Article: Twins Minor League Report (7/6): Mastery

[Matt Braun]

We almost had another full slate of games played but some East Coast rain decided to be annoying and so we had to settle for just five teams covered, boo. But, in the games that were played, there was a dominating pitching performance, a huge day at the plate, and a lot of pitching strikeouts deep down in the system. All that and more in this edition of the minor league report.

 

P.S. Don’t forget that the Futures Game starring Royce Lewis and Jordan Balazovic is tomorrow at 7 P.M. Eastern.TRANSACTIONS

 

OF Jimmy Kerrigan transferred to AAA Rochester from AA Pensacola

 

INF Yeltsin Encarnacion transferred to AAA Rochester from A Cedar Rapids

 

OF LaMonte Wade Jr. recalled by Minnesota

 

INF Jordany Valdespin placed in the IL with a left wrist sprain

 

RHP Jordan Balazovic placed on the temporary inactive list (Futures Game)

 

RHP Calvin Faucher reinstated from the 7-Day IL for A+ Fort Myers

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester rained out vs Scranton Wilkes-Barre

 

It had been a while since I wrote about a rain out but mother nature just wouldn’t cooperate with the Red Wings so they will play a doubleheader tomorrow starting at 9:30 A.M.

 

BLUE WAHOO BITES

Pensacola 4, Birmingham 5

Box Score

 

Randy Dobnak: 6 ⅓ IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 74.4% strikes (67 of 90 pitches)

HR: Travis Blankenhorn (16), Brian Schales (4)

Multi-hit games: Travis Blankenhorn (3-for-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB), Alex Kirilloff (2-for-5)

 

The Blue Wahoos were walked-off this Saturday. Unfortunately, right as I loaded up MiLB.tv to watch the game, the Barons dropped a single into right to end it so this is entirely my fault and I will take full responsibility.

 

Randy Dobnak was a strike-throwing machine as his 74.4% mark is one of the highest I have written about this year. The strikeouts didn’t come for him but the Barons were too busy hitting ground balls for outs for Dobnak to gain a decent number of strike 3's.

 

Travis Blankenhorn was an absolute terror at the plate on Saturday as he launched a lead-off homer to kick off the game and added two opposite field singles and two walks to his line to make him a perfect 5-for-5 in plate appearances. His sixteen homers are the third highest of any player in the Southern League, an even more impressive feat considering that he started the season with the Miracle.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Game one: Ft. Myers 4, Palm Beach 3

Box Score

 

Tyler Watson: 6 ⅓ IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 77.5% strikes (55 of 71 pitches)

HR: Trey Cabbage (5)

Multi-hit games: Michael Helman (2-for-3, 2 2B, 2 R, BB), Ernie De La Trinidad (2-for-4, R, RBI)

 

The Fort Myers Miracle won a close one this Saturday against the Palm Beach Cardinals.

 

Gabriel Maciel reached base three times thanks to a single and two walks to go along with his sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. He is now up to an .880 OPS with the Miracle.

 

After Tyler Watson’s day was done, Johan Quezada and Derek Molina teamed up to pitch 2 2/3 scoreless to slam the door. Molina was especially impressive as he came in after Quezada started the ninth with a walk and then proceeded to strike out the side.

 

The Miracle were down by a run headed into the bottom of the seventh but a fielding error, a single, two walks, and a hit by pitch allowed for both the tying run and go-ahead run to score. Who says small ball doesn’t work anymore?

 

Well, in non-small ball happenings, Trey Cabbage launched his fifth homer with the Miracle this year, a pleasant sight as that was Cabbage’s third home run in a week.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 0

Box Score

 

Andrew Cabezas: 9 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 66.7% strikes (62 of 93 pitches)

HR: Chris Williams (10)

Multi-hit games: None

 

ANDREW FREAKING CABEZAS, the nine inning shutout for the righty was nothing short of dominant as he struck out seven and only walked one. An impressive start for the 22 year-old as the River Bandits were baffled all game long.

 

Luckily for Cabezas, the Kernels’ bats showed up in support as the three runs they put up in the sixth were more than enough to win the game. Two of those runs came thanks to Chris Williams’ tenth blast of the year. Williams also walked twice in the game.

