Steve Lein

They fell in love with Brad Radke (who was an ace for several seasons) and tried to capitalize on what they thought was a unexploited pattern because of him: Command and Control (to limit walks) over velocity (strikeouts). The pitchers like Radke ended up being the outliers, not a vast resource to exploit. In my opinion, this "philosophy" is very well-documented. You hear it from opposing scouts, every prospect website and scout talker on the planet, exec's who've been here before, probably even Terry Ryan himself... The fact that they've targeted velocity early in drafts the last three seasons should be proof enough this existed, because it was such an obvious, and alternate to what every other team was doing (targeting RP's with velocity), change of course. Also keep in mind, where the "aces" we've had since Radke (and Since Ryan became GM in '94) have come from. (Hint: it wasn't the Twins drafts).

Tyler Duffey was on the mound for the Minnesota Twins on Sunday as the parent squad looked to avoid a home series sweep at the hands of the team that yesterday passed them in American League Wild Card standings. Duffey delivered, tossing seven shutout innings as the Twins won 8-1 to end the series with the teams tied in those standings. The Angels next series has them facing the Houston Astros. The Twins have an opportunity to make up some ground in the next few days while they face off against the Cleveland Indians, who are 1.5 games behind them. In the minors on Sunday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels looked to end their Midwest League Championship series at home, and Chattanooga Lookouts looked to send their Southern League series to a deciding Game Five. Both teams got quality starts from their starting pitchers, would it be enough to extend or win their respective series’?Keep on reading about Sunday’s action to find out! CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Biloxi 2, Chattanooga 4 Box Score Lefthander David Hurlbut made the start for the Lookouts, as they came into the game down 2-1 in the series against the Biloxi Shuckers. He made quick work of the first and second innings, pitching a one-two-three frame in the second, but the Shuckers got on the board first in the third, as a two-out rally was capped by an RBI single from Orlando Arcia to make it 1-0. A solo home run from Brett Phillips in the fourth made it 2-0. Hurlbut didn’t allow any further damage, retiring the next seven batters he faced to finish six innings. He allowed the two runs on five hits and walk, while striking out six. The Chattanooga lineup finally came alive in the bottom of the sixth, as a single from Jorge Polanco and walks to Travis Harrison and Adam Brett Walker loaded the bases. Levi Michael tied the game at two with a single to left field, which was followed by a Heiker Meneses walk to again load the bases. Stuart Turner put them in front 3-2 with a sac fly to score Walker, and single from Shannon Wilkerson brought in Michael to make it 4-2. Chattanooga sent every hitter in the lineup to the plate in the big inning. The outburst put Hurlbut in line for the win, and the Lookouts summoned fireballer Nick Burdi from the bullpen to hold the lead. He walked one in the seventh inning, but retired the other three hitters, including a strikeout, to keep the lead at two. In the eighth, it got a bit more interesting. Burdi retired the first hitter, but then walked the next two to put the tying run on base. A groundout then put runners at first and third with two outs, before he walked another to load the bases. That ended his night and brought in J.T. Chargois from Chattanooga’s bullpen. He struck out Nick Ramirez to end the inning and the threat. After the Lookouts were held off the board in the bottom of the eighth, Chargois remained in the game to close it out. A single and a walk around a groundout and a strikeout again had the tying run on base, but again Chargois bore down and ended the threat and game with a strikeout to push it do a deciding Game Five tomorrow night in Chattanooga. The offense was led by Jorge Polanco, who picked up three hits and scored a run, and Michael who was 2-4 with two RBIs in his first start in their last eight postseason games. As a team the Lookouts did not have a single extra-base hit, but took advantage of six walks and got the runs when they could by going 3-8 with runners in scoring position. KERNELS NUGGETS West Michigan 2, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score After two and a half innings in Cedar Rapids on Sunday, the game was tied 0-0 as both starters had scattered two hits. The Kernels scored the first run of the game in the bottom of third, as Nick Gordon doubled and scored on a single from T.J. White to make it 1-0. It remained that way until the fifth inning, when Kernels starter Randy Rosario finally ran into some trouble he could not escape from unscathed. A single and a walk put two runners on with one out before consecutive singles each plated a run to put West Michigan up 2-1. Rosario came out again for the sixth, and put up another scoreless frame despite two hits to end his day. Michael Theofanopoulos came in from the bullpen for the seventh and eighth innings and kept the score 2-1. He gave up two hits in his two scoreless innings. John Curtiss came on for the top of the ninth and gave up a leadoff single, but a sacrifice bunt and consecutive swinging strikeouts kept the Shuckers lead at one for the home team’s final at-bat. Edgar Corcino worked a walk to put the tying run on base to start the inning. He was put into scoring position at second base when LaMonte Wade singled to center with one out. A Chris Paul strikeout put the Kernels down to their last out in the potential series clinching game. Max Murphy worked a walk to load the bases, and summoned the Shuckers closer Joe Jimenez into the game to face Kernels catcher Brian Navarreto, who played hero in last night’s Kernels win. It wasn’t meant to be this time, as Naverreto went down swinging to force a Midwest League Championship deciding Game Five Monday night in Cedar Rapids. Nick Gordon had a solid game for the Kernels, going 2-4 with a run scored and a double from the two-spot in the lineup. He is hitting .364 in the postseason for the Kernels. LaMonte Wade added two hits, Austin Diemer added a triple, and White had their only RBI. As a team Cedar Rapids was just 1-9 with runners in scoring position however, and left seven men on base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – J.T. Chargois, Chattanooga Lookouts (Save, 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Levi Michael, Chattanooga Lookouts (2-4, R, 2 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Biloxi @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) – TBD West Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games! Click here to view the article

