Twins Minor League Week in Review: Walk-Offs and Wins

[Seth Stohs]

A rain delay may just have been what kept the Mighty Mussels from a perfect 6-0 week at Hammond Stadium. Wichita is now leading their Double-A division. Who’s hot? Who’s not? And look ahead to the coming week. 

For this week again, let’s start with a Question of the Week. Leave your responses in the Comments section.  

Question of the Week: How concerned are you about all of the injuries in the Twins minor league system already this season? 

Transactions:

A few transactions were announced on Monday. 

• RHP Regi Grace was placed on the Mighty Mussels Injured List with a right shoulder impingement. 
• The Twins signed RHP Bobby Milacki and OF Nick Anderson late last week. On Monday, they were added to the Ft. Myers roster. Milacki was the 38th round pick of the Nationals in 2018 out of Arizona Christian University. He was released after the 2019 season. In his most recent start for the Joliet Slammers of the independent Frontier League, the 24-year-old tossed five shutout innings. Anderson played for four years at Texas A&M in Corpus Christi. He played professionally in 2019, and he began the 2021 season with the Houston Apollos in the American Association. 

• Cody Laweryson has been added to the Cedar Rapids Kernels roster. He began the season on the Injured List. 

As always, I welcome your feedback on what you would like to see from these Week in Review articles, so let me know in the comments below. Of course, I also encourage you to read Nick’s Twins Week in Review from yesterday. 

With that, let’s look at Week 5 in the Twins minor leagues: 

RESULTS

Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (2-4 @ Louisville), overall (15-15)

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (4-2 hosting Arkansas), overall (18-12)

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (3-3, @ Ft. Wayne), overall (13-17)

Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (5-1, hosting St. Lucie), overall (16-14) 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

With the Twins struggles early this season, we have had a lot of minor league articles including articles on players who could be promoted and the daily minor league reports. 

• Twins Minor League Week in Review: Saints Sweep
• Minnesota’s Forgotten Prospect 
• Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - May 2021 
• Tuesday: Cabbage Blast Propels Kernels 
• Examining Minnesota’s Center Field Depth 
• Wednesday: Mussels Muster Night Saving Win 
• Get Ready for More 2021 Twins Debuts 
• Thursday: Wind Surge Win in Walk-Off Fashion 
• Prospect Retrospective: Gilberto Celestino 
• Friday: These Games Were Closer Than the Major League One! 
• Time for a Changing of the Guard 
• Saturday: Jordy Blaze Debuts 
• Prospect Retrospective: Griffin Jax 
• Sunday: Salvaging the Sweep 

 

News & Notes 

First and foremost, the St. Paul Saints are at home the next two weeks, and the Twins expect Byron Buxton and Kenta Maeda (and maybe Max Kepler?) to start a rehab assignment very soon. Head over to SaintsBaseball.com and get some tickets! Starting on Tuesday, CHS Field will be open to full capacity. On Tuesday, the Saints will be hosting (Re)Opening Day! 

The Saints have turned 24 double plays this year. That is most among the Twins affiliates. 

Brent Rooker has walked three or more times in a game six times in his career. Two of those happened this season. 

Perfect Game Field in Cedar Rapids (home of the Kernels) has been the site of the Division III Baseball Championship. On Tuesday morning, Salisbury University (Maryland) will play St. Thomas (Minnesota) for the championship. St. Thomas, in its final season before jumping to Division I, would need to win twice for the title. Former Kernels Tanner and Trey Vavra are coaches for the Tommies. 

Highlights

We will start with the Twins choices for the organizational hitter and pitcher of the week, and then mention several other Twins prospects who had good Week 5 performances too. 

 

Twins Player of the Week: Jose Miranda, Wichita Wind Surge   

The Twins named Jose Miranda their Player of the Week. In six games, he hit .320/.393/.480 (.873) with a double and a 481-foot walk-off homer in extra innings on Friday night. On Sunday, Miranda extended his hitting streak to nine games. The 2016 draft pick has played in all 30 games for the Wind Surge. He has hit .319/.390/.546 (.936) with six doubles, seven homers and 27 RBI. 

Twins Pitcher of the Week: Sawyer Gipson-Long, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels    

Gipson-Long was the Twins sixth round pick in 2019 out of Mercer. In his start this past week, he gave up four runs (2 earned) on six hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out 11 batters without issuing a walk. He has been much better since some early-season struggles. Overall, he has made five starts and is 2-2 with a 7.78 ERA. In 19 2/3 innings, he has walked seven and struck out 30 batters. 

