Article: Twins Minor League Report (8/2): Palka Power, Enlow Excels, Romero Rocks

[Seth Stohs]

It was a relatively quiet day in the Twins minor league system on Wednesday. The Ft. Myers Miracle and Elizabethton Twins each had a rare day off. However, the other four affiliates played. There were two lopsided games, and two close games. A few players new to the organization pitched in the GCL, while one of the top prospects pitched well for the GCL as well. It was Fernando Romero night, and so much more.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Wednesday.

 

Let’s start with the transaction of the day:

• As Jeff Johnson tweeted after the Kernels game on Tuesday night, Gorge Munoz was sent down to Elizabethton with 2017 draft pick Jordan Gore called up to Cedar Rapids.
• You'll see below that LHP Kevin Marnon signed with the Twins and made his GCL debut.
• The Twins also signed RHP Randy Dobnak and catcher Taylor Grzelakowski from the Utica Unicorns from the United Shore Professional Baseball League. Dobnak was assigned to Elizabethton. Grzelakowski was assigned to the GCL.
• Darling Cuestro, Jose Bermudez and Juan Mojica were sent from the GCL back to the Dominican Summer League.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Lehigh Valley 4

Box Score

 

The Red Wings clawed back from a 3-0 deficit only to lose by one. Niko Goodrum led the offense with a 3-5 game. Mitch Garver added his 22nd double. Daniel Palka went 2-5 and added his ninth home run. It was his first since returning from his injury. Palka also made a play on defense. Now, we do encourage outfielders to hit the cutoff man, and probably not to throw at the launch angle you see below, but this worked well for the Red Wings.

 

 

Tim Melville made the start. The veteran right-hander went the first five innings. He gave up three runs on six hits, a walk and a hit batter. He struck out six. Drew Rucinski came on for the sixth inning. He gave up one run on two hits over two innings. Jake Reed worked two scoreless innings and struck out four. 20 of his 25 pitches were strikes.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 5, Montgomery 2

Box Score

 

It was Fernando Romero’s turn to start on Wednesday. He improved to 11-6 and dropped his ERA to 2.60. He gave up one run on six hits over five innings. He hit a batter and struck out six. Of his 72 pitches, 50 of them were strikes.

 

Dereck Rodriguez, back from his weekend in Cooperstown, returned to the mound and worked two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He walked two and struck out three. Ryan Eades got the eighth and gave up one run on three hits. Gabriel Moya worked a scoreless ninth inning to record his 18th save and reduced his ERA to 0.77.

 

Travis Harrison had the big hit early. He went 2-4 with a two-run homer, his third of the season. Levi Michael continues to hit well. He went 2-4. Ryan Walker went 1-2 with two walks. Alex Perez also walked twice. Nick Gordon added his 25th double of the season.

 

The win ended a rare one-game losing streak for the Lookouts in the second half.

 

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers

Box Score

 

The Miracle had a rare scheduled day off.

 

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 9

Box Score

 

It was a long night in Cedar Rapids. Lefty Evan Sanders made the start. He gave up five runs on six hits in five innings. He walked four and struck out three. Another lefty, Bryan Sammons came on for his first Kernels appearance. He pitched a quick 1-2-3 sixth inning. His final line was three runs on five hits and two walks over three innings. He struck out three. Logan Lombana gave up a run on two hits in one inning.

 

The Kernels offense just wasn’t able to bunch together enough hits to score much. Christian Cavaness went 2-4 with his seventh triple. Lewin Diaz went 2-4. Jimmy Kerrigan was also 2-4. He’s hitting .333 and has at least one hit in all five games he’s played for the Kernels.

 

In the second inning, Ben Rortvedt was called out on strikes to start the inning. That was the last play of the game for manager Tommy Watkins as he was ejected for arguing.

 

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton

Box Score

 

There are not very many off days once the Appalachian League starts.

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 9, GCL Rays 4

Box Score

 

A couple of pitchers rehabbed. A top 2017 prospect put in his longest outing. The offense provided plenty of offense. And a guy with a fun story made his debut in affiliated ball. Just another day in the Gulf Coast League.

 

Michael Kohn started for the GCL Twins. He gave up one run on one hit in the first inning. The 30-year-old right-hander pitched in the big leagues from 2010-2015. He hasn’t pitched since May of 2015 because of a shoulder injury. He worked out for a couple of teams, but the Twins offered him a two-year deal with an invitation to major league spring training next year.

 

Next, Henry Centeno gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in the next 1.2 innings. He struck out one. It was his second rehab appearance. He has missed the whole season so far with an elbow injury.

 

Next in for the GCL Twins was 2017 draft pick Blayne Enlow. He recorded his first professional win in his longest outing so far. In 4.1 innings, he gave up one run on four hits. He struck out four and did not issue a walk. ‘

 

The final two innings were pitched by left-hander Kevin Marnon. He signed last week after pitching for the Birmingham/Bloomfield Beavers of the United Shore Professional Baseball League. The Ball State grad threw two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and struck one out.

 

The offense was led by Alex Robles who hit his fifth double and his third home run. He drove in four runs. Kidany Salva went 2-5. Ben Rodriguez was 1-3 with two walks. Royce Lewis went 0-2, but he walked three times and stole his ninth and tenth bases.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Fernando Romero, Chattanooga Lookouts

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Daniel Palka, Rochester Red Wings

 

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Hector Santiago

Chattanooga @ Montgomery (7:05 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge

Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) - RHP Brady Anderson

Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - LHP Tyler Watson

Burlington @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina

GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 am CST) - No Game Scheduled

 

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

 

Click here to view the article

[Tuba]

 

United Shore Professional Baseball League

According to wikipedia....

 

...all games being played at Jimmy John's Field in Utica, Michigan.[4] The $12 million ballpark has seating for 4,000 and was built on capped brownfield that previously served as an unlicensed dump for household waste.[5]

Well guess we all have to root for this guy now. 

[drock2190]

Good to see Palka throw home and not to 1st base

[Seth Stohs]

 

According to wikipedia....

Well guess we all have to root for this guy now. 

 

I updated the transactions section. The Twins signed two other players from the USPBL. 

[Han Joelo]

I guess I'll ask: why was Derek Rod in Cooperstown? Was dad inducted?

 

Nice job for Enlow, and Lewis, flashing plate discipline and speed. Is that called doubling twice the hard way?

 

The Bermudez Triumvirate got sent down--is it common to make that move? I guess I can see it as beneficial to give those guys a taste of the GCL--and life in the States, and then get them back somewhere a bit more comfortable. I assume they'll be back, or is that it for their dreams?

[Seth Stohs]

 

I guess I'll ask: why was Derek Rod in Cooperstown? Was dad inducted?

Nice job for Enlow, and Lewis, flashing plate discipline and speed. Is that called doubling twice the hard way?

The Bermudez Triumvirate got sent down--is it common to make that move? I guess I can see it as beneficial to give those guys a taste of the GCL--and life in the States, and then get them back somewhere a bit more comfortable. I assume they'll be back, or is that it for their dreams?

 

Yes, Dereck's dad was inducted into the Hall of Fame. If you watch the whole speech, it was great. But he said really nice things about Dereck ("Keep pitching inside!"), and then he told a story about Dereck and Ken Griffey Jr, which you can see here... 

 

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/245338870/ivan-rodriguez-inducted-into-hall-of-fame/ 

[Dantes929]

What is the reason Romero only threw 5 innings?   72 pitches and 50 strikes.    Has he been on that kind of innings and pitch limits and I just haven't noticed?

[Mike Sixel]

 

What is the reason Romero only threw 5 innings?   72 pitches and 50 strikes.    Has he been on that kind of innings and pitch limits and I just haven't noticed?

 

Yes. I don't think he's gone past 5 innings in 4-5 starts now.

[Dman]

Really happy they moved Gore up.  He has been batting near .400 for a while now.  I know he is older but would be nice to see if they found something there.  I feel bad for Gorge but he has more time to develop.

 

Pretty exciting to see Enlow pitch well so soon.  If he keeps that up he could be a fast riser.  

 

Chatty is really good this year.  Hopefully some of that pitching translates well to MLB.

Edited August 3, 2017 by Dman

[ThejacKmp]

 

Yes. I don't think he's gone past 5 innings in 4-5 starts now.

 

Is there some reason they go with inning limits and not pitch limits for MILB guys? You always hear about guys being limited to 130 innings or whatever but one guy could pitch 130 innings and throw a thousand more pitches than a guy who works quickly and throws the same number of innings.

 

It's also a matter of development. Romero has not been working on how to handle pitches 80-100 (some of the hardest in a game) for the past month. That seems problematic. It would maybe be better to have him skip a start every once in awhile and go deeper?

[drjim]

 

Is there some reason they go with inning limits and not pitch limits for MILB guys? You always hear about guys being limited to 130 innings or whatever but one guy could pitch 130 innings and throw a thousand more pitches than a guy who works quickly and throws the same number of innings.

 

It's also a matter of development. Romero has not been working on how to handle pitches 80-100 (some of the hardest in a game) for the past month. That seems problematic. It would maybe be better to have him skip a start every once in awhile and go deeper?

 

Good developmental philosophy questions.

 

Minor leagues will pull guys if they have high pitch innings. But on the second questions, it is a good question on the tradeoff between learning to work deep in games and finish the season early vs. learning to take the turn every time throughout a season. Probably need to work on both.

 

I would like to see Romero get some run in September in the bullpen in the majors, and am hoping these inning limits are working towards that goal. But either way, for the concerns you have raised, he is going to start next year in the minors building up his pitch counts and innings before they'll call him up.

[Vanimal46]

So Romero is at 110 innings so far. His cap before getting shut down completely is probably, what, 150 innings? It sure would be nice if 20-30 of the remaining innings were in Minnesota. 

[Vanimal46]

Also, #FreeJakeReed

[Steve Lein]

I love Palka's reaction to his throw. I think he thought he sailed it and had no chance, haha!

[Dantes929]

 

Is there some reason they go with inning limits and not pitch limits for MILB guys? You always hear about guys being limited to 130 innings or whatever but one guy could pitch 130 innings and throw a thousand more pitches than a guy who works quickly and throws the same number of innings.

 

It's also a matter of development. Romero has not been working on how to handle pitches 80-100 (some of the hardest in a game) for the past month. That seems problematic. It would maybe be better to have him skip a start every once in awhile and go deeper?

The little research I did a while ago suggests that it is the innings that count more than the pitches and that is because of the time the pitcher sits in between innings.    The best analogy I have for your example is golf.    If my swing is grooved and I have a good rhythm I can probably hit golf balls for two hours and at a rate of about 15 balls every 10 minutes for a total of 180 balls without too much stress on my body.    If I hit 15 balls in 10 minutes and then take a 10 minute break and then hit for another 10 minutes followed by a 10 minute break and so on I will hit about 90 balls in 2 hours but I won't be able to keep a good rhythm and my muscles and joints will be more sore, especially if I don't stretch during my 10 minute breaks.     Recently, I saw Gibson stretching a lot and exercising while the Twins were at bat for long innings but rarely see other pitchers doing so.    My conclusion from the article and my own experience is that they probably should.    I don't think the longer pace of the games and grinding out bats compared to the old days helps any.

[drjim]

 

Also, #FreeJakeReed

 

A good game, call him up!

 

I wonder what is happening with him, he pretty much pitches on a set every 3 days. I'm not sure this is a formula for getting ready for the bigs.

[Seth Stohs]

 

What is the reason Romero only threw 5 innings?   72 pitches and 50 strikes.    Has he been on that kind of innings and pitch limits and I just haven't noticed?

 

Yup, I was told about a month or six weeks ago that he'd be going 5 innings for the foreseeable future. Definitely looking to take care of him and keep his innings down. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Is there some reason they go with inning limits and not pitch limits for MILB guys? You always hear about guys being limited to 130 innings or whatever but one guy could pitch 130 innings and throw a thousand more pitches than a guy who works quickly and throws the same number of innings.

 

It's also a matter of development. Romero has not been working on how to handle pitches 80-100 (some of the hardest in a game) for the past month. That seems problematic. It would maybe be better to have him skip a start every once in awhile and go deeper?

 

I've asked that question before too, but i can't remember what the response was. 

