Article: Twins Minor League Report (5/5): Gordon, Palacios, Vielma All Shine in Shortstop Surge

[Tom Froemming]

It was Cinco De Mauer at Target Field, as Joe Mauer cracked his first career walk-off home run to beat the Red Sox. But there were some other big offensive performances on the minor league level Friday night, as both Chattanooga and Cedar Rapids won in blowout fashion.

 

There were also plenty of transactions, as Rochester added Zack Granite, Kyle Gibson and Justin Haley. Find out what else happened around the Twins' minor leagues on Friday.RED WINGS REPORT

Pawtucket 7, Rochester 2

Box Score

 

Marcus Walden threw six innings of one-hit ball for the Red Wi, er … wait a minute, he’s not with the Twins anymore. Walden, who was with Rochester last season, set the tone for a strong performance from the Pawtucket pitching staff, as the Wings mustered two runs on just four hits.

 

Adalberto Mejia, who hadn’t pitched since April 28, was a bit of a mess in this one. He lasted just four innings and surrendered six runs on eight hits and three walks. Justin Haley made the first appearance of his rehab assignment, and struck out two in a perfect inning.

 

Rochester’s first five hitters combined to go 0-for-18. Niko Goodrum hit a triple and Leonardo Reginatto went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 8, Pensacola 1

Box Score

 

Nick Gordon and Engelb Vielma both had three hits, Randy LeBlanc pitched around trouble and the bullpen dominated to deliver a victory for the Lookouts. Though they’ve swapped defensive positions back and forth, one thing that has stayed consistent with the up-the-middle duo of Gordon (who is batting .340) and Vielma (.326) has been their bats.

 

LeBlanc’s Double A debut, his previous start, was a dud, but he came back with five innings of one-run ball. He did allow seven hits and four walks while striking out just one, though. Randy Rosario came out of the pen to throw three perfect innings, striking out four. He impressed Chris Blessing of Baseball HQ.

 

 

Nick Burdi sealed the deal with a perfect 1-2-3 ninth, all on strikeouts. The former second-round pick lowered his ERA to under 1.00 and has now struck out 13 batters in 9.1 innings while issuing just three walks.

 

Levi Michael, who has transitioned to center field, was 2-for-3 and two runs scored. He also drew a walk to spark a massive five-run two-out rally for Chattanooga in the second inning. LaMonte Wade, who entered the game with a .419 OBP, drew three walks.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

St. Lucie 3, Fort Myers 1

Box Score

 

There weren’t many bright spots for the Miracle, but reliever Nick Anderson did extend his scoreless inning streak to start the season to 11.1 innings. A native of Crosby, Minn., Anderson threw two perfect innings, and has given up just five hits and one walk to go with 11 strikeouts on the season.

 

Lachlan Wells struggled a bit for Fort Myers, giving up three runs over four innings. The southpaw from Down Under gave up a home run, two walks, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. Chris Paul was the only Miracle batter to get two hits. His batting line is now up to .318/.342/.400. Zander Wiel hit a double and walked twice.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 12, Fort Wayne 4

Box Score

 

Thrusday eveneing, the Kernels failed to deliver with the bases loaded. Tonight there weer no such troubles.

 

Jermaine Palacios, Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month for April, continued his blistering start by driving in four runs, three of them on a bases-clearing double in the fifth inning. Lewin Diaz has really started to heat up as well. The Dominican product was 2-for-4 with a double, a triple (!) and a walk. Over his last 10 games, Diaz is hitting .359.

 

Jayin Davis had a multi-hit game and scored a pair of runs, Brandon Lopez had a double and a pair of walks, Christian Cavaness drove in two runs … it was pretty much a banner day all around for the offense.

 

Sean Poppen pitched 6.1 innings for the Kernels. He got tagged for nine hits and walked a couple of batters, but only two of the four runs he gave up were earned. He tallied five strikeouts. Jeff Johnson of the Cedar Rapids Gazette featured Poppen in his game story, it’s worth your time. Hector Lujan cleaned things up from there, firing 2.2 scoreless innings.

 

The Kernels also made back-to-back web gems in the sixth inning, first this great stop and rocket throw by Caleb Hamilton. Which was followed by this great diving catch by Palacios.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Sean Poppen (6.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), who pitched better than his line suggests, a result, in part, to his own error.

 

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Can I say Joe Mauer? Is that allowed? No, OK, then I’ll go with Nick Gordon (3-for-5, 2 2Bs, 2 R, 2 RBI).

