Jeremy Nygaard

Thinking about prospect lists... I don't know which one I'd rank higher between Wade and Palacios. I think Palacios will be higher on most, but I like Wade a lot. I also know more about Wade than Palacios. Oh, the agony!

D'oh! I'm gonna fix that. Thanks Pops.

It's been a different season here at Twins Daily. It's mid-September and the parent team is in the playoff chase. Tonight marks the first time at Twins Daily we're covering two Championship Series. One of those teams jumped out to a lead, but the other team dropped the opener. More details after the jump.CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Biloxi 7 (LOOKOUTS TRAIL SERIES 0-1) Box Score The Lookouts scored the first run of the series in the third inning, but things quickly went south with Biloxi scoring the next four times they came to the plate. After Stuart Turner drew a leadoff walk in the third inning, he advanced to third on a Stephen Wickens one-out single. Jorge Polanco drove in Turner on a single, moved Wickens to third and advanced to second base on the throw home. Max Kepler had a chance to blow the game open, but struck out and Travis Harrison was retired on a weak groundout. Orlando Arcia, Oswaldo's little brother, hit a 3-run home run in the third inning. Brett Phillips, acquired in the Carlos Gomez trade, hit a solo home run in the fourth inning to make it 4-1. Biloxi pushed another run over in the fifth inning thanks to a double and two singles and extended the lead to 7-1 with a two-run double in the sixth inning. The bats just weren't able to get it done. In the seventh, Adam Brett Walker was left stranded after a double, the team's only extra base hit. Four others sprinkled singles. Max Kepler went 0-4 with two strikeouts. D.J. Baxendale took the loss, allowing five runs on six hits, a hit batter and a walk. He struck out four, but fell victim to the long ball. Corey Williams gave up two runs in an inning of work. He struck out the side, but walked two. Brett Lee finished off the night with two scoreless innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, West Michigan 0 (KERNELS LEAD SERIES 1-0) Box Score The Midwest League Championship series started off as a pitchers' duel, entering the 5th inning in a scoreless tie. Nick Gordon's first inning single and stolen base and Brian Navarreto's third inning single went wasted. A Max Murphy walk, innocent enough, led off the top of the 5th. Navarreto advanced Murphy to second with a groundout to the pitcher. Austin Diemer put the Kernels on the board, but was thrown out at second. Rafael Valera reached base with a two-out single that chased the West Michigan starting pitcher. Gordon greeted the new pitcher with a single that advanced Valera to third. Edgar Corcino drove in both, breaking the game open 3-0, before being thrown out trying to stretch his double into a triple. A three-run fifth inning which included two outs on the basepaths. Meanwhile, Felix Jorge was in the midst of pitching six innings of shutout baseball. He allowed four hits and walked two, but struck out four on 82 pitches (52 strikes). The Kernels came back in the 7th inning, pushing two more runs across the plate. T.J. White and LaMonte Wade hit consecutive one-out singles. Both were driven in by a two-out single from Max Murphy. The bullpen was in full shutdown mode. Luke Bard pitched two perfect inning, striking out five. He was nasty and, after a long time off/being a disappointing pick - is starting to get it together. Randy LeBlanc closed the game off working around a hit. As mentioned in the postgame notes, the Kernels pitchers have allowed only five earned runs in 47 postseason innings. The Kernels offense was very balanced. Valera and Gordon, the top two hitters, each had two singles. Corcino, the three-hitter, had a double. The rest of the lineup each contributed one hit, though no hit was bigger than Corcino's double. Before the game, Zack Larson was activated from the DL. Alex Real was placed on the DL. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Felix Jorge, Cedar Rapids Hitter of the Day - Edgar Corcino, Cedar Rapids UPCOMING SCHEDULE Midwest League Championship Series Game 2 - Thursday, September 17 Cedar Rapids Kernels @ West Michigan (5:35 CST) - RHP Sam Gibbons Southern League Championship Series Game 2 - Thursday, September 16 Chattanooga Lookouts @ Biloxi Shuckers (7:10 CST) - TBD Click here to view the article

