Steve Lein

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

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

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

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

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

Two more big games in the Twins minor leagues. The Chattanooga Lookouts went to Montgomery for Game 3 of their Southern League playoff series. The Cedar Rapids Kernels held a 1-0 series lead against Peoria and returned to Cedar Rapids for Game 2. Would a Game 3 be needed? Continue below to read more in today's Minor League Report. Image courtesy of Craig Gordon (photo of Shannon Wilkerson) Two more big games in the Twins minor leagues. The Chattanooga Lookouts went to Montgomery for Game 3 of their Southern League playoff series. The Cedar Rapids Kernels held a 1-0 series lead against Peoria and returned to Cedar Rapids for Game 2. Would a Game 3 be needed? Continue below to read more in today's Minor League Report. The Minnesota Twins continued to have the number of American League Cy Young contender Chris Sale, who was chased after just three innings, nine hits, and six earned runs. Torii Hunter slugged his nineteenth home run of the year in the first inning to get it started, and they never looked back behind the start of Kyle Gibson. He went 7.2 innings of shutout ball, and struck out seven. The win kept the Twins just one game back of the Texas Rangers for the final AL Wild Card, who also won Sunday afternoon. In the minors on Sunday, both the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Chattanooga Lookouts continued their postseason push. One team found themselves down early and needed a comeback if they wanted to prevent a sudden death game three, and the other had to hold off a late comeback if they were going to take a series lead on the road. To find out how all it all went down on Sunday night, keep reading! CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Montgomery 3 Box Score The Chattanooga offense got things started quickly, and it was courtesy of the Southern League home run champ, Adam Brett Walker. His two-run blast in the second inning put them up 2-0, as Lookouts starter Greg Peavey cruised in the early innings. Singles from Shannon Wilkerson, Stephen Wickens, and Max Kepler loaded the bases with one out in the third inning, and an error and fielder’s choice would add to more runs to make it 4-0 early. Peavey scattered five hits and three walks in six innings, striking out five while holding the Biscuits off the scoreboard. The Lookouts would add an insurance run for him in the top of the seventh on a Jorge Polanco sac fly. Peavey was relieved by Alex Wimmers with a five run lead in the seventh, and that’s when things got dicey. He recorded the innings first out, but consecutive walks were followed by a three run home run to make it 5-3. A double and single would follow to put the tying run in scoring position before the bullpen could get warmed up. Lefty Corey Williams was summoned for a same-sided hitter matchup, but he walked the batter to load the bases. Jake Reed was quickly brought in to face the right-handers coming up, and escaped the threat with consecutive strikeouts. The Lookouts mounted a two-out rally in the eighth, as an error put runners on second and third for Wilkerson, who brought them in with a single to right field to make it 7-3. Reed remained in the game for the eighth inning and kept Montgomery off the board, despite two walks. D.J. Johnson was called upon for the ninth, and finished the game with a one-two-three inning. The Lookouts got multiple hits from Wickens (2-5, R) in the leadoff spot, and Wilkerson (3-3, 2 R’s, 2 RBI) in the nine hole. Kepler was 1-4 with walk, and Walker’s home run was their only extra base hit of the day. The win puts Chattanooga out front 2-1 in the series, and they’ll look to end the five game series tomorrow night on the road. KERNELS NUGGETS Peoria 4, Cedar Rapids 5 Box Score In game two of their best of three Midwest League Western Division title series, Cedar Rapids sent left-hander Randy Rosario to the mound. He was spotted a 1-0 lead in the second inning when doubles from Chris Paul and Austin Diemer got the Kernels on the board first, but a rough top of the third for Rosario put Peoria out front. Consecutive singles started the inning, and a fielder’s choice ground ball and walk put runners on the corners. A strikeout for the second out gave Rosario two outs and a chance to escape unscathed, but a T.J. White error allowed the first two Chiefs runs to score and prolonged the inning. A balk on Rosario would score the third run of the inning and move another runner into scoring position, who came in on a single to the next batter to make it 4-1 Peoria early. Rosario picked up another strikeout to end the threat, and went on to finish six innings total. He retired the side one-two-three in each of the fifth and sixth. All of the four runs against Rosario were unearned. He allowed seven hits and walked one, while striking out five on the day. The Kernels would come back to pull within one run by scoring single runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Max Murphy led off with a single, and was followed by a double from Brian Navaretto to put runners on second and third. Diemer sent a single into left field to score Murphy, but Navaretto was gunned down at home for the innings first out. A double play ball would end the inning. The fifth started with a double from Edgar Corcino, and his run made the score 4-3 when LaMonte Wade doubled to right field. Michael Theofanopoulos came in from the bullpen for the seventh inning and struck out two hitters in a scoreless inning. He allowed one hit. In the bottom of the seventh, Nick Gordon wreaked some havoc on the bases, and the result put the Kernels out front. He led off the inning with a single and was moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Corcino to put the tying run in scoring position. Gordon didn’t think he was quite close enough, as he took off for third and stole it to put himself ninety-feet away. It was a pretty smart and important base, as a wild-pitch to the next batter allowed him to score the tying run and moved White to second. He would score on Paul’s single a batter later put the Kernels out front 5-4. Yorman Landa was then summoned from the Kernels bullpen in the eighth, and came out throwing fire. He struck out the side in quick fashion, all swinging, and made it four K’s in a row to start the ninth. He then walked a batter to put the tying run on base for Peoria, but followed that up by inducing a game-ending double play for his first postseason save. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DryBCJCz3fo&feature=youtu.be (Video by Steve Buhr) As a team the Kernels outhit the Chiefs thirteen to eight, and had far more scoring opportunities than Peoria. They were 4-18 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base, compared to just 1-4 with runners and scoring position and four men left on base for Peoria. Gordon led the Kernels with a 3-5 night, scoring one run and adding a double. Corcino (2-3, 2B, R), Paul (2-4, 2B, R, RBI), and Diemer (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI) each had two hits on the night. With the sweep of the three game series, the Kernels will make their first appearance in the Midwest League Championship Series since 1994, when they defeated Rockford three games to one in the five game series. Their defeat of the Chiefs also marks the second series win of the postseason where their opponent finished one or both halves of the MWL season with a better record. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Yorman Landa, Cedar Rapids Kernels (Save, 2.0 IP, 1 BB, 4 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Shannon Wilkerson, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-3, 2 R’s, 2 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Chattanooga @ Montgomery (7:05PM CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids – Day off before MWL Championship series begins on Wednesday. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games! View full article

