Steve Lein

A lot depends on what the Twins do at the position in the offseason, obviously. Right now, they have Murphy, Centeno, and then: Garver. In this scenario I don't find it improbable that Garver could make the team out of Spring Training. But I also believe the Twins will search out a John Hicks type to slot in that group as well, putting Garver back at AAA until he forces the issue or a need pops up.

Twins prospects in the Arizona Fall League are playing for the Surprise Saguaros this season, and they started off in week one with two wins, two losses…and an extra-innings tie. Both victories were of the blowout variety, and they also experienced a blowout loss among those games. Two of the Twins position prospects had big weeks with their bats, and sit near the top of AFL leaderboards in several categories after five games. Stephen Gonsalves passed his first test with flying colors, while members pitching out of the bullpen had levels of success spanning from good to not so good.Read on to check out how all the Twins prospects fared in the first week of the 2016 Arizona Fall League season! (links provided to each player’s overall stats by clicking their name) Stephen Gonsalves – 1 Start, 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H’s, HR, 0 BB’s, 1 K. Gonsalves made the start in Thursday’s 5-4 loss, but Surprise was up 3-1 when he left after three innings. He was efficient, throwing just thirty-four pitches, with twenty-four going for strikes. In the first inning he struck out the first hitter he faced, and then got a fly out and grounder around a single for clean inning. In the second, he again faced just four hitters, but the third hitter of the inning took him deep for a home run, and his only run allowed. In the third inning, it was again four batters Gonsalves faced, but his aggressiveness in the strike zone kept hitters behind in the count. In his eleven pitches in the frame, just two went for balls. In his next start, look for Gonsalves to go a little deeper in the game, provided he has the same type of success, but his first AFL appearance was definitely a strong one coming off his spectacular 2016 season. Nick Gordon – 3 games, 7-13, 4 R’s, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K’s, 2 SB’s. Gordon came out hot, going 3-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, walk, and stolen base in the AFL season opener that Surprise won 11-2 over Mesa. He scored on a Mitch Garver groundout after his single in a three-run third inning, and again after another single in the four-run seventh. In the top of the eighth Gordon picked up his RBI, driving in Yoan Moncada who had led off the frame with a double. After a day off on Wednesday he stayed hot against Glendale on Thursday, collecting another three hits in five at-bats with a run scored, RBI, and his second stolen base in a 5-4 loss, but was a catalyst to some early scoring. Batting second to open the game, Gordon got the Surprise scoring started with a single for the team’s first hit and later scored their first run from second on a single. In the second inning, his two-out-RBI single gave them a 3-0 lead, but it wouldn’t last. He picked up another two-out single in the seventh, but was left stranded and Glendale tied it at three in the bottom half. In the top of the ninth, Gordon reached base on an error, then stole second to put insurance runners at second and third with nobody out, but both runners were left stranded and Surprise was unable to close the door in the ninth. He finished his week with a 1-4 effort in Saturday's 8-1 win against Scottsdale. He also scored a run and drew a walk so he has reached base multiple times in each game played so far. It did take until the sixth inning for Gordon to reach base with a single, but he and a mate would come around to score thanks to another one of his organizational teammates. After week one, Gordon sits near the top of the AFL leaderboard in average (.538, 3rd), on-base percentage (.600, 4th), and hits (7, 2nd). Not a bad first week out of the two-hole in the Saguaros lineup. Mitch Garver – 3 games, 4-9, 3 R’s, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB’s, 2 K’s. Garver made the start at catcher in two games during the week and DH in another while having an impressive week from the cleanup spot in the lineup. In the season opening win on Tuesday, Garver was 1-2 with a run scored, but also walked three times. His single in the third inning drove in Gordon, and it was all walks after that. On defense Garver had an error on a throw and allowed three stolen bases, but also got in the boxscore for a caught stealing at third when the runner with two of those steals got greedy. He was the DH in Friday’s 10-4 loss, and reached base only via a walk in an 0-3 effort with two strikeouts, but would make up for it on Saturday. Behind the dish again, Garver led the Surprise offense with a 3-4 night including two runs scored and three RBIs in the 8-1 win. He doubled in the bottom of the first to put runners on first and second, and they both scored when the next hitter ripped a single to right field. He added a walk in the third inning, and his big hit came in the fifth as a solo home run to make the score 4-0. With the bases loaded in the sixth, Garver delivered a two-run single to make it 7-0, but was thrown out at home later in the inning. Garver sits near the top of AFL leaderboards in on-base percentage (.643, 1st), slugging (.889, 3rd), and OPS (1.532, 4th) after a week of play. Tanner English – 3 games, 3-12, 2B, RBI, BB, 4 K’s. English played CF in all three of his appearances on the week, batting ninth, sixth, and leadoff in each of his appearances, respectively. He didn’t start out immediately hot like Gordon, but finished with two solid games to end his first week. In the opener, English was 0-4 with two strikeouts, but contributed in a big way with his defense with a diving catch that caught the eye of those in attendance. In Thursday’s loss, English picked up a single in the eighth inning for his first hit, and finished his day 1-4. Batting leadoff on Friday, English was one of three Surprise hitters with multiple hits on the day. He led off the game with a ground-rule double, but was left stranded on third when the next three hitters went down easily, including Garver on a K, to end the inning. He drew a walk in the fifth but was stranded again, before singling in the ninth to drive in a run and make the final just a little closer in the loss. Mason Melotakis – 2 games, 2.0 IP, 0 R’s, 2 H’s, 0 BB’s, 3 K’s, 0.00 ERA. Left-handed reliever Melotakis made two appearances on the week, pitching the sixth inning in the season opener, and the seventh in Friday’s loss to Mesa. On Tuesday, Melotakis got the first two hitters he faced out on groundouts before allowing a single to Bradley Zimmer, the top prospect in Cleveland’s system and one of the best in Arizona, before picking up a strikeout to end the inning and pick up a hold. He again got a groundout to start the seventh on Friday before allowing a single, but struck out the next two hitters in another scoreless frame and will look to continue that K-rate and the control he’s displayed so far (21 of 26 pitches for strikes) moving forward. Randy Rosario – 2 games1.2 IP, 2 ER’s, 4 H’s, 2 BB’s, 2 K’s. Like Melotakis, Rosario saw action in two games on the week, both coming out of the bullpen. In Wednesday’s 7-7 tie, Rosario was partially to blame for the game ending up as such after eleven innings. He came into the game to start the sixth inning with the score 4-3 in favor of Surprise but two walks, two singles, and a run allowed later, he was replaced by John Curtiss with the score tied 4-4. He did strike out the last hitter he faced before being lifted, but an inherited runner also later scored. In Saturday’s 8-1 win, Rosario pitched the seventh inning and though it wasn’t clean, came through with a scoreless frame. He allowed two singles but picked up a strikeout and got some help on a play at the plate with a runner trying to take advantage of an error to end the inning. Rosario will have to look to keep his pitch counts down this week, as he threw thirty-three (18 for strikes) and sixteen (9 for strikes) in his 1.2 innings on the week. John Curtiss – 2 games started, 2.0 IP, 3 ER’s, 6 H’s, 2 BB’s, 4 K’s. Like his fellow bullpen mates, Curtiss also made two appearances on the week. On Wednesday, he came in for Rosario with two outs in the sixth, and allowed one of his inherited runners to score on a wild pitch, and give the Javelina’s a 5-4 lead. In the seventh, it was three singles to load the bases and two walks that led to his two runs allowed on the game. He recorded two outs, one via strikeout, before he was removed. On Saturday he got the sixth inning, and again had some trouble keeping runners off the bases. He struck out the first hitter, but was tagged for a solo home run by the next. A ground ball out was followed by two singles before he struck out another to end the frame and his appearance. The four K’s in two innings pitched look nice in his line for the first week, but Curtiss would be the first to tell you it’s the hits and runs allowed that he’d like to improve. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the performances during the week! Click here to view the article

