Steve Lein

I made it a point to mention him in the explanation of my vote that I provided, but sorry, 14.2 innings in the system isn't enough to get my vote. This is a Twins organizational award, not a Diamondbacks one. Bard didn't make my list because K's aren't everything. His total was awesome, but his ERA and WHIP say he wasn't better at keeping runners off the bases or from scoring than anybody else in the Top 5. He wasn't particularly close in the scope of relievers if you ask me, either. He did have a very stellar season though, I'm not taking that away from him - he was in consideration. I wouldn't put it past him to prove you right on the BABIP and peripherals things in the future either, but this vote wasn't about that for me. It was about who got the job done the best.

I don't think Baddoo's in the top 100 conversation, usually rookie level numbers have little effect on that. Perform in Cedar Rapids though, and he'll start earning more time/looks from evaluators and you never know. Lots of Rooker votes in the poll, and I agree that he's deserving (I think he's going to be recognized more than expected next week in our Award series), but this is Baddoo's award. I think the .504 OBP ends that conversation on its own. That's incredible!

Santana or Berrios would be my choices. But they have to get there first, so I don't necessarily think you swap the rotation at this point to put one of them in line for it. That's what you do when you know you'll be there. (and since I now see the full article, I realize you've made that point as well).

The Salary thing is easy: You don't "re-sign" him. I'm certain that rule only applies to contracts replacing a currently valid one, i.e.: an extension (if that is even is a rule? I don't see that anywhere). If he goes to FA his minimum salary is not going to be $18.4MIL that a team could offer him - the market dictates everything there.

If I'm making the decisions, I'm definitely adding Thorpe.

That's because there is nothing like Townball here in Minnesota

There were just two playoff games in the system on Tuesday night, and both were affected in different ways by rain. In the Appalachian League Elizabethton’s series' deciding game three with Greeneville was postponed, pushing the rubber match back another day. Fort Myers and the Florida State League had the added worry of impending weather that led to an announcement affecting their playoffs.In the actual game that was played on Tuesday, a late season addition to their roster and standout did all he could for Fort Myers, but was it enough? TRANSACTIONS With the Rochester Red Wings missing out on the International League wild card due to the tiebreaker, a few familiar reinforcements were brought up for the major league club. In 40-man moves, JT Chargois was recalled and placed on 60-day DL to clear a spot for reliever Michael Tonkin, who has been inconsistent with the Twins but nothing short of extraordinary with the Red Wings (2.41 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 180 K’s in 160.1 career Triple-A innings; 1.73 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 61 K’s in 41.2 IP this year). Robbie Grossman was also brought back up with Dietrich Enns being optioned to AA Chattanooga. For the Lookouts Nelson Molina, Keaton Steele and Joe Cronin were assigned to Fort Myers, with reliever Alex Muren moving up from the Miracle for their playoff series starting tomorrow. In the Florida State League, Eduardo Del Rosario was placed on the 7-day disabled list with a left oblique strain and infielder Ariel Montesino was sent down to Cedar Rapids. In a somewhat surprising move given he was a big-bonus-baby, infielder Amaurys Minier was released from the Kernels. MIRACLE MATTERS Palm Beach 3, Fort Myers 2 Box Score In interesting, and maybe somewhat surprising (or unsurprising given all the weather havoc lately) news before their game was started, it was announced that the Florida State League would not play their Championship Series due to the impending risk of Hurricane Irma bearing down on the panhandle. What that means for the Fort Myers Miracle, is that if they can win their Division Series with Palm Beach, they will be crowned as co-FSL Champions. Tonight’s opening game was also delayed by some rain at the start time, but they were able to get it in. With that, onto game one of their playoff series! The Fort Myers offense took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning when Brandon Lopez delivered a one-out triple for their first hit of the game. Brent Rooker was up next and drove him in with a single and the early 1-0 lead. Left-hander Lewis Thorpe got the nod for the Miracle and held the Cardinals scoreless for the first two innings, striking out two along the way. In the third inning Thorpe wasn’t able to work around a one-out triple, and the Cardinals got on the board to tie it at one. Thorpe worked two more scoreless innings to finish his day with the game tied. In five innings he allowed the one run on six hits and two walks while striking out five. Thorpe did run up his pitch count with 91 pitches (56 for strikes) in his five innings, perhaps making manager Doug Mientkiewicz quicker to go to his bullpen, but a solid start kept his team in it. Regular season stud Andrew Vasquez came on for the sixth inning and walked the first man he faced, putting the go-ahead run on. A fielder’s choice grounder, single, and strikeout led to runners on first and second and Mientkiewicz went to Tyler Jay to try to get the final out of the inning. On a 3-1 count, the Cardinals Thomas Spitz sent a deep fly ball to center field that Tanner English couldn’t quite catch up to, and it ended up driving in two for a 3-1 Palm Beach lead. Miracle play-by-play guy Spencer Siegel remarked on the broadcast that it would have been a long fly out on several other nights, but the lack of wind in Fort Myers was a curse on this one. Spitz finished the game 3-4 to lead the Palm Beach attack. Jay got the final out of the inning with a K, and remained in the game for the next two innings. He kept the score at 3-1 in that time, allowing two hits and a walk and racking up three K’s. In the bottom of the eighth the Miracle started a rally with singles from Sean Miller and Lopez to start the inning. This brought up Rooker with a chance to take the lead with a single swing of the bat, as he’s been known to do in his short time with Fort Myers. He didn’t quite do that, but did deliver a sac fly to close the lead to one run. Zander Wiel then drew a walk to put the tying runner in scoring position, but Mitchell Kranson and Jermaine Palacios both went down on strikes to end the threat. Sam Clay came on for the ninth and delivered a one-two-three inning to bring the Miracle up to bat down just one in the opening game of the series. Chris Paul was the leadoff man in the bottom of the ninth but grounded out for the first out, and a Jaylin Davis fly ball was run down by the center fielder for out number two and brought up number nine hitter English as their last hope. He delivered with a two-out double to make it interesting for leadoff man Miller, but his looping line drive to left didn’t loop quite enough and found the glove of the defender to end the game. The Miracle go down 1-0 in the three-game series, which will be condensed with a do-or-die double-header starting at 4:00PM CST Wednesday afternoon. Of note in the game, is all three runs for the Cardinals were scored with two outs and the Miracle were unable to take advantage of their opportunities. They were just 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Lopez (2-4, R, 3B) and English (2-4, 2 2B’s) each had two hits for the Miracle, and Rooker had both RBI. E-TWINS E-NOTES Greeneville @ Elizabethton – Postponed (Rain) Unfortunately for the E-Twins, rains on the East coast again played havoc with their scheduled game on Tuesday. They lost game one 3-2 on Sunday afternoon after Saturday’s postponement, then evened the best of three series with a 14-7 win on Monday. They’ll look to advance to the Appalachian League Championship Series with a victory Wednesday night. Right-hander Edward Colina gets the starting nod for Elizabethton in the deciding game. Both the Chattanooga Lookouts and Cedar Rapids Kernels will start their playoff series on Wednesday in what will be a fun day in the system. Stay tuned here at Twins Daily for all the action! WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Montgomery @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST), Game 1 of 5 game series – RHP Zack Littell (19-1, 2.12 ERA on season) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (4:00PM CST), Game 2 of 3 game series – RHP Sean Poppen (9-4, 3.17 ERA on season) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach, Game 3 (if necessary) – TBD Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST), Game 1 of 3 game series – RHP Tyler Wells (5-5, 3.03 ERA on season) Greeneville @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST), Game 3 of 3 game series – RHP Edwar Colina (3-5, 3.34 ERA on season) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the Miracle’s loss on Tuesday as they look to take the doubleheader tomorrow for all the Florida State League marbles! Click here to view the article

