Steve Lein

Brian Dozier put the Minnesota Twins out front 1-0 immediately in the series opener with their cross-state rival Milwaukee Brewers, leading off the game with his fifteenth home run of the season. It was the eleventh time in his career he has led off a game in such fashion. Four of their six minor league teams also jumped out to leads after the first inning, but what happened next for the parent club after Dozier’s home run was telling throughout the MiLB action on the night. To find out how it all went down, keep reading! TRANSACTIONS First, there were some significant transactions on Friday. As reported yesterday, top pitching prospect Alex Meyer was promoted to the Twins to pitch out of their bullpen. The move was made official today and Meyer will be ready to make his Major League debut in Milwaukee. That exciting news was also met with some bad news, as Byron Buxton is headed to the Disabled List with a sprained thumb. The Twins recalled Danny Santana in his place. Also on the move to Rochester, is Aaron Hicks to begin a rehab assignment, and the Red Wings also activated Nate Hanson from their disabled list. On to the action from Friday night! RED WINGS REPORT Charlotte 3, Rochester 1 Box Score Lefthander Pat Dean was on the hill for Rochester, and was fantastic. In seven innings, he allowed just two runs while scattering seven hits and two walks. He struck out three. Both runs came in the third inning, as a couple of doubles scored one, and a single scored the other. Charlotte’s starter was just as good, however. Erik Johnson bettered Dean with a line of: 7 IP, 4 Hits, 1 Run, 1BB, and 8 K’s. Johnson currently leads with International League with eighty-eight strikeouts, and was the league’s pitcher of the week coming into the game after two shutout performances in his prior two starts. The Red Wings lone run of the game came in the fifth, when a double from Carlos Paulino brought home Ryan Wheeler who had singled. As a team Rochester left just four men on base while going 1-4 with runners in scoring position, so their opportunities were very few and far between. James Beresford and Oswaldo Arcia picked up the other two hits. Aaron Hicks was 0-4 with two strikeouts in his first game of rehab. Lester Oliveros pitched a scoreless eighth inning, allowing one hit but striking out three. Michael Tonkin allowed one run on three hits in the ninth in his first appearance back with the Red Wings. He struck out one. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Montgomery 7 Box Score The Montgomery Biscuits handed the Lookouts the 2-0 lead after one inning as Levi Michael led off the game by getting hit with a pitch and stealing second base. Miguel Sano sent a pitch into centerfield that resulted in a fielding error that scored Michael and put him on second base. Max Kepler followed with an RBI single. Alex Wimmers was on the mound for Chattanooga coming off a 3-0 stretch in which he had allowed zero runs in seven plus innings each game, totaling 21.2 innings pitched. Over that time frame he had given up just eight hits and six walks, while striking out twenty three. He was able to continue this scoreless stretch for four innings, but it was clear he didn’t have the same stuff as Montgomery managed four hits and three walks in those innings. They finally got to him in the fifth. A triple, sac fly, single, double, single and another sac fly would tie the game at three before Wimmers was lifted for Brandon Peterson. He recorded a strikeout to end the inning. The Lookouts would take back the lead in the seventh inning, when the Biscuit’s bullpen came into play. Sano came to the plate with runners on the corners, and put himself into scoring position with an RBI double. Kepler was then intentionally walked to load the bases before Travis Harrison picked up an RBI on a fielder’s choice ground ball. An RBI single from Michael would add another insurance run in the eighth to make the score 6-3, and fireballer Zach Jones came on to pitch. The leadoff man singled before a consecutive strikeouts got the Biscuits manager ejected, but it may have sparked his team. Consecutive singles loaded the bases, and exactly what you hope doesn’t happen, did. Leadoff man Joey Rickard’s first home run of the year, in fifty-nine games played, was a grand slam to put Montgomery ahead 7-6. Sano led off the ninth inning with his third double of the game to put the tying run at second base, but he remained there for a Kepler strikeout, Harrison ground out to the pitcher, and a hit-by-pitch to Heiker Meneses. That brought big moment kingpin Adam Brett Walker to the batters box. In a cruel twist of fate, he drew a walk to load the bases. (They probably weren’t