Jeremy Nygaard

There was plenty of Twins-related minor league news on Wednesday. Miguel Sano was named American League Rookie of the Month for the month of August, the first Twin to garner that award since Little Benny Revere in the summer of 2011. Later in the evening, Terry Ryan announced that Jose Berrios will not be helping the Twins out in the pennant race, instead he’ll head home after the Rochester season and be shut down til next spring. (Yeah, right, The Machine will be working out hard in 10 days, out to prove that he’ll never get tired because he’s, well… a machine.)Congratulations to Red Wings INF James Beresford and 1B Reynaldo Rodriguez who were named International League All-Stars. Rodriguez was also named Red Wings MVP. The Kernels made a couple of moves today, placing SS Pat Kelly and OF Zack Larson on the disabled list. They activated OF Chris Paul and received LaMonte Wade from Elizabethton. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Scranton/WB 1 Box Score The Red Wings scored a run in each of the first four innings before completely blowing the doors off with a four-run seventh-inning. The talker here? Aaron Hicks, of course. Two singles, a double and a three-run blast. 4-4. Two runs and a ticket to return to the Twins as soon as possible to be their lead-off hitter. As impressive as the Twins have been the last 11 games, they’re about to get better with the return of Aaron Hicks. Not to be outdone, Danny Ortiz hit solo home runs in the second and fourth inning. Danny Ortiz will put a major league uniform someday, it just probably won’t be with the Twins. Doug Bernier and Carlos Paulino each added two-hit games. Taylor Rogers improved his AAA record to 10-12. While not overly impressive, it’s difficult to get decisions in 22 of 26 starts - especially after starting the season with two no-decisions - unless you’re pitching relatively deep into games. Rogers did it again tonight, striking out seven batters in six innings, allowing one run. Loek van Mil, all 85 inches of him, made his return to the organization. He allowed a hit and a walk in two innings. The stadium gun clocked him as high as 96 mph. The win improves the Red Wings to 73-66 and keeps their elimination number at one. As in, one more Rochester loss or Scranton win eliminates Rochester from the playoffs. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga - OFF DAY MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Jupiter 3 (10 innings) Box Score Fort Myers jumped to an early 2-0 lead, but surrendered the lead and the game to a walk-off home run in the 10th inning. The Miracle offense was led by the trio of Engelb Vielma, Ryan Walker and Bryan Harr, all of who had two hits. Walker and Haar had doubles. Vielma stole his 35th base. Unfortunately, that was all six of the team’s hits. Ethan Mildred allowed a run on four hits in 5.2 innings. He struck out two and walked one. He was relieved by Zack Jones who struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings. Trevor Hildenberger blew the save, allowing a run in the ninth inning. Alex Muren was called on in the 10th inning and he promptly served up a home run to the first batter he faced. The loss dropped the team to 74-62. While it’s possible they’ll have the best overall record in their division - they are currently a game behind Palm Beach - they have been eliminated from the playoffs. Only the first- and second-half winners qualify and Fort Myers failed to win either half. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Wisconsin 1 Box Score Three multi-run innings were too much for the Timber Rattlers to handle as the Kernels improve to 74-61. The offense led a balanced attack as eight of the nine in the lineup (all except #3 hitter Edgar Corcino) had one hit. Max Murphy hit his 15th double. Alex Real drilled his fourth triple. Austin Diemer hit a two-run home run, his second as a Kernel and fifth on the year. Nick Gordon notched his 25th stolen base. Randy Rosario is working his way back from Tommy John nicely. On Wednesday, he struck out eight in seven shutout innings, allowing five hits and three walks. Jared Wilson allowed one run in two innings. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy Rosario, Cedar Rapids Twins Daily Minor League Hitters of the Day – Aaron Hicks, Rochester THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Pawtucket (6:05 CST) - LHP Logan Darnell Chattanooga vs Jackson (6:15 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Ft. Myers at Charlotte (6:00 CST) – LHP Mat Batts Cedar Rapids at Wisconsin (6:35 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons This will be my last regular Wednesday post of the season. Thanks to everyone who’s stopped by throughout the season. Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Click here to view the article

