Cody Christie

Minnesota added some top-notch talent to the organization at the end of last week. For the third year in a row, the Twins had a top five pick in the MLB Draft. Minnesota's farm system was already considered one of the best in the game and adding top tier talent can only help the organization. My last prospect rankings were released in conjuncture with the "2014 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook." There have been some changes since that time as minor league teams are almost halfway through their season. Some players have shined and others have struggled. Injuries have been the story for the Twins top two prospects this year but some pitching prospects have really started to shine as they get closer to the big leagues. For more from Cody Christie, check out NoDakTwinsFan.com 1. Byron Buxton- OF (Previously #1) 2014 Team(s): Fort Myers Miracle 2014 Stats: .150/.150/.350, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R (5 Games) Even though Buxton has missed most of this season with a wrist injury, he is still considered by many to be the best prospect in the game. The lost playing time is going to hurt some of his development but he was young for the levels he has played at so far. Hopefully, he can get into some games in the second-half of the year and show some positive signs. 2. Miguel Sano- 3B (Previously #2) 2014 Team(s): N/A Tommy John surgery Tommy John surgery took away most of this season from Sano. He likely won't be able to get on the field this season unless it is in a DH capacity at the very end of the year. It seems likely for the Twins to send Sano to the Arizona Fall League to get some extra at-bats before he plays in the Dominican Winter League. 3. Alex Meyer- RHP (Previously #3) 2014 Team(s): Rochester Red Wings 2014 Stats: 3.30 ERA, 62.2 IP, 75 SO, 28 BB, 51 H (12 Games) Meyer will likely be making his big league debut this season and he has made some adjustments at the Triple-A level. He learned a new change-up grip and this has helped improve his strikeout totals. Opponents are hitting .223 against him for the season. Because of some injury issues last year, he's already closing in on the number of innings he pitched last year. 4. Nick Gordon- SS (Previously N/A) 2014 Team(s): N/A 2014 Draft The Twins haven't been able to develop a shortstop in the minor leagues for quite some time. Nick Gordon is hoping to be the man to end that streak. He add 15 pound of muscle in the last year and this should help improve his power numbers. He'll start in the rookie leagues once he signs a contract. 5. Jose Berrios- RHP (Previously #6) 2014 Team(s): Fort Myers Miracle 2014 Stats: 2.24 ERA, 64.1 IP, 74 SO, 17 BB, 57 H (11 Games) Berrios might be having the best season of any of the top prospects on this list. There have been questions in the past about whether his long-term role was going to be as a starter or as a relief pitcher. He is putting some of those questions to rest with his performance in the Florida State League. I would have moved him higher but I need to see more from him throughout the season. 6. Kohl Stewart- RHP (Previously #4) 2014 Team(s): Cedar Rapids Kernels 2014 Stats: 2.67 ERA, 49.0 IP, 36 SO, 15 BB, 37 H (10 Games) Stewart's ERA looks great but I was expecting him to strike out more batters. This is one of the reasons he dropped a little. It's still early in his first full season in professional baseball so he has a lot of time left to develop before reaching the big leagues. 7. Eddie Rosario- 2B/OF (Previously #5) 2014 Team(s): Fort Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats 2014 Stats: .350/.409/.450, 1 HR, 1 2B, 6 RBI, 9 R (10 Games) Rosario missed 50 games to start the season because of a drug related suspension. He's done fairly well since his return and the team has already moved him up from High-A to Double-A. It sounds like Rosario will be playing some in the infield and some in the outfield after transitioning to second base last year. He's still a very gifted hitter and he could make it to Rochester by season's end. 8. Jorge Polanco- 2B (Previously #7) 2014 Team(s): Fort Myers Miracle 2014 Stats: .289/.362/.395, 4 HR, 11 2B, 27 RBI, 40 R (57 Games) Polanco has consistently moved through the Twins system and he seems to improve at every level. He hit over .300 each of the last two seasons and continues to add power. The switch-hitter has close to the same batting average from both sides of the plate so he should continue to switch hit as he moves up the ladder. 9. Trevor May- RHP (Previously #13) 2014 Team(s): Rochester Red Wings 2014 Stats: 2.80 ERA, 61.0 IP, 63 SO, 24 BB, 45 H (11 Games) One of the biggest concerns for May has always been his control. He's made some positive strides this season, as he has been able to limit the number of walks he's allowing. His numbers are the best of his career and he's another player who is knocking on the door to the big leagues. If he continues to show consistency, the Twins will reward him with a call-up. 10. Lewis Thorpe- LHP (Previously #11) 2014 Team(s): Cedar Rapids Kernels 2014 Stats: 9.64 ERA, 4.2 IP, 1 SO, 3 BB, 6 H (1 Game) Thorpe exploded onto the scene last year and shot up prospect lists with his performance in the GCL. The Twins had him skip Elizabethton and he got roughed up in his first Low-A start. He's only 18-years old so he's much younger than the competition. The Twins had confidence in him skipping a level so they must believe he is ready for this level.

