Steve Lein

Thanks for writing this. I mentioned this about him in my 8/16 MiLB report. Keith Law was super high on him two years ago, had him at #11 for Twins prospects. We know he's the best defensive SS in the system, and it's probably not all that close. But he entered June hitting under .200 and is now at .280. That's flat-out an amazing turnaround. Nearly .350 in June, nearly .340 in July, and around .380 in August. That certainly should make anyone notice.

Interesting side conversation... That article doesn't match data I've pulled before but I don't remember exactly the data set I was looking at. Can't remember if it was all balls hit to the OF, or all batted balls in general. Either way, my percentages came out to 22.5% toward LF, 57.1% toward CF, and 20.4% toward RF... Other interesting data for that particular year, was that RH-hitters "pulled" (to LF) 26.5% of all batted balls, and "pushed" (to RF) 16.2% of them. LH-hitters "pulled" (to RF) 25.9%, and "pushed" (to LF) 17.3%. Anyway, I don't know why you'd want Hicks in LF and Rosario in RF, though. Hicks has a significantly better arm, which is why RF makes the most sense for him. The longest throw in the field you have to consider when it comes to an arm is RF to 3B (i.e.: a LF-er is almost never throwing the ball to 1B).

I asked Baseball America this exact question a year or so ago. They left off some of my key questions about it, but do a good job describing how the minor league players are protected. Basic jist, is there are "reserve rosters" at each level that function the same way the MLB 40-man roster does: http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/ask-ba-2/

