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Article: Twins Minor League Report (5/19): Walker, Kepler Put On A Show

Cody Christie
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Cody Christie MVP

Cody Christie

Twins Daily Contributor
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Winning baseball might not be happening in Minnesota but plenty of the team's minor league affiliates are playing well. Entering play on Thursday night, the Chattanooga Lookouts were the lone affiliate without a winning record. All of the organization's other clubs are within a handful of games for the top spot in their division. That could mean clinching a first-half playoff spot for some of the teams if they continue their winning ways.

 

Who could inch closer to the top of the standings on Thursday night? Read on to find out.RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 6, Durham 3

Box Score

 

Roster Moves: Outfielder Eddie Rosario was optioned from Minnesota and outfielder Robbie Grossman had his contract selected by Minnesota.

 

Adam Brett Walker hit two home runs and Max Kepler fell a single short of the cycle as the Red Wings powered their way past the Bulls. Kepler finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Both of Walker's home runs were solo shots as he has six home runs so far this season. Eddie Rosario had a double in his return to Rochester.

 

Jason Wheeler picked up the victory for the Red Wings. Across 6.2 innings of work, he scattered four hits and allowed no runs while striking out six and walking one. His season ERA is down to 1.65 and this was the third time he had pitched at least six innings without giving up a run. Dan Runzler struggled with his control and allowed three runs after giving up three walks. J.T. Chargois was asked to get a unique save as he came in to finish out the eighth before closing in the ninth. It was his first save with Rochester.

 

The Red Wings have won three straight games and are one game behind the Scranton/WB RailRiders for first place in the International League North.

 

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 2, Jackson 3

Box Score

The Lookouts jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but that lead would disappear in the second half of this game. Chattanooga scored a first inning run after a Leonardo Reginatto single and a Daniel Palka walk was followed by a D.J. Hicks single. The team's only other run came in the fourth inning as Joe Maloney knocked a one-out double and would later score on a wild pitch. Hicks finished the game 2-for-4 while Reginatto was the only other player to reach base twice in the game.

 

D.J. Baxendale was cruising through the first four frames before running into three-run onslaught in the fifth. He would be pulled after the frame as he allowed three runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Omar Bencomo and Corey Williams combined for three scoreless frames to keep the game close but the Lookouts couldn't manage any more runs.

 

Chattanooga drops to five games under .500 with the loss. After winning four straight over the weekend, the Lookouts have lost three in a row.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 5, Dunedin 4 (12 Innings)

Box Score

Fort Myers found themselves trailing by two runs after three innings but they slowly picked away at the Blue Jays lead. The first big hit of the night was a Alex Real solo-home run to tie the game in the eighth inning. He finished the night with three hits. Trey Vavra came up with the other big hit of the evening after being held hit-less up until that point. To lead off the top of the 12th frame, he launched his fifth home run of the season. Nick Gordon drove in a pair of runs and Chris Paul reached base five times including two doubles.

 

Felix Jorge started for the Miracle and took the no-decision after allowing four runs, two earned, in five innings. He struck out four and walked one and it was the first time all season that he didn't pitch six innings or more. The Miracle bullpen was outstanding. Brian Gilbert, Todd Van Steensel, and Raul Fernandez all pitched two scoreless innings. Brandon Peterson picked up his second save by striking out the side in the bottom of the 12th.

 

With the win, Fort Myers improves to 23-18 on the year as they have won three of their last five games. They currently sit atop the standings in the Florida State League South Division.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 2, Beloit 1 (11 Innings)

Box Score

Sam Clay did his best to put the Kernels in position to win but he wouldn't be around to see how this one ended. He tossed seven innings while allowing one earned run on three hits with seven strikeouts and three walks. Clay hasn't allowed more than one run in any of his starts this year and this was his third straight game with at least seven strikeouts. Michael Theofanopoulos collected strikeouts for four of the six outs he was asked to get. Nick Anderson improved to 3-0 with his third win out of the bullpen.

