Article: Twins Minor League Report (6/2): Sands Solid in FSL Debut

[Steve Lein]

While the Minnesota Twins were busy putting away the Tampa Bay Rays for a big series win on the road, Twins affiliates struggled on Sunday afternoon as they went 0-4 on the day. Despite that record, there were still some home runs from a few sluggers, and a pitcher making his debut in a new league had a solid outing, even though at the end it went a bit sour.To find out how all of your favorite Minnesota Twins prospects performed on Sunday, keep reading!

 

TRANSACTIONS

• Before the Twins game on Sunday afternoon, they optioned RHP Zack Littell back to Rochester to clear room for Mitch Garver who was activated from the injured list.
• In Cedar Rapids, RHP Kai-Wei Teng was assigned to the Kernels from the GCL roster.

RED WINGS REPORT

Buffalo 9, Rochester 5

Box Score

 

With Kohl Stewart on the mound for Rochester, the lineup gave him an early lead in the bottom of the second as Drew Maggi and Nick Gordon each drew bases-loaded walks with two outs. Stewart gave those runs right back in the third however on a double with the bases loaded. He would go on to allow another run in the fourth, then two more on a home run in the fifth before being pulled. In total Steward finished 4 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks while striking out four.

 

Zack Weiss came on to finish the fifth and added a scoreless sixth. In his 1 2/3 innings he allowed one run on four hits and struck out one. Trevor Hildenberger replaced him to start the seventh and he got a double-play ball after a leadoff single to end a threat. Back out for the eighth Hildy got two outs before giving way to Preston Guilmet while responsible for a runner on second base. Guilmet promptly gave up a home run to make the score 8-3 in favor of the Bisons.

 

In the bottom of the eighth Zander Wiel led off the frame with a single, was tripled in by Jake Cave, and then Wynston Sawyer added an RBI double that made it 8-5 before any further threat was snuffed out.

 

The Bisons added another home run off Guilmet in the ninth to make it 9-5, and the Red Wings needed a big rally to come back. Maggi singled to lead off the inning then Gordon drew a walk, but the next three hitters went down swinging and that was it for the ballgame.

 

Sawyer finished the game 2-for-4, Brent Rooker went 1-for-2 with a run scored and two walks, and Gordon finished 1-for-3 with a run scored, triple, RBI, and two walks to lead the offense.

 

BLUE WAHOOS BITES

Jacksonville 9, Pensacola 6

Box Score

 

The Jumbo Shrimp took a 3-0 lead against Blue Wahoos starter Bryan Sammons after scoring two in the third inning and one in the fourth while Pensacola’s offense was held at bay. Sammons finished five innings, allowing those three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven.

 

The home team took the lead in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a big blast from Jaylin Davis, a three-run home run and his eighth of the year to make it 4-3. A batter earlier, Alex Kirilloff had got the Blue Wahoos on the scoreboard with an RBI single.

 

The score stayed that way until the ninth inning as reliever Anthony Vizcaya delivered two scoreless frames, and Sam Clay followed with a scoreless eighth. Up by one, Clay was back out for the ninth inning, but some small ball after a lead-off walk led to an RBI single and a tie game. After going down one-two-three in the bottom half, this one was sent to extra-innings.

 

Cody Stashak came on in the top of the 10^th, and after recording an out, an error allowed a run to score for Jacksonville and they added another with an RBI double for a 6-4 lead. That’s when this happened:

 

Before the inning was done Jacksonville had a 9-4 lead. All the runs in the inning were charged to Stashak, who recorded one out and allowed five runs (three earned) on two hits and a walk. Gore got a double-play ball to finally escape the inning.

 

In the bottom of the tenth Travis Blankenhorn did his best to make it interesting by slugging his ninth home run with the Blue Wahoos, a two-run blast to cut the lead to three, but that was it for the home team. Blankenhorn has been pretty good so far with the Wahoos:

 

As a team the Blue Wahoos had just six hits on the game and struggled to threaten in any other inning than the sixth. Kirilloff finished 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI, and is batting .351 in his last 10 games.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 2, Lakeland 9

Box Score

 

For the first six innings on Sunday starting pitcher Cole Sands was in complete control while making his Florida State League debut. He had retired fourteen hitters in a row, including six strikeouts, when he came back out for seventh. The first batter of that inning reached on an error by Lewin Diaz at first base and may have thrown off his, and the entire teams, mojo from there. The next batter singled, and after a mound visit Sands gave up a three-run home run that put his team behind on the scoreboard and his day was done.

 

The Miracle were holding a 2-0 lead before the seventh thanks to a solo home run from Trevor Larnach in the second inning, and an RBI single from Aaron Whitefield in the fifth to score Royce Lewis who had led off the inning with a single. Whitefield also stole second and third base in the inning but would end up stranded 90-feet away. There wasn’t much offense beyond that, as Fort Myers managed just six hits and a walk as a team, finished 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position, and left only four men on base for the game.

 

Sands was replaced in the seventh by Joe Record, and the game unraveled even further for him as he allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits and a walk before medic Calvin Faucher brought some tourniquets with him to the mound. A sac fly and a strikeout from Faucher finally ended the inning. Faulcher added a one-two-three eighth inning, including two more Ks to finish the game for the Miracle.

