Tom Froemming

You’re not going to win many games in which your starting pitcher goes less than four innings. On the other hand, you’re probably not going to lose many games in which Bobby Wilson hits a home run. Both of those things happened in Wednesday afternoon’s game, but it was the Twins’ bullpen that really turned in the performance that mattered.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Jose Berrios: 30 Game Score, 3.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 K, 2 BB, 66.3% strikes (57 of 86 pitches) Home Runs: Bobby Wilson (2) Multi-Hit Games: Logan Forsyhte (2-for-3, BB), Bobby Wilson (2-for-3, HR) WPA of 0.1 or higher: Forsythe .225, Wilson .183, Duffey .170 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Adrianza -.103, Berrios -.288 Download attachment: WinChart815.png This was Berrios’ second-shortest outing of the year, but the third time in his last five starts he failed to complete five innings. It took him 86 pitches just to record 11 outs. He gave up seven hits, walked two batters and hit another. To make matters worse for Berrios, the defense committed two errors behind him. Jorge Polanco skipped a throw that first baseman Ehire Adrianza couldn’t scoop, resulting in a run, and Eddie Rosario, playing right field for the second-straight game, couldn’t cleanly field a single. Miguel Sano made a pretty nifty play on a foul popup. His momentum carried him into the Pittsburgh dugout, but luckily the Pirates were quick to come to Miguel’s rescue. Oh wait, that’s not how it happened at all … How about a li'l help here fellas? Bad karma right there ... The Twins managed to get to Chris Archer, taking a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the new-look Twins bullpen stood strong. Oliver Drake kept things clean for 1 1/3 innings. He’s now up to 4 1/3 shutout innings since joining the Twins. Gabriel Moya gave up singles to three of the seven batters he faced, but thanks to Tyler Duffey, he also ended the day with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Since being called back up in late July, Moya has given up three earned runs over 11 2/3 innings (2.31 ERA). Going back to Duffey, he took over with runners on first and second and one out in the seventh. A huge spot with the Twins clinging to a one-run lead. He got the next two batters to fly out, ending the threat. Since his return, Duffey has now thrown 3-1/3 no-hit innings. A couple more familiar faces took over from there, as Taylor Rogers handled the eighth before Trevor Hildenberger got the job done in the ninth for his third save. Altogether, the bullpen combined for 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out four batters. Logan Forsythe was 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs. He’s gone 17-for-44 (.386) since joining the Twins. Bobby Wilson had an RBI single in the second inning, then added a solo homer in the seventh. Karma. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen815.png AL Central Standings CLE 68-51 MIN 56-63 (-12) DET 50-71 (-19) CHW 44-76 (-24.5) KC 36-83 (-32) Next Three Game Thu vs. DET, 7:10 pm CT: Ervin Santana vs. Francisco Liriano Fri vs. DET, 7:10 pm CT: Kyle Gibson vs. Matthew Boyd Sat vs. DET, 6:10 pm CT: Kohl Stewart vs. Artie Lewicki Last Three Games MIN 5, PIT 2: Odorizzi, Polanco Spark Comeback DET 4, MIN 2: Stewart Debuts, Bats Slump in Loss MIN 4, DET 3: Austin Homers, Hildy Survives Save Chance Click here to view the article

I know for sure Bryant filed a grievance, but I believe that's still unresolved. The big difference is those guys had their MLB debuts delayed. I think it's a lot more reasonable to say you couldn't find a spot for a rookie on your 25-man roster. Byron Buxton was honored as the best defensive player in baseball last season, finished 18th in AL MVP voting and the would be held off of an expanded roster. This situation may also be addressed differently because, unlike those other guys at the time, Buxton is already in the union.

I can't see anyway the Twins can get away with Option B if he's healthy. No minor league games for him to play in, MLB rosters have expanded, but you're just going to send him home? What defense would they have against a claim that it's blatant service time manipulation? There should absolutely be a grievance filed if that happens. Now would/should the Twins care about that? I don't know, those take years to resolve, so in reality maybe it doesn't matter much. Still, it'd be a bad look. I'm sure the Twins would love it if Buxton just suffered another injury that was bad enough to shut him down for the year, but not serious to the point where it would threaten his 2019 season. Watch your back out there, Byron ...

