Article: Twins Minor League Report (4/28): Hicks Homers, Walker Walks

[Seth Stohs]

Things have been tough for the Twins minor league affiliates in the last week or so. That said, there are still plenty of positives to find, even in some of the frustrations. There are a couple of extended hitting streak. There were several home runs on Tuesday. There was an extra-innings win. Miguel Sano also returned to the field after missing two games. Twins Daily is the spot for all of the Twins minor league information! Check back each day.RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Columbus 5

Box Score

 

Alex Meyer was back on the mound for the Red Wings on Tuesday night. He gave up five runs on nine hits in four innings. He struck out two and walked none. Of the 68 pitches that he threw, 42 of them were strikes. It appears that he’s working on throwing more strikes, and he did that, but some of them may have hit too much of the plate. After two scoreless innings, he gave up a two-run double to a rehabbing Nick Swisher.

 

Stephen Pryor got the next five outs, three of them on strikeouts. Logan Darnell got four outs, one via the K. Ryan Pressly came on and struck out four in two perfect innings.

 

The Red Wings were not able to do much against former big leaguer Shaun Marcum, who is now 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA for Columbus. The Red Wings got some power in this game from a couple of players from Puerto Rico. Danny Ortiz homered for the third time this season. Eddie Rosario went 2-4 with his third home run. Both homers were against Marcum in the sixth inning. Australian James Beresford added two hits in the game.

 

Reynaldo Rodriguez went 0-4. It ended a 12-game hitting streak during which he hit .429/.500/.690 with four doubles, two triples, a home run and eight RBI.

With the loss, the Red Wings fall to 10-8.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 6, Tennessee 7

Box Score

 

The Lookouts got plenty of offense on this night, but another rough start from Greg Peavey, and the team fell to 8-10.

 

For Greg Peavey, it started out rough. In fact, the Smokies’ lead-off hitter, Jacob Hannemann homered to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Two batters later, Kyle Schwarber hit his second home run in as many days, his fourth of the season.

 

Dalton Hicks stayed hot in this game. In the top of the third inning, he launched a game-tying, two-run homer. It was his third of the season, and his third in the last four games.

 

The lead didn’t last long as Peavey gave up a two-run homer to Bijan Rademacher in the bottom half of the inning.

 

In the fourth inning, the Lookouts got to within a run on a bases-loaded infield single from Buxton. However, in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Smokies got that run back.

 

Peavey was replaced in the fifth inning by Cole Johnson who worked a scoreless inning.

 

The Lookouts took the lead in the sixth inning. Mike Gonzales led off with his second homer. Adam Brett Walker followed it with a double. With two outs and the bases loaded, Dalton Hicks came through with a two-run single. Johnson followed it up with another 1-2-3 inning. Johnson did give up one in the seventh inning that tied the game at six.

 

Dallas Gallant came on for the eighth inning. The leadoff batter hit a liner to right field. Travis Harrison went for the shoe-string catch and the ball got by him. It was called a single with a two-base error. One out later, a soft single scored the go-ahead run.

 

Peavey went four innings and was charged with five runs on eight hits and a walk. He struck out one. Cole Johnson gave up one run on two hits over three innings. He struck out three. Dallas Gallant gave up the unearned run in the eighth inning on two hits.

 

Hicks again led the offense. He went 2-4 with a walk and his third homer. Mike Gonzales was 2-5 with his third double and second home run. Adam Brett Walker hit his third double, but then he walked four times too. Byron Buxton went 1-3 with two walks and his fourth stolen base. Miguel Sano returned to the lineup after missing two games. He went 0-5 with three strikeouts.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 1, Palm Beach 3

Box Score

 

Aaron Slegers got the loss, but he gave the Miracle exactly what they needed in this game. After playing a lot of extra innings in the last four or five days, the Miracle needed a starter to give them some innings. Slegers gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk over eight innings. Alexis Tapia, who will likely pitch for Elizabethton this summer, made his Florida State League debut with a scoreless ninth inning.

 

The offense had plenty of opportunities. The Miracle had seven hits and walked five times, but they were only able to cross the plate once. Bryan Haar hit his third double and scored one batter later when Mitch Garver singled him in.

Logan Wade led the offense. He went 2-4 with his fourth double. He also committed two errors at third base. Niko Goodrum walked twice.

