Article: Twins Minor League Report (5/28): Bats Sputter, Berrios Brilliant

[Seth Stohs]

The Twins and the Royals both had the day off on Thursday which means the Twins remain in first place!

 

In the minor leagues, Rochester had the day off, but the other three affiliates were in action. In Chattanooga, JO Berrios made another start. That alone should make you want to keep reading. Plenty of action on Thursday.TRANSACTIONS

 

A couple of transactions from Thursday.

• Australian RHP Sam Gibbons was promoted to Cedar Rapids from Extended Spring Training.
• RHP John Curtiss was placed on the disabled list with a strained forearm. He had left his most recent start with elbow pain. He had Tommy John surgery in 2012.
• 1B/LF/DH Trey Vavra was also placed on the 7-Day disabled list with a sprained ankle.

RED WINGS REPORT

 

Scheduled off day. Back at it tomorrow against the Buffalo Bisons.

 

LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN

 

Biloxi Shuckers @ Chattanooga

Box Score

 

The Lookouts were out-hit 9-7 and were just 1-8 with runners in scoring position, but picked up another win to move to 29-17 on the year. Jose Berrios started for Chattanooga and did his regular Jose Berrios thing. 7.1 innings, two earned runs, no walks, and seven strike outs. He gave up all nine of the Biloxi hits, but held the Shuckers to 1-7 with runners in scoring position.

 

Berrios was cruising into the eighth inning with a shutout, but after retiring Nick Shaw to begin the eighth, the next three batters went single, single, double, scoring a run and ending Berrios' evening. Lifted with that one out in the eighth, Berrios was replaced by Zack Jones who finished the game to pick up his seventh save of the season Jones promptly walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, gave up a sacrifice fly to the next batter, and then induced a ground ball to Max Kepler to escape the threat. Jones then sent the Shuckers down 1-2-3 in the ninth to preserve the Lookouts victory.

 

Byron Buxton was 0-3 with a walk and two strike outs, the first time in more than a week Buxton failed to record a hit, ending a seven-game hitting streak. Jorge Polanco was 2-4 with an RBI and a stolen base (one of three stolen bases for the Lookouts on the evening), his tenth of the year. Adam Brett Walker was 1-4 with two strikeouts but made that hit count, a two-run home run, driving in what proved to be the game-winning run. It was his league-leading 12th home run of the season.

Final Score: Biloxi 2, Chattanooga 3

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

 

Fort Myers @ Clearwater Threshers - Game 1

Box Score

 

Ryan Eades is looking a lot more like a first-round draft pick in 2015 than he did in either 2013 or 2014 and has rewarded the Twins for their patience with him. He pitched five innings of three-hit ball for the Miracle on Thursday night, walked two and struck out six. Eades has given up three runs or less in seven of his eight starts so far this year.

 

Eades was replaced by Luke Westphal who earned his first hold of the year with a perfect sixth inning and Brandon Peterson picked up his second save of the year with a scoreless ninth.

 

Peterson put up great numbers in 2014 with the Cedar Rapids Kernels and earned an early promotion to Fort Myers where he pitched to a 1.80 ERA over 45 innings, racking up 65 strike outs while walking 17. This year, back at Fort Myers, Peterson continues to have a K/9 over 13 with 35 strikeouts in just 24 innings and he has already walked 14. Peterson may have made an adjustment in recent weeks as he has walked just two batters in his last nine innings of work while striking out 12.

 

The Miracle managed just five hits in this low scoring affair, and leadoff man Zach Granite was the only player with two hits, going 2-3 with a double and a run scored (via wild pitch in the first inning). The Miracle added the winning run in the top of the fourth, set up by two more wild pitches from Threshers starter Mark Leiter Jr.

 

Final Score: Fort Myers 2, Clearwater 1 (seven innings)

 

Fort Myers @ Clearwater Threshers - Game 2

Box Score

 

Miracle starter Brett Lee was tagged for six runs in 4.2 innings, giving up four of those runs in the fifth inning alone before being lifted for Dallas Gallant. Lee gave up six hits, six runs, walked four and struck out one. Dallas Gallant pitched a scoreless inning and a third and gave up two hits.

