Seth Stohs

Hearing Jose Gonzalez to New Britain and Edgar Ibarra to Rochester.

Kyle Knudson sent back to Ft. Myers... the only move officially announced by the Rock Cats today is Knudson to Ft. Myers and Bigley to New Britain.

You could get an electronic copy of the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook - 2013! Anyway, lefty, throws 90. Tremendous slider. Very aggressive and competitive. Very smart.

Jeff Johnson (The Gazette - in Cedar Rapids) has a story Hicks among 4 Kernels promoted to high-Class A Fort Myers | TheGazette The four players moving from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers are: JD Williams, Dalton Hicks, Steven Gruver and Tyler Jones. He also notes that Tim Shibuya and Dallas Gallant are coming up from ETown. Also, Jairo Rodriguez is returning to Cedar Rapids from Ft. Myers. Via Twitter- It appears that Evan Bigley and Ryan O'Rourke have been promoted from Ft. Myers to New Britain. (I assume there are more as well, this is just the start.)

People do realize that Josh Johnson left Minnesota when he was like 2-3 years old, right? maybe still some family here. Also a guy who has been hurt for the majority of his career. When he's on, he can be great, but he's been hurt for so long, and what he's done so far in 2013 certainly doesn't bode well. I'm all for taking a chance on him, but he's not a guy I'd spend wildly on.

I kind of think that's what Terry Ryan said before the free agency season. I think I remember a lot of people vehemently disagreeing with that.

Sanchez got 5 years and $85 million from the Tigers. How much more would the Twins have had to offer him for him to come to Target Field? And, sadly, I don't think one solid #2/3 starter was going to make up a 14-15 game difference.

I get the frustration, but it is also important to have players where they should be, development wise. Is Davies really taking away starts from someone who should be in Ft. Myers? I don't think any of the starters in Cedar Rapids are pushing to be promoted right now (though Lee and Melotakis could move up at some point, and if they do, Davies likely goes). He's an organizational filler right now, that's really it. It's nice that they're giving him an opportunity to pitch again and maybe reclaim some status after missing so much time. Not a big deal right now.

Let's just say... there will be a lot... hopefully we can announce them soon!

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2087-Trade-Talk-Detroit-Tigers

Buyers or Sellers The Tigers are certainly buyers at the trade deadline. They had completely stocked up over the last two seasons to make a World Series run. They acquired and then retained Anibal Sanchez. They added Torii Hunter this offseason. After missing all of 2012, Victor Martinez is back in the middle of their lineup. Their top four starters (Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister and Sanchez) are the envy of the rest of the league. Most believed that the Tigers would run away with the AL Central, but at the All Star break, they have just a 1.5 game lead over Cleveland. What they Need The Tigers have spent to win in the very short term. They have a powerful lineup, a tremendous starting rotation and a Joaquin Benoit and Drew Smyly have been terrific in the bullpen. However, the back end of the Tigers bullpen has caused a lot of issues. Bruce Rondon showed that despite a 100-mph fastball, he wasn’t ready. Things got so bad that they brought back veteran Jose Valverde only to soon be reminded why they didn’t bring him back originally. Phil Coke, Al Albuquerque, Darin Downs and Jose Alvarez all have ERAs over five. Octavio Dotel is on the Disabled List. The Tigers can use bullpen help. The only other thing the Tigers may need would be another utility infielder who would play very little. What Might Work Jamey Carroll’s playing time has been limited enough in the first half that he will become a free agent after the season. Although his numbers this season are well down, his inconsistent playing time may play a role in that. If there is a team where Glen Perkins makes a lot of sense, it is the Detroit Tigers. If the Tigers were in any other division, it might make even more sense. Perkins has a terrific contract that any team would be happy to take on. Both teams would be leery about dealing with each other. Obviously, the Tigers want to win now, but they won’t want to see a top prospect star for the Twins against them for the next four to six years. The Twins won’t want to see Glen Perkins coming in to ninth innings against them. So, it would be interesting to see if the two teams can make a major trade. Minor trades are one thing, but blockbusters rarely occur within a division. Sleeper Targets Dixon Machado - 21 - SS – High A Two years ago, I saw Dixon Machado playing in Beloit for West Michigan. I recall thinking that I may not have ever seen such a smooth defender at shortstop. He is 6-0, and he is rail thin, almost Alexei Ramirez like. However, he doesn’t hit like Ramirez. In 2012 in the Florida State League, he hit just .195 with a .535 OPS. This year, repeating the level, he is hitting .231 with a .558 OPS. He’s not going to hit, but his glove makes him a potential utility infielder. Jose Ortega - RHP- AAA Ortega is probably in the middle ground of prospects that make him not a likely candidate to come to the Twins. The hard-throwing right-hander has an impressive 1.47 ERA in AAA right now and has had time with the Tigers. In 30.2 innings this year, he has 33 strikouts… to go with 19 walks. Sound familiar? To me, he sounds a lot like another hard-throwing reliever that the Twins acquired from the Tigers, Lester Oliveros. Dream Target Nick Castellanos was a supplemental first round pick in 2010 out of high school. The Tigers gave him $3.45 million (about $2 million over slot) to sign. Recently, the Tigers have said that Castellanos could be available in a trade for a top closer. Perkins would certainly fit into that category. Drafted as a third baseman, the 6-4 potential power hitter was moved to outfield a year ago when Miguel Cabrera moved to third base. Because he’s 6-4, he could be a first base option as well if the Twins have enough outfielders. With AAA Toledo, he is hitting .281/.353/.455 with 29 doubles and 12 home runs this year. Outfielder Avisail Garcia, who played well for the Tigers in the playoffs last year, is also said to be available. Bruce Rondon throws 100 mph but often without great control. He would also be worth inquiring about. If he’s available, that’s a great arm to consider replacing Glen Perkins with, if that’s the direction the Twins went.

