Jeremy Nygaard

Sunday was an interesting day in the world of Twins baseball. The Twins had a chance to complete a 4-game sweep in Fenway Park. Josh Willingham and Ryan Doumit both homered in the ninth to make it interesting, but the rally fell short. At one point early in the game I overheard Dick Bremer announce that Danny Valencia had been traded to the Red Sox. I can't say I was surprised that he was traded, though the timing - with Plouffe being hurt - did catch me off guard. Read more about the Valencia trade here. The return on Danny V. was a young - but not "league young" - outfielder named Jeremias Pineda. Pineda will report to the GCL as a 21 year old, sometime typically reserved for current-year, late-round college draft picks, not international free agents, with the belief he'll have a chance to play low-A (Beloit?) ball next year. Pineda's route to pro ball isn't typical, signing as a 20-year old. You want more Pineda? Look here. The next domino today was the announcement that Tsuyoshi Nishioka would take Valencia's spot on the active roster. Nishi's recall is the result of many things: the Twins want Eduardo Escobar to get AAA at-bats, not having a lot of other alternatives and the fact the Nishi is on the major league payroll anyway, to name a few. Maybe you're into conspiracies and think that the Twins are calling him up to simply sit on the bench and never play, hoping to drive him to the point we're he'll take a buyout to go to Japan. However you look at it though, he's back. And you can talk about it here. Seth, Travis and Jim Crikket took in today's Snapper action before heading back to Southern Canada, Northern Mexico and Cornfield, USA, respectively. Fortunately for them, they got to see some neat things today, which you'll be able to read below as well as in Seth's column later. If you're late to the dance and missed Seth's earlier posts about the weekend, find those threads here and here... and here. If you're even considering taking in a Snappers game or two, do it. I've done it every year for the last four (or five) and twice this year and enjoy each trip more than the last. If you're considering traveling all over the U.S. to watch Twins affiliates, you can read all about sbknudson's "Kick-Ass Trip" here. Let's move on and talk about Sunday's action: ROCHESTER x, TOLEDO x Box score The Red Wings didn't play a double-header. If they did, they would have only played 14 innings. Instead, thanks to a Chris Parmelee game-tying ninth-inning home run, the Red Wings played a really long extra-innings game today. I thought it was going to end in the 18th, when Deolis Guerra put runners on 1st and 3rd with no out. But then he struck out three batters (around an intentional walk) to end the threat. The 19th inning saw a two-out barrage started by a Clete Thomas single and followed by a double off of the bat of Evan Bigley to score Thomas. Brian Dinkelman added to the two-out assault with a single to score Bigley. Ray Chang added another insurance run with a double. Guerra gave up a two-out two-run home run in the bottom of the 19th but was able to escape with the win. The Red Wings dodged a bullet when Saturday's game was called early and only rehabbing P.J. Walters and typical starter Esmerling Vasquez had to throw. Unfortunately tonight they had to use all of their bullpen: Luke French (3.1 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K), Dan Turpen (2 IP, 2 H, R, 2 BB, 3 K), Kyle Waldrip (2.1 IP, 2 H, K), Caleb Thielbar (3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K), Bobby Lanigan (3 IP, H, BB, K) and Deolis Guerra (3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K) That followed up the dismal (and maybe last?) start by Eric Hurley (2.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, BB). The positive spin is that the bullpen combined to go 16 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (with 11 hits and 11 walks) and struck out 19. Offensively, there were many hits. Of course, in 19 innings, there should be. Chris Parmelee continued his tear. He hit his 12th HR in 40 games, a game-tying shot in the 9th. He also added a double. Eduardo Escobar hit his first HR of the year and his first in AAA. Wilkin Ramirez, Matt Carson and Ray Chang all went 4-for-9. Escobar, Bigley and Parmelee had three hits. Brian Dinkelman led the team with three RBI. Bobby Lanigan was the lone Wing who had less than 2 hits, going 0-for-7. You wonder if this is going to leave the Red Wings scrambling to add arms for their upcoming series. NEW BRITAIN 13 , ALTOONA 4 Box score The Rock Cats had a very good game today against a very good pitching prospect. Oswaldo Arcia and Joe Benson each had three hits and 2011 #1 overall pick Gerrit Cole didn't make it out of the fifth inning. Benson went 3-for-5 with a home run and a double, driving in five and scoring three times. Arcia also scored three times, doubling once. One-time prospect Deibinson Romero is clawing his way back into the discussion. He hit his 16th home run of the year and drove in four runs. Aaron Hicks was only 1-for-5, but stole three bases... and struck out three times. He also left four runners in scoring position. Chris Colabello and Shawn Roof added doubles. B.J. Hermsen went six solid innings, allowing four hits and three runs. He walked one. He didn't strike out any, and that's why his ceiling is that of an innings-eating back-of-the-rotation-starter. A much cheapter alternative to Nick Blackburn. Marty Popham gave up two hits in two innings, striking out three. Edgar Ibarra allowed a home run in an inning of work. FT. MYERS 1, ST. LUCIE 9 Box score There's not a lot of positive coming out of this game today. Steven Liddle, Danny Rams, Kyle Knudson and Angel Morales each collected singles. Rams had an RBI. That's it offensively. Tom Stuifbergen had a rough outing. He only lasted four innings giving up eight hits and five runs. He struck out four while walking two. Ryan O'Rourke had a forgettable game. He lasted 2 2/3 but gave up six hits and four runs. Ricky Bowen gave up two hits in 1 1/3 innings, striking out one. BELOIT 8, WISCONSIN 2 Box score David Hurlbut gave the Snappers their third consecutive dominant performance from a starting pitcher. Hurlbut allowed only two hits, two walks and a run over six innings while striking out five. Tim Atherton faced the minimum six batter in two innings, walking one and striking out two before giving way to Mason Melotakis, who allowed a home run in the ninth. Miguel Sano was the story offensively. He hit a long home run in his first at-bat, walked and singled in his next two at-bats before flying out in his last at-bat. J.D. Williams, who struggles putting wood on the ball, got serious wood on the ball with the bases loaded, hitting a grand slam to right field. He also stole a base after singleing. Drew Leachman added two hits. Nate Roberts went hitless, but reached base after getting hit. ELIZABETHTON vs DANVILLE - POSTPONED GCL TWINS - OFF DAY --- Players of the Day for Sunday, August 5, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – David Hurlbut Download attachment: hurlbut.jpg milb.com - Rinaldi Photos Hitters of the Day – Joe Benson Download attachment: bensoncard.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Monday, August 6, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Empire State – LHP Pedro Hernandez (Twins Debut) New Britain - OFF Ft. Myers - OFF Beloit vs Wisconsin – LHP Taylor Rogers (0-1, 6.00) Elizabethton vs Danville (game 1) – LHP Hein Robb (2-2, 2.81) Elizabethton vs Danville (game 2) – TBA GCL Twins at GCL Rays – TBA --- If you have any questions on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and we’ll try to answer them! Comments also welcome. Click here to view the article

The only Twins news of the days was the purchasing of OF Clete Thomas’s contract. To make room on the 40-man roster, LRP Tyler Robertson was designated for assignment. LRP Blake Martin was promoted from New Britain to take fill Robertson’s lefty role in Rochester’s bullpen. INF Joel Licon was summoned from Extended Spring Training to Cedar Rapids to help while SS Niko Goodrum recovers from yesterday’s concussion. All the moves made today are reflected here.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In draft news, Oklahoma’s Jonathan Gray tested positive for Adderall, a common ADHD medicine as well as something used for weight loss. Many professional players have prescriptions for the drug, which makes it legal in those cases; Gray did not “go through the right procedures” to be using it. When asked whether it was an issue, a Twins source said he “won’t speculate… (but) obviously (it's) an issue. (We) have to get all the facts.” At the very least, Jonathan Gray made (or has been making) a poor decision and even though it might not make him tumble down draft boards, it will certainly affect his evaluation. (My two cents: he still doesn’t fall to the Twins.) On a happier note, if you’re a fan of raspberries and Byron Buxton, read this post by Brad Swanson. ROCHESTER RED WINGS 9, CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS 1 Box Score Pedro Hernandez was much better tonight than he was on his last outing (5/29: 3.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R). Hernandez threw 94 pitches tonight. The result was promising: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, BB, 6 K, HR. Though Hernandez has struggled in the major leagues, he’s still young and has a future. That might be taking over Brian Duensing’s role in a couple years, which would be a greater role than anyone anticipated when he was acquired (with Eduardo Escobar) for Francisco Liriano. Download attachment: pedro.jpg Michael Tonkin recorded six outs, not allowing a hit (or an inherited runner to score). He struck out three. Smart money says we see Tonkin at Target Field in September. The firepower from Rochester’s early season – Oswaldo Arcia and Chris Colabello – was back together for the first time tonight, but the offensive story of the game was a guy that wasn’t even in the country at the beginning of the season: Deibinson Romero. Tonight, Romero went 3-for-5. He hit two home runs and drove in five runs. Once rated as high as the #13 prospect in the organization by Baseball American (in 2007) and noted for his defense, Romero spent a season on the 40-man before being removed. It’s completely believable to think Romero could be involved in the Twins next roster move. (Since he’s a right-handed bat, he wouldn’t be a great platoon partner with Trevor Plouffe, but could be given a shot if Plouffe’s calf injury doesn’t go away. Oswaldo Arcia, Chris Colabello and Doug Bernier all had two hits and drove in a run. Tomorrow night at 6:05pm ET, Kyle Gibson (4-5, 3.38) will be making his last start in Rochester. (I’m kidding, obviously. The Twins are waiting to bring him up until mid-2015.) NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS – OFF DAY D.J. Baxendale (0-1, 13.50) makes the start tomorrow. He looks to recover from a poor AA debut. First pitch at Richmond is scheduled for 6:35pm ET. FORT MYERS MIRACLE 4, BREVARD COUNTY MANATEES 6 Box Score In Matt Tomshaw’s first high-A start last week, he was very successful, allowing only two hits and one run in six innings. Tonight was less so. Though he still made it through six innings, he allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out five. Adrian Salcedo and Jose Gonzalez both allowed single runs, but combined to strike out five in three innings. Angel Morales is doing everything he can to finally escape Fort Myers. Tonight he was 3-for-4. He is 17-for-34 (.500) in his last ten games. He added a double tonight. Levi Michael went 2-for-3 with a double. Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario both had RBI doubles. Jason Wheeler will look to continue his undefeated season (5-0, 3.94) tomorrow at 7:05 pm ET against Brevard County. CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 10, KANE COUNTY COUGARS 4 Box Score The Kernels strung together two well-timed innings to come from behind to beat the Cougars. The 5-run 6th inning came mainly as a result of taking five walks and seeing a wild pitch. Only two hits broke up the parade of walks: a double by Dalton Hicks and a single by J.D. Williams The 5-run 7th inning was a little more traditional, though the Kernels were aided by a throwing error and two more walks. All told, the Kernels totaled eight hits and drew 10 walks. Williams was 1-for-6, but drove in three runs. Candido Pimentel, Travis Harrison and Tyler Grimes all had two hits. Joel Licon, in his low-A debut, went 0-for-2 but walked twice and scored two runs. He also drove in a run and committed two errors at second base. Harrison (11) and Pimentel (8) also had errors. Mason Melotakis picked up his fifth win on the year. He allowed four runs (two earned) in five innings. He walked five, struck out two and allowed seven hits. Not a great line by any means. Many people continue to believe his future is in the bullpen. Manuel Soliman (four strikeouts) and Steven Gruver (two strikeouts) each pitched two innings. Jake Mauer was ejected for arguing a safe/out call at 3rd base. Allegedly, it was the way he said, “Aw, shucks.” Byron Buxton (thumb) and Niko Goodrum (concussed) both missed today’s game. The Kernels have an off-day tomorrow. Click here to view the article

