Article: Twins Minor League Report (8/18): Diaz Does It

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Trevor May made his Target Field debut on Monday night and fared much better than in his previous appearances. Oswaldo Arcia continues to show impressive power.

 

On the minor league side of things, it should come as no surprise that Terry Ryan doesn't expect Byron Buxton to play another game for New Britain this season. It sounds like instructional league and the Arizona Fall League are still in play though.

 

Continue reading to get caught up on all of Monday's minor league action.RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 6, Syracuse 2

Box Score

 

Yohan Pino cruised through seven shutout innings before allowing a two-run home run to the second batter he faced in the eighth inning. He struck out five while walking one and allowing three hits.

 

Stephen Pryor picked up his first save with his new organization. He struck out two in two no-hit innings.

 

After getting shut out for the first five innings, the Red Wings crossed the plate in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Josmil Pinto led the charge with two hits and two runs batted in. Danny Ortiz doubled in his two-hit game. Pedro Florimon, batting ninth and playing third base, also recorded a two-hit game.

 

The Red Wings now find themselves in a tie for 3rd place in the International League North, two games behind the PawSox, who are currently the Wild Card leaders.

 

ROCK CATS REVIEW

New Britain - DAY OFF

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers - DAY OFF

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 2

Box Score

 

The Kernels extend their season-long winning streak to seven games behind an impressive performance from Chih Wei-Hu. Hu struck out eight in six three-hit innings. He allowed only an unearned run to score.

 

Brandon Bixler and Dallas Gallant combined to strike out six in the last three innings to preserve the win.

 

Logan Wade had two hits, including a double. Mitch Garver and Jonatan Hinojosa also doubled. The Kernels used a very balanced attack. Wade was the only player to both score and drive in a run.

 

E-TOWN E-NOTES

Elizabethton 4, Princeton 6

Box Score

 

E-town fell short in their comeback. Jeremias Pineda did as much as he could, going 3-for-5 with two triples (wheels!) and two runs scored. Brian Navarreto extended his hitting streak to five games, including home runs in the last two games. Navarreto has struggled with the bat since turning pro, but he’s hitting .294 in August this year.

 

Nick Gordon was 1-for-5. His first-inning double knocked in Pineda for a brief lead.

 

John Curtiss struck out seven in six innings. He allowed three runs on six hits. Cameron Booser and Josh Burris closed out the game for the E-Twins.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 1, GCL Orioles 3

Box Score

 

The GCL Twins didn’t have a lot of pep in their bats for Monday’s game. Amaurys Minier had an RBI triple in the ninth inning to drive in the team’s only run. Rainis Silva was 1-for-5 with a double and three strikeouts, but he’s someone to keep an eye on: Since the turn of the monthly calendar, the young Venezuelan is batting .342/.390/.447.

 

Alexis Tapia took the loss allowing three runs in four innings. Callan Pearce and Jhon Silva each pitched two scoreless frames.

 

DSL DIALED IN

DSL Twins 4, DSL Padres 3 (Game 1)

Box Score

 

DSL Twins 7, DSL Padres 3 (Game 2)

Box Score

 

Lewin Diaz was the highlight for the DSL affiliate in their two wins on Monday. In those two games, he went 4-for-7 with two runs, two doubles, a home run and four RBI.

 

Twins Daily Minor League Players of the Day

Pitcher of the Day: Yohan Pino, Rochester

Hitter of the Day: Lewin Diaz, DSL Twins

 

Tuesday's Probables

Rochester at Buffalo (6:05 CST) – Tyler Duffey

New Britain at Richmond (6:05 CST) – TBD

New Britain at Richmond (Completion of suspended 5/22 game) – TBD

Ft. Myers at Bradenton (6:05 CST) – Brett Lee

Cedar Rapids vs Quad Cities (6:35 CST) - Kohl Stewart

Elizabethton vs Princeton (6:00 CST) - Michael Cederoth

GCL Twins vs GCL Orioles (11:00am CST) – TBD

DSL Twins vs DSL Padres (9:30am CST) – TBD

 

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[Steven Buhr]

Jake told Jeff Johnson and I in his postgame interview that Ivan Arteaga has a new name for Hu.... Hu-dini.

 

I like it. Think it could stick. The kid is unflappable.

[jokin]

Jake told Jeff Johnson and I in his postgame interview that Ivan Arteaga has a new name for Hu.... Hu-dini.

 

I like it. Think it could stick. The kid is unflappable.

 

Good stuff, JC.  Out of curiosity, in reading your interview (and BTW, great interview on your blog) with Arteaga,  the man was incredibly insightful on the subject of the history of pitch selection and the effect of specific pitches on young arms.  How would you grade his job with all of the great pitching coming through Cedar Rapids the last couple years, and how good is his English?.... the interview gives the impression that he's also a great communicator, as does the Hu-dini pun, very clever.

 

(On the English matter, how is Hu's grasp of the language?).

[Seth Stohs]

1.) I really like the Hu-dini nickname. Good stuff!

 

2.) I had the chance to talk to Ivan Arteaga when I was there. He is a tremendous communicator. I asked him 3-4 questions and he was great for 20 minutes. Very deep. Very thoughtful responses. He has the passion. His English is very good, and he talked about how important that is for him, but also for the players who do not speak English as their primary language. 

[jokin]

1.) I really like the Hu-dini nickname. Good stuff!