 

Other Strong Performances this Week

St. Paul Saints

Brent Rooker played in all six games. He hit just .222 but posted a .919 OPS thanks to three walks and two home runs. 

It was an interesting week for Gold Glove outfielder Mark Contreras. When Gilberto Celestino was promoted to Triple-A, Contreras was sent back to Wichita. He played one game and went 2-for-4. When Celestino was called to the Twins, Contreras was back to St. Paul. He hit two doubles and his first Triple-A home run. 

Charlie Barnes provided the Saints with their best start of the week. He went six shutout innings and gave up three hits, walked two and struck out six batters. Chandler Shepherd gave up one run in 5 2/3 innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck one batter out. 

 

Wichita Wind Surge

Caleb Hamilton played in five games this past week. He hit .333/.350/.722 (1.072) with a double and two homers. Both home runs came in the same game. Ernie De La Trinidad played in all six games and hit .348/.400/.565 (.965) with two doubles and a home run. Jermaine Palacios and Aaron Whitefield both hit .333 while playing in all six games. 

Yennier Cano, Ryan Mason, Jovani Moran and Alex Phillips each pitched twice out of the Wind Surge bullpen this past week. They combined to throw 12 2/3 innings and gave up only one unearned run. They walked three batters and struck out 17 batters. The other highlight of the week was the return of Jordan Balazovic. On Saturday night, he made the first start of the season. He struck out five batters in 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two batters and hit two batters. 

 

Cedar Rapids Kernels

Andrew Cabezas struck out five batters over five shutout innings in his start this week. He gave up just three hits and walked one batter. Jon Cheshire gave up only a walk over 4 1/3 innings over three games. Zach Featherstone got eight outs over two appearances. He struck out seven batters. Jon Olsen gave up one run on two hits and a walk over five innings in his start. Kody Funderburk struck out nine batters over his 4 2/3 innings. 

Alex Isola continues to be an on-base machine. In five games this week, he hit .250/.455/.563 (1.017) with two doubles and a homer. He walked six times. Max Smith played in four games and hit .438/.471/.500 (.971) with a double and four RBI. Wander Javier hit .318/.375/.591 (.966) with two doubles and two triples. He had a four-hit game. Trey Cabbage hit .333/.391/.571 (.963) with two doubles, a homer and six RBI. Spencer Steer hit two home runs on Sunday, and he also walked seven times. 

 

Ft. Myers Might Mussels

Edouard Julien has had a great pro debut, and after one rough weekend, he was strong again this past week. In five games, he hit .438/.524/.688 (1.211) with a double, a homer and three walks. Kyle Schmidt has also become a regular in these weekly reports. In four games this week, he hit .364/.500/.818 (1.318) with a triple and a homer. He also had three walks to just two strikeouts. Jefferson Morales walked six times in his five games and added two doubles. Aaron Sabato and Yunior Severino both went 6-for-20 (.300) in six games last week. 

The Mussels went 5-1 for the week, and it’s certainly in large part due to their pitching. Louie Varland had the start of the week for the Mussels. The St. Paul native tossed six shutout innings. He gave up just three hits, hit one batter and struck out six batters. Brent Headrick gave up one run on two hits over five innings on Sunday. He walked two and struck out 11 batters. Regi Grace went 4 1/3 innings of scoreless ball in his start which is impressive when you consider he gave up one hit but walked four batters and hit three more. Sean Mooney walked four and struck out five in his four scoreless innings this week. The Mussels bullpen was strong. Denny Bentley, Steven Cruz, Osiris German, and Juan Pichardo combined to work 12 1/3 scoreless innings with 19 strikeouts. Matthew Swain gave up a solo homer, but he struck out nine batters over his two appearances (4 2/3 innings). 

 

Lowlights

We are talking about small samples for these six-game weeks, so it’s important not to make any big decisions or develop a full impression on a player from this small size. It’s just a reminder of the fact that baseball is hard, and all players have good and bad stretches.  

St. Paul Saints

Lewis Thorpe gave up five runs on three hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings, and actually all of the hits and runs happened in that second inning. More noteworthy than one bad inning, however, is that he ended up going on the Injured List with a shoulder issue. Tom Hackimer gave up three runs on one hit over 1 2/3 innings. He walked seven batters. On Sunday, he walked six batters and got just two outs.  

