Article: Twins Minor League Report (5/14): Lewis Double Doubles, Graterol Strong

[Cody Christie]

Nick Gordon started the year on the injured list, but he was off to a hot start since returning to Rochester. In eight games, he had gone 12-for-34 with five doubles, five RBI, and three stolen bases. Unfortunately, he ended up back on the injured list with a left adductor strain. It’s an important season for Gordon, so it’s tough to see him back on the IL.

 

There were lots of other transactions on Tuesday including some prominent players in the organization.TRANSACTIONS

INF Nick Gordon placed on 7-day IL with Rochester (left adductor strain).

RHP Chase De Jong placed on 7-day IL with Rochester (left quad strain).

INF Luis Arraez promoted to Rochester.

C Ben Rortvedt promoted to Pensacola.

C David Banuelos promoted to Fort Myers.

OF Akil Baddoo placed on 7-day IL with Fort Myers (left elbow strain).

OF DaShawn Keirsey on 7-day IL with Cedar Rapids (left shoulder strain).

OF Jared Akins promoted to Cedar Rapids.

OF Jean Carlos Arias promoted to Cedar Rapids.

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 7, Charlotte 13

Box Score

Rochester found themselves in an early hole as Zack Littell allowed five runs in the third inning. This included three home runs. He was able to reign it in a little from there as he pitched five innings and struck out six while walking one.

 

Addison Reed continued to struggle out of the Red Wings bullpen. His fastball topped out in the high 80’s and he just doesn’t look like the pitcher Minnesota signed prior to the 2018 campaign. He allowed two runs, both solo home runs, on three hits.

 

Nick Gordon’s injury allowed Luis Arraez made his Triple-A debut. He batted lead-off and played second base. Miguel Sano was also in the line-up and playing third. Both players ended the night 2-for-5 and Arraez scored a run.

 

Tomas Telis and LaMonte Wade both cracked solo home runs to keep the game in reach. Drew Maggi had one of the biggest hits of the night, a two-run bomb in the top of the eighth inning to bring Rochester within one at 7-6. Rochester tied it on a Jake Cave single but that’s as close as it got.

 

Charlotte answered quickly with six runs in the bottom of the eighth. Zack Weiss took the brunt of the attack as he was charged with four earned runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings. Fernando Romero gave up a pair of home runs in 2/3 of an inning.

 

BLUE WAHOO BITES

Pensacola 3, Chattanooga 0

Box Score

Top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol was on the mound for Pensacola and he had most of his stuff working on this night. He limited the Lookouts to no runs on three hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked two. It was his second straight appearance allowed no runs and he has allowed two runs or fewer in his last four appearances.

The Blue Wahoos offense didn’t wake-up until the fifth inning. Mark Contreras doubled to score Joe Cronin and put Pensacola up 1-0. In the eighth inning, the club loaded the bases with nobody out. Mitchell Kranson drove in a run on a ground out to second. Cronin followed with a sacrifice fly.

 

Tom Hackimer tossed two scoreless innings for his second hold in as many appearances at Double-A. Cody Stashak earned his third save by pitching two perfect frames. He struck out two and lowered his season ERA to 1.42.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 8, Bradenton 1

Box Score

Fort Myers put up a five spot in the top of the third inning and the pitching staff was able to take over from there. Ryan Costello lead off that inning with his fifth home run. With one out, Michael Helman singled and Royce Lewis drove him in with his seventh double of the season. Jose Miranda drove in Lewis with a two-out RBI single to push the lead to 3-0.

 

The inning continued with Lewin Diaz matching Lewis with his seventh double of the season. He moved to third on the throw as Miranda scored. Trey Cabbage brought Diaz in with his first triple. The Miracle had a 5-0 lead thanks to four extra-base hits in the inning.

 

Costello got things started again in the sixth frame. He led off with a walk before moving to second on a single from Helman. Lewis pushed the lead to 6-1 with his second double of the game. Trevor Larnach used a ground out to push across the second run of the inning.

