Cody Christie

As spring training began in Twins Territory, there were questions about who should be starting at third base when the team headed north. Trevor Plouffe was coming off an underwhelming season where he dealt with some injuries and he struggled defensively at third base. Miguel Sano was ranked as one of the best prospects in the game and his powerful swing looked primed to make his debut. http://twinsdaily.co...=1Flash-forward a couple months and Sano is recovering from Tommy John surgery while Plouffe has continued to look more comfortable at the plate and in the field. Plouffe is never going to be a high batting average player but he's changed some of his offensive approach. Last season, he set a career high in doubles with 22 and this season he's already notched 18 two-baggers. His OPS+ of 113 breaks his career high from back in 2012 when he went HR crazy for a few weeks. There have been two big changes for Plouffe this season. The first has been his plate discipline and more importantly his ability to coax walks. He has 19 walks to his credit this year but he has increased is BB% from 6.5% in 2013 to close to 10% in 2014. Plouffe has also seen more pitches per game this season than last year. In 2013, he averaged 4.04 pitches seen per at-bat and that number has jumped to 4.60 in 2014. Another area of improvement for Plouffe has been his ability to drive the ball to the opposite field. Last season, he had a total of six doubles to the opposite field and only two of those balls were to the gap. Already this season he has ten doubles to the opposite field and seven of those doubles are in the gap. His line drive percentage has also increased from 24.7% to 28.5%. Plouffe is in his first year of being arbitration eligible since he qualified as a Super 2 player. His salary bumped up to $2.35 million this season and that number will continue to increase in the years to come. Here's a fun little player comparison between two former Twins first round picks. Player A: 1544 PA, .260/.336/.444, 86 2B, 48 HR, .184 ISO, .304 BABIP Player B: 1544 PA, .242/.305/.413, 78 2B, 51 HR, .171 ISO, .281 BABIP Player A is Michael Cuddyer, another late bloomer with the Twins. Player B is Trevor Plouffe through Wednesday night's game in San Diego. It took Cuddyer over 1500 at-bats to consistently compile an OPS+ of over 100. Plouffe is around that mark and he just crossed the 1500 career at-bats. If Plouffe can continue to make small improvements, the Twins are going to have to continue to find room for him on their line-up card. Click here to view the article

On last week's episode of Talk to Contact, Darren "Doogie" Wolfson spent some time with us discussing the possibility of a Brian Dozier contract extension. He mentioned that Dozier's agent has already approached the Twins about this possibility. By the end of the interview, he said he wouldn't be surprised if Dozier has a new contract in place by the end of spring training next year. From the perspective of the Twins front office, there might not be a reason to be in a rush with Dozier. He didn't make his big league debut until the age of 24. His first year of arbitration eligibility is 2016 and he can't be a free agent until 2019. Dozier would be 31-years old before he hit the free agent market and a lot can happen to a player over the course of multiple seasons. Download attachment: Brian Dozier LookBack.jpg On the other hand, Minnesota might want to lock-up Dozier before he gets to arbitration because of the way he has played since the second half of last season. Dozier's power swing really showed up in the last year's second half. He slashed .253/.313/.443 with 10 home runs and 18 doubles. His batting average is never going to be the prettiest (he's a career .240 hitter) but his combination of stellar defense and base running ability make him very valuable. A hot start from Dozier in 2014 could mean his cost is starting to rise. He already has nine home runs to his name and his 34 runs scored leads the American League. The addition of Hall-of-Famer Paul Molitor to the coaching staff must also be helping Dozier. One of Molitor's duties is base running coach and Dozier is closing in on a career high in steals. He collected 14 steals a season ago and he already has 12 in 2014. So what could a Dozier extension look like in the next year? A starting point for the Twins and Dozier could be the deal signed by Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko. Gyorko was drafted a year after Dozier and he made his debut on roughly the same timeline. Even though he was still arbitration eligible, the Padres inked him to a 5-year, $35 million contract, which includes a team option for a sixth year. This could mean Gyorko is in San Diego through 2020. Another second baseman to sign a recent contract extension was Jason Kipnis. Like Dozier, he was drafted in 2009 but he made his debut a year earlier. He also has an All-Star appearance to his name and he was closer to free agency by a year. The Indians gave Kipnis a 6-year, $52.5 million deal with a team option for 2020. Looking at these two deals I would put Dozier somewhere in the middle of these two players. The Twins should offer Dozier a 5-year deal for around $40 million with a team option for a sixth year. His average salary would be less than Kipnis and higher than Gyorko. I could see it going a little higher than $40 million but not too much higher. This deal would lock up Dozier through his arbitration years and push back his free agent years. Click here to view the article

Welcome to the unofficial midpoint of the 2014 Twins season. After teasing fans for different portions of the first half, the Twins find themselves in a familiar position at the break, last place in the AL Central. The Twins enter the break six games under .500 and 10.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers for the top spot in the division. Even though the team's record might not show it, there have been some positive things happening for the Twins this year. Kurt Suzuki and Phil Hughes are looking like fantastic free agent signings. Brian Dozier is in the midst of a breakout season at the plate. Even Kyle Gibson has started to look like he will be a long-term option as a starting pitcher. At the beginning of the season I made preseason picks about who will be the best players on the Twins in four different award categories (MVP, Best Starter, Best Reliever, Best Rookie). Each of the awards below has been named after someone who is the epitome of the award winner for the Twins organization. There are some legends from the past and even one current MLB player but all have had a significant place in Twins lore. Download attachment: USATSI_7989199_154617946_lowres.jpg Photo by Jesse Johnson Harmon Killebrew First-Half MVP: Brian Dozier, 2B Preseason Pick: Joe Mauer, 1B Joe Mauer is always the safe pick at the beginning of the season and it seems that he has disappointed in recent years. This makes it easy to look at the team and give the first half MVP to Brian Dozier. He has 10 more home runs than any other player on the roster. His 69 runs scored are the most in the American League. He also leads the team in RBI and stolen bases. All of these offensive numbers are great but he also makes some tremendous plays on the defensive side of the ball. His batting average is always going to be low but he seems to have all the other tools to be part of the Twins long-term rebuilding process. Johan Santana Pitcher of the First Half: Phil Hughes Preseason Pick: Ricky Nolasco In the preseason I had the right idea to pick one of the free agent starters the Twins had signed. However I elected to go with the wrong man. Rick Nolasco has struggled during his first 18 starts with the Twins while Phil Hughes has looked like a brand new pitcher. Hughes leads the Twins in wins, innings pitched and WAR. He's also only walked 11 batters the entire season for a eye-popping 0.81 BB/9 rate. To put that in perspective, no other Twins starter has allowed fewer than 2 BB/9. There have been some rough starts for Hughes leading into the break so it will be interesting to see what kind of pitcher he looks like at the start of the second half. Rick Aguilera Relief Pitcher of the First Half: Casey Fien Preseason Pick: Glen Perkins, LHP This was one of the toughest picks to make but looking deeper at the numbers it made my decision a little easier. Casey Fien and Glen Perkins were both considered for this award but I give the slight edge to Fien. Perkins will always strikeout more batters than Fien but Fien has been asked to fill a very important late inning role. He does a great job of limiting damage when he comes into games because almost 83% of the time he is able to leave runners on base. Perkins left on base percentage is under 65%. Fien's ERA and WHIP are both lower than Perkins' and Fien has pitched the second most innings out of the bullpen behind long-man Anthony Swarzak. This will be a race to watch in the second half as both players are having good seasons to this point. Rod Carew Rookie of the First Half: Danny Santana Preseason Pick: Josmil Pinto Both Josmil Pinto and Danny Santana did some good things in the first half but my vote goes to Santana. He has seemed to be a spark plug for the line-up when he is in the game. While his natural position is in the infield, the team has been forced to move him to the outfield because of injury issues. He was able to continue to produce in the outfield as well. In 37 games, he has been a threat on the bases with six steals to his name. He also has accumulated the same number of runs scored and RBI as Pinto in fewer plate appearances. Pinto provides the power but Santana's overall game has been a big asset to the Twins in the first half. Now it's your turn. Who would you pick for each of the above awards? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

For the second Tuesday in a row, weather played havoc on the Twins farm system. Only half of the teams were able to get on the field and both of those teams didn't exactly like the results on the night. Some hitters continued their hot starts to the year, but the pitching seemed to be the biggest problem on this night Fans who braved the weather at Target Field got to see Phil Hughes get off to a great start before giving up a chunk of runs in the sixth inning. The Blue Jays have held the Twins number in recent years. Since 2010, Toronto has a 21-7 record versus Minnesota and things haven't been pretty during that stretch. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]http://twinsdaily.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7167&stc=1Levi Michael RED WINGS REPORT Rochester --, Pawtucket -- (Postponed) Today's game between Rochester and Pawtucket was postponed due to inclement weather. The teams will play one game tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2:35 CST and they will make up today's game as part of a doubleheader on Thursday. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled for 12:05 CST and game two will start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Scott Diamond was scheduled to make his third start of the year before the weather acted up. He is off to a rough start after allowing eight earned runs in five innings of work through two starts. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain --, New Hampshire -- (Postponed) The weather in the Northeast part of the US was not cooperating when it came to baseball action. Much like Rochester, New Britain wasn't able to play their game on Tuesday evening. It will be made up at some point later this season. DJ Baxendale was scheduled to make his third start of the year. He currently has a 5.91 ERA after giving up seven runs over 10.2 innings on the mound. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Charlotte 6 Box Score Fort Myers held 2-run leads at two different points in this game but it still wasn't enough. Tim Shibuya surrendered four runs including a three-run home run in the eighth inning to see the victory slip away. Jason Wheel started the game and gave up two runs on eight hits. He struck out three and walked two. It was the first time this season he allowed more than one earned run in a start. Levi Michael continued his hot hitting streak by going 3-for-4 with a run scored. He has gone 7 for his last nine and he has been on base in 9-of-11 plate appearances. Dalton Hicks collected the only extra-base hit for the Miracle, his third double of the young season. Max Kepler had two hits for the second time this season and he ended a six-game hitless streak. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, South Bend 7 Box Score The Kernels were off to a scorching start with victories in six straight games. Cedar Rapids starter Ryan Eades got beat-up as he allowed five earned runs in three innings. On the positive side, he did record five strike outs but South Bend pounded out eight hits. Josue Montanez came on in relief and struck out six of the eight outs he recorded while limiting the Silver Hawks to one run. Mitch Garver has started 12 games for the Kernels and he has five home runs so far. His fifth home run of the season put him in first place in the Midwest League in home runs and total bases. Tanner Vavra collected a hit to extend his hitting streak to seven games. Bryan Haar hit a two-run homer, his second in three games. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Josue Montanez, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Levi Michael, Fort Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (2:35 CST)- Scott Diamond New Britain @ New Hampshire (9:35 CST)- Taylor Rogers* Fort Myers @ Charlotte (9:00 CST)- Tyler Duffey South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST)- Ethan Mildren *Subject to change because of today's weather delay Click here to view the article

