Twins Minor League Report (8/1): Rock Cats Power Bats

Thursday, the Twins organization made the catcher shuffle. Josmil Pinto was promoted to Rochester with Kyle Knudson moving up to New Britain and Jairo Rodriguez moving back up to Ft. Myers. We also learned that Wilkin Ramirez will continue his rehab in New Britain while Darin Mastroianni will stay in Ft. Myers and play some games with the Miracle. The big news Thursday is that Aaron Hicks and Scott Diamond have been sent to Rochester with Oswaldo Arcia heading back to the Twins. The Twins will also need a starting pitcher by Tuesday, with speculation leading toward Andrew Albers.

[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

Here is more about that and other minor league topics on last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly. Travis was joined by Jim Crikket and they discussed in great detail many of the players who have spent time in Cedar Rapids this season.

Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Thursday:

Rochester 2, Lehigh Valley 3

Box Score

Logan Darnell started for the Red Wings. The lefty went the first 5.2 innings and gave up three runs on 11 hits. He walked two and struck out three. Edgar Ibarra came on and went 1.2 scoreless innings. Cody Eppley gave up one hit and got one strikeout.

Ibarra Update - Edgar Ibarra has now pitched 24.1 innings in 19 appearances without allowing a run.

The Red Wings managed just six hits. Jermaine Mitchell went 2-3 with a walk and his 15^th double. Chris Parmelee went 1-2 with a walk. Josmil Pinto made his AAA debut and went 0-4, grounding into two double plays.

New Britain 9, Akron 5

Box Score

The Rock Cats bats showed up, and DJ Baxendale was the beneficiary. The right hander gave up five runs on eight hits and a walk in 6.1 innings. He struck out three. Jose Gonzalez got the next five outs, two of them on strikeouts. Dakota Watts gave up one hit in a scoreless inning.

Danny Ortiz remained hot. He went 3-4 with his 11^th home run and drove in three runs. Evan Bigley went 2-3 with a walk, his fourth double and his first home run. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his 13^th and 14^th home runs and drove in five runs.

Ft. Myers, Daytona

This game was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Cedar Rapids 3, Burlington 2

Box Score

David Hurlbut returned to the Kernels' starting rotation. The left-hander went the first 3.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits. He walked none and struck out five. Brandon Bixler came on and gave up one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out one in 1.2 innings. Madison Boer then walked one and struck out four in 1.2 innings. Brian Gilbert finished the game with two strikeouts in two innings.

The Kernels had just six hits. Travis Harrison went 2-3 with a walk and his 26^th double. He also stole his first base of the season. Niko Goodrum hit his second home run, of the inside-the-park variety.

Elizabethton 2, Bluefield 4

Box Score

The E-Twins fell back under .500 with this loss. It’s unusual to see the Twins struggling so much, especially with the bats. On this night, Zach Granite had a single and a walk. Ryan Walker walked twice.

Hein Robb started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on seven hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out five; he did hit one batter. Austin Malinowski came on and gave up one run on four hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out four. Andrew Ferreira walked two and struck out five in two shutout innings.

GCL Twins 3, GCL Rays 2

Box Score

Jason Kanzler went 2-4 with his first double, and later, his first walk-off hit as the GCL Twins won a one-run game. Zach Larson went 2-4. Brian Navarreto hit his fifth double. Darin Mastroianni went 0-2 with a walk and stole a base.

Jared Wilson started and gave up two runs (1 earned) on six hits and a walk in three innings; he struck out three. Chih-Wei Hu struck out five over three, one-hit, scoreless innings. Tyler Stirewalt gave up two hits, also over three innings. He struck out three.

Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.