Twins Minor League Report (5/28): Pitching the 2012 Draft Arms

We are all very excited about the potential of Jose (JO) Berrios. DJ Baxendale has been the best pitcher in the Twins organization to this point of the season. Tyler Duffey has been strong and consistent through the year. Two other 2012 draft picks made impressive starts on Tuesday night. 2^nd Round Mason Melotakis looked to end the Cedar Rapids Kernels’ six-game losing streak. 11^th round pick Taylor Rogers looked to keep the good times rolling for the Miracle.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It would be nice to get Luke Bard and JT Chargois going, but even without those two starting yet, the Twins 2012 draft class is off to a very strong start.

Check out what happened in the Twins minor league system on Tuesday:

Rochester Red Wings, Lehigh Valley IronPigs

This game was suspended by rain with one out in the top of the 5^th inning. Andrew Albers was working on his first clunker of the season. Jeff Clement had homered. When the game is completed, we’ll provide the game’s story.

New Britain Rock Cats 1, Richmond Squirrels 2

Box Score

Logan Darnell had another very good start but unfortunately the Rock Cats' bats were kept quiet. Darnell has been very good of late. In this game, he went six innings. The lefty gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out five. Cole Johnson came to the team from Ft. Myers and got into game action right away. He pitched a scoreless inning in his AA debut despite giving up two hits and a walk. Michael Tonkin came on and struck out five over two perfect innings.

Jordan Parraz hit his second home run in the week. It was one of just three hits for the team. Down a run in the ninth, Reynaldo Rodriguez doubled to lead off the inning. AJ Pettersen bunted him to third base, but the team was unable to plate the game-tying run.

Bruce Pugh was put on the disabled list. Cole Johnson and catcher Kyle Knudson were promoted to the Rock Cats.

Ft. Myers Miracle 5, Bradenton Marauders 0

Box Score

Aderlin Mejia continues to impress with the Miracle, but it was different player who didn't start the season with the team who was the story tonight. In last year's draft the Twins selected Taylor Rogers in the 11th round out of the University of Kentucky. He began the season with the Kernels but was promoted to Ft. Myers at the start of this month. On this night, he worked seven shutout innings. He gave up seven hits, walked none and struck out seven to improve to 4-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.32 with the Miracle. Ryan O’Rourke returned to the Miracle bullpen and threw a scoreless inning. He struck out two. Matt Hauser struck out the side in the 9^th.

Mejia is supposed to be in Ft. Myers waiting for the Elizabethton season to start. If he keeps playing like he has, he may have to stick. In this game, he went 2-2 with three walks. He doubled for the fourth time and stole his eighth base. Eddie Rosario went 2-3 with two walks and his 10^th double. Miguel Sano went 2-4 with his 14^th double. Jhon Goncalves went 2-4 with his fourth double. Angel Morales was also 2-4.

Cedar Rapids Kernels 9, Clinton LumberKings 4

Box Score

The Kernels found a winning formula to end their six-game losing streak. They got some big hits, including a couple home runs, and a terrific start.

Like Rogers and Baxendale, Mason Melotakis was a 2012 draft pick. He improved to 4-2 with a 3.69 ERA with seven strong innings in this game. He started with six shutout innings before yielding two runs in the seventh. In all, he gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out three. Tim Atherton pitched the eighth. He gave up two runs on a walk and a home run. Steven Gruver struck out two in a scoreless ninth.

JD Williams led the offense. He went 3-4 with his fifth home run. Byron Buxton went 3-5. Travis Harrison knocked his eighth home run. Jorge Polanco hit his seventh triple.

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