Twins prospects in the Arizona Fall League are playing for the Surprise Saguaros this season, and they started off in week one with two wins, two losses…and an extra-innings-tie. Both victories were of the blowout variety, and they also experienced a blowout loss among those games. Two of the Twins position prospects had big weeks with their bats, and sit near the top of AFL leaderboards in several categories after five total games. Stephen Gonsalves passed his first test with flying colors, while members pitching out of the bullpen had levels of success spanning from good to not so good. Read on to check out how all the Twins prospects fared in the first week of the 2016 Arizona Fall League season! (links provided to each player’s overall stats by clicking their name) Stephen Gonsalves – 1 Start, 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H’s, HR, 0 BB’s, 1 K. Gonsalves made the start in Thursday’s 5-4 loss, but Surprise was up 3-1 went he left after three innings. He was efficient, throwing just thirty-four pitches, with twenty-four going for strikes. In the first inning he struck out the first hitter he faces, and then got a fly out and grounder around a single for clean inning. In the second, he again faced just four hitters, but the third of the inning took him deep for a home run, and his only run allowed. In the third inning, it was again four batters Gonsalves would face, but his aggressiveness in the strikezone kept hitters behind in the cound. In his eleven pitches in the frame, just two went for balls. In his next start, look for Gonsalves to go a little deeper in the game, provided he has the same type of success, but his first AFL appearance was definitely a strong one coming off his spectacular 2016 season. Nick Gordon – 3 games, 7-13, 4 R’s, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K’s, 2 SB’s. Gordon came out hot, going 3-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, walk, and stolen base in the AFL season opener that Surprise won 11-2 over Mesa. He scored on a Mitch Garver groundout after his single in a three run third inning, and again after another single in the four run seventh. In the top of the eighth Gordon picked up his RBI driving in Yoan Moncada who had led off the frame with a double. After a day off on Wednesday he stayed hot against Glendale on Thursday, collecting another three hits in five at-bats with a run scored, RBI, and his second stolen base in a 5-4 loss, but was a catalyst to some early scoring. Batting second to open the game, Gordon got the Surprise scoring started with a single for the team’s first hit and later scored their first run from second on a single. In the second inning, his two-out-RBI single gave them a 3-0 lead, but it wouldn’t last. He picked up another two-out single in the seventh, but was left stranded and Glendale would tie it at three in the bottom half. In the top of the ninth, Gordon reached base on an error, and then stole second to put insurance runners at second and third with nobody out, but both runners were left stranded and Surprise was unable to close the door in the ninth. He finished his week with a 1-4 effort in Saturdays 8-1 win against Scottsdale. He also scored a run and drew a walk so has reached base multiple times in each gamed played so far. It did take until the sixth inning for Gordon to reach base with a single, but he and another run would come around to score thanks to one of his organizational teammates. After week one, Gordon sits near the top of the AFL leaderboard in average (.538, 3rd), on-base percentage (.600, 4th), and hits (7, 2nd). Not a bad first week out of the two-hole in the Saguaros lineup. Mitch Garver – 3 games, 4-9, 3 R’s, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB’s, 2 K’s. Garver made the start at catcher in two games during the week, and DH in another while also having an impressive showing from the cleanup spot in the lineup. In the season opening win on Tuesday, Garver was 1-2 with a run scored, but also walked three times. His single in the third inning drove in Gordon, and it was all walks after that. On defense Garver had an error on a throw and allowed three stolen bases, but also got in the boxscore for a caught stealing at third when the runner with two of those steals got greedy. He was the DH in Friday’s 10-4 loss, and reached base only via a walk in an 0-3 effort with two strikeouts, but would make up for it on Saturday. Behind the dish again, Garver led the Surprise offense with a 3-4 night including two runs scored, and three RBI in the 8-1 win. He doubled in the bottom of the first to put runners on first and second, and they both scored when the next hitter ripped a single to right field. He added a walk in the third inning, and his big hit came in the fifth as a solo home run to make the score 4-0. With the bases loaded in the sixth, Garver delivered a two-run single to make it 7-0, but was thrown out at home later in the inning. Garver sits near the top of AFL leaderboards in on-base percentage (.643, 1st), slugging (.889, 3rd), and OPS (1.532, 4th) after a week of play. Tanner English – 3 games, 3-12, 2B, RBI, BB, 4 K’s. English played CF in all three of his appearances on the week, batting ninth, sixth, and leadoff in each of his appearances, respectively. He didn’t start out immediately hot like Gordon, but finished with two solid games to end his first week. In the opener, English was 0-4 with two strikeouts, but contributed in a big way with his defense with a diving catch that caught the eye of those in attendance. In Thursday’s loss, English picked up a single in the eighth inning for his first hit, and finished his day 1-4. Batting leadoff on Friday, English was one of three Surprise hitters with multiple hits on the day. He led off the game with a ground-rule double, but would be left stranded on third when the next three hitters went down easily, including Garver on a K to end the inning. He drew a walk in the fifth but would be stranded again, before singling in the ninth to drive in a run and make the final just a little closer in the loss. Mason Melotakis – 2 games, 2.0 IP, 0 R’s, 2 H’s, 0 BB’s, 3 K’s, 0.00 ERA. Left-handed reliever Melotakis made two appearances on the week, pitching the sixth inning in the season opener, and the seventh in Friday’s loss to Mesa. On Tuesday, Melotakis got the first two hitters he faced out on groundouts before allowing a single to Bradley Zimmer, the top prospect in Cleveland’s system and one of the best in Arizona, before picking up a strikeout to end the inning and pick up a hold. He again got a groundout to start the seventh on Friday before allowing a single, but struck out the next two hitters in another scoreless frame and will look to continue that K-rate and the control he’s displayed so far (21 of 26 pitches for strikes) moving forward. Randy Rosario – 2 games1.2 IP, 2 ER’s, 4 H’s, 2 BB’s, 2 K’s. Like Melotakis, Rosario saw action in two games on the week, both coming out of the bullpen. In Wednesday’s 7-7 tie, Rosario was partially to blame for the game ending up as such after eleven innings. He came into the game to start the sixth inning with the score 4-3 Surprise, but two walks, two singles, and a run allowed later he was replaced by John Curtiss with the score tied 4-4. He did strike out the last hitter he faced before being lifted, but an inherited runner also later scored. In Saturday’s 8-1 win, Rosario pitched the seventh inning and though it wasn’t clean, came through with a scoreless frame. He allowed two singles but picked up a strikeout and got some help on a play at the plate with a runner trying to take advantage of an error to end the inning. Rosario will have to look to keep his pitch counts down this week, as he threw thirty-three (18 for strikes) and sixteen (9 for strikes) in his 1.2 innings on the week. John Curtiss – 2 games started, 2.0 IP, 3 ER’s, 6 H’s, 2 BB’s, 4 K’s. Like his fellow bullpen mates, Curtiss also made two appearances on the week. On Wednesday, he came in for Rosario with two outs in the sixth, and allowed one of his inherited runners to score on a wild pitch, and give the Javelina’s a 5-4 lead. In the seventh, it was three singles to load the bases and two walks that led to his two runs allowed on the game. He recorded two outs, one via strikeout, before he was removed. On Saturday he got the sixth inning, and again had some trouble keeping runners off the bases. He struck out the first hitter, but was tagged for a solo home run by the next. A ground ball out was followed by two singles before he struck out another to end the frame and his appearance. The four K’s in two innings pitched look nice in his line for the first week, but Curtiss would be the first to tell you it’s the hits and runs allowed that he’d like to improve. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the performances during the week!