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.

It's hard to believe the middle of the minor league season is fast approaching. This will mean the announcement of the mid-season All-Star Team rosters over the next few weeks. On Tuesday the Florida State League announced their teams and the Miracle have four players on the roster. Pitchers Jose Berrios, David Hurlbut and Brett Lee will be joined by outfielder Adam Brett Walker on the FSL South Division Team. Berrios, Hurlbut and Lee have all been fantastic pitchers with each posting an ERA of under 2.40. Walker is the only position player in the group but he leads the FSL in home runs. In transaction news, Daniel Ortiz has been called up to Rochester from New Britain. You will have to read on to see how he did in his Triple-A debut. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Charlotte 2 Box Score Rochester wanted to get their nine-game road trip started off on the right foot and the Red Wings took a come from behind victory. The Wings found themselves trailing 2-1 in the top of the sixth before Deibinson Romero cracked a game-tying home run. He also knocked in the go-ahead RBI in the 8th inning as part of a three-run frame for Rochester. Eric Farris and James Beresford each had a couple hits including a double apiece. Daniel Ortiz went 0-for-4 after being called-up. AJ Achter earned his second victory after the team received a strong start from Logan Darnell. He allowed two runs on five hits over 6.1 innings. Over his last 16 starts with Rochester, he has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his games. Achter entered the game with a runner at second and one out but he got out of the jam to keep the game tied. He has stranded all 12 runners he has inherited this season. Ryan Pressly pitched a perfect ninth for his third save. The Wings have been hot lately winning 16 of their last 21 including four of their last five on the road. Rochester hasn't lost two straight contests since way back on May 12. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 3, Akron 5 Box Score New Britain found themselves in an early hole and it took too long for their offense to get up and running in this one. Taylor Rogers pitched seven innings but he surrendered five runs on eight hits to suffer his fourth loss of the season. It was the first time he has been charged with a loss since his second start of the season on April 18th. Cole Johnson and Matthew Summers didn't allow a base runner over the final two frames but they couldn't help the team score runs. Tony Thomas had a double and a run scored as part of a two-hit night. Reynaldo Rodriguez also had a double, his 16th of the season. The offense didn't record a hit until the fourth inning and the team was 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Overall, the team left five men on base. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for New Britain. Coming into the night, the club had won five of their last six games. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Tampa 0 Box Score Miracle pitcher Jason Wheeler improved his record to 5-4 by throwing seven shutout innings. His ERA is down to 2.59 as he struck out five and walked two. It was his third consecutive victory and he hasn't allowed a run over his last 16.2 innings of work. Mason Melotakis completed the shutout by pitching the final two frames without allowing a hit. The top of the order did all the damage on the offensive side of the ball. The first four batters in the Miracle line-up all had multiple hit nights including three hit performances from Stephen Wickens and Adam Brett Walker. Eddie Rosario, with two hits, scored two runs and Jorge Polanco reached base in all five plate appearances. He finished 2-for-2 with a double, three runs scored, and three walks. With a St. Lucie loss to Dayton, the Miracle now have a 1.5 game lead in the Florida State League South Division with 12 games remaining in the first half. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids (Scheduled Off Day) TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Jason Wheeler, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Deibinson Romero, Rochester Red Wings SUNDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Charlotte (5:05 CST)- Kris Johnson (Listen) Rochester @ Charlotte (Game 2)- Scott Diamond Akron @ New Britain (5:35 CST)- Tyler Duffey (Listen) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (6:05 CST)- DJ Baxendale (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (7:05 CST)- Aaron Slegers (Listen) The Twins evened up the series vs the Brewers yesterday, winning 6-4, so you can get 50% off your large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com with the promo code 'WINTWINS' on Wednesday.