 

Wander Javier had a tough game that reflects the rough season he has had so far. At the plate he struck out in three of his four plate appearances and he was tagged for two errors in the field which moves his error total to seven on the year. Javier’s OPS for the Kernels now sits at .479 through 31 games and he’ll need to turn it around soon.

 

E-Town E-Notes

Elizabethton 5, Kingsport 3

Box Score

 

Ryan Shreve: 3 ⅔ IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

HR: None

Multi-hit games: Spencer Steer (2-for-4, RBI)

 

The youthful Twins’ pitchers struck out an impressive twelve Kingsport hitters over the course of the game with both Ryan Shreve and Cody Laweryson picking up five punch-outs each.

 

Half of the Twins’ hits went for extra bases as they slugged three doubles and a triple over the course of the game and put up five runs despite going 1-12 w/RISP. But anywhere can be scoring position if you hit the ball hard enough.

 

GCL Twins Takes

Game one: GCL Twins 1, GCL Red Sox 7

Box Score

 

Jesus Toledo: 2 ⅓ IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K,

HR: None

Multi-hit games: Jesus Feliz (2-for-4, 2B, RBI)

 

Four GCL Twins’ pitchers combined for fifteen strikeouts over eight total innings of work in the game.

 

The GCL Twins’ bats could only put up three hits however and there were more hitters in the starting lineup who did not get on base than those who did.

 

Game two: GCL Twins 3, GCL Red Sox 1

Box Score

 

Miguel Rodriguez: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, K

HR: None

Multi-hit games: Jeferson Morales (3-for-4, R), Parker Phillips (2-for-3, R, RBI)

 

The GCL Twins’ pitching staff decided to be a bit nicer in game two by only striking out twelve this to give them twenty-seven punch outs in the doubleheader.

 

The offense only put up singles but it was enough to give the Twins the win. The two-hit afternoon for Parker Phillips moves the 2019 draftee’s OPS to 1.062 in his short time in professional baseball.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Cabezas

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Travis Blankenhorn

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

 

#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - Did not play (temp inactive list for the futures game)

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 2-for-5, 2 K

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured list

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, K

#5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 3 K

#6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch

#7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) - Did not play

#8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Postponed

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

#10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch

#11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Postponed

#12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Postponed

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, RBI, K

#14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) - 1-for-4, 2B, R

#15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) - 1-for-4, 2B, BB, K

#16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - Did not play

#17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery

#18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did not play

#19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - 1-for-4, 2B, R, RBI

#20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - 3-for-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB

 

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Scranton W/B Game 1 (9:30 A.M.) - RHP Drew Hutchison

Pensacola @ Birmingham (4:00 P.M.) - LHP Charlie Barnes

Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (12:00 P.M.) - LHP Lachlan Wells

Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (5:15 P.M.) - RHP Kai-Wei Teng

Johnson City @ Elizabethton (4:00 P.M.) - RHP Cody Laweryson

 

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

 

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[mikelink45]

Good report - I always question high rankings for players who have been out for extended time and that is true of Wander Javier.  He has potential I know, but for me he should be stashed in the second ten, not the first.  Hopefully he will use the second half to show he deserves such a high position.

 

Cabezas is really impressive and so is the Kernel Manager for letting him pitch nine innings.  I love it. 

[jkcarew]

Cavaco has played sparingly. Been removed in the middle of games on two different occasions already...and has been MIA for several games since the last instance. Injured right out of the gate?

[jmlease1]

I'm almost as excited about Blankenhorn's 2 BBs as I am about his 16th HR. If he can add in patience to go with his unlocked power, he's going to be a dangerous hitter with a big future.

[jimbo92107]

Sure, it's just low-A ball, yet what Andrew Cabezas did was still remarkable, and now it is stashed in his head as something he can do - pitch a complete game shutout. Not many pitchers have that memory, especially after they start pitching to guys that get paid to hit. 

 

I'll be interested to see how Cabezas fares in his next start, after guys know a little more about what he throws. If he still keeps a lid on hitters...