Steve Lein

The first week of the AFL season is in the books, and boy was it a good one from one of the games' top prospects. After somewhat of a down year with his bat, Royce Lewis showed there’s still a lot of promise there with multiple big games. He also showed off his defensive chops with a spectacular catch…as an outfielder. In addition to Lewis’ big week, a pitcher also made a strong impression in his first start, and a catcher continued to show why he’s so highly regarded as a defensive backstop.Keep reading to find out how each of the Twins prospects performed during the opening week of the AFL season! (links to each players overall AFL stats provided by clicking their name) Royce Lewis: 4 games, 5-for-15, 4 R, 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 2 BB, 5 K; .333/.412/.800 (overall) Lewis was one of the biggest stars of the AFL in the first week of the season, and that’s because he crushed two homers, scored four runs, and drove in six over his first four games of the season. Also noteworthy, and as I had predicted in the AFL preview article last week and Nate Palmer discussed earlier today, he did not play any game at the shortstop position. Instead, he was at the hot corner for three games, and in center field in the other. He started the season off with a bang in Wednesday’s 10-6 loss to Peoria with a two-run double in the bottom of the first inning, then drew a walk and singled in four other plate appearances on the day. In Thursday’s 4-1 win over Mesa, Lewis put together a highlight reel while playing in the outfield for just the second time in his career. He robbed a hitter of extra bases to run down a fly ball, then came up to bat in the bottom half of that inning and clubbed his first home run: After getting a day off Lewis was back at third base on Saturday and hitting in the three-hole for the Rafters lineup. It didn’t click on this day for him, as he finished 0-for-4 with 3 K's as the Rafters were bludgeoned 12-0 by the Saguaros, but that “slump” only lasted one game. In Sunday’s 11-4 win over Scottsdale, Lewis finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBIs and a walk, while again hitting third for Salt River. He also punctuated his first week in the prestigious circuit by getting the Rafters on the board first with his second home run: Dakota Chalmers: 1 start, 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 4 K; 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP (overall) Chalmers got the start for the Rafters on Friday in their 4-1 loss against Surprise and was efficient in his three innings against the Saguaros lineup. He struck out two in the first inning, worked around a double and a pair of errors in the second by inducing an inning-ending double-play ball, then struck out two more in the third to end his day. Of his 43 pitches on the game, 30 went for strikes (69.8%), including six of the swinging variety. Ben Rortvedt: 2 games (1 start), 0-for-3; .000/.000/.000 (overall) Rortvedt’s first game action came as a defensive replacement in the season opener, as he entered the game at catcher in the eighth inning against Peoria. He was on deck when Lewis popped out to end the game. In Friday’s loss with Chalmers on the mound he got his first start at catcher, batting eighth. He grounded out to second base in all three of his plate appearances and was again on deck when the final out of the game was made. I made it a point to highlight Rortvedt’s defense, and especially his arm, in my preview article and he showed it off in both his appearances on the week. After entering the game on Wednesday, he caught Seattle Mariner’s second base prospect Jose Caballero, who had swiped 33 bases in just 69 games during the minor league season, attempting to steal second. Then on Friday he also cut down Surprise’s leadoff hitter and Kansas City Royals speedster, Brewer Hicklen, who had also stolen 39 bases in the minors on the year. Luke Raley: 4 games, 3-for-17, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 4 K; .176/.167/.353 (overall) Raley started four games on the week, playing in right field in two, left field in one, and getting penciled in at DH in the other. He batted fifth in his first two games, before sliding down to sixth and seventh in the batting order to end the week. In the opening day game, he finished 0-for-5 with two K's, but also scored a run as he reached on an error in the first inning. He followed that up with a 0-for-4 night the next day against Mesa, reaching base once on a fielder’s choice. He got his first hit on Sunday against Surprise with a double in the sixth inning to drive in the Rafters only run of the game. In Sunday’s win against Scottsdale, Raley added two more hits, including a triple to lead off the eighth inning before picking up an RBI with a sac fly in the ninth to end his week on a high note. Moises Gomez: 2 appearances, 2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R (1 earned) 4 BB, 3 K; 3.38 ERA, 2.63 WHIP (overall). Gomez was the first Twins pitcher to make an appearance in the AFL this year, coming in for the eighth inning of their opening day tilt against Peoria when Rortvedt took over behind the plate. He struck out the first batter he faced, gave up a single before Rortvedt threw out the runner stealing, then tacked on another K to end the inning. Back out for the ninth he walked the leadoff man before getting another K and a ground ball for two outs, but an error and another walk ended his day at 1 2/3 innings. He pitched again on Saturday in the blowout loss to Surprise, finishing the game for the Rafters but not before being responsible for three of their twelve runs allowed on the day. He got a fly out to start the inning, but then two singles and a walk were followed by consecutive errors, including one on Gomez that led to his first two runs allowed. A bases-loaded walk led to the third before he induced a grounder that turned two to stop the bleeding. Jovani Moran: 2 appearances, 2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R (2 earned), 3 BB, 4 K; 9.00 ERA, 2.50 WHIP (overall). The lefty made his first appearance of the week in Thursday’s win over Mesa, coming on for the top of the sixth with his team up 4-0. He promptly struck out the first two hitters of the inning on just eight pitches before giving up a single and a four-pitch walk. The next batter sent a grounder toward first base, but it was misplayed for an error to load the bases before another walk to score the Solar Sox lone run of the game. After a mound visit, he struck out another batter for the third out. In Sunday’s thrashing of Scottsdale, Moran came on for the eighth inning and again got himself into trouble. A leadoff walk, single, and wild pitch put runners on second and third before a grounder scored one and a sac fly another. He then struck out a hitter to end the inning with his team still up big 11-4. Zach Neff: 1 appearance, 1.1 IP, H, 2 K; 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP (overall). The Twins other left-handed prospect in the AFL made just one appearance on the week, and it came in Friday’s loss to the Saguaros. After Rafter’s pitcher Antonio Santos had allowed consecutive two-out singles in the fifth, he came on to keep their deficit at two, and did so by getting a fly out. Back out for the sixth he struck out the first two hitters of the inning before allowing a single, but that was it as he got the next man to fly out to center. Other AFL and Minor League Links: -MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo caught up with Royce Lewis after his big first week to discuss what Lewis is looking to accomplish in the AFL, and also talks about all the other Twins prospects in Arizona. -For a great AFL Twitter follow (and tons of video of prospects) follow William Boor of MLB.com and MLB Pipeline: Please feel free to ask questions about the AFL and the players who are there! Click here to view the article