pitching much to him!) Stuart Turner wouldn’t get a chance to be a hero, as Walker was caught napping with his bases-loaded lead at first base, leading to snap-throw pickoff from Biscuits catcher Justin O’Connor to end the game. Michael (2-3, 2 R’s, RBI, BB), Sano (3-5, R, 3 2B’s, RBI), Kepler (2-4, 2 RBI, BB), and Niko Goodrum (2-4, R) picked up multiple hits for the Lookouts. MIRACLE MATTERS Charlotte 4, Fort Myers 5 (15 innings) Box Score Fort Myers also jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning by taking advantage of a couple walks. Zach Granite led off the game with one, Aderlin Mejia followed with a single and after an Alex Swim fielder’s choice, Marcus Knecht drew a walk to load the bases. Mitch Garver promptly cleared them with a double to make the score 3-0. Chih-Wei Hu made the start for the Miracle, and he began by striking out the side in the opening frame, including a rehabbing Grady Sizemore of the Philadelphia Phillies as the game’s first hitter. He’d allow a few singles but no runs going into the fourth inning, when the Stone Crabs struck back. A home run from Mike Marjama would make the score 3-1 after the fourth, and in the fifth two doubles around a Sizemore single would tie the game at three. Hu would finish six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, but struck out ten Stone Crabs hitters along the way. Those ten strikeouts matched his season high back on April 17th. Brian Gilbert came on for the seventh and started the inning with a walk. That brought up Sizemore who doubled down the right field line to bring in a run, giving Charlotte a 4-3 lead. The eighth inning marked the professional debut of the Twins 2015 First Round draft pick, lefthander Tyler Jay from the University of Illinois. I checked into the Fort Myers broadcast to catch the action, and I liked what I heard. The first batter he faced doubled to left field, but Jay worked around it, getting the next three batters, including a strikeout on an 86 MPH, hard breaking slider. He had a brisk pace and utilized a consistent 94-96 MPH fastball, and another one of his sliders registered at 88. Congrats on a successful debut, Tyler! Todd Van Steensel came on for the top of the ninth, and had a one-two-three inning, including another strikeout of Sizemore. The Miracle weren’t able to manage much after the first inning. From the second inning through the eighth, they registered just three hits and were unable to string any of them together to add some runs to the scoreboard. Then they almost walked it off in the ninth. Down by one, Garver was hit by a pitch and replaced on the bases by Jason Kanzler to start the frame. Bryan Haar followed with a single, and a bunt attempt by Chad Christensen was misplayed on the force play at third, loading the bases with the winning run in scoring position. The first opportunity went to Logan Wade. His groundball to short with the infield in led to a force out at home for the innings first out. Engelb Vielma then grounded one to short resulting in the same outcome. Zach Granite would be next. His line drive single to centerfield brought in Christensen and Wade was waved around third, but the throw from center field beat him to the plate to end the inning, sending it to extra-innings. Leftfielder Marcus Knecht was a defensive hero in the tenth, as he made a nice running catch on the first hitter of the frame to rob a base hit, and would record the final out on a leaping, crashing into the wall catch to rob a potential go-ahead home run. Guess who was coming up the next inning? Knecht didn’t bring the game-winner home in this at-bat, or his next, but in the fifteenth inning he stepped to the plate again with the bases loaded. He literally walked it off this time, drawing a free pass to push the game-winning run across the plate. In a strange statistical anomaly, it was the fourth time this season he picked up an RBI with a bases loaded walk. In extra innings, Van Steensel combined with Alex Muren and Matt Summers to keep the Stone Crabs off the scoreboard. Muren went three innings, allowing four hits but no runs because of five strikeouts, and Summers got credited the win with two perfect innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Quad Cities 4, Cedar Rapids 3 (10 innings) Box Score As is the theme, the Kernels also took a first inning lead against the first half division winning Quad Cities River Bandits in this one. Top draft pick Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros was also making his professional debut for the opposing squad. Cedar Rapids begin the game with walks to Edgar Corcino and Nick Gordon, and a single from Zack Larson loaded the bases. Alex Real then