Buyers or Sellers The Tigers are certainly buyers at the trade deadline. They had completely stocked up over the last two seasons to make a World Series run. They acquired and then retained Anibal Sanchez. They added Torii Hunter this offseason. After missing all of 2012, Victor Martinez is back in the middle of their lineup. Their top four starters (Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister and Sanchez) are the envy of the rest of the league. Most believed that the Tigers would run away with the AL Central, but at the All Star break, they have just a 1.5 game lead over Cleveland. What they Need The Tigers have spent to win in the very short term. They have a powerful lineup, a tremendous starting rotation and a Joaquin Benoit and Drew Smyly have been terrific in the bullpen. However, the back end of the Tigers bullpen has caused a lot of issues. Bruce Rondon showed that despite a 100-mph fastball, he wasn’t ready. Things got so bad that they brought back veteran Jose Valverde only to soon be reminded why they didn’t bring him back originally. Phil Coke, Al Albuquerque, Darin Downs and Jose Alvarez all have ERAs over five. Octavio Dotel is on the Disabled List. The Tigers can use bullpen help. The only other thing the Tigers may need would be another utility infielder who would play very little. What Might Work Jamey Carroll’s playing time has been limited enough in the first half that he will become a free agent after the season. Although his numbers this season are well down, his inconsistent playing time may play a role in that. If there is a team where Glen Perkins makes a lot of sense, it is the Detroit Tigers. If the Tigers were in any other division, it might make even more sense. Perkins has a terrific contract that any team would be happy to take on. Both teams would be leery about dealing with each other. Obviously, the Tigers want to win now, but they won’t want to see a top prospect star for the Twins against them for the next four to six years. The Twins won’t want to see Glen Perkins coming in to ninth innings against them. So, it would be interesting to see if the two teams can make a major trade. Minor trades are one thing, but blockbusters rarely occur within a division. Sleeper Targets Dixon Machado - 21 - SS – High A Two years ago, I saw Dixon Machado playing in Beloit for West Michigan. I recall thinking that I may not have ever seen such a smooth defender at shortstop. He is 6-0, and he is rail thin, almost Alexei Ramirez like. However, he doesn’t hit like Ramirez. In 2012 in the Florida State League, he hit just .195 with a .535 OPS. This year, repeating the level, he is hitting .231 with a .558 OPS. He’s not going to hit, but his glove makes him a potential utility infielder. Jose Ortega - RHP- AAA Ortega is probably in the middle ground of prospects that make him not a likely candidate to come to the Twins. The hard-throwing right-hander has an impressive 1.47 ERA in AAA right now and has had time with the Tigers. In 30.2 innings this year, he has 33 strikouts… to go with 19 walks. Sound familiar? To me, he sounds a lot like another hard-throwing reliever that the Twins acquired from the Tigers, Lester Oliveros. Dream Target Nick Castellanos was a supplemental first round pick in 2010 out of high school. The Tigers gave him $3.45 million (about $2 million over slot) to sign. Recently, the Tigers have said that Castellanos could be available in a trade for a top closer. Perkins would certainly fit into that category. Drafted as a third baseman, the 6-4 potential power hitter was moved to outfield a year ago when Miguel Cabrera moved to third base. Because he’s 6-4, he could be a first base option as well if the Twins have enough outfielders. With AAA Toledo, he is hitting .281/.353/.455 with 29 doubles and 12 home runs this year. Outfielder Avisail Garcia, who played well for the Tigers in the playoffs last year, is also said to be available. Bruce Rondon throws 100 mph but often without great control. He would also be worth inquiring about. If he’s available, that’s a great arm to consider replacing Glen Perkins with, if that’s the direction the Twins went.

He would get eaten up by most big league pitchers at this point, but in a HR Derby, he could compete with anyone. Obviously HR Derby results are pretty random, but he could compete.

Yes.

