Twins Minor League Report (9/6): Kernels Dominate Game 1

Bet those rubes in Beloit wish they'd tried a little harder to maintain a working relationship with the Twins organization back when they had a chance, huh?

_{^{/ Just trying a little single-A trash talk....}}

Im looking forward to the off season top prospects lists to see where the three listed by rdehring end up. Duran looks like a good prospect with last night’s 10 k’s.

Better still, Duran got much stronger as the game proceeded. Started out the game with little control, walks and wild pitch.

And persevered through multiple errors by his teammates, and an infield hit and BB, by getting his last 5 outs via strikeouts!

Surely he has shown enough thus far to move up the prospect lists? Right?

 

 

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester - Season Complete

Chattanooga - Season Complete

Daytona @ Ft. Myers (6:00 CST) - TBD

Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:00 CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (Game 2). If Game 3 is necessary, LHP Bryan Sammons will start.

 

 

I know there was a rainout in Beloit. But, how common are playoff doubleheaders in the minors?

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 10, Beloit 1
Box Score

The Kernels finished their regular season in Beloit. The Snappers won, which gave them a spot in the playoffs and a Game 1 home game. Cedar Rapids made the trip back for Game 1 in the Best of 3 series. The teams head to Cedar Rapids on Friday for either one game (if the Kernels win) or two games (if the Snappers win the first game).

The Kernels got another terrific start from Jhoan Duran and they powered their way at the plate for a big win.

Duran gave up just one run on three hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out ten. Johan Quezada gave up just one hit over the next two innings. He struck out four batters. Rickey Ramirez struck out one in a scoreless ninth.

Ryan Jeffers and Gabriel Maciel each hit solo home runs in the second inning to give the Kernels a 2-0 lead. Duran gave up one run in the bottom of the second. But in the third innings, Trevor Larnach singled in Michael Helman, who had doubled, to get that run back. After a Jeffers single, Ben Rodriguez walked to load the bases. Maciel picked up a second RBI with another walk.


In the ninth inning, Ryan Jeffers added a two-run homer, his second of the game for the final 10-1 margin. Jeffers went 3-for-4 with a walk, two homers and three RBI.


STARS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Ryan Jeffers, Cedar Rapids (3-4, BB, 2-HR, 3 RBI).
Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Jhoan Duran, Cedar Rapids Kernels (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed.
#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled
#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled
#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled
#5 - Stephen Gonsalves (Minnesota) - Did not pitch
#6 - Trevor Larnach (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, BB, 2 R, RBI
#8 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, BB, 2 K
#10 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) - Did not pitch
#11 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch
#13 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled
#15 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled
#18 - Ryan Jeffers (Cedar Rapids) - 3-4, BB, 2-HR, 3 R, 3 RBI
#19 - Jacob Pearson (Cedar Rapids) - Did not play
#21 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled

 

Seth, are Jeffers and Duran more prospects or suspects at this point?

Especially as they project to MLB Starting Catcher and Pitcher?

Is it fair to say that both have performed beyond expectations thus far?

What are the chances that each move significantly up the offseason prospect rankings- ie, top 10 for Jeffers (or at the very least, ahead of Rortvedt as top C prospect)- top 15 for Duran?

Is there another explanation, beyond SSS, that Duran has wildly better peripheral results with the Kernels than with the D-Back club in the same league?

I'd have to give it more thought... but Jeffers and Duran are both easily Top 20 Twins prospects. I suspect Duran could be close to 10.

Jeffers profiles a lot like Garver, but he's got a higher draft status, so he is very much intriguing. Rortvedt is a level ahead of Jeffers and is about 2 years younger, so that factors into prospect status. But, obviously on-field next year will tell us much more. 

Is there someone in the organization that can sum up Duran's dramatic mid-season intra-league improvements since coming over to the Kernels. At this point, it seems well beyond a SSS mirage.

Not very, but they're on a schedule that they have to keep. 

Bodes well for the good guys tonight.

I forgot how it went down - did they dump us or did we dump them?

I believe it was the quality of the facilities that were at issue, and the Twins shopped around.