brought in the first run of the game with another single, and a T.J. White groundout allowed Gordon to scamper home for a 2-0 lead after one inning. Ethan Mildren made the start for Cedar Rapids and kept Quad Cities off balance all night. He scattered five hits and two walks over six innings while striking out three and allowing no damage to the scoreboard. It was still 2-0 Kernels when he was relieved by Luke Westphal to start the seventh. A leadoff triple would lead to a 2-1 game on a groundout to Gordon at shortstop. The Kernels got the run back in the bottom half of the inning when White lined a double to left field, and went station to station on groundouts from Jorge Fernandez and Brian Navarreto to make the score 3-1. Trevor Hildenberger came into pitch the eighth, and was not his usual unhittable self. He picked up a strikeout on his first, fourth, and seventh hitters of the inning, but in between four singles pushed two runs across home plate to tie the game at three. Hildenberger was charged with his first blown save of the year. He would come back out for the ninth inning, and although he escaped with no further damage, he was struck with two more base hits. Out to pitch in extra innings, was the also recently unhittable Randy LeBlanc, who brought with him a twenty-six inning scoreless streak. He made it 26.1 innings to set the season high for the Kernels, but got no further. A triple to the second batter of the inning put the runner is prime scoring position for a sac fly and 4-3 River Bandits lead. In the bottom half, Cedar Rapids got the tying run in scoring position, but a Gordon fly out and Larson strikeout would end the game in ten. Alex Real (2-4, RBI) and White (2-4, R, 2B, RBI) picked up multiple hits, and Corcino reached base three times via walk to lead the offense. They were outhit thirteen to five as a team. E-TOWN E-NOTES Pulaski 1, Elizabethton 4 Box Score Like their big-brother affiliates, the Elizabethton Twins also struck in the first frame for an early lead. Fortunately for them, they were able to hang onto that lead, and were never really threatened. Their three runs in the first came on a three-run home run from Tyler Kuresa, his second in three games. It was more than enough as Twins starting pitcher Andro Cutura allowed just three hits to Pulaski in five innings. He walked two and struck out six. Relievers Anthony Mciver, Alex Robinson, and Jose Abreu did not allow any other hits to finish the game. Mciver struck out two in two perfect innings. Robinson hit a batter and walked two to load the bases for Abreu, who then also hit a batter to bring in Pulaski’s only run. He retired the next three hitters to escape the inning and worked a perfect ninth, striking out the final hitter of the game to pick up the save. Elizabethton’s fourth run scored on a Kamron Young single in the seventh to score Nelson Molina. Lamonte Wade was only hitter in the lineup to record multiple hits, going 2-4. A.J. Murray added a double. GCL TWINS TAKES Twins 1, Red Sox 5 Box Score There was little offense for the Twins in this one, as they managed just four hits as a team, leaving only six men on base, and were 1-4 with runners in scoring position. Two of those four hits came from fourth round draft choice Trey Cabbage, who played third base in this contest. He also picked up their only RBI by driving in catcher Brian Olson, who had tripled in front of him in the ninth inning. Leadoff man Luis Martinez added a double. Luis Hernandez started the game for the Twins, and was roughed up to the tune of six runs (five earned) on six hits and two walks in just 2.1 innings. He did strike out three. Moises Gomez, Callan Pearce, and Brandon Poulson combined to finish the final 5.2 innings, allowing no runs on five hits and one walk. Poulson struck out two in the eighth inning after the first man up reached base on a Cabbage throwing error from third. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Chih-Wei Hu, Fort Myers Miracle (6 IP, 8 H’s, 3 ER’s, 0 BB’s, 10 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Miguel Sano, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-5, R, 3 2B’s, RBI) SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Charlotte @ Rochester (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Tyler Duffey (2-4, 3.35 ERA) Chattanooga @ Montgomery (6:35 PM CST) – LHP Brett Lee (0-1, 5.09 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM CST) – TBD Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) – RHP Keaton Steele (2-2, 3.16 ERA) Pulaski @ Elizabethton (5:00 PM CST) – RHP Cody Stashak (0-0, -.-- ERA, 13th Round Pick out of St. Johns) GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday’s games.

