Seth Stohs

The Trade Deadline has come and passed which means just one thing, it’s time to start announcing our Minnesota Twins Minor League Awards. Today, we’ll start with the Starting Pitchers for the month of July. This month the numbers of the five players ranked are better than they were in June. Consider, Miracle righty Tyler Duffey went 3-0 with a 3.26 ERA and opponents batted just .202 off of him and he isn’t in the top 5. Matt Tomshaw made two starts and three long-relief appearances totaling 25 innings. He went 1-0 with a 2.88 ERA and 22 strikeouts. He’s also not quite on this list. Here’s a look at the Top 5 starting pitching performers from July. --- Number 5 – Cedar Rapids – LHP Mason Melotakis – 5 G, 4 GS, 3-1, 2.51 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 28.2 IP, 26 H, 3 BB, 17 K Melotakis was the Twins 2nd round draft pick in 2012 out of Northwestern State University in Louisiana where he was primarily a relief pitcher. He is one of the pitchers that has been given an opportunity to start this year. Overall, he has done well. He is 9-3 with a 3.38 ERA. As important, he has thrown just about 100 innings. After striking out nearly 13 per nine innings between Elizabethton and Beloit’s bullpens a year ago, he has struck out just 6.2 per nine this year as a starter. He throws a fastball between 89 and 91, although earlier in the year, he was frequently touching 94. He had a very good month in June. The one game that he came out of the bullpen was the start that was given to a rehabbing Mike Pelfrey. Melotakis went the final three innings and was credited with the save. He ended the month with a very good 8.1 inning performance. Where will he wind up at the end of the day? Hopefully in the big leagues, but will it be as a starter or as a reliever? Number 4 – Cedar Rapids – RHP Tim Atherton - 4 GS, 1-1, 1.88 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 18 H, 6 BB, 26 K Atherton was inserted into the Kernels starting rotation at the end of June. He made four starts in July and went at least five in all of them. Atherton has a busy delivery which can be deceptive for hitters. He also throws in the low 90s and gets good movement on his pitches. Overall with the Kernels this year, he is 5-3 with a 2.37 ERA in 25 games (20 out of the bullpen). He has 70 strikeouts in 60.2 innings. Long-term, he may be a bullpen guy, but the Australian has the arm strength to eat some innings. Number 3 – Cedar Rapids – LHP Brett Lee - 4 GS, 2-0, 1.57 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 28.2 IP, 22 H, 4 BB, 22 K Lee was the Twins 10th round pick in 2011, out of St. Petersburg College. He pitched for Elizabethton last year and has been with the Kernels all season. Overall, he is 7-4 with a 3.23 ERA in 18 games (16 starts). In 100.1 innings, he has walked just 23 and struck out 78. On July 12th and 19th, he threw back-to-back complete games, giving up one run in each start. Lee has a good three-pitch mix that could keep him as a starter as he moves up the system. He throws a fastball in the low-90s and has the changeup and slider/curveball to go with it. Number 2 – Rochester – LHP Andrew Albers - 6 GS, 4-2, 2.23 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 40.1 IP, 32 H, 8 BB, 36 K Albers was the June winner in this category and he was about as good in July. There is no question that the 27-year-old has been the most consistent starting pitcher in the upper levels of the Twins organization (including the big leagues). Like Lee, Albers has now finished July with back-to-back complete games. He also ends July as the International League leader in strikeouts. Overall, Albers is 11-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 22 starts. Although he doesn’t throw terribly hard and challenges the hitters, he has 116 strikeouts in 132 innings. One can hope that at some point Albers will get an opportunity to make his big league debut with the Twins this season. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers – RHP Matt Summers - 5 GS, 2-1, 0.25 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 35.2 IP, 20 H, 8 BB, 26 K Summers was the Twins 4th round pick in 2011 out of UC-Irvine. In 2012, he started at Beloit but quickly moved up to Ft. Myers. This year, he began with the Miracle, but made three appearances with New Britain late in June before returning to the Miracle. Since that time, he has been amazing. Just to highlight, he gave up just ONE earned run in 35.2 innings this month. He gave up a total of three runs. He began the month with a complete game. His most recent start was four shutout innings, though he needed 97 pitches to go that far due to some walks. He is actually a very good control pitcher. Summers throws 92 and has good secondary pitches. Overall with the Miracle this season, he is 4-5 with a 2.49 ERA in 19 starts. In 108.1 innings, he has walked just 30 and struck out 78. He should (or could) move back up to New Britain when there is a need. What do you think? Please feel free to discuss and ask questions.

