Steve Lein

I wouldn't have put him on a rehab assignment in the first place, so that was mistake number one. Probably would have put him on one now after what happened on the first one, so they're doubling up in my opinion.

I'll repeat the same comment I made in the game recap of his last start here, as your data and video basically shows what I was saying: "I'm actually not all concerned about his changeup coming in that fast because it's got a bunch more drop on it than his 2-seamer. From what I've seen, he controls that changeup down in the zone well, and his 2-seamer is almost a riser with the arm-side run he gets. If he starts leaving changeups up in the zone they'll get hammered at that speed, but I haven't seen that issue yet."

He's definitely a guy who has given up hits, but also definitely limits the damage against him because of his heavy sinking fastball. Jose Berrios, as an example, until sometime last year had a higher career MiLB ERA than Stewart did. Berrios also gave up 35 home runs in 591+ minor league innings (0.53/9IP), while Stewart has allowed just 18 in 490 innings (0.33/9IP). These numbers certainly don't tell the whole story, but it's very interesting to look at. At least to me. Stewart is also still young enough where you can't dismiss him as a prospect in my opinion. He still has plenty of time to put whatever it is he has together and I do think he's going to pitch in the majors.

All four of the Twins affiliates were in action on Tuesday including a pitching duel between New York franchises, a rumble in the jungle of Chattanooga, a home run binge in Florida, and some Dragons breathing fire to turn the tide of a battle in the Midwest League.To find out how all of your favorite Twins prospects fared on Tuesday night, keep reading and add to the discussion in the comments! TRANSACTIONS There were a couple of moves made in the Twins minor league system on Tuesday: -In the Florida State League third baseman Carson Crites was transferred to the extended spring training roster from Fort Myers while catcher Robert Molina was brought up to the Miracle. -More noteworthy was the placement of right-handed pitcher Brusdar Graterol on the seven-day disabled list for Cedar Rapids with lower back spasms. The move is retroactive to May 6th so the top prospect could be back to pitching as early as this coming Monday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Buffalo 1 Box Score In his last game against Lehigh Valley on May 3rd, Rochester starting pitcher Aaron Slegers had his streak of 17 minor league starts without a loss broken by the Iron Pigs. He did all he could in this game to start a new one. Over seven innings, Slegers scattered four hits and one walk, while striking out five. His only earned run came in the fourth inning, as the leadoff man doubled and would come around to score after consecutive groundouts. He then retired ten in a row after that double and erased a single with a double-play ball in the seventh to finish his night. 54 of his 83 pitches on the game went for strikes and he killed worms to the tune of ten groundouts to one flyout. The Red Wings offense took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kennys Vargas to score Jermaine Curtis, who had led off the inning with a walk. Curtis also drew a walk to lead off the game and another in the fifth, marking his 17th straight game reaching base safely at least once. Rochester added another run in the fifth thanks to doubles from Willians Astudillo and James Ramsey that put Slegers in line for the win when he exited. Tyler Duffey was brought on for the eighth inning and worked around a leadoff walk to pitch a scoreless frame and pick up his first hold on the season. He struck out one. With the score still 2-1, the Red Wings summoned right-hander John Curtiss for the ninth inning and his first save opportunity of the year. He delivered a one-two-three inning on just seven pitches, punching out the final hitter for the exclamation point. The teams combined for just nine hits on the game, with Rochester edging Buffalo 5-to-4. The Bisons however were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position while the Red Wings were 2-for-5. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Jackson 8, Chattanooga 9 (10 innings) Box Score The top two teams in the Southern League North Division got into a slugfest on Tuesday night and it didn’t seem like either of them wanted to hold on for the win as leads changed or became tied eight times on the game. They traded jabs through the first four innings with the Jackson Generals plating single runs in the first, third, and fourth innings while Chattanooga pushed one across in the each of the first and third frames for a 3-2 score going into the bottom of the fifth. That is when the Lookouts landed the first haymaker of the bout in the form of a three-run homer off the bat of T.J. White. It was White’s fourth of the year and gave them their first lead of the game at 5-3. With the score 5-4 in the seventh, Chattanooga landed a good combo as a single, walk, and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, before another walk scored one and a single from Edgar Corcino brought in two more for an 8-4 lead. Jackson finally landed an uppercut in the top of the ninth, as a two-run triple was followed by a sac fly to tie the game at eight and leave the decision up to the scorecards of the judges (err… extra innings). Fortunately for the Lookouts, they’d still get the chance to tally a knockout in this one as a they kept the Generals from scoring with a runner starting on second base in the top of the tenth. In their half of the frame and with two outs, Jackson decided to intentionally walk Zander Wiel, and after he took second base on defensive indifference, also put Chris Paul on base. That brought up second baseman Alex Perez, and his grounder toward first base finally put the Generals on the canvas thanks to a fielding error. The teams combined for twenty-nine hits, went 9-for-39 (39!) with runners in scoring position, and left twenty-five men on base for the game. Despite the seventeen combined runs, there were still a lot punches that didn’t land. Lookouts starter Kohl Stewart also actually delivered a quality start. In six innings he allowed three runs (two earned) by scattering ten hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out six. Of his 100 pitches, 62 went for strikes including eight swings and misses. He struck out his final two hitters to finish strong. Anthony