Tyler Duffey was on the mound for the Minnesota Twins on Sunday as the parent squad looked to avoid a home-series-sweep at the hands of the team who has been chasing them in American League Wild Card standings. Duffey delivered, tossing seven shut-out innings as Twins won 8-1 to end the series with the Teams tied in those standings. The Angels next series has them facing the Houston Astros, whom they are both chasing. The Twins have an opportunity to make up some ground in the next few days while they face off against the Cleveland Indians, who are 1.5 games behind them. In the minors on Sunday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels looked to end their Midwest League Championship series at home, and Chattanooga Lookouts looked to send their Southern League series to a deciding game five. Both teams got quality starts from their starting pitchers, would it be enough to extend or win their respective series’? Keep on reading about Sunday’s action to find out! CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Biloxi 2, Chattanooga 4 Box Score Lefthander David Hurlbut made the start for the Lookouts, as they came into the game down 2-1 in the series against the Biloxi Shuckers. He made quick work of the first and second innings, pitching a one-two-three frame in the second, but the Shuckers got on the board first in the third, as a two-out rally was capped by an RBI single from Orlando Arcia to make it 1-0. A solo home run from Brett Phillips in the fourth made it 2-0. Hurlbut didn’t allow any further damage, retiring the next seven batters he faced to finish six innings. He allowed the two runs on five hits and walk, while striking out six. The Chattanooga lineup finally came alive in the bottom of the sixth, as a single from Jorge Polanco and walks to Travis Harrison and Adam Brett Walker loaded the bases. Levi Michael tied the game at two with a single to left field, which was followed by a Heiker Meneses walk to again load the bases. Stuart Turner put them in front 3-2 with a sac fly to score Walker, a and single from Shannon Wilkerson brought in Michael to make it 4-2. Chattanooga sent every hitter in the lineup to the plate in the big inning. The outburst put Hurlbut in line for the win, and the Lookouts summoned fireballer Nick Burdi from the bullpen to hold the lead. He walked one in the seventh inning, but retired the other three hitters, including a strikeout, to keep the lead at two. In the eighth, it got a bit more interesting. Burdi retired the first hitter, but then walked the next two to put the tying run on base. A ground-out then put runners at first and third with two outs, before he walked another to load the bases. That ended his night and brought in J.T. Chargois from Chattanooga’s bullpen. He struck out Nick Ramirez to end the inning and the threat. After the Lookouts were held off the board in the bottom of the eighth, Chargois remained in the game to close it out. A single and a walk around a groundout and a strikeout again had the tying run on base, but again Chargois bore down and ended the threat and game with a strikeout to push it do a deciding game five tomorrow night in Chattanooga. The offense was led by Jorge Polanco, who picked up three hits and scored a run, and Michael who was 2-4 with two RBI in his first start in their last eight postseason games. As a team the Lookouts did not have a single extra base hit, but took advantage of six walks and got the runs when they could by going 3-8 with runners in scoring position. KERNELS NUGGETS West Michigan 2, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score After two and a half innings in Cedar Rapids on Sunday, the game was tied 0-0 as both starters had scattered two hits. The Kernels scored the first run of the game in the bottom of third, as Nick Gordon doubled and scored on a single from T.J. White to make it 1-0. It remained that way until the fifth inning, when Kernels starter Randy Rosario finally ran into some trouble he could not escape from unscathed. A single and a walk put two runners on with one out, before consecutive singles each plated a run to put West Michigan up 2-1. Rosario came out again for the sixth, and put up another scoreless frame despite two hits to end his day. Michael Theofanopoulos came in from the bullpen for the seventh and eighth innings and kept the score 2-1. He gave up two hits in his two scoreless innings. John Curtiss came on for the top of the ninth and gave up a leadoff single, but a sacrifice bunt and consecutive swinging strikeouts would keep the Shuckers lead at one for the home team’s final at-bat. Edgar Corcino worked a walk to put the tying run on base to start the inning, and was put into scoring position at second base when LaMonte Wade singled to center with one out. A Chris Paul strikeout put the Kernels down to their last out in the potential series clinching game. Max Murphy worked a walk to load the bases, and summoned the Shuckers closer Joe Jimenez into the game to face Kernels catcher Brian Navarreto, who played hero in last night’s Kernels win. It wasn’t meant to be this time, as Naverreto went down swinging to force a Midwest League Championship deciding game five Monday night in Cedar Rapids. Nick Gordon had a solid game for the Kernels, going 2-4 with a run scored and a double from the two-spot in the lineup. He is hitting .364 in the postseason for the Kernels. LaMonte Wade added two hits, Austin Diemer added a triple, and White had their only RBI. As a team Cedar Rapids was just 1-9 with runners in scoring position however, and left seven men-on-base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – J.T. Chargois, Chattanooga Lookouts (Save, 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Levi Michael, Chattanooga Lookouts (2-4, R, 2 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Biloxi @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) – TBD West Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games!

I wanted to give Wade the #1 spot on my ballot, he had stats across every offensive tool. Extremely good overall offensive performance. But the sheer number of hits from Palacios was too much to ignore. As for Palacios at SS, he also had 20 errors in 53 games. Just something to keep an eye on. Age had no bearing on my ballot.

Had the same thoughts on the Sano at-bat (as our Twitter exchange confirms). I sat there after that pitch going, "ugh...ahh...gah...dangit." It was absolutely the pitch to crush, but there was just no way you could also say he should have swung at it given the situations. The next two from Rodon were nasty, pitcher's pitches.

Still hate it. Four games out, and playing above .500 baseball, still puts the Twins in "playoff contention" at this point with four teams. A steeper hill yes, but one series sweep could change everything in a matter of days. It wasn't about adding another market into the playoff mix, one game doesn't do that, or at least enough of that. It was about capitalizing on the excitement that had been provided recently by teams tying for their division, and having to play a game 163. This just makes that happen every year. It's incredibly against the fabric of how baseball works to have a PLAYOFF "series" be a single-game-sudden-death-free-for-all. A single game against one opponent never happens in the schedule during the entire season, why on Earth would determining a playoff series in this manner be considered logical? The only thing I see that it does, is gives the term "Wild Card" a true meaning, because who knows what the heck is going to happen in that game. it's fun in it's own way, but as mentioned, it's manufactured, not "true baseball," to me.

