Article: Twins Minor League Report (5/15): Kirilloff, LaMarre, Rooker Power Victories

[Tom Froemming]

Minnesota Twins affiliates went undefeated on Tuesday thanks in large part to big performances from a couple of top prospects and another who has spent time in the majors already. One of those top prospects extended his hitting streak and almost got to the plate once more for a chance at the cycle. After a rainout yesterday, a doubleheader was scheduled in Florida but only one of those games was played as the rain couldn’t stay away.Keep reading to find out how all of the Twins minor league players did on Tuesday and be sure to add to the discussion in the comments!

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Syracuse 1, Rochester 9

Box Score

 

The Red Wings got to the scoring early in this one after a Zack Granite single to lead off the game was followed by a Ryan LaMarre triple and a double from Jack Cave to put them out front 2-0. Cave scored on a Brock Stassi single to make it a three-run lead after the first inning.

 

Syracuse got on the board in the top of the fourth, when starter Aaron Slegers gave up a solo home run to the first hitter of the inning, but retired the next seven men he faced before a single was erased on a double-play ball to end the top of the sixth and his day despite throwing just 73 pitches (47 for strikes). He allowed three hits and a walk in his six innings and struck out one. Nine of his fifteen outs came on ground balls.

 

The game was 4-1 in favor of Rochester at that point as they tacked on a run in the fifth when LaMarre led off with a double and was driven in on a single from Kennys Vargas. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, the Red Wings strung together a barrage of hits to take control of the game 8-1. Five singles and another double from LaMarre accounted for the four runs in the frame. They’d make it 9-1 in the seventh after three singles to load the bases were followed by an RBI groundout from LaMarre.

 

Tyler Duffey came on for the seventh and worked around a couple of two-out singles for a scoreless inning. Back out for the eighth he got a double-play ball as part of another scoreless frame. He allowed three hits and struck out one in his two innings. Gabriel Moya came on for the ninth and finished the game for Rochester. He gave up a double and walked one, but also picked up two strikeouts.

 

The home team got hits from every batter in their lineup, and multiple hit efforts from seven of the nine. LaMarre led the way by going 3-5 with three runs scored, two doubles, a triple, and four runs batted in. Vargas and Stassi each drove in two while Granite singled three times in six trips and scored two runs. Taylor Featherstone also finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored, a double and a walk.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Tennessee 3, Chattanooga 11

Box Score

 

It was a pitcher’s duel in this one for the game's first four innings, as Lookouts starter Randy LeBlanc’s zeroes on the scoreboard were matched by the Smokies’ Oscar De La Cruz. But the offense finally got to De La Cruz in the bottom of the fifth, knocking him out of the game as they took the lead and never looked back.

 

Brian Navarreto and LaMonte Wade drew walks to put the first ducks on the pond in the inning, while Brent Rooker (RBI single), Zander Wiel (two-RBI single), and Edgar Corcino (RBI double) knocked them in to go ahead 4-0.

 

LeBlanc surrendered a solo home run in the sixth that made it 4-1, but finished his outing with his fourth strikeout. He scattered seven hits and one walk over his six innings to pick up his sixth win and lowered his ERA to 2.14 on the season.

 

Chattanooga added a run in the sixth on a sac fly from Rooker, then blew open the game in the seventh with five more. Those five runs came on Chris Paul’s first home run of the season, a two-run shot, an RBI single from Wade, and another base knock from Rooker to score two more for a 10-1 lead.

 

Cody Stashak came on for the seventh and had a one-two-three inning, striking out two. He then got the first two outs of the eighth on strikeouts, but a couple of walks ended his appearance at 1 2/3 innings. Casey Crosby relieved him, and a passed ball scored one before he got a groundout to end the frame. A wild-pitch scored another for the Smokies in the ninth, but Crosby would finish the game with a strikeout. In 1 1/3 innings, Crosby walked three and struck out two.

 

Rooker finished this one 3-for-4 with a run scored and four RBI, while Tanner English (2-4, R, 2B, SB) and Alex Perez (2-5, R, RBI) also added multiple hits to lead the offense. Corcino and Navarreto each drove in two and as a team the Lookouts went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

 

Chattanooga improves to 25-14 on the season and are in first place in the Southern League North Division.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 1, Jupiter 0 (Game 1, 7 innings)

Box Score

 

In the first game of their scheduled doubleheader after their postponement on Monday, the Miracle got one big blast and excellent pitching to take down the Hammerheads.