The Daniel Delscalso struggles continued. He went 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts this past week. Jimmy Kerrigan and David Banuelos combined to go 0-for-18 with 11 strikeouts. Damek Tomscha and Drew Maggi both went 2-for-17 (.118) in five games. 

 

Wichita Wind Surge

Peter Mooney had just one hit in 18 at bats this week. In his past 14 games, he is just 4-for-49 (.082).

Reliever Brandon Koch pitched in three games. In 3 2/3 innings, he gave up six runs (5 earned) on six hits, three walks and a hit batter. He had a 12.27 ERA and a 2.45 WHIP. In his start, Cole Sands gave up five runs (4 earned) on eight hits, three walks and a hit batter.  

 

Cedar Rapids Kernels

Derek Molina gave up three runs on six hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings out of the bullpen, a 2.73 WHIP. 

Gabriel Maciel returned to the lineup. In three games he went 1-for-10 (.100). Gabe Snyder went 3-for-23 (.130), but he did have six walks. 

 

Ft. Myers Might Mussels

It has been a struggle for 19-year-old outfielder Misael Urbina since a strong first week. Over five games last week, Urbina went 1-for-16 (.063). 

 

Trending Storyline 

We have talked about this before. Age-to-level of competition is a factor in prospect rankings, but it doesn’t need to be a primary factor in roster decisions and promotions. That said, following a missed 2020 season due to the pandemic, many of the Twins prospects began this season one step ahead of where they ended 2019. Several stayed at the same level. I thought it would be interesting to see how the current average age of hitters and pitchers at each of the four Twins full-season affiliates compares to the past couple of pre-pandemic seasons. 

 

LOW-A

2018 Cedar Rapids: Hitters (20.9), Pitchers (21.4)

2019 Cedar Rapids: Hitters (21.5), Pitchers (22.1)

2021 Ft. Myers: Hitters (21.6), Pitchers (22.5)

I would say that having Keoni Cavaco (20) and Misael Urbina (19) getting nearly everyday playing time helps keep the Low-A average age about the same. Again, many of these players were drafted in 2019 as 21-year-old college juniors (or 22-year-old seniors), and they’re just making their pro debuts (minus a few games at E-Town in 2019). 

 

HIGH-A 

2018 Ft. Myers: Hitters (22.2), Pitchers (23.5)

2019 Ft. Myers: Hitters (21.8), Pitchers (22.8)

2021 Cedar Rapids: Hitters (23.2), Pitchers (24.3) 

Several of the primary players in Cedar Rapids are guys who were drafted out of college in 2019. They were 21, and some of them got a little time in Low A Cedar Rapids at the end of that season, but they are now two years older. And the players from that previous draft are now 24 and 25, but they played in Low-A and 22 and 23. On the pitching side, you’ve got Jordan Gore who has moved to pitcher after playing shortstop in the system for a few years. He’s 26 with a 96 mph fastball and three pitches, so it’s a good move to keep him. Zach Featherstone was drafted as an OF/1B out of college but quickly was shifted to a pitcher, and then he needed Tommy John surgery in 2018. 

 

DOUBLE-A

2018 Chattanooga: Hitters (24.3), Pitchers (25.3)

2019 Pensacola: Hitters (23.4), Pitchers (24.3)

2021 Wichita: Hitters (25.1), Pitchers (25.2) 

There is a bit of a jump in the hitters’ age, and that makes a lot of sense. These are the most advanced of the prospects that unfortunately missed a season. Most of the prospects here would have likely played in Double-A a year ago. So that is noteworthy, but Peter Mooney is 30 and playing about 75-80% of the time. The same story with the pitchers who are, on average, just under a year older than in 2019. That said, they’re at essentially the same age as 2018, which is a good reminder that these numbers can vary. 

 

TRIPLE-A 

2018 Rochester: Hitters (27.2), Pitchers (25.5)

2019 Rochester: Hitters (27.2), Pitchers (26.3)

2021 St. Paul: Hitters (28.1), Pitchers (27.5)

If not for the Twins' plethora of injuries, Kirilloff (23), Larnach (24), Rortvedt (23). Instead, they found themselves in a position to sign 34-year-old Daniel Descalso and play him nearly every day. And now Ryan Jeffers (24) is back in the big leagues. 