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CmydG0JkmKs/T-0AJJlItXI/AAAAAAAACco/K4BK-a6NIYg/s1600/300_fanforum.jpg As part of the Twins off day on Thursday, the Twins held their sixth Fan Forum with current third baseman Trevor Plouffe and left-handed pitcher Scott Diamond. This conference call allows season ticket holders, "On-Deck" members, and group organizers to ask a variety of questions in the hour long event. There were also multiple prizes given away including on-field passes, VIP parking, the opportunity to raise the Twins Territory Flag, and some autographed items. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] There were some interesting quotes from both players over the course of the night but one quote from Diamond stuck out to me. The fan that asked the question wanted to know what players on the Twins had made the biggest impact on their careers. Since Diamond is a pitcher, he mentioned Carl Pavano and a surprising name, Kevin Slowey. He made note of the fact that Slowey taught him different ways to think about his approach to pitching. After Slowey's rough exit from the organization, it is interesting to hear his impact on what is now the team's best starting pitcher. Diamond also talked highly about the welcoming environment in the Twins clubhouse when he joined the team last year. He said this was an improvement over what he had seen in the Braves organization. Later in the call, Diamond talked about using the other veteran players on ways to approach hitters in the American League. Other hurlers like Brian Duensing and Carl Pavano have helped to familiarize him with their opponents. On more than one occasion, Diamond praised the work of Rick Anderson to help him make his turnaround. He said that "Andy" gets him mentally prepared for each start in a variety of ways. There are times that Diamond can try and pitch to the scouting reports too much and this takes away from his game. Anderson helps Diamond by keeping him focused on his style of pitching and it seems to have worked so far. Here are some other random tidbits from Diamond's answers on Thursday night. Fellow left-hander Andy Pettitte is someone that Diamond admires because of their similar throwing style.His favorite park to pitch in is the Rogers Centre because it is close to his family in Canada. On his off days, Diamond likes to spend time outside and on the water. He came from a National League organization but he likes the DH. He said it takes away from his pitching when he has to think about all that goes into batting. There have obviously been some changes to Plouffe's approach at the plate during the 2012 season. While Diamond talked highly of Anderson, Plouffe had nothing but praise for Joe Valvra and the hard work that he has done. He credited Valvra with making his swing better and for having a vast knowledge about every pitcher the Twins face. Part of the changes for Plouffe have come in the last week. He referred to the last seven days as "slider mania" because of the way pitchers have changed their approach with him at the plate. This is just one more thing for him and Valvra to work on. One of the poll questions for the night was about who the fans thought would lead the team in home runs by the end of the year. A laughable choice in the live poll was Joe Mauer and needless to say, he didn't finish first in the balloting. When Plouffe was asked about his battle with Josh Willingham for leading the team in home runs, he said that he doesn't care who ends up on top. If Diamond and Plouffe had their way, both Plouffe and Willingham would finish tied with atleast 70 home runs. There are some other things that Plouffe has been focusing on as he finds himself in the line-up on a daily basis. Since he hasn't played much third base in the past, he is putting in a lot of work at the hot corner. There are new angles to the ball that he has to get use to at third. He has been working on his defense a lot and he stressed the fact that his defense is an important part of his game. Plouffe wants to be a good defensive player at third and not just an average defender. Here are some other tidbits from Plouffe's answers during the conversation. He has been taking more first pitches this season so he can work on tracking pitches. This has especially been the case with pitchers he has never seen before. He loves to play golf on his off day. Today he went with Anthony Swarzak, Brian Dozier, and Drew Butera. Apparently Drew Butera is a stud on the golf course. His favorite stadium to play in is Angels Stadium because his family is from the area. There were plenty of jokes about Plouffe being engaged and how daughters across Twins Territory are up in arms about him being off of the market. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Mauer_Joe_Hitting.jpg "Strike two, you're out," seems to be the current mantra for most of baseball. Unless you're Joe Mauer. One of the biggest challenges for batters in recent years has been their ability to come back in an at-bat after falling into a two-strike count. Since 2006, there has been a steady decrease in players' ability to hit with two strikes. Last year, two-strike hitting dropped to a new low, as batters were able to muster only a .178 batting average. How do pitchers have so much of an advantage when it comes to throwing to batters with two strikes?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] For one thing, players don't care as much if they do strikeout. Blame the juiced up players in the steroids era. It didn't matter if a player was swinging and missing as long as the ball was flying over the fence. Home run and RBI totals made up for big strikeout numbers. For batters to get anywhere near 200 strikeouts in the past would have been horrific. Bobby Bonds was a trailblazer for the current generation of strike out prone players. He struck out 187 times in 1969. He passed that mark the next year with 189. The 200-strikeout mark hasn't been as much of an embarrassment in recent years as it had been in the past; that level has been exceeded five times in the last five seasons. Mark Reynolds has three of the top five strikeout seasons and he also sits at the top of the list with 223 strikeouts. Adam Dunn came within one strikeout of tying the MLB record last year but that dubious honor still belongs to Reynolds. Twins fans have become accustomed to seeing one player buck the trend when it comes to hitting with a two-strike count. Joe Mauer is one of the best hitters in the game and he doesn't seem to have any trouble when he finds himself deep in a two strike hole. It almost seems as if Mauer becomes a better hitter as an at-bat is extended. In 2012, Mauer ranked as one of the top five batters in all of baseball when it came to hitting with two strikes. His .266 batting average with two-strikes was the highest mark in the American League. It was high enough to finish just ahead of Prince Fielder. Best Two-Strike Hitters in 2012 1. Martin Prado .286 2. Jayson Werth .286 3. Matt Carpenter .268 4. Joe Mauer .266 5. Prince Fielder .265 Overall, Mauer has been on quite the roll to start the 2013 season. This has also helped his numbers with two strikes against him. So far this season, he is hitting .409/.435/.523 when he has two strikes. Those are unheard of numbers and it is hard to imagine that he will be able to keep up that pace for the entire season. For his career with two strikes, Mauer has a batting line of .258/.312/.359 which gets him close to the top of the all-time list. Besides being a Hall-of-Fame caliber hitter, Tony Gwynn was also the best hitter of all-time with two strikes against him. His .302 average would be good for any count much less when he has two strikes against him. Todd Helton, Ichiro Suzuki, Juan Pierre, and Wade Boggs round out the rest of the top five with their averages sitting from .260 to .262. Ichiro would be a name that most would expect to see on this list. Pierre certainly doesn't fit the mold of all-time great but baseball is a funny game. The game of baseball will always be changing and batters will likely need to find some way to improve their results when in a two strike count. If Mauer continues on his current track, his record will show him to have been one of the best two-strike hitters in history. He is going against the trend in baseball and Twins fans are happy with those results. Click here to view the article

With the number five pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, the Minnesota Twins selected Nick Gordon, a high school shortstop from Florida. This is the pick most people expected the Twins to make especially with word coming out that the team's top brass had seen him in person more than any other draft prospect. To read more about Gordon, check out his Twins Daily pre-draft profile. Leading up to the Twins fifth pick, the Houston Astros had the first overall pick for the third straight season. Houston took high school left-handed pitcher Brady Aiken. He had emerged as the favorite for the first overall pick and he was the third high school left-hander to be selected first overall. For more from Cody Christie, check out NoDakTwinsFan.com They were followed by the Marlins who were happy to have flame-throwing Tyler Kolek still on the board. The next two picks were centered on the Windy City. The White Sox decided they needed to add more pitching and they took Carlos Rodon. No one was quite sure what the Cubs were going to do. They were a wild card and they went off the board to pick Kyle Schwarber. This left the Twins to get the guy they wanted all along for the third season in a row. On last week's episode of the Talk to Contact podcast, we interviewed MLBpipleline.com's Jim Callis about many of the top prospects in this year's draft including Nick Gordon. Check out the podcast and feel free to discuss the Twins selection in the comments below. View full article

