Ted Schwerzler

TRANSACTIONS Minnesota Twins OF Ryan LaMarre optioned to Rochester Rochester Red Wings OF James Ramsey to Elizabethton Chattanooga Lookouts LHP Tyler Jay to DL with a left groin strain Chattanooga Lookouts LHP Anthony McIver activated from DL Fort Myers Miracle RHP Brady Anderson promoted to Rochester Cedar Rapids Kernels RHP Ryan Mason promoted to Fort Myers RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Gwinnett 4 (11 innings) Box Score On back-to-back nights, the Rochester Red Wings and Gwinnett Braves played in to extras. Following a 14-inning affair on Thursday, the two clubs needed 11 innings to settle the score on Friday. Thankfully for Rochester, the result was a similar one. With Brock Stassi starting as the runner on second base, Nick Buss singled to start off the top of the 11th. A Bobby Wilson double play could've spelled disaster, but Stassi scooted home to put Rochester up 5-4. After a Gregorio Petit single, and then steal of second and free pass to third on a wild pitch, Taylor Featherston was able to provide more damage. Zack Granite was intentionally walked to get to the Red Wings second basemen, and he delivered a single to drive in Petit. A Kennys Vargas groundout would later end the inning, but Rochester headed to the bottom half leading 6-4. Working his second inning of relief and looking to make up for the blown save in the 10th, Mason Melotakis went to work. Former Twins utility man Danny Santana struck out to start the inning, and despite a Ronald Acuna single leading to a first and third situation, Melotakis got the ground ball double play to end it. Rochester was scheduled to start Adalberto Mejia for this game, but went with a bullpen approach, leading with D.J. Baxendale. It would seem to suggest that Mejia was on tap to start for the Minnesota Twins had their game not being postponed for the evening. Jermaine Curtis led the way with three hits on offense, and the group consisting of Featherston, Vargas, Stassi and Petit each picked up two of their own. The Red Wings got their second win of the season, and will be looking for more of the same while hoping to give their relief corps some rest tomorrow night. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Pensacola 2 Box Score Getting on the board early, the Lookouts were able to jump out to a 3-1 lead and hold on late for the victory. Randy LeBlanc earned the win with five solid innings on the bump, ceding just one run on three hits. Ryan Eades earned a three inning hold, and Williams Ramirez picked up the save in relief. The save was Williams' first of 2018, fifth of his career, and the first since being used briefly as a closer for Cedar Rapids in 2016. On offense, the damage was done at the top. Nick Gordon, Zander Wiel and Chris Paul each had a two-hit night for the Lookouts. Gordon scooted to his second triple of the season, and added his fourth RBI. Wiel picked up his second RBI of the year, and Ryan Walker was responsible for the third. Brent Rooker returned to the Chattanooga lineup tonight as the DH and went 1-for-3 with a run scored. Seven of the nine Lookout hitters tallied a base hit and the club went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Inching closer to .500, Chattanooga will aim for their fourth win tomorrow evening. MIRACLE MATTERS Tampa 4, Fort Myers 0 Box Score Hits were at a premium for the Miracle on Friday night as Tarpon pitchers allowed just four to the Fort Myers lineup. Mitchell Kranson tallied the lone extra-base hit for the Miracle, his third double of the season. Charlie Barnes got the start and went 4.1 innings allowing just one run on four base hits. He also walked two while striking out five. Asked to follow up Barnes' effort, Hector Lujan was in the strike zone a ton, getting strikes on 30 of his 40 pitches thrown. Unfortunately the results yielded three more runs on seven hits, although he did strike out three. Andrew Vasquez was the final reliever out of the Miracle pen on the evening, and he turned in two scoreless innings while notching a strikeout. Opportunities were simply hard to come by as Fort Myers only went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position, and only three runners were left on base all evening. They'll look to even the series tomorrow evening at Hammond Stadium. Phil Hughes will be making his second rehab start in that contest. KERNELS NUGGETS Clinton 2, Cedar Rapids 0 Box Score Bound to happen eventually, tonight was the night that Toby Gardenhire's squad took their first loss of the season. Despite giving up just two runs, the Kernels could muster only two hits and that wouldn't be enough to get the job done. Top prospect Royce Lewis tallied one of the two, with left-fielder Shane Carrier notching the other. The Kernels left only one runner on base all evening as they mustered just one walk while striking out 12 times. On the mound, Bryan Sammons twirled 5.1 innings of good baseball. He allowed just four hits while giving up an earned run and posting the same number of strikeouts and walks with three. Jovani Moran and Derek Molina came on in relief, both pitching well and keeping Cedar Rapids in the ballgame. Molina was hit with an unearned run in the top of the eighth inning to tally the final score. The Kernels will look to exact revenge on Saturday evening from Perfect Game Field. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Taylor Featherston, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Randy LeBlanc, Chattanooga Lookouts TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3 #3 - Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) - 2-5, R, RBI, 3B (2) #5 - Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, 3 K #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 1-3, R #10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 1-3 #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, K #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, 2 K SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Gwinnett (5:05 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers Chattanooga @ Pensacola (6:05 CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe Tampa @ Ft. Myers (5:00 CST) - RHP Phil Hughes Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (5:05 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina

In a Twins broadcast early during the 2018 major league baseball season, Dick Bremer stopped and offered a comment to his partner Bert Blyleven. He noted that with Joe getting close to such a monumental mark, he will definitely make sure to give the achievement its due. Carrying more weight than those words themselves, Bremer noted that the reasoning behind it was him having called Kirby Puckett’s 2,000 hit. The last Twins great to eclipse the 2,000 mark was well on his way to 3,000 and it seemed all but a foregone conclusion. Given that we know how that story ended, Bremer’s purpose was to never again overlook something that could take a lifetime to repeat itself. Having grown up on the Metrodome, and eventually settling into Target Field, Joe Mauer is as synonymous with Minnesota baseball as Puckett himself was. While Kirby was the Chicago native who the state embraced as the every-man type player, Joe is the milk-drinking, yeah-sure-you-betcha type who has shown that talent is best utilized when forced to work hard. He’s the only catcher ever to win three batting titles, he’s got an MVP award to his name, and there was a time that looked as if Mauer would be looking up only at a man named Bench. Although Puckett’s great injury took away the game he had made a career of, Joe’s sapped him out of a position he’d revolutionized. Despite having to relearn the game at the age of 31 from an entirely new position, Mauer took it all in stride. He’s no doubt heard the unfair criticisms regarding his pay or availability, and yet there’s been no slowdown in regard to the way he attacks each opportunity. After trudging through three years of disappointment, Mauer returned to a form he had once patented. Tallying 412 hits from 2014-2016, Joe put up a 160 hit season in 2017, and donned a shiny .305 batting average. Having played 141 games, it seemed the a regular mix of rest as well as exploiting ideal opportunities, were a solid recipe for success as he continued into his twilight years. We don’t have any idea what’s left for Joe Mauer at this point in his career. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end, and despite it seeming like there’s more in the tank (and potentially a Gold Glove or two left on the table), it will come down to whatever decision he feels is best for his family. Should Joe return and give this organization a few more years, it’s more than likely he’d eclipse the 2,304 hits Kirby currently can claim as the team record. We’ve been down this road before however, and the reality is that nothing is ever guaranteed, and looking on to the next great thing generally has us missing what’s right in front of us. I’m sure Dick Bremer will be cracking a wide smile as he exuberantly exclaims that Joe has done it. It may come on the heels of a two-hit night, in the midst of a 10- game hitting streak. It may also not come until the weather decides to cooperate with the game of baseball. No matter when it comes though, the man in the booth, the one standing on the base and the guy up above will probably all know that this moment is something special.

