Article: Twins Minor League Report (5/9): Dobnak, Enlow Start Strong

[Seth Stohs]

Unfortunately, rain won the night in both Rochester and Ft. Myers, but there were still two games played on Thursday night. The Blue Wahoos and the Kernels got strong pitching and some big offensive performances on their way to wins.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Thursday, starting with the transactions of the day.

 

 

TRANSACTIONS

• None.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester, Pawtucket

Box Score

 

Game postponed by rain.

 

 

BLUE WAHOO BITES

Pensacola 4, Mississippi 0

Box Score

 

Randy Dobnak went undrafted after four years of college. The Twins signed him in 2017. He spent all of 2018 in Cedar Rapids. After one month in Ft. Myers, he was promoted to Pensacola. On Thursday night, he made his second start for the Blue Wahoos. He threw six shutout innings. He gave up just one hit and walked one while striking out seven.

 

Tyler Jay came on and struck out four batters in two scoreless innings. Alex Phillips threw a scoreless inning.

 

Travis Blankenhorn led the offense. He went 3-for-4 and hit his third home run in 13 games since being promoted to the Wahoos. Mark Contreras went 1-for-2 with two walks. Luis Arraez was 1-for-3 with two walks. Miguel Sano went 0-for-5 in what is likely to be his final Double-A game before moving up to Rochester.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers, Tampa

Box Score

 

The game was postponed by rain. These teams will play a doubleheader on Friday.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 8, West Michigan 4

Box Score

 

Blayne Enlow had a rough game in his previous outing, but he came back strong on Thursday night. The right-hander was charged with only an unearned run on four hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out six batters.

Jose Martinez came in and gave up three runs in the seventh inning. Carlos Suniaga worked the final two innings. He struck out five batters in two scoreless innings.

 

The Kernels got contributions from the middle of the lineup. Their second and third hitters, Gilberto Celestino and Chris Williams both went 2-for-6. Their fourth and fifth hitters, Gabe Snyder and David Banuelos, each went 2-for-5 with a walk. The biggest hit in the game came when their sixth hitter, Jacob Pearson, emptied the bases with a three-run double. Snyder and Celestino each had a double. Banuelos had two doubles in the game.

 

The team’s sixth through ninth hitters showed good patience. Pearson, Andrew Bechtold, Estamy Urena and Yeltsin Encarnacion each walked twice.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Randy Dobnak, Pensacola Blue Wahoos

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Travis Blankenhorn, Pensacola Blue Wahoos

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

 

#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - Rained Out

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 1-4, BB, 2 K

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - Rained Out.

#5 - Wander Javier (EST) - Injured, early May return

#6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Rained Out

#7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch

#8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Rained Out

#9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (95 pitches, 61 strikes)

#10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Rained Out

#11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Rained Out

#12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List, late-May return possible

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - Rained Out

#14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - Rained Out

#15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List

#16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - 2-6, 2B(4), SB(5)

#17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch

#18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - Rained Out

#19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch

#20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - Rained Out

 

 

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Durham @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - RHP Chase De Jong (0-3, 16.20 ERA).

Pensacola @ Mississippi (6:35 CST) - RHP Griffin Jax (2-0, 0.53 ERA)

Tampa @ Ft. Myers (2:30 CST) - LHP Tyler Watson (1-3, 5.06 ERA), LHP Charlie Barnes (2-2, 7.99 ERA)

Cedar Rapids @ West Michigan (6:05 CST) - RHP Tyler Palm (1-2, 2.60 ERA)

 

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

 

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[nater79a]

Is it just me or does there seem to be an inordinate amount of weather related postponements across the Twins affiliates this season?  I realize there are always a decent amount during a typical year but this seems much higher than normal.

[nater79a]

Randy Dobnak couldn't quite get the Twins Daily minor starting pitcher of the month for April, finishing at #4.  Looks like he's making another run at it for May.

[drock2190]

 

Is it just me or does there seem to be an inordinate amount of weather related postponements across the Twins affiliates this season?  I realize there are always a decent amount during a typical year but this seems much higher than normal.

 

You must not live in the midwest...

[h2oface]

How is Wander Javier - (EST) - Injured, early May return - doing?

Early May has just turned into middle May on the ol' calendar.

[Old Twins Cap]

Tyler Jay?

 

He finding himself after all these years?

[rdehring]

Interesting night down on the farm, Seth.  Blankenhorn moves up to AA and doesn't miss a beat.  That is supposed to be that big move that ends a lot of careers.  Should he make it, which appears more likely every day, what type of major league player do you see him becoming?  And if he is now an outfielder, will his road to the big leagues need to go thru some city other than Minneapolis?