McIver picked up his third hold of the season by pitching two innings with his team out front. He allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits while striking out four. Zack Jones blew his first save of the year, but also picked up his first win in extras. He allowed three runs on two hits and struck out three in his two innings. Chattanooga’s lineup got multi-hit efforts from Nick Gordon, Paul, Brian Navarreto, and White. Paul scored three runs, White drove in three, and Perez drew three walks to lead the offense. MIRACLE MATTERS Charlotte 3, Fort Myers 6 Box Score Early season standout Tyler Wells got the start for the Miracle, and despite allowing only two runs, was able to make it only through four innings before his pitch count rose too high. That was not thanks to walks as he allowed only one on the game, but the Charlotte lineup was able to work good at-bats and chipped away with five hits against the right-hander. The first of those hits allowed came courtesy of the game’s first hitter, as Lucius Fox greeted Wells with a solo home run on his first pitch. The home team got that run back just as quickly, as Mark Contreras led off the game for Fort Myers by clubbing his first home run in the Florida State League to tie it at one. In the second inning Charlotte strung together the lone walk and a couple of singles to go up 2-1 and the score remained that way when Wells exited the game. Reliever Tom Hackimer returned from the disabled list to make his 2018 debut in the fifth inning and he pitched into the sixth. He recorded five outs, but also allowed a run on three hits and two walks. He struck out one. With two outs in the sixth, Ryan Mason came on and intentionally walked his first batter to load the bases and bring force outs all around the bases into play. It paid off, as he got a grounder to third base to end the threat and keep the Miracle within two. In the bottom of the inning Contreras added his second FSL home run, a solo shot to left-center field and Jaylin Davis later added his second of the season as well, a two-run shot to put Fort Myers out front 4-3. They would add two more runs in the eighth courtesy of a Joe Cronin double, Lewin Diaz RBI single, and an RBI ground-rule double from Taylor Grzelakowski. It was Grzelakowski’s second double of the game and sixth on the season. He finished 3-for-4 and the multi-hit night was his sixth such effort in his last twelve games. Mason finished the game for the Miracle to pick up his second win of the season. In his 3 1/3 innings he allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out three to lower his ERA on the season to 1.53. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Dayton 8 Box Score The Kernels struck early and often in this one, building up a 6-0 lead before the Dragons were able to fire back. And unfortunately for Cedar Rapids, they did so with some Khaleesi level “dracarys.” Akil Baddoo got it started for the Kernels from the words “play ball,” as he led off the game by drawing a walk. Royce Lewis followed with a slow-roller single to third base, and the throw sailed on the first baseman allowing Baddoo to make it all the way home. Lewis later scored on a Ben Rortvedt single with the bases loaded, but another run was cut down at home on the same play to end the inning. In the third Alex Kirilloff clubbed his twelfth double of the year (ranking second in the MWL) and scored on another error from the Dayton defense to make it 3-0 in Cedar Rapids favor. In the fourth it was again the top of the order that came through to break the game open. With two outs, number nine hitter Jordan Gore got the hitting started with his first double of the season. Baddoo and Lewis then followed suit, notching their first and second doubles of the year respectively, to score two. Kirilloff made it 6-0 Kernels with an RBI single before the Dragons could get out of the inning. The bottom of the fourth is when the Dayton lineup finally broke through against starter Tyler Watson. A single and a double put them on the scoreboard, and they pulled within two after a three-run homer off the bat of John Sansone. Watson came back out for the fifth and worked a scoreless inning. On the game, he allowed the four earned runs on five hits and three walks, while striking out four. Nick Brown was the first reliever summoned and pitched a scoreless sixth frame. Back out for the seventh however, it unraveled a bit for the righty out of the College of William and Mary. A hit batter and four hits, including a bases-clearing double, led to four runs on the scoreboard and an 8-6 lead for the Dragons. Moises Gomez would finish the game for Cedar Rapids with a scoreless inning. The Kernels offense put a runner in scoring position in each of their final three at-bats, but were unable to get the big hit they had gotten earlier in the game and fall to 14-12 on the season. The top three hitters in the lineup (Baddoo, Lewis, and Kirilloff) combined to go 6-for-12 with five runs scored, three walks, three doubles, and three runs batted in, but the rest of the offense finished just 4-26. They were 5-for-15 overall with runners in scoring position, leaving ten men on base. Baddoo stole his eighth base of the year, while Gore added his third and fourth. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers (W, 7 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K) Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Mark Contreras, Fort Myers Miracle (2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY 1. Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) – 2-5, 2 R, 2B (2), RBI, K 3. Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) – 2-6, R, 2 K 5. Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – 2-4, R, 2B (12), RBI, BB 7. Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 0-5, BB, K 10. Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 2-3, 2 R, 2B (1), RBI, 2 BB 13. Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 2-4, RBI 15. Mitch Garver (Minnesota) – 1-3 16. Ben Rortvedt (Cedar Rapids) – 1-5, RBI, 2 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (12:05PM CST) – LHP Dietrich Enns (1-3, 4.50 ERA) Jackson @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) – RHP Omar Bencomo (1-0, 2.01 ERA) Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (0-3, 5.14 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (6:00PM CST) – RHP Bailey Ober (0-1, 19.29 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! Click here to view the article