Where'd you play townball, Matt? Class B and C state tournaments just wrapped up at three stadiums part of the league (Crow River Valley; Norwood, Green Isle, Hamburg) I spent 13 years playing in.

Love everything discussed here. My favorite beat writers are Phil Miller and Rhett Bollinger. Might be because they've bought me beers on occasion, but that has nothing to do with the content they put out. All the names listed here provide quality Twins content and differing perspectives. I don't read much of Souhan or Reusse anymore, but I have agreed with their takes and enjoyed many of their articles over the years. All these guys have a place in the Twins reading community, and you'll find something to like about everyone, even if it's only like 5% of it/them. All that said, don't undersell what Twins Daily has become! This is the best site out there, and I honestly believe there are several other places that have tried to emulate what is done here, to varying results. That's a sign you're doing pretty well! I'm grateful to be a part of it and the community at large!

I agree. The 0.00 ERA is a nice thing to hang a hat on, but I can't ignore those K #'s for Moran! Congrats to all on their great months though, a lot of guys could have won it!

The numbers don't line up in talking about the Rule 5 draft when considering who they will leave off and need to add to protect. I think the Twins are going to lose someone, or even a couple. It depends if you care that those names are Jake Reed, Nick Burdi, and/or Derek Rodriguez (I add Thorpe before him).

I would say yes. Only reason he's not a top 10 prospect right now is because he missed two seasons. He was brilliant before then, and I should know. I went to see him back then, and interviewed him: http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/color-me-and-joe-mauer-impressed-r2962 Love that he's back and pitching well!

