Twins Minor League Report (5/10): Luke Raley? More Like Luke Rake-y!

TRANSACTIONS

Miguel Sano is a step closer to returning to the Twins. He traveled to Rochester to join the Red Wings today.

RED WINGS REPORT

Durham 11, Rochester 8

Box Score

Chase De Jong: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 56.7% strikes (51 of 90 pitches)

HR: Luke Raley (7)

Multi-hit games: Raley (3-for-4, 2B, HR), Brent Rooker (2-for-5, 2B), Tomas Telis (2-for-4), Jordany Valdespin (2-for-3, 2 2B, BB), Drew Maggi (2-for-4)

Addison Reed had a successful first outing of his rehab assignment. The follow up didn’t go so well. The second pitch out of his hand ended up in the seats for a solo home run. Reed gave up three runs on five hits in his inning of work. Silver lining: He got four swinging strikes and threw 16 of his 21 pitches for strikes.

The Red Wings rallied back from being down 9-5 in the fifth inning to getting the tying run into scoring position in the eighth. Unfortunately, their rally ended there and to make matters worse Gabriel Moya gave up a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning.

Luke Raley was the big stud at the plate. He was 3-for-5 with a double and a home run. He scored twice and drove in three runs. Raley is now hitting an even .300 to go with a .929 OPS in his first taste of Triple A.

Chase De Jong … ouch. He’s been really up against it this season, and now has given up 24 earned runs in 14 innings pitched for Rochester. Old friend Aaron Slegers got knocked around for six runs, five earned, on 10 hits over five innings for Durham. It is a really difficult time to be a pitcher at the Triple-A level right now.

BLUE WAHOO BITES

Mississippi 4, Pensacola 1

Box Score

Griffin Jax: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 70.8% strikes (51 of 72 pitches)

HR: None

Multi-hit games: Taylor Grzelakowski (2-for-4), Jordan Gore (2-for-4, 2B)

Griffin Jax lives in the strike zone. He does such an incredible job with throwing strikes it makes it really hard for opposing teams to really rack up any runs against him. Even with Mississippi hitting three home runs off him tonight, Jax still managed to limit the damage to four runs over his six innings of work.

This is Jax’s worst start of the season, as he’d given up a grand total of two earned runs in six outings heading into tonight, but it’s still a testament to what he brings to the table even when things aren’t going his way. His ERA skyrocketed up to … 1.35. Wow, what a roll he’s been on.

Unfortunately, the Blue Wahoo bats couldn’t pick up the slack as Kyle Muller, Atlanta’s No. 12 prospect per MLB Pipeline, pitched a great game for the Braves. Pensacola’s lone run was scored on a wild pitch.

Cody Stashak pitched two perfect innings out of the bullpen and struck out four batters. In 17 innings so far this season he has 28 strikeouts and just two walks. Alex Kirilloff had the night off.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Game 1: Tampa 5, Fort Myers 2 (suspended in the fifth inning due to heavy rain)

Game 2: POSTPONED

This team can’t catch a break with the weather right now. This makes four postponements and a suspended game already this month. It’s only the 10th!

The suspended game will continue in the bottom of the fifth inning tomorrow. Lewin Diaz hit another home run, his third in seven games, and Ryan Costello added another homer. But, those stats won’t become official until this game is completed. So you can read all about that (assuming the weather cooperates) in tomorrow’s report.

KERNELS NUGGETS

West Michigan 8, Cedar Rapids 1

Box Score

Tyler Palm: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 55.2% strikes (37 of 67 pitches)

HR: None

Multi-hit games: Gilberto Celestino (2-for-4), Yeltsin Encarnacion (2-for-3, BB)

The Kernels just could not get out of the fourth inning tonight. Tyler Palm and Austin Schulfer combined to give up six runs on five hits and two walks. Meanwhile, the lineup struggled to deliver a big hit, going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position while leaving eight men on base.

This Cedar Rapids club could really use a boost right now. They’re 4-7 and have scored just 35 runs so far this month.

Is it Wander Javier time yet?

STARS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Cody Stashak, Pensacola

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Luke Raley, Rochester

TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

6. Brent Rooker (ROC): 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI, K

11. Nick Gordon (ROC): 0-for-5, K, E (throw)

16. Gilberto Celestino (CR): 2-for-4

18. LaMonte Wade (ROC): 1-for-5, 2B, R 2 K

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester vs. Durham, 12:05 pm CT (TBD)

Pensacola at Chattanooga, 6:15 pm CT (TBD)

Fort Myers vs. Tampa, 2:00 pm CT (continuation of suspended game)

Fort Myers vs. Tampa, 4:00 pm CT (Charlie Barnes)

Cedar Rapids at West Michigan, 6:05 pm CT (Cole Sands)

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games.