 

Dobnak moves from Cedar Rapids to AA with no more than a cup of coffee at Fort Myers.  Is he for real, do you see him making it with the Twins?  Or will he become more of a AAAA guy?

 

Great seeing Enlow with a great start.  Seems a couple clunkers followed by a couple good ones.  Speaking of that trend, also describes Tyler Jay this spring.  Appearances like last night indicate he may be able to still make it.  Does he have the stuff to pitch for the Twins should he eliminate the bad outings? 

[TNTwinsFan]

Not that he pitched yesterday, but, Jordan Balazovic is starting to make some noise even in the Fantasy Baseball world! Could he be a Top 5 or 6 Guy by season's end?

[gunnarthor]

Blankenhorn is having a solid season - .279/.356/.442 across A+/AA. My understanding is the Twins see him as a super utility type (maybe their Marvin Gonzalez). He's only 22. Especially with benches going to 26 players in a few years, he'll be a MLer.

[jmlease1]

I'm guessing Blankenhorn will still get some ABs in the infield this season, but it's an interesting question. He may have finally figured it out and is unlocking that power potential that we hoped might be there. I was pretty down on Blankenhorn after last season; he didn't have a great year at Ft. Myers, he was awful in the AFL, he just was starting to look like a guy who was getting capped out against better competition. Happy to be wrong about him. Still early, still small sample size, but it's really good news that jumping up a level early in the year hasn't slowed him down this year.

 

Rough night for Sano, but at least it wasn't a 3-4K outing. sometimes the ball doesn't drop.

 

[rdehring]

 

Blankenhorn is having a solid season - .279/.356/.442 across A+/AA. My understanding is the Twins see him as a super utility type (maybe their Marvin Gonzalez). He's only 22. Especially with benches going to 26 players in a few years, he'll be a MLer.

That's an interesting thought about Blankenhorn's future role.

[Seth Stohs]

 

How is Wander Javier - (EST) - Injured, early May return - doing?

Early May has just turned into middle May on the ol' calendar.

 

I've heard that he could be in Cedar Rapids very soon. I mean, I think it could be as early as this weekend. Kind of just holding my breath at this point.  Hopefully soon!

[Seth Stohs]

 

Tyler Jay?

 

He finding himself after all these years?

 

He's been good most of the time, but he too often has those clunker games that make the numbers look awful. He's pretty solid. Not what we maybe hoped, but he's solid. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Interesting night down on the farm, Seth.  Blankenhorn moves up to AA and doesn't miss a beat.  That is supposed to be that big move that ends a lot of careers.  Should he make it, which appears more likely every day, what type of major league player do you see him becoming?  And if he is now an outfielder, will his road to the big leagues need to go thru some city other than Minneapolis?

 

Dobnak moves from Cedar Rapids to AA with no more than a cup of coffee at Fort Myers.  Is he for real, do you see him making it with the Twins?  Or will he become more of a AAAA guy?

 

Great seeing Enlow with a great start.  Seems a couple clunkers followed by a couple good ones.  Speaking of that trend, also describes Tyler Jay this spring.  Appearances like last night indicate he may be able to still make it.  Does he have the stuff to pitch for the Twins should he eliminate the bad outings? 

 

The move to AA is said to be where most college pitchers will face their first big struggles. For a hitter, getting out of the Florida State League is generally considered a positive. I think if he's been hitting the ball hard, squaring up barrels and approaching things correct with Ft. Myers, the numbers will show in Pensacola. Hopefully that's the case! Certainly a nice start for him there! He's played a couple games in LF, but mostly at 2B for the Wahoos. 

 

Regarding Dobnak... tha'ts the beauty of baseball. Division 2 guy, doesn't get drafted, gets a chance, makes the most of it. He's had a couple of good games at AA and I'm convinced that if a starting pitcher can succeed in AA, then it just becomes about opportunity. 

 

Regarding Jay/Enlow... they both have good stuff. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Blankenhorn is having a solid season - .279/.356/.442 across A+/AA. My understanding is the Twins see him as a super utility type (maybe their Marvin Gonzalez). He's only 22. Especially with benches going to 26 players in a few years, he'll be a MLer.

