Tom Froemming

Also worth noting that the league average is inflated somewhat by relievers and that Littell's K/9 ranks 22nd among the 61 IL pitchers with at least 50 innings this season.

Carter's PCL numbers were amazing (.933 OPS) but he's been pedestrian since coming over to the Red Wings (.721 OPS). The Twins are going to start looking toward 2019 and Carter is 31-years-old. Not a lot of reason to keep him around. On the other hand, it's also pretty strange that the Twins would acquire another left-handed bat in Kemmer, but at least he brings some positional flexibility over Carter, though both have primarily DHed this season. Maybe Carter asked for his release or had become bitter about not getting a callup, who knows? Or maybe this has less to do about these two guys and more to do with making room for somebody who'll be promoted in the coming weeks (Rooker, Sano?). I'd be surprised to see Kremmer make it up to the Twins. This same front office acquired Carter too, and he never got a look.

Since he's only been around for less than a year, it's easy to forget how young Littell is and how hard the Twins have pushed him. Littell started last season in High A, entered this year with only 14 starts above that level and is still only 22-years-old. He's younger than all of the following pitching prospects: Stephen Gonsalves, Fernando Romero, Kohl Stewart, Griffin Jax, Tyler Wells and Charlie Barnes. Littell is the eighth-youngest player to appear in the American League this season. But I still agree with your main point. I'd rather see Romero or Mejia back or Gonsalves get a crack before Littell is brought back up to the Twins. He's not quite ready for that.

