Steve Lein

Of the names mentioned, Arcia, to me, is the only one who will get something valuable for us back this year. Arcia is out of options after the season, and has been bypassed on this team by others. I'd trade him in a heartbeat if the return helps.

Burdi has added two more appearances with Fort Myers since the last update. Versus the Jupiter HammerHeads on July 8th, he pitched the final two innings and notched his second save with the Miracle. He had a one-two-three eighth inning, but ran into a little trouble in the ninth with the two-run lead. He recorded the first out with a looking strikeout, but consecutive singles and a throwing error on the second from from shortstop Engelb Vielma put the tying runners on second and third. Vielma was replaced immediately after the play due to injury and was placed on the 7-day disabled list. Jupiter would get one unearned run on a sac fly, before Burdi struck out the last hitter of the game for the save. On July 12th, Burdi again pitched two innings against the Clearwater Threshers. He entered the game to replace starter Stephen Gonsalves in the sixth inning, who had loaded the bases with two singles and an error on a groundball. He struck out the first two hitters he faced, and got a pop-out to escape the jam with no damage to Gonsalves' pitching line. In the seventh, Burdi retired the order one-two-three, striking out the first batter of the inning. He has not allowed an earned run since his placement on Fort Myers, and has a fantastic WHIP of 0.57 thus far back in the FSL. Season Totals FSL (4 games): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 2 Saves, 0 ER's on 4 hits and 0 BB's, with 10 K's.

Quite harsh, considering he's been in the system for barely over a single year. I still maintain he will be the next Twins closer, after Glen Perkins is done. He has stuff, closer type makeup, and competitiveness for the job. But he is still learning.

You're looking at it wrong. 150 IP is a very good mark for a full season in the minors, and basically an indicator a pitcher is ready for a full MLB workload as a starter if he's good enough. May has done that four times already in his career. He has nothing to prove in a workload capable sense. There were a total of only 12 pitchers in AAA last year who threw 150+ innings, 14 in AA, 2 in A+, and none over even 100+ in A-. 150 IP is a very high water mark for a minor league starter, especially one still considered a "prospect." May has been a workhorse throughout his pro career, and there shouldn't be any worries about his workload. Edit: I notice now I'm far late to this party... q; )

Again, he wasn't going to, nor has he to this point, taken any valuable at bats away from deserving youngsters. That's what I was getting at. It wouldn't be an issue at this point if the Twins weren't competitive, either. The guys who should be playing and have earned it, are.

He's actually pretty much been the definition of average. He has been saved only by the HR's. And the injuries are a concern, not a reason for hope.

Never understood the vitriol around the Hunter signing, and the comment "it's played out better than anyone could have imagined" hits the wrong buttons for me. I'd argue it's played out exactly how the Twins, and others like myself, imagined it. It was a one-year deal and none of the "prospects" we had in the system for the outfield were "ready" at the time. They complained he would be blocking these guys, but that was not even close to true. Add in the fact that his .765 OPS the year before, would have been bested on an already pretty good offense by only two players, and those two players were Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas, who I think we all would agree, played above their skill level at the time. The belief that Hunter's production was going to fall off a cliff never was rooted in reality to me. He had maintained his production as he aged for five plus years already. Also, myself being such a big fan of his from the teams in the 2000's, I kept up with what he was doing elsewhere after leaving the Twins. There never should have been a doubt he was going to have a highly positive clubhouse influence. We don't like to monetize that aspect, but it'd be pretty hard to argue that this hasn't been worth quite a bit to this point. I guess what I'm saying is, I told you so... Haha q;) On the whole though, good summary, it's amazing what competent starting pitching can accomplish!