Jake Odorizzi looked like he was going to completely derail in the second inning. He gave up a pair of runs on two hits and a couple of walks. Meanwhile, Pirates starter Jameson Taillon was perfect through the first three frames. That script flipped real quick. Odorizzi averted the train wreck. The Twins got to Taillon.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Jake Odorizzi: 65 Game Score, 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 9 K, 2 BB, 65.7% strikes Home Runs: Miguel Sano (9) Multi-Hit Games: Joe Mauer (2-for-3, BB), Jorge Polanco (2-for-4, 2B), Max Kepler (2-for-4) WPA of 0.1 or higher: Duffey .170, Polanco .100 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Forsythe -.109 Download attachment: WinChart814.png Outside of that rocky second inning, Odorizzi was outstanding. He held Pittsburgh to two runs on four hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings while striking out nine. He ran into some trouble in the sixth and was lifted after giving up back-to-back singles. It was a big spot in the game, as the Twins were clinging to a 3-2 lead, and Paul Molitor turned to Tyler Duffey. He got Francisco Cervelli swinging to end the threat. Duffey stayed in and delivered a 1-2-3 seventh inning as well. The Twins’ big three-run fourth inning was kicked off by a Joe Mauer single, followed by an Eddie Rosario double then a two-run single from Jorge Polanco. He scored on a Mex Kepler single later in the inning. The Twins got a pair of insurance runs in the eighth thanks to a Miguel Sano home run that plated Polanco. Trevor Hildenberger earned his second save of the season. Postgame With Molitor Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen814.png AL Central Standings CLE 68-51 MIN 55-63 (-12.5) DET 50-70 (-18.5) CHW 43-76 (-25) KC 36-82 (-31.5) Next Three Game Wed vs. PIT, 12:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Chris Archer Thu vs. DET, 7:10 pm CT: TBD vs. Francisco Liriano Fri vs. DET, 7:10 pm CT: TBD vs. Matthew Boyd Last Three Games DET 4, MIN 2: Stewart Debuts, Bats Slump in Loss MIN 4, DET 3: Austin Homers, Hildy Survives Save Chance DET 5, MIN 3: Is There Anything Left? Click here to view the article

It's been awesome to see how he's come along. Pre All-Star Game: .259/.314/.463, 10 HR, 78 K, 20 BB in 65 games Post All-Star Game: .290/.385/.568, 11 HR, 52 K, 27 BB in 46 games Everything trending in the right direction.

