Article: Twins Minor League Report (8/9): Stephen Gonsalves Strikes Out Nine

[Eric R Pleiss]

A couple of close games and a couple of laughers in the system on Thursday night, including a strong start from Stephen Gonsalves and a combined shut-out from Elizabethton. Come check out what else happened across the minors.RED WINGS REPORT

Toledo 3 @ Rochester 14

Box Score

 

The Red Wings scored four in the first, three in the second, and four more in the third, racing off to a 11-1 lead, and then put a few more runs on the board over the next several innings to win the game 14-3. As a team the Red wings had just 11 hits but FIVE of them were home runs. The Red Wings were led by a 3-for-5 night from Tyler Austin. Austin had a triple, a home run, three RBIs, and three runs scored. Taylor Motter, Kennys Vargas, Jon Kemmer and Jeremy Hazelbaker also added long balls of their own. Nick Gordon continues his rough stretch, going 0-for-3 with a pair of walks.

 

On the bump, Stephen Gonsalves went six innings, gave up just three hits and three walks, striking out nine. He gave up three runs, all earned, and picked up his eighth victory of the year. Jake Reed pitched two hitless innings, keeping the Mud Hens off of the board and striking out four of the seven batters he faced. Ryne Harper pitched the ninth, he gave up one hit, no runs, and struck out a batter.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Jackson 2 @ Chattanooga 1

Box Score

 

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning the Lookouts pushed one run across on a Mitchell Kranson double and left the tying run on second base. The Lookouts managed just five hits, two of them doubles, one each from Mitchell Kranson (1-for-4) and Brian Navarreto (1-for-4). Overall the Lookouts were pretty well shut down by Jackson starter Taylor Widener who struck out nine batters and didn’t walk anyone. Lookouts pitching wasn’t bad, giving up just a pair of runs, one each from Tyler Wells (6.0 IP) and one from Ryan Eades (2.0 IP). Devin Smeltzer pitched the ninth, keeping the game within reach with a scoreless frame.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 4 @ Florida 3

Box Score

 

Fort Myers needed a run in the top of the ninth inning to keep the game alive, down 2-3. Caleb Hamilton singled to start the inning and then took second on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt and advanced to third on a wild pitch before eventually scoring on a Royce Lewis triple to tie the game and send things to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, with Taylor Grzlelakowski as the free running on second base to start the frame, Jose Miranda was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. Alex Kirilloff gounded into a double play but Grzlelakowski advanced to third base and eventually scored on a wild pitch, enough to give the Lookouts the win after Ryan Mason kept Florida off the board in the bottom of the frame.

 

Royce Lewis was 3-for-4, including that game tying triple, with an RBI, a run scored, a walk, a stolen base and a strike out. Jose Miranda had a 2-for-4 night and Travis Blankenhorn was 2-for-4 with a double. Brusdar Graterol went 5 2/3 innings and left with no decision, giving up two runs on six hits, walking one and striking out four. Anthony Marzi turned in 2 1/3 innings giving up a run on one hit, and Ryan Mason picked up a victory with two innings of scoreless baseball.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 9 @ Clinton 4

Box Score

 

Cedar Rapids used a five-run fifth inning to put Thursday night’s game away. Michael Helmen was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a double. Ben Rodriguez was 2-5 with a run scored, a double, two RBIs and two Ks. Lastly, Jacob Pearson was 2-4 with two runs scored, a double, a walk and a strike out, capping off the list of Kernels with multiple hits. Ryan Jeffers’ only hit was a solo home run.

 

The Kernels starter Randy Dobnak went six innings, gave up six hits, three runs, a walk and five strike outs. He earned a win to move to 8-4 on the year. Derek Molin earned his first save of the year with three innings of one-run baseball. He gave up two hits and struck out five.

 

ELIZABETHTON TWINS TALK

Bluefield 0 @ Elizabethton 3

Box Score

 

Elizabethton pitched a four-hit shutout on Thursday night with Andrew Cabezas kicking things off with six innings of two-hit baseball. He walked two and struck out four. Jacob Blank earned a hold for his two scoreless innings and Jach Neff closed off the game with a scoreless ninth.

 

The Twins picked up just four hits, but Ricky De La Torre had half of them going 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. The other Twins run came from a solo home run from Colton Burns, part of a 1-for-1 night that included the home run, two runs scored, and two walks.

