Cody Christie

It's getting to that point in the season where minor league teams need to decide if they are contenders or pretenders. Players get promoted and demoted but each team has the goal of reaching the playoffs and finding success in the post-season tournament. Twins minor league squads have fared well in recent years. Can this year's crop of teams live up to those that have come before them? Read on to see which teams are trending in the right direction.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Durham 7 (10 Innings) Box Score It was Christmas in July night in Rochester but the Red Wings took a while to open their gifts to their fans. Darin Mastroianni led off the first inning with a triple and was driven in by a James Beresford sacrifice fly to put Rochester up 1-0 before the offense went into a Christmas freeze. Things picked up again in the eighth inning with Rochester trailing 6-1. After Wildfredo Tovar reached on a single and Logan Schafter walked, Darin Mastroianni was hit by a pitch to load the bases. James Beresford, who is in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak, drove in another pair of runs with a single. Jorge Polanco cleared the bases with his ninth home run. Pat Dean started for Rochester and allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings of work. Marcus Walden took over for Dean and gave up a pair of runs (one earned) in two frames. J.T. Chargois took the loss as he was asked to come out for a second inning of work and he couldn't make it out of the tenth. After getting the first batter to fly out, the next two men reached and he exited. Sean Burnett was on the mound when the go-ahead run was scored but it was charged to Chargois. Rochester remains 4.5 games behind first place Scranton/WB, which also lost on Tuesday night. It was the second straight extra-innings affair between these two teams with Durham winning both contests. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Lakeland 5 Box Score Keaton Steele got off to a rough start in this one as the Flying Tigers pounced on him for two first inning runs. He would recover for a few innings before surrendering three more runs in the fifth inning. Steele went five frames and scattered seven hits while striking out six and walking three. His nine losses are tied for the second most in the Florida State League. The bullpen did well to keep the Miracle within striking distance. John Curtiss, Michael Theofanopoulos, and Nick Anderson combined to toss four shutout innings on three hits. None of the relief arms allowed a batter to get further than second base. It took a while for the Fort Myers offense to wake up in this one but the team tried to mount a comeback in the late innings. Alex Perez led off the eighth inning with a single in front of a TJ White walk. Following a ground out and a pop out, the runners were still in scoring position. LaMonte Wade brought them home with a three-run home run. It was the second straight loss for the Miracle after winning three straight over the weekend. The club currently sits at three games over .500 for the entire season. In the second half standings, they are 15-11 and are near the top of the Florida State League South. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 9, Kingsport 8 Box Score If you are a fan of offense, there were plenty of fireworks in Elizabethton on Tuesday night. The E-Twins pounded out 13 hits but it took multiple comebacks for the squad to end up the victors. Elizabethton entered the sixth frame trailing 7-2 as starter Tyler Beardsley couldn't make it out of the fifth frame. He was charged with five earned runs (seven total runs) in 4.2 innings while striking out three and walking one. Quin Grogan and Johan Quezada allowed one unearned run the rest of the way to set the stage for what was to come. The E-Twins scored three runs in the sixth inning but only managed one hit in the frame, an RBI single from Alex Kirilloff. Before Kirilloff's hit, the first two batters reached with walks. Then a force attempt coaxed a throwing error by the second baseman to load the bases. A wild pitch and a ground out scored two runs before Kirilloff drove in the third run of the frame. In the next inning, the club continued their comeback. Mitchell Kranson singled and moved to second on a Caleb Hamilton walk. Andre Jernigan cracked his third double to drive in both runners and the score was now tied at 7-7. After allowing an unearned run in the top of the ninth, the E-Twins needed to find one more comeback. With one out, Jernigan reached on a fielding error to put some pressure on the pitcher. Luis Martinez flew out for the second out of the inning but Ariel Montesino walked to put the game-winning runner on base. After a pitching change, Shane Carrier ripped a double to score both runners and send the fans home happy. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 2 Box Score After giving up a first inning run, Bo Hellquist settled in nicely for the GCL Twins. He scattered six hits over five innings while striking out seven and walking none. His season ERA dropped to 2.08 and this was his first professional victory. Hellquist, a Minnesota-Duluth product, set career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts. Garret Kelly picked up his second hold in relief of Hellquist by limiting the Rays to one base runner in two shutout innings. Callan Pearce got in a little trouble in the later innings but not enough to surrender the lead. He allowed one run, an unearned run, while striking out three and walking two in two innings. It was his second save and he has yet to allow an earned run this season. Jean Carlos Arias came up with the first big hit for the Twins. He drove in a pair of runs after Jhon Alvarez walked, Gorge Munoz was hit by a pitch and Heiker Meneses singled. This put the GCL Twins up 2-1 in the third frame. Things got a little wild in the sixth frame. Joe Cronin was hit by a pitch with one out in the inning. This was followed by a pair of wild pitches that allowed Cronin to move all the way around to third. Zach Featherstone drove him in with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 3-1. Tyree Davis didn't want the scoring to end there. He singled and stole second before advancing to third on a throwing error by the catcher. He would come in to score on a wild pitch to cap the GCL Twins scoring for the day. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Bo Hellquist, GCL Twins (5 IP, 1 ER, 7 K, first professional win) Hitter of the Day – Tyree Davis, GCL Twins (3-for-4, 2 doubles) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Durham @ Rochester (10:05 AM CST) – TBD Chattanooga @ Jackson (7:05 PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (3-4, 3.78 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Randy Rosario (5-6, 3.73 ERA) Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells (2-1, 1.27 ERA) Kingsport @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – LHP Domenick Carlini (1-3, 4.71 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Tuesday’s games. Click here to view the article

