Article: Twins Minor League Report (5/12): Sano, Thorpe, Andreoli: Oh My!

[Seth Stohs]

Happy Mothers Day! The Midwest League and the Florida State League did not have games scheduled on Mothers Day. Pensacola was in Chattanooga, but the rains came and wiped out their game. The weather in Rochester, NY, was not good, but they were able to get their game in. Find out how Miguel Sano, Lewis Thorpe and the Red Wings did. Also, who were the choices for Twins Minor League Hitter and Pitcher of the Week?Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Sunday, starting with the transactions of the day.

 

 

TRANSACTIONS

• RHP Zack Weiss was activated from the Injured List.
• If you missed the late-Saturday night Twins transactions, here you go:v yler Duffey, the 26th man in the double header, was sent back to Rochester. Kohl Stewart was optioned to Rochester with Martin Perez coming back from the paternity list. Also, Willians Astudillo was activated from the Injured List and Romero was optioned to Rochester.

AWARDS

The Twins announced their weekly Hitter and Pitcher of the Week:

• Hitter of the Week: Trevor Larnach, Ft. Myers Miracle.

It t was a big week for the Twins 2018 first-round draft pick out of Oregon State In six games, he hit .440 (11-for-25) with two double and two home runs, his first two of the season.

• Pitcher of the Week: Jordan Balazovic, Ft. Myers Miracle -

Called up from Cedar Rapids, Balazovic made his first start for Ft. Myers… and threw seven perfect innings. He also had 10 strikeouts in the game. He was the Twins 5th round pick out of secondary school in Mississauga, Ontario, in 2016.

 

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 6, Durham 4

Box Score

 

The Red Wings were the only Twins affiliate to get their game in on Sunday. However, the weather was cold and drizzly throughout the game, so the Red Wings are actually treating the game like a rain check and allowing fans who were there to get another ticket later in the season. Very nice.

 

Lewis Thorpe made the start for the Red Wings. He gave up three runs on five hits. He didn’t walk any batters and struck out seven. The three runs came on back-to-back home run balls.

 

Things were interesting for the Red Wings offense right from the start. Nick Gordon doubled to lead off the winning, but a couple of pitches earlier, he may have tweaked a muscle. He left the game in the 3rd inning. Two batters later, LaMonte Wade took a called third strike and didn’t like it. He was ejected and replaced by John Andreoli.

 

Luke Raley got the scoring started in the third inning. He singled in Miguel Sano to give the team a 1-0 lead. Durham got their three runs in the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fourth, MIguel Sano came up with the bases loaded and walked. That was followed by the fourth home run of the season for John Andreoli, a grand slam that gave the Wings a 6-3 lead.

 

 

Addison Reed came on for Thorpe in the eighth inning. He gave up one run on three hits, but he received some help from his defense. A two-out single would have scored a second run and cut the lead to one, but Brent Rooker charged and made a strong throw to the plate to get the third out.

 

 

(I watched that eighth inning. From reports I’ve heard, Reed is sitting 87-89 mph with the fastball, certainly not where it was while he was one of the better relievers in baseball. His slider actually didn’t look too bad. But he will need, likely, the full 30 days of rehab and then see where he is at. It’s possible that he could continue to rehab, or the optimist’s view would be that he finds that velocity and is able to be a late-inning cog for the Twins. That feels a little bit optimistic, even more me, at this point.)

 

Preston Guilmet came on for the ninth inning. He allowed two base runners, but recorded a strikeout to end the game.

 

Thorpe improved to 3-2 and Guilmet recorded his fourth save.

 

BLUE WAHOO BITES

Pensacola, Chattanooga

Box Score

 

Jorge Alcala was supposed to pitch for the Wahoos on Sunday, but instead he will make a start on Monday. In fact, the game was suspended due to poor weather and field conditions and a double header will be played on Monday.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers

Box Score

 

The Miracle did not have a game on the schedule for Mother’s Day.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids

Box Score

 

The Kernels did not have a game on the schedule for Mother’s Day.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Lewis Thorpe, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – John Andreoli, Rochester Red Wings

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

 

#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Rained Out.

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Rained Out.

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled.

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

#6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - 0-4, HBP, 2 K

#7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled

#8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - 7 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K (100 pitches, 70 strikes)

#9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - No Game Scheduled

#10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled

#11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - No Game Scheduled

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

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled

#14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled

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

#16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - No Game Scheduled

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

#18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 0-1, K (ejected)

#19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Rained Out. Will Start Monday.

#20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled

 

 

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Rochester - No Game Scheduled.