Kyle Gibson continued his breakout campaign against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon, helping the Twins complete a series win against their division rival heading into the All-Star break. Miguel Sano also delivered his second career home run, avoiding the silent treatment in the dugout for the first of many more times. Oh, and news flash: The Twins Have the Second Best Record (!) in the American League. In the minors on Sunday, there was one game that had a ton of offense, and a bunch more with not so much. One former first-round pick (supplemental round) had a big day, the guy batting behind him added to his home run totals, and a converted outfielder continued to shine in Elizabethton’s starting rotation. Image courtesy of Marilyn Indahl, USA Today Kyle Gibson continued his breakout campaign against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon, helping the Twins complete a series win against their division rival heading into the All-Star break. Miguel Sano also delivered his second career home run, avoiding the silent treatment in the dugout for the first of many more times. Oh, and news flash: The Twins Have the Second Best Record (!) in the American League. In the minors on Sunday, there was one game that had a ton of offense, and a bunch more with not so much. One former first-round pick (supplemental round) had a big day, the guy batting behind him added to his home run totals, and a converted outfielder continued to shine in Elizabethton’s starting rotation. Read on to find out what happened and where! TRANSACTIONS First, there were a slew of transactions in Chattanooga before the games on Sunday. In Chattanooga, Travis Harrison was activated from the disabled list and had a big impact on their game. Zach Jones was also sent down to Fort Myers after his recent struggles, with Matt Summers being called up in his place. First baseman Mike Gonzales was also released by the Twins from the Lookouts roster. He is twenty-seven years old and had spent seven years in the Twins organization, reaching as high as AA. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Syracuse 4 Box Score Greg Peavey was on the mound for the Red Wings and dueled with the Chiefs’ Taylor Jordan for much of the early going. It was still tied at zero into the fourth inning, before the home team struck first against Peavey. A two out double put a runner in scoring position and the following single brought him home for the 1-0 lead. The Chiefs added two more in the fifth, when the first three hitters all singled to score one, and a later double scored the second. Peavey escaped that inning without any more damage, and finished his day with a one-two-three sixth. He allowed the three runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out two. Rochester was unable to get on the board until the eighth inning, when Jorge Polanco led off with a double, and scored later on a Chris Herrmann sacrifice fly. Polanco was a stud on Sunday afternoon, going 4-4 on the day with a double and a run scored, raising his average with the Red Wings to .366. He didn’t get much help from the rest of the offense however, as they were unable to string enough hits together behind him to make a difference on the scoreboard. As a team they were 1-12 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Caleb Thielbar threw a scoreless seventh inning, allowing one hit and striking out two. Aaron Thompson pitched the bottom of the eighth, allowing one run on two hits to make the score 4-1. Danny Ortiz led off the ninth with a double, and Jose Martinez moved him to third with a single that brought the tying run to the plate with nobody out. But Wilkin Ramirez flew out to old friend Darin Mastroianni in center field, and Argenis Diaz grounded into a double play to end the game. With the loss, Rochester finishes the first half of their International League season with a record of 49-42, and they sit in first place in the North Division. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Mississippi 11, Chattanooga 10 Box Score The game in Chattanooga on Sunday afternoon was a roller coaster for each side, as they combined for twenty-one runs on twenty-nine hits, and exchanged leads four times. Mississippi put a crooked number up in the first, as three singles and a wild pitch combined to plate two runs off Lookout’s starter Jason Wheeler. They got both those runs back in the bottom of the second as Travis Harrison led off with a walk, and Stephen Wickens, Marcus Knecht and Stuart Turner all singled to make it 2-2. Wheeler settled down after the first inning and finished seven innings, scattering a total of nine hits. He allowed three runs (two earned), did not walk a batter, and struck out three. Mississippi took back the lead 3-2 in the sixth when the Braves got a double and single in succession, but they handed the lead to Chattanooga in the bottom of the inning. Wickens drew a walk and was followed by a Knecht single,before Stuart Turner greeted the bullpen with a 2-RBI double to make it 4-3. They tacked on three more runs in the seventh inning as Harrison (2-run HR) and Adam Brett Walker (solo HR) connected for back to back blasts. They were Harrison’s fourth of the season and Walker’s twenty-fourth. Brandon Peterson was summoned from the bullpen for the top of the eighth inning, having not allowed a run since his promotion to AA, and in 26.0 innings overall since May 5th. The streak was not to continue as a single and triple quickly put an end to it. A later double scored a second run to make the score 7-5. The Lookouts got back those runs and more again in the bottom of the frame, as two singles and a walk loaded the bases, and Harrison cleared them with a double to make it 10-5 going into the ninth. J.T. Chargois recorded the first two outs quickly, but then all hell broke loose against the reliever and home team. A walk, single and a double scored two before another single and two walks scored a third and left the bases loaded for Matt Summers. Mississippi brought in pinch hitter Rio Ruiz, drew an RBI walk to make it 10-9, then a double from Sean Godfrey would put the Braves ahead 11-10. Deflated by the bullpen implosion, Chattanooga’s offense went down one-two-three in the bottom of the inning to take the loss, as they look to avoid a five-game home series sweep by Mississippi on Monday. MIRACLE MATTERS Clearwater 4, Fort Myers 1 Box Score Left-hander Stephen Gonsalves was on the mound for the Miracle, making his fifth Florida State League start. He wasn’t his greatest, but also wasn’t helped much by his defense, as two of his three runs allowed were unearned after a throwing error Alex Swim in the fourth. Gonsalves’s day came to an end in the sixth inning, as a throwing error from T.J. White after two singles to start the inning loaded the bases. Nick Burdi came into the game and shut down the threat with two strikeouts and an infield pop out. Overall on the day Gonsalves pitched five innings, allowing the three runs (one earned) on eight hits and four walks. He struck out two. The Miracle offense closed the score to 3-1 in the fourth, when a Mitch Garver double scored Ryan Walker, who had singled to lead off the inning, but that is as close as they would get. Burdi also came out for the seventh, and set the Threshers down one-two-three while adding another strikeout. It was then Tyler Jay’s turn in the eighth, and he struck out all three hitters he faced. Todd Van Steensel came on in the ninth and promptly loaded the bases with two walks and single. He allowed one run on a single before managing to wiggle out of the jam by inducing a 1-to-2-to-3 double-play. Fort Myers went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to hand Gonsalves his first loss in the FSL, though he did lower his ERA to 2.61. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 3 Box Score Despite each team collecting ten hits, there wasn’t much in the run columns on the scoreboard for either team, as they combined for just one extra-base hit on the day. The Cougars took the lead 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth off Kernels starter Sam Gibbons, as a double from Marty Herum led off the inning, and a sac bunt and sac fly brought him home. It remained that way until the eighth inning, as Gibbons scattered seven hits and a walk over 5.1 innings while striking out three, and reliever Luke Bard added 2.2 scoreless frames, striking out two. Cougars starter Markus Solbach (former Twins prospect) scattered nine hits over seven innings of his own, striking out four. In the eighth inning the Kernels finally got to him, as a Nick Gordon single brought home Sean Miller from second to tie the game. Miller had led off the inning with a single of his own, and was moved into scoring position on a Tanner English sacrifice bunt. With a tie game heading into the bottom of the ninth in Kane County, the Kernels went to left-hander Brandon Bixler, who had allowed at least one run in each of his past four outings. He got two outs, but the trend continued and sent the Kernels into the dugout with a loss, as pinch-hitter Ildemaro Vargas blasted a two-run home run just over wall in the gap in left-center for the 3-1 walk-off victory. The win pushed Kane County’s (15-3) second half Western Division lead to four games over the Kernels (11-7). E-TOWN E-NOTES Johnson City 3, Elizabethton 2 Box Score Elizabethton’s game on Sunday was also easy on the scoreboard operators, as they got another fantastic pitching performance from Dereck Rodriguez. The Cardinals got on the board early with a run in the first inning as a single and stolen base put a runner in scoring position. A fielding error from first baseman Amaurys Minier would then allow that run to scamper home. From there on Rodriguez was in control. He finished six innings, allowing just the one unearned run on four hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out six and his ERA in four starts in the Appalachian League sits at 1.61. Elizabethton took the lead in the second inning, when Nelson Molina launched his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field making the score 2-1. Anthony Mciver added two scoreless innings in relief of Rodriguez to keep it that way until the ninth inning for Jose Abreu. With one out and a runner on second, Johnson City’s Luke Doyle sent a liner into center field for a single. The runner was waved around third but the throw beat him home to keep the lead with two outs. The next hitter grounded to third, but the throw was misplayed by Tyler Kuresa for an error on the first baseman, and the tying run came around to score before Abreu got the third out. Elizabethtons lineup was retired in order in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings. Abreu came out for another inning, but did not record an out, and the three singles surrendered brought home the go-ahead run for the Cardinals. Logan Lombana came in to replace Abreu with two runners on an escaped any more damage by retiring all three hitters he faced. Down 3-2 in the tenth, the Twins got the tying run on base after a Kamran Young single, but pinch hitter A.J. Murray grounded into a double play to end the game. Murray was pinch hitting for Wade, who was 2-4 in the game before that at-bat. Molina also added two hits, including the home run to lead the offense. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They host the GCL Rays on Monday. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Dereck Rodriguez, Elizabethton Twins (6.0 IP, 4 H’s, 0 ER’s, BB, 6 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Travis Harrison, Chattanooga Lookouts (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B, HR, BB, 5 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester – International League All-Star Break. Mississippi @ Chattanooga (6:15 PM CST) – LHP David Hurlbut (4-4, 5.57 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (6-4, 3.07 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:35 PM CST) – LHP Luke Westphal (1-1, 4.50 ERA) Johnson City @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Alex Tapia (1-1, 2.76 ERA) GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. 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Kyle Gibson continued his breakout campaign against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon, helping the Twins complete a series win against their division rival heading into the All Star Break. Miguel Sano also delivered his second career home run, avoiding the silent treatment in the dugout for the first of many more times. Oh, and news flash: The Twins Have the Second Best Record in the American League! In the minors on Sunday, there was one game that had a ton of offense, and a bunch more with not so much. One former first round pick (supplemental round) had a big day, the guy batting behind him added to his home run totals, and a converted outfielder continued to shine in Elizabethton’s starting rotation. Read on to find out what happened and where! TRANSACTIONS First, there were a slew of transactions in Chattanooga before the games on Sunday. In Chattanooga, Travis Harrison was activated from the disabled list and had a big impact on their game. Zach Jones was also sent down to Fort Myers after his recent struggles, with Matt Summers being called up in his place. First baseman Mike Gonzales was also released by the Twins from the Lookouts roster. He is twenty-seven years old and had spent seven years in the Twins organization, reaching as high as AA. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Syracuse 4 Box Score Greg Peavey was on the mound for the Red Wings, and dueled with the Chiefs’ Taylor Jordan for much of the early going. It was still tied at zero into the fourth inning, before the home team struck first against Peavey. A two out double put a runner in scoring position, and the following single brought him home for the 1-0 lead. The Chiefs would add two more in the fifth, when the first three hitters all singled to score one, and a later double would score the second. Peavey would escape that inning without any more damage, and finished his day with a one-two-three sixth. He allowed the three runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out two. Rochester was unable to get on the board until the eighth inning, when Jorge Polanco led off with a double, and scored later on a Chris Herrmann sacrifice fly. Polanco was a stud on Sunday afternoon, going 4-4 on the day with a double and a run scored, raising his average with the Red Wings to .366. He didn’t get much help from the rest of the offense however, as they were unable to string enough hits together behind him to make a difference on the scoreboard. As a team they were 1-12 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Caleb Thielbar threw a scoreless seventh inning, allowing one hit and striking out two; while Aaron Thompson pitched the bottom of the eighth, allowing one run on two hits to make the score 4-1. Danny Ortiz led off the ninth with a double, and Jose Martinez moved him to third with a single that brought the tying run to the plate with nobody out. But Wilkin Ramirez flew out to old friend Darin Mastroianni in center field, and Argenias Diaz grounded into a double play to end the game. With the loss, Rochester finishes the first half of their International League season with a record of 49-42, and sit in first place in the North Division. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Mississippi 11, Chattanooga 10 Box Score The game in Chattanooga on Sunday afternoon was a roller coaster for each side, as they combined for twenty-one runs on twenty-nine hits, and changed leads four times. Mississippi put a crooked number up in the first, as three singles and a wild pitch combined to plate two runs off Lookout’s starter Jason Wheeler. They got both those runs back in the bottom of the second as Travis Harrison led off with a walk, and Stephen Wickens, Marcus Knecht, and Stuart Turner all singled to make it 2-2. Wheeler settled down after the first inning and finished seven innings, scattering a total of nine hits. He allowed three runs (two earned), did not walk a batter, and struck out three. Mississippi took back the lead 3-2 in the sixth when the Braves got a double and single in succession, but they handed the lead to Chattanooga in the bottom of the inning. Wickens drew a walk and was followed by a Knecht single, before Stuart Turner greeted the bullpen with a 2-RBI double to make it 4-3. They tacked on three more runs in the seventh inning as Harrison (2-R HR) and Adam Brett Walker (solo HR) connected for back to back blasts. They were Harrison’s fourth of the season, and Walker’s twenty-fourth. Brandon Peterson was summoned from the bullpen for the top of the eighth inning, having not allowed a run since his promotion to AA, and in 26.0 innings overall since May 5th. The streak was not to continue any further, as a single and triple quickly put an end to it. A later double would score a second run to make the score 7-5. The Lookouts got back those runs and more again in the bottom of the frame, as two singles and a walk would load the bases, and Harrison would clear them with a double to make it 10-5 going into the ninth. J.T. Chargois recorded the first two outs quickly, but then all hell broke loose against the reliever and home team. A walk, single, and a double would score two, before another single, and two walks would score a third and leave the bases loaded for Matt Summers. Mississippi brought in Pinch Hitter Rio Ruiz, who drew an RBI walk to make it 10-9, then a double from Sean Godfrey would put the Braves ahead 11-10. Deflated by the bullpen implosion, Chattanooga’s offense went down one-two-three in the bottom of the inning to take the loss, and look to avoid a five-game home-series sweep byMississippi on Monday. MIRACLE MATTERS Clearwater 4, Fort Myers 1 Box Score Lefthander Stephen Gonsalves was on the mound for the Miracle, making his fifth Florida State League start. He wasn’t his greatest, but also wasn’t helped much by his defense, as two of his three runs allowed were unearned after a throwing error from Alex Swim in the fourth. Gonsalves’s day would come to an end in the sixth inning, as a throwing error from T.J. White after two singles to start the inning would load the bases. Nick Burdi came into the game and shut down the threat with two strikeouts and an infield pop out. Overall on the day Gonsalves pitched five innings, allowing the three runs (one earned) on eight hits and four walks. He struck out two. The Miracle offense closed the score to 3-1 in the fourth, when a Mitch Garver double scored Ryan Walker, who had singled to lead off the inning, but that is as close as they would get. Burdi also came out for the seventh, and set the Threshers down one-two-three while adding another strikeout. It was then Tyler Jay’s turn in the eighth, and he struck out all three hitters he faced. Todd Van Steensel came on in the ninth and promptly loaded the bases with two walks and single. He allowed one run on a single before managing to wiggle out of the jam by inducing a 1-2-3 double-play. Fort Myers would go down in order in the bottom of the ninth to hand Gonsalves his first loss in the FSL, though he did lower his ERA to 2.61. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 3 Box Score Despite each team collecting ten hits, there wasn’t much in the run columns on the scoreboard for either team, as they combined for just one extra-base hit on the day. The Cougars took the lead 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth off Kernels starter Sam Gibbons, as a double from Marty Herum led off the inning, and a sac bunt and sac fly brought him home. It would remain that way until the eighth inning, as Gibbons scattered seven hits and a walk over 5.1 innings while striking out three, and reliever Luke Bard added 2.2 scoreless frames, striking out two. Cougars starter Markus Solbach scattered nine hits over seven innings of his own, striking out four. In the eighth inning the Kernels finally got to him, as a Nick Gordon single brought home Sean Miller from second to tie the game. Miller had led off the inning with a single of his own, and was moved into scoring position on a Tanner English sacrifice bunt. With a tie-game heading into the bottom of the ninth in Kane County, the Kernels went to lefthander Brandon Bixler, who had allowed at least one run in each of his past four outings. He got two outs, but that trend continued and sent the Kernels into the dugout with a loss, as pinch-hitter Ildemaro Vargas blasted a two-run home run just over wall in the gap in left center for the 3-1 walk-off victory. The win pushed Kane County’s (15-3) second half Western Division lead to four games over the Kernels (11-7). E-TOWN E-NOTES Johnson City 3, Elizabethton 2 Box Score Elizabethton’s game on Sunday was also easy on the scoreboard operators, as they got another fantastic pitching performance from Derek Rodriguez. The Cardinals got on the board early with a run in the first inning as a single and stolen base put a runner in scoring position. A fielding error from first baseman Amaurys Minier would then allow that run to scamper home. From there on Rodriguez was in control. He finished six innings, allowing just the one unearned run on four hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out six and his ERA in four starts in the Appalachian League sits at 1.61. Elizabethton took the lead in the second inning, when Nelson Molina launched his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field making the score 2-1. Anthony Mciver added two scoreless innings in relief of Rodriguez to keep it that way until the ninth inning for Jose Abreu. With one out and a runner on second, Johnson City’s Luke Doyle sent a liner into centerfield for a single. The runner was waved around third but the throw beat him home to keep the lead with two outs. The next hitter grounded to third, but the throw was misplayed by Tyler Kuresa for an error on the first baseman, and the tying run came around to score before Abreau got the third out. Elizabethtons lineup was retired in order in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings. Abreu came out for another inning, but did not record an out, and the three singles surrendered brought home the go-ahead run for the Cardinals. Logan Lombana came in to replace Abreu with two runners on an escaped any more damage by retiring all three hitters he faced. Down 3-2 in the tenth, the Twins got the tying run on base after a Kamran Young single, but pinch hitter A.J. Murray would ground into a double play to end the game. Murray was pinch hitting for Wade, who was 2-4 in the game before that at-bat. Molina also added two hits, including the home run to lead the offense. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They host the GCL Rays on Monday. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Derek Rodriguez, Elizabethton Twins (6.0 IP, 4 H’s, 0 ER’s, BB, 6 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Travis Harrison, Chattanooga Lookouts (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B, HR, BB, 5 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester – International League All-Star Break. Mississippi @ Chattanooga (6:15 PM CST) – LHP David Hurlbut (4-4, 5.57 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (6-4, 3.07 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:35 PM CST) – LHP Luke Westphal (1-1, 4.50 ERA) Johnson City @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Alex Tapia (1-1, 2.76 ERA) GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