The Twins best pitching prospect pitched his best game at the highest minor league level with the General Manager in attendance. But was it good enough to earn a call to the big leagues? The Twins are in hot pursuit of a wild card spot and played another good game Wednesday night in Tampa Bay… in front of the GCL affiliate. It’s that time of the year where the organization is coming around full circle. What else happened on Wednesday? Well, Ethan Mildren was promoted to Fort Myers and Sam Clay was promoted to Cedar Rapids. But what about those games…?RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Syracuse 0 Box Score The story - as it is every time he walks up the hill - is The Machine, Jose Berrios. On Wednesday, Berrios completed seven shutout innings on 98 pitches (65 strikes), striking out a season-high 12 batters (one off of his career-high, done last June as a member of the Miracle) and walking only one. He allowed three hits - consecutive hits to lead off the second inning - but escaped a no-out, runners-on-second-and-third jam with no damage, as seen in this video: What else is there to say really? He’s arguably the best pitcher in the entire organization right now. He could help the Twins chase a playoff berth. The issue, ultimately, is the innings. Berrios has thrown over 155 innings this season after setting a career-high (140) last year. Without knowing how many innings the Twins will allow him to throw, you have to weigh that versus giving up a full year of service on the back end of his original contract. (My opinion: If the Twins are still within a game or two in ten days, Berrios will make his Twins debut - possibly in the bullpen - on September 5.) Danny Santana and James Beresford (who deserves to come up in September as well) both led the offense with three-hit games. Kennys Vargas (who hit his 9th home run) and Josmil Pinto each drove in two runs. Oswaldo Arcia, batting 8th, hit his 12th home run. Rochester improved to 68-64, but is on the brink of elimination. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 8 Box Score The Lookouts fell to 26-31 in the second half. (But still qualify for the Southern League playoffs due to being first-half champions.) Jorge Polanco and Heiker Meneses each had two hits. Adam Walker, who leads all of AA in home runs and RBIs, hit his 29th bomb and is the first player in the minor leagues this season to drive in 100 runs. Travis Harrison hit his fifth of the season. Max Kepler, who entered the day leading AA in batting average (.337), went 0-3 and is now hitless in his last three games. (WHAT?!) He’s now batting .334. Aaron Slegers struggled, allowing six hits, four walks and two home runs - totaling six runs - in four innings. Nick Burdi struck out three in two scoreless innings. D.J. Johnson allowed a run in two innings and Brandon Peterson allowed a run in the ninth inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers - OFF DAY KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 7 Box Score The Kernels jumped to an early lead, but couldn’t hold on and dropped to 72-56. The offense accounted for 10 hits, paced by three hits from Edgar Corcino, who doubled and drove in a run. Five different Kernels doubled: Corcino, Rafael Valera, T.J. White, Max Murphy and Austin Diemer. Alex Real hit his 3rd triple. Sam Clay started after being promoted. He struck out two in five innings. He gave up six runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk. Jared Wilson allowed a run in two innings of work and Michael Theofanopoulos allowed three hits in two scoreless innings of work. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Johnson City 4 Box Score In a game of two-run innings, the E-Twins came up short. The loss drops them to 31-30 and into a tie in second place of the Appalachian League West. LaMonte Wade paced the offense with two hits. Kamran Young drove in his 21st run. Jermaine Palacios got another hit, but also committed his 14th error. Dereck Rodriguez struck out five but gave up four runs in six innings. All runs occurred on two-run home runs off of the bat of Allen Staton. Anthony Mciver struck out three in two scoreless innings. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 2 (Game 1) Box Score GCL Twins 2, GCL Rays 6 (Game 2) Box Score In the first game, the GCL Twins used stellar pitching performances by Jose Martinez (4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 K) and Max Cordy (3 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K) to propel them to victory. The offense strung together timely hits, getting four runs on six hits. Aaron Whitefield drove in his first run and stole the first base of his professional career. In game two, there were six hits again, but only two runs. Bryant Hayman had two hits, including a double, his 7th. The pitching was subpar. Rich Condeelis struck out four in three innings, allowing only one run before the wheels fell off. Moises Gomez game up three runs and got only two outs. Callen Pearce gave up two runs, and also got only two outs. Vadim Balan was pretty awesome in his pro debut - six batters, five outs, four strikeouts. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berrios, Rochester Twins Daily Minor League Hitters of the Day – Edgar Corcino, Cedar Rapids THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Syracuse (6:05 CST) - RHP Michael Bowden Chattanooga vs Tennessee (6:15 CST) – RHP D.J. Baxendale Ft. Myers vs Bradenton (6:05 CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids vs Kane County (6:35 CST) – LHP Randy Rosario Elizabethton vs Kingsport (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins vs GCL Rays (11:00 CST) - TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Click here to view the article

I should have mentioned the Miracle were facing former teammate Chih-Wei Hu. He didn't fare too well, but I believe it was his first start back after lacerating his hand in a blender accident.