Tommy Milone’s return to the Twins rotation and a home run off the bad of Trevor Plouffe gave them a series victory in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon, and brought Minnesota’s record on the season back above .500. In the minors, it took a superb day from a (or the) top prospect in Rochester to bring them a win in extra innings,multiple hitters powered Chattanooga to a blowout win at home, and a dynamite start from a pitcher with a hitters name gave Fort Myers an easy win on the road. There were also two other “walk-off” games on the day as well. To find out how it all went down, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 2, Rochester 3 (12 innings) Box Score It took twelve innings Sunday afternoon, but the Red Wings managed a walk-off win despite being out-hit 13-8 on the day and receiving little support from most of the lineup. The RailRiders took the an early 2-0 lead off Rochester starter David Hurlbut, scoring a run in each of the first two innings, but that would be it for the game. Hurlbut finished 6.2 innings, allowing just the two runs on nine hits while striking out two. Alex Meyer would bring the Red Wings into extra innings, finishing the seventh and four more scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and two walks, while striking out four. Mark Hamburger picked up the win by tossing a scoreless twelfth inning despite allowing two hits. He struck out two. Leading the offense for the Red Wings was Byron Buxton from the leadoff spot. He was 3-6 on the day with his first AAA home run, a solo shot in the fifth inning to tie the game at two. James Beresford also picked up three hits from the two-hole, and Kennys Vargas and Danny Ortiz each drew two walks. The rest of the lineup managed just two hits and one walk. In the bottom of the twelfth Jose Martinez led off the inning with a single and was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Carlos Paulino. That brought the top of the order and Buxton back up to the plate. On a 2-0 pitch, he sent a line drive single into center field to bring home Martinez and start the extra-inning walk-off win celebration. Buxton has hit safely in all 11 of his AAA games to this point, owning a .404 batting average and has collected multiple hits in five games. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Tennessee 4, Chattanooga 11 Box Score The Lookouts found themselves down 4-1 after the top of the fifth inning, but after the bottom of the seventh found themselves in front by seven. Left-hander Jason Wheeler got the start and finished five tough innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out two. He even picked up his third AA win of the year thanks to the offense after his day was done. Alex Wimmers pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three, and D.J. Johnson and J.T. Chargois each added a scoreless inning. The Chattanooga offense worked ten walks and combined those free passes with twelve hits to rout the Smokies. Max Kepler continued to be Max Kepler, ending his game 3-4 with two runs scored, two doubles and two RBIs. Not to be overshadowed, Niko Goodrum scored three runs while also collecting three hits, including his fourth triple and fourth home run, a two-run blast in the seventh inning. He drove in four. Travis Harrison was the only batter in the lineup to not collect a hit, but did reach base three times via walk. Adam Brett Walker scored two runs and drew two walks while ending his day 1-3. Kepler is near the top of the leaderboard in the Southern League in runs scored (2nd), hits (5th), doubles (2nd), triples (1st, tied with Buxton), total bases (2nd, behind Walker), on-base percentage (1st), slugging percentage (1st), batting average (1st), and OPS (1st). He also has sixteen stolen bases, forty-eight walks compared to just fifty-three strikeouts, and fifty-six RBI. This is the type of overall season from the young German that wins Minor League Player of the Year awards. Bask in its glory! MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Charlotte 1 Box Score The Miracle jumped out to an early lead and never had to look back in this one thanks to their starting pitcher. In the second inning, a double from Logan Wade, walk from Michael Quesada, and single from Tanner Vavra brought Engelb Vielma to the plate with one run in and runners on first and second base. Vielma then “cleared” the bases with an infield single and an throwing error to make the score 3-0. Fort Myers added two more insurance runs in the fifth inning after Vavra and Vielma singled to start the inning, and were brought home on a Jason Kanzler triple. Vielma was 4-5 on the day and has raised his average to .280 on the season with the Miracle. Quite an accomplishment when you discover he was hitting below .200 entering the month of June. But he hit .346 that month, then followed it by hitting .338 in July, and is at .380 so far in August. In his last ten, he’s hitting .425. Mat Batts was sensational on the mound for Fort Myers to pick up his seventh Florida State League win. In eight innings, he allowed just a solo home run and three other hits, while striking out nine. He retired the first eight batters of the game before giving up a hit, and then proceeded to strike out the next three hitters. Charlotte had just one opportunity with runners in scoring position on the game due to his dominance. Todd Van Steensel pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing two hits and striking out one. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Fort Wayne 7 (10 innings) Box Score Cedar Rapids scored four runs in the seventh inning to take the lead in this one 4-1, and added two more insurance runs in the eighth to enter the bottom of the ninth inning on the road up 6-1. For TinCaps fans, it turned into the type of game you regret leaving early. For Kernels fans, that means it turned into a disappointing loss. Randy LeBlanc started the game for Cedar Rapids, and went four innings allowing one run on three hits and two walks while striking out three. Luke Bard and Nick Anderson threw two scoreless innings apiece, each allowing a hit. Bard struck out two and Anderson struck out three. The four runs in the seventh inning came after an Austin Diemer double scored two, a Pat Kelly single scored Diemer, and a Rafael Valera double scored Brian Navaretto. A triple from Diemer in the eighth added another run, and he was brought home on a Navaretto single to make the score 6-1. In the ninth inning, John Curtis was summoned to finish the game for the Kernels. As alluded to earlier, he was not able to. A single and back-to-back home runs made the score 6-4, then consecutive walks with two outs would bring Yorman Landa into the game. The first batter he faced singled to bring in two more runs and tie the game before he got the third out to send it to extra innings. Landa remained in the game for the tenth inning, but ran into immediate trouble after a throwing error from third baseman T.J. White put the winning run on base to start the inning. A groundout moved him to second base, and a wild pitch put him ninety feet away for the TinCaps game-winning single. Cedar Rapids got two hits from Alex Real (2-5, 2 R’s, BB) and Diemer (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI) and two-RBI from Valera (1-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB) to lead their offense. E-TOWN E-NOTES Danville 5, Elizabethton 6 Box Score As opposed to their Midwest League cousins, the E-Twins were able to give their fans a comeback walk-off victory on Sunday despite being outhit 11-7 on total hits and 6-0 on extra-base hits. Danville scored two runs in the first inning and one in the second jump out to a 3-0 lead against Twins starter Miles Nordgren. He would finish 3.1 innings on the day but no further damage. In the bottom of the second Elizabethton tied it at three after a bases-loaded walk to Daniel Kihle scored one, and an Alex Perez single scored two more. The game would remain tied until the seventh inning when the Twins took a 4-3 lead after Manuel Guzman came around to score from first base after a throwing error. C.K. Irby had pitched 3.2 scoreless innings to get Elizabethton to that point, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out four, but was replaced by Jose Abreu to start the eighth. He was greeted by a lead-off double, and one out later a two-run home run to put Danville back in front 5-4. The Twins managed to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, as LaMonte Wade reached on another Danville error, and singles from Travis Blankenhorn and Brian Olson were enough to get him home. Abreu made it interesting in the top of the ninth inning, but got a ground ball double play to end the threat and bring the home team back up to the plate. Guzman got them started with a leadoff single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. An intentional walk to Perez was followed by a walk from Wade to load the bases for A.J. Murray. His line drive to right field brought home the game winner for the home team. Guzman led the team with three hits on the day (3-4, 3 R’s) and was the only hitter in the lineup with multiple hits. Wade drew three walks and scored a run. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They host the GCL Orioles Monday morning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Mat Batts, Fort Myers Miracle (W, 8 IP, 4 H’s, 1 R, 0 BB’s, 9 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Niko Goodrum, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-5, 3 R’s, 3B, HR, 4 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers (8-10, 3.90 ERA) Chattanooga - Scheduled day off. Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – Stephen Gonsalves (5-1, 2.34 ERA) Cedar Rapids – Scheduled day off. Danville @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Andro Cutura (2-2, 1.23 ERA) GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Tommy Milone’s return to the Twins rotation and a home run off the bad of Trevor Plouffe gave them a series victory in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon, and brought Minnesota’s record on the season back above .500. In the minors, it took a superb day from a (or the) top prospect in Rochester to bring them a win in extra innings, multiple hitters powered Chattanooga to a blowout win at home, and a dynamite start from a pitcher with a hitters name gave Fort Myers an easy win on the road. There were also two other “walk-off” games on the day as well. To find out how it all went down, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 2, Rochester 3 (12 innings) Box Score It took twelve innings Sunday afternoon, but the Red Wings managed a walk-off win despite being out-hit 13-8 on the day and receiving little support from most of the lineup. The RailRiders took the an early 2-0 lead off Rochester starter David Hurlbut, scoring a run in each of the first two innings, but that would be it for the game. Hurlbut would finish 6.2 innings, allowing just the two runs on nine hits while striking out two. Alex Meyer would bring the Red Wings into extra innings, finishing the seventh and four more scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and two walks, while striking out four. Mark Hamburger picked up the win by tossing a scoreless twelfth inning despite allowing two hits. He struck out two. Leading the offense for the Red Wings was Byron Buxton from the leadoff spot. He was 3-6 on the day with his first AAA home run, a solo shot in the fifth inning to tie the game at two. James Beresford also picked up three hits from the two-hole, and Kennys Vargas and Danny Ortiz each drew two walks. The rest of the lineup managed just two more hits and one walk. In the bottom of the twelfth Jose Martinez led off the inning with a single and was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Carlos Paulino. That brought the top of the order and Buxton back up to the plate. On a 2-0 pitch, he sent a line drive single into center field to bring home Martinez and start the extra-inning-walk-off-win celebration. Buxton has hit safely in all 11 of his AAA games to this point, owning a .404 batting average and has collected multiple hits in five games. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Tennessee 4, Chattanooga 11 Box Score The Lookouts found themselves down 4-1 after the top of the fifth inning, but after the bottom of the seventh would find themselves in front by seven. Lefthander Jason Wheeler got the start and finished five tough innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out two. He even picked up his third AA win of the year thanks to the offense after his day was done. Alex Wimmers pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three, and D.J. Johnson and J.T. Chargois each added a scoreless inning. The Chattanooga offense worked ten walks and combined those free passes with twelve hits to route the Smokies. Max Kepler continued to be Max Kepler, ending his game 3-4 with two runs scored, two doubles, and two RBI. Not to be overshadowed, Niko Goodrum scored three runs while also collecting three hits, including his fourth triple and fourth home run, a two-run blast in the seventh inning. He drove in four. Travis Harrison was the only batter in the lineup to not collect a hit, but did reach base three times via walk. Adam Brett Walker scored two runs and drew two walks while ending his day 1-3. Kepler is near the top of the leaderboard in the Southern League in runs scored (2nd), hits (5th), doubles (2nd), triples (1st, tied with Buxton), total bases (2nd, behind Walker), on-base percentage (1st), slugging percentage (1st), batting average (1st), and OPS (1st). He also has sixteen stolen bases, forty-eight walks compared to just fifty-three strikeouts, and fifty-six RBI. This is the type of overall season from the young German that wins Minor League Player of the Year awards. Bask in its glory! MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Charlotte 1 Box Score The Miracle jumped out to an early lead and never had to look back in this one thanks to their starting pitcher. In the second inning, a double from Logan Wade, walk from Michael Quesada, and single from Tanner Vavra would bring Engelb Vielma to the plate with one run in and runners on first and second base. Vielma then “cleared” the bases with an infield single and an throwing error to make the score 3-0. Fort Myers added two more insurance runs in the fifth inning after Vavra and Vielma singled to start the inning, and were brought home on a Jason Kanzler triple. Vielma was 4-5 on the day and has raised his average to .280 on the season with the Miracle. Quite an accomplishment when you discover he was hitting below .200 entering the month of June. But he hit .346 that month, then followed it by hitting .338 in July, and is at .380 so far in August. In his last ten, he’s hitting .425. Mat Batts was sensational on the mound for Fort Myers to pick up his seventh Florida State League win. In eight innings, he allowed just a solo home run and three other hits, while striking out nine. He retired the first eight batters of the game before giving up a hit, and then proceeded to strike out the next three hitters. Charlotte had just one opportunity with runners in scoring position on the game due to his dominance. Todd Van Steensel pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing two hits and striking out one. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Fort Wayne 7 (10 innings) Box Score Cedar Rapids scored four runs in the seventh inning to take the lead in this one 4-1, and added two more insurance runs in the eighth to enter the bottom of the ninth inning on the road up 6-1. For TinCaps fans, it turned into the type of game you regret for leaving early. For Kernels fans, that means it turned into a disappointing loss. Randy LeBlanc started the game for Cedar Rapids, and went four innings allowing one run on three hits and two walks while striking out three. Luke Bard and Nick Anderson threw two scoreless innings apiece, each allowing a hit. Bard struck out two and Anderson struck out three. The four runs in the seventh inning came after an Austin Diemer double scored two, a Pat Kelly single scored Diemer, and a Rafael Valera double scored Brian Navaretto. A triple from Diemer in the eighth added another run, and he was brought home on a Navaretto single to make the score 6-1. In the ninth inning, John Curtis was summoned to finish the game for the Kernels. As alluded to earlier, he was not able to. A single and back-to-back home runs would make the score 6-4, then consecutive walks with two outs would bring Yorman Landa into the game. The first batter he faced singled to bring in two more runs and tie the game before he got the third out to send it to extra-innings. Landa remained in the game for the tenth inning, but ran into immediate trouble after a throwing error from third baseman T.J. White put the winning run on base to start the inning. A groundout moved him to second base, and a wild pitch put him ninety feet away for the TinCaps game-winning single. Cedar Rapids got two hits from Alex Real (2-5, 2 R’s, BB) and Diemer (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI) and two-RBI from Valera (1-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB) to lead their offense. E-TOWN E-NOTES Danville 5, Elizabethton 6 Box Score As opposed to their Midwest League cousins, the E-Twins were able to give their fans a comeback walk-off victory on Sunday despite being outhit 11-7 on total hits and 6-0 on extra-base hits. Danville scored two runs in the first inning and one in the second jump out to a 3-0 lead against Twins starter Miles Nordgren. He would finish 3.1 innings on the day but no further damage. In the bottom of the second Elizabethton tied it at three after a bases loaded walk to Daniel Kihle scored one, and an Alex Perez single scored two more. The game would remain tied until the seventh inning when the Twins took a 4-3 lead after Manuel Guzman came around to score from first base after a throwing error. C.K. Irby had pitched 3.2 scoreless innings to get Elizabethton to that point, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out four, but was replaced by Jose Abreu to start the eighth. He was greeted by a leadoff double, and one out later a two-run home run to put Danville back in front 5-4. The Twins managed to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, as LaMonte Wade reached on another Danville error, and singles from Travis Blankenhorn and Brian Olson were enough to get him home. Abreu made it interesting in the top of the ninth inning, but got a ground ball double play to end the threat and bring the home team back up to the plate. Guzman got them started with a leadoff single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. An intentional walk to Perez was followed by a walk from Wade to load the bases for A.J. Murray. His line drive to right field brought home the game winner for the home team. Guzman led the team with three hits on the day (3-4, 3 R’s) and was the only hitter in the lineup with multiple hits. Wade drew three walks and scored a run. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They host the GCL Orioles Monday morning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Mat Batts, Fort Myers Miracle (W, 8 IP, 4 H’s, 1 R, 0 BB’s, 9 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Niko Goodrum, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-5, 3 R’s, 3B, HR, 4 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers (8-10, 3.90 ERA) Chattanooga - Scheduled day off. Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – Stephen Gonsalves (5-1, 2.34 ERA) Cedar Rapids – Scheduled day off. Danville @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Andro Cutura (2-2, 1.23 ERA) GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

