Article: Twins Minor League Report (6/21): Rosario Keeps Rolling

[Cody Christie]

For the second time this week, one of the Twins affiliates was hosting their league's All-Star Game festivities. The Fort Myers Miracle hosted the 2016 FSL All-Star Game on Saturday night. Tonight it was the Kernels turn to host the Midwest League All-Star Game in Cedar Rapids.

 

This wasn't the only All-Star Game on the docket for Tuesday night. The Southern League was also holding their own mid-season classic. With plenty of Twins players on both rosters, there's a chance that one or two of them could play a vital role in deciding the outcomes of these exhibition games.

 

Found out below what transpired in the All-Star contests and throughout the rest of the Twins farms system.RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 8, Columbus 4

Box Score

Rochester found themselves in a pitching duel in the early innings. Jason Wheeler gave up a first inning run but settled in nicely and he was eventually backed up by plenty of run support. Wheeler scattered seven hits and four earned runs over six frames. He struck out three and walked one.

 

Eddie Rosario is making it very clear that he doesn't want to be playing at Rochester anymore. Tonight was a clear indication of that as he went 4-for-4 at the plate with a three-run home run and two doubles. Jorge Polanco might want to follow Rosario to Minnesota as he reached base three times including his 11th double on the season. Kennys Vargas and Adam Brett Walker both added home runs as the Red Wings pounded out 13 hits.

 

Sean Burnett and JT Chargois put up zeros in their innings of work. Chargois has his ERA down to 0.54 with a 37 to 9 strikeout to walk ratio over 28.1 innings. Alex Wimmers struck out two but allowed a run on three hits in the final inning. With the win, Rochester has won nine of their last ten games and moves to 44-28 on the season. In fact, the team has lost only five games the entire month of June.

 

SOUTHERN LEAGUE SHOWDOWN

North All-Stars 1, South All-Stars 5

Box Score

After a hot-hitting start to the season, Daniel Palka struggled in this exhibition game. Across four plate appearances, he didn't collect a hit and he struck out twice. Mitch Garver started at catcher and he struck out in both of his at-bats. Travis Harrison was a late inning replacement but he managed to go 1-2 with a single.

 

Former Twins prospect Chih-Wei Hu started for the North and allowed one hit in his inning of work. DJ Baxendale pitched two-thirds of an inning and didn't allow a base runner. Trevor Hildenberger made a brief appearance at the end of the game. He came in with two outs in the eighth and was only asked to get the final out for the North.

 

Overall, the North couldn't find enough offense to make-up for the five run inning allowed by Brad Markey, a Chicago Cubs pitching prospect.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 2, Charlotte 1

Box Score

Roster Move: Brian Gilbert was placed on the DL and in a corresponding move relief pitcher Michael Theofanopoulos was added from Cedar Rapids.

 

Randy LeBlanc fell into an early 1-0 hole as he allowed a solo home run in the second inning. However, he was able to settle down from there. He lasted six innings while giving up one run on three hits. LeBlanc struck out one and walked three for his first win in the Florida State League. Brandon Peterson kept the game close with two shutout frames as he struck out three. Yorman Landa earned his fourth save with a perfect ninth.

 

On the offensive side of the ball, Max Murphy provided the big hit on the night. Edgar Corcino started the inning by reaching on a bunt single. He advanced to second on a groundout by Chris Paul but he was left standing in scoring position when Joe Maloney was hit by a 1-2 pitch. Much like Maloney, Murphy fell behind 1-2 before drilling a ball over the left fielder's head for a double. The Miracle took a 2-1 lead and never gave it back.

 

Fort Myers moves to 33-35 with the victory and they will look to complete a sweep of the Stone Crabs on Wednesday night. The Miracle have won three of their last four games and they have yet to lose since this weekend's All-Star break.

 

MIDWEST LEAGUE MINUTES

East All-Stars 11, West All-Stars 10

Box Score

The Kernels felt right at home in their home park. Players from the Cedar Rapids squad filled up the box score as both team's pounded out runs in the early innings.

 

Luis Arraez led off for the West Division All-Stars and finished the night 2-for-3 with a run scored. LaMonte Wade followed Arraez in the batting order and had one of the biggest hits for the West squad, a two-run single. AJ Murray didn't want to get out-shined by the other All-Stars on the team. He competed in the Home Run Derby before the game and didn't win but smacked a two-run shot during the seventh inning.

 

In a game where runs were being scored in bunches, it was tough to find pitchers with clean innings. Sam Clay started for the West All-Stars and pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. Clay was the lone Kernels pitcher to be selected to the contest and he represented the team well.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day- Randy LeBlanc, Fort Myers Miracle

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day- Eddie Rosario, Rochester Red Wings

 

WEDNESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Columbus (6:05 CST)- LHP Pat Dean (1-3, 3.00 ERA)

Fort Myers vs. Charlotte (6:05 CST)- RHP Fernando Romero (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

 

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

 

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[Dman]

Rosario is on fire.  Granted he didn't walk tonight but I guess when you go 4 for 4 you don't need to.  Man he wants to get back to the bigs and I would rather see him than Buxton right now.