Yup, I've been saying this for multiple years. Mauer has a spot on this team, it's just not as a regular anymore. If that idea were in place, several other puzzle pieces would connect I think.

In Garver's case, the absolute dearth of catching talent available in Free Agency, and on the current Twins roster plays a lot into that. He's a better hitter than Centeno, and better defensively than him, Suzuki (if the Twins are even considering him), and JRM. If 2016 JRM is the real one as a batter, Garver is a better hitter than him at this point as well. It's basically Murphy, Centeno, and Garver as catching options heading into 2017 right now. Doesn't matter at this point how many games he's played at AAA, he is one of their limited options and a good showing in the AFL will only move him up the pecking order which basically puts him on the MLB roster. As for Gonsalves, your idea is exactly what I foresee. At this point I'd say it's 40/60 he starts next year in AAA, and that needle can move with a good showing in the AFL. If he goes back to AA, there's no reason for him to spend a half-season there if he continues dominating like he has. He'd be bumped to AAA pretty early and then you never know if the MLB team needs a starter.

The 2016 Arizona Fall League schedule gets going today with three games. Each week through the season, Steve Lein will provide an update on the seven Twins players participating. Today he begins by providing a preview. --------------------------------------------------------- While the Minnesota Twins aren’t playing any October baseball for the sixth consecutive season, that doesn’t mean there isn’t baseball to pay attention to when it comes to your favorite team. The fall and winter seasons are full of other leagues, both well-known and obscure, where many of your favorite major league players or prospects might be playing. You just have to know where to look for them. The most well-known of these leagues, is played during the months of October and November in the deserts of Arizona, and it is where you’ll likely see several future MLB superstars play before they ever make the debut in the show. The Arizona Fall League is a short-season league where every team in Major League Baseball sends some of their top prospects. It is often used as a proving ground for players looking to take the final steps to their MLB dreams. Whether those players are elite talent looking to make a case for an early call-up the next season, or someone on the doorstep being evaluated for protection on the 40-man roster, these minor league games in October can determine a lot going into the offseason for their parent clubs. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photos of Nick Gordon, Stephen Gonsalves) Each MLB team sends seven players to the league, and the six rosters are made up of the players from five different organizations that are rotated each year. Prospects from the Twins this season will be playing with those from the Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Texas Rangers for the Surprise Saguaros. The Twins are represented in 2016 by position players Nick Gordon, Mitch Garver, and Tanner English; and pitchers Stephen Gonsalves, Mason Melotakis, Randy Rosario and John Curtiss. It will be the second consecutive trip to the league for Mitch Garver, last year for the Scottsdale Scorpions. Taylor Rogers played on that same Scottsdale Scorpions team and made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2016. While the Twins aren’t sending anybody who approaches the prospect status of one of their soon to be teammates in Arizona, Yoan Moncada from the Red Sox, two of their players bring plenty of performance (Gonsalves) and pedigree (Gordon) qualifications with them, and whom I’ll be watching the closest. - Stephen Gonsalves was named to both Baseball America’s and MLB.com’s 2016 All-Star team as the top left-handed starting pitcher after he went a combined 13-5 in 24 starts between the Fort Myers Miracle and Chattanooga Lookouts. In case you forgot, he was also Twins Daily’s unanimous Pitcher of the Year. With the Miracle he made eleven starts and was 5-4 with a 2.33 ERA. He struck out one per inning and maintained a WHIP below 1.00. After he pitched in the FSL All-Star game he was promoted to Chattanooga and was even better in traditional stat categories. In thirteen starts he was 8-1 with a 1.82 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. He struck out eighty-nine in 74.1 IP. Outside of his second start with the Lookouts, Gonsalves did not allow more than two runs in any of his other twelve AA starts and struck out eight or more in seven of them. On August 11th he managed the first nine-inning complete game of his career, allowing just one unearned run on three hits and two walks, with eight strikeouts. Of note, is this was also the first time in Gonsalves’s career he had ever eclipsed more than seven innings in a start. Innings may be one thing besides his immense talent that has brought the lefty to Arizona this fall. In 2015 he pitched a total of 134.1 innings with Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers, and increased that total to just 140.0 with the Miracle and Lookouts in 2016. While on their own those totals are impressive in a minor league season, the type of pitcher the Twins hope Gonsalves can become is expected to eclipse two-hundred innings over the course of a season once he reaches the majors. An increasing innings limit is part of any prospect's development plan as he progresses up the organizational ladder, and adding five or six starts in Arizona will help bring that total in line with such a plan. If he remains healthy and continues the success of 2016 out in the desert, starting 2017 in AAA is not out of the question and there should be no innings limit in place if and when he makes the major league team’s roster. - Nick Gordon started the 2016 season as one of the hottest hitting prospects in the system, showing the benefits of the added muscle he worked to put on in the offseason. In April he hit .333/.363/.483 with nine extra-base-hits among his nineteen total hits on the month. He cooled off in May but came back to hit .286 and .330 in June and July. He played in the FSL All-Start game alongside Gonsalves, and finished the year with a .721 OPS with twenty-three doubles, six triples, and three home runs. He continues to get solid reviews on his defense, showing top level instincts if not elite range and a strong arm from the deep in the hole. If you feel you can discern anything from fielding percentage, his .960 career mark at shortstop is better (if not by much) than Engelb Vielma’s in the system. He doesn’t necessarily have the flash of Vielma on defense, but has the ability to remain at short and brings much more with the stick. If history tells us anything, moving on to the Southern League from the FSL should see a bump in his overall batting line, and a competent showing against the top-level pitching of the AFL, will increase his odds for a mid-season bump from AA to AAA, and being one step