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  • Twins Minor League Report (6/14): Rogers Dominates, Berrios Leaves Early

    Seth Stohs

    By Seth Stohs

    On Sunday, Byron Buxton made his major league debut, the goal of every single minor league player. There were a lot of strong hitting performances on the day, lots of three-hit games. A few of the Twins top pitching prospects were on the mound Sunday. Two of them didn’t get through the fourth inning, but one had a tremendous start. To find out who performed well, you’ll just have to keep reading.

    Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Edgar Corcino)

    Twins Video

    RED WINGS REPORT

    Rochester 2, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 1

    Box Score

    Taylor Rogers has continued to move up the farm system at a steady pace. At each level, he has had a couple of clunkers, but for the most part, he has been very good for the Red Wings. On Sunday, he posted one of his best starts of the year. The southpaw went eight innings. He gave up one run on six hits. He walked none and struck out eight. He improved to 6-4 and reduced his ERA to 3.23. He needed just 92 pitches and 63 of them were strikes. AJ Achter came on for the ninth and retired the three batters he faced to record his tenth save of the season.

    The Red Wings needed that performance as the offense didn’t provide much support. They had just four hits in the game. The big hit came from Danny Ortiz in the fourth inning. He drove in two runs with his 17th double of the season. Argenis Diaz recorded his sixth double.

    CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

    Chattanooga 4, Birmingham 3

    Box Score

    There was a scary moment in the bottom of the third inning. JO Berrios started for the Lookouts and had given up just one hit over three shutout innings. On the final out of that third inning, he took a liner to the shin. He made the play, but he left the game with a leg contusion. Reports following the game indicated that he was fine and wouldn’t miss any time. DJ Baxendale went to the mound and threw the next two innings. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks, though he did strike out five. Madison Boer gave up two unearned runs on two hits and two walks in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Jake Reed got the next four outs in order. JT Chargois recorded his third save since his call up to Chattanooga. He struck out two in an inning.

    Mike Gonzales went 2-4, but Max Kepler had the big hit. Kepler went 1-2 with two walks and a two-run homer. It was his third homer of the year. Jorge Polanco led off and went 0-1, but he walked three times. Niko Goodrum made the start in center field for the Lookouts.

    MIRACLE MATTERS

    Ft. Myers 5, Bradenton 6 (11 innings)

    Box Score

    Yet another extra innings game for the Miracle, and this one unfortunately ended in a loss.

    Stephen Gonsalves had a rough one in his second FSL start. In just 3.2 innings, he gave up three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out two. Before he left the game, he issued two straight bases-loaded walks. He was replaced by Matt Summers who gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits. He walked one and struck out one. Corey Williams came on and got the next seven outs without allowing a run. Todd Van Steensel struck out two over his two scoreless innings. Luke Westphal gave up a run on three hits in the bottom of the 11th to take the loss.

    Mitch Garver led the offense. He went 3-4 with his ninth double. Alex Swim went 2-5. Marcus Knecht’s tenth double drove in two runs. Bryan Haar added a double, his thirteenth.

    KERNELS NUGGETS

    Cedar Rapids 8, Lansing 3

    Box Score

    Good things come in threes, right? Well, four Kernels hitters had three hits in this game to help the team to a nice win on Sunday afternoon.

    Sam Gibbons got the start and got through seven innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and two walks. Mike Theofanopoulos gave up a run in his inning. He struck out two. Trevor Hildenberger struck out one in a perfect inning.

    Leadoff man Edgar Corcino went 3-4. Alex Real went 3-3 with a walk and his third double. Rafael Valera was 3-3 with a walk. Tanner English led the way. He went 3-4 with his sixth triple and his second home run.

    TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

    Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Taylor Rogers, Rochester Red Wings

    Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tanner English, Cedar Rapids Kernels

    MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

    Rochester – No Game Scheduled

    Chattanooga @ Birmingham (11:30 am CST) – RHP Greg Peavey

    Daytona @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – LHP Mat Batts

    Lansing @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 CST) – RHP Jared Wilson

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

    Seth Stohs has been blogging about the Minnesota Twins since May 2003. A founder and owner of Twins Daily, Seth has been a Twins fan for 40 years and has a passion for covering the minor leagues and prospects.
    Follow Seth Stohs on Twitter: sethtweets

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    Featured Comments

    nytwinsfan

    nytwinsfan 2,611

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    Kepler continues to hit. And he's been racking up the walks lately. Only 3 HRs, but lots of 2Bs and 3Bs, great K and BB rates, and by all accounts great defense, especially for a corner outfielder. Yes, 190 PAs isn't enough to conclude he is a top 100 prospect, but if you look at his 82 PAs in the Arizona Fall League, those were really good too. So he's getting close to half a season worth of PAs of crushing it, especially for a 22 year old who grew up in Germany not playing top-level organizational ball.

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    ShouldaCouldaWoulda

    ShouldaCouldaWoulda 464

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    Any worry about Gonsalves' first two starts? I read in a few spots that he shouldn't be thought of as too much of an MLB talent, as his stuff wouldn't likely play up very well. With his first two starts at A+ matching that belief, should we be a little less excited about his hot A- start? Or is this just an adjustment period? Or a little of both?

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    jimbo92107

    jimbo92107 7,419

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Taylor Rogers may be an okay leftie, but how are we supposed to think that he would displace Tommy Milone, another soft-tossing leftie that completely dominated AAA, but can't dominate at the mlb level?