Download attachment: Josh+Willingham+Justin+Morneau+Minnesota+Twins.jpg Yesterday was the first part of a series that will look at the road that lies ahead for the Minnesota Twins as they try to rebuild after back-to-back 90 loss seasons. The team has already started the rebuilding process by trading away two of their most valuable major league assets in Denard Span and Ben Revere. Today, “The Road to Rebuild” looks at trading away some of the team’s other assets - and fan favorites - to get players for the next time the team will be competitive. Denard Span and Ben Revere were two fan favorites over the last couple of years but the team jumped at the opportunity to trade these two players for young pitchers with upside. The Twins turned two former first round picks into three pitchers that should figure into the team’s equation over the next handful of seasons. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It can be tough to trade away players that have been with the organization since they were teenagers. At TwinsFest, Terry Ryan made it clear that trading away Revere was one of the toughest decisions of his professional career when he said "Ben Revere is like a son to me." These are decisions that the front office has to make with their head and not with their heart. It seems that there will be plenty of other tough decisions for Mr. Ryan to make along the road to rebuild. There are a couple of other valuable pieces that the Twins could potentially trade in the next two years that could help add more depth to a farm system that is already considered one of the best in all of baseball. Two of the team's best players' contracts will expire before the end of 2014. The way the Twins are shaping their roster doesn't make it seem like the team will be competitive before the end of those deals. This could leave Justin Morneau and Josh Willingham on the trading block. Trading Morneau could be another tough decision for Ryan. Twins fans have cheered for Morneau through thick and through thin. The former MVP has had a couple of rough years in a row but the end of 2012 was a step in the right direction, when he hit .289/.354/.439 over the second half. If Morneau could get the 2013 season off on the right foot, he trade value could rise rapidly. Morneau is in the last year of a six-year, $80 million deal. With Chris Parmelee on the roster, the Twins have a possible replacement for Morneau waiting in the wings. Parmelee will be a much cheaper option since he has yet to reach arbitration. A team looking to add a powerful left-handed bat for the stretch run might be willing to give up some pieces to acquire Morneau. Last offseason, the Twins signed Willingham to a very reasonable three-year, $21 million contract. He more than lived up to the deal during his first season in a Twins uniform. MLB honored him with a Silver Slugger Award after he knocked 35 home runs, the most by a Twins player not named Harmon Killebrew since 1963. This tremendous season helped to add value to a player the Twins got for a good deal. Willingham's contract will run through the end of the 2014 season but he will be 36 years old by that point. He is closer to the end of his career than he is to the beginning, so it is hard to imagine him gaining any more value on the field. If the right deal is on the table from another club, the Twins might have to pull the trigger. For fans, it can be tough to watch their favorite players leave for another team. This is especially true when the players the Twins get back are still a couple years away from making an impact at the big league level. But trading away veteran players is part of the rebuilding process. And hey, fans can be rest-assured that Joe Mauer will be around for this rebuild... ...and maybe even the next one too. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: May_Trevor_Face_US_Landscape.jpg On Tuesday afternoon, the rosters for the MLB Future's game were announced and it included two Twins players, Jose Berrios and Kennys Vargas. Word came out on Wednesday that Rochester Red Wings starter Trevor May would be added to US roster to replace Cardinals LHP Marco Gonzalez who had already made his big league debut. May is in the middle of a breakout season at Triple-A. Since the beginning of May, he's gone 7-3 with a 2.35 ERA over 10 starts. This could set up a situation similar to last year when the Mets had prospects as the starting pitchers for both the US and the World team. May could start for the US and Berrios could start for the World squad. Enough about the Futures Game, let's dive down on the pond. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester --, Scranton/WB -- (Postponed) The game between the Red Wings and the RailRiders was rained out on Wednesday night. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Thursday, July 10. First pitch is scheduled to be at 4:35 CST and both games are scheduled to be seven innings. Earlier in the day, Rochester made a roster move by adding RHP Lester Oliveros from New Britain. To make room for him on the roster, the team sent RHP Mark Hamburger to Double-A. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 3, Altoona 1 Box Score The Rock Cats rode a hot start from Taylor Rogers to win the rubber game of a three-game set with the Altoona Curve. Rogers tossed eight frames, allowing one run on six hits. He struck out a career high 11 batters and improved to 7-4 on the season. He hasn't lost a game since June 3rd and he is 6-1 over his last ten outings. Matthew Summers earned his first save of the year, pitching a perfect ninth. Earlier in the day, the Twins reinstated Aaron Hicks from the disabled list and optioned him to New Britain. He led-off for the Rock Cats but went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Nate Hanson was the lone batter with multiple hits as he went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Brandon Waring had a big two-out RBI double that was the difference in the game. Reynaldo Rodriguez added his 21st double of the season. Including a make-up game from April 15th, New Britain starts a five-game weekend series in New Hampshire on Thursday. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 8, St. Lucie 6 Box Score The Miracle put themselves in an early 6-0 hole before the team had a chance to bat. B.J. Hermsen was pelted for six runs on six hits in the first inning. After the rough start, he didn't allow another run and he made it through four innings. Alex Wimmers picked up the victory out of the bullpen with four shutout innings. He struck out four and limited the Mets to two hits. Fort Myers responded to St. Lucie's big first inning with a strong inning of their own. The Miracle sent 11 men to bat and plated five runs in the frame. Even a 20 minute delay due to a lightning strike in the area couldn't stop the runs from being scored in the first. With the delay, the first inning took over an hour to complete and featured 21 hitters, 11 runs, nine hits, six walks, three different pitchers and an error. Lance Ray's first home run of the season was a big one as he put the Miracle on top in the late innings. Nate Roberts went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Niko Goodrum scored two runs and stole his 14th base of the season but his first inning error added to an already bad frame. KERNELS NUGGETS CedarRapids 1, Peoria 2 Box Score Kohl Stewart continues to impress on the mound but the Kernels are having a tough time backing up some of his stronger outings. He went five innings in this game and gave up two runs on six hits. Over his last ten starts, he has a 2.29 ERA and he has allowed more than two earned runs in only one of those outings. Unfortunately for him, the offense hasn't been there and he hasn't won a game since April 25th. The Kernels went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position as the team left six men on base. J.D. Williams went 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored. His doubles were the only extra-base hits for the Kernels. Bryan Haar collected two hits. It was a rough night at the plate for Jason Kanzler as he struck out four times. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 8, Burlington 0 Box Score Nick Gordon cracked his first professional home run to help Elizabethton to their fourth win of the season. His three-run shot was part of a two hit night and he also scored two runs. Max Murphy also helped the cause with a two hits including his first home run of the young season. Tyler Kuresa had a double and an RBI. In his second start of the season, Stephen Gonsalves was very sharp, picking up his first victory. He struck out nine batters in six shutout innings. Keaton Steele earned a hold after pitching two innings and limiting Burlington to one base runner. Jake Reed closed out the shutout by striking out the side in the ninth. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 9, GCL Orioles 7 Box Score The GCL Orioles outhit the GCL Twins fourteen to six but the Orioles pitching staff contributed nine walks. The Twins were timely with their hits and four of the six hits were for extra-bases. It was the second straight day with a win for the Twins after losing their first three contests. Four different pitchers helped the Twins come out victorious. Josh Guyer started the game and tossed 3.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out two and walked one. Alexis Tapia earned his first victory as he gave up two runs over 2.2 frames. Trevor Hildenberger struck out three batters in his two innings of work. Nelson Molina was in the middle of most of the offensive action. He went 2-for-3 with two triples, two runs scored and four RBI. Rafael Valera only collected one hit but he knocked in a couple runs and drew two walks. Dubal Baez and Jarrad Poteete each hit his third double of the season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Taylor Rogers, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nick Gordon, Elizabethton Twins THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester@ Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) – Trevor May (Listen) NewBritain @ New Hampshire (6:05 CST) – Jason Wheeler (Listen) St. Lucie@ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – Tim Shibuya (Listen) CedarRapids @ Peoria (7:00 CST) - Aaron Slegers (Listen) Elizabethton@ Burlington (6:00 CST) – Sam Gibbons (Listen) GCLOrioles @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Berrios_Jose_Waving_US_720.jpg The festivities are underway in the Twin Cities as Minnesota plays host to the MLB All-Star Game. The major league players still had games to play on Sunday but some of the best and brightest minor league players were on hand to strut their stuff. Twins pitching prospect Jose Berrios got the start for the World squad and Kennys Vargas was in the middle of the batting order to back him up. Berrios struck out the first batter he faced on a high fastball and both of the other batters flied out. Vargas played the entire game and he collected a double in four plate appearances. He also made a nice leaping catch at first and a couple nice scoops. Alex Meyer pitched the fifth inning for the US and earned a hold. The first two batters made decent contact against him but luckily one of those hits was right at a fielder. Meyer got a double play to end the inning and he only needed four pitches to get his job done. While these three players were busy with a big event, their teams were busy still trying to win games. Here's a look at how their teams did on Sunday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester --, Scranton/Wilkes Barre -- (Postponed) Rain put a damper on what was supposed to be the unofficial end of the first half for the Rochester Red Wings. Trevor May was scheduled to make his first start since coming off of the DL but that will have to wait another day. Rochester had also ended a four game losing streak on Saturday so it would have been nice to keep the momentum going in the right direction. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday, August 23. Game one is scheduled for a 3:35 pm CST and both games will be seven innings long. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 4, Reading 6 Box Score New Britain staked themselves to an early two run lead but Reading connected on four home runs as part of a 12-hit barrage to win the game. Jason Wheeler started for the Rock Cats. He went five innings and allowed five earned runs on 10 hits including three of the above mentioned four home runs. It was his third loss in five starts since being moved up from Fort Myers. Daniel Turpen relived Wheeler and pitched two innings. He gave up one hit but it happened to be a home run. Mason Melotakis pitched the last two frames and he kept the ball in the park. Over two shutout frames he allowed one hit and struck out two. Reynaldo Rodriguez collected two hits including his 30th double of the season. It was the third time in his last ten games that he has collected multiple hits. Eddie Rosario had a double and scored a run. Lance Ray also collected his second double in only eight games since his promotion. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Dunedin 1 (Game 1- 7 innings) Box Score DJ Baxendale put together his best outing of the year for the Miracle as he tossed a complete game. He scattered five hits over seven innings and struck out two. Baxendale induced three double plays and recorded 12 outs on ground balls. He hadn't made it through more than six innings in any other start. Nate Roberts and Stuart Turner both knocked two hits and Roberts' triple was the lone extra-base hit. Byron Buxton went 1-for-2 with a run scored and his second stolen base of the season. His infield single was his first hit since coming off of the disabled list at the beginning of last week. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Dunedin 4 (Game 2- 7 innings) Box Score In the second game of the doubleheader, the Miracle beat up on a familiar name, Dunedin starter Frank Viola Jr. He only lasted 2.1 innings and was charged with six earned runs as the Miracle pelted him with seven hits. Four Miracle hitters had at least two hits. Anderlin Mejia led the way going 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Adam Brett Walker had a couple big hits as he knocked in two and hit his ninth double. Fort Myers patched together pitchers for the second half of the doubleheader. BJ Hermsen collected the win after tossing a scoreless second inning. Todd Van Steensel made his Miracle debut at Hammond Stadium and lasted 1.1 scoreless frames. Madison Boer shut the door by recording the last five outs without allowing a hit. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Clinton 4 (Rain Shortened- 6 innings) Box Score One giant inning is all it took for Cedar Rapids to earn the win. In the top of the sixth inning, the Kernels scored seven runs without recording an extra-base hit. Cedar Rapids has now won four games in a row including the rain shortened game on Saturday. In that big sixth inning, the Kernels sent 11 men to the plate. The team recorded five singles and took advantage of one defensive error. The first four hitters all reached base. It matched the largest run-scoring inning for the Kernels on the season. Four Cedar Rapids hitters (Logan Wade, Chad Christensen, Jason Kanzler, and Alex Smith) had two hits. Swim hit the only Kernels extra-base hit, a double. Lewis Thorpe pitched the first four innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits. He struck out five and didn't walk anyone. Brandon Bixler earned his sixth victory of the season, all of them coming out of the bullpen. He allowed one run over two innings with a strikeout. Hudson Boyd earned the save since he was on the mound when the game was called. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 10, Danville 6 Box Score The E-Twins brought a consistent offensive approach to pound out ten runs on 16 hits. Max Murphy reached base four times and scored three runs. He also hit his sixth home run of the season in the ninth inning. Tyler Kuresa went 2-for-4 with a home run. All the hitters in the batting order from first to seventh had a minimum of two hits with the exception being Nick Gordon (1-for-6 with a run scored). Michael Cederoth was credited with his second professional victory in as many appearances. He allowed three runs over five innings with four strikeouts and two walks. CK Irby got hit around a little in his second inning of work. He gave up two runs on four hits but it wasn't enough to get Danville back into the game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – DJ Baxendale, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Max Murphy, Elizabethton Twins MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester- Scheduled Off Day Reading @ New Britain (11:05 CST) – Tyler Duffey (Listen) Dunedin @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – TBD (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:30 CST) - Ryan Eades (Listen) Elizabethton @ Danville (6:00 CST)- Stephen Gonsalves GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00am CST) – TBD Click here to view the article