Romero's got four pitches as far as I can tell: 4-seamer 2-seamer Slider Changeup I'm actually not all concerned about his changeup coming in that fast because it's got a bunch more drop on it than his 2-seamer. From what I've seen, he controls that changeup down in the zone well, and his 2-seamer is almost a riser with the arm-side run he gets. If he starts leaving changeups up in the zone they'll get hammered at that speed, but I haven't seen that issue yet.

Not at all the intent of that response! Very tongue in cheek. That's the wink. I don't disagree with you at all, as stated. I apologize that it came off like that.

Next year is a little aggressive for me. Setting expectations a little high as he still needs a ton of work to stick as a shortstop.

All I can respond with is I write the report! haha I don't actually disagree with you from an individual perspective, and is why I still included Gonsalves as an honorable mention. But a no-hitter is a big deal, and I often reward multiple pitchers/players if the story warrants it

There wasn’t much hitting throughout the system on this day as the affiliates combined for just seventeen hits in their four games, but there were plenty of solid pitching performances that kept all of them close. Those pitchers were led by a top prospect who improved to 3-0 on the year with a season high in Ks, and an unheralded reliever who deserves to start getting some serious attention as he continues to put up impressive numbers.Keep reading find out how all your Minnesota Twins prospects performed in Tuesday’s games! TRANSACTIONS Early in the afternoon the option of Alan Busenitz to Rochester and the recall of Tyler Duffey to the Twins bullpen was made official. RED WINGS REPORT Gwinnett 5, Rochester 2 Box Score Red Wings starter Myles Jaye was able to scatter five hits and two walks through the game's first four innings, but the Braves finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth thanks to another walk and two singles to take a 1-0 lead. In total for his five innings, Jaye allowed just the one run on seven hits and three walks while striking out four. Rochester tied the game in the bottom of the sixth as they were able to take advantage of an error by left fielder and top prospect Ronald Acuna. Gregorio Petit scored that run after leading off the inning with a single. In the top of the seventh however, the Braves took back control of the game, putting up four runs against reliever Ryne Harper. Harper had pitched a one-two-three sixth inning but walks to Jose Bautista and Acuna leading off the seventh led to surrendering a grand slam a few hitters later, and a 5-1 Gwinnett lead they would not relinquish. The lineup for the Red Wings would make the final 5-2 in the ninth, but managed just two hits to go along with five walks on the game. They were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left only five men on base in dropping to 6-9 on the season. In an otherwise forgettable game, one positive to mention is the pitching of the aforementioned reliever Nick Anderson. He finished the game for the home team with two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four. After a beyond-stellar MiLB career thus far before reaching AAA this season, Anderson has allowed only one run on six hits and three walks in nine innings while striking out 13. His age prevents him from getting much notice as a prospect (he will turn 28 in July), but Anderson (also #OneOfUs) continues to put up numbers that are hard to ignore. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Jackson 1 Box Score The Lookouts got on the board in the first inning thanks to a Nick Gordon single that was followed by the seventh double on the season from Zander Wiel. In the second inning Brian Navarreto launched his first home run of the season for the early 2-0 lead. Stephen Gonsalves got the start for Chattanooga and a walk to lead off the second inning turned the score to 2-1 when he allowed a two-out double. But It would remain that way until Gonsalves exited the game after five strong innings. His pitch count did climb to 91 pitches, as he struck out nine Generals hitters. Of those pitches, 60 went for strikes including 12 of the swing and miss variety. He struck out two hitters in each of the second, third, and fifth innings, and the side in the fourth. His ERA on the year held steady after the outing at 1.77. Zack Jones pitched a scoreless sixth inning, striking out three around a leadoff single and a walk. Tyler Jay made his return from the disabled list in the seventh and recorded two quick outs before an error on a grounder to second base that was followed by a single put a runner in scoring position. Jay buckled down and got another ground ball to end the threat and keep the Lookouts up 2-1. Todd Van Steensel was summoned from the bullpen in the eighth, and finished the game for Chattanooga, picking up his first save of the season along the way. In his two innings he walked one and struck out two. Gordon led the offense with a 2-for-4 night including a run scored and his third triple. He was also caught stealing and picked off third base on the basepaths. Wiel and LaMonte Wade both finished 1-3 with a walk in the victory that put the Lookouts above .500 on the year. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Clearwater 3 Box Score Fort Myers also took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning and were up 2-1 after three in this one, but unlike their AA brothers, they were unable to hold on for the victory. They scored first after the newly promoted Mark Contreras drew a walk to start the game and came around on the double from Joe Cronin that followed. In the second inning a double from Contreras scored Jared Foster, who had singled earlier to account for Chattanooga’s two runs on the game. Starting pitcher Anthony Marzi was effective for five innings, allowing only one earned run on four hits and one walk with six strikeouts, but one of those hits was a solo home run in the second and an error in the fourth allowed Clearwater to tie the game at two before Marzi exited the game. Ryan Mason kept the score that way until the ninth inning, when a one-out solo home run walked it off for the Threshers. Mason had set down all ten hitters he’d faced to that point, including five strikeouts so any second guessing of a manager doesn’t really hold up. 25 of Mason’s 31 pitches went for strikes, including eight swing-and-misses. On offense the Lookouts got another double from third baseman Nelson Molina, but just two other hits to go along with 12 strikeouts as a team. They were hitless in eight plate appearances with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Burlington 1, Cedar Rapids 3 Box Score The Bees and Kernels combined for just nine hits on the game, but luckily for the home team they were able to take advantage of their scoring opportunities. Singles from Ben Rortvedt and Ben Rodriguez got a one-out rally started in the second inning, and a sac fly from Jean Carlos Arias and a Shane Carrier double put them out front 2-0 early. From there, starter Edwar Colina kept the sting of Burlington at bay with some old-fashioned wildness. In five innings, he threw 79 pitches with just 37 going for strikes (47%). Despite that, he retired the last ten hitters he faced and allowed just two hits and three walks to go along with four strikeouts in picking up his first win of the year. Jose Martinez pitched the next two innings, allowing the only Bees' run to score on a balk in the sixth inning. He gave up a single and walked two while picking up two Ks. Kevin Marnon picked up his first save of the year by finishing with two scoreless innings allowing one hit and striking out two. The Kernels offense was led by Rodriguez, who finished the game 2-for-3 with a run scored. Royce Lewis picked up the final RBI with a single in the eighth inning in a 1-for-4 night and stole his fourth base. Akil Baddoo drew two walks, scored a run, and stole his fourth base. As a team Cedar Rapids went 2-4 with runners in scoring position while the Bees finished 1-9. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Chattanooga Lookouts (W, 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 9 K) Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Nick Gordon, Chattanooga Lookouts (2-4, R, 3B) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY 1. Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) – 1-4, RBI, SB (4) 3. Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) – 2-4, R, 3B (3), CS (2) 4. Stephen Gonsalves (Chattanooga) – W (3-0), 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 9 K’s 5. Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, BB, K 7. Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 0-4, 2 K’s 10. Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 0-2, R, 2 BB, SB (4) 13. Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 0-4 14. LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) – 1-3, BB 15. Mitch Garver (Minnesota) – 1-4, K 16. Ben Rortvedt (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, R 17. Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 1-3, BB, K 19. Tyler Jay (Chattanooga) – Hold (2), 1.0 IP, H WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Gwinnett @ Rochester (10:05AM CST) – LHP Adalberto Mejia (0-0, 5.63 ERA) Chattanooga @ Jackson (11:05AM CST) – RHP Randy LeBlanc (2-1, 1.69 ERA) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (11:00AM CST) – LHP Tyler Wells (2-0, 1.29 ERA) Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – LHP Tyler Watson (1-0, 1.08 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! Click here to view the article