It’s not often that a team down seven runs comes back to win a game, but that’s just what happened in Cedar Rapids on Thursday night. Who played the hero? In addition to that epic comeback, one left-handed starting pitching prospect fanned a career high number of batters in his start, a hitter was a single shy of a cycle, and several others had big offensive games. One affiliate even clinched their second division title of the year.To find out how all of your favorite prospects fared on Thursday night, keep reading! TRANSACTIONS With rosters ready to expand in the majors for September, there was a flurry of transactions on Thursday throughout the system. In AAA, the Red Wings received 1B Jonathan Rodriguez and IF Ryan Walker from the Lookouts, in addition to pitcher Michael Kohn from Fort Myers. In Chattanooga, the Lookouts received 2B Nelson Molina from Fort Myers. To replace their players on the move, Fort Myers received 3B Joe Cronin and RHP Eduardo Del Rosario from Cedar Rapids. In the Midwest League, Amaurys Minier was activated from the disabled list and the same for RHP Calvin Faucher with Elizabethton. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 1 Box Score The Red Wings offense outhit the RailRiders 11-4 on Thursday, providing plenty of run support for starter David Hurlbut to pick up his tenth win of the year. Hurlbut tossed 6.1 innings, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out five. His run allowed came in the first inning to put Scranton/WB up 1-0 early, as a walk to a rehabbing Matt Holliday was followed by an RBI double (runner was thrown out at third base for the third out). After allowing a leadoff single in the second, Hurlbut retired the next thirteen in a row into the sixth inning. Rochester took the lead in the fourth inning as Matt Hague led off with a single and scored on a Daniel Palka triple to tie it at one. Then it was an RBI single from Byungho Park and RBI double from Anthony Recker that put them up by two. The offense added two more insurance runs in the sixth inning thanks to an RBI double from Leonardo Reginatto and sac fly from Recker for the final score of 5-1. Hague (2-5, R), Palka (2-3, R, 3B, RBI, 2 BBs), Park (2-5, R, RBI), and Recker (2-3, 2B, RBI, BB) all had multiple hits. In relief of Hurlbut, Drew Rucinski and Michael Tonkin combined to retire all eight hitters they faced to end the game. Rucinski went 1.2 innings and struck out two, while Tonkin went one-two-three in the ninth to wrap up the victory. With the win, the Red Wings hold a two game lead on the wild card over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, with four games left to play. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Montgomery 2, Chattanooga 11 Box Score It took a little while for the Lookout’s lineup to turn it on, but when they did they turned it up to eleven (literally). Leading 3-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, they piled on five runs to break the game open. The biggest hit was a three-run bomb from Nick Gordon, his ninth of the season to make it 6-2, before T.J. White added a two-run home run of his own for an 8-2 lead. In the eighth, a bases-loaded walk to Brian Navaretto and two-RBI single from Edgar Corcino made the final tally of eleven runs for the home team. White had three hits, falling just a single short of the cycle in a big day when he also scored three runs. Gordon (2-5, R, HR, 3 RBI), Corcino (2-4, 3 RBI), and Alex Perez (2-3, 3 R’s, BB) each had two hits, while Navaretto was 1-1 with a run scored and two walks on the day. As a team they were 4-11 with runners in scoring position, and left just five men on base after collecting eleven hits and five walks. Making the start for Chattanooga was Zack Littell, and he improved to 5-0 with the Lookouts and an incredible 19-1 overall on the season by going the first six innings. He allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks while striking out four. He lowered his ERA to below 3.00 with the Twins organization in the process. In relief, Anthony McIver went two scoreless frames, allowing two hits and striking out two. Nick Anderson finished the game with a one-two-three inning, striking out two. With the win, the Lookouts are the Southern League North Division Champions in the second half of the season after also winning the first half. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Jupiter 3 (11 innings) Box Score Starter Lewis Thorpe put together an excellent start for the Miracle, but they were unable to pull out a victory on Thursday night as the offense managed just two runs. Thorpe pitched seven innings just three days after pitching an inning in Monday’s game in preparation for the playoffs. He struck out a career high eleven batters, including the side in the fourth inning and all three outs in the fifth. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk in his best outing of the season. He left the game down 2-1, but got the no-decision when the Miracle tied the game at two in the top of the ninth to send it to extra innings. Down 1-0 in the top of the sixth, the Miracle finally got on the scoreboard when Tanner English led off the inning with a double and later scored on a single from Brandon Lopez. Thorpe gave the Hammerheads the lead right back in the bottom half, as his errant pickoff throw put a runner in scoring position and scored on a single for the 2-1 lead. In the top of the ninth, the Miracle were handed a big chance to take the lead for good, but managed to score just one run to tie it. Lopez led off the frame with a walk, and consecutive errors by the pitcher on sacrifice bunt attempts loaded the bases with nobody out. Zander Wiel’s sac fly tied it at two and was followed by an infield single to again load the bases, but a force out at home and fly out from the next two batters snuffed out the go-ahead