The Twins took care of business in Toronto on Tuesday night and most of the teams in the minor leagues were able to follow their lead. It didn't take long for Kendrys Morales to remember how to hit and Brian Dozier is putting himself into the All-Star conversation at second base. Minnesota is in the mix for the playoffs and many of their minor league affiliates are fighting for first half titles. Every win is important so let's jump down on the pond to check out the action. Download attachment: tim shibuya FM.jpg photo by Linwood Ferguson TRANSACTIONS Mini-camp has begun in Ft. Myers. Several of the Twins draft choices will join as they sign, with some reporting today. Soon players will be split into teams, several heading to Elizabethton and several staying in Ft. Myers for the Gulf Coast League season. Unfortunately, four players have been released before the short-season leagues begin. They are LHPs Andrew Ferreira and Hein Robb, RHP Tanner Mendonca and 3B Javier Pimentel. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Gwinnett 4 Box Score James Beresford, Deibinson Romero and Chris Collabello all had multiple hit games to lead the Red Wings to their 37th team victory. Romero and Colabello each had two doubles and Colabello added two RBI. Pedro Florimon cracked his second home run of the year to pace the Red Wings. Overall, Rochester pounded out eleven hits and seven runs to end a two-game losing streak. Trevor May started the game but he only lasted 5.1 innings and allowed three earned runs on six hits. I praised him in earlier in the week during my midseason Twins top prospect rankings so it figures that he would have a little bit of a rough start. Ryan Pressly and Aaron Thompson each earned a hold for combining to pitch 2.2 scoreless innings. Wilkin Ramirez extended his career-long hit streak to 12 games. He is hitting .333 with 10 RBI during that stretch. The Red Wings finished their nine-game road trip with a 6-3 record. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 5, Reading 4 Box Score These Cats were able to claw their way back into the game for a come from behind victory. New Britain scored in the top of the ninth inning to separate themselves from the Reading Phillies. Tony Thomas was the lone New Britain hitter with more than one hit. Sam Fuld and Kennys Vargas both added home runs to help the cause. Rock Cats starter Tyler Duffey tossed six strong innings by scattering five hits and two earned runs. He struck out three and walked two. Matthew Summers surrendered the lead but his teammates bailed him out. Lester Oliveros picked up his third win by tossing 1.1 scoreless innings and striking out three. His ERA currently sits at an eye-popping 0.68. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 10, Charlotte 0 Box Score The story of this game was Mr. Tim Shibuya. He flirted with a perfecto for 6.1 innings before allowing a couple hits. He tossed seven shutout frames on two hits with no walks and two strikeouts. His record improved to 4-2 with relief help from BJ Hermsen and Alex Wimmers. On the offensive side of the ball, it was the Stephen Wickens show. He knocked the sixth grand slam of the year for the Miracle as part of a 2-for-4 night. He collected five RBI, a double and scored two runs along the way. Four other Miracle hitters collected two walks to help the team extend multiple innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 6 Box Score Bryan Haar collected his 23rd extra-base hit of the year on a double but it wasn't enough to help the Kernels to victory. Tanner Vavra and Chad Christensen each tallied two hits but the rest of the team didn't follow their lead. The Kernels committed two defensive errors on the night and are now 1-6 against the Bandits this year. Aaron Slegers got beat around over 4.2 innings as he allowed five runs with three of them being unearned. This had to be frustrating. He was charged with six hits while he struck out three and walked one for his third loss of the season. Josue Montanez and Chris Mazza were not charged any runs for the rest of the game. Montanez struck out six over 2.2 frames. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Tim Shibuya, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Stephen Wickens, Fort Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester- Scheduled Off Day New Britain @ Reading (6:05 CST)- Sean Gilmartin (Listen) Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:05 CST)- Jose Berrios (Listen) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST)- Fernando Romero (Listen) Click here to view the article

While the Twins finish up their series with the Royals, there could be some reinforcements on the way. Josh Willingham and Darin Mastroianni are both on rehab at the Triple-A level and this could mean both men are back with the big league club in the near future. A healthy Willingham could be a sight for sore eyes to Twins fans. Miguel Sano returned to the line-up of the Rock Cats last night after missing four games with a tight hamstring. He wasted little time making his mark as he fell just a triple shy of the cycle. There were other familiar names and story lines across the farm system.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Here are the highlights from Wednesday night's action. Rochester Red Wings 5, Durham Bulls 4 Box Score Rochester continues to find ways to win games at one of the most important parts of their season. The Red Wings scored runs in the second, third and fourth innings and relied on their pitchers to hold the lead. With the win, the Red Wings have won their first ever series at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 16 tries. It was also the team's first season series win over the Bulls since 2008. Josh Willingham and Darin Mastroianni were both on rehab assignment with the Wings. Willingham wasted little time making his presence known as he hit a solo home run in his first plate appearance. Later in the game, the designated hitter drew a walk and finished the night 1-for-3. Mastroianni collected two RBI but he was held hitless before being pulled for a pinch runner in the fourth. (He had hyper-extended his right knee beating out a would-be double play. It doesn't not sound to be very serious.) Logan Darnell earned the victory but he labored to get through five frames. He spread out three earned runs and six hits to keep the Bulls far enough away. Luis Perdomo and AJ Archter pitched the next three innings and limited the Bulls to one run on three hits. Michael Tonkin was lights out in the ninth as he pitched a perfect frame and struck out two for his ninth save. New Britain Rock Cats 3, Akron Aeros 7 Box Score Multiple hit nights from Danny Santana and Eddie Rosario weren't enough to push the Rock Cats to victory. Santana added his seventh triple as part of a 2-for-4 game. Jordan Parraz smacked a 2-run shot for his tenth long ball of the season. After his monster night last night, Miguel Sano went 1-for-3 with a walk. DJ Baxendale started the game on the mound but he found a few struggles along the way. He tossed six innings and gave up four runs on nine hits. Along the way, he had four strikeouts and three walks. Matt Hauser didn't do so well in relief of Baxendale. He gave up three runs in his one inning of work. Jose Gonzalez stopped some of the bleeding by giving up no runs over one frame. Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Beloit Snappers 4 Box Score Cedar Rapids sits near the top in their division for the second half but they were visiting the division winners from the first half on Wednesday. The Kernels used a big five run fourth inning to push their lead to 7-0 before the bullpen had to hang on in the end. As part of the Kernels big fourth inning, Niko Goodrum hit a three-run home run. He compiled four RBI and finished the night 2-for-4. Jonathan Murphy helped the offense out of the leadoff spot by going 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Joel Licon and Michael Quesada each added a double. Brett Lee had his shortest outing of the season by being pulled after three innings. He didn't give up a run and the Snappers only managed two hits off of him. There might have been some kind of injury or other reason to pull Lee. David Hurlbut was asked to pitch five frames and he didn't do too badly. He gave up one earned run and struck out seven. Madison Boer earned his third save by throwing a perfect ninth inning. Fort Myers Miracle --, Charlotte Stone Crabs -- (Postponed) Weather got in the way of the Miracle trying to end their recent losing streak. The club has lost four of their last five games and they are three games out of first place in the second half standings. Since the Miracle already clinched a playoff spot by winning the division in the first half, their current record isn't as important. Tonight's game will be made up as part of a double header later this month in Port Charlotte. The date and time of this game have yet to be announced. These two teams will continue their series tomorrow night at Hammond Stadium. Elizabethon Twins 3, Johnson City Cardinals 0 Box Score
 The story in this game was all about Hein Robb. He earned his first victory of the season in dramatic fashion. Before today's game, Robb hadn't lasted further than 7.1 innings and he was averaging under 6 innings per start. Robb was terrific by scattering two hits over nine shutout innings. He struck out nine and didn't walk a batter. Download attachment: Hein Robb.jpg On the offensive side of the ball, the E-Twins didn't put on a clinic but they scored enough to support Robb's outstanding pitching effort. Mitch Garver and Dereck Rodriguez each went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Tanner Vavra notched his first extra-base hit with a double. Romy Jimenez had multiple hits for the first time in his last ten games. 
GCL Twins 1, GCL Orioles 2 (10 Innings) Box Score Lester Oliveros continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. He has yet to give up a run in a game and that streak continued today. He tossed two shutout innings on Wednesday by giving up two hits and striking out one batter. Chih-Wei Hu started the game and surrendered one run on one hit over three frames. Jose Abreu earned his third loss of the year by giving up the go-ahead run in extra innings. There wasn't a ton of offense to speak of for the GCL Twins. Four of the team's starters were held hitless. Overall, The team compiled six hits over 10 innings with Jorge Fernandez being the only player with multiple hits. He went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. Jonatan Hinojosa had an RBI and he finished the day 1-for-4. Click here to view the article