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 5 @ GCL Rays 2

Box Score

 

The GCL Twins rode a strong start from Kai-Wei Teng to a 5-2 victory on Thursday afternoon. Teng pitched 5 2/3 innings, gave up a pair of runs and stuck out nine batters while walking none. Frandy Torres went 1 1/3 innings gave up no hits, walked one and struck out a pair. Erik Cha earned his second save of the year, this one the six out version, with two innings of scoreless pitching. He gave up a hit, a walk, and struck out four.

 

The Twins spread their seven hits around and just Austin Hale (2-for-4) had more than one hit. All five runs came from the bottom of the Twins order with Alberoni Nunez, Austin Hale, Charles Mack and Samuel Vasquez accounting for all of the runs scored from the 6-7-8-9 spots. Charles Mack was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and a pair of walks.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tyler Austin, Rochester Red Wings

 

TOP 20 PROSPECT PERFORMANCE

1. Royce Lewis (FM): 1. 3-4, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K

2. Alex Kirilloff (FM): 1-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K

3. Brusdar Graterol (FM): Did not play

4. Nick Gordon (ROC): 0-3, 1 R, 2 BB

5. Stephen Gonsalves (ROC): 6.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 9 K

6. Trevor Larnach (CR): 0-5, 1 K

7. Brent Rooker (CHAT): 0-4, 1 K

8. Akil Baddoo (CR): 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K

9. Wander Javier: Out of for the season

10. Zack Littell (ROC): Did not play

11. Blayne Enlow (CR): Did not play

12. LaMonte Wade (ROC): Did not play

13. Travis Blankenhorn (FM): 2-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K

14. Lewis Thorpe (CHAT): Did not play

15. Ben Rortvedt (FM): 0-1

16. Yunior Severino (ET): Did not play

17. Lewin Diaz (FM): Did not play

18. Ryan Jeffers (CR): 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, 1 R, K

19. Jacob Pearson (CR): 2-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K

20. Luis Arraez (CHAT): 1-3

 

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester (6:05pm) – Kohl Stewart (0-3, 3.98)

Chattanooga (6:15pm) – Dietrich Enns (1-5, 5.45)

Fort Myers (5:31pm) – Andro Cutura (3-6, 4.44)

Cedar Rapids (6:30pm) – Blayne Enlow (2-4, 3.65)

Elizabethton (6:00pm) - TBD

 

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games.

 

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[Brandon]

Judging by his name Kai-Wei must be a change up specialist.

 

Kai-Wei Teng.... waiting.....terrible i know..

[FormerMinnasotan]

Nice start for Tyler Wells. He has really impressed this year. It’s a pity Chattanooga’s offense couldn’t back him up. So granted this is a SSS but in 2 games (1 start) Wells owns a 0.90 ERA, and a 0.90 WHIP in Chattanooga along with 14 K’s in 10 innings. Add to that he has been healthy all year. I am liking Wells more and more...

[108Stitches]

The fact that Wells was bumped from the top 30 is so wrong. He has better numbers than almost ALL of the ones on there. He needs to be on it. Good for him. Any chance Royce and Kirilloff go up to AA this year ?

[Seth Stohs]

 

The fact that Wells was bumped from the top 30 is so wrong. He has better numbers than almost ALL of the ones on there. He needs to be on it. Good for him. Any chance Royce and Kirilloff go up to AA this year ?

 

I had him at #17 when we did our rankings and before the trade deadline... He's at 21 on my living rankings right now, but this kind of success in AA will push him further up the ladder.

[nater79a]

Michael Helman.  Nice 11th round draft pick from the looks of it.

Slashed a cool .375/.435/.575 in rookie ball and is now not missing a beat with the Kernels.

 

From what I understand the Twins used a lot of TrackMan analytics on Helman before making the draft pick.  Melded the visual scouting   with many data points. So far, it appears money well spent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NDTimIrish]

Looking forward to Gonsalves 2020 debut.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Michael Helman. Nice 11th round draft pick from the looks of it.

Slashed a cool .375/.435/.575 in rookie ball and is now not missing a beat with the Kernels.

