Article: Twins Minor League Report (7/19): Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

[Tom Froemming]

Of the seven games in tonight’s report, four of them went into extra innings. Kohl Stewart had a great start, Brent Rooker hit another home run, Aaron Whitefield had a walk-off double, Akil Baddoo collected three more hits, a Cedar Rapids reliever went strikeout crazy and Chris Williams slugged another homer.

 

Check out what else happened across the minors Thursday night.TRANSACTIONS

Jeremy Hazelbaker was acquired from Tampa Bay for cash considerations and was assigned to Rochester. Another left-handed hitting outfielder, Hazelbaker has hit .258/.327/.500 (.827 OPS) over 285 plate appearances with the Cardinals and Diamondbacks. The 30-year-old was having a rough go of things for Durham, Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, hitting .210/.293/.397 (.690 OPS).

 

Cody Stashak was placed on Chattanooga’s temporary Inactive List.

 

Fort Myers placed Tom Hackimer on the 7-Day DL with an ankle sprain.

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Game 1: Norfolk 1, Rochester 0 (7 innings)

Box Score

 

SP: Kohl Stewart (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K)

HR: None

Multi-hit games: Nick Gordon

 

Rochester was held to just three hits, two from Nick Gordon, but Kohl Stewart was awesome. Making his fourth Triple-A start this season, Stewart gave up just one run on three hits, all singles, and two walks. He also struck out eight of the 22 batters he faced on the day. Stewart also went six innings and only gave up one run in his last start.

 

Jeremy Hazelbaker was 0-for-2 with a strikeout in his debut in the organization.

 

Game 2: Norfolk 1 Rochester, 0 (8 innings)

Box Score

 

SP: D.J. Baxendale (3.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)

HR: None

Multi-hit games: None

 

Yes, Rochester played two games, they lost both and the score was 1-0 in both contests. Also, both runs scored over the 15 innings of baseball were on sacrifice flies.

 

This game was played in Rochester, but it was technically a road game for the Wings, er, they were the Plates tonight, I guess. They were making up a game that was rained out in Norflolk earlier in the season. That meant Rochester was walked off in their own ballpark, which had to feel a little weird.

 

The only hits by the Plates in this one were a Juan Graterol double and a Jon Kremmer single. D.J Baxendale opened things with 3 1/3 shutout innings before Trevor May tuned in 2 1/3 frames of no-hit ball. Gabriel Moya pitched two innings and gave up the game-winner, though it’ll go down as an unearned run since that was the “bonus” runner that started the inning on second base.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 5, Mobile 3

Box Score

 

W: Omar Bencomo (5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K)

SV: Tyler Jay (1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K)

HR: Brent Rooker (16)

Multi-hit games: Brent Rooker, Mitchell Kranson

 

This one started with a Zander Wiel double followed by Brent Rooker’s 16th home run. The Lookouts built a 4-0 lead thanks to RBI singles from Mitchell Kranson and Rooker, but the BayBears battled back to pull within a run of Chattanooga. Brian Navarretto plated an insurance run in the top of the ninth on a sac fly and the bullpen locked it down.

 

Omar Bencomo (29) gave up two runs and struck out seven batters over 5 1/3 innings. Williams Ramirez (who turns 26 in a few weeks) gave up a run in his inning of work before Sam Clay (25) delivered 1 1/3 innings of scoreless work. Tyler Jay (24) earned his second save by recording the final four outs. He gave up one hit and had three strikeouts.

 

Why yes, the Lookouts do have the oldest pitching staff in the Southern League (second oldest in all of Double A), why do you ask?

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 4, Lakeland 3 (10 innings)

Box Score

 

W: Jovani Moran (3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K)

SP: Griffin Jax (7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K)

HR: None

Multi-hit games: None

 

Hits were hard to come by for the Miracle, but they made the most of them. They managed to score four runs despite only being able to muster three well-timed hits.

 

Alex Kirilloff hit a single to load the bases in the first inning, Joe Cronin drew a walk to score the first run and then Ben Rortvedt delivered a two-run single to put Fort Myers up 3-0 in the first inning. They didn’t get another baserunner until the seventh. In the meantime, the Flying Tigers stormed back to tie the game at 3-3.

 

Griffin Jax gave up just one earned run over seven innings before handing the game off to Jovani Moran, who was making just his third appearance for the Miracle. Moran managed to fend off Lakeland for three innings, keeping the game knotted up.