The Florida State League announced that Byron Buxton was that league's player of the week. In games played from July 14-20 and he went 10-for-20 at the plate with one triple, two home runs, four runs batted in and scored six runs. Buxton is currently listed as day-to-day after being hit on the wrist by a pitch. He is expected to be back in the line-up by the end of this week. There were a few different roster moves made throughout the system on Tuesday. Yohan Pino was recalled by the Twins to make the start at Target Field. To make room for him, the team sent Monday's starter Kris Johnson back to Rochester. Relief pitcher Alex Muren was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Fort Myers. Over 29 appearances, he had a 2.89 ERA with 44 strikeouts and eight walks. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Durham 0 Box Score Download attachment: Mark Hamburger.jpg While making a spot start for only the fourth time this season, Mark Hamburger was dominant over seven shutout innings. He struck out a career high nine batters, walked none and limited the strong Bulls roster to four singles. It was the first time a Wings pitcher tossed at least seven shutout innings since the middle of June. Ryan Pressly finished the final two innings of the shutout by striking out four and allowing only two base runners. Josmil Pinto led the offensive charge with a two-hit night including his fifth double and his eighth RBI. Deibinson Romero helped spark the first run of the game with his International League leading 29th double. Nate Hanson and James Beresford joined the doubles party with one two-bagger each. It was the first road shutout for Rochester since August 11th of last season. Tuesday's have also been very good to the Red Wings. They have a 10-3 record on Tuesday and they haven't lost on Tuesday since May 27th. The team's four doubles tonight give them an International League best 220 on the season. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 9, Altoona 10 Box Score The Rock Cats offense was hot at the beginning of the game, combining for nine runs in the first three frames. Altoona got off to a hot start too with a five run first and they capped off their scoring with two ninth inning runs to take back the lead. Virgil Vasquez had a rough day on the mound. He allowed 13 hits and eight runs over four innings. Matthew Summers coughed up the lead after a trio of Rock Cats relievers combined to shut down the Curve offense for four frames. It was the second blown save for Summers and dropped his record to 2-4. Eddie Rosario cracked two home runs and a double. He knocked in four runs and scored three to cap quite the offensive night. Brandon Waring and Brad Boyer joined the hit parade with two hits apiece. Mike Kvasnicka had only one hit but he did knock in two runs. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Brevard County 6 (12 Innings) Box Score The Miracle had to use multiple comebacks to stay in this game. Fort Myers was shutout until the eighth inning but they combined for four runs in the last two frames to push this one into extras. The Manatees scored two in the top of the 11th inning and the Miracle had to answer back to push this one further into the night. Ethan Mildren started this contest but he was be long gone before a decision was reached. He lasted six innings and allowed four runs while striking out five. It was the first time he had gone six innings since being called up from Cedar Rapids. Madison Boer gave up the two runs in the eleventh but the team bailed him out. Tyler Grimes did it all in this game as his fourth hit of the night turned out to be the walk-off hit. He also had two doubles, two runs batted in and two runs scored. He also had two outfield assists as he threw out runners at second and at third. Jorge Polanco hit his 18th double of the season as part of a two-hit night. Mike Gonzalez reached base four times including two walks and a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids had a scheduled off day after taking a 10 hour bus ride to Kentucky. The Kernels start a series with Bowling Green on Wednesday as the start of a six game road swing. Former first round pick Kohl Stewart is the scheduled starter tomorrow. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Bluefield 7 Box Score The E-Twins almost matched the Blue Jays in hits on this night but the big hits weren't there. Even though the club combined for nine hits, none of them were for extra bases. The team went 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and they combined to leave nine runners on base. A trio of players including Jeremias Pineda, Trey Vavra, and Pat Kelly all went 2-for-4. Pineda stole his ninth base of the season but he also was caught stealing for the fourth time. Nick Gordon was held hitless for only the third time in the last ten games. He also had his fifth error of the year at shortstop. Sam Gibbons started for Elizabethton and he went five frames while giving up four runs on seven hits. He struck out one and walked two. It was the lowest number of strikeouts he's had all season after averaging over 6.5 per game coming into this start. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 0, GCL Rays 3 (Suspended- Rain) Box Score This game was suspended by rain in the third inning. The two squads will complete this game tomorrow unless weather gets in the way for a second day in a row. Look for a full report on this game in Wednesday's Minor League Report at Twins Daily. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Mark Hamburger, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Eddie Rosario, New Britain Rock Cats WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Durham (6:05 CST) – Alex Meyer (Listen) Altoona @ New Britain (11:05am CST) – Pat Dean (Listen) Brevard County @ Ft. Myers (10:35am CST) – Brett Lee (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Bowling Green (7:05 CST) - Kohl Stewart (Listen) Elizabethton @ Bluefield (6:05 CST) - Matt Batts GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (Completion of Tuesday's game) You can follow me on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and check out my writing at NoDakTwinsFan.com Click here to view the article

There is less than a week left in the regular season and the Twins don't have a manager under contract for 2014. With Minnesota on their way to a third straight 90-loss season, there are questions about whether Ron Gardenhire deserves another opportunity at the helm. He won the 2010 AL Manager-of-the-Year award but things have been ugly since that year. Download attachment: Gardenhire Jerry White_600-321.jpg Since Tom Kelly was hired in 1987, the Twins have employed two managers so change has been far from commonplace. Terry Ryan cleared out most of Gardenhire's coaching staff last season in an attempt to bring some new voices to the clubhouse. Even with the coaching changes, there wasn't much improvement on the field. Gardenhire might not be out the door but the team doesn't have to bring him back. The Twins will have to make a managerial decision and there are reasons for and against each in-house candidate. Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com Ron Gardenhire Reasons For: He's a very well respected manager and he's been with the organization in some capacity through multiple decades. The Twins front office hasn't given him much in the starting pitching department. He knows the Twins way of doing things and the Pohlads have avoided managerial changes during their ownership. Reason Against: It's been a rough three seasons and it might be time for a new voice. Most of the veteran players on the roster have left for greener pastures and this could mean a youth movement. It might help to bring in a manager who has more recently worked with a younger core of players in the minor leagues. Fans have called for a change and it might be time. Paul Molitor Reasons For: The Twins like to stick with organizational guys and Molitor has held a few different jobs within the organization. He worked as the bench coach under Kelly and more recently he has served as a roving minor league instructor. His experience with some of the younger players could play to his advantage. Reasons Against: Molitor doesn't have any managerial experience and this is likely be one of the biggest strikes against him. There have probably been chances for him to enter the managerial ranks in the Twins farm system but the schedule of a minor league instructor has better fit his needs. The experience of the other men could make it tough to pick Molitor as the man for the Twins. Jake Mauer Reasons For: The elder Mauer has built a strong reputation during his time as a manager in the Twins minor league system. In his first year with the Cedar Rapids Kernels, he guided the team to what might have been the best minor league regular season in 2013. There were plenty of changes to the roster and the team kept winning games. He knows how to work with a young roster and to get the best out of up-and-coming players. Reasons Against: He lacks any experience at the big league level as a player or coach. This could mean a tough adjustment as he looks to figure out life as a major league manager. His younger brother is also the best player on the team and that could lead to an interesting family dynamic. He has done some good things in the minor leagues but it might not be enough to earn him the job. Gene Glynn Reasons For: The Rochester Red Wings rallied under Glynn this season and earned a wild card playoff spot on the season's final day. Coaches from his staff were brought up to Minnesota this season and this could make for an easy transition. He also has spent multiple years in different coaching roles at the big league level to give him the experience he would need. Reasons Against: He isn't exactly a flashy name and many Twins fans might not have ever heard of him. At 57-years old, he isn't exactly a spring chicken. In fact, he is two years older than Gardenhire. If the Twins want to find someone to work a young roster, Glenn might not fit the bill, as most of the Rochester 2013 line-up was older minor league veterans. Experience is great but he might not be the best choice for the long-term. Click here to view the article

Maybe one of the only good things about suffering through a 99-loss season with the Twins in 2011 was the fact that the organization would have a very good pick in the 2012 amateur draft. The Twins "earned" the number two selection for the draft this June and this means there should be some very good talent to select from with only the Astros picking before them. Download attachment: 2963_68285132669_727587669_1647809_8325334_n_4.jpg Fans looking forward to the June draft were dealt a blow on Wednesday as it was announced that one of the projected top five picks would miss the rest of his high school career with an elbow injury. Lucas Giolito is a 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher who some scouts projected to be the number one pick. This injury obviously changes many of those projections and his stock in the draft will most likely fall. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Nathan Rode of Baseball America was the first to break the news. His sources told him that it was a sprained UCL in his right elbow. This injury won't require surgery but there is 6-10 weeks of rehab involved. If a player tears his UCL, Tommy John surgery is usually required and there is a chance that his sprain could turn into a tear. The first start of the year was very exciting for Giolito as he came out of the gate smoking. Some radar guns had him hitting 100 mph and he only gave up one hit during the contest. His start on Tuesday was not as good as he made it through 6.1 innings allowing two runs on five hits, three walks and three hit batters. Something was clearly wrong with the young man and the bad news came out on Wednesday. With 6-10 weeks of rest and rehabilitation up next for Giolito and the draft being around 12 weeks away, there is little chance he will be able to prove he is completely healthy before teams have to make their picks. For fans of the UCLA Bruins, this could be good news. If Giolito were to go to college, he had committed to the Bruins. He might be forced to go to UCLA for a couple of seasons to prove his health is back in order. This will also help him to rebuild his draft status for the future. A tough injury for the young man as it could cost him millions of dollars. It is lucky for him that it happened at a young enough age that he can recover and make it back to still have a successful career. Click here to view the article

