Twins Minor League Report (7/10): Dozier, Arcia, Batts And More

There were seven games in the Twins farm system on Friday, plus a bunch of news and transactions. Check it all out below.

TRANSACTIONS

There was a bit of movement in the Twins farm system on Friday. First, a bit of news. Max Kepler, who has been out for a couple of games with a sore shoulder, has been ruled out of the Futures Game on Sunday. He was replaced by, you guessed it, a Royals’ prospect.

With Travis Harrison placed on the disabled list a few days ago and Kepler out, the Lookouts needed some outfield help. The other night, pitcher Tim Shibuya was out in right field for a couple of innings (and actually played well and got an assist). Marcus Knecht was promoted from Ft. Myers to the Lookouts.

Also, the Twins signed veteran minor leaguer Shannon Wilkerson to play in the outfield. He was an eighth-round pick of the Red Sox in 2009 and got to AAA with them in 2014. This year, he went unsigned and was playing for the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League.

Third baseman TJ White was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers on Friday as well. Twins Daily also learned the Twins third-round pick Travis Blankenhorn was being promoted from the GCL Twins to the Elizabethton Twins.

RED WINGS REPORT

Game 1 - Rochester 0, Syracuse 4

Box Score

Taylor Rogers was on the hill for the Red Wings in game one. The left-hander was charged with four runs on ten hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out five. He falls to 7-6 with a 3.19 ERA.

The Red Wings hitters managed just three hits in this game. Eric Farris hit his eighth double, the lone extra base hit.

Game 2 - Rochester 11, Syracuse 2

Box Score

As poor as the offense was in the first game, they made up for it (if that is possible) in game 2. As you might guess, Oswaldo Arcia played a large role in that. He went 2-3 with two walks, his ninth double, his eighth home run and three RBI. In his final plate appearance, he worked a walk with the bases loaded. It brought up Reynaldo Rodriguez who promptly launched a grand slam, his eighth home of the year. Rodriguez had five RBIs in the game. James Beresford went 2-3 with a walk. Chris Herrmann and Wilkin Ramirez each had a double.

Logan Darnell made another spot start. The lefty went the first 3.1 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. Mark Hamburger worked the next 2.2 innings and gave up two hits and a walk, but no runs. He struck out three. Cole Johnson pitched a scoreless final inning.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 0, Mississippi 9

Box Score

This was a reasonably close game until the late innings. Brett Lee gave up nine hits, but just two runs, in four innings. Alex Muren threw two more scoreless innings. Jake Reed came on for the seventh and gave up two runs that inning. He was then charged with two more in the eighth. He gave up four runs on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Zack Jones came on for him. He was only able to record one out. He was charged with three runs on one hit and four walks. DJ Johnson got the final out of the eight and pitched a scoreless ninth.

Newcomer Shannon Wilkerson led off and went 1-3 with a walk. Marcus Knecht batted sixth and went 1-3 with a walk and a double. Levi Michael also had a double.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 0, Clearwater 3

Box Score

Mat Batts just continues to impress. The lefty had another terrific start. In this game, he got a no-decision despite throwing seven shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out ten. It was his second straight game without allowing an earned run. His Miracle ERA drops to 1.71.

Brian Gilbert came on for the eighth. He was charged with three runs on two hits and a walk in the inning. Matt Summers gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning.

Not much offense for the Miracle in this one. Tanner Vavra continues to hit well. He went 2-3 with his fourth and fifth doubles of the year. Zach Granite and Jason Kanzler each added a single.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 3, Kane County 8

Box Score

Zach Tillery has been terrific for the Kernels this year in whatever role he’s been given. He continues to start. In this game, he gave up one run on six hits and a walk in 5.2 innings. He struck out two. Mike Theofanopoulos got the final out of the sixth inning, but not before giving up two hits, three walks and two runs. Jared Wilson gave up two runs on four hits over the final two innings.

Tanner English, Max Murphy and Rafael Valera each went 2-4. Murphy has the only RBI for the Kernels in the game.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 2, Kingsport 3

Box Score

The E-Twins fall a game below .500 (8-9). Sam Clay made his first start. The lefty gave up one run on three hits and three walks in just 2.2 innings. He struck out two. 2015 pick Nate Gercken gave up one run on three hits over 4.1 innings. He walked none and struck out three. Alex Robinson got two outs. He gave up one run on one hit and one walk. He struck out one. Logan Lonbana got the final out.

Manuel Guzman led the offense. He went 3-3 with a walk and his fifth stolen base. Tyler Kuresa went 3-4 including his fourth home run of the short season. LaMonte Wade hit his second home run.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 1, GCL Red Sox 5

Box Score

Williams Ramirez made the start in this game and was terrific. He threw five shutout innings and gave up just one hit. He walked three, but he struck out seven. Hector Lujan came on to start the sixth. He gave up five runs (three earned) on two hits and two hit batters and recorded just one out. Rich Condeelis went the next 1.2 innings, walking one and striking out one. Max Cordy pitched one scoreless inning.

The Twins managed just four hits in this game. Jermaine Palacios went 2-4. Luis Arraez hit his fourth double. Palacios is now hitting .389 while Arraez is hitting .328.

The GCL Twins fall to 9-8 on the season.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Mat Batts, Ft. Myers Miracle

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Oswaldo Arcia, Rochester Red Wings

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05 CST) – LHP Pat Dean

Mississippi @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – TBD

Clearwater @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – LHP Randy Rosario

Johnson City @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) – RHP Cody Stashak

GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00 CST) – TBD

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