Steve Lein

Never understood the love for Archer. I wanted nothing to do with him as I saw him as overrated given the results in front of the peripherals. I feel similar about Marcus Stroman this season. I think he is the pitcher a team is going to get fleeced for like this. With that said, at the right price I would be fine with him on the Twins, but I would expect him to only be as good as Gibson has been.

It was Davis' fourth home run in his last 5 games He was 0-for-2 on Tuesday.

Fair elements to point out, and I don't disagree. But it's still a .604 slugging percentage and a home run once every 11.67 plate appearances. He has crushed.

Yeah, I was scouring stats on B-Ref in relation to this. The only "runners on" scenario their OPS is below the overall MLB average is with the bases loaded, where it plummets to .556. Late & Close it's .696.

As alluded to above, Rooker took a... (cough) shot to the nether region (cough)... on a fly ball the other day. Calling it a contusion. On Sammons, I originally thought he may have thrown too many pitches in one inning, but since Edwar Colina came in after him I'd venture it was the plan on the day for whatever reason. Looking at all of Benninghoff's game logs, you are correct that it is the longest appearance of his career, so that's definitely cool!

It was a newsworthy day in the minor leagues on Sunday, though the biggest story may have been in the form of a promotion rather than from any of the games that were played. That's not to say there wasn't any noteworthy performances though, as a couple of pitchers had strong outings, a 2019 breakout prospect continued slugging, and the hitter of the day racked up four hits including a home run to lead his team to victory. To find out everything that happend on Tuesday in the minor leagues, including that promotion for a top prospect, keep reading! Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photo of Trevor Larnach) It was a newsworthy day in the minor leagues on Sunday, though the biggest story may have been in the form of a promotion rather than from any of the games that were played. That's not to say there wasn't any noteworthy performances though, as a couple of pitchers had strong outings, a 2019 breakout prospect continued slugging, and the hitter of the day racked up four hits including a home run to lead his team to victory. To find out everything that happend on Tuesday in the minor leagues, including that promotion for a top prospect, keep reading! TRANSACTIONS There was a flurry of moves in the system on Tuesday, including some injuries to some notable names and a flurry of corresponding moves after a big promotion for a top prospect: In unfortunate injury news, OF Brent Rooker was placed on the injured list retroactive to July 14th. In Double-A the Blue Wahoos placed IF Travis Blankenhorn on the injured list retroactive to July 14th as well, but in his place recieved OF Trevor Larnach, the Florida State League leader in doubles, batting average, and OPS. OF Jacob Pearson was promoted to Fort Myers from Cedar Rapids to take the place of Larnach After laying waste to the Appalachian League with nine home runs in 23 games, OF Albee Weiss was promoted to Cedar Rapids. 1B Parker Phillips was transferred to Elizabethton from the Gulf Coast League RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Norfolk 6 Box Score Cody Allen made his third appearance with the Red Wings, serving as the opener in this one and throwing 19 pitches (12 for strikes, 3 swinging). A leadoff double was followed by a one-out version and the Red Wings were down 1-0 early. Left-hander Sean Poppen then served as the primary and went the next five innings. He allowed a three-run homer in the third that extended the Tides lead to 4-0, but otherwise was solid. He surrendered three hits, walked two, and struck out five. Of his 97 pitches, 64 went for strikes (66%). In the top of the sixth the Red Wings closed within one thanks to a three-run blast of their own from the scorching hot Zander Wiel, his fifth in his last four games, and now 18th on the season. Unfortunately for Rochester, that would be all they could muster on the day. Gabriel Moya finished the final two innings, allowing two insurance runs for Norfolk on three hits and a walk. He struck out one. Wilin Rosario (2-for-3, 2B, R) and Tomas Telis (2-for-4, 2B) added multiple hits for the Red Wings. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Montgomery 4, Pensacola 2 Box Score Just like on Monday, Pensacola got an opposite-field home run from their first baseman Lewin Diaz, this one a two-run shot, but it again was not enough to propel them to a victory. https://twitter.com/BlueWahoosBBall/status/1151334693943566336 They were unable to take advantage of their opportunities as they finished just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position on the game, leaving nine men on base. Diaz finished 2-for-4 to lead the offense as they collected only four other hits and three walks. Out of the leadoff spot former major leaguer Ivan De Je Jeusus Jr. drew a pair of walks. In his Southern League debut, outfielder Trevor Larnach made a good first impression, collecting a single in his first at-bat and reaching base on an error in front of Diaz's home run. https://twitter.com/billvilonaPNJ/status/1151290812287901697 Making the start for the Blue Wahoos was left-hander Bryan Sammons and he went the first two innings, allowing one run on two hits and a walk while striking out three. Edwar Colina then made his Blue Wahoos debut by coming on for the next four innings and found the primary-ish role not to his liking. He allowed two runs on four hits and four walks, striking out two. Jovani Moran allowed one run on a hit and a walk in the seventh, before Adam Bray finished out the game with two scoreless innings. MIRACLE MATTERS Tampa 2, Fort Myers 4 Box Score Both teams struck early with crooked numbers in the first inning but the Miracle came out on top with three for the early lead. Three consecutive singles from Royce