 

The Miracle again managed just five hits in the second game of the double header, lead by Tanner Vavra, hitting ninth, who went 2-3 with a pair of RBIs. Zach Granite doubled and scored another run as part of a 1-4 performance in the nightcap. The Miracle had just five hits, but they also worked five walks and were 3-10 with runners in scoring position, but could not come up with a big hit to put up a crooked number.

 

Final score: Fort Myers 3, Clearwater 6 (seven innings)

KERNELS KORNER

 

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers @ Cedar Rapids

Box Score

 

A tough game on both sides of the ball for the Kernels who picked up just four hits on the evening and gave up runs in five different innings, losing 6-0 to a pretty bad Timber Rattlers squad. Jared Wilson was charged with his first loss of the season, giving up eight hits, five runs (four earned) over five innings. He walked two, struck out two, and gave up two home runs. Michael Theofanopoulos came in for an extended relief outing, pitching three innings. He gave up two hits, an earned run, walked two and struck out two. Trevor Hildenberger finished the game and struck out a pair of Timber Rattlers in the ninth.

 

Just those four hits I mentioned earlier for the Kernels on Thursday night, all singles, to go along with only one walk and nine strike outs. Not an exciting game for the 1,957 fans in attendance at Perfect Game Field as the Kernels only managed to push two runners into scoring position the entire evening. 2014 first-round draft pick Nick Gordon was 0-3 with three strike outs, but he did reach base on a HBP in the fourth. Zack Larson picked up a pair of hits, providing half of the Kernels hits, going 2-4 with a pair of singles.

 

Final Score: Wisconsin 6, Cedar Rapids 0

 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Hitter of the Day - Jorge Polanco, Chattanooga Lookouts

Pitcher of the Day - Jose Berrios, Chattanooga Lookouts

 

FRIDAY'S PROBABLES

 

Rochester @ Buffalo Bisons - Game 1 - Pat Dean (4-3, 2.47) vs. Miguel Castro

Rochester @ Buffalo Bisons - Game 2 (Make up of 4/10) - Tyler Duffey (0-1, 2.57) vs. Jeff Francis

 

Biloxi Shuckers @ Chattanooga - Tyler Wager (5-1, 2.01) vs. Greg Peavey

 

Fort Myers @ Clearwater Threshers - Kohl Stewart (1-3, 2.60) vs. Brandon Leibrandt

 

Clinton LumberKings @ Cedar Rapids - TBD vs. Keaton Steele (1-0, 3.72)

 

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[Steven Buhr]

In the Kernels defense, while it's true that Wisconsin has been pretty bad this season, they did send the Brewers' 2014 1st round pick (12th overall), Kodi Medeiros, to the mound against CR.

 

I talked to Rattlers (and former Kernels/Snappers) pitching coach Gary Lucas after the game and he thought it was Medeiros' best performance of the season. He didn't start the season all that well, but lately, as the weather is warming up, it's starting to look like the Brewers did something right when they drafted the Hawaiian last year. Just turned 19 years old Monday, too.

[drivlikejehu]

Eades is benefiting from the pitcher-friendly FSL... his peripherals are atrocious. They weren't particularly good in college either, which confused me about the pick at the time.

[Brock Beauchamp]

It's becoming quite apparent that Berrios has little left to learn in Chattanooga. The Twins need to consider a promotion and consider it soon.

[2wins87]

 

In the Kernels defense, while it's true that Wisconsin has been pretty bad this season, they did send the Brewers' 2014 1st round pick (12th overall), Kodi Medeiros, to the mound against CR.

 

I talked to Rattlers (and former Kernels/Snappers) pitching coach Gary Lucas after the game and he thought it was Medeiros' best performance of the season. He didn't start the season all that well, but lately, as the weather is warming up, it's starting to look like the Brewers did something right when they drafted the Hawaiian last year. Just turned 19 years old Monday, too.

 

I was pretty intrigued by him last year but his talent fell pretty squarely between the Twins first and second picks.  Undersized guy with the best breaking ball in the draft, I imagine the breaking ball was giving the Kernel's hitters fits yesterday.