RED WINGS REPORT Syracuse 7, Rochester 1 Box Score Dietrich Enns got his first action of the season for the Red Wings, and was unfortunately chased after just 3.2 IP. Leaving with a three run deficit, it was up to Rochester to mount a comeback, and the bats simply didn’t cooperate. Recently acquired Jake Cave clobbered his first homer as a member of the Twins organization, but that would be the only Red Wings tally of the night. In relief, D.J. Baxendale gave up an unearned run over 2.1 innings, Mason Melotakis surrendered a pair of runs over two frames but also struck out four batters and Jake Reed pitched a scoreless ninth inning. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Pensacola 6, Chattanooga 5 Box Score There was a little bit of everything tonight from the Lookouts. Starter Zack Littell racked up an impressive 10 strikeouts over just four innings pitched, but he also ave up three runs on seven hits and a walk. Both Todd Van Steensel (one earned run over 2.0 innings) and Zack Jones (two earned runs over 2.0 innings) allowed runs in relief, but the Lookouts pitching staff combined for 16 strikeouts on the night. The dormant offense awoke as the game wore on. A four-run rally in the ninth inning came up just one run short. Both Zander Wiel and Nick Gordon picked up multi-hit games on the night, and T.J. White launched his first homer of the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Florida 0 Box Score Anthony Marzi got the nod for the Miracle tonight, and we has brilliant while getting plenty of support. Throwing 6.1 IP of efficient baseball, he scattered four hits while striking out five and walking none. Marzi threw 49 of his 74 pitches for strikes (66.2 percent). Logan Lombana threw the final 2.2 frames to complete the shutout. Jimmy Kerrigan notched his second homer of the season, and also added a double in a two-hit, four-RBI effort on the evening. Mitchell Kranson (3 for 4) and Alex Perez (2 for 4) also recorded multi-hit efforts fort the Miracle tonight. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 12, Peoria 9 Box Score Seven out of the nine batters in the Kernels lineup picked up a base hit tonight, and five of them tallied multi-hit games. Alex Kirilloff was no doubt the star of the game as he launched a pair of long balls en route to a six RBI night, but he wasn't the only bat to bust loose. https://twitter.com/TwinsHighlights/status/984293873680822272 Ben Rodriguez was 3-or-5 and hit his first Midwest League home run. David Banuelos also hit his first homer for the Kernels and had a single. Jordan Gore had a pair of hits and a walk and Ben Rortvedt was 2-for-5. Despite getting a short start from Randy Dobnak (3.2 innings), Calvin Faucher and Ryan Mason came on to shut down the Peoria lineup. Faucher pitched 2.1 shutout innings with four strikeouts and Ryan Mason earned his second save of the year after allowing one run over the final three innings. The Kernels have now improved to 5-0 on the 2018 season. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Anthony Marzi, Fort Myers Miracle (6.1 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 5 K) Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Alex Kirilloff, Cedar Rapid Kernels (3-4 2 R 6 RBI 2 HR) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here's a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects performed: 2. Nick Gordon 2-for-5, RBI 5. Alex Kirilloff 3-for-5, 2 R, 6 RBI, 2 HR 7. Brent Rooker 0-for-4, 3 K 10. Akil Baddoo 0-for-3, 2 R, BB 11. Zack Littell 4.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 10 K 14. LaMonte Wade 0-3, BB 16. Ben Rortvedt 2-for-5, 2B, R 17. Travis Blankenhorn 1-for-4, RBI THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Red Wings @ Gwinnett (6:05pm CST) – RHP Myles Jaye (0-0 0.00 ERA) Chattanooga @ Pensacola (6:35pm CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves (1-0 0.00 ERA) Miracle vs Florida (6:00pm CST) – Tyler Wells (0-0 2.25 ERA) Kernels @ Peoria (6:30pm CST) – Nick Brown (0-0 0.00 ERA)