Love to see Wade, Gordon, and Kirilloff all starting off well! Just some minor editing: Littell's Top Prospect recap is from his prior start, not this one He's an all-star if he slugs .450, so heck yeah that would be awesome!

Yup, your walking with RISP idea was the basis for why I looked at that data. And I asked a similar "Joe Mauer Moments" question because I have had the same observations. I don't have the patience to look up his 'game-winning hits' total, but I know he only has 2 walk-off hits in his career. Randball wrote on this last September: http://www.startribune.com/analysis-why-does-joe-mauer-have-only-one-career-walk-off-hit/328056491/ Interesting note in there, is Kurt Suzuki had 9 walk-off hits in his career to that point. Again, not a knock at all on Mauer (I think we all know how good of a hitter he is), just some #FunWithNumbers stuff that points to the ideas myself and others have presented.

Wow, I totally missed that! The game log has the play as this: "Patrick Leonard singles on a line drive to left fielder Nick Buss. Kevan Smith out at home, third baseman Jermaine Curtis. Daniel Palka to 2nd."

Yup, and this is exactly why I'm taking into account the individual hitting ability of Joe Mauer in my comments for these situations. I'd expect his to be even higher individually, but a walk takes that advantage away. Not at all ragging on Mauer, he's a great hitter as I've said several times now. Just for some #FunWithNumbers, anyone know how many times Mauer has delivered a walk-off hit in his career? Game-winning hits? I wonder if those totals would surprise you.

Don't take it personal I've had this discussion many times. I want my best hitter in that situation to be that best hitter, that's all this is getting at. It's my opinion, and that statement is not meant to discourage any other discussion.