[Mike Sixel]

 

It's becoming quite apparent that Berrios has little left to learn in Chattanooga. The Twins need to consider a promotion and consider it soon.

 

no, they need to be patient, and make sure he is consistent, and that he is 100% ready before promoting him. Otherwise his career may be over and ruined.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

no, they need to be patient, and make sure he is consistent, and that he is 100% ready before promoting him. Otherwise his career may be over and ruined.

Heh. While kinda funny, that's not really fair to say about Berrios. The Twins have been quite aggressive in promoting him, so much that they even gave him a Rochester start last season as a 20 year old. It's obvious that the organization is a big fan of the kid.

 

I'm sure the Twins are planning to promote him as soon as they begin their mid-season wave of promotions.

[Eric R Pleiss]

Great update, Steve/Jim/Alice's Restaurant

In the Kernels defense, while it's true that Wisconsin has been pretty bad this season, they did send the Brewers' 2014 1st round pick (12th overall), Kodi Medeiros, to the mound against CR.

 

I talked to Rattlers (and former Kernels/Snappers) pitching coach Gary Lucas after the game and he thought it was Medeiros' best performance of the season. He didn't start the season all that well, but lately, as the weather is warming up, it's starting to look like the Brewers did something right when they drafted the Hawaiian last year. Just turned 19 years old Monday, too.

 

[clutterheart]

Gordon is really having a terrible May.  He is hitting .189 (down from .264 in April) but he is walking at a higher rate then April.

 

Lets face it, the CR line up should not scare any pitcher with talent.  Tanner English, Zack Larson & Max Murphy are not doing well and the rest of the CR line up is full of guys who will be lucky to get to Fort Meyers.  

Are pitchers just not giving him anything to hit?

Edited May 29, 2015 by clutterheart

[amjgt]

 

It's becoming quite apparent that Berrios has little left to learn in Chattanooga. The Twins need to consider a promotion and consider it soon.

 

Every morning I wake up hoping that the 2015 Minor League Transactions thread will have a post that says:

 

Tim Staufer DFA

Tommy Milone promoted to Minnesota Twins

J.O. Berrios promoted to AAA Rocherster

Chih-Wei Hu Promoted to AA Chattanooga

Steven Gonsalves Promoted to High A Ft Myers

Lewis Thorpe had a miracle performed on him and was activated at Low A Cedar Rapids

[Eric R Pleiss]

Eades was right in the middle of when the Twins were thinking, "Let's just take all the college pitchers and hope they stick" draft strategy.  His walk rate is still high, but going in the right direction.  He has #5 upside, at best, I'd guess at this point.

Eades is benefiting from the pitcher-friendly FSL... his peripherals are atrocious. They weren't particularly good in college either, which confused me about the pick at the time.

 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Every morning I wake up hoping that the 2015 Minor League Transactions thread will have a post that says:

 

Tim Staufer DFA

Tommy Milone promoted to Minnesota Twins

J.O. Berrios promoted to AAA Rocherster

Chih-Wei Hu Promoted to AA Chattanooga

Steven Gonsalves Promoted to High A Ft Myers

Lewis Thorpe had a miracle performed on him and was activated at Low A Cedar Rapids

I think you can expect #1 to happen soon, #3-5 to happen relatively soon (mid to late June is my guess), and keep hoping on #6.

 

As for #2, I'd love to see Milone but who do you kick out of the rotation to do it? Trevor May? No thanks. And putting Milone in a long relief role in Minnesota seems like a giant waste to me. I'm hoping that in June or July, Ryan is able to move Milone in trade for a piece that will help the Twins in 2015, provided everybody is still healthy and the Twins are contending.

[amjgt]

 

 

 

As for #2, I'd love to see Milone but who do you kick out of the rotation to do it? Trevor May? No thanks. And putting Milone in a long relief role in Minnesota seems like a giant waste to me. I'm hoping that in June or July, Ryan is able to move Milone in trade for a piece that will help the Twins in 2015, provided everybody is still healthy and the Twins are contending.