A rain delay in Detroit held up the start of the Twins game for an hour and a half. When the game got underway, it turned into a back and forth contest between the Tigers and the Twins. The Twins bash brothers of Josh Willingham and Trevor Plouffe each added another home run to their totals for the season as they continue to try and match each other for the team lead. Even Joe Mauer was able to hit his second home run in the past week with an opposite field home run in the later innings of the game. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Nick Blackburn left a few too many sinkers up in the zone and the Tigers offense was able to hit some balls out of the park. The bullpen for the Twins was able to keep some of the damage to a minimum by not allowing a run in their five innings of work. Have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July but make sure to check out what happened across the minor leagues on Tuesday night. ROCHESTER 5, PAWTUCKET 3 In the midst of a tough stretch of baseball where the Red Wings had lost five of their last seven games, Rochester was able to put together a huge seventh inning to come out victorious. One of the most miraculous things might have been the fact that all of the runs were scored after two outs had already been recorded in the inning. Clete Thomas and Rene Rivera hit back-to-back home runs to start the scoring in the frame. The other big hit in the frame was a double by Pedro Florimon to plate two runs and put the team up by two. The bullpen for the Red Wings has been outstanding in recent weeks and they have pitched 12.1 scoreless innings in a row. A starting pitcher hasn't picked up a victory for the Red Wings since June 25 and that trend continued on Tuesday with Bobby Lanigan picking up his first victory of the season for Rochester. Casey Fien pitched two perfect innings for his third hold of the year and he struck out four of the six men that he faced. NEW BRITAIN 14, BOWIE 7 The Rock Cats wasted little time jumping on the Baysox by starting a hit parade in the bottom of the first inning and exploding for ten runs. With this many runs on the board, there were plenty of offensive stars for New Britain. Estarlin De Los Santos was 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, and four RBI. Evan Bigley matched De Los Santos with four runs batted in and he also had a double. Chris Herrmann and Chris Colabello each piled up three hits over the course of the game. Danny Lehman was the only hitter to remain hitless in the game for New Britain. With all of the runs on the board, the pitching staff for New Britain didn't need to be perfect on this night. Blake Martin started the game but didn't make it through five innings before giving up six earned runs. Edgar Ibarra picked up his second win since being promoted from Fort Myers at the end of June. The last 3.1 innings were pitched by Daniel Sattler for his first save and he only surrendered one hit. FORT MYERS 11, ST. LUCIE 2 There were fireworks scheduled for after the game but the Miracle made sure the fans saw some during the game as Fort Myers piled up 13 hits against St. Lucie. Lance Ray was 2-for3 in the contest with his ninth home run of the year and three RBI. Daniel Ortiz also knocked in three runs with his two doubles in the game. It was a very balanced attack for the Miracle as five of the nine batters had multiple hits and six batters had at least one run batted in. After being saddled with the loss in each of his last three starts, Cole Nelson picked up his first victory since June 12. He threw five innings and was charged with two earned runs but he did give up five walks. In three innings of work, Marty Popham was almost perfect by allowing a couple of hits and striking out three. It was the third straight scoreless outing thrown by Popham. The Miracle sit one game behind Bradenton for first place. BELOIT 1, CEDAR RAPIDS 10 Unfortunately for the Snappers, they were on the wrong end of a blowout loss in this game. Beloit only managed four hits in the game and Adam Pettersen had half of those knocks. The only run of the game for Beloit was driven in by Adam Bryant with a single in the bottom of the fourth inning. After getting pulled from the game on Monday with three defensive errors, Miguel Sano was absent from the line-up on Tuesday night. For the second straight start, Tim Shibuya struggled and he was pulled after two innings and a couple of home runs allowed. Bart Carter allowed five earned runs in less than two innings on the mound but he did manage five strike outs. The only Snappers pitcher to survive without allowing a run was Clint Dempster and he struck out four of the six batters that he faced. ELIZABETHTON 7, PRINCETON 2 The month of July has been off to a fantastic start for Romy Jimenez as he has hit two double in every game so far this month. For the season, he is batting .444 and his OPS is an eye popping 1.447 in 11 games. Adam Walker hit his second home run of the season and he had three RBI in the contest. Travis Harrison was also able to knock in two runs with his couple of hits for the E-Twins. It seems that the Twins are being careful with the amount of innings pitched by Taylor Rogers as he has thrown four innings in all of his starts this year. On this night, he allowed two runs on a couple of hits but the big lead allowed him to pitch comfortably. Tyler Herr picked up his second win of the season and he has not allowed a run in his last five trips to the mound. GCL TWINS 3, GCL RAYS 2 After trailing for most of the game, the GCL Twins scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to come out on top. Aderlin Mejia and Logan Wade lead the Twins with two hits apiece and each player had an extra-base hit to their credit. Dereck Rodriguez doubled in a run as part of the rally for the Twins and he later scored the winning run when Bryan Haar singled. Byron Buxton might of had his worst game as a professional by striking out three times in four plate appearances. Adrain Salcedo made his second appearance as he tries to return from injury. He made his first start and gave up two hits and two unearned runs in his two innings of work. Chris Mazza got his first victory of the year and his first victory as a professional. He threw 2.1 innings and struck out three to lower his ERA to 1.17. Jose Berrios got his first save by throwing a scoreless ninth. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 3, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Estarlin De Los Santos http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gOdjyQdGZmY/T_O60AXicrI/AAAAAAAACm4/d9nQKewbNIY/s320/RockCats.jpg Pitcher(s) of the Day- Red Wings Bullpen (12.1 inning scoreless streak) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XkMsrXHz5BU/T_O64-1fpRI/AAAAAAAACnA/ronnKtp688Q/s320/4553.gif --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, July 4th Schedule Rochester vs Pawtucket- LHP Luke French New Britain vs Trenton- LHP Logan Darnell Fort Myers at Charlotte- RHP Matthew Hauser Beloit at Clinton- LHP Steven Gruver Elizabethton vs Kingsport- RHP Hudson Boyd GCL Twins vs. GCL Orioles- TBA GCL Twins at GCL Orioles- TBA --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, leave them in the comments section and Seth or I will try to answer them. Click here to view the article

As many lists of the top prospects from each team start to trickle out, it is looking more and more that Miguel Sano is the consensus number one prospect from the Twins organization. The young star from the Dominican Republic had an outstanding season for the Elizabethton Twins. He has begun to show some of the great promise the Twins saw in him when they signed him at age 16 to a $3.15 million signing bonus.At the time of Sano signing with the Twins, there were many questions swirling about his true age. In 2009, MLB completed an investigation into this issue but the results were inconclusive. Because of the age issues, Sano lowered his asking price to sign and some teams were still scared away by his high price tag. The Twins were the team to pull the trigger and they gave him the second highest signing bonus in team history behind Joe Mauer’s $5.15 million bonus in 2001. During this offseason, Albert Pujols, the best player to ever come out of the Dominican Republic, received a 10-year $240 million contract with the Angels. There are plenty of reports about teams that were questioning the age of Pujols when it came to contract negotiations. One national writer even suggested that Pujols should produce his birth certificate because of skepticism around his claim to be 31. This still didn't stop the Angels from investing in the best right-handed hitter of the current generation. The latest age related scandal to come out of the Dominican Republic has surfaced within the last week. Roberto Hernandez Heredia, the Cleveland Indians pitcher known as Fausto Carmona, was arrested for using a false identity to play baseball in the U.S. From the perspective of the Indians, one of the biggest issues, besides Heredia having trouble getting to the US, is the three-year age difference between Carmona's birth certificate and his true age. A 28-year old pitcher with a chance to turn it around is a completely different story when compared to a 31-year old player who might have already passed his prime. For players from the Dominican, there is plenty of pressure to find some way to lie about their age to escape the poverty they are subject to for all of their lives in their home country. According to Sports Illustrated on average, a 16-year old player brings in about $65,000 with their signing bonus. Add two years to their age and an 18-year old signs for an average of $20,000. That is a big difference in a country where the per capita income is only $8,900. A player who shows any sign of promise is going to try and "adjust" their age to put their family in a better place for the future. Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are working with their international baseball committee to find a way to solve this crisis with players from Latin America. They continue to stress with these players about the fact that the big money for any player is when they get to the major league level. A big signing bonus will look good at first but the goal should be to make it to the big league level and succeed there to get a big contract. Obviously, only a small portion of these signees are going to make it all the way to the majors so the temptation is still going to be there to change their age. For all other players trying to fudge the numbers on their birth certificate, the case around Roberto Hernandez Heredia (a.k.a. Fausto Carmona) could be a benchmark for the consequences they have the potential to face. If the Dominican Republic imposes a harsh penalty on Heredia, other prospects might be scared away from altering their identity in the future. The United States could also make it very tough for Heredia to enter the States in the future. As ridiculous as it seems for a baseball player to be considered a terrorist, the use of an illegal identity to gain entrance to the US could be seen as an act of terrorism. For the Twins and Sano, he was reported as a 16-year old out of the Dominican Republic when he signed in 2009. This past season he was listed as an 18-year old and the younger players on the roster of the Elizabethton Twins. His young age is a very intriguing part of his prospect status. If the Twins were suddenly to find out that Sano was three years older than originally advertised, how would this change the future of the number one prospect in the organization? A difference of age by only a couple of years for Sano probably wouldn’t have changed the minor league level he was playing at last season. If he were older, the organization might be forced to rush him through some of the levels of the farm system. There are still some raw parts to his game and the extra time he is going to get in the minor leagues will be a positive for him. If there are any issues with Sano’s age, they shouldn’t impact the Twins until it comes to signing him to a contract extension. This won’t come for many years and not until he has proven himself at the MLB level. In ten years, the Twins could find themselves in a variety of different situations. Sano might not ever pan out in the minor leagues and the possibility is there for him to never make it to the MLB level in a worst-case scenario. With the investment the Twins have made, there is very little chance that he will not get at least a taste of the big leagues. After a few mediocre seasons, the organization could find themselves in a similar situation to the Indians; Sano’s real age could be released and the team might have to think hard about his future. The best situation for Sano and the Twins would be if he were to follow in the footsteps of Pujols and turn into an All-Star caliber player for multiple seasons. To fans of the Twins, it won't matter what age Sano is if he has a career anywhere close to Pujols. The more prying issue could be if he has been using a false identity to illegally enter the US. Losing a star player in the prime of his career because of visa issues would be a crushing blow to any franchise. Sano might be the best player to come through the Twins minor league system since Joe Mauer and the future of the franchise could be tied to his birth certificate. Click here to view the article