Last week, I took a look at three prep hitters that I hope the Twins seriously consider drafting in next month’s draft. I decided to expand the series and today will take a look at three college arms. To be considered a “personal cheeseball”, I set out two rules: be a favorite of mine and don’t be too good. Without further adieu, here are my three college pitchers:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Scottsdale CC Download attachment: tarpley.jpg Coming into the 2011 draft, Tarpley was considered a “projectable lefty” and that prompted the Indians to take him in the 8th round. Instead of signing, Tarpley headed to the University of Southern California and had a very good freshman season. This year, Tarpley enrolled in Scottsdale Community College and is eligible for the draft. Since graduating high school, Tarpley has grown two inches and gained roughly 25 pounds, but he still is very projectable and is equipped with long levers. He’s also pitching very well for his new team and has helped them reach the NJCAA World Series. If you want to know more about his stats, go here. While Tarpley doesn’t show up in Kiley McDaniel’s Top 111, Baseball America’s Top 100 or Keith Law’s Top 100, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Twins strongly consider selecting Tarpley with their 3rd round pick (78th overall). Corey Littrell, LHP, Kentucky Another player who isn’t appearing on those lists is lefty Corey Littrell. Littrell makes the list not because he’s a favorite of mine as much as I truly believe he fits a mold that the Twins have drafted from more often than not. Bear in mind, the Twins took Taylor Rodgers last year, a southpaw from Kentucky and drafted, but didn’t sign Jared Grundy, another lefty from Kentucky. In 2010, the Twins took Logan Darnell, lefty, Kentucky. They also signed a free agent, Andrew Albers (you guessed it) around that same time. The craziest thing the Twins have done is trade for Alex Meyer, another Wildcat, who throws with his right hand. To be completely honest, there literally hasn't been a left-handed pitcher from the University of Kentucky drafted by a team other than the Twins since 2009. That little factoid is crazy. Littrell throws a low-90s fastball, but he also features a slider, change-up and curveball that all will be usable professional pitches. Littrell should go off the board sometime between rounds 4-7. Scott Firth, RHP, Clemson Firth is a name that you won’t see on many prospect lists and rightfully so. He was drafted last year by the Phillies in the 32nd round but elected not to sign. He returned to Clemson for his senior year. Firth likely showed up on the Twins radar in 2011 after dominating the Cape Cod League. He didn’t put up Manaean numbers, but he did lead the circuit with an ERA of 1.15. His K/BB ratio (30/23) wasn’t great, but his ability to keep runs off the board was enough for teams to take note. He likely hoped to build on his summer when he returned to Clemson, but didn't. Instead of starting, like he did in the Cape, he was shifted to closer where he struck out more than a batter per inning, but didn't see his draft stock improve. This year, Firth has pitched 55 innings in 17 games (six as a starter); he hasn't had great success. But, like the Twins have done before, could a permanent role as a starter – especially with a pretty fresh arm – rekindle some of the success he’s had? That’s a tough question to answer, but with senior-signs being relatively cheap and one that throws a mid-90s fastball with a plus slider (inconsistently), it might be one worth finding out. Do you have any college pitching “personal cheeseballs”? Click here to view the article

Earlier today I asked Twitter followers (and others) to tell me who they think the Twins will or should trade. I figured I could come up with some hypotheticals and the readers at TwinsDaily could weigh in on the different proposals. I’m not suggesting these are all trades I would make, but are deals I consider relatively fair (and that make sense) from both clubs’ views. I immediately got a lot of suggestions: Justin Morneau, Kevin Correia, Trevor Plouffe, Jamey Carroll, Mike Pelfrey, Josh Willingham and Glen Perkins. Download attachment: baseballmoney1.jpg [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]There were a few Joe Mauer suggestions, but I figured they were in jest, so we’ll stay away from that. There was also one that involved minor leaguers. Now, while I do think the Twins could deal away a prospect or two in the right package, they won't be dealing the “building blocks of the future”. Today we’ll start out with the four easier decisions (in my opinion) and we’ll take a look at the three more difficult ones tomorrow. Jamey Carroll Carroll is currently playing out his age-39 season and will, in all likelihood, be receiving a $250,000 buyout after the season. While he’s on pace to make the lowest number of plate appearances since his rookie season of 2002, he still provides versatility and a somewhat valuable glove at multiple infield positions. Considering this may be Carroll’s final season, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see the Twins deal him to a contender. At this point, it’s hard to say who, but the return would likely not be a prospect. Would you trade Jamey Carroll and cash (likely the money to cover his buyout) for a PTBNL or cash? The return would probably be the “buyout money” coming back, which would essentially mean that Carroll is given away solely to give him the opportunity to play in a pennant race (and maybe the Twins save a few hundred thousand on his remaining salary). It sounds fair to me and it also allows the Twins to give a few at-bats to James Beresford or Doug Bernier. Mike Pelfrey I thought that, when the Twins signed Pelfrey, there was potential for him to be a guy the Twins could deal at the deadline. (Off topic, they could have done much worse than signing Pelfrey. See: Baker, Marcum, Myers.) Unfortunately, Pelfrey got off to a rough start before hurting his back. Now we’re looking at him getting only a handful of starts before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Pelfrey is on pace to finish right around 150 IP, which triggers the first of many incentives. (The first one is worth $100,000.) I can’t imagine there is a huge trade market for a current fringe-#5 starter, so I see very little chance Pelfrey gets moved. Given that Pelfrey’s agent is Scott Boras, we know that Pelfrey will hit the free agent market after the season. Call me nuts, but I think we have yet to see the best of Pelfrey. (In which case, let’s see what happens in late August.) To be completely honest, I would sign Pelfrey to the exact same deal next year that he has currently, but I think he'll get a better deal in the off-season. Kevin Correia Correia is an interesting case. He signed a 2-year/$10 million deal which fans and local media hated instantly. He then started out the season pitching much better than expected. Now he’s leveled off and isn’t doing anything to help the Twins or his trade value (though he was pretty good tonight). Oh, then there’s the “you can’t trade a guy in the first year of a multi-year deal” thing you've gotta deal with. I think Correia has less value than Pelfrey because of the $5.5 million owed him in 2014. Is Correia the piece that’s going to put a team over the top and into the playoffs? I don’t think so, Tim. Is there a team that would add Correia to help stabilize an overused bullpen? I don’t even think that’s a possibility. But let’s pretend for a moment that the Rockies, who liked Correia last offseason and are a handful of games back, get hot and decide to become buyers. (I don’t think it’s likely, but just for the sake of saying…) Would you trade Kevin Correia and cash for Christian Bergman, a AA starter who doesn’t throw hard but could be Kevin Correia in a handful of years? I can’t imagine the Twins get much of anything after asking a team to cover all of next year’s salary. In this scenario, maybe the Twins cover $2 - $3 million and get a guy that would be a fringe Top 30 prospect. If you’re not okay with chipping in a couple million, replace Bergman with any AA relief pitcher with either control issues or one who is older than the competition. Josh Willingham It’s actually quite a simple question with Willingham. Are you okay with trading damaged goods for two low-level, limited-ceiling pitchers right now just to get out of his 2014 salary? Or would you rather see him get healthy and shop him at the winter meetings and hope to get something back with better value? Listen, I like Willingham and given what the potential returns were last deadline (rumored to be not much), I’m glad the Twins didn’t deal him. It was a calculated risk, sure, and it didn’t work out the way the Twins had hoped. There is a chance he can recoup some value and be traded still, whether by the August deadline, over the winter or next July. But being honest here, if the return value wasn’t going to be high in the midst of a career year, when is it? Tomorrow we’ll look at Justin Morneau, Trevor Plouffe and Glen Perkins. Click here to view the article

When Mike Pelfrey was activated from the disabled list earlier this month, P.J. Walters was the odd-man out of the Twins rotation. He was outrighted to Rochester on July 8th and made his first start on July 12th. Once Walters was designated for assignment, it was assumed he’d be joining a rotation that consisted of Vance Worley, Liam Hendriks, Pedro Hernandez, and Cole De Vries, all of whom have major league experience.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] That doesn’t include Andrew Albers and Logan Darnell, both southpaws by way of the Kentucky Wildcats. Having seven capable pitchers at this level, especially with the question marks in the big league rotation - even if all turn out to be AAAA pitchers - seemed luxurious. Download attachment: redwings.jpg (http://www.democratandchronicle.com) And then the wheels started to fall off. Cole De Vries experience discomfort in his right (throwing) elbow and was placed on the DL with a strained elbow on July 6. Pedro Hernandez was scratched from his scheduled start on July 14 and placed on the DL with a left (throwing) forearm strain. Even without De Vries, who has battled injuries all year, and Hernandez, who was probably destined for the bullpen anyway, Rochester still had a formidable rotation. But then – as things typically happen in threes – Vance Worley went down with right (throwing) shoulder impingement. By the time Worley rehabs and is ready to pitch again, there is a chance the minor-league season will be over. Former Twin sinkerballer Nick Blackburn, who is recovering from wrist surgery, is set to re-join the Red Wings rotation tomorrow to fill out the starting five. He could be a valuable addition to this staff as he tries to work his way back to the Twin Cities. But since his first game action on June 28 he’s made only five minor-league appearances between the GCL Twins and New Britain. And if that’s not enough “flux” for you, P.J. Walters will be leaving the team after his start on Thursday to be his wife for the birth of their daughter. Despite all the shakeup (or hiccups), the Red Wings have still managed to recover from a horrid (2-11) start to be tied for the lead in the Wild Card race. Just imagine how much better this team could be if they could get healthy and play to their potential, though in that case, Worley, De Vries and potentially Blackburn could be finding themselves flying west. Click here to view the article

The Twins were off today, but there was still plenty of action. Trevor Plouffe announced on Twitter this morning that he would be back tomorrow. And before their afternoon (or was it morning?) game, the Red Wings activated Deolis Guerra from the DL and placed Dan Sattler on the DL. Later this evening, the Twins announced they were placing Anthony Swarzak on the DL with a rotator cuff strain. To take his place, the Twins will purchase the contract of RP Luis Perdomo.Since the 40-man roster is full, Carl Pavano was transferred to the 60-day DL. Pavano last pitched on June 1, so he will be eligible to come off the DL well before he’s actually ready to be activated. (He's starting his rehab in Fort Myers, so who knows how long it will take for him to get ready.)[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Throughout the day, there were various trade rumors involving many current Twins. As the deadline approaches, Francisco Liriano (Orioles and Angels) appears almost certain to be moved. Denard Span (Reds) is mentioned prominently. Both Justin Morneau and Josh Willingham have had their names brandished about, though the Twins appear set (and rightfully so!) on keeping Willingham around. (Seriously, if he hits 40 HRs, stays healthy and has a decent first half next year... then let's talk about trading him.) And now today’s round-up: ROCHESTER 9, SYRACUSE 17 Box score I’m not gonna lie: After reading up on newest addition, Eric Hurley, I was a little excited. Not because I thought he’d dominate AAA and be the answer for the Twins of 2013’s problems; but because he was once a highly-ranked, untouchable prospect. The Rangers wouldn’t trade him for anybody… and then he got hurt… and stayed hurt. He made a brief appearance for the Angels this year (so brief he didn’t even pitch) before eventually electing to become a free agent. The Twins/Red Wings picked him off the scrap heap and inserted him into their rotation to see if he had anything left in the tank. 2 2/3 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, BB, K, 2 HR, HBP, 35 strikes on 55 pitches. His current 23.63 IL ERA makes his 5.81 PCL ERA look pretty good. The crazy thing about today’s game was that when Hurley left in the 3rd inning, the game was tied at 7. Obviously the Red Wings bats showed up to play. Unfortunately, the Syracuse Chiefs were a little more ready to play. The bullpen combined to finish the game, but not before yielding 15 more hits and 10 more earned runs. Caleb Thielbar (2 ER, 4 H, 4 outs), Kyle Waldrop (5 ER, 5 H, 5 outs) and Luke French (2 ER, 3 H, 4 outs) were all pretty brutal. The lone pitching bright spot was the return of Deolis Guerra who allowed only one run on three hits in two innings. He struck out two. For as bad as the pitching was today, the offense was exactly opposite. The offense contributed nine runs on nine hits. The three guys that stood out offensively were Brian Dinkelman (2-for-5, 3 R, 2B), Chris Parmelee (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB) and Tsuyoshi Nishioka (1-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI). It wasn’t enough however as the 3-6 hitters combined to go 2-for-15, including Danny Valencia’s 0-for-4 showing. The Red Wings hit the road to continue their pursuit of a playoff berth, playing a 4-game series in Columbus starting tomorrow. NEW BRITAIN vs READING - postponed FT. MYERS 4, BREVARD COUNTY 3 Box score Tom Stuifbergen pitched his best game of the season, lasting into the eighth inning. He allowed only five hits and a walk, yielding two runs and striking out a season-high seven batters. Miguel Munoz recorded the last five outs (all groundouts) for his first save. He allowed one hit and one run. The Miracle scored all four of their runs in the 2nd inning. Josmil Pinto got the scoring started with a solo home run. Anderson Hidalgo knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly before Danny Santana plated two with a triple. No batter had more than one hit. BELOIT 1, BURLINGTON 4 Box score The Snappers bats didn’t do much damage tonight, scoring only one run on six hits. Stephen Wickens led the offensive charge with two singles. He added a stolen base (but was caught stealing once too). Kennys Vargas continues hitting the ball, knocking a double to drive in the team’s lone run. Miguel Sano went 1-for-4 with a strikeout. David Hurlbut went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out one. Tim Atherton allowed a hit in one inning. Steven Gruver made his fourth bullpen appearance of the season allowing a run in one inning. DJ Baxendale made his Snappers debut striking out one in an inning of work. Baxendale’s professional numbers are pretty sick so far: 7 G, 8 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 18 K. Next year will be a better indication for Baxendale’s prospect status, as he will more-than-likely be moved to Beloit’s starting rotation. ELIZABETHTON 10, GREENEVILLE 2 Box score The E-Twins did what the E-Twins do… pound the ball on offense and get great pitching from their staff. Adam Walker continues to show off his power, hitting two home runs and driving in three runs. Walker is a legitimate power prospect. Max Kepler hit his 6th home run (of the season and in his last ten games). Kepler recently said he wants to bulk up to about 240 and views himself in the “Josh Hamilton” mold. Rory Rhodes continues to hit since his demotion, going 3-for-5 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Niko Goodrum added his 7th double of the season. Ricardo Arevalo had another rough outing. He last 4 1/3 innings giving up two runs on four hits. He allowed two walks and struck out five. While not a terrible stat line, He’s now given up multiple earned runs in his last six starts. This is his 4th year in rookie ball and he has a career record of 1-14… not exactly awe-inspiring numbers. Brett Lee continued his stellar season in relief. He pitched 2 2/3 innings of one-hit ball. Luis Nunez, who’s been hot-and-cold all year, pitched the last two innings. He allowed no hits and struck out three. When Nunez is on – which he was today – he is nearly unhittable. GCL TWINS 7, GCL RAYS 2 Box score The GCL affiliate was powered by a 6-run 5th inning. Three of those runs came on one swing of Byron Buxton’s bat, a home run to left field. (Buxton improved his BA to .190.) Bryan Haar (3-for-4) also doubled in the innings. Brian Compton, son of Twins scout Ken Compton, went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI in his professional debut. Compton was an undrafted free agent out of Cal State – L.A. Sam Gibbons had his best outing since the beginning of the month, allowing two hits in five innings. He struck out two. Gibbons will try to continue the trend of unearthly successful players from Down Under. Andre Martinez, of the “signed, unsigned, signed again” fame, made his pro debut by walking two and allowing a hit in 1 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs (one earned). Martinez was signed at a much-discounted rate after his physical showed some shoulder issues. Hung Yi Chen allowed one hit in 2 2/3 innings. --- Players of the Day for Thursday, July 26, 2012 Hitters of the Day – Chris Parmelee Download attachment: IMG_0655-640x427-300x200.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Tom Stuifbergen Download attachment: ph_521232.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Friday, July 27, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Syracuse – RHP Jeff Manship (6-1, 2.29) New Britain at Reading – LHP Logan Darnell (8-7, 4.47) Ft. Myers vs Brevard County – RHP Madison Boer (4-9, 6.69) Beloit at Burlington – RHP Tyler Jones (1-3, 5.06) Elizabethton vs Greenefield – RHP Hudson Boyd (2-3, 1.32) GCL Twins vsGCL Red Sox – TBA --- If you have any questions on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and we’ll try to answer them! Comments also welcome. Click here to view the article