 

On the mound, Edwar Colina bounced back nicely after struggling in his last appearance. He allowed one run on four hits over six innings. Colina struck out 10 and walked three. He also became the third Miracle pitcher to hit triple digits on the radar gun this season. Hector Lujan and Melvi Acosta combined for three shutout innings to end the game. Lujan piled up four strikeouts in two perfect innings. Acosta walked one in his inning of work.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 11

Box Score

Luis Rijo got knocked around in this one as he allowed a season high seven runs (six earned) on nine hits. He didn’t make it out of the fifth inning for the first time since April 24. He struck out three and walked four. Things didn’t go much better for Brian Rapp. He was charged with three runs on four hits. He pitched 2 1/3 innings and struck out one. Zach Neff pitched two innings and allowed one run on two hits. He struck out two and walked one.

 

Jacob Pearson drove in the first run of the game for the Kernels. His single in the second brought in Andrew Bechtold. On the same play, Gabriel Maciel was thrown out at the plate. Gabe Snyder had one of the team’s two extra-base hits, a double. Chris Williams added a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth, but it was a little too late for a Kernels comeback.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

TD Pitcher of the Day- Edwar Colina, Fort Myers (6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 10 K, 3 BB)

TD Hitter of the Day- Drew Maggi, Rochester (4-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R)

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

 

#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 2-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 0-5, K

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 K, 2 BB

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 1-5, RBI, K

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

#6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Did not play

#7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch

#8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – Did not pitch

#9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch

#10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – Injured List

#11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List

#12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 0-5, 2 K

#14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 1-3, BB

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

#16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – Did not play

#17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 6 K, BB

#18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 1-5, RBI, R, 3 K

#19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not pitch

#20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 1-5, RBI, R

 

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Charlotte (6:04 CST) – TBD

Pensacola @ Chattanooga (10:15 AM CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (4-0, 0.84 ERA)

Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) – LHP Bryan Sammons (4-0, 0.66 ERA)

Cedar Rapids vs. Quad Cities (12:05 CST) – RHP Andrew Cabezas (0-3, 4.21 ERA)

 

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

 

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[MNT1996]

Graterol's stuff looks nasty. I'd like to see the Twins accelerate him up to AAA. If Pineda continues to struggle he should have a MLB tryout sooner rather than later.

[Danchat]

It's nice to see Arraez at AAA - if he could get a couple months' worth of experience at AAA, perhaps he could pass up Torreyes as the next infielder up in case of injury.

 

Boy, that's a lot of injured prospects. It stinks for Gordon because it seemed like he was finally starting to string something together at the plate.

[jud6312]

Who are the other two to hit 100 this year?

[twins_89]

It really sounds like Addison Reed is done. His fastball was in the 80s in Spring Training and he was getting pounded. He then had an injury to his non-throwing hand and started the season on the IL. It's now seven weeks later and he's still throwing in the 80s. So far during his rehab stint at AAA he's been truly terrible with a 13.5 ERA and a .524 BA against.  I've pretty much lost any hope that he will contribute anything at the major league level this season. 

[Jham]

Fernando Romero doesn't seem suited for work out of the pen. His hype never seemed to match his stuff. His stuff didn't necessarily match his results, and his results didn't even necessarily match his results. He gets hit pretty hard for a potential ace or closer. His fastball is straight and his slider lacks command. Should have been traded while his value was high. Moving him to the pen was a mistake. He's lost considerable value and hasn't been any more effective, actually he's less effective. I'd extend him out to be a starter or long man at this point. If we're in a playoff race, I want to see Graterol or Alcala over Romero, to be honest.

[h2oface]

Putting Addison Reed on the active roster would be horrible. Like bringing Perkins back that September when it was so obvious it was over for him. Not now. Not for this team. What a waste of 16 million. The guy was productive for what? a month? Maybe 2? I feel for him, but the only other thing to do would be to IL him for a longer period, like 60 days....

Edited May 15, 2019 by h2oface

[AlwaysinModeration]

Agree that I would rather see Romero given a chance as a starter. When is Gonsalves supposed to pitch?

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

It's nice to see Arraez at AAA - if he could get a couple months' worth of experience at AAA, perhaps he could pass up Torreyes as the next infielder up in case of injury.

 

Boy, that's a lot of injured prospects. It stinks for Gordon because it seemed like he was finally starting to string something together at the plate.

I'd say the book is still out with Gordon. He's been a pretty consistent .800 ish OPS guy to start the season only to cool off rapidly.

 

The IL trip isn't great, but I'll consider this a good season if he can maintain a decent OPS through an entire year. 

[rdehring]

Expect Arraez will struggle for a week or two, then be his normal self with a half dozen multi-hit games out of every ten.  Great seeing Rortvedt move up to Pensacola, hopefully, his results with the bat continue as they were in Fort Myers.

