Article: Twins Minor League Report (5/27): No-Hit Bids, Shutouts, And Wins

[Seth Stohs]

It was another interesting day for the Minnesota Twins minor league affiliates. One starter carried a no-hitter into the late innings. Two other starters worked into the sixth inning with shutouts. The Kernels inched closer to a playoff berth thanks to a quality start and three, three-hit games. Byron Buxton kept a streak going. Hey, when the big league club can’t find wins, there are always multiple positives in the farm system!

 

The two Twins short-season affiliates are less than a week from the end of their regular seasons. As of now, Elizabethton would be in the playoffs. The GCL Twins are one game behind the Red Sox.

 

Continue reading for all the details for a Saturday in the minor league parks.RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 5, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 4 (11 innings)

Box Score

 

The story of this game through six-plus innings was left-hander Nick Greenwood. He didn’t give up a hit until there were two outs in the seventh inning. Former Twins and Red Wings player Chris Parmelee hit a double to break up the no-no. The next batter homered to end the shutout. So, in total, Greenwood gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out four.

 

Alan Busenitz came on for the eighth inning. He gave two runs on three hits which tied the score at four. The game went to extra innings. Jake Reed threw two scoreless innings, striking out one. The Wings took the lead on the top of the 11th inning. Edward Mujica came on and recorded his 24th save of the International League season, but it was his first save for the Red Wings. He gave up two hits, but he struck out three.

 

For the fourth straight game, Byron Buxton homered. He went 2-6 and the homer was his 11th of the season for the Red Wings. Mitch Garver drove in two runs with his first International League home run. Adam Brett Walker went 2-4 and drove in a run. Wilfredo Tovar hit his 23rd double. In the 11th, he walked to bring in the winning run.

 

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 3, Mississippi 1

Box Score

 

Saturday was Stephen Gonsalves’s turn to start for the Lookouts. He improved to 8-1 and dropped his ERA to 1.64. The southpaw gave up five hits and walked two over 5.2 shutout innings. He struck out six.

 

Todd Van Steensel came on and got the next four outs. He needed just ten pitches to do it. Mason Melotakis returned from the disabled list to pitch the eighth inning. He gave up two hits and issued a walk but he struck out three batters to get through the inning without allowing a run. Raul Fernandez got the ninth inning. He gave up a run but recorded his fifth save.

 

The Lookouts had just five hits in the game, but they were big ones. Edgar Corcino got the team on the board with a two-run triple. It was his fifth triple for the team. Travis Harrison provided some insurance with his seventh home run.

 

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 0, Jupiter 3

Box Score

 

Sam Clay was on the mound for the Miracle. The left-hander gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out six batters. Luke Westphal, Michael Theofanopoulos and Confesor Lara each threw a scoreless inning. “Theo” struck out three, and Lara struck out two.

 

The Miracle had just five hits on the game. Their top four hitters combined to go 0-15. Brad Hartong went 2-3 in the game.

 

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 7, Clinton 2

Box Score

 

The Kernels are fast-approaching clinching a playoff spot in the Midwest League. On Saturday night in Clinton, they inched closer thanks to a strong start from Sam Gibbons. The Australian right-hander gave up just two runs on nine hits over six innings to record his seventh win. He struck out two without issuing a walk. Michael Cederoth walked two and struck out two in two scoreless innings. Anthony McIver gave up a hit, but he got the final three outs to preserve the win.

 

Brandon Lopez went 3-4 with his first two MWL doubles. He was also hit by a pitch. Luis Arraez went 3-4 with a walk. He hit his 29th and 30th doubles, drove in two runs and stole his third bag and raised his average to .351. Travis Blankenhorn also had three hits in five at-bats. He had a triple and two RBI. Zander Wiel went 2-5 with two RBI.

 

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 1, Greeneville 0

Box Score

 

The two teams combined for just seven hits in this game. Caleb Hamilton, who walked twice, scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ariel Montesino.The E-Twins had just four hits overall.

 

Tyler Wells, who struck out 14 in seven shutout innings his last outing, threw six shutout innings in this game. He gave up two hits, walked two, hit one and struck out three. He improved to 5-2 on the season. Colton Davis returned to the mound after not pitching for nearly a month. He struck out two in two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked one. Patrick McGuff came on for the ninth and recorded his ninth save.

 

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 1, GCL Red Sox 4

Box Score

 

Taylor Clemensia started for the Twins and went just 1.2 innings. He gave up three unearned runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out one. He really struggled to find the strike zone. Moises Gomez came on in relief and worked the final 6.1 innings. He gave up just one run on four hits. He struck out two without issuing a walk. His season ERA actually went up to 0.83 in 32.2 innings.