     

    "Soft-tossing" may be unfair on my part. Rogers's profile says his fastball is "average...or a tick above." Would a few more mph on his fastball do the job for Rogers? He's also 6'3", so he's taller than Milone, with more of a downward plane. Maybe that would translate into more wins as a 4th or 5th starter.

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    d-mac

    d-mac 1,252

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Kepler continues to hit. And he's been racking up the walks lately. Only 3 HRs, but lots of 2Bs and 3Bs, great K and BB rates, and by all accounts great defense, especially for a corner outfielder. Yes, 190 PAs isn't enough to conclude he is a top 100 prospect, but if you look at his 82 PAs in the Arizona Fall League, those were really good too. So he's getting close to half a season worth of PAs of crushing it, especially for a 22 year old who grew up in Germany not playing top-level organizational ball.

     

    I had all but given up on him as a prospect last year, but he has made me a believer.

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    d-mac

    d-mac 1,252

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Any worry about Gonsalves' first two starts? I read in a few spots that he shouldn't be thought of as too much of an MLB talent, as his stuff wouldn't likely play up very well. With his first two starts at A+ matching that belief, should we be a little less excited about his hot A- start? Or is this just an adjustment period? Or a little of both?

     

    I was wondering the same thing, but it's an awfully small sample size at the moment. But those scouting reports have given me some pause.

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    Mike Sixel

    Mike Sixel 41,021

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

     

    Taylor Rogers may be an okay leftie, but how are we supposed to think that he would displace Tommy Milone, another soft-tossing leftie that completely dominated AAA, but can't dominate at the mlb level?

     

    "Soft-tossing" may be unfair on my part. Rogers's profile says his fastball is "average...or a tick above." Would a few more mph on his fastball do the job for Rogers? He's also 6'3", so he's taller than Milone, with more of a downward plane. Maybe that would translate into more wins as a 4th or 5th starter.

     

    or move him to the pen and see if he can dominate lefties.....because on this staff, with the FAs they've signed, how much of a shot is he really going to get to start in the majors any time soon?

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    jokin

    jokin 4,237

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted (edited)

    Taylor Rogers may be an okay leftie, but how are we supposed to think that he would displace Tommy Milone, another soft-tossing leftie that completely dominated AAA, but can't dominate at the mlb level?

     

    "Soft-tossing" may be unfair on my part. Rogers's profile says his fastball is "average...or a tick above." Would a few more mph on his fastball do the job for Rogers? He's also 6'3", so he's taller than Milone, with more of a downward plane. Maybe that would translate into more wins as a 4th or 5th starter.

    or move him to the pen and see if he can dominate lefties.....because on this staff, with the FAs they've signed, how much of a shot is he really going to get to start in the majors any time soon?

    I was typing while you were posting, so I included your post to add desk-pounding emphasis to make the point. I'll still make this a separate post because, in the wake of the Gilmartin decision, I think the Twins need to think about their LHP prospect options a little more creatively.

     

    I've never been a big fan of Rogers as a major league SP. Yesterday's performance was certainly impressive, as the S/WB team leads the IL in BA and OPS. But even with that performance, he's only gotten to the 7th inning 6 times in 13 starts. And one of the prime reasons he did well yesterday was that 7 of his 8 Ks were against LHB, and collectively, the 4 S/WB LHBs went 0 for 14 against him. He practically has had complete domination of lefties, throughout his career.

     

    Consider, Rogers v. LHB:

     

    FIP 1.71 GB% 57.9% K% 30% K/9 10.22 K/BB 9.6 BA .206 OPS .499

     

    Think I'm padding his stats by including the lower minor league levels?

     

    Think again. Rogers vs. LHB in AAA, 2015:

     

    FIP 1.18 GB% 55.6% K% 33% K/9 10.05 K/BB 32 BA 170 OPS ..367

     

    See that 32? That's right. 32 Ks and 1 BB.

     

    Here's your replacement for Duensing. Rogers is bound to pick up at least a couple ticks on his FB in a relief role. Plus he's 6'3" and still only 24 years old.

    Edited by jokin
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    Ben Noble

    Ben Noble 511

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    With Buxton up, I wonder if the plan is for Goodrum to be the (semi) regular CF for Chattanooga. It's just one game, but I would have assumed Kepler in CF with Walker and Harrison in the corners. I was pretty high on Goodrum as a SS a couple of years ago, but at this point his ceiling is starting to look like a utility player with speed.

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    nytwinsfan

    nytwinsfan 2,611

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

    Kepler was 4 for 5 today, as was Walker.  They are both just raking. Imagine an Outfield of Buxton, Kepler, Rosario, and Walker (hitting anywhere close to the way he is now).  I still think the jump to the majors is going to be hard for Walker, but boy is there upside.

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    Lakeside

    Lakeside 39

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

     

    Kepler was 4 for 5 today, as was Walker.  They are both just raking. Imagine an Outfield of Buxton, Kepler, Rosario, and Walker (hitting anywhere close to the way he is now).  I still think the jump to the majors is going to be hard for Walker, but boy is there upside.

    If Arcia starts hitting. . . . does your outield suggestion make him expendable at the trade deadline???

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    Steven Buhr

    Steven Buhr 2,279

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    If Arcia starts hitting. . . . does your outield suggestion make him expendable at the trade deadline???

    I do know this: If I were the GM of a team in need of a near MLB-ready corner OF with middle of the order potential, I'd have Terry Ryan's number real handy.

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