 

They went ahead 1-0 in the second inning, when Jimmy Kerrigan delivered his fourth home run of the season in the Florida State League, and fifth overall. The lineup as a whole delivered only five hits, with Taylor Grzelakowski finishing the game 2-for-3. Mark Contreras added a double, and Joe Cronin and Brandon Lopez each drew two walks.

 

Fort Myers got a good start from right-hander Sean Poppen, who went the first five-plus innings to pick up his first win of the year. He scattered four hits and two walks, while striking out five. After surrendering a single to the leadoff man in the sixth, Andrew Vasquez was summoned to finish the game and picked up his third save in the process. In two scoreless innings, he struck out two and allowed only a single and a walk.

 

After the completion of game one, rain again moved into the area and game two was postponed. It will now be made up as part of a doubleheader tomorrow starting at 4:00PM CST.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Quad Cities 5, Cedar Rapids 6

Box Score

 

The River Bandits and Kernels traded blows in the early going, getting through three innings with the score 4-3 in favor of the Kernels.

 

Starter Edwar Colina made it through just three-plus innings as his pitch count was up to 78 after walking the first two batters of the fourth. He allowed three runs on four hits and four walks, but did strike out four.

 

The Kernels scored three runs in the bottom of the first after a two-run home run from Alex Kirilloff, his sixth of the year, and an RBI single from Andrew Bechtold later in the inning. They took the lead back in the third on a Jean Carlos Arias grounder to score Kirilloff, who had singled leading off the frame.

 

Nick Brown came on in relief of Colina and got out of the fourth inning without allowing either of his inherited runners to score, and pitchedinto the sixth. In his 2 1/3 innings, he gave up only a walk, but also a run as that batter scored after he was replaced by Jovani Moran. Moran also went multiple innings, allowing two hits and two walks while racking up four K’s in two innings.

 

Tied 4-4 in the seventh, Kirilloff again was first up in the inning, and this time delivered a triple and scored on a sac fly to put Cedar Rapids in front again 5-4. Kirilloff would finish this one a double shy of the cycle in four trips to the plate, with three runs scored and two RBIs. His hitting streak is now up to 14 games and he has collected multiple hits in five of his last seven.

 

Carlos Suniaga entered the game with one out and the bases loaded in the eighth but got out of the jam with the Kernels lead still intact by striking out one and inducing an infield popup.

 

Jose Miranda added an insurance run for Cedar Rapids in the eighth, with his second home run of the season. Suniaga remained in for the ninth and got two ground ball outs before a solo home run made it a little more interesting, but he got the next batter to ground out as well to end the game and pick up his second save of the season. Although Moran was charged with a blown save, he also earned his first win of the year as the Kernels improved to 17-15.

 

STARS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers, Rochester Red Wings (W, 6 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, K)

Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Alex Kirilloff, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-4, 3 R, 3B, HR, 2 RBI)

 

TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY

 

3. Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) – 0-4, R, BB, 2 K

5. Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – 3-4, 3 R, 3B, HR, 2 RBI

7. Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 3-4, R, 4 RBI, K

10. Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, R, 2 BB

13. Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 1-3

14. LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) – 1-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2 K

17. Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 0-3, K

 

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – LHP Dietrich Enns (1-4, 5.96 ERA)

Tennessee @ Chattanooga (10:15AM CST) – LHP Anthony Marzi (0-1, 2.03 ERA)

Fort Myers @ Jupiter (DH @ 4:00 PM CST) – RHP Tyler Wells (3-1, 2.96 ERA), TBD

Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (Game 1 – 12:05PM CST) – LHP Tyler Watson (2-1, 3.22 ERA)

Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (Game 2 – 6:35PM CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (3-1, 4.91 ERA)

 

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

 

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[Homer Hanky]

what are the chances that Gordon gets the call and Lewis jumps to AA? 

[Mike Sixel]

what are the chances that Gordon gets the call and Lewis jumps to AA?

I'm guessing very low

[jokin]

 

what are the chances that Gordon gets the call and Lewis jumps to AA? 

 

Less Than Zero

[HrbekRules]

Kirilloff just keeps hitting!  Soon it will be time to challenge him at Ft Meyers.

[rdehring]

Like Slegers success at AAA.  Can he be a decent #4 or #5 starter for the Twins some day?  Doubt he will get the chance, but would like to see him get a few starts to see if he can be ok.  That would give him more value should the Twins decide to move him this summer or next winter.