As Twins fans we've been spoiled by Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. How many of you knew that in 2011 Sano and Rosario were fighting each other neck-and-neck for the Appy League home run title? And if you answered yes to that question, how many of you knew it was Rosario - not Miggy the Clutch Bomber - who came out on top of that friendly little competition (21-20)? The reason for bringing it up is because almost every All-Star, starter or non-star made their debut in a short-season league. Today, we're going to take a closer look at the hitters that impressed in July and August.Palacios hits so well, having his eyes open is only a recommendation. Honorable Mention: Manuel Guzman, Elizabethton Twins: 49-178, .275/.377/.337 (.714), 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 14, RBI, 19-23 SB.Brian Olson, GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins: 32-106, .302/.414/.415 (.829), 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI.Chris Paul, Elizabethton Twins/Cedar Rapids Kernels: 37-131, .282/.343/.443 (.785), 10 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 2-2 SB .Lewis Diaz, GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins: 37-159, .233/.322/.371 (.693), 8 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 2-2 SB.Short-Season Hitter of the Year Here are the top five places (seven vote-getters) for Twins Minor League Short-Season Hitter of the Year. #5 (tie)– Luis Arraez, GCL Twins: 64-207, .309/.377/.391 (.768), 15 2B, 1 3B, 19 RBI, 8-16 SB. Arraez, a second baseman, came from Venezuela. After spending the summer of 2014 in the DSL, Arraez made his US debut this season. Arraez got off to a hot start in the short month of June (.333/.407/.458) before having two very similar months in July (.306/.368/.365) and August (.306/.376/.398). The lefty had a higher batting average against RHPs (.311 to .302), but had very similar splits overall (.377 OBP vs RHP; .375 OBP vs LHP; .395 SLG vs LHP; .390 SLG vs RHP). Travis Blankenhorn, GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins: 47-193, .244/.321/.347 (.668), 7 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 3-3 SB. This year’s 3rd rounder made his debut in the GCL before earning a promotion to the Appalachian League in Mid-July. Blankenhorn struggled both in the GCL in June and in Elizabethton in August, but sandwiched a very nice July in between. In seven games before his promotion in the GCL, Blankenhorn batted .286/.375/.429 (.804) and then continued hitting in Elizabethton, slashing .321/.387/.482 (.869) in 16 games there. A.J. Murray, Elizabethton Twins: 42-159, .264/.366/.409 (.774), 11 2B, 4 HR, 0-1 CS. The Twins were very happy to pop Murray in the 14th round out of Georgia Tech in this past June’s draft. He hit his first professional home run in only his second game on June 25. He hit two more in early July before cooling off, hitting only one more before the end of the season. Murray had reverse splits, faring much better against same-sided (right-handed) pitchers, slashing .288/.397/.424 (.821) and struggling against lefties (.195/.267/.366, {.633}) #4 – Christian Cavaness, GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins: 21-65, .323/.421/.538 (.960), 6 2B, 4 3B, 10 RBI, 6-9 SB. Cavaness joined the organization as an undrafted free agent, which is unique in that Cavaness had eligibility left. He joined the GCL Twins on the last day of July. After a three-hit game on August 14, Cavaness was enjoying the best stat line he’d have all year: .441/.537/.794 (1.331). Despite cooling off, Cavaness definitely put himself in a position to make prospect-watchers take note. #3 – Daniel Kihle, Elizabethton Twins: 39-143, .273/.404/.392 (.796), 7 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 5-6 SB. Kihle spent all season as a regular in E-town’s outfield and his presence in the lineup was much needed. After joining the organization as an 18th-round pick in the most recent draft from Wichita State, the former