The minor league seasons came to an end last week, and even though Cedar Rapids and Chattanooga are still playing in the playoffs, it is time to start handing out some awards. All week, we will be handing out some (proverbial) awards. Yesterday, it was Max Kepler taking home the Hitter of the Year prize. The Twins Minor League Report authors each voted for the five awards being handed out. Today, we’ll take a look at the top starting pitchers in the Twins minor league system in 2015. We each voted for our top six performers.Short profiles of our top six are to follow, but first, some players worthy of Honorable Mention. Honorable Mention: Chih-Wei Hu, Fort Myers Miracle/Rochester Red Wings: 16 GS, 6-3, 2.38 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 90.2 IP, 81 H’s, 23 BB’s, 79 K’s.Sam Gibbons, Cedar Rapids Kernels: 15 GS, 7-4, 2.89 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 90.1 IP, 84 H’s, 23 BB’s, 68 K’s.Aaron Slegers, Fort Myers Miracle, Chattanooga Lookouts: 25 GS, 9-10, 3.35 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 156.0 IP, 143 H’s, 33 BB’s, 104 K’s.Ryan Eades, Fort Myers Miracle: 20 GS, 6-3, 3.11 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 118.2 IP, 109 H’s, 38 BB’s, 80 K’s.Pitcher of the Year Here are the top six vote-getters for Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. #6 – Pat Dean, Rochester Red Wings: 27 GS, 12-11, 2.82 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 179.0 IP, 170 H’s, 36 BB’s, 98 K’s. The left-hander drafted out of Boston College in the third round of the 2010 draft, was as steady as you could possibly be for the Rochester Red Wings in 2015. He did not miss a single turn in Rochester’s rotation and led all of the minor leagues in innings pitched on the year. His accomplishments also included leading all Twins farmhands with five complete games, including three of the shutout variety. He also did not wear down with the high workload that comes from leading the minors in innings pitched, as four of those complete games came in his last eight starts of the season. He failed to complete at least five innings in just two starts the entire season, and one of those included a game which was delayed by rain that he could not continue once play resumed. Of his twenty-seven starts, thirteen were of the quality start variety, and he went seven or more innings eleven times. It is quite an accomplishment to rack up twenty-three decisions in twenty-seven starts, and speaks to the consistency Dean displayed throughout the year. Dean appeared in April and August’s Starting Pitcher of the Month reports, and was honorable mention two other times. #5 – Felix Jorge, Cedar Rapids Kernels: 23 G/22 GS, 6-7, 2.79 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 142.0 IP, 118 H’s, 32 BB’s, 114 K’s. Jorge spent the entire season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels and racked up quite the workload for a twenty-one-year-old starter in his first full year of exposure to a full-season league. In 2014, he spent some of his time with the Kernels, but needed to make some adjustments and was sent to the Appalachian League when their season started. It helped, as 2015 was a mammoth step forward for the right-hander. He ranked top ten in the Midwest League in ERA (7th), innings pitched (10th), and WHIP (3rd), and just outside the top ten in strikeouts (12th). He improved in all aspects of his game in the MWL as compared to 2014, and did not fail to finish at least five innings in any of his twenty-two starts on the year. In fact, he failed to go six innings in just two starts, and notched twenty quality starts in those twenty-two games. In his first game of the year, he struck out a season-high ten batters, and followed that up with a nine K effort his next time out. Jorge is poised to start 2016 in Fort Myers, and with a similar performance, will look to reach Chattanooga as a 22 year old. Jorge appeared in the Starting Pitcher of the Month rankings twice (May, June), and received honorable mention two other times. #4 – Mat Batts, Cedar Rapids Kernels/Fort Myers Miracle: 24 GS, 11-6, 2.61 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 141.1 IP, 127 H’s, 28 BB’s, 129 K’s. Batts started his season in the Midwest League alongside Jorge, and laid waste to its hitters. The lefty posted a 2.21 ERA in seven starts, with forty-four K’s in 40.2 innings before being bumped up to the Florida State League. He continued his success there, posting a 2.77 ERA in seventeen starts and 100.2 more innings. He struck out eighty-five FSL hitters. His eleven wins on the season ranked fourth in the organization, behind only pitchers that make up this list, and also ranked third in strikeouts and fifth in ERA. Batts received honorable mention in three of the monthly awards rankings, and took home the Pitcher of the Month award in July, when he was 3-0 in five starts with a 1.15 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, .179 batting average against, and 30 K’s compared to just 7 BB’s in 31.1 total innings. #3 – Tyler Duffey, Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings: 22 GS, 7-8, 2.54 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 138.0 IP, 119 H’s, 30 BB’s, 122 K’s. Duffey has made quite an impression with Twins fans after his promotion to the major leagues and continues to do so in their push for the playoffs, but before that he was making quite an impression in Double- and Triple-A too. With the glut of pitching the Twins had to stash in AAA to start the season, Duffey found himself in Chattanooga to start the year despite making some appearances for the Red Wings in 2014. He didn’t stay there long. In eight starts, Duffey racked up 52.2 innings (6.5 innings/start) and struck out fifty-four hitters with a 2.56 ERA. In what would be his final start there, he struck out a season high twelve hitters to earn a promotion back to AAA. He made fourteen more starts with the Red Wings before he found himself in the majors pitching meaningful games with the Twins, which totaled 85.1 innings with a 5-6 record and 2.53 ERA. He struck out sixty-eight and walked just eighteen. With the Twins he has held his own after a rough introduction, and has struck out eight twice in six starts. Duffey reached as high as number two on the monthly award lists (June), and number five another time (July) with one honorable mention (May). #2 – Stephen Gonsalves, Cedar Rapids Kernels/Fort Myers Miracle: 24 GS, 13-3, 2.01 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 134.1 IP, 95 H’s, 53 BB’s, 132 K’s. Even moreso than Jorge or Batts, Gonsalves was otherworldy to start the year in Cedar Rapids. He made just nine starts there before it was determined he needed to be in the Florida State League. He needed to be there because he was 6-1 in this nine games, with a 1.15 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, just twenty-nine hits and fifteen walks in 55.0 innings, while racking up an astronomical seventy-seven strikeouts. He struck out double-digit hitters in four of those games, including his last two, and did not record fewer strikeouts than innings pitched in any of his starts while Midwest League batters hit just .154 against him. They couldn’t get him to the Florida State League fast enough. While the strikeout numbers didn’t persist for the projectable lefty in the FSL, his overall success did. In fifteen starts with the Miracle, Gonsalves went 7-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 79.1 more innings. On the year as a whole, Gonsalves did not allow more than three earned runs in any of his twenty-four starts, and surrendered just four home runs the entire season despite being a fly-ball heavy pitcher (0.72 GO/AO ratio). Gonsalves took home the monthly award for April, and was number two for the month of May (though he might as well have won it then too, since it went to Tommy Milone, haha), and appeared at number six again in the month of July. Starting Pitcher of the Year – Jose Berrios, Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings: 27 GS, 14-5, 2.87 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 166.1 IP, 136 H’s, 38 BB’s, 175 K’s. (picture of Berrios by Craig Gordon) As if you didn’t already know?! Jose Berrios came into the 2015 season with lofty expectations for himself. In spring training, he talked about how one of his goals was to break camp with the major league team. It didn’t matter to him that he was just twenty-years old and had made just one appearance above AA in 2014. He certainly didn’t perform himself out of the chance, as he appeared in two games with the major league squad that totaled six innings of 0.00 ERA pitching. But the Twins had a plan for him, and it included getting stretched out for a full minor league season to fully developing their prized young pitcher, who had made quite an impression. It’s hard to argue with the end results, even if you’re in the camp who believes he could be contributing in the majors for the Twins right now (I do! I do!). Berrios returned to the ranks of AA, where he had spent a good portion of his 2014 season with the New Britain Rock Cats of the Eastern League, but with the Twins new affiliate in the Southern League, and the stacked roster of the Chattanooga Lookouts. But he wasn’t about to be overlooked. His first start of the season came on April 10th, and he allowed one earned run in 6.1 innings to pick up his first win. He struck out eleven on just eighty-nine pitches. As the month turned to May, Berrios really started to find his footing in AA. He made six starts on the month, and went 4-1 with a 2.61 ERA. He totaled 41.1 innings, including a two-run, eight inning effort on May 8th that he followed up with a two-hit complete game shutout on May 13th. He made his final start in double-A on June 28th, going seven innings to improve his record to 8-3, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out six. In Rochester, Berrios experienced some early struggles, allowing five runs in each of his first two outings, but he learned quickly. His next start was a seven-inning gem where he allowed just two runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out nine. It was a springboard for the domination he would sustain over the season’s final two months. From that start on July 18th on, Berrios made ten more starts with the Red Wings. He completed seven innings in six of those games, six in three others, and only failed to complete that number in his last start as he was shut down for the year with a well-above his career high 166.1 innings pitched. In a two start stretch in August with General Manager Terry Ryan in attendance, Berrios allowed just one run on only eight hits and one walk, while striking out twenty-two in consecutive seven inning appearances. Ryan had to have his mind made up at that point, as you don’t see that type of dominance and come away unimpressed if auditioning for a major league call-up. It doesn’t get any better than that. As a fitting end to his phenomenal year, Berrios finished the 2015 season by leading all of the minor leagues in strikeouts with 175. Though it might come a year later than he originally had hoped, Berrios is poised to make a strong contribution in the majors in 2015, and who knows, it could be as soon as April (or March?!) 2016 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Obviously, there were some fantastic starting pitcher performances from Twins minor leaguers throughout the system in 2015. Congrats to all the players on a fantastic season that was loads of fun to follow like every year, and get ready for 2016! The Ballots In an attempt to be transparent, here are the votes from our Twins Daily minor league writers: Seth Stohs – 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Stephen Gonsalves, 3) Mat Batts, 4) Tyler Duffey, 5) Felix Jorge, 6) Pat DeanJeremy Nygaard – 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Stephen Gonsalves, 3) Tyler Duffey, 4) Felix Jorge, 5) Mat Batts, 6) Pat DeanCody Christie – 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Stephen Gonsalves, 3) Felix Jorge, 4) Mat Batts, 5) Aaron Slegers, 6) Tyler DuffeySteve Lein – 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Stephen Gonsalves, 3) Tyler Duffey, 4) Mat Batts, 5) Pat Dean, 6) Felix JorgeEric Pleiss – 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Tyler Duffey, 3) Stephen Gonsalves, 4) Mat Batts, 5) Felix Jorge, 6) Ryan EadesFeel free to discuss. How would your ballot look? 