Twins Minor League Report (7/12): Jordan Balazovic Slams the Door

Nice to see Gordon doing well in AAA. With the success that Arraez is having, he could still be trade bait, but his value should be higher.

I'd like to see the speed that Gordon has in the major league lineup, but I have to believe that Arraez has moved himself in front of Gordon.

A pitcher in the Twins organization came in to deliver an impressive multi-inning effort to earn his team a victory. No, I’m not talking about Taylor Rogers. Jordan Balazovic, who had his schedule altered a bit due to the Futures Game, pitched the final four innings for Fort Myers tonight, giving up just one hit while striking out six.TRANSACTIONSRochester activated Fernando Romero from the IL and released Chase De Jong.Williams Ramirez started a rehab assignment with the GCL Twins.Fort Myers sent Derek Molina to the 7-day IL due to shoulder bicipital tendinitis and activated Bailey Ober from the IL.Elizabethton placed Tanner Brubaker, Casey Legumina, Luis Varland and Brent Headrick on the 7-day IL.RED WINGS REPORTLehigh Valley 7, Rochester 6Box ScoreLewis Thorpe: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 68.5% strikes (50 of 73 pitches)HR: Wilin Rosario (10), Nick Gordon (3)Multi-hit games: Wilin Rosario (2-for-3, 2B, HR, BB), Nick Gordon (2-for-4, HR, BB)Fernando Romero pitched for the first time since June 19, serving as the opener. He retired the first two batters on ground balls before a Nick Gordon fielding error extended the inning. From there, Romero surrendered a single and a three-run homer.Lewis Thorpe took over in the second inning and was solid in his four innings. The Red Wings chipped away at the lead, with Wilin Rosario hitting a two-run homer and Gordon providing a solo blast.Cody Allen made his Rochester debut. He struck out the first batter he faced, then gave up a home run. He walked the next batter (old friend Shane Robinson) before ending the inning on a double play.Next out of the pen was Cody Stashak. He struck out two batters over a pair of no-hit innings. The right-hander now has a 1.40 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and has 29 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings for Rochester.Rosario hit a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth to tie this game, but Gabriel Moya gave those runs right back in the top of the ninth. The Red Wings got a run across thanks to a bases-loaded walk from Gordon, but could not plate the tying run.Drew Maggi was hit in the leg by a pitch, which would have driven in the game-tying run, but the home plate umpire declared that Maggi turned into the pitch and did not award him first base. Wings manager Joel Skinner came out to argue and was eventually ejected. Brent Rooker was also ejected earlier in the game after a very tame episode in which he argued a called third strike.BLUE WAHOO BITESMontgomery 4, Pensacola 2Box ScoreRandy Dobnak: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 69.1% strikes (65 of 94 pitches)HR: NoneMulti-hit games: NoneIt was a tough night for the Blue Wahoos lineup, as they didn’t record a hit until the eighth inning. Randy Dobnak had a quality start, lowering his ERA with Pensacola to 2.76 on the year. Just checking in on this game between a few others, it appeared the weather was less than ideal. It was a windy night in the bayside Blue Wahoo Stadium and it also sounded like there may have been some rain.MIRACLE MATTERSFort Myers 8, Bradenton 4Box ScoreBlayne Enlow: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 60.9% strikes (42 of 69 pitches)Jordan Balazovic: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 70.9% strikes (39 of 55 pitches)HR: Trevor Larnach (6), Ryan Costello (7)Multi-hit games: Michael Helman (3-for-3, 2B, BB), Trevor Larnach (2-for-4, HR, BB), Gabriel Maciel (2-for-5)Bradenton jumped all over Blayne Enlow in the first inning, scoring four runs. The Miracle bounced back and scored the next eight runs unanswered to win.Melvi Acosta struck out three over two shutout innings before Jordan Balazovic took over to close out the final four innings. His schedule was thrown off a bit by participating in the Futures Game. Balazovic allowed just one baserunner and struck out six.Trevor Larnach hit a two-run homer, his sixth of the season, an RBI single and drew a walk. He’s now hitting .310 with an .835 OPS for Fort Myers. Michael Helman was 3-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.Remember that whole thing where Royce Lewis

