Steve Lein

Yes on this. One million times yes on this. I say this all the time. Don't understand why this is brought up for such players!

I laughed so hard at the Donaldson and Hughes plays!

He hasn't "(overly) impressed" me because he did what I "expected" at the low-levels of the minors based on his experience. He's "dominated" 2 categories of stats. In that way, I wouldn't even call what he did in the FSL a "dominant" performance in an overall sense. He hit HR's, which as a byproduct, also produces nice RBI totals. Those are certainly nice, but I don't know how anyone can be impressed by a .246 average or a K in nearly 1 of every 3 at-bats in A-ball. He'll impress me when he improves those numbers.

Maybe this isn't even the interpretation that's happening here, but I never put stock in "peak" or "touches" velocity remarks. This is always what people refer to, but is rarely where they pitch even 5% of the time. So while Rogers might be able to reach back and hit 95 occasionally, I'd bet he really is 90-92 over a game. Look at Trevor May. Notes on this site and elsewhwere say "mid 90's fastball," but he was 91-93 in all the games I watched.

Yes. If it's a true #1. Definitely no more middle to back-end guys.

Berrios, Meyer, and Stewart is a pretty nice collection of potential starters to have in the top 5! May certainly put himself back into Top 10 territory this year as well. Rogers is a funny case to me. I certainly wouldn't have him as the top lefty on these lists, but he was fantastic this year. Everything secondary to his normal numbers just tells me his upside isn't worthy of that high a ranking. I do like the Duensing comparison though. And I can't wait to see Nick Burdi at Target Field. He's probably the one on this list I'm most excited about for next year. Would like to see the Twins give him a real chance to make the team out of Spring Training. Maybe the new manager (perhaps Mientkiewicz? Who has seen him) would do that!

Walker is a very polarizing prospect. His production has been outstanding. But as all have mentioned, it has not been without their warts. My main issue with him, is despite his "young" age, he played 3 full seasons of college ball, and never should have been in the Midwest League his first year. He was and is more experienced than everyone else his same age. I expected him to dominate the MWL from a run producing standpoint, in the same way I expected him to do so in the FSL this year. Thus, I'm not overly impressed to the point where I ignore those red flags that come along with him. It magnifies them for me. With that said, I like him a lot, and next year will tell us a lot more about him than either of the last two have.

Definitely interesting to have some of these names outside the top ten! That means there is a ton of talent. I also like that a certain fireballing reliever is going to appear in your top 10, just like he would in mine! And that's pretty much unheard of for a RP.

Check this out, lightfoot: http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/ask-ba-2/

Berrios is much more Yordano Ventura (with less of a FB, better control and command) than he is a potential top workhorse to me, so I wouldn't put him in front of Meyer or Stewart yet, but he's also pretty much neck-to-neck with them at the finish which is much closer than I had him at the start of the year. Buxton, Sano, Stewart, Meyer, Berrios, Gordon, Thorpe, Polanco, Burdi, Rosario would be my Top 10 right now I think.