The Florida State League announced that Byron Buxton was that league's player of the week. In games played from July 14-20 and he went 10-for-20 at the plate with one triple, two home runs, four runs batted in and scored six runs. Buxton is currently listed as day-to-day after being hit on the wrist by a pitch. He is expected to be back in the line-up by the end of this week. There were a few different roster moves made throughout the system on Tuesday. Yohan Pino was recalled by the Twins to make the start at Target Field. To make room for him, the team sent Monday's starter Kris Johnson back to Rochester. Relief pitcher Alex Muren was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Fort Myers. Over 29 appearances, he had a 2.89 ERA with 44 strikeouts and eight walks. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Durham 0 Box Score While making a spot start for only the fourth time this season, Mark Hamburger was dominant over seven shutout innings. He struck out a career high nine batters, walked none, and limited the strong Bulls roster to four singles. It was the first time a Wings pitcher tossed at least seven shutout innings since the middle of June. Ryan Pressly finished the final two innings of the shutout by striking out four and only allowing two base runners. Josmil Pinto led the offensive charge with a two hit night including his fifth double and his eighth RBI. Deibinson Romero helped spark the first run of the game with his International League leading 29th double. Nate Hanson and James Beresford joined the doubles party with one two-bagger each. It was the first road shutout for Rochester since August 11th of last season. Tuesday's have also been very good to the Red Wings. They have a 10-3 record on Tuesday and they haven't lost on Tuesday since May 27th. The team's four doubles tonight give them an International League best 220 on the season. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 9, Altoona 10 Box Score The Rock Cats offense was hot at the beginning of the game combining for nine runs in the first three frames. Altoona got out to a hot start too with a five run first and they capped off their scoring with two ninth inning runs to take back the lead. Virgil Vasquez had a rough day on the mound. He allowed 13 hits and eight runs over four innings. Matthew Summers coughed up the lead after a trio of Rock Cats relievers combined to shut down the Curve offense for four frames. It was the second blown save for Summers and dropped his record to 2-4. Eddie Rosario cracked two home runs and a double. He knocked in four runs and scored three runs to cap quite the offensive night. Brandon Waring and Brad Boyer joined the hit parade with two hits apiece. Mike Kvasnicka only had one hit but he knocked in two runs. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Brevard County 6 (12 Innings) Box Score The Miracle had to use multiple comebacks to stay in this game. Fort Myers was shutout until the eighth inning but they team combined for four runs in the last two frames to push this one into extras. The Manatees scored two in the top of the 11th inning and the Miracle had to answer back to push this one further into the night. Ethan Mildren started this contest but he would be long gone before a decision was made. He lasted six innings and allowed four runs while striking out five. It was the first time he had gone six innings since being called up from Cedar Rapids. Madison Boer gave up the two runs in the eleventh but the team bailed him out. Tyler Grimes did it all in this game as his fourth hit of the night turned out to be the walk-off hit. He also had two doubles, two runs batted in, and two runs scored. He also had two outfield assists as he threw out a runner at second and at third. Jorge Polanco hit his 18th double of the season as part of a two hit night. Mike Gonzalez reached base four times including two walks and a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids had a scheduled off day after taking a 10 hour bus ride to Kentucky. The Kernels start a series with Bowling Green on Wednesday as the start of a six game road swing. Former first round pick Kohl Stewart is the scheduled starter tomorrow. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Bluefield 7 Box Score The E-Twins almost matched the Blue Jays in hits on this night but the big hits weren't there. Even though the club combined for nine hits, none of them were for extra-bases. The team went 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and they combined to leave nine runners on base. A trio of players including Jeremias Pineda, Trey Vavra, and Pat Kelly all went 2-for-4. Pineda stole his ninth base of the season but he also was caught stealing for the fourth time. Nick Gordon was held hitless for only the third time in the last ten games. He also had his fifth error of the year at shortstop. Sam Gibbons started for Elizabethton and he went five frames while giving up four runs on seven hits. He struck out one and walked two. It was the fewest amount of strikeouts he's had all season after averaging over 6.5 per game coming into this start. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 0, GCL Rays 3 (Suspended- Rain) Box Score This game was suspended by rain in the third inning. The two squads will complete this game tomorrow unless weather gets in the way for a second day in a row. Look for a full report on this game in Wednesday's Minor League Report at Twins Daily. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Mark Hamburger, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Eddie Rosario, New Britain Rock Cats WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Durham (6:05 CST) – Alex Meyer (Listen) Altoona @ New Britain (11:05am CST) – Pat Dean (Listen) Brevard County @ Ft. Myers (10:35am CST) – Brett Lee (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Bowling Green (7:05 CST) - Kohl Stewart (Listen) Elizabethton @ Bluefield (6:05 CST) - Matt Batts GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (Completion of Tuesday's game) You can follow me on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and check out my writing at NoDakTwinsFan.com

Welcome to the unofficial midpoint of the 2014 Twins season. After teasing fans for different portions of the first half, the Twins find themselves in a familiar position at the break, last place in the AL Central. The Twins enter the break six games under .500 and 10.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers for the top spot in the division. Even though the team's record might not show it, there have been some positive things happening for the Twins this year. Kurt Suzuki and Phil Hughes are looking like fantastic free agent signings. Brian Dozier is in the midst of a breakout season at the plate. Even Kyle Gibson has started to look like he will be a long-term option as a starting pitcher. At the beginning of the season I made a preseason pick about who will be the best players on the Twins in four different award categories (MVP, Best Starter, Best Reliever, Best Rookie). Each of the awards below has been named after someone that optimizes that award for the Twins organization. There are some legends from the past and even one current MLB player but all have had a significant place in Twins lore. Harmon Killebrew First-Half MVP: Brian Dozier, 2B Preseason Pick: Joe Mauer, 1B Joe Mauer is always the safe pick at the beginning of the season and it seems that he has continued to disappoint in recent years. This makes it easy to look at the team and give the first half MVP to Brian Dozier. He has 10 more home runs than any other player on the roster. His 69 runs scored are the most in the American League. He also leads the team in RBI and stolen bases. All of these offensive numbers are great but he also makes some tremendous plays on the defensive side of the ball. His batting average is always going to be low but he seems to have all of the other tools to be part of the Twins long-term rebuilding process. Johan Santana Pitcher of the First Half: Phil Hughes, RHP Preseason Pick: Ricky Nolasco, RHP In the preseason I had the right idea to pick one of the free agent starters the Twins had signed. However I elected to go with the wrong man. Rick Nolasco has struggled during his first 18 starts with the Twins while Phil Hughes has looked like a brand new pitcher. Hughes leads the Twins in wins, innings pitched, and WAR. He's also only walked 11 batters the entire season for a eye popping 0.81 BB/9 rate. To put that in perspective, no other Twins starter has allowed fewer than 2 BB/9. There have been some rough starts for Hughes leading into the break so it will be interesting to see what kind of pitcher he looks like at the start of the second half. Rick Aguilera Relief Pitcher of the First Half: Casey Fien, RHP Preseason Pick: Glen Perkins, LHP This was one of the toughest picks to make but looking deeper at the numbers it made my decision a little easier. Casey Fien and Glen Perkins could both be considered for this award but I give the slight edge to Fien. Perkins will always strikeout more batters than Fien but Fien has been asked to fill a very important late inning role. He does a great job of limiting damage when he comes into games because almost 83% of the time he is able to leave runners on base. Perkins left on base percentage is under 65%. Fien's ERA and WHIP are both lower than Perkins and Fien has pitched the second most innings out of the bullpen behind long-man Anthony Swarzak. This will be a race to watch in the second half as both players are having good seasons up to this point. Rod Carew Rookie of the First Half: Danny Santana, SS/OF Preseason Pick: Josmil Pinto, C Both Josmil Pinto and Danny Santana did some good things in the first half but my vote goes to Santana. He has seemed to be a spark plug for the line-up when he is in the game. While his natural position is in the infield, the team has been forced to move him to the outfield because of injury issues. He was able to continue to produce in the outfield as well. In 37 games, he has been a threat on the bases with six steals to his name. He also has accumulated the same amount of runs scored and RBI as Pinto in fewer plate appearances. Pinto provides the power but Santana's overall game has been a big asset to the Twins in the first half. Now it's your turn. Who would you pick for each of the above awards? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