The pitcher ages are a little higher than they have been, but that number could (or should) come down by the end of the season as I would think we would see Josh Winder, Jordan Balazovic and Cole Sands work some Triple-A innings, and Duran will certainly get more before he would be promoted. 

One thing to watch, as the injuries are piling up now, and the Twins continue to sign players out of independent leagues, those players may alter these numbers, so it will be interesting to see how they look at season’s end. And, ultimately, it won’t matter. Players need to develop at the right pace for them individually, and if players are performing, they’ll move up. 

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects have performed on the season (as well as too many unfortunate injuries). This was requested in the comments last week. Let me know if it provides value. 

#1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota) – St. Paul (2 rehab games, went 3-6 with 2 homers, 2 K), Minnesota (28 games, .238/.277/.410 (.686) with 6 doubles, 4 homers, 18 RBI, 6 BB, 30 K)

#2 - Royce Lewis (Wichita) - Out for Season (torn ACL)

#3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – St. Paul (3 games, went 3-11 with two homers, two walks, 8 strikeouts), Minnesota (25 games, .247/.389/.438 (.827) with 5 doubles, 3 homers, 8 RBI, 13 BB, 26 K) 

#4 - Ryan Jeffers (Minnesota) – St. Paul (24 games, .217/.340/.446 (.786) with four doubles, five homers, 16 BB, 26 K), Minnesota (15 games, .200/.245/.380 (.625) with one double, one triple, two home runs, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 21 K)

#5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 2 GS, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 14 K, 1.29 ERA, 1.14 WHIP 

#6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 1 GS, 3.1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.90 WHIP 

#7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 24 games, .242/.314/.316 (.630) with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 11 RBI, 9 BB, 30 K, 4 SB

#8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 28 games, .173/.372/.286 (.658) with 5 doubles, 2 homers, 7 RBI, 28 BB, 44 K

#9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 4 GS, 18.0 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 35 K, 1.00 ERA, 0.72 WHIP (went on the IL with right elbow strain)

#10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 3 GS, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP (went on IL with right elbow strain) 

#11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesotal) – Wichita (21 games, .250/.344/.381 (.725) with 5 doubles, 2 homers. 11 BB, 24 K), Minnesota (4 games, .000/.000/.000 (.000) with 0 BB, 4 K)

#12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – St. Paul (24 games, .238/.380/.513 (.893) with one double, 7 homers, 18 BB, 31 K), Minnesota (8 games, .103/.133/.241 (375) with 1 double, 1 homer, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 13 K)

#13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 17 games, .333/.384/.621 (1.005) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 14 RBI, 5 BB, 28 K. (on IL with wrist injury)

#14 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – Ft. Myers (22 games, .177/.292/.241 (532) with 1 double, 2 triples, 15 RBI, 11 BB, 21 K, 3 SB)

#15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – Wichita (6 GS, 26.1 IP, 21 H, 15 BB, 34 K, 3.42 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) 

#16 - Edwar Colina (Minnesota) - 60-Day IL (elbow)

#17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) – St. Paul (5 games, .286/.318/.571 (.890) with3 doubles, 1 homer, 1 BB, 6 K), Minnesota (15 games, .147/.216/.235 (452) with 1 homer, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 15 K)

#18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A (injured)

#19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – 29 games, .322/.394/.557 (950) with 6 doubles, 7 homers, 27 RBI. 10 BB, 14 K

#20 - Bailey Ober (St. Paul) – St. Paul (4 GS, 16.0 IP, 13 H, 5 BB, 21 K, 2.81 ERA, 1.13 WHIP), Minnesota (2 GS, 8.0 IP, 10 H, 1 BB, 8 K, 5.63 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) 
 

LOOKING AHEAD

Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (Sawyer Gipson-Long, Louie Varland, Sean Mooney, Miguel Rodriguez, Brent Headrick, TBD): 

Cedar Rapids @ Beloit:(TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD)

Wichita @ Tulsa: (Josh Winder, Cole Sands, Jordan Balazovic, Chris Vallimont,  Austin Schulfer, Josh Winder) 

Omaha @ St. Paul: (Charlie Barnes, Kenta Maeda (rehab), Jhoan Duran, Andrew Albers, TBD, TBD): 

 

Feel free to provide some feedback below regarding these reports. What do you like to read? What types of information would you like added? Also, feel free to ask any questions you like.

