Article: Twins Minor League Report (7/5): Lookouts Continue To Roll

[Seth Stohs]

Last May, I was in Cedar Rapids. Dereck Rodriguez made a start and got lit up. After the game, then Kernels manager Jake Mauer said that Dereck would have to figure it out himself and work through it because he had the stuff to be successful. A month later, he was pitching great and earned a promotion to Ft. Myers where he continued to pitch well. He carried that into the Puerto Rican Winter League where he did a terrific job. He began in Ft. Myers this year and was a Florida State League All Star. He is now pitching well for Jake Mauer in Chattanooga and did so again on Wednesday night.

 

As each of the games becomes a final, its game recap and highlights will be updated.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Wednesday, starting with the transactions of the day.

 

 

TRANSACTIONS

 

There were a handful of transactions in the Twins system on Wednesday.

• The Twins placed Hector Santiago on the disabled list with upper thoracic back pain and discomfort.
• They recalled Alan Busenitz from Rochester. He was optioned last Friday after working 2.2 innings of relief. He has not pitched for Rochester since then.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Pawtucket 1

Box Score

 

Dillon Gee wants to make the Twins’ decision on whether or not to call him up before his July 15th opt-out more difficult. On Wednesday afternoon, he worked five shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three. Alex Wimmers came on and gave up one run on two hits over two innings to record his fifth Red Wings save. He struck out two.

 

Gee used his defense in this game, including this gem from Engelb Vielma.

 

 

 

 

The Red Wings put together a three-run first inning. That was all for the offense, but it was enough in this game. Zack Granite led off the first with a single. He scored two batters later on Mitch Garver’s 18th double. (Josh Whetzel informed those listening that it had an exit velocity of 110 mph) A Kennys Vargas single was followed by an RBI single from Byungho Park. Later, Tommy Field’s fielder’s choice gave the Wings their third run. Vargas was the lone Red Wings hitter with more than one hit. He went 2-3 and added his third double.

 

Game 2 - Rochester 0, Pawtucket 2

Box Score

 

The Red Wings went with a bullpen effort in the second game. DJ Baxendale got the starting nod. He went three innings and gave up two runs (one earned) on seven hits. He walked none and struck out two. Mason Melotakis came on and struck out three over two scoreless innings. Michael Tonkin struck out one over two scoreless innings.

 

The offense managed just four hits. Matt Hague was 2-2 with two walks and his 13th double. Tommy Field added his 21st double.

 

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 5, Tennessee 3

Box Score

 

The Lookouts won for the 26th time in their last 31 games on Wednesday night. Dereck Rodriguez put together another strong start. The righty improved to 3-0 with the Lookouts with seven innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out six. Todd Van Steensel came on for the eighth and struck out the side. He got one more out in the ninth inning (on a strikeout, of course), but he gave up one run on three hits. Nick Anderson, on his birthday, came on and recorded the final two outs, both on strikeouts to secure the win.

 

Levi Michael led the offense. He went 3-4 with his tenth double. Travis Harrison went 1-2 with two walks and his 15th double. He also stole a base. Nick Gordon added an RBI double, his 22nd two-bagger of the year. LaMonte Wade and Jonathan Rodriguez were both 1-3 with a walk.

 

The Lookouts are now 12-1, five games ahead of Tennessee in the Southern League’s North Division’s second-half standings.

 

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 3, Tampa 1

Box Score

 

Sean Poppen made his Florida State League debut on Wednesday night in Tampa. He worked two shutout innings. He gave up two hits, no walks and struck out two.

 

Then the rains came. There was a delay of nearly two hours. When the game resumed, Keaton Steele took over. He gave up a solo homer in the third inning, but that was it. He worked five innings and gave up just four hits. He walked none and struck out four. Alex Muren worked two strong innings. He walked two and struck out five.

 

The Miracle got most of its offense from the nine-spot. Nelson Molina went 4-4 with two triples. He drove in one of the runs on a single, and he scored the go-ahead run.

 

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 5

Box Score

 

Left-hander Evan Sanders was not drafted last summer. The Twins saw him this offseason in a workout and signed him. Recently, he came up to Cedar Rapids and has been working out of their bullpen. On Wednesday night, he made his first start. The first inning went well. He struck out two. In the second inning, however, he gave up five runs and recorded just one out.