away from joining his father and brother as a major leaguer. - Mitch Garver heads to the AFL for the second consecutive season, and will be looking to have the same type of success to help propel him to some at-bats in the majors early in 2017. In the league last fall, he batted .317/.404/.512 with five doubles, one home run and nine RBIs in twelve games. Garver began the 2016 season in Chattanooga alongside his friendly competitor at catcher, Stuart Turner. While Turner was behind the dish more often when they were both on the roster, Garver got plenty of time there and was also into worked into the lineup at designated hitter and first base because of his hitting. His .753 OPS was second on the team among ‘regulars,’ and his sixty-six RBIs led the roster despite his August promotion to AAA Rochester. With the Red Wings, Garver saw action in twenty-two games through the end of the year, and started at catcher in thirteen of them. He hit .329/.381/.434 in his short time there, and .270/.342/.422 with thirty doubles and twelve home runs overall on the year. Alongside his encouraging batting profile as a catcher, Garver also stood out defensively in 2016. While Turner has traditionally gotten more of the defensive praise at the position, failing to also recognize Garver for such skills is a disservice. In fact, Garver threw out runners at a higher clip than Turner on the year (48.1% to 39.6%), and has done so for his career in the minors. With another solid showing in the AFL this fall, Garver can work his way into the catcher conversation for the major league team heading into 2017. - Tanner English is not a name you may have heard too often in the Minor League Reports this past season, but that’s not because he had a bad year. Unfortunately for him, it was injuries that limited him to just forty-one games and 145 at-bats in 2016. He started the year in Fort Myers, but went on the disabled list in the middle of April. While rehabbing in an extended spring training game before returning to the Miracle, he rolled his ankle and missed more time. He returned to the Florida State League on July 30th, and hit .247/.359/.481 in August. With Rochester in need of an outfielder the final week of the season, it was he whom they summoned to play center field to end the season. English’s trip to the AFL is just as much about getting him some extra at-bats as it is his chance to make an impression. While he doesn’t necessarily have any loud tools, he does profile as a leadoff type hitter with good speed and was named the Twins top defensive outfielder in 2015 while playing in Cedar Rapids. He’s a bit further down the outfield pecking order at this point, but a strong showing in Arizona could put him on a path to AAA in 2017, and you never know when the Twins may need a fourth-outfielder type for their bench. - Mason Melotakis is a pitcher who always had intrigued me since the Twins selected him in the second round of the 2012 draft out of Northwestern State in Lousiana. This was the draft the Twins started shifting their focus to power arms, and Melotakis was a hard one to ignore with a mid-to-upper nineties fastball from the left side. Unfortunately for him and his arm, that same stuff that made him intriguing as a high draft pick didn’t quite transfer to a starting role, and the 2014 season saw him back in the bullpen before Tommy John surgery struck the lefthander and he missed all of 2015. Ready at the outset of the 2016 season, Melotakis was sent to Chattanooga and spent the entire season there while being monitored very closely. He did not once pitch on consecutive days, and never pitched more than one inning in any of his thirty-six appearances. Overall on the year Melotakis had a 2.96 ERA, with forty-two strikeouts and twelve walks in 33.1 innings pitched. He struck out ten in just 4.2 innings over the months of August and September to end the year and will look to continue that type of dominance in the AFL as he makes up some lost development time. - Randy Rosario is another Twins pitching prospect who has endured a Tommy John surgery in his career, with his coming during the 2014 season. He returned in 2015 with the Cedar Rapids Kernels and showed that he still had a big fastball post-surgery. He started with Fort Myers in 2016 and in April was just as good as the rest of the starters in the vaunted rotation, but was a bit up and down throughout the year. Still not even a year removed from returning to pitching, Rosario’s workload was limited by design as his season high for innings pitched to that point was just 61.2, but he did increase that number to 100.1 in 2016. At Fort Myers he was 6-6 with a 3.34 ERA, and got a late season promotion to Chattanooga to pitch out of their bullpen. While it remains to be seen if Rosario will start for the Surprise roster, it will be a good opportunity to log some extra time against top-flight competition and make up some development ground as he was added to the 40-man roster last offseason despite being pegged for the Florida State League and his relatively recent surgery. Still just twenty-two years old despite six years in the system, a strong showing in the AFL could be a catapult into the Twins plans for 2017 and beyond for the left-hander. - John Curtiss was drafted in the sixth round of the 2014 draft out of the University of Texas where he was a closer. He made starts in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons, but has settled in to the bullpen and thrived. He made six appearances in the Midwest League to start the 2016 season, and when you see the stat lines for those games, you’ll understand why he was bumped up to the Florida State League so early: 1.0 IP, 3 K’s; 1.0 IP, K; 2.0 IP, 4 K’s; 2.0 IP, 5 K’s; 1.0 IP, 3 K’s, 1.0 IP, 2 H’s, 1 K. If you failed to read through that sequence, it will show he allowed just two hits and struck out seventeen in eight innings. He had a bit of a rough start in Fort Myers, but settled in when the calendar turned to July and was locking down the seventh and eighth innings for the Miracle. After the FSL All-Star game, Curtiss made twenty-four appearances and struck out 42 in 32 innings with a 1.69 ERA. His name may not be as well-known as several other bullpen arms in the Twins system, but Curtiss has worked himself into those conversations with his performance against both right and left-handed hitters in his career. Of note as a right-handed pitcher, was his .217 BAA and 34.6% strikeout rate against lefties in 2016. Curtiss will look to continue that success against his best competition yet in the AFL, and make a further impression on Twins coaches heading into 2017. - For each of these players, it's all about continuing their success of 2016 and making a further impression on Twins coaches. That's what I'll be watching for, what about you? Good luck to all of the players in the AFL for the Twins this season, and I’m looking forward to following along with everyone at Twins Daily! Please feel free to ask any questions about the AFL and discuss this week’s performances! View full article