The human element of the pitcher/hitter/umpire interactions, is one of the most important strategic and fundamental aspects of playing the game of baseball to me. I am 100% against robot-umpires. Now, there certainly should be a better way to hold the umpires accountable.

Mike Pelfrey battled with Hisashi Iwakuma Sunday afternoon at Target Field, and Brian Dozier’s ninth inning home run to tie the game at one was the Minnesota Twins first earned run against Iwakuma in his career, a streak lasting 42.0 innings (they did have two unearned). But the bullpen wasn’t able to hold off the Mariners in extra innings and they fell 4-1 to split the series. In the minors on Sunday, there was little offense except for one guy in a Florida State League double-header, a lefty in Rochester was brilliant, and the Elizabethton and Chattanooga lineups produced big run totals.To catch up on everything that happened, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Syracuse 0, Rochester 6 Box Score Five runs in the third inning were more than enough to carry the Red Wings on Sunday, as lefty Pat Dean was in control throughout. He retired the first nine hitters, before issuing a walk to start the fourth. It may have been because he was in the dugout for too long, as the Rochester lineup brought eight men to the plate in the bottom of the third. Doug Bernier led off with a single, Danny Santana reached on an error, and James Beresford singled to load the bases. Two outs later, a Danny Ortiz walk scored the inning's first run, and it was followed with a grand slam from Xavier Avery, his first as a Red Wing, to put them up 5-0 Dean scattered just four hits and another walk the rest of the way, and finished the complete game shutout with a one-two-three ninth inning that included two strikeouts to hit double digits in K’s for the first time this season. He also lowered his ERA under three for the season. In his last four starts Dean has completed at least seven innings, going 2-2 in those games with just five earned runs allowed on twenty-eight hits and 7 BB’s in 32 total innings. His 10 strikeouts on the day exceeded his total of nine in the prior three games. Rochester added their sixth run in the sixth inning, when Beresford drove in Eric Farris with a single. Beresford was 2-4 on the day with an RBI and Reynaldo Rodriguez had two hits including a double to support the Avery slam. Oswaldo Arcia was 0-3 on the day with a strikeout and a hit-by-pitch. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 8, Jackson 2 Box Score On the mound for the Lookouts on Sunday was left-hander Brett Lee looking for his second win of the year in the Southern League. He tossed the first six innings with- out allowing a run, scattering five hits and a walk with four strikeouts to end up with the win. Chattanooga took a 1-0 lead in the top of third when Jairo Rodriguez led off with a double and moved to third on a Shannon Wilkerson single. An errant pick-off throw allowed Rodriguez to score. They added multiple runs in each of the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to go up 8-0. The two in the sixth came courtesy of two walks, two wild pitches, and a sac fly. The three in the seventh by way of two singles, two errors and a sac fly. Then two more runs in the eighth brought in by two walks, two singles and two wild pitches. The eight runs on the scoreboard were more than Chattanooga’s six hits, due largely to the ten walks drawn, three Jackson errors and six(!) wild pitches. Wilkerson and Rodriguez had multi-hit and multi-run games. Stephen Wickens scored two runs and Jorge Polanco added two RBI.s Adam Brett Walker II drew three walks, giving him nine free passes in his last ten games. Alex Muren came on to pitch the seventh and eighth innings, and allowed one run on three hits that included a solo home run. He struck out one. Tim Shibuya came on for the ninth and also gave up a solo home run, but finished the 8-2 victory. Chattanooga improved to 13-20 overall in the second half of the Southern League season, and have won five of their last eight. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1: Fort Myers 0, Daytona 3 Box Score In game one of their Sunday double-header, the Fort Myers offense was nowhere to be found outside of anyone not named Aderlin Mejia. He had both of their two hits, both doubles. They did manage three walks, but were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Starter Aaron Slegers was knocked around for three runs in the first inning, but settled down to shut the Tortugas out the rest of the way. For the final five innings he allowed just one more hit and one walk, which started the second inning. He then retired the final fifteen men he faced in a row. In six total innings Slegers allowed four hits and one walk, while striking out five but the lack of run support saddled him with the loss and a now 8-6 record on the year with the Miracle. Game 2: Fort Myers 0, Daytona 1 Box Score The second seven inning game of the day was also a pitcher’s duel, with both teams remaining scoreless into the final inning. Aderlin Mejia didn’t have all of the Miracle’s hits in this game, but the one he did was another double. If not for a runner being picked off first base beforehand, it might have driven in a run in the third inning. The rest of the lineup managed just three hits, all singles, and were unable to string anything together. They again left six men on base and had only three at-bats with runners in scoring position in this one. Ryan Eades started for the Miracle, and went the first five. He allowed four hits and two walks, while striking out three. Corey Williams pitched a scoreless sixth, walking one. It was then Todd Van Steensel’s turn in the bottom of the seventh. He was greeted with a double to put the winning run in scoring position. Daytona bunted him to third, then an intentional walk set up the potential for a double-play ball. Instead, a single to right field brought home the walk-off winner for the Tortugas. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Kane County 5 Box Score Cedar Rapids jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning as Tyler Kuresa and Brian Navarreto collected RBI singles and Rafael Valera added an RBI fielder’s choice. Luke Westphal made the start for the Kernels and pitched the first three scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and one walk, and struck out three. Randy LeBlanc then came in for the next three and two-thirds innings, and it was the final two-thirds that were troublesome. In the seventh a double with one out put a runner in scoring position, and a single to center brought him home. LeBlanc got the second out with a groundout, but an RBI single and RBI double put Kane County out front 4-3 and brought in Cameron Booser from the bullpen. Another single made it 5-3 before Booser got a strikeout to end the inning. The Kernels got one of the runs back in the eighth as Edgar Corcino slugged his third home run of the season to right field. They then got the tying run in scoring position in the ninth when Navarreto doubled with one out, but an Austin Diemer strikeout and Valera ground out ended the game. Navarreto (2-3, 2B, RBI, BB) and Brett Doe (2-4, R) each had two hits in the loss for the Kernels. E-TOWN E-NOTES Burlington 6, Elizabethton 13 Box Score Burlington scored early, getting four runs in the top of the first, but Elizabethton was quick to respond with a two-run home run from Chris Paul to answer in the bottom half. The Twins took the lead back for good in the bottom of the second. Amaury Minier led off with a single, Brian Olson drew a walk, and Nelson Molina singled to load the bases with one out. Jermaine Palacios then brought in a run with a sac fly, and the bases stayed loaded when it was dropped for an error. An Alex Perez walk tied the game at four, then a LaMonte Wade (University of Maryland draftee) walk gave them the lead 5-4. A potential double-play ball to end the inning then went awry for Burlington, allowing two more to score. The Twins added a single run in the fourth on a single from Wade to score Perez who had doubled, and two runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings courtesy of home runs from Palacios and Olson. Their 13th and final run came in the eighth on an RBI double from Wade, again scoring Perez. After his 26 game stay at the GCL Twins and posting a 1.06 OPS there, Palacios in his three games for the Elizabethton Twins has posted an OPS of 1.47 (SSS warning). After the four-run first inning, starter Onesimo Hernandez recovered to go three scoreless. In his four innings on the day he allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out three. Logan Lombana was the first in relief and picked up the win with one run allowed on two hits and a walk in 3.1 innings. He struck out two. Jose Abreu finish the final 1.2 innings, allowing one run on four hits. Wade (3-3, R, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB), Paul (2-5, R, HR, 3 RBI), and Molina (2-4, 2 R’s) each had multiple hits on the day. Palacios also added three RBI. Travis Blankenhorn was the only hitter on the day to not reach base or score a run for the home team. The win moved Elizabethton a game in front of Burlington in the standings, and one win shy of a .500 record at 19-20. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They travel to play the GCL Orioles on Monday. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Pat Dean, Rochester Red Wings (CG-SO, W, 9 IP, 4 H’s, 0 R’s, 1 BB, 10 K’s) Hitter of the Day – LaMonte Wade, Elizabethton Twins (3-3, R, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB’s) TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Gwinnett (5:35 PM CST) – TBD Chattanooga @ Jackson (7:05M CST) – RHP D.J. Baxendale (4-2, 4.10 ERA) Fort Myers – Scheduled day off. Cedar Rapids – Scheduled day off. Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren (0-2, 1.07 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Mike Pelfrey battled with Hisashi Iwakuma Sunday afternoon at Target Field, and Brian Dozier’s ninth inning home run to tie the game at one was the Minnesota Twins first earned run against Iwakuma in his career, a streak lasting 42.0 innings (they did have two unearned). But the bullpen wasn’t able to hold off the Mariners in extra innings and they fell 4-1 to split the series. In the minors on Sunday, there was little offense except for one guy in a Florida State League double-header, a lefty in Rochester was brilliant, and the Elizabethton and Chattanooga lineups produced big run totals. To catch up on everything that happened, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Syracuse 0, Rochester 6 Box Score Five runs in the third inning were more than enough to carry the Red Wings on Sunday, as lefty Pat Dean was in control throughout. He retired the first nine hitters in a row, before issuing a walk to start the fourth. It may have been because he was in the dugout for too long, as the Rochester lineup brought eight men to the plate in the bottom of the third. Doug Bernier led off with a single, Danny Santana reached on an error, and James Beresford singled to load the bases. Two outs later, a Danny Ortiz walk scored the innings first run, and it was followed with a grand slam from Xavier Avery, his first as a Red Wing to put them up 5-0 Dean scattered just four hits and another walk the rest of the way, and finished the complete game shut-out with a one-two-three ninth inning that included two strikeouts to hit double digits in K’s for the first time this season. He also lowered his ERA under three for the season. In his last four starts Dean has completed at least seven innings, going 2-2 in those games with just five earned runs allowed on twenty-eight hits and 7 BB’s in 32 total innings. His ten strikeouts on the day exceeded his total of nine in the prior three games. Rochester added their sixth run in the sixth inning, when Beresford drove in Eric Farris with a single. Beresford was 2-4 on the day with an RBI, and Reynaldo Rodriguez had two hits including a double to support the Avery slam. Oswaldo Arcia was 0-3 on the day with a strikeout and a hit-by-pitch. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 8, Jackson 2 Box Score On the mound for the Lookouts on Sunday was lefthander Brett Lee looking for his second win of the year in the Southern League. He tossed the first six scoreless innings, scattering five hits and a walk with four strikeouts to end up with that win. Chattanooga took a 1-0 lead in the top of third when Jairo Rodriguez led off with a double and moved to third on a Shannon Wilkerson single. An errant pick-off throw allowed Rodriguez to score. They would add multiple runs in each of the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to go up 8-0. The two in the sixth came courtesy of two walks, two wild pitches, and a sac fly. Three in the seventh by way of two singles, two errors, and a sac fly. Then two more runs in the eighth helped along by two walks, two singles, and two wild pitches. The eight runs on the scoreboard were more than Chattanooga’s six hits, due largely to the ten walks drawn as a team and three Jackson errors. Wilkerson and Rodriguez had multi-hit and multi-run games. Stephen Wickens scored two runs and Jorge Polanco added two RBI. Adam Brett Walker II drew three walks, giving him nine free passes in his last ten games. Alex Muren came on to pitch the seventh and eighth innings, and allowed one run on three hits that included a solo-home run. He struck out one. Tim Shibuya came on for the ninth and also gave up a solo home run, but finished the 8-2 victory. Chattanooga improved to 13-20 overall in the second half of the Southern League season, and have won five of their last eight. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1: Fort Myers 0, Daytona 3 Box Score In game one of their Sunday double-header, the Fort Myers offense was nowhere to be found outside of anyone not named Aderlin Mejia. He had both of their two hits as a team on the game, both doubles. They did manage three walks, but were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left only six men on base. Starter Aaron Slegers was knocked around for the three runs in the first inning, but settled down to shut the Tortugas out the rest of the way. For the final five innings he allowed just one more hit and one walk, which started the second inning. He then retired the final fifteen men he faced in a row. In six total innings Slegers allowed four hits and one walk, while striking out five but the lack of run support saddled him with the loss and a now 8-6 record on the year with the Miracle. Game 2: Fort Myers 0, Daytona 1 Box Score The second seven inning game of the day was also a pitcher’s duel, with each team remaining scoreless into the final inning. Aderlin Mejia didn’t have all of the Miracle’s hits in this game, but the one he did was another double. If not for a runner being picked off first base beforehand, it may have driven in a run in the third inning. The rest of the lineup managed just three hits, all singles, and were unable to string anything together. They again left only six men on base and had only three at-bats with runners in scoring position in this one. Ryan Eades started for the Miracle, and went the first five. He allowed four hits and two walks, while striking out three. Corey Williams pitched a scoreless sixth, walking one. It was then Todd Van Steensel’s turn in the bottom of the seventh. He was greeted with a double to put the winning run in scoring position. Daytona bunted him to third, then an intentional walk set up the potential for a double-play ball. Instead, a single to right field brought home the walk-off winner for the Tortugas. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Kane County 5 Box Score Cedar Rapids jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning as Tyler Kuresa and Brian Navarreto collected RBI singles and Rafael Valera added an RBI fielder’s choice. Luke Westphal made the start for the Kernels and pitched the first three scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and one walk, and struck out three. Randy LeBlanc then came in for the next three and two-thirds innings, and it was the final two-thirds that were troublesome. In the seventh a double with one out put a runner in scoring position, and a single to center brought him home. LeBlanc would get the second out with a groundout, but an RBI single and RBI double put Kane County out front 4-3 and would bring in Cameron Booser from the bullpen. Another single would make it 5-3 before Booser got a strikeout to end the inning. The Kernels got one of the runs back in the eighth as Edgar Corcino slugged his third home run of the season to right field. They then got the tying run in scoring position in the ninth when Navarreto doubled with one out, but an Austin Diemer strikeout and Valera ground out would end the game. Navarreto (2-3, 2B, RBI, BB) and Brett Doe (2-4, R) each had two hits in the loss for the Kernels. E-TOWN E-NOTES Burlington 6, Elizabethton 13 Box Score Burlington scored early and often in the top of the first, jumping out to a 4-0 lead, but Elizabethton was quick to respond with a two-run home run from Chris Paul to answer in the bottom half. The Twins would take the lead back for good in the bottom of the second. Amaury Minier led off with a single, Brian Olson drew a walk, and Nelson Molina singled to load the bases with one out. Jermaine Palacios then brought in a run with sac fly, and kept the bases loaded when it was dropped for an error. An Alex Perez walk tied the game at four, then a LaMonte Wade walk gave them the lead 5-4. A double-play ball to end the inning then went awry for Burlington to plate two more. The Twins would add a single run in the fourth on a single from Wade to score Perez who had doubled, and two runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings courtesy of home runs from Palacios and Olson. Their thirteenth and final run came in the eighth on an RBI double from Wade, again scoring Perez. After the four run first inning, starter Onesimo Hernandez recovered to go three scoreless. In his four innings on the day he allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out three. Logan Lombana was the first in relief and picked up the win with one run allowed on two hits and a walk in 3.1 innings. He struck out two. Jose Abreu finish the final 1.2 innings, allowing one run on four hits. Wade (3-3, R, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB), Paul (2-5, R, HR, 3 RBI), and Molina (2-4, 2 R’s) each had multiple hits on the day. Palacios also added three RBI. Travis Blankenhorn was the only hitter on the day to not reach base or score a run for the home team. The win moved Elizabethton a game in front of Burlington in the standings, and one win shy of a .500 record at 19-20. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They travel to play the GCL Orioles on Monday. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Pat Dean, Rochester Red Wings (CG-SO, W, 9 IP, 4 H’s, 0 R’s, 1 BB, 10 K’s) Hitter of the Day – LaMonte Wade, Elizabethton Twins (3-3, R, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB’s) TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Gwinnett (5:35 PM CST) – TBD Chattanooga @ Jackson (7:05M CST) – RHP D.J. Baxendale (4-2, 4.10 ERA) Fort Myers – Scheduled day off. Cedar Rapids – Scheduled day off. Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren (0-2, 1.07 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

