Jeremy Nygaard

Wentz should have been included in the batch that falls on pre-draft deals. While it may not be those particular guys, that's the pattern I think we see. I do like Lowe and I'd take him, but I'm getting some sense that bats are gonna go because there aren't many and pitchers could fall. I haven't really lined up my preference behind Garrett, but there are a decent number of prep arms that all fit in that range.

Garrett would be my pick of the litter, but being a Boras guy might not bode well for the Twins at 15.

I had Manning and Wentz both under consideration at 8. My scribble must have confused me. Manning at 8. Wentz at 24.

Senzel is repped by Boras, so that's where the Scott came in, since, you know, Boras makes the call. I'll get to the other ones later tonight.

The draft is less than a month away and, at this point, nothing is very clear. There have been a number of injuries to significant players and fringe first-rounders alike - both major injuries and little nagging injuries that make it hard for teams to get a read on players. So what’s it going to boil down to? Sometimes it’s the last impression that’s the strongest. Other times it’s a player meeting a team’s offer in the days leading up to the draft. Obviously neither of those things have happened yet.There is some feeling around the league that this year’s draft sees an unprecedented number of pre-draft deals. But that’s something I hear every year. Some teams - like the Astros - have gotten really good at playing the draft. You don’t think Daz Cameron dropped to them at 37 by pure happenstance do you? They had it worked out before. They offered him $4 million and he (and his advisor) knew that if he went to anyone else in the first round, that he wasn’t getting $4 million. So they threw out an absurd demand and no one touched him. Expect more of the same this year with the Phillies, Reds, Braves and Padres in a great position to throw their weight around. What those teams, and possibly a couple of others, can do is offer money to players expected to go in the mid- to late-teens that they wouldn’t get if they went in the mid- to late-teens. History suggests the most volatile group of draft-eligible players are high school pitchers, so it’s likely we see some of those guys drop. Here’s my first shot at a mock draft: PHILLIES - Jason Groome, LHP, New Jersey HS. Groome’s stock took a slight hit when he was ruled ineligible after transferring back home from IMG Academy in Florida. For now, I have Groome as the guy taking the Phillies offer of $6 million and banking another $3 million. My gut tells me that by the time the draft rolls around, it’s going to be Kyle Lewis hearing his name called first and the Phillies spending their savings on a high school pitcher at 42. (NOTE: Jayson Stark tweeted yesterday afternoon that there are rumblings that the Phillies may be turning their attention to Kyle Lewis. Since I had already completed my mock, I didn’t think I should change it.)REDS - Kyle Lewis, OF, Mercer. I don’t have any doubt that the Reds would take Lewis at this point if he’s available. But sometimes arms stare you in the face and you can’t pass on them. The Reds have picks 35 and 43 as well, so they’ll have an opportunity to cut a deal and replenish their system.BRAVES - Riley Pint, RHP, Kansas HS. I don’t love this pick for the Braves, but they’ve been stockpiling arms over the last couple of years and Pint would add another dynamic arm to the system.ROCKIES - A.J. Puk, LHP, Florida. Puk could be the first name off the board, but if teams are looking to make deals, all bets are off.BREWERS - Dakota Hudson, RHP, Mississippi State. The Brewers have had some very strong drafts