The winds of change are in the air around Target Field. The Twins removed Terry Ryan from his position as general manager. Minnesota will immediately begin their search for Ryan's replacement and the hope is to have someone new in the position by season's end. So here's where the rubber meets the road... what kind of candidates are available to get the Twins back to their winnings ways?Candidate: Jason McLeod Role: Cubs Senior VP of Player Development McLeod has worked with Epstein since the beginning. McLeod has been rumored to be a top GM candidate for years and Chicago's recent turnaround will only help push the envelope. Some of his player development successes include Dustin Pedroia, Kris Bryant, and Anthony Rizzo. He's also done a good job of finding undervalued pitchers like last year's NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta. If I were running the Twins, McLeod would be the candidate I would spend the most time pursuing. As recently as last season, he wondered what it would be like at the helm of his own organization. Minnesota might provide the right opportunity, with a budding farm system and talented young players already on the roster. Candidate: Ben Cherington Role: Former Red Sox GM Cherington, the man who took over for Epstein in Boston, left the Red Sox front office last August after the team hired Dave Dombrowski as the new president of baseball operations. This basically took away any decision-making power from Cherington. At the time, he indicated that he wanted a break from the baseball work and he turned down opportunities to interview for the GM openings in Seattle and Philadelphia. In his four years at the helm in Boston, he finished last three times and won the 2013 World Series. He is currently teaching at Columbia University in the sports management program. Candidate: Kim Ng Role: MLB Vice President for Baseball Operations Minnesota could really make a splash by hiring the first female GM out of the four major sports. While previously working as an assistant GM with the Yankees and Dodgers, she has interviewed for various GM jobs with the Dodgers, Mariners, Padres, and Angels. She has worked in her current position at MLB since 2011 where she works under Joe Torre. When taking the position, she made it clear that her career goal remains being a GM as other executives have made the jump from the Commissioner's Office to a GM position. Candidate: Thad Levine Role: Rangers Assistant GM Levine has worked well with Jon Daniels in Texas so it would take quite the offer to remove him from his current position. The duo was behind one of the best trades in Rangers history that sent Mark Teixeria to Atlanta for a bushel of prospects including Elvis Andrus. Before joining the Rangers eight seasons ago, Levine worked in Colorado as the Rockies' Senior Director of Baseball Operations. Levine was a candidate for the Diamondbacks job in 2014 but he withdrew his name before Arizona hired Dave Stewart. Candidate: Hal Morris Role: Director of Pro Scouting for the Los Angeles Angeles Ryan had a deep background in the scouting world so the Twins might want to go in a different direction than Morris. However, Morris does have an MBA from Stanford so he could be good at handling the business side of the GM position. Morris also served as a scout for the Red Sox and Pirates before taking his current position. He has been a candidate for the Diamondbacks and Angels GM positions in recent years and many people in baseball circles think highly of him. What names stand out to you? What kind of characteristics should the Twins be looking for? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