 

Long Relief / Trade Bait

[Mike Sixel]

 

Heh. While kinda funny, that's not really fair to say about Berrios. The Twins have been quite aggressive in promoting him, so much that they even gave him a Rochester start last season as a 20 year old. It's obvious that the organization is a big fan of the kid.

 

I'm sure the Twins are planning to promote him as soon as they begin their mid-season wave of promotions.

 

Agreed, I've been saying early to mid-june since the year started.....If I wasn't working, it would have been much more EXTREME!, but I was sort of listening to that last call....

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Long Relief / Trade Bait

If you plan to use him as trade bait, he'll gain the most value by staying in Rochester, starting games. 10-15 innings of MLB mop-up work isn't going to help gain value.

[amjgt]

I think he's proven that he can dominate AAA. Having any more (potentially rough) outings can only be a negative at this point.

 

I'd bring him in for long relief then be the first man up, when one of our starters falters or gets injured, which, let's be honest, has to happen soon. We're kind of jammed up at this point we need an opening for Milone so that he can prove his trade worth before we get Santana back.

 

Ideally, someone would get desperate and trade for Nolasco or Pelfrey, then we could slide Milone into that slot until Santana gets back.

 

The huge caveat is.... We're playing really good baseball and I don't REALLY want to upset the apple cart.

 

OK.... we've officially gotten this thread off track

[laloesch]

 

I think he's proven that he can dominate AAA. Having any more (potentially rough) outings can only be a negative at this point.

 

I'd bring him in for long relief then be the first man up, when one of our starters falters or gets injured, which, let's be honest, has to happen soon. We're kind of jammed up at this point we need an opening for Milone so that he can prove his trade worth before we get Santana back.

 

Ideally, someone would get desperate and trade for Nolasco or Pelfrey, then we could slide Milone into that slot until Santana gets back.

 

The huge caveat is.... We're playing really good baseball and I don't REALLY want to upset the apple cart.

 

OK.... we've officially gotten this thread off track

 

Well Milone has handled the demotion pretty well this time around.  He raised a pretty big stink while in Oakland when he was last demoted, but so far he hasn't said anything as far as i'm aware.  Kinda surprising.  

 

My gut feeling is that Milone OR Pelfrey are traded at the deadline and someone gets demoted when Santana returns.   If the Twins are still in the hunt for a playoff spot come July early August that will complicate things further as Santana is banned from the playoffs (total BS if you ask me).   Playoff rotation would be Hughes, Gibson, Nolasco, Pelfrey and Milone / May?

 

That said I think folks need to temper their expectations a bit on Milone.  

0.28 era through 30 innings and 4 starts is awesome no doubt!  But remember it's AAA.  

[Steven Buhr]

If the Twins enter July having a pair of AAA starting pitchers (Milone and Meyer) who could be viewed as "MLB-ready" AND a pair of expendable veterans who are still performing adequately (Pelfrey and Nolasco), that would almost be a GM's wet dream scenario.

 

Not that they would trade all of those guys if they are still contending themselves, but with Santana becoming eligible, it would put TR in a pretty nice position as other contenders, especially in the NL, inevitably start looking to shore up rotations.

 

It would be an especially unique situation with the increased number of buyers (and lower number of sellers) that seem to have resulted from the expanded wild card races.

[Seth Stohs]

And they're already at 13 pitchers, so DFAing Stauffer and promoting Milone would still leave them at 13 pitchers.

[amjgt]

Hoping for a Milone promotion was more polite than me hoping for a Pat Dean exploded UCL to clear room for Berrios

[Richie the Rally Goat]

If you plan to use him as trade bait, he'll gain the most value by staying in Rochester, starting games. 10-15 innings of MLB mop-up work isn't going to help gain value.

They can DFA Stauffer and still have 12 pitchers, I'd like to see Stauffer DFA'd Duensing DFA'd. Vargas brought up, Milone brought up to the 5th spot in the rotation, and Pelfrey traded for whatever could be had, prospect wise, and Tonkin brought back up.