 

Logan Lombana came in and faced 11 batters. He got all 11 out, keeping the Kernels relatively close.

 

In the fifth inning, Travis Blankenhorn had a bases-loaded walk to put the Kernels on the scoreboard.

 

Patrick McGuff provided three shutout innings, striking out five. Alex Robinson worked a scoreless ninth.

 

In the bottom of the ninth, Gorge Munoz was hit by a pitch. It was followed by a triple from Aaron Whitefield to cut the lead to 5-2. After a pitching change, Travis Blankenhorn grounded out, which scored the Kernels' third run, but also accounted for the inning's second out. Lewin Diaz flew out to end the game.

 

Christian Cavaness went 3-4 with his eighth double.

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton , Princeton

Box Score

 

The E-Twins game on Wednesday night was rained out. They’ll play two on Thursday.

 

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 10, GCL Rays 8

Box Score

 

Dane Hutcheon, batting ninth, provided some major run production for the GCL Twins on Wednesday morning. In his first at bat, he drove in two with his first triple of the season. In the fourth inning, he added an RBI single. In the fifth inning, he hit a two-run double. In the game, he went 3-5 with five RBI.

 

Akil Baddoo stayed hot. He went 2-4 with a walk and his third double. He’s now hitting .324. Ricky De La Torre went 2-5. Colton Burns was 1-3 and walked twice. Royce Lewis went 1-4, and he was hit by a pitch again.

 

Carlos Suniaga made the start. He gave up two runs on three hits over three innings. He walked one and struck out three. Juan Mojica came on and gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks in 2.2 innings. He struck out two. Matz Schutte was next. He went 1.2 innings and was charged with four runs (two earned) on one hit and three walks. Vadim Balan gave up one hit over the final 1.2 innings to record his second save. He struck out one.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dereck Rodriguez, Chattanooga Lookouts

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nelson Molina, Ft. Myers

 

 

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Pawtucket @ Rochester (12:35 CST) - RHP Tim Melville

Tennessee @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero

Ft. Myers @ Tampa (6:00 CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe

Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - LHP Domenick Carlini

Princeton @ Elizabethton (DH @ 4:00 CST) - RHPs Moises Gomez, Melvi Acosta

GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 am CST) - TBD

 

 

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

 

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[jimbo92107]

Seth, is Dereck Rodriguez for real? I mean, does he have the stuff to develop into a starter, or is he more of a reliever with just a heater and a slider, something like that? 

[DocBauer]

Seth, is Dereck Rodriguez for real? I mean, does he have the stuff to develop into a starter, or is he more of a reliever with just a heater and a slider, something like that?

 

Great question. But also, doesn't his promotion and success make it all the easier to begin the movement to Rochester for the big 3?

[Siehbiscuit]

Over his last ten games, Gordon has drawn 8 BB's. Nice to see some plate discipline.

[drivlikejehu]

 

Seth, is Dereck Rodriguez for real? I mean, does he have the stuff to develop into a starter, or is he more of a reliever with just a heater and a slider, something like that? 

 

He's a fringe reliever prospect.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Seth, is Dereck Rodriguez for real? I mean, does he have the stuff to develop into a starter, or is he more of a reliever with just a heater and a slider, something like that? 

 

I do think he can be an MLB reliever. He's working on a third and fourth pitch as a starter, and he probably could start in MLB. I think he could be a real solid reliever.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Great question. But also, doesn't his promotion and success make it all the easier to begin the movement to Rochester for the big 3?

 

It could, but at this point, they should wait until after the AAA All Star game (next week). No sense in sending them there to take 3 days off, though maybe that helps them control innings. 

 

The fact that they keep bring in veteran starters at AAA also indicates to me that they may not be afraid to promote directly from AA, though they can also release the filler without worrying.

[Darius]

Yep, AAA is for journeyman injury fill-ins. AA is for prospects.

 

Bringing them up to AAA doesn't really accomplish much. You can keep a few experienced depth guys in AAA without losing them to be the occasional 26th man or short-term injury fill in.