While most of the baseball world was focused on the MLB All-Star Game in San Diego, there was a smattering of minor league games on the docket. Stephen Gonsalves was scheduled to make his fourth start since being promoted to Double-A. He allowed eight runs in his first 8.2 innings with Chattanooga but he bounced back nicely with six shutout frames in his last outing. Which version of Gonsalves would show up on Tuesday night? Read on to find out.CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 0 Box Score For the second straight start, Stephen Gonsalves pitched six shutout innings. He struck out a season-high 11 batters while scattering four hits and not walking a batter. He had walked 11 batters in his first three appearances with Chattanooga. Gonsalves continues to pile up strikeouts as he has 30 strikeouts in 20.2 innings since being promoted. Jake Reed took over for Gonsalves and kept the shutout alive with two clean frames. He allowed one hit, walked one and struck out one. Trevor Hildenberger closed out the ninth with a perfect inning while striking out two. Levi Michael had a huge night at the plate. The former first-round pick went 3-for-3 with a triple, two RBI and a walk. Shannon Wilkerson reached base four times and scored a pair of runs. Leonardo Reginatto stole his seventh base as part of a multi-hit night at the plate. Mitch Garver was named Twins minor league player of the week after batting .455 last week but he went 0-for-4 tonight. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 6, GCL Orioles 4 Box Score Aaron Whitefield reached base three times including a pair of hits and his fourth stolen base of the season. Ben Rortvedt went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Jorge Andrade scored two runs and reached base twice. Overall, the team went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position while leaving seven runners on base. Tyler Fox started for the E-Twins and made it through three frames. He allowed three runs on five hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Moises Gomez picked up his first victory after pitching three innings and allowing only an unearned run. Clark Beeker earned his first save as he pitched three perfect innings and struck out one. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Levi Michael, Chattanooga Lookouts WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Chattanooga @ Tennessee (11:05 am CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart (2-4, 4.21 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Tampa (6:00 CST) - RHP Keaton Steele (4-7, 3.84 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (6:00 CST) - RHP Cody Stashak (5-5, 3.17 ERA) Elizabethton @ Danville (6:00 CST) - RHP Tyler Beardsley (0-0, 3.00 ERA) GCL Twins vs. GCL Orioles (11:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Tuesday's games. Click here to view the article