He's on the 40-man roster, therefore already "on the team," and was "sent down" to the minors as part of Spring Training. Thus, he's "recalled" now!

Apparently every guy in the system has a "rocket arm"? Santana has a rocket arm. Polanco's is pretty average for a SS. I haven't seen anyone put a grade better than 50 on him for his arm. It's good to see him at #4 though, I think he's been very underrated, or overlooked maybe, with everyone else in the system. He gets it done.

Yup!

That conversation still isn't started unless Buxton, Sano, or Berrios' name is included. No thanks.

The GCL game was not listed on the MiLB scoreboard page when I wrote this last night. Even if it was, I'm certain they would not have listed a probable starter, just like they currently do not for tomorrow: http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?cid=&lid=&org=142&sc=&sid=milb&t=affiliate&ymd=20150623 Believe me, it'd be there if it was on that page or at any of the other locations I search for the starters!

Eddie has definitely shown he belongs so far. Still things to improve upon, but lots of praise for him doing the little things!

Happy Father’s Day across Twins Territory!!! While Jake Arrieta was taking it to the Minnesota Twins lineup and Anthony Rizzo continued to bash their pitchers on Sunday afternoon, three of the four full-season league affiliates were in action in the minors.The organization went 2-2 on the day. In the minors a come-from behind victory was sparked by a pair of bash-brothers in a single inning, and there were several standout bullpen performances. Read on to find out about all the action on Sunday afternoon! RED WINGS REPORT Louisville 3, Rochester 2 Box Score The Red Wings managed to score first and last in this contest, but were still handed a loss as Louisville put a crooked number on the scoreboard in an inning, while the Wings did not. In the first inning Danny Santana led off the game for Rochester with a double and after being moved to third on a groundout he trotted home to score the game’s first run on a Danny Ortiz single and 1-0 lead. It would remain that way until the third inning, when Red Wings starter Pat Dean gave up a solo home run to number eight hitter Ryan Lamarre to tie the game at one. Dean had retired the first seven hitters of the game to that point. He ran into further trouble in the fourth inning as the middle of the lineup for Louisville came through with some more power. Number three hitter Hernan Iribarren singled to start the inning, and trotted home on a two-run home run from cleanup man Josh Satin, making the score 3-1. Dean faced the minimum over the next nine outs before walking two around a strikeout to begin the top of the seventh. He was relieved by Alex Meyer who escaped the inning with no damage after two fly-outs. In the bottom of the seventh inning, it was again Santana providing a spark for Rochester. His third triple in 12 games with the Red Wings allowed him to score on a sac fly to left field from James Beresford, moving the score to 3-2. Meyer pitched a scoreless eighth inning, picking up two strikeouts along the way, to keep the game within striking distance for Rochester. Caleb Thielbar retired the side one-two-three in the ninth, bringing up the home team for their final at-bat. Eric Farris singled with one out, then was erased on an Eric Fryer fielder’s choice. Fryer moved to second on a balk, placing the tying run in scoring position for the games star to that point, Danny Santana. Unfortunately, this at-bat ended in a groundout to second base instead of an extra-base hit, and Rochester fell 3-2. Santana (2-5, 2 R’s, 2B, 3B) and Oswaldo Arcia (2-4) were the only hitters in the lineup with multiple hits and Reynaldo Rodriguez added a triple to lead the offense. Dean managed a quality start, allowing the three runs on five hits and two walks in 6.1 innings, striking out five. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Jacksonville 5, Chattanooga 6 Box Score The Lookouts found themselves down 5-1 after the top-half of the sixth-inning, but the powerful bats in their lineup refused to let them stay there. D.J. Baxendale made the start and pitched the first three frames in his first start returning from shoulder discomfort. He allowed zero runs on one hit and two walks, while striking out three. Tim Shibuya came on for the fourth inning, and promptly allowed a solo home run to the first batter he faced, the rehabbing Michael Morse of the Miami Marlins, to tie the game at one. It didn’t get much better for Shibuya, as he allowed two runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to put the Lookouts in a 5-1 hole. Brandon Peterson came on in the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on third, but picked up a strikeout to end the frame. This is when the big boppers in the Chattanooga lineup came out to play. Mike Gonzalez led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk, and Adam Brett Walker made the score 5-3 with his Southern League-leading 19th home run of the year. Singles from Jairo Rodriguez and Levi Micheal around a Stephen Wickens fly out and a Niko Goodrum strikeout would bring Miguel Sano to the plate. His 13th home run of the season put the Lookouts out front 6-5 and they never looked back. Peterson picked up four more strikeouts and did not allow a single base runner in the seventh and eighth innings, before yielding the save opportunity to J.T. Chargois. He walked one but retired the three other hitters to pick up his fifth save in eight appearances with the Lookouts. His ERA stands at 2.08 for the season and 1.17 with Chattanooga. Assisting Sano (1-3, 2 R’s, HR, BB, 3 RBI) and Walker (1-4, R, HR, 2 RBI) with multiple hits in the comeback victory were Michael (2-4, R, BB, SB), and Rodriguez (2-4, R). Max Kepler was 0-2 but reached base via walk twice and stole his eleventh base from the cleanup spot in the lineup (behind Sano). The Lookouts finish the first half of the Southern League season atop the North Division standings, and tied with the Biloxi Shuckers of the South Division with 43-25 records. The 43-25 mark is the Lookouts best first half record in the history of their home park, AT&T Field. MIRACLE MATTERS The Miracle enjoyed a day off on Sunday afternoon, and host the Palm Beach Cardinals for a three game series starting tomorrow at 6:05 PM CST at the Century Link Sports Complex and Hammond Stadium. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Clinton 2 Box Score Cedar Rapids jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Brett Doe led off the frame with an infield single and moved into scoring position when T.J. White was hit by a pitch. He scored on a Rafael Valera single. Kernels starter Jared Wilson gave the run back in the bottom half when a two-out single brought home Joseph DeCarlo, who had doubled. Cedar Rapids responded by adding two runs in each of the third and fifth innings. Max Murphy was the catalyst in both of those innings. In the third, he slugged his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot to make the score 3-1. In the fifth, his double put runners on second and third. A balk scored Alex Real and moved Murphy up to third, before a pick off attempt caught Pat Kelly between first and second base with two-outs. Kelly was savvy enough to make the LumberKings attempt multiple throws in a rundown, and Murphy was able to scamper home before they tagged out Kelly to end the inning. Randy LeBlanc was the first pitcher in relief of Wilson, and he went three scoreless innings to improve his record to 5-0. He allowed just two hits and struck out two. These three scoreless innings improved his ongoing scoreless streak to 26 innings, tying him with Trevor Hildenberger for the team’s longest streak of the year and lowered his ERA to 1.52. Lefty Cameron Booser came on for the eighth inning and allowed one run on a sac fly after a walk and two singles, but struck out the last two hitters he faced to escape with limited damage. Hildenberger then came on for the ninth and recorded his eighth save by striking out the side. His ERA rests at 0.51 on the season and has not been above 1.00 since April 23rd. The Kernels got multiple hits from Real (2-5, 2 R’s, 2B), Murphy (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) and Valera (2-3, BB, RBI) to lead the offense. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brandon Peterson, Chattanooga Lookouts (W, 2.1 IP, 5 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Miguel Sano, Chattanooga Lookouts (1-3, 2 R’s, GW 3-Run HR, 3 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Tyler Duffey (1-4, 4.15 ERA) Chattanooga – Scheduled Day Off. Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids – MWL All-Star Break. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Happy Father’s Day across Twins Territory!!! While Jake Arrieta was taking it to the Minnesota Twins lineup and Anthony Rizzo continued to bash their pitchers on Sunday Afternoon, three of the four full-season league affiliates were in action in the minors. The organization went 2-2 on the day, but in the minors a come-from behind victory was sparked by a pair of bash-brothers in a single inning, and there were several standout bullpen performances. Read on to find out about all the action on Sunday afternoon! RED WINGS REPORT Louisville 3, Rochester 2 Box Score The Red Wings managed to score first and last in this contest, but were still handed a loss as Louisville put a crooked number on the scoreboard in an inning, while they did not. In the first inning Danny Santana led off the game for Rochester with a double, and after being moved to third on a ground out, trotted home to score the game’s first run on a Danny Ortiz single and 1-0 lead. It would remain that way until the third inning, when Red Wings starter Pat Dean gave up a solo home run to number eight-hitter Ryan Lamarre to tie the game at one. Dean had retired the first seven hitters of the game to that point. He ran into further trouble in the fourth inning as the middle of the lineup for Louisville came through with some more power. Number three-hitter Hernan Iribarren singled to start the inning, and trotted home on a two-run home run from cleanup man Josh Satin, making the score 3-1. Dean would face the minimum over the next nine outs before walking two around a strikeout to begin the top of the seventh. He was relieved by Alex Meyer who escaped the inning with zero damage after two fly-outs. In the bottom of the seventh inning, it was again Santana providing a spark for Rochester. His third triple in 12 games with the Red Wings allowed him to score on a sac-fly to left field from James Beresford, closing the score to 3-2. Meyer would pitch a scoreless eighth inning, picking up two strikeouts along the way, to keep the game in striking distance for Rochester. Caleb Thielbar retired the side one-two-three in the ninth, bringing up the home team for their final at-bat. Eric Farris singled with one out, then was erased on a Eric Fryer fielder’s choice, before Fryer moved to second on a balk, placing the tying run in scoring position for the games star to that point, Danny Santana. Unfortunately, this at-bat ended in a ground out to second base instead of an extra-base hit, and Rochester fell 3-2. Santana (2-5, 2 R’s, 2B, 3B) and Oswaldo Arcia (2-4) were the only hitters in the lineup with multiple hits, and Reynaldo Rodriguez added a triple to lead the offense. Dean managed a quality start, allowing the three runs on five hits and two walks in 6.1 innings, striking out five. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Jacksonville 5, Chattanooga 6 Box Score The Lookouts found themselves down 5-1 after the top-half of the sixth-inning, but the powerful bats in their lineup refused to let them stay there. D.J. Baxendale made the start, and pitched the first three frames in his first start returning from shoulder discomfort. He allowed zero runs on one hit and two walks, while striking out three. Tim Shibuya came on for the fourth inning, and promptly allowed a solo home run to the first batter he faced, the rehabbing Michael Morse of the Miami Marlins, to tie the game at one. It didn’t get much better for Shibuya, as he would allow two runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to put the Lookouts in a 5-1 hole. Brandon Peterson