 

Aaron Whitefield again led the way. He went 2-2 and stole his 29th and 30th bases of the season. He also threw two runners out from the outfield. In the second, he left the game with a sore non-throwing neck/shoulder (per Bob Sacamento). The Twins had just five hits in the game.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Chattanooga Lookouts

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Luis Arraez, Cedar Rapids Kernels

 

 

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (3:05 CST) - LHP Jason Wheeler

Mississippi @ Chattanooga (1:15 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers

Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (12:00 CST) - RHP Keaton Steele

Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (2:00 CST) – RHP Brady Anderson

Elizabethton @ Greeneville (5:00 CST) - RHP Ryan Mason

GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday's games.

 

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[Deduno Abides]

Should we take more notice of Tyler Wells? It sounds like he is a giant person for a baseball player, possibly bigger than Sano, and has a streak of 19.1 innings without an earned run. What kind of stuff does he have?

 

Also, is Cederoth starting to click or is he just having some good luck?

 

Finally, Blankenhorn has had several good games. Could he make it to Chattanooga next year?

[Deduno Abides]

Should we take more notice of Tyler Wells? It sounds like he is a giant person for a baseball player, possibly bigger than Sano, and has a streak of 19.1 innings without an earned run. What kind of stuff does he have?

 

 

Also, is Cederoth starting to click or is he just having some good luck?

 

 

Finally, Blankenhorn has had several good games. Could he make it to Chattanooga next year?

[FormerMinnasotan]

Well, I think I know who will be the Twins Daily Minor League starter of the month. Yes Fernando Romero gave Stephen Gonsalves a run for his money, but really...1 earned run in August in 5 starts? I do wish I could see Gonsalves pitch with the Twins in September, but it more than likely won't happen (however if Gonsalves did get called up he'd be better off learning what he needs to improve on in the off season). But really, the only real injustice for Gonsalves is for the Twins to keep him in AA to start next season. A 1.64 ERA, 84 k's in 72 innings says he is ready for AAA IMO.

[diehardtwinsfan]

yeah, gotta think Gonsalves starts next season in Rochester. It's a relatively minor jump in comparison to jumps and he's quite frankly handled AA with ease.

[clutterheart]

Blankenhorn has been a DH for 32% of games this year.

It would be hard to believe they left him in EST for 2 months and he can only play 2B.

 

Mauer needs to be forced to play him somewhere in the field even if its not his strongest position.

[Bob Sacamento]

 

Blankenhorn has been a DH for 32% of games this year.
It would be hard to believe they left him in EST for 2 months and he can only play 2B.

Mauer needs to be forced to play him somewhere in the field even if its not his strongest position.

2B/3B/LF were the positions that he's been working on this year in order of play time.  Before he left EXST, he was looking passable at 2B, still had issues with ground coverage laterally at 2B especially up the hole.  Still with his bat it should be good enough to get some regular fieldwork because the only way that gets better is with more reps.

 

Of course it doesn't help that the teams' best hitter Luis Arraez is also the team's 2B and a much better defender than Travis. 

[IaFan1]

Nice Win for Rochester.  But good lord they struck out 15 times as a team.

[roger]

I second the comments about Blankenhorn being at DH to much.  He was drafted as a third baseman, would think Mauer could play him there when not at second, which is understandable with Arraez in the lineup.

 

I know all the home runs from Buxton are exciting, but 6 strikeouts in the last two games is probably more than Walker or Palka.  Has to be a concern.

[bluechipper]

2-6 for Buxton... but 3 more K's yesterday. In his last 10 games, he's K'd 19 times in 42 AB's. He's still hitting .310 over that stretch, but this is not what I was hoping to see him do. Why can't we have nice things?

[clutterheart]

2B/3B/LF were the positions that he's been working on this year in order of play time.  Before he left EXST, he was looking passable at 2B, still had issues with ground coverage laterally at 2B especially up the hole.  Still with his bat it should be good enough to get some regular fieldwork because the only way that gets better is with more reps.

 

Of course it doesn't help that the teams' best hitter Luis Arraez is also the team's 2B and a much better defender than Travis.

 

Its good to read they had him work in the OF in EST. So why wouldnt Mauer play Fernandez over Blankenhorn in RF?

These are situations where Radcliff and the GM need to get involved.

[bluechipper]

With all this talk of Blankenhorn, a mention of his impressive numbers on the season seems necessary: .314/.362/.549 (.911) with 10 HR and 40 RBI in 52 games, and he just turned 20 years old this month.

[sftwinsfan]

As pointed out above, Buxton's last 10 games at Rochester: 42 at bats with 19SO and 0BB.  Yes, he's hit 4 HRs, but I seriously doubt he was sent to AAA to try to become more like Adam Brett Walker.  Is there some kind of disconnect going on here or does he just not get it?  

 

With Blankenhorn I think the question is more does he reach Fort Meyers next season and when.  I'm encouraged by his start in Cedar Rapids but it's a pretty small sample size so he will very likely start there again next spring.  

[puckstopper1]

Is there something wrong with Nick Gordon or is he just wearing down from a long year?  I'm not liking the .158 BA over the last 10 games - especially since he was very solid at the plate this year.