There's certainly the idea of giving him reps at other positions at play here. There's nothing wrong with exposing him to other spots. He's a great enough athlete that he can fit in several places, depending on need. But the biggest thing for me, and thank you for the mention on this, is how the rosters of the AFL are constructed and utilized. It just so happens there are two other players on the Salt River Rafters roster, Jose Devers and Geraldo Perdomo, who are better shortstops at this point than Lewis. Some might even go so far as to say considerably better. Wouldn't read too much into it besides they have to find ways to get him and the other guys into games, but it's fun to see him in the outfield!

In general, teams do have input on how they want the players used, but they aren't hard and fast rules unless say, they only want a coming back from injury pitcher to throw one inning and not back-to-back days (which doesn't happen in the league anyway). I would guess the Twins want Lewis to play as much as they can get him in. With this roster that also has Jose Devers and Geraldo Perdomo on it, that means Lewis needs to be put elsewhere. Both those guys are far superior defenders at the SS position, so might as well expose Lewis to other spots.

Buxton can't be a superstar unless he's on the field, so I go with Sano for this one.

He was on the initial roster, but then removed for unspecified reasons. Probably giving him a rest as he dealt with ailments almost all year. I had a hope for a second that meant the Twins were going to call him up, but alas...

I don't think it would be the sole reason for anything the Twins do or don't with Jason Castro, but for next year they have Garver, Willians AStudillo, and then...Rortvedt or Ryan Jeffers. You would want the strong defender in that situation and I don't consider any of the catchers that finished at triple-A this year as options you would want to rely on.

Gee dangit! Thanks for pointing that out. So many other stories linked about him I totally glossed over that!

There's probably a method, but I couldn't tell you what it is. Since I've been doing these the Twins have been on the Rafters (this is second year in a row), Scottsdale Scorpions, and Surprise Saguaros. The only team different from this year making up the Rafters roster is a swap of the Washington Nationals for the Tampa Bay Rays.