Welcome to another edition of the Twins Prospect Pulse. Over the past month the system got a big boost from additions made around the trade deadline and we’ve seen some of the 2018 draftees already promoted up to full-season leagues. Here’s a rundown of how each affiliate is performing, a quick look at how the Twins Daily top 20 prospects are performing and a look at how some of those new names are doing.This is a feature designed to keep those of you who are more casual followers of the system up to speed on what’s happening in the minor leagues. This will be posted mid-month going forward, the intention being that it will complement Seth’s Minor League Player of the Month Award articles nicely. Speaking of which, here are the award winners from July: Hitter: Ryan Jeffers Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober Relief Pitcher: Jovani Moran Below are the stats for this edition of the Prospect Pulse. All numbers were pulled on the morning of August 14. Affiliates -Rochester Red Wings: 53-65, fifth in the International League North -Chattanooga Lookouts: 20-28 second half, last place in the Southern League North (56-61 overall) -Fort Myers Miracle: 30-20 second half, second in the Florida State League South (58-60 overall) -Cedar Rapids Kernels: 31-19 second half, second place in the Midwest League Western (63-56 overall) -Elizabethton Twins: 28-21, first place in the Appalachian League West -GSL Twins: 25-19, second place in the Gulf Coast League South -DSL Twins: 42-19, tied for first place in the Dominican Summer League South Top Prospects Here’s a snapshot at how the top 20 prospects have performed. We unveiled our Midseason Top Prospect List in mid-July, so it does not include any of the prospects added around the trade deadline. More on them in just a moment … 1. Royce Lewis, SS, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .303/.395/.485 (.880 OPS), 16.7 K%, 12.3 BB% Full season: .315/.379/.484 (.863 OPS), 15.3 K%, 8.7 BB% 2. Alex Kirilloff, RF, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .430/.446/.624 (1.069 OPS), 12.9 K%, 4.0 BB% Full season: .346/.389/.576 (.965 OPS), 16.0 K%, 6.4 BB% 3. Brusdar Graterol, RHP, Fort Myers Last 28 days: 23.1 IP, 2.70 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 3.71 K:BB Full season: 79.0 IP, 3.08 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, 4.35 K:BB 4. Nick Gordon, SS/2B, Rochester Last 28 days: .150/.213/.160 (.373 OPS), 23.1 K%, 6.5 BB% Full season: .254/.295/.372 (.667 OPS), 18.0 K%, 4.8 BB% 5. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP, Rochester Last 28 days: 30.1 IP, 2.08 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 2.08 K:BB Full season: 114.2 IP, 2.90 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 1.83 K:BB 6. Trevor Larnach, RF, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .299/.382/.494 (.877 OPS), 13.7 K%, 10.8 BB% Full season: Same as above. 7. Brent Rooker, 1B/LF, Chattanooga Last 28 days: .318/.443/.600 (1.043 OPS), 17.0 K%, 18.9 BB% Full season: .271/.344/.506 (.850 OPS), 26.8 K%, 9.7 BB% 8. Akil Baddoo, CF, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .224/.328/.378 (.705 OPS), 22.4 K%, 13.8 BB% Full season: .241/.354/.413 (.767 OPS), 24.3 K%, 14.8 BB% 9. Wander Javier, SS, Out for the season due to injury. 10. Zack Littell, RHP, Rochester Last 28 days: 27.1 IP, 3.95 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 1.44 K:BB Full season: 115.0 IP, 4.46 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 2.17 K:BB 11. Blayne Enlow, RHP, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: 22.1 IP, 3.63 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 4.8 K/9, 3.00 K:BB Full season: 79.0 IP, 3.53 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 6.0 K/9, 1.83 K:BB 12. LaMonte Wade, LF/RF, Rochester Last 28 days: .234/.338/.266 (.603 OPS), 24.3 K%, 13.5 BB% Full season: .271/.383/.403 (.786 OPS), 14.0 K%, 14.3 BB% 13. Travis