 

Things didn’t get off to a very good start in the bottom of the 10th for Fort Myers. Rortvedt was walked to try to set up the double play. To combat that, the Miracle bunted … into a double play. Since offense was impossible to come by, Fort Myers hadn’t recorded a hit since the first inning, they seemed doomed. Instead, Aaron Whitefield delivered a walk-off double that scored Rortvedt from second base.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 6, Great Lakes 3

Box Score

 

W: Tyler Watson (6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)

SV: Jose Martinez (2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB 6 K)

HR: Ben Rodriguez (8), Jacob Pearson (4)

Multi-hit games: Akil Baddoo

 

Tyler Watson set the tone with six innings of shutout ball and Ben Rodriguez mashed a three-run homer that put the Kernels up 4-0 in the third inning, making for a low-stress night, especially when compared to how the other affiliates fared.

 

Akil Baddoo had an excellent game, going 3-for-5 and was a homer shy of the cycle and Jacob Pearson hit his fourth home run of the season. Jose Martinez made sure things remained under control as he absolutely blew through the Loons’ lineup.

 

Martinez faced seven men and he struck out six of them. He threw 21 of his 26 pitches for strikes. Wow.

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Greeneville 3, Elizabethton 2 (10 innings)

Box Score

 

SP: Andrew Cabezas (5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K)

HR: Chris Williams (8)

Multi-hit games: Yunior Severino, Andrew Cosgrove

 

My goodness, is Chris Williams flexing his muscles or what!? The guy now has eight home runs through 26 pro games. Combined that with his numbers at Clemson this year Williams has 25 homers in 88 games this year. Again, my goodness!

 

E-Towns’ other run came on a game-tying single from Trevor Larnach. Andrew Cabazas pitched five shutout innings of two-hit ball. Johan Quezada followed with two no-hit innings to go with four strikeouts.

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 6, GCL Orioles 3 (11 innings)

Box Score

 

W: Petru Balan (3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K)

SP: Kai-Wei Teng (5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)

HR: None

Multi-hit games: Agustin Marte, Charles Mack, Victor Tedemo, Erick Rivera

 

The Twins trailed 1-0 heading into the top of the ninth, but they tied it up on a pretty wild play. Here’s the description from the MiLB play log:

 

“Victor Tademo out on a sacrifice bunt, left fielder Jacob Brown to third baseman Jared Gates. Alberoni Nunez scores. Charles Mack to 3rd. Victor Tademo out at 3rd. Victor Tademo out at 3rd, left fielder Jacob Brown to third baseman Jared Gates.”

 

Uh ... say what now?

 

Things continued to get interesting, as the Twins added another run in the top of the 10th thanks to a passed ball. But the O’s also scored in the bottom of that inning. The Twins really broke loose in the 11th, tallying four runs, the big blow being a Tademo double.

 

Second baseman Agustin Marte was 3-for-5 with a double and Mack was 2-for-4 with a walk. Kai-Wei Tend delivered five frames of one-run ball before J.T. Perez pitched two scoreless innings. Petru Balan gave up an unearned run over his three innings of work and Osiris German also surrendered an unearned run in the 11th

 

STARS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Jose Martinez, Cedar Rapids

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Brent Rooker, Chattanooga

 

TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed. Please note that this Prospect Summary has been updated.

 

1. Royce Lewis (FM): 0-for-3, BB, R, E

2. Alex Kirilloff (FM): 1-for-4, R, K

3. Brusdar Graterol (FM): Did not pitch.

4. Nick Gordon (ROC): 2-for-6, SB

5. Stephen Gonsalves (ROC): Did not pitch.

6. Trevor Larnach (ET): 1-for-3, BB, RBI, K

7. Brent Rooker (CHAT): 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBIs, R

8. Akil Baddoo (CR): 3-for-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, RBI

9. Wander Javier: Out of for the season

10. Zack Littell (ROC): Did not pitch.

11. Blayne Enlow (CR): Did not pitch.

12. LaMonte Wade (ROC): 0-for-6, 4 K

13. Travis Blankenhorn (FM): 0-for-3, K, E

14. Lewis Thorpe (CHAT): Did not pitch.

15. Ben Rortvedt (FM): 1-for-2, 2 BB, 2 RBI, R

16. Yunior Severino (ET): 2-for-5, R

17. Lewin Diaz (FM): 0-for-3, RBI, K

18. Ryan Jeffers (ET): 1-for-4, BB

19. Jacob Pearson (CR): 1-for-4, HR, RBI, R, K

20. Luis Arraez (CHAT): 1-for-4, 2B, R, K

 

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester vs. Norfolk, 5:05 pm CT: Ervin Santana

Chattanooga at Mobile, 7:05 pm CT: Sean Poppen

Fort Myers vs. Lakeland, 6:00 pm CT: Brusdar Graterol

Cedar Rapids at Great Lakes, 6:05 pm CT: Bailey Ober

Elizabethton vs. Greeneville, 6:00 pm CT: TBD

GCL Twins vs. GCL Red Sox, 11:00 am CT: TBD

 

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games.