 

Appears that Rooker is settling in at AA.  Has hits in his last seven games (8 of 10).  Not any extra base hits in his three hit night last night, so that is the last part of his game to get on track.  

 

Did a double take when looking at today's Chattanooga box score and saw they were 11 games over .500.  Hadn't looked at their record of late, but remember they got off to a really bad start the first week or ten days.  Hell of a lineup again this year.  The Lookout fans gotta be real happy since the Twins took over the franchise. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Like Slegers success at AAA.  Can he be a decent #4 or #5 starter for the Twins some day?  Doubt he will get the chance, but would like to see him get a few starts to see if he can be ok.  That would give him more value should the Twins decide to move him this summer or next winter.

 

Appears that Rooker is settling in at AA.  Has hits in his last seven games (8 of 10).  Not any extra base hits in his three hit night last night, so that is the last part of his game to get on track.  

 

Did a double take when looking at today's Chattanooga box score and saw they were 11 games over .500.  Hadn't looked at their record of late, but remember they got off to a really bad start the first week or ten days.  Hell of a lineup again this year.  The Lookout fans gotta be real happy since the Twins took over the franchise. 

 

 

Chattanooga... It's the Tommy Watkins factor... Then again, last year it was the Jake Mauer factor. Those two are great, and they've worked with some really good players.

 

Rooker will be fine, but AA is a big jump especially for a guy who was playing in college a year ago at this time.

 

Slegers could absolutely be a 4/5 start in MLB. If the Twins have so much depth that he's' a 6/7 guy for them, that's good for the team. Not sure how much opportunity Slegers will get, but he certainly can compete in the big leagues as a back-of-rotation starter. He's got the pitches. He''s 91-93, he's got decent secondary stuff, he's smart and he's got good poise. It's really all about opportunity for him at this point. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

what are the chances that Gordon gets the call and Lewis jumps to AA? 

 

Much better chance that Gordon jumps to MLB than Lewis jumps to AA. 

[gunnarthor]

I hadn't been following him much but I picked Bechtold to be a sleeper break out guy this year and, oof, he's really struggling in A ball - .198/.280/.240. I didn't not expect that at all.

 

I'd like to see Kiriloff fix his k/bb rates a bit but he is really stinging the ball. Maybe he'll have to move up before address those issues.

[HrbekRules]

 

I'd like to see Kiriloff fix his k/bb rates a bit but he is really stinging the ball. Maybe he'll have to move up before address those issues.

 

I fully agree with wanting to see his walk rate go up, but I don't think his K rate is bad, right around 20% is pretty good these days.

[RaymondLuxuryYacht]

 

what are the chances that Gordon gets the call and Lewis jumps to AA? 

Anybody seriously believe Lewis is ready for AA?  I have some real estate investments you would be perfect for

[HrbekRules]

 

Anybody seriously believe Lewis is ready for AA?  I have some real estate investments you would be perfect for

Not at all.  I think he should spend the whole year in low A.  He is doing OK, but he is young, and this is only his second year playing SS.

[Mike Sixel]

Not at all. I think he should spend the whole year in low A. He is doing OK, but he is young, and this is only his second year playing SS.

Couldn't disagree more. Teams are fast tracking these guys like crazy these days. I'd move him to high A right now. Then see what it looks like in the early fall.

[gunnarthor]

I think Lewis has to be close to a promotion. I'd imagine that the Twins wait for the all-star break but I think they could do it now. I wouldn't skip A+ though. We saw the jump from A+ to AA is rough (look at Rooker), I can't see a A to AA jump. 

[jkcarew]

I want Lewis to stay at Cedar Rapids!!  I think that would be best for his development...SS, age, etc., etc.  I might feel differently depending upon how things go over, say, the next two weeks.

 

In totally unrelated news, I have tickets to the Kernels Memorial weekend home-stand.  5 games in 3 days!

[USNMCPO]

I want Lewis to stay in CR until I can get there early next month. 

[Major League Ready]

 

I think Lewis has to be close to a promotion. I'd imagine that the Twins wait for the all-star break but I think they could do it now. I wouldn't skip A+ though. We saw the jump from A+ to AA is rough (look at Rooker), I can't see a A to AA jump. 

 

This sounds about right to me.  Let him get a half season with Forth Meyers and hope he continues to excel at that level.  Hopefully he is ready for AA early next year maybe even to begin the season.  That would be awesome because that rapid ascension would suggest the ceiling we all hope for in Lewis. 