Saturday was an evening full of close games and exciting finishes across the Twins’ minor league system. Brent Rooker starred for the Lookouts, hitting a walk-off double, and DaShawn Keirsey led an impressive comeback win in extras for the E-Twins. Come read about what else happened, including an explanation behind why Byron Buxton had to swap to an infielder’s glove at the end of the Red Wings’ game.TRANSACTIONS Chris Paul was placed on the DL with a finger sprain and Jordan Gore was promoted up from Cedar Rapids to replace him on the Chattanooga roster. Ariel Montesino was moved up from Elizabethton to take Gore’s spot on the Kernels. New acquisition Jon Kemmer was activated by the Red Wings and Chris Carter was released. RED WINGS REPORT Lehigh Valley 4, Rochester 3 (11 innings) Box Score SP: Zack Littell (6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) HR: Kennys Vargas (12) Multi-hit games: Gregorio Petit Byron Buxton ended this game playing in the infield. The Iron Pigs had the bases loaded with nobody out, so the Red Wings put on an extreme shift with five infielders and two outfielders. Unfortunately, the batter sent a fly ball to the outfield that ended up being plenty deep enough to score the winning run on a sac fly. This game probably wouldn’t have gotten that far if Nick Gordon hadn’t have made an excellent play to end the 10th. Lehigh Valley had runners at first and second with no outs. The batter sent a bullet of a line drive to Gordon’s right, but he snared it and threw to second to double off the runner and end the threat. Buxton oped this game with a walk, stole second base, advanced to third on a Gordon groundout and scored on a Gregorio Petit single. In the sixth, Kennys Vargas hit a two-run home run. Zack Littell has had a rough go of it in his two appearances with the Twins, but he’s been great with Rochester. He’s now surrendered just 18 earned runs in 57 innings (2.84 ERA) to go with 52 strikeouts (8.2 K/9). CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Birmingham 2 Box Score W: Tyler Jay (1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) SP: Lewis Thorpe (4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Brian Navarreto, Brent Rooker, Ryan Walker This game was knotted at 2-2 entering the bottom of the ninth. Luis Arraez hit a one-out single and then scored all the way from first base on a walk-off double from Brent Rooker. Chattanooga fell behind 2-0 in this one but Ryan Walker hit a huge two-out, two-run single in the sixth to tie it up. Rooker entered this game second in the Southern League with 22 doubles and he added two more tonight. Brian Navaretto was 3-for-4 with a double of his own. Navarreto’s 13 two-baggers on the year look pedestrian next to Rooker’s impressive total, but that ties his career high for the Lookouts catcher. Lewis Thorpe struck out eight batters, but he was already at 97 pitches when he left the game after 4 2/3 innings. Ryan Eades followed with three shutout innings before Tyler Jay recorded the final four outs to earn the victory. MIRACLE MATTERS Bradenton 4, Fort Myers 1 Box Score SP: Griffin Jax (6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) HR: Shane Carrier (4) Multi-hit games: None Shane Carrier hit a home run for the Miracle in the third inning. It was particularly noteworthy because that was Fort Myers’ only hit of the night. Griffin Jax tied a career high with seven strikeouts and threw 69.2 percent of his pitches for strikes. Jax was recently named the No. 26 Twins prospect on Twins Daily’s midseason Top 40. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Kane County 1 Box Score W: Jordan Balazovic (6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) SV: Jovani Moran (2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Jacob Pearson, Jean Carlos Arias, Andrew Bechtold, Trey Cabbage, Ben Rodriguez The Cougars held a 1-0 advantage until Cedar Rapids finally broke through in the seventh. The inning started with consecutive hits from Andrew Bechtold, David Banuelos and Trey Cabbage, and was highlighted by a two-run triple from Jean Carlos Arias. Jordan Balazovic gave up just one run on three hits over his 6 1/3 innings of work. He struck out five batters and only needed 84 pitches to get that deep into the game. Jovani Moran handled the final 2 2/3 innings and got strikeouts on five of the nine batters he faced. Moran, 21, has been dominant for Cedar Rapids, racking up 70 Ks in 44 1/3 innings (14.2 K/9). Jacob Pearson had another impressive night, going 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Danville 5 (10 innings) Box Score W: Zach Neff (2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) SP: Josh Winder (2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) HR: Colton Burns (2), Chris Williams (6) Multi-hit games: DaShawn Keirsey, Chris Williams, Alex Robles This one went into extras and E-Town gave up the go-ahead run in the top of the inning. In the bottom of the 10th, DaShawn Keirsey hit a game-tying RBI double with one out. He eventually advanced to third on a passed ball and then scored the walk-off run on a ball that was hit back to the pitcher. It was officially scored as a fielder’s choice, missed catch error on the pitcher. Keirsey had a great game, going 3-for-5 with his first professional stolen base. Fellow 2018 draftee Chris Williams hit his sixth home run already in what was just his 16th game with Elizabethton. Just to give that some perspective, last season Brent Rooker hit his sixth homer for E-Town in his 17th game. Ryan Jeffers only got one stinking hit, dropping his average to .386. What gives? GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 6, GCL Red Sox 4 Box Score W: Osiris German (1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) SV: Dylan Stowell (1.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) SP: Prelander Berroa (4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Yeison Perez, Gabe Snyder The Twins jumped out to a 5-0 lead in this one with the big hit being a two-run double from Yeison Perez, who was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and four RBIs. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Zack Littell, Rochester Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: DaShawn Keirsey, Elizabethton TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects performed: 1. Royce Lewis, CR: 1-for-4, BB, 2 K 3. Nick Gordon, ROC: 0-for-5, 2 K 5. Alex Kirilloff, FM: 0-for-4, K 7. Brent Rooker, CHAT: 2-for-5, 2 2B, RBI, 2 K 11. Zack Littell, ROC: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K 12. Lewis Thorpe, CHAT: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K 13. Lewin Diaz, FM: 0-for-3 14. LaMonte Wade, ROC: 0-for-4, K 16. Ben Rortvedt, FM: 0-for-3 K 17. Travis Blankenhorn, FM: 0-for-3, HBP, 3 K 19. Tyler Jay, CHAT: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Lehigh Valley, 12:35 pm CT: Fernando Romero Chattanooga at Jacksonville, 5:05 pm CT: TBD Fort Myers at Bradenton, 12:00 pm CT: Brusdar Graterol Cedar Rapids at Kane County, 12:35 pm CT: Bryan Sammons Elizabethton vs. Danville, 5:00 pm CT: TBD GCL Twins Off Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games. Click here to view the article