Overall Final Line on the Regular Season: 43 games, 5-6, 3.82 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 4 Saves, 63.2 IP, 27 ER's on 52 H's and 35 BB's, with 83 K's. .224 batting average against.

No problem! He's been much better since his demotion and recall. He walked almost no one in the FSL, but still too many in the Southern League. But you are right, not a lot of damage against him to show for it, because nobody hits him!

Burdi pitched in three games since the last update to finish off his and the Chattanooga Lookouts regular season. On September 1st against the Birmingham Barons, he had an interesting, but scoreless inning. The leadoff batter singled, and he followed that with a strikeout. The next batter drew a walk, and then he struck out another. Another walk followed to load the bases, but (you guessed it) Burdi struck out the last to end the inning. On September 4th against the Jackson Generals, it was much smoother. In an 8-2 game, Burdi came on for the ninth inning. It went one-two-three, and he picked up 2 K's along the way. Against Jackson again on September 7th, Burdi pitched the 7th inning. A one-out triple led to an unearned run after a throwing error from the third baseman. He finished the inning without any further damage, and added another strikeout. As you know, the Lookouts are in the Southern League Playoff's, and Burdi picked up the win in their walk-off win yesterday against the Montgomery Biscuits by pitching the final 1.1 innings. With a man on in the eighth, Burdi came in with two outs and shut the door with a strikeout. In the ninth, he walked the leadoff man but then induced a double play ball. He struck out the next batter, but the pitch was dropped and subsequently tossed into right field for an error and free out for the Biscuits. The next batter singled to put a runner in scoring position, but Burdi ended the threat with another K and Max and the offense did the rest in the bottom of the ninth. Season Totals FSL (13 games): 2-2, 2.25 ERA, 20.0 IP, 2 Saves, 5 ER's on 12 hits and 3 BB's, with 29 K's. Season Totals Southern League (30 games): 3-4, 4.53 ERA, 43.2 IP, 2 Saves, 22 ER's on 40 H's and 32 BB's, with 54 K's. Since returning to AA (8 games): 0-0, 1 save, 1.35 ERA, 13.1 IP, 2 ER's on 8 H's and 10 BB's, with 21 K's and a 1.35 WHIP. Playoffs (1 game): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.1 IP, 0 R's on 1 H and 1 BB, with 3 K's.