As of your reading of this article, the Arizona Fall League season has gotten underway for the 2019 season. If you’re thinking that seems a bit early, you are not mistaken as the schedule has been changed to closer align with the end of the minor league seasons and major league playoff schedules in October. They’ve also added a wrinkle where the AFL teams will face off against Mexican League teams from September 24th through October 5th. For anyone who doesn’t know, the Arizona Fall League is a short-season circuit where every team in major league baseball sends some of their prospects in October. It is often used as a proving ground for players looking to take the final steps to their MLB dreams. Many of the top prospects in baseball play here every season looking to make a final impression for a call-up next year, but there are also many experienced minor leaguers at the upper levels that are evaluated for protection on the 40-man roster, and those trying to make up some development time after an injury. These minor league games in October can determine a lot going into the next MLB season for these players and MLB rosters, and that’s why I love following the league so closely.Each MLB team typically sends seven players to the AFL (there are exceptions), and they are split up amongst the six teams that make up the league. The Minnesota Twins prospects will again be on the roster of the Salt River Rafters, with pitchers Dakota Chalmers, Moises Gomez, Jovani Moran, and Zach Neff being joined by position players Royce Lewis, Ben Rortvedt, and Luke Raley. It will be Raley’s second time going to the AFL, though his season was cut short there in 2018. They will join prospects from the rosters of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Miami Marlins, and Tampa Bay Rays. Last season, the Twins were represented in the AFL by pitchers Adam Bray, Griffin Jax, Hector Lujan, and Devin Smeltzer with position players Travis Blankenhorn, Jaylin Davis, and Luke Raley joining them (Brent Rooker was supposed to be there but ended up being kept out due to injury). Devin Smeltzer and Jaylin Davis went on from the AFL to make their major league debut during the 2019 season, though in Davis’ case it was with the San Francisco Giants and not the Twins. Each week I’ll be recapping the action for all the Twins representatives during their time in the desert of Arizona, so who are the players they sent? How have their careers gone thus far and what will I be looking for from each of them in the AFL as we head into October? 2019 Minnesota Twins Prospects in the AFL: — Royce Lewis, IF (20 years old) The number one overall selection from the 2017 draft began his professional career by excelling in his first two seasons all the way up to the high-A level and validating his status as an elite prospect. While he continued his ascent to Double-A during the 2019 season, it could be considered one where he endured his first real struggles. His OPS on the season was just .661 while he had gone .788 and .803 the years prior. It hasn’t affected his stock too much among prospect evaluators, as he still remains a top-20 prospect on multiple lists and will show you flashes of all his tools when you watch him play, but it’s also typical for a top prospect to go through some growing pains when pushed until they’re challenged. Beginning the season as a 19-year old, Lewis was the second youngest player in the Florida State League, and he continued to be near the top of the Double-A list when he was promoted to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, resulting in him not taking an at-bat against a younger pitcher the entire season. A large reason for the drop in overall numbers this year was his struggles against same-sided pitchers. While he crushed lefties to the tune of a .315/.351/.500 triple slash line, that dipped to .211/.271/.331 against right-handers. His only month of the season where his OPS was above .700 was July, where it was a solid .788. The AFL will be a great environment for Lewis to finish his 2019 season, among his top prospect peers where he can continue to learn and be challenged. Despite him being a shortstop to this point in his career, what would not surprise me given how AFL rosters are put together and utilized, is if Lewis spends most of his time on the diamonds in Arizona elsewhere, whether at other infield spots or the outfield (as of publishing this article, Lewis is the starting third baseman in the season opener). — Ben Rortvedt, C (21 - turns 22 on 9/25) It took a few seasons for Rortvedt’s bat to start showing it’s potential to go along with his strong defense behind the plate, but that changed some during the 2018 season where he had an OPS of .710 with the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Fort Myers. He then came out hot to start the 2019 season with the Miracle and after just 24 games moved up to the Blue Wahoos. He was a monster with his bat over the first two months of the season, hitting a combined .274/.377/.487 through 35 games, but cooled off as the season wore on by hitting just .213/.302/.300 after that. He did maintain a strong walk rate throughout the year however, as he drew a free pass in 11.9% of his plate appearances. Before the year started, he also was somewhat of a poster-boy for the Minnesota Twins seemingly unorthodox catcher development program pointed out during spring training, and that’s because he was already a stellar defender employing some of those practices. He’s thrown out 43% of basestealers over his career but was even better than that in 2019 by catching 30 out of 58 attempts (52%). He gets rave reviews for his receiving and even if the bat never becomes more than average, that defense would make him a strong backup catching option for the Twins in the future. Rortvedt is the exact type of player I think the AFL is perfect for. A prospect at the high-levels of the minors that can contribute soon, playing a demanding position with a bunch of his peers that he can talk shop with, and his parent MLB team perhaps needing another option in the near future. While he likely won’t alter any internal opinions unless he torches the league, Rortvedt can establish himself high on the depth chart in 2020 when a need behind the plate arises in the majors with a strong showing. — Dakota Chalmers, RHP (22 - turns 23 on 10/8) Chalmers came to the organization at the 2018 deadline when the Twins sent Fernando Rodney to the Oakland Athletics. He didn’t pitch for the Twins until late this year however as he had undergone Tommy John surgery before he was acquired. He can throw in the upper 90’s and has a swing-and-miss breaking ball that can give opposing hitters fits —when he throws them for strikes, which has been his battle as a prospect thus far. While he struck out 12.5/9IP in his 34 2/3 innings this season, he also walked 6.0/9IP and is likely his biggest emphasis in the AFL this fall. There’re a couple of categories Chalmers falls into as a prospect heading to the AFL, those being he needs to throw some innings to make up development time, and also needs protecting on the 