 

The Miracle fall to 7-13 through their first 20 games.

 

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 1, Quad Cities 0 (11 innings)

Box Score

 

The Kernels began another commuter series with a Tuesday morning game in Davenport, Iowa. After a league-wide day off on Monday, it’s safe to say that the bats may not have made the trip with the team. However, the Kernels scored their first extra-innings run of the season in the 11^th to grab another win.

 

Zack Larson led off the 11^th with a single. The next two batters had sacrifice bunts and in each case, the pitcher made an error. With the bases loaded, third baseman T.J. White ended the game with a sacrifice fly.

 

Jared Wilson made the start and threw the first five shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked four and struck out two. Randy LeBlanc came on and gave up two hits over three scoreless innings. He struck out three. Cam Booser got the ninth and 10^th innings. He gave up two hits, walked two but struck out three.

 

After gaining the lead, Trevor Hildenberger pitched a scoreless 11^th inning for the save. It was his second save of the year.

 

Larson led the offense, going 2-5. Zach Granite and Nick Gordon led off the game with back-to-back singles. That gives Granite an eight-game hitting streak. Gordon extended his hit streak to seven games.

 

The Kernels are now 13-6.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ryan Pressly, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Dalton Hicks, Chattanooga Lookouts

 

 

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Columbus @ Rochester (5:35 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler

Chattanooga @ Tennessee (11:00 CST) – RHP DJ Baxendale

Ft. Myers – No Game Scheduled

Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (7:00 CST) – LHP Mat Batts

 

 

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

 

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[Shane Wahl]

Walker walks four times! 

 

I really like what Reynaldo Rodriguez and Dalton Hicks are doing this year. Hicks has been on fire since last July or so.

 

Zach Granite would really help Fort Myers right now.

[ExpectMorePayLess]

Who would have thought? 

 

ABW II is 5th overall in OBP on Lookout roster behind Hicks - Wickens - Michael & Harrison respectively.  

 

And ahead of Buxton - Polanco - Sano - Turner - Gonzalez & Kepler.  

 

Even with the slow Lookout start, I wouldn't have thought that.   The crazy part is he is doing slightly better batting 7th than he did batting 4th (as he did in previous years).  His team is not playing as well however, with him batting 7th.  

 

The Lookouts had seemed to be taking a page out of the MLB teams playbook with their RIGHTY / LEFTY / RIGHTY / LEFTY / ETC. lineups through the first 15 games.  Now they seem to have changed things up slightly.  Thank God for Dalton Hicks and his return to 2013 production level.  Another under appreciated prospect.

[h2oface]

Meyer's pitches that were getting drilled were right down the midde, at least that is how the gameday showed it. What would you rather have, a few walks or lots of hits? I don't understand why they pulled him after 4 innings and only 68 pitches. Is he hurt? He didn't walk anyone. Does that means he is Twins' ready now? I know. That isn't fair. Meyer is a really frustrating carrot to dangle for these last three years. Meanwhile, Span goes 4-5 today and even homers, and Buxton and Sano seemed destined for a long season in AA. As much as I enjoy reading these great minor league wraps....... maybe I need to stop for a spell.

[Platoon]

Meyer's pitches that were getting drilled were right down the midde, at least that is how the gameday showed it. What would you rather have, a few walks or lots of hits? I don't understand why they pulled him after 4 innings and only 68 pitches. Is he hurt? He didn't walk anyone. Does that means he is Twins' ready now? I know. That isn't fair. Meyer is a really frustrating carrot to dangle for these last three years. Meanwhile, Span goes 4-5 today and even homers, and Buxton and Sano seemed destined for a long season in AA. As much as I enjoy reading these great minor league wraps....... maybe I need to stop for a spell.

That is a very good point. Does anyone know why he was pulled after 68 pitches? The hits and runs are a problem. Or the walks are a problem. But it looks like either or. Unless a unforeseen miracle happens, he does not look like a corner hitting type pitcher. I would imagine by now his head is spinning and he has lost any confidence he ever had. Sometimes players are not good matches for an orginisation. This might be one. The Twins are a control pitcher oriented operation, and he isn't that type of pitcher. This could turn into an ongoing saga. You can draft big arms, but if you don't allow for the different style of pitching that entails, it will not be a successful transition from the control type mantra that was the preferred style in the past.