[Steve Lein]

With all the talk about a Lewis promotion, the one thing I'm interested to see is if the new front office handle's anything differently. For comparison:

 

Byron Buxton, 2013 season w/CR: .341/.431/.559 (.990 OPS, 68 games) - promoted June 24th of that year

 

Royce Lewis, 2018 season thus far: .343/.387/.414 (.801 OPS, 24 games)

 

Quite honestly, it seems pretty odd to me everyone is jumping on this promotion bandwagon already. I don't quite see it, but it could tell us something different (and that I would like) if the new guys were to do this.

 

I think the more important key to any promotion for Lewis at this point, is how he's handling the shortstop position. 

[Steve Lein]

Another note on Kirilloff courtesy of the prospect roundup on MLB.com:

 

"Alex Kirilloff extended his extra-base-hit streak to 13 games with his sixth home run [and] With an extra-base hit in his next contest, the 20-year-old outfielder will tie the Major League record shared by Paul Waner (1927) and Chipper Jones (2006)."

[2wins87]

Another consideration on Lewis, will his defense at SS be good enough for them to actually play him there in the majors if he's knocking on the door by the end of next year?

 

I think the faster his bat moves up the more likely that he'll end up a centerfielder (or somewhere else in the outfield, given that Buxton should still be in center then).

[Seth Stohs]

 

Couldn't disagree more. Teams are fast tracking these guys like crazy these days. I'd move him to high A right now. Then see what it looks like in the early fall.

 

Yup, Lewis will be fast tracked... my only reason for wanting him to stay for 2 more weeks in Cedar Rapids is so that I''ll see him when I'm there. He'll get up to Ft. Myers soon, and he''ll most likely spend the rest of this season there. That'll allow him to potentially start in AA next year. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a non-roster invite next spring. He could be up as soon as the second half of 2019. Ill almost be surprise if, assuming health, he isn't' up by mid-2020. 

[Mike Sixel]

Yup, Lewis will be fast tracked... my only reason for wanting him to stay for 2 more weeks in Cedar Rapids is so that I''ll see him when I'm there. He'll get up to Ft. Myers soon, and he''ll most likely spend the rest of this season there. That'll allow him to potentially start in AA next year. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a non-roster invite next spring. He could be up as soon as the second half of 2019. Ill almost be surprise if, assuming health, he isn't' up by mid-2020.

Agree on all that.

[slash129]

Lewis needs to eat a few more sandwiches before they get to fast-tracking him too quickly.  Watching him from a fews rows back at Veterans Stadium, I could tell his physical maturity isn't exactly complete.  Asking him to adjust to this and adjust to that in short sequences while also adjusting to his body filling out doesn't sound to me like the best recipe for success.  Obviously, he's raking (mostly singles), but he's not the man-child that Harper was at the same age.  (And I'm not trying to set Harper as a bar ... He's just an example of a young player that was physically mature at a younger age and was fast-tracked)

 

I'm also not sure that his leg kick is going to be something that he keeps while moving through the system.  It's pretty exaggerated.  Every player is different, but it just doesn't seem like pre-swing movement that is going to work well moving up the ladder of competition.

 

He's an exciting player, but I wouldn't throw him out in the deep end just yet.

[slash129]

 

Another note on Kirilloff courtesy of the prospect roundup on MLB.com:

 

"Alex Kirilloff extended his extra-base-hit streak to 13 games with his sixth home run [and] With an extra-base hit in his next contest, the 20-year-old outfielder will tie the Major League record shared by Paul Waner (1927) and Chipper Jones (2006)."

 

I wonder what the minor league record is, since he won't qualify for the major league record.

[caninatl04]

 

 

 

Slegers could absolutely be a 4/5 start in MLB. If the Twins have so much depth that he's' a 6/7 guy for them, that's good for the team. Not sure how much opportunity Slegers will get, but he certainly can compete in the big leagues as a back-of-rotation starter. He's got the pitches. He''s 91-93, he's got decent secondary stuff, he's smart and he's got good poise. It's really all about opportunity for him at this point. 

Opportunity?  Did anyone watch today's Lynn's' mess?

[Homer Hanky]

 

Much better chance that Gordon jumps to MLB than Lewis jumps to AA. 

yeah! would sure be nice to see Gordon with a shot at short this year... with Sano slowed and no real everyday SS. Great backups and defensive replacements...