 

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[DocBauer]

A great day for the system. Couple great starts back to back for Stewart. Do we dare to hope/believe?

 

Jax is starting to look like a legitimate prospect now that he's being allowed to play more than a few games.

 

Really nice to see Watson step up with a big start.

[nater79a]

The folks that run the Rochester Red Wings franchise can't be happy with the everyday lineup that gets trotted out there.  The Wings' fans either.   Lot of career minor leaguers that just can't seem to put anything together to score runs.

[nater79a]

Come September, wouldn't mind seeing Kohl Stewart and Tyler Jay get added to the 40-man and get some action in the Twins' bullpen.  Find out what we really have in those two.  It's time.

 

Also, good to see Tyler Watson rebound after some subpar outings.

[jun]

I think Littell and Thorpe are both overrated.

[South Dakota Tom]

“Victor Tademo out on a sacrifice bunt, left fielder Jacob Brown to third baseman Jared Gates. Alberoni Nunez scores. Charles Mack to 3rd. Victor Tademo out at 3rd. Victor Tademo out at 3rd, left fielder Jacob Brown to third baseman Jared Gates.”

 

So my baseball/can't sleep mind just read this and wondered exactly what happened.    This is the best I could come up with (with no peeking at box scores or other accounts):  men on 1st (Mack) and 2nd (Nunez); Tademo tries to push a sac bunt past and to the 3B side of the pitcher (figuring if 3B has to handle the ball, the sac will be successful) and actually pushes it through the wickets of 3B (sac bunt, otherwise it would have been called a bunt base hit if 3B overran it or the bunt was pushed past him); guy on 2nd scores, guy on 1st makes it to 3rd as ball rolls into the back of the infield dirt; Tademo keeps motoring and ends up getting caught between 2nd and 3rd, thinking Charles Mack was going to try to score, and is out in a single throw from LF to 3B.  Wheel play was on - 3B was supposed to play slightly in and down the line but not charge until ball got past P, so he could cover 3B if P got the bunt; SS was covering 2nd for potential 1-6-4 dp; 2B was covering 1st; 1B was charging and P went careening into foul ground on the 3B side and then to back up the C after he realized he wasn't going to field the ball off the bat.

 

I mean, what else could it be?

[sloopjont]

Hey Tom; get some sleep  :>)

[Han Joelo]

 

I think Littell and Thorpe are both overrated.

I was going to say this was completely unrelated to anything written in this report, as neither pitched.  But I guess they are listed on the top 20 prospects.  There are quite a few articles where you could debate the consensus rating Seth, Jeremy, and Tom gave them.  Or go check out Thrylos's blog entry on his top 60.

[Han Joelo]

Just when they've become forgotten, Tyler Jay and Kohl Stewart have good games.  Wait, did I say forgotten?  Wrong word.  They'll never be forgotten, that's for sure.  Neither will be Clayton Kershaw, which was my hope, but they both might still turn out to be useful MLB players.  Or not.

[ashbury]

Things didn’t get off to a very good start in the bottom of the 10th for Fort Myers. Rortvedt was walked to try to set up the double play. To combat that, the Miracle bunted … into a double play. Since offense was impossible to come by, Fort Myers hadn’t recorded a hit since the first inning, they seemed doomed. Instead, Aaron Whitefield delivered a walk-off double that scored Rortvedt from second base.

 

I still haven't internalized the new extra-innings rule. The leadoff IBB prompted me to check the game log. Left out of this recap is that Joe Cronin, the final batter of the prior inning, was at second base to begin with. How long will it be before I stop having to solve this little mystery every time?

[rdehring]

I hate the extra innings rule.  

 

Was this Stewart's best start of the year?  After a good start with too many walks, he limited the walks to 2 last night.  Jax is pitching well at Fort Myers and Moran is settling in nicely.

 

Trevor May and Gabriel Moya are screaming for attention.  Please, please, please call them up?  Hopefully, a few spots will open in the pen during the next ten days.

 

After a bad April, so-so May and little better June, Baddoo has broken out in July to a level confirming your lofty ranking as the 8th best prospect in the system.  Also nice night from Rortvedt in their one-run win.