Blankenhorn, 2B/3B, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .208/.299/.403 (.701 OPS), 29.2 K%, 9.0 BB% Full season: .240/.310/.404 (.714 OPS), 26.5 K%, 7.4 BB% 14. Lewis Thorpe, LHP, Chattanooga Last 28 days: 23.2 IP, 2.28 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 4.17 K:BB Full season: 108.0 IP, 3.58 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 10.9 K/9, 4.37 K:BB 15. Ben Rortvedt, C, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .229/.339/.354 (.693 OPS), 14.3 K%, 12.5 BB% Full season: .261/.333/.370 (.703 OPS), 18.8 K%, 9.1 BB% 16. Yunior Severino, 2B, Elizabethton Last 28 days: .229/.299/.343 (.642 OPS), 26.0 K%, 9.1 BB% Full season: .270/.327/.423 (.750 OPS), 23.3 K%, 8.0 BB% 17. Lewin Diaz, 1B, Fort Myers Last 28 days: Only 15 PAs, has been out due to injury. Full season: .224/.255/.344 (.598 OPS), 18.1 K%, 3.2 BB% 18. Ryan Jeffers, C, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .341/.434/.588 (1.023 OPS), 15.2 K%, 12.1 BB% Full season: .371/.483/.576 (1.059 OPS), 14.4 K%, 13.4 BB% 19. Jacob Pearson, LF, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .172/.238/.328 (.566 OPS), 28.1 K%, 7.8 BB% Full season: .257/.331/.396 (.726 OPS), 21.3 K%, 9.7 BB% 20. Luis Arraez, IF, Chattanooga Last 28 days: .338/.409/.429 (.838 OPS), 4.5 K%, 10.1 BB% Full season: .309/.363/.397 (.760 OPS), 9.4 K%, 7.4 BB% Another 10 to Know This is a rotating list. I’m trying to make sure to feature a brand new set of 10 players each month. Let’s hone in on some of the brand new prospects to the system this time. Jorge Alcala, RHP, Chattanooga Last 28 days: 7.1 IP, 9.82 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, 9.8 K/9, 1.14 K:BB Full season: 86.0 IP, 3.56 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 9.3 K/9, 2.28 K:BB Gilberto Celestino, CF/RF, Elizabethton Last 28 days: .319/.372/.431 (.802 OPS), 14.1 K%, 6.4 BB% Full season: .306/.363/.435 (.798 OPS), 17.6 K%, 6.3 BB% Ryan Costello, 1B, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .247/.344/.351 (.695 OPS), 25.6 K%, 11.1 BB% Full season: .272/.364/.487 (.851 OPS), 20.4 K%, 12.4 BB% Chase De Jong, RHP, Rochester Last 28 days: 36.0 IP, 3.25 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 8.3 K/9, 3.00 K:BB Full season: 135.2 IP, 3.91 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 6.8 K/9, 2.45 K:BB Ernie De La Trinidad, OF, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .373/.466/.475 (.940 OPS), 10.4 K%, 14.3 BB% Full season: .318/.408/.446 (.854 OPS), 12.6 K%, 11.9 BB% Jhoan Duran, RHP, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: 23.0 IP, 3.52 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 11.0 K/9, 5.60 K:BB Full season: 83.0 IP, 4.45 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 10.1 K/9, 2.91 K:BB Gabriel Maciel, CF/RF, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .293/.369/.413 (.782 OPS), 14.3 K%, 8.3 BB%) Full season: .280/.354/.343 (.698 OPS), 16.0 K%, 9.0 BB%) Luke Raley, 1B/OF, Chattanooga Last 28 days: .286/.355/.524 (.879 OPS), 21.5 K%, 6.5 BB% Full season: .278/.354/.485 (.838 OPS), 24.5 K%, 6.3 BB% Luis Rijo, RHP, Elizabethton Last 28 days: 17.2 IP, 2.04 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 6.1 K/9, 2.4 K:BB Full season: 44.2 IP, 2.42 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 7.7 K/9, 6.33 K:BB Devin Smeltzer, LHP, Chattanooga Last 28 days: 8.1 IP, 5.40 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 2.67 K:BB Full season: 86.0 IP, 4.92 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 7.2 K/9, 3.29 K:BB That’s it for this edition of the Prospect Pulse. This will be the final update for 2018, as the minor league season is winding down in a matter of weeks, but keep checking back in at the site for our regular daily coverage of the system. At this time next month I’ll already be doing some groundwork on the 2019 Twins Prospect Handbook Click here to view the article