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The Minor League seasons came to an end last week, and even though Cedar Rapids and Chattanooga are still playing in the playoffs, it is time to start handing out some awards. All week, we will be handing out some (proverbial) awards. Yesterday, it was Max Kepler taking home the Hitter of the Year prize. The Twins Minor League Report authors each voted for the five awards being handed out. Today, we’ll take a look at the top Starting Pitchers in the Twins minor league system in 2015. We each voted for our top six performers. Image courtesy of Craig Gordon. Photo of Jose Berrios. Short profiles of our top six are to follow, but first, some players worthy of Honorable Mention. Honorable Mention: Chih-Wei Hu, Fort Myers Miracle/Rochester Red Wings: 16 GS, 6-3, 2.38 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 90.2 IP, 81 H’s, 23 BB’s, 79 K’s. Sam Gibbons, Cedar Rapids Kernels: 15 GS, 7-4, 2.89 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 90.1 IP, 84 H’s, 23 BB’s, 68 K’s. Aaron Slegers, Fort Myers Miracle, Chattanooga Lookouts: 25 GS, 9-10, 3.35 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 156.0 IP, 143 H’s, 33 BB’s, 104 K’s. Ryan Eades, Fort Myers Miracle: 20 GS, 6-3, 3.11 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 118.2 IP, 109 H’s, 38 BB’s, 80 K’s. Pitcher of the Year Here are the top six vote-getters for Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. #6 – Pat Dean, Rochester Red Wings: 27 GS, 12-11, 2.82 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 179.0 IP, 170 H’s, 36 BB’s, 98 K’s. The lefthander drafted out of Boston College in the third round of 2010’s draft, was as steady as you could possibly be for the Rochester Red Wings in 2015. He did not miss a single turn in Rochester’s rotation and led all of the minor leagues in innings pitched on the year. His accomplishments also included leading all Twins farmhands with five complete games, including three of the shutout variety. He also did not wear down with the high workload that comes from leading the minors in innings pitched, as four of those complete games came in his last eight starts of the season. He failed to complete at least five innings in just two starts the entire season, and one of those included a game which was delayed by rain that he could not continue once play resumed. Of his twenty-seven starts, thirteen were of the quality start variety, and he went seven or more innings eleven times. It is quite an accomplishment to rack up twenty-three decisions in twenty-seven starts, and speaks to the consistency Dean displayed throughout the year. Dean appeared in April and August’s Starting Pitcher of the Month reports, and was honorable mention two other times. #5 – Felix Jorge, Cedar Rapids Kernels: 23 G/22 GS, 6-7, 2.79 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 142.0 IP, 118 H’s, 32 BB’s, 114 K’s. Jorge spent the entire season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels, and racked up quite the workload for a twenty-one-year-old starter in his first full year of exposure to a full season league. In 2014, he spent some of his time with the Kernels, but needed to make some adjustments and was sent to the Appalachian League when their season started. It helped, as 2015 was a mammoth step forward for the right-hander. He ranked top ten in the Midwest League in ERA (7th), innings pitched (10th), and WHIP (3rd), and just outside the top ten in strikeouts (12th). He improved in all aspects of his game in the MWL as compared to 2014, and did not fail to finish at least five innings in any of his twenty-two starts on the year. In fact, he failed to go six innings in just two starts, and notched twenty quality starts in those twenty-two games. In his first game of the year, he struck out a season high ten batters, and followed that up with a nine K effort his next time out. Jorge is poised to start 2016 in Fort Myers, and with a similar performance, will look to reach Chattanooga as a 22 year old. Jorge appeared in the Starting Pitcher of the Month rankings twice (May, June), and received honorable mention two other times. #4 – Mat Batts, Cedar Rapids Kernels/Fort Myers Miracle: 24 GS, 11-6, 2.61 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 141.1 IP, 127 H’s, 28 BB’s, 129 K’s. Batts started his season in the Midwest League alongside Jorge, and laid waste to its hitters. The lefty posted a 2.21 ERA in seven starts, with forty-four K’s in 40.2 innings before being bumped up to the Florida State League. He continued his success there, posting a 2.77 ERA in seventeen starts and 100.2 more innings. He struck out eighty-five FSL hitters. His eleven wins on the season ranked fourth in the organization, behind only pitchers that make up this list, and also ranked third in strikeouts and fifth in ERA. Batts received honorable mention in three of the monthly awards rankings, and took home the Pitcher of the Month award in July, when he was 3-0 in five starts with a 1.15 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, .179 batting average against, and 30 K’s compared to just 7 BB’s in 31.1 total innings. #3 – Tyler Duffey, Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings: 22 GS, 7-8, 2.54 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 138.0 IP, 119 H’s, 30 BB’s, 122 K’s. Duffey has made quite an impression with Twins fans after his promotion to the major leagues and continues to do so in their push for the playoffs, but before that he was making quite an impression in double and triple-A too. With the glut of pitching the Twins had to stash in AAA to start the season, Duffey found himself in Chattanooga to start the year despite making some appearances for the Red Wings in 2014. He didn’t stay there long. In eight starts, Duffey racked up 52.2 innings (6.5 innings/start) and struck out fifty-four hitters with a 2.56 ERA. In what would be his final start there, he struck out a season high twelve hitters to earn a promotion back to AAA. He made fourteen more starts with the Red Wings before he found himself in the majors pitching meaningful games with the Twins, which totaled 85.1 innings with a 5-6 record and 2.53 ERA. He struck out sixty-eight and walked just eighteen. With the Twins he has held his own after a rough introduction, and struck out eight twice in six starts. Duffey reached as high as number two on the monthly award lists (June), and number five another time (July) with one honorable mentions (May). #2 – Stephen Gonsalves, Cedar Rapids Kernels/Fort Myers Miracle: 24 GS, 13-3, 2.01 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 134.1 IP, 95 H’s, 53 BB’s, 132 K’s. Even moreso than Jorge or Batts, Gonsalves was otherworldy to start the year in Cedar Rapids. He made just nine starts there before it was determined he needed to be in the Florida State League. He needed to be there because he was 6-1 in this nine games, with a 1.15 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, just twenty-nine hits and fifteen walks in 55.0 innings, while racking up an astronomical seventy-seven strikeouts. He struck out double-digit hitters in four of those games, including his last two, and did not record fewer strikeouts than innings pitched in any of his starts while Midwest League batters hit just .154 against him. They couldn’t get him to the Florida State League fast enough. While the strikeout numbers didn’t persist for the projectable lefty in the FSL, his overall success did. In fifteen starts with the Miracle, Gonsalves went 7-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 79.1 more innings. On the year as a whole, Gonsalves did not allow more than three earned runs in any of his twenty-four starts, and surrendered just four home runs the entire season despite being a fly-ball heavy pitcher (0.72 GO/AO ratio). Gonsalves took home the montly award for April, and was number two for the month of May (though he might as well have won it then too, since it went to Tommy Milone, haha), and appeared at number six again in the month of July. Starting Pitcher of the Year – Jose Berrios, Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings: 27 GS, 14-5, 2.87 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 166.1 IP, 136 H’s, 38 BB’s, 175 K’s. Image courtesy of Craig Gordon. Photo of Jose Berrios. As if you didn’t already know?! Jose Berrios came into the 2015 season with lofty expectations for himself. In Spring Training, he talked about how one of his goals was to break camp with the Major League Team. It didn’t matter to him that he was just twenty-years old and had made just one appearance above AA in 2014. He certainly didn’t perform himself out of the chance, as he appeared in two games with the Major League squad that totaled six innings of 0.00 ERA pitching. But the Twins had a plan for him, and it included getting stretched out for a full minor league season to fully developing their prized young pitcher, who had made quite an impression. It’s hard to argue with the end results, even if you’re in the camp who believes he could be contributing in the majors for the Twins right now (I do! I do!). Berrios returned to the ranks of AA, where he had spent a good portion of his 2014 season with the New Britain Rock Cats of the Eastern League, but with the Twins new affiliate in the Southern League, and the stacked roster of the Chattanooga Lookouts. But he wasn’t about to be overlooked. His first start of the season came on April 10th, and he allowed one earned run in 6.1 innings to pick up his first win. He struck out eleven on just eighty-nine pitches. As the month turned to May, Berrios really started to find his footing in AA. He made six starts on the month, and went 4-1 with a 2.61 ERA. He totaled 41.1 innings, including a two-run, eight inning effort on May 8th that he followed up with two-hit complete game shutout on May 13th. He made his final start in double-A on June 28th, going seven innings to improve his record to 8-3, while allowing just one run on two hits, while striking out six. In Rochester, Berrios experienced some early struggles, allowing five runs in each of his first two outings, but he learned quickly. His next start was a seven inning gem where he allowed just two runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out nine. It was a springboard for the domination he would sustain over the season’s final two months. From that start on July 18th on, Berrios made ten more starts with the Red Wings. He completed seven innings in six of those games, six in three others, and only failed to complete that number in his last start as he was shut down for the year with a well-above his career high 166.1 innings pitched. In a two start stretch in August with General Manager Terry Ryan in attendance, Berrios allowed just one run on only eight hits and one walk, while striking out twenty-two in consecutive seven inning appearances. Ryan had to have his mind made up at that point, as you don’t see that type of dominance and come away unimpressed if auditioning for a major league call-up. It doesn’t get any better than that. As a fitting end to his phenomenal year, Berrios finished the 2015 season by leading all of the minor leagues in strikeouts with 175. Though it might come a year later than he originally had hoped, Berrios is poised to make a strong contribution in the Majors in 2015, and who knows, it could be as soon as April (or March?!) 2016 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Obviously, there were some fantastic starting pitcher performances from Twins minor leaguers throughout the system in 2015. Congrats to all the players on a fantastic season that was loads of fun to follow like every year, and get ready for 2016! The Ballots In an attempt to be transparent, here are the votes from our Twins Daily minor league writers: Seth Stohs – 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Stephan Gonsalves, 3) Mat Batts, 4) Tyler Duffey, 5) Felix Jorge, 6) Pat Dean Jeremy Nygaard – 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Stephen Gonsalves, 3) Tyler Duffey, 4) Felix Jorge, 5) Mat Batts, 6) Pat Dean Cody Christie – 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Stephen Gonsalves, 3) Felix Jorge, 4) Mat Batts, 5) Aaron Slegers, 6) Tyler Duffey Steve Lein – 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Stephen Gonsalves, 3) Tyler Duffey, 4) Mat Batts, 5) Pat Dean, 6) Felix Jorge Eric Pleiss – 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Tyler Duffey, 3) Stephen Gonsalves, 4) Mat Batts, 5) Felix Jorge, 6) Ryan Eades Feel free to discuss. How would your ballot look?