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[roger]

The highlight of this report is the week Wander Javier had, at least for me.  After I don't remember how many years he has been around battling injury and disappointing results with his bat, this may be the first time I recall his having a great week.  Noticed his extra base hit in TD's daily report earlier in the week, followed by his four hit game and I believe two hit game on Sunday.  Looking at the numbers, would not have been surprised had you named him your hitter of the week.

This young man has so much talent and looked so good the couple times I saw him on the field in televised spring training games.  That was always followed by disappointment.  If he does eventually put it together and become a big league shortstop, this may have been the week he turned the corner.  After going undrafted through two Rule 5 drafts, it would be a fantastic story if he would become that player the Twins were hoping for when paid the biggest International signing bonus they ever paid.

Thanks for the recap, Seth.

[Seth Stohs]

20 minutes ago, roger said:

The highlight of this report is the week Wander Javier had, at least for me.  After I don't remember how many years he has been around battling injury and disappointing results with his bat, this may be the first time I recall his having a great week.  Noticed his extra base hit in TD's daily report earlier in the week, followed by his four hit game and I believe two hit game on Sunday.  Looking at the numbers, would not have been surprised had you named him your hitter of the week.

My "votes" would have gone to Edouard Julien and Charlie Barnes. 

[Alex Schieferdecker]

The elbow injuries to Canterino and Enlow have been the most discouraging parts of what's overall seemed like a strong year so far for Twins pitching prospects. Josh Winder has come back to earth a bit recently, but still looks strong, and I've got to imagine that it's only a matter of time before he gets bumped up to St. Paul. Balazovic seemed to pitch well in his AA debut, and obviously Duran is on track for a late summer promotion to the Twins. Ober also looks like someone who might grow into a back-end role, and that might come sooner rather than later if Shoemaker continues to bomb.

Speaking of promotions, it's well past time that some of Wichita's bullpen start moving up to St. Paul. Given the need for better relievers with the Twins, I'd hope that at least Cano and Moran, but also possibly Mason and Phillips, would get an opportunity with the Saints sooner rather than later.

[jorgenswest]

Wondering about comparing the age numbers…

We’re the numbers you co pared end of season vs. the one month into the season? Would that skew the comparison?

As the season progresses I would expect younger players to move up a level pushing down that average age number by seasons end.

[roger]

7 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

My "votes" would have gone to Edouard Julien and Charlie Barnes. 

My comment about Javier was made because of my excitement at what he did this week.  Hadn't even looked at Julien's numbers, wow!  But his having a great week has become somewhat expected, hasn't it?

[Seth Stohs]

19 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Wondering about comparing the age numbers…

We’re the numbers you co pared end of season vs. the one month into the season? Would that skew the comparison?

As the season progresses I would expect younger players to move up a level pushing down that average age number by seasons end.

I made a note about how these 2021 numbers will change. It'll be interesting to see how. Will it mean younger players, or will it mean signing independent guys that are a little older? We'll find out. 

[Seth Stohs]

18 minutes ago, roger said:

My comment about Javier was made because of my excitement at what he did this week.  Hadn't even looked at Julien's numbers, wow!  But his having a great week has become somewhat expected, hasn't it?

When Javier was struggling early, I asked Brian Dinkelman about his defense. I think Javier is a plus-plus defensive shortstop. But by about Week 3, just watching the games, Javier was putting together better at bats, making more contact and better contact. I asked Dinkelman about that, and he agreed. So, I think it was a matter of time. 

[wsnydes]

I'm concerned about the minor league injuries, but I really expected an uptick given the off year.  The injuries at the major league level are insane though.  

I'm worried most about the injuries to the pitchers.  They seem inevitable, but injuries to pitchers always seems to be a bigger issue long-term.  

[D.C Twins]

Seth, are they still doing the half season standings for a playoff spot?

Is it possible that Miranda is staying to finish out that 'half season'

Otherwise, I have no idea why he has not been promoted. This has been consistent and sustained excellence.

[Dman]

Julien and Schmidt could easily move up but odds are they give them a few more weeks so that they can get a chance to be nominated and or play in the All-Star game before moving to High A.  Pitching should be tightening in A ball as the pitchers gain more experience so they should be challenged but was hoping if moved early that they both might have a shot at AA if they kept hitting in High A.  Still two levels a year puts them on track so probably no hurry.