in the last few years and add the best arm available to kick off their picks this year.A’S - Mickey Moniak, OF, California HS. There’s been some steam that there could be a deal here. I’d be surprised if there was one in place already, but it makes sense.MARLINS - Delvin Perez, SS, Puerto Rico HS. Unfairly compared to Carlos Correa, Perez was one of the first players I heard about as a first-rounder in this draft (probably about 16 months ago). The Marlins, who should have taken Carlos Rodon instead of Tyler Kolek for various reasons, have plenty of reasons to make Perez their guy.PADRES - Matt Manning, RHP, California HS. Whoever goes here, he will be the first of three solid picks. Look for the Padres to skim here to assure getting three really good players in the first round.TIGERS - Scott Senzel, 3B, Tennessee. Not a perfect fit, but the Tigers lineup isn’t getting any younger.WHITE SOX - Corey Ray, OF, Louisville. This would fit their recent trend of drafting more developed players.MARINERS - Zack Collins, C, Miami. Nothing more than a hunch really. (And hoping he’ll be gone before the Twins have a chance to draft a future first baseman.)RED SOX - Blake Rutherford, OF, California HS. Though the Red Sox have an abundance of outfield depth, Rutherford provides value as the best player available.RAYS - Braxton Garrett, LHP, Alabama HS. A Vandy commit with Boras as his rep, Garrett could be a player who drops due to signability (to a team that makes extra room). For now I have him going here. If the Twins have a shot at him - and believe they can sign him - they would pull the trigger.INDIANS - Josh Lowe, 3B, Georgia HS. Lowe would look great in the Twins system, but the Indians have taken a number of players that I’ve had that same feeling about it. So I project they’ll do the same.TWINS - Forrest Whitley, RHP, Texas HS. There were no up-the-middle prospects worth taking at fifteen, so it mostly came down to high-ceiling prep pitchers. The Twins had always been known for taking safe college arms, but with the exception of Kyle Gibson, that strategy hasn’t really panned out. The prep pitchers, however, have made some progress, led by the filthiness of Jose Berrios, the emergence of Stephen Gonsalves and the rejuvenation of Kohl Stewart. (I don’t think the Twins would “do-over” the Tyler Jay pick, but I think they got caught up in their own success and took a player who had the potential to make a big impact.) Whitley is a big-bodied prep with room to grow and has the ceiling to be an impactful front-of-the-rotation starter.​One name that I wouldn’t sleep on here is Zack Burdi. It has nothing to do with big brother Nick. There’s some belief that Zack has the tools to make the transition into a successful starter with a fastball/slider/changeup mix. The Twins have made that transition successfully with Tyler Duffey and have recently been adding power arms as well. Little Burdi fits the mold. There are some names that probably should be included, but are not. For example, Ian Anderson, Matt Manning and Alex Kirilloff are all legitimate Top 15 talents. But as I mentioned in the intro, teams are going to have money to throw around. If I were to continue this particular mock, I would have Manning dropping to the Padres at 24, Anderson dropping to the Reds at 35 and Kirilloff sliding to the Phillies at 42. Each of these three players would be in line to make significantly more than if they were drafted by the Twins at 15 (or another team in that vicinity.) There’s still a lot of time for things to change and even the most plugged-in people in the country would tell you - at this point - it’s a crapshoot. Hope you enjoyed, fire away! Click here to view the article