The title of today's article is based on Rihanna's "Diamonds", which I heard on KDWB today and which was written in less than 15 minutes. Not a coincidence, it took longer than 15 minutes to write the following report. Download attachment: diamond.jpg The Twins had an off day yesterday and return to action this evening against the Tampa Bay Rays. Kyle Gibson will look to continue his early season success. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]All apologies for having this go up later than normal. But now that we're back up and running, the report goes up as usual. RED WINGS REPORT ROCHESTER 5, SYRACUSE 2 Box Score A couple who were recently dismissed from the 40-man roster helped the Red Wings get back over .500. Scott Diamond turned in his best outing of the season (by far!) en route to picking up his first victory this year. His six solid innings, where he allowed seven hits and two walks, were enough for Rochester’s bats to pick up the win. Diamond allowed two runs and struck out three. He threw 90 pitches (61 strikes). A.J. Achter picked up a three-inning save. He struck out four batters while allowing one hit. He also hit a batter. Chris Parmelee has continued his hot play. Parmelee was 3-for-4 tonight and hit his third home run of the season. He drove in two and also reached base after he was hit by pitch. Over his last four games, he is 10-for-17 with three extra base hits (two home runs), a walk and five runs batted in. Danny Santana and Eric Farris both added two hits and a stolen base. Doug Bernier and Wilkin Ramirez doubled. ROCK CATS REVIEW NEW BRITAIN 4, NEW HAMPSHIRE 7 (14 innings) Box Score The Rock Cats have been pretty terrible this year, but were having so much fun today they decided to play 14 innings (or 4 hours, 37 minutes). Pat Dean got the team off to a good start, scattering three runs (two earned) over 5.1 innings. He allowed six hits and three walks. He struck out three and gave up two home runs. The bullpen did an excellent job. Cole Johnson (two Ks) went 1.2 innings. Matt Guerrier was charged with a blown save, but the run was unearned. Lester Oliveros pitched two scoreless frames. Dan Turpen (5 outs) and Ryan O’Rourke (1 out) contributed hitless outings. Adrian Salcedo was asked to pitch a longer outing and struggled. He got six batters out, but walked one, allowed three hits, threw two wild pitches and committed a throwing error. This led to three runs (two earned) and his second loss of the season. The defense behind the pitchers was shaky at best. Aderling Mejia and Kennys Vargas both had “missed catch” errors. But the pitchers didn’t help themselves either, with both Salcedo and Turpen committing errors of their own. The bats went cold after the 4th inning. The Rockcats scored four in the first four innings, but managed zero runs over the final 10 frames. Nate Hanson had two hits, including a home run. Brandon Waring doubled in his multi-hit game. Tony Thomas, Danny Ortiz and Vargas also had two-hit games. Of issue was the team going 3-for-16 with RISP and leaving 13 runners on base. MIRACLE MATTERS FORT MYERS 2, JUPITER 3 Box Score Alex Wimmers had another solid start, though this one wasn’t as good as the last one. He pitched five innings, allowing five hits and walking three. He allowed two runs and struck out four in a no-decision. Steven Gruver took the loss, giving up a run in two innings. Madison Boer walked one in a scoreless inning. Offensively, the Miracle struggled, going 2-for-11 with RISP and left 10 men on base. Levi Michael hit his fifth double. Niko Goodrum hit his third triple. Mike Gonzales and Max Kepler both had two hits. Jorge Polanco went 0-for-3, but is still batting .333. He hasn’t been without struggles though. Tonight he committed his 10th error, and was picked off/caught stealing. It’s a tribute to him that he’s been able to keep his troubles out of the batter’s box though, and you have to wonder how long he’ll get a shot to continue at shortstop (especially when neither Michael or Goodrum would be any worse). Doug Mientkiewicz was ejected in the 8th inning. KERNELS NUGGETS CEDAR RAPIDS 3, PEORIA 5 Box Score The Kernels blew an early lead and then regained it… only to lose it again in the 8th inning. They were unable to battle back in the 9th inning and fell to 9-8 on the season. Aaron Slegers went 5.2 innings allowing three runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out five before turning the ball over to Brandon Bixler. Bixler walked two and struck out two, allowing one hit in 1.1 innings. Christian Powell took the loss, surrendering two runs on two hits and a walk. He struck out three in his first decision of the year. Jason Kanzler was the lone player to get multiple hits. Kanzler also doubled. Bryan Haar doubled. Chad Christensen tripled and Zack Larson homered. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Scott Diamond, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chris Parmelee, Rochester Red Wings TUESDAY’S PROBABLES: Rochester at Pawtucket (5:15 CST): Logan Darnell Fort Myers vs Jupiter (5:35 CST): Jason Wheeler New Britain at New Hampshire (5:35 CST): Virgil Vasquez Cedar Rapids at Peoria (6:30 CST): Ryan Eades Click here to view the article

I trade him for whatever I can get. It opens up a lefty pen spot for Darnell, which, in turn, opens a rotation spot for Meyer or May. Next year, Darnell can do what Duensing does for a fraction of the price.

With the Twins off on Monday, the focus of the sports world in the state of Minnesota is on the Wild, as they work to force a game seven against the Avalanche. Byron Buxton returned to Extended Spring games yesterday and was rusty. Minor League Director Brad Steil said today that Buxton should be joining the Miracle within two weeks. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Charlotte 0 Box Score Alex Meyer was brilliant again tonight. Up to 100 pitches (65 strikes), Meyer picked up AAA win #1 tonight. He fanned 11 (for the second straight game) and allowed no earned runs. In six innings, he allowed six runners - two hits, three walks and a hit by pitch. With this newfangled change-up, Meyer might just be forcing his way into the Twins starting rotation. Of course, my personal opinion is that the Twins will probably hold off bringing Meyer up until the Super-2 deadline passes (in early- to mid-June). The Matts (Hoffman and Guerrier) closed out the final three innings, with Guerrier picking up a Triple A save. Chris Parmelee doubled to drive in the only run of the game. Doug Bernier doubled, Danny Santana and James Beresford added singles in the Red Wings four-hit game. Santana also stole a base. In his third rehab game, Oswaldo Arcia went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts and a walk. At 13-11, the Red Wings are tied for second in the IL South, a half game behind the PawSox. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 0, Harrisburg 9 Box Score You could pretend that the Rock Cats didn't play today and skip down to the Miracle recap... Otherwise, if you're looking for good news, you could stop reading after hearing the the Rock Cats pitchers struck out 15. (Summers 1, Fuller 4, Salcedo 7, O'Rourke 3.) If you want the full story though, Summers got rocked (six runs - five earned - and five outs), Salcedo had an interesting night (with all the strikeouts, he still gave up three runs in 2.2 innings), and the offense was brutal (Matt Koch and A.J. Pettersen provided all two of the New Britain hits). MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Bradenton 0 Box Score Jason Wheeler had a night worthy of the "Pitcher of the Day" award. His performance tonight - a complete game shutout - might be the first of its kind in the whole organization this year. Wheeler allowed Download attachment: 480_Wheeler_Mark_LoMoglio_MiLB_2nwdjqb6_wfxr6ccg.jpg only two hits and struck out three. Offensively, there are a number of guys who fit in the PMKI category. Niko Goodrum led the way, going 4-for-4 with a double, two stolen bases and three RBI. Dalton Hicks hit his first home run of the year. Levi Michael and Jorge Polanco both had two-hit games. Polanco, who also stole a base, is now hitting .364. Mike Gonzales and Travis Harrison added doubles. The Miracle (14-10) are now in a three-way tie for first in the FSL South Division. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 0 (6 innings - RAIN) Box Score Ryan Eades had arguably his best professional outing tonight in a rain-shortened, complete game shutout. Eades went all six innings, striking out six, walking one and allowing only three hits. The offense did just enough, getting a Bryan Haar sac fly RBI to follow up a Mitch Garver double to score the game's lone run. The win cuts the Kane County lead over the Kernels to 3.5 games. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – (three-way Twitter-vote tie) Alex Meyer, Rochester; Jason Wheeler, Fort Myers; Ryan Eades, Cedar Rapids Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Cartier "Niko" Goodrum, Fort Myers MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Charlotte @ Rochester (10:35 CST) – Kris Johnson (Listen) New Britain @ Harrisburg (6:00 CST) – Taylor Rogers (Listen) Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – Tyler Duffey (Listen) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – Ethan Mildren (Listen) Click here to view the article

Download attachment: hangoutspic3.jpg Seth and Jeremy will be live at 9pm on Tuesday. (There may or may not be a baseball game to watch in the background.) We'd love to take your questions and you can leave them down below. Some topics we'll likely cover are: -The current state of the pitching staff (and possible solutions). -Will this walk rate continue? -How about Monday night's minor league pitchers!? -Minor league roundup (including a look at the Futures Game) -Buyers or Sellers (or both or neither?) -and more... [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]If you miss the live show, you can always catch up on our webpage or on iTunes. Click here to view the article

At some point - at least after I get all the guys entered - I'll write up an article that explains all the bells and whistles. At this point, though, there is still a lot of data input to do... and while I do that, I make a laundry list of things that I'll send to Brock. It's currently functionable, so we were ok with having it live. I'm always open to suggestions, though I'm not sure how much is out there that hasn't been discussed.