 

There wasn't much offense on the Cedar Rapids side of the ball so the ending of this game was fitting. A.J. Murray walked to lead-off the 11th inning. Zander Wiel tried to move Murray over with a bunt but the pitcher threw the ball away and both runners were safe. Luis Arraez grounded out to second and the runners advanced. J.J. Fernandez hit the ball to second and Murray was thrown out at the plate while trying to score the winning run. To end the game, Wiel scored from third on a wild pitch.

 

With the win, the Kernels took the final two games of their series with Beloit before playing Quad Cities this weekend. Cedar Rapids finds themselves a half game out of first place in the Midwest League Western Division.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day- Jason Wheeler, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day- Adam Brett Walker, Rochester Red Wings

 

FRIDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Durham (6:05 CST)- LHP Logan Darnell (4-3, 4.17 ERA)

Chattanooga @ Jackson (7:05 CST)- LHP Nick Greenwood (1-0, 4.15 ERA)

Fort Myers vs. Tampa (6:05 CST)- LHP Randy Rosario (2-3, 3.48 ERA)

Cedar Rapids vs. Quad Cities (6:35 CST)- TBD

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

 

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nytwinsfan GCL Twins

nytwinsfan

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He didn't even play tonight. He's been dealing with some back spasms so he needs to get healthy and continue to hit well. Then he should be back up.

I think Tobi0040 meant to "back to Rochester."

 

 

This is going on 7 days now, with back spasms???
Holy cow, I've always defended his injuries as fluky but maybe this kid is incredibly soft.

 I think they are just being extra cautious. It isn't worth risking a longer-term injury to get him back a day or two early.

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jokin Wichita Wind Surge

jokin

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Another scoreless inning and a third from Chargois.

 

Too bad the Twins' bullpen is too stacked to make room right now. 

 

Yeah... but he only had one K! Clearly... slumping- given his 24.92 K/9 coming into tonight's game. :banghead:

 

In all seriousness, why did the Twins even bother sending him to AAA? He needs to be in the Twins hemorrhaging pen, yesterday.

Edited by jokin
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beckmt GCL Twins

beckmt

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Hitting seems to be an issue in the lower minors,  Is this because the Twins have focused on drafting pitchers the last few years, or just their minor league hitting at lower levels is not that good.  Wade and Gordon seem to be the only two hitting names I see a lot in these reports.

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shimrod College Ball

shimrod

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When I was substantially younger (mid-20s) I would occasionally experience back spasms while playing basketball. Never kept me from playing the next day. A week is disturbing. Now, if the Twins reported he was experiencing bi-lateral leg weakness we would all understand...

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nytwinsfan GCL Twins

nytwinsfan

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Kepler's BABIP is still pretty low for him. Expect his avg., obp. and slg. to all go up a bit more even if his power doesn't increase at all from where it is now.  His babip was .284 before yesterday when he went 3 for 5. It is probably up around almost .300 now, but that is still low for him.

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twinssouth Draft Eligible

twinssouth

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Kepler is trending in the right direction hitting .381 over his last 10 with a .296/.375/.507 line in May. Overall, he's got 13 walks to 12 K's.

Also, an impressive (SSS) 1.096 OPS against LHP in AAA (His triple and HR last night w off a lefty).

 

 

 

Lefty on lefty nice

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Pitz Draft Eligible

Pitz

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Anyone have any insight on Jason Wheeler? Has he made any changes that might correlate with his improvement this year, or is this more just a product of a small sample size and a streak of productive play?

His AAA BABIP (.250) and LOB% (91.7) may indicate he's been a bit lucky. But his K% (24.5) is a career high. (These numbers are from fangraphs, and I just realized they don't include last night's start.)

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big dog GCL Twins

big dog

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If anyone would like to watch video of the Kernels' walk off extra inning win over Beloit, you can find it at the link below. (Just want to note the F-bomb overheard at the 3:17 mark is not me!) 

 

https://youtu.be/6tftItHBVT4

Thanks, that was fun.  Great editing.  Your neighbor's commentary was entertaining as well.  Kernels are in Beloit in 2 weeks (an hour from my home) and I'm hoping to see them.