If someone would have told me at the beginning of the season that Eduardo Nunez would be the Twins All-Star representative, I would have laughed in his face. Nunez is having a great first half of the season but he doesn't exactly conjure up thoughts of being one of the best players in baseball. Every team gets an All-Star and there could be a lengthy discussion over the validity of this practice. It gives each team's individual fan base someone to root for in the game. The best players might not always be on the field but that's not always what the Mid-Summer Classic is all about. There have been some bad Twins teams throughout the franchise's history. The early 1980's and mid 1990's come to mind as some rough times in the not so distant past. Over the last handful of years, there have been some of the organization's worst teams but those teams still get an All-Star representative.Here are my picks for the top five worst All-Star selections in Twins history. I took into consideration the player's career WAR total and the season in which the player was elected but there have been some bad players who were able to put the title of All-Star next to their name. 5. Joe Mays, 2001 All-Star (Career 9.0 WAR) The 2001 season was the only year Mays finished with an ERA under 4.00 and it was also his lone season of pitching more than 200 innings. He would actually lead the entire league in ERA+ that season but the rest of his career was hardly All-Star worthy. He struggled with injuries and posted a career 5.05 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Almost all of his WAR value was accumulated during the 2001 campaign when he finished in the top 10 for WAR. 4. Dave Engle, 1984 All-Star (Career 3.9 WAR) Engle, the brother-in-law of Tom Brunansky, was the team's lone representative in 1984. He wasn't even having that great of a season when he was elected. He hit .266/.308/.353 with four home runs and 20 doubles during the 1984 campaign. He actually finished ninth on the team in WAR behind the likes of Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett, and Gary Gaetti. Maybe he was being rewarded for his 1983 season where he combined for a .800 OPS with 34 extra-base hits. 3. Tim Laudner, 1988 All-Star (Career 3.2 WAR) The two catchers on the AL roster in 1988 were Terry Steinbach and Tim Laudner. Minnesota was coming off the World Series victory and more of the team's players were represented on the roster including Kirby Puckett, Frank Viola, Jeff Reardon and Gary Gaetti. Laudner played in a career-high 117 games in 1988 and hit .251/.316/.408 with 13 home runs and 18 doubles. However, he allowed the second most stolen bases in the AL and he would play only one more season at the big league level. 2. Eduardo Nunez, 2016 All-Star (Career 2.1 WAR) Nunez is thriving in one of his first opportunities to play on a regular basis. He played in 112 games for the Yankees in 2011 but those games resulted in a negative WAR total for the season (-0.5 WAR). His time in Minnesota has been more productive as he has been worth 3.7 WAR over the last three years. The Twins are bad this year and someone had to represent the team. My vote would have been for Brian Dozier but they didn't ask me. 1. Ron Coomer, 1999 All-Star (Career 1.4 WAR) The 1999 version of the Twins went 63-97 so there wasn't much to be excited about. Players like Corey Koskie, Jacque Jones and Terry Steinbach might have been more deserving of an All-Star selection as Koskie's WAR ended up being more than three times that of Coomer. Mr. Coomer was in a stretch of five straight seasons with 12 home runs or more and he combined for a .744 OPS during that stretch. In an era where baseballs were flying out of stadiums at a record pace, Coomer got to be on the same roster as the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Manny Ramirez, and Jim Thome. There are my top-five worst Twins All-Stars of all-time. Should someone else have made the list? Who would be your worst Twins All-Star? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

When the Twins drafted J.T. Chargois in the second round in 2012, there were plenty of unknowns. The right-handed pitcher out of Rice University played both sides of the ball in college. This limited him to just 72 combined innings on the mound across three college seasons. After signing with the Twins, he was assigned to Elizabethton and served as the team's closer in the middle of the playoff hunt. The E-Twins would go on to win the Appalachian League Championship and Chargois would combine to post a 1.69 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP across 16 innings. His fastball could hit the high 90s and it looked like he could move through the system very quickly.Chargois did not make it out of extended spring training in 2013 as he dealt with elbow issues. In fact, he wouldn't take the mound in 2013 or 2014 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. Most pitchers miss one year because of this injury and surgery but he missed two years because the Twins wanted him to try rehab before going under the knife. By 2015, Chargois was ready to return. He made 48 appearances between Fort Myers and Chattanooga as he combined for a 2.62 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and a 53 to 25 strikeout to walk ratio. He ended the year on quite the run. Over his last 18 appearances (19.2 IP), he allowed one earned run and posted a 24 to 9 strikeout to walk ratio as opponents were limited to a .164 BA. Chargois was clearly back on the prospect radar and the Twins added him to their 40-man roster. He ended the 2015 season at Double-A and that's where he started the 2016 campaign. After posting a 2.73 ERA with the Lookouts last year, Chargois lowered that mark to 1.54 on the way to collecting seven saves. His time in Rochester might be even better as he has posted a 30 to 5 strikeout to walk rate along with lowering his WHIP from 1.32 at Double-A to 1.02 at Triple-A. His MLB debut was a disaster as he allowed five earned runs in 0.2 innings. He walked a pair of batters and failed to record a strikeout. His 67.50 ERA at the big league level is tough to look at but it hasn't impacted his performance in the minors. The Twins were faced with a bit of a roster crunch so this was the only MLB appearance Chargois has made. One would have to think that it left a bad taste in his mouth. Maybe his Futures Game roster spot was a reward for being sent down after his rough debut. There are only 10 pitchers on the U.S roster so there is a good chance that he will get to collect at least an inning of work. This will be the 18th edition of the Futures Game and it will take place on Sunday, July 10, at Petco Park in San Diego (6 PM CST on MLB Network). Click here to view the article

