Tom Froemming

TRANSACTIONS OF Brandon Barnes assigned to Rochester. C Wynston Sawyer placed on the IL. 1B Taylor Grzelakowski assigned to Fort Myers. RHP Johan Quezada placed on the IL. RHPs Cody Laweryson and Dylan Thomas assigned to Cedar Rapids. RHP Tyler Beck assigned to Elizabethton. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Pawtucket 2 Box Score Randy Dobnak: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 64.2% strikes (52 of 81 pitches) HR: Tomas Telis (7), Zander Wiel (19) Multi-hit games: Telis (3-for-4, 2B, HR), Wiel (2-for-4, 2B, HR), Jake Cave (2-for-4, 2B), Ramon Flores (2-for-4) The Rochester lineup has experienced some turnover of late, but one guy who’s been a rock all year is Zander Wiel. He was at it again Friday night, hitting a two-run homer, his 19th of the season, to go with his 31st double of the year. Catcher Tomas Telis was also en fuego, going 3-for-4 with a double and homer of his own. The Red Wings pitching staff not only held the PawSox to two runs, they even did it having to pitch around three Rochester errors. Jeremy Bleich pitched a scoreless first inning as the opener before Randy Dobnak took over. After giving up just one earned run over six innings, Dobnak’s ERA with Rochester is down to an even 2.00. Ian Krol finished things off with a pair of clean innings. Nick Gordon exited this game after being hit by a pitch in the top of the sixth inning. https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1157471405597974528 BLUE WAHOO BITES Birmingham 8, Pensacola 5 Box Score Jhoan Duran: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 67.9% strikes (57 of 84 pitches) HR: Ryan Costello (2), Trevor Larnach (2) Multi-hit games: Costello (2-for-3, HR, BB), Royce Lewis (2-for-5), Ryan Jeffers (2-for-4, BB) Jhoan Duran was really, really good until he was really, really bad. Duran carried a perfect game into the sixth inning, but Birmingham busted out with a five-run frame. Duran walked two batters, threw a pair of wild pitches and gave up a two-run homer that inning. The Blue Wahoos bats kept battling back but never managed to even things up again. Ryan Jeffers continued his hot start with Pensacola, reaching safely in three of his five plate appearances, and Trevor Larnach slugged his second home run since joining the club, his eighth overall on the season. https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/1157473448236597248 MIRACLE MATTERS Lakeland 3, Fort Myers 2 (5 innings) Box Score Tyler Watson: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 2 K, 52.4% strikes (44 of 84 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Miracle jumped out to a lead in the top of the first thanks to an Ernie De La Trinidad two-out, two-run single. Unfortunately, Fort Myers starter Tyler Watson struggled with his control and the Miracle ran out of time to make a comeback after falling behind in the bottom of the second inning. This game was called off in the middle of the fifth inning due to heavy rain. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 2 Box Score Cody Laweryson: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 63.5% strikes (47 of 74 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: Jared Akins (2-for-3, BB), Daniel Ozoria (2-for-4, 2B) Cedar Rapids entered the top of the ninth inning of this game trailing 2-1. After their leadoff man was retired, Wander Javier and Trevor Casanova followed with back-to-back walks. Jared Akins hit a single to right field to plate the game-tying run before Albee Weiss delivered the go-ahead run with a single of his own. Jose Martinez, who had given up a run in the eighth inning, redeemed himself by making that one-run lead hold up in the bottom of the ninth. Cody Laweryson, a 14th-round pick from this year’s draft, had an impressive Midwest League debut, firing five shutout innings. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 10, Bristol 6 Box Score Erik Cha: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: Charles Mack (6), Seth Gray (7) Multi-hit games: Mack (2-for-4, 2B, HR), Kidany Salva (2-for-4) Charles Mack hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning and Seth Gray blasted a two-run shot in the sixth to propel the E-Twins to victory. It was a rough night in the field, as the Twins committed five errors, but they were incredibly efficient on offense, scoring 10 runs on just eight hits. Sawyer Gipson-Long had a rough start, giving up 11 hits in just 3 2/3 innings, but Erik Cha (3 1/3 scoreless innings) and Frandy Torres (one run over two innings) were excellent out of the bullpen. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 1 (10 innings) Box Score Donny Breek: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jim Caceres (2-for-3, BB) Donny Breek continued his impressive 2019 season with six shutout innings today. That lowered his ERA to 0.72 on the season, which spans 25 innings pitched. Jose Guevara also shined on the mound for the Twins, striking out five batters in three scoreless innings. He has not surrendered a run in 14 1/3 innings pitched this season. This game was 0-0 through nine innings. The Red Sox managed to get their bonus runner around to score in the top of the 10th, but the Twins responded immediately. Victor Heredia tied the game 1-1 with a leadoff double in the bottom of the inning. He was later brought around to score on a Jim Caceres walk-off bunt single. Gotta love the GCL ... C.J. Cron was 0-for-4 in this game, as was Yunior Severino. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Donny Breek, GCL Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Tomas Telis, Rochester TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects performed: 1. Royce Lewis (PNS): 2-for-5, 2 K 2. Alex Kirilloff (PNS): 1-for-5 4. Trevor Larnach (PNS): 1-for-4, HR, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, K 5. Wander Javier (CR): 0-for-3, BB, R, K 9. Jhoan Duran (PNS): 6.0 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 67.9% strikes (57 of 84 pitches) 12. Nick Gordon (ROC): 0-for-1, RBI, K, HBP (exited early) 13. Ryan Jeffers (PNS): 2-for-4, BB, 2 R, K 15. Matt Wallner (ELZ): 1-for-4, R, E (fielding) SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Pawtucket, 5:15 pm CT (TBD) Pensacola vs. Birmingham, 6:05 pm CT (Bryan Sammons) Fort Myers at Lakeland, 5:00 pm CT (Blayne Enlow) Cedar Rapids vs. Burlington, 6:35 pm CT( TBD) Elizabethton vs. Bristol, 5:30 pm CT (Ryley Widell) GCL Twins at GCL Red Sox, 9:00 am CT (TBD) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games.