40-man roster if the Twins don’t want to risk losing him in the Rule 5 draft this December. He’s probably the only pitching prospect from the Twins that could make traditional starts for the Rafters this season, and will look to build upon the success he had with Fort Myers in his final three starts where he was 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA and .440 OPS against in 16 1/3 innings where he struck out 23 and walked seven. — Moises Gomez, RHP (22) Gomez came in a number three on Twins Daily’s Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year award balloting on the strength of a fantastic season spent between the Kernels and Miracle. In 32 appearances he pitched 52 2/3 innings, allowing just 28 hits and 21 base on balls while striking out 78 (13.3/9IP). He surrendered just a .155 batting average against and racked up 10 saves. As an international signing during the 2014 season, Gomez will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason. While I don’t think he’s a large risk to lose as he’s only reached high-A to this point, the AFL will serve as a good barometer for if the Twins will push him to start the 2020 season. The Twins have seen plenty of relievers rise from Double-A (or even Fort Myers) to the majors the past two seasons, and Gomez could be one to watch for next year. — Luke Raley, OF (25 as of 9/19) It will be the second year in a row in the AFL for Raley, but hopefully this time he’ll be able to stick around a bit longer as his time there was finished after just four games in 2018. Raley was perhaps the prospect center piece (at the time) of the Twins trade of Brian Dozier to the Dodgers that also brought in Devin Smeltzer, and that was due to the breakout of his bat. His 2019 season in Triple-A was cut very short thanks to an ankle injury that kept him out from May until August, when he returned only to play a rehab assignment in the Gulf Coast League. He was a force in the middle of the Red Wings lineup at the beginning of the year, clubbing seven home runs in 33 games while batting above .300. Despite being on the bigger side, Raley is able to sneak up on opponents with his overall athleticism and is a solid corner outfield defender with a strong arm. He’ll rack up a healthy amount of strikeouts with a big swing geared for power, but also shows a good approach at the plate and attacks pitches he can mash. He’s another guy that is eligible for the Rule 5 draft this December in an organization full of young outfielders, so if he’s going to earn a 40-man roster spot he likely needs to take advantage of his time in Arizona and work himself back into the grind of a season. — Jovani Moran, LHP (22) Moran is a bit of a personal favorite of mine, stemming back to his 2017 and 2018 seasons where he struck out every hitter he faced in the Applachian, Midwest, and Florida State Leagues. That’s a slight exaggeration, but for any pure reliever to strike out 16.4/9IP or over 100 hitters in the course of a season in the minors is impressive. He was the runner-up to Andrew Vasquez in our 2018 Relief Pitcher of the Year award, and while he wasn’t as impressive during 2019 at Double-A there was still a lot to like. He struck out 50 in 34 1/3 innings (13.1/9IP) and after a rough May that resulted in a month-long trip to the injured list, he returned to his dominant ways. From his return on July 5th through the end of the season he posted a 2.78 ERA, .550 OPS against, and struck out 30 over 22 2/3 innings. He had reigned in his control with Fort Myers to end 2018 with a 2.3BB/9IP walk-rate in his time there, but it jumped to a career high 6.0BB/9IP in 2019. He’ll need to work on getting that control back in the AFL, a league where that problem could be magnified by the skill level of his competition. He’s demonstrated he can miss bats with all of his pitches due to the movement he gets and may just need to learn that he can also get away with that inside the strike zone, as he’s allowed only six home runs in 158 career innings. Moran will also be eligible for the Rule 5 draft, but as a pitcher who doesn’t bring elite velocity, I find it unlikely for him to be picked unless he blows hitters away in the AFL like he has in the past. But of course, if he does that it wouldn’t surprise me that he gets protected. — Zach Neff, LHP (23) Neff was drafted by the Twins in the 31st round of the 2018 draft out of Mississippi State after spending his first three seasons in college at Austin Peay and worked his way up to Fort Myers during the 2019 season. He also appeared at #5 in our Relief Pitcher of the Year voting for his efforts. He’s not overpowering by any means with a fastball that flirts around 90MPH, but still managed to post a strong strikeout rate of 11.0/9IP on the year thanks to a solid three-pitch mix. As a left-handed pitcher you might expect him to rack up most of his numbers against same-sided hitters, but he actually fared better against righties with a .569 OPS allowed vs. .622 against lefties. Neff is an intriguing choice to send to the AFL, as it will be by far the stiffest competition he has faced and is not eligible for the Rule 5 draft until the 2021 season, but as a 23-year old with four years of collegiate experience it shouldn’t be a huge adjustment. I’ll be watching to see if he can pitch himself to Double-A to start the 2020 season, or if he’ll end up back in Fort Myers to keep improving. Good luck to all seven of the Minnesota Twins prospects participating in the AFL this year, and I’m looking forward to following along with everyone here at Twins Daily! Hopefully Lewis and company can push Salt River to the championship game again this season! I’ll be doing a recap of everyone’s performance on a weekly basis, but if there is anything specific you would like to see included in these recaps, let me know and I’ll be more than happy to see if I can work them in. If you’d like to get an idea of what to expect, here is the final recap from the 2018 AFL season. Other AFL and Minor League Links: - With the MiLB seasons coming to a close in September, Baseball America released several postseason lists, including: Classification All-Stars (Jaylin Davis, Devin Smeltzer, Lewin Diaz, Trevor Larnach, and Cody Laweryson are included)Twins Minor League Player of the Year (Trevor Larnach)Overall MiLB All-Star Team (Trevor Larnach makes 2nd team)- MLB.com also released their end of year Top 100 prospect list. Twins included are Royce Lewis (#9), Alex Kirilloff (#16), Brusdar Graterol (#54), Jordan Balazovic (#77), and Trevor Larnach (#78). -MLB Pipeline also put out a list of the top prospect each team has sent to the AFL, with Royce Lewis represented for the Twins and is one of two former #1 overall picks playing this season (Mickey Moniak) -On 9/19 MLB/MiLB.com also put out a list of sleeper prospects for each team in the AFL, highlighting Ben Rortvedt for the Twins and his arm to throw out runners. -Recap and interview with Royce Lewis after his big game on Thursday night that included: Please feel free to ask any questions about the AFL or the players who are there! Click here to view the article

