Article: Twins Minor League Report (4/20): Strong Pitching Continues

[Seth Stohs]

Rochester and Chattanooga each played early afternoon games while Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers played night games. The teams went 2-2. There were a couple of impressive streaks that came to an end in the Wednesday games. The Kernels tripled their pleasure. The Chattanooga and Cedar Rapids closers are strikeout machines. Check out how they each did in today’s Twins Minor League Report.TRANSACTIONS

On Wednesday morning, the Cedar Rapids Kernels announced that RHP Zach Tillery was activated from the disabled list. RHP Miles Nordgren was sent back to extended spring training.

 

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 0, Pawtucket 2

Box Score

Red Wings starter Alex Meyer put up more zeroes. Unfortunately, so did the Red Wings offense.

 

With Twins GM Terry Ryan in attendance, Alex Meyer put together another strong performance. He came into the game with 10.1 scoreless innings to start the season. He started this game with five scoreless innings. However, in the 6th inning his streak came to an end. In that inning, the first two batters singled. The second hit was a line drive off of Meyer’s right knee. Meyer stayed in the game. He got a fly out to left field, but the next batter, Sam Travis, hit a ball to left center field just beyond the outstretched glove of Adam Brett Walker. The double scored two runs and ended Meyer’s streak of scoreless innings at 15.2. Travis was thrown out at third on the relay from Walker to Beresford to Britton for the second out. Meyer ended the 6th inning with a strikeout. He stayed in and faced the minimum in the 7th inning too.

 

Meyer completed seven inning for just the third time in his professional career. He gave up the two runs on five hits and two walks. He also struck out seven. David Martinez came on and threw two scoreless innings, striking out one.

 

The Red Wings managed just four hits in the game. Darin Mastroianni walked twice. Buck Britton and John Hicks each had two hits. One of Hicks’ hits was a double.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 6, Mississippi 2

Box Score

 

Aaron Slegers made six starts for the Lookouts at the end of the 2015 season. He went 1-4. On Wednesday, he won his first game of 2016 for Chattanooga. In seven innings, he gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out three.

 

Alex Wimmers came on and worked a scoreless eighth inning. He struck out one. JT Chargois pitched the ninth and had another perfect inning. He struck out two. On the season, Chargois has faced 15 batters and retired them all, nine of them on strikeouts.

 

Joe Maloney, who spent the last two seasons in independent ball (Indy League MVP in 2015), hit his first home run in affiliated ball since 2013. The homer gave the Lookouts a 1-0 lead in the 4th. Maloney ended the day 2-3 with two walks and the home run. Dalton Hicks had three singles in five at-bats. Leonardo Reginnato went 2-4. Zach Granite was 1-4 and walked twice. He stole four bases.

 

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 3, Jupiter 4

Box Score

 

As you saw above, Alex Meyer’s consecutive scoreless inning streak came to an end this afternoon at 15.2 innings. On Tuesday, Stephen Gonsalves’s streak of 15 consecutive scoreless innings came to an end. On Wednesday, Kohl Stewart entered the game with seven straight scoreless innings, and he added to that. Stewart began tonight with five shutout innings against Jupiter, pushing that scoreless string to 12 innings. However, his streak ended in the 6th inning. He got one out, but he yielded four singles to give up one run. However, he left with the bases loaded, but Luke Westphal came in and walked two before getting the final outs. Westphal went another inning. The Miracle tied the game, but Yorman Landa gave back that run in the 8th inning when he balked in a run. Brian Gilbert pitched a scoreless ninth.

 

In other words, Kohl Stewart’s final line does not represent how well he pitched on Wednesday night. Stewart was charged with three runs on six hits and a walk over 5.1 innings. He struck out eight batters. Reports from the radio broadcast pointed out that his fastball was sitting 93-94 mph and he had a good curveball as well.

 

Offensively, Trey Vavra led the way. He went 3-4 with his third double and his first home run. He drove in two of the Miracle runs. Nick Gordon drove in the other with a ground out. Alex Swim added his second double.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 6, Burlington 3

Box Score

 

The Kernels have hit a lot of triples this season already. In fact, they tripled up on triples on Wednesday night with three of them. It was a triple that scored three runs that was the big play in this game.

 

Andro Cutura started. He gave up three runs on five hits and two walks through five innings. He struck out four. Zack Tillery, just off the DL, gave up one hit and walked two but gave up no runs in his inning. Kuo Hua Lo walked two in his scoreless inning.

 

Rafael Valera went 2-5 with his fourth triple. Sean Miller was 2-3 with his second double and a stolen base. Zander Wiel tripled. However, with the Kernels down 3-2 in the 7th, Max Murphy came to the plate with the bases loaded. He uncoiled a triple of his own to clear the bases and turn a one-run deficit into a two-run lead. In the ninth, LaMonte Wade hit his first home run of the year to give the final 6-3 score.

 

John Curtiss pitched the final two innings. The 23-year-old walked one and struck out five batters. The hard-throwing right-hander now has struck out 13 batters in just 6.0 innings of work.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Alex Meyer, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Trey Vavra, Ft. Myers Miracle

 

 

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Pawtucket @ Rochester (10:05 am CST) - RHP Jose Berrios

Chattanooga @ Mississippi (7:00 CST) – RHP Ryan Eades

Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – LHP Tyler Jay

Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:35 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons

 

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

 

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[BK432]

Any info on how many Stewart K'd?

[Seth Stohs]

 

Any info on how many Stewart K'd?

 

Eight... I forgot that sentence, so I just added it. That's obviously a number a lot of Twins fans will be looking for. My bad!