The Twins topped the Orioles again Saturday at Target Field, giving Minnesota three straight victories for the first time since early June. Kyle Gibson was strong once again, holding Baltimore to three runs on four hits over seven innings while striking out nine, and the offense came from an unlikely source.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Kyle Gibson: 60 Game Score, 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 K, 4 BB, 59.6% strikes Bullpen: 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 K, 0 BB Lineup: 3-for-8 w/RISP, 5 LOB WPA of 0.1 or higher: Wilson .280, Kepler .164 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Rosario -.163, Dozier -.108 Download attachment: WinEx77.png Bobby Wilson was 2-for-3 and drove in three runs since May 14, 2016. The Twins were down 3-0 before they even got up to bat, but Gibby got rolling and Max Kepler hit a solo home run in the fifth to get the Twins on the board. Wilson had a run-scoring single later in that inning and the tying run came in to score on a bases-loaded wild pitch. Wilson was up in a big spot again the very next inning. He hit a bases-loaded double that plated two more runs to give the Twins the lead. Oh, and Jake Cave made another tremendous catch. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bulpen77.png AL Central Standings CLE 49-37 MIN 38-48 (-11) DET 39-51 (-12) CHW 30-58 (-20) KC 25-62 (-24.5) Next Three Games Sun vs. BAL, 1:10 pm CT: Jake Odorizzi vs. Alex Cobb Mon vs. KC, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Tue vs. KC, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games MIN 6, BAL 2: Jake Cave Is the Hero We Deserve MIN 5, BAL 2: Slegers, Cave Lift Twins Out of Slump MIL 3, MIN 2: Pushing Against a Stone Click here to view the article

Defense doesn't factor into WPA at all. All the "credit" for outs goes to the pitcher.

It was clear from the very first pitch of this ballgame that it was going to be the Twins’ night. Tim Beckham sent a shot to center but Jake Cave robbed him of a homer. The Twins tallied three runs in the bottom of the first and Lance Lynn settled in to lead the Twins to a relatively stress-free win.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Lance Lynn: 60 Game Score, 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 K, 2 BB, 59.0% strikes Bullpen: 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 K, 0 BB Lineup: 3-for-7 w/RISP, 5 LOB WPA of 0.1 or higher: Lynn .209, Dozier .135 WPA of -0.1 or lower: None Download attachment: WinEx76.png Jake Cave is the hero we deserve. What a catch! It’s great to see the Twins giving Cave an opportunity for regular playing time. Hopefully we see the club continue to provide players like him a platform to put their skills on display. Players like, I dunno, Mitch Garver. He was 2-for-2 with a walk, called a good game and looked good behind the plate. The Twins had two runs on the board before they even recorded an out. Joe Mauer, Eddie Rosario and Brian Dozier opened things up with consecutive singles and Jorge Polanco added an RBI single of his own later in the inning. Lynn got a home run-saving catch, and three runs from his offense in the first frame. That’s a pitcher’s dream, right? Lynn delivered six innings of one-run ball. He gave up six hits and walked a pair of batters while striking out three. The Twins actually led this one 6-0 after four innings. Max Kepler hammered a two-run homer and Mauer tallied an RBI single in the fourth. Playing the Orioles, who are now 24-63 on the season (a pace for 117 losses), so any Twins positivity from these last two games has to come with a grain of salt. OK, maybe an entire block of salt. Still, this lineup looks a lot more capable with Jorge Polanco back, Jake Cave rolling and Mitch Garver being not Bobby Wilson. Poor opponent or not, it’s just been really nice to see the Twins do some things well the past couple contests. Even the one moment there was a bit of tension, when the O’s had two men on and one out with Manny Machado at the plate in the seventh, Eddie Rosario gunned down Beckham trying to score from second on a single. If you happen to see Tim Beckham around, give that dude a hug. He needs one. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen76.png AL Central Standings CLE 49-27 MIN 37-48 (-11.5) DET 39-51 (-12) CHW 30-57 (-19.5) KC 25-61 (-24) Next Three Games Sat vs. BAL, 1:10 pm CT: Kyle Gibson vs. Kevin Gausman Sun vs. BAL, 1:10 pm CT: Jake Odorizzi vs. Alex Cobb Mon vs. KC, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games MIN 5, BAL 2: Slegers, Cave Lift Twins Out of Slump MIL 3, MIN 2: Pushing Against a Stone MIL 2, MIN 0: Strikeouts Galore Click here to view the article

