Front Page: Twins Minor League Report (8/25): Buxton Starts Rehab Assignment

[Cody Christie]

Byron Buxton hadn’t been in a Cedar Rapids uniform since he was a 19-year old, but that changed on Sunday afternoon as he began his MLB rehab assignment. He was penciled into the line-up as the DH with the plan for him to play in center field on Monday. If everything goes to plan, he could be back with the Twins as early as Tuesday.

 

Was Buxton able to help the Kernels? Read on to find out.AWARDS

The Twins announced their weekly Hitter and Pitcher of the Week

• Hitter of the Week: Alex Kirilloff, Pensacola

Kirilloff, 21, played in seven games for Double-A Pensacola this week, hitting .444 (12-for-27) with one double, one home run, five RBI and a 1.075 OPS. Kirilloff was drafted by the Twins 15th overall in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft and represented the Twins at the SiriusXM Futures Game in Cleveland this summer

• Pitcher of the Week: Bailey Ober, Pensacola

Ober, 24, made one start for the Blue Wahoos on Wednesday at Mississippi, pitching 7.0 shutout innings with three hits, no walks and 12 strikeouts. Ober was drafted by the Twins in the 12th round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of College of Charleston.

 

TRANSACTIONS

LHP Gabriel Moya placed on the IL for Pensacola.

OF Byron Buxton began MLB rehab assignment with Cedar Rapids.

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Syracuse 11

Box Score

Rochester took an early 1-0 lead in this one before falling behind in the middle innings. Wilin Rosario collected an RBI-double in the top of the first to score Ramon Flores. The Red Wings wouldn’t score again until the fourth inning when Brandon Barnes drilled his 29th home run of the year. Zander Wiel lead off the seventh inning with his 37th double and came around to score on a one-out single from Wynston Sawyer.

 

Devin Smeltzer started for Rochester and couldn’t make it out of the fourth frame. He was charged with five earned runs on five hits including three home runs. He struck out five and walked one. Edwar Colina made his Triple-A debut and didn’t find much success. He allowed five runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. Jorge Alcala limited Syracuse to one hit in almost two innings and he struck out three. Zack Littell walked a pair of batters in the eighth and saw one runner come around to score.

 

Rochester had a chance to gain ground on first-place Scranton/WB. Unfortunately, the Red Wings are four games back with just eight remaining in the season.

 

BLUE WAHOO BITES

Pensacola 1, Jackson 4

Box Score

Griffin Jax was cruising along in a pitcher’s duel before Jackson was able to break things open in the mid to late innings. He pitched six innings and was charged with one earned run (three total runs) with seven strikeouts and one walk. Following Jax, Tom Hackimer gave up one earned run on two hits over two frames. Andrew Vasquez finished off the game with a hitless ninth inning.

 

Fresh off his Player of the Week honors (see above), Alex Kirilloff continued his hot hitting. Kirilloff and LaMonte Wade both finished 2-for-4. Wade added his second double as part of his MLB rehab assignment. Ryan Costello reached base twice and Mark Contreras knocked in a run with his 12th double. Pensacola matched Jackson with six hits but finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers --, Palm Beach – (Cancelled)

 

Rain forced the cancellation of the final game of the three-game series between the Miracle and the Cardinals. Fort Myers won the first two games in the series to stretch their winning streak to five games. Currently, the team is a season high 18 games over .500 (73-55).

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 9

Box Score

Byron Buxton made a quick impression back in Low-A as he stretched what looked like a routine single into a hustle double. He was left at second base, but he would make it around the bases in his second at-bat. With two outs in the third inning, Buxton drew a walk in front of Matt Walner’s second home runs since being promoted from Elizabethton. He would get one more at-bat and he struck out.

There was more to this game than Buxton cruising around the bases. Josh Winder started and put together another strong outing. He limited Peoria to four hits over six shutout innings with five strikeouts and two walks. His season ERA dropped to 2.68 to go along with a sub-1.00 WHIP. It was his team-high 11th quality start.

 

Dylan Thomas kept the shutout alive by tossing two scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and struck out one. Brian Rapp and Austin Schulfer each had a tough time at the end of the game. Rapp couldn’t record an out and was charged with four earned runs on three hits. Schulfer took the loss and the blown save after allowing five earned runs on three hits.

