Twins Minor League Report (7/8):

Monday morning got out to a quick - and good - start when Baseball America released their mid-season Top 50.

Byron Buxton was ranked the #1 prospect in all of baseball.

No. 1 talent in last year’s draft is even better than expected with power, speed, defense and an extremely advanced hitting approach

Miguel Sano, despite being in a little bit of a funk, checked in only two spots later at #3.

Best power in the minors, one of the best arms. Hitting ability has taken a step forward.

It was also nice to see the injured Alex Meyer at #32.

His acquisition helped fill Twins’ most desperate need—nearly big league-ready power pitching.

Narrowly missing the Top 50 were P Jose Berrios (who pitched for Cedar Rapids today) and New Britain 2B Eddie Rosario. That list is behind the paywall, so no quotes to read.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS 3, SCRANTON/WB RAILRIDERS 6

Box Score

Andrew Albers certainly didn't step up and grab a rotation spot (if one's available). Albers used 98 pitches to get through five innings. On nine hits, he allowed five runs. He walked two and struck out five.

Chirs Herrmann hit his first AAA home run. Antoan Richardson had two hits, including a triple. Eric Farris was 3-for-4 with a double. Deibinson had two hits (a double) and an RBI.

Pedro Hernandez is tomorrow's scheduled starter, though P.J. Walters is set to join the team tomorrow as well. It will be interesting to see what transpires.

NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS 2, PORTLAND SEA DOGS 1

Box Score

It was quite a performance for Rock Cats' starter Virgil Vasquez. Vasquez cruised through eight shutout, one-hit innings this afternoon before allowing three singles and a run in the 9th. He only walked one, while striking out nine. Vasquez, who has bounced between New Britain and Rochester, got his first AA win and dropped his AA ERA to 3.04. Vasquez threw 112 pitches.

Danny Ortiz and Jordan Parraz accounted for all the Rock Cats runs on two swings of the bat. In addition to their solo home runs, both men added singles.

Nate Hanson and Josmil Pinto doubled. Miguel Sano went 0-for-4 with a K. Manager Jeff Smith was ejected after arguing Sano's 1st inning strikeout. Sano is now batting .195 in his stint with New Britain.

The Rock Cats will attempt to get back to .500 on Thursday. The Eastern League All-Star game with be hosted by the Rock Cats on Wednesday night.

FORT MYERS MIRACLE 3, ST. LUCIE METS 5

Box Score

After jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead, the bullpen counted clean up Jason Wheeler's mess and fell to the Mets.

Jason Wheeler lasted 6.1 innings but it was the error to start the inning and what happened after he left that was too much to overcome. Wheeler allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits. He walked three and struck out four.

Wheeler left the bases loaded for Nelvin Fuentes, who allowed two to score on a single. Zack Jones allowed a run in an inning of work.

Aderlin Mejia and Matt Koch both had two hits. Kennys Vargas drove in two runs. Byron Buxton, batting in the 3-hole, went 0-for-3 with a walk.

Jhon Goncalves, who spent some time in New Britain before being sent back to Fort Myers, needs to go back up. He's been the hottest hitter in the Twins system over the last handful of weeks (.412/.512/.647 over his last ten games). Tonight he was 1-for-2 with two walks. He stole a base and, though he committed an error in the outfield, also had two assists - one at home and one at second. Goncalves is not a prospect, but a valuable organizational-type guy.

ACongratulations to P Matt Summers and OF Mike Kvasnicka, who earlier in the day were named FSL Pitcher and Hitter of the Week.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 5, CLINTON LUMBERKINGS 3

Box Score

The Kernels came from behind to win this one, and despite only getting four hits, they used the help of nine walks to earn the victory.

D.J. Hicks drove in two run on two hits, including a double.

Jose Berrios wasn't sharp and only lasted four innings. Tonight, he walked four, hit a batter and allowed seven hits. He only had one strikeout and gave up three runs. He did pick two runners off of first base though.

The bullpen combo of Steven Gruver and Tyler Jones was fantastic. Over five innings, they allowed only two hits and combined to strike out seven.

Gruver got the win and Jones the save.

Christian Powell makes the 6:35 pm start tomorrow night.

ELIZABETHTON SWEPT BY BURLINGTON ROYALS (4-1 and 2-0)

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Despite being swept in a two-game set, the E-Town pitchers pitched very solidly.

Hein Robb wasn't great in Game 1. He went 4.2 innings giving up four runs. He only struck out one.

Brandon Bixler struck out three to get four outs and Dallas Gallant pitched a hitless final frame.

In Game 2, the starting pitcher was Randy Rosario, who is making his case to move up prospect lists. He struck out five in five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) to score on three hits and two walks.

C.K. Irby made his pro debut and struck out two in an innings.

Andrew Ferreira struck out the side in the 7th.

Offensively, in two games, there isn't much to speak of. Eight hits TOTAL, including a lone double by Romy Jimenez, led to only one run on the day.

It's really not worth talking about, writing about or reading about. It wasn't pretty.

GCL TWINS 11, GCL RAYS 4

Box Score

The GCL Twins used a 16-hit, 11-run attack to improve to 9-6 on the year. The offensive charge was led by Zach Larson (3-for-4, 2B, R, SB, 4 RBI), Jonatan Hinojosa (3-for-4, 2 3B, 3 R, 4 RBI) and Jorge Hernandez (3-for-5, 2 R).

Amaurys Minier, who has been up-and-down all season, was up today. He hit two solo home runs and drew a walk. He did commit his 3rd error today, though.

Fan favorite Nick Blackburn made another rehab start today. He lasted five innings, striking out five. He allowed two runs on six hits.

Jared Wilson struck out five in two innings, but also allowed two runs. He's credited with a blown save and a win.

Chih-Wei Hu allowed two hits with a strikeout in two innings.