The Twins will limp out of the Big Apple having been swept (again) by the Yankees. Aaron Hicks strained his left hamstring in Wednesday’s loss and will limp to the disabled list. To fill the hole in center field, the Twins will recall Byron Buxton from Rochester. Buxton will join the team tomorrow in Baltimore. After all the hand-wringing after being activated and optioned on August 10, nothing really changes. Instead of accumulating 113 days of service time, he’ll accumulate 104. Neither number is important. Because he was on assignment for less than 10 days, his option doesn’t count. All that the time in AAA did was give him confidence. Let’s check Wednesday’s action on the farm.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Buffalo 0 Box Score The Red Wings pushed over a pair of runs in three different innings to improve their season record to 66-60. Danny Santana had a 2-RBI single in the first. It likely would have gone for extra bases, but Kennys Vargas was ahead of him. James Beresford had a sacrifice fly and run scoring single. Vargas drove in a run in addition to walking twice. Buxton had an RBI double and finished his AAA season(?) (career?) with a .400 batting average and hits in all 13 games he played. Pat Dean pitched a gem. Using 114 pitches, Dean went all nine innings allowing only six hits while striking out six. While he hasn’t dominated lefties or had very high groundball or strikeout rates, Dean doesn’t issue many walks and has a sub-3 ERA. Being left-handed certainly suggests that Dean will be around for a while. Somewhere. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 11, Pensacola 0 Box Score The Lookouts jumped out a 10-0 lead in the 3rd inning in hopes of enacting the rarely-used 10-run run in the Southern League. Instead, though, they played the rest of game and added one more run to pad their easy win. After returning to the lineup on Tuesday night, Jorge Polanco quickly rounded back into form, hitting a double and a home run and stealing his 16th base. He drove in two and scored three times. Stuart Tuner one-upped him, getting three hits including a double and drove in three runs. Of course, Mad Max Kepler one-upped them both and everyone else with a four-hit game that included his ninth home run and two RBIs. He’s now batting .342 on the year and if not for Byron Buxton, would be the guy that everyone wishes the Twins would be promoting. Brett Lee pitched seven innings of two-hit shutout ball. He walked four and struck out four before turning the game over to the bullpen duo of Corey Williams and Alex Muren. Each struck out a batter in his scoreless inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Charlotte 4 Box Score After building a 6-0 lead, the Miracle had to wait out a one hour and fifteen minute rain delay before getting back into it. Jason Kanzler (3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Mitch Garver (2-5, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI) and Logan Wade (3-4, 3B, R) were the offensive stars, combining for eight of the team’s 11 hits and five of their six extra-base hits. Marcus Knecht had two RBIs and a stolen base. Luke Westphal struck out five in seven innings to get the win. Jake Reed allowed two unearned runs to score in the sixth. Zack Jones was charged with two runs in the eighth. He struck out three and walked two. Trevor Hildenburger picked up his second save, getting the last five Stone Crabs out. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Kane County 2 Box Score The offense strung just enough together to beat the Cougars. The Kernels had six hits, all singles, but drew five walks. The top five hitters in the order accounted for all three RBIs and all four runs scored (and four of the six hits). Rafael Valera scored two runs on a hit and three walks. Nick Gordon scored once. Edgar Corcino scored and drove in a run. T.J. White and Alex Real each knocked in a run. Felix Jorge picked up the win. He allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks in seven innings. Uncharacteristically, he only struck out two, matching his season low. Jared Wilson and Nick Anderson, who earned his second save, each pitched scoreless frames. The Kernels are 69-52 on the season. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton - off day GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Orioles 6 Box Score Roberto Gonzalez played well in Wednesday’s loss. Gonzalez, who recently returned from a DL stint, had two hits, stole two bases and drove in a run. His season batting average is up to .278. Rowan Ebersohn was the only other hitter with a multi-hit effort. Jose Martinez started and took the loss on three runs in five innings. Moises Gomez pitched the only scoreless inning before giving way to Callan Pearce, who allowed a run. Miguel Gonzalez came in late and gave up two runs, though his ERA is still a miniscule 1.14. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Pat Dean, Rochester Twins Daily Minor League Hitters of the Day – Max Kepler, Chattanooga THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester - OFF Chattanooga at Pensacola (6:35 CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers Ft. Myers at Bradenton (5:30 CST) – RHP Omar Bencomo Cedar Rapids vs Kane County (6:35 CST) – RHP Ethan Mildren Elizabethton at Pulaski (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins at GCL Orioles (11:00 CST) - TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Click here to view the article