If the familiar faces aren’t delivering, why not turn to some fresh faces, right? That plan worked out well Thursday night at Target Field, as Aaron Slegers held Baltimore to one run over six innings and Jake Cave was 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk and an outstanding leaping catch.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Aaron Slegers: 61 Game Score, 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 K, 1 BB, 65.3% strikes Bullpen: 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 K, 1 BB Lineup: 2-for-7 w/RISP, 7 LOB WPA of 0.1 or above: Slegers .266, Hildenberger .126, Cave .120 WPA of -0.1 or below: None Download attachment: WinEx75.png This is exactly the type of game we’ve come to expect from Slegers down in Triple A. He doesn’t overpower hitters (just two strikeouts) but he keeps them off balance. The Orioles only got one run off of three hits and a walk against Slegers, who only needed 72 pitches to complete his six frames. The Twins scored their first run in the bottom of the third thanks to a pretty comical error by the O’s. Minnesota took a 3-0 lead, but things tightened up again thanks to a pair of Jonathan Scoop solo homers — one off Slegers and the other off Addison Reed. Clinging to a one-run lead, Trevor Hildenberger pitched a scoreless eighth inning. The Twins added a pair of runs in the bottom half to take some of the excitement out of Fernando Rodney’s night. He pitched a perfect inning with a pair of strikeouts to earn his 18th save. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen75.png AL Central Standings CLE 48-37 MIN 36-48 (-11.5) DET 38-51 (-12) CHW 30-56 (-18.5) KC 25-61 (-23.5) Next Three Games Fri vs. BAL, 7:10 pm CT: Lance Lynn vs. Dylan Bundy Sat vs. BAL, 1:10 pm CT: Kyle Gibson vs. Kevin Gausman Sun vs. BAL, 1:10 pm CT: Jake Odorizzi vs. Alex Cobb Last Three Games MIL 3, MIN 2: Pushing Against a Stone MIL 2, MIN 0: Strikeouts Galore MIL 6, MIN 5: Oh, That Rodney Experience Click here to view the article

Not full season. I've been told I can apply for credentials for individual games and there's a high likelihood the request will be approved. The problem is I don't really have the extra time to put in and, to be honest, I personally don't think getting into the clubhouse will provide any further value into what I'm trying to accomplish. Or at least that value added isn't worth the extra time to me. Plus, at a certain point actions speak louder than words and there isn't a single team in baseball that's 100 percent transparent. Is there a reason why Matt Belisle is sticking around? I'm sure there is. Will someone from the front office/management actually reveal what that is? Probably not. For example, if the main reason Belisle is on the roster is due to Molitor's preference, I highly doubt anybody's actually going to come out and say that.

