Twins Minor League Report (6/11): Miracle Clinch, Turtle Power

Thing I'm actually most excited about from these box scores you ask?

Rooker....taken them walks (he'll always hit home runs and strike out, but if he adds consistent walks to his repertoire.....a major leaguer he could be....

I'm not even sure what to think about AAA stats anymore. With the offensive spike, most hitters are crushing the ball and the average ERA is around 5.00, so it's harder to see how guys are going to transition to the majors. But you have to be pretty confident in your backups in case any position player gets hurt. You've got Arraez, Astudillo, Cave, and possibly even Gordon and Wiel in the wings - that's some solid depth!

Rooker seems to be turning the corner at AAA... Look out! Including tonight's game, he's had an even 50 PA since June 1st. In those 50 PA he's struck out only 12 times, drawn 12 walks (24%), and hit .429/.540/.629!

We got some stars in Fort Myers dont we? That's gonna be fun to watch those guys mature.

Astudillo wouldn't be in Rochester if he was always 8-11. How many hits were by swinging at balls in the zone? That is probably what will get him another shot. That, or one of the catchers going on the IL.

The boxes have Lewis 2/9 with 4 strikeouts and the homer, a bit different than the summary, which is 3/8. Plus, he finishes game 1 hitting .222, and then he goes 1/5 in game 2, and raises his average to .228. That is some fuzzy math.

What fun and yes - I am still an Astudillo fan!

I am glad that I am not an announcer and don't need to say Tampa Tarpons three times fast.

FSL all star game is this weekend?

Hope to see some promotions after.

Maybe

Diaz

Larnach

Duran

Jeffers

Your opening paragraph, Cody, is something those of us who follow these teams closely have been praying for the last five or six years.  

Congrats to the Miracle, but can the Kernels also sneak into the playoffs after a truly ugly start to their season?  They are one game behind Burlington for the second playoff slot.  Expect there are only a couple games left, will they make it?

Hopefully, Lewis Thorpe will throw his hat into the ring for a Twins debut by pitching a great game tonight.

Rooker seems to be turning the corner at AAA... Look out! Including tonight's game, he's had an even 50 PA since June 1st. In those 50 PA he's struck out only 12 times, drawn 12 walks (24%), and hit .429/.540/.629!

After an initial adjustment period (something we've seen from Rooker at every level), he's been putting up good numbers for almost 2 months now:

.323/.447/.559 in 114 plate appearances. 15% walk rate, but still carrying a 35% strikeout rate over that stretch. The strikeout rate has been dropping as the season goes along though, so that's positive.

His BABIP is off the charts at .532, so there's some regression coming in there. But otherwise his stat line looks like a Sano 2.0. I'm not sure the TD forums could handle a lineup with TWO Sanos in it...

When is Ramon Borrego going to let Ben Rortvedt actually catch? He's arguably the best catching prospect in the system but has only caught once in last 8-9 games. Being DH is almost like not being in the game, some players need to actually be in the game defensively to hit well. I think Ben is like that. He has thrown out 16 of 26, none of the other catcher's are even close to that. Plus he's a pitchers catcher; frames well, blocks well, calls pitches well...and keeps teams from thinking about stealing. Jeffers is more of a DH type then Rortvedt down the road.

When is Ramon Borrego going to let Ben Rortvedt actually catch? He's arguably the best catching prospect in the system but has only caught once in last 8-9 games. Being DH is almost like not being in the game, some players need to actually be in the game defensively to hit well. I think Ben is like that. He has thrown out 16 of 26, none of the other catcher's are even close to that. Plus he's a pitchers catcher; frames well, blocks well, calls pitches well...and keeps teams from thinking about stealing. Jeffers is more of a DH type then Rortvedt down the road.

Maybe Jeffers is being showcased as a possible trade chip?

When is Ramon Borrego going to let Ben Rortvedt actually catch? He's arguably the best catching prospect in the system but has only caught once in last 8-9 games. Being DH is almost like not being in the game, some players need to actually be in the game defensively to hit well. I think Ben is like that. He has thrown out 16 of 26, none of the other catcher's are even close to that. Plus he's a pitchers catcher; frames well, blocks well, calls pitches well...and keeps teams from thinking about stealing. Jeffers is more of a DH type then Rortvedt down the road.