Shocker put up impressive numbers including an OBP of .478 in 16 July games and an OPS over .800 in August (.806). #2 – LaMonte Wade, Elizabethton Twins/Cedar Rapids Kernels: 74-245, .302/.418/.486 (.904), 8 2B, 5 3B, 9 HR, 45 RBI, 12-13 SB. Wade, who was coming off a broken hamate bone suffered early this spring while at Maryland, hit the ground running as a professional. The lefty hit right-handed pitchers as well as you’d hope, slashing .289/.395/.489 (.884) in 229 at-bats. What’s even more encouraging is that in his 77 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers, Wade put up a .345/.493/.473 (.966) line. All told in the regular season Wade also walked 47 times while only striking out 36 times. These are all signs that point to Wade being a pretty advanced hitter. In the inaugural Twins Draftbook, I noted that Wade had a high floor and that he’s been compared to David DeJesus. Look for frequent recognition of Wade this winter. Short-Season Hitter of the Year – Jermaine Palacios, GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins: 87-235, .370/.398/.540 (.938), 23 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 37 RBI, 9-13 SB. Nobody did more to propel himself into the prospect spotlight than short-season shortstop Jermaine Palacios. In fact, after spending only one season in the DSL, Palacios came stateside and then made a rare jump to Elizabethton after only playing 26 games in the GCL. The 26 games might have been more than was necessary. Palacios absolutely destroyed the GCL. He had 40 hits in 95 at-bats (.421 batting average). He walked almost as many times as he struck out (9 vs. 12) and reached base 47% percent of the time he stepped to the plate. He had 12 extra-base hits and slugged .589. His OPS was a whopping 1.061. Examining those numbers even more closely, Palacios started the season 1-for-19. So once the cold streak ended, Palacios batted over .500 for three weeks. This included a stretch of 17 games where Palacios had two or more hits in 14 of them. During that stretch, he went hitless once, but only struck out 5 times. What an amazing run! Even after the multi-hit barrage ended, Palacios continued to hit, going 4-for-13 (.308) in his final four games in the GCL. On how many occasions in pro ball do we see a guy bat .308 and have his batting average drop 13 points? I’d guess none after the first week of the season… besides Palacios. So how did he do after his promotion? He came out on another tear. He started his E-town career with a 12-game hitting streak. And it wasn’t a cheap streak either: Seven multi-hit games including three three-hit games and a four-hit game. He drove in 13 runs in his first six games. Unfortunately, the hot-streak came to an end and Palacios, who was batting .420 with an OPS nearing 1.100 on August 11, finished the year batting 50 points lower with a still-respectable OPS of .938. In a system that recently lacked any high-upside shortstop prospects, that system is now flooded with them: Jorge Polanco, Engelb Vielma and Nick Gordon are arguably all Top 15 prospects in the organization. “We’ve already got three or four guys we really believe in, and Palacios has been as impressive as the rest,” Twins VP of Player Personnel Mike Radcliff told Baseball America earlier this month. The Ballots In an attempt to be transparent, here are the votes from our Twins Daily minor league writers: Seth Stohs – 1) LaMonte Wade, 2) Jermaine Palacios, 3) Luis Arraez, 4) Daniel Kihle, 5) Brian OlsonJeremy Nygaard – 1) Jermaine Palacios, 2) LaMonte Wade, 3) Travis Blankenhorn, 4) Christian Cavaness, 5) Chris PaulCody Christie – 1) Jermaine Palacios, 2) LaMonte Wade, 3) Christian Cavaness, 4) A.J. Murray, 5) Travis BlankenhornSteve Lein – 1) Jermaine Palacios, 2) LaMonte Wade, 3) Daniel Kihle, 4) A.J. Murray, 5) Luis ArraezEric Pleiss – 1) Jermaine Palacios, 2) Daniel Kihle, 3) Jean Carlos Arias, 4) Manuel Guzman, 5) Lewin DiazFeel free to discuss. How would your ballot look? Click here to view the article