With the Houston Astros having the number one overall pick for the third year in a row, there is some question about who will be selected first overall. Two years ago it looked like Mark Appel would be a lock for the first pick. The Astros saved a little money by taking Carlos Correa and this looks like a great decision. Correa is blossoming into one of the best position players in the minors and Appel ended up in an Astros uniform in last year's draft. Will Houston go with an expected player at the top of the draft or will they surprise the baseball world for the second time in three years? Who is this guy? Carlos Rodon attended high school in North Carolina and was drafted in the 16th round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. The appeal of playing in his home state to pitch for North Carolina State was too much and he made the decision not to sign with the Brewers. Carlos Rodon photo by Jeremy Brevard Entering the 2014 spring season, Rodon was considered by many to be the clear-cut number one pick in the draft. He burst onto the scene as a freshman at NC State. In 2012, he posted a 9-0 record with a 1.57 ERA over 16 starts. He struck out 135 and walked 41 in 114.2 innings. His sophomore campaign was also very good as he compiled a 2.99 ERA and struck out 184 in 132.1 innings. There have been some concerns about how he's been used during his junior season and this could cause him to fall in the draft. He's only thrown 98.2 innings and he has a 2.01 ERA but there have been some long outings. During one three game stretch, he was averaging 126 pitches per start. With Tommy John surgery seeming like a big league epidemic, teams will be cautious when it comes to his workload. Jeff Hoffman and Erick Fedde, two possible top 10 draft picks, have already had Tommy John surgery. Rodon's stock might not be as high as it was coming into the spring season but he should still be one of the first couple names called by Bud Selig on draft night. Why the Twins will pick him? Starting pitching is one of the weaknesses for the Twins and many of their top pitching prospects are multiple years away from the big leagues. Rondon's college experience could make him a fast mover in the organization and this could allow him to be an impact player in the next couple years. A possible rotation with Alex Meyer, Kohl Stewart, and Carlos Rodon is the stuff dreams are made of for Twins fans. While the prep arms will take time to develop, Rodon is already a proven pitcher who could likely make an impact at the big league level sooner rather than later. If Rodon were to make it to the Twins with the fifth pick and he is healthy, there is no reason to think the team wouldn't take him. Why the Twins won't pick him? Realistically, there doesn't seem to be a scenario where Rodon will drop to the Twins, especially with the injuries to other potential top pitching prospects. He's not going to be on the board at number five. Scott Boras is an advisor to Rodon and that could scare away some teams if he drops in the draft. Last year's top pick Mark Appel, another Boras client, was supposed to be the top pick in the 2012 draft but he fell to ninth and he didn't sign with the Pirates. That sounds like a headache the Twins would like to avoid even though they have shown a tendency to pay the full slotted amount for their top picks. Also, the Twins haven't used their first overall pick on a college pitcher since 2009-2010 when they selected Kyle Gibson and Alex Wimmers in back-to-back drafts. Gibson has finally found some big league success but both players underwent Tommy John surgery in the minors. Rodon's high workload in college might scare the Twins away. The Twins evened up the series vs the Brewers yesterday, winning 6-4, so you can get 50% off your large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com with the promo code 'WINTWINS' on Wednesday.