The organization had a trio of hitters recognized in their leagues on Wednesday: Kennys Vargas was named Hitter of the Week in the Southern League. Vargas has since been promoted to Rochester. Tanner English and LaMonte Wade took the honors in the Midwest League and the Appalachian League, respectively. Former Twin Alexis Tapia, who was pitching for Elizabethton before being included in the Kevin Jepsen trade, was recognized for his week in the Appalachian League as well. In his first start with the Tampa Bay organization, Tapia pitched six shutout innings, allowing only three hits while striking out eight. Did you see what Miguel Sano and Aaron Hicks did for the Twins in their win against the Rangers? If not, you need to get some highlights pronto. Let’s check Wednesday’s action on the farm.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Buffalo 5 Box Score Rochester’s comeback fell one run short, but Byron Buxton is the story. He was 4-5 tonight (and now batting .458 in AAA) with four singles. He scored twice and also struck out once. Vargas had three hits including two doubles and drove in two. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit a three-run triple. Taylor Rogers lost his tenth game of the season, pitching five innings (10 hits, two walks) and allowing five runs. He threw 83 pitches (55 strikes). Alex Meyer pitched the final three innings. He allowed a run, but allowed only two hits and no walks (though he did throw two wild pitches). He struck out two. Something worth watching: He threw 56 pitches (stretching him out?) with 36 of them finding the strike zone. Rochester drops to 60-58. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Tennessee 4 (13 innings) Box Score The Lookouts dropped to 62-50 with an extra-inning loss. Max Kepler led the offense (again) with two hits, including his 28th double. He drove in a run and recorded an outfield assist. Stephen Wickens also had two singles and his 14th stolen base. The team went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base. Greg Peavey pitched a two-hitter over eight innings, but the two runs were too many. He struck out three and gets a no-decision. J.T. Chargois walked one in the ninth. D.J. Johnson struck out four in three big innings. Adrian Salcedo allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in the 13th. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, St. Lucie 0 Box Score A Chad Christensen sac fly that followed a Ryan Walker triple was the difference in Wednesday’s Miracle victory that helped improve the team to 63-54. Walker’s three-bagger was the only extra base hit of the six hits the Miracle scratched out. Engelb Vielma stole his 28th base. Kohl Stewart picked up his fifth win. He allowed eight hits and a walk, while striking out five over 6.2 shutout innings. Corey Williams struck out two in recording four outs. Trevor Hildenberger picked up his first FSL save. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Lake County 6 Box Score T.J. White accounted for the only Kernel extra-base hit (a double) among their five hits. Nick Gordon was 1-4 with a walk. Tanner English swiped two bags and has 37 on the year. Offensively, Cedar Rapids was 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Felix Jorge picked up a no-decision. He struck out six in six innings, allowing three hits and a walk. Unfortunately, one of those hits was a three-run blast. Jared Wilson was charged with the loss. He gave up three runs in two innings. The Kernels are 67-48 on the season. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Greeneville 4 Box Score The offense of the E-Twins was very quiet on Wednesday. Only Travis Blankenhorn got a hit. Jermaine Palacios snapped a 15-game hitting streak with an 0-4 performance. He also committed his eighth error in the Appy League. Sam Clay didn’t allow an earned run over seven frames, but the two unearned runs hung him with a loss. He struck out four and walked one. Alex Robinson recorded four outs, but walked four and allowed two runs to score. Josh Guyer recorded two outs, one by strikeout. Elizabethton drops to 25-25 GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 5, GCL Rays 2 (Game 1) (7 innings) Box Score The GCL affiliate took the first game of a doubleheader. Two big innings accounted for all five runs. Eight of the nine starters got hits, led by Robert Molina, Ruar Verkerk and Ariel Montesino all having two-hit games. Interestingly, the top four hitters - Christian Cavaness, Luis Arraez, Josmil Pinto and Kolton Kendrick - all doubled. Cavaness drove in two runs. Molina and Verkerk accounted for the other two RBI. Williams Ramirez allowed two unearned runs over 4.2 innings. He struck out four. Hector Lujan got the win, striking out one in 2.1 scoreless, one-hit innings. GCL Twins 0, GCL Rays 1 (Game 2) (9 innings) Box Score The bats fell cold in the second game, getting shut out on five hits. Trey Cabbage had two singles. Christian Cavaness doubled. Cavaness also stole his third base of the season. Max Cordy (4 IP) and Brandon Paulson (2.2 IP) had identical lines: one hit, three walks, four strikeouts. Johan Quezada walked two and retired four. Moises Gomez was charged with the loss, allowing a walkoff home run in the ninth inning. The GCL Twins split the doubleheader and are 23-20. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Greg Peavey, Chattanooga Twins Daily Minor League Hitters of the Day – Byron Buxton, Rochester THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Buffalo (11:35 CST) – LHP Pat Dean Rochester at Buffalo (Game 2) – TBD Chattanooga vs Tennessee (6:15 CST) – LHP Brett Lee Ft. Myers vs Palm Beach (6:05 CST) – LHP Luke Westphal Cedar Rapids at Lake Country (6:00 CST) – RHP Zach Tillery Elizabethton at Bristol (6:00 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez GCL Twins at GCL Rays (11:00 CST) - TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Click here to view the article