Like Roger I was happily surprised to see Javier in this list.  He has had contact issues for so long I never could have imagined a 4 hit game coming from him ever.  Hopefully this is the beginning of big things to come but he needs to sustain it to make me a believer.  I like Palacios better right now and he has been very solid all year.  Hoping he can be seem as viable solution for SS in near future.

[Seth Stohs]

2 hours ago, D.C Twins said:

Seth, are they still doing the half season standings for a playoff spot?

Is it possible that Miranda is staying to finish out that 'half season'

Otherwise, I have no idea why he has not been promoted. This has been consistent and sustained excellence.

I don't think any of the minor leagues are even having playoffs this year. Because they started a month late, they're just having everyone play later. So now, Miranda being at Double-A is because that's where he believe he should be and/or to make sure he keeps playing every day and they don't lose people. It's been 5 weeks... it's a great start and he has been consistent. Nothing wrong with him experience some sustained success before moving him up. 

[shortround81]

Did Hackimer get released? I'm not seeing him on the Saints roster

[Dman]

3 hours ago, D.C Twins said:

Seth, are they still doing the half season standings for a playoff spot?

Is it possible that Miranda is staying to finish out that 'half season'

Otherwise, I have no idea why he has not been promoted. This has been consistent and sustained excellence.

Yeah I agree with you.  He has the most sustainable numbers of any player in the system with a low K rate, sustainable BABIP and while his walk rate could be better guys that make really good contact generally just have lower walk rates and if the K rate is low that is not a problem.  Slugging is also not an issue.  He is ready they just have to decide when they want to move Miranda to AAA, Steer to AA and Julien to High A.  It will be a cascading affect once they make that move.  Steer has been struggling with contact so he might be the hold up. Still his eye has been been good with more walks than K's so still seems like he could handle AA to me. Julien has that high BABIP so will see some regression in his numbers but with 23% walk rate he will be OK moving up early.  If could cut his K rate by 10% (not easy to do) even if his BABIP normalizes his number would likely be similar.

Anyway I digress.  There is nothing really holding those three back other than letting them qualify for All Star status.  Their numbers speak for themselves IMO.  While I know the Twins have a glut of 2nd base options right now in Polanco, Arraez and Gordon I still would like to see Miranda get some time at the MLB level this year.  His slugging is going to better than all three of those guys so he could be a difference maker.  I don't know what his defense is like at 3rd base but if it is solid he would be nice Donaldson insurance as well and possibly the first legit third baseman the Twins have produced in a long time.

 

 

[Seth Stohs]

2 hours ago, shortround81 said:

Did Hackimer get released? I'm not seeing him on the Saints roster

He did. They just announced that prior to tonight's game. 

[Dman]

35 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

He did. They just announced that prior to tonight's game. 

I know he had a rough game the other night but is this something where Hackimer asked for his release or the Twins just giving up on him?  He started the year off in AA with 0.00 ERA, .85 WHIP and 11 K's in 7 innings pitched which looks pretty elite in a SSS.  I know that all blew up in AAA with a 16.2 ERA and 4.20 WHIP but pitchers have bad games all the time.  Didn't mean he was cooked necessarily.  Just seems odd with the Twins grabbing guys from almost anywhere to give up on a guy who looked so good just a couple of Weeks ago.  Doesn't make much sense to me.

[Seth Stohs]

5 minutes ago, Dman said:

I know he had a rough game the other night but is this something where Hackimer asked for his release or the Twins just giving up on him?  He started the year off in AA with 0.00 ERA, .85 WHIP and 11 K's in 7 innings pitched which looks pretty elite in a SSS.  I know that all blew up in AAA with a 16.2 ERA and 4.20 WHIP but pitchers have bad games all the time.  Didn't mean he was cooked necessarily.  Just seems odd with the Twins grabbing guys from almost anywhere to give up on a guy who looked so good just a couple of Weeks ago.  Doesn't make much sense to me.

 

I was surprised when I got the press release. Certainly he could have headed back to Wichita... could be more to it, but not sure if we'll ever hear. 

 

[shortround81]

23 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

 

I was surprised when I got the press release. Certainly he could have headed back to Wichita... could be more to it, but not sure if we'll ever hear. 

 

Yeah, this bums me out. From what I saw on social media he was really trying to work on accuracy. I get it that that should be solidified by AAA, but at least he was self-aware. I'm surprised they didn't send him back to Wichita