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Han Joelo GCL Twins

Han Joelo

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 I for one hope they don't move anybody else back up until they've isolated and eradicated the virus.  I'd rather look at Red Wings box scores.  Just wish they'd get Polanco back down.  Hell, even Sano.  Now that would be fun.

 

At this point, the Twins are like one of those forward observation posts you read about in war stories, where people are just getting traumatized.  Going to Rochester, while still in the war zone, at least might seem like they have a chance to be in a fair fight.  Seems like getting the call to go back up right now wouldn't be met with elation, but rather trepidation.  Or flat out despair.

 

I'm on board with Seth's plan at this point.  And I'd probably wait and try and send the guys up en masse.  Strength in numbers.

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Dman Ft Myers Mighty Mussels

Dman

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Anyone have any insight on Jason Wheeler? Has he made any changes that might correlate with his improvement this year, or is this more just a product of a small sample size and a streak of productive play?

His AAA BABIP (.250) and LOB% (91.7) may indicate he's been a bit lucky. But his K% (24.5) is a career high. (These numbers are from fangraphs, and I just realized they don't include last night's start.)

 

Wheelhouse pitched almost as well in 2014 and made a believer out of me.  I thought he had things figured out back then.  Then came 2015 and he really looked bad.  Maybe he was injured or something I don't know.  All I know is I am not sure who the real Jason Wheeler is as a pitcher.  Good to see the strikeouts up but he is still a bit too hittable IMO.  Could be a good potential pen arm.  I hope he continues to do well because they pretty much picked him over Gilmartin and Gilmartin has done well as a reliever for another team.

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Pitz Draft Eligible

Pitz

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Wheelhouse pitched almost as well in 2014 and made a believer out of me.  I thought he had things figured out back then.  Then came 2015 and he really looked bad.  Maybe he was injured or something I don't know.  All I know is I am not sure who the real Jason Wheeler is as a pitcher.  Good to see the strikeouts up but he is still a bit too hittable IMO.  Could be a good potential pen arm.  I hope he continues to do well because they pretty much picked him over Gilmartin and Gilmartin has done well as a reliever for another team.

 

Yeah, that's why I'm curious if someone has a scouting report or update on him.

It doesn't seem like he's been very hittable so far this year with a 0.95 WHIP.

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nicksaviking All-Star

nicksaviking

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Nope. Missing a week for back spasms is incredible. It's something to be concerned about, that's not normal, and I stand by my comments.

 

I don't think back spasms mean what you think it means.

 

The first time I had them my back was locked up and I couldn't even bend at the waist for over a week. And I was a healthy and active 16-year-old.

 

And they've only gotten worse when they occur as I've gotten older.

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jokin Wichita Wind Surge

jokin

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Buxton is supposed to be back tonight. With an outfield of Rosario-Buxton-Kepler, it's almost embarrassing how much better the Rochester outfield will be defensively than the Twins. 

 

Nah. According to at least some on here, it's a soft Buxton who is supposedly embarrassing himself.

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jokin Wichita Wind Surge

jokin

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I don't think back spasms mean what you think it means.

 

The first time I had them my back was locked up and I couldn't even bend at the waist for over a week. And I was a healthy and active 16-year-old.

 

And they've only gotten worse when they occur as I've gotten older.

 

When I was substantially younger (mid-20s) I would occasionally experience back spasms while playing basketball. Never kept me from playing the next day. A week is disturbing. Now, if the Twins reported he was experiencing bi-lateral leg weakness we would all understand...

 

 

While it's difficult to make definitively valid comparisons with a finely tuned professional athlete's injuries to injuries incurred in high school glory days and by weekend pick-up basketball warriors, I doubt that Buxton's supposedly delayed return from back spasms (which was incurred on his incredibly ripped body while record cold was sweeping vast swathes of the northern United States) is in any way related to his supposed "softness."

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mikelink45 Wichita Wind Surge

mikelink45

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This is going on 7 days now, with back spasms???
Holy cow, I've always defended his injuries as fluky but maybe this kid is incredibly soft.

Back spasms are anything but a sign of softness.  Everyone who has experienced them knows that they are a real issue and a lot of pain. 

 

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