While the Minnesota Twins aren’t playing any October baseball for the sixth consecutive season, that doesn’t mean there isn’t baseball to pay attention to when it comes to your favorite team. The fall and winter seasons are full of other leagues both well-known and obscure where many of your favorite Major League players or prospects might be playing. You just have to know where to look for them. The most well-known of these leagues, is played during the months of October and November in the deserts of Arizona, and it is where you’ll likely see several future MLB superstars play before they ever make the debut in the show. The Arizona Fall League is a short season league where every team in Major League Baseball sends some of their Top Prospects. It is often used as a proving ground for players looking to take the final steps to their MLB dreams. Whether those players are elite talent looking to make a case for an early call-up the next season, or someone on the doorstep being evaluated for protection on the 40-man roster, these minor league games in October can determine a lot going into the offseason for their parent clubs. Each MLB team sends seven players to the league, and the six rosters are made up of the players from five different organizations that are rotated each year. Prospects from the Twins this season will be playing with those from the Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Texas Rangers for the Surprise Saguaros. The Twins are represented in 2016 by position players Nick Gordon, Mitch Garver, and Tanner English; and pitchers Stephen Gonsalves, Mason Melotakis, Randy Rosario, and John Curtiss. It will be the second consecutive trip to the league for Mitch Garver, and Taylor Rogers played on that same Scottsdale Scorpions roster and made his MLB debut in with the Twins in 2016. While the Twins aren’t sending anybody whom approaches the prospect status of one of their soon to be teammates in Arizona, Yoan Moncada from the Red Sox, two of their players bring plenty of performance (Gonsalves) and pedigree (Gordon) qualifications with them, and who I’ll be watching the closest. - Stephen Gonsalves was named to both Baseball America’s and MLB.com’s 2016 All-Star team as the top left-handed starting pitcher after he went a combined 13-5 in 24 starts between the Fort Myers Miracle and Chattanooga Lookouts. In case you forgot, he was also Twins Daily’s unanimous Pitcher of the Year. With the Miracle he made eleven starts and was 5-4 with a 2.33 ERA. He struck out one per inning and maintained a WHIP below 1.00. After he pitched in the FSL All-Star game he was promoted to Chattanooga and was even better in traditional stat categories. In thirteen starts he was 8-1 with a 1.82 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. He struck out eighty-nine in 74.1 IP. Outside of his second start with the Lookouts, Gonsalves did not allow more than two runs in any of his other twelve AA starts and struck out eight or more in seven of them. On August 11thhe managed the first nine-inning complete game of his career, allowing just one unearned run on three hits and two walks, with eight strikeouts. Of note, is this was also the first time in Gonsalves’s career he had ever eclipsed more than seven innings in a start. Innings may be one thing besides his immense talent that has brought the lefty to Arizona this fall. In 2015 he pitched a total of 134.1 innings with Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers, and increased that total to just 140.0 with the Miracle and Lookouts in 2016. While on their own those totals are still impressive in a minor league season, the type of pitcher the Twins hope Gonsalves can become are expected to eclipse two-hundred innings over the course of a season once they reach the majors. An increasing innings limit is part of any prospects development plan as he progresses up the organizational ladder, and adding five or six starts in Arizona will help bring that total in line with such a plan. If he remains healthy and continues the success of 2016 out in the desert, starting 2017 in AAA is not out of the question and there should be no innings limit in place if and when he makes the Major League team’s roster. - Nick Gordon started the 2016 season as one of the hottest hitting prospects in the system, showing the benefits of the added muscle he worked to put on in the offseason. In April he hit .333/.363/.483 with nine extra-base-hits among his nineteen total hits on the month. He cooled off in May but came back to hit .286 and .330 in June and July. He played in the FSL All-Start game alongside Gonsalves, and would finish the year with a .721 OPS with twenty-three doubles, six triples, and three home runs. He continues to get solid reviews on his defense, showing top level instincts if not elite range and a strong arm from the deep in the hole. If you feel you can discern anything from fielding percentage, his .960 career mark at shortstop is better (if not by much) than Engelb Vielma’s in the system. He doesn’t necessarily have the flash of Vielma on defense, but has the ability to remain at short and brings much more with the stick. If history tells us anything, moving on to the Southern League from the FSL should see a bump in his overall batting line, and with a competent showing against the top-level pitching of the AFL, will increase his odds for a mid-season bump from AA to AAA, and one step away from joining his father and brother as a Major Leaguer. - Mitch Garver heads to the AFL for the second consecutive season, and will be looking to have the same type of success to help propel him to some at-bats in the majors early in 2017. In the league last fall, he batted .317/.404/.512 with five doubles, one home run, and nine RBI in twelve games. Garver began the 2016 season in Chattanooga alongside his friendly competitor at catcher, Stuart Turner. While Turner was behind the dish more often when they were both on the roster, Garver got plenty of time there and was also into worked into the lineup at Designated Hitter and First Base because he was hitting. His .753 OPS was second on the team amongst ‘regulars,’ and his sixty-six RBI led the roster despite his August promotion to AAA Rochester. With the Red Wings, Garver saw action in