? That was against Bradenton a ways back. Here’s the first pitch Royce saw in the ninth inning of an 8-4 game tonight:KERNELS NUGGETSGreat Lakes 7, Cedar Rapids 0Box ScoreJosh Winder: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 67.8% strikes (61 of 90 pitches)HR: NoneMulti-hit games: NoneThe Kernels lineup mustered just four hits, the only extra-base hit being a double for Gabe Snyder. Several of Cedar Rapids’ top prospects continue to struggle at the plate, including Wander Javier, who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts tonight. Jeff Johnson of the Cedar Rapids Gazette wrote about some of Javier’s struggles and spoke at length about him with Kernels manager Brian Dinkelman. Here’s a link to that piece.Josh Winder had an uncharacteristically poor start, as he surrendered three home runs, and Nate Hadley, 2019 25th-round pick, made his Kernels debut, striking out two batters over a pair of perfect innings.E-TWINS E-NOTESElizabethton 16, Burlington 6Box ScoreAndriu Marin: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 54.4% strikes (43 of 79 pitches)Osiris German: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 76.9% strikes (30 of 39 pitches)HR: Albee Weiss 2 (8), Seth Gray (3), Janigson Villalobos 2 (2)Multi-hit games: Spencer Steer (5-for-5, 2 2B, BB), Albee Weiss (4-for-5, 2B, 2 HR), Janigson Villalobos (3-for-5, 2 HR), Seth Gray (3-for-4, HR, BB), Max Smith (2-for-6)Sweet 16! The E-Town offense was en fuego Friday night. Albee Weiss racked up 10 total bases and drove in six runs. He and Janigson Villalobos each hit two home runs. Spencer Steer reached base safely in all six of his plate appearances.Osiris German starred on the mound for Elizabethton. After striking out six in three shutout inning tonight, he now has a 0.60 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 15 innings this season.GCL TWINS TAKESGCL Twins 8, GCL Red Sox 3Box ScoreHR: Wander Valdez (1), Jeferson Morales (2)Multi-hit games: Erick Rivera (3-for-5, 2B), Wander Valdez (2-for-5, 2B, HR), Francisco Martinez (2-for-5)Wander Valdez got things rolling with a home run in the first inning, and by the end of the third the Twins had already built up a 6-0 lead. Matthew Swain, the Twins’ 23rd-round pick from this year’s draft, held the Red Sox scoreless over the first two innings. He’s now opened his professional career with 7 1/3 scoreless frames.STARS OF THE DAYTwins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Jordan Balazovic, Fort MyersTwins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Albee Weiss, ElizabethtonTOP PROSPECT SUMMARYHere’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects performed:1. Royce Lewis (FM): 1-for-5, 2 K2. Alex Kirilloff (PNS): 0-for-4, 2 K4. Trevor Larnach (FM): 2-for-4, HR (6), BB, 3 RBI, R, K5. Wander Javier (CR): 0-for-4, 3 K6. Jordan Balazovic (FM): 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 70.9% strikes (39 of 55 pitches)7: Keoni Cavaco (GCL): 0-for-4, 3 K8. Brent Rooker (ROC): 0-for-3, 2 K (ejected in the sixth inning)10. Blayne Enlow (FM): 3.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 60.9% strikes (42 of 69 pitches)11. Lewis Thorpe (ROC): 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 68.5% strikes (50 of 73 pitches)12. Nick Gordon (ROC): 2-for-4, HR (3), BB, 2 RBI, 2 R, K, 2 E13. Ryan Jeffers (FM): 0-for-4, BB, K15. Matt Wallner (ELZ): 1-for-6, RBI, 2 K16. Ben Rortvedt (PNS): 0-for-4 K19. Misael Urbina (DSL): 0-for-2, 2 BB, R, 2 SB (15)20. Travis Blankenhorn (PNS): 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, 2 KSATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERSRochester vs. Lehigh Valley, 5:05 pm CT (Kohl Stewart)Pensacola vs. Montgomery, 6:05 pm CT (Charlie Barnes)Fort Myers at Bradenton, 5:30 pm CT (Lachlan Wells)Cedar Rapids vs. Lansing, 6:35 pm CT (Andrew Cabezas)Elizabethton vs. Johnson City, 5:30 pm CT (Ryan Shreve)GCL Twins vs. GCL Red Sox, 9:00 am CT (TBD)Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games.Click here to view the article