Steve Lein

Yikes... That is money for guys you have near certainty will be super stars. They made the right decision.

I've also seen reports that the lower velocity was earlier in the season and he was back up to 90-93 when the weather warmed up.

One edit: Curtiss had 34 K's in those 23 IP before giving up the runs last night Didn't count the two in his first inning.

Who's our favorite for first pick today? I like the injured Stanford kid, Beck, but would guess he's not signable as he likely would go much higher after he comes back, or the injury is more serious than people think. Tanner Burns is going to college, he won't sign...Probably same with McConnell. Plenty of High School talent available, but they probably need to scrounge up around fourth round money to even have a chance at them ($400K+). What about...Schwarz?

Definitely believe they had Enlow higher on their boards than Carlson. Falvey is known for identifying pitching, and I've heard him talk about things like spin rate multiple times when talking about pitchers. Enlow had the highest spin-rate on his curve in the draft, and was largely considered the best breaking ball available as well. Wonder if they see some Kluber-like traits in there. My favorite pick of the day though? Rooker. I find it strange he wasn't more highly regarded and think that was based on past seasons, not this year and the work he's put in. Dude is going to hit.

If you’ve been diligently following the minor league reports this season, you’d know that one of the standouts has consistently been reliever John Curtiss of the Chattanooga Lookouts bullpen. The headline may be a little misleading today however, as it was something he hadn’t done yet this season that was the story on Tuesday. I’ll blame it on the Lookouts going extra innings. Another pitching prospect, fresh off his promotion made the start in that game, and a of couple hitters also had multiple triples on the day. Fort Myers was again rained out and they’ll play a bunch of games in the next two days because of it.To find out what happened to Curtiss, and who the other stars were in Tuesday’s games, read on! TRANSACTIONS In advance of Tuesday’s games, there were a bunch of transactions in the system. Ryan Pressly was recalled to the Twins while Alex Wimmers was optioned to Rochester. After signing his contract yesterday Tim Melville was assigned to the Red Wings and Drew Rucinski was outrighted to AAA. With Dereck Rodriguez officially being promoted to Chattanooga for his start tonight, Randy LeBlanc was assigned back to Fort Myers. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Scranton Wilkes-Barre 9 Box Score After claiming him off waivers from the Dodgers a week ago and making one appearance with the Twins, Chris Heston found himself in Rochester, NY tonight to make the start for the Red Wings. Twins manager Paul Molitor had insinuated earlier in the day that he was in consideration for a start with the Twins this weekend. That probably won’t be the case after this one. The RailRiders pounced on him for four runs in just 2.1 innings. He allowed six hits and two walks, and struck out one. Fellow organization newcomer, Tim Melville, came out of the bullpen to relieve him in the third and allowed one inherited runner to score, but kept it close for the Red Wings to mount a comeback over the next 4.2 innings. Rochester finally got on the board in the sixth inning, cutting the lead to 4-2 thanks to a Niko Goodrum solo home run and a Leonardo Reginatto RBI single. They cut the lead to one in the eighth after John Ryan Murphy reached third on an error out in center field and he scored on an Engelb Vielma groundout. Melville came out to start the eighth inning, but a walk and double to the first two hitters scored one and chased him from the game. Kevin Chapman came in and allowed three of his own runs along with the inherited runner and put the game out of reach at 9-3. Zack Granite was 3-5 with his ninth double out of the leadoff spot to lead the offense. His single to lead off the game extended his month-spanning hitting streak to twelve games. In that stretch he has hit .480/.536/.720 with six doubles, three triples and twelve runs scored, raising his average from .237 to .322. If he qualified, that mark would lead the International League. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 9, Montgomery 8 Box Score Right-hander Dereck Rodriguez made his AA debut in this one, and it’s likely one he’ll want to forget quickly. He was able to finish just two innings as the Biscuits took advantage of four hits and four walks to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Rodriguez was able to strike out the last two hitters he faced, but already at 72 pitches his day was done. The Lookouts scored runs in each of the third, fourth, and fifth innings to take a 5-4 lead after his exit. It was a two-run double from LaMonte Wade in the third, an RBI triple from Ryan Walker in the fourth, and Jonathan Rodriguez RBI single in the fifth that put them out front. Alex Muren relieved Rodriguez and went the next three innings. After perfect third and fourth frames, he allowed a solo home run to give Montgomery the lead 5-4 in the fifth. It would stay that way until the eighth inning when Nick Gordon delivered an RBI single to tie it at five. Reliever Nick Anderson got Chattanooga to that point by pitching two scoreless innings after Muren. He allowed one hit and struck out two. Luke Bard came on for the eighth inning and went one-two-three, striking out two. Chattanooga took the lead in the ninth thanks to multiple errors from the Biscuit defense and Bard remained in the game in line for a win. He struck out the first batter, but a single, stolen base, and RBI triple tied the game before he was able to escape with the bases loaded. This brought the game into extra innings. John Curtiss came on for the tenth and did his thing. That means he didn’t allow a run and struck out two. His offense took it from there. In the top of the eleventh, T.J. White led off the inning with a walk, Jose Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, and both scored on Walker’s second triple of the game. Gordon followed with his nineteenth double of the season to make 9-6 in favor of the visiting team. Curtiss remained in the game to shut the door, but something strange happened. He gave up a run. Two of them even! A single and two walks loaded the bases before he got an out, but he was able to coax three ground outs (two of the run-scoring variety) to pick up his second win of the season. He ERA ballooned to…0.75. In his start to the 2017 season, Curtiss went 23 scoreless innings, allowing eleven hits and ten walks, while striking out 32. It couldn’t last forever! Gordon (3-7, R, 2B, 2 RBI, SB), Corcino (2-6, BB), and Walker (4-6, 3 R’s, 2 3B’s, 3 RBI, SB) all tallied multiple hits for the offense. MIRACLE MATTERS Postponed – Rain. After yesterday’s game was postponed into a Tuesday double-header, rains again caused kept the teams from playing. They will now play double-headers on both Wednesday and Thursday, weather permitting. Lewis Thorpe and Brady Anderson are two of the probable starters for the regularly scheduled games on those days. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Quad Cities 5 Box Score The Kernels put crooked numbers on the scoreboard in four of nine innings in this one as they took advantage of nearly every opportunity that was presented. A double, error, triple, and sac fly in the second inning led to an early 3-0 lead, but they gave those runs back in the third inning when starter Sean Poppen had a run-scoring throwing error and also surrendered a two-run home run. He ended up finishing 5.2 innings, allowing just those three runs on three hits and three walks while striking out four. Hi picked up his fifth win of the season because his offense got those runs right back for him in the top of the fourth. A Ben Rortvedt 2-RBI double was followed by a triple from Travis Blankenhorn that made it 6-3. Cedar Rapids added two more runs in the sixth on an error and Blankenhorn sac fly to make it 8-3, and Jermaine Palacios punctuated the victory with a two-run home run in the ninth for the final tally of ten runs on the game. It was Palacios’ eleventh home run of the season, and fifteenth of his MiLB career (Someone has grown into his man-muscles…). Logan Lombana came on in relief of Poppen in the sixth inning and would also finish the seventh. He allowed two runs on four hits and a walk. Hector Lujan came on with one out and the bases loaded in the eighth and escaped the jam with limited damage. He also picked up his fifth save, finishing the game by striking out three in the ninth around a single. Four of his five outs were K’s. As a team the Kernels were 5-11 with runners in scoring position, and left only six men on base for the game. Blankenhorn had two triples and two RBI while Mitchell Kranson (2-5, R, 2B), Brandon Lopez (3-5, 2 R’s), and Rortvedt (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B, 2 RBI) also had multiple hits to lead the barrage. Aaron Whitefield also drew three walks, scored two runs and had an RBI in the rare 0-0 night at the plate. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Hector Lujan, Cedar Rapids Kernels (S, 1.2 IP, H, 4 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Ryan Walker, Chattanooga Lookouts (4-6, 3 R’s, 2 3B’s, 3 RBI, SB) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton Wilkes-Barre (5:35PM CST) – LHP David Hurlbut (3-4, 3.44 ERA) Chattanooga @ Tennessee (6:00PM CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves Charlotte @ Fort Myers, Game 1 (4:30PM CST) – LHP Lewis Thorpe (0-2, 1.38 ERA) Charlotte @ Fort Myers, Game 2 (TBD) - RHP Brady Anderson Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30PM CST) – LHP Domenick Carlini (3-5, 5.05 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! Click here to view the article

Guessing he was the guy that didn't make their board...