Because he misses a LOT of pitches.

Part of my thinking was me subjectively assigning some of the guys bonus points due to "deserving a call-up". I thought Beresford was good enough that he deserved to get a cup of coffee. In the same environment as last year, Beresford got better. Walker, on the other hand, went from the hardest-hitting environment in the minor leagues to one of the easiest hitting environments in the Southern League and his numbers stayed almost identical. Obviously the jump up to AA should count for something, but I just really liked the year Beresford had. He was a sparkplug all year wherever he was in the lineup, which was usually high. Walker batted sixth in a lineup that was stacked for most of the season - but stayed there even when it wasn't. And, probably, part of me wanted to recognize Rodriguez and Beresford because they aren't talked about all the time. And now we're talking about Beresford, so that's a good thing.

Man, you guys are getting pretty worked up. I'm comfortable putting Walker where I did. I don't think he had a great season. I'm not making a point, I had about 20 guys I considered, then I lined them up. Nothing personal against Walker. And when I do my off-season prospect list, I'll probably rank him lower than the other guys too. Which is OK. That's how opinions work. And I'll read yours and respect that it's your opinion too. But getting worked up that one person of five ranked a player where he did seems excessive. (Although, subconsciously, maybe I do have a deep-rooted hatred towards Walkers from Wisconsin.)

I actually don't mind strikeouts. I just prefer my hitters have an ability to get on base. If you can slug 500 but barely have an OPS of 800, you're doing something wrong. But that's why five people vote, not just me.

The early Wednesday headlines belonged to Jose Berrios and Max Kepler for being named to Baseball America's Minor-League All-Star team. By Wednesday evening, the focus shifted to the Cedar Rapids Kernels, as they began the Midwest League Playoffs.Cedar Rapids 5, Quad Cities 2 Kernels lead series 1-0 Box Score Cedar Rapids jumped to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. Rafael Valera drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on Nick Gordon's second single of the game. Edgar Corcino flew out and Nick Gordon was doubled off first base, leaving Valera on second base with one out. T.J. White followed that up with a single, and an error advanced White to second while Valera remained on third. Alex Real followed with the third single of the inning and both Valera and White came around to score, White on a nifty slide that avoided the catcher's tag. He had to dive back from behind the plate to touch home safely to beat the tag by the catcher. After a Max Murphy pop out, the Kernels had the first lead of the series. Quad Cities came right back in the fourth to tie the game after stringing together three singles around two sacrifices. The 2-2 tie lasted only four batters. Nick Gordon hit a sacrifice fly to score Brian Navarreto, who had singled and advanced to third on a Rafael Valera double. Quad Cities avoided additional damage by getting Valera out at third base. The score would stay 3-2 until the Kernels were able to add an insurance run in the 6th inning with the aid of two wild pitches after Chris Paul singled to reach base. Cedar Rapids tacked on another run in the next frame when Nick Gordon doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by T.J. White and an error. Nick Gordon was the offensive star on Wednesday night. Four productive plate appearances, three that resulted in hits and a fourth that drove in a run. As good as Gordon was offensively, Felix Jorge might have been just as good on the mound. Jorge, after issuing a walk, exited the game to a roaring standing ovation with one out in the 8th. He had allowed nine hits, a walk and two runs while striking out seven. Luke Bard issued a walk to put two runners on, but escaped the eighth inning without damage. Nick Anderson faced the minimum in the ninth, earning the save with the help of a double play to seal the win. The opening victory was witnessed by 1,552. The Kernels will finish this quarterfinals series - one way or another - on the road as they travel to Quad Cities for Game 2 on Thursday night. Sam Gibbons will be on the mound for the 7pm CST game, looking to clinch the series. If needed, the deciding Game 3 will be played Friday night. Thursday also marks the beginning of the Southern League semifinals. The Chattanooga Lookouts will begin a best of five-game series with the Montgomery Biscuits. The first two games will be in Chattanooga with the series shifting to Montgomery for it's completion. Click here to view the article

Purely speculation, but I wouldn't be shocked to see Mientkiewicz with the Twins next season. I don't think Joe Vavra is the long-term bench coach.