Fun part about evaluating your idea here, is you can actually throw some Run Expectancy stuff at it, and your "chance to score even more runs since more guys are on base" comment is, well, not actually true. Straight from Tom Tango, and tables for "the chance that a run will score at some point in the inning, from each base/out state": With 2-outs and a runner on 2B, chance to score a run is: 0.216. With 2-outs and runners on 1B and 2B, chance to score a run is: 0.222. Basically, it doesn't affect that chance to score runs at all. When you take into account Mauer's hitting ability, individually, to that situation you're not going to convince me passing it on to the next guy is the better option. That's what my "I'll always argue I want him to be more aggressive in "clutch" situations. He's too good of a hitter to leave it to the next guy if he gets a hittable pitch" comment gets at.

I actually found my data, I recalled incorrectly. It was a comparison to the primary #3 hitter of each team

Interesting spin on this topic, which is one I researched myself about 3 years ago, though in a different way. Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't define Mauer as "clutch," but I would call him "not as clutch as you'd expect for a hitter of his caliber." My research was based on what I called "RBI percentage." Pretty simple: how many guys had he driven in divided by how many possible runners had he had to drive in (including himself with a HR). I compared him to the primary 1B #3 hitter of every team at the time from the prior season and the results for him were decidedly... (drum roll) ... below average. If I remember correctly he barely slotted in front of Adam Dunn, who barely hit above the Mendoza line that year. Easy to explain, and also correlates easy to the idea and data you present here: Mauer just doesn't alter his approach in those situations. He'll take your walk and leave it up to the next guy. I'll always argue I want him to be more aggressive in "clutch" situations. He's too good of a hitter to leave it to the next guy if he gets a hittable pitch. Granted, that doesn't always happen. But it's my observation and my data and yours, whether you believe it or not, says so (in my opinion). Good stuff! Edit: I found my data, it wasn't 1B-man, it was the primary #3 hitter for each team.