game on in the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on third, but picked up a strikeout to end the frame. This is when the big-boppers in the Chattanooga lineup came out to play. Mike Gonzalez led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk, and Adam Brett Walker made the score 5-3 with his Southern League Leading 19th home run of the year. Singles from Jairo Rodriguez and Levi Micheal around a Stephen Wickens fly out and Niko Goodrum K would bring Miguel Sano to the plate. His 13th home run of the season would put the Lookouts out front 6-5 and they never looked back. Peterson would pick up four more strikeouts and not allow a single baserunner in the seventh and eighth innings, before yielding the save opportunity to J.T. Chargois. He walked one but retired the three other hitters to pick up his fifth save in eight appearances with the Lookouts. His ERA stands at 2.08 for the season, and 1.17 with Chattanooga. Assisting Sano (1-3, 2 R’s, HR, BB, 3 RBI) and Walker (1-4, R, HR, 2 RBI) with multiple hits in the comeback victory were Michael (2-4, R, BB, SB), and Rodriguez (2-4, R). Max Kepler was 0-2 but reached base via walk twice and stole his eleventh base from the cleanup spot in the lineup (behind Sano). The Lookouts finish the first half of the Southern League season atop the North Division standings, and tied with the Biloxi Shuckers of the South Division with 43-25 records. The 43-25 mark is the Lookouts best first half record in the history of their home park, AT&T Field. MIRACLE MATTERS The Miracle enjoyed a day off on Sunday afternoon, and host the Palm Beach Cardinals for a three game series starting tomorrow at 6:05 PM CST at the Century Link Sports Complex and Hammond Stadium. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Clinton 2 Box Score Cedar Rapids jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Brett Doe led off the frame with an infield single and moved into scoring position when T.J. White was hit by a pitch. He would score on a Rafael Valera single. Kernels starter Jared Wilson gave the run back in the bottom half when a two-out single brought home Joseph DeCarlo, who had doubled. Cedar Rapids responded by adding two runs in each of the third and fifth innings. Max Murphy was the catalyst in both those innings. In the third, he slugged his fourth home run of the season, a two run shot to make the score 3-1, and in the fifth his double put runners on second and third. A balk would score Alex Real and move him up to third, before a pickoff attempt caught Pat Kelly between first and second base with two-outs. Kelly was savvy enough to make the Lumberkings attempt multiple throws in a rundown, and Murphy was able to scamper home before they tagged-out Kelly to end the inning. Randy LeBlanc was the first pitcher in relief of Wilson, and he went three scoreless innings to improve his record to 5-0. He allowed just two hits and struck out two. These three scoreless innings improved his ongoing scoreless streak to 26 innings, tying him with Trevor Hildenberger for the team’s longest streak of the year and lowered his ERA to 1.52. Lefty Cameron Booser came on for the eighth inning and allowed one run on a sac fly after a walk and two singles, but struck out the last two hitters he faced to escape with limited damage. Hildenberger then came on for the ninth and recorded his eighth save by striking out the side. His ERA rests at 0.51 on the season and has not been above 1.00 since April 23rd. The Kernels got multiple hits from Real (2-5, 2 R’s, 2B), Murphy (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) and Valera (2-3, BB, RBI) to lead the offense. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brandon Peterson, Chattanooga Lookouts (W, 2.1 IP, 5 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Miguel Sano, Chattanooga Lookouts (1-3, 2 R’s, GW 3-Run HR, 3 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Tyler Duffey (1-4, 4.15 ERA) Chattanooga – Scheduled Day Off. Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids – MWL All-Star Break. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

