Article: Twins Minor League Reports (4/25): Six Games, One Win

[Seth Stohs]

Twins minor league affiliates played a season-high six games thanks to two postponements from Friday becoming doubleheaders on Saturday. Overall, it wasn’t a very good day for the Twins farm teams, achieving just one win on the day.

 

With Trevor May having left his start in Seattle, could it mean that Ricky Nolasco’s rehab start in Cedar Rapids on Sunday becomes more meaningful?

 

Continue reading and be sure to ask any questions you may have in the Comments.RED WINGS REPORT

Game 1 – Rochester 4, Syracuse 5

Box Score

 

The Red Wings got off to an early lead in the first game of their doubleheader. With one out in the second inning, the team got back-to-back-to-back singles from Reynaldo Rodriguez, Danny Ortiz and Jose Martinez to give them a 1-0 lead. Syracuse answered in the top of the third.

 

In the bottom of the fourth, Brock Peterson singled to lead off the inning and two batters later Danny Ortiz hit a long home run to right field to give them a 3-1 lead. Later that inning, Aaron Hicks hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1.

 

Mark Hamburger made the start for the Red Wings. Through five innings, he allowed just one run despite walking four batters.

 

However, the sixth inning proved to be the downfall for the team in Game 1.

 

In the sixth, Hamburger gave up two singles and got an out on a sacrifice bunt. He was replaced by A.J. Achter who walked the one batter he faced to load the bases. He was replaced by lefty Ryan O’Rourke who struck out the one batter that he faced. Michael Tonkin was brought in with two outs and the bases still loaded. He proceeded to give up three straight singles before getting the final out.

 

The Red Wings loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, but they were unable to score. Both teams went scoreless in the seventh inning and the Red Wings fell 5-4.

 

Danny Ortiz went 2-3 with a walk and his second home run. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-3 with a walk and a double. Jose Martinez also had two hits.

 

Going back to the pitching, Hamburger went 5.1 innings and was charged with three runs on five hits. He walked five and struck out four. Achter issued the one walk and that batter came around to score. O’Rourke struck out the one batter he faced. Tonkin went 1.1 innings. He gave up one run (in addition to all three inherited runners) on three hits. He struck out two.

 

 

Game 2 – Rochester 5, Syracuse 2

Box Score

 

The story in this game was certainly Lester Oliveros. With the rainouts, Game 2 was to be a “bullpen game” and Oliveros was tabbed to start. It was just his third start as a professional baseball player. The other two? They came in his first professional season, in 2006, in the Venezuelan Summer League! How did he do? I would say he responded quite well. He was able to complete four innings and did not allow a run. He gave up just one hit, walked none and struck out nine.

 

Logan Darnell came on to replace Oliveros in the fifth inning and threw two more scoreless frames, though he gave up two hits and walked a batter. Ryan Pressly got the seventh inning and gave up two runs on one hit and two walks.

 

Doug Bernier led the way with a 3-4 game at the plate. Danny Ortiz had the only extra-base hit, his first double of the year. The Red Wings scored took a 5-0 lead thanks to a three-run fifth inning.

 

The split means that the Red Wings are now 8-7 on the season.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 10, Tennessee 16

Box Score

 

It is not often that a team scores in double figures and loses. Of course, it’s also not often that a team’s starter gives up nine runs and the team wins. The Lookouts grabbed a 6-3 lead in the fourth. However, they gave up six runs in the fifth inning to fall behind 9-6. Then in the top of the sixth inning, the Lookouts regained a 10-9 lead, but in the bottom half of the inning, they gave up three more. And then they gave up four more in the bottom of the eighth.

 

In his previous appearance, Alex Wimmers was terrific in his return to starting this season, throwing five shutout innings. On this night, things didn’t go so well. In his 4.1 innings, he gave up nine earned runs on 10 hits (two home runs) and three walks. He struck out two. Jake Reed came on and worked 1.2 innings. He was charged with three unearned runs on two hits. He struck out two. DJ Johnson gave up four runs on three hits and three walks in 1.2 innings. Dallas Gallant was able to get the final out.