Some guys make it look so easy. After being shut out yesterday, the Twins were held scoreless through the first six innings today. They managed to finally scratch across a run in the seventh to tie the game at 1-1, but Milwaukee's first hitter in the bottom of the inning hit a go-ahead homer. They added another solo shot that inning, and even robbed what would have been a Brian Dozier homer on an insane catch by Keon Broxton.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Jose Berrios: 44 Game Score, 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 K, 2 BB, 61.9% strikes Bullpen: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB Lineup: 1-for-8 w/RISP, 4 LOB WPA of 0.1 or higher: Polanco .195 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Kepler -.222, Garver -.113, Cave -.110 Download attachment: WinEx74.png The Twins have been an ugly combination of snake bitten and downright bad this season. It seems like even when things go well they can’t make any progress, like they’re trying to move a mountain. Jose Berrios had a quality start, holding the Brewers to three runs over seven innings, but Milwaukee got big hits and made big plays when they needed them. Exhibit A: This sick catch by Keon Broxton in the ninth inning … Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen74.png AL Central Standings CLE 47-37 DET 38-50 (-11) MIN 35-48 (-11.5) CHW 30-55 (17.5) KC 25-60 (22.5) Next Three Games Thu vs. BAL, 7:10 pm CT: Aaron Slegers vs. Andrew Cashner Fri vs. BAL, 7:10 pm CT: Lance Lynn vs. Dylan Bundy Sat vs. BAL, 1:10 pm CT: Kyle Gibson vs. Kevin Gausman Last Three Games MIL 2, MIN 0: Strikeouts Galore MIL 6, MIN 5: Oh, That Rodney Experience CHC 11, MIN 10: Epic Comeback Falls Short Click here to view the article

Prospect heads rejoice! It’s time to revisit the top prospects list. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be revealing the Twins Daily Midseason Top 40 Prospects List. That’s right, we’re expanding the size of the official site rankings, doubling upward from our preseason list. The journey starts today with numbers 40 through 36.40. Aaron Whitefield – CF Age: 21 ETA: 2020 2018 Stats (A+/Rk): .220/.301/.293 (.594 OPS), 3 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 23 K, 9 BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 29 | Tom: NR | Cody: 42 Whitefield just recently returned to action with the MIracle. He suffered a broken hamate bone in late April, which forced him to miss all of May and most of June. He made a name for himself with the Kernels last year flashing both speed (33 stolen bases) and power (11 homers). He’s also a legit center fielder. Over the winter, Whitefield won his third-straight Claxton Shield (which is awarded to the Australian Baseball League champions). Here’s hoping he can get back healthy and continue to build momentum. 39. Jaylin Davis – RF Age: 24 ETA: 2019 2018 Stats (AA/A+): .265/.358/.395 (.753 OPS), 11 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 67 K, 27 BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 41 | Tom: 43 | Cody: 35 Over his first two seasons in the system, Davis displayed impressive power but it came with a hefty number of strikeouts and not many walks to offset them. This season, he’s looked like a whole new hitter. After posting a career 30.2 K% and 6.8 BB%, Davis has improved those rates to 25.2 K% and 11.0 BB% in 2018. The power took a dip, but that was to be expected in the FSL. The higher-ups took note of the strides Davis was making, and promoted him up to Chattanooga a couple of weeks ago. 38. Ricky De La Torre – SS Age: 18 ETA: 2022 2018 Stats: .333/.417/.500 (.917 OPS), 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 7 K, 3 BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 44 | Tom: 29 | Cody: 43 Drafted out of Puerto Rico, De La Torre made his pro debut last year as a 17-year-old and opted to sign with the Twins instead of heading to Auburn. He cracked three homers with the GCL Twins last year, which doesn’t sound like much, but only 15 batters went deep five or more times in that entire league last season. Shortstop is a crowded spot in the system, which is a good problem to have, but De La Torre may be the best suited of anyone to make the transition to third base due to his strong arm. 37. Lachlan Wells – LHP Age: 21 ETA: 2021 2018 Stats: None, injured. 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 48 | Tom: 33 | Cody: 32 Another Australian! Wells had Tommy John surgery in mid May and will miss the entire 2018 season. Originally looked over due to his diminutive stature, Wells really filled out the past couple years, though he’ll still never be mistaken for Tyler Wells (who’s listed at 6-foot-8, 265 lbs). In 204 innings as a pro, Lachlan has a 2.74 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and has averaged 8.2 K/9 against just 2.0 BB/9. It’s a shame we won’t get to see him on the mound again for quite some time. 36. Aaron Slegers – RHP ETA: 2018 Age: 25 2018 Stats (AAA): 83.2 IP, 3.55 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 2.89 K:BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 33 | Tom: 34 | Cody: 45 Slegers lacks the kind of overpowering stuff that puts pitchers higher up on prospect lists, but there’s no questioning his track record of getting outs in the high minors. He’s made five appearances with the Twins over the past two years, but during that time he’s also 20-9 with a 3.38 ERA over 37 starts for Rochester. Slegers pitched the fifth-most innings in the Southern League in 2016, logged the fourth-most innings in the International League last season and is easily pacing his Red Wings teammates in innings so far this year. That's it for now, check another five pack of prospects tomorrow. Click here to view the article