[Seth Stohs]

Jeff Johnson also reporting that Fernando Romero will be promoted to Ft. Myers as well.

 

 

I'll be surprised if Sam Clay isn't promoted to the Miracle in the next day or two. Likewise I would expect Stephen Gonsalves and maybe even Felix Jorge to be promoted to Chattanooga very soon as well. 

 

So, who will come up to Cedar Rapids from Extended? And what happens in Chattanooga to make room for a picture or two?

[roger]

How long before the Twins flip Rosario and Buxton?  I don't think they need to act immediately, but should before Rosario gets disappointed and goes into a funk like Arcia last year.  Nothing wrong with sending Buxton down for more seasoning until the end of August. 

 

And this move has nothing to do with Sano coming off the DL next week.  The smart move, imo, would be to send Park down.  Then DH Sano for a week or two until any risk of reinjury is past before alternating him with Plouffe at third until Plouffe is moved.

 

Don't know how AAA pitching compares with Korea, but it might be somewhat better and the step Park needs.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Buxton needs to go back down sooner than later.  Not sure if I'd call Rosario up quite yet though.  Its nice that he's actually started showing a bit more selectivity at the plate.  Not quite sure I'd throw him back into the fire after 10 days of doing what he's been asked (and failed) to do for more than a year now.

[Gagne Fan]

Saw on Twitter that when Mientkiewcz came to the mound to take Baxendale out last night at the All-Star game, that he told him he had been promoted to AAA.

[ashbury]

but should before Rosario gets disappointed and goes into a funk like Arcia last year. 

If a player is prone to that, he will find something else to be in a funk about, a few weeks after being promoted. I think this should be a non-factor in deciding promotions.

 

Then DH Sano for a week or two until any risk of reinjury is past

Sano injured himself running down the first base line. How does DHing protect against that?

[Cory Engelhardt]

If Jorge and Gonsalves are going to AA, why isn't Jay? It feels like all of them should move up asap, no?

[ashbury]

Saw on Twitter that when Mientkiewcz came to the mound to take Baxendale out last night at the All-Star game, that he told him he had been promoted to AAA.

Sometimes I think the organization believes it gets extra credit for each drafted player who makes it to the Show for a cup of coffee.

[Gagne Fan]

Bax is a 2-time AA All-Star

Should have been promoted a long time ago

[ashbury]

Rosario is on fire. 

Not really. His OPS is only .597 at Rochester.

 

Oh wait. Wrong column. That's his slugging percentage.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

If a player is prone to that, he will find something else to be in a funk about, a few weeks after being promoted. I think this should be a non-factor in deciding promotions.

 

 

Agreed, if a guy is that mentally fragile, he's probably not going to make the bigs.  I'll say what I've said about Arcia in a few places, but I highly doubt his 2015 performance was pouting.  He had a hip injury, and those aren't easy to come back from. 

[Han Joelo]

It would be so nice for Buxton's development if he could stick around for a team wide hot streak, if it happens.  If the Twins could put together a stretch of games like last night's, I wonder if he wouldn't relax a little a get caught up in the wave.  That being said, bringing Rosario up might not be a bad idea.

 

I'm excited to see how the promotions fall out today.  Will the ripple effect even reach the Twins?  Whose going to see their Twins career end today?  A couple of AA/AAA pitchers who probably don't deserve to get cut, but are caught in the crunch?  As the Breaking Ball Spins...

[JaleelWhite FanClub]

Park & Buxton down. Rosario called up with Sano plugged in at DH and occasional 3B. Twins OF is Kepler, Rosario, Grossman with Santana as 4th OF.

 

It stinks. Buxton should never have been called up AGAIN so early. The FO has become a joke in that they continually repeat the same mistakes. He should have remained in Rochester and left to shred AAA to gain confidence. Being sent down 2x in the first half of the season can't do anything but kill the kid's mindset.

[Dantes929]

Go another week.   Hopefully Buxton gets hot and Rosario can replace Grossman.    Rosario, Buxton and Kepler is the outfield we have been dreaming about.    Fully expect all these guys to be better after the all star reboot.

[FormerMinnasotan]

Happy to hear about Romero getting promoted to Ft Myers. I'm sure he won't pitch too much there as he probably has a real innings limit, but that sets him up well for next year to take a real jump. It'll be good to promote Jorge and Gonsalves to AA ball to further their development. To be honest I am impressed with Jorge's development, especially after a rough first time through Ceder Rapids.

[d-mac]

 

Park & Buxton down. Rosario called up with Sano plugged in at DH and occasional 3B. Twins OF is Kepler, Rosario, Grossman with Santana as 4th OF.

 

It stinks. Buxton should never have been called up AGAIN so early. The FO has become a joke in that they continually repeat the same mistakes. He should have remained in Rochester and left to shred AAA to gain confidence. Being sent down 2x in the first half of the season can't do anything but kill the kid's mindset.

 

Unfortunately, I and few others called out the promotion for being way too early. Since June 7th (13G, 48 PA) Buxton has hit .093/.149/.209 and struck out in 43.8% of his plate appearances. 

