Article: Twins Minor League Report (7/28): Duran Earns First Double-A Win

[Cody Christie]

Royce Lewis, Minnesota’s top prospect, was on the move this weekend and he made his Double-A debut on Sunday. He hopped into the top of the line-up that already contains two of the organization’s other top position player prospects, Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach. Lewis already had an impact on his first game in a Blue Wahoo’s uniform. How much would he help his new club?TRANSACTIONS

SS Royce Lewis promoted to Pensacola from Fort Myers.

RHP Chris Vallimont assigned to Fort Myers (acquired from MIA as part of the Sergio Romo trade).

INF Lewin Diaz traded to MIA.

 

AWARDS

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

• Hitter of the Week: Gilberto Celestino, Cedar Rapids

In six games for the Kernels, Celestino hit .385 (10-for-26) with three doubles, one home run, four RBI, one walk with a 1.023 OPS. Celestino was acquired by the Twins along with right-handed pitcher Jorge Alcala near the 2018 trade deadline in exchange for right-handed pitcher Ryan Pressly.

• Pitcher of the Week: Edwar Colina, Pensacola

Colina made the start on Thursday for the Blue Wahoos against the Mobile BayBears, pitching 7.0 innings, allowing one unearned run with three hits allowed, one walk and 10 strikeouts. Colina was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent at the end of September in 2015.

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 6, Indianapolis 5

Box Score

Rochester scored runs in each of the first two innings and had enough to hold on at the end. Randy Dobnak made his four straight start where he allowed two runs or less. He pitched 6 1/3 innings by scattering three hits, allowing two earned runs and striking out four. The bullpen made things a little close for comfort at the end.

 

Jake Reed pitched 1 2/3 innings, but his biggest blunder was a two-run home run in the eighth. He still kept the Red Wings in the lead and earned his fourth hold. Preston Guilmet earned the save, his seventh, as he gave up one solo home run in the ninth.

 

Ronald Torreyes got the scoring started in the first with his 10th home run. Wilin Rosario and Jake Cave also added in homers with Cave’s being a two-run shot in the sixth. He finished 2-for-4, the team’s only player with multiple hits. Drew Maggi scored a pair of runs out of the lead-off spot and had a triple.

 

 

BLUE WAHOO BITES

Pensacola 5, Jacksonville 0

Box Score

Pensacola enjoyed having Royce Lewis in the line-up for his Double-A debut and he wasted little time picking up his first big hit. With one out in the second inning, Lewis came to the plate with the bases loaded. He would double to drive in a pair of runs. He added another hit later in the game to finish 2-for-5. Ben Rortvedt had the team’s only other extra-base hit, his seventh double.

 

Jhoan Duran put the Blue Wahoos in a great position to win. He tossed five shutout innings for his first Double-A win. He limited Jacksonville to two hits, and he added in three strikeouts. Hector Lujan, Jonathan Cheshire and Alex Phillips combined for four shutout innings to end the game. Cheshire struck out three in 1 2/3 innings and Phillips earned his second save.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 3, Lakeland 7

Box Score

Lachlan Wells allowed five earned runs for the first time all season, but he still managed to finish six innings. Lakeland managed 10 hits against Wells and the team only struck out once against him. Wells balked in a run during the fifth inning. The Miracle have committed a league worst seven balks this season.

 

In the fourth inning, Ernie De La Trinidad cut the Lakeland lead to 3-2 after he hit a two-run home run. One inning later, Aaron Whitefield used his speed to storm around the bases. He reached base on a fielder’s choice and then he came all the way around from first on a single from Jacob Pearson. Unfortunately, that was the end of the scoring for Fort Myers.

 

Calvin Faucher was strong out of the bullpen as he pitched two perfect frames and struck out four. Faucher has not allowed a run over his last five appearances (8 2/3 innings). Joe Record saw two runs score in the ninth inning but they were both unearned due to fielding errors (Andrew Bechtold and Trey Cabbage).

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 0, Clinton 5

Box Score

Clinton jumped all over Austin Schulfer in the first inning and never looked back. Schulfer was able to recover a little and pitch six innings for the first time since July 2. Overall, he allowed four earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks. With his six strikeouts, he surpassed 100 strikeouts for the season and became the first Kernels pitcher with 100 K’s since Felix Jorge in 2015. Alex Schick pitched two scoreless innings by holding Clinton to one hit. J.T. Perez stuck out the side in the ninth.

 

Offensively, the Kernels left seven men on base and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Gilberto Celestino went 3-for-4 and he has multiple hits in five of his last ten games. Jared Akins finished with two hits and Gabe Snyder had the team’s only extra-base hit, his 18th double.

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 4, Bristol 3

Box Score

Elizabethton plated four runs in the third inning, and it was just enough to hold onto the lead. In that inning, Willie Joe Garry Jr. lead off the inning with a hit by pitch and moved to second on Ruben Santana’s walk. After two strikeouts, Matt Wallner tripled to score the first two runs of the game. Max Smith followed with his fifth homer to make the score 4-0.