This is his Twitter page.

He's Aderling in the Twins media guide.

Tyler Duffey made his big league debut for the Twins and didn’t go as well as we hoped. There was good news before the Twins game, though, when it was announced that Byron Buxton will be joining the Red Wings as soon as Friday to begin his rehab assignment. The Kernels activated starting pitcher John Curtiss from the disabled list and placed reliever Cameron Booser on the DL with left shoulder impingement. Later in the evening, Seth announced on Twitter that Aaron Slegers was promoted to Chattanooga. Baseball America’s minor league transaction log included the detail that the Twins have signed minor-league pitcher Loek Van Mil. Van Mil, a 7’ 1” pitcher from the Netherlands, signed with the Twins in 2006 and pitched in the system until he was traded for Brian Fuentes. His last stop was in Japan, but pitched in AAA for the Reds organization as recently as 2013. Oh, and typically when you get your picture on a minor league report, you’ve done something good. Today is not a typical day. Read more about Nick Burdi and the rest of the day below.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Gwinnett 4 Box Score Taylor Rogers had a rough four-run fifth inning, but still managed to pitch seven innings, surrendering those four runs on seven hits and a walk. He struck out four. Mark Hamburger pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Reynaldo Rodriguez, fresh off being named IL Player of the Week, went 3-4 with two doubles and a triple. He scored twice. Xavier Avery and Chris Herrmann both had two hits. Oswaldo Arcia went 0-3, but managed to drive in two runs. Rochester drops to 56-55. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga vs Jackson Wednesday’s game was postponed due to rain. The Lookouts will play two on Thursday. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, St. Lucie 7 Box Score Nick Burdi may very well be a pitcher who enters a game as a ticking time-bomb. Now, there’s a chance he’ll dominate the opposition. Blow them away with a 100 mph fastball and a slider so sick batters will wet their pants. But there’s also a chance that he will explode (or, more accurately, implode) and his team will lose because they brought him into the game. That’s what happened tonight. The Miracle turned to Burdi to save their one-run lead. He didn’t. He walked two of the first three batters. And after striking out the next batter allowed the next three hitters to single-walk-single. He ended his night by getting ejected after throwing a wild pitch and arguing with the umpire whether the runner was safe or not. Two outs, four runs (three earned), two hits, three walks, two wild pitches, one strikeout. Blown save. Loss. Burdi’s game overshadowed a poor start from Stephen Gonsalves. Gonsalves allowed three runs on three walks and six hits in 4.2 innings. He struck out three. Trevor Hildenburger (2.1 IP, 5 K), Tyler Jay (IP, K) and Todd Van Steensel (.1 IP) were effective. Aderling Mejia had three hits - including a triple - that drove in two runs. Michael Quesada had an RBI double. Engelb Vielma had two hits. The Miracle drops to 21-18 on the second half, trailing Palm Beach by 5.5 games. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Dayton 8 Box Score Felix Jorge struggled for the second straight start. On Wednesday, he gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits and two walks. He gave up two home runs and struck out four. Yorman Landa (struck out three) and Ethan Mildren each gave up a run in relief. Nick Gordon drove in two runs, getting two hits, including a triple. His average broke .270 for the first time since May 2. His OPS is the highest it’s been since April. He did, however, commit his 16th error of the season. Brian Navarreto went 1-4, but his defensive presence was felt. He picked a runner off of first base in the fourth inning. He threw out a potential base-stealer in the fifth inning. In the eighth, Navarreto combined with Nick Gordon to complete the strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play. He’s got a ways to go offensively, but it would be hard to find a higher-ceilinged catcher in the system. The Kernels, who have already qualified for the playoffs, drop to 22-17 in the second half. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton - Off Day E-town had a scheduled off day on Wednesday. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Rays 1 (12 innings) Box Score Robert Molina led the charge offensively, going 3-4 with two walks, two stolen bases and a double. Luis Arraez, Blake Schmit, and Kolton Kendrick all contributed doubles. Despite scoring twice, no one was credited with an RBI. The whole staff pitched well, which is the case when you give up one run in twelve innings. Jovani Moran started and pitched three no-hit innings. He allowed one walk and struck out four. Luis Hernandez was charged with the lone run. Moises Gomez allowed an inherited runner to score, blowing the save, but struck out two in three innings. Andrew Vasquez and Matz Schutte both pitched multiple scoreless innings. The GCL Twins improve to 19-16. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jovani Moran, GCL Twins Daily Minor League Hitters of the Day – Reynaldo Rodriguez, Rochester and Robert Molina, GCL THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Gwinnett (5:35 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Chattanooga at Jackson (5:05 CST) – RHP Greg Peavey Chattanooga at Jackson (Game 2) – LHP David Hurlbut Ft. Myers – OFF DAY Cedar Rapids vs Dayton (6:35 CST) – RHP Zach Tillery Elizabethton at Johnson City (6:00 CST) - LHP Sam Clay GCL Twins vs GCL Orioles (11:00 CST) - TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Click here to view the article