It took until September 5th to finally see the Twins outfield of the future in the present. Would that defense alignment be enough for Ervin Santana to beat the Houston Astros? Updates on all the current minor leaguers and their Saturday games below the jump.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 13, Lehigh Valley 1 Box Score The sensational 2015 season of Jose Berrios ended on Saturday night with five innings (66 pitches, 42 strikes). He allowed a run on three hits and a walk. He struck out five and now leads all of the minor leagues with 175. His AAA ERA was 2.62. Alex Meyer (three strikeouts in two innings) and Loek van Mil (one strikeout in one inning) had to be the tallest pair of pitchers any team has even thrown consecutively, checking in at nearly fourteen combined feet. Cole Johnson finished the game off with a scoreless ninth. Lots of offensive firepower for the Red Wings today. Eric Farris, Doug Bernier and Danny Ortiz all had three hits. Danny Ortiz hit a 8th-inning Grand Slam, his 17th home run on the season. Farris, Bernier and Reynaldo Rodriguez (the 1-2-3 hitters) all doubled. Farris and Bernier had 3- and 2-RBI nights, respectively. Farris and Argenis Diaz, who had two hit and two walks, each scored three times. Rochester has been eliminated from playoff contention. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Jackson 4 Box Score A ninth-inning rally fell short as the Lookouts dropped their second game out of three to the Jackson Generals. The Lookouts have two more games left before opening their Southern League Playoff series with the Montgomery Biscuits. D.J. Hicks led the offense with a double and a home run. He went 2-3, scoring a run and driving in a run. He also drew a walk. Jorge Polanco was the only other hitter with multiple hits. Niko Goodrum hit his 5th double. Max Kepler went 0-3 and is hitless in his last two games. Greg Peavey was hung with a loss, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out three and now has a 7-7 record in AA. Corey Williams got two outs, but left with two runners on. J.T. Chargois allowed both runners to score. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers vs Charlotte - CANCELLED The Miracle game was cancelled during the third inning of Saturday’s game due to heavy rain. The season finale will be a regular nine-inning game on Sunday with Saturday’s game not being made up. It’s really too bad that it doesn’t count. Andro Cutura was making his full-season debut. The last update from the Miracle Baseball Twitter account was that Cutura had started his Miracle career with two perfect frames. Cutura doesn’t light up a radar gun, but I’ve been told he’s a “bulldog” and Cutura was recently described to me as having “stones.” He should be an interesting name in Cedar Rapids that many Twins minor-league fans may be pleasantly surprised by. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Clinton 3 Box Score T.J. White started out the scoring for the Kernels with a two-run double in the first inning and poured on three insurance runs in the 6th, the last two coming on a Alex Real double, to run away from the Lumberkings on Saturday night. Both White and Real drove in three runs apiece. Edgar Corcino and Chris Paul also added doubles and Paul also got his first professional triple. Keaton Steele improved to 7-4, striking out four in six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk. Flame-throwing Yorman Landa struck out three in two innings and Jared Wilson allowed a hit and a walk in a scoreless ninth-inning. After completing this series with Clinton on Monday, the Kernels will stick around for one playoff game against Quad Cities, before hitting the road for Game 2 and (potentially) 3. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berrios, Rochester Twins Daily Minor League Hitters of the Day – Eric Farris, Rochester SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Lehigh Valley (12:5 CST) - RHP Michael Bowden Chattanooga vs Jackson (5:15 CST) – LHP Brett Lee Ft. Myers vs Charlotte (10:05 CST) – LHP Luke Westphal Cedar Rapids vs Clinton (2:05 CST) – RHP Randy LeBlanc Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Click here to view the article