"I've got a fever and the only prescription is less Kubel." Those words don't taste good coming out of my mouth. I consider myself a Jason Kubel fan. I've liked Kubel since he was a budding prospect in the Twins minor league system. He was supposed to be one of the left-handed power bats to join Joe Mauer in the middle of the batting order. A devastating knee injury kept those dreams from becoming reality and it's looking more like his time is over in Minnesota. Things haven't been very good for Kubel this season. He is batting.238/.329/.313 on the year with eight extra-base hits. Those numbers might not seem horrendous but most of his good hitting came at the beginning of the season. According to FanGraphs' version of WAR, Kubel has been the second worst left fielder in the American League this season. Since the calendar turned to May, Kubel has looked like a shell of his former self. He has no extra-base hits this month and his slash line has dropped to .179/.295/.179 with 27 strikeouts. That's right, his batting average and slugging percentage match and that's not a good thing. It's tough to stomach Kubel being in the line-up as a corner outfielder with little defensive value. The value Kubel provided in the past was from his offensive power. With his power gone, what value does he provide? Corner Outfield Crunch When Oswaldo Arcia and Josh Willingham were recovering from injuries, it made sense to have someone like Kubel around for some outfield depth. Arcia is swinging a hot bat and he looks to be penciled into a corner outfield spot for the rest of the season. Willingham could be a trade candidate at the deadline so the Twins need him on the field as much as possible. There also might be more left in Willingham's tank compared to Kubel. Hopefully both Arcia and Willingham will be healthy for the rest of the year. Pinto Needs to Play Fitting Kubel into the line-up means that Josmil Pinto has been pushed to the bench. Pinto needs to be in the line-up on a more regular basis for a variety of reasons. First of all, he is one of the best offensive players on the roster and the Twins are struggling to score runs. Just because Ron Gardenhire is scared about having both catchers in the line-up on a given night doesn't mean he should shy away from using Pinto. Secondly,the team should be committed to him as the catcher of the future and that isn't going to happen with him on the bench while the team isn't scoring runs. Other Outfield Options While Chris Parmelee and Chris Colabello have gone through some struggles in the last two seasons, it would be nice for the Twins to continue to give each of them opportunities. Parmelee is barely 26-years old and he has shown the ability to produce at Triple-A. Colabello was the International League MVP a season ago and he produced some monster numbers in the first month of this year. There might be ups and downs with these two but they seem like more viable options than a depleted Kubel. Kubel was part of many special moments in Minnesota, but my fever is hot and it's time for the Kubel to stop ringing.

On Tuesday it was announced that New Britain Rock Cats outfield Daniel Ortiz was selected as the Eastern League Player of the Week for the period of May 19th-May 25th. Over six games, he hit .480 with four doubles, a triple and two home runs. He had at least one hit in all six games and he post back-to-back three hit nights earlier in the week. During the last week, Ortiz led the league in slugging percentage (.960), OPS (1.460) and tied for the league lead in extra-base hits (7) Would Ortiz's hot hitting continue this week? Read on to find out. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Syracuse 10 Box Score Syracuse must have been sick of losing to Rochester. Coming into the game the Red Wings had beaten the Chiefs in three straight games and outscored them 24-10. Scott Diamond is not making it easy for Rochester to win the games he starts. After giving up seven runs in 3.1 innings, his ERA is up to 7.51 and his WHIP is the highest in the International League. He hasn't won a start since May 2 and he's given up five runs or more in four of his nine starts. Yohon Pino, Deolis Guerra and Edgar Ibarra did their best to clean up the mess as they combined to give up three earned runs over the last 5.2 frames. There wasn't much to speak of on the offensive side. Chris Herrmann and Chris Colabello made their return to the Rochester line-up after being sent down on Monday. Herrmann went 2-for-4 with a run scored while Colabello went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. Chris Rahl had the lone extra-base hit, a double that scored two runs. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 5, Portland 5 (2 Innings-Suspended for wet grounds) Box Score The Rock Cats didn't get very far into their game with the Sea Dogs but there was plenty of action. New Britain got on the board early with a big five-run first inning. Daniel Ortiz continued his hot hitting ways with two hits including a triple. Reynaldo Rodriguez cracked a two-run home run, his eighth of the season. Pat Dean got beat up in the rainy weather as he allowed five runs on six hits in 1.1 innings. He walked one and struck out one. The game is scheduled to be completed on Wednesday as part of a double-header. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 11, Clearwater 0 Box Score Matt Tomshaw twirled eight shutout innings and he faced just one batter over the minimum. He was able to get around his two walks and three hits because of four double plays turned behind him. It was his fourth straight win in May and he has only allowed two earned runs so far this month. Brandon Peterson had a strikeout as he closed out the ninth inning to preserve the shutout. Stuart Turner put together a very impressive night at the plate. He went 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI. It was his second consecutive multi-hit game and he's hit safely in eight of his last ten games. Five other hitters in the Miracle line-up had two hits or more. Max Kepler scored three runs and Niko Goodrum added a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 16, Beloit 5 Box Score The Kernels exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning and 16 runs, a season high, over four innings to pound the Beloit Snappers. Every Kernels starter had a hit besides JD Williams and he still scored three runs and had an RBI without recording a hit. Surprisingly, there was only one extra-base hit out of the 16 hits for Cedar Rapids. Mitch Garver went 3-for-5 with 4 RBI and Ivory Thomas hit a pinch-hit three run homer to cushion the lead. Jake Mauer was able to use a variety of pitchers in the late innings since his club scored so many runs. Derrick Penilla started things for Cedar Rapids and he went four shutout frames while walking three and striking out two. It was only his second start of the season and it was the most innings he has pitched this year. Brandon Bixler picked up the win but he was charged with five runs in less than three innings. Jared Wilson and Hudson Boyd combined to shut out the Kernels in the last 2.1 innings. The Kernels improved to 4-2 against the Snappers this season. After the series win, the Kernels won't face the Snappers again in the first half. The two teams meet again in August TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Matt Tomshaw, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Stuart Turner, Fort Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05 CST)- Alex Meyer (Listen) New Britain @ Portland- Taylor Rogers (Listen) New Britain @ Portland (5:00 CST)- Competition of 5/28 Game Fort Myers @ Clearwater (12:00 CST)- David Hulbut (Listen) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST)- Aaron Slegers (Listen) Photo of Matt Tomshaw by Linwood Ferguson, Ft. Myers Miracle.

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. Flash-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.

Minnesota starts into a West Coast swing of baseball action on Tuesday. The club will play two games in San Diego before heading up the coast for a weekend series in San Francisco. This means some late night baseball action for Twins Territory, as most of the team's games won't be starting until 8:00 pm or later. The Twins have won each of their last three series including two out of three from Boston and Detroit. If the Twins want to continue to be relevant in the AL Central, they will need to continue to win series. The Tigers are out to an early lead in the division and they are playing at a very high level. Down in the minor leagues, there were three very strong starts by pitchers in New Britain, Fort Myers, and Cedar Rapids. Were their teams able to pick up the victories? You'll have to read on to find out! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 0, Toledo 3 Box Score The loss by Rochester ended a seven-game winning streak and a 10-game home winning streak. It was the third time the Red Wings have been shut out this season and Toledo has done it to them twice. Scott Diamond started and lasted seven innings while giving up three runs on six hits. He tied his season high in strikeouts with six and he hasn't allowed a walk in his last 13.1 innings. James Beresford went 1-for-4 in the game and extended his hitting streak to seven games. He also has a 13-game home hitting streak in front of the Frontier Field faithful. Doug Bernier started at first base and he has now started at six different positions (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and RF) for the Wings this season. Pedro Florimon had two hits and his sixth error in the field. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 7, Richmond 2 Box Score Daniel Ortiz powered the Rock Cats past the Flying Squirrels on Tuesday night. Ortiz went 3-for-4 with two doubles and it was his second consecutive multi-hit game. The first four hitters in New Britain's line-up all had multi-hit games and they combined to go 9-for-15 with three doubles and five runs scored. Overall, the team is hitting almost .500 with runners in scoring position and this certainly helped the pitching staff on this night. Sean Gilmartin had plenty of run support and he didn't need it all. Over 8.0 innings, he allowed two runs on four hits, struck out a season high nine batters and issued no walks. It was his first win since May 2nd and it was the first time he had pitched more than 6.2 innings this season. Lester Oliveros struck out one in a perfect ninth inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Dunedin 2 Box Score A four-run fourth inning helped the Miracle break open a tie game. Travis Harrison started the frame with a double and Dalton Hicks followed that up with a walk. A few pitches later Niko Goodrum drove in both base runners with triple. Adam Brett Walker knocked in Goodrum with a single and a few batters later he scored on a Jonathan Murphy single. The Miracle were up 5-1 and they didn't look back. To cap off a solid day of starting pitching by Twins minor leaguers (Cedar Rapids played an afternoon game), Matt Tomshaw went seven frames, allowing two runs on five hits. Both runs scored against him were home runs but they were solo shots, helping keep his team in the game. He struck out four and walked one. Madison Boer pitched two shutout innings to finish the game. He allowed one hit and stuck out two. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 2 Box Score JD Williams played the hero in this game as his pinch-hit, two run single in the bottom of the eighth turned out to be the difference. Bryan Santy had a good day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with his third double of the season. He also scored two of the team's four runs. Ivory Thomas and Carlos Avila each went 2-for-2 at the dish. Kohl Stewart didn't figure into the decision but he was outstanding on the mound. He tossed six frames and allowed one run on four hits. He struck out three and walked one. It was the first time he has pitched at least six innings since April 25th and it was only the second time all year he made it that far into a game. His ERA is down to 2.21 for the season over 40.2 innings. Alex Muren picked up his first win of the season, allowing one run in two innings of relief work. He struck out three and didn't walk any. Todd Van Steensel earned his second save by pitching a scoreless ninth frame. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Sean Gilmartin, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Daniel Ortiz, New Britain Rock Cats SUNDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester- Scheduled off day Richmond @ New Britain (5:35 CST)- Pat Dean (Listen) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 CST)- David Hulbut (Listen) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST)- Felix Jorge (Listen) The Twins beat the Padres last night so on Wednesday you can get a half price large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com with the promo code TWINSWIN.

The 1991 World Series will always hold a special place in the heart of Twins fans. Kirby Puckett's heroics in Game 6 and the magnificent pitching performance of Jack Morris are legendary moments etched into the minds of a generation of baseball fans. Many consider this World Series as the best of all time and it all comes into focus in the newly released book "Down to the Last Pitch." To get a better understanding of this legendary World Series, author Tim Wendel breaks down every game by using the words and stories from the players who were in the middle of the action. Wendel was a founding editor of USA Today Baseball Weekly and he has authored ten books. His years of being around the game of baseball are evident throughout the book's chapters. This specific World Series will always be marked as a special time in baseball. Changes would hit the game hard in the coming years. Performance enhancing drugs and labor unrest would be baseball's themes for the next decade. "In a lot of ways it will always be a sweet spot in time," said Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau. "Not only did this one Series have everything you ever wanted in terms of pressure games and great performances, you also look back on it fondly because of what was to come, the challenges the game would soon face." Each chapter of this 253-page book is dedicated to one game in the Series. However, Wendel doesn't just retell the story of each pitch or each at-bat. He delves into the back-stories of the players on the rosters for the Braves and the Twins. He explores other stories from around the baseball world, like Ricky Henderson's stolen base record, Nolan Ryan's final no-hitter and Pete Rose being banned for life. Baseball is never about one team or one player. It is about the stories and the history that take place on an everyday basis. One of my favorite stories in the book took place in spring training 1991. The author, a man who covered National League baseball until '91, was trying to get to know the teams and players of the American League. He showed up late one evening to the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers and he heard someone taking batting practice. What he ended up finding was Kent Hrbek, Chili Davis and Dan Gladden watching Kirby Puckett taking hacks in the batting cage. Some interesting conversations took place as a strange reporter showed up to their impromptu batting session and it ended with an interesting back-and-forth between the parties involved. Did those extra spring training BP sessions pay off for the Twins? No one may ever know but the team wound up in the middle of a World Series for the ages. Five of the seven games were decided in the home team's last at-bat, four games were decided on the last pitch and three games finished in extra-innings. Wendel's baseball acumen and historical knowledge make this a book for any baseball fan. This isn't just a story of the Twins winning or the Braves losing. It is a snapshot of baseball in the early 1990's, a simpler time when "everyone involved was left with memories of the last fine time in baseball."