twenty-two games through the end of the year, and started at catcher in thirteen of them. He hit .329/.381/.434 in his short time there, and .270/.342/.422 with thirty doubles and twelve home runs overall on the year. Alongside his encouraging batting profile as a catcher, Garver also stood out defensively in 2016. While Turner has traditionally gotten more of the defensive praise between them at the position, failing to also recognize Garver for such skills is a disservice. In fact, Garver threw out runners at a higher clip than Turner on the year (48.1% to 39.6%), and also has done so for his career in the minors. With another solid showing in the AFL this fall, Garver can work his way into the catcher conversation for the Major League team heading into 2017. - Tanner English is not a name you may have heard too often in the Minor League Reports this past season, but that’s not because he had a bad year. Unfortunately for him, it was injuries that limited him to just forty-one games and one-hundred-forty-five at bats in 2016. He started the year in Fort Myers, but went on the disabled list in the middle of April. While rehabbing in an Extended Spring Training game before returning to the Miracle, he rolled his ankle and missed more time. He returned to the Florida State League on July 30th, and hit .247/.359/.481 in the month of August. With Rochester in need of an outfielder the final week of the season, it was he whom they summoned to play centerfield to end the season. English’s trip to the AFL is just as much about getting him some extra at-bats as it is his chance to make an impression. While he doesn’t necessarily have any loud tools, he does profile as a leadoff type hitter with good speed and was named the Twins top defensive outfielder in 2015 while playing in Cedar Rapids. He’s a bit further down the outfield pecking order at this point, but a strong showing in Arizona could put him on a path to AAA in 2017, and you never know when the Twins may need a fourth-outfielder type for their bench. - Mason Melotakis is a pitcher that always had intrigued me since the Twins selected him in the second round of the 2012 draft out of Northwestern State in Lousiana. This was the draft the Twins started shifting their focus to power arms, and Melotakis was a hard one to ignore with a mid-to-upper nineties fastball from the left side. Unfortunately for him and his arm, that same stuff that made him intriguing as a high draft pick didn’t quite transfer to a starting role, and the 2014 season saw him back in the bullpen before Tommy John surgery struck the lefthander and he missed all of 2015. Ready at the outset of the 2016 season, Melotakis was sent to Chattanooga and spent the entire season there while being monitored very closely. He did not once pitch on consecutive days, and never pitched more than one inning in any of his thirty-six appearances. Overall on the year Melotakis had a 2.96 ERA, with forty-two strikeouts and twelve walks in 33.1 innings pitched. He struck out ten in just 4.2 innings over the months of August and September to end the year and will look to continue that type of dominance in the AFL as he makes up some lost development time. - Randy Rosario is another Twins pitching prospect who has endured a Tommy John surgery in his career, with his coming during the 2014 season. He returned in 2015 with the Cedar Rapids Kernels and showed that he still had a big fastball post-surgery. He started with Fort Myers in 2016 and in April was just as good as the rest of the starters in the vaunted rotation, but was a bit up and down throughout the year. Still not even a year removed from returning to pitching, Rosario’s workload was limited by design as his season high for innings pitched to that point was just 61.2, but he did increase that number to 100.1 in 2016. At Fort Myers he was 6-6 with a 3.34 ERA, and got a late season promotion to Chattanooga to pitch out of their bullpen. While it remains to be seen if Rosario will start for the Surprise roster, it will be a good opportunity to log some extra time against top-flight competition and make up some development ground as he was added to the 40-man roster last offseason despite being pegged for the Florida State League and his relatively recent surgery. Still just twenty-two years old despite six years in the system, a strong showing in the AFL could be a catapult into the Twins plans for 2017 and beyond for the left-hander. - John Curtiss was drafted in the sixth round of the 2014 draft out of the University of Texas where he was a closer. He made starts in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons, but has settled into the bullpen and thrived. He made six appearances in the Midwest League to start the 2016 season, and when you see the stat lines for those games, you’ll understand why he was bumped up to the Florida State League so early: 1.0 IP, 3 K’s; 1.0 IP, K; 2.0 IP, 4 K’s; 2.0 IP, 5 K’s; 1.0 IP, 3 K’s, 1.0 IP, 2 H’s, 1 K. If you failed to read through that sequence, it will show he allowed just two hits and struck out seventeen in eight innings. He had a bit of a rough start in Fort Myers, but settled in when the calendar turned to July and was locking down the seventh and eighth innings for the Miracle. After the FSL All-Star game, Curtiss made twenty-four appearances and struck out forty-two in thirty-two innings pitched with a 1.69 ERA. His name may not be as well-known as several other bullpen arms in the Twins system, but Curtiss has worked himself into those conversations with his performance against both right and left-handed hitters in his career. Of note as a right-handed pitcher, was his .217 BAA and 34.6% strikeout rate against lefties in 2016. Curtiss will look to continue that success against his best competition yet in the AFL, and make a further impression on Twins coaches heading into 2017. - For each of these players, it's all about continuing their success of 2016 and making a further impression on Twins coaches. That's what I'll be watching for, what about you? Good luck to all of the players in the AFL for the Twins this season, and I’m looking forward to following along with everyone at Twins Daily! Please feel free to ask any questions about the AFL and discuss this week’s performances!