The answer to "who's next in line" seems clear to me. From a USA Today article last year: Torii Hunter. "Hunter, you see, wants to be a GM one day. If he retires after this season, he hopes to work in the Twins' front office, learning under Ryan, while also working in TV." A "Twins guy", but not the way they typically roll. Mientkiewicz replaces Molitor. Jones replaces Bruno. Pierzynski replaces Vavra. ESPN shoots a new cover, "The Team That Saved the Twins."

There's been so much happening with the Twins and in the minors - there have only been 7 days since the minor season started that there haven't been transactions - that it seems like the dust hasn't settled enough to make some moves. The short list of guys that deserve promotions, in my opinion: Daniel Palka to play a cOF spot in Rochester. Stephen Gonsalves can replace Bencomo in Chattanooga's rotation. LaMonte Wade should go to Fort Myers (and maybe Corcino should go to Rochester). Maybe bring Minier up from EST or an organizational-type outfielder. You can always shuffle the bullpens around, so I'm not going to get into that. I like Rogers in the rotation. Sure he probably fits best in the bullpen, but this suits him just fine. Develop your best pitchers by letting them pitch the most.

You can be in DFA limbo for ten days. But the waiver period is 48 hours, so you'd have to place them on waivers if nothing happened the first eight days. I think there is a fairly decent chance that Graham gets claimed, so timing is important.

