Yes, there will be errors. Physical errors are a part of the game, and although players should be expected to improve and minimize the errors over time. What you hope to see improve as players move up through the farm system is a decrease in the number of mental errors. There should be less situations where a player throws to the wrong base or forgets the number of outs. The seasons are winding down. Labor Day is the final day of the minor league regular seasons. Cedar Rapids will be at home from August 24-30. They will then begin a Best of Three playoff series the following week. The Ft. Myers Miracle will be home from August 23 through September 1 with the exception of games in Bradenton on the 29th and 31st. They too will be in the playoffs that next week. New Britain has four more games at home, August 30 through September 2. Rochester will have some home cooking the rest of the season. Starting August 22, the Red Wings will play at home through their season finale on Labor Day with the exception of two games in Buffalo. Elizabethton goes on a six-game road trip before ending their season with three home games August 28-30. The GCL Twins are at home on the 22nd, 24th, 27th and 29th. Get out to a game if you have a chance. See what else happened in the Twins farm system on Wednesday. Rochester Red Wings No Game Scheduled. New Britain Rock Cats 1, Trenton Thunder 3 Box Score Cole De Vries made another start for the Rock Cats and was very good. In six innings, he gave up only an unearned run. He allowed five hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out two. Ryan O’Rourke pitched a scoreless seventh inning, but he gave up a base runner to lead off the eighth. He was replaced by Dan Sattler who gave up the inherited run and one of his own. Matt Hauser pitched a scoreless ninth frame. Danny Santana led off the first inning with his 10th triple and was driven in by Brad Boyer (who was playing 3B and giving Miguel Sano a night off). Eddie Rosario and Dan Rohlfing were each 2-4. Game 1 - Ft. Myers Miracle 1, Charlotte Stone Crabs 2 Box Score It was a quiet day for the Miracle bats, and it started in game one when they managed just four hits. Byron Buxton went 2-3 with a walk. He also stole two bases. Matt Tomshaw was terrific on the mound. The lefty gave up one run on six hits in eight innings. He walked one and struck out five. Chad Rodgers came into a tie game in the 9th. He got two outs, but gave up two hits and an unearned run to end the game. Game 2 - Ft. Myers Miracle 0, Charlotte Stone Crabs 6 Box Score The bats did even less in game two. They managed just two hits off of Jared Mortenson. The two hits were doubles. Dalton Hicks hit his seventh Miracle double and Jairo Rodriguez hit his third. Manuel Soliman got another start. He was charged with four runs (3 earned) on seven this. He walked one and struck out two in five innings. Corey Williams pitched one inning and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out two. Cedar Rapids Kernels 6, Quad Cities River Bandits 1 Box Score Miguel Sulbaran made his second Kernels’ start, and it was a good one. He gave up only an unearned run (on a passed ball) in five innings. He gave up five hits, walked none and struck out six. Alex Muren threw three shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out two. Mason Melotakis finished the game off with a scoreless ninth inning. The Kernels got plenty of offense to back Sulbaran. Bo Altobelli was 2-4 with his first double and two RBI. Michael Gonzales went 2-4 and added a two-run double. Joel Licon’s second homer of the season drove in two more. Adam Walker went 2-5. The win was the Kernels eighth in a row, and their 80th of the season. That is nine wins better than the Miracle. Elizabethton Twins No Game Scheduled. GCL Twins 3, GCL Orioles 0 Box Score It took five pitchers, but the GCL Twins threw a shutout against the O’s. Fernando Romero started and threw five shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out five. Zach Hayden came on and gave up one hit and one walk and recorded two outs. Miguel Gonzalez came on and gave up one hit, but got four outs. Leonel Zazueta walked two in a scoreless eighth inning. Derrick Penilla recorded his third save. He struck out two in the ninth, though he also gave up one hit and one walk. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

The Twins top pick in this year’s draft made his Elizabethton debut on Tuesday night and was very impressive. I mean, if you happen to like strikeouts. He likely would have made this debut a couple of weeks earlier if not for his foot injury. He probably would have been promoted along with fellow 2013 pick Stephen Gonsalves. The two young pitchers join Elizabethton’s Big Three of Felix Jorge, Randy Rosario and Yorman Landa. Hein Robb has been pitching very well of late. And, that’s not even counting college starters Ryan Eades and Aaron Slegers who are working out of the E-Twins bullpen. Elizabethton was well out of playoff contention 7-10 days ago, and now they find themselves nearing a wild card position. See what else happened in the Twins farm system on Tuesday.