 

The Twins only needed two arms in this one. Ryley Widell started and pitched into the sixth inning. He allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts. Ryan Shreve finished the final 3 1/3 innings for a non-traditional save. He struck out four and surrendered two hits. It was Widell’s first win and Shreve’s second save.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

TD Pitcher of the Day- Jhoan Duran, Pensacola (5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 K, BB)

TD Hitter of the Day- Max Smith, Elizabethton (2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, K)

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

 

#1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) – 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI (AA Debut)

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 1-5, RBI, 2 K

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured list

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) – 1-4, R, BB, K

#5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 0-4, 2 K

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

#7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) – No scheduled game

#8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Injured list

#9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 K, BB

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

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

#12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – Did not play

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – Did not play

#14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) – 3-5, R

#15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) – 1-4, 3B, R 2 RBI, K

#16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 1-4, RBI, K

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

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

#19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) – No scheduled game

#20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) – Injured list

 

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Buffalo (6:05 CST) – RHP Drew Hutchison (7-6, 5.86 ERA)

Pensacola vs. Mobile (6:05 CST) – LHP Bryan Sammons (3-3, 4.96 ERA)

Fort Myers – Scheduled Off-Day

Cedar Rapids vs. Clinton (12:05 CST) – RHP Tyler Palm (2-6, 3.92 ERA)

Elizabethton @ Burlington (5:30 CST) – TBD

GCL Twins vs. GCL Rays (11:00 am CST) – TBD

 

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

 

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[tarheeltwinsfan]

 The Twins waves of the future are full of Blue Wahoos..

[jrod23]

The Twins waves of the future are full of Blue Wahoos..

 

Reminds me of going to Chattanooga back in ‘15 seeing Polanco, Sano, Kepler, and Buxton. My hopes are even higher for the Hoosville kids.

[twins1095]

The AA team is almost must-watch TV right now with Lewis, Larnach, Kirilloff on the squad.  The pitching staff would be fascinating to watch with a healthy Graterol between him and Duran.  

 

Also Jake Cave is the Mike Trout of the AAA...change my mind.

[ScooterDance]

Pretty cool having 12 of the top 20 at AA or above. Couple of these guys pan out and we could have a sustained window.

 

At least for amazing offense.... now about that pitching ....

[Danchat]

Yay, now that Duran has escaped Fort Myers, he can finally get some Wins under his belt!

[ashbury]

Royce Lewis has an OPS of 1.000 at Pensacola. Why is he being left to die on the vine in AA at age twenty???1?

 

Call him up!!!!1!

[Doctor Wu]

Very nice to see Gilberto Celestino having a very productive week with Cedar Rapids. It will be comforting, after trading away Pressly last year, if he turns into a keeper.

[rdehring]

Wasn't it almost exactly a year ago when Duran joined the organization and nearly pitched a no hitter for his new team, Cedar Rapids?  Sure seems like he settles in nicely for that first game.  Cedar Rapids to Pensacola in twelve months would put him on track to be with the Twins late next year.

 

How do Duran and Graterol do if put against each other?  Which has the better future?  Which is more likely to achieve it?  Which would get the bigger return in a trade?  Which is most likely to no longer be a Twin on Thursday?

 

Looks like my Wisconsin guy, Schulfer, hasn't been as good of late.  Could he be wearing down in his first full professional season?  And Wallner sure looks like a good one, a lot like Rooker and Larnach.  Is he adequate defensively in a corner outfield position? 

[benji21]

Free Royce Lewis! Anyway, it’s really nice to see him heat up after a tough half+ of the season. That really would be fun to see that AA team, and thanks for the reminder about that Polanco, Sano, Kepler, Buxton team. It’s pretty cool to see so many high level guys one team.

Anyone else have reservations about Graterol as a prospect? He scares me and I’d deal him if his value is high.

[jkcarew]

 

Very nice to see Gilberto Celestino having a very productive week with Cedar Rapids. It will be comforting, after trading away Pressly last year, if he turns into a keeper.

.914 OPS in his last 24 games (month of July). Playing a regular center field.

[jkcarew]

 

Anyone else have reservations about Graterol as a prospect? He scares me and I’d deal him if his value is high.

He's in his fifth professional season, with about 1/3 of the season remaining...and he isn't pitching...and he has a total of 200 professional innings under his belt. If nothing else, he's in danger of approaching rule-5 eligibility before the Twins really know what they have or before he's prepared to be a major league regular starting pitcher. Maybe he's a reliever. The risks are growing with him, IMO. And, while many will disagree, I don't think your thoughts on Graterol are unreasonable.

[FormerMinnasotan]

Free Royce Lewis! Anyway, it’s really nice to see him heat up after a tough half+ of the season. That really would be fun to see that AA team, and thanks for the reminder about that Polanco, Sano, Kepler, Buxton team. It’s pretty cool to see so many high level guys one team.

Anyone else have reservations about Graterol as a prospect? He scares me and I’d deal him if his value is high.

I’d trade Graterol if we could. Given we have more legitimate top rotation prospects in Balazovic and Duran with a dark horse prospect in Edwar Colina IMO Graterol is definitely expendable, especially with his injury concerns.