...but not for the Twins! The affiliates went 3-for-3 on Monday night. Monday weather in the Midwest wreaked havoc on both the Twins and Kernels games, but there was still plenty of action within the organization off the field, on the field and on the transaction page. The Florida State League named OF Edgar Corcino Player of the Week. Corcino batted 12-for-23 over the last six games, hitting two home runs for the Miracle. The Twins announced that Ryan O’Rourke cleared waivers and will join the Rochester Red Wings. The Kernels also made a bevy of moves, activating P Michael Cederoth and OF Daniel Kihle, swapping catchers Brian Olson (from extended) with Bryant Heyman (to extended), and placing P Logan Lombana on the restricted list. Manager Jake Mauer later confirmed with the media that Lombana was indeed facing a PED suspension. Seth also posted Monday evening that spring training non-roster invitee and current Fort Myers C Alex Swim is retiring. Good luck to Alex in whatever step is next after baseball. Now let’s check out the action on the field.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Gwinnett 3 Box Score The Red Wings got back to .500 (18-18) with a victory Monday night. Buck Britton drove in Byron Buxton and Max Kepler in the first inning to start the scoring. Gwinnett tied the score in the fourth inning, but a Britton triple followed by a John Ryan Murphy sacrifice fly gave the Red Wings a 3-2 lead in the bottom half of the inning. Gwinnett scored again in the top half of the fifth to even the score at three apiece. Rochester pulled away with a three-run seventh. With one-out, Wilfredo Tovar drew a walk and advanced to third on a Stephen Wickens single. Byron Buxton singled Tovar in. After a ground out advanced both runners into scoring position, Max Kepler drove them in with the third single of the inning. Buxton and Britton both had two hits to lead the offense. Taylor Rogers is transitioning back into the rotation. Extending to 66 pitches, Rogers went five innings allowing five hits and three runs. He struck out two and walked none. With all the moves so far this season, it will be nice for Rochester to have their most consistent starter from last year back in the rotation long-term. Dan Runzler and Buddy Boshers both pitched two scoreless innings to get the win and save, respectively. The revolving door that is the Twins bullpen could see either or both of these guys entering at some point this summer. Rochester announced Monday night that Tommy Milone would be making his Rochester debut on Tuesday against Gwinnett. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 12, Pensacola 3 Box Score Pensacola scored the first run of the game, but you’re not going to lose many games if you put up crooked numbers in four different innings and that is exactly what Chattanooga did on Monday night. After the third inning started with T.J. White reaching base on an error, both Ryan Walker and Shannon Wilkerson singled to load the bases. Zach Granite struck out for the first out of the inning, but Travis Harrison was able to knock White in with a single and keep the bases loaded. D.J. Hicks had a two-run single of his own and the Lookouts had a 3-1 lead. Chattanooga wasn’t done, though. Mitch Garver doubled to score both Harrison and Hicks and the lead was pushed to 5-1. The Lookouts added two more runs in the fourth inning. Walked tripled to score White, who singled and Wilkerson knocked Walker in and expanded the lead to 7-1. Pensacola got two runs back in the sixth to make it 7-3. But Chattanooga answered with three runs in the seventh and two runs in the eighth. Ryan Walker plated Hicks and Garver with run-producing single and Wilkerson drove White in. In the eighth, Mitch Garver hit a two-run home run. The offense came to play, led by Mitch Garver who drove in four and was a triple short of the cycle. Wilkerson had three hits and drove in two. Ryan Walker went 4-for-4 with a triple and three RBI in his AA home debut. Only Granite failed to get a hit. D.J. Baxendale earned his second win of the season. He allowed three runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out five. Mason Melotakis and Luke Westphal each pitched a scoreless frame. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 10, Bradenton 6 Box Score The Miracled scored the first ten runs of the game... and did we witness the final start of Stephen Gonsalves’s Miracle career? Newly-added spark plug Tanner Witt walked and stole second to open the game. Edgar Corcino, mentioned in the lead, doubled him in and later scored on a Trey Vavra double-play ball. Fort Myers came back with another pair in the fourth. Logan Wade singled and stole second before scoring on a Kevin Garcia RBI groundout. Max Murphy, who also singled, scored on a throwing error. With a 4-0 lead, the Miracle put their foot on the gas and scored five more in the fifth. Corcino singles. Chris Paul singles. Vavra singles. Logan Wade hits a two-run double. After finally recording an out, both Max Murphy and Garcia are hit by pitches, driving in Vavra. Chad Christensen drove Wade in with a single and Tanner Witt, the 9th batter of 11 in the inning, drove in Murphy with a walk. Vavra homered in the sixth. Stephen Gonsalves was masterful (again). In 6 1/3 innings, he gave up no runs on two hits. He did walk four, but also struck out eight and lowered his ERA to 1.21. An ERA that’s inflated by a three-run home run he gave up in his first inning of the year. It's definitely time for Gonsalves to move on, but if you look at the course of his career, it seems every promotion has come weeks (or longer) after he's completely deserving of it. Why would this time be any different? The bullpen of Todd Van Steensel (four runs) and Brian Gilbert (two unearned runs) gave back six runs in less than three innings. Vavra and Wade had three-hit nights for an offense that was clicking on all cylinders. Only Witt, who batted leadoff, didn’t get a hit, but he drew two walks. Fort Myers improves to 18-13. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids vs Kane County Postponed. Doubleheader on Tuesday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Fort Myers Hitter of the Day – Mitch Garver, Chattanooga TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Gwinnett @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – LHP Tommy Milone (2016 AAA Debut) Pensacola @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) - LHP David Hurlbut (2-1, 6.59 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (2-0, 1.91 ERA) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (5:35PM CST, Game 1) – RHP Cody Stashak (2-1, 1.66 ERA) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (Game 2) – RHP Randy LeBlanc (3-2, 1.16) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