I heard Kepler was dangled in a package for Kimbrel, but it's not going anywhere. If the Yankees offer Mateo, they'll get Kimbrel. Then the Astros go after Benoit and the Twins are left standing with all the chairs full. Heard the Upton rumor with more detail: The Padres would trade him and take back Nolasco's contract for Hicks or Rosario. That would amount to a salary dump with no other moves and people would be angry. Unless it's part of something bigger. Stay tuned.

Wade was hurt most of the year. He could be a really nice sleeper-type. I heard a lot of good things about Cutura, but he was hurt too after being drafted. Healthy now and producing.

Stewart is a name involved in the Padres talks.

Plenty of games on Wednesday in the Twins system, but not a lot of activity transaction-wise. Dalton Hicks was moved up to Chattanooga and Marcus Knecht was returned to Fort Myers. There were plenty of other moves league-wide today and waves of moves are likely to last until Friday afternoon. The Twins are likely to make a move or two before the deadline, so stay tuned. Let’s look at the action on the farm on Wednesday.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Toledo 9 Box Score Michael Bowden made his Red Wings debut and it was less than impressive. He allowed four runs in four innings. He struck out four and walked one. Alex Meyer got one out (on 19 pitches), he walked one, allowed two hits and let three runners score. Caleb Thielbar and Mark Hamburger pitched scoreless innings. Aaron Thompson retired two batters without allowing a run. Danny Ortiz led the offense with two hits, including a home run. Doug Bernier chipped in a double among his two hits. Nate Hanson had two singles. Rochester drops to 54-51 and 3.5 games back in the International League North. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 9, Pensacola 10 (10 innings) Box Score Lots of offense on Wednesday. 19 runs. 32 hits. After Chattanooga tied and took the lead in the eighth, the Lookouts turned around and gave up three ninth-inning runs and two tenth-inning runs. They were able to rally and get the tying run on, but fell short in extras. Shannon Wilkerson (3-7, RBI, 2 SB) and Heiker Menesis (3-5, 2 R, 2B, BB, 2 SB) led the offense with three hits each. Max Kepler cleaned up from the three-spot, driivng in three runs with a home run and a double. Stuart Turner chipped in a double. Levi Michael (2-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2 BB) and Aderling Mejia (2-6, R, 2B, 3 RBIs) did well at the bottom of the order. D.J. Baxendale allowed five runs in five innings on nine hits. He struck out three and walked two. Matt Summers pitched three perfect innings. Alex Muren blew it in the ninth, allowing three runs on four hits. Tim Shibuya lost it in the 10th, allowing two runs on three hits. After winning the first-half (to qualify for the playoffs), the Lookouts are now 12-18 in the second half. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Lakeland 0 Box Score Mat Batts continues to deal. Tonight, he pitched six shutout innings, allowing only two hits and a walk. He struck out three. His Miracle ERA drops to 1.78. Zack Jones (1 IP, 2 K), Corey Williams (1 IP) and Todd Van Steensel (1 IP, BB, 2 K) combined to finished the shutout. Marcus Knecht, in his return to Fort Myers, went 3-4 with two doubles. Logan Wade and Tanner Vavra, the 8-9 hitters, each contributed two-hit games. Zach Granite had a triple, two stolen bases and two RBIs. Wade added a double. The Miracle improved to 58-46 overall and 20-14 in the second half. They trail the Palm Beach Cardinals by four games in pursuit of the Florida State League playoffs. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Clinton 11 Box Score The Kernels got roughed up by the Lumberjacks. Felix Jorge, in particular, was roughed up, bad. For the first time since April 19, Jorge failed to pitch six innings. On Wednesday, Jorge allowed 11 hits, two walks and seven runs (six earned). He did strike out seven. Hard-throwing Yorman Landa gave up a home run in 1.2 innings. Luke Bard gave up three runs in an inning. Zack Larson was the only Kernel with two hits, including a double, driving in a run. Brian Navarreto added a two-RBI double. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Johnson City 1 Box Score Daniel Kihle and Chris Paul paced the E-Twins with three hits apiece. LaMonte Wade hit his fourth home run. Kihle, Travis Blankenhorn, Kamran Young and A.J. Murray all doubled. Kihle and Wade each drove in two runs. Andro Cutura continues to dominate. In seven innings tonight, he struck out five, walked one and allowed one run on five hits. It was a solo home run. Kuo Hua Lo picked up the save with two innings of perfect ball. he struck out three. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins vs GCL Rays Postponed For the fifth time in a week, the GCL Twins were rained out. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Mat Batts, Fort Myers Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Max Kepler, Chattanooga THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester – OFF Chattanooga vs Pensacola (6:15 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Ft. Myers at Daytona (6:05 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (but will he make this start?!) Cedar Rapids at Clinton (6:30 CST) – RHP Zach Tillery Elizabethton vs Johnson City (6:00 CST) - LHP Sam Clay GCL Twins at GCL Rays (11:00 CST) - TBD (Game 1) GCL Twins at GCL Rays - TBD (Game 2) Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Click here to view the article

The Twins have been having on-and-off conversations with the Padres for the greater part of a week. Various different reports have them linked to a number of different Padres relief pitchers, primarily 38-year-old Joaquin Benoit.During conversations - not just with the Twins - the Padres have tried to package James Shields (and the three years and $63 million left on his contract, plus the rest of this year) into deals. It was a notion that at first I dismissed, figuring the Twins would try again as the deadline came closer and the Padres would back off of such a crazy demand. But the whispers haven’t left. It’s no secret that the A.J. Preller and the Padres are seeking to be very active at the deadline. It’s no secret that the Twins have always had a little man-crush on “Big Game” James Shields. And the Padres have relievers that the Twins would like to add to their bullpen. Are there specifics? No. But are there on-going discussions? Yes. Is a deal going to happen between the Twins and Padres? Maybe. For the Twins to take on such a big contract - an idea I first mentioned on Twitter Monday night - the belief is the Padres would have to either a ) send substantial money with Shields or b ) take on the contract of Ricky Nolasco (which has about $30 million remaining). If you follow Nolasco on social media, you’re well aware of his love for Southern California. There would still be player-cost as well. Everybody around the league is aware of the Twins having Oswaldo Arcia on the block. They are also aware of Arcia’s struggles both defensively and with the making contact offensively. His value is not that of a prime trade-candidate. There are also rumblings that the Twins have made Kohl Stewart available in trades. Though Stewart recently dropped out of Baseball America’s Top 100 Mid-Season Prospect List, he still is considered an asset. It would definitely take a bigger package to net a return of Shields and Benoit. And that’s where the speculation begins. Jorge Polanco? Max Kepler? Eddie Rosario? Alex Meyer? The Twins extra comp B pick? From the Twins perspective, adding Benoit makes a ton of sense. He’s got a team option for next year at $8 million (with a $1.5 million buyout) and could slide right into an 8th inning role he’s held and succeeded in. Adding Shield would likely be met with more skepticism. He’ll cost $63 million for his age-34 through -36 seasons (not to mention the team option for his age-37 season). But he would add a pitcher to the rotation this year who has a lot of postseason experience and would presumably fill the hole that soon-to-be-free agent Mike Pelfrey will open up. It’s hard not to like a potential top four of Hughes, Santana, Shields, Gibson with either Trevor May or Jose Berrios rounding out the rotation. The Padres continue to talk to many teams about moving pieces. Might the Twins be their first deadline dance partner? Click here to view the article