 

[Vanimal46]

If I didn't know better, I would think you're making up names on the Rochester roster...

 

Who are these people? Kremmer, Wilkins, Graterol, Hazelbacker... None of these names register with me.

[Steve Lein]

Fun to see that Rooker currently is tied for the Southern League lead in doubles, is second in home runs, and third in RBI.

[Tom Froemming]

 

A great day for the system. Couple great starts back to back for Stewart. Do we dare to hope/believe?

Jax is starting to look like a legitimate prospect now that he's being allowed to play more than a few games.

Really nice to see Watson step up with a big start.

And don't sleep on Kai-Wei Teng, who started for the GCL Twins. I think he could be a guy we're all pretty excited about in a year or two.

 

The folks that run the Rochester Red Wings franchise can't be happy with the everyday lineup that gets trotted out there.  The Wings' fans either.   Lot of career minor leaguers that just can't seem to put anything together to score runs.

Yeah ... 

 

They've got the worst offense in the IL. I think it really hurt that guys like Chris Carter and Cameron Rupp under performed (and now are gone). I think you're always going to see quite a few career minor leaguers in Triple A, which is fine just so long as they're performing.

 

But, just like with the big club, injuries have not helped. Under normal circumstances, Cave and Astudillo would be down there and Romero probably would have spent the whole year there to this point, maybe Matt Magill too ... Ryan LaMarre ... Bobby Wilson. Instead, those guys were called upon by the Twins and their replacements have not stepped up like you'd like to see.

 

Come September, wouldn't mind seeing Kohl Stewart and Tyler Jay get added to the 40-man and get some action in the Twins' bullpen.  Find out what we really have in those two.  It's time.

 

Also, good to see Tyler Watson rebound after some subpar outings.

I think that would make a lot of sense, even if Stewart and Jay aren't really "ready" if you can even really know that. I'd like to see Watson jump back up to Fort Myers now that he's back on track.

 

So my baseball/can't sleep mind just read this and wondered exactly what happened.    This is the best I could come up with ...

 

I mean, what else could it be?

The scenario you laid out is better than anything I could come up with. I was trying to work through that myself, but then I got a headache and figured I'd just paste in the game log word-for-word Unfortunately, it's really difficult to find any additional info on the GCL games and I didn't really have time to dig around because ...

 

Hey Tom; get some sleep  :>)

... sloopjont said I had to get some sleep

 

I still haven't internalized the new extra-innings rule ...

Toss in the fact that we had a game scheduled for seven innings go into extras and this just made for a really weird day. Speaking of which ...

 

I hate the extra innings rule.  

... don't take this as a dig at this specific stance, but I'm curious if people also don't like the fact that minor league doubleheaders are seven-inning games?

 

It's kind of an odd thing they do on the farm, but both the short doubleheaders and the "bonus" runner in extras rules are there to try and keep from crazy long days at the ballpark/travel issues. Obviously that's a a valid concern, but what I wonder is would it just be better to allow minor league games to end in a tie?

[rdehring]

 

I don't mind the 7-inning games, Tom.  Mostly because the fans get 14-innings or 16-innings of baseball.  And you know from the start that you are playing 7.  If the point is to shorten games, I would much rather see them play an inning or two extra, then if still tied book it as a tie. 

 

So many things happen starting with a runner on second that effect the outcome.  Don't know how the Twins farm clubs have faired with this rule, but it seems like we are losing most of them.

 

Didn't like the rule when I first heard about it, don't like it now and won't like it next year if it is still around...which I hope not.

 

[Mike Sixel]

 

And don't sleep on Kai-Wei Teng, who started for the GCL Twins. I think he could be a guy we're all pretty excited about in a year or two.

 

Yeah ... 

 

They've got the worst offense in the IL. I think it really hurt that guys like Chris Carter and Cameron Rupp under performed (and now are gone). I think you're always going to see quite a few career minor leaguers in Triple A, which is fine just so long as they're performing.

 

But, just like with the big club, injuries have not helped. Under normal circumstances, Cave and Astudillo would be down there and Romero probably would have spent the whole year there to this point, maybe Matt Magill too ... Ryan LaMarre ... Bobby Wilson. Instead, those guys were called upon by the Twins and their replacements have not stepped up like you'd like to see.

 

I think that would make a lot of sense, even if Stewart and Jay aren't really "ready" if you can even really know that. I'd like to see Watson jump back up to Fort Myers now that he's back on track.