If you’re just joining us for the first time in a few days, there’s plenty to catch up on. It’s all started at the big league level as the Twins have made numerous changes to their roster. Casey Fien is now a Dodger. Tommy Milone has been outrighted to Rochester. John Ryan Murphy has been optioned to Rochester. Eduardo Escobar was placed on the disabled list. Ryan O’Rourke and J.R. Graham wait in DFA limbo. The Twins have welcomed #oldfriend Darin Mastroianni, Juan Centeno, Pat Dean and Brandon Kintzler and welcomed back Ervin Santana from the disabled list and Jorge Polanco - for the seventh time - from Rochester Those moves have sent ripples through the system, as Rochester was forced to activate their bullpen catcher and both Chattanooga and Fort Myers have added indy ball players in the last few days. And on Saturday night both Byung Ho Park and Kurt Suzuki left the game. It. Never. Ends.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 0, Pawtucket 8 (Game 1) Box Score Yuck. There’s not much more to say. Kennys Vargas provided Rochester’s only hit and the team only took three at-bats with runners in scoring position. (And they obviously went “oh-fer”.) The pitching of David Martinez was equally inept. In 4.2 innings, Martinez allowed 12 hits - including three home runs - and eight runs crossed the plate. He struck out three. Dan Runzler ended the fifth inning, stranding both inherited runners, but allowed a double in the scoreless final frame. Luckily for the Red Wings, this game was done after six and half innings because it was the first leg of Saturday’s double-header. Rochester 3, Pawtucket 2 (Game 2) Box Score The bats didn’t come roaring back in the second half of Saturday’s pair of games, but the four hits were just enough. Max Kepler tripled for the third time of the season to start the fourth inning and later scored on a - you might want to sit down for this - John Ryan Murphy single. The Red Wings scored twice more in the fifth on a Kennys Vargas double that drove James Beresford (single) and Max Kepler (walk) in. Byron Buxton went a combined 0-for-6 on Saturday, dropping his batting average in AAA to .278. Jason Wheeler struck out six in five innings, but allowed three hits and walked four. The two earned runs pushed his ERA up to 1.80. Marcus Walden was credited with the save. Walden allowed two hits in two scoreless innings, striking out three. The 14-16 Red Wings finish their series with Pawtucket on Sunday afternoon. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 0, Mobile 1 Box Score Though I don’t have research to back it up, what Chattanooga did on Saturday has to be some sort of statistical anomaly. Getting shut out happens. But how often does a team with nine hits get shut out? How many times does a team reach base in eight out of nine innings and never score? And how, with nine hits, did they manage only four at-bats with runners in scoring position? The offense was led by Leo Reginatto and Travis Harrison, who each collected two hits. Zach Granite got a hit and stole his 13th base. Aaron Slegers pitched well enough to give his team a good chance to win, allowing seven hits in six innings, the lone run of the game was charged to Slegers in the first inning. He struck out two. Corey Williams walked two and struck out two over the final two frames. Chattanooga finishes their series in Mobile on Sunday before traveling home. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, St. Lucie 15 Box Score The offense certainly did enough, but the pitching left a lot to be desired and the Miracle fell to 17-13 on the season. Newcomer Tanner Witt took three games to figure out the Florida State League. It might not completely be that, as Witt did struggle in Baltimore’s system last year, but on Saturday Witt looked like he had completely adjusted. Witt went 3-for-4 with a triple and three runs scored. Edgar Corcino continues to hit the ball really well, driving in four runs on two hits and adding a triple of his own. Kevin Garcia and Chad Christensen also had two-hit games. Randy Rosario had his worst start as a professional. Failing to make make it out of the third inning, Rosario allowed more hits (9) and runs (10) than he got outs (7). Four of those runs were unearned as Fort Myers committed three errors. Brandon Peterson allowed four runs in two innings. Luke Bard allowed a run in 1.2 innings. John Curtiss struck out three across the final three scoreless frames. The Miracle can lick its wounds on Sunday before starting a road series in Bradenton. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Great Lakes 7 Box Score LaMonte Wade is a stud. He walked to the plate five times on Saturday and reached safely all five times. He drove in a run. He tripled and scored twice. His batting average is back up to .352 after dropping all the way to .329 after going hitless in two games (six at-bats) on Wednesday and Friday. Wade’s OBP is back up to 44%. It hasn’t been higher since his batting average dropped below .400. But that happens with you take 10 walks in the last nine games. Luis Arraez (two runs), A.J. Murray (two runs, double, two RBI) and Zander Wiel (run, triple, 4 RBIs) all had two-hit games as well. Despite walking six in four innings, Dereck Rodriguez was damaged only by a solo home run. The only run he allowed… on the only hit. He struck out six. Zach Tillery walked four and allowed two hits. He was chased after allowing five runs, all earned. C.K. Irby relieved Tillery, allowing two inherited runners to score and giving up his first run of the season. Irby still picked up the win though. Nick Anderson closed the game, picking up the save and was absolute garbage. Not bad garbage... but nasty garbage. Six batters faced. Six strikeouts. (Four swinging, one called, one foul-tip.) 25 pitches, 20 strikes. Not a bad way to end it. The Kernels return home to host Kane County starting on Monday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Nick Anderson, Cedar Rapids Hitter of the Day – LaMonte Wade, Cedar Rapids SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (12:05PM CST) – LHP Logan Darnell (2-3, 4.66 ERA) Chattanooga @ Mobile (2:05PM CST) – RHP Ryan Eades (0-2, 7.43 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. Click here to view the article