As the Midwest waits for this mythical season called “Spring” to arrive, Cedar Rapids did not play for the fourth day in a row. But unlike yesterday, all four teams were scheduled to play and the other three got their games in. The big news came from Double A on this night, as a sleeper starting pitcher prospect tossed a gem, and a sleeper hitter walked it off in the ninth.To find out how all your other favorite Minnesota Twins prospects fared on Tuesday night, read on! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Charlotte 5 Box Score The Red Wings jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the games first two innings but were unable to muster any offense after that in falling to 4-4 on the season. Zack Granite led off the game by reaching on an error and would come around to score on a double off the bat of Jake Cave. In the second inning, a Jermaine Curtis walk was followed by a double from Nick Buss to put runners on second and third, and an RBI groundout from Willians Astudillo and sac fly from Gregorio Petit put Rochester up 3-0. Starter Dietrich Enns wiggled out of trouble for the game’s first three innings, but in the fourth the Stone Crabs struck for four runs and took the lead. Enns allowed five singles and a walk in the inning before being lifted in favor of D.J. Baxendale. In his 3 1/3 innings, Enns allowed the four runs on seven hits and four walks. He did strike out four. Baxendale finished 2 2/3 strong innings getting the Red Wings to the seventh. He allowed three hits and struck out four. Nick Anderson finished the final two frames, allowing an insurance run in the eight on a solo home run. He struck out two. Buss collected three of the Red Wings five hits in the loss, finishing 3-for-3 on the night with a run scored and the double. The offense left only three men on base for the game and finished 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Jacksonville 2, Chattanooga 3 Box Score The Lookouts offense also struck first in this one thanks to the bat of T.J. White. His third home run of the season in the second inning put Chattanooga out front 1-0. Besides that, it was the Zack Littell show until the fourth inning as he retired nine of the first 10 hitters he faced. In the fourth, consecutive singles to start the frame and a two-out double would tie the game at one. In the bottom half of the fourth, the Lookouts took back the lead when Nick Gordon led off the inning with his first home run of the year to right-center field. Littell would leave the game in the sixth after retiring the first two hitters of the inning. In his 5 2/3 innings he allowed just the one earned run on three hits and a walk, while striking out eight. Of his 91 pitches, 59 went for strikes including 15 swinging (an excellent 25.4% percentage). Left-hander Anthony McIver came on to record the final out of the sixth and would add a scoreless seventh. He allowed two hits, walked two, and struck out one. Todd Van Steensel came on for the eighth inning and worked around a double with two strikeouts to keep the 2-1 lead intact for Chattanooga. The Lookouts stuck with Van Steensel in the ninth and it...got pretty interesting. A triple to the leadoff man put the games tying run only 90-feet away, then a hit batter put the go-ahead run on base with no outs. A squeeze play tied the game at two and was followed by flyout for the second out, but another hit batter then an errant throw on a pickoff attempt put the runners on second and third. Steensel was able to recover and picked up a K to end the inning, but Chattanooga would now have to walk it off if they wanted to go above .500. They did just that when Zander Wiel clubbed his first home run of the season in the bottom half. I said this when Chattanooga’s first lineup of the season was announced: And Wiel is now hitting .400/.462/.571 on the year, has a nine game hitting streak, and has collected two or more hits in five of those games. The Lookouts got two hits from leadoff man LaMonte Wade and a double from Chris Paul to account for almost all the rest of their offense. As a team they only had one plate appearance with a runner in scoring position and left only three men on base in the victory. After blowing the save, Steensel improved to 2-1 on the year in four appearances. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Dunedin 5 Box Score The Blue Jays jumped on Miracle starter Sean Poppen for four runs in the bottom of the first inning to jump out to a big early lead and would not look back. Two singles, two doubles, and a hit batter led to those runs and were aided by an error on outfielder Taylor Grzelakowski. Poppen settled in from there and finished three more scoreless innings. In total he allowed four earned runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out five. Of his 75 pitches, 49 went for strikes (including eight swinging strikes). In the bottom of the fifth inning Hector Lujan was brought in from the bullpen and had a one-two-three inning. Back out for the sixth, consecutive singles to start the inning were followed by a two-out double that added an insurance run for Dunedin and gave them a 5-0 lead. When the Dunedin bullpen came into play in the seventh inning, the Fort Myers lineup was finally able to string enough hits together to get on the scoreboard. Doubles from Joe Cronin and Alex Perez got the inning started, a groundout from Nelson Molina scored one, and a sac fly from Aaron Whitefield scored the second. Lefthander Andrew Vasquez came on in the bottom of the inning and retired the Blue Jays in order, striking out two along the way. In the eighth, Vasquez walked the leadoff man and he got as far as third base, but three consecutive groundouts ended the threat. Down 5-2, the Miracle were unable to mount a threat in the ninth, going down in order including two strikeouts to end the game. The offense was led by Jaylin Davis who had two doubles, and Cronin who finished 2-3 with a walk and a run scored. Fort Myers was just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base for the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (PPD – Inclement Weather) The Kernels game with the Snappers was postponed on Tuesday due to a Winter Storm Warning in Eastern Iowa. The game will be made up on Thursday in a doubleheader. Cedar Rapids now has not played a game in four days and will look to get back to their winning ways on Wednesday provided the Spring weather cooperates, STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Zack Littell, Chattanooga Lookouts (5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, BB, 8 K) Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Zander Wiel, Chattanooga Lookouts (1-4, walk-off HR) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY 3. Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) – 1-4, HR (1), RBI 7. Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 0-4, 2 K’s 11. Zack Littell (Chattanooga) – 5.2 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 8 K 13. Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 0-4, K 14. LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) – 2-4 17. Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 0-4, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Charlotte (6:05PM CST) – RHP Myles Jaye (0-0, 4.76 ERA) Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (4:15PM CST – Game 1) – RHP Randy LeBlanc (1-1, 2.70 ERA) Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (makeup of 4/16 PPD) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30PM CST) – LHP Anthony Marzi (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:30PM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! Click here to view the article

Since it has been so consistent across the board for Twins MiLB starters so far this year, in addition to Seth's thoughts, I imagine their may be a new process in place when it comes to pitch counts early in the season. Don't fire all your bullets early type thing. If so, I'm in favor. Could also be nothing.

Wiel is very interesting for sure! Look at his season lines and nothing will really standout until you look at them in aggregate. He fills up every category with respectable totals, and he's going to do damage this year with the group in front of him.