Trevor May was cruising for the Twins early in Baltimore tonight, as he had struck outfive through the first three scoreless innings. But in the fourth the wheels fell off, as he plunked Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz consecutively to load the bases. He struck out old friend(?) Delmon Young, but walked another, J.J. Hardy, to bring in the game’s first run. Chris Davis then launched a 3-1 pitch for a grand slam, and a 5-0 Orioles lead May and the Twins would not recover from.<rant> Of note in this game, was a Delmon Young (finger quotes) home run (/finger quotes). Replays on TV clearly showed not only fan interference to Jordan Schafer’s leaping attempt for the catch, but also the fact that said fan also caught the ball well in front of and below the wall. Ron Gardenhire had the umpires take a second look, and the home run call was inexplicably and embarrassingly upheld. I only bring this up because Major League Baseball should be ashamed. If the (finger quotes) replay official (/finger quotes) in New York is not looking at the same replays we see on TV, this is a major problem with how the system works and needs to be fixed. Gardenhire’s comments after the game on the subject were perfect, and I disagree with Roy Smalley. It was conclusive evidence. It obviously didn’t cost the Twins the game, but it is unfathomable to me with the technology we have that something like this can be botched. </rant> In the minors, Rochester continued its hunt for a playoff spot, two affiliates had games rained out or ended early, and there wasn’t much hitting across the board. Check it out! RED WINGS REPORT Buffalo 2, Rochester 3 Box Score Locked in battle for a wild card in the International League, this was a must win game for the Red Wings. Seam Gilmartin took the hill for Rochester, and put them in a hole by allowing two singles to start the game, with a run scoring on a sac fly. The next two innings were scoreless for Gilmartin as he induced a double play and struck out two. In Rochester’s half of the third inning, Eric Farris provided some fireworks. After a leadoff single from Chris Rahl, Farris blasted a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall, and 2-1 Red Wings lead. Unfortunately, Gilmartin gave it right back after three singles for Buffalo in the fourth. He pitched into the sixth inning before being replaced by A.J. Achter with one out. Achter gave up a single to the first batter he faced, but retired the next five. In the bottom of the sixth, Chris Colabello added an insurance run for Rochester when he doubled into the corner in right field, and two wild pitches later crossed home plate. Aaron Thompson relieved Achter in eighth with one out and a man on base, and recorded out number two on a fielder’s choice. Thompson was replaced by Stephen Pryor with men on first and second. A wild pitch put the tying run on third, but Pryor struck out Buffalo’s Matt Hague to end the threat. Hague and Bisons Manager Gary Allenson were ejected for arguing the call. Lester Oliveros worked a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout to earn the save and put the Red Wings in front of the Bisons in the wild card standings. The team in front of them, the Pawtucket Red Sox, also won on Friday night however so Rochester remains two games back with three games to play. Luckily for them, their last two games of the season are against Pawtucket, so they control their destiny at this point. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Hampshire 4, New Britain 3 Box Score Reynaldo Rodriguez (21) and Tony Thomas (12) homered for New Britain, but as a team they only collected four other hits in the game. Stephen Wickens was 2-4 with a double and the other Rock Cats RBI. Pat Dean started and was fantastic, pitching seven quality innings. He allowed just two runs on seven hits and struck out two. Madison Boer worked a clean eighth and pitched into the ninth inning before manager Jeff Smith played the matchups and brought in Ryan O’Rourke to record the final out. He didn’t. A single and home run had New Britain down 4-3. Mike Kvasnicka drew a walk to start the bottom of the ninth, but was quickly erased on a double play. Wickens then flew out to end the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 3, Fort Myers 1 Box Score Fort Myers had a scheduled double-header after their game was rained out yesterday, but they were only able to get in one due to rain again on Friday. In the seven inning game they did finish, it was D.J. Baxendale on the bump for the Miracle. He went five innings and allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out four. Alem Muren allowed one run on four hits in the sixth and Todd Van Steensel pitched a scoreless seventh with two hits. He struck out two. The Fort Myers lineup managed just five hits in the game and left eleven men on base. Max Kepler was 2-3 with a walk. The lone run of the game was scored by Adam Brett Walker II after he singled in the fourth inning. The Miracle had the bases loaded with nobody out but were only able to push across one run. KERNELS NUGGETS Kane County 6, Cedar Rapids 1 (six innings) Box score The Kernels game was finished early due to rain, and it was the Kane County Cougars who were in front on the scoreboard by a good margin when it was called. Mitch Garver put Cedar Rapids on the board first with a second inning home run, his sixteenth of the year, but it would be the only run of the game for the home team. Engelb Vielma, Alex Swim and J.D. Williams were the only other’s to manage hits for the Kernels. Mat Batts made the start and pitched two perfect innings, striking out two. He was replaced by Jared Wilson who was knocked around for five runs (three earned) on five hits and a walk in 2.2 innings, striking out four. An Engelb Vielma error led to the first run of the game for the Cougars. Brandon Bixler pitched the final 1.1 innings before the game was called, allowing one run on two hits and a walk. E-TWINS E-NOTES Kingsport 5, Elizabethton 2 Box Score Both teams managed just five hits apiece, but the Mets were helped by the wildness of Brandon Poulson in the first and second innings to put four runs on the board. Poulson went just 1.1 innings in the start of a group-effort game, allowing the four runs on five walks and three hits. He struck out two. Randy LeBlanc struck out four in 2.2 scoreless innings. Michael Cederoth allowed an unearned run in an inning. Then Josh Burris (2 IP, 3 K’s), Samuel Clay(IP, 2 K’s), and Trevor Hildenberger (IP, 2 K’s) combined to throw the final four perfect innings. Nick Gordon did not record a hit, but scored one of the two Twins runs after being hit by a pitch in the eighth inning. Tyler Kuresa brought him in with a single for the only E-Town RBI. T.J. White was 1-2 with two walks. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher – Pat Dean, New Britain Rock Cats (7 IP, 7 H’s, 2 ER’s, 2 K’s) Hitter – Eric Farris, Rochester Red Wings (1-4, HR, 2 RBI) SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester – TBD, 6:05PM CST New Hampshire @ New Britain – TBD, 6:05 PM CST Fort Myers @ Jupiter – Game 1: TBD, 4:05 PM CST Fort Myers @ Jupiter – Game 2: TBD Cedar Rapids @ Clinton – Stephen Gonsalves (2-2, 1.91 ERA), 6:30PM CST Click here to view the article

