Article: Twins Minor League Report (8/8): Gran(d)ite Slam, Sammons Scoreless

[Steve Lein]

There was a ton of action in the system on Tuesday night as all of the affiliates were in play. The big hit of the night was delivered by an outfielder just getting back into AAA form after a month-long stint with the big league club and a 2017 top 10 round draft pick also was fantastic in his first start as a pro. Another team’s lineup pounded out hit after hit in game two of a double-header but there were also a few clunkers that provided little to talk about for the lineups of their teams.To find out who did what in the minors on Tuesday, keep reading!

 

 

TRANSACTIONS

 

Before the games on Tuesday there were a few transactions in the system.

 

Yohan Pino was assigned to Rochester and Ryan Strausborger was released from AAA.

 

At Double-A the release of pitcher Raul Fernandez was also made official.

 

In the Gulf Coast League pitcher Vadim Balan was placed on the seven-day disabled list retroactive to August 3^rd.

 

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Columbus 2, Rochester 6

Box Score

 

With Hector Santiago’s rehab start being pushed back a day, Nik Turley got the ball for the Red Wings and spotted the Clippers a 2-0 lead before his offense took an at- bat. A walk and three singles in the top of the first accounted for that scoring, but that was all Columbus would get for the rest of the game as Turley settled in from there.

 

Rochester tied the game at two in the bottom of the third when Daniel Palka doubled in Zack Granite and Mitch Garver. Tommy Field had doubled earlier in the inning but was thrown out at home on Garver’s single.

 

The big hit for the Wings came in the fourth, as Zack Granite slugged his fifth home run of the season, a grand slam to make it 6-2.

 

Turley finished five innings to pick up his fifth win of the season. He allowed those two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out seven. His ERA is now at 2.89 at AAA.

 

Luke Bard made his first appearance at AAA, and threw two scoreless frames of relief. He allowed two hits and struck out one. Jake Reed finished the final two innings, allowing one hit and picking up a K.

 

Granite scored two runs and drew a walk in addition to the the big home run. Garver was 3-4 with a run scored and a double. Matt Hague was 2-4 with a double and a run scored and Tommy Field also had two hits including a double, in three at-bats.

 

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Jackson 3, Chattanooga 0

Box Score

 

In a theme that will continue throughout this report, there wasn’t much that happened on the offensive side of the game for the Lookouts in this one.

 

Edgar Corcino (3-4, 2B), Jonathan Rodriguez (2-4, 2B), and T.J. White (2-4) accounted for six of the team's eight hits. The offense was just 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

 

Felix Jorge made the start for Chattanooga and was very good for most of the game. He ran into his biggest trouble in the eighth after a couple of singles, a sac bunt, and a sac fly made the score 2-0 Generals. The third run (unearned) came with runners on the corners after a throwing error and walk that caused him to be removed. The runner he was responsible for scored during a run-down on a steal attempt that also ended the inning. In 7.2 innings Jorge scattered ten hits and a walk while striking out three.

 

Nick Anderson finished the final 1.1 innings, allowing one hit and striking out one. In his last 10 games, Anderson has allowed just one run on four hits in 11.1 innings, with 13 K’s.

 

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 0, Palm Beach 6

Box Score

 

The Miracle managed just four hits and didn’t have a single plate appearance with a runner in scoring position for the entire game. Brandon Lopez was 2-4 on the day and that’s all you really need to know on the offensive side.

 

Brady Anderson was on the hill for Fort Myers and went the first 6+ innings. At the end of the sixth he had given up just two runs on five hits in the contest. He walked the first hitter of the seventh and gave up a single to the second before he was removed to account for his four runs allowed. He struck out one.

 

Keaton Steele came on and proceeded to give up four consecutive singles before he got a double-play ball for the first two outs. By that time four runners had scored to make it the final tally of 6-0 Cardinals. Steele added a scoreless eighth to finish the game, having allowed two runs on five hits and two walks, with one K.

 

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 1

Box Score

 

Cedar Rapids took an early 1-0 lead after an RBI single from Hank Morrison in the top of the first. He scored Christian Caveness who had doubled to lead off the game.

 

From there it was all about the pitching on both sides as the game remained 1-0 until the seventh inning.

 

2017 eighth-round draft pick Bryan Sammons was making his first start since joining the Kernels early in August. The lefty was fantastic for the game's first five innings, picking up his first Midwest League win in the process. He allowed just three hits and walked one, while racking up eight K’s on just 65 pitches (46 for strikes).

 

Evan Sanders came in for the sixth inning and kept the Timber Rattlers scoreless for the next 2.1 frames. He allowed two hits and struck out three.

 

The Kernels added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh on a Trey Cabbage home run, his second of the year with in the Midwest League. Cabbage was also the only hitter in the lineup with two hits, as he finished 2-3.

 

With the score 3-0 in the bottom of the eighth and after Sanders had struck out the leadoff man, in came Max Cordy from the bullpen. He got a ground out but then three consecutive leadoff singles scored one and put the tying run on base. Hector Lujan came on and snuffed out the threat with ground out to keep the Kernels in front 3-1. Lujan added a scoreless ninth to pick up his twelfth save. He gave up one hit and struck out one.

 

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Game 1: Elizabethton 5, Bluefield 7 (7 innings)

Box Score

 

In game one of their doubleheader, the Twins weren’t able to recover from an early Bluefield outburst and fell 7-5.

 

Starter Melvi Acosta was charged with all seven runs in the first two innings. Two were unearned due to a throwing error in the first from Andrew Bechtold, but Acosta also threw three wild pitches to aid the Blue Jays. He gave up seven hits and three walks total, and did not strike out any in 2.0 innings.

 

Juan Gamez came in for the third inning and stabilized it from there. He threw 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and three walks. He struck out one. Jared Finkel finished the game for the Twins with two strikeouts.

 

Elizabethton scored two runs in the fourth inning on a wild pitch and a sac fly, then one in the fifth thanks to an RBI single from Jose Miranda. They added two more in the sixth with a RBI single from Mark Contreras and an RBI double from Akil Baddoo to account for all their scoring.

 

Miranda (2-4, R, RBI), Kolton Kendrick (2-4, R), and Rainis Silva (2-2, R, RBI) each had two hits.

 

Game 2: Elizabethton 12, Bluefield 3

Box Score

 

In the makeup game from their postponement yesterday, the Elizabethton offense came alive to pound Bluefield into submission.

 

Starter Nick Brown went the first six innings, and after two it was 2-0 Blue Jays. On the night he surrendered only three runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out seven.

 

The Twins offense scored multiple runs in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings that put them well out front after five. Rainis Silva drove in two with a single which was followed by a Matt Albanese double for two more in a five-run third. Silva added an RBI double and scored again on a single from J.J. Robinson in a two-run fourth. They added four more in the fifth and another run in the sixth for their final tally of 12 runs.

 

The offense as a whole made up for the lack of offense elsewhere in the system, as they outhit the Blue Jays 19-5 and were 9-21 with runners in scoring position. Seven hitters in the lineup had at least two hits led by Albanese who was 4-4 with two runs scored, two doubles, and two RBI. Silva drove in three, and Akil Baddoo scored three runs out of the leadoff spot with a 1-4 night including a walk.

 

Reliever Jovani Moran finished off Bluefield with a one-two-three seventh, punctuating the blowout with a strikeout.

 

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Orioles 8, GCL Twins 1

Box Score

 

The Twins weren’t able to get much going on Tuesday afternoon as they managed just seven singles as a team and struck out twelve times. Overall they were 1-12 with runners in scoring position and left twelve men on base.

 

The lone RBI came off the bat of Jean Carlos Arias in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Dane Hutcheon who had singled earlier. Ricky De La Torre went 2-5 on the game and Royce Lewis was 1-3 with a walk.

 

Former major leaguer reliever Michael Kohn continued to work his way into game action after signing a minor league contract with the Twins on July 19^th. He pitched a scoreless first inning and struck out two. Tyler Wells came on from there and went the next 3.2 innings. He allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out five. He was replaced with two outs in the fifth after his second walk of the inning. David Gerics went two innings and allowed four runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out two. Petru Balan was the final pitcher of the day for the Twins, and gave up two runs on six hits and two walks in 2.1 innings to finish the game.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Pitcher of the Day – Bryan Sammons, Cedar Rapids Kernels (W, 5.0 IP, 3 H’s, BB, 8 K’s)

Hitter(s) of the Day – Matt Albanese, Elizabethton Twins (4-4, 2 R’s, 2 2B’s, 2 RBI)

 

 

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Columbus @ Rochester (12:35PM CST) – LHP Hector Santiago (1-1, 3.55 ERA)

Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30PM CST) – LHP Lewis Thorpe (3-4, 2.79 ERA)

Greenville @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST) – TBD

GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00AM CST) – TBD

 

 

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

 

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[Han Joelo]

Where's Wander?

[rdehring]

Got a feeling you may not see Santiago starting for the Red Wings tonight. Odds are good he will be activated to fill Mejia's spot. Big question will be whether Santiago or Gee gets the start Sunday in Detroit?

[Seth Stohs]

 

Got a feeling you may not see Santiago starting for the Red Wings tonight. Odds are good he will be activated to fill Mejia's spot. Big question will be whether Santiago or Gee gets the start Sunday in Detroit?

 

I would think he'd start, but they may limit his innings so he could be ready on Sunday (either for long relief or starting). 

[clutterheart]

There is no player currently at CR with an OPS over .800

Thats bad.  

 

 

[Cap'n Piranha]

Not really, CR had Palacios and Davis earlier in the year, they're now in Fort Myers. And there's a ton of guys doing really well in E-Town right now who will be ready for Low A next year.

[Mike Sixel]

Free Garver.

[gunnarthor]

What do people think of Kendrick? IIRC, he was another one of the young HS bats (along with Blankenhorn and Cabbage) the Twins took in the top 10. He had real power but was 1b/dh only. He has a lot of walks although his avg is pretty low (still less than 100 PA this year).

[Respy]

08August2017

 

• Twins leadoff hitter hits Twins' first grand slam of the year
• Red Wings leadoff hitter hits team's first grand slam since opening day

[Dman]

 

Free Garver.

Yep I agree he can't be any worse than Gimenez and likely will be better with the bat.  He could be a situational pinch hitter and he can play several positions so a good bench player to boot.

 

Twins still have a chance for the wild card make this team a strong as possible, please.

[Vanimal46]

 

Where's Wander?

 

Right here! 

 

 

Ohhhh! You said Wander! My bad! 

[Seth Stohs]

 

What do people think of Kendrick? IIRC, he was another one of the young HS bats (along with Blankenhorn and Cabbage) the Twins took in the top 10. He had real power but was 1b/dh only. He has a lot of walks although his avg is pretty low (still less than 100 PA this year).

 

When drafted, he was said to have the most power of any high school hitter in the draft, and that may be right. He's a big kid. After what he did in 2016 in the GCL, I consider his 2017 in E-Town a big step forward for him and his development. It's at least encouraging. I don't think average will ever be his strong suit. He'll need to make more contact, but if he does, good things can happen. But he's still quite raw. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

08August2017

• Twins leadoff hitter hits Twins' first grand slam of the year
• Red Wings leadoff hitter hits team's first grand slam since opening day

Both first career grand slams too!

 

(At least, Dozier's first in MLB, and Granite's first as a pro. Dozier hit 2 grand slams in the minors in 2011.)

[clutterheart]

 

Free Garver.

 

Garver vs Giménez
Their Minor League paths look very similar.  Garver is having a better Age 26 season compared to Giménez but otherwise Giménez looks to be a superiour hitter, 
Offensively, I don't see a huge difference between these two.

Giménez
Age 26 - AAA - .235 .323 .426 (only 39 games, he was called up mid season)
Age 25 AA & AAA  - 304 .421 .452
Age 24 .A+ and AA - 264 .373 .526
Garver:
Age 26 AAA - 282 .382 .527
Age 25 AA - .270 .342 .422
Age 24 A+- .245 .356 .333

Their fielding % are basically the same
Their CS% (through full seasons) are similar

 

Through full Minor League Season, Giménez was the superior hitter.  I am not sure why people are expecting greater things from Garver than what the team is getting from Giménez.  - Especially if the team is happy with the way Giménez calls a game.  

 

[drjim]

 

Garver vs Giménez
Their Minor League paths look very similar.  Garver is having a better Age 26 season compared to Giménez but otherwise Giménez looks to be a superiour hitter, 
Offensively, I don't see a huge difference between these two.

Giménez
Age 26 - AAA - .235 .323 .426 (only 39 games, he was called up mid season)
Age 25 AA & AAA  - 304 .421 .452
Age 24 .A+ and AA - 264 .373 .526
Garver:
Age 26 AAA - 282 .382 .527
Age 25 AA - .270 .342 .422
Age 24 A+- .245 .356 .333

Their fielding % are basically the same
Their CS% (through full seasons) are similar

 

Through full Minor League Season, Giménez was the superior hitter.  I am not sure why people are expecting greater things from Garver than what the team is getting from Giménez.  - Especially if the team is happy with the way Giménez calls a game.  