There have been other "Big Three" guys in the GCL and even ET, so have to have caution, but these three are exciting.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2077-Twins-Minor-League-Report-(7-14)-Future-Watch

The Minnesota Twins and the Rochester Red Wings have now begun their All Star breaks. Andrew Albers and Chris Colabello will be representing the Red Wings at the AAA game. The Twins showed again that if you can get to AAA, you can get a shot to play with the Twins. On Sunday, three Twins players were sent back to Rochester while two Red Wings were promoted to the Twins. Chris Herrmann and veteran Doug Bernier will be with the Twins along with a Player to be Named Later (likely Colabello on Friday). Here is a look at what happened in the Twins farm system and at the Futures Game on Sunday: Futures Game The USA team topped the World Team 4-2 on Sunday afternoon in New York. Miguel Sano started for the World Team, played third base and batted fourth. He grounded out in his first at bat. He then walked and was hit by a pitch. In the ninth, he flew out to the warning track in center field. It was caught by Byron Buxton, who played the second half of the game. He batted twice and struck out swinging both times. Rochester 6, Pawtucket 2 Box Score Earlier in the day, Pedro Hernandez was placed on the Disabled List with a strained left forearm, so Aaron Thompson got a spot start. The lefty worked the first three innings. He was charged with two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out three. Luis Perdomo came on and threw two shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out one. Cody Eppley struck out four in three perfect innings. Michael Tonkin, after returning from the Twins the night before, worked a 1-2-3 inning. James Beresford went 3-5 and stole his second base. Jermaine Mitchell went 2-4 with his sixth triple. Chris Colabello doubled for the 24th time this season. The Red Wings will now begin their All Star break and return to action on Thursday. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4807[/ATTACH] New Britain 1, Trenton 0 Box Score Virgil Vasquez had his best performance of the season. The veteran was perfect through five. In the sixth inning, an error ended the perfect game, and it was followed by a walk. The no-hitter was broken up by the first batter of the 7th inning. In all, Vasquez threw eight shutout innings. He gave up just one hit, walked one and struck out nine. Edgar Ibarra got the first two outs of the ninth, and Dakota Watts got the final out for his third save. The Rock Cats did not put up much offense in the game either. They managed just five hits in the game. Second baseman Eddie Rosario had three of the hits. Danny Ortiz added his fourth triple. Ft. Myers 7, Lakeland 8 (10 innings) Box Score This loss came in extra frames, and manager Doug Mientkiewicz didn’t get to see most of it. Stephen Wickens went 3-4 with two walks and his tenth double. He was caught stealing second base in the third inning. Mientkiewicz disagreed, and did so vehemently enough to get ejected. Aderlin Mejia went 2-5 with a walk. Jhon Goncalves went 2-5 with a walk and his seventh stolen base. Evan Bigley homered for the first time with the Miracle. Mike Kvasnicka hit his seventh home run. Jason Wheeler started and went the first 4.2 innings. He gave up four runs on eight hits and four walks. He struck out just one. Nelvin Fuentes gave up two runs on six hits in 2.1 innings. He also struck out two without walking any. Jose Gonzalez gave up one run on two hits in his inning. Zack Jones struck out two over two scoreless innings. Ryan O’Rourke got the tenth inning, and he gave up a run on two hits in the inning to take a loss. Cedar Rapids 7, Bowling Green 6 Box Score For the second straight day, we start the Cedar Rapids report with “Adam Walker remains hot.” On this day, he went 2-3 with his 20th double. His college teammate Jonathan Murphy went 2-4 with a walk and his second double. Jorge Polanco was 2-5 with his fourth home run. Joel Licon and Jeremias Pineda were both 2-4. Dalton Hicks won the race to 30 doubles, first in the Twins organization. Lefty Mason Melotakis put together a solid Quality Start. In six innings, he gave up two runs on five hits. He walked none (important for him) and struck out two. Alex Muren came on in the seventh and gave up four runs (3 earned) on four hits and recorded just one out. The out did come on a strikeout. David Hurlbut came on and gave up one hit in two shutout innings. Tyler Jones got the final two outs to record his ninth save. Elizabethton 3, Greeneville 5 Box Score Randy Rosario is one of The Big Three starters at Elizabethton. All three of them dominated in their first three Appy League starts, and after Sunday, all three of them struggled in their fourth start. Rosario went four innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out none. Tim Shibuya struck out two in two scoreless innings. Kuo Hua Lo walked one in a scoreless inning. C.K. Irby gave up one run on one hit and a walk in his inning. Bryan Haar led the offense. He went 3-4. Dereck Rodriguez went 2-4. Rory Rhodes hit his second home run. GCL Twins No games on Sundays. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

Thank you! I didn't want to be the one to send this one. Anyway, I'm pretty sure when Morneau is traded, Parmelee will be back. When Carroll is traded, Escobar will be back. This just gives them a chance to get every day at bats for a week or two before those deals happen. As for Arcia, he's like 21, so they have to do what's best for him long term.

Maybe? He's lost right now... Not sure a couple of days off will even help. He needs to go down and relax. He'll be back and long-term, he'll be fine.

Walker is a beast. He's got so much talent and immense power. And, I saw video of Grimes inside-the-park homer, and he can move! He's a very good athlete.

Monday is Berrios.

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