Trevor May was cruising for the Twins early in Baltimore tonight, as he had struck five through the first three scoreless innings. But in the fourth the wheels fell off, as he plunked Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz consecutively to load the bases. He struck out old friend(?) Delmon Young, but a walked another, J.J. Hardy, to bring in the game’s first run. Chris Davis then launched a 3-1 pitch for a Grand Slam, and a 5-0 Orioles lead May and the Twins would not recover from. <rant> Of note in this game, was a Delmon Young (finger quotes) Home Run (/finger quotes). Replays on TV clearly showed not only fan interference to Jordan Schafer’s leaping attempt for the catch, but also the fact that said fan also caught the ball well in front of and below the wall. Ron Gardenhire had the umpires take a second look, and the home run call was inexplicably and embarrassingly upheld. I only bring this up because Major League Baseball should be ashamed. If the (finger quotes) replay official (/finger quotes) in New York is not looking at the same replays we see on TV, this is a major problem with how the system works and needs to be fixed. Gardenhire’s comments after the game on the subject were perfect, and I disagree with Roy Smalley. It was conclusive evidence. It obviously didn’t cost the Twins the game, but it is unfathomable to me with the technology we have that something like this can be botched. </rant> In the Minors, Rochester continued its hunt for a playoff spot, two affiliates had games rained out or ended early, and there wasn’t much hitting across the board. Check it out! RED WINGS REPORT Buffalo 2, Rochester 3 Box Score Locked in battle for a Wild Card in the International League, this was a must win game for the Red Wings. Seam Gilmartin took the hill for Rochester, and put them in a hole by allowing two singles to start the game, with a run scoring on Sac Fly. The next two innings were scoreless for Gilmartin as he induced a double play and struck out two. In Rochester’s half of the third inning, Eric Farris provided some fireworks. After a leadoff single from Chris Rahl, Farris blasted a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall, and 2-1 Red Wings lead. Unfortunately, Gilmartin gave it right back after three singles for Buffalo in the fourth. He would pitch into the sixth inning before being replaced by A.J. Achter with one out. Achter gave up a single to the first batter he faced, but would retire the next five. In the bottom of the sixth, Chris Colabello added an insurance run for Rochester when he doubled into the corner in right field, and two wild pitches later crossed home plate. Aaron Thompson relieved Achter in eighth with one out and a man on base, and recorded out number two on a fielder’s choice, but would be replaced by Stephen Pryor with men on first and second. A wild pitch put the tying run on third base, but Pryor struck out Buffalo’s Matt Hague to end the threat. Hague and Bisons Manager Gary Allenson were ejected for arguing the call. Lester Oliveros worked a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout to earn the save, and put the Red Wings in front of the Bisons in the Wild Card standings. The team in front of them, the Pawtucket Red Sox, also won on Friday night however, so Rochester remains two games back with three games to play. Luckily for them, their last two games of the season are against Pawtucket, so they control their destiny at this point. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Hampshire 4, New Britain 3 Box Score Reynaldo Rodriguez (21) and Tony Thomas (12) homered for New Britain, but as a team they only collected four other hits in the game. Stephen Wickens was 2-4 with a double and the other Rock Cats RBI. Pat Dean started and was fantastic, pitching seven quality innings. He allowed just two runs on seven hits, and struck out two. Madison Boer worked a clean eighth and pitched into the ninth inning before Manager Jeff Smith played the matchups and brought in Ryan O’Rourke to record the final out. He didn’t. A single and home run later had New Britain down 4-3. Mike Kvasnicka drew a walk to start the bottom of the ninth, but was quickly erased on a double play. Wickens then flew out to end the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 3, Fort Myers 1 Box Score Fort Myers had a scheduled double-header after their game was rained out yesterday, but they were only able to get in one due to rain again on Friday. In the seven inning game they did finish, it was D.J. Baxendale on the bump for the Miracle. He went five innings and allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out four. Alem Muren allowed 1 run on four hits in the sixth, and Todd Van Steensel pitched a scoreless seventh despite two hits. He struck out two. The Fort Myers lineup managed just five hits in the game and left eleven men on base. Max Kepler was 2-3 with a walk, and the lone run of the game was scored by Adam Brett Walker II after he singled in the fourth inning. The Miracle had the bases loaded with nobody out but were only able to push across one. KERNELS NUGGETS Kane County 6, Cedar Rapids 1 (six innings) Box score The Kernels game was finished early due to rain, and it was the Kane County Cougars who were in front on the scoreboard by a good margin when it was called. Mitch Garver put Cedar Rapids on the board first with a second inning home run, his sixteenth of the year, but it would be the only run of the game for the home team. Engelb Vielma, Alex Swim, and J.D. Williams were the only other’s to collect a hit for the Kernels. Mat Batts made the start and pitched two perfect innings, striking out two. He was replaced by Jared Wilson who was knocked around for five runs (three earned) on five hits and a walk in 2.2 innings, striking out four. An Engelb Vielma error led to the first run of the game for the Cougars. Brandon Bixler pitched the final 1.1 innings before the game was called, allowing one run on two hits and a walk. E-TWINS E-NOTES Kingsport 5, Elizabethton 2 Box Score Both teams managed just five hits apiece, but the Mets were helped by the wildness of Brandon Poulson in the first and second innings to put four runs on the board. Poulson went just 1.1 innings in the start of a group effort game, allowing the four runs on five walks and three hits. He struck out two. Randy LeBlanc struck out four in 2.2 scoreless innings. Michael Cederoth allowed an unearned run in an inning. Then Josh Burris (2 IP, 3 K’s), Samuel Clay(IP, 2 K’s), and Trevor Hildenberger (IP, 2 K’s) combined to throw the final four perfect innings. Nick Gordon did not record a hit, but scored one of the two Twins runs after being hit by a pitch in the eighth inning. Tyler Kuresa brought him in with a single for the only E-Town RBI. T.J. White was 1-2 with two walks. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher – Pat Dean, New Britain Rock Cats (7 IP, 7 H’s, 2 ER’s, 2 K’s) Hitter – Eric Farris, Rochester Red Wings (1-4, HR, 2 RBI) SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester – TBD, 6:05PM CST New Hampshire @ New Britain – TBD, 6:05 PM CST Fort Myers @ Jupiter – Game 1: TBD, 4:05 PM CST Fort Myers @ Jupiter – Game 2: TBD Cedar Rapids @ Clinton – Stephen Gonsalves (2-2, 1.91 ERA), 6:30PM CST