Burdi has pitched in two games since his demotion to the Fort Myers Miracle, throwing two innings on July 2nd against the Palm Beach Cardinals, and one inning to pick up a save on July 5th against the St. Lucie Mets. Against the Cardinals, he pitched the sixth and seventh innings, retiring all six batters he faced, four of them via strikeout. Against the Mets, he got the ninth inning. He struck out the first batter he faced, but then surrendered a single. In a twist of good luck, the next batter roped a line drive down the left field line that would have easily scored the game's tying run, but it bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double, and the runner was kept at third base. He then got a ground ball to a drawn in shortstop, and ended the game with a fly out for the save. For comparative sake, I'm going to reset his "season total" stats to his Florida State League Totals. Season Totals (2 games): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 1 Save, 0 R's on 2 hits and 0 BB's, with 5 K's.

The 54 minute 35 second mark is important podcast information and discussion... q; )

I was actually worried about that in titling the article. I couldn't find anything else very thematic for the day, so here we are, haha!

What Darin says. People are quick to forget, that despite his young age, he has yet to earn full-time play (on bad teams over the past three years) and will have burned all his options after this season (and he was given a fourth option year in 2015). He'll be back this year, but I think he's pretty low on the OF totem pole right now and he isn't going to be handed anything.

Who knows if he's here to stay, but I agree with you on a lot! He's MLB-ready as a hitter. There's more than a few people, including coaches in the minors (Dougie), that know and/or have said he was more ready than Buxton as a hitter. I hope to see his first MLB home run tonight at Target Field!

The exact things you mention are exactly why I would trade Arcia. These traits have value to get you something back that may be better for your team in the long run. My main point on this opinion, is he is not a good fit for this team roster wise. Never has been. Yes, he's a lefty, but this also plays into what you can get back for him. Arcia also may be young, but guess what? He's out of options after this year (after being granted a fourth year of options no less) because he hasn't yet earned full playing time on this team, which if you haven't noticed, hasn't been very good with him on it (Compare this to now and what do you discover?...and I know he's not the main culprit, but it's interesting, no?) The home runs are great, but a career .310 hitter in the minors has turned himself into a career .243 hitter in the majors. He's been the epitome of an "average" hitter. It's more weird to me that so many defend him on these grounds. And believe me, I don't dislike Arcia. But this is the type of guy successful teams cash in on, not ride out.

This is not the type of trade a team like the Twins should ever make. Especially if they're in the phase like they are right now, where the next generation is just starting to come together and turn the franchises tide. It's great to see the better baseball this year, but in my eyes they're still far from true contenders, and shouldn't fool themselves into thinking they are to make a deal like this. Now, trading Oswaldo Arcia for something that fits their roster better, I am definitely for.

Haha, yes, Burlington Bees!!!