The festivities are underway in the Twin Cities as Minnesota plays host to the MLB All-Star Game. The major league players still had games to play on Sunday but the some of the best and brightest minor league players were on hand to strut their stuff. Twins pitching prospect Jose Berrios got the start for the World squad and Kennys Vargas was in the middle of the batting order to back him up. Berrios struck out the first batter he faced on a high fastball and both of the other batters flied out. Vargas played the entire game and he collected a double in four plate appearances. He also made a nice leaping catch at first and a couple of nice scoops. Alex Meyer pitched the fifth inning for the US and earned a hold. The first two batters made decent contact against him but luckily one of those hits was right at a fielder. Meyer got a double play to end the inning and he only needed four pitches to get his job done. While these three players were busy with a big event, their teams were busy still trying to win games. Here's a look at how their teams did on Sunday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester --, Scranton/Wilkes Barre -- (Postponed) Rain put a damper on what was supposed to be the unofficial end of the first half for the Rochester Red Wings. Trevor May was scheduled to make his first start since coming off of the DL but that will have to wait another day. Rochester had also ended a four game losing streak on Saturday so it would have been nice to keep the momentum going in the right direction. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday, August 23. Game one is scheduled for a 3:35 pm CST and both games will be seven innings long. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 4, Reading 6 Box Score New Britain staked themselves to an early two run lead but Reading connected on four home runs as part of a 12-hit barrage to win the game. Jason Wheeler started for the Rock Cats. He went five innings and allowed five earned runs on 10 hits including three of the above mentioned four home runs. It was his third loss in five starts since being moved up from Fort Myers. Daniel Turpen relived Wheeler and pitched two innings. He gave up one hit but it happened to be a home run. Mason Melotakis pitched the last two frames and he kept the ball in the park. Over two shut-out frames he allowed one hit and struck out two. Reynaldo Rodriguez collected two hits including his 30th double of the season. It was the third time in his last ten games that he has collected multiple hits. Eddie Rosario had a double and scored a run. Lance Ray also collected his second double in only eight games since getting promoted. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Dunedin 1 (Game 1- 7 innings) Box Score DJ Baxendale put together his best outing of the year for the Miracle as he tossed a complete game. He scattered five hits over seven innings and struck out two. Baxendale induced three double plays and recorded 12 outs on ground balls. He hadn't made it through more than six innings in any other start. Nate Roberts and Stuart Turner both knocked two hits and Roberts' triple was the lone extra-base hit. Byron Buxton went 1-for-2 with a run scored and his second stolen base of the season. His infield single was his first hit since coming off of the disabled list at the beginning of last week. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Dunedin 4 (Game 2- 7 innings) Box Score In the second game of the doubleheader, the Miracle beat up on a familiar name, Dunedin starter Frank Viola Jr. He only lasted 2.1 innings and was charged with six earned runs as the Miracle pelted him with seven hits. Four Miracle hitters had at least two hits. Anderlin Mejia led the way going 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Adam Brett Walker had a couple of big hits as he knocked in two and hit his ninth double. Fort Myers patched together pitchers for the second half of the doubleheader. BJ Hermsen collected the win after tossing a scoreless second inning. Todd Van Steensel made his Miracle debut at Hammond Stadium and lasted 1.1 scoreless frames. Madison Boer shut the door by recording the last five outs without allowing a hit. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Clinton 4 (Rain Shortened- 6 innings) Box Score One giant inning is all that it took for Cedar Rapids to earn the win. In the top of the sixth inning, the Kernels scored seven runs without recording an extra-base hit. Cedar Rapids has now won four games in a row including another rain shortened game on Saturday. In that big sixth inning, the Kernels sent 11 men to the plate. The team recorded five singles and took advantage of one defensive error. The first four hitters all reached base. It matched the largest run-scoring inning for the Kernels on the season. Four Cedar Rapids hitters (Logan Wade, Chad Christensen, Jason Kanzler, and Alex Smith) had two hits. Swim hit the only Kernels extra-base hit, a double. Lewis Thorpe pitched the first four innings by allowing three earned runs on four hits. He struck out five and didn't walk anyone. Brandon Bixler earned his sixth victory of the season with all of them coming out of the bullpen. He allowed one run over two innings with a strikeout. Hudson Boyd earned the save since he was on the mound when the game was called. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 10, Danville 6 Box Score The E-Twins brought a consistent offensive approach to pound out 10 runs on 16 hits. Max Murphy reached base four times and scored three runs. He also hit his sixth home run of the season in the ninth inning. Tyler Kuresa went 2-for-4 with a home run. All of the hitters in the batting order from first to seventh had a minimum of two hits with the exception being Nick Gordon (1-for-6 with a run scored). Michael Cederoth was credited with his second professional victory in as many appearances. He allowed three runs over five innings with four strikeouts and two walks. CK Irby got hit around a little in his second inning of work. He gave up two runs on four hits but it wasn't enough to get Danville back into the game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – DJ Baxendale, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Max Murphy, Elizabethton Twins MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester- Scheduled Off Day Reading @ New Britain (11:05 CST) – Tyler Duffey (Listen) Dunedin @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – TBD (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:30 CST) - Ryan Eades (Listen) Elizabethton @ Danville (6:00 CST)- Stephen Gonsalves GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00am CST) – TBD

Welcome to July! Minnesota's offense busted out the fireworks a couple days early with a big performance against the Royals. The biggest news of the night might have been Joe Mauer being pulled from the game with what is being called an oblique strain. Mauer told reporters after the game that he has been dealing with a sore oblique for about a week and it doesn't feel good. This is bad news especially since Mauer's bat had seemed to be warming up in recent weeks. The Twins offense wasn't the only one to explode on Tuesday. Let's look around the minor leagues to see who's hot and who's not. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 15, Norfolk 11 Box Score Rochester went on a scoring rampage of their own pounding out 15 runs on 19 hits. Chris Colabello cranked out two home runs and Wilkin Ramirez collected five hits to help the offensive charge. Chris Herrmann went 2-for-4 with a home run and he now has a season-high six game hitting streak. Eric Farris has a seven game hitting streak of his own and he leads the team with 29 multi-hit games. On the mound, Kris Johnson did just enough to pick up his seventh win of the season. He last five innings and gave up four runs on six hits. Edgar Ibarra saw his 15.1 inning scoreless streak come to an end in a big way. In relief of Johnson, he was charged with five earned runs on only three hits. Aaron Thompson did well to stop some of the bleeding at the end of the game by tossing two shutout innings. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 9, Binghamton 6 Box Score New Britain rode a five-run first inning to an early lead and the team was able to hold back the charging Mets. Eddie Rosario and Mike Kvasnicka each hit a home run to help the cause. Rosario reached base in three at-bats and scored two runs. Aaron Hicks showed some positive signs by going 2-for-3 with a run scored. Reynaldo Rodriguez has been a doubles machine this year as he hit his 24th double in this game. Jason Wheeler picked up his second win in three starts since being promoted from Fort Myers. He went six frames and was charged with three earned runs. He struck out five and he has yet to allow more than three runs in any of his Double-A action. Mark Hamburger struck out five batters in only two innings of relief work but it took him 45 pitches to get through those innings. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Bradenton 5 Box Score The Miracle rallied for two runs in the ninth inning and three runs over the last three frames but it still wasn't enough to overcome an early deficit. Lance Ray got the scoring started early with a first inning home run. After that the Fort Myers offense went cold until the late innings. At one point 16 Miracle batters were retired in a row. Alex Wimmers was strong in relief as he threw five scoreless frames before giving up two runs in his sixth inning of work. BJ Hermsen took the loss after surrendering three runs on five hits over two innings. There was a lengthy weather delay after the second inning which caused Hermsen to be pulled early. Travis Harrison and Max Kepler each had a double, the 21st for Harrison and the 8th for Kepler. Jorge Polanco went 0-for-4 in his second game back after his brief taste of the big leagues. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Wisconsin 1 (12 innings) Box Score It turned into a long evening in Wisconsin as the Kernels and the Timber Rattlers decided nine innings wasn't enough to decide this game. In fact, it took 12 innings and the game almost lasted until after midnight in the Central Timezone. After all of those innings and all of that time, the Kernels found themselves on the short end of the stick. Cedar Rapids had a grand total of four hits over 12 frames. Two of those hits came off of the bat of Jason Kanzler. Bryan Haar and Zack Granite also added singles. The team went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and they left seven runners on base. They also couldn't capitalize on three defensive errors committed by Wisconsin. Aaron Slegers started the game but he would long gone before a decision was made in this one. He last five innings and limited the Timber Rattlers to two hits. Brandon Bixler and Dallas Gallant kept the shutout going by combining for four scoreless frames. Jared Wilson took the loss as he gave up a walk, a sac-bunt, and then the game winning hit. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Johnson City 8 Box Score After ending the month of June on a three-game winning streak, the E-Twins saw that streak come to a screeching halt. The team was only able to muster up four hits including a 2-for-3 night from Dutch Doel. Nick Gordan went 1-for-5 including his third stolen base. He also committed his second error of the season on a throw. The team left seven runners on base. Stephen Gonsalves scattered seven hits and limited the Cardinals to four runs. Cameron Booser kept Elizabethon in the game by pitching three shut-out innings with two strikeouts. Randy LeBlanc took the loss as he gave up three run in the bottom of the eighth inning. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 7, GCL Rays 8 Box Score There wasn't a lot of solid pitching in this match-up as the teams combined for 29 hits and 15 runs. The Twins held multiple leads in this game but costly error meant three late unearned runs. Alexis Tapia tossed four innings of two-run ball to start the game but he didn't figure into the decision. Miles Nordgren took the loss but he didn't give up an earned run after Rainis Silva had a fielding error at first. Manuel Guzman and Amaurys Minier each had three hits and they combined to go six-for-nine in the game. Minier is batting .407/.500/.630 in eight games this season with four extra-base hits. The lone extra-base hit for the Twins came off the bat of Jack Barrie, his firs double of the year. The club went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position and that was the difference in the game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chris Colabello, Rochester Red Wings WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester@ Pawtucket (5:15 CST) – Sean Gilmartin (Listen) Binghamton@ New Britain (6:05 CST) – Tyler Duffey (Listen) Ft. Myers@ Bradenton (5:30 CST) – Tim Shibuya (Listen) CedarRapids @ Wisconsin (7:05 CST) - Lewis Thorpe (Listen) Elizabethton-Scheduled Off Day GCL Rays @GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD