Twins Minor League Report (6/20): Mejia Makes Statement Start

Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Wednesday. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions.

TRANSACTIONS

• Chattanooga’s Williams Ramirez pitched in the Southern League All- Star game on Tuesday night and was placed on the Lookouts disabled list on Wednesday.
  
• Lefty Andrew Vasquez returns to the Lookouts.
  
• RHP Colton Davis and RHP Brady Anderson were activated from the Miracle DL with LHP Kevin Marnon going on the DL.
  

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 2, Syracuse 0

Box Score

Lefty Adalberto Mejia celebrated his 25th birthday on Wednesday by tossing seven shutout innings. He gave up just three hits, walked one and struck out eight batters in the game. He improved to 3-2 while dropping his ERA to 2.91 on the season. Gabriel Moya pitched a scoreless eighth inning despite giving up a hit and walking a batter. Alan Busenitz came on for a perfect ninth inning, including a strikeout. It was just his second save of the season.

The Red Wings offense didn't do much either. In fact, both of their runs came in the fourth inning. It had the making of a really big inning, but it also turned into a disaster. They had the bases loaded with nobody out, but two straight batters hit grounders that were fielded and the out was made at home. With two outs, Byron Buxton came through with a single that scored two, the second on a throwing error.

Buxton was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Willians Astudillo went 2-for-4 with his ninth and tenth doubles. Nick Gordon added a triple. LaMonte Wade was 0-for-2, but he walked twice.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga

Box Score

The Lookouts have the final day of their All-Star break on Wednesday.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 1, Tampa 5

Box Score

Clark Beeker put together another quality start, but the Miracle offense was unable to provide enough support. Beeker gave up three runs on six hits and a walk over the first six innings. He struck out seven. Brady Anderson came on and gave up two runs on three hits and three walks over the final three innings. He struck out two.

The Miracle managed just four hits in the game. Caleb Hamilton had the long extra -base hit, his ninth double of the season. Miguel Sano went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Maybe more surprising, Luis Arraez went 0-for-4, though he did drive in a run.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids

Box Score

The Kernels enjoyed their final day of the All-Star break. They get back into game action on Thursday at home

E-TWINS E-TALK

Elizabethton Twins 15, Burlington 3

Box Score

Less than two weeks ago, 6-9 starting pitcher Tyler Palm was working in the United Shores Professional Baseball League. On Wednesday night, Palm made his first start for an affiliated baseball club and did a nice job. He gave up two runs on seven hits over five innings. He struck out seven batters without issuing a walk. Derek Molina came on and struck out three in two scoreless, hitless innings. Juan Gamez threw the final two innings. He was charged with an unearned run on two hits and a walk. He struck out four.

The E-Twins got contributions from several players on their way to 15 runs on 19 hits. Alex Robles went 4-for-4 with a walk. He drove in two runs and scored two runs. Trevor Casanova, playing in his first game, went 3-for-4 with two doubles. He was also hit by a pitch. Jared Akins had a double and a triple. Casanova’s fellow catcher at Cal State Northridge, Albee Weiss, has already been moved to the outfield. He had his first two professional hits in this game, including a double. Fourth-round pick Dashawn Keirsey went 2-for-5 with a triple, again, his first two hits. Yunior Severino had his first two hits in the Twins organization and drove in four runs. Eighth-round pick Chris Williams had his first hit, a double.

GCL TWINS TALK

GCL Twins 5, GCL Orioles 1

Box Score

The GCL Twins improved to 3-0 on the season thanks to some strong pitching. Kai-Wai Teng’s first US start went well. In five innings, he gave up one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out six. Next, Dylan Stowell made his first pro appearance. The 2018 34th-round pick gave up three hits and hit a batter, but no runs, over two scoreless innings. Osiris German recorded the save with two scoreless innings.

Aaron Whitefield batted second and started in centerfield. He went 1-for-3 with a double in the game. He had not played since April when he suffered a broken hamate bone. Gabe Snyder, 2018 pick from Wright State, picked up the first two hits of his professional career. Tyler Webb went 2-for-4. Snyder and Webb each stole their first base. Samuel Vasquez went 2-for-4 with a double. Janigson Villalobos had just one hit, but he drove in three of the team’s five runs.

STARS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Alex Robles, Elizabethton Twins (4-4, BB)

Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day:Adalberto Mejia, Rochester Red Wings (7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K)

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

#1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - All Star Break

#2 - Fernando Romero (Minnesota) - Did not pitch

#3 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 1-4, 3B(3)

#4 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Did not pitch

#5 - Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) - All Star Break, expect news of his promotion to Ft. Myers soon.

#6 - Wander Javier - out of for the season

#7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - All Star Break

#8 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - All Star Break

#9 - Brusdar Graterol (Cedar Rapids) - All Star Break

#10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - All Star Break

#11 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did not pitch

#12 - Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) - All Star Break

#13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 0-4

#14 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 0-2, 2 BB, K

#16 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - Did not play

#17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 0-2, BB, HBP, K

#18 - Yunior Severino (Elizabethton Twins) - 2-5, R, 4 RBI, K

#19 - Tyler Jay (Chattanooga) - All Star Break

#20 - Felix Jorge (Chattanooga) - Disabled List, began rehab on June 19.

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - RHP Zack Littell (1-3, 3.58 ERA)

Biloxi @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - TBD

Tampa Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) - LHP Charlie Barnes (1-4, 3.88 ERA)

Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (4-2, 4.01 ERA)

Burlington @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - TBD

GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled

Please feel free to ask any questions about Wednesday’s games, or ask any questions you may have.