threat. Williams Ramirez came on for Thorpe in the eighth, and got them through the ninth with two perfect innings, striking out two. Andrew Vasquez came on in the tenth and had a one-two-three inning, but the eleventh started off with a bunt single that included a throwing error from Wiel to put the winning run on second base. Vasquez walked the next batter to put the force out into play then got the next two hitters out, but wasn’t able to get the third as a single brought in the walk-off run for Jupiter. Collecting multiple hits for the Miracle were Lopez (2-5, R, RBI, BB) and Jaylin Davis (2-5), but they had just six hits as a team, were 2-9 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Burlington 8, Cedar Rapids 9 (10 innings) Box Score Cedar Rapids fell behind 8-1 in the early going as starter Tyler Wells was knocked around in just two-plus innings, but stormed back into the game with a big offensive outburst of their own that would end up pushing the game to extra innings. Wells allowed runs in each of the three innings he came out for, but wasn’t able to record an out in the third and was charged with all eight Burlington runs. In 2+ innings pitched, Wells allowed those runs on ten hits and one walk, and racked up 76 pitches in the process. Logan Lombana came on in relief in the third and shut down the Bees for three innings. He allowed three hits and struck out two before the Kernels offense popped in the bottom of the fifth. Travis Blankenhorn led off the inning with a double to set the stage, and Caleb Hamilton drove him in with an RBI single for the first run of the inning. Shane Carrier then clubbed his seventh home run with Cedar Rapids to make it 8-4 before three consecutive singles scored another and left even more ducks on the pond. Aaron Whitefield drove in one with a double to make it 8-6, before Blankenhorn bookended the inning with a two-RBI single to tie the game at eight. After Lombana was done, relievers Ryan Mason and Colton Davis combined for four shutout innings to bring the game into extra frames. They each pitched two innings, allowed one hit, and struck out three. The only difference in their lines was Mason also walked one. Patrick McGuff came on in the tenth and made it interesting, but got out of the inning without allowing a run to set up his offense for the win. Jordan Gore started the bottom half with a single and moved into scoring position on a passed ball with Whitefield in the batter’s box. He took advantage, walking it off for Cedar Rapids with his second double of the game. Each hitter in the Kernels lineup had at least one hit, with five collecting two or more. Whitefield and Blankenhorn each had two doubles and drove in two. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 0, Kingsport 8 Box Score Elizabethton’s offense managed just four hits on the game against the Mets, going 0-3 with runners in scoring position and leaving just three men on base in the shutout loss. Wander Javier led the offense by going 1-4 with a double. Akil Baddoo, Jose Miranda, and Andrew Bechtold collected the other three hits, all singles. Starter Moises Gomez matched the zeroes of Kingsport’s pitcher for the first three innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three, but the bullpen combo of Blair Lakso and Rickey Ramirez had a rough day. They both allowed four earned runs, with Lakso’s coming in 2.2 innings and Ramirez’s in 1.1. They each allowed four hits total. Lakso struck out two and Ramirez one in those innings. Jared Finkel pitched a Snapper-mow-em-down eighth inning, striking out the side to finish the game for E-town. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Rays 2, GCL Twins 8 Box Score The Twins struck first in the third inning, taking the lead 3-0 after a two-RBI double from Jared Akins and an RBI single from Jean Carlos Arias to start the game’s scoring. They tacked on three more runs in the fifth after loading bases with nobody out for Benjamin Rodriguez. He brought in one with a single, then Taylor Grzelakowski and Victor Tademo each added sac flies for the 6-1 lead. In the seventh inning the Twins capped their scoring as Grzelakowski slugged his first professional home run, a two-run shot to make the final score of 8-2. The top five hitters in the lineup (Akins, Ricky De La Torre, Arias, Rodriguez, Grzelakowski) all collected two hits and scored at least one run on the game. Ricky De La Torre had a double as part of his two hits. On the mound for the Twins in this one was Jordan Balazovic, and he went the first 4.2 innings. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks while striking out four. Joe Rosenstein got the next two outs, but allowed one run on a hit and a walk. Derek Molina pitched two scoreless innings from there, allowing two hits and striking out three. Austin Bizzle finished out the game with 1.2 scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and struck out two. The Twins improved to 34-22 on the season with the victory, and are just one game back of the best record in the Gulf Coast League. They have clinched the South Division title. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Lewis Thorpe, Fort Myers Miracle (7.0 IP, ER, 5 H’s, BB, 11 K’s) Hitter(s) of the Day – T.J. White, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-5, 3 R’s, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI) FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (14-4, 3.37 ERA) Montgomery @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30PM CST) – LHP Anthony Marzi (0-0, -.-- ERA) Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (2-0, 3.00 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox, Game 1 (10:00AM CST) – TBD GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins, Game 2 – TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! Click here to view the article