[GMinTraining]

 

As pointed out above, Buxton's last 10 games at Rochester: 42 at bats with 19SO and 0BB.  Yes, he's hit 4 HRs, but I seriously doubt he was sent to AAA to try to become more like Adam Brett Walker.  Is there some kind of disconnect going on here or does he just not get it?  

Everybody will [AssUMe] that there is an IT.  The IT is whatever the coaches are saying to him.  Which none of us truly know.  We all [Ass U Me] what is being said to him, but don't really know.  Maybe he is working on something that will eventually improve his timing, but calls for possible more strikeouts in the process for now.  Why don't writers ever ask minor league coaches what players are working on (specifically), so we don't always blame and reward players for all we see.

[108Stitches]

Should we take more notice of Tyler Wells? It sounds like he is a giant person for a baseball player, possibly bigger than Sano, and has a streak of 19.1 innings without an earned run. What kind of stuff does he have?

 

Also, is Cederoth starting to click or is he just having some good luck?

 

Finally, Blankenhorn has had several good games. Could he make it to Chattanooga next year?

I think Wells is gonna be a beast. Total sleeper and bargain at the 15th round. The guy is 6'8" and throws from the top. Huge downward plane. Decent fastball 90-94 with a lot of late movement, very dirty curve and good slider. Change is about 8-10mph slower and moves a lot. Batters seem to have a hard time squaring up on him. Not a lot of hard hit balls and no homers given all season. Definitely watch him at instructs, could be a real future here.

[benji21]

15 K's for Rochester last night? I thought Buxton only had 6 plate appearances.

[108Stitches]

15 K's for Rochester last night? I thought Buxton only had 6 plate appearances.

That's cold bro. Lol

[Deduno Abides]

Is there something wrong with Nick Gordon or is he just wearing down from a long year?  I'm not liking the .158 BA over the last 10 games - especially since he was very solid at the plate this year.

I noticed this, also, including a 4 AB, 4 K game the other day, but am choosing to look at the glass as being at least half full, because he's still sixth in the league in BA (I know it might be an overrated stat, but it still means something) and #s 2-5 are 23, 26, 22 and 25 years old.

[FormerMinnasotan]

I think Wells is gonna be a beast. Total sleeper and bargain at the 15th round. The guy is 6'8" and throws from the top. Huge downward plane. Decent fastball 90-94 with a lot of late movement, very dirty curve and good slider. Change is about 8-10mph slower and moves a lot. Batters seem to have a hard time squaring up on him. Not a lot of hard hit balls and no homers given all season. Definitely watch him at instructs, could be a real future here.

Sounds promising, especially when a good part of our top pitching prospects will be in the upper minors next year. I am hopeful Tyler will continue to improve and be a part of "the next wave" of higher end pitching prospects.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Well, I think I know who will be the Twins Daily Minor League starter of the month. Yes Fernando Romero gave Stephen Gonsalves a run for his money, but really...1 earned run in August in 5 starts? I do wish I could see Gonsalves pitch with the Twins in September, but it more than likely won't happen (however if Gonsalves did get called up he'd be better off learning what he needs to improve on in the off season). But really, the only real injustice for Gonsalves is for the Twins to keep him in AA to start next season. A 1.64 ERA, 84 k's in 72 innings says he is ready for AAA IMO.

 

Maybe... Ballots  are out right now... It'll be interesting.  Maybe more interesting will be which pitcher will be the #1 prospect in the system.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Its good to read they had him work in the OF in EST. So why wouldnt Mauer play Fernandez over Blankenhorn in RF? These are situations where Radcliff and the GM need to get involved.

 

I'm pretty sure that they all have an opinion, and Brad Steil has an opinion...

 

And they know where Blankenhorn is defensively, and I'm certain they are just fine with how much playing time he's getting in the field. 

 

In game is one place to work on things, but he's getting plenty of grounders before games... Arraez isn't a great 2B either, and he's getting some time there. Blankenhorn will also get a ton of work there (or somewhere) in Instructional League. His bat is what has him up in Cedar Rapids. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Is there something wrong with Nick Gordon or is he just wearing down from a long year?  I'm not liking the .158 BA over the last 10 games - especially since he was very solid at the plate this year.

 

It's ten games at the end of the year... Could be wearing down some, playing in the heat of Florida every day for 6 months. Could just be a slump. It's been a positive year for the shortstop.

[clutterheart]

If the FO is happy with the way Mauer is handling Blankenhorn hopefully Steil Radcliff and Antony follow Ryan to the unemployment line.

[Trov]

 

yeah, gotta think Gonsalves starts next season in Rochester. It's a relatively minor jump in comparison to jumps and he's quite frankly handled AA with ease.

I think this will greatly depend on who the new GM will be.  If they are like Ryan and long time Twins style he starts in AA and moves up to AAA.  If new GM is like Marlins or Mets he may break with the Twins.  Also, will depend on who if any new pitchers come to the Twins.