It has been a rough season for some of the top position players in the Twins minor league system. Eddie Rosario is serving a 50-game suspension after he tested positive for marijuana use. Miguel Sano had to undergo Tommy John surgery and the earliest he could be on the field is very late in the summer. To cap it all off, Byron Buxton, the consensus top prospect in all baseball, has played a whopping five games this year because of a wrist injury and its aggravation. Byron Buxton Original Outlook (2014): After tearing up both Low-A and High-A last season, Buxton was expected to spend most of the season at Double-A. This would have left him with an outside chance at making his big league debut as a September call-up. Injury Issue: Buxton missed all of the first month of the season with a wrist injury. This forced the Twins to send him back to Fort Myers to work himself back into form after the injury. He played five games and went just 3-for-20 with a double and a home run before he re-injured his wrist sliding into third base. Consequences of Lost Playing Time: One of the things that made Buxton move up the prospect charts so quickly was his achievement at each level for his young age. Last season he was two years younger than the average age of position players in the Midwest League. He dominated the Florida State League and he was almost four years younger than players in that league. There are comparisons between him and Mike Trout and Buxton's numbers are even better at the same point. Every at-bat is important for development and he is losing precious development time. Miguel Sano Original Outlook (2014): After producing some of the best power numbers in the minor leagues, Sano was expected to get the majority of his playing time at Triple-A. This would have left him knocking on the door to the big leagues shortly after the All-Star Game. Injury Issue: Something wasn't right with Sano's elbow for most of the off-season. He wasn't able to fully participate in Winter League action but the Twins wanted him to try to rest his sore elbow. After he reported to big league camp, the reports were mostly positive as he tried to stretch out his arm. It was eventually decided that Tommy John surgery was the only option as he continued to deal with pain. Consequences of Lost Playing Time: Much like Buxton, one of the reasons Sano was so highly touted was his advanced ability at such a young age. When he was playing with New Britain at the end of 2013, he was almost 4.5 years younger than the competition. He has more professional playing time than Buxton and he reached a higher level even though they are close to the same age. Sano's injury is frustrating especially since he was dealing with elbow problems for much of the off-season. He'll try and get back in games at the end of this year and this will push back his debut into 2015. Eddie Rosario Original Outlook (2014): After transitioning to the middle infield and getting some extra at-bats in the Arizona Fall League, Rosario was supposed to end up in Rochester to push for the big leagues. He and Sano have followed much of the same path so a late season call-up was not out of the question. Injury Issue: Rosario reported to Twins camp three weeks after the other minor league players. The only word out from the Twins front office was that he was dealing with "personal issues." After he reported to extended spring training, word came out that his suspension was due to smoking marijuana during the Arizona Fall League. He is also rehabbing a sore elbow. Consequences of Lost Playing Time: While Buxton and Sano are trying to get healthy and back on the field, Rosario is dealing with a different kind of recovery. He made a mistake in the off-season and he is dealing with the consequences. Rosario's suspension will be over at the end of May so he will likely beat the other two players back onto the field. There was an outside chance of him making his debut this year but that likely won't happen because of his lost at-bats. It will also be interesting to see if the Twins continue to use him at second base because of Brian Dozier's emergence. Twins held on to beat the Mariners 5-4 last night, and you win today. Get a half-price large or extra-large pizza today (Saturday) from PapaJohns.com when you use the promo code TWINSWIN.