Well, when this is happening: Or this (from last night) (this from last week vs. White Sox): I'm not sure you can fault Garver very much for anything that got by...

I have to admit, Tuesday’s minor league report was a lot less fun to write than last Friday’s was, when Twins affiliates combined to go 6-0. That’s because they flipped that record to 0-5 for this one. The only thing keeping them from completely flipping that to six, was because Rochester’s game with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre was suspended due to rain in the fourth inning. That was unfortunate too, as one of their hitters put himself in line for the player of the day award for the second day in a row to that point.To find out just how unlucky Twins affiliates were on Tuesday night, read on...at your own risk. TRANSACTIONS There were several transactions that were made official before the games on Tuesday. Nik Turley was optioned back to Rochester after the doubleheader yesterday. In AA, Kohl Stewart was put on the 7-day disabled list with left-knee tendinitis just a day after officially rejoining the Lookouts roster. Alex Muren was called up from Fort Myers and pitched in their game last night. Sam Clay was returned to Fort Myers. In Cedar Rapids, Christian Caveness was placed on the disabled list with a blood clot in his right shoulder. (Get well soon!) To take his roster spot Shane Kennedy was brought up from the Gulf Coast League. In the Appalachian League, Christian Broussard was activated from the DL and made the start last night. RED WINGS REPORT Scranton/WB 4, Rochester 4 (Suspended in top of fourth inning) Box Score Rain suspended the Red Wings game on Tuesday in the top of the fourth inning. The RailRiders had scored two runs in the first two innings to account for their runs, including two solo home runs off starter Aaron Slegers. Byungho Park accounted for all four of Rochester’s runs, with an RBI single in the first and a three run home run in the third. The game will be completed tomorrow before their regularly scheduled game. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Mississippi 6, Chattanooga 5 Box Score Starting for the Lookouts was Dereck Rodriguez, and he made it into the sixth inning before he was chased. In 5.2 innings the Braves scored five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks. He allowed a solo home run and struck out two. Randy Rosario came on in relief with two outs in the sixth and promptly gave up a triple to score two inherited runners. He allowed a run of his own in the seventh and in total allowed four hits while picking up two K’s in 1.1 innings. Alex Muren finished the game with two scoreless frames. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out two of his own. Chattanooga made a late comeback, getting to 6-5 in the bottom of the eighth, but couldn’t get the big hit to put them over the top. With the bases loaded in the seventh after three walks and a catcher interference play that allowed one to score, they were able to push just one other runner across on a double-play ball before LaMonte Wade flew out to end the threat. In the eighth, a solo home run from T.J. White got it to 6-5, and two more walks put the tying run in scoring position, but it wasn’t meant to be. Edgar Corcino (2-5, R, HR, RBI) and White (3-4, 2 R’s, 2B, HR, RBI) led the offense with multiple hits. Andy Wilkins had a double in four trips to the plate and Nick Gordon singled and picked up an RBI by drawing a bases-loaded walk. Levi Michael and Brian Navarreto each drew two walks. As a team the Lookouts were just 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Clearwater 4 Box Score The Miracle were shut out in this one as they managed just four hits. Chris Paul was 2-3 with a triple and was also hit by a pitch to reach base three times. Brent Rooker and Mitchell Kranson collected the other two hits for the offense, both singles. As a team they struck out only six times, but were 0-5 with runners in scoring position. Randy LeBlanc made the start for Fort Myers and went the first five innings. He allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out four. The first run of the game for Clearwater came in the fourth inning and they added the other two against LeBlanc in the fifth. Michael Theofanopoulos pitched two scoreless innings of relief, walking two and striking out one. Williams Ramirez pitched the eighth inning, allowing one run on two hits and a walk. He struck out one. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 9 Box Score Kane County jumped all over Cedar Rapids pitching in this one, building a 7-0 lead before the Kernels put their lone run on the scoreboard. Bryan Sammons took the mound and went the first 3.2 innings. He gave up five runs (four earned) on three hits and four walks. He did strike out six. Patrick McGuff pitched the next 1.1 innings, striking out one but allowing four runs of his own on six hits, including a three-run home run. Logan Lombana finished the game for Cedar Rapids, keeping the Cougars from adding to their blowout in 3.0 scoreless innings. He walked two and struck out one. Lewin Diaz was responsible for the Kernels only run, slugging his 11th home run of the season in the fifth inning. Jimmy Kerrigan was 2-3 batting second in the lineup, and Shane Kennedy added the team's fourth hit. The Cedar Rapids offense did not have a single plate appearance with runners in scoring position as Kane County’s pitcher, Connor Grey, tossed a complete game. The loss halted the Kernels win streak at five and evened both team’s records at 29-29 in the second half of the Midwest League season. Kane County won the Western Division in the first half, and both are 8.5 games behind the second half -leading Quad Cities River Bandits, which Cedar Rapids plays next on their current road trip. E-TWINS E-NOTES Johnson City 4, Elizabethton 3 Box Score Elizabethton took the lead 3-2 in this one in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Andrew Bechtold’s tenth double of the year tied the game at two and a Mark Contreras single brought him in to put them out front. They weren’t able to hold that lead however. Their first run of the game came in the bottom of the third courtesy of a sac fly from Kolton Kendrick. Akil Baddoo finished 1-3 with two walks and stole his fourth base, but was also thrown out for the fourth time. Christian Broussard got the first inning for the Twins and walked the leadoff man, but got the next three. He was replaced by Edward Colina for the second inning. He went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk, with four K’s. Jovani Moran came on with two outs in the seventh and got the final out, but was charged with a blown save in the eighth when he gave up the go-ahead two-run home run to Elizabethton’s bitter rivals. To attempt to make up for that, he did strike out five in 2.1 innings to finish the game. The Twins offense did threaten with two outs in the eighth, but were unable to get a run across to tie the game and went down one-two-three in the bottom of the ninth, all on strikeouts. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Orioles 10 Box Score The Twins were outhit in this one 13-6, and it showed up on the scoreboard as they fell to the Orioles on the road. After the Orioles struck for five runs in the first two innings, the Twins did crawl back to make the score 5-4 after the top of the sixth, but five more runs from the Orioles to answer did them in for good. Tyler Benninghoff made the start and got just one out (likely plan for him coming back from injury is one inning appearances at this point, so don’t read too much into it). He walked two, gave up a two-run homer, and struck out one. Jordan Balazovic came in from there and got out of the first inning, but allowed three runs of his own in the second. He ended up finishing 3.2 innings, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out two along the way. Cody Stashak pitched a scoreless fifth inning but surrendered two runs on three hits overall in 1.2 innings, striking out two. Tyler Jay was the next man to get touched up, as he allowed both of Stashak’s inherited runners to score and one of his own while closing out the sixth, then two more on a home run in the seventh. He allowed four hits in 1.0 innings, while striking out one. Amilcar Cruz finally stabilized the scoreboard for the last four outs, walking two and striking out two. On the offensive side, two Twins hitters collected two hits. Benjamin Rodriguez was 2-4 with two runs scored, a homer, and two RBI. His home run was the blast that brought them within one. Ricky De La Torre was 2-3 with a walk, a home run, and RBI. His solo shot got the Twins on the board in the second inning. The rest of the team combined to go 2-25 with 12 K’s. They were just 1-2 with runners in scoring position and left only four men on base overall. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Logan Lombana, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3.0IP, 0 R’s, 2 BB’s, K) Hitter of the Day – T.J. White, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-4, 2 R’s, 2B, HR, RBI) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes-Barre @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – RHP Felix Jorge (0-0, -.--. AAA debut) Mississippi @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) – TBD Fort Myers @ Clearwater (6:00PM CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (2-2, 3.50 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30PM CST) – LHP Tyler Watson (0-3, 6.06 ERA) Bristol @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST) – TBD GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! Click here to view the article