Some more info. on Gordon's day from MiLB.com: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20150913&content_id=149192962&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb

Do we have English's numbers correct?! That's not a line I would have missed!

Two more big games in the Twins minor leagues. The Chattanooga Lookouts went to Montgomery for Game 3 of their Southern League playoff series. The Cedar Rapids Kernels held a 1-0 series lead against Peoria and returned to Cedar Rapids for Game 2. Would a Game 3 be needed? Continue below to read more in today's Minor League Report.The Minnesota Twins continued to have the number of American League Cy Young contender Chris Sale, who was chased after just three innings, nine hits, and six earned runs. Torii Hunter slugged his nineteenth home run of the year in the first inning to get it started, and they never looked back behind the start of Kyle Gibson. He went 7.2 innings of shutout ball, and struck out seven. The win kept the Twins just one game back of the Texas Rangers for the final AL Wild Card, who also won Sunday afternoon. In the minors on Sunday, both the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Chattanooga Lookouts continued their postseason push. One team found themselves down early and needed a comeback if they wanted to prevent a sudden death game three, and the other had to hold off a late comeback if they were going to take a series lead on the road. To find out how all it all went down on Sunday night, keep reading! CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Montgomery 3 Box Score The Chattanooga offense got things started quickly, and it was courtesy of the Southern League home run champ, Adam Brett Walker. His two-run blast in the second inning put them up 2-0, as Lookouts starter Greg Peavey cruised in the early innings. Singles from Shannon Wilkerson, Stephen Wickens, and Max Kepler loaded the bases with one out in the third inning, and an error and fielder’s choice would add to more runs to make it 4-0 early. Peavey scattered five hits and three walks in six innings, striking out five while holding the Biscuits off the scoreboard. The Lookouts would add an insurance run for him in the top of the seventh on a Jorge Polanco sac fly. Peavey was relieved by Alex Wimmers with a five run lead in the seventh, and that’s when things got dicey. He recorded the innings first out, but consecutive walks were followed by a three run home run to make it 5-3. A double and single would follow to put the tying run in scoring position before the bullpen could get warmed up. Lefty Corey Williams was summoned for a same-sided hitter matchup, but he walked the batter to load the bases. Jake Reed was quickly brought in to face the right-handers coming up, and escaped the threat with consecutive strikeouts. The Lookouts mounted a two-out rally in the eighth, as an error put runners on second and third for Wilkerson, who brought them in with a single to right field to make it 7-3. Reed remained in the game for the eighth inning and kept Montgomery off the board, despite two walks. D.J. Johnson was called upon for the ninth, and finished the game with a one-two-three inning. The Lookouts got multiple hits from Wickens (2-5, R) in the leadoff spot, and Wilkerson (3-3, 2 R’s, 2 RBI) in the nine hole. Kepler was 1-4 with walk, and Walker’s home run was their only extra base hit of the day. The win puts Chattanooga out front 2-1 in the series, and they’ll look to end the five game series tomorrow night on the road. KERNELS NUGGETS Peoria 4, Cedar Rapids 5 Box Score In game two of their best of three Midwest League Western Division title series, Cedar Rapids sent left-hander Randy Rosario to the mound. He was spotted a 1-0 lead in the second inning when doubles from Chris Paul and Austin Diemer got the Kernels on the board first, but a rough top of the third for Rosario put Peoria out front. Consecutive singles started the inning, and a fielder’s choice ground ball and walk put runners on the corners. A strikeout for the second out gave Rosario two outs and a chance to escape unscathed, but a T.J. White error allowed the first two Chiefs runs to score and prolonged the inning. A balk on Rosario would score the third run of the inning and move another runner into scoring position, who came in on a single to the next batter to make it 4-1 Peoria early. Rosario picked up another strikeout to end the threat, and went on to finish six innings total. He retired the side one-two-three in each of the fifth and sixth. All of the four runs against Rosario were unearned. He allowed seven hits and walked one, while striking out five on the day. The Kernels would come back to pull within one run by scoring single runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Max Murphy led off with a single, and was followed by a double from Brian Navaretto to put runners on second and third. Diemer sent a single into left field to score Murphy, but Navaretto was gunned down at home for the innings first out. A double play ball would end the inning. The fifth started with a double from Edgar Corcino, and his run made the score 4-3 when LaMonte Wade doubled to right field. Michael Theofanopoulos came in from the bullpen for the seventh inning and struck out two hitters in a scoreless inning. He allowed one hit. In the bottom of the seventh, Nick Gordon wreaked some havoc on the bases, and the result put the Kernels out front. He led off the inning with a single and was moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Corcino to put the tying run in scoring position. Gordon didn’t think he was quite close enough, as he took off for third and stole it to put himself ninety-feet away. It was a pretty smart and important base, as a wild-pitch to the next batter allowed him to score the tying run and moved White to second. He would score on Paul’s single a batter later put the Kernels out front 5-4. Yorman Landa was then summoned from the Kernels bullpen in the eighth, and came out throwing fire. He struck out the side in quick fashion, all swinging, and made it four K’s in a row to start the ninth. He then walked a batter to put the tying run on base for Peoria, but followed that up by inducing a game-ending double play for his first postseason save. (Video by Steve Buhr) As a team the Kernels outhit the Chiefs thirteen to eight, and had far more scoring opportunities than Peoria. They were 4-18 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base, compared to just 1-4 with runners and scoring position and four men left on base for Peoria. Gordon led the Kernels with a 3-5 night, scoring one run and adding a double. Corcino (2-3, 2B, R), Paul (2-4, 2B, R, RBI), and Diemer (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI) each had two hits on the night. With the sweep of the three game series, the Kernels will make their first appearance in the Midwest League Championship Series since 1994, when they defeated Rockford three games to one in the five game series. Their defeat of the Chiefs also marks the second series win of the postseason where their opponent finished one or both halves of the MWL season with a better record. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Yorman Landa, Cedar Rapids Kernels (Save, 2.0 IP, 1 BB, 4 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Shannon Wilkerson, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-3, 2 R’s, 2 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Chattanooga @ Montgomery (7:05PM CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids – Day off before MWL Championship series begins on Wednesday. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games! Click here to view the article

Well, it is pretty obvious to me that the similarities in those numbers is directly attributed to the differing seasons from Phil Hughes. Put his 2014 numbers into 2015, and it would be pretty obvious 2015's starters as a whole are vastly superior. Meaning everyone else in 2015 has been a good deal better than 2014's versions. So yes, I would say quite easily that Allen deserves the support.