 

People like shiny, new things?

[Mike Sixel]

 

Garver vs Giménez
Their Minor League paths look very similar.  Garver is having a better Age 26 season compared to Giménez but otherwise Giménez looks to be a superiour hitter, 
Offensively, I don't see a huge difference between these two.

Giménez
Age 26 - AAA - .235 .323 .426 (only 39 games, he was called up mid season)
Age 25 AA & AAA  - 304 .421 .452
Age 24 .A+ and AA - 264 .373 .526
Garver:
Age 26 AAA - 282 .382 .527
Age 25 AA - .270 .342 .422
Age 24 A+- .245 .356 .333

Their fielding % are basically the same
Their CS% (through full seasons) are similar

 

Through full Minor League Season, Giménez was the superior hitter.  I am not sure why people are expecting greater things from Garver than what the team is getting from Giménez.  - Especially if the team is happy with the way Giménez calls a game.  

 

because imo....

 

they aren't making the playoffs this year

Garver is part of the future, and Gimenez is not

players tend to go up and down, so getting that process started now means it is more likely he is more ready sooner next year

I don't know what to expect, and neither does anyone else until he actually plays in the majors, so gather data

 

I don't expect anyone to agree, nor am I trying to convince anyone, you asked why I (and others) want him here. Those are why.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Garver vs Giménez
Their Minor League paths look very similar.  Garver is having a better Age 26 season compared to Giménez but otherwise Giménez looks to be a superiour hitter, 
Offensively, I don't see a huge difference between these two.

Giménez
Age 26 - AAA - .235 .323 .426 (only 39 games, he was called up mid season)
Age 25 AA & AAA  - 304 .421 .452
Age 24 .A+ and AA - 264 .373 .526
Garver:
Age 26 AAA - 282 .382 .527
Age 25 AA - .270 .342 .422
Age 24 A+- .245 .356 .333

Their fielding % are basically the same
Their CS% (through full seasons) are similar

 

Through full Minor League Season, Giménez was the superior hitter.  I am not sure why people are expecting greater things from Garver than what the team is getting from Giménez.  - Especially if the team is happy with the way Giménez calls a game.  

This is ignoring a lot of context.  Think of the strikeout explosion in baseball over the last 10 years.  Think of minor league run scoring differences like the FSL (Garver's high-A league) versus the Carolina League (Gimenez's high-A league).

 

Fangraphs wRC+ is usually better than raw OPS or slash lines for such comparisons, although even that isn't perfect -- in the minors it adjusts for league but not park, and of course you should always look at the components to see if something flukey is skewing it.

 

That makes it look quite a bit different. Gimenez seemed to dominate the lower minors, but he started his pro career earlier and got to repeat A-ball.  He also put up his best season by wRC+ with an outlier 22.3% walk rate in AA.  To put that into context, the only qualified batters that topped that rate in MLB the last 25 years are Barry Bonds and 1998 Mark McGwire!  It happened for Gimenez, but it wasn't a sustainable path to that level of success going forward.

 

Moving up to AAA at ages 25-27, Gimenez had some of his career worst minor league performances, only posting 101, 106, and 118 wRC+.  By comparison, Garver had a 136 in his AAA debut last year at age 25, and is at 154 this year at age 26.

 

Additionally, Gimenez never came close to the .245 isolated power that Garver is posting in Rochester this year either, except for his stint in the high-A and high-scoring Carolina League -- 4.69 runs/game, compared to 4.25 in the IL this year and only 3.73 for Garver's high-A league, the FSL.  Moreover, Gimenez's home ballpark in the Carolina League was Kinston, a team which scored a whopping 5.63 runs per game, blowing away the rest of the league -- a park adjustment might be needed there?  FWIW, Rochester is actually below league average in run scoring this year.

 

Gimenez was also striking out in ~26% of PAs in his first couple AAA seasons, in leagues with a ~18% K rate -- this was before the strikeout explosion.  Garver is at 23% this year, but in a league at 21.1%.

 

And beyond stats, note that Gimenez failed to crack Sickels' top 20 Indians prospects lists coming off either of his two best minor league seasons (2007 at high-A, 2008 at AA).  Garver doesn't fare well by prospect lists either, but Sickels had him at 15 before the season.

 

It's worth noting that Gimenez wasn't born a backup catcher  -- and there are plenty of limitations scouting minor league stat lines -- but you won't convince me Gimenez was a superior hitter to Garver coming out of the minors.

Edited August 9, 2017 by spycake