Twins affiliates were undefeated on Friday night, putting another exclamation point on an incredible display of power throughout the organization. The Twins hit six home runs in the majors, there were two grand slams and a few other big spot blasts in the minors. The biggest may have come from a Miracle hitter who completed a comeback victory. Oh, and Kohl Stewart made his debut in the International League. I tried my best, but so many awesome things happened on Friday that I couldn’t possibly highlight them all with a catchy title, so you’re just going to have to continue reading to find out about it all!TRANSACTIONS Before getting to the games, there were some exciting transactions on Friday throughout the system. The Twins recalled Mitch Garver from AAA to take the place of Robbie Grossman, and he was in uniform on Friday (I’ll let the game recap detail his debut, if it happens). The Twins also optioned Aaron Slegers back to Rochester after his fine MLB debut yesterday. To round out the AAA-related moves, pitcher Kohl Stewart and catcher Carlos Paulino were assigned to Rochester from Chattanooga. To take their places at AA, pitcher Lewis Thorpe and first baseman Brian Olson were brought up from Fort Myers. Down in Fort Myers, the Miracle received catcher Jhon Alvarez from the GCL. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 10, Louisville 4 Box Score The story with the Red Wings on Friday, was the AAA debut of Kohl Stewart. It wasn’t great, but he did enough to pick up his first International League win. He went five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out five. All four runs scored in the second inning. Two of the hits allowed were doubles in that inning, and the big damage came on a two-run home run. From there Stewart settled down a little, picking up a strikeout to end the third, and then two one-two-three innings to finish his day. Rochester scored first in the game, taking a 1-0 lead after the top of the first as J.B. Shuck led off the game with a triple and scored on a ground out. They took back the lead right after Stewart’s bad inning, as they tacked on five runs in the top of the third. A bases loaded walk scored the first run, before Tommy Field added the other four with a grand slam for a 6-4 lead. They added another run in the fourth after another leadoff triple, this one from Engelb Vielma, and he scored on a wild pitch. They tacked on more runs in both of the final two innings due to an RBI single from Niko Goodrum in the eighth and an RBI single from Shuck in the ninth that scored two after an error. Shuck (2-6, R, 3B, RBI), Daniel Palka (2-5, R, 2B, BB), Goodrum (2-5, 2 RBI), and Vielma (2-5, 3 R’s, 3B) each had multiple hits. Kennys Vargas was 1-3 with a run scored, double and two walks. John Curtiss came on for the sixth inning and brought the team into the eighth. He allowed one hit in his 2.2 innings, striking out two. Michael Tonkin finished the final 1.1 innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out two. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 9, Tennessee 8 Box Score The Lookouts had to hold off a furious rally from Tennessee in the ninth, but were able to do so because of a couple big innings from their offense, and a gutsy performance from a newcomer to the organization with the tying run on second base. Chattanooga took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning as they loaded the bases with nobody out to start the game. A Max Murphy single scored the first two runs, a wild pitch the third, and another bases loaded walk the fourth. That chased the Smokies starter from the game. They wouldn’t score another run until the sixth, but they decided to tack on five more when they did. The big hit was a three-run home run from Jonathan Rodriguez and the other two scored on another bases loaded walk and a sac fly from LaMonte Wade. Felix Jorge was the starter for the Lookouts and was efficient with his pitches in seven innings to pick up his tenth win. He allowed three runs on six hits and three walks while striking out six. Ryan Eades came on for the eighth inning and pitched a scoreless frame, but it was the ninth that would haunt him when he came back out. A double, walk and single that included a throwing error scored the first run for the Smokies to make the score 9-4. Another single and a double each brought in another run to make it 9-6 before lights-out lefty Gabriel Moya was summoned with runners on second and third and the tying run stepping into the batter’s box. A sacrifice fly to his first batter made it 9-7, then a double scored another to make it 9-8 with the tying run in scoring position. Moya buckled down and got the next hitter to fly out before striking out the next to pick up his 21st save of the season. Eades ended up being charged with five runs on five hits and a walk in his 1+ innings. Leading the offense was Rodriguez, who in addition to the home run finished 2-4 with a walk. Ryan Walker added three hits to the effort in a 3-4 night. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Tampa 6 Box Score Fort Myers pulled off a miracle in Tampa on Friday night, coming back from a 6-0 deficit to win the game. They fell behind 6-0 as starter Sean Poppen got hit around a little and his defense made a few mistakes. In five innings, he allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits and a walk, while striking out four. Both runs Tampa scored in the fourth inning to make it 6-0 were unearned as Jermaine Palacios and Sean Miller committed throwing errors. After that the bullpen shut it down as four pitchers combined for four shutout innings (one apiece). Alex Robinson struck out two in a one-two-three sixth. Michael Kohn pitched a scoreless seventh, walking one and striking out one. Andrew Vasquez gave up a couple of hits and a walk in the eighth but escaped without giving up a run and struck out one. Tom Hackimer picked up his fourth save with Fort Myers with a scoreless ninth. He walked one and struck out one. The Miracle started their comeback in the top of sixth inning when Jermaine Palacios led off with single, Brandon Lopez scored him with a double and Chris Paul singled to put runners on the corners. Mitchell Kranson then delivered an RBI single to make it 6-2. In the seventh, it was another big blast from a 2017 draft