Hicks is certainly making Buxton irrelevant for THIS year. Buxton's bat isn't ready for the majors. I saw it in Spring Training, and everyone saw it in his time in the majors. With Hicks coming on, no reason to see Buxton again until September.

Well, let's do some case studies. In 2014, Kris Bryant (my definition of "elite" above) had 22 HR's in AA after 68 games when he was promoted. He also hit .355/.458/.702 with a 25.9% K-rate and 14.5% BB rate. Joey Gallo (also an "elite") had 21 HR's in A+ after 58 games when he was promoted. He also hit .323/.463/.735 with a 26% K-rate and 20.7% BB rate. Matt Olson (not quite an elite, much more like Walker) had 37 HR's in 138 games in A+, and was not promoted. He also hit .262/.404/.543 with a 21.6% K-rate and 18.5% BB-rate. In 2013: Joey Gallo hit 38 HR's in Low-A ball to lead all of MiLB, in 106 games, and was NOT promoted (So there is your answer). He also hit .245/.334/.610 with a 37% K-rate and 10.8% BB-rate. For fun Miguel Sano hit 16 HR's in A+ ball in 56 games when he was promoted. He also hit .330/.424/.655 with a 25.1% K-rate and 11.9% BB-rate. So now that I've answered your question (and it didn't take me long), here is ABWII this year: 26 HR's in 91 games, and has not been promoted. He has also hit .262/.317/.563 with a 37.6% K-rate and 7.9% BB-rate. You compare all those slash lines, it should be pretty obvious as to why those guys have, and have not, been promoted during the season. Walker is far and away the worst line of the ones that were not promoted in season. I don't care about RBI, and neither should you. One guys 35 HR's and 90 RBI, might be the same guy's 35 HR's and 120 RBI on another team. RBI depend too much on those around them. And face it, Walker has been on some pretty talented teams with a bunch of guys who get on base for him. There's a reason the Lookouts have 5 regulars in the top 16 of the Southern League for runs scored, including Buxton at #16 who hasn't played there in over a month, and Sano at #1 who hasn't played for them in two weeks. Now I think Walker will be promoted at some point this year, but this is line of thinking you have shouldn't be the reasoning for it.

It actually probably isn't as hard as you think to hit it over the scoreboard there, as it's basically even with the fence. But around 450 is probably accurate, and that's still a "monster blast."

The answer to most of this comment, is all prospects are different. There is not a cookie cutter approach. This is also why your third paragraph is nothing but hearsay. You would have a very hard time proving anything in relation. The reason why this might stick out to you, is because a lot of guys who get promoted mid-season, are big-time, well known, well scouted, and consensus top level guys. It's as simple as "elite prospects move faster because they are elite prospects." We all love Walker's power, and Kepler is certainly having a breakout season. But you'd be hard pressed to find them on any Top 50's, or even Top 100 lists right now. Walker especially because his questions are still so pronounced despite the big power numbers. One-trick pony's rarely have staying power. Now, Wilkin Ramirez just got injured for Rochester, so someone might move up now, but I'd move Kepler up before Walker, and there's not even a sliver of a debate about that to me between the two.

Yup, definitely looking forward with that. Won't help their push for playoff's this year, but would keep them on the path of the future.

How about Arcia for Trevor Story, instead of Pursuing Tulowitzki? But I'm in the boat of some others. Tulowitzki would be a major boost. You're getting a proven, elite commodity (when healthy) at the expense of probably prospects who haven't done anything yet. It's not like Tulo would be a rental either. There are certainly trade scenarios where everything makes perfect sense. And to those that are so afraid of Tulo's home/road splits for reasons I don't understand, I have to point out that his away OPS is still elite for a SS. Now do I think this would be in their best interest? That's debatable. But, in the right scenario this could help in both the short and long term. I'd certainly prefer to do other types of deals first, like the one I suggest up top, but I'd have a hard time being mad about bringing in a player of Tulowitzki's caliber, unless he continues to miss 1/2 the games every year.