The Minnesota Twins were unable to take the series on Sunday in Kansas City, falling 3-2 to the Royals in Ervin Santana’s season debut. He did more than they could have hoped for limiting the Royals to just two runs on three hits, while striking out eight. But Miguel Sano driving in another run and Aaron Hicks going yard weren’t enough to get him the victory. Image courtesy of Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports The Minnesota Twins were unable to take the series on Sunday in Kansas City, falling 3-2 to the Royals in Ervin Santana’s season debut. He did more than they could have hoped for limiting the Royals to just two runs on three hits, while striking out eight. But Miguel Sano driving in another run and Aaron Hicks going yard weren’t enough to get him the victory. In the minors on Sunday, there was a comeback win for one squad, and another pounded out fourteen hits to jump out to early big lead. To find out about how all it went down on Sunday, keep reading! TRANSACTIONS The Twins have been busy over the weekend with transactions, and this came with the announcement of the International League All-Star teams on Sunday. Representing the Rochester Red Wings will be 2B James Beresford, RP A.J. Achter, and SP Taylor Rogers. RED WINGS REPORT Lehigh Valley 4, Rochester 2 Box Score Lefthander Taylor Rogers was on the mound for the Red Wings, and delivered a quality start. In 6.1 innings, he allowed three earned runs (four total) on nine hits. He walked none and struck out six. The third inning was the big one for the Iron Pigs, as an error by Oswaldo Arcia in right field got things going to start the inning. This was followed by consecutive doubles to score two, and a single later in the inning put the third run on the board. Rogers recorded the first out of the seventh inning before surrendering a home run to Chase d’Arnaud to end his night. Mark Hamburger pitched 1.2 innings of perfect relief, striking out one. Caleb Thielbar pitched the ninth, allowing two hits but no runs to finish the game. There was little offense for Rochester in this one as they were just 0-2 with runners in scoring position and left only five men on base. The first eight men of the game were retired before a Carlos Paulino single in the third. Jorge Polanco doubled in the sixth but only made it to third base, and Wilkin Ramirez added a single in the seventh. That was it for the offense until the ninth inning. Arcia led off the bottom half with a single, was retired at second on a Reynaldo Rodriguez fielder’s choice, and Jose Martinez later followed with his third home run of the season to put their only runs on the board for the day. The loss put the Red Wings record at 44-39 on the season, one and a half games back of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in the International League North Division. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Jacksonville 3 Box Score Jacksonville jumped out to an early lead in the first inning against Lookouts starter D.J. Baxendale. The second hitter of the game clubbed a solo home run to make it 1-0, and later with the bases loaded Niko Goodrum’s first error in Double-A allowed a second run to score. Baxendale recovered and finished four innings with just the two runs allowed on three hits and a walk. He struck out four. Madison Boer pitched the next two scoreless innings, working around three walks and one hit to keep the score at 2-0. In the top of the sixth, Max Kepler drew a walk with two outs, and Adam Brett Walker drove him in with a double to make it 2-1. Chattanooga then tied it at two in the seventh as Goodrum made up for his earlier error with a solo blast, his second home run in the Southern League. Jacksonville managed to manufacture that run back in the bottom of the inning however, as a lead-off walk and sacrifice bunt put the go-ahead run in scoring position. D.J. Johnson got the second out of the inning, but an RBI single would do the trick for the Suns. J.T. Chargois pitched a scoreless eighth inning, walking two. Chattanooga threatened in each of the eighth and ninth innings, but were unable to push the tying run across. Walker started the eighth with a single and stole second base to put himself in scoring position but the next three batters were retired, stranding him on third. In the ninth, Stephen Wickens doubled with two outs, but Kennys Vargas popped out to end the game. Leadoff man Levi Michael was 2-5 on the day with a double, and Wickens and Walker both added doubles in multi-hit efforts. MIRACLE MATTERS St. Lucie 4, Fort Myers 5 Box Score Fort Myers scored first in the game’s opening frame as an Engelb Vielma single and stolen base, an Alex Swim hit by pitch, and a Mitch Garver walk loaded the bases. They would only get one run on the scoreboard however, on a Jason Kanzler sac fly. They went up 2-0 in the third inning after a Ryan Walker sac fly scored Swim, who had singled, made it to second on a Garver walk and reached to third on an infield error, but it also turned into a double play as Mitch Garver was nabbed attempting to advance to third on the throw home. Kohl Stewart made the start for the Miracle, and began the game by striking out the first two batters. He’d make it a one-two-three inning with a pop-out to Vielma at short. He worked around a walk and ground-rule double in the second to escape a jam, and pitched another one-two-three third inning. In the fourth, it looked like he was going to work out of another jam, but after a line-out, throw-em-out double play of his own teams doing, he got tagged with a two run home run to tie the game at two. He finished three more innings, picking up three more K’s along the way, but a throwing error from himself in the seventh led to an unearned run and 3-2 deficit as he finished the inning. Overall on the day, Stewart went seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks, while striking out six. His six strikeouts were his most in a game this season. St. Lucie would add another run in the eighth inning off Brandon Bixler, as an error from Bryan Haar at third, a walk, and a wild pitch put runners on second and third, and a sac fly brought one in for a 4-2 lead. The Mets bullpen then entered the game, and it was a good thing for the Miracle. Alex Swim led off the bottom of the eighth with a single and Garver followed with a walk. A fly out and walk later had the bases loaded for Marcus Knecht. His single brought in two runs and tied the game at four. Haar was then intentionally walked to load the bases again, and a wild pitch allowed Walker to scamper home with the go-ahead run. Nick Burdi came on for the ninth inning and his first save opportunity back with Fort Myers, and he struck out the first batter he faced. A single then put the tying runner on base, and Burdi was likely bailed out by the third ground-rule double of the game for the Mets, as it kept the tying run to just third base. Burdi then got a groundout to his drawn in infield, and a fly out to preserve the victory and pick up the save. As a team, the Miracle had just five hits on the game, led by Swim who was 2-3 with two runs scored, but took advantage of seven walks and three errors from St. Lucie. KERNELS NUGGETS Burlington 6, Cedar Rapids 9 Box Score The Kernels lineup scored multiple runs in each of the first three innings to jump out to a 7-0 lead early. In the first, Jorge Fernandez cleared the bases the with a three-run double to score Edgar Corcino (walk), Nick Gordon (double), and Max Murphy (walk). In the second, Brian Navarreto and Pat Kelly led off with back-to-back singles and a wild pitch allowed Navarreto to score. Later in the inning, Gordon and Corcino executed a double steal for the inning's second run. In the third inning, Brett Doe led off with a home run, his third of the year, and singles from Fernandez, T.J. White, and Navaretto added another run. Doubles from Fernandez and Navarreto in the seventh inning added two more insurance runs. Making the start for Cedar Rapids was lefty Randy Rosario. He worked the first 4.2 innings, allowing no runs and scattered four hits, while striking out five. Brandon Bixler worked through the seventh inning, and allowed one run on three hits (the run scored on a solo home run) and a walk. He struck out two. Michael Theofanopoulus worked around a couple hits in the eighth inning by striking out two, but ran into a ton of trouble in the ninth. With game at 9-1, a leadoff double got things rolling for the Iron Pigs. A hit batter and two singles around a strikeout and a groundout scored two runs and put runners on the corners with two outs. A double brought in both those runners, and a single another run before Theofanopoulos got the final out of the game on a ground ball. His line read 2.0 innings pitched, and five earned runs on seven hits, while striking out three. Fernandez (3-5, 2 R’s, 2 2B’s, 4 RBI), and Navarreto (3-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI) had three hits apiece, and Corcino (2-4, 2 R’s, BB) and Gordon (2-5, R, 2B) also collected multiple hits to lead the offense in taking three of four from Burlington. After a .204 average in the month of May, Gordon followed with a .293 average in June to up his overall line to .253 on the season. He’s collected hits in eight straight games. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Princeton 2 Box Score This game was scoreless through five as starters Juse Mujica for Princeton and Cody Stashak of Elizabethton combined for ten shutout half innings. Stashak allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out five, and Mujica gave up just two hits and one walk while striking out six. The Twins got on the board first in the sixth after Mujica left the game, as the first three hitters of the inning singled to load the bases. A sac fly from Alex Perez, an error off the bat of LaMonte Wade, and single from Amaurys Minier gave Elizabethton a 3-0 lead. They added more in the seventh when Austin Diemer launched his third home run of the season, a two-run shot to make it 5-0. Princeton got on the board in the seventh, as Samuel Clay gave up two singles and a walk to score one, before escaping without any further damage. Jose Abreu came on in the eighth and pitched a scoreless inning, before running into his own trouble in the ninth. A single, walk and double brought the tying runner to the plate, and Anthony McIver was summoned. The 15th round draft pick and lefthander quashed the rally by striking out both hitters he faced to pick up his first professional save. The Twins got multi-hit efforts from Sean Miller (2-5, R), Austin Diemer (2-4, 2 R’s, HR, 2 RBI), and Nelson Molina (2-3, R, BB) in the victory. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They travel to face the GCL Orioles on Monday. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Cody Stashak, Elizabethton Twins (W, 5.0 IP, 3 H’s, 1 BB, 5 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Jorge Fernandez, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-5, 2 R’s, 2 2B’s, 4 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Pat Dean (6-7, 3.11 ERA) Chattanooga @ Jacksonville (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler (0-1, 6.35 ERA) St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves (2-0, 3.79 ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons (2-2, 4.85 ERA) Elizabethton @ Princeton (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Derek Rodriguez (2-0, 1.46 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. View full article