The fireworks dust has settled and this means baseball's trade deadline is quickly approaching. Following next week's All-Star Game festivities in San Diego, contending teams will be wheeling and dealing to try to find the right pieces to push their organization to the next level. Minnesota's terrible first half has put them in a position to be sellers in 2016. This isn't a terrible position to be in but the Twins have been bad in recent years and the front office hasn't been willing to part with trade chips. Maybe this year will be different as Terry Ryan looks to add to one of the best farm systems in baseball. Who is available? What can the Twins get in return? Let's dive in...Starting Pitchers: Ervin Santana, Ricky Nolasco The Twins spent a lot of money on both of these pitchers on the free agent market and it hasn't gone according to plan. Santana spent the first part of his contract being suspended for 80 games and he hasn't been anything fantastic since returning to the mound. His name has even popped up in national headlines as "perhaps the most viable trade deadline pickup on the market." Nolasco has struggled with very brief flashes of being the pitcher the Twins thought they were getting. With both pitchers, the Twins would have to pay some of their remaining contracts. Santana is owed $27 million over the next two seasons and Nolasco is owed $24 million during the same stretch. That's a lot of money to two pitchers that haven't lived up to expectations but maybe both could be helped by moving to the National League. Trading one or both of these players would free up a second half rotation spot for the likes of Jose Berrios. Some Twins fans have even started the discussion about Trevor May being stretched out and put back in the rotation. Minnesota needs to see what they have in their young pitchers and the second half can offer them that opportunity. Relief Pitchers: Fernando Abad Contending teams pay a premium for effective relief pitching near the deadline (see Matt Capps for Wilson Ramos trade). Even Minnesota traded for relief help last year when Kevin Jepsen was acquired for a pair of pitching prospects. Jensen was designated for assignment over the weekend which can show how fickle relief pitchers can be. Abad has run into some rough outings in the last week but he still might be one of the team's most valuable trade pieces. As a left-handed relief pitcher, he has held lefties to batting under .175 and they are getting on-base less than 21% of the time. He also comes with an extra year of team control so that adds some value to him since he can't be a free agent until 2018. Much like trading one of the starting pitchers would open a spot for Berrios, dealing Abad could open a role for an up-and-coming relief arm. J.T. Chargois didn't get much of a look in his brief call-up so it would be nice to see more of him in the second half. Position Players: Brian Dozier, Eduardo Nunez, Trevor Plouffe, Kurt Suzuki Dozier isn't going to be part of the next winning team in Minnesota. He has busted out of his early season slump in a big way and he's under contract for the next two seasons for and average value of $7.5 million per year. Jorge Polanco has been ready for the big leagues but the Twins have no where to put him. Trading Dozier opens up a spot for Polanco and he could bring back an intriguing prospect or two. Nunez has been the biggest surprise on the Twins roster this season. For the first time in his career, he has become an everyday starter and he has taken full advantage of the opportunity. He is arbitration eligible for one more season and he can play multiple spots around the infield. For a team looking for a bench player with some versatility, Nunez could be their man. It might also be the first time in a while where the Twins have sold high on a player and not waited until his value was gone. The Miguel Sano outfield experiment seems to be coming to an end. Plouffe's time in Minnesota has included plenty of good moments and he has become a fan favorite. However, Plouffe would likely leave in free agency after the 2017 campaign so trading him now could result in more value. A contending team might need a bat off the bench or a replacement at third and Plouffe can serve both of those roles. He will be on the disabled list until for the next couple weeks so he might be able to be dealt until the off-season. Much like Dozier, Suzuki has broken out of his early-season offensive slump. His contract expires at the end of the year and the Twins will likely need to go in a different direction from the aging catcher. He is below average on the defensive side of the ball but Twins pitchers have like his ability to call games. Suzuki could serve in a back-up catcher role or be asked to fill in for an injured starting catcher. His veteran leadership and experience could be intriguing. There's the list of potential trade targets. Who else do you think the Twins should make available? What can Minnesota get back for the pieces that they have? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Daniel Palka has been on quite the roll in recent weeks and he was honored on Friday for his hot hitting. The Southern League announced that Palka was the Player of the Month for the month of June. By the end of the month he had hit .302/.372/.802 (1.174 SLG) with 13 home runs, three doubles and three triples. During the week of June 6th, Palka set up his tremendous month by going 10-for-29 with seven extra-base hits, four home runs, 10 RBI, a .931 slugging percentage, and an OPS of 1.306. He would be given the Southern League's Player of the Week award for that hot stretch. Could Palka keep the fireworks going for the start of this long Fourth of July weekend? Read on to find out.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Syracuse 3 Box Score The Red Wings had to move on from Miguel Sano's tenure as his rehab assignment ended on Thursday and they were able to do so with the help of some familiar names. Eddie Rosario collected his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot. He went 2-for-4 on the night including two runs scored. Darin Mastroianni and Jorge Polanco both had a pair of hits and Mastroianni came around to score a run. Wilfredo Tovar had a double and an RBI out of the ninth spot in the batting order. Jason Wheeler started and kept the Red Wings in the game. He struck out six in 5.2 innings on the mound while allowing three earned runs on five hits. The bullpen was fantastic for Rochester. D.J. Baxendale, Ryan O'Rourke, Trevor May, and Alex Wimmers combined for 3.1 shutout innings on the way to the team's 48th victory. For Wimmers, it was his seventh save. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 8, Pensacola 10 Box Score The Lookouts jumped out to a first inning 2-0 thanks to a two-run shot off the bat of Mitch Garver. Things would go quiet on the offensive side until the sixth when Niko Goodrum hit a one-out double before SL Player of the Month Daniel Palka knocked him in with a single, his 62nd RBI this year. Chattanooga did their best to come back in the late innings with a five-run eighth frame that was bolstered by a Travis Harrison home run. Goodrum finished the night going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk. Garver drove in four and scored a pair of runs as part of a two-hit effort. DJ Hicks reached base twice. The Lookouts left only five runners on base and batted .600 with runners in scoring position (6-for-10). In his third start at Double-A, things didn't go well for Stephen Gonsalves. He was roughed up for six runs in 3.2 innings of work. He struck out eight and walked two as his Double-A ERA is now over 8.00. Omar Bencomo allowed two runs (one earned) in 1.1 innings while striking out three. Luke Westphal didn't stop the scoring, as he gave up a pair of runs in two innings of work. Trevor Hildenberger was the only pitcher to put a zero on the board. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Jupiter 4 Box Score Randy Rosario got the start for Fort Myers but ran into a little trouble during the sixth inning. After back-to-back one-out hits, Rosario coaxed a ground out that allowed a run to score. During the next at-bat he threw a wild pitch and eventually walked the batter. Rosario's night was done and John Curtiss came in with runners on the corners. He got the next out to end the inning and finish out the next frame with a couple of strikeouts. Things got hairier from there. Nick Anderson started the eighth inning and allowed three straight singles to start the frame. He was replaced by Yorman Landa without recording an out. Landa did his best to limit the damage as the first batter bunted to advance the runners. The next batter grounded out but another run scored. After a walk, Landa got the final out but the score was now 5-4. The Miracle bounced back quickly scoring two runs in the bottom half of the inning. LaMonte Wade and Joe Maloney started the inning by getting hit by pitches. Alex Perez advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt and T.J. White brought them home with double. White had already homered in the game as he finished 3-for-5 with four RBI. Max Murphy also had a home run, his fifth of the season, which left the bat at 105 mph. Two-thirds of the batting order had at least one double. Fort Myers has now won four in a row and remain in first place in the Florida State League South Division. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 5 Box Score After falling behind early, the Kernels plated three runs in the fifth inning to take a 4-2 lead. Rainis Silva walked to leadoff the inning before a Daniel Kihle single advanced him to second. A couple of batters later Luis Arraez singled to score Silva. The big hit in the inning came from Sean Miller who was credited with a double and two runs scored on the play. However, the bullpen couldn't hold the lead. Cody Stashak started and left with the Kernels up 4-3. He allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Tom Hackimer took the blown save and the loss after allowing a pair of runs to score in the eighth inning. Kuo Hua Lo got two outs and struck out one. Miller finished 3-for-4 with the team's only extra-base hit. It was his 13th double of the season. Joining the multi-hit parade was Zander Wiel as he collected a pair of hits and an RBI. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 8, Pulaski 3 Box Score The E-Twins powered out four home runs in the first three innings to help the team push across eight runs. Alex Kirilloff, the Twins 2016 first-round pick, hit his first professional home run as part of a multi-hit night. Jaylin Davis cracked two home runs to go along with five RBI. Davis has six home runs this season and this was just the E-Twins ninth game. Amaurys Minier also added a long ball, his first on the season. Tyler Wells made it through two perfect frames including striking out the four straight batters but he ran into some third inning issues. He had runners at first and second after two walks and a pair of strikeouts in the inning. Griffin Jax entered and gave up a sharp singled to score one. During the next at-bat he had a wild pitch that scored another run. Wells ended up with no hits in 2.2 innings with six strikeouts and two walks. Jax allowed two runs to score, credited against Wells, before another run scored against him. He struck out two in 2.1 frames. Andrew Vasquez picked up his first professional victory after throwing three terrific innings. He limited the Yankees to two hits and he struck out seven. Vasquez has yet to allow a run this season across three appearances. Colton Davis got the ninth and saw two batters reach but struck out the last two batters of the game. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Red Sox 6 Box Score The GCL Twins couldn't take advantage of plenty of opportunities in this contest. The Twins kept pace with the Red Sox in the hit department with 12 each but the home team went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Gorge Munoz had a big day at the dish going 3-for-4 with a double and a home run. Dane Hutcheon matched Munoz with three hits and he is hitting .400 so far this season. Besides the two extra-base hits from Munoz, Ben Rortvedt had the only other extra-base hit, a double. Miguel De Jesus took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits in just under four innings of work. He struck out six and walked one. Clark Beeker took over for De Jesus and struck out three while giving up a run in 2.1 innings. Matz Schutte didn't allow a hit and struck out three across two frames. Brady Anderson finished off the last inning with a hit and walk but didn't allow a run. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – The Rochester Bullpen, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jaylin Davis, Elizabethton Twins SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05 CST) - LHP Pat Dean (1-5, 4.40 ERA) Chattanooga @ Pensacola (6:30 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers (6-4, 3.38 ERA) Ft. Myers vs. Jupiter (5:05 CST) - RHP Randy LeBlanc (1-2, 5.40 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (7:00 CST) - LHP Lachlan Wells (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Elizabethton vs. Bluefield (5:00 CST) - RHP Ryan Mason (0-0, 18.00 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (9:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games. Click here to view the article