Lewis, Ryan Jeffers, and Ryan Costello loaded the bases, before a sac fly from Jose Miranda scored one and was followed by a two-run double from Trey Cabbage. Starter Cole Sands allowed two runs (one earned) in the opening frame, but was fantastic from then on, tacking on six more scoreless innings to his line. He picked up his third win with the seven-inning effort by scattering seven hits and walking none. He punctuated his outing with a one-two-three seventh inning, including two of his six strikeouts. In the bottom of the seventh Jacob Pearson, fresh off his promotion, delivered an RBI double to tack on an insurance run for Fort Myers. Melvi Acosta went the final two innings to pick up his second save, allowing one hit and striking out three. On offense the number three and four hitters for the Miracle, Jeffers and Costello, each finished 2-for-4 and Gabriel Maciel stole his ninth base. KERNELS NUGGETS Scheduled Day Off Cedar Rapids had the day off on Tuesday as they hit the road to face the Lake County Captains in Eastlake, Ohio. They are coming off a 2-4 homestand and will look to get back on track away from Veterans Memorial Stadium with right-hander Tyler Palm on the mound. The Kernels are 14-10 in the second half of the Midwest League Season, sitting three games back in fourth place of the Western Division. E-TWINS E-NOTES Johnson City 5, Elizabethton 7 Box Score The Twins got a quality start from right-hander Tyler Benninghoff who went the first six innings, his longest outing of the year, and allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out six. The three runs charged to him were of the unearned variety thanks to errors in the second and fourth innings. When his day was done Elizabethton held a 6-3 lead thanks in most part to a five-run bottom of the third. Two one-out singles got the inning started, then three consecutive two-out hits broke it open, with the biggest knock a double from Matt Wallner to score two. A throwing error also allowed two more runs to score as the teams combined for six errors on the game. Max Smith added a solo home run in the fourth and Kidany Salva an RBI single in the seventh to account for all the Twins scoring. Reliver Frandy Torres was back with Elizabethton after a brief stint in Cedar Rapids and went the next 1 2/3 after Benninghoff. He allowed two runs on two hits and two walks, but also struck out four. Dylan Thomas picked up his third save by finishing the final 1 1/3, allowing only one hit. Smith (4-for-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI), Parker Phillips (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB), Wallner (2-for-3, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB), and Trevor Jensen (2-for-4, R) all had multiple hits on the day. Shorstop Will Holland stole two bases despite finishing 0-for-4. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Rays 1, GCL Twins 2 Box Score Pitching owned the day in the Gulf Coast League matchup as pitchers from both teams combined to allow just three runs on 13 hits and four walks combined, while striking out 20. Dakota Chalmers was on the mound for the Twins and went the first four innings. He worked around singles in the first and third before a couple of doubles in the fourth allowed the Rays to tie it. He struck out four and walked none in his four innings. The Twins had taken the first lead in the bottom of the second thanks to a bases- loaded walk, and then the lineup picked him up in the bottom of the fourth when Sergio Toribio led off with a triple and would score on a single from Erick Rivera. Relievers Williams Ramirez, Niall Windeler, and Anthony Escobar combined to shut out the Rays the rest of the way, allowing no runs on four hits and zero walks over the final five innings. Escobar did the bulk of the work, finishing the final three innings and striking out two. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Cole Sands, Fort Myers Miracle (W, 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 6 K) Hitter of the Day – Max Smith, Elizabethton Twins (4-for-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, R, 2 K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 1-for-5, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured List (shoulder) #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) – 1-for-4, R, K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - No game #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Fort Myers) - Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL) - 0-for-4, 3 K #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Fort Myers) – Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Fort Myers) - Did not pitch #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 0-for-5, 2 K #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Fort Myers) – 2-for-4, R, K #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) – 0-for-0, BB (incredible at-bat in replacing Schoop) #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) – 2-for-3, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – Did no tplay #17 - Akil Baddoo (Fort Myers) - Injured List (Tommy John surgery) #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL) - Did not play #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) – Injured list WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Norfolk (6:05PM CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe (4-4, 5.22 ERA) Pensacola - Scheduled day off Tampa @ Fort Myers (11AM CST) - RHP Jhoan Duran (1-8, 3.44 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (6:00PM CST) - RHP Tyler Palm (1-5, 4.21 ERA) Elizabethton @ Greeneville (5:30PM CST) - RHP Ben Gross (2-1, 2.70 ERA) GCL Braves @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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Weeks ago my ceiling for a trade for Smith and Bumgarner was Trevor Larnach + Nick Gordon. I think that's a significant overpay in terms of what I think the costs should be, but the poll had nearly 70% percent of ~1200 votes saying they'd do that trade.