The annual baseball Rule IV baseball draft is less than four months away. And while both the college and high school seasons still have to be played, it’s never too early to start looking ahead at the draft. This draft takes on an added interest if you’re a Twins fan. The team has not drafted higher than 14th overall since taking some guy named Mauer with the top overall pick in 2001. The 2012 draft brings not only the #2 overall pick, but also six total picks in the Top 100. For a franchise that has done a great job developing home-growing talent, it couldn’t come at a better time as the farm system has arguably the least amount of available talent in recent memory. There are a handful of players who are consistently considered to be at the top of the draft board, but rather than focus on those players – who may or may not still be there in June – I’m going to look at something that won’t change between now and then: The Twins drafting trends and potential targets that those trends suggest. Before last June’s draft I examined the patterns that I had seen in the Twins early draft picks. This year I’m going to look at something that probably goes unnoticed by draft fans: the teams desire to select re-drafts as well as Minnesotans. My initial thought was to break this into two separate posts, but the more research I did, the more I realized that guys would appear on both lists. Before getting deeper into this I want to add a few notes that I’m speculating to be fact when the draft rolls around. I’d encourage you to read up if the new rules are unfamiliar to you. The Twins will overdraft players that they can pay below slot. In 2007, the Twins selected a virtual unknown in the first round and paid him $330,000 less than slot. Under the old CBA, that’s a great “savings.” Starting in June, that’s going to be a phenomenal job of “banking.” The player turned out to be Ben Revere, so not only was the pick great, it was also great strategy. Even though GM Terry Ryan resigned Matt Capps and referenced not caring about the draft pick they could have gained for letting him walk, the Twins aren’t about to overspend in the draft and forfeit draft picks. In fact, the Twins are much more likely to “bank” savings and leave them there instead of using that money to go sign the players that dropped because of signability issues. The Twins – with all their picks – will have the largest amount of money in their draft pool, rumored to be just over $11m, to spend on the first ten rounds of the draft. I hope they spend every penny. The Re-Drafts: Every year while following the draft a couple of Twins picks names will be very familiar. Not because I’ve familiarized myself with the 1400 plus names that are getting picked, but because a couple of these names will be guys the Twins have drafted and not signed in previous drafts. While pouring over names available for June’s draft, I ran across a few guys that have been drafted previously. The following are a list of guys that will get drafted in June and might just end up hearing their name called by the Twins. James Ramsey, OF, Florida State. Ramsey, a 22nd round pick in 2011, was offered 2nd round money and turned it down to return for his senior season. Ramsey, who also has experience as an infielder, used a very strong summer showing to raise his draft stock and will start this season as one of the top prospects in the senior class nationally. It is very conceivable that the Twins could use one of their sandwich-round picks to pluck Ramsey. Without the leverage of returning to school, whoever drafts Ramsey is going to get a player that won’t demand more than slot. Pat Light, P, Monmouth. Light was drafted in the 28th round in the 2009 draft out of a New Jersey high school. It appeared at the time that he was part of a fallback plan in case 1st rounder Kyle Gibson wasn’t signed. Since that time, Light has put on over 20 pounds and added 4-6 mph on his fastball. Light is still plenty projectable, but hasn’t had great results. Although he’s been a starter in college, his stuff might be better suited for the bullpen. If Light struggles again, he’ll probably drop into the 8-10 round range and be a tough sign. If he figures it out this year, he’ll be a Top 100 pick and get a chance to start in the minors. Ronnie Richardson, OF, Central Florida. Richardson was drafted in the 11th round in 2009 by the Twins and again as a draft-eligible sophomore by the Cubs in the 31st round in 2011. As a junior, Richardson will have leverage, but I think if he could take a do-over, he’d sign as an 11th rounder. The thing that I find most interesting about Richardson is that the Twins drafted him to be a SS, yet he’s played strictly in the OF for UCF. He’s tiny like Ben Revere, only not as fast and has a better arm, and it’s probable that the Twins would try to make him a 2B, you know, the thing they should have done with Ben Revere. TJ Oakes, P, Minnesota. Oakes was given the “courtesy” 41st round draft pick by the Twins in 2011 as a draft-eligible sophomore. It was pretty clear before the draft – and vividly clear after the draft – that Oakes wasn’t going to sign. The Twins really like the pitcher whose build and repertoire resemble that of Nick Blackburn and will - unless they’re beaten to the punch - definitely re-draft Oakes this June… only it will probably be 35 rounds higher this time. Oakes also serves as an excellent bridge to the second part of this post. The Minnesotans: Over the past six drafts, there have been 60 Minnesotans drafted. Of those 60, 20 of them have been drafted by the Twins. That’s a remarkable percentage. It’s also stays consistent from year to year. The Twins have drafted two or three in-state products every year, except for the year it drafted six (in 2008). With that in mind, it’s a virtual guarantee that the Twins will draft at least two Minnesotans in June. I anticipate Oakes being one, but let’s look at who might end up being the other(s). Mitchell Brown, P, Rochester (Century) HS. Brown can already run it up to 93 mph and is committed to San Diego University. It’s hard to speculate about Brown’s signability, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the Twins use one of their half-dozen top 100 picks to grab the top prep pitcher in the state of Minnesota. Austin Lubinsky, P, Minnesota. Lubinsky was drafted by the Giants in the 36th round of the 2011 draft but elected to return to the Gophers for his senior season. Lubinsky reminds me a little bit of former Twin Kevin Slowey. With only 40 rounds in the draft now, Lubinksy could find himself going in the 28-34 range. Of course, at this point we're dealing with a lot of speculation when it comes to the draft. As the draft gets closer, we'll look at guys who fit the "Twins mold" and eventually look at some other players who may be candidates to be selected by the Twins early on. Originally found at www.ManCenter.com Download attachment: LucasGiolito.jpg Click here to view the article

If you're at all looking forward to the June Rule IV baseball draft as a Twins fans, there is no doubt that you're already familiar with a handful of names: Appel, Giolito, Buxton, Zunino, and most recently, Zimmer. If you're a fan of following the Twins draft at all, there are some terms you're probably familiar with: "strike-thrower", "long and lean", "wiry/athletic" or (my personal favorite Gardyism) "a grinder". You're always going to find draft picks that are breaks from the normal "that's-what-I'd-expect-from-the-Twins"-type draft picks. But there is always going to be a lot of draft picks where you read a scouting report and think, "Wow, he sounds like someone the Twins would draft." Or the one I think the most, "Isn't there enough 'toolsy outfielders' in the system?" The Twins are also bound to draft that guy that "profiles similar to Glen Perkins." Why? Because these are "Twins-type guys".[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Let's get started with a quick run through the Northeast part of the United States. I'm starting here because in 2009 I became enamored with a "toolsy outfielder" from a little town in New Jersey who had his senior season basically wiped out because of rain. He was a guy I liked more and more every time I read anything about him, yet someone that wasn't gaining a lot of helium because he wasn't playing as much as your typical prospect. The Twins passed on him at 22 to take Kyle Gibson (which I was thrilled about) and the Angels ended up taking him at 25. Him being Mike Trout. And the Angels being more thrilled than anyone. I believed at the time - and still do - that the Northeast, while not a hotbed for talent, is a great place for the Twins to look for it, simply because there is no "how he's going to adjust to playing in the cold?" projection. The other thing that stands out to me is that the scouting for this area is handled by John Wilson. With 2011 serving as an exception, the last handful of years have been heavy with picks from this region - high picks, late signs - which shows how much Wilson's opinion is valued. Five college names to watch: “The Re-draft” Pat Light, P, Monmouth. Light was discussed more at length a couple of weeks ago. We know the Twins like him because they drafted him out of high school. “The Stony Brook Guys” If you’re asking, “Why Stony Brook?” you must not know its Joe Nathan’s alma mater. And although they didn’t draft him, the fact that he was so good for the Twins doesn’t hurt. Travis Jankowski, OF, Stony Brook: I was extremely high on Brandon Nimmo last June. Jankowski is this year’s college version of Nimmo. “Long and lean”, “athletic”, “football background” are all “Twins ways” to describe this true center fielder. Jankowski has four solid tools (only missing power), but all the tools the Twins typically look for. Another thing the Twins would love – he led the wood-bat Cape Cod League in triples last summer. He’d be a perfect fit in the sandwich round for a team looking for a “toolsy outfielder.” Pat Cantwell, C, Stony Brook: Look at this picture and tell me he doesn’t look like somebody the Twins would like. Cantwell was drafted by the Orioles in the 39th round last year, but elected to return for his senior season. So the Twins could get a “grinder” on the cheap. Sign this guy up. Seeing the one picture was enough for me. Other names to remember Mike LeBel, SS/P, Rhode Island: Another senior, but this one went undrafted last year. LeBel, who’s been a really good shortstop at URI, is coming off a solid showing in the Cape where he was clocked at 93mph off the mound. He’s yet to pitch in a game – where he’s expected to close – but he has been swinging a hot bat and blogging, of course. Pavano could help him with the ‘stache too. Kyle Hansen, P, St. John's: A big righty (6’ 8”) who has that “workhorse” body. Although he currently struggles with command, he could still fill out, add velocity and become a innings-eater. If not, he could prove to be a valuable bullpen asset with a mid-90mph fastball. Next up on the tour will be the Midwest. Jeremy Nygaard is the co-founder of ManCenter.com. Click here to view the article

Options: If you go to the Organizational Chart, click on "custom", sort by "options" and sort "descending". That will be much more helpful than putting it on the R&P page. The "custom" button also will work to alphabetize things too.

Over the course of the last week or so, a lot of news regarding the International Signing Period has come out. Up until July of 2012, International Free Agency has been a free-for-all. In the 2010-11 period, the Mariners spent $6.47 million. Four teams spent $5 million or more. Five teams spent less than a million dollars. The Twins, middle-of-the-pack spenders, spent $2.54 million. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The following spending period (July 2011 - June 2012) was the final opportunity for teams, under the old guidelines, to spend however they wanted. The Rangers spent a ridiculous $12.83 million. The Blue Jays spent $7.57 million. Two more teams (that typically spend more than the Twins), the Royals and Mariners both spent over $6 million. Only three teams spent less than a million dollars (the Dodgers, White Sox, Orioles and Nationals are teams that have limited their International budget recently), while the Twins stayed middle-of-the-pack again, spending $2.31 million. Download attachment: 23dna.600.jpg Sano undergoing DNA testing in July of 2009 in an effort to prove his age and identity. The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia Finding accurate data going back much further is difficult, but it should be pointed out that Miguel Sano signed with the Twins for $3.15 million in September of 2009. That is clearly the exception and not the rule. It would be safe to say their budget is normally in the $2.5 million range; and while they won't "spend just to spend", they will open their pocketbooks for players they feel are worth it. So what's the big deal? Well, starting in the July 2012 - June 2013 period, all teams had $2.9 million to spend. It wasn't a "hard cap" per se, but there were penalties if you exceeded that amount. (The Rays, for example, exceeded their cap by so much they won't be able to sign anyone for over $250,000 in the 2013-14 signing class.) Final amounts won't be in until June, but Terry Ryan said in a radio interview earlier this winter that he "suspected" the Twins would use most, if not the entire amount. Let's fast-forward to July of this year. First off, let's hope there is no more snow on the ground. Secondly, let's talk about the changes that have happened (again) in regard to International spending. Ben Badler of Baseball America does a great job in a series of posts explaining exactly how it will all work. Matt Garrioch at minorleagueball.com examined the fairness of the "new spending pools". All are excellent reads if you're into it. Instead of giving you the overview on all of baseball, I'm going to break it down for you from the Twins perspective because, well, that's why you're here. As baseball pushes towards an International Draft, you'll see similarities between the International spending period and the Rule 4 draft. For starters, there are penalties for exceeding your pool. And starting this year, the worst teams are allowed the largest pools. The Twins have the 4th pick in the Rule 4 draft; they also are being afforded the fourth-largest spending pool in International Free Agency: $3,908,600. (This is done in an effort to steer the most sought-after amateurs to the teams with the most money - the worst teams.) Now, I referenced the Twins as not being a "spend-it-just-to-spend-it" team and also referred to their penchant to typically spend somewhere around $2.5 million. So what good does it do them to have nearly four million dollars? I'm glad you want to know, because here's the newest (and, for the Twins, probably most beneficial) wrinkle for signing International youngsters: the ability to trade portions of your signing pool. The Twins will enter July with five slots: #4 - $2,250,700 #34 - $450,400 #64 - $304,200 #94 - $203,300 Flat pool - $700,000 All teams have a standard 700K pool that they cannot trade, in addition to their four slots. Teams are limited to only adding 50% of their cap. So if the Twins were interested, they could add an additional $2 million to their signing pool through trades. A more likely scenario could see the Twins dealing some of their pool away. Badler suggests in this piece that the Twins could trade all but slot #4 and still have $3 million to spend. Here are a of couple scenarios that might give you an idea of how this could benefit the Twins: The Rangers currently have a pool just short of $2 million. They could add up to half of that to have a pool of $2.9 million (their limit this year, which they found a way to circumvent anyway). The Blue Jays, who have spent nearly $12 million over the last two years, have only $2.8 million to spend, but could get their pool up to $4.2 million through trades. If it's July and the Twins aren't in contention and the Rangers or Blue Jays come sniffing around Justin Morneau or Josh Willingham, this could give the Twins a chance to turn part of their pool (and money they probably wouldn't spend anyway) into a prospect. Or maybe it turns a prospect into a better prospect. Pretty good shake for the Twins, if you ask me. Obviously, July 2 is a long way off, but when the time comes, the Twins are going to have money to spend. The name that is already connected to the Twins is OF Micker Zapata. Zapata is a big (6-3, 225) outfielder currently training in the Dominican Republic. Zapata, however, is a very rare commodity in the International class: He was born in St. Thomas, grew up speaking English and will have that advantage as he tries to adjust to affiliated baseball (and probably play in the GCL at 17). The Twins place an emphasis on learning the language. They also, recently, have placed an emphasis on right-handed power. Zapata fits this bill perfectly. Zapata might be in line for a bonus in the $1.5-$1.75 range and the Twins are going to be one of the few teams in baseball with the cash to meet those demands. Despite early reports suggesting this international class isn't going to be a great one, it can only benefit the Twins to have assets available when assets are limited. Click here to view the article