pick that brought them all the way back. Sean Miller led off the inning with a single, and one out later Tanner English reached on an error. Palacios brought them both home with another double to make it 6-4, and he would score on another hit from Lopez, this one a single. With two outs, Brent Rooker came to plate and blasted, off the foul pole, his seventh home run with Fort Myers, and fourth in his last ten games, to put them out front 7-6 and complete the comeback. Palacios (2-5, 2 R’s, 2B, 2 RBI), Lopez (3-5, 2 R’s, 2B, 2 RBI), Rooker (2-5, R, HR, 2 RBI), Miller (2-4, R), and Jaylin Davis (2-4) all had multiple hits for the Miracle as they racked up fourteen hits as a team and were 4-9 with runners in scoring position. Robinson picked up the win on the pitching front to improve to 4-0, and Kohn and Vasquez were credited with holds. KERNELS NUGGETS Beloit 1, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score The former Minnesota Twins Midwest League affiliate and their new one got engaged in a pitcher’s duel in Cedar Rapids, and it though it got a little interesting in the bottom of the ninth, the home team held on for the victory. Left-hander Anthony Marzi made the start for Cedar Rapids, and again was pretty good. He allowed just one run on four hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out three to lower his ERA to 1.99 on the season. Ryan Mason pitched a scoreless eighth inning, allowing a single and striking out one. The Kernels tied the game at one in the bottom of the third, when Royce Lewis drove in Joe Cronin with a double, his first in the Midwest League. They took the lead in the seventh after a Shane Carrier double put runners on second and third, and Trey Cabbage brought in one with a sac fly. In the ninth it was team saves leader Hector Lujan who got the call. He struck out the first man he faced, but the next beat out an infield single to get the tying runner on base. The next hitter is when it got interesting, as a fly ball to center field got the second out on a sliding catch from Aaron Whitefield, but an airmailed throw back in (toward friend of TD’s Steve Buhr) put the runner on third base. No big deal though, as Lujan struck out the next man to close the door on his fourteenth save. The Kernels had just four hits as a team on the game, but they got all the runs they needed in the end. Lewin Diaz was 2-4 with a double as the other hitter of mention. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 9, Bristol 1 Box Score Elizabethton’s offense pounded out 12 hits and were 5-11 with runners in scoring position in racking up nine runs on the game. Akil Baddoo and Ariel Montesino led the charge with three hits apiece. All three of Baddoo’s were doubles and he scored three runs. He also drove in three. Jose Miranda slugged a two-run home run in the third inning to make the score 3-0. Rainis Silva followed that with a triple and scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0. Wander Javier drove in one in the ninth with a single and finished the game 2-4. He also stole third base and scampered in on a throwing error to cap the Twins scoring at nine. Kolton Kendrick was 1-3 with two walks. Baddoo, Montesino, Javier and Silva all picked up stolen bases. On the mound for the Twins was right-hander Bailey Ober, and he limited the damage to just one run in six innings while allowing seven hits and a walk. That was because he also racked up 11 K’s, including the first four hitters of the game and the last two he faced. Ober improved to 2-1 in his professional career. Jovani Moran came on for the seventh and continued the strikeout parade. In two innings he walked one and struck out five. Jared Finkel finished the game with a one-two-three ninth. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 6, GCL Red Sox 4 Box Score The Red Sox jumped on Twins starter Tyler Benninghoff for two runs in the first inning, ending his day before he could finish an inning. It was just his second appearance as a pro so he was still on a pitch limit. He walked one, struck out one, and gave up back-to-back doubles to account for those two runs. Henry Centeno was the first reliever up, and went one inning, allowing one hit and a walk. Kevin Marnon brought the team through the fifth inning, striking out four in 3.1 innings and retiring all ten hitters he faced. Cody Stashak picked up the win pitching the sixth and seventh innings. He allowed one hit and struck out four. Zach Featherstone allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in the eighth, and Derek Molina picked up his fourth save by allowing one hit and striking out one in the ninth. The Twins offense cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the second inning with a sac fly from Edgar Herrera to score Benjamin Rodriguez, who had led off with a single. They took the lead 5-2 in the seventh thanks to a grand slam from Jared Akins, his second home run in as many days. Akins added a sac fly in the ninth to score the Twins sixth run, finishing his day 1-4 with 5 RBI. Players with multiple hits on the game included Emmanuel Morel (2-5), Jean Carlos Arias (2-5), Rodriguez (2-4, R), and Alex Robles (2-4). Edgar Herrera, Humberto Maldonado and Kerby Camacho added doubles to the 12-hit effort for the Twins, and Ricky De La Torre drew three walks. In a slight anomaly of a stat, the Twins were 0-4 on the game in stolen base attempts. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Bailey Ober, Elizabethton Twins (W, 6.0IP, 7 H’s, 1 ER, BB, 11 K’s) Hitter(s) of the Day – Akil Baddoo, Elizabethton Twins (3-4, 3 R’s, 3 2B’s, 3 RBI, BB) (Honorable Mention to Tommy Field, Jared Akins, Jonathan Rodriguez, and Brent Rooker for the big spot bomb parade on Friday) SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Louisville (5:35PM CST) – RHP Chris Heston (0-1, 7.63 ERA) Chattanooga @ Tennessee (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Fernando Romero (11-7, 2.96 ERA) Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30PM CST) – RHP Clark Beeker (0-0, -.-- ERA, FSL debut. 11-3, 2.03 ERA in Midwest League) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (1-0, 4.50 ERA) Elizabethton @ Bristol (11:00AM CST) – LHP Ryley Widell (0-2, 2.70 ERA) GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games! Click here to view the article