Yeah I'm with you. I had Colina at #13 too. In my opinion, the way rental players have moved the past few seasons, that range of Twins prospect alone would be enough, but he's not necessarily the name I'd be willing to part with for the same reasons. Kohl Stewart + someone from our OF depth not in the top 20 is where I'd go (Zander Wiel?).

I'm glad you asked : http://twinsdaily.com/articles.html/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/wahoos-weigh-in-617-six-all-stars-for-pensacola-r7962

Yeah, Rooker + Gordon should be pretty close to getting you both Bumgarner AND Smith already because of them being rentals. As much as the Giants want to get the best they can for these guys, the fact of the matter is nobody pays these prices for rentals.

Because he's so short. They don't make MLB pants his size...hah Seriously though, the pants over cleats thing is very common, especially if you have to deal with pants being a bit oversized. It's how I wore mine. Your metal spikes punch through the pants and keep them in place better and they don't bunch up on you.

A good thing about Keith, in my experience, is he also is not afraid to admit he was wrong. He's done so repeatedly in reference to Jose Berrios.

Based on his results while healthy. Law has always had him pegged as a reliever based on what you mention here and his high-effort delivery.

I only have recollections of people saying Lewis made changes, but that doesn't mean I'm right. A few articles/notes out there now talking about a lot of moving parts (leg kick) and complexity to it.

On Graterol from the preseason, where he was #108: "Scouts see no projection here and a delivery that probably points to a power-reliever role." https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/25833101/just-missed-top-100

Graterol was #108 preseason (in his "just missed" group with Balazovic). I would think he's moved up despite the injury.

Keith Law has posted his midseason top 50 prospect list. Is behind the Insider paywall: https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/27161120/keith-law-midseason-top-50-prospects-update Three Twins accounted for: #15 - Alex Kirilloff - Says bat still there, just slowed by the injuries. (#11 preseason) #34 - Royce Lewis - I don't recall where he previously had him, but doesn't like the changes to his swing that occurred and calls him below average at SS, better suited for center field. (was at #9 in preseason list, so a good fall) #44 - Jordan Balazovic - After pitching to his highest workload yet so far, enough has been seen to vault him up almost 60 places. 4-pitch mix with above average to plus command and remaining projection. (#102 preseason) edits: included the preseason rankings.

Have had multiple of these conversations on Twitter the past few days, including with Doogie. Impression from his responses I have got, was that the Twins do not have permission to spend over their draft pool. This is both ridiculous and disappointing to me. They could still spend 3rd round money and only incur tax penalties up to around $1MIL more total money spent. This is peanuts, and acquiring better talent in this way is what teams like the Twins need to exploit at every turn. 23 teams overspent their pool last year.

I've been trying to find any even tiny morsel of information on what is going on with Leach. Transfer to 60-day DL at this point, to me, says he's out for the season with some injury, but nobody has confirmed or discussed this that I can find anywhere. Seth is probably your best bet to be able to find out, but in my experience nobody in the system is forthcoming with such information until the organization has already come out and said something about it.

Yes. In the same way I was not so sarcastic in saying Cedar Rapids travelled from Davenport.