 

2.) I had the chance to talk to Ivan Arteaga when I was there. He is a tremendous communicator. I asked him 3-4 questions and he was great for 20 minutes. Very deep. Very thoughtful responses. He has the passion. His English is very good, and he talked about how important that is for him, but also for the players who do not speak English as their primary language. 

 

Thanks Seth.  You and SD are very helpful in learning about the man being more than just a name on the program.   He's still relatively young (44), would you consider Ivan a comer for the Twins?  Obviously, the need for good bilingual communicators in the organization is only going to continue to increase.  

 

Here's a link to Arteaga's splendid interview with "Jim Crikket":

 

http://knuckleballsblog.com/2014/08/12/ivan-arteaga-on-change-ups-sliders-and-curves/

[TRex]

Just to double-check... the Hu-dini name does not come from his style of pitching (i.e. junkballer who depends on fooling the hitters), does it?

 

I thought Hu had a decent fastball (92-94 on the adjusted CR gun).

[Steven Buhr]

Hu does throw low 90s anyway with the fastball, so he's no soft-tosser. But he's got like five pitches (at least) and everything he throws has movement. He's still just 20 years old and has plenty of room to grow, yet, so adding another couple ticks wouldn't be out of the question. Sometimes, though, adding velo means the fastball straightens out and he wouldn't want to see that, imo.

 

His English is a work in progress, but he's clearly making an effort with the language. Jeff Johnson and I were able to interview him after last night's game and while we had to "interpret" a bit of what he said, he was able to communicate his thoughts to us in a way we could understand. I heard a while ago that he's supposedly sitting in on the English classes the Latino players take while they're here, which must be real interesting.

 

We were interviewing him in a little hall between the players' locker area in the clubhouse and just outside the coaches' room where Tommy and Ivan are. While we were talking to Hu about the work he and Ivan Arteaga have been doing, Ivan stuck his head out of the door and just flashed his big smile.

 

As Seth said, Arteaga is an excellent communicator. I'm working on a piece, which should be up on Knuckleballs and TD in the next day or so, which discusses the Kernels turnaround from a poor first half to, at this point, a near-certain playoff spot in the second half. All 3 coaches shared their thoughts on what went in to turning things around and Arteaga, as is often the case, went in to considerable depth with his response.

 

As for what Arteaga's future is with the Twins organization, I've almost given up trying to figure out what the front office thinks about things like that, but absent a Kernels collapse in the next 2 weeks, this will be the 3rd straight season the team he was coaching makes the playoffs. Must be doing something right.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Steven BUHR

[Seth Stohs]

It could be both. He throws hard, but he also can mix it up really well.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

Great news for the Kernels with this winning streak - so much is made about the minors being for player development first, but I would be really surprised if the players and coaches preferred the extended learning experiences and teaching moments of losing to building on a successful winning streak.

[jokin]

Hu does throw low 90s anyway with the fastball, so he's no soft-tosser. But he's got like five pitches (at least) and everything he throws has movement. He's still just 20 years old and has plenty of room to grow, yet, so adding another couple ticks wouldn't be out of the question. Sometimes, though, adding velo means the fastball straightens out and he wouldn't want to see that, imo.

 

His English is a work in progress, but he's clearly making an effort with the language. Jeff Johnson and I were able to interview him after last night's game and while we had to "interpret" a bit of what he said, he was able to communicate his thoughts to us in a way we could understand. I heard a while ago that he's supposedly sitting in on the English classes the Latino players take while they're here, which must be real interesting.

 

We were interviewing him in a little hall between the players' locker area in the clubhouse and just outside the coaches' room where Tommy and Ivan are. While we were talking to Hu about the work he and Ivan Arteaga have been doing, Ivan stuck his head out of the door and just flashed his big smile.

 

As Seth said, Arteaga is an excellent communicator. I'm working on a piece, which should be up on Knuckleballs and TD in the next day or so, which discusses the Kernels turnaround from a poor first half to, at this point, a near-certain playoff spot in the second half. All 3 coaches shared their thoughts on what went in to turning things around and Arteaga, as is often the case, went in to considerable depth with his response.

 

As for what Arteaga's future is with the Twins organization, I've almost given up trying to figure out what the front office thinks about things like that, but absent a Kernels collapse in the next 2 weeks, this will be the 3rd straight season the team he was coaching makes the playoffs. Must be doing something right.

 

 

Based on this interview, Arteaga's obvious depth of understanding of the pitching aspects of the game, his  successes- both developmentally and on-the-field results- with the club, his strong bilingual communication skills, plus his relationship to Jake Mauer the last couple of seasons doesn't hurt... taken as a whole, it seems to bode well for his Twins future.

Edited August 19, 2014 by jokin

[Steven Buhr]

 

As Seth said, Arteaga is an excellent communicator. I'm working on a piece, which should be up on Knuckleballs and TD in the next day or so, which discusses the Kernels turnaround from a poor first half to, at this point, a near-certain playoff spot in the second half. All 3 coaches shared their thoughts on what went in to turning things around and Arteaga, as is often the case, went in to considerable depth with his response.

 

 

 

If you'll indulge a little self-promotion, the aforementioned new article is now posted both at Knuckleballsblog.com and here on TD.

[jokin]

If you'll indulge a little self-promotion, the aforementioned new article is now posted both at Knuckleballsblog.com and here on TD.

 

You're work is much appreciated, JC, no matter the venue.

[Steven Buhr]

Aw shucks thanks. BTW, on Saturday, with the Kernels in Burlington, my venue will be somewhere along the light rail Green Line during TDs pub crawl!