The Trade Deadline has come and passed which means just one thing, it’s time to start announcing our Minnesota Twins Minor League Awards. Today, we’ll start with the Starting Pitchers for the month of July. This month the numbers of the five players ranked are better than they were in June. Consider, Miracle righty Tyler Duffey went 3-0 with a 3.26 ERA and opponents batted just .202 off of him and he isn’t in the top 5. Matt Tomshaw made two starts and three long-relief appearances totaling 25 innings. He went 1-0 with a 2.88 ERA and 22 strikeouts. He’s also not quite on this list. Here’s a look at the Top 5 starting pitching performers from July. --- Number 5 – Cedar Rapids – LHP Mason Melotakis – 5 G, 4 GS, 3-1, 2.51 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 28.2 IP, 26 H, 3 BB, 17 K Melotakis was the Twins 2nd round draft pick in 2012 out of Northwestern State University in Louisiana where he was primarily a relief pitcher. He is one of the pitchers that has been given an opportunity to start this year. Overall, he has done well. He is 9-3 with a 3.38 ERA. As important, he has thrown just about 100 innings. After striking out nearly 13 per nine innings between Elizabethton and Beloit’s bullpens a year ago, he has struck out just 6.2 per nine this year as a starter. He throws a fastball between 89 and 91, although earlier in the year, he was frequently touching 94. He had a very good month in June. The one game that he came out of the bullpen was the start that was given to a rehabbing Mike Pelfrey. Melotakis went the final three innings and was credited with the save. He ended the month with a very good 8.1 inning performance. Where will he wind up at the end of the day? Hopefully in the big leagues, but will it be as a starter or as a reliever? Number 4 – Cedar Rapids – RHP Tim Atherton - 4 GS, 1-1, 1.88 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 18 H, 6 BB, 26 K Atherton was inserted into the Kernels starting rotation at the end of June. He made four starts in July and went at least five in all of them. Atherton has a busy delivery which can be deceptive for hitters. He also throws in the low 90s and gets good movement on his pitches. Overall with the Kernels this year, he is 5-3 with a 2.37 ERA in 25 games (20 out of the bullpen). He has 70 strikeouts in 60.2 innings. Long-term, he may be a bullpen guy, but the Australian has the arm strength to eat some innings. Number 3 – Cedar Rapids – LHP Brett Lee - 4 GS, 2-0, 1.57 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 28.2 IP, 22 H, 4 BB, 22 K Lee was the Twins 10th round pick in 2011, out of St. Petersburg College. He pitched for Elizabethton last year and has been with the Kernels all season. Overall, he is 7-4 with a 3.23 ERA in 18 games (16 starts). In 100.1 innings, he has walked just 23 and struck out 78. On July 12th and 19th, he threw back-to-back complete games, giving up one run in each start. Lee has a good three-pitch mix that could keep him as a starter as he moves up the system. He throws a fastball in the low-90s and has the changeup and slider/curveball to go with it. Number 2 – Rochester – LHP Andrew Albers - 6 GS, 4-2, 2.23 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 40.1 IP, 32 H, 8 BB, 36 K Albers was the June winner in this category and he was about as good in July. There is no question that the 27-year-old has been the most consistent starting pitcher in the upper levels of the Twins organization (including the big leagues). Like Lee, Albers has now finished July with back-to-back complete games. He also ends July as the International League leader in strikeouts. Overall, Albers is 11-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 22 starts. Although he doesn’t throw terribly hard and challenges the hitters, he has 116 strikeouts in 132 innings. One can hope that at some point Albers will get an opportunity to make his big league debut with the Twins this season. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers – RHP Matt Summers - 5 GS, 2-1, 0.25 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 35.2 IP, 20 H, 8 BB, 26 K Summers was the Twins 4th round pick in 2011 out of UC-Irvine. In 2012, he started at Beloit but quickly moved up to Ft. Myers. This year, he began with the Miracle, but made three appearances with New Britain late in June before returning to the Miracle. Since that time, he has been amazing. Just to highlight, he gave up just ONE earned run in 35.2 innings this month. He gave up a total of three runs. He began the month with a complete game. His most recent start was four shutout innings, though he needed 97 pitches to go that far due to some walks. He is actually a very good control pitcher. Summers throws 92 and has good secondary pitches. Overall with the Miracle this season, he is 4-5 with a 2.49 ERA in 19 starts. In 108.1 innings, he has walked just 30 and struck out 78. He should (or could) move back up to New Britain when there is a need. What do you think? Please feel free to discuss and ask questions.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2164-Twins-Minor-League-Report-(7-31)-The-Albers-Show-Continues