Due to scheduling quirks, an All-Star break and rain, only two games were played in the Minnesota Twins minor league system on Tuesday night, but there were still some notable performances. The starting pitchers both delivered solid performances, a top prospect fresh off a Futures Game appearance clubbed a home run, and it took extra innings to decide one of the games. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photo of Jhoan Duran) Due to scheduling quirks, an All-Star break and rain, only two games were played in the Minnesota Twins minor league system on Tuesday night, but there were still some notable performances. The starting pitchers both delivered solid performances, a top prospect fresh off a Futures Game appearance clubbed a home run, and it took extra innings to decide one of the games. Keep reading to find out how it all went down in those games for your favorite prospects! TRANSACTIONS In Double-A, Pensacola placed RHP Andro Cutura on the 7-day injured list. Fresh off his Futures Game appearance, RHP Jordan Balazovic was activated from the temporarily inactive list for Fort Myers. The Cedar Rapids Kernels released RHP Tanner Howell, assigned LHP Petru Balan to the GCL Twins, and were assigned RHP Rickey Ramirez from Fort Myers. In the Appalachian League, Elizabethton was assigned RHP Seth Pinkerton and placed RHP Owen Griffith on the 7-day injured list. The GCL Twins were assigned the recently inked SS Alec Craig, but in unfortunate news transferred RHP Landon Leach from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day IL. RED WINGS REPORT Triple-A All-Star Game Break The Red Wings continue to be off for the Triple-A All-Star break. The game will be played Wednesday night with Tomas Telis and Brent Rooker representing the Twins organization for the International League squad. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Pensacola 4, Birmingham 2 (10 innings) Box Score It was a Southern League pitcher’s duel for the Blue Wahoos and Barons on Tuesday as the teams combined for just three runs and six hits through the game’s first eight innings. Griffin Jax made the start for Pensacola and was fantastic over six innings. He allowed two earned runs on three hits and three walks to notch a quality start. He struck out six and 55 of his 90 pitches went for strikes (61%), including fourteen swinging. Adam Bray came on for the seventh and went two scoreless innings in relief to get them through the eighth. He gave up one hit and walked one along with a strikeout. To that point the score was 2-1 in favor of the Barons, with the Blue Wahoos lone run coming from a Jordan Gore home run in the third inning. In the top of the ninth Pensacola was able to tie the game thanks to a two-out RBI double from Southern League All-Star Caleb Hamilton. He drove in Mark Contreras who had led off the inning with a walk. In the bottom of the ninth Sam Clay delivered a one-two-three inning including a strikeout to extend the game to extra innings. In the top of the tenth, despite the runner starting on second base getting cut down on a fielder’s choice play, the Blue Wahoos were able to mount a rally with consecutive singles from Travis Blankenhorn and Alex Kirilloff that scored one. After a strikeout, Contreras stepped to the plate and clubbed a double to make it 4-2. Clay was back out for the bottom half and recorded two quick outs before giving up a single to put runners on the corners. He buckled down on the next hitter, getting him to fly out to end the game. He finished with two scoreless innings and two strikeouts to pick up his third win of the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Daytona 2, Fort Myers 1 Box Score Fort Myers starter Jhoan Duran put forth another strong outing, finishing six innings to record his fourth quality start of the year, and fourth in his last seven outings. He has yet to allow more than three runs in any start so far on the season. Against the Tortugas on this day, he allowed two runs in the fifth inning thanks to a home run, but that was it as he scattered six other hits along with no walks while punching out eight. Unfortunately for him, he was bettered by Daytona’s pitchers as they held the Miracle offense in check for the first seven innings. Royce Lewis finally got the Miracle on the board in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run, his seventh of the year. https://twitter.com/AlexisFarinacci/status/1148763146913505281 Joe Record came on to begin the seventh and would finish the next 2 1/3 innings. He worked around a single in the seventh and single and walk in the eighth before running into some trouble in the ninth. An error by Lewis led off the inning, and a one-out walk later brought in Johan Quezada. He loaded the bases with a walk of his own, but then got a double-play ball to end the threat and give his team a chance in the bottom half. They weren’t able to muster even a threat however, as they went down in order to fall to Daytona 2-1. Lewis (2-for-4) and Ryan Costello (2-for-4, 2B) each collected multiple hits to lead the lineup that was 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left only six men on base all game. KERNELS NUGGETS Scheduled Day Off Cedar Rapids got Tuesday off to travel the short distance back home after a three-game series with the Quad Cities River Bandits. They begin a six-game homestand against the Great Lakes Loons and Lansing Lugnuts starting Wednesday with right-hander Tyler Palm scheduled to take the mound. E-TWINS E-NOTES Scheduled Day Off Like their Midwest League friends, Elizabethton had the day off to travel after a home-and-home two-game series against their rivals Johnson City. They begin a seven-game homestand against the Burlington Royals tomorrow night. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins -, GCL Pirates - Postponed Multiple games in the Gulf Coast League were affected by rain on Tuesday, including the Twins facing off against the Pirates. They’ll get back to action for two against the Orioles tomorrow morning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jhoan Duran, Fort Myers Miracle (6 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 8 K) Hitter of the Day – Royce Lewis, Fort Myers Miracle (2-for-4, HR, RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, HR (7), RBI #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 1-for-5, RBI, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured List (shoulder) #4 - Trevor Larnach (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - No game #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Fort Myers) - Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL) - Game postponed #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - All-Star Break #9 - Jhoan Duran (Fort Myers) - L (1-8), 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 8 K #10 - Blayne Enlow (Fort Myers) - Did not pitch #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - All-Star Break #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - All-Star Break #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, K #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) - All-Star Break #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) - No game #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - 0-for-3, 2 K #17 - Akil Baddoo (Fort Myers) - Injured List (Tommy John surgery) #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL) - 1-for-1, RBI (defensive substitution in 8th inning) #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - 1-for-5, R, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester - Triple-A All-Star Game Pensacola - Scheduled day off Daytona @ Fort Myers (11AM CST) - TBD Great Lakes @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Tyler Palm (1-4, 4.35 ERA) Burlington @ Elizabethton (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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Big shoutout to Seth here for taking over this report yesterday! I was mired in cleaning water out of my basement all night...