We've been dealing with dreadful pitching in the major leagues pretty much everyday since... well... 2011. Today was more of the same. In fact, Kyle Gibson was sent back to Rochester after today's outing. There were some other minor league moves as well. A.J. Pettersen was moved from New Britain to Fort Myers along with Matthew Summers. To make room, Fort Myers sent Alex Swim back across the street. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] On a positive note, those in the FSNorth viewership got to see a glimpse into the Twins future as they broadcast the RockCats game this evening. Another positive was how some rehabbing pitchers fared. ROCHESTER RED WINGS 7, LOUISVILLE BATS 0 Box Score If you're looking for meaningful September baseball (and want to cheer for wins), this is one team for you to follow. The Red Wings have been playing very good baseball (and doing it with familiar names). Tonight, old friend Liam Hendriks was dialed in. Eight innings, eight strikeouts, no runs, four hits. He's probably earned the right to earn a major league salary again. Aaron Thompson pitched the final frame. Mid-season addition Jermaine Mitchell collected three hits out of the nine-hole. Chris Parmelee and Josmil Pinto each homered. The team had 12 hits tonight, including six extra-base hits. Pawtucket also won to keep the gap at two games. PJ Walters is scheduled to take the ball at 1:05 ET. NEW BRITAIN ROCKCATS 3, TRENTON THUNDER 10 Box Score The story of this game was that it was the first chance for many fans to see Miguel Sano and/or Eddie Rosario. (Unless you travel to MiLB games or watched the WBC on MLB Network (Rosario) or the couple of Spring Training games that Sano got into.) Neither did a lot tonight, but "rehabbing" Pedro Hernandez might have been the best you've seen him. He allowed only five baserunners in four innings and struck out four. He left with the RockCats up 2-0. After B.J. Hermsen pitched out of trouble in the 5th, but bullpen imploded. The trio of Blake Martin, Daniel Turpen and Jose Gonzalez allowed 10 runs on 11 hits and five walks. Not pretty. There were also some fielding gaffes that wouldn't make your daddy proud. Offensively, Danny Santana showed his wheels on both advancing on a sac fly from first to second and by tripling. Eddie Rosario hit a gapper to the left-center field wall that scored two runners. Miguel Sano didn't have any hits but had a loud out in the first and made a nice charging defensive play to nab a runner at first. Trevor May is on the bump tomorrow as the RockCats take on Trenton again at 7:05 ET. FORT MYERS MIRACLE - Day Off CEDAR RAPIDS 2, PEORIA CHIEFS 1 Box Score While the bats never fully woke up, they did just enough to get the win. The win, however, is credited to Tim Shibuya who pitched a great game. Shibuya went 8-plus innings, allowing only a run on five hits. Though he only struck out two batters, Shibuya only had to throw 76 pitches. Madison Boer earned the save by abandoning a runner on the third to end the game. Michael Gonzales had a sacrifice fly to score Jonathan Murphy in the first and added a double later. Jeremias Pineda singled in Joel Licon in the second inning. Niko Goodrum and Tyler Grimes added singles. Goodrum also stole two bases (now has 20) and committed his 25th error on the season. ELIZABETHTON TWINS 2, GREENEVILLE ASTROS 0 Box Score The E-Twins won again and are currently 1.5 games out of second-place and a shot at the Appy League playoffs. The pitching was the story of this game too. Hein Robb went the first six innings. He struck out six, walked two and allowed five hits. Luke Bard walked one and struck two. Carson Goldsmith secured the save by striking out four batters for four outs. The E-Twins bats offered a balanced attack. Seven of the nine starters accounted for a hit. Zach Larson provided the only extra-base hit (double). Bryan Haar had two hits while playing third base. ...and sit down for this one: Kohl Stewart is making his Appy League debut tomorrow night at 7:05 ET. Seth is currently making calls to see if the FSN crew from New Britain can be re-routed to Elizabethton. It would simply replace the Twins game and no one would even notice. GCL TWINS 2, GCL RAYS 2 Box Score And of course, if you're into good Twins "future" news, I've saved the best for last. Alex Meyer rehabbed today for the GCL Twins. He pitched the first 3.2 innings. (Eh.) He only allowed two hits. (Good.) Of the 11 outs he recored, nine came by strikeout. (Nine.) Nine! Not a bad afternoon. Download attachment: meyer.jpg www.baseballamerica.com Lewis Thorpe relieved him and struck out six in 3.1 innings. And not to be outdone, Jared Wilson and Jose Abreu struck out three in the final two innings. That's 18 strikeouts. Today. The Twins have struck out 18 batters the whole month of August. (That's exaggerated... I think.) Hitting-wise, more of the same. Not a lot of action. Amaurys Minier didn't play again today. He's been nursing injuries on-and-off all season. Don't choke on your peanuts when I tell you that Nelson freaking Molina led the squad with two hits today. He was 2-for-2 and is batting .290 over his last 10 games. Not bad after starting the year 1-for-52. (He did get caught stealing twice - once after a pickoff. At least that's what the box score called it. I call it "he was so excited to be on base he forgot what to do next".) Chad Christensen homered. Christensen is a Big 10 guy (Nebraska) and local-ish (Cedar Rapids). He's also versatile (can play any corner). I would think there is a chance he could be promoted aggressively in 2014 and get a chance to play the season in his hometown. Continue the conversation below. Click here to view the article

The people have spoken. If it's mock drafts you want... well, that's what you're going to get. Download attachment: mlb-draft.jpg 1. Houston - Carlos Rodon, LHP, NC State - The Astros have employed two very different strategies the last two years: They drafted Carlos Correa who wasn't perceived to be the top prospect to save money to draft guys who dropped later. Last year they took the #1 talent in Mark Appel. If they choose to go with the talent - which they should because the drop off to get a savings is significant - Rodon is the answer. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]2. Miami - Brady Aiken, LHP, California prep - Aiken is a fine consolation prize for a team who hoped to draft Rodon. Aiken is the safer of the two high school picks and could ascend through the minors much like Dylan Bundy did recently. 3. Chicago White Sox - Tyler Kolek, RHP, Texas prep - This pick was a slam-dunk for Jeff Hoffman before he got hurt. Now the White Sox are left to choose between Kolek and Alex Jackson. For now, it's Kolek. 4. Chicago Cubs - Jeff Hoffman, RHP, East Carolina - Stay with me here. The Cubs desperately want a pitcher. But why a pitcher that's out for a year? Hoffman still might be the guy that provides front-of-the-rotation ability the soonest (and by that I mean 2017). Tyler Beede might enter the discussion, based on the history he has with their minor league pitching coordinator. 5. Minnesota - Alex Jackson, C/OF, California prep - The Twins stay true to their board and take Jackson. For the record, I currently have their board as 1) Rodon 2) Aiken 3) Jackson 4) Kolek 5) Gordon. Jackson will likely tie up the entire slot ($3.851m). I would also anticipate the Twins having Jackson continue to catch (while also playing RF) a few times a week in Cedar Rapids next year. 6. Seattle - Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU - Nola's not going to be a front-end guy, but he'll move quickly. So give him a year or so and he'll make a nice #3 behind King Felix and Taijuan Walker. 7. Philadelphia - Nick Gordon, SS, Florida prep - While it seems silly to take a prep shortstop in consecutive drafts (especially after hitting on J.P. Crawford last year), Gordon is the exact type of player (see: crazy athletic) that the Phillies love. 8. Colorado - Kyle Freeland, LHP, Evansville - Freeland could be in play at #6. I mean, the Phillies did draft him out of high school. Freeland grew up in Denver, so no doubt there is some familiarity both ways. 9. Toronto - Trea Turner, SS, NC State - Turner seems like a relatively safe pick here for a team that comes back on the board at #11. 10. New York Mets - Sean Newcomb, LHP, Hartford - Newcomb has solidified his spot in the Top 15 and the Mets are in need of a pitcher. But, they also need hitting too and that could lead them to Michael Conforto or Bradley Zimmer. 11. Toronto - Touki Toussaint, RHP, Florida prep - Touki might not be the easiest guy to sign, but when you flash $3m at him. I bet he takes it. 12. Milwaukee - Grant Holmes, RHP, Sout Carolina prep - The Crew could go many directions, but Holmes is the choice over Beede and Finnegan. 13. San Diego - Michael Conforto, OF, Oregon State - The Padres would likely prefer a player with a higher-ceiling, but getting a guy who has been rumored as high as #6 is not a bad second choice. 14. San Francisco - Tyler Beede, RHP, Vanderbilt - It would be such a Giants thing to do to get a polarizing figure like Beede and turn him into Cy Young. 15. LA Angels - Max Pentecost, C, Kennesaw State - This might turn out to be the steal of the draft. 16. Arizona - Brandon Finnegan, RHP, TCU - How far does the short righty drop? For today, it's to Arizona. 17. Kansas City - Bradley Zimmer, OF, San Francisco - Zimmer could go higher (or lower) but going to KC would be cute for the Zimmer parents. 18. Washington - Erick Fedde, RHP, UNLV - The Nats go ahead and snap up an injured pitcher because they have stock in cadaver ligaments or because they are good at rehabbing them back to health. 19. Cincinnati - Sean Reid-Foley, RHP, Florida prep 20. Tampa Bay - Kyle Schwarber, C, Indiana 21. Cleveland - Nick Burdi, RHP, Louisville 22. LA Dodgers - Derek Hill, OF, California prep 23. Detroit - Michael Chavis, 3B, Georgia prep 24. Pittsburgh - AJ Reed, 1B, Kentucky 25. Oakland - Monte Harrison, OF, Missouri prep 26. Boston - Derek Fisher, OF, Virginia 27. St. Louis - Kodi Medeiros, LHP, Hawaii prep Next Thursday, I will project the Top 34 picks. And the morning of the draft, I will go through the top 46. If you'd like a taste of other mock drafts, check out Baseball America, Scout.com, MLB.com and ESPN. If you do compare my final mocks to those that are more prominent, please come up with a scoring system so you can tell me how I rank when it's all said and done. Rip apart, discuss, debate... or do all of them. Click here to view the article