The July trade deadline has passed and the only player transaction on the day was the Rochester’s Drew Butera was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, I think we can expect that there will be a trickle-down effect of that move as Rochester will need another catcher (Josmil Pinto maybe?), and then New Britain will need another catcher (Kyle Knudson’s return, or Matt Koch maybe?). Then Ft. Myers will need a new catcher, so could Jairo Rodriguez’s affiliate tour take him back to the Miracle? Meanwhile, the Andrew Albers Show continued with the Rochester Red Wings. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Wednesday: Rochester 1, Lehigh Valley 2 Box Score His offense didn’t help him, but Andrew Albers continued to pitch very well for the Red Wings. Albers went all eight innings. He gave up two runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out four. He is now 11-5 with a 2.86 ERA on the season. There wasn’t much offense. Chris Parmelee went 3-4 with his second double. Deibinson Romero was 2-4 with his 11th double. Eduardo Escobar hit his sixth double in his short time with the Red Wings. New Britain 5, Akron 2 Box Score Pat Dean had a very nice night on the mound and the offense came up with some big hits. The left-handed started went the first 7.2 innings and gave up just two runs. He allowed seven hits, walked none and struck out two for his sixth win of the year. Cole Johnson came on and got the final four outs, two on strikeouts, for his third Rock Cats save. Danny Ortiz had just one hit, but he drove in four runs. Three of them came on his tenth home run of the season. Danny Santana went 2-3 with a walk, and Josmil Pinto went 2-4. Ft. Myers 1, Daytona 2 Box Score It was a well-pitched game, but the Miracle fell on an unearned run. Lefty Jason Wheeler started and gave up one run on seven hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out three. Steven Gruver came on and threw two scoreless innings despite allowing three hits and a walk. Zach Jones gave up an unearned run on two hits in the top of the ninth. Mike Kvasnicka went 2-4 with his 10th double. Jhon Goncalves was 2-3 with his 11th stolen base. Kennys Vargas hit his 30th double. Cedar Rapids 1, Burlington 3 Box Score The Kernels got the pitching, unfortunately the offense and the defense didn’t pull their weight on this night. Cedar Rapids managed just four hits in the game while committing four errors. Josue Montanez went the first five innings and gave up three unearned runs. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out three. Tim Shibuya came on and threw three scoreless innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out two. Three of the four Kernels hits were doubles. Adam Walker hit his 25th. Niko Goodrum hit his 19th, and Joel Licon added his eighth double. Elizabethton 4, Kingsport 9 Box Score One (really) bad inning just before the rains came really hurt the E-Twins. Yorman Landa started and gave up three runs on four hits and three walks in four innings. He struck out four. Andre Martinez came on to start the fifth inning and was unable to record an out. He gave up six runs (2 earned) on three hits and two walks. Andrew Ferreira came on and struck out the next two batters before the rains came and caused a delay. When they returned to action, Aaron Slegers was on the mound. He went the next 3.1 innings without allowing a run. He gave up four hits and a walk and struck out three. Brandon Peterson struck out one in a scoreless inning. Bryan Haar was 3-5 with his eighth double and two RBI. Kelvin Ortiz was 2-3 with a walk and drove in two with his fourth double. He also stole his ninth base. Tanner Vavra went 2-4. Zach Granite had a single and a walk and scored two runs. GCL Twins 3, GCL Rays 0 Box Score Last July 2nd, the Twins signed a left-handed pitcher from Australia named Lewis Thorpe. On this day, Thorpe made a start and went five shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out four. Sam Gibbons came on and walked one in two scoreless innings. He struck out two. Miguel Gonzalez and Derrick Penilla each gave up two hits in a scoreless inning. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5052[/ATTACH] Jason Kanzler went 2-4 with a walk and his second triple. Wilkin Ramirez hit his first home run on this rehab stint. Will Hurt walked three times. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2163-Drew-Butera-Traded-to-the-Dodgers