The Minnesota Twins pounded the Detroit Tigers on Friday night TWENTY to six, courtesy of twenty hits including nine for extra bases and four home runs. Eduardo Escobar was a double short of the cycle (which makes no sense…) and 5-6. Kennys Vargas had two doubles, and Oswaldo Arcia smashed his fourth home run (did it hit the Target Center?!) in his last six games. Danny Santana and Trevor Plouffe, back-to-back against Detroit infielder Andrew Romine, also went bombing. Good stuff. In the minors, a few affiliates also pounded out a bunch of hits, but were not quite able to put as many crooked numbers on the scoreboards. Check it out! Apologies in advance for the brevity, but I’m writing this way too early on Saturday morning and Twins Daily has this Pub Crawl thing today…maybe I’ll see you there?RED WINGS REPORT Game 1: Syracuse 2, Rochester 4 Box Score Rochester outhit Syracuse 16-6 in the first game of the double-header, but managed just four runs. Fortunately this was plenty enough, as the bullpen patched together 8.1 innings of one-run baseball after the postponement of Kris Johnson’s start yesterday. A.J. Achter pitched the first 3.1 innings, and was followed by Stephen Pryor who picked up his first win with the Twins organization. Lester Oliveros (how is he not back on the Twins yet?!) got four outs with two strikeouts. Michael Tonkin finished the game with 2.1 scoreless innings. Oliveros has now struck out forty-six hitters in thirty innings with Rochester. On offense, Josmil Pinto was had four singles in five at-bats, Chris Herrman added three singles and James Beresford two. Eric Farris was 3-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Game 2: Syracuse 7, Rochester 0 (7 innings) Box score In the seven-inning game two, it was Logan Darnell on the mound, and he wasn’t able to make it through five innings. He allowed six earned runs on six hits and two walks in four innings, including two home runs. He struck out five. Deolis Guerra allowed a run in two innings and struck out three. The Red Wings managed only three hits in this one as they were blanked on the scoreboard, and two of the hits came off the bat of Farris. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 2, Altoona 7 Box Score Reynaldo Rodriguez (2-4, 2B, RBI) and Brandon Waring (2-3, BB) each had two hits, but Jorge Polanco (1-3, RBI) was the only other hitter in the lineup who tallied one. Adrian Salcedo made the start and got knocked around for two runs in the first and second innings, including surrendering the 19th home run of the season for Altoona slugger Stetson Allie. Daniel Turpen pitched three innings of relief but gave up three runs in the sixth, his last inning of the night. Ryan O’Rourke went two scoreless innings to finish the game, walking two. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Charlotte 2 Box Score Matt Tomshaw picked up his team leading eleventh win, as he tossed seven innings of two run baseball. He scattered seven hits, walked no one and struck out five. Brandon Peterson and Zack Jones pitched scoreless frames, each striking out two. Jones tallied his second FSL save of the year. Leadoff hitter Aderlin Mejia was 4-5 and stole his 21st base and Jason Kanzler went 3-4 with a double, triple, three runs scored, and his 10th stolen base in just nineteen games with the Miracle. Travis Harrison picked up two RBIs with his 31st double of the year. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Burlington 2 Box score The Kernels four runs in the second inning which would have would be enough, but they added three in the fourth and one in the fifth. Logan Wade paced the offense by going 2-4 with a triple and three RBIs. Max Murphy was 2-3 with a double. J.D. Williams added a double and Jonatan Hinojosa added another triple to the offensive effort. Ryan Eades was solid on the mound, pitching six innings and allowing just one earned run. He scattered five hits and struck out two. Jared Wilson allowed three hits and a run in 1.1 innings, while Chris Mazza finished the game by striking out all five men he faced. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Pulaski 10 Box Score Despite outhitting the Mariners 14-8, the Twins were unable to scratch together a victory, as four errors led to seven unearned runs in the eighth inning, which they had started with a 4-3 lead. Felix Jorge was quality in his start, lasting 6.2 innings and allowing three earned runs on six hits, with six K’s. Cameron Booser had a rough go of it in the eighth inning, as two of the errors were his own. He did strike out two. Sam Clay recorded the final out for the Twins with a K. Jorge Fernandez (2-4, RBI), Tyler Kuresa (2-4), Trey Vavra (2-4, RBI), Alex Real (2-5) and T.J. White (2-4) all tallied multiple hits for the Twins. Brian Navaretto added the only extra-base hit on the night with a double in the ninth. GCL Twins Takes GCL Red Sox 3, GCL Twins 4 (11 innings) Box Score The Twins were able to walk this one off in extra innings, as a Jarrard Poteete single brought home Nelson Molina. They stole this one as the Red Sox outhit them 16-5. Bubal Baez (2-5, 2B), and Poteete (2-5, 2B, 3 RBI) each had two hits. Molina scored two of the four Twins runs. Miles Nordgren made the start, but ten hits and three earned runs ended his night after 4.2 innings. But it was Jhon Silva, Eduardo Del Rosario, and Trevor Hildenberger who combined to toss 7.1 scoreless innings to help salvage a team win. Silva struck out three in 3.1 innings The GCL Twins did have a second game scheduled, a makeup of a postponement from August 15th, but it was again unable to be played. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher – Matt Tomshaw, Fort Myers Miracle (7.0 IP, 2 ER’s, 7 H’s, 5 K’s) Hitter – Jason Kanzler, Fort Myers Miracle (3-4, 3 R’s, 2B, 3B, RBI) SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes-Barre @ Rochester – Game 1: Mark Hamburger (3-4, 4.50 ERA), 3:35PM CST Scranton/Wilkes-Barre @ Rochester – Game 2: Sean Gilmartin (2-4, 4.36 ERA) New Britain @ Altoona – Virgil Vazquez (6-6, 4.09 ERA), 5:00 PM CST Fort Myers @ Charlotte - TBD, 5:00 PM CST Cedar Rapids @ Burlington – Chih-Wei Hu (6-1, 2.20 ERA), 6:30PM CST Elizabethton @ Pulaski – Derrick Penilla (4-4, 4.01 ERA), 6:00PM CST GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox – Game 1: TBD, 9:00AM CST GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox – Game 2: TBD DSL Orioles @ DSL Twins – TBD, 9:30AM CST Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins pounded the Detroit Tigers on Friday night TWENTY to six, courtesy of twenty hits including nine for extra bases and four home runs. Eduardo Escobar was a double short of the cycle (which makes no sense…) and 5-6, Kennys Vargas had two doubles, and Oswaldo Arcia smashed his fourth home run (did it hit the Target Center?!) in his last six games. Danny Santana and Trevor Plouffe (back-to-back after Arcia’s vs. Detroit infielder Andrew Romine) also went bombing. Good stuff. In the minors, a few affiliates also pounded out a bunch of hits, but were quite able to put as many crooked numbers on the scoreboards. Check it out! (apologies in advance for the brevity, but I’m writing this way too early on Saturday morning and Twins Daily has this Pub Crawl thing today…maybe I’ll see you there?) RED WINGS REPORT Game 1: Syracuse 2, Rochester 4 Box Score Rochester outhit Syracuse 16-6 in the first game of the double-header, but managed just four runs. Fortunately this was plenty, as the bullpen patched together 8.1 innings of one-run baseball after the postponement to Kris Johnson’s start yesterday. A.J. Achter pitched the first 3.1 innings, and was followed by Stephen Pryor who picked up his first win with the Twins organization. Lester Oliveros (how is he not back on the Twins yet?!) and Michael Tonkin finished the game with 2.1 scoreless innings. Oliveros has now struck out forty-six hitters in thirty innings with Rochester. On offense, Josmil Pinto was had four singles in five at-bats, Chris Herrman added three singles, and James Beresford two. Eric Farris was 3-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Game 2: Syracuse 7, Rochester 0 (7 innings) Box score In the seven inning game two, it was Logan Darnell on the mound, and he wasn’t able to make it through five innings. He allowed six earned runs on six hits and two walks in four innings, including two home runs. He struck out five. Deolis Guerra allowed a run in two innings, and struck out three. The Red Wings managed only three hits in this one as they were blanked on the scoreboard, and two of them came off the bat of Farris. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 2, Altoona 7 Box Score Reynaldo Rodriguez (2-4, 2B, RBI) and Brandon Waring (2-3, BB) each had two hits, but Jorge Polanco (1-3, RBI) was the only other hitter in the lineup who tallied one. Adrian Salcedo made the start and got knocked around for two runs in the first and second innings, including surrendering the nineteenth home run of the season for Altoona slugger Stetson Allie. Daniel Turpen pitch three innings of relief, but gave up three runs in the sixth, his last inning of the night. Ryan O’Rourke went two scoreless innings to finish the game, walking two. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Charlotte 2 Box Score Matt Tomshaw picked up his team leading eleventh win, as he tossed seven innings of two run baseball. He scattered seven hits, walked no one, and struck out five. Brandon Peterson and Zack Jones pitched scoreless frames, each striking out two. Jones tallied his second FSL save of the year. Leadoff hitter Aderlin Mejia was 4-5 and stole his 21st base, and Jason Kanzler went 3-4 with a double, triple, three runs scored, and his 10th stolen base in just nineteen games with the Miracle. Travis Harrison picked up two RBI’s with his 31st double of the year in the third inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Burlington 2 Box score The Kernels four runs in the second inning would be enough, but also added three in the fourth and one in the fifth. Logan Wade paced the offense by going 2-4 with a triple and three RBI. Max Murphy was 2-3 with a double. J.D. Williams added a double and Jonatan Hinojosa added another triple to the offensive effort. Ryan Eades was solid on the mound, pitching six innings and allowing just one earned run. He scattered five hits and struck out two. Jared Wilson allowed three hits and a run in 1.1 innings, while Chris Mazza finished the game by striking out all five men he faced. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Pulaski 10 Box Score Despite outhitting the Mariners 14-8, the Twins were unable to scratch together a victory, as four errors led to seven unearned runs in the eighth inning, which they started with a 4-3 lead. Felix Jorge was quality in his start, lasting 6.2 innings and allowing three earned runs on six hits, with six K’s. Cameron Booser had a rough go of it in the eighth inning, as two of the errors were his own. He did strike out two. Sam Clay recorded the final out for the Twins with a K. Jorge Fernandez (2-4, RBI), Tyler Kuresa (2-4), Trey Vavra (2-4, RBI), Alex Real (2-5), and T.J. White (2-4) all tallied multiple hits for the Twins. Brian Navaretto added the only extra base hit on the night with a double in the ninth. GCL Twins Takes GCL Red Sox 3, GCL Twins 4 (11 innings) Box Score The Twins were able to walk this one off in extra innings, as a Jarrard Poteete single brought home Nelson Molina. They stole this one as the Red Sox outhit them 16-5 in the game. Bubal Baez (2-5, 2B), and Poteete (2-5, 2B, 3 RBI) had two hits. Molina scored two of the four Twins runs. Miles Nordgren made the start, but ten hits and three earned runs ended his night after 4.2 innings. But it was Jhon Silva, Eduardo Del Rosario, and Trevor Hildenberger who combined to toss 7.1 scoreless innings to salvage a team win. Silva struck out three in 3.1 innings The GCL Twins did have a second game scheduled, a makeup of a postponement from August fifteenth, but it was again unable to be played. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher – Matt Tomshaw, Fort Myers Miracle (7.0 IP, 2 ER’s, 7 H’s, 5 K’s) Hitter – Jason Kanzler, Fort Myers Miracle (3-4, 3 R’s, 2B, 3B, RBI) SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes-Barre @ Rochester – Game 1: Mark Hamburger (3-4, 4.50 ERA), 3:35PM CST Scranton/Wilkes-Barre @ Rochester – Game 2: Sean Gilmartin (2-4, 4.36 ERA) New Britain @ Altoona – Virgil Vazquez (6-6, 4.09 ERA), 5:00 PM CST Fort Myers @ Charlotte - TBD, 5:00 PM CST Cedar Rapids @ Burlington – Chih-Wei Hu (6-1, 2.20 ERA), 6:30PM CST Elizabethton @ Pulaski – Derrick Penilla (4-4, 4.01 ERA), 6:00PM CST GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox – Game 1: TBD, 9:00AM CST GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox – Game 2: TBD DSL Orioles @ DSL Twins – TBD, 9:30AM CST