The Minnesota Twins were unable to take the series on Sunday in Kansas City, falling 3-2 to the Royals in Ervin Santana’s season debut. He did more than they could have hoped for limiting the Royals to just two runs on three hits, while striking out eight. But Miguel Sano driving in another run, and Aaron Hicks going yard weren’t enough to get him the victory. In the minors on Sunday, there was a comeback win for one squad, and another pounded out fourteen hits to jump out to early big lead. To find out about how all it went down on Sunday, keep reading! TRANSACTIONS The Twins have been busy over the weekend with transactions, and this came with the announcement of the International League All-Star teams on Sunday. Representing the Rochester Red Wings will be 2B James Beresford, RP A.J. Achter, and SP Taylor Rogers. RED WINGS REPORT Lehigh Valley 4, Rochester 2 Box Score Lefthander Taylor Rogers was on the mound for the Red Wings, and delivered a quality start effort. In 6.1 innings, he allowed three earned runs (four total) on nine hits. He walked none and struck out six. The third inning was the big one for the Iron Pigs, as an error by Oswaldo Arcia in right field got things going to start the inning. This was followed by consecutive doubles to score two, and a single later in the inning would put the third run on the board. Rogers would record the first out of the seventh inning, before surrendering a home run to Chase d’Arnaud to end his night. Mark Hamburger pitched 1.2 innings of perfect relief, striking out one; and Caleb Thielbar pitched the ninth, allowing two hits but no runs to finish the game. There was little offense for Rochester in this one as they were just 0-2 with runners in scoring position and left only five men on base. The first eight men of the game were retired before a Carlos Paulino single in the third. Jorge Polanco doubled in the sixth but only made it to third base, and Wilkin Ramirez added a single in the seventh. That was it for the offense until the ninth inning. Arcia led off the bottom half with a single, was retired at second on a Reynaldo Rodriguez fielder’s choice, and Jose Martinez later followed with his third home run of the season to put their only runs on the board for the day. The loss put the Red Wings record at 44-39 on the season, one and a half games back of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in the International League North Division. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Jacksonville 3 Box Score Jacksonville jumped out to an early lead in the first inning against Lookouts starter D.J. Baxendale. The second hitter of the game clubbed a solo home run to make it 1-0, and later with the bases loaded Niko Goodrum’s first error in double-A allowed a second run to score. Baxendale would recover and finish four innings with just the two runs allowed on three hits and a walk. He struck out four. Madison Boer would pitch the next two scoreless innings, working around three walks and one hit to keep the score at 2-0. In the top of the sixth, Max Kepler drew a walk with two outs, and Adam Brett Walker drove him in with a double to make it 2-1. Chattanooga then tied it at two in the seventh as Goodrum made up for his earlier error with a solo blast, his second home run in the Southern League. Jacksonville managed to manufacture that run back in the bottom of the inning however, as a leadoff walk and sacrifice bunt put the go-ahead run in scoring position. D.J. Johnson got the second out of the inning, but an RBI single would do the trick for the Suns. J.T. Chargois pitched a scoreless eighth inning, walking two. Chattanooga threatened in each of the eighth and ninth innings, but were unable to push the tying run across home. Walker started the eighth with a single, and stole second base to put himself in scoring position but the next three batters were retired, ending up stranding him on third. In the ninth, Stephen Wickens doubled with two outs, but Kennys Vargas popped out to end the game. Leadoff man Levi Michael was 2-5 on the day with a double, and Wickens and Walker both added doubles in multi-hit efforts. MIRACLE MATTERS St. Lucie 4, Fort Myers 5 Box Score Fort Myers scored first in the game’s opening frame as an Engelb Vielma single and stolen base, Alex Swim hit by pitch, and Mitch Garver walk loaded the bases. They would only get one run on the scoreboard however, on a Jason Kanzler sac fly. They went up 2-0 after the third inning after a Ryan Walker sac fly to score Swim, but it also turned into a double play as Mitch Garver was nabbed attempting to advance to third on the throw home. Kohl Stewart made the start for the Miracle, and began the game by striking out the first two batters. He’d make it a one-two-three inning with a pop-out to Vielma at short. He worked around a walk and ground-rule double in the second to escape a jam, and pitched another one-two-three third inning. In the fourth, it looked like he was going to work out of another jam, but after a line-out throw-em-out double play of his own teams doing, he got tagged with a two run home run to tie the game at two. He would finish three more innings, picking up three more K’s along the way, put a throwing error from himself in the seventh led to an unearned run and 3-2 deficit after he finished the inning. Overall on the day, Stewart went seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks, while striking out six. His six strikeouts were the most in a game this season. St. Lucie would add another run in the eighth inning off Brandon Bixler, as an error from Bryan Haar at third, a walk, and a wild pitch put runners on second and third, and a sac fly brought one in for a 4-2 lead. The Mets bullpen then entered the game, and it was a good thing for the Miracle. Alex Swim led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, and Garver followed with a walk. A fly out and walk later had the bases loaded for Marcus Knecht. His single brought in two