If I would have written the article today instead of yesterday, I may have went with Arcia. He's five for his last twelve, but hasn't hit for any power. I'll always think it's an approach thing with him too. When he's getting hits in bunches (like recently), he's not hitting for power or striking out much. When he's striking out in bunches, he's hitting home runs. And that's what he's been oscillating between this year. My personal opinion is that he wants to be a power hitter like Park and Sano, but just isn't. I didn't look at all the launch speeds of Twins hitters, but Arcia's is the lowest I saw (around 85 and MLB average is 89). The thing with Ozzie is that he was such a good hitter in the minors and put up decent power numbers too... but it seems (to me anyway) that he just really fell in the love with the longball and everything else suffered because of that. The good hitter, though, still shows up on occasion.

For sure. He'll be the best starter in the rotation by the end of the year (if not sooner... if he's not already).

It's been a mostly down start to the season. But there's still been plenty of - or at least a few - good things that have happened. Today's edition focuses on a big league hitter, a big league pitcher and a minor leaguer who, despite flying under the radar, could make an impact this summer.Byung Ho Park, designated power hitter If you haven’t been paying attention and I told you that Byung Ho was on fire, you might think that I just ate some hot wings. And while you might not be wrong, that’s not what I’m talking about in this particular case. Over his last seven games, Park is batting 8-for-25 (.320) and has increased his batting average from .216 to a more respectable .250. More impressively, though, is that we’ve started to see more glimpses of the advertised power. In his first 15 games, Park had six extra-base hits (two doubles, four home runs) and a slugging percentage of .532 (which would still lead the team). But since April 26, Park has erupted for two more doubles, a triple and three more home runs. He’s now run his slugging percentage up to .605 which is good for sixth in all of the American League. And though you’ll typically get lots of strikeouts with power guys - and Park does have 25 - he has improved in that regard as well. In his first seven games, 13 strikeouts. In his last seven games, seven strikeouts. Park is proving to be a legitimate middle-of-the-order masher who has risen to the top - at least for the time being - of Twins contenders for American League Rookie of the Year. Fernando Abad, relief pitcher There’s not even a specific time period to talk about with Abad. He’s been a filthwad to hitters all season. As a lefty-on-lefty guy, Abad has retired 15 of the 16 hitters he’s faced… and the only batter who has reached was on a walk. Right-handed hitters are batting .231 off of him, but all of the hits have been singles . With Kevin Jepsen’s struggles and no return in sight for Glen Perkins, could Abad be the best internal option to fill the closer role? His ERA of 0.00 is backed strongly by a 1.47 FIP. His WHIP is 0.75 and his K/9 is over 9.0. In the beginning of a season filled with sour grapes, Abad has been one of the lone bright spots. The 30-year-old Abad will remain under team control for 2017 as well, eligible for his third and final year of arbitration. Juan Centeno, Rochester catcher Way back in early December of 2015, the Twins claimed John Hicks off waivers from Seattle and he immediately became the “depth” of the catching position. With options remaining, he’d be sent to Rochester and whenever the need for a catcher popped up, Hicks would be recalled and on the major league team. And then a funny thing happened. Despite batting over .300 (but having an OBP under .300) and outplaying the newly-acquired John Ryan Murphy, Hicks was sent to AAA and lost on waivers to the Tigers in late April in Retiregate. But no one panicked. And Centeno is a big reason for that. Centeno crushed it in spring training, batting .375 and demonstrating extra-base power. He wasn’t going to make the team, but he made a lasting impression. He’s continued to hit well after getting more regular playing time (.273 over his last ten games with a home run and three walks compared to two strikeouts) and could figure prominently into the Twins season if John Ryan Murphy continues to not hit a nine-year-old's weight let alone his own and/or Kurt Suzuki continues to get dinged and hits the disabled list. Let’s just hope that in the event the Twins clear a roster spot to add Centeno that he doesn’t instead decide to retire. Who’s impressed you? Click here to view the article

Are you saying that John Ryan Murphy's username is "Geneb"?

Funny... as I was writing the recap I wrote "sacrifice" and immediately thought, "but that's not a sacrifice". I was going to double-check but obviously didn't. It's fixed now. You can't make mistakes around Twins fans!

His first hit (third inning) came off of a fastball. He fouled off a few slow curveballs. No swings-and-misses. His second hit (eighth inning) was off of Trevor Gott and was a breaking ball that he hit weakly to the shortstop for an infield hit. The previous pitch, however, was a fastball that he turned on and missed hitting a home run by probably twenty feet.

That's true. I was thinking he came into the game with a 1.50 ERA. But I'd still be wrong, cause his ERA yesterday was 1.50. It's still pretty crazy, though. Give up a run in six innings and see your ERA increase. He's gotta move up soon, it's time!