To be quite honest, if there's talks happening with the Rockies about a SS, I might have more interest in Trevor Story than Troy Tulowitzki. I don't really think the Rockies want or will move Tulo, which blocks Story, and he'd certainly be a lot cheaper on what is sent to Colorado. Definite questions about Story's bat, but he brings some thump and might be better defensively than Tulo in the long term as well.

I agree with that, but look where they already are now with May on the outside of the rotation looking in. That situation doesn't change much in the future. Someone in this situation is likely to be worth more to another team than the Twins in the future. It's called maximizing your assets.

I wouldn't really "like" any deal that brought Tulo here if it means sending Gibson or Berrios off, along with whatever else they needed to get it done (absolutely "NO WAY" on Buxton or Sano), but this is kind of a problem that was created the last few seasons using Free Agency to fix the rotation. They have Ricky Nolasco at $12MIL/year through 2017. Phil Hughes at basically $13MIL/year through 2019. Ervin Santana at 13.4MIL/year through 2018. Then Gibson under team control through 2019, Milone under control through 2018, and May under control through 2020. Add in names like Meyer and Berrios, and suddenly you have way too many pitchers for not enough spots through the next three seasons. Would anyone else consider this a surplus? We probably should, so theoretically the best thing the Twins can do for their short and long term future is use this surplus to improve other areas. Shortstop certainly is a good spot to start. If they would take Berrios or Gibson, then Arcia, Nolasco, and perhaps Polanco or another fringe top 10 guy, I think you'd have to do it. Is that a deal they would want? Not so sure about that, but that's about as much as I would want the Twins to spend. Maybe Meyer's name gets thrown in, and I'd certainly want Hundley or a RP's name from their side too.

Exactly what Seth is saying is what I mean by "necessary or warranted."

Don't disagree, but they are certainly organizational guys. You set a very bad example for the rest of your MiLB players by just dumping those types when it's not necessary or warranted, and this suggested move is not necessary or warranted in my view.

Rochester still has a full outfield I think. Arcia, Ortiz, and Farris are all getting pretty much full playing time, with Farris playing all over. Rodriguez plays about a quarter of his games in RF too. Even with the Ramirez DL stint, you would probably have to release someone to get ABW constant playing time there right now like he has in AA.

The Twins had the day off on Monday as they travel down the West Coast of California from Oakland to Los Angeles to face the Angels of Anaheim on Tuesday. Kyle Gibson will make the start and look to get Minnesota back in the win column after the drubbing yesterday. But in the minors on Monday, it was a full slate of games with each affiliate in action. There were several strong starting pitching performances including a late bid for a combined-no-hitter, a big home run from a familiar name in these reports, and a couple of blowouts in the lower levels.To see if the Twins’ affiliates came out on top in those games, read on! TRANSACTIONS Before we get to the games, a few quick transaction updates: Wilkin Ramirez was sent to the disabled list for the Rochester Red Wings, and they activated Nate Hanson in his place. Pitcher Keaton Steele was also activated from the disabled list for Cedar Rapids, and started Monday's game for the Kernels. RED WINGS REPORT Gwinnett 6, Rochester 3 Box Score Lefthander Taylor Rogers kept the Rochester Red Wings in the game for most of it, but was unable to finish his day on high note. Rochester got out to an early 1-0 lead in the second, when Reynaldo Rodriguez led off the inning with his ninth home run of the season. In the top of the third the lead was handed to the Braves when they got to Rogers for three singles, resulting in two runs. The score remained that way through the sixth, with Rogers finishing that inning with only the two runs allowed on four hits and a walk, along with three strikeouts, but it unraveled for him in the seventh. Consecutive singles, a sac bunt, and intentional walk to load the bases started the inning, then two more singles and a sac fly brought in four runs to make it 6-1 before Cole Johnson came on in relief and escaped the jam. The Red Wings tried to get back in the game in the bottom half of the seventh, as Rodriguez and Bernier drew walks to put runners on with two outs, and Eric Farris delivered his first triple of the season to drive them in and make the score 6-3. Johnson recorded one out in the eighth before his own troubles brought in Mark Hamburger to wiggle out his jam with runners on second and third. Hamburger came back out for the ninth to pitch a scoreless inning, allowing a single and striking out two, but the Red Wings went down one-two-three in the ninth. Rochester was outhit 11-5 on the game, and didn’t get many chances as they were just 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left only five men on base. Rodriguez was the only Red Wings player with multiple hits, going 2-3 with two runs scored and the solo home run. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Mississippi 1, Chattanooga 4 Box Score The Lookouts were rained out yesterday, but continued their slight turnaround from a rough start to the month. After starting July 3-9 in their first twelve games, they are 5-1 over their last six. Starter David Hurlbut did much of the work for Chattanooga, pitching six shut out frames. He scattered five hits and two walks, while striking out two to improve to 6-4 on the season. He left the game with a 3-0 lead thanks to a single run in the fifth and two in the sixth from the home team. Travis Harrison scored the first run of the game in the fifth, when he led off the inning with a walk and scored on a Stuart Turner double. In the sixth, Max Kepler drew a walk and trotted home on Adam Brett Walker’s twenty-fifth home run of the season to make it 3-0. J.T. Chargois relieved Hurlbut for the seventh and pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one. Mississippi got their only run of the game in the eighth off reliever Alex Muren, when consecutive errors from Muren and Kennys Vargas allowed the leadoff man to circle home-to-home in just those two batters. Niko Goodrum added an insurance run in the eighth with a solo home run, his third of the season with the Lookouts and seventh total. Stuart Turner had two hits on the night including the RBI double. Walker had a typical day with the big home run, but also struck out twice. Kepler (1-3, R, BB) and Vargas (1-3, BB) each reached base twice in the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 1, Fort Myers 2 Box Score It was a pitcher’s duel at Hammond Stadium on Monday night, with the Miracle’s Aaron Slegers facing off against the rehabbing Henderson Alvarez of the Miami Marlins. Slegers got the best of him with seven strong innings. He walked none and allowed just five hits and one run while striking out five. Fort Myers got to Alvarez in the third inning, and ended his night with two unearned runs after Alex Swim reached base on an error to start the inning. Swim moved to second on a passed ball, and a single from Mitch Garver and a walk to Brett Doe loaded the bases for consecutive sacrifice flies from Ryan Walker and T.J. White. Those two runs would be just enough, as the Hammerhead’s Drew Steckenrider held the Miracle lineup at bay for the rest of the game. Todd Van Steensel picked up his twelfth save with Fort Myers with two innings of relief to finish the game. He allowed one hit and struck out one. White was the only batter with multiple hits for the Miracle, going 2-3 with an RBI, and Swim added a double to the effort. The Miracle improved to 14-11 in the second half of the FSL season, and 52-43 overall. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Quad Cities 14 Box Score Things got ugly early in this one for the Kernels and if it were a Minnesota Baseball Association Town Team game, would have ended a bit early in the eighth inning due to the mercy rule. Starting pitcher Keaton Steele, fresh off the DL, got through the first two innings unscathed, but recorded just one out in the third as the first four men reached base via single or walk, scoring the first two runs of the game in the process. They tacked on three more to Steele’s line before Jared Wilson escaped later with the bases still loaded. The River Bandits continued to fill the scoreboard against Wilson in the fourth (two runs), Michael Theofanopoulos in the fifth (four runs) and Cameron Booser in the sixth (one run), before they finally got a damage free and one-two-three seventh from Randy LeBlanc. He was not immune either though, as they’d get him for two more runs in the eighth, both unearned, as Kernels shortstop Sean Miller committed errors on consecutive ground balls to bring the score to 14-4 and the mercy conditions. Cedar Rapids scored their first run of the game in the sixth inning, as Zack Larson singled in Tanner English who had led off the inning with a walk. In the seventh, a triple from Austin Diemer and a double from Miller brought a little bit of life to the game, but three runs on the Kernels scoreboard weren’t much help. They added a fifth run in the top of the ninth, when English connected for his third home run of the season, making the final score of 14-5. Edgar Corcino (2-4, BB) and Miller (2-4, R, 2B) each had two hits to lead Cedar Rapids, and as team they were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 12, Burlington 1 Box Score The Elizabethton lineup scored early often and late often on Monday, leading to a 12-1 blowout of the Burlington Royals. They were aided by another stellar performance from starter Dereck Rodriguez, who continues to impress early in his transition to a pitcher with Elizabethton. The Twins racked up nineteen hits, and went a combined 8-21 with runners in scoring position. Though normally you might see fourteen men left on base as a bad thing, combined with the twelve runs on the scoreboard you can see how many chances they gave themselves. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning, primarily due to the bat of newly signed first baseman Zander Wiel of Vanderbilt. His first professional home run was a two-run shot to make it 3-0 and Elizabethton would need no other insurance, though they took out a pretty large policy the rest of the game. They added two more in the second inning, and single runs in each of the third and fourth. They were held in check for the next two innings, before adding three to board in the seventh, and single runs again in each of the eighth and ninth. Rodriguez retired the first eleven Royals of the game before a single in the fourth with two outs finally got a runner on base for the home team. They got just one more single off Rodriguez in the fifth, and he faced the minimum over his final three innings, including retiring the final seven Royals he faced. He didn’t walk a single batter, and picked up three strikeouts along the way to improve his Appalachian League record to 3-0 in five starts. Alex Robinson came on in relief to finish the final two innings, allowing one run on one hit, a double in the ninth and two walks. Rainis Silva was 4-4 in the game and got on base in all five plate appearances for Elizabethton, scoring three runs in the process as he doubled and homered to drive in three. Kamran Young was 2-5 with a double, run scored and a walk. Leftfielder Chris Paul had three hits including a double, scored three runs and drove in one. Weil was 2-4 with three RBI’s and a walk to go along with his first pro home run. Travis Blankenhorn notched three hits and a walk, scoring one and driving in one. Ariel Montesino also joined the multiple-hit parade, going 2-4 with a walk, double, run scored and RBI. All nine starters for the Twins had at least one hit and Amaurys Minier was the only starter not to score a run. The win brought Elizabethton’s record to 12-13, and they shoot for .500 at home against the Princeton Rays tomorrow. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Orioles 0, Elizabethton 1 Box Score Pitching was again the name of the game here, and Twins pitchers had a combined no-hitter through the first seven innings. Eduardo Del Rosario went the first five to get it started, walking two and striking out five. Max Cordy walked one and struck out two in the sixth, and Stephen Pryor struck out two in a perfect seventh. Next up in the eighth was John Curtiss, who got the first batter on a ground out to bring the team to 7.1 no-hit innings, but a walk to the next batter would be as far as he could bring them. The Orioles Jack Graham was up next, and was the first to get lucky, sneaking a ground ball through the right side for a base hit and putting a runner in scoring position. Obviously disappointed and perhaps angry the hit got through, Curtiss proceeded to strike out the next two hitters and keep the 1-0 Twins lead. The Twins got that run in the second inning, as singles from Jermaine Palacios, Ruar Verkerk and Kerby Camacho brought Palacios around to score with two outs. Johan Quezada was brought in for the save opportunity, and fared much like Curtiss. He got a groundout to start the inning, but then a walk and single put the game-tying runner on second base again. After a pinch-runner and pinch-hitter substitution, Quezada got a ground ball to third to end the game and pick up the save. Rosario improved to 2-0 in the Gulf Coast League in five starts and lowered his ERA to 1.96 with the five no-hit frames. On offense, the Twins got multiple hits from Luis Arraez (2-3, BB), Palacios (2-3, R) and Verkerk (2-3) and eight hits as a team. Because they were all singles however, they were just 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left only five men on base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Dereck Rodriguez, Elizabethton Twins (W, 7.0 IP, 2 H’s, 0 ER’s, 0 BB’s, 3 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Rainis Silva, Elizabethton Twins (4-4, 3 R’s, 2B, HR, BB, 2 RBI) TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Gwinnet @ Rochester (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Tyler Duffey (4-4, 2.24 ERA) Montgomery @ Chattanooga (10:15 AM CST) – TBD Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Chih-Wei Hu (5-2, 2.20 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) –RHP Felix Jorge (4-3, 2.06 ERA) Princeton @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Alex Tapia (1-1, 2.95 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