 

What a nice start for Colina.  Could be another arm for a future Twins bullpen?

 

I read something on one of the posts yesterday about young players signed by the Twins.  One was first name Enmanuel something.  Don't recall reading about him previously.  Was he someone who was signed with the extra dollars they got from that trade this winter?  If not, does anyone know if they have used it?

[Tomj14]

If they are only going to let Brusdar Graterol pitch around 75 pitches in AA, how is he ever going to be a major league starter, since most are 75 in the 5th?

If they are worried about about his health, why not bring him up to the majors and let him pitch out of the pen?

[Otto von Ballpark]

I read something on one of the posts yesterday about young players signed by the Twins. One was first name Enmanuel something. Don't recall reading about him previously. Was he someone who was signed with the extra dollars they got from that trade this winter? If not, does anyone know if they have used it?

Rodriguez. We haven't signed him yet. We're the favorites to sign him once the new international signing period begins July 2nd.

Edited May 15, 2019 by spycake

[rdehring]

 

Rodriguez. We haven't signed him yet. We're the favorites to sign him once the new international signing period begins July 2nd.

Thanks.  So that is unrelated to the Trade earlier this winter.

[dwood627]

Is anyone else wondering why the pitch count and innings pitched for Graterol are so low? I never see him pitch past the 5th inning.

[Vanimal46]

Thank you for the velocity update with Addison Reed. It's a shame that he's broken now.

[mikelink45]

Between Gordon and Garver - it is a morning of medical research - https://www.wosm.com/wosm-resources/orthopaedic-conditions/adductor-muscle-strain/  Gordon is down for at least two weeks I would imagine - tough for him to progress, having just come off the IL. 

 

I would imagine Gordon is also worried about Luis Arraez passing him by.  Luis is hitting everywhere he goes - (Astudillo like?).  

Littell seems to have plateaued and then stepped back.  I was looking for more from him this year.  I thought he got rid of the first time in MLB blues and would move up.  Now, if I was given the choice - the next pitcher up would be Graterol.  What he throws is MLB ready and he has passed Stewart, Littell, Gonsalves on the conveyer belt as far as I can judge. And he would have been my pitcher of the day. 

 

Personally, I would like to see Wade come back up instead of Cave.  I like his bat control and we have enough power in the lineup. 

 

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

He was able to reign it in a little from there

I don't mean to be "that guy" (and perhaps you already know but it's a typo or autocorrect) but in the interest of spreading knowledge, the correct word here is "rein", as in a horse's reins, which need to be controlled ("reined in", "pull back the reins"). Not "reign" like a monarch does (although if we were fans of Royals, maybe it would qualify as witty wordplay!).

[mikelink45]

 

Fernando Romero doesn't seem suited for work out of the pen. His hype never seemed to match his stuff. His stuff didn't necessarily match his results, and his results didn't even necessarily match his results. He gets hit pretty hard for a potential ace or closer. His fastball is straight and his slider lacks command. Should have been traded while his value was high. Moving him to the pen was a mistake. He's lost considerable value and hasn't been any more effective, actually he's less effective. I'd extend him out to be a starter or long man at this point. If we're in a playoff race, I want to see Graterol or Alcala over Romero, to be honest.

I agree now, but I still believe Romero can do something special.  I see his move to the BP as the equivalent of Sano to RF.  When someone is good at  something, emphasize the skill, not everyone is a Gonzalez or Astudillo.

[ashbury]

I don't mean to be "that guy" (and perhaps you already know but it's a typo or autocorrect) but in the interest of spreading knowledge, the correct word here is "rein", as in a horse's reins, which need to be controlled ("reined in", "pull back the reins"). Not "reign" like a monarch does (although if we were fans of Royals, maybe it would qualify as witty wordplay!).

Thanks for being that guy, so I didn't have to. I bite my tongue pretty much every time I see it.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Who are the other two to hit 100 this year?

 

Jhoan Duran and (I think) Johan Quezada. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

It's nice to see Arraez at AAA - if he could get a couple months' worth of experience at AAA, perhaps he could pass up Torreyes as the next infielder up in case of injury.

 

Boy, that's a lot of injured prospects. It stinks for Gordon because it seemed like he was finally starting to string something together at the plate.