Before they even played in the field, the Cedar Rapids Kernels had a grand slam and seven runs on the board. Once their starting pitcher finally did get on the mound, he was every bit as dominant as their lineup had been. Keep reading for more on that and six more games from Saturday night.TRANSACTIONS The roster move of Adalberto Mejia being called up to the Twins and Alan Busenitz being sent back down to Rochester was made official this morning. Ervin Santana was transferred to Fort Myers to continue his rehab assignment. He started for the Miracle today. RED WINGS REPORT Lehigh Valley 6, Rochester 2 Box Score SP: Aaron Slegers (6.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 8 K) HR: Chris Carter (7) Multi-hit games: LaMonte Wade, Zack Granite Interesting start from Aaron Slegers tonight. Coming into this start he hadn’t struck out more than five batters in a game all season. While he picked up eight Ks, that came with three walks and four earned runs over his six innings of work. Gabriel Moya pitched two scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 1.64 on the season, but John Curtiss gave up a pair of runs in the ninth. It’s been difficult for younger guys to get looks on the big club, so Curtiss posting a 4.76 ERA over nine appearances in June isn’t going to help his cause. Chris Carter hit his seventh homer with the Wings and 20th overall on the season and Zack Granite added an RBI double. LaMonte Wade was 2-for-4 and scored a run. Byron Buxton was 0-for-3 with a walk and Jorge Polanco was 1-for-3 with a walk of his own. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Tennessee 2, Chattanooga 0 Box Score SP: Dietrich Enns (7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: None Second baseman Alex Perez had the only Lookouts hit, a single in the sixth inning. Dietrich Enns, 27, made his first Double A appearance since 2016. He was relieved by 29-year-old Ryne Harper, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Lake land 3, Fort Myers 1 Box Score SP: Ervin Santana (3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Luis Arraez, Alex Kirilloff Ervin Santana returned to action, pitching the third game of his rehab assignment and first in a month. The results were solid (see above), but he’s still got a little ways to go before he’s back up to full speed. Literally. Luis Arraez was 2-for-4, picking up his 27th-straight multi-hit game. OK, that’s not true at all, but it sure seems like it could be. He’s been on fire. Alex Kirilloff was also 2-for-4 and had the Miracle’s only extra-base hit (a double). He’s now 13-for-40 (.325) in his first nine games with Fort Myers. Griffin Jax pitched the final six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on eight hits. Miguel Sano was 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 11, Burlington 3 Box Score W: Jordan Balazovic (6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K) SV: Tanner Kiest (3.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) HR: Trey Cabbage (6), Royce Lewis (8) Multi-hit games: Lewis, Jacob Pearson, Akil Baddoo, Cabbage Here’s how this game started: Akil Baddoo single. Jacob Pearson single. Royce Lewis single, Baddoo scores. Robby Rinn hit by a pitch. Trey Cabbage grand slam. Andrew Bechtold walk. That was it for the Burlington starting pitcher, whose identity shall not be revealed out of respect for the victim and his family. When it was all said and done, Jordan Balazovic had a 7-0 lead by the time he took to the mound. He responded exactly as you’d hope. The Canadian right-hander attacked batters, racking up 10 strikeouts while allowing just one hit in six innings. A fifth-round pick back in 2016, Balazovic now has 41 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings pitched this season (13.8 K/9). Pearson and Lewis both had three-hit nights and each also drew a walk. Cabbage had another hit and a walk in addition to his granny and Baddoo had a pair of hits, including a double. Cabbage was a monster for the Kernels in June. He had a .279/.342/.559 (.901 OPS) line in 19 games this month. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 3, Danville 2 Box Score W: Austin Schulfer (3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) SV: Ricky Ramirez (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) SP: Josh Winder (3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) HR: Chris Williams (2) Multi-hit games: Williams E-Town only collected five hits in this game, but they made ‘em count. They picked up two runs in the fourth thanks to a Ryan Jeffers single, a Chris Williams double, an RBI single from Alex Robles and then a sacrifice fly from Ricky De La Torre. Then in the sixth, Williams hit a home run to put the Twins up for good. Josh Winder, the Twins’ seventh-round pick earlier this month, had an impressive professional debut. He gave up an unearned run on one hit and had three strikeouts while not issuing any walks over three innings. He threw 30 of his 43 pitches for strikes (69.8 percent). GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 6, GCL Red Sox 5 (Game 1) Box Score W: Amilcar Cruz (2.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) SP: Donny Breek (4.0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Tyler Webb, Janigson Villalobos, Samuel Vasquez The Twins trailed 5-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh and final inning (they played a doubleheader today). Yelsin Encarnacion reached base on an error to lead things off, and as everybody knows, errors will come back to terror. Tyler Webb was hit by a pitch and Gabe Snyder hit a single, but Encarnacion was thrown out at home trying to score the game-tying run. Webb eventually scored the tying run on a fielder’s choice and Yanigson Villalobos ended it with a walk-off single that brought home Snyder. GCL Red Sox 4, GCL Twins 2 Box Score SP: Landon Leach (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Estamy Urena, Tyler Webb Landon Leach made his 2018 debut in this one, though he wasn’t on the mound for long. He only faced five batters, but it was in an eventful inning. Leach gave up a leadoff single, which was followed by a sacrifice bunt. He gave up another single, but the Red Sox ran into an out on the play. The next batter reached on an error, bringing home a run, before Leach coaxed an inning-ending flyout. The Twins got a run in the fourth inning thanks to consecutive singles from Austin Hale, Willie Joe Garry Jr. and Estamy Urena. The added another run in the sixth when Garry Jr. walked, Urena hit another single and Yelstin Encarnasion hit an RBI ground out. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Jordan Balazovic, Cedar Rapids Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Trey Cabbage, Cedar Rapids TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects performed: 1. Royce Lewis, CR: 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBIs, 2 Rs, BB 2. Fernando Romero, ROC: Did not pitch. 3. Nick Gordon, ROC: 0-for-3, BB 4. Stephen Gonsalves, ROC: Did not pitch. 5. Alex Kirilloff, FM: 2-for-4, 2B, R, K 6. Wander Javier: Out for the season with a shoulder injury. 7. Brent Rooker, CHAT: 0-for-3, 2 Ks 8. Blayne Enlow, CR: Did not pitch. 9. Brusdar Graterol, FM: Did not pitch. 10. Akil Baddoo, CR: 2-for-6, 2B, R 11. Zack Littell, ROC: Did not pitch. 12. Lewis Thorpe, CHAT: Did not pitch. 13. Lewin Diaz, FM: 1-for-4, RBI 14. LaMonte Wade, ROC: 2-for-4, R 15. Mitch Garver, MIN 16. Ben Rortvedt, FM: 0-for-3, BB, K 17. Travis Blankenhorn, FM: 0-for-4, 3 Ks 18. Yunior Severino, ET: 0-for-4, K 19. Tyler Jay, CHAT: Did not pitch. 20. Felix Jorge, GCL: Did not pitch. SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Lehigh Valley, 12:05 pm CT: TBD Chattanooga at Tennessee, 5:40 pm CT: Lewis Thorpe Fort Myers vs. Lakeland, 3:00 pm CT: Brusdar Graterol Cedar Rapids at Burlington, 2 pm CT: Bryan Sammons Elizabethton at Princeton, 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