-> http://twinsdaily.com/topic/11821-nick-burdi-2014/ Unfortunately, because Fort Myers is in the FSL playoffs, and since the Twins have literally zero reason to promote him, this won't happen.

I like that a few of the bombs lately have been on off-speed offerings. I think he's still essentially a "guess" hitter, but jacking curves and changeups shows an improvement in the pitch recognition regard.

And I love what Max Kepler has been doing. Steadily increasing his production over the last 3 months to now excellent status.

I wouldn't be worried about Thorpe. He's been very impressive, including the game I saw him and wrote about 2 weeks ago. He's going move up prospect lists for next year.

I hope you read more than just the title, because this was not an article about Mauer, it just included quotes from him referencing the relevant players I went to see! If there's any "love fest" herein, it's in relation to my prospect crushes on Lewis Thorpe and Nick Burdi!

I hate the "innings limit" stuff, only because not all "innings" are created the same or as stressful. Meyer has been pulled early several times in games he was cruising because of the "pitch limit" as well, which I don't agree with either. They should be situational, not hard limits. It's high pitch counts in an inning that are detrimental in my view. I like this analogy for it: If you go to a skeet-shooting range and are shooting a 12-guage, how does your shoulder feel if you fire 30 shots one-after-the other before stopping, compared to three sequences of 10 shots with breaks in between? The answer is your shoulder hurts like hell after 30, but is just fine with 3/10. It's the same thing to me with pitching. If a guy's thrown, say 20/25 or more pitches in multiple innings already during a game, than I'd consider taking him out a bit early. That means he's been laboring some. But if he's been tossing 10/15 pitches per inning, and it's the start of the seventh (so he's at around 80 pitches), I don't understand the need to pull them like they've been doing. Would this help at all with injuries? Who knows. But without looking at how they compare with other organizations, I'm not sure I'd label them as just "snakebitten" on the pitching front.

Other teams aren't going to completely "buy" the season Escobar has had so far. I'd call this a "selling medium" situation if one was looking to trade him. The acquiring team would hope he could keep it up, but not expect it and be satisfied if he turned into a utility piece, just like the Twins probably are now (and why I would keep him). I don't think that gets you much, probably not even enough in the Twins current situation to make it worthwhile (youth movement finally in progress).

I hope Stewart is just "tired," and I'd be more worried about something serious if there were drastic control problems tied in with a drop in velocity. But this does bring up a topic I know a bit about, and that is diabetes and what it can affect physically. It's a known fact we are more susceptible to problems with joints, and in particular, shoulders. Mine is basically shot from playing and throwing a baseball, and I'm barely over 30. I would think this should be far-less of an issue for a professional athlete who has access to all the strength and conditioning tools he could possibly need, but that also means he's throwing a baseball a heck of a lot more than I ever would. It's his first full season, and I think he's thrown a reasonable amount of innings already, so hopefully it's nothing, or just something that ends up pushing he and the team to realize they'll have to do extra work and maintenance to keep his arm in shape.