As Seth broke yesterday, the Twins added C Chris Herrmann to their roster after OF Wilkin Ramirez was lost to an alleged concussion. Which proved to be real when he blew chunks on the team flight to Milwaukee. Rochester didn't make a corresponding addition when they announced the move this morning, leading me to believe one wouldn't be made before Trevor Plouffe, who is recovering from his own concussion, is activated on Wednesday and Herrmann was sent back down. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Tonight, however, Pioneer Press beat writer Mike Berardino tweeted that "it appears C Dan Rohlfing has been promoted to Rochester". That's curious for a few reasons: 1) even without Herrmann, the Red Wings still have Eric Fryer and Daniel Lehmann (and, in a pinch, Jeff Clement. 2) The Rock Cats are left with only Josmil Pinto (unless a another move is made). Now, there are three catchers in Fort Myers, so they could easily move one up. It should also be noted that fan-favorite Drew Butera may be ready to return to catching soon. Long story longer, it seems like a lot of shuffling around for a move that is only likely to last two more days. Or is there more to it? A move that does make sense has happened at the lower levels. After Matthew Tomshaw's promotion to Fort Myers, the need for another pitcher arose in Cedar Rapids. Enter: Hein Robb. Robb pitched in E-Town last year and was on the South African team that appeared in the 2009 WBC. I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day and I hope you enjoy reading about what happened in the Twins minor leagues today. Rochester Red Wings 5, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 0 Box Score If you already read this, then my thunder has been stolen. If you haven't, I'll give you the short version: Vance Worley returned to AAA today and LiamHendriks'ed the other team. You know, completely dominated a AAA foe. He pitched a complete game shutout, scattering five hits and four walks while striking out four. It probably wasn't in Worley's best interest to pitch so well in his initial Rochester start. He's going to need to show consistency over six or seven starts before he returns to Minnesota (where, ironically enough, he was very consistent). Hey Vance, how happy were you when you made it out of the first inning without giving up any runs? Show me a smile if you were real happy. Download attachment: vance-worley1.jpg Eric Fryer led the offense with two hits, including a triple, and an RBI. He scored twice. Some other Fryer tidbits, courtesy of their post-game release: Fryer has scored runs in six consecutive games (a Red Wings season high) and he also has a .329 OBP despite a .172 batting average. Antoan Richardson went 2-for-3 with a walk. He drove in a run and sports a very nice OBP of .435 in his 14 games as a Red Wing. LHP Andrew Albers (2-2, 2.61) will take the ball tomorrow night at Frontier Field against the Iron Pigs. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET. New Britain Rock Cats 3, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 12 Box Score For as good as the Vanimal pitched today, top prospect Alex Meyer did not. In five innings of work, Meyer walked four, allowed two hits (one a home run) and four earned runs. He struck out five. The loss drops him to 2-3 and raises his ERA to 3.95. Edgar Ibarra was the most successful pitcher today for the Rock Cats and he allowed three hits and two walks while recording only four outs and only giving up one run. Bruce Pugh was a disaster. After inheriting two runners and not letting them score he came back out for the eighth and, well, struggled. His final line consisted of seven earned runs on four hits and three walks. Minnesota's own Nate Hanson left the game after being hit by a pitch in the arm. But according to his wife, he'll be ok, just sore. Logan Darnell (4-3, 2.47) takes the ball at 6:35 ET. Fort Myers Miracle - DAY OFF The Miracle play Bradenton tomorrow night and their scheduled starter is TBD. Cedar Rapids Kernels 3, Burlington Bees 10 (Game 1) Box Score Cedar Rapids Kernels 3, Burlington Bees 6 (Game 2) Box Score The Kernels are in the midst of a tail-spin and have now lost five straight. Game one was close for four innings, before Brett Lee couldn't get anyone out in the fifth. He left after allowing six runs (five earned) on six hits and a walk. He struck out five. Manuel Soliman got roughed up for four runs (recording four outs). Alex Muren pitched five out of no-hit ball. Byron Buxton went 3-for-3 and stole a base (23). D.J Hicks added two singles and Candido Pimentel also added a single. Game two, was crappy too. Hudson Boyd gave up six runs in the first two innings, but did his team (and bullpen) a favor by getting it together enough to last through the sixth. David Hurlbut pitched a no-hit ninth. The bats managed only four hits in this one - Tyler Grimes had a two-run line-drive home run. Hicks had a double. Travis Harrison and Jorge Polanco each added a single. Mason Melotakis (3-2, 3.89) looks to right the ship tomorrow at 6:35 CT on Perfect Game Field. --- If you're interested in listening to yesterday's Gleeman and the Geek radio show where we talked about the draft, it's always within three clicks of any webpage. I'll be talking more draft with Cody and Eric on the Talk2Contact podcast this weekend and I may be chatting with Fanatic Jack (by phone, me from my chair, him from a ledge) at 10 pm tonight. Listen live here. Questions, comments, hints, allegations or things left unsaid to be discussed below. (Sorry, a little Collective Soul time warp during typing apparently.) Click here to view the article

More close games in the system today. With the deadline looming, all affiliates at the max and all affiliates in their playoff hunts, it will be interesting to see how each team is shuffled in the coming weeks. The Twins, too, may be looking for help both sooner and later. Some of the guys on the doorstep fared well today; others didn’t. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER RED WINGS 5, SYRACUSE CHIEFS 3 Box Score The Red Wings got back to their winning ways behind the left arm of Andrew Albers. He threw 91 pitches in 5.1 shutout innings. He struck out four and walked two. Albers collected his 10th win and dropped his ERA to 2.97. (How much longer before he replaces fellow Canadian Scott Diamond in the rotation? Discuss amongst yourselves.) Edgar Ibarra, making his second AAA appearance pitched 2.1 perfect innings, striking out four. He didn’t allow a ball out of the infield. If the Twins find themselves re-tooling their bullpen, Ibarra adds another lefty to the mix. Michael Tonkin pitched the ninth and it wasn’t pretty: two hits – including a home run – and a walk resulted in three earned runs. He struck out one. Oswaldo Arcia continues to make his presence felt. Today he was 3-for-4 with another home run. Eric Farris doubled in two runs. Chris Parmelee was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts. Logan Darnell starts tomorrow at 7:05 ET. NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS 3, BINGHAMTON METS 5 Box Score The 9th inning rally fell short as Nate Hanson, who was batting as the potentially winning run, grounded into a fielder’s choice with both Danny Santana and Eddie Rosario on base. Pat Dean continued his consistently up-and-down season. Tonight, he managed only three innings, allowing four runs on five hits. With the Rochester rotation in flux and the trickle-down effect being felt in New Britain, Dean’s rotation spot is probably safe, but a move to the bullpen wouldn’t be surprising. Daniel Turpen pitched three shutout innings. Ryan O’Rourke gave up a run in 2/3 of an inning. Dakota Watts struck out one in recording four outs. Cole Johnson struck out the side in the 9th. More of the same offensively tonight: Nate Hanson homered. Miguel Sano hit another home run today and went 2-for-4. He struck out twice. Danny Santana had his fourth multi-hit game in his last five games. Eddie Rosario also had two hits and added a stolen base. D.J. Baxendale and B.J. Hermsen will both get starts in tomorrow’s doubleheader. FORT MYERS MIRACLE 1, BREVARD COUNTY MANATEES 0 Box Score Levi Michael’s RBI single in the top of the 7th was the difference in this rain-affected game. Aderlin Mejia doubled. Byron Buxton, Jhon Goncalves and J.D. Willams all added singles. Goncalves (8th) and Williams (2nd) both stole bases. Jason Wheeler pitched the first 5.1 innings before the rain delay. He struck out four while scattering three hits and two walks; he also hit a batter. He retired nine batters by groundout, two by flyout. Adrian Salcedo pitched the next 2.2 innings. He struck out four and allowed only two hits. Tyler Jones picked up his first High-A save with two strikeouts in the ninth inning. (This is interesting: Corey Williams hasn’t pitched since July 15, when he gave up five runs and recorded only one out.) Tyler Duffey looks to continue his stellar season tomorrow night at 6:35 ET. CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 2, FORT WAYNE TINCAPS 1 Box Score After “cooling off” yesterday – and by that I mean “not homering” - Adam Walker got back on it this afternoon. Hitting a 2-run, sixth-inning home run, Walker's blast accounted for enough runs to get the Kernels the win. Walker now has 21 home runs and 85 RBI. The 21 home runs lead the MWL by six over five others (including Travis Harrison). The 85 RBI are also league-leading. Former Kernel DJ Hicks had 82; the current second-place RBI man is Beloit 2B Chris Bostick with 70. Walker's slugging is 2nd to only super-prospect Byron Buxton, now at High-A Ft. Myers. Download attachment: adam walker.jpg Adam Walker has been swinging such a hot bat, he needs to apply sunscreen to himself. ( BY ADAM CAIRNS/THISWEEK) So why is Walker not a top prospect you ask? Well, the strikeout rate has always been concerning, but this year has been an improvement. He’s athletic enough to hold down a corner outfield position (for now anyway). The biggest factor is he’s of league-average age. What you’re buying in Walker is his power – and no doubt it’s there – probably a 70 tool. The difference between him and his measuring stick, Miguel Sano, is that Sano showed more power in the same league at nearly two years younger than Walker. Walker missed Baseball America’s preseason Top 30 Twins prospects, but was included in their “Plus One” Edition, checking in at 31st. He should be ranked considerably higher coming into next year. Many folks are wondering when Walker is going to be promoted to Fort Myers. There isn’t a rush. Much like the Twins wanted to see how Kennys Vargas did without Miguel Sano in the lineup, Adam Walker is getting a chance to prove his worth without Byron Buxton and DJ Hicks in the lineup. While moving up yet this season is possible, it makes just as much sense to start Walker in Fort Myers in 2014 and move him up mid-season if the power keeps up. At that point, we’re looking at a 22-year old in AA and knocking on the door the following season (2015) at 23. Getting back to today’s game, Walker’s college teammate Jonathan Murphy reached base four times (2-for-3, two walks) and Jorge Polanco, Max Keper and Travis Harrison all doubled. The offense, again, was done in by a lack of production with runners in scoring position (0-for-5). Also of note, Niko Goodrum was injured while covering second base on a stolen base attempt. He left the game with a twisted knee. Joel Licon replaced him at second base, while Polanco got the start at shortstop. Mason Melotakis got his 8th win of the season, going six innings. He allowed a run on four hits. He struck out six and reports were that he looked good. There is some concern with his four wild pitches, but a 9:3 GO:FO rate is pretty good. Melotakis, who pitched a combined 86 innings last year, is already over 90 for this season. It will be interesting to see how he is handled as the year progresses and the playoffs approach. David Hurlbut picked up a three-inning save, his sixth, with three perfect innings. J.O. Berrios will be on the hill at Fort Wayne tomorrow at 6:05 pm. ELIZABETHTON TWINS 4, DANVILLE BRAVES 5 Box Score After E-Town staged a late-inning rally, a ninth-inning run by the Braves gave them a victory over the Twins. Randy Rosario hit the ground running this season, but has struggled in his last two starts. After giving up four earned runs on July 14, today he lasted only three innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits and, more alarmingly, four walks. He struck out three. The bullpen struck out ten in the final six innings (including Carson Goldsmith, 4 and Andre Martinez, 3). Brandon Peterson took the loss. Dereck Rodriguez was the standout offensive performer, contributing both a double and a home run while driving in two runs. His batting average is up to .306. Logan Wade also doubled. Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver both drove in a run. The series continues tomorrow at 7pm ET with Tanner Mendonca the scheduled starter. GCL TWINS – OFF DAY Kohl Stewart is scheduled to pitch tomorrow. Please leave your questions and/or comments below. Click here to view the article