This is a fair point to explore, but again, for me the time in the organization (and each league in this case) is a big factor. Diaz slugged extremely well in the FSL (and then the SL), and .290 batting average isn't shabby either. But Larnach had a .382 OBP versus .333 for Diaz. Different methods, similar performance in advanced metrics. It's a what's your preference thing. If we had a most improved award, Diaz certainly would win this comparison as he was flat out not good in the FSL last year, but Larnach is my guy based on all the other considerations. I still had Diaz 4th, so it's not like I forgot about him!

I also just noticed Zander Wiel appears twice in my rankings. Gabe Snyder should be #6

This was really a tough choice for me at #1. Saying that, If Davis had stayed in the organization and done all that extra damage he did in the PCL (which was already a hitters league before the "juiced ball") with the Red Wings, he would have been #1. The idea only to consider their Twins numbers loomed large for me here. I give a lot of credit to Larnach for being named the FSL PotY, only qualified hitter to bat .300+, and one of only two qualified hitters to OPS over .800 in the league. I also was one of those curious as to how Davis compared to some of his peers when he got to triple-A, and that research was was eye-opening to me. I was going to include a list of comparable names here until I got to my 30th name... My point is that Davis has a lot of company in similar performance (rate-wise) in triple-A, and there's not many for Larnach in the FSL so that became more impressive for me. Larnach was also just as good as Davis in the Southern League. Incredible seasons from both of them, however. Certainly would be nice to still have Jaylin Davis here right now!

This was mine about a month ago:

It was definitely an interesting ballot! As mentioned in the article, the top guys on this list in the past were basically runaway winners or there were a few far and away above the rest. That wasn't necessarily the case here as five different pitchers were voted #1, and another pitcher that was #1 on two ballots, did not even appear on three others lists. The point totals were close throughout 1 through 5.