The Minnesota Twins and newcomer Tommy Milone were knocked around on Sunday afternoon in between the rain delays with myself in attendance, but the young guns in the lineup continued to provide me with some hope for the future. Danny Santana led off the game for the Twins with a triple to left center, Kennys Vargas had three hits on the day including his third home run, and Oswaldo Arcia launched his 11th home run of the season. In the minors, two affiliates completed series sweeps, two games went into extra innings and two finished in walk-off fashion. Check it out!RED WINGS REPORT Game 1: Syracuse 5, Rochester 2 (10 innings) Box score After their rain postponement on Saturday, Logan Darnell made the start for the Red Wings in the first of two games. In 5.2 innings, the lefty allowed just two earned runs on three hits and three walks, while striking out three. What did him in was the long ball, as two of those hits went for solo home runs, including one from the first batter of the game. Lester Oliveros then came in to pitch 2.1 scoreless innings, with two strikouts. Mark Hamburger pitched into extra innings, but was saddled with the loss after giving up three runs (one unearned) in the tenth, after a walk, three consecutive singles and an error at the plate allowed the runs to score. The Red Wings had just five hits and three walks in the game, and were 0-9 with runners in scoring position. Chris Herrmann and Pedro Florimon each had two hits, with Herrmann collecting a double, his third home run of the season and he scored both of Rochester’s runs. Game 2: Syracuse 7, Rochester 3 (7 innings) Box Score Syracuse jumped all over starter Sean Gilmartin in the first inning and never looked back, as a grand slam contributed to six runners crossing the plate for the Chiefs. Gilmartin recovered to retire ten in row before a walk, double and intentional walk to load the bases ended his night in the fifth inning. A.J. Achter came on and allowed one inherited runner to score, but struck out three in two innings of relief. Michael Tonkin finished the shortened game with a scoreless inning, striking out two. Rochester outhit Syracuse 11-6 in the game, but were unable to string enough of them together to keep pace. Aaron Hicks was 2-4 with a double from the leadoff spot, while Josmil Pinto was 3-3 with a double and a walk from the 3-hole to lead the offense. ROCK CATS REVIEW Harrisburg 2, New Britain 7 Box Score Eddie Rosario got the Rock Cats on the board first in this one, when he slugged his sixth home run of the season in the third inning, a two-run shot with Levi Michael on-base after a leadoff single. They added five more runs in the seventh, when Jorge Polanco (RBI single), Corey Wimberly (bases-clearing triple) and Kyle Knudson (sacrifice fly) brought home ducks on the pond. Rosario (2-5), Mike Gonzalez (2-4), Reynaldo Rodriguez (2-3), Polanco (2-4), and Stephen Wickens (2-4 each had multiple hits. Tony Thomas and Gonzalez added doubles to the effort. It was Jason Wheeler on the mound for New Britain. He controlled the Harrisburg lineup for five innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out nine. He walked the first batter of the game, but struck out the next six. He struck out eight of the first eleven he faced and set down eight in a row before his exit after the fifth inning. He improved to 4-4 with the Rock Cats. Alex Wimmers struck out two more Senators in an inning of relief, while Cole Johnson, Ryan O’Rourke and Jim Fuller added three more K's in the final three innings for a total of fourteen for the pitching staff. O’Rourke surrendered the two Harrisburg runs in the eighth inning, but they weren’t enough to overcome the seventh inning outburst from the Red Wings as they completed the three game sweep. MIRACLE MATTERS Palm Beach 5, Fort Myers 6 (11 innings) Box Score The Miracle gave up leads in both the eighth and ninth innings of this one, but ended the game with some extra inning heroics from Adam Brett Walk[off] II, as he drove in Travis Harrison with a single in the eleventh to give Fort Myers the victory. Ethan Mildren made the start, and pitched five solid innings, allowing two runs as he scattered five hits and three walks. He struck out five. Zack Jones and Madison Boer combined to throw the next two scoreless innings, before Tyler Jones gave up the game-tying run in the eighth. Fort Myers was quick to take back the lead in the bottom half of the frame, as Tyler Grimes (single) and Jason Kanzler (double) got themselves into scoring position for Aderlin Mejia (sacrifice fly) and Niko Goodrum (RBI single), for a two run lead going into the ninth. D.J. Johnson then gave up two runs to blow the save opportunity and send the game into extra innings. Todd Van Steensel was next to pitch for the Miracle and picked up his first FSL win with two scoreless extra innings, walking two and striking out two. Seven of the nine hitters in the Miracle lineup collected multiple hits, as they tallied seventeen in the game. Stuart Turner, Grimes and Kanzler had doubles, while Mejia and Grimes each drove in two runs. Kanzler also stole two bases, giving him nine in sixteen games with Fort Myers. KERNELS NUGGETS Peoria 4, Cedar Rapids 5 Box score Cedar Rapids was also able to finish off a series sweep, winning their sixth game in a row, in [intentional] walk-off fashion on Sunday. With the game tied 4-4 with two out in the bottom of the ninth, a Logan Wade double, a wild pitch and a Chad Christensen walk put runners on first and third for Mitch Garver. Peoria pitcher Jacob Booden, who had entered the game in the eighth inning, then intended to put Garver on first base with an intentional walk, but misfired his first throw into the dirt and past the catcher, allowing Wade to race home for the win. The Kernels offense was led by Wade who was 3-5 on the day, with the ninth inning double and fifth inning home run to drive in three. Jonatan Hinojosa was 2-5 with a run scored. Garver was 2-4 with two doubles and a walk. Ryan Eades was on the mound and despite allowing three runs in the third inning, was able to finish six innings for Cedar Rapids. He allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks, with one strikeout. Hudson Boyd struck out two in two perfect innings, while Brian Gilbert was credited with the win after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth. E-TWINS E-NOTES Princeton 0, Elizabethton 11 Box Score Elizabethton scored early and often en route to the blowout of Princeton at home. A wild pitch in the first inning allowed Jermias Pineda to score the first run of the game, while singles from Trey Vavra and Alex Real brought home Nick Gordon and Tanner English for a 3-0 lead after three. Elizabethton then sent ten men to the plate in the fourth on their way to seven runs, punctuated by a three run home run from Brian Navaretto, his second of the year. Six hitters collected multiple hits for the Twins, including Pineda (2-5, 2 R’s, 2B, 3 RBI), Gordon (2-4, 2 RBI), English (2-4, BB, R, 2B), Vavra (3-5, R), Real (2-4, BB, R, RBI) and Austin Deimer (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B) as the team garnered fifteen hits. Derrick Penilla improved to 4-4 on the season with six shutout innings, scattering four hits and one walk, while striking out eight. Enigma Brandon Poulson pitched two scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit and two walks with two K’s, while Randy LeBlanc finished the game with a scoreless inning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher – Jason Wheeler, New Britain Rock Cats (5 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 R’s, 9 K’s) Hitter – Logan Wade, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-5, 2 R’s, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester – Mark Hamburger (3-3, 4.37 ERA), 6:05PM CST Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids – Chih-Wei Hu (5-1, 2.54 ERA), 6:35PM CST Princeton @ Elizabethton – John Curtiss (2-1, 0.84 ERA), 6:00PM CST GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles – TBD, 11:00AM CST DSL Twins @ DSL Padres – TBD, 9:30AM CST Click here to view the article