Joel Skinner takes over as manager after the departure of Mike Quade. Skinner spent time as the Cleveland Indians manager back in 2002, and has had healthy tenures with both the Indians and White Sox managing in their farm systems. After being tabbed by Derek Falvey and Thad Levine to head up the Triple-A level for Minnesota, he is also joined with a fresh face in the form of Mike McCarthy, the new bullpen coach. Both Chad Allen (hitting) and Stu Cliburn (pitching) return to their positions. The roster itself is home to more than a few veterans, and there are a handful of guys who’ve been in professional baseball for some time. Arguably the biggest name of the group is also somewhat of a surprise. Twins top pitching prospect Fernando Romero was ticketed for Triple-A after spending the 2017 season exclusively at the Double-A level. He compiled a 3.53 ERA across 125.0 IP a year ago, and is looked at as being among Minnesota’s best chances to develop into a bona fide ace. The strikeout stuff is there, and the velocity comes easy for the 23 year-old right-hander. After dominating during spring training for the Twins, the focus prior to making a permanent leap to the big leagues will be on the development of his changeup. While down in Florida, Paul Molitor got a first-hand look at Romero out of the big league pen, and the results were more than favorable. For the time being, Falvey still wants Romero developed as a starter, with the intention that he can give the Twins 200 innings on the mound in the not-so-distant future. If things fall apart for Romero, the Dominican native has a very promising career in relief ahead of him. There’s no doubt both he and the big league club are envisioning an impact starter for years to come however. On the offensive side of things, standouts stand in the outfield grass. The duo of Zack Granite and Jake Cave should provide upstate New Yorkers something to get interested in for the early part of the summer. While Granite is a consistent average hitter with significant speed, Cave is more than capable of losing baseballs in the seats. Granite was left off the Minnesota Twins 25-man roster to start 2018, and it may have come as somewhat of a surprise. He owned a .338/.392/.475 slash line for Rochester a season ago, and appeared to have all but mastered the level. Seeking every day playing time however, Granite could benefit from raking just a little bit longer in the International League. There’s no doubt his defense will play at the next level, and if the bat can be substantiated, it’ll be hard to dub him solely a fourth outfielder. Acquired from the Yankees this spring, Cave is familiar with the International League having played there for half a season in 2017. His .921 OPS was a career high, and the former sixth-round draft pick dropped 15 bombs in just 72 Triple-A games. Cave does strike out too much while walking too little (82/18 K/BB at AAA in 2017), but if he can improve his eye at the plate, Minnesota likely has a corner outfield bopper on their hands. Skinner’s pitching staff has plenty of veteran experience both in the rotation and out of the pen. Names like Adalberto Mejia, Jake Reed, Aaron Slegers, and Alan Busenitz are all going to bolster what should be a pretty impressive group. The goal will be in getting the entirety of that group to push for big league playing time early and often, giving the Twins multiple tough decisions to make. All in all, the Rochester Red Wings are going to see a handful of prospects filter through as they are promoted from the lower levels this season. As it stands currently though, there’s a very talented group on this roster, and there’re leaders that should put up some impressive performances right out of the gate. Developing a new wave of depth was a must for the Twins after graduations by players like Jose Berrios and Byron Buxton. If Rochester’s roster is any indication, they’ve put their foot in the right direction. Roster: PITCHERS (14): Nick Anderson, DJ Baxendale, Alan Busenitz, Casey Crosby, John Curtiss, Tyler Duffey, Dietrich Enns, Myles Jaye, Matt Magill, Adalberto Mejia, Mason Melotakis, Jake Reed, Fernando Romero, Aaron Slegers CATCHERS (3): Willians Astudillo, Jordan Pacheco, Bobby Wilson INFIELDERS (6): Jermaine Curtis, Taylor Featherston, Gregorio Petit, Leonardo Reginatto, Brock Stassi, Kennys Vargas OUTFIELDERS (4): Nick Buss, Jake Cave, Zack Granite, James Ramsey Opening Rotation: 4/6 - Aaron Slegers R 4/7 - Adalberto Mejia L 4/8 - Fernando Romero R 4/9 - Dietrich Enns L 4/10 - Myles Jaye R Previous Twins Minor League Opening Day Roster Previews Chattanooga Lookous - Talented Lookouts Eye Repeat In Southern League - Seth Stohs Cedar Rapids Kernels - Class of 2018 “Should Be Pretty Entertaining” - Steve Buhr Ft. Myers Miracle - Miracle Hop Experience Transfers on the Field - Cody Christie Kernels Media Night Highlights - Steve Buhr