He's been one of the entire farm's best hitters since June, showing a lot of improvement as the year went on. June: .293/.370/.341 July: .309/.349/.423 August: .311/.355/.437

I don't disagree to an extent, but to ignore the fact he's kept the same numbers while moving up levels ignores what he has done in an "improvement" sense to maintain them. By this type of logic, his numbers should be considerably worse at the higher levels. They are not. (and this is coming from a guy who hasn't been known to defend Walker for similar reasons to your own)

You can look at it that way, or you can look at it this way: In 2013 with Cedar Rapids (Low-A), he hit: .278/.319/.526, with 31 2B's and 27 HR's. In 2014 with Fort Myers (A+), he hit: .246/.307/.436, with 19 2B's and 25 HR's. In 2015 with Chattanooga, he's (now) hit: .241/.313/.499, with 30 2B's and 29 HR's. To me, that says he's been making strides each year, because his production has stayed similar each season, all while moving up to a new, higher and tougher level each year. It's very hard to stand out in power in the FSL, the league leader this year has 14 HR's, and the top slugging percentage in the league matches Walker's .436 of last year.

ABW had the average up around .270 entering July, which was encouraging. Then he went almost a month without a HR and the average and slugging plummeted. The on-base percentage has remained around .315 though, so he's been drawing more walks.