Several minutes after the 3:00 central time trade deadline, reports trickled in that the Minnesota Twins had traded catcher Drew Butera to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The reports indicate that the Twins will receive the ever-popular Player to be Named Later. As of right now, that will mean that the Twins have opened up a spot on their 40 man roster. The Twins were unable to complete any other trades before the July 31 deadline passed. I have a feeling that the Twins will be more busy in August. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5047[/ATTACH]Of course, that doesn't mean that the team won't make some deals. In the coming days, and throughout August, the Twins and other teams will place many (most?) of their players on waivers. Players who pass through waivers can still be traded. Back to Butera, although he proved he can't hit enough to be a starting catcher, his defense was terrific. He'll likely fill a similar role with the talented Dodgers team.

That was because a coupel of the Rock Cats left the team right before the playoffs started to play in the World Cup (I think Tosoni, Van Mil, etc.).

Very, very minimally.

When I was there earlier in the month, I asked Adam Walker about Murphy as they were teammates at Jacksonville for three years. He praised him a lot. Maybe I'll get those quotes and put them here in the comments.

Minier has not played since leaving the game on July 24th with a quad strain.

Stewart has not pitched since July 22nd because of a cut on his foot.

Yeah, I often think that Rick Anderson is overrated as a pitching coach. He was credited with improving Guardado and Hawkins... and he deserves some credit for Deduno. He helped Liriano in his good stretches. Liriano being good elsewhere should surprise no one. Certainly not a reason for firing.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2153-Which-Twins-are-most-likely-to-be-traded

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. 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 to be traded. Although I have 11 players listed, the odds of most of them being traded is pretty small. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5032[/ATTACH] 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 work horse. 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 was 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 of 2014 and 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 command 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 the Twins veteran 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 that few of us have even heard of. However, teams love having great defensive catchers 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 of 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 many out, but he’s gaining velocity, movement and command. The Twins signed him just for this season. He has the makings of a great mentor, 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 less than half of 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 will 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 throughout tonight and throughout the day on 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.

Check out this video that includes game video from Saturday's Kernels game... great defense, power, etc. [video=youtube;JvugBWiKpZg]

Yup, no thanks.

I really like Walters too. I think he's a guy that can be a good 5th/6th/7th starter. At this stage, he is what he is. Back end of the rotation and solid AAA pitcher. He can certainly have good stretches in the big leagues too. As for Berrios, very possible he's tiring. But, he's still got enough stuff to work out of some things.

Yeah, he's on the New Britain roster, I believe, so he's got something like 30 days worth of rehab. My guess is they'll use that up in the GCL just to make sure. Then when that rehab time is up, they'll likely have him starting for the Miracle, and then go from there.

With Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers in the playoffs already for their first half wins (and still playing well), and Rochester having an incredible month of July and being in first place this late in the season for the first time in a long time, it's exciting. Will be nice to have more playoff baseball in the system!