[Sweetwater]

Stewart's starting to make me eat my words after I called him a bust last season. I wouldn't be impressed, but he's striking out batters now. Hope is not lost.

[John Kelsey]

I'd be ok with calling up Chargois for Fien yesterday. 

[jsteve96]

Stewart with a 10.9K/9 through 3 starts. last year he only had a 9k/9 in ONE of his 22 starts. so far this year, he has had a 9k/9 or better in all 3 games... The potential Ace is coming out! I couldnt care less about the 4 singles today, his WHIP is stilll only 0.81 on the year. Lets see if Tyler can match him tmr in games with K/9  over 9

 

nice to see LaMonte starting up another hit streak would like to see some other guys start to hit.. frustrating watching FM, CHATT, and ROC..

[Tibs]

So how long until we can start thinking about Alex Meyer starting for the Twins?

[Seth Stohs]

 

So how long until we can start thinking about Alex Meyer starting for the Twins?

 

Probably not all that long. Terry Ryan is there. He got a behind-home plate view of it. He's throwing hard, he's throwing a lot of strikes, it sounds like his curveball is tremendous. 

 

It may depend on what they want to do with him. If they want him to keep starting and see what they have, have to let him make another 4-5 starts before considering bringing him up. If it'd be as a long reliever... probably any time. 

[gunnarthor]

The outings by Meyer and Stewart are really encouraging.  I'd be thrilled if the Twins just plugged Meyer into the ML rotation and let him start 20 games for us, just to see him at this level.  

 

 

[Rosterman]

I was looking at the stats and new stratospheric highs have been reached by Loek Van Mil and Michael Strong!
 

[James]

Is Stewart still creating a lot of ground balls?  He was a ground ball machine last year.  Or has a lot of the weak contact turned into strike outs.

 

If he's now getting stike out and hitters are having a hard time getting solid contact against him, look out.

[Dance with Disco Dan]

Kohl's increased strikeout rate this season is certainly a welcome development.  His 21 Ks in the first three games already exceed the total (19 Ks) from his three best strikeout games last season.  Clearly, some things have changed for the better--command, velocity, improved pitches and/or new pitches. He got a little unlucky with sequencing last night and his relief couldn't pick him up.  Nevertheless, it was a very good performance (possibly aided by a big strike zone as 5 of 8 Ks were looking).  And, its worth noting that the changes resulting in his increased strikeout rate haven't diminished his excellent ground ball (60.9%) and line drive percentages (9.7%).

[Brock Beauchamp]

Kohl Stewart pitched 129 innings last season.

 

At his current rate, he's going to pass last season's strikeout total at the 50 inning mark.

[markos]

It is hard for me not to get really excited about Stewart's start. Sure, it would have been better if he wasn't repeating the level, but I mostly don't care. The strikeouts are finally starting to show up - it might be a little extreme to say that this changes everything, but it changes everything. Now he just needs to stay healthy. 

 

Meyer has teased like this before. I've been hurt too much, so I'm just going to pretend like it isn't happening again...

[Seth Stohs]

 

I was looking at the stats and new stratospheric highs have been reached by Loek Van Mil and Michael Strong!
 

 

Strong is already on  the AA  DL. Van Mil might be on Rochester's  soon. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Kohl Stewart pitched 129 innings last season.

 

At his current rate, he's going to pass last season's strikeout total at the 50 inning mark.

 

And that would probably be about the time he moves up.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

So how long until we can start thinking about Alex Meyer starting for the Twins?

 

I'd like to see him pitch well for a few months (and outpitch Duffey).  He was pretty bad last season... but he's on the 40 man, so one injury and suddenly he's in Minnesota.  And then there's this whole Berrios problem. 

[Trov]

What I find crazy is how Stewart is only in his third year out of high school, and people were giving up on him.  If he was in college he would a top pick but still expected to spend a couple of years in the minors.  Sure he did not come out of the gate firing well, but remember he was not just a pitcher coming out of high school he was maybe going to be a football player.  I just hate how if a high school kid does not tear it up right away we label him a bust.  Like Gordon last year in first half.  They are both young for their level.

[Tibs]

 

Probably not all that long. Terry Ryan is there. He got a behind-home plate view of it. He's throwing hard, he's throwing a lot of strikes, it sounds like his curveball is tremendous. 

 

It may depend on what they want to do with him. If they want him to keep starting and see what they have, have to let him make another 4-5 starts before considering bringing him up. If it'd be as a long reliever... probably any time. 

 

I hope if he continues to pitch like this they are wanting him to keep starting

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

What I find crazy is how Stewart is only in his third year out of high school, and people were giving up on him. 

Saying a player's performance needs to improve if he wants to advance is hardly "giving up on him."  Some may have been pessimistic about his chances to improve that much, but I don't think anybody opposed giving him that chance.

 

For that matter, his performance this year has covered all of 3 starts.  He obviously needs to keep it up for a while longer if he wants to reclaim his earlier prospect rankings -- I hope you don't construe such a statement as "giving up on him" again...

[Otto von Ballpark]

On the subject of strong pitching, Chih-Wei Hu makes his 3rd start tonight for the Rays AA team.  His first 2 have gone pretty well: 9 IP, zero runs, 14 K's.  He has a better case that someone "gave up on him" in his 3rd year out of high school than Stewart...

[Sweetwater]

 

On the subject of strong pitching, Chih-Wei Hu makes his 3rd start tonight for the Rays AA team.  His first 2 have gone pretty well: 9 IP, zero runs, 14 K's.  He has a better case that someone "gave up on him" in his 3rd year out of high school than Stewart...

 

 

I hated giving up Hu in the Jepsen deal. Thought it was a horrible, short-sighted move by TR, but we'll see.