[ashbury]

Agreed, if a guy is that mentally fragile, he's probably not going to make the bigs.  I'll say what I've said about Arcia in a few places, but I highly doubt his 2015 performance was pouting.  He had a hip injury, and those aren't easy to come back from. 

Because we can't know the inside details on players' health, I am always ready to give a prospect a mulligan for a mysterious bad season. Eduardo Escobar for instance interrupted a sequence of good progress with a bad season in which the White Sox traded him to the Twins and he remained bad. Until, mysteriously, he was good again.

 

A couple of other things about the mental side. If a player shows signs of pouting, that needs to be addressed anyway, aside from plans for promotions - maybe the manager and his coach can play Good Cop Bad Cop, but eventually it may come to just laying out to the player that he is out of line and is only hurting himself. And, second, I can't help but worry that Hispanic players get tagged with this and other worries concerning their mental makeup, where another player might get the benefit of the doubt.

[HitInAPinch]

Not sure I understand demoting Buxton to AAA again.  We know he can dominate there.  Why demote him, again, after a very bad start, again, with a pretty SSS, again.  It's really sink or swim time for Buxton.  And it may take awhile. 

[puckstopper1]

Anyone know what is up with Nick Gordon?   He hasn't played since last Thursday.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Anyone know what is up with Nick Gordon?   He hasn't played since last Thursday.

 

Seth thinks he's getting a short vacation since he participated in the ASG. Now, is that true of others that participated? I am not sure.....

[Seth Stohs]

 

Happy to hear about Romero getting promoted to Ft Myers. I'm sure he won't pitch too much there as he probably has a real innings limit, but that sets him up well for next year to take a real jump. It'll be good to promote Jorge and Gonsalves to AA ball to further their development. To be honest I am impressed with Jorge's development, especially after a rough first time through Ceder Rapids.

 

He's only thrown 28 innings. I'm sure he'd get at least 72 more innings. He's going to start tonight, so I'm sure he'll get 13-14 more starts. They'll watch it but he may not be shut down since he missed so much time to start the season. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Seth thinks he's getting a short vacation since he participated in the ASG. Now, is that true of others that participated? I am not sure.....

 

The pitchers haven't pitched yet. Jay starts on Thursday, and Jorge will probably start Friday. Obviously Gonsalves moved up. Van Steensel and Landa? I think Landa worked an inning, maybe Todd did too. Vavra's been back in the lineup.

 

Mine was just a guess. I've seen All Star position players get one game off at the start of the second half. It's also possible Gordon tweaked something in the All Star game. We'll find out. I'll dig.

[Seth Stohs]

By the way... I've started tonight's Minor League Report... Already have 14 player transactions included... Busy day!

[Seth Stohs]

He did tweak something, though I was told they wouldn't have released Logan Wade if they were worried about Gordon needing to go on the DL. Just making sure he's 100% rather than hurrying it. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

Not sure I understand demoting Buxton to AAA again.  We know he can dominate there.  Why demote him, again, after a very bad start, again, with a pretty SSS, again.  It's really sink or swim time for Buxton.  And it may take awhile. 

 

doing well (even extremely well) in small samples is not dominating.  Buxton needs to work on things like his approach and what not.  He's better off doing that in AAA where he can have some success and where it isn't quite as difficult to master.  Nothing good comes from letting him flail away at pitches he cannot hit.  I was fine with this as a cup of coffee, now here we are and Arcia is DFAd and Buxton is still up stinking up the joint.  He's not learning anything at the major league level (rather clearly) and if he's up all year this year, we're going to be in the same boat next year.  Let' him finish the season in AAA.  It's best for him.

[HitInAPinch]

 

doing well (even extremely well) in small samples is not dominating.  Buxton needs to work on things like his approach and what not.  He's better off doing that in AAA where he can have some success and where it isn't quite as difficult to master.  Nothing good comes from letting him flail away at pitches he cannot hit.  I was fine with this as a cup of coffee, now here we are and Arcia is DFAd and Buxton is still up stinking up the joint.  He's not learning anything at the major league level (rather clearly) and if he's up all year this year, we're going to be in the same boat next year.  Let' him finish the season in AAA.  It's best for him.

Read this:

 

http://www.startribune.com/phil-miller-s-sunday-insider-red-sox-show-how-patience-with-prospects-can-be-rewarded/383534181/

[Pitz]

 

Read this:

 

http://www.startribune.com/phil-miller-s-sunday-insider-red-sox-show-how-patience-with-prospects-can-be-rewarded/383534181/

 

Thanks for that read - does help to regain a little more optimistic long term outlook for this Twins club.

 

I don't know what is best for Buxton, but I think I would like to see them just stick with him the rest of the year. Maybe a trip back to AAA could be beneficial but I don't like seeing him bouncing back and forth.

My feeling is that the more big league pitches he sees in this year where results really don't matter, the better off he is going to be in the long run, when hopefully results do matter. He may be flailing at times, but I don't think that means he's not learning.

Let the young players play.