runs and tied the game at four. Haar was then intentionally walked to load the bases again, and a wild pitch allowed Walker to scamper home with the go-ahead run. Nick Burdi came on for the ninth inning and his first save opportunity back with Fort Myers, and struck out the first batter he faced. A single then put the tying runner on base, and Burdi was likely bailed out by the third ground-rule double of the game for the Mets, as it kept the tying run to just third base. Burdi then got a groundout to his drawn in infield, and a fly out to preserve the victory pick up the save. As a team, the Miracle had just five hits on the game, led by Swim who was 2-3 with two runs scored, but took advantage of seven walks and three errors from St. Lucie. KERNELS NUGGETS Burlington 6, Cedar Rapids 9 Box Score The Kernels lineup scored multiple runs in each of the first three innings to jump out to a 7-0 lead early. In the first Jorge Fernandez cleared the bases the with a three-run double to score Edgar Corcino (walk), Nick Gordon (double), and Max Murphy (walk). In the second, Brian Navarreto and Pat Kelly led off with back-to-back singles and a wild pitch would allow Navarreto to score. Later in the inning, Gordon and Corcino executed a doube steal for the innings second run. In the third inning, Brett Doe led off with a home run, his third of the year, and singles from Fernandez, T.J. White, and Navaretto would add another run. Doubles from Fernandez and Navarreto in the seventh inning would add two more insurance runs. Making the start for Cedar Rapids was lefty Randy Rosario, and he worked the first 4.2 innings. He allowed no runs and scattered four hits, while striking out five. Brandon Bixler worked through the seventh inning, and allowed one run on three hits (the run scored on a solo home run) and a walk. He struck out two. Michael Theofanopoulus worked around a couple hits in the eighth inning by striking out two, but ran into a ton of trouble in the ninth. With game at 9-1, a leadoff double got things rolling for the Iron Pigs. A hit batter and two singles around a strikeout and a groundout scored two runs and put runners on the corners with two outs. A double would bring in both those runners, and a single another run before Theofanopoulos got the final out of the game on a ground ball. His line read 2.0 innings pitched, and five earned runs on seven hits, while striking out three. Fernandez (3-5, 2 R’s, 2 2B’s, 4 RBI), and Navarreto (3-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI) had three hits apiece, and Corcino (2-4, 2 R’s, BB) and Gordon (2-5, R, 2B) also collected multiple hits to lead the offense in taking three of four from Burlington. After a .204 average in the month of May, Gordon followed with a .293 average in June to up his overall line to .253 on the season. He’s collected hits in eight straight games. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Princeton 2 Box Score This game was scoreless through five as starters Juse Mujica for Princeton and Cody Stashak of Elizabethton combined for ten shutout shutout innings. Stashak allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out five, and Mujica gave up just two hits and one walk while striking out six. The Twins got on the board first in the sixth after Mujica left the game, as the first three hitters of the inning singled to load the bases. A sac fly from Alex Perez, error of the bat of LaMonte Wade, and single from Amaurys Minier would give Elizabethton a 3-0 lead. They added more in the seventh when Austin Diemer launched his third home run of the season, a two run shot to make it 5-0. Princeton got on the board in the seventh, as Samuel Clay gave up two singles and a walk to score one, before escaping without any further damage. Jose Abreu would come on in the eighth and pitch a scoreless inning, before running into his own trouble in the ninth. A single, walk, and double brought the tying runner to the plate, and Anthony McIver was summoned. The 15th round draft pick and lefthander quashed any rally by striking out both hitters he faced to pick up his first professional save. The Twins got multi-hit efforts from Sean Miller (2-5, R), Diemer (2-4, 2 R’s, HR, 2 RBI), and Nelson Molina (2-3, R, BB) in the victory. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They travel to face the GCL Orioles on Monday. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Cody Stashak, Elizabethton Twins (W, 5.0 IP, 3 H’s, 1 BB, 5 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Jorge Fernandez, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-5, 2 R’s, 2 2B’s, 4 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Pat Dean (6-7, 3.11 ERA) Chattanooga @ Jacksonville (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler (0-1, 6.35 ERA) St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves (2-0, 3.79 ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons (2-2, 4.85 ERA) Elizabethton @ Princeton (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Derek Rodriguez (2-0, 1.46 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

Santana has a cannon arm at SS, Polanco's is not nearly as strong. If you're into scouting scales from evaluators, Polanco is almost universally rated at 50 ("average") for his arm. Santana got a lot of 70's ("plus-plus"). And I agree the term "rocket arm" gets used here way too much. Buxton, Hicks, Sano, and Santana have the rocket arms of the guys we know. That term being used for anyone else is not accurate or honest if you ask me.

Maybe that's a bad term for it, but they definitely traded someone who was actually worth enough to get something potentially useful back.

Reading too much into it, I just used a "95MPH fastball" as an example (and of what he'll see more of, and better versions of, in the majors). Have seen the same thing on breaking balls, same thing on average fastballs. It's not like he's facing Top Pitching prospects every night that's led to all those K's.