Rortvedt's been hitting well enough since his promotion but it is a little concerning for him not to be catching, unless he's got a bit of a nagging injury he's working through. That said, Jeffers is not the issue, because they're playing on different clubs...

Hopefully this is when we see Royce Lewis go on a tear.

Rooker is on a great run. He seems to have made the adjustments he needs to be successful at AAA. We really shouldn't be surprised; he was a great hitter in the SEC, at Rookie Ball, was good enough to skip low A and club the snot out of the ball at Ft. Myers...really the only hiccup was at AA and it's not like he was bad last year, just wasn't elite. But the power performance is back to where we thought he'd be, the BA is back to where he'd been in other minor league stops, and he's starting to draw walks in a way that makes him very dangerous.

Rooker is an asset and is looking like a guy who will either be a contributor next year or a worthy trade asset this year.

Cody states: "On the mound, Devin Smeltzer went five strong innings, striking out seven and walking one. He allowed three runs, all of which came off two home runs."

Sorry, but I'm not sure I agree with the "strong" qualifier...

Astudillo wouldn't be in Rochester if he was always 8-11. How many hits were by swinging at balls in the zone? That is probably what will get him another shot. That, or one of the catchers going on the IL.

The two HR highlights I've seen were pretty much right down the middle.  I think the bigger question is how much is he swinging at stuff outside the zone.  MLB pitchers just threw him progressively worse and worse pitches and he never stopped swinging at them.  Hopefully he was laying off of pitches outside the zone before those homers, if AAA pitchers are just throwing him more stuff in the zone then I'm not sure how much work he's getting on the thing he needs to improve most.

As a third catcher he's still a pretty great asset to have though.

Empty stadium to see Miracle win.

A good day for the system and more and more guys are progressing and developing.

Is it crazy that the highlight for me is a couple good IP from Moya and Romero at Rochester?

OK, I think the lone thing I don't like about the Twins being potential BUYERS this next month is the fact that any time a minor leaguer has a good game so many seem to want to make them a "trade chip." They're all trade chips... but I just hate the phrase... 

 

Maybe Jeffers is playing great and putting his name in the 2020 Twins catching plans?

So, you're saying the Twins should look to trade Rortvedt?

Seeing who the losing pitcher was in the Fort Myers tweet about the game I just have to....You pitch Junk, you get junk....

Well the Turtle will have to wait. Twins have two strong catchers for this season. Maybe next season he will be the fulltime reserve. Willians best bet is to catch as much as possible!

What to do with Nick Gordon in the scheme of things. Is there a place for him in Minnesota?

Cave is still a fine prospect (more so than Lamonte Wade?). Rooker is coming into his own. Raley is in the mix. But where do you plug them in.

Of course, the Twins still have to address longer term concerns with Berrios, Rosario, Buxton and Sano. When do they do that...and it will mean a lot to the future of the organization and what bodies are available.

While we are at it, what ha[[ens with Odorizzi, Gibson and Pineda. All three can walk after this season. Would you be willing to gamble a 3-4 year deal for any of them? How much would you throw at Odorizzi, even though he is a 5-6 inning starter?

Excited always about the future Twins. A couple of nice catching prospects. They seem to have some future choices for first base (Sano again). The infield depth is starting to rise. They are strong with outfield candidates. There has to be some arms for the rotation and more for the bullpen. Or do you trade for one/two solid bullpen arms, and also go after that bigtime veteran starter?

I think the bigger question is how much is he swinging at stuff outside the zone.  MLB pitchers just threw him progressively worse and worse pitches and he never stopped swinging at them.  Hopefully he was laying off of pitches outside the zone before those homers, if AAA pitchers are just throwing him more stuff in the zone then I'm not sure how much work he's getting on the thing he needs to improve most.

 

As a third catcher he's still a pretty great asset to have though.

Same point, different words, different angle.