 

That can be a very valuable role. I think the Twins really, really like Travis and he's one of the best athletes in the organization. Obviously there are holes (as there would be with many 22 year olds), but the talent and power are immense.  And yes, with smaller benches, versatility will be important. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

I'm guessing Blankenhorn will still get some ABs in the infield this season, but it's an interesting question. He may have finally figured it out and is unlocking that power potential that we hoped might be there. I was pretty down on Blankenhorn after last season; he didn't have a great year at Ft. Myers, he was awful in the AFL, he just was starting to look like a guy who was getting capped out against better competition. Happy to be wrong about him. Still early, still small sample size, but it's really good news that jumping up a level early in the year hasn't slowed him down this year.

 

Rough night for Sano, but at least it wasn't a 3-4K outing. sometimes the ball doesn't drop.

 

Blankenhorn has played mostly 2B this year, some at 3B and a game or two in LF. 

 

As for Sano, I've read that he is on his way to Rochester already... nothing official though yet. 

[Mike Sixel]

He's been good most of the time, but he too often has those clunker games that make the numbers look awful. He's pretty solid. Not what we maybe hoped, but he's solid.

He's in AA three years after being drafted. There is nothing solid about his career yet.

[ashbury]

He's been good most of the time, but he too often has those clunker games that make the numbers look awful. He's pretty solid. Not what we maybe hoped, but he's solid. 

You're saying that when he's not throwing a clunker, he's good/solid, not electric (or other superlative)? That's pretty faint praise, if so.

[drivlikejehu]

Jay is a bust, no question (regardless of whether he winds up spending some time as a lefty specialist) . . . pitchers from that 2015 first round in general have turned out very poorly to date, except for Walker Buehler (who lasted all the way to #24). 

[Cap'n Piranha]

 

He's in AA three years after being drafted. There is nothing solid about his career yet.

 

Particularly for a college reliever with speculation around being able to help the Twin's bullpen the year he was drafted.

[gunnarthor]

 

Jay is a bust, no question (regardless of whether he winds up spending some time as a lefty specialist) . . . pitchers from that 2015 first round in general have turned out very poorly to date, except for Walker Buehler (who lasted all the way to #24). 

Buehler is the one we should regret passing on, not Bennintendi. Buehler was actually in the discussion for the Twins and there was some expectation we'd take him. He and Berrios would look great together.

[Seth Stohs]

 

You're saying that when he's not throwing a clunker, he's good/solid, not electric (or other superlative)? That's pretty faint praise, if so.

 

I dont know that it's praise at all... I do think there is a decent chance that he will pitch in the big leagues at some point in his career... not sure that'll be with the Twins. 

[Cap'n Piranha]

 

Jay is a bust, no question (regardless of whether he winds up spending some time as a lefty specialist) . . . pitchers from that 2015 first round in general have turned out very poorly to date, except for Walker Buehler (who lasted all the way to #24). 

 

Imagine if the Twins had taken  Nola, Conforto, Turner, or Chapman in 2014 instead of Gordon, and Benintendi or Buehler in 2015 instead of Jay

[Mike Sixel]

Imagine if the Twins had taken Nola, Conforto, Turner, or Chapman in 2014 instead of Gordon, and Benintendi or Buehler in 2015 instead of Jay

Add in the Stewart draft, and you can see why things needed to change. You can't miss on three straight top ten picks....

[puckstopper1]

I hope the Twins keep Sano in Rochester for several weeks until he is making consistent enough contact to once again be a threat at the plate in the big leagues.

[Major League Ready]

 

I hope the Twins keep Sano in Rochester for several weeks until he is making consistent enough contact to once again be a threat at the plate in the big leagues.

 

They can only keep him on a rehab assignment for 20 days total. 

[ashbury]

They can only keep him on a rehab assignment for 20 days total. 

Sanó has a minor league option remaining, if they choose to use it in the way puckstopper1 suggested.

[gunnarthor]

 

Sanó has a minor league option remaining, if they choose to use it in the way puckstopper1 suggested.

I'm not sure why anyone would think we should poison the water with one of our most important players. He's doing fine on his rehab assignment and we need his bat. Gonzalez is posting a 55 OPS+. 

[ashbury]

I'm not sure why anyone would think we should poison the water with one of our most important players. He's doing fine on his rehab assignment and we need his bat. Gonzalez is posting a 55 OPS+. 

Just to be clear, I wasn't endorsing puckstopper1's plan.

[h2oface]

 

Buehler is the one we should regret passing on, not Bennintendi. Buehler was actually in the discussion for the Twins and there was some expectation we'd take him. He and Berrios would look great together.

 

Now that would have made them look smart, eh?...... instead of.....