Almost. Buy taking Leach early and Enlow in the third, if they don't sign Enlow, they lose a lot less money from their pool. It was a dollar mitigation move, that's it.

Sweet. I feel better already today.

Sweet. I feel better already today.

All names Twins should like. I want Enlow in the next 15 minutes...

I think he's a stud hitter. Hope he goes to Fort Myers, but he shouldn't be anywhere near the Rookie Leagues to start his pro career.

Who is this "Weatherly" guy everyone keeps mentioning?! ;-) (Heatherly I'd be fine with too if he's the one they think they can sign, but it would be awesome if your second sentence came true!)

I'm not so sure. I'd venture they've banked at least $1.5MIL already and plenty of teams punt a pick or two (or more) in rounds 5-10 to put that money at the top. Twins have $1.34MIL at those picks, of which I think they could easily pull another few hundred-K from. They can also go over their total pool by about 700K with only the tax penalty. They'll have the money if they want it.

Do we have good information that Enlow is unsignable?

This sequence from MLB.com's article on top remaining talent gives me some hope: "Whether any of this high school talent gets taken on Day 2 remains to be seen. A year ago, five of the top 10 players available after Day 1 were high schoolers. All five were drafted, with Cole Stobbe, Thomas Jones and Nonie Williams signing with the Phillies, Marlins and Angels, respectively. All three were taken in the third round, so pay close attention to the opening round today. The two other prepsters, Drew Mendoza and Jared Horn, went on Day 3, but went on to begin their college careers. Overall, if any of the remaining players are selected today, look for them to start their pro careers. In 2016, all but two players taken in the top 10 rounds signed, a trend that should continue. Teams carefully plot out their Draft bonus pools, so it's become less likely for them to miss on a pick through the top 10 rounds. If a player taken at any point in the top 10 rounds doesn't sign, the team loses the value assigned to the pick from its total bonus pool, which could hamper the ability to sign other picks. The top two players certainly should be of interest. Both right-hander Blayne Enlow and shortstop Nick Allen were players some thought could land in the back end of the first round, with Allen in particular showing up at the bottom of many late mock drafts. Enlow is committed to LSU and Allen has a Southern Cal commitment, and it should be an interesting storyline to see if that comes into play. If they don't go on today, there's a very good chance that pair will head on to school."

Well, they don't go so far as to say he's unsignable, which I have seen plenty times before on other guys (some who ended up signing, too), but that does temper that a bit. $3MIL (my projected number) is still top 20 money... I hope they could get him. If not, I think they took a risk that failed at the top end of this draft - but that doesn't mean it won't work out. Initial reactions to an MLB draft often end up getting turned on their head. I hope that's the case.

I haven't been much of a believer in Jorge in the past, but he has been fantastic this season. Still would like to see a higher K-rate, but is looking like the next control artist type for Twins.

That could be true. Have you read that's his preference anywhere? (I've been looking but haven't seen that, usually that is well known)

He was rated a lot higher than Leach... Had a LOT of helium in that draft and was considered one of the most projectable arms. Toronto picked him early enough to get him out of his college commitment.

I think they should have the $ to get Enlow to sign. Lewis is around $1MIL under per Doogie. Rooker might save some $, Leach should be under-slot (if he's not I have a big mark against Falvey and Levine in their first draft). I'd bet they have around $3MIL to throw at him.

Best curveball spin rate out of high school is still available today: Blayne Enlow.

My initial reaction is option number 2 above. The player they wanted to fall didn't, so they ended up getting burned. I like the Rooker pick, but Leach was a reach, and a pretty big one at that. I would hope they're targeting Blayne Enlow to start the picks today.