 

From what I understand the Twins used a lot of TrackMan analytics on Helman before making the draft pick. Melded the visual scouting with many data points. So far, it appears money well spent.

Well, Helman is 22 years old, and he was a pretty solid hitter in college too.

 

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=213871

[mikelink45]

Why isn't Gonsalves going to MN? Looks like time for a few more movements upward for key players throughout the system.

[rdehring]

Miranda is settling in nicely in Fort Myers with a 3 game hitting streak (out of 4 games) and his first multi-hit game last night.  

 

Nice starts by Gonsalves, Wells, Graterol and Cabezas.  Where did Cabezas come from?

 

Will second the above comments about Helman.  He just keeps hitting and is now doing it at Cedar Rapids.  Can't continue, can it?  And how about Ricky De La Torre?  This kid is known for his glove, yet, is having a real nice season at the plate.

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

Heading into Rochester tonight, hopefully the Kohl Stewart Project will continue to evolve.

[gunnarthor]

Gordon gets a couple of walks today. He's had a few nice games in a row. Good to see.

[Doctor Wu]

 

Why isn't Gonsalves going to MN? Looks like time for a few more movements upward for key players throughout the system.

I agree. I think he's earned a September callup if nothing else.

[ashbury]

Why isn't Gonsalves going to MN? Looks like time for a few more movements upward for key players throughout the system.

 

I agree. I think he's earned a September callup if nothing else.

I see Stephen as a lock for a call-up by September 1 and am not going to sweat the details until then.

[slash129]

 

Gordon gets a couple of walks today. He's had a few nice games in a row. Good to see.

 

He had one good game and some walks.  He was gifted a TD Hitter of the Day Award when there were at least 3-4 more deserving candidates.

 

For August:  .161/.257/.161/.418   11.4% BB-Rate 22.8% K-Rate

 

Solid BB-Rate, but otherwise yuck

 

Meanwhile, Arraez is right on Gordon's tailgate at AA

 

For August:  .434/.480/.478/.958   8% BB-Rate 0% K-Rate

 

Let's watch that sample size over the rest of the month for these two players.

 

My money would be on Arraez passing Gordon on the prospect board sans bias. For some, I think he already has.

[ashbury]

Solid BB-Rate, but otherwise yuck

It could be a sign of having taken the first step toward respectability. If a batter's been getting himself out, the pitchers simply stop throwing strikes. So, eventually, you wise up and start taking the walks that are offered.

 

Now, to find out if he can do anything, when the book on him gets re-rewitten a little bit again, and some strikes are offered to him.

[jokin]

 

Looking forward to Gonsalves 2020 debut.

 

How about 2018?

[birddog]

Love these minor league reports, especially the top 20 summary. Totally agree on the sentiment that Gonsalves debut is way overdue. I realize the walks are up but the results are there. How can we base our future with prospects on September performances in MLB if it's against Detroit, Chisox, and Royals while they--like Twins--are tanking?

 

For the most part I'm very happy with our front office moves, but am totally baffled with our claims on other teams' discards instead of using our own prospects on the 40-man. Belisle, Drake, Field?! Why?

[ashbury]

Judging by his name Kai-Wei must be a change up specialist.

 

Kai-Wei Teng.... waiting.....terrible i know..

Moderator's note: OK, I know no harm was intended, but let's go easy on making fun of Asian names please.

[chaderic20]

Thanks for the great minor league updates, one of the best parts of the site.  Now that minor league seasons are heading into the home stretch, could we get updates on playoff races included in the relevant summaries, please?

[jokin]

 

He had one good game and some walks.  He was gifted a TD Hitter of the Day Award when there were at least 3-4 more deserving candidates.

 

For August:  .161/.257/.161/.418   11.4% BB-Rate 22.8% K-Rate

 

Solid BB-Rate, but otherwise yuck

 

Meanwhile, Arraez is right on Gordon's tailgate at AA

 

For August:  .434/.480/.478/.958   8% BB-Rate 0% K-Rate

 

Let's watch that sample size over the rest of the month for these two players.

 

My money would be on Arraez passing Gordon on the prospect board sans bias. For some, I think he already has.

 

Gordon has the pedigree and the bonus money.

 

Have you seen Arraez? He's only a little more inspiring athletically than Willians Astudillo and even more diminutive, he has a bum knee and is not a MLB SS, maybe not even a 2B or 3B.

 

Don't get me wrong, I hope he's the 2nd coming of Altuve, because this kid can definitely hit. I just don't see him passing Gordon on the prospect board- Gordon will get the first shot to stick. Gordon's problem appears to be long-term stamina, as his 1st half stats are Top 100 worthy- perhaps there's a diet deficiency or metabolic malady?

[Mike Sixel]

 

He had one good game and some walks.  He was gifted a TD Hitter of the Day Award when there were at least 3-4 more deserving candidates.

 

For August:  .161/.257/.161/.418   11.4% BB-Rate 22.8% K-Rate

 

Solid BB-Rate, but otherwise yuck

 

Meanwhile, Arraez is right on Gordon's tailgate at AA

 

For August:  .434/.480/.478/.958   8% BB-Rate 0% K-Rate

 

Let's watch that sample size over the rest of the month for these two players.

 

My money would be on Arraez passing Gordon on the prospect board sans bias. For some, I think he already has.

 

There isn't a national publication that even has them close, is there? I mean, FG has Arraez 31st on their list. I doubt that is some kind of bias.....

[jmlease1]

 

Why isn't Gonsalves going to MN? Looks like time for a few more movements upward for key players throughout the system.

 

Because he's still walking too many guys? He's on pace for a career high in BB/9. Considering how many guys come up and nibble even more in their first spin at MLB, could be a recipe for disaster. i still expect him to get a look in Sept, but let's not pretend he doesn't have things to work on.

[Kelly Vance]

Would like to see Gonsalves and Jake Reed come up. These guys have nothing more to prove at AAA. 

[amjgt]

 

Why isn't Gonsalves going to MN? Looks like time for a few more movements upward for key players throughout the system.

 

This is why:

http://www.espn.com/mlb/team/roster/_/name/min/minnesota-twins

[108Stitches]

Rankings sure seem to have a hell of a lot more to do with how much money they have invested in someone rather than actual long term numbers. Bonuses make the media

[Mike Sixel]

 

Rankings sure seem to have a hell of a lot more to do with how much money they have invested in someone rather than actual long term numbers. Bonuses make the media

 

Or scouting, or physical ability, or lots of things.....most of the online publications have guys and gals that see the people in person, and they don't just rely on stats. They also talk to scouts from every organization over and over. I'd guess that there is some bias for original thoughts, but it disappears over time. After all, a month or two of data shouldn't change your opinion on someone, if that opinion is based on several years of data, unless there is a clear process change.

[slash129]

 

Or scouting, or physical ability, or lots of things.....most of the online publications have guys and gals that see the people in person, and they don't just rely on stats. They also talk to scouts from every organization over and over. I'd guess that there is some bias for original thoughts, but it disappears over time. After all, a month or two of data shouldn't change your opinion on someone, if that opinion is based on several years of data, unless there is a clear process change.

 

They can get lazy though.   Jim Callis literally wrote that Gordon is playing well on August 2nd.   When I see stuff like that, I tend to lean more toward the sentiment that draft position or bonus money create bias in the rankings.

[108Stitches]

Or scouting, or physical ability, or lots of things.....most of the online publications have guys and gals that see the people in person, and they don't just rely on stats. They also talk to scouts from every organization over and over. I'd guess that there is some bias for original thoughts, but it disappears over time. After all, a month or two of data shouldn't change your opinion on someone, if that opinion is based on several years of data, unless there is a clear process change.

Sure that plays a huge role, but let’s not be naïve and pretend that media hype and bonus don’t play a role. Guys like Andrew Vasquez are nowhere on the radar, but he’s got better numbers than most relievers. Hell, Tyler Wells got knocked out of the top 30 and he has as good or better numbers than the top three rounds for 2016 except for Dakota Hudson. If he were a top round guy with a 2.90 career era and a 1.09 whip he would easily be top 100. This all stems from the comments above about Arraez vs Gordon. Nobody wants to admit that if they might’ve been wrong about Gordon. While Arraez IS getting some attention, to just brush off the notion that he should be above Gordon is just simply projection and wishful thinking, not actual statistics.

[laloesch]

What a shame we might now see Gonsalves this season in the major league rotation.  The should have tried to have gotten him some experience this season so he could hit the ground running next year.