I wanted to stop my voting after Ervin Santana...haha

Though this is probably associated with this idea in general, he definitely doesn't hide the ball in his motion. Puts it right out there in full view for the hitter. I definitely think MLB hitters are capable of noticing this and taking advantage.

Exactly why he was #1 on my list! But the numbers I took into account most were his 0.98 ERA and 0.72 WHIP while he was in the GCL. All the other guys pitched more than him, but none was as dominating in the SS leagues.

Cherington I'd put in front of AA at this point if I had a wishlist. Like I said though, I'd be on board with AA. I honestly didn't think his name would even be considered by the Twins.

Don't know if he would be my top choice, but would signal a big change in philosophies, I think. I would be on board with him.

I did not require immediate medical attention. After laying in the fetal position after managing to toss the ball back toward the infield (I made the catch, haha), my teammate (personal trainer/chiropractor in his non-free time) came out and straightened my leg back out. Felt okay after that and walked off the field under my own power. The insurance the team had covered portions of the initial doctor visits, MRI, surgery, and rehab. I don't know if our league had better insurance than others beyond what the MBA requires, but this statement was not true in my experience.

So excited for James! He's deserved this cup of coffee going on three years now!

This is outside the intent of the article I think, but Keith Law's question brought it up: Are you sure the team doesn't have insurance? I thought it was required, or at least the league is required to have it? While it wasn't great coverage (combined with my work's it was fine), but when I tore my ACL playing I had insurance from the team to help pay.

Obviously late to the party here, but... um... how do I say this?... Oh yeah: This basically reads as because of the "strong fan of the Twins" you are, you couldn't possibly ever see them doing anything wrong. They have a .422 winning percentage over the past six seasons. I'm a huge fan too, and I've been harsh on them for 4+ seasons now. I believe that because of the type of fan of them I am, I SHOULD BE harsh on them for what has gone on recently. I want better. You should want better. We're well past the point that we KNOW they have made a litany of mistakes. Sheesh.

I feel like this is being generous to the Twins, even as a scathing report on what has occurred this year.

Except you can extrapolate data, as I also did in that post. Puckett still outpaces Mauer across the board.

I am not at all saying Joe Mauer is not one of the Twins all time best with the following comments (he is), but I see him in a much different context than most. There is a large obsession with on-base percentage around the world of Major League Baseball these days, thanks to sabermetrics and WAR and everything else. What I dislike about this, is how batting average (and in turn, hits) has somehow become less valued when comparing players in this age. The fact is, HITS are worth a hell of a lot more than walks. Give me a .300/.350 hitter any day of the week over a .280/.370 hitter. Yet what you will find, is the .280 player (all other things being equal) is valued more by things like WAR. Since this is a Twins list, here is the comparison I always use for Mauer, when discussing the best Twins of all time (I think there is a clear #1): Player X: 1783 games, 2304 hits, 1071 runs, 414 doubles, 57 triples, 207 home runs, 1085 RBI, and a triple slash for his career of .318/.360/.477. Mauer: 1573 games, 1815 hits, 879 runs, 360 doubles, 28 triples, 129 home runs, 800 RBI, and a triple slash for his career of .310/.393/.447. Mauer's pace numbers compared to Player X's career come out to: 2057 hits, 996 runs, 408 doubles, 32 triples, 146 home runs, and 906 RBI. If you hadn't figured it out yet, Player X is Kirby Puckett. For all the things Mauer is lauded for doing now, Kirby is often times looked back upon in retrospect as flawed, despite the facts (to me) that Puckett was far more productive than Mauer due to the volume of HITS he collected. He had over 200 hits in 5 different seasons, leading the AL in that category 4 times (and had 190+ in 2 other seasons). Mauer has eclipsed 190 hits once in his career. Puckett scored 100+ runs in four seasons, 80+ in nine. Mauer has eclipsed 80+ runs five times. Puckett drove in 100+ runs in three seasons, and 80+ in ten. Mauer has eclipsed 80+ RBI four times, with a peak of 98 in his MVP season. Just another interesting note, for all the people who say Puckett swung at everything and struck out too much as a result: Mauer is on an exact pace to match Kirby's 965 career K's in the same amount of games played at this point. Walks are definitely a good thing, but to me, there comes a point, or is a certain type of player, where the curve starts to be a detriment if too many walks are taken. Mauer is what he is (and has been great), but I have to believe with his hitting ability and youthful skills he hurt his overall production by being that type of player. I'd sacrifice the same amount of on-base percentage points for slugging any day of the week, and with his skill as a hitter, Mauer could have done much more in the HITS category to drive something like this. Again, with these nitpicks, he still is undoubtedly one of the best Twins ever. I just think he is credited for some things that others get bashed for, when it should be the opposite. I would love to see what Mauer's WAR totals would be in comparison to these others if he was not ever a catcher. Say a CF who played defense just as good as Puckett did.

Seth probably doesn't know this, and is why the headline was edited to be grammatically correct, but my twitter thing for Vargas Home runs is to tweet "Kennys Hit Ball Far". Doesn't have the same effect when proper language is used, haha!

Not quite when Kennys had just as many total bases and his one swing was the sole reason they won from an offensive standpoint.