[adjacent]

I watched a bit of the game. Meyer, when he was out of the zone, was way out of the zone. And when people didn't bite on those pitches out of the zone, he was coming back with fast balls down the middle. That is how Swisher got his double. It seems to me that is not a problem of the organization, he just does not have good control right now. Major leaguers are going to hit fast balls down the middle, no matter how hard you throw. You can get away with one or two, but in the end hitters are going to catch up. 

[Vance_Christianson]

Maybe a change of scenery is what Meyer needs?! Either bring him up with the big club or trade him?! Only 68 pitches does concern me as well, but he did allow 5 runs in 4 innings. I'd probably pull him out as well. I'm guessing he was out there beating himself up.

Maybe we trade Alex Meyer for Javier Baez? Both are struggling with their current clubs and change of scenery might just do it for each.

 

[drock2190]

 

Maybe a change of scenery is what Meyer needs?! Either bring him up with the big club or trade him?! Only 68 pitches does concern me as well, but he did allow 5 runs in 4 innings. I'd probably pull him out as well. I'm guessing he was out there beating himself up.

Maybe we trade Alex Meyer for Javier Baez? Both are struggling with their current clubs and change of scenery might just do it for each.

 

Baez strikes out way too much and might never be a quality major leaguer. Meyer has a good shot at being a good bullpen arm.

[Mike Sixel]

Granite is too old for the level, time to move him up and test him.

 

Meyer. sigh. 

[clutterheart]

Interesting approach by Walker. I wish there was some first hand accounts out there.

Was he just putting the bat on his shoulder? Or was he being selective?

 

Whatever it was I hope he can keep it up.

[chopper0080]

Ok, so am the only one done with pitchers who can't throw strikes, and hitters who can't figure out the strike zone? 

[gunnarthor]

On the plus side, Buxton has been walking a lot more lately and striking out a lot less.  That's good.  Hopefully, Sano gets going soon.  

 

As to Meyer, just let him keep plugging away.  Not much else they can do.  I'd call him up as soon as there was an opening so the ML staff can look at him.  And maybe have Rick Anderson to work with him 24/7 in the meantime (isn't he technically still getting paid by us?).  Trevor May said Anderson really helped him when he had trouble throwing strikes.  

[JB_Iowa]

I'd like to request that people more carefully use D. Hicks or A. Hicks since they are both in the minors.  -- especially in thread titles but also occasionally when people are just posting in one thread or another.  It sometimes gets confusing.

 

I know there are a few other duplicate names but for some reason this is the one that always gets me -- perhaps because they are both doing reasonably well this season.

 

Thanks. 

[Mike Sixel]

Agreed, JB......

[Seth Stohs]

I didn't watch the Meyer start. The Twins have a rule, one many teams follow, that if a pitcher throws 30+ pitches in an inning, he's done. Meyer was up against that a few times last year, and maybe already this year. And also, he gave up nine hits and 5 runs in 4 innings. It was probably the right decision.

 

I'm encouraged by the ZERO walks. When pitchers are as wild as Meyer was in his first two starts, I've seen the Twins pitching coaches basically encourage them to just throw the ball down the middle. Throw strikes. Once they regain that control, then mix it up again more and more. But they have to regain the confidence, and with Meyer, regain the confidence that his 'stuff' is good enough as long as he doesn't compound the issues with free passes.

[2wins87]

It's funny to be excited about walks but Walker definitely needs to do that more often.  And his strikeout rate is now below 40%!  In all seriousness, if he ended the season with a K-rate around 25% but a walk rate north of 10% (and obviously kept hitting for power) I'd be pretty excited about that.

[Mike Sixel]

Serious question:

 

If Pinto is as bad at catcher as I'm told, does it hurt Meyer to have him catching?

[Seth Stohs]

 

Granite is too old for the level, time to move him up and test him.

 

 

Granite's 22, and he's only in Cedar Rapids because he missed significant time in 2014 with injury. He, in my opinion, will be the first position player promoted to Ft. Myers, and he'd be an ideal leadoff guy there.

[Mike Sixel]

I forgot about the injury.......

[Seth Stohs]

 

Interesting approach by Walker. I wish there was some first hand accounts out there.
Was he just putting the bat on his shoulder? Or was he being selective?