For Granite it would have been great just to get him some more live pitching before he closes up shop for the year. I think as far as the parent clubs are concerned, the purpose of the AFL is mainly to extend the season for certain guys. So some players you'd think would make sense probably won't go because they've played a ton (Lewis, Kirilloff, Rooker) or they don't need to increase their innings any farther (Graterol, Jax?). Then some other less obvious guys will go simply because these teams still have to be functional (maybe a middle infielder like Alex Perez or a catcher who can play multiple positions like Mitchell Kranson).

Darn, I don't think Granite's going to be eligible since he still hasn't come off the DL yet. Would have been nice to get him some extra work out there.

I think Jax would make a ton of sense. I'm sure they'd love to get him some more innings, though there's obviously a limit to how far you want to push a guy from one year to the next. Also, I believe you're only allowed to send one guy below Double A, and there are some other strong options in Fort Myers. Zander Wiel, Luis Arraez, Zack Granite, Jorge Alcala and Cody Stashak are also guys that would seem to make sense as far as I can tell.

Kohl Stewart’s MLB debut got off to a great start, but he eventually ran into some trouble in the fifth inning. The bigger issue, however, was how punchless the Twins’ offense was. It’s pretty hard to win if you can only score two runs. The Twins could only muster four hits on the afternoon.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Kohl Stewart: 40 Game Score, 4.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 K, 1 BB, 60.8% strikes (45 of 75 pitches) Home Runs: Max Kepler (15) Multi-Hit Games: None. WPA of 0.1 or higher: None. WPA of -0.1 or lower: Stewart -.134, Sano -140 Download attachment: WinChart812.png This looked a lot like the minor league version of Stewart, which makes sense because he was basically facing a Triple A lineup. OK, all joking aside, he looked pretty good before running into some trouble in the fifth inning. I can’t imagine the emotion these guys must be going through when they reach the majors for the first time. Some players have a lot of build up to their debut. I’d imagine that allows them to be a little more mentally prepared when it happens. Kohl wasn’t even on the 40-man roster prior to his call-up, and while I’m sure he was confident this day would come in the not too distant future, the timing had to have caught him from out of the blue somewhat. You never would have guessed this was Stewart’s first time on a major league mound. He was very composed. We saw the good, as Stewart didn’t allow any extra-base hits and was getting grounders like crazy, but we also saw the bad, as he failed to miss many bats. You allow enough balls to be put into play, eventually you’re going to get stung. A curious decision by Ehire Adrianza, playing third base today, didn’t help. He had a chance to just tag the lead runner out on his way to third, but chose to throw across to first instead, resulting in an infield hit to load the bases. Still, things like that are liable to happen from time-to-time when everybody’s putting the ball in play. Stewart walked in a run to give Detroit a 2-1 and was lifted with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth inning. Taylor Rogers allowed an inherited run to score on a sac fly, giving Stewart three earned runs over his 4 ⅓ innings of work. He topped out at 95.2 mph, but only got two swinging strikes on his 74 pitches. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next. I think Stewart showed enough to warrant another turn in the rotation, but at the same time there are some other starting pitchers down on the farm who also deserve a look. Runs were very difficult to come by for the Twins. Mitch Garver hit a triple and scored in the second inning and Max Kepler hit a solo homer in the eighth. Altogether, the bats managed to score just nine runs in this three-game series at Detroit. Logan Forsythe now has a hit in all 10 of the games he’s started for the Twins. That represents a career-high hitting streak for him. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen812.png AL Central Standings CLE 65-51 MIN 54-63 (-11.5) DET 49-69 (-17) CHW 42-74 (-23) KC 35-81 (-30) Next Three Game Mon: Off Tue vs. PIT, 7:10 pm CT: Jake Odorizzi vs. Jameson Taillon Wed vs. PIT, 12:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Chris Archer Thuvs. DET, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games MIN 4, DET 3: Austin Homers, Hildy Survives Save Chance DET 5, MIN 3: Is There Anything Left? CLE 5, MIN 4: Walks and a Walk-Off Click here to view the article