It was a low-scoring night throughout the system Tuesday, but that means there were several good pitching performances for the Twins affiliates. As an organization, they combined for just 19 runs (2.7 per game) on the day, but because of those performance went 5-2 on the day in the minor leagues.To see which other starting pitchers came through besides the dominating effort from lefty Jason Wheeler at AAA, keep reading! But first, congratulations to Twins first-round draft pick, Alex Kirilloff, who was named the Appalachian League's Player of the Yearon Tuesday. He was joined by Lewin Diaz and Patrick McGuff on the league's postseason All-Star team. In the Midwest League, Luis Arraez was named to their postseason All-Star team. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Norfolk 0 Box Score Rochester’s offense scored three runs before they played any defense thanks to a three-run homer from Kennys Vargas, and thanks to their starting pitcher, that would be all they needed and more. Byron Buxton led off the game with a double and Reynaldo Rodriguez drew a walk before the Vargas blast to account for the other two runs scored. It was the Jason Wheeler show after that. Wheeler went the game’s first eight innings, shutting out the Tides in the process. He allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out eight. He retired the last ten batters he faced and from the third inning on the only two base runners allowed were on a walk that was erased by a double-play ball, and a throwing error from shortstop Tommy Field. Wheeler’s twelfth victory of the season ties him with Stephen Gonsalves for the organizational lead in wins. D.J. Baxendale came on for the ninth and kept the shutout intact with a scoreless inning. He allowed one hit and struck out one. To begin the third inning, five consecutive hits from Vargas (single), Adam Walker (RBI triple), Daniel Palka (RBI single), Mitch Garver (single), and James Beresford (single) scored two runs and had the bases loaded, but a shallow fly out and double play ended the threat of further damage. Leonardo Reginatto drove in Garver, who had doubled, with an RBI single in the eighth for the Red Wings final run. Vargas (2-4, 2 R’s, HR, 3 RBIs, BB), Garver (4-4, R, 2B), and Reginatto (3-4, RBI) had multiple hits for the majority of Rochester’s thirteen as a team on the game. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Jacksonville 3 Box Score Aaron Slegers made the start for the Lookouts in this one and pitched into the seventh inning. The damage came on a two-run home run in the third inning to give the Suns the lead, but Slegers left the game with it tied at two and two runners on in the seventh.. Zack Jones was summoned and gave up a single to load the bases, but struck out the next two batters to close the door and keep the game tied going into the eighth. Slegers allowed just two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three in his 6.1 innings pitched. Chattanooga tied the game at two in the sixth inning thanks to an error that allowed Levi Michael to score (he had led off with a double), and an RBI groundout from Ryan Walker to score Zach Granite who also stole his forty-eighth base of the season. Jones added a scoreless eighth inning, and came on for the ninth as well. Unfortunately, it was probably a decision manager Doug Mientkiewitz would like to take back. Four base-on-balls later (including one intentional) and the Suns would send their fans home happy with a literal walk-off win. Jones finished with the loss, and one run allowed on two hits and four walks in his 2.1 innings. He struck out four as well. Engelb Vielma and Travis Harrison each had two hits in the game, but Michael’s double was the Lookouts only extra-base hit. MIRACLE MATTERS Palm Beach 1, Fort Myers 2 Box score Fort Myers got an excellent performance from their starting pitcher at Hammond Stadium in this one, as Randy LeBlanc picked up his fifth win with the Miracle. LeBlanc has been going through some struggles, having allowed fifteen earned runs, twenty-seven hits, and five walks in his last three starts in just ten innings pitched, but that didn’t matter in this one. He allowed just three hits, one walk and struck out six in his seven innings. He held the Cardinals hitless the first time through the order before a walk and a single started the fourth inning, and then then retired nine in a row again before a single in the seventh inning. The Miracle took a 1-0 lead in the sixth thanks to a two-out RBI single from Alex Perez that scored Joe Maloney who had doubled leading off the frame. They added a needed insurance run in the eighth on a costly throwing error from the Palm Beach first baseman on a bunt attempt trying to catch the lead runner at third. Michael Theofanopoulos pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one, before John Curtiss was brought in for the save opportunity in the ninth. He made it interesting by allowing three singles to score one for the Cardinals, but two strikeouts helped him escape with his third save with Fort Myers. KERNELS NUGGETS Quad Cities 1, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score Cedar Rapids took the early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-out rally from Zander Wiel and Luis Arreaz. (This seems like the opposite of how the typical 3/4 spots in the lineup should be occupied by these two, but I’m not complaining.) Weil knocked his twenty-sixth double of the season (the 48th XBH of his 112 hits), and Arreaz drove him in with his 118th single of the year (he has 33 XBH’s). Starter Eduardo Del Rosario gave that run back in the top of the second thanks to a solo home run, but he was impressive the rest of the way. He scattered six hits over six innings and earned a no-decision for his effort. He struck out six and lowered his ERA on the season to under four after peaking at 6.58 after a six-run outing on June 30th. Williams Ramirez pitched two perfect innings in relief, striking out three in the process. In the bottom of the seventh, Manuel Guzman led off with a single and a wild pitch moved him into scoring position before Nelson Molina’s clutch two-out RBI single to put the Kernels out front. Anthony McIver came on for the ninth, and matched Ramirez with a one-two-three inning of his own for his tenth save. He struck out one. Arreaz was the only hitter with multiple hits as he went 2-3 with a walk and leads the Midwest League with a .349 average. E-TWINS E-NOTES Game 1: Elizabethton 0, Bristol 1 Box Score Thanks to a rain out back on July 29th, the E-Twins got to play a seven-inning double-header on Tuesday. In the regularly scheduled game, they may have been happy it lasted only one hour and twenty-seven minutes given that they had to play a second game, but they won’t be proud of why that happened. As a team they managed just two hits and were 0-2 with runners in scoring position. When they were given extra base runners by two errors on the Pirates, they were quickly erased by double-plays. Bristol took the lead for good in the fourth inning against Elizabethton starter Domenick Carlini thanks to three singles. They didn’t manage much more than that as Carlini finished all six innings and allowed just the one run by scattering the other four hits and walking only one. He struck out five and falls to 1-6 on the year. Game 2 (makeup of 7/29 postponement): Elizabethton 4, Bristol 2 (9 innings) Box Score The reason the E-Twins might have been happy was because game two went two extra innings instead of the scheduled seven (even given this, this game lasted just 2 hours and 19 minutes). The pace in this one was largely due to nearly forty percent of the game's outs coming via strikeout. Bristol had ten as a team, with Elizabethton outpacing them with eleven. The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the second inning thanks to Lewin Diaz’s ninth home run of the year. The Pirates tied it at one in the third thanks to a home run of their own off starter Clark Beeker. He allowed only that run on three hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out six. Colton Davis pitched a scoreless sixth inning despite allowing three hits. His defense came through by cutting down a stolen base attempt and a runner at home for two of his three outs. Elizabethton took the lead again in the sixth on an RBI ground ball from Alex Kirilloff, then gave it right back again in the seventh. It was Patrick McGuff’s fault this time and he was charged with the blown save. But as happens sometimes, he came back out for a second inning and recorded three K’s to pick up the win thanks to a two-run ninth inning from his offense. A sac fly from Bryant Hayman and wild pitch led to those two runs. Hector Lujan came on for his save opportunity, and went one-two-three to end the game. Diaz was 2-3 with the home run, and Caleb Hamilton was the only other Twins batter with a hit. They scored four runs on three hits and four Bristol errors that contributed to the win. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Orioles 2, GCL Twins 3 Box Score In another close game in the system on the day, the GCL Twins scored early and late to pick up the victory. Lean Marrero (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B), Justin Hazard (3-4, R, 2B, RBI), Jose Miranda (2-4, 2 RBI), and Akil Baddoo (2-4, 3B) each collected multiple hits to lead the offense. They scored two in the first and one in the seventh for just enough offense. Starter Tyler Fox went the first five innings and did not factor into the decision. He allowed two runs (zero earned) on four hits and three walks while striking out three. Garrett Kelly pitched the next three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk with two strikeouts. Zach Strecker picked up his fifth save with a perfect ninth, striking out two. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler, Rochester Red Wings (W, 8.0 IP, 2 H’s, BB, 8 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, Rochester Red Wings (2-4, 2 R’s, HR, BB, 3 RBI) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (6:05PM CST) – LHP David Hurlut (0-1, 3.46 ERA) Chattanooga @ Jacksonville (6:05PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (7-6, 3.04 ERA) Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Fernando Romero (4-2, 2.11 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM PM CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (0-0, 1.80 ERA) Burlington @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST) – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Tuesday’s games. Click here to view the article