 

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester vs. Pawtucket, 12:35 CT, Aaron Slegers (4.37 ERA, 1.50 WHIP)

Chattanooga va. Pensacola, 4:15 CT, Matt Tracy (3.32 ERA, 1.52 WHIP)

Chattanooga vs. Pensacola, Game 2, TBD

Fort Myers at St. Lucie, 5:30 CT, Chris Anderson (27.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP)

Cedar Rapids vs. Fort Wayne, 6:35 CT, Domenick Carlini (6.97 ERA, 1.65 WHIP)

 

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

 

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[Han Joelo]

All the shortstops in the organization celebrated the fact they moved up a rung yesterday.  Well, I guess they didn't actually move up a rung...maybe the top rung was removed because it wasn't really good at being a ladder rung.  Ok, I give up on that metaphor.  I bet even Wander had a nice day in EST.
 
For a look at both how to pronounce "Jermaine" as well as an inside look at the cultural challenges faced by players from Oceania, try this video:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vDjJc_ZH6dk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

https://youtu.be/vDjJc_ZH6dk

[Han Joelo]

I still can't figure out how to embed stuff.  Or search for a helpful tutorial on how to do it.

[gunnarthor]

[ashbury]

I don't know if the above video pertains to the system TD is on. Here's how I do it:

1. Obtain the "youtube.com" URL - it won't work with the short "youtu.be" variant - and it has to be the kind with "/watch?v=" in it.
2. Surround that URL with "media" before, and "/media" after. In square brackets instead of the quotes. I can't show you here, or the system will interpret it as meta-code.

Here's your link done that way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDjJc_ZH6dk

 

If you still have trouble, try replying to my post by clicking "Quote", and you should see the way I did it. If not, above the editing box click the weird little gray icon next to the pink-and-white Eraser icon, which changes the editor from WYSIWYG to native code, and maybe that will clear it up. (Don't forget to click that icon again to go back to WYSIWYG, or you might forget and then be puzzled the next time you want to reply to someone.)

[John Kelsey]

That Gordon, Vielma, Wade trio is doing some really exciting stuff in Chattanooga. 

[howieramone2]

I agree. I was hoping the arms would do better, because at some point in time this year, I believe they will become our emergency depth. Burdi should be on the move in the not too distant future.

[Han Joelo]

 

I don't know if the above video pertains to the system TD is on. Here's how I do it:

1. Obtain the "youtube.com" URL - it won't work with the short "youtu.be" variant - and it has to be the kind with "/watch?v=" in it.
2. Surround that URL with "media" before, and "/media" after. In square brackets instead of the quotes. I can't show you here, or the system will interpret it as meta-code.

Here's your link done that way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDjJc_ZH6dk

 

If you still have trouble, try replying to my post by clicking "Quote", and you should see the way I did it. If not, above the editing box click the weird little gray icon next to the pink-and-white Eraser icon, which changes the editor from WYSIWYG to native code, and maybe that will clear it up. (Don't forget to click that icon again to go back to WYSIWYG, or you might forget and then be puzzled the next time you want to reply to someone.)

Screenshotted.  Thanks; this is the second time you've answered this for me.  And thanks, Gun, as well.  I've had limited experience embedding, and the way I tried it here wasn't translating.  

[Trov]

Who would have thought the Twins would have so many prospects at SS?  Happy to see they all hitting well, hopefully they fielding well too.  This with Polanco fielding better than anyone expected and still hitting just fine.  Might have some hard decisions to be made in next season or two.

[jokin]

 

Who would have thought the Twins would have so many prospects at SS?  Happy to see they all hitting well, hopefully they fielding well too.  This with Polanco fielding better than anyone expected and still hitting just fine.  Might have some hard decisions to be made in next season or two.

 

Maybe... And maybe not.

 

After all, how many MLB greats started their careers at SS and transitioned well to other positions in the field? I can easily envision that all four of Polanco, Gordon, Vielma and Wander Javier all ending up on the 25-man roster together by around mid-2019 or 2020.

 

Dozier moves on to FA in 2019. Sano moves from 3rd to 1st with the retirement of Mauer after 2018. Polanco gets traded for pitching during the transition of the 4 pieces in either 2019 or 2020. Vielma becomes the high quality utility guy.... and 2nd, SS and 3rd are all ably filled both defensively and offensively through 2025.

 

It could happen.

[Thrylos]

#FreeNickBurdi   about time he takes over for Kintzler

[KirbyDaisy]

Please add Relief Pitcher to your "Players of the Day" segment.