 

In his second rehab game with the Miracle, DH Nelson Cruz finished 1-for-3 with a strikeout. It’s looking likely he could rejoin the Twins in Cleveland. Lewis finished 2-for-4 and stole his 10^th base of the season.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 1, Beloit 6

Box Score

 

The Kernels offense was held in check all day as they managed just four hits as a team and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. They got on the scoreboard thanks to a Gilberto Celestino home run in the third inning, his third of the season, but that was it. Celestino finished the game 2-for-3 and drew a walk and stole a base in addition to the home run. Chris Williams added a double and two walks.

 

Andrew Cabezas got the start for Cedar Rapids and was solid for the first five innings. His only run allowed to that point had come on a solo home run in the second inning. In the sixth however, he was greeted by four consecutive singles and his day was done. In total, he pitched 5+ innings and allowed five runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out only one. Carlos Suniaga allowed three more singles in the sixth and a run of his own before getting out of the frame. Brian Rapp then came on and pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out two.

 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Pitcher of the Day – Cole Sands, Fort Myers Miracle (L, 6+ IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K’s)

Hitter of the Day – Gilberto Celestino, Cedar Rapids Kernels - 2-for-3, R, HR (3), RBI, BB, SB (9)

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY

 

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

 

#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, K, SB

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 2-for-5, R, RBI, 3 K, outfield assist

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured list

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-4, HR (5), K

#5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, K

#6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - 1-for-2, R, 2 BB, K

#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 (Tommy John surgery)

#11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 1-for-3, R, 3B, RBI, 2 BB

#12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured list

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-1 (pinch ran for Nelson Cruz)

#14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - R (pinch ran for DH)

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

#16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, R, HR (3), RBI, BB, SB (9)

#17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did not pitch

#18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 0-for-5, K, outfield assist

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

#20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - Did not play

 

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Rochester @ Syracuse (5:35PM CST) – TBD

Jacksonville @ Pensacola (6:35PM CST) - LHP Charlie Barnes (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Florida @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) – RHP Edwar Colina (2-1, 3.57 ERA)

 

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

 

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[PDX Twin]

"In his second rehab game with the Miracle, DH Nelson Cruz finished 1-for-3 with a strikeout. It’s looking likely he could rejoin the Twins in Cleveland. Lewis finished 2-for-4 and stole his 10th base of the season."

 

Gotta start reading more carefully. I skipped a line and thought it said that Cruz had stolen his 10th base, which would be pretty good for two games at his age.

[caninatl04]

Now that two minor league months are in the books, could you show cumulative season statistics for the Top 20?

[ashbury]

Cedar Rapids pitchers did best, holding the opposition to only 6 runs while their counterparts up the chain all allowed 9. Yeesh.

[Aerodeliria]

Thin pickings on the pitcher of the day. Hackimer will get a chance to redeem himself maybe tomorrow following the previous game's disappointment.

[jorgenswest]

Has the John Andreoli transaction been reported? I think he is back in the Seattle organization.

Edited June 3, 2019 by jorgenswest

[jokin]

 

Has the John Andreoli transaction been reported? I think he is back in the Seattle organization.

 

What was it the Twins got in return?

[Oldgoat_MN]

Good to see Wynston Sawyer is back.

Sadly, that was probably the best news of the day for the Twins MiLB.

[rdehring]

I really hate days when the organization goes 0-4.  And the DSL Twins don't play on Sunday, so no help there.  

 

When searching for something good, saw that Sammons and Sands both had solid starts.  Blankenhorn's home run continues his excellent play at AA while Kirilloff continues settling in with a 2-5 day.  At Cedar Rapids, any day with Javier in the lineup is a good day.  Hopefully, his average will get above .300 soon so he will get a promotion to the Fort by early July.  Maybe Lewis' bat heats up so he can move up to open a spot for Javier.

 

Now time to sit back and see who the Twins take with their three picks tonight.  Will they be lucky, or good, and have one of the three become the next superstar that everyone else failed to select?

[terrydactyls]

What was it the Twins got in return?

 

Even the Mariners web site doesn't know. It must be huge.

[jmlease1]

Kirilloff seems to be settling in at AA now that he's shaken the rust off. Let's hope he stays on this kind of hot roll for all of June.

 

repeating the level sure looks to be working for Nick Gordon. If he can stay healthy, it will do a lot to restore his prospect standing with him hitting so well.

 

Frankly, it's exciting to see so many of the position players on the top prospect list just in the lineup after the rash of injuries that seemed to be rolling through.

 

Congrats to Blankenhorn. I freely admit, I was about ready to give up on him, and he's proven me wrong. Sure looks like he's unlocked something and that's great news for him and the team.

[rdehring]

 

Even the Mariners web site doesn't know. It must be huge.

Speculating that the Twins were opening a roster spot at Rochester before returning Arraez to the Red Wings.  Expect we will eventually learn that they got cash. 

 

With the International signing period closing in 12 days, doubt it would be slot money as 2019-2020 International money can't be traded until after July 1st...or is it the 2nd?

[Steve Lein]

Nice nod to a couple of hitting prospects from Baseball America for the last week:

 

[nater79a]

Wonder what happened to Joe Record in Fort Myers.  Been getting knocked around pretty good lately. 

 

Seem to remember him getting some votes for minor league relief pitcher of the month for April.  

[jokin]

 

Speculating that the Twins were opening a roster spot at Rochester before returning Arraez to the Red Wings.  Expect we will eventually learn that they got cash. 

 

With the International signing period closing in 12 days, doubt it would be slot money as 2019-2020 International money can't be traded until after July 1st...or is it the 2nd?

 

Slot $$$ was what I was looking for.

 

I wasn't aware that there is a restricted time period for obtaining slot money?