The Twins signed Michael Pineda to a two-year deal in December, and I’ve been constantly forgetting about him ever since. Nothing against Pineda, it’s just really hard to remember a guy who’s recovering from a surgery. But, if his 2018 debut is any indication, Pineda could serve as the baseball version of finding a loose $20 bill in a pair of jeans you’ve had lying around.TRANSACTIONS There was a trio of pitchers who all moved up a level. Ryan Eades jumped up to Rochester, Anthony Marzi to Chattanooga and Kevin Marnon was promoted to Fort Myers. RED WINGS REPORT Charlotte 8, Rochester 0 Box Score SP: Fernando Romero (4.0 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) Multi-hit games: None. It’s been a tough year for Rochester, who fell to 52-63 after today’s shutout loss. Fernando Romero was hammered and the Red Wings’ lineup was dominated by White Sox No. 2 prospect Michael Kopech. Gregorio Petit’s double was the only extra-base hit for Rochester. The bright spot was Ryne Harper, who pitched four shutout innings out of the bullpen. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Jackson 4, Chattanooga 3 Box Score SP: Sean Poppen (5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) HR: Luis Arraez (1) Multi-hit games: Zander Wiel (2-for-4), Luke Raley (2-for-4, 2B), Luis Arraez (2-for-4, HR) Luis Arraez hit his first home run for Chattanooga, his second overall of the season, but Tyler Jay gave up the decisive run in the seventh inning as the Generals prevailed Saturday. The Lookouts, who did not qualify for a playoff spot in the first half, sit in last place in the Southern League North division in the second half. MIRACLE MATTERS Florida 3, Fort Myers 2 Box Score SP: Michael Pineda (3.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) Multi-hit games: Ryan Costello (2-for-3), Travis Blankenhorn (2-for-3, 3B) Michael Pineda made his first official appearance in the Twins organization. Had to have been a good feeling for the big right-hander. He had Tommy John surgery in July of 2017. This was an encouraging first time out on the mound. Pineda gave up five hits in his three shutout innings, but that was more than likely due to the fact that he was living in the zone. Of his 33 pitches, 29 were strikes. It was still a night that ended in a tough loss for Fort Myers. They trailed 2-0 heading into the eighth, but tied it up thanks to an RBI triple by Travis Blankenhorn, who later scored on a sac fly from Mark Contreras. This game remained tied until the Fire Frogs walked it off on a run-scoring single. Thanks to the reinforcements who’ve come up from Cedar Rapids, the Miracle are in striking distance of securing a playoff spot here in the second half. They trail Charlotte by 2.5 games in the Florida State League South division. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Quad Cities 6 Box Score W: Jordan Balazovic (5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) SV: Calvin Faucher (3.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) HR: Gabriel Maciel 2 (3), Trevor Larnach (1) Multi-hit games: Gabriel Maciel (4-for-5, 2 HR), Michael Helman (3-for-5), Trey Cabbage 3-for-5, 2B), Andrew Bechtold (3-for-3, 2 BB), Ryan Jeffers (2-for-5), Trevor Larnach (2-for-5, HR), Cedar Rapids tallied 18 hits on Saturday. Wow! Six of their batters had multi-hit games, but none was more impressive than Gabriel Maciel. He hit a home run form both sides of the plate. That’s particularly noteworthy because the speedy center fielder had only hit one homer in 79 games this season heading into tonight. Trevor Larnach hit his first homer since being called up to the Kernels and Andrew Bechtold reached base all five times he came up to bat, going 3-for-3 with a double and two walks. Jordan Balazovic improved to 6-3 after throwing five innings of two-run ball. He struck out six and walked one while throwing 71.9 percent of his pitches for strikes. Cedar Rapids currently holds a 1.5 game lead in the Midwest League Western division second half standings. E-TWINS E-NOTES Game 1: Bluefield 7, Elizabethton 5 (8 innings) Box Score SP: Austin Schulfer (5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER 0 BB, 4 K) HR: Lean Marrero (1) Multi-hit games: Lean Marrero (3-for-3, 2B, HR, BB), Ricky De La Torre (2-for-4, 2B) The E-Twins jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but a rough night from the bullpen ended up being costly. The bats rallied back from being down 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh (and scheduled to be final) inning. Bluefield added three more runs in the eighth and that was that. Starter Austin Schulfer had a solid game, lowering his ERA on the year to 2.17. A Wisconsin native, Schulfer was the Twins’ 19th-round pick in this year’s draft. Lean Marrero continued his hot streak. The centerfielder is now 9-for-22 (.409) so far this month. Game 2: Bluefield 7, Elizabethton 1 (7 innings) Box Score SP: Carlos Suniaga (4.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) Multi-hit games: None. Much like in the first game, the E-Twins got a strong performance out of their starting pitcher, but that was squandered by the bullpen. Also, the lineup had a rough go. Carlos Suniaga pitched four shutout innings, but the only hits for E-Town came from Jared Atkins and Gilberto Celestino, both singles. Still, the Twins led 1-0 after five innings. Despite the struggles Saturday, Elizabethton still leads the Appalachian League West by three games. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 0, GCL Red Sox 0 (Suspended in the third inning due to rain) Box Score STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Jordan Balazovic, Cedar Rapids Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Gabriel Maciel, Cedar Rapids TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed 1. Royce Lewis (FM): 1-for-4, 2 K 2. Alex Kirilloff (FM): 1-for-4, K 3. Brusdar Graterol (FM): Did not pitch. 4. Nick Gordon (ROC): 1-for-4, 2 K 5. Stephen Gonsalves (ROC): Did not pitch. 6. Trevor Larnach (CR): 2-for-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R 7. Brent Rooker (CHAT): 0-for-4, K 8. Akil Baddoo (CR): 0-for-5, BB, 3 K 9. Wander Javier: Out of for the season 10. Zack Littell (ROC): Did not pitch. 11. Blayne Enlow (CR): Did not pitch. 12. LaMonte Wade (ROC): 0-for-4, 2 K 13. Travis Blankenhorn (FM): 2-for-3, 3B, RBI, R 14. Lewis Thorpe (CHAT): Did not pitch. 15. Ben Rortvedt (FM): Did not play. 16. Yunior Severino (ET): Did not play. 17. Lewin Diaz (FM): Injured. 18. Ryan Jeffers (CR): 2-for-5, RBI, R 19. Jacob Pearson (CR): Did not pitch. 20. Luis Arraez (CHAT): 2-for-4, HR, RBI, R SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Charlotte, 12:05 pm CT: Zack Littell Chattanooga vs. Jackson, 1:15 pm CT: Jorge Alcala Fort Myers at Florida, 10:00 am CT: TBD Cedar Rapids at Quad Cities, 5:15 pm CT: Jhoan Duran Elizabethton at Greenville, 4:00 pm CT: TBD GCL Twins: OFF Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games. Click here to view the article