 

Cedar Rapids loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t mount a comeback.

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 1, Danville 7

Box Score

After allowing seven earned runs in his last start, Andriu Marin did much better as he limited Danville to four hits and two runs. He struck out four and walked two. Frandy Torres got hit around in his inning of work. He allowed three earned runs (four total) on four hits with a walk and a strikeout. Steven Cruz and Benjamin Dum combined to allow one earned run over the final three innings. Cruz struck out the side in both innings he worked.

 

The E-Twins didn’t have much to speak of on the offensive side of the ball as the team was limited to three hits. Trevor Jensen had the team’s lone extra-base hit, a double. Charles Mack reached base twice and had the team’s only RBI. Overall, the team went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

TD Pitcher of the Day- Josh Winder, Cedar Rapids (6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 2 BB)

TD Hitter of the Day- Tyler Webb, Cedar Rapids (2-3, 3B, 2 R, BB)

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

 

#1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) – 0-3, BB, K

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 2-4, K

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Rochester) – Did not pitch

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) – 1-4

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

#6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) – Game cancelled

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

#8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Injured list

#9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) – Did not pitch

#10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) – Game cancelled

#11 - Lewis Thorpe (Minnesota) – 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, K

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

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) – 0-4, K

#14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) – 0-2, BB

#15 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, 3 K

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

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

#18 - Jorge Alcala (Rochester) – 1.2 IP, 0 ER, H, 3 K, 0 BB

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

#20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) – 0-4, K

 

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Buffalo (6:05 CST) – TBD

Pensacola vs. Jackson (6:35 CST) – TBD

Fort Myers @ Dunedin (4:00 CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells (2-5, 4.30 ERA)

Fort Myers @ Dunedin (Game 2) – TBD

Cedar Rapids vs. Peoria (6:35 CST) – LHP Kody Funderburk (0-3, 4.85 ERA)

Elizabethton vs. Greeneville (5:30 CST) – TBD

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

 

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

 

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[AlwaysinModeration]

The fine folks in Cedar Rapids must be thrilled to see Buxton play there for a couple of games. And I’m sure the players are excited too, and are looking forward to a nice meal paid for by Byron!

[Monkeypaws]

Welcome to AAA Mr. Colina. Hope the next outing goes better.

 

Can't imagine how cool it would be to see Buxton back in CR for the fans. He is prominently displayed there as an alum (alongside Mike Trout).

[AZTwin]

The fine folks in Cedar Rapids must be thrilled to see Buxton play there for a couple of games. And I’m sure the players are excited too, and are looking forward to a nice meal paid for by Byron!

Wish I knew he would play there today. Would have made the short drive over

[AZTwin]

How about Alcala? I thought he might be better in relief but didn’t think he’d be this effective. Maybe we found a gem here?

[Aerodeliria]

The bumpers are slumping; the boom bands are banging.

The hakken-kracks are howling and the hackimer's are growling.

 

Glad to see Hackimer's name again.

 

Free Hackimer!

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Great report. Thanks.

[rdehring]

With yesterday's loss, the ETon Twins are 1.5 games out of second place and a playoff spot.  Unfortunately, there are two teams tied in second and only a week remaining in the season.  Fortunately, they play the last place team to begin this week.

 

If Biloxi wins the second half (also won first half), does Pensacola make the playoffs with the second best overall record?  Or will the second half second place team (Jacksonville) move on to the playoffs?

[Danchat]

How about Alcala? I thought he might be better in relief but didn’t think he’d be this effective. Maybe we found a gem here?

I’ve been pounding the table for about a year now to have Alcala move to the bullpen. Just reading the initial scouting reports on him, it seemed he was destined to be a reliever.

 

He was a top 10 prospect for the astros, so I wouldn’t say he’s a ‘gem’, unless that translates to ‘stud reliever’.

[HrbieFan]

Does Cave or Schoop go down when Buxton is ready?

[yarnivek1972]

So, I was looking at Gonsalves’ game logs from his rehab. In his 5 games, he’s thrown 75 pitches, 7 balls.

 

 

I guess he’s pounding the strike zone. Of course, rookie league guys kinda like to swing.

[ashbury]

Does Cave or Schoop go down when Buxton is ready?

While Schoop has two minor league options remaining, he has enough major league service time that he can refuse a demotion, and my guess is that he would exercise that right.