Huh? This game was nuts. It's never fun to watch the Twins give up 14 runs, but there was so much drama going on between all the guys having to exit and Willians Astudillo making his MLB debut. There were some good defensive plays too, I failed to mention that Jake Cave made a coupe web gems, so I enjoyed following this one a lot more than some of the other snoozefests from this season. Thanks for reading Mike. It was a crazy game in what's already been a crazy series. I can't imagine what's gonna go down tomorrow. Speaking of which, I'm going to be spending the next few days camping with my family, but these game recaps will go on. You'll hear from me again ... well, in tonight's minors report, but then after that not until the 4th.

The heat was a real issue today at Wrigley Field. Eddie Rosario, Albert Almora, Bobby Wilson and Max Kepler all had to exit this game due to heat-related issues. By the time this one was over, the Twins had an outfield of Logan Morrison in left, Willians Astudillo in center and Robbie Grossman in right. Jake Odorizzi pinch hit for Matt Belisle and recorded the final out of the game.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Adalberto Mejia: 35 Game Score, 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 1 K, 3 BB, 60.8% strikes Bullpen: 4.0 IP, 10 ER, 4 K, 4 BB Lineup: 3-for-10 w/RISP, 7 LOB WPA of .1 or higher: Rosario .266, Mauer .174, Adrianza .130, Astudillo .128, Wilson .101 WPA of -.1 or lower: Hildenberger -.401, Duke -.282, Mejia -.240, Reed -.223 Download attachment: WinEx630.png The Twins held a 7-4 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, but the bullpen collapsed. It wasn’t like they get bombarded by big hits, the Twins relievers just couldn’t get anybody out. Addison Reed and Trevor Hildenberger combined to give up nine earned runs over a single inning of work. The Cubs had 20 hits and scored 14 runs, but they only had three extra-base hits, all of them doubles. Before he exited the game, Rosario hit a two-out two-run homer, his 18th of the season. Joe Mauer had another nice day at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a bases-clearing double. Ehire Adrianza and Robbie Grossman also had two hits a piece. Rosario was replaced by Astudillo, who got a base hit on the first pitch he ever saw as a major leaguer. Bobby Wilson spent nearly a half hour behind the plate during the bottom of the fifth and then had to leadoff the top of the sixth inning. He had to take a couple breathers during his plate appearance, but wound up drawing a seven-pitch walk. It seemed like at any moment we were going to find out what Wilson ate for lunch, but he advanced to second on a Grossman single, went to third on a sac fly and then scored on another sac fly. He was replaced by Mitch Garver the next half inning. I’ve never seen a more gutsy performance of a guy managing to keep everything inside his guts. OK, but seriously, it was crazy hot. Heat exhaustion is no joke and I hope everybody involved in this game comes out of it feeling alright. Home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt called a three hour and 44 minute game. He had a cold towel around his neck. Not sure if I’ve ever seen that before. Maybe they should have allowed the players to do the same. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen630.png AL Central Standings CLE 44-36 MIN 35-44 (-8.5) DET 36-48 (-10) CHW 28-53 (-16.5) KC 25-56 (-19.5) Next Three Games Sun at CHC, 1:20 pm CT: Lance Lynn vs. Jon Lester Mon at MIL, 7:10 pm CT: TBD Tue at MIL, 3:10 pm CT: TBD Last Three Games CHC 10, MIN 6: Hey, Remember Joe Mauer? MIN 2, CHW 1: Walking Away With a Win CHW 6, MIN 1: Gibby Gets Got Click here to view the article

Thanks for checking them out. Yes, that is definitely something that could be expanded. Maybe there's some kind of a threshold to land on one way or the other. At the end of each game, the winning team's WPA totals 0.5 and the losing team -0.5, so maybe anybody who has over 0.1 or under -0.1 should be listed? I'll keep thinking about it, good suggestion.

Thanks for reading Jimbo, glad to hear you're enjoying them, especially even one where the Twins lost 10-6

Alan Busenitz is being sent down to make room for Adalberto Mejia ... Matt Belisle is bulletproof.