 

Torreyes has been on the Temporary Inactive List for quite awhile ,and that's after a terrible start to the season. I wouldn't be surprised if Arraez has already passed Torreyes in the pecking order.

[Seth Stohs]

 

It really sounds like Addison Reed is done. His fastball was in the 80s in Spring Training and he was getting pounded. He then had an injury to his non-throwing hand and started the season on the IL. It's now seven weeks later and he's still throwing in the 80s. So far during his rehab stint at AAA he's been truly terrible with a 13.5 ERA and a .524 BA against.  I've pretty much lost any hope that he will contribute anything at the major league level this season. 

 

I watched his inning last night. Per the telecast graphics, fastball was 86-87... mostly 86. Slider looked alright, but just isn't getting the fastball back. Too bad. He was really good until mid-May last year... That's' the thing with relievers... even the most durable ones (like Reed was until last May)... you just never know. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Agree that I would rather see Romero given a chance as a starter. When is Gonsalves supposed to pitch?

 

Last I heard on Gonsalves was that he''s hoping to be pitching in Rochester by the end of May... 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Expect Arraez will struggle for a week or two, then be his normal self with a half dozen multi-hit games out of every ten.  Great seeing Rortvedt move up to Pensacola, hopefully, his results with the bat continue as they were in Fort Myers.

 

What a nice start for Colina.  Could be another arm for a future Twins bullpen?

 

I read something on one of the posts yesterday about young players signed by the Twins.  One was first name Enmanuel something.  Don't recall reading about him previously.  Was he someone who was signed with the extra dollars they got from that trade this winter?  If not, does anyone know if they have used it?

 

The Twins are considered favorites to sign Enmanuel Rodriguez in July. I assume that''s what you saw? 

 

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/33036-mlbcom-says-twins-favorite-for-enmanuel-rodriguez/http://twinsdaily.com/topic/33036-mlbcom-says-twins-favorite-for-enmanuel-rodriguez/

 

 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Is anyone else wondering why the pitch count and innings pitched for Graterol are so low? I never see him pitch past the 5th inning.

 

Just taking care of him arm. No worries. Also remember he left his last start with the concern about his trap, so I'm sure they were going to limit him in his first start after that. 

[ToddlerHarmon]

Nice to see some aggressive May promotions. The Twins often wait for late June.

[jmlease1]

 

Is anyone else wondering why the pitch count and innings pitched for Graterol are so low? I never see him pitch past the 5th inning.

 

not really. And this is a reminder for people already clamoring for him to be the next guy up for the rotation: He missed a full year in 2016. In 2017, he only pitched 40 innings coming off injury. In 2018 (his first year in full-season ball at age 19) he threw 102 innings. He's only made 38 starts in his professional career. That arm is a prize, and if we want him to develop into a top starter let's not get crazy. If he can throw 140-150 innings this year, and stay strong all season, he'll be in a great position for the franchise. at age 21.

 

Shame about Nick Gordon getting hurt again. Hopefully it isn't lengthy, because he'd gotten off to such a nice start when he finally got back into the lineup. He's shown the ability to really hit when repeating a level, so it's been my hope that last year was an adjustment year and his start was a hopeful sign that might be true. 

[Mr. Brooks]

I watched his inning last night. Per the telecast graphics, fastball was 86-87... mostly 86. Slider looked alright, but just isn't getting the fastball back. Too bad. He was really good until mid-May last year... That's' the thing with relievers... even the most durable ones (like Reed was until last May)... you just never know.

Maybe, but then again, some posters (not me) predicted this when we signed him, due to the high amount of use he'd had prior to that.

[nicksaviking]

 

If they are only going to let Brusdar Graterol pitch around 75 pitches in AA, how is he ever going to be a major league starter, since most are 75 in the 5th?

If they are worried about about his health, why not bring him up to the majors and let him pitch out of the pen?

 

Perhaps it could be that the Twins are hopeful/expectant that Graterol may be able to contribute to the big club this year so they aren't going to have him eat up all of his innings down in the panhandle.

[rdehring]

 

The Twins are considered favorites to sign Enmanuel Rodriguez in July. I assume that''s what you saw? 

 

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/33036-mlbcom-says-twins-favorite-for-enmanuel-rodriguez/http://twinsdaily.com/topic/33036-mlbcom-says-twins-favorite-for-enmanuel-rodriguez/

What I was wondering about, Seth, is whether anyone knows if the Twins spent the International dollar allocation they traded for late last winter?