With the minor league seasons (unfortunately) coming to a close for all of the Minnesota Twins’ affiliates, Twins Daily kicked off the final week of minor league coverage with th players of the year series on Sunday. Today we continue by getting to the full season affiliates and the 2019 Relief Pitcher of the Year Award. Previous 2019 Awards: Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year: Matt Wallner Short-Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Cody Laweryson Previous Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitchers of the Year: 2015 & 2016: Trevor Hildenberger 2017: John Curtiss 2018: Andrew VasquezFor the first time since Twins Daily’s MiLB writers have been voting on this particular award, there wasn’t much of a consensus for the top spot, whereas in the past if it wasn’t unanimous, it was relatively close. All three of the past four winners (one repeated) of this award have also gone on to pitch in the major leagues, so winning the award has been, to a degree, predictive of future success. The system wasn’t littered with as many pure strikeout relievers as they had last year, but there were still several standouts as the MLB bullpen got plenty of reinforcements throughout the year from the minors, including one who appears high on this list. Six Twins Daily Minor League writers voted for the various awards this year. For the relief pitcher of the year, we each voted for five players. The player who was voted as #1 received five points, #2 received four points and so on with the #5 vote receiving one point. Results were tabulated and can be found below. Short profiles of our top five performers are to follow, but first, some players worthy of honorable mention. These players also received votes. Others Receiving Votes Tom Hackimer, Fort Myers Miracle/Pensacola Blue Wahoos – 36 Games, 6-2, 1 Save, 2.54 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 56.2 IP, 33 H, 27 BB, 75 K (11.9/9IP)Adam Bray, Pensacola Blue Wahoos/Rochester Red Wings – 35 Games (9 starts), 4-4, 1 Save, 2.61 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 93.0 IP, 76 H, 26 BB, 83 K (8.0/9IP)Hector Lujan, Fort Myers Miracle/Pensacola Blue Wahoos – 33 Games, 2-4, 6 Saves, 2.76 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 58.2 IP, 57 H, 15 BB, 55 K (8.4/9IP)Melvi Acosta, Fort Myers Miracle/Pensacola Blue Wahoos – 28 Games (8 starts), 7-5, 4 Saves, 3.24 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 86.0 IP, 87 H, 29 BB, 79 K (8.2/9IP)Alex Phillips, Fort Myers Miracle/Pensacola Blue Wahoos – 42 Games (1 start), 5-3, 9 Saves, 2.96 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 67.0 IP, 48 H, 21 BB, 74 K (9.9/9IP)Sam Clay, Pensacola Blue Wahoos/Rochester Red Wings – 45 Games (1 start), 4-4, 10 Saves, 3.25 ERA, 1.413 WHIP, 69.1 IP, 70 H, 28 BB, 72 K (9.3/9IP)Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year Here are the top five vote getters for Twins Daily’s Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award. #5 – Zach Neff, Cedar Rapids Kernels/Fort Myers Miracle: 38 Games (1 start), 6-3, 8 Saves, 2.97 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 72.2 IP, 63 H, 24 BB, 89 K (11.0/9IP) Neff was the Minnesota Twins 31st round selection in the 2018 draft out of Mississippi State University after spending the first three seasons of his collegiate career at Austin Peay University. After signing last year, he reported to the Elizabethton Twins before getting a late bump to finish with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. That’s where he began the 2019 season, and he was dominant with the Kernels, posting a 2.31 ERA and striking out 11.5/9IP through mid-June before being promoted to the Miracle. As to be expected, he wasn’t as good in the Florida State League but still struck out 10.4/9IP and racked up six of his eight saves while finishing the game in 13 of his 19 appearances with Fort Myers. As a left-hander he carried reverse splits on the year, holding righties to a .569 OPS versus .622 from lefties, but (literally) the only difference was in slugging percentage, as his only home run surrendered on the year was to a left-handed hitter. In the monthly awards during the season, Neff received honorable mention once and was #3 for the month of June, where he had a 1.40 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in eight appearances. #4 – Derek Molina, Cedar Rapids Kernels/Fort Myers Miracle: 26 Games, 2-1, 11 Saves, 2.85 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 41.0 IP, 31 H, 11 BB, 61 K (13.4/9IP) Taken in the 14th round of the 2017 draft, Molina has steadily climbed the ladder in his two full seasons, appearing with Elizabethton and Cedar Rapids in 2018, and the Kernels and Miracle this season. At each stop, he’s had great strikeout numbers and ERA’s, but this year he also added control to his game by cutting his walk rate nearly in half from the year prior. After striking out 46 hitters in 29 2/3 innings with the Kernels to start the year, he was promoted to the Miracle to finish his season. If not for a shoulder injury that ended his season on July 12th, he may have been much higher on this list. That’s because what’s truly amazing about Molina’s season, is if you take out the first two games he pitched, and his last, these were his numbers on the year: 0.50 ERA, .183 BAA, .458 OPS allowed, and 53 K’s in 35 2/3 innings pitched. He appeared on the monthly award list in May (#4), and took home the top honor in