If seeing this makes you not watch tonight's Twins game, you can thank me later. Ain't no sunshine when the Twins are on It's not warm when they play Ain't no sunshine when the Twins are on And they've been gone for way too long I'm not sure they know how to play. On a less depressing note... Transaction round-up for today: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester fills the spot vacated by Deduno by activating #FreeAnthonySlama. If Anthony Slama was a cat, he'd be on his last life. The Red Wings will also need to create a roster spot to make room for recently-optioned Oswaldo Arcia. Last night, the Miracle activated RP Chad Rodgers and DL'd Kyle Davies. The cause, per the team, is right shoulder impingement. Davies was placed on the DL nearly two years ago with the same issue. If LL Cool J was a Miracle fan, I don't think he'd be calling this a comeback. The Kernels activated Tyler Jones and sent Josh Burris back to EST. To the farm we go... Rochester Red Wings 2, Charlotte Knights 4 Box Score The Twins and Red Wings essentially swapped pitchers for the day and the Red Wings pitcher, Pedro Hernandez, had a better performance than Samuel Deduno did for the Twins. Hernandez managed to start the game with five shutout innings before running into trouble in the 7th. He finished with 6.2 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk. He struck out seven. It will be interesting, going forward, to see if the Twins have Hernandez shift to a bullpen role, though tonight's start was plenty encouraging. Luis Perdomo blew a save, though he wasn't charged with any runs. Chris Herrmann had two hits and a stolen base. Clete Thomas hit a solo home run. Thomas returned last night after missing two weeks with a groin injury. That injury probably kept Aaron Hicks in the major leagues. Kyle Gibson (3-5, 3.25) will look to bring some consistency to the mound tomorrow at 7:05 ET. New Britain Rock Cats vs New Hampshire Fisher Cats The game was suspended in the middle of the fourth with the Fisher Cats leading 3 to 2. The game will be completed at 5:05 ET and game two will begin at 7:05 ET with Pat Dean (1-5, 6.25) on the hill. Fort Myers Miracle 6, Charlotte Stone Crabs 5 Box Score Full disclosure: I'm a little embarrassed that I never realized - until this very moment - that there were two affiliated baseball teams from "Charlotte". I realize that they are two franchises in two different states, but I'm shocked that I have never gotten the two confused. Weird. Kennys "Big Spoon" Vargas hit his 9th home run of the season. It was described as a mammoth shot. He also hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to secure the win. (FYI - I'm trying to get the Big Spoon nickname to stick because I watched him play last year in Beloit with someone (bigger than I) who shall remain nameless and who had a Grade A Mancrush on Vargas. I'm sure you can connect the remaining dots.) Download attachment: vargas.jpg Big Spoon Current Seth mancrush, Aderlin Mejia, had four hits to improve his batting average to .400. Angel Morales was 2-for-2 plus two walks. (New Britain, please.) Miguel Sano had two hits, including a run-producing double. Stephen Wickens added two hits. Jason Wheeler worked a solid six innings. He scattered 10 hits and two walks, allowing two earned runs (four total) while striking out four. Zack Jones blew the save for the Miracle by giving up three walks and a hit in the ninth inning. He also struck out two and picked up the win when the Miracle won on the walk-off. Cedar Rapids Kernels 4, Beloit Snappers 5 Box Score The Kernels were swept by the Snappers and their five game lead in the Western Division has been cut to two games. Pohlman Field continues to scream "Home Field Advantage!" Tyler Duffey gave up five runs in five innings. He struck out four and walked two. The bullpen combo of Steven Gruver and Tim Atherton combined to pitch three scoreless innings Offensively, everybody contributed with hits, but the team was only able to string them together enough to get four runs. Byron Buxton had one hit (.318). Jorge Polanco is batting .311. Niko Goodrum and Adam Walker both had two hits. Catcher Tyler Grimes had a triple. Candido Pimentel (9), Buxton (22) and Goodrum (4) all had stolen bases. Jose Berrios (3-1, 2.86) takes the ball at 6:35 for the Kernels tomorrow night. Feel free to post your questions and/or comments below. Aaannnddd... shameless self-promotion, I'll be making my radio debut (and maybe my last appearance ever, if I suck) on the Gleeman and the Geek radio show this Sunday to talk any and all things draft. So you may also mock and ridicule me in the comments below, if so inclined. Click here to view the article

There were post-game fireworks at Target Field on a beautiful night for baseball. Let's take a look at what happened around the club's affiliates. ROCHESTER RED WINGS 1, SYRACUSE CHIEFS 7 Box Score This was the first of a few, from the Twins' perspective, relatively action-free games. Oswaldo Arcia returned to AAA and homered. He also walked once and struck out once. Jeff Clement and Drew Butera both doubled. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Liam Hendriks pitched 5.1 innings. He allowed ten hits and two walks, striking out three. The seven runs against him were all earned. Shairon Martis struck out three in 1.2 innings. Michael Tonkin allowed two hits, but pitched a scoreless eighth. It was also announced today that Nick Blackburn has joined the Red Wings. They have not officially made a move, but with the recent losses of Worley and Hernandez, the Red Wings need another starter. Andrew Albers (9-4, 3.11) pitches tomorrow at 5 pm ET against Syracuse. NEW BRITAIN ROCKCATS 2, BINGHAMTON METS 10 Box Score Miguel Sano was 1-for-4 with a double and three strikeouts. Sano also hit a long, towering flyball that went just foul. The fact that Terry Ryan says his glove is in front of his bat right now, is encouraging. The bat will come around. Josmil Pinto was 2-for-4 and is knocking on Rochester’s door (or waiting for the Twins to trade a catcher, I guess). Eddie Rosario was 0-for-4 with 3 K's and an error. Nate Hanson homered. Such is the life for Trevor May. He threw 103 pitches (only 58 strikes) but didn’t make it out of the 4th inning (3.2). He struck out six, but walked three. He threw two wild pitches and hit a batter. He allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits. Not the type of game the Twins want to see, especially as people start to wonder if May is ready for a promotion to Rochester. Bruce Pugh (1.1 IP, 3 BB, K, ER), Jose Gonzalez (2 IP, 3 H, 2 R) and Matt Hauser (IP, 3 H, 3 ER) all struggled to keep Binghamton off of, and from running around, the bases. Only BJ Hermsen had a scoreless appearance. Pat Dean (5-9, 4.61) is on the hill tomorrow at 6:35 ET. FORT MYERS MIRACLE 3, DUNEDIN BLUE JAYS 1 (10 innings) Box Score The Miracle were able to pull out an extra innings win thanks to a two-run, zero-hit 10th inning. Byron Buxton was 0-for-5 with four K's, but his 10th inning fielder's choice (in which he beat out a double play) allowed an insurance run to score. That came after J.D. Williams hit a bases-loaded (thanks to three walks) dribbler that resulted in an error and allowed the go-ahead run to score. Offensively, though, the game was a struggle: DJ Hicks was 0-for-5 with 3 K's. Kyle Knudson was 0-for-4 with 2 K's. Kennys Vargas did have a double for the team’s only extra-base hit. Matt Summer certainly threw a gem. He completed eight innings allowing an unearned run on three hits and three walks. He struck out six and got 11 outs on the ground (compared to three in the air). Summers has been phenomenal since being returned from New Britain. With the injuries in AAA, it would be surprising if Summers didn’t get to head back to New Britain and get another chance. Download attachment: summers.JPG Chad Rodgers pitched a scoreless ninth (to get the win) and Zack Jones struck out the final batter in the 10th to secure his 11th save. Kyle Davies (1-3, 4.01) matches up against Brevard County at 5:05 ET tomorrow. CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 0, FORT WAYNE TINCAPS 1 Box Score The Kernels managed nine hits, but only went 1-for-9 with RISP and left 13 runners on base. Jonathan Murphy continued his hot play, collecting two hits and walking once. Niko Goodrum and Adam Walker also had two-hit games. Walker doubled, but didn’t homer today. (Wuss.) Tim Atherton made his fourth start after spending the previous year and a half in the Beloit/Cedar Rapids bullpen. He certainly looked the part of starter tonight. The Aussie pitched seven innings of five-hit, one-run ball. He walked no one and struck out nine. Atherton is the oldest pitcher on the staff who has been with the team all season (Shibuya and Gallant were injured, Brewer was a MiL FA), so I’m curious to see if he remains with the club for the rest of the year. I view Atherton similarly to Manuel Soliman in a “let’s give them some innings to see what they’ve got” way. Tonight, Atherton had some stuff. Caleb Brewer pitched a shutout eighth inning. Mason Melotakis (7-3, 3.83) faces Fort Wayne tomorrow at 2:05. ELIZABETHTON TWINS 2, DANVILLE BRAVES 3 Box Score Another one-run game in the Twins system; this one didn’t go the Twins way. Former Twins-draftee Jared Dettmann pitched really well for the Braves affiliate today. The Twins managed eight hits. Three of them came off the bat of leadoff hitter Zach Granite. Granite and Dereck Rodriguez, who had two hits, each drove in a run. Tanner Vavra also had two hits. Granite stole his 8th base of the season. Hein Robb scattered five hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out six and allowed only one run, leaving the game with the E-Twins in a position to win. Austin Malinowski opened the sixth and didn’t fare well. He retired only one batter, but allowed two hits, two walks and two runs. He threw a wild pitch and left his relief, Brandon Bixler, with two runners on. Bixler, on the other hand, shined. He struck out all five batters he faced, with four of them going down swinging(!). Brian Gilbert, another 2013 draftee, pitched two innings, facing the minimum six batters. GCL TWINS 2, GCL RED SOX 3 (10 innings) Box Score The GCL affiliate also didn’t get a lot of offensive output in today’s extra-innings loss. Noted prospect Amaurys Minier went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He was replaced in the 7th inning in what appeared to a move to upgrade the defense. Chad Christensen, who has manned all four corners at times this year, played LF, collected a hit and stole a base. Engelb Vielma has really taken ahold of the everyday SS job. Today he was 1-for-4 with a run scored. He also stole his fourth base and committed his sixth error. Zach Larson, who has clearly been the club’s best player through the season’s first 25 games, came in as a pinch-hitter and was intentionally walked. It will be interesting to see how Larson is handled over the next month. Will the Twins try to get him to E-Town to give him a chance to break next year with a full-season squad? Today’s game was Fernando Romero’s and Leonel Zazueta’s turn to piggyback. Romero went the first four, giving up a run on three hits and a walk. He struck out four. Zazueta also gave up one run on three hits and a walk. He struck out one in his two innings. A collection of pitchers finished the game, including a rehabbing Dan Sattler (one K in 1 IP) and Tyler Stirewalt (loss, 5 outs, 3 K's). Miguel Gonzalez, one of the Twins bigger international signees in 2011, continues to work every two to three days out of the bullpen. He struggled in his 1/3 of an inning today. He allowed a double to the first batter he faced, sending an inherited runner to third. Before walking the next batter, he balked in the winning run. He got his only out on a swinging strikeout. If you’re in the Fort Myers area next week, Kohl Stewart is scheduled to pitched Monday and Stephen Gonsalves is scheduled to go on Tuesday. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Click here to view the article

The Twins blew a three-run lead thanks to one swing of Prince Fielder's bat and lost another one-run game. (The third time that's happened in the past five days.) Congratulations to Adam Walker, who was named MWL Player of the Week. The Milwaukee native went 8-for-21 (.381) with five home runs and 16 RBI. His OPS for the week was 1.238. It was quite an adventurous day on the farm today. You should continue reading, but not before I warn you: The Twins are a few years away from being a monster.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: alive.jpg ROCHESTER RED WINGS 4, BUFFALO BISONS 3 Box Score After seeing their four-game winning streak snapped yesterday, the Red Wings got a new streak started today. The bats were alive, as all nine starters contributed hits. Doug Bernier, Ray Olmedo and Chris Herrmann, the 8-9-1 batters, all had two-hit games. Evan Bigley, Nate Hanson and Joe Benson all had two-base knocks. Benson stole his 4th base of the season and extended his hit streak to six games. After Hanson's 8th-inning double, Eric Farris pinch-ran and scored the game's winning run on a Brandon Boggs single. Virgil Vasquez had a strong start, pitching seven innings allowing only seven baserunners (six hits, one walk). He struck out five and allowed three runs. Luis Perdomo was credited with the win, striking out one in 1.1 innings. Caleb Thielbar recorded the final two outs for the save. Thielbar now has 23 Ks in 17 IP (12.2 K/9). The Red Wings have now improved to 10-15. They play tomorrow at 11:35 am on MLB Network. Andrew Albers (0-0, 4.58) gets the start in the final game of this four-game wraparound Buffalo series. NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS 16, HARRISBURG SENATORS 8 Box Score Trevor May got the starting nod and had his most disappointing start of the young season. The knock on May has been his lack of control. That was on full display tonight. May lasted only four innings. He gave up eight runs on nine hits and three walks. Despite being one of the only "strikeout pitchers" in the organization, May only struck out one in tonight's contest. The bullpen trio of Black Martin, Bruce Pugh and Edgar Ibarra pitched five innings of shutout, three-hit baseball. The bats were the story tonight. (I won't be able to cover it all, so please check out the box score.) After May had spotted the Senators five runs, the Rock Cats came out assaulting the baseball in the fourth. Fifteen batters came to the plate, ten crossed the plate. The seventh was more of the same. Ten batters came to the plate and six runs scored. Danny Ortiz went 4-for-5 including a double and three RBI. Both Antoan Richardson and Josmil Pinto had two doubles and two RBI. James Beresford drove in four. The top pitching prospect in the organization, Alex Meyer (2-0, 1.64) takes the hill tomorrow at 6:35 ET. FT MYERS MIRACLE 5, CLEARWATER THRASHERS 4 Box Score It took three runs in the top of the ninth for the Miracle to come back and win their 20th game of the season. They are the first team in affiliated baseball to reach that milestone. Kudos to Doug Mientkiewicz and everyone else involved. After Levi Michael's two-run 6th-inning home run, the Miracle still needed a bit of luck to pull out the come-from-behind victory. Down to their last out - and with the tying runner on second - Matt Koch reached on an error. This allowed Stephen Wickens the opportunity to triple in the tying and winning runs. Miguel Sano went 2-for-4 with two doubles and is now batting .366. Tom Stuifbergen, who's start was pushed back due to illness, pitched 2.2 innings and struck out one. He allowed a hit. He was removed due to cramping which he attributed to the dehydration he suffered from earlier in the week. Nelvin Fuentes, did a fantastic job pitching 3.1 innings of no-hit ball and struck out five. Dakota Watts blew a save opportunity by giving up three runs on four hits in an inning. Zack Jones pitched two innings and gave up a home run, but got the win. D.J. Baxendale (3-0, 1.54) takes on Clearwater tomorrow night at 7 ET. CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 9, LANSING LUGNUTS 1 Box Score The Kernels, trying not to be outdone by their big brother in Fort Myers, won their 8th straight game today. Jose Berrios had another very good game to earn his second win in two starts. He went 6.2 innings and allowed two hits and a run. He struck out eight and walked zero. His fastball sat at 92-94, peaking at 95. Josh Burris struck out three in his 2.1 inning debut. Overshadowed as just "another international signee" in 2009 (when Sano signed) and currently in the shadow of Buxton in Cedar Rapids, we've got a breakout candidate in Cedar Rapids' Jorge Polanco. Polanco, who has mainly been playing second base this season, was tonight's designated hitter and went 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBI. He's now batting .353 with an OPS of .890. Both Buxton and Walker added triples. Travis Harrison hit his 3rd (but really his 4th-see my review of last Saturday's game) home run of the season. DJ Hicks added a two-run double, his eighth. Buxton stole his 9th base of the season. Matt Tomshaw (0-0, 9.00) returns to the mound at 12:05 pm tomorrow. As always, if you have questions/comments, please let me know. Thanks! Click here to view the article