If you followed some of the ESPN and Baseball America Twitter accounts, there was coverage during the game. It was also streaming on ESPN.com so I had it pulled up in a window at work. It stinks that they had to play in front of a half empty stadium with no one watching at home.

Congrats to Coastal Carolina. They were a fun team to watch the CWS. It was pretty crazy to see that their locker was in the back of the shed that was also concession stand when the current coach started there 20 years ago.

This story was from the middle of June. http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/twins-nick-burdi-setback-to-bone-bruise-ailment/ Sounds like he had a setback to his bone bruise. Wasn't suppose to throw for at least 10 days. I haven't heard anything about him throwing up to this point.

You mean the starting pitcher for the Home Run Derby, right?

I haven't heard anything on him at this point.

Not bad. Betts and Bradley will probably get to start especially since Cain got hurt earlier this week.

I don't think they get huge viewership anyway. Especially without big named schools in the final. I'm sure ESPN had plenty to say about when the game was going to be played. There must be something else on the four-letter network tonight that couldn't be moved.

How do others feel about this? Should the second half of last season be included in picking out the All-Stars? My feeling is if we don't consider the second half of last season then they should move the All-Star Game to the end of the season. Otherwise the All-Stars are only being picked off of half a season's worth of work.

I'd love to have Donaldson and Machado both start but unfortunately that can't happen with the way the ballot was set-up this year. Our team's are pretty close. I give Cabrera the nod over Davis since he is one of the best hitters of all-time. Bradley just missed my team. Desmond has been good but I wouldn't have him as a starter.

I'm guessing he will have a longer leash than that... especially if the team trades one of their starters in the next month.

Let me know who you think should be the starters in the AL. Third base and shortstop were probably the two hardest spots to pick.