June. #3 – Moises Gomez, Cedar Rapids Kernels/Fort Myers Miracle: 32 Games, 1-4, 10 Saves, 3.59 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 52.2 IP, 28 H, 21 BB, 78 K (13.3/9IP) I’ll admit I was a little surprised Gomez didn’t appear on more ballots from our voters, but of the three he did, I wasn’t the only one who ranked him #1. What stood out for me is that he maintained a sub-1.00 WHIP while having a K-rate north of 13/9 innings on the season and allowing just a .155 batting average and .507 OPS to opposing hitters. He was even more oppressive to same-sided hitters, holding righties to a .464 OPS and striking out 40.8% of them. He did not throw his first pitch until the calendar turned to May, but from then on, he was a model of consistency along with periods of dominance. In no single month did hitters post a batting average higher than .184 while in the month of June he had a 0.51 WHIP in 15 2/3 innings, and followed that up in July by posting a 1.93 ERA. It’s no coincidence those were the months he appeared on the award lists at #2 and #4 respectively. #2 – Cody Stashak, Pensacola Blue Wahoos/Rochester Red Wings: 33 Games, 7-3, 4 Saves, 3.21 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 53.1 IP, 45 H, 9 BB, 74 K (12.5/9IP) After being selected in the 13th round of the 2015 draft out of St. Johns, Stashak began his professional career as a starting pitcher, and a pretty good one at that. Over his first three steps on the organizational ladder he combined to go 19-11 with a 3.28 ERA. But when he made it to Double-A, the Twins shifted him to the bullpen and something crazy happened: his strikeout rate nearly doubled from subpar into elite territory. He set a career high in this number during the 2019 season with his 12.5K/9IP mark, and he rode that from Pensacola all the way up to 12 appearances (to this point) with the Twins. It’s a career path that should remind you a lot of Taylor Rogers’, and that’s definitely something to be excited about. He was especially dominant this season when he reached the Rochester Red Wings and triple-A’s “juiced ball,” which you probably wouldn’t have expected. With the Red Wings he racked up five wins with a 1.44 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in 14 games, striking out 34 in 25 innings along the way. During the season he appeared on the monthly award lists in April (#5) and July (#3) #1 – Anthony Vizcaya, Fort Myers Miracle/Pensacola Blue Wahoos: 41 Games (2 starts), 3-3, 11 Saves, 1.82 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 74.1 IP, 51 H, 30 BB, 83 K (10.0/9IP) For the second year in a row, the winner of this award has the initials “AV,” as Andrew Vasquez took home this award for the 2018 season. Given this recent history, my advice to Twins scouts would be to keep these initials in the back of their mind when scouring the college ranks, independent leagues, and Latin winter leagues for new prospects. Vizcaya got his professional career started in the Cleveland Indians organization, but floundered in rookie ball for two seasons before ending up playing sporadically back home in Venuzuela from 2015 to 2018. Twins pro scout Rafael Yanez liked something he saw from Vizcaya during his 2018 season there and the organization signed him in January. He hit the ground running in Fort Myers, serving as their closer to start the year and picking up seven saves in fifteen appearances before being promoted to Pensacola. He took flight at that point, improving his ERA from 2.22 with the Miracle to 0.78 with the Blue Wahoos. In his last eight appearances in the Florida State League and first six appearances in the Southern League, he pitched to the tune of a 0.00 ERA, .159 BAA, and struck out 34 in 24 1/3 innings along with picking up seven saves. He had only two appearances on the season where he surrendered more than one earned run and closed out the 2019 campaign with another stretch of twelve games where he didn’t allow an earned run and held opponents to a .508 OPS against. As a right-handed pitcher, he also held reverse splits on the year as he was lethal against lefties, holding them to a .152/.259/.202 slash line and only four extra-base hits (zero homers) in 117 plate appearances. He frequented the monthly award lists during the season, appearing on the lists for May (#2), June (honorable mention), and taking home the top honor in August for that stretch mentioned above. Congratulations to Anthony Vizcaya for being named Twins Daily’s 2019 Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year and for also making a big impression in his return to affiliated baseball in the Minnesota Twins organization! The Ballots In an attempt to be transparent, here are the votes from our Twins Daily minor league writers: Seth Stohs – 1) Moises Gomez, 2) Cody Stashak, 3) Alex Phillips, 4) Derek Molina, 5) Anthony VizcayaCody Christie – 1) Anthony Vizcaya, 2) Alex Phillips, 3) Sam Clay, 4) Zach Neff, 5) Derek MolinaTom Froemming - 1) Cody Stashak, 2) Anthony Vizcaya, 3) Zach Neff, 4) Derek Molina, 5) Hector LujanSteve Lein – 1) Moises Gomez, 2) Anthony Vizcaya, 3) Tom Hackimer, 4) Derek Molina, 5) Cody StashakTed Schwerzler – 1) Melvi Acosta, 2) Sam Clay, 3) Adam Bray, 4) Hector Lujan, 5) Moises GomezMatt Braun – 1) Zach Neff, 2) Derek Molina, 3) Cody Stashak, 4) Sam Clay, 5) Hector LujanFeel free to discuss! What do you think of our rankings? How would your ballot look? Who did we totally miss out on? Click here to view the article