 

There were positives on the offensive side of the ball. Byron Buxton returned after a two-game break and went 2-5 including a three-run homer, his second of the season. Levi Michael led the offense. He went 3-4 with his second double and second home run. He also stole his second base. Jorge Polanco was 2-5 with his third double and third home run. Dalton Hicks added his first home run of the season. Miguel Sano added a late double, his second.

 

The Lookouts are now 7-8 on the season.

 

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 3, St. Lucie 4 (11 innings)

Box Score

 

A night after playing 17 innings, the last thing Jeff Smith and his team wanted to do was play extra innings on Saturday night. And, they played extra innings on Saturday night.

 

Ryan Eades was back on the mound and was very good again. He threw five shutout innings before giving up two runs in the sixth inning. In total, he gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three.

 

The Twins were not planning on adding anyone to the roster to replace the DL'd Kohl Stewart, but after using so many pitchers on Friday night, they decided to have left-hander Jose Velez make an appearance. Velez was signed by the Twins after pitching in the independent Frontier League in 2014. He struck out 82 batters in 57 innings for Evansville a year ago. On this night, he gave up one run on one hit in two innings.

 

Todd Van Steensel pitched scoreless ninth and tenth innings. He returned to the mound for the eleventh inning and gave up one run to take the loss.

 

The Miracle had just six hits and Alex Swim had three of them. Chad Christensen hit his first home run of the season.

 

The Miracle fell to 6-11 on the season.

 

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Game 1 – Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 6

Box Score

 

Through three innings this was a 1-1 game, but Kane County scored three in the fourth and tacked on another two in the sixth to take a commanding lead and get the win in the first of two games. The Kernels committed four errors which certainly didn’t help the cause. Each of the four infielders had one.

 

Michael Cederoth made the start and went the first four innings. He gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits. He didn’t walk any and struck out three. Sam Clay got the next two innings. The lefty walked two and struck out two while not allowing a run. C.K. Irby got the seventh inning and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks.

 

The Kernels had just six hits in this game. Tyler Kuresa went 2-3. Nick Gordon hit his first double of the season.

 

 

Game 2 – Cedar Rapids, Kane County

Box Score

 

Felix Jorge started and he was really good again. He gave up two runs on four hits. In six innings, he walked one and struck out five. Unfortunately, the two runs were enough for him to take the loss. Miles Nordgren came on and threw a scoreless seventh.

 

The Kernels again did little on offense. They had just four hits. Nick Gordon and Trey Vavra each hit a double.

 

Even with the loss, the Kernels are 11-6 this year.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Lester Oliveros, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Levi Michael, Chattanooga Lookouts

 

 

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Syracuse @ Rochester (12:35 CST) – LHP Pat Dean

Chattanooga @ Tennessee (1:05 CST) – RHP Tyler Duffey

Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (3:05 CST) – LHP Brett Lee

Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – RHP Ricky Nolasco

 

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games.

 

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[h2oface]

Wow. This is really disheartening. The minors is where I come for reprieve. It is not the case much this month.

[clutterheart]

Chattanooga seems to be a crummy organization.

Their video barley exists and when it does its worse than anything a high schooler can do.

Worse they didnt even take proper pictures of the players. On the website they either have Rock Cat hats or Miracle caps.

 

Twins should be embarrassed.

[tobi0040]

I am more concerned about the lookouts losing record. I know it is early and hopefully as buxton and Sano pick it up, that reverses. But if the team with half our prospects in a loaded system can't dominate we are in trouble.

[stringer bell]

Nice to see Buxton get a couple of hits, including a long ball.  A couple days off might have been what he needed.  However, 16 runs allowed is terrible, wow!  Polanco hit a homer, but had two errors according to the box score.  I guess that is a wash. 

 

I continue to view Polanco as stretched at short.  He has the range, I think, but when I saw him play in Cedar Rapids, it didn't look like a plus arm from the shortstop hole. 

[Seth Stohs]

Let's not confuse prospect status with Win-Loss record. They're still in AA because they're still developing. They're all still young, especially Burdi, Reed, Buxton, Sano and Polanco, but even guys like Walker, Harrison and Turner are young to professional baseball. I know age to 'average-age-of-player-in-league' isn't something many want to read about, but it is important to note. These 20-22 year olds are competing in a league where the average player is 24-25 and there are some 26 and 27 year olds. Those players may not be the prospects, but they come with a lot of talent and experience. That is what prospects need to overcome IF they're going to get to the levels we hope that they will.