 

The scenario you laid out is better than anything I could come up with. I was trying to work through that myself, but then I got a headache and figured I'd just paste in the game log word-for-word Unfortunately, it's really difficult to find any additional info on the GCL games and I didn't really have time to dig around because ...

 

... sloopjont said I had to get some sleep

 

Toss in the fact that we had a game scheduled for seven innings go into extras and this just made for a really weird day. Speaking of which ...

 

... don't take this as a dig at this specific stance, but I'm curious if people also don't like the fact that minor league doubleheaders are seven-inning games?

 

It's kind of an odd thing they do on the farm, but both the short doubleheaders and the "bonus" runner in extras rules are there to try and keep from crazy long days at the ballpark/travel issues. Obviously that's a a valid concern, but what I wonder is would it just be better to allow minor league games to end in a tie?

 

No chance none of those guys get to MN this year.....that is part of what AAA is for. The AAA roster is bad because the last FO didn't get enough talent in the pipeline....and this FO probably can't fix it this fast.

[scottz]

"TRANSACTIONS

Jeremy Hazelbaker was acquired from Tampa Bay for cash considerations and was assigned to Rochester. Another left-handed hitting outfielder, Hazelbaker has hit .258/.327/.500 (.827 OPS) over 285 plate appearances with the Cardinals and Diamondbacks. The 30-year-old was having a rough go of things for Durham, Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, hitting .210/.293/.397 (.690 OPS)."

 

Complete unfounded gut reaction conspiracy theory:

That sounds like the kind of move you'd make if you were going to trade someone like Kepler.

 

More likely:

Oh, another AAAA outfielder for depth since LaMarre is gone.

[jkcarew]

 

I still haven't internalized the new extra-innings rule. The leadoff IBB prompted me to check the game log. Left out of this recap is that Joe Cronin, the final batter of the prior inning, was at second base to begin with. How long will it be before I stop having to solve this little mystery every time?

Exactly this.  Also, the frequent 10th inning pitching line:   1 R, 0 ER....and then I run off to look for who committed the error.

[caninatl04]

The folks that run the Rochester Red Wings franchise can't be happy with the everyday lineup that gets trotted out there.  The Wings' fans either.   Lot of career minor leaguers that just can't seem to put anything together to score runs.

I think the line up is the last thing on their mind. Every day they wake up knowing they live in Rochester. It’s a great city to earn a PhD in that the city offers zero distractions

[jkcarew]

 

Fun to see that Rooker currently is tied for the Southern League lead in doubles, is second in home runs, and third in RBI.

I'm 'optimistically cautious' (how's that!) on Rooker.

 

He's also 4th in the league in strike-outs with a K% of nearly 30.  And looking less and less likely to stick defensively in the outfield.  The good news is the power continues to show that it would probably plays at 1B/DH....and the K-rate is holding steady from what he showed last year at Ft. Myers.

[Mike Sixel]

 

I'm 'optimistically cautious' (how's that!) on Rooker.

 

He's also 4th in the league in strike-outs with a K% of nearly 30.  And looking less and less likely to stick defensively in the outfield.  The good news is the power continues to show that it would probably plays at 1B/DH....and the K-rate is holding steady from what he showed last year at Ft. Myers.

 

I'd say that's the camp I'm in......

[drivlikejehu]

I think Rooker is hard to evaluate statistically because he was an older draftee . . . in terms of age alone, his performance is mediocre and really not encouraging. On the other hand, AA pitching is far superior to what Rooker saw in the SEC, and so some difficulty adjusting is not necessarily cause for alarm.

[diehardtwinsfan]

his K rate has trended down, albeit slowly. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

his K rate has trended down, albeit slowly.

Very slowly, like by 1 K per month. And even that has reversed for July so far.

 

April 29.7%

May 28.7%

June 28.0%

July 32.4%

[Vanimal46]

Very slowly, like by 1 K per month. And even that has reversed for July so far.

 

April 29.7%

May 28.7%

June 28.0%

July 32.4%

So we have another Adam Brett Walker III... Oh boy! Can't wait for the heated debates

[gagu]

 

I don't mind the 7-inning games, Tom.  Mostly because the fans get 14-innings or 16-innings of baseball.  And you know from the start that you are playing 7.  If the point is to shorten games, I would much rather see them play an inning or two extra, then if still tied book it as a tie. 

 

So many things happen starting with a runner on second that effect the outcome........  

For MiLB, I think you hit on the best solution to the problem. Two innings to break a tie is a reasonable solution. Starting out each inning with a runner on second is totally artificial. A short step above deciding the contest on a compacted home run derby. At least a tie is a legitimate result. The current rule is a gimmick.