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 1, Louisville Bats 5 Box Score Former #3 overall pick, Greg Reynolds, was terrific for Louisville, but the Red Wings didn’t get good pitching or defense. PJ Walters made the start. He wasn’t helped by his defense, which committed three errors, but his control was not good either. One of the errors was a poor throw by Walters, but he also walked four and hit another. He was charged with four runs (2 earned) on just two hits over five innings. He struck out five. Cody Eppley gave up one run on two hits in his inning. Edgar Ibarra worked two more scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked one. Ibarra has now gone 31.1 innings, over 26 games, since giving up a run. Virgil Vasquez gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning. The Red Wings bats didn’t do much against Reynolds. They managed just five hits. Jeff Clement hit his 21st double. Josmil Pinto drove in the lone run with a single. Aaron Hicks returned to the lineup and went 0-3. New Britain Rock Cats 6, Trenton Thunder 4 Box Score Trevor May was back on the mound for the Rock Cats on Tuesday night. He gave up two runs on two hits over six innings. He walked four and struck out four. Cole Johnson came on and gave up two runs on five hits in just 1.2 innings. He left with runners on, and lefty Ryan O’Rourke came on and struck out the one batter he faced to end the eighth inning. Closer Dakota Watts came on and recorded the save, giving up just one hit in a scoreless ninth inning. The Rock Cats got offense from several places. Newcomer Brad Boyer was slotted into the DH role and the #2 spot in the lineup for his first Rock Cats start. He had hits in his first two at bats and ended the game 2-4. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his 21st home run. Miguel Sano’s 13th double drove in two runs. Nate Hanson doubled for the 21st time on the season. Evan Bigley and Angel Morales each hit their sixth Rock Cats double. Ft. Myers Miracle 0, Charlotte Stone Crabs 1 Box Score It was a tough loss for the Miracle, and particularly for lefty Taylor Rogers. He gave up just one run on three hits over eight innings. He walked three and struck out five. However, one of the three hits was the 11th home run of the season for Richie Shaffer that gave the Stone Crabs a 1-0 lead in the 7th, a lead they were able to hold. Zach Jones pitched a scoreless ninth frame. The Miracle had just four hits. Dalton Hicks had the only extra base hit, his sixth Miracle double. Byron Buxton went 1-3 with a walk. He also stole his 18th base with the Miracle. It was his 50th overall stolen base this season. Cedar Rapids Kernels 8, Peoria Chiefs 3 Box Score Tim Atherton gave up three runs early, but he was able to provide a Quality Start for the Kernels. He gave up three runs on five hits in six innings. He didn’t walk any and struck out four. Brett Lee pitched a perfect inning. Brandon Bixler struck out two in the eighth inning. Dallas Gallant struck out the side in the 9th inning to end the game. Max Kepler recorded his 10th and 11th doubles in five at bats. Niko Goodrum was also 2-5. Adam Walker drove in two more runs with a single. Michael Gonzales drove in two runs with his fifth double. Bo Altobelli went 2-4. Elizabethton Twins 10, Greeneville Astros 8 Box Score Twins top pick Kohl Stewart made his first Elizabethton start and impressed. The young right-hander gave up no runs on one hit in four innings. He walked one and struck out eight. Tanner Mendonca walked one in a scoreless fifth inning. He then walked the first three batters of the sixth inning. Andre Martinez came in and got a fielder’s choice and a strikeout before walking a batter. Josh Burris came on and got the final out but not before giving up a hit, throwing a wild pitch and walking two. In total, the Astros scored six runs in the sixth inning. Austin Malinowski came on in the 7th and threw two scoreless innings. Brandon Peterson got the ninth inning. He walked one and gave up two on a home run, but he struck out two and got the final out to preserve a 10-8 win. Malinowski was credited with the Win. Bryan Haar continues to lead the E-Twins offense. He went 3-5 with his 13th double, fifth home run and three RBI. Logan Wade went 3-4 with his third double. Stuart Turner hit his second homer. Mitch Garver went 2-4 with his 11th double. GCL Twins 3, GCL Rays 4 Box Score There was the game, and then there are the rehab appearances that happen in the GCL. In the offseason, the Twins removed Deolis Guerra from their 40 man roster but were able to re-sign him to a minor league contract. After a tremendous showing in the Venezuelan Winter League, Guerra had the opportunity to pitch for his home country in the World Baseball Classic. Unfortunately, he was unable to participate because a blood clot was found in his right shoulder. On March 15, Guerra underwent rib resection surgery, which is essentially the removal of a rib. The rehab started pretty simply with some range-of-motion exercises. Gradually, more was added and in the last month or so, he has started his throwing program. In the 6th inning today, Guerra entered the GCL game and gave up just one hit in one scoreless inning. He struck out one. It was a pretty clean line, but considering where he was just five months ago, it’s a nice story. Chih-Wei Hu started for the Twins and gave up just three hits in five shutout innings. He didn’t issue a walk and struck out seven. Guerra pitched the sixth. Reyson Zoquiel came on for the eighth and got just two outs. He gave up just one hit and walked one batter, but he also hit two batters. All four runs ended up scoring. Tyler Stirewalt allowed the inherited runners to score before getting the final four outs of the game, two via the strikeout. Jason Kanzler led the offense. Leading off, he went 2-5 with his fifth double and his second home run. Brian Navarreto went 2-3 with a walk and his eighth double. Engelb Vielma went 1-2 with a walk and his third double. Ivory Thomas doubled for the third time. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