Whatever it was I hope he can keep it up.

 

I watched most of the game, and I saw at least 3 of his plate appearances (all walks)... he was being thrown a lot of curveball/sliders and he was watching them. Some of them looked pretty good, nice break, etc. The bat wasn't just on his shoulder, and a couple of them were longer, 7-8 pitch plate appearances. It was encouraging.

[Seth Stohs]

 

I'd like to request that people more carefully use D. Hicks or A. Hicks since they are both in the minors.  -- especially in thread titles but also occasionally when people are just posting in one thread or another.  It sometimes gets confusing.

 

I know there are a few other duplicate names but for some reason this is the one that always gets me -- perhaps because they are both doing reasonably well this season.

 

Thanks. 

 

But what if I made a decision NOT to designate which Hicks just to create more curiosity so people would jump in to the article? Ha! it's a good point.

[Seth Stohs]

 

On the plus side, Buxton has been walking a lot more lately and striking out a lot less.  That's good.  Hopefully, Sano gets going soon.  

 

As to Meyer, just let him keep plugging away.  Not much else they can do.  I'd call him up as soon as there was an opening so the ML staff can look at him.  And maybe have Rick Anderson to work with him 24/7 in the meantime (isn't he technically still getting paid by us?).  Trevor May said Anderson really helped him when he had trouble throwing strikes.  

 

Regarding Buxton, again, just watching his plate appearances the last couple of nights, he definitely is getting closer. He has walked a bunch, seems to be seeing the ball better. he came up with the bases loaded and two outs once and ripped a line drive that the shortstop jumped for and caught, but that could have been a bases-clearing triple. he was all over it. So, I think he's getting close.

 

[Loosey]

The fact that Buxton is walking more is telling me he is beginning to understand the curveball which was killing him in the first few weeks.  I haven't seen much of him live other than some highlights, but I would conclude that instead of swinging and missing curveballs out of the zone and striking out, he is now laying off them and taking walks.  And the fact he is hitting the ball hard gives me hope, and is a telling sign he can adjust and learn.

[Shane Wahl]

Trey should probably join his brother at Fort Myers too.

[nytwinsfan]

Yeah, Buxton's BABIP ( currently.250) is also quite low, especially for someone with his speed. He was above a .400 BABIP for all of 2013.  Obviously it is unrealistic to expect someone to have a BABIP above .400 at higher levels, even if they have an 80 grade speed tool and hit a lot of line drives, but the low BABIP either means he is really not squaring up the ball and hitting a lot of popups and grounders, or he is getting really unlucky.  Probably it is some of both. The low strikeouts and high walks the last 8 games (2K/7BB) is really very encouraging.

[gunnarthor]

Actually, Sano isn't doing too bad in the peripherals either.  His krate is a little high at 28% but considering he missed a year, that's not that bad. His walk rate is nearly 15% which is darn good, considering he missed a year.  His babip is only .171 and it won't stay that low.  

[JB_Iowa]

 

But what if I made a decision NOT to designate which Hicks just to create more curiosity so people would jump in to the article? Ha! it's a good point.

 

LOL, I thought about that, Seth.  But you are the one who is a stickler for spelling names right so I thought you'd want us praising the right one.  

[Seth Stohs]

 

Trey should probably join his brother at Fort Myers too.

 

I like Trey too, but I'd have to ask, based on what?

[Seth Stohs]

 

Actually, Sano isn't doing too bad in the peripherals either.  His krate is a little high at 28% but considering he missed a year, that's not that bad. His walk rate is nearly 15% which is darn good, considering he missed a year.  His babip is only .171 and it won't stay that low.  

 

Great point, although it'd be interesting to see what kind of contact he's getting too. But you're right, that's not a sustainable BABIP.

[lightfoot789]

 

It's funny to be excited about walks but Walker definitely needs to do that more often.  And his strikeout rate is now below 40%!  In all seriousness, if he ended the season with a K-rate around 25% but a walk rate north of 10% (and obviously kept hitting for power) I'd be pretty excited about that.

 

I would love to know the hitting approach minor league directors and managers have for each prospect.  It would probably explain a lot in terms of how and why prospects do what they do.  I think everybody would be excited if he hit 10% walk rate.