Friday, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reported that the Mets asking price for Noah Syndergaard is sky high. According Neal’s sources, the Mets are “eyeing both Lewis and Kirilloff as part of a package for Syndergaard.” Wow. Royce Lewis AND Alex Kirilloff ... and that’s just PART of the package? Last night, La Velle passed along another trade tidbit, saying that the Mets’ asking price included Byron Buxton. It’s not at all surprising the Twins were “turned off” by that price, but from the Mets’ perspective, the worst thing that could happen is the Twins say no. Why not ask, right? Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that an executive who has communicated with the Mets said “They are definitely trading Syndergaard.” If that truly is the case, the Mets front office will need to lower its asking price, but they can certainly expect to command a hefty return for the 26-year-old Syndergaard, who still has two more seasons of team control. The beauty of the deadline is this will all have to be resolved one way or another by 3 pm CT tomorrow afternoon. La Velle’s piece called Syndergaard a target “no longer viable,” but only time will tell. That price may drop. Among the bullpen targets the Twins could pivot to, Neal listed Kirby Yates, Greg Holland, Archie Bradley and Mychal Givens. What do I think is going to happen? Well, here’s nearly 15 minutes of me sharing my thoughts on the deadline, the front office’s intentions and some of what my expectations are. This could end up looking really, really bad. It’s so difficult to even guess what may happen, since this is the first real contending Twins team of the Derek Falvey era. To answer my own question purposed in the headline, the furthest I’d personally go to trade for an ace-calibur pitcher would be Alex Kirilloff as the marquee piece. Cody wrote an article last night that asked Is Alex Kirilloff Expendale? I think to a certain degree he is. That’s much less of a shot at Alex as it is an indication of how stacked this organization is with corner outfield/first base options right now. It’s not that I view Lewis as completely untouchable, but it’d take multiple good, long-term pieces coming back. There’s a chance Royce both reaches his ceiling and stays at shortstop. If that happens, he’ll be among the most valuable players in the league. It’d take a lot to walk away from that. Not that I don’t believe in Alex. There’s no questioning his feel for hitting, and I think he’s more athletic than most people give him credit for, but corner outfielders or first basemen are easy to find, relatively speaking. C.J. Cron hit 30 homers and was non-tendered. The entire current Twins outfield will remain in tact for multiple seasons and there are some other attractive outfielders in the pipeline as well. If the Twins end up aiming lower on the trade market, there are reasons why I could understand that. This is the first year on the job for Rocco Baldelli, Wes Johnson and Jeremy Hefner. This is a franchise on the rise, not one who sees its window closing. A lot of the players carrying this team right now will be around for years to come and the minor league system ranks among the best in the game. That doesn’t guarantee you anything, but I feel like there’s a very good chance we’re entering an extended period of sustained winning baseball in Twins Territory. Even if they aim gets lower, this front office still has plenty of incentive to make some moves. In mid-June, I wrote about the potential impending roster crunch this offseason. Lewin Diaz was among the guys I mentioned who needed to be added to the 40-man roster at the end of the season. He’s already been shipped out to Miami. Beyond all the top prospects is a nice tier of players that should be attractive to a team who has a barren system. Ben Rortvedt, Ryan Jeffers, Jose Miranda and (though he’s injured right now) Travis Blankenhorn could be dangled for more pitching help. Guys performing in Triple-A like Nick Gordon or Jaylin Davis would have some appeal to certain teams. And those are just some of the bats. This is going to sound harsh, but it wouldn’t take a lot to improve the outlook of the Twins bullpen right now. Even marginal upgrades would go a long way. They’ve looked good at times, but it’s just not realistic to roll with rookies Lewis Thorpe, Sean Poppen and Cody Stashak in the bullpen down the stretch. So while the market for a top of the rotation starter may seem steep right now, there’s still time for things to change. If prices don't come down, I still fully expect the Twins to make multiple moves between now and the deadline, given their incentive to clear some room. I still can’t believe how quiet things have been league-wide to this point. Things could get nuts leading up to tomorrow’s 3 pm CT deadline. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY Twins Moving on From SP Trade Targets? What Sergio Romo Brings to the Twins Bullpen Could the Twins Afford to Take on Zack Greinke’s Contract? Trade Deadline Thread: The Rumor Mill is Working Overtime Trade Deadline Topics: Prospects, Scouting, Rumors Trade Deadline Thread: What To Do About the Rotation? The Gauntlet 1.2; A Complete Breakdown of the Top Relief Arms For Enlow and Other Minor Leaguers, “No One Is Safe” At Trade Deadline Twins Won't Rule Out Trading For Lance Lynn JEREMY'S DEADLINE SERIES (Part VI Coming Soon) Let's Make A Deal, Part V: Are We Getting Noah Syndergaard or Someone Else? Let's Make A Deal, Part IV: The Sellers Let's Make A Deal, Part III: The Ammunition Let's Make A Deal, Part II: Payroll Let's Make A Deal, Part I: 2020