The Minnesota Twins got a brilliant start from Ervin Santana on Sunday afternoon, and held off a late rally to win two of three games from the American League West division-leading Houston Astros, and remain in the thick of the wild card standings. That Miguel Sano guy hit another home run, too. (He might be good…) In the minors on Sunday, there were a few other brilliant starts from pitchers, a pair of double-headers, including one that went late into the night, and a tropical storm set its sights on Florida.Keep reading to find out what happened! RED WINGS REPORT Pawtucket 0, Rochester 7 Box Score Lefthander Pat Dean made the start for the Red Wings, and cruised to his eleventh victory of the season. He was brilliant throughout, scattering five hits and one walk in eight innings while striking out three, keeping the Red Sox off the scoreboard with some help from his defense. The only threat against him came in the sixth inning, when a pair of singles put runners on first and second. Another single was sent into left field, but Reynaldo Rodriguez’s throw cut down the runner at home for the final out of the inning. The win brought Dean’s ERA back below 3.00, where it has hovered all season. The Red Wings got on the board early, as Kennys Vargas launched his sixth home run of the season in AAA, a three-run shot to put them in front from the start. They added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, along with two more in the seventh. A.J. Achter finished the game with a scoreless ninth inning, walking one and striking out one. Vargas led the offense with his home run and finished his day 1-2 with two walks, two runs scored and the three RBIs. James Beresford (3-5, R), Danny Santana (2-5, 2 R’s), and Oswaldo Arcia (2-3, RBI) collected multiple hits. In his first appearance of his rehab assignment, Aaron Hicks led off and was the DH. He went 1-5 with an RBI. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER The Lookouts had a double-header on Sunday afternoon, making up their game against Birmingham that was rained out on July 2nd. Game 1: Chattanooga 10, Birmingham 4 Box Score Starter Greg Peavey was in control through the game’s first four innings, facing just one batter over the minimum. But a long inning inside the dugout may have switched his fortunes around in this one when it got to the fifth inning. Chattanooga’s lineup struck for four runs in the fourth inning by sending every hitter in the lineup to the plate. It was four walks (one intentional to Max Kepler), a sacrifice bunt, a single from Heiker Meneses, and an error off the bat of Travis Harrison that combined to put the runs on the board. Menses added another single in the fifth to score Wickens and make the game 5-0 at that point. This is where Peavey unraveled. A pair of two-run home runs pulled the Barons within one, before Peavey was able to finish the inning and his day. He finished with the four runs allowed on four hits and one walk, while striking out four. Corey Williams came on for the sixth inning and recorded the first two outs before a walk then brought J.T. Chargois into the game. He hit the first batter he faced, but struck out the next to end the inning. The Lookouts added five more runs in the seventh inning to give Chargois a good cushion. They again sent nine hitters up to bat, and again it was started by Walker, though this time with a double. Singles from Wickens, Meneses, Wilkerson and Kepler, and a sac fly from Harrison added the runs to the board. Chargois pitched a double-perfect ninth inning, striking out the side to secure the win in game 1. Game 2: Chattanooga 3, Birmingham 0 Box Score In the makeup game, Brett Lee got the start for Chattanooga, and was untouchable. In the seven-inning complete game shutout, Lee allowed just two hits and two walks, while striking out eight Barons hitters. Lee recorded a strikeout in all but one inning, and struck out the side in the sixth. The win pushed his record to 6-4 on the season with Chattanooga, and the eight strikeouts were a season high. Chattanooga's three runs in this one came in the sixth inning, when Birmingham went to their bullpen. Travis Harrison got it started with a one-out double, and came around to score on a Niko Goodrum single. After Goodrum stole his sixteenth base, D.J. Hicks launched his fifth home run of the year to make it to the 3-0 final. MIRACLE MATTERS The Fort Myers Miracle game against the Jupiter HammerHeads was postponed and rescheduled due to Tropical Storm Erika. They will have a second day off tomorrow. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Peoria 3 Box Score Cedar Rapids took an early lead they would not relinquish in the second inning, plating six runs. Alex Real brought in the first two runs with a single, Austin Diemer brought him in with a double, an error off the bat of Rafael Valera scored Diemer, and a triple from Nick Gordon added the fifth run. Gordon scored the sixth on a wild pitch. T.J. White capped the Kernels scoring in the third inning, leading off the frame with his second home run of the year with Cedar Rapids. Starter Keaton Steele gave a quality effort, finishing eight innings to improve his record to 6-4. He allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out six. A two-run home run in the second inning was the only major damage as Peoria was just 1-5 with runners in scoring position, and left only four men on base for the game. John Curtiss finished the game with a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out two. The Kernels offense got multiple hits from Valera (2-5, R), Gordon (2-5, R, 3B, RBI), White (3-5, 2 R’s, HR, RBI) and Diemer (2-4, R, 2B, RBI). The win ended a season long five-game losing streak for the Kernels. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton had a double-header scheduled for Sunday against the Bristol Pirates to make up a prior rainout from August 15th, but the weather did not cooperate on this day either, pushing the start time back and the makeup game to late in the evening. But they did manage to finish both games. Game 1: Bristol 7, Elizabethton 6 (9 innings) Box Score Bristol jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after two innings when they finally did get started, as they tagged starter Andro Cutura for two in the first and an error in the second led to another run. Cutura finished five innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out seven and ended his day with his team down 4-0. Elizabethton’s offense finally found some life in the fifth inning, when Kamran Young led off with a double. He came around to score the Twins first run of the game on a single from Christian Cavaness. In the sixth, they got Cutura off the hook for a loss by tying the game at four. Zander Wiel led off with a single, and scored after a walk and error put two more runners on base. Another single from Manuel Guzman loaded the bases, and a wild pitch scored one more before another RBI single from Cavaness tied the game. It went into extra innings for a seven-inning game and wound up ending at the normal nine. After Cutura was lifted from the game, Josh Guyer added 2.1 innings, allowing two unearned runs on one hit and one walk. He struck out four. After those two runs made it 6-4 in favor of the Pirates in the eighth, the Twins were quick to get them back in the bottom half. A double from Jermaine Palacios brought home Nelson Molina and Manuel Guzman, who had reached base with a pair of singles. For the Twins, Jose Abreu had been brought into the game to end the threat in the eighth, but didn’t quite make it through the ninth. He got the first two outs on ground balls, but then a solo home run put Bristol back out front. Lewin Diaz doubled to put a runner in scoring position in the home half of the ninth, but ground balls from Brian Olson and Nelson Molina weren’t enough to tie it back up. Cavaness (2-4, 2 RBI), Palacios (2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI), Diaz (2-5, 2B), and Guzman (2-4, R) all collected two hits. LaMonte Wade drew three walks and stole his ninth base. Game 2: Bristol 4, Elizabethton 11 Box Score The Twins scored two in the first inning after Jermaine Palacios and Daniel Kihle started the inning with singles. A sac fly from LaMonte Wade and an error scored the first run, then a sac fly from Amaurys Minier the second. Elizabethton starter Nate Gercken gave both those runs and more back in the following inning, as a three-run home run gave Bristol the lead. In the bottom of the third inning, Kihle tied the game at three with a solo home run of his own for the home team. After that, the rest of the Elizabethton lineup exploded, putting crooked numbers on the board in each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. When the dust settled, it was 11-4 Twins. Kihle (2-3, 2 R’s, HR, RBI, BB), Brad Hartong (3-4, 2 R’s, 2 2B’s, RBI), and Nelson Molina (2-3, RBI) led the way with multiple hits. LaMonte Wade drew two more walks and stole another base. Gercken finished his game with four earned runs on four hits and four walks in 4.1 innings. He struck out five. Anthony McIver came on for the final 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk. Of the eight outs he recorded, six came via strikeout. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League regular season came to an end yesterday for GCL Twins. The GCL Blue Jays and GCL Red Sox will face off for the league championship. The Twins ended their season with a record of 27-32, and third place in their division. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brett Lee, Chattanooga Lookouts (W, 7.0 IP, CGSO, 2 H’s, 2 BB’s, 8 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, Rochester Red Wings (1-2, 2 R’s, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – RHP Jose Berrios (4-2, 2.78 ERA) Chattanooga @ Birmingham (4:15PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (1-3, 5.32 ERA) Fort Myers @ Jupiter – No Game Scheduled due to Tropical Depression Erika Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (7:00 PM CST) – RHP Felix Jorge (6-6, 2.90 ERA) Bristol @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins got a brilliant start from Ervin Santana on Sunday afternoon, and held off a late rally to win two of three games from the American League West division leading Houston Astros, and remain in the thick of the Wild Card standings. That Miguel Sano guy hit another home run, too. (He might be good…) In the minors on Sunday, there were a few other brilliant starts from pitchers, a pair of double-headers, including one that went late into the night, and a Tropical Storm set its sights on Florida. Keep reading to find out what happened! RED WINGS REPORT Pawtucket 0, Rochester 7 Box Score Lefthander Pat Dean made the start for the Red Wings, and cruised to his eleventh victory of the season. He was brilliant throughout, scattering five hits and one walk in eight innings while striking out three, keeping the Red Sox off the scoreboard with some help from his defense. The only threat against him came in the sixth inning, when a pair of singles put runners on first and second. Another single was sent into left field, but Reynaldo Rodriguez’s throw cut down the runner at home for the final out of the inning. The win brought Dean’s ERA back below 3.00, where it has hovered all season. The Red Wings got on the board early, as Kennys Vargas launched his sixth home run of the season in AAA, a three run shot to put them in front from the start. They would add single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, along with two more in the seventh. A.J. Achter finished the game with a scoreless ninth inning, walking one and striking out one. Vargas led the offense with his home run, and finished his day 1-2 with two walks, two runs scored, and the three RBI. James Beresford (3-5, R), Danny Santana (2-5, 2 R’s), and Oswaldo Arcia (2-3, RBI) collected multiple hits. In his first appearance of his rehab assignment, Aaron Hicks led off and was the DH. He went 1-5 with an RBI. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER The Lookouts had a double-header on Sunday afternoon, making up their game against Birmingham that was rained out on July 2nd. Game 1: Chattanooga 10, Birmingham 4 Box Score Starter Greg Peavey was in control through the game’s first four innings, facing just one batter over the minimum. But a long inning inside the dugout may have switched his fortunes around in this one when it got to the fifth inning. Chattanoog’s lineup struck for four runs in the fourth inning by sending every hitter in the lineup to the plate. It was four walks (one intentional to Max Kepler), a sacrifice bunt, a single from Heiker Meneses, and an error off the bat of Travis Harrison that combined to put the runs on the board. Menses would add another single in the fifth to score Wickens and make the game 5-0 at that point. This is where Peavey unraveled. A pair of two-run home runs would pull the Baron’s within one, before Peavey was able to finish the inning and his day. He finished with the four runs allowed on four hits and one walk, while striking out four. Corey Williams would come on for the sixth inning and recorded the first two outs, before a walk then brought J.T. Chargois into the game. He hit the first batter he faced, but struck out the next to end the inning. The Lookouts added five more runs in the seventh inning to give Chargois a good cushion. They again sent nine hitters up to bat, and again it was started by Walker, though this time with a double. Singles from Wickens, Meneses, Wilkerson, and Kepler, and a sac fly from Harrison would add the runs to the board. Chargois pitched a double-perfect ninth inning, striking out the side to secure the win in game 1. Game 2: Chattanooga 3, Birmingham 0 Box Score In the makeup game, Brett Lee got the start for Chattanooga, and was untouchable. In the (7-inning) complete game shutout, Lee allowed just two hits and two walks, while striking out eight Barons hitters. Lee recorded a strikeout in all but one inning, and struck out the side in the sixth. The win pushed his record to 6-4 on the season with Chattanooga, and the eight strikeouts were a season high. Chattanooga three runs in this one came in the sixth inning, when Birmingham went to their bullpen. Travis Harrison got it started with a one-out double, and would come around to score on a Niko Goodrum single. After Goodrum stole his sixteenth base, D.J. Hicks launched his fifth home run of the year to make it to the 3-0 final. MIRACLE MATTERS The Fort Myers Miracle game against the Jupiter HammerHeads was postponed and rescheduled on Sunday afternoon due to Tropical Storm Erika. They will have a second day off tomorrow. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Peoria 3 Box Score Cedar Rapids took an early lead they would not relinquish in the second inning, plating six runs. Alex Real brought in the first two runs with a single, Austin Diemer brought him in with a double, an error off the bat of Rafael Valera scored Diemer, and a Triple from Nick Gordon added the fifth run. Gordon would score the sixth on a wild pitch. T.J. White capped the Kernels scoring in the third inning, leading off the frame with his second home run of the year with Cedar Rapids. Starter Keaton Steele gave a quality effort, finishing eight innings to improve his record to 6-4. He allowed three runs on eight hits, and struck out six. A two-run home run in the second inning was the only major damage as Peoria was just 1-5 with runners in scoring position, and left only four men on base for the game. John Curtiss finished the game with a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out two. The Kernels offense got multiple hits from Valera (2-5, R), Gordon (2-5, R, 3B, RBI), White (3-5, 2 R’s, HR, RBI) and Diemer (2-4, R, 2B, RBI). The win ended a season long five-game losing streak for the Kernels. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton had a double-header scheduled for Sunday against the Bristol Pirates to make up a prior rainout from August 15th, but the weather would not cooperate on this day, either, pushing the start time back and the makeup game to late in the evening. But they did manage to finish both games. Game 1: Bristol 7, Elizabethton 6 (9 innings) Box Score Bristol jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after two innings when they finally did get started, as they tagged starter Andro Cutura for two in the first and an error in the second led to another run. Cutura would finish five innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out seven and would end his day with his team down 4-0. Elizabethton’s offense finally found some life in the fifth inning, when Kamran Young led off with a double. He would come around to score the Twins first run of the game on a single from Christian Cavaness. In the sixth, they got Cutura off the hook for a loss by tying the game at four. Zander Wiel led off with a single, and would score after a walk and error put two more runners on base. Another single from Manuel Guzman would load the bases, and a wild pitch would score one more before another RBI single from Cavaness would tie the game. It would go into extra innings for a seven-inning game, and finish after the normal nine. After Cutura was lifted from the game, Josh Guyer added 2.1 innings, allowing two unearned runs on one hit and one walk. He struck out four. After those two runs made it 6-4 in favor of the Pirates in the eighth, the Twins were quick to get them back in the bottom half. A double from Jermaine Palacios brought home Nelson Molina and Manuel Guzman, who had reached base with a pair of singles. Jose Abreu was brought into the game to end the threat in the eighth, but didn’t quite make it through the ninth. He got the first two outs on ground balls, but then a solo home run put Bristol back out front. Lewin Diaz doubled to put a runner in scoring position in the home half of the ninth, but ground balls from Brian Olson and Nelson Molina weren’t enough to tie it back up. Cavaness (2-4, 2 RBI), Palacios (2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI), Diaz (2-5, 2B), and Guzman (2-4, R) all collected two hits. LaMonte Wade drew three walks and stole his ninth base. Game 2: Bristol 4, Elizabethton 11 Box Score The Twins scored two in the first inning after Jermaine Palacios and Daniel Kihle started the inning with singles. A sac fly and error from LaMonte Wade scored the first run, then a sac fly from Amaurys Minier the second. Elizabethton starter Nate Gercken gave both those runs back and more in the following inning, as a three-run home run gave Bristol the lead. In the bottom of the third inning, Kihle tied the game at three with a solo home run of his own for the home team. After that, the rest of the Elizabethton lineup exploded, putting crooked numbers on the board in each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. When the dust settled, it was 11-4 Twins. Kihle (2-3, 2 R’s, HR, RBI, BB), Brad Hartong (3-4, 2 R’s, 2 2B’s, RBI), and Nelson Molina (2-3, RBI) led the way with multiple hits. LaMonte Wade drew two more walks and stole another base. Gercken would finish his game with four earned runs on four hits and four walks in 4.1 innings. He struck out five. Anthony McIver came on for the final 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk. Of the eight outs he recorded, six came via strikeout. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League regular season came to an end yesterday for GCL Twins. The GCL Blue Jays and GCL Red Sox will face off for the league championship. The Twins ended their season with a record of 27-32, and third place in their division. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brett Lee, Chattanooga Lookouts (W, 7.0 IP, CGSO, 2 H’s, 2 BB’s, 8 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, Rochester Red Wings (1-2, 2 R’s, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – RHP Jose Berrios (4-2, 2.78 ERA) Chattanooga @ Birmingham (4:15PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (1-3, 5.32 ERA) Fort Myers @ Jupiter – TBD Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (7:00 PM CST) – RHP Felix Jorge (6-6, 2.90 ERA) Bristol @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