I also followed the minors casually after watching a skinny 18-year old shortstop club a home run for the Appleton Foxes in the Midwest League when I was 11. Any guesses who that might have been? (Hint: he's chasing Ruth)

Thanks for the kind words! We definitely appreciate it! I remember becoming really interested in the Minor Leagues while back in college, and I saw the Twins newest first round draft pick being interviewed on ESPN after the draft. He was supposed to be their shortstop of the future. Here was this 18-year-old high school kid on national TV, talking about how he was about to start his journey to fulfill his dream of becoming a major league baseball player. I was so jealous back then as a 21 year old baseball fanatic who spent the summers playing Town Team Baseball. But I also thought it was so cool that this kid from California named Trevor Plouffe was getting that opportunity to chase his dreams. I started researching and following everything I could about the minor leagues, and eventually would stumble onto the blogs of the Twins writers right here, like Seth and John. Seth was a large influence for me writing my own blog back then well before this site came to fruition. We love this stuff, and we're happy and grateful you guys do to. As Seth mentioned, it can be a lot of work, but because of the appreciation like this, we know it pays off!

If you really want to experience the entirety of a stadium, you have to explore it! Stadiums aren't all about the game-watching, that's why they build new ones. (that's my opinion, anyway) Of course you'll probably have a good time no matter the stadium if your goal is to sit in one spot for 2 and a half hours and not miss a minute of the greatest game in the world! But in a place like Target Field, you can experience almost all of the stadiums atmosphere all while still not missing a minute of the game if you want to. That's what separates the good from the bad for me. Neighborhood atmosphere is a big one too, that's why I rank Coors #1 on my own list. Love LoDo.

Yes. THIS.

You didn't look hard enough. Was there this year and had: 1. Several from Urban Chestnut Brewing (A local brewery that we also checked out later) 2. Schlafly 3. Boulevard 4. New Belgium Definitely not up to par with the craft selection of Target Field, but it's there.

I see AT&T Park getting a lot of votes. My impression when I was there: Beautiful location and beautiful stadium. BUT 1. Sightlines are not up to par with say, Target Field. In the club level where I sat, you're I'd venture 4 times further away from the field. 2. It is a pain in the ass to navigate, like a maze, and concourses are half the size of Target Field, AND WORST OF ALL... 3. Lack of open concourses to watch the game while navigating it. Personally, I think this might be the most overrated stadium out there after seeing it myself. Some interesting features and the outfield walkway on the bay is certainly cool, but the interior design is lacking. There's no reason I should have to make so many right and left, and switchback turns around the concourses of a baseball field, all while not being able to see the actual field. With that said, it's probably still about #5 on my own list of about 15 I've been too. There's a lot of bad MLB stadiums. 1. Coors Field 2. Target Field 3. Kauffman Stadium 4. Busch Stadium 5. AT&T Park Next to see list: Camden Yards PNC Park Petco SafeCo Comerica

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

They were okay in the first half because the starters were pitching well and Perkins was lights out. But this bullpen as a whole, besides August, was nowhere near even mediocre, and they were borderline mediocre in August: In April, the Twins bullpen ranked 23rd in ERA, 26th in FIP, and 30th (last) in xFIP. May: 14th, 21st, and 22nd. June: 27th. 27th, and 28th. July: 23rd, 24th, and 28th. August: 16th, 14th, 21st.

Soooooo...when does Duffey get shut down?!

Agree... But TR is playing a weird game... Why are there no concerns about Duffey's arm if innings are a concern for Berrios? (I don't think age matters here) Duffey had never been a starter when drafted, and was transitioned in 2013. He threw 120 innings that year. (Berrios threw 103.2) In 2014, he threw 149 innings. (Berrios threw 140) In 2015, he's now at 163.2 innings. (Berrios is at 161.1) So when does Duffey get shut down?! (EDIT: Jeez, went from 1 page to 8 of comments when I finally typed that, late to the party I guess!)

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

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

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

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