Top pitching prospect Jose Berrios made his second start for the Twins on Monday night and recorded a pretty significant milestone. Will he hold on to his job for another start? Trevor Plouffe is expected to be activated before Tuesday’s game. Sunday marked the first time since April 17 since there hadn’t been a transaction. Monday’s games came and went without any moves either (at least until the Plouffe move). There was plenty of activity on the fields though. Let’s take a look at the minor league action.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 0, Syracuse 1 Box Score Jason Wheeler twirled a gem. Tossing a complete game, featuring seven strikeouts with no walks and only six hits allowed, Wheeler allowed one only run to cross the plate - a Trea Turner single followed by a stolen base and then another single. But it was more than the Red Wings could muster and Rochester falls to 11-14. It wasn’t that the offense was bad - though it wasn’t good - the Red Wings had opportunities to score. In the seventh inning, Max Kepler singled to start the inning and promptly stole second… but the next three batters struck out. In the eighth inning, Juan Centeno and Byron Buxton both singled with one out, but Wilfredo Tovar ended the threat by grounding into a double play. And finally, in the ninth inning, James Beresford singled to start the inning and tagged up to advance to second on a fly ball. But after an intentional walk to Kennys Vargas, Adam Walker struck out and Buck Britton grounded out to end the last threat and the game. Buxton singled twice and, most importantly, didn’t strike out at all. Kennys Vargas reached base three times (two singles and a walk). Rochester will get back at it Tuesday evening. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 9, Montgomery 6 Box Score All nine starters reached the plate in the first inning and three of them crossed it. The Lookouts pushed four more runs across in the seventh. The two big innings were exactly what Chattanooga needed to hold off the Biscuits. The Lookouts had a chance to blow it open in the first inning thanks to three walks, two errors and a wild pitch, but failed to do so. Daniel Palka singled in Zach Granite. Travis Harrison’s ground out scored Levi Michael. Palka later scored on a Mitch Garver sacrifice. Montgomery put up crooked numbers twice in the middle innings to take a 6-4 lead. But then Chattanooga had a big seventh inning. Leo Reginatto doubled to drive in Travis Harrison, who had been hit by a pitch. Joe Maloney doubled to drive in Garver and Reginatto. And finally, Maloney scored on the third double of the inning, this one by T.J. White. Granite, Harrison and Reginatto all had two-hit nights. Garver drew three walks. Levi Michael tripled. Ryan Eades gave up four runs in five innings. He allowed six hits and three walks. Three of the fours runs he surrendered were earned. Eades struck out four. Jake Reed picked up the win despite allowing the Biscuits to take the lead. (#KillTheWin.) Mason Melotakis and Trevor Hildenberger relieved, with the latter picking up his first AA save, while each struck out one in scoreless frames. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Palm Beach 3 Box Score Fort Myers improves to 14-11 after beating Palm Beach in “grand” fashion on Monday night. Edgar Corcino was the hero after hitting a two-out grand slam in the fourth to blow the game open expanding the Miracle lead to 6-2. Fort Myers got on the board early due to some wild pitching and poor fielding. Corcino singled and Nick Gordon reached on an error. Trey Vavra was hit to load the bases and Chris Paul, the next batter, was hit to drive Corcino in. Alex Swim grounded out, but Gordon scored anyway, to give the Miracle a 2-0 lead. Stephen Gonsalves allowed his one and only run in the third inning. He wasn’t his normal dominant self, but he did only allow four hits in six innings. He battled command issues (three walks) and only struck out three, but improved to 3-1 and dropped his ERA to 1.45. Chattanooga, please? Corcino blew it up in the fourth with the aforementioned grand slam. Todd Van Steensel allowed two runs (one earned) in the eighth, but the Miracle quickly got it back with an Alex Real home run and another run scoring on an error. Raul Fernandez ended it with a perfect ninth, which included two swinging strikeouts. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Lansing 4 Box Score The Kernels got on the board and took a 1-0 in the third due to, again, poor fielding and wild pitching, but once the Lugnuts figured it out, the offense couldn’t string any more run-producing hits together. And that’s exactly what it was. The Kernels were 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position. So despite getting three hits, including a double, from Rafael Valera and a single and double from Zander Wiel, the Kernels pushed across exactly zero earned runs and fell to 13-11. Cody Stashak had a very good start. In 5.2 innings, Stashak punched out eight, issued only one walk and allowing six hits. The two earned runs, which raised his ERA to 1.66, were more than he could afford to allow and he lost his first decision of the season. Zach Tillery allowed two more runs in his 2.1innings of work. Tillery struck out three. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler, Rochester Hitter of the Day – Edgar Corcino, Fort Myers TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (5:35PM CST) – LHP Logan Darnell (2-2, 3.04 ERA) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (1-0, 1.93 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (9:35AM CST) – RHP Randy LeBlanc (2-2, 1.50 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

The Twins got Miguel Sulbaran for Butura who was later moved for Eduardo Nunez. Hu was an IFA signee.