It was a long day in the Minnesota Twins' farm system on Tuesday, as three of their six affiliate’s games went into extra innings. Hits were also hard to come by overall on the night, but luckily their pitchers picked up the slack and helped them to victories in each of the contests that went extra frames. Devin Smeltzer also matched a top pitching prospect in the Blue Jays system in Triple-A, helping allow his offense to pull out a win.Keep reading to find out how all those extra innings played out and how all your favorite prospects performed on Tuesday! TRANSACTIONS There were the following player movements in the Twins system on Tuesday: In Triple-A, 3B Brian Schales was assigned to Fort Myers and RHP Griffin Jax to Pensacola, while RHP Trevor Hildenberger was activated from the injured list.With Jax returning to the Blue Wahoos, RHP Cole Sands was placed on theseven-day injured list in the Southern League.The Twins assigned their latest free agent acquisitions to the GCL Twins in the form of their latest independent league signing, C Eric Jones, and IF Adrian Guzman.RED WINGS REPORTBuffalo 1, Rochester 4 Box Score The Red Wings were able to get a big inning late to pull out a victory on Tuesday night against the Bisons at Frontier Field. Devin Smeltzer made the start and was effective for the first six innings, picking up a quality start. He allowed just one earned run on five hits and a walk, striking out three. The run came on solo homer in the second inning. In his first appearance since being promoted to AAA, Jorge Alcala worked two scoreless frames of relief. He walked one and struck out two to pick up his first Triple-A win. Off his rehab assignment in the GCL, Trevor Hildenberger closed out the ninth for his second save with Rochester on the season while allowing only a walk. Down 1-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Red Wings offense finally broke through against the Bisons’ bullpen after top prospect and fireballer Nate Pearson’s day was finished. It wasn’t their bats however, but their patience as four hitters drew a walk before a Wilin Rosario two-RBI single gave them a 4-2 lead. Each team had just five hits on the game and all of the Red Wings knocks were singles. The teams combined to go just 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base for the game. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Pensacola 4, Mississippi 2 (10 innings) Box Score Pensacola utilized the opener in this one, with Marcos Diplan handling the first two innings before “primary” (and scheduled starting) pitcher Edwar Colina entered the game. Diplan allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out four. Colina went the next three innings and was just as stingy by allowing only one hit and a walk while striking out three. Jonathan Cheshire got the next two frames and continued to hold the Braves scoreless by scattering three hits and striking out two. Mississippi was finally able to break the deadlock on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth against Alex Phillips thanks to a two-out triple that was followed by a single, a stolen base, and another single for the 2-0 lead heading into the ninth. The Blue Wahoos answer was a leadoff walk from Caleb Hamilton, an RBI triple from Mark Contreras, and sac fly from Jimmy Kerrigan to tie the game at two. Phillips delivered a one-two-three bottom of the inning to send it to extras. Royce Lewis started the inning on second base but got himself thrown out at third on a grounder to first from Alex Kirilloff, but it would not matter as Ryan Jeffers followed with his fourth home run with the Blue Wahoos to put them out front 4-2. Andrew Vasquez closed out the victory with a scoreless inning to earn his second save on the year with Pensacola, allowing only a walk. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Charlotte 2 (13 innings) Box Score Just like their higher-level cousins, runs were hard to come by in the Florida State League for the Miracle and Stone Crabs on Tuesday, and they also required extra innings to declare a victor. Dakota Chalmers made the start for Fort Myers and was fantastic for his second turn in a row. He made it through 5 1/3 innings in this one, allowing just one run on three hits and three walks while striking out seven. In his past two outings he’s allowed just the one run on six hits and four walks in 11 1/3 innings while striking out 16. Calvin Faucher and Moises Gomez combined to hold Charlotte scoreless over the next 4 2/3 innings. Gomez allowed the only hit between them and struck out three, with Faucher punching out the first five of the six hitters he faced. Gomez also struck out himself…I think?! Joe Record came on for the 11th frame and would finish the game for the Miracle to pick up his fourth win. In three innings he allowed only an unearned run on one hit and two walks while punching out four. The Miracle got their first run of the game in the fourth inning to tie it at one when Trey Cabbage singled to score Jacob Pearson. In the top of the thirteenth a single from Yeltsin Encarnacion brought in Cabbage and Andrew Bechtold before a wild pitch allowed a third run to scamper home for a 4-1 lead that would hold. Despite playing four extra innings, the teams combined for just ten hits on the game while striking out 36 times. They were 5-for-32 with runners in scoring position and left 20 men on base between them. Pearson picked up two hits, including a double, and stole a base to lead the way. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 9 Box Score The Kernels fell into an early hole against the River Bandits, and then dug themselves deeper and were unable to climb out against a team they’ve been battling in the Midwest League Western Division all season. Starter Kody Funderburk was roughed up for six earned runs in the outing. He allowed seven hits, walked four, and struck out three in his 4 1/3 innings. J.T. Perez didn’t fare much better in the next 1 2/3, giving up three runs on four hits and a walk, striking out two. Jose Martinez finished the final two innings for Cedar Rapids, and they finally were of the scoreless variety. He allowed two hits and struck out four. The Kernels were finally able to put a run on the scoreboard in the top of the eighth thanks to an RBI ground out from Spencer Steer after a throwing error on a pickoff attempt put a runner on third base. In the ninth they got two more courtesy of Jared Akins 11th home run of the season to account for the final tally. Tyler Webb and Daniel Ozoria contributed two hits each to the effort. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 7, Princeton 6 (11 innings) Box Score Starter Cody Laweryson worked around some baserunners for the first three innings, but Princeton finally broke through with a run in the bottom of the fourth to take a 1-0 lead. Elizabethton answered with two runs in the top of the fifth thanks to a Matt Wallner home run, his sixth of the season, but Laweryson gave them right back with a home run allowed in the bottom half. Laweryson finished five innings, allowing the three runs on five hits and a walk along with striking out eight. The Twins tied it back up at three in the sixth when Seth Gray launched his ninth home run of the year, then the teams traded solo home runs in the eighth with Will Holland clubbing his seventh on the season to head into the ninth tied at four. After Laweryson’s exit, Owen Griffith contributed two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out three. Tyler Beck allowed one run on three hits and a walk in his inning, striking out one. Benjamin Dum came on for the ninth and got them into extra innings, finishing two total innings. He allowed an unearned run on one hit while striking out two. Both teams were able to bring in the runner starting on second base in the tenth. In the top of the eleventh, Elizabethton got a leadoff double from Janigson Villalobos that put runners on second and third, then a throwing error allowed both of them to score for a 7-5 lead. For the bottom half the Twins summoned pitcher Denny Bentley and though he allowed the runner starting the extra frame on second to score on a sac fly, retired all three hitters he faced to close out a victory. The Twins got multiple hits from six hitters in their lineuptheir and were able to pull out the win despite going just 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position. Luckily for them, the Rays were also an inept 3-for-20. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Pirates 10, GCL Twins 2 Box Score Righthander Regi Grace made the start for the GCL Twins squad and after a leadoff walk led to a run scoring in the first inning, he held the Pirates scoreless for his next two frames. In the fourth a two-out rally added two runs for a 3-0 deficit and an end to his outing. In four innings he allowed three earned runs on six hits and a walk while picking up seven strikeouts. The Pirates then poured it on against the bullpen, with Niall Windeler and Matthew Swain allowing a combined seven runs (three earned) from their two innings apiece. Jose Guevara pitched a scoreless ninth to finish the game for the Twins, walking one and striking out two. The Twins lineup wasn’t able to muster much offense with six hits and five walks on the game and finishing 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. One of their runs scored on a throwing error, while the other came on a sac fly, both in the fifth inning. Third baseman Jake Hirabayashi picked up two hits in three at-bats, drew a walk, and scored a run to lead the way. Francisco Martinez contributed the sac fly, a walk, and the Twins only extra-base hit, a double, in the loss. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Calvin Faucher, Fort Myers Miracle (2.0 IP, 5 K) Hitter of the Day – Ryan Jeffers, Pensacola Blue Wahoos (2-for-5, go-ahead HR in 10th inning) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - 1-for-4, BB, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 1-for-5, R #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - 0-for-4, BB, 3 K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - Did not play #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Fort Myers) - Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL) - Did not play (quad) #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured List (groin) #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Fort Myers) - Injured List (hamstring) #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Minnesota) - Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List (leg contusion) #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) - 2-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBI, 3 K #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, R #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) - 2-for-6, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - Did not play #17 - Akil Baddoo (Fort Myers) - Injured List (Tommy John surgery) #18 - Jorge Alcala (Rochester) - (W, 2.0IP, BB, 2 K) #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL) - 1-for-2, K #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - 0-for-5, 3 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) - LHP Charlie Barnes (1-0, 5.79 ERA) Pensacola @ Mississippi (1:05PM CST) - RHP Bailey Ober (1-0, 1.29 ERA) Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - LHP Tyler Watson (1-5, 3.74 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:30PM CST) - RHP Luis Rijo (5-7, 2.63 ERA) Elizabethton @ Johnson City (5:30PM CST) - TBD GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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My opinion, is consider the situation, and is mainly why I think this in particular is BS. What does a walk do at that point? Absolutely nothing. Should be throwing strikes and letting them swing at everything to get the game over with. My favorite opinion I saw anywhere on this was from Todd Van Steensel: He's exactly right.

I honestly have never heard of this "unwritten rule," therefore, I dont actually think it is one, which makes this even weirder. Why would I let a grooved pitch go in this situation? A walk does nothing at that point. If you dont want me to swing, then purposefully walk me.

You're not saying anything I wouldn't also. I just like the guy for what he does, and he's been pretty good

It's gotta be Alvarez from the Astros right now. Guerrero has the name recognition, but as a power hitter, Arraez is beating him in OPS by .050+ points. I'd probably have it as Alvarez, Lowe, Arraez.