[Brock Beauchamp]

They can DFA Stauffer and still have 12 pitchers, I'd like to see Stauffer DFA'd Duensing DFA'd. Vargas brought up, Milone brought up to the 5th spot in the rotation, and Pelfrey traded for whatever could be had, prospect wise, and Tonkin brought back up.

Trading the second best starter when the team has the best record in the American League would be incredibly foolish. Mike Pelfrey is helping win baseball games. That is literally the *only* thing that matters right now when it comes to the subject of Mike Pelfrey.

 

I agree the bullpen needs an overhaul but the rotation should only be changed if it is a clear and obvious upgrade. Milone might not be better than Nolasco, much less Pelfrey.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Trading the second best starter when the team has the best record in the American League would be incredibly foolish. Mike Pelfrey is helping win baseball games. That is literally the *only* thing that matters right now when it comes to the subject of Mike Pelfrey.

I agree the bullpen needs an overhaul but the rotation should only be changed if it is a clear and obvious upgrade. Milone might not be better than Nolasco, much less Pelfrey.

do you really believe that Pelfrey's status and quality of pitching will hold up? Milone may not be better than Pelfrey today, but far better than Pelfrey tomorrow. Gets some trade value while you can, because it won't be there in July. Sad thing is, his trade value is stunted because no GM is going to give up much for "Mike Pelfrey and his two stupid pitches"... God I'm talking myself out of my own argument. I still don't think he will hold up.n

[Brock Beauchamp]

Nope. Nope. Nope. What makes you so bloody confident in Tommy Milone and his 86 mph fastball?

 

Mike Pelfrey is helping the first place Minnesota Twins win baseball games. Full stop.

 

This isn't a video game. These are real, live human beings and you ride the hot hand while it's working.

[drivlikejehu]

 

Nope. Nope. Nope. What makes you so bloody confident in Tommy Milone and his 86 mph fastball?

Mike Pelfrey is helping the first place Minnesota Twins win baseball games. Full stop.

This isn't a video game. These are real, live human beings and you ride the hot hand while it's working.

 

Yeah I'm not a Milone fan, but I like May better than Pelfrey and am not going to enjoy when the former is demoted to make way for Santana. May's ERA isn't reflective of how he's pitched. Not exactly what you were discussing, but related in the sense that Pelfrey's ERA is certainly not indicative of how he will pitch going forward.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I'm not going to like seeing May get demoted, either... But as long as Pelfrey is sporting a top ten ERA, you have to put him on the mound every fifth day. This season - as surprising as this is to say - is turning into a time when the Twins have to think more about winning every game possible and less about prospect development (thankfully, those two things will overlap in many situations so it's not an issue most of the time).

[adjacent]

The thing is if you demote May to put Santana, and keep Pelfrey, this is a reversible move. If Pelfrey start to struggle, you call up May. But if you demote Pelfrey an either Santana or May struggles, you cannot go back to Pelfrey. So, in demoting May, you still keep your safety net. I am saying this even when I like May a lot.

Edited June 1, 2015 by adjacent

[laloesch]

 

no, they need to be patient, and make sure he is consistent, and that he is 100% ready before promoting him. Otherwise his career may be over and ruined.

Come of it, he's not going to be ruined by being promoted to AAA Rochester after the tear he has been on the last two seasons.  That's just absurd. 

 

He's made 26 starts at the AA level and been absolutely awesome.  I don't think there is any danger of destroying his confidence or risking catastrophic injury.  He has a solid well documented work out regimen and the work ethic and positive attitude to back it up.  The results in New Britain / Chattanooga have backed up this assertion.  

 

Relax he is ready.

Edited June 1, 2015 by laloesch

[jokin]

 

Come of it, he's not going to be ruined by being promoted to AAA Rochester after the tear he has been on the last two seasons.  That's just absurd. 

 

He's made 26 starts at the AA level and been absolutely awesome.  I don't think there is any danger of destroying his confidence or risking catastrophic injury.  He has a solid well documented work out regimen and the work ethic and positive attitude to back it up.  The results in New Britain / Chattanooga have backed up this assertion.  

 

Relax he is ready.

 

I think someone forgot the sarc tag.