Pensacola @ Chattanooga (DH @ 5:15 CST) - RHP Jorge Alcala (4-1, 4.81), RHP Brusdar Graterol (4-0, 1.91 ERA)

Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (5:30 CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (DH @ 5:30 CST) - RHP Josh Winder (1-1, 2.45 ERA), RHP Austin Schulfer (3-1, 2.38 ERA)

 

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

 

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[PDX Twin]

"That was followed by the fourth home run of the season, a grand slam that gave the Wings a 6-3 lead." 

 

Did I miss the part where you told us who hit it?

[ashbury]

"That was followed by the fourth home run of the season, a grand slam that gave the Wings a 6-3 lead." 

 

Did I miss the part where you told us who hit it?

Sorry, that's on a Need To Know basis only.

 

 

 

_{^{/ You needed to know, so I'm sure you looked it up already, and learned it was Andreoli.}}

[Seth Stohs]

 

"That was followed by the fourth home run of the season, a grand slam that gave the Wings a 6-3 lead." 

 

Did I miss the part where you told us who hit it?

 

You mean it wasn't obvious based on, well, nothing at all? Ha!! My bad!

[ashbury]

You mean it wasn't obvious based on, well, nothing at all? Ha!! My bad!

Maybe RandBall's Stu wants to take a crack at writing a game wrap-up.

 

"The Red Wings' game today wound up with a score of 6-4. Several of their players had plate appearances, and quite a few pitchers tried their luck. Read on, to not find out whether they won and who their opponent was."

[Otwins]

Do you think Sano gets called up if Nelson Cruz goes on IL 

[Otto von Ballpark]

How often do guys spend 30 days of rehab at AAA? Seems like most guys with that expectation start at Ft Myers and work their way back up the ladder.

 

I feel like we will either be seeing Addison Reed in MLB, or he'll go back on the shelf, much sooner than 30 days.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Do you think Sano gets called up if Nelson Cruz goes on IL 

 

Probably makes the most sense, unless they would want to add a pitcher... Duffey would probably make most sense then. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

How often do guys spend 30 days of rehab at AAA? Seems like most guys with that expectation start at Ft Myers and work their way back up the ladder.

I feel like we will either be seeing Addison Reed in MLB, or he'll go back on the shelf, much sooner than 30 days.

 

Very rarely that guys spend the full 30 days, or particularly close to it. So yeah, to start in AAA is a little surprising. 

[Aerodeliria]

Thanks for this update.

 

More than the grand salami, I was pleased to see Sano take a walk in that situation. His modus operandi last year would have been swing at the first pitch almost irrespective where it was and eventually strike out on a slider out of the strike zone.

 

I have this sinking feeling that the wads of cash invested in Addison Reed have begun sprouting wings...

[Danchat]

Well, it's nice that Thorpe finally had a good outing. He really needed that.

 

Methinks Addison Reed is toast. I doubt he makes it in the MLB averaging 87-88 on his fastball. I'd DFA him once the rehab period is over, unless he looks much better over time.

[rdehring]

Thorpe had a good outing, except for the back-to-back home runs.  Has been a concern for him since he came back from the two years off.  Can't remember if he gave up too many round trippers before.  So for him, it probably isn't the major league ball theory, or at least not entirely the problem.  Guess we will have to see if he can make progress with that concern as everything else is looking like he belongs in the Twins rotation at some point.

 

Has Raley surpassed Wade as the next outfielder called up should the need arise?  

 

Can't wait until tonight to see if Balazovic can follow up last week's start?

 

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by rdehring

[terrydactyls]

Wander Javier is listed as coming off the injured list "early May.". Because it is now mid May, I "wander" (sorry) when he will actually see playing time?

[Seth Stohs]

 

Wander Javier is listed as coming off the injured list "early May.". Because it is now mid May, I "wander" (sorry) when he will actually see playing time?

 

I'm' a little surprised... but I thought maybe he would be activated today with the Kernels ,but maybe they don't want to do it before a doubleheader. Maybe tomorrow... Maybe, sometime, soon. 

[nater79a]

 

Thorpe had a good outing, except for the back-to-back home runs.  Has been a concern for him since he came back from the two years off.  Can't remember if he gave up too many round trippers before.  So for him, it probably isn't the major league ball theory, or at least not entirely the problem.  Guess we will have to see if he can make progress with that concern as everything else is looking like he belongs in the Twins rotation at some point.

 

Has Raley surpassed Wade as the next outfielder called up should the need arise?  

 

Can't wait until tonight to see if Balazovic can follow up last week's start?

 

Wade is on the 40-man and Raley is not, so that complicates things.

 

But yes, Raley is playing quite well right now.