Very cool! Just a note of correction, though. Walker is the first player to hit 100 RBI in a single league this season. A.J. Reed, one of the top contenders for MiLB Player of the Year awards, has 112 between A+ and AA.

Why are we contemplating if Duffey is a better starter option than May? May earned it this year, yet still got moved to the 'pen. May has been miscast out of necessity in this move to the bullpen. Duffey was converted to a starter from relief after being drafted... I have a very hard time believing Duffey would be the better starter option moving forward, and have no doubt he could make a similar transition as May moving back to the bullpen. He was a power-arm closer. This is thinking about this in the reverse fashion from what it should be, in my opinion.

The Minnesota Twins got to Orioles closer Zach Britton on Sunday, and stole a 4-3 win in extra innings thanks to some early help from the bat of Miguel Sano (11th HR in first inning), and late help from the defense of Baltimore (2 errors in the 12th inning) to move back to two games above .500. In the minors on Sunday two affiliates had trouble producing offense, starting pitching was a struggle throughout, including one game from a top lefty, and one game was rained out.Overall the Twins affiliates were 1-3 on the day. To find out how it all went down, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 4 Box Score The Rochester lineup made little of their opportunities on Sunday, and they didn’t have many of them. As a team they totaled only five hits, were 1-7 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. Kenny Vargas was responsible for their two runs on the day, as he blasted a two-run home run in the ninth inning. He was 2-4 on the day and the only Red Wings hitter with multiple hits. Carlos Paulino added a double. On the mound for the Red Wings, lefty Taylor Rogers was solid but got handed his eleventh loss of the season. He went 6.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out nine. A.J. Achter came on in the seventh and finished the game with 1.1 innings. He allowed one hit. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Tennessee @ Chattanooga (postponed) The Lookouts match-up with the Smokies was rained out on Sunday afternoon. The game will be made up on Monday in a double-header in Chattanooga. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 4, Fort Myers 1 Box Score Just like their AAA brothers, the Miracle weren’t able to muster much offense. Their lone run came in the eighth inning when Engelb Vielma led off the frame with a walk. That was followed by a Ryan Walker single and a Mitch Garver walk to load the bases with nobody out. After a pitching change, three consecutive strikeouts killed the rally, and the lone run came on a strike-three wild pitch with Jason Kanzler at bat. Logan Wade collected two singles, but no other hitter had more than one hit and there were no extra-base hits on the day. As a team Fort Myers was 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base. Stephen Gonsalves made the start for the Miracle, but only made it through four innings with a high pitch count as he didn’t appear to be his normal self. He allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks, while striking out only one. The loss dropped him to 6-2 on the season with Fort Myers. Jake Reed pitched two innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit and striking out one. Zach Jones added 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings, striking out two; and Trevor Hildenberger finished the final 1.1 hitless innings without allowing a baserunner. He struck out two as well. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Clinton 11 Box Score The Kernels jumped out to the first lead of the game, but didn’t hold it for long. A double from Austin Diemer and a single from T.J. White put them up 2-0 after the top of the third inning, but things unraveled quickly for starter Randy LeBlanc after that. Clinton scored one in the bottom of the third, two in the fourth to take the lead, eight in the fifth and never looked back. LeBlanc came out for the fifth inning, but did not record an out and left with the bases loaded. In four innings, he allowed seven earned runs on six hits and two walks. Two of those hits were home runs. Jared Wilson didn’t fare much better, but finally finished the eight run fifth inning. He allowed four earned runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out two. Yorman Landa kept the LumberKings off the scoreboard in the sixth and seventh innings, allowing two hits and walking one, with two strikeouts. John Curtiss finished the final inning, allowing one hit. The Kernels managed to add a run in the fifth, three in the eighth, and another in the ninth to make the score respectable, but it was never that close. White (3-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI) and Alex Real (2-4, R, 3B, RBI) had multiple hits on the game. Nick Gordon was 1-4 with a double, walked once, stole his twenty-fourth base and scored three runs in the loss. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 8, Greeneville 6 Box Score Elizabethton took the early lead, and held on to improve their record to 31-27 on Sunday, one game back of the Appalachian League West division-leading Kingsport Mets with eight games left to play in the regular season. They face the Mets in a three-game series later in the week with obvious playoff implications. On this day, the Twins got the scoring started in the second inning. A.J. Murray led off with a double and scored on a single from Lewin Diaz. Later in the inning, a hit-by-pitch and walk loaded the bases, and Jermaine Palacios delivered a two-out, two-run single to make it 3-0 Twins. They added another run in the third on a sac fly from Rainis Silva to score Murray, and then went off for four more runs in the fourth. Kamran Young led off the fourth with a walk and scored on a Manuel Guzman double. Guzman came into score on a LaMonte Wade single. Then Wade and Murray scampered home on a single from Travis Blankenhorn to reach their final tally. Miles Nordgren made the start for Elizabethton, and pitched five innings to pick up the win. He allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out four. Logan Lombana pitched into the eighth inning. He allowed one run on three hits in 2.2 innings, striking out one. Kuo Hua Lo picked up his seventh save on the year by pitching the final 1.1 innings. He struck out three. Five hitters in the Elizabethton lineup had multiple hits, those being Palacios (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI), Wade (2-5, R, RBI), Murray (2-4, 3 R’s, 2B, BB), Diaz (2-4, R, RBI) and Blankenhorn (2-5, 2 RBIs). GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They play a home and home double-header vs. the GCL Rays Monday morning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Fort Myers Bullpen: Jake Reed (2 IP, 1 H, 1 K), Zack Jones (1.2 IP, 0 H’s, 2 K’s), Trevor Hildenberger (1.1 IP, 0 H’s, 2 K’s) Hitter of the Day – T.J. White, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05PM CST) – LHP Logan Darnell (3-1, 3.54 ERA) Tennessee @ Chattanooga (4:15PM CST) – Game 1: LHP David Hurlbut (8-6, 4.03 ERA), Game 2: TBD Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (6-7, 3.21 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids(6:35 PM CST) – RHP Keaton Steele (4-4, 3.36 ERA) Elizabethton @ Greeneville (6:00 PM CST) – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (9:00 AM CST) – Game 1: TBD, Game 2: TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article