HA! I see what you did there, lol

Tyler Austin hit a two-run homer in his Twins debut and Trevor Hildenberger earned the first post-Fernando Rodney save as the Twins squeaked by the Tigers Saturday night. It was certainly an experience, as Hildy gave up two runs, but whatever works, I guess. Maybe he was paying too close attention to Rodney?Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Kyle Gibson: 65 Game Score, 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 2 BB, 67.6% strikes (75 of 111 pitches) Home Runs: Tyler Austin (9) Multi-Hit Games: Joe Mauer (2-for-4, BB), Logan Forsythe (2-for-5), Miguel Sano (2-for-4, BB) WPA of 0.1 or higher: Gibson .302, Austin .179 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Polanco -.124 Download attachment: WinChart811.png Austin’s homer was his ninth of the season in the majors, matching his season total in the minors. He now has 16 home runs in 86 MLB games. We also saw Austin’s contact issues on display, as he also struck out swinging twice, but the power is most definitely legit. Kyle Gibson did a great job of staying aggressive tonight. He didn’t have his nastiest stuff going, but he threw a ton of strikes en route to holding Detroit to one run over seven innings pitched. Trevor May pitched a perfect eighth inning, but then things got a little too interesting. The Twins led 4-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth, creating the first save opportunity of the new-look bullpen. Despite his recent struggles, Trevor Hildenberger got the call. It was an experience. The inning opened with an eight-pitch walk to Victor Martinez, then Niko Goodrum hit a two-run homer. Jim Adduci singled, prompting a mound visit. Hildenberger responded by striking out James McCann, getting Victor Reyes to fly out and then striking out JaCoby Jones to pick up his second career save. Oh, and this happened: Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen811.png AL Central Standings CLE 64-51 MIN 54-62 (-10.5) DET 48-69 (-17) CHW 42-73 (-22) KC 35-80 (-29) Next Three Game Sun at DET, 12:10 pm CT: Kohl Stewart vs. Matt Boyd Mon: Off Tue vs. PIT, 7:10 pm CT: Jake Odorizzi vs. Jameson Taillon Wed vs. PIT, 12:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Chris Archer Last Three Games DET 5, MIN 3: Is There Anything Left? CLE 5, MIN 4: Walks and a Walk-Off CLE 5, MIN 2: Cleveland Prevails on Lindor Walk-Off Homer Click here to view the article

Now THAT is funny

Not young vs. old, I could understand the comment coming from a player who has actually been contributing to the team. I wouldn't have been pleased if someone like Jorge Polanco or Trevor May would have said what Ervin said. You don't show up in the second half and then throw the front office under the bus.