At some point, while researching for a previous draft, I came across a Baseball America podcast where they were discussing their “personal cheeseballs”. At first I was a little confused, but quickly came to realize that these “cheeseballs” were their favorites. In fact, to qualify to be a “personal cheeseball” you have to fit into only two categories: one – be a favorite; two – don’t be too good. For example, [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]one of the BA guys (I think it was Callis, but I could be wrong) really liked Massachusetts prep outfielder Rhett Wiseman. Why I remember that one, I don’t know. Wiseman was ranked #136 in their pre-draft 500, had a solid commitment to Vanderbilt and ended up attending there after being drafted by the Cubs in the 25th round (764th overall). Obviously the “don’t be too good” is a rule only because it would be really easy to look back at a draft and say, “I knew Bryce Harper was going to be a stud, that’s why he was my personal cheeseball.” Not exactly living on the edge. I thought this year was as good as any to publicize my own personal cheeseballs. Today’s edition will focus on three hitters, none of which are ranked in Jon Mayo’s Top 75 draft prospects or appear in Keith Law’s future 50 (plus 10). Stephen Alemais, SS, Elev/8 Sports Institute (FL) Download attachment: alemais.jpg BRYAN PACE FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Alemais first caught my attention after reading about a showcase in the northeast two summers ago. It was something simple like “slick-fielding shortstop that could stick there professionally”. Given the Twins lack of success drafting shortstops and, really, the lack of Americans who man the position in the MLB, I think Alemais caught my eye because he’d be spending the rest of his high school career (and college or professionaly) in an “underdog” role. Are you asking yourself why a Florida kid was participating in a Northeast Showcase? If you are, good. This is where the story takes a turn. After trying to check his progress this spring, I noticed that Alemais was no longer listed with his prep team, All Hallows High School located in the Bronx. It was then that I found out that he had transferred from All Hallows to the Elev/8 Sports Institute in Delray Beach, Florida. Alemais, who committed to Tulane University last April, injured his shoulder in a playoff game last summer (which led to labrum surgery) and decided that it would be in his best interest to move to a place where he could play against better competition, not have to worry about the weather, and prove that he was back to good health. Luis Alicea, a 13-year big league veteran, is the Executive Director at Elev/8. Alicea expects big things from Alemais telling the New York Daily News a couple weeks ago that “he’s a very talented kid.” He added, “You look at him in a uniform and he has a little resemblance to a Derek Jeter, when you see his body. Athletically he’s very gifted. He’s very fast; he has quick hands. It’s like the game comes easy to him sometimes. He’s got a huge future ahead of him.” He’s currently the 42nd ranked draft prospect in the state of Florida according to Perfect Game. Alemais is strong academically, so dropping too far may force him to Tulane, but you’ve got to believe that uprooting and moving to Florida was done to improve his draft stock. The Twins typically try to add a middle infielder in the first 10 rounds. (Last year, they waited until Round 16 when they drafted Kentucky prepster SS Will Hurt.) I would hope the Twins would consider Alemais somewhere between rounds five and ten. Brian Navarreto, C, Arlington County Day (FL) HS Navarreto makes an appearance on MLB’s Top 100 draft prospects, but its in the back half. All the way down at number 89. Navarreto hasn’t gotten the hype of two other prep catchers in Florida, Chris Okey and Zack Collins, but is an interesting prospect in his own right. Navarreto is a pretty big dude (6’3, 220), but surprisingly athletic and, though raw, has all the stuff including agility and above-average arm strength to stay behind the plate. His big right-handed swing still has a ways to go, but, overall, Navarreto is a high-ceilling prospect. He’s also still somewhat unknown. Navarreto followed the path of Javier Baez, who also attended Arlington County Day, in that he is a Puero Rican native who came to Florida later in his prep days. Though he really just came onto the scene last summer, he’s already committed to South Carolina. Navarreto was in the news over a month ago when his team was involved in a bench-clearing altercation with Norman North (OK) High School. While the cause of the fight alledgedly was the result of racial overtones, Navarreto was a central figure when he punched an oppoent in the face after a play at the plate. (You can read the story and see some video here.) The Twins drafted a similar-type player, Jorge Fernandez, last year in the 7th round. Navarreto is a higher-regarded prospect and could possibly come off of the board in the third or fourth round. Justin Williams, OF, Terrebonne (LA) HS Easily the most well-known of my three “cheeseballs”, Williams also appears late in the Top 100 (at #88). Williams sometimes gets first-round mention, but appears to be a sandwich round pick at best and probably someone that fits into the second round. This isn’t really through a fault of his own, though. Williams’s prep team wasn’t very good (10-18 on the year) and the typical strategy opposing teams employed was to simply not pitch to Williams. So while teams didn’t get to see Wiliams, who won’t turn 18 until August, a lot in game action, they did get to see him in BP where he routinely put on a show. His power-potential ceiling is probably on par with Adam Walker’s, though Williams bats from the left side. Williams evokes a lot of comparisons to Jason Heyward for both the physical resemblence (Williams is a chiseled 6’3, 215) and also his defensive question marks as a prep. Heyward was a first baseman in high school and scouts doubted he could be an outfielder. (Heyward won the Gold Glove last year, at age 22. Whoops.) Williams played shortstop for his high-school team. So along with not getting to see him bat in game situations, scouts didn't get to see him play defense in game situations at his likely home – a corner outfield position. If any scouts were overly impressed by his glove, they could give him a shot at 3B before moving him to the outfield. Williams’ profile really fits the way the Rangers have drafted recently, but the Twins also went out looking for power last year and there might not be a prep prospect with more power potential. Oh, and I drafted Williams for my dynasty keeper league in March of 2012, so there’s that too. Who are some hitters that you consider your "Personal Cheeseballs"? Click here to view the article

The Twins lost another series to a National League foe. The news came out today that Brian Duensing will be starting against the Reds on Saturday. Instead of dwelling on the Twins shortcomings, read 1,100 words about Thursday’s minor league action: ROCHESTER 8, DURHAM 14 Box score The Wings scored eight or more runs for only the third time in June; however, the 14 they allowed were the second most of their season.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Brian Dinkelman had three hits, including a double and a three-run home run. Clete Thomas added a double and a solo home run. Pedro Florimon, Sean Burroughs and Michael Hollimon all added doubles as well. J.R. Towles had two hits. Matt Maloney, who started the season in the Twins bullpen, might soon be looking for a new place of employment. He allowed five earned runs and only recorded five outs. His stats since becoming a starter at the end of May: 6 GS, 20 IP, 45 H, 32 R (25 ER), 5 HR, 6 BB, 13 K. Opponents are batting .429 off of him. The fact that he is still starting is an indictment of the starting pitching depth in the higher levels of the organization. Brendan Wise went 3 1/3 innings in relief and allowed three hits and only one run while striking out two. He also came into the game with the bases loaded and got the final out of the second. Bobby Lanigan, making his AAA debut, had a forgettable game. He pitched two innings. He gave up seven hits, a walk and allowed six earned runs. Caleb Thielbar fared much better. He walked a batter, struck out a batter and allowed a hit, but didn’t allow any runs. Deolis Guerra allowed a run and two hits. He also struck out a batter. NEW BRITAIN 5, ALTOONA 3 Box score The Rockcats ended their 7-game swoon with a win tonight. Aaron Thompson – who may be called upon soon to help out in AAA – had arguably his best game as a Rockcat. He scattered eight hits, allowing only three runs. He struck out two. Daniel Turpen (1 2/3, K) and Bruce Pugh (IP, H, BB, 2 K) did a great job closing the game out. Evan Bigley was the offensive headline. He had a home run, drove in two and scored twice. The only regular who didn’t have a hit was Aaron Hicks. Oswaldo Arcia scored and drove in a run, he also drew a walk. While unconfirmed, Andrew from TwinsFanFromAfar will probably be celebrating this win into the early morning. FT. MYERS 9, ST. LUCIE 5 Box score The Miracle jumped all over the Mets with five first-inning runs. They gave back three in the second, but matched it in the third. The offense was spread out pretty evenly. Kyle Knudson continued to hit well (three straight three-hit games) since his promotion, including a double. Levi Michael, Danny Ortiz (triple), Danny Rams (double) and Andy Leer (double) all had two hits. Ortiz and Leer each drove in two. Knudson and Leer both scored twice. Leer also stole a base. Pat Dean made it into the sixth, but was an out short of making it out of the sixth. He struck out five. He also allowed five runs and nine hits. Michael Tonkin made his Hi-A debut. He wasn’t as good as he has been lately – he didn’t strike out everybody he faced! But he was still solid. He got seven outs, three by strikeout. He walked two, allowed a hit and abandoned his inherited runner. Dakota Watts finished it off with an inning that included a hit and strikeout. BELOIT – MWL ALL-STAR GAME BREAK ELIZABETHTON 7, DANVILLE 2 Box score The E-town Twins won their second straight after losing their season opener. Rory Rhodes, playing left field, had his third straight solid game, going 2-for-5 with a home run. He drove in two and scored twice. Niko Goodrum, playing third base, had his third triple in his young season. He also committed his second error. Bo Altobelli had a double. D.J. Hicks went 1-for-2 with two walks. Max Kepler, DHing, went 0-for-5, but did score a run and drive one in as well. Corey Kimes made the start and pitched four innings. He allowed two runs on three hits (including a home run). He walked two and struck out one. He got 10 outs by groundball, only two by flyball. Josh Burris struck out three in three perfect innings. Steven Evans struck out two in a perfect inning. Zach Jones struck out two in an inning. He allowed a hit. GCL TWINS 8, GCL RAYS 4 Box score The Gulf Coast League affiliate won for the third straight time tonight. The offense was led by Bryan Santy, who had three hits (including a double) and an RBI. After an 0-for-8 start to his professional career, he’s 5-for-8 in his last two games. Kelvin Ortiz had a double and a triple and scored three runs. Jose Ramirez had two singles and two RBI. Aderlin Mejia had a three-run double and five RBI total. Joel Licon added a triple. Sam Gibbons struck out five in three innings and allowed three hits. Gerardo Ramirez pitched 2 1/3 innings and was credited with his second win, but allowed two earned runs on four hits. He struck out one. Gonzalo Sanudo pitched 2 2/3 innings. He allowed one run on two hits. He struck out three and abandoned his inherited runner. Felix Jorge allowed two hits and a run in one inning, walking one and striking out one. --- Players of the Day for Thursday, June 21, 2012 Hitters of the Day – Kyle Knudson Download attachment: knudson.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Josh Burris Download attachment: burris2.jpg (photo courtesy of Burris’s Twitter account) --- A Look Ahead – Friday, June 22, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Charlotte – No starter announced New Britain at Richmond – No starter announced Ft. Myers at St. Lucis – Marty Popham (3-2, 5.31) Beloit at Cedar Rapids – David Hurlbut (2-0, 2.48) Elizabethton at Burlington – Angel Mata (season debut) GCL Twins at GCL Red Sox – No starter announced --- If you have any questions on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and we’ll try to answer them! Comments also welcome. Click here to view the article