The Twins had the day off on Monday as they travel down the west coast of California from Oakland to Los Angeles to face the Angels of Anaheim on Tuesday. Kyle Gibson will make the start and look to get Minnesota back in the win column after the drubbing yesterday. But in the minors on Monday, it was a full slate of games with each affiliate in action. There were several strong starting pitching performances including a late bid for a combined-no-hitter, a big home run from a familiar name in these reports, and a couple blowouts in the lower levels. To see if the Twins’ affiliates came out on top in those games, read on! TRANSACTIONS Before we get to the games, a few quick transaction updates: Wilkin Ramirez was sent to the disabled list for the Rochester Red Wings, and they activated Nate Hanson in his place. Pitcher Keaton Steele was also activated from the disabled list for Cedar Rapids, and started tonight’s game for the Kernels. RED WINGS REPORT Gwinnett 6, Rochester 3 Box Score Lefthander Taylor Rogers kept the Rochester Red Wings in the game for most of it, but was unable to finish his day on high note. Rochester got out to an early 1-0 lead in the second, when Reynaldo Rodriguez led off the inning with his ninth home run of the season. In the top of the third the lead was handed to the Braves when they got to Rogers with three singles, resulting in two runs. The score would remain that way through the sixth, with Rogers finishing that inning with only the two runs allowed on four hits and a walk, along with three strikeouts, but it unraveled for him in the seventh. Consecutive singles, a sac bunt, and intentional walk to load the bases started the inning, then two more singles and a sac fly brought in four runs to make it 6-1 before Cole Johnson came on in relief and escaped the jam. The Red Wings would try to get back in the game in the bottom half of the seventh, as Rodriguez and Bernier drew walks to put runners on with two outs, and Eric Farris delivered his first triple of the season to drive them in and make the score 6-3. Johnson recorded one out in the eighth before his own troubles summoned Mark Hamburger to wiggle out his jam with runners on second and third. Hamburger would come back out for the ninth and pitch a scoreless inning, allowing a single and striking out two, but the Red Wings went down one-two-three in the ninth. Rochester was outhit 11-5 on the game, and didn’t get many chances as they were just 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left only five men on base. Rodriguez was the only Red Wings player with multiple hits, going 2-3 with two runs scored and the solo home run. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Mississippi 1, Chattanooga 4 Box Score The Lookouts were rained out yesterday, but continued their slight turnaround from a rough start to the month despite missing a day of action. After starting July 3-9 in their first twelve games, they are 5-1 over their last six. Starter David Hurlbut did much of the work for Chattanooga, pitching six shutout frames. He scattered five hits and two walks, while striking out two to improve to 6-4 on the season. He left the game with a 3-0 lead thanks to a single run in the fifth and two in the sixth from the home team. Travis Harrison scored the first run of the game in the fifth, when he led off the inning with a walk and scored on a Stuart Turner double. In the sixth, Max Kepler drew a walk and trotted home on Adam Brett Walker II’s twenty-fifth home run of the season to make it 3-0. J.T. Chargois relieved Hurlbut for the seventh and pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one. Mississippi got their only run of the game in the eighth off reliever Alex Muren, when consecutive errors from Muren and Kennys Vargas allowed the leadoff man to circle home-to-home in just those two batters. Niko Goodrum added an insurance run in the eighth with a solo home run, his third of the season with the Lookouts and seventh total. Stuart Turner had two hits on the night including the RBI double. Walker had a typical day with the big home run, but also struck out twice. Kepler (1-3, R, BB) and Vargas (1-3, BB) each reached base twice in the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 1, Fort Myers 2 Box Score It was a pitcher’s duel at Hammond Stadium on Monday night, with the Miracle’s Aaron Slegers facing off against the rehabbing Henderson Alvarez of the Miami Marlins. Slegers got the best of him with seven strong innings. He walked none and allowed just five hits and one run, while striking out five. Fort Myers got to Alvarez in the third inning, and would end his night with two unearned runs after Alex Swim reached base on an error to start the inning. Swim would move to second on a passed ball, and a single from Mitch Garver and a walk to Brett Doe would load the bases for consecutive sacrifice flies from Ryan Walker and T.J. White. Those two runs would be just enough, as the HammerHead’s Drew Steckenrider would hold the Miracle lineup at bay for the rest of the game. Todd Van Steensel picked up his twelfth save with Fort Myers with two innings of relief to finish the game. He allowed one hit and struck out one. White was the only batter with multiple hits for the Miracle going 2-3 with an RBI, and Swim added a double to the effort. The Miracle improved to 14-11 in the second half of the FSL season, and 52-43 overall. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Quad Cities 14 Box Score Things got ugly early in this one for the Kernels, and if it were a Minnesota Baseball Association Town Team game, would have ended a bit early in the eighth inning due to the mercy rule. Starting pitcher Keaton Steel, fresh off the disabled list, got through the first two innings unscathed, but recorded just one out in the third as the first four men reached base via single or walk, scoring the first two runs of the game in the process, and they would tack on three more to Steele’s line before Jared Wilson would escape later with the bases still loaded. The River Bandits would continue to fill the scoreboard against Wilson in the fourth (two runs), Michael Theofanopoulos in the fifth (four runs) and Cameron Booser in the sixth (one run), before they finally got a damage free and one-two-three seventh from Randy LeBlanc. He was not immune either though, as they’d get him for two more runs in the eighth, both unearned, as Kernels shortstop Sean Miller committed errors on consecutive ground balls to bring the score to 14-4 and the mercy conditions. Cedar Rapids scored their first run of the game in the sixth inning, as Zack Larson singled in Tanner English who had led off the inning with a walk. In the seventh, a triple from Austin Diemer and a double from Miller brought a little bit of life to the game, but three runs on the Kernels scoreboard weren’t much help. They added a fifth run in the top of the ninth, when English connected for his third home run of the season, making the final score of 14-5. Edgar Corcino (2-4, BB) and Miller (2-4, R, 2B) each had two hits to lead Cedar Rapids, and as team they were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 12, Burlington 1 Box Score The Elizabethton lineup scored early often and late often on Monday, leading to a 12-1 blowout of the Burlington Royals, and were aided by another stellar performance from starter Derek Rodriguez, who continues to impress early in his transition to a pitcher with Elizabethton. The Twins racked up nineteen hits, and went a combined 8-21 with runners in scoring position. Though normally you might see fourteen men left on base as a bad thing, combined with the twelve runs on the scoreboard this tells you how many chances they gave themselves. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning, primarily due to the bat of newly signed first baseman Zander Wiel of Vanderbilt. His first professional home run was a two-run shot to make it 3-0 and Elizabethton would need no other insurance, though they took out a pretty large policy the rest of the game. They added two more in the second inning, and single runs in each of the third and fourth. They were held in check for the next two innings, before adding three to board in the seventh, and single runs again in each of the eighth and ninth. Rodriguez retired the first eleven Royals of the game, before a single in the fourth with two outs finally got a runner on base for the home team. They would get just one more single off Rodriguez in the fifth, and he faced the minimum over his final three innings, including retiring the final seven Royals he faced. He didn’t walk a single batter, and picked up three strikeouts along the way to improve his Appalachian League record to 3-0 in five starts. Alex Robinson came on in relief to finish the final two innings, allowing one run on one hit, a double in the ninth, and two walks. Rainis Silva was 4-4 in the game and got on base in all five plate appearances for Elizabethton, scoring three runs in the process as he doubled and homered to drive in three. Kamran Young was 2-5 with a double, run scored, and a walk. Leftfielder Chris Paul had three hits including a double, scored three runs, and drove in one. Weil was 2-4 with three RBI’s and a walk to go along with his first pro home run. Travis Blankenhorn notched three hits and a walk, scoring one and driving in one. Ariel Montesino also joined the multiple-hit parade, going 2-4 with a walk, double, run scored and RBI. All nine starters for the Twins had at least one hit, and Amaurys Minier was the only starter not to score a run. The win brought Elizabethton’s record to 12-13, and they shoot for .500 at home against the Princeton Rays tomorrow. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Orioles 0, Elizabethton 1 Box Score Pitching was again the name of the game in this one, and Twins pitchers had a combined no-hitter through the first seven innings. Eduardo Del Rosario went the first five to get it started, walking two and striking out five. Max Cordy walked one and struck out two in the sixth, and Stephen Pryor struck out two in a perfect seventh. Next up in the eighth was John Curtiss, who got the first batter on a ground out to bring the team to 7.1 no-hit innings, but a walk to the next batter would be as far as he could bring them. The Orioles Jack Graham was up next, and was the first to get lucky, sneaking a ground ball through the right side for a base hit and putting a runner in scoring position. Obviously disappointed and perhaps angry the hit got through, Curtiss proceeded to strikeout the next two hitters and keep the 1-0 Twins lead. The Twins got that run in the second inning, as singles from Jermaine Palacios, Ruar Verkerk, and Kerby Camacho brought Palacios around to score with two outs. Johan Quezada was brought in for the save opportunity, and fared much like Curtiss. He got a ground out to start the inning, but then a walk and single put the game tying runner on second base again. After a pinch-runner and pinch-hitter substitution, Quezada got a ground ball to third to end the game and pick up the save. Rosario improved to 2-0 in the Gulf Coast League in five starts, and lowered his ERA to 1.96 with the five no-hit frames. On offense, the Twins got multiple hits from Luis Arraez (2-3, BB), Palacios (2-3, R) and Verkerk (2-3) and eight hits as a team. Because they were all singles however, they were just 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left only five men on base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Derek Rodriguez, Elizabethton Twins (W, 7.0 IP, 2 H’s, 0 ER’s, 0 BB’s, 3 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Rainis Silva, Elizabethton Twins (4-4, 3 R’s, 2B, HR, BB, 2 RBI) TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Gwinnet @ Rochester (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Tyler Duffey (4-4, 2.24 ERA) Montgomery @ Chattanooga (10:15 AM CST) – TBD Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Chih-Wei Hu (5-2, 2.20 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) –RHP Felix Jorge (4-3, 2.06 ERA) Princeton @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Alex Tapia (1-1, 2.95 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.