I asked the Twins Daily community for questions earlier this week, today I'm going to take a crack at answering them. I'd also love it to see your answers down in the comments. Let's get things rolling with a question about the offseason ... “with no immediate heir apparent at 2nd base, first base, catcher, and the need to bolster the 8th inning setup man and if things went well, I’d imagine front of rotation, how do you think the FO will fill those roles? There’s maybe 50/60 mil in payroll to play with, and all those prospects to dangle. It’s a huge roster turn over, can they get it all done in one offseason/up to all star break?” -Sconnie An Eduardo Escobar reunion makes so much sense. He can fill your opening at second base as well as provide insurance at third. I’m of the mind you can stick pretty much anybody over a first base. There will be plenty of options out there in free agency, but I’m also interested in what Tyler Austin can do. Max Kepler has experience there, though he’s also a borderline Gold Glove right fielder, so it may be a waste to put him at first. I believe LaMonte Wade played there some in college. Either way, I don’t think the Twins should be falling over themselves to bring Joe Mauer back. Still, a reunion would make a lot of sense, so I would project Mauer to be the Opening Day first baseman in 2019. I personally don’t see a huge need at catcher. I think a lot of teams would love to have a duo of Jason Castro and Mitch Garver, assuming Castro comes back healthy. Yasmani Grandal and Wilson Ramos would be significant upgrades, but I feel like other teams are going to be more desperate to get them. I believe the front office made a strong effort to land Yu Darvish last year, but your big free agents just aren’t going to be jumping at the chance to come play in Minnesota. No matter how much money there is sitting around, guys aren’t coming here until this club has shown it’s a legit World Series contender. I think the front office can reload and put together a competitive roster over the offseason, but taking it to the next level would probably be delayed until the trade deadline. “Why Belisle? Rosario for real?” -USAFChief I’ve been blowing off so much steam about Matt Belisle on Twitter that Seth threatened to unfollow me over it I don’t have an answer to that question. My best guess is that the front office is trying to secure a better draft pick next year and they know Paul Molitor can’t resist using him. Now that Fernando Rodney has been traded, it wouldn’t shock me at all if Belisle becomes the closer once he’s activated off the DL. Yuck. The only thing I'm certain about when it comes to Belisile is he truly must be a really awesome guy. Eddie Rosario’s free-swinging tendencies are cause for concern, but I still have to say he’s absolutely for real. Since the start of last season, Rosie has hit .294/.333/.503 (.837 OPS) in 1,079 plate appearances. To put that into context, Justin Morneau had an .832 OPS in his time with the Twins. Eddie drives me nuts sometimes, but he’s also probably my favorite Twin now that Escobar is gone. “Do you really believe that Molitor is the manager who can take us to the WS? How big of a diffence do you think it will be between what the Twins could/should do and what they will actually do this off-season? What do you really think went on behind-the-scenes and in the clubhouse regarding the rumors about a toxic clubhouse?” -Carole Keller I think a manager’s impact on wins and losses is generally overstated, but no, I don’t have a lot of confidence that Molitor is a manager who could lead a team to a World Series title. That being said, Ned Yost did it … so anything’s possible. I'll circle back to Molly in just a sec. Taking a look at the free agents that are expected to be available, I’m not really sure what I think the Twins should do. I’m sure the expectation from the majority of the fan base will be that they go out and fill in the payroll to a level that’s similar to this year, but I don’t think they’re going to be able to attract any of the big names like Bryce Harper or Manny Machado and I don’t expect them to spend just for spending’s sake. I’d bet they have a savvy offseason, but get ripped to shreds for not bumping the payroll up higher. It’s tough to speculate on anything regarding the clubhouse from the outside in, but I think it has more to do with losing than anything. Losing sucks. The roster turnover couldn’t have helped either, and I’m not just talking about the new guys. Ervin Santana, Jason Castro, Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Jorge Polanco were all expected to be regulars. With those guys being out in combination with adding a crop of free agents who were mostly bitter about their lack of a market, it would be no surprise if there was some turbulence. Now that, however, is something I think a manager should be able to have an impact on. It wouldn't be surprising to hear that some of the players are frustrated by the front office turning the page, but that should be an issue that's addressed internally. I still don't think Molitor is going anywhere. It's clear ownership loves him, hard for me to see them moving on until maybe this time next season. “Will Odorizzi be back next year? Will Fernando Romero make the starting rotation out of spring training next year?” -FormerMinnasotan Yes, I would expect Jake Odorizzi to be in the 2019 rotation. He should be expected to perform at about a league-average level. You don’t just let a starting pitcher like that walk unless you’re trying to slash payroll. A lot of what happens with Romero will depend on how the next couple months play out, but I would predict that he’ll start next year in Triple A. At this point a year ago, it would have been really hard to envision a scenario in which Adalberto Mejia wasn’t going to be in the rotation for this year, but he’s only made four starts with the Twins. I could see something similar happening to Romero. I also wouldn’t be shocked if Romero was pushed into a multi-inning relief role, similar to how Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano got their feet wet in the bigs. But again, that’ll also depend on who they go out and add. “What should TD be paying you per game recap?” -TheLeviathan Well, how much would you pay me per game recap as a reader? Probably nothing. It’s really hard to make money on the Internet. I’ve contributed to a lot of other places online and this is by far the best situation I’ve been in. TD could probably make some more money if the site was bombarded with ads, like some other places, but I like things the way they are. “What's your favorite Target Field food?” -scottz I will often bring my own food into Target Field, but my go-to concession stand item is the Turkey to Go sandwich. I like how they have the seasonings and sauce at the stand so you can flavor it to your liking. A pretty simple item, but an old standby. “How many five year olds could you take in a fight before they overpower you? Be honest.” -Mr. Brooks Oh boy, probably not very many. I don’t think I’ve been in a fight since middle school and all five-year-olds do is fight. So even though I’m older, they’ve definitely got the upper hand in terms of experience. I’ve got the size and the strength, but the five-year-olds would have a considerable advantage in the stamina department. This was a real brainteaser, so I did what any responsible human would do in 2018 and looked it up on the Internet. It says I could take on 21 five-year-olds, but that sounds like a really high number to me. Since you specifically asked me to be honest, I’d say 11. That’s assuming we’re talking about 11 five-year olds who are really gung-ho about scrappin’. Alright, that's it from me. Thanks for reading, please add your two cents in the comments and let me know if you'd be interersted in similar Q&As becoming a regular feature here on the site. Click here to view the article

I get what you're saying, but to me it depends on who the message comes from. If this would have come from Eddie Rosario, Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson, Max Kepler or any of the other guys who've been around this year and will be around in the future, I think I'd feel the same way as you do. Ervin Santana has contributed zilch this season, it's not looking very promising that he'll contribute much the rest of the year and seems highly unlikely to me that he'll be around next season. He's basically Matt Belisle. The main reason to keep Ervin around is for leadership/an example to the younger guys of how to prepare/conduct yourself as a major leaguer. If he's not even doing that well, then he's just in the way.

We who? You're assuming we want the same things. Think about that.