It sounds like Wieters is going to start playing some first base now. As much as I'm glad the Twins are turning over all the stones, Wieters just doesn't do much for me.

The Twins have been busily working the phones in advance of next Friday’s trade deadline. I reported here earlier this week that Twins had at least reached out to the Rockies about Troy Tulowitzki. More recently, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press talked about the team’s search for power arms. He also previously had looked at the Twins needs behind the plate.Earlier on Saturday, I learned that the Twins have had preliminary dialogue with the Baltimore Orioles about addressing both the catching need and - although not a “power arm” - getting some help in the bullpen. The players of interest are pending free agents Matt Wieters and Darren O’Day. Matt Wieters, a 29-year-old catcher, is represented by Scott Boras. Boras clients are well-known for playing out their contracts and testing free agency. Wieters recently returned from Tommy John surgery and has only played 32 games so far this year. Though he’s hitting nearly his career batting average of .256 (.243), his on-base percentage is a career-low .272. Wieters, a switch-hitter, performs better from the right side of the plate, so he wouldn’t form a great platoon partner with Suzuki. In fact, Wieters has only caught back-to-back games once this year (against the Twins), so his presence would only reduce Suzuki’s playing time. Wieters would be a step-up in countering the running game. Even with a recovering elbow, Wieters has caught 30% of would-be base-stealers, a step up from Suzuki’s 19%. Neither Wieters nor Suzuki do much in the pitch-framing category (as least not recently), though Wieters had scored better there in his earlier years. He also was a two-time Gold Glove winner. Darren O’Day, a 32-year-old right-handed reliever, represented the Orioles as a first-time All-Star this year in Cincinnati. After joining Baltimore as a waiver claim in late 2011, O’Day cashed in on a multi-year deal and in 242 career games for Baltimore has a 1.97 ERA, a 0.939 WHIP and a K/9 of 9.6, including a career high of 11.9 this season (47 whiffs in 35.2 innings pitched). O’Day has been serving as Baltimore’s eighth inning guy, a role which appears unsettled for the Twins at this time, as Trevor May served as that bridge on Saturday night. O’Day is unique is that he throws side-armed so, despite the 86 mph fastball and 78 mph slider, there is plenty of deception. His slider is nasty. In his career, O’Day has eaten up right-handed batters to the tune of .189/.257/.534. He has been much more susceptible to left-handed hitters. Neither seem like perfect fits for the Twins as they look to patch some holes before the deadline, but - as I mentioned earlier in the week - the Twins are doing their due diligence with potential sellers. (And I cannot emphasize that enough. The Twins are having hundreds of conversations with teams around the league.) No article about a trade would be complete without the second part… “Who would the Twins have to give up?” Well, there is a very good chance that Oswaldo Arcia’s name was brought up. There also appears to be a desire for the Orioles to add to their pitching corps as two of their young studs - Hunter Harvey and Dylan Bundy - were shut down for the year. Would a package of Arcia, who will be out of options next season but still four years from free agency, and a pitching prospect - like Kohl Stewart - be too much to give up for a couple of rentals? Conventional wisdom probably says yes. But having Darren O’Day at Target Field on Saturday sure would have helped. Twelve times Alex Rodriguez has faced him. One single. Six strikeouts. An OPS of .258. The Twins do go to New York in the middle of August and maybe a couple of Orioles could help shut those Yankees fans up. Finally. (But, really, I'm not picky... I'll take anyone who can help shut Yankee fans up.) Click here to view the article

I'm assuming you all heard/read about the Rockies GM admitting on MLB radio that they're listening to offers for Tulo.

Twins should hire Colabello's hitting coach to work with Walker.