That's why I included it in the first paragraph. If you wan't to think about it that way, then you also can't ignore what happened in the other 7 games in that stretch, though. Yes, more walks than we'd like, but also 3 or fewer runs in every one of those game, and only 3 once. If you're thinking of it like "he was bad in two of his last three so he shouldn't be promoted," that's like saying Royce Lewis shouldn't have been promoted to CR because he was only hitting .190 in his last 12 games in the Gulf Coast League... (which is a true statement). (I don't think you're thinking of it that way, but Stewart was pretty consistent in that stretch if you ask me)

Last 10 starts (which is basically since he came off the DL): 5-2, 3.29 ERA, 54.2 IP, 49 H's, 20 ER's, 22 BB, 41 K's. Take out 2 of his last 3 games and his ERA is 2.06. He's definitely been better. I think we all still want to see more, but there is something there.

Nice. I'm still a Stewart fan. One thing he does have is the "stuff"...

I wasn't referring to anyone on the Major League team already. Talking about the talent in the minors.

The advancement of recent draftees is what I wanted to see out of the new front office compared to the old. Get them where they should be based on talent and the experience they brought to the table. But I'm also surprised they haven't then applied these principles to the players that were already in the organization from an overall overview perspective. No Romero in AAA, Gonsalves just moved there, Gordon not in AAA, Garver not in majors, etc... those types of things. I wonder if they have a really low opinion of the talent that was in the organization when they got here.