It’s shaping up to be a killer couple of days for Cedar Rapids. After the first two games of their four-game set with Peoria got rained out, the Kernels are forced to play double-headers on Tuesday and Wednesday. In their two other double-headers this season, the Kernels have played to an all or nothing result. They have either swept or gotten swept by the opposition. This had left the club with a 2-2 record in double-header action this season. How would they fare tonight? Would they be the sweepers or the swept? TRANSACTIONS In the Cedar Rapids game, two Kernels were hurt and put on the Disabled List before game two. Listen to last night's Twins Hangouts to learn who the Kernels have promoted from Extended Spring Training. Also, Seth and Jeremy were joined early in the show by top left-handed pitching prospects, Stephen Gonsalves and Lewis Thorpe. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6. Columbus 0 (6 innings- Rain) Box Score Rochester decided to have a home run party. The only requirement was that the batter couldn't of hit a home run yet this season at the Triple-A level. Eric Farris, Oswaldo Arcia, Deibinson Romero, and Chris Herrmann each met the criterion. They were all solo home runs except for Arica's two-run shot. After a two-hit effort, Farris now has a team leading 15 multi-hit games in 32 starts this season. Trevor May was pitching against another tough Trevor, Trevor Bauer. May gave up three hits and struck out six over six frames. It was the first time Bauer has lost this season and the win ended Rochester's eight game losing streak. The Red Wings have a season high five-game winning streak at home. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 4, Portland 2 Box Score The Rock Cats turned to Taylor Rogers to continue their recent winning ways. The club had won back-to-back games coming into the night and Rogers did his best to continue the streak. He tossed six innings of one-run ball by striking out seven and walking three. Over his last two starts, he has pitched a minimum of six innings and allowed one earned run or less. It was also his third straight victory. Kennys Vargas and Reynaldo Rodriguez both had multi-hit nights and each scored two runs. It was the eighth double of the season for Vargas. Brandon Waring and Daniel Ortiz each added a double to help the Rock Cat offense. Waring's two-out double knocked in Rodriguez and Vargas and that hit made the difference in the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Brevard County 0 Box Score Jose Berrios, one of the Twins top pitching prospects, completed 6.1 innings of shutout ball by limiting Brevard County to three hits. He didn't allow a hit until the fifth and his eight strikeouts were a season high. Berrios might have been able to finish the seventh inning if not for a missed catch error by first baseman Mike Gonzales. Madison Boer and Brandon Peterson helped to complete the shutout by allowing only a hit each. The Miracle didn't need a ton of offense but they scored enough to get a comfortable lead. Travis Harrison is in the midst of a four game hitting streak and he knocked two doubles. Aderlin Mejia and John Murphy each collected two hits including a double apiece. Jorge Polanco scored two runs and he extended his hit streak to 11 consecutive games. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 3 (Game 1) Box Score The Kernels got out-hit 11 to two but the club held a two run lead heading into the fifth inning, when Peoria got their big inning. After allowing one run in the first, starting pitcher Ethan Mildren settled in before allowing three doubles and three runs in the top of the fifth. His record dropped to 0-2 despite having a 3.10 ERA after allowing two runs or less in every start prior to today. Jason Kanzler provided all the offense for the Kernels. With two outs in the fourth, he cracked his third double of the season to drive in two runs. He also swiped two bases to bring his season total to seven. Overall, there wasn’t a ton of offense to speak of from Cedar Rapids. Note - In the first game, Engelb Vielma hurt his leg (specific injury not yet known) in his first at bat. Later in the game, Tanner Vavra and Jason Kanzler collided going for a pop up. Kanzler was put on the Disabled List with a concussion. Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 6 (Game 2) Box Score A big five-run third inning doomed the Kernels and starting pitcher Josue Montanez. He was charged with five earned runs on four hits and his ERA is up to 8.74. It's been back-to-back rough starts for Montanez as he allowed eight earned runs in less than two innings in his previous appearance. Bryan Haar clocked his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot. The long ball gave Cedar Rapids an early lead but it wasn't enough. Haar finished the double-header going 4-for-6 with three runs scored. Bo Altobelli added two hits and an RBI in this game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Jose Berrios, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Bryan Haar, Cedar Rapids Kernels WEDNESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Columbus @ Rochester (6:05 CST)- Scott Diamond Portland @ New Britain (5:35 CST)- Tyler Duffey Fort Myers @ Brevard County (9:35 CST)- David Hulbut Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (5:05 CST)- Kohl Stewart Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (30 min. after Game 1)- Felix Jorge Since the Twins beat the Red Sox on Tuesday night thanks to a walk-off homer from Chris Parmelee, you can get 50% off your online order at PapaJohns.com on Wednesday using the code "TWINSWIN".

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. 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.