 

But, he's worked a lot on pitches 80-95 earlier in the season and even in his 5-inning starts a couple of times. In the six starts of five innings, he's gone past 80 pitches in four of them, and even 94 in his last outing.

 

It's interesting though. In the past, they did what you suggested. Have a guy skip a start shortly after the All Star break or something. I wonder if this is a new strategy from above?

[Seth Stohs]

 

Also, #FreeJakeReed

 

I asked someone who sees Red Wings games for their thoughts on Reed and Curtiss and Slegers and some others in terms of their readiness. The first sentence was, of that group, Reed is the furthest away from ready right now. The injury set him back, so he's really working on control and command. Curtiss has struggled some with his control/command in AAA too. And, Slegers comes with the concern about how well his 'stuff' would work in MLB, though he's been so good there that he's earned a shot. The same person has told me that Tim Melville is definitely worth watching. He's been really good, and he's got good stuff to go with it. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

I love Palka's reaction to his throw. I think he thought he sailed it and had no chance, haha!

I think he did sail it. Ha! But it landed in just the right place at just the right time. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Recently, I saw Gibson stretching a lot and exercising while the Twins were at bat for long innings but rarely see other pitchers doing so.    

 

To be fair, we haven't seen a lot of real long innings for the Twins bats. Ha!

 

But I do think innings matter too, even if you just end up considering the 7-8 warm up pitches each inning that they throw too. 

[hugelycat]

Romero's stats since being put on his innings limit:

 

6 starts, 30 IP, 1.80 ERA, 10.8 k/9, 2.7 BB/9, 1.20 WHIP.

 

Because of the innings limit it's tough to say how representative these starts are, but Romero is definitely impressive! 

[Obsvr]

 

 

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS


Kane County @ Clinton (6:35 CST) - LHP Tyler Watson




Click here to view the article

 

 

 

Did we pick up a new farm team?

[jorgenswest]

Is it the Tyler Watson from the Mariners organization?

[Seth Stohs]

 

Did we pick up a new farm team?

 

Updated, and Oops!

[drjim]

 

So Romero is at 110 innings so far. His cap before getting shut down completely is probably, what, 150 innings? It sure would be nice if 20-30 of the remaining innings were in Minnesota. 

 

I'm not sure what the front office is going to do, but if he stays at 5 innings a start through the end of the month, would add about 25 innings to his total. Would potentially make sense to call him up in September, give him 2 inning outings every 3 days or so, give him a taste. Never let him come in the middle of an inning.

 

I would very much hesitate to call him up for starts in the bigs, but a limited bullpen role when the rosters are expanded could be a good way for him to wind him down this year and break him into the bigs. You could then start him at AAA next year, build up the pitch counts and innings, give him a taste of success, and he could be ready by mid-May as a rotation replacement with the potential to make it through the season.

 

It's not popular, but I would keep Gonsalves down through the end of the Chattanooga season. He'll need some more innings, so could call him up after that for some end of the year starts in the bigs, or perhaps send him to Arizona. Would put him in good position to start next year at AAA and be ready as a rotation replacement relatively quickly next year.

 

Finally starting to build some meaningful minor league depth.

[nicksaviking]

Why do teams use innings to measure a pitchers workload when individual games are measured in pitches?

 

It goes without saying that all innings are not equal. They do not create the same amount of stress on a pitcher, physical or mental.

[drjim]

Why do teams use innings to measure a pitchers workload when individual games are measured in pitches?

 

It goes without saying that all innings are not equal. They do not create the same amount of stress on a pitcher, physical or mental.

I highly doubt it's only innings, but it serves as a useful shorthand. Teams track stressful innings for minor leaguers and pull pitchers accordingly. And innings are usually not a hard cap, more a target range.

[TRex]

 

Why do teams use innings to measure a pitchers workload when individual games are measured in pitches?

 

It goes without saying that all innings are not equal. They do not create the same amount of stress on a pitcher, physical or mental.

Remember, they aren't looking at the same stats we are!   They have a book for each pitcher detailing how every single start went. I would imagine it includes not just pitch count, but pitch selection (FB, Sl, etc.) and coach's notes, which I am sure includes comments about long innings and runners continuously on, etc. I suppose now it also contains TrackMan data for those stadiums that have installed it.