On Monday, the Minnesota Twins and the New York Mets played the series finale of a series that started in April. The Twins lost 6-1 and will now head to Detroit where they'll play the Tigers for the next three days. Kyle Gibson made the start and went just 3.2 innings. He was charged with four runs on ten hits and two walks. Immediately following the game, he was demoted to Rochester. The question of "What's next for Kyle Gibson?" can take on any number of meanings for Twins fans. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]There are the short-term and long-term implications and possibilities to that question. Photo by Betsy Bissen Let's start with the short-term. We know that Gibson's innings would be monitored throughout the season. In the offseason, we heard that Gibson could be limited to 130 to 140 innings. Once spring training came, the front office backed away from giving a hard number of innings, saying they would just monitor how he was pitching and how his arm responded. When I talked to Gibson after the Saturday night game against the White Sox at Target Field, he still maintained that they had not yet been given any timeline. He only said that Terry Ryan and others in the front office only insisted that Gibson be completely honest with them about how his arm, and specifically his elbow was feeling. He said that he continues to feel strong. So, what is next for Kyle Gibson? As it relates to 2013, there are several questions. How much more will he pitch, and in what role? Gibson is a starting pitcher. He is currently at 143.2 combined innings on the season between Rochester and Minnesota. He could make another start or two for the Red Wings. He could make those one or two starts and then be shut down for the season, likely around 155 innings. He could skip the next two starts, and then start for the Red Wings in the playoffs, if they make the playoffs. Gibson could also pitch out of the Red Wings bullpen for the rest of the season (about two weeks). His innings and pitching frequency can be monitored very strictly. Is it possible that we see him in a Twins uniform in September? It may be unlikely, but maybe Gibson is able to work out some things, get some time on the Disabled List to rest, and come back to work a hand full of innings for the Twins. I think the more important question is how you feel about the future of Kyle Gibson. What means more to you? How much do you choose to make of ten starts at the end of his rookie season in his first season back from Tommy John surgery? Do you choose to go back to his scouting reports before Tommy John surgery and how well he pitched during his strong run at Rochester in May and early June? There is a general belief that a pitcher should throw no more than 20% more innings than he did the previous season in an attempt to keep healthy. If Gibson ends the 2013 season with 150 innings pitched, a 20% increase in 2014 would put him at 180 innings. I think that's a pretty solid goal. The scouting reports are what they are. They're something that can help predict how well a pitcher could do. Not how well they will do, but what they possibly can become. In his short time with the Twins, we did see a fastball that sat in the low-90s and touched 94 as we had heard. When he was pitching well, we did see some very good sinking action. We saw that he does have three pitches. What we didn't see were a ton of ground balls. His ground out to fly ball ratio was essentially 1 to 1. His strikeout rate dropped, which is no surprise. We also saw his walk numbers increase. Some of it might just be the big league hitters have better eyes, and maybe those sharp, sinkers and sliders that several AAA hitters get taken by big league hitters when they dip below the zone. It's certainly an adjustment that Gibson will need to, and will, work on before 2014. Gibson will be 26 years old throughout the 2014 season. Certainly, that is not young for a player with just ten big league starts. However, when you consider that he lost half of 2011 and most of 2012, and then still was working back early in 2013 because of the surgery, he's where he should be. For those that think this is old, well, The Twins would get his ages 26-31 years under their control. It's probably fair to say that the big league debut season of Kyle Gibson has been disappointing, but hopefully people can see enough of the big picture not to give up on an arm as talented as Gibson's. That's as silly as giving up on Aaron Hicks because of his 2013 struggles. The truth is that most players come up from the minor leagues and experience some growing pains. The hope is that Gibson will return in 2014, fully healthy, and better off for his struggles. My Opinion It is my opinion that the Twins should give Gibson one more start in Rochester, and then shut him down. Let him enjoy the offseason and just have a regular workout routine without the rehab. I have no doubt in my mind that Gibson will be in the Twins Opening Day rotation, and in the rotation for years to come. What happened in his 51 innings with the Twins this season didn't affect my thoughts on this future. If he had been great, my opinion of his future likely would not have changed. So, what are your thoughts? This is a pretty broad topic, with several parts. It will be interesting to see what the Twins, along with Gibson, decide to do.