That's a good question... Walker is not a particularly good outfielder, and hasn't been playing 1B (was described as "stiff" there going into his draft). Kepler is the better option to me at both spots defensively. So if that's the conundrum, I think it's Max in the OF.

Kepler was still .305/.361/.491 the day Buxton was promoted with a .283/.351/.489. I might concede a wash, haha!

The exact reasons you guys are proposing to keep Arcia, are the exact reasons I would trade him. Young, has power. That's valuable. Maybe not as much right now with the struggles, but he's shown that value. That's why you trade him. He could get you something useful back. We complain so much around here about them trading "low" on guys, so why are you so opposed to them attempting to trade "high" now?! I've never thought Arcia was a good fit for this team from a depth chart perspective (he's not an OF, and too many DH's). Love the youth, enthusiasm, and power. But it's been three years now and he hasn't developed into the type of hitter his minor league career suggests (.310 career MiLB hitter), only the power remains. I'd cash him in on something the Twins need in a heartbeat and wouldn't care how it turns out for him on another team. There's plenty of options to step up on the Twins and provide the power he takes with him elsewhere.

A bit surprised Kepler has only climbed to #9, but I've always been higher on him then most. He's outplayed everybody on that talented Lookouts roster, and that included Buxton while he was there. Love Max, but he's likely a guy to go to AAA first instead of straight to the majors, I think. September seems logical for him this year, but who knows what else might happen.

If Kepler isn't #1, or very close, on BA's Hot Sheet today, I will be extremely disappointed!

What I find interesting is a lot of pitchers, before going pro, are or were also great or decent hitters in their amateur careers. It's the nature of their "elite athlete" status. Why when they turn pro, especially for an NL team, that this aspect of the game kind of gets thrown away for them, is weird to me. A local pitching product, Brad Hand of the Miami Marlins, was a stud hitter in high school too. He broke a friend of mine's single season HR record for them. But through his development with them is now only a career .074 hitter as a major leaguer. I feel like Carlos Zambrano like production could happen for a lot more pitchers than it does if they kept that as more of a part of the development process than they do.

I've mentioned this experience several times here before as well, but Max did more for my overall opinion of his baseball talents than any other prospect of the Twins has that I've watched with my own eyes in person. At Spring Training in 2012, he was playing with the Snappers roster that included Sano, Vargas, and Rosario. Kepler was the best player on the diamond throughout my time there, and it wasn't even close. Think he was something like 7 or 8 for 11 with 3 doubles, some walks, and a bunch of RBI in the three full games of theirs I took in. His outs were even loud as everything off his bat was a line drive (check out this double I recorded from then, for instance). I was astonished that he didn't play with the Snappers at all that season, but he did crush the Appalachian League.

Hah. Yes he wasn't drafted. But that's a common/reflex way to refer to when a player joins an organization. Doug Mientkeiwicz even uses those exact words in this article talking about Max. Sorry! I wish I could find all the obscure articles I've read talking about it, but that remark comes from Max himself. He was always the biggest guy on his teams and essentially the slugger, so he got plugged at 1B. We don't disagree though, so I don't know what your issue is.

You guys know Kepler's "natural position" is 1B, right? q:) He didn't play OF until the Twins drafted him. As mentioned, he's more than athletic enough to do it though, so why wouldn't they develop him at multiple spots? I think he'd take offense to being called a "waste" at his best position.

So much THIS. I hate the pidgeon-holing of positions to be a certain type of hitter. You can get power or whatever else from wherever it shows up in your lineup. You don't need to be, and shouldn't be, cookie-cutter. A team like the Twins can't survive that way. Also, to Kirby's point, you might be very surprised to know how Mauer stacks up against the primary #3 hitters of all teams over the past 4 seasons (and I know he has been very good in those seasons). BUT, a lot of #3 hitters have been, it's the nature of that spot in the lineup. I've wanted Mauer batting second all the time for forever, but unfortunately for the Twins, they haven't really had a guy who fit better at #3 during those years, either. That's not the case this year, however.

What Kwak said also... (Walker is not an outfielder like Arcia is not an outfielder)

Walker is certainly one of the most interesting guys in all of the minors if you ask me. The HR power is certainly legit. That's his issue as well though. That's all he's shown. It's certainly a tool that can carry him, but it's hard to get overly excited about a strict DH.

I think he's already had the "stretching out process" started while working as a reliever. He pitched 3+ innings quite frequently for Illinois this year.

It looks a lot like this year will go exactly like Burdi's did after being drafted last year. Start him at Cedar Rapids, and if he excels get him to Fort Myers or Chattanooga. If Twins are still in it in August and they think he can help at that point, I would love to see him get called up to help out. Then next year, you stretch him out into a starter. I have no problem with having him pitch in relief for the rest of this season after he signs.