Tuesday night is Jose Berrios night and what might be the longest wait of our life is finally over. While you watch his debut - and keep your fingers crossed that the rain stays away - take a look at three players in the organization who had good showings over the last seven days.Miguel Sano, right field/third base (?) Sano got off to a dreadful start to the season, predictably struggling in his new assignment as a right fielder but also having a disappointing month of April with the bat. With the Twins losing their first eight and Sano sporting a .125/.300/.125 triple-slash line that included a home run drought that would last three more games, many started to question whether or not the move to the outfield had affected Sano mentally; the early returns were a mess. But then things started to turn around. Over the last seven games, Sano is 9-for-27 (.333) with seven walks, two home runs and six RBI. The young slugger has increased his batting line to .243/.371/.392. While he’s off his 2015 pace, Sano is having great at-bats - but still striking out a lot - and is definitely trending toward a return to the nasty run producing threat (52 RBI) that he was during his run in 2015. With the early returns on Joe Mauer as promising as they’ve been, there will be plenty of opportunities for Sano to double the run production he provided last season. Oh, and did I mention that he's been very solid in his handful of games at third base? Casey Fien, relief pitcher Fien has been the target of many Twins fans over the last few season, questioned regularly why he’s even tendered a contract each offseason. He didn’t do much to dispel those complaints as he got roughed up in the season opener against the Orioles and then again by the Royals five days later. Only three outings into the season, Fien had allowed almost as many hits (7) as he had recorded outs (8). Toss in two walks and you have a WHIP in excess of 3.00. And that’s really bad. Fien then started coming into games and asked only to get an out or two and the results started to improve. Over the past seven days (four games), Fien has mostly returned to getting three outs and the results have been positive. Against the Brewers, with a large lead, Fien recorded a 1-2-3 inning to finish the inning. Two days late, against the heart of the Nationals order, Fien struck out Bryce Harper and Stephen Drew (around a single). The following day Fien was summoned to replace Tyler Duffey and gave up a leadoff hit. But he then retired the next three batters he faced. And then on Tuesday night - the most impressive feat - Fien was called in to replace Ricky Nolasco who had just surrendered a double. Fien struck out both Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis with a barrage of mid-90 mph, four-seam fastballs. If Fien can continue to throw strikes at a high rate (39-of-50, 78% in his last four outings) the results will trend in a much more positive direction that early in the season (56-of-96, 58%) when he was struggling to get the ball over the plate and into the catcher’s mitt. Daniel Palka, right field In the last seven days, Palka has 13 hits in 27 at-bats. For comparison sake, Engelb Vielma has the same number of hits on the season in 42 at-bats… and is hitting .310. Palka slashed .280/.352/.532 last year and led his league (high-A) with 29 home runs before the Twins acquired him for backup catcher Chris Herrmann. It seemed a steal at the time and he’s done nothing since then to disappoint. After going 1-for-5 last Wednesday, Palka saw his OPS hit a season-low .655. Then the hits started. Palka did mix an 0-for-4 into his last seven games, but has hit the aforementioned 13-for-27 with four doubles, two home runs, five walks and four strikeouts. He’s increased his line to .338/.405/.563 and put himself in the pole position to win Southern League Player of the Week. But when you reach base safely 14 consecutive times over the course of nearly three complete games, people recognize you. Using his cameo in the big league camp to help people take notice, Palka is definitely trending in the right direction. He’ll have to obliterate AA to force a move into the already-crowded Rochester outfield, but it could certainly happen. Players like Palka, though, tend to run very hot and very cold, so don’t be too surprised if Palka backs up this torrid stretch with a run of strikeouts. Who have you been impressed by over the last week? Click here to view the article