Article: Twins Minor League Report (7/30): The Power of Kepler

[Cody Christie]

On the eve of the trade deadline, there have already been a lot of top prospects who have changed organizations over the last few days. The Twins have been holding steady with their young core of players but that could change at some point in the next handful of hours.

 

Some of the Twins minor leaguers were doing their best to show off their talents in what could be their last appearance in a Twins affiliated jersey. Check out all of the action below.CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 3, Pensacola 0

Box Score

Max Kepler cranked two solo home runs and that was more than enough to back a solid outing by Jason Wheeler. Kepler finished the game going 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair a runs and RBIs. Wheeler pitched eight shutout innings with six strikeouts and no walks.

 

JT Chargois finished off the shutout with a scoreless ninth frame. He walked one and allowed a hit but he used a pair of timely strikeouts to finish with his eighth save. Shannon Wilkerson collected a pair of hits out of the lead-off spot. Kennys Vargas and Levi Michael both went 1-for-3 and Michael stole his 11th base.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 4, Daytona 0

Box Score

The Miracle pitching staff had a no-hitter into the seventh inning and they finished the game with one hit allowed. Steven Gonsalves earned his fifth victory and lowered his ERA to 2.11 after five hitless frames. He struck out eight and walked three. Of his eight strikeouts, six were swinging. Trevor Hildenberger allowed the lone hit but he did strike out three in two innings of work. Brian Gilbert and Nick Burdi struck out five of the six batters they faced to finish the game.

 

Much like Chattanooga, Fort Myers didn't need a ton of run support but they got a pair of solo home runs off the bats of Mitch Garver and Logan Wade. For both players it was their third home run of the year with the Miracle. Tannner Vavra reached base three times and Zach Granite and Chad Christensen both had multi-hit nights.

 

Over the last 20 innings, the Miracle have held opponents without a run. The last time an opposing team scored was the seventh inning on July 28.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 9, Clinton 5

Box Score

Cedar Rapids used a four-run fourth inning to help pace themselves to the win. It was the team's third straight series win and every Kernels hitter except one recorded at least one hit in the series finale.

 

Ethan Mildren was credited with the victory even though he allowed three runs on five hits in less than two innings out of the bullpen. Jared Wilson had an unconventional save as he pitched almost three innings. Zack Tillery got a no-decision after not allowing a hit in the first three innings and finishing with two runs allowed on two hits.

 

Nick Gordon scored a couple of runs and hit his 16th double. Alex Real and Austin Diemer both hit two-run home runs. Brett Doe drove in three runs as part of a two-hit night. Rafael Valera was the lone starter who didn't collect a hit. He went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.

 

E-Twins E-Notes

E-Twins 13, Johnson City 4

Box Score

Elizabethton jumped out to a 7-0 lead by the end of the second inning on their way to a 16-hit effort. Every player in the line-up had at least one hit and six of the nine hitters collected multiple hits. AJ Murray went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, and four RBI. Alex Perez drove in three runs and scored three runs. LaMonte Wade only had one hit but it was his fifth home run of the season.

 

Samuel Clay pitched five shutout innings for his first win of the season. He struck out seven and walked none. Nate Gercken got into a little trouble and allowed three runs to score in three innings. Jose Abreu allowed one run in the ninth on a pair of hits.

 

GCL Twins Takes

GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 5 (7 Innings)

Box Score

All the other Twins affiliates seemed to be on fire but the GCL Twins must not have gotten the memo from the rest of the organization. They were swept in a doubleheader made up of a regularly scheduled game and a postponed game from earlier in the month.

 

In the regularly scheduled game, the Twins held a 1-0 lead going into the final innings. However, Callan Pearce allowed three runs on three hits to take the loss. Miguel Gonzalez started and pitched three shutout innings before turning it over to the bullpen.

 

The Twins combined for five doubles but the team was only 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position. Kolton Kendrick reached base three times including a double and a run scored. Luis Arraez went 2-for-4 with a double. Lewin Diaz knocked his sixth double of the season.

 

GCL Twins Takes

GCL Twins 2, GCL Rays 7 (7 Innings)

Box Score

The Twins left nine runners on base and eight of those runners were in scoring position. Rowan Ebersohn and Roni Tapia each went 2-for-3. Ebersohn's double was the lone extra-base hit for the club. Luis Arraez finished 1-for-3 with a steal.

 

Jovani Moran started but didn't make it out of the first inning. He allowed two runs on three hits with two walks and a strikeout. Moises Gomez finished off the first frame and pitched another three scoreless innings to keep the game close. Rich Condeelis took the loss after allowing five runs in 0.1 innings. Matz Schutte collected the last five outs and limited the Rays to two hits.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheler, Chattanooga Lookouts

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Max Kepler, Chattanooga Lookouts

 

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester vs. Syracuse (6:05 CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers

Chattanooga vs. Pensacola (6:15 CST) – LHP David Hurlbut

Ft. Myers @ Daytona (6:05 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – LHP Randy Rosario

Elizabethton vs. Burlington (6:00 CST) – RHP Cody Stashak

GLC Twins vs. GCL Red Sox (10:00 am CST) – TBA

GLC Twins @ GCL Red Sox (Make-up of 7/24 PPD) – TBA

 

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[USMCTwin]

Kepler and Gonsalves both took honors for top 10 performances in the minors yesterday.

 

http://m.twins.mlb.com/news/article/139922256/max-kepler-stephen-gonsalves-among-10-top

 

As an aside I am a big fan of AJ Murray. I know it's way too early to speculate, but I think he at least provides an option that could be good.

[TRex]

 

E-Twins E-Notes
E-Twins 13, Johnson City 4
Box Score

Samuel Clay pitched five shutout innings for his first win of the season. He struck out seven and walked none. Nate Gercken got into a little trouble and allowed three runs to score in three innings. <eom>
 

What a great report, you must have dug really deep into Gameday to come up with some of those points! I definitely appreciate the 'beyond the boxscore' approach.

 

I'll assume your 'ND' status caused the 'swing and a miss' on this one, but how could you not use the line of:

Nate Gercken got into a little pickle and allowed three runs to score in three innings.

?

 

 

 

[DJL44]

How does Gonsalves miss out on top pitcher? I guess 8 shutout is better than 5.

[clutterheart]

At what point does Gonsalves get shut down for the season? 

In 2013 He had 28 IP

2014 65 IP

2015 He already has 102 IP

 

I would guess he is almost done for the year?  may 3 more starts?

[diehardtwinsfan]

yeah probably.  I could see him shifting to a relief role for a bit to keep the innings down.