 

That's why I originally hated to post the scores because to the development of players, score doesn't matter much at all. That said, to the players it does matter to them. They care. They all want to win. And, I also now believe that learning how to win is an important thing for development too.

 

Also, this group has won a lot of games and most have won a lot of games together. I'm sure they're frustrated, but they'll be fine. Again, the big picture is what's best for their development long-term.

 

Expect struggles.

[roger]

I enjoyed your reference to Evansville (Jose Velez), Seth.  That Frontier League team plays in Bosse Field, one of the oldest ballparks in America.  It is a beautiful old ballpark that was used for the filming of "League of their Own."

 

J.R. played there when he was 16 and being there for those games remains one of the neatest baseball experiences of my life.  I always joke that he got to play in the same centerfield as Madonna!

 

Thanks for reminding me of the memory.

[Seth Stohs]

That's a great memory, a great story!

 

It was great talking to Jose this spring. He's got a very interesting delivery. He's already 25. I believe he is from the Dominican but grew up in the States. I always enjoy reading more about these lesser knowns, guys who fought through the indy league ranks.

[AlwaysinModeration]

I have a feeling the Lookouts are going to get on a roll pretty quick.

[gunnarthor]

Agree with AM. there is too much talent there for them to continue to struggle.

[DocBauer]

I have a feeling the Lookouts are going to get on a roll pretty quick.

 

Absolutely, 100%!

 

Winning and learning to win are important, I believe. But development is still supreme. And to that end, there has been some pretty good to awesome pitching throughout the organization thus far, with a ton of strike outs. And knock on wood, thus far, only Thorpe has had a major injury setback. (Not that his only isn't a BIG only)

 

And for the most part, all clubs are hovering around the .500 mark, or better. (Come on FTM!) I think we're of to a fine start.

[tobi0040]

 

Let's not confuse prospect status with Win-Loss record. They're still in AA because they're still developing. They're all still young, especially Burdi, Reed, Buxton, Sano and Polanco, but even guys like Walker, Harrison and Turner are young to professional baseball. I know age to 'average-age-of-player-in-league' isn't something many want to read about, but it is important to note. These 20-22 year olds are competing in a league where the average player is 24-25 and there are some 26 and 27 year olds. Those players may not be the prospects, but they come with a lot of talent and experience. That is what prospects need to overcome IF they're going to get to the levels we hope that they will.

 

That's why I originally hated to post the scores because to the development of players, score doesn't matter much at all. That said, to the players it does matter to them. They care. They all want to win. And, I also now believe that learning how to win is an important thing for development too.

 

Also, this group has won a lot of games and most have won a lot of games together. I'm sure they're frustrated, but they'll be fine. Again, the big picture is what's best for their development long-term.

 

Expect struggles.

 

I understand what you are saying.  They are young for the league in most cases.  But we have the second best system in all of baseball and 11 of the guys in our top 20 (by my count) are on this team.  At the end of the year most of these guys are going to need good stats to move up the chain and help out the Twins.  Those stats should somewhat translate to W-L.  So I think this teams record will be a decent proxy for how the minors look.

 

I think Sano and Buxton will shake off the rust and help a ton, but I will watch the record of this team throughout the year.

 

Prospects 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, and 19 from MLB's list.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/news/prospects/index.jsp?c_id=min

 

 

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

Just noticed Oliveros' performance here -- any chance he gets more starts?  He threw 61 pitches.  If he's not going to crack the MLB bullpen with his recent bullpen performance, he probably doesn't have anything to lose, right?

 

Mark Hamburger similarly started making spot starts a few years ago.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Just noticed Oliveros' performance here -- any chance he gets more starts?  He threw 61 pitches.  If he's not going to crack the MLB bullpen with his recent bullpen performance, he probably doesn't have anything to lose, right?

 

Mark Hamburger similarly started making spot starts a few years ago.

 

Only in 'bullpen' games like the other day.