There was plenty of Twins-related minor league news on Wednesday. Miguel Sano was named American League Rookie of the Month for the month of August, the first Twin to garner that award since Little Benny Revere in the summer of 2011. Later in the evening, Terry Ryan announced that Jose Berrios will not be helping the Twins out in the pennant race, instead he’ll head home after the Rochester season and be shut down til next spring. (Yeah, right, The Machine will be working out hard in 10 days, out to prove that he’ll never get tired because he’s, well… a machine.)Congratulations to Red Wings INF James Beresford and 1B Reynaldo Rodriguez who were named International League All-Stars. Rodriguez was also named Red Wings MVP. The Kernels made a couple of moves today, placing SS Pat Kelly and OF Zack Larson on the disabled list. They activated OF Chris Paul and received LaMonte Wade from Elizabethton. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Scranton/WB 1 Box Score The Red Wings scored a run in each of the first four innings before completely blowing the doors off with a four-run seventh-inning. The talker here? Aaron Hicks, of course. Two singles, a double and a three-run blast. 4-4. Two runs and a ticket to return to the Twins as soon as possible to be their lead-off hitter. As impressive as the Twins have been the last 11 games, they’re about to get better with the return of Aaron Hicks. Not to be outdone, Danny Ortiz hit solo home runs in the second and fourth inning. Danny Ortiz will put a major league uniform someday, it just probably won’t be with the Twins. Doug Bernier and Carlos Paulino each added two-hit games. Taylor Rogers improved his AAA record to 10-12. While not overly impressive, it’s difficult to get decisions in 22 of 26 starts - especially after starting the season with two no-decisions - unless you’re pitching relatively deep into games. Rogers did it again tonight, striking out seven batters in six innings, allowing one run. Loek van Mil, all 85 inches of him, made his return to the organization. He allowed a hit and a walk in two innings. The stadium gun clocked him as high as 96 mph. The win improves the Red Wings to 73-66 and keeps their elimination number at one. As in, one more Rochester loss or Scranton win eliminates Rochester from the playoffs. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga - OFF DAY MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Jupiter 3 (10 innings) Box Score Fort Myers jumped to an early 2-0 lead, but surrendered the lead and the game to a walk-off home run in the 10th inning. The Miracle offense was led by the trio of Engelb Vielma, Ryan Walker and Bryan Harr, all of who had two hits. Walker and Haar had doubles. Vielma stole his 35th base. Unfortunately, that was all six of the team’s hits. Ethan Mildred allowed a run on four hits in 5.2 innings. He struck out two and walked one. He was relieved by Zack Jones who struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings. Trevor Hildenberger blew the save, allowing a run in the ninth inning. Alex Muren was called on in the 10th inning and he promptly served up a home run to the first batter he faced. The loss dropped the team to 74-62. While it’s possible they’ll have the best overall record in their division - they are currently a game behind Palm Beach - they have been eliminated from the playoffs. Only the first- and second-half winners qualify and Fort Myers failed to win either half. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Wisconsin 1 Box Score Three multi-run innings were too much for the Timber Rattlers to handle as the Kernels improve to 74-61. The offense led a balanced attack as eight of the nine in the lineup (all except #3 hitter Edgar Corcino) had one hit. Max Murphy hit his 15th double. Alex Real drilled his fourth triple. Austin Diemer hit a two-run home run, his second as a Kernel and fifth on the year. Nick Gordon notched his 25th stolen base. Randy Rosario is working his way back from Tommy John nicely. On Wednesday, he struck out eight in seven shutout innings, allowing five hits and three walks. Jared Wilson allowed one run in two innings. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy Rosario, Cedar Rapids Twins Daily Minor League Hitters of the Day – Aaron Hicks, Rochester THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Pawtucket (6:05 CST) - LHP Logan Darnell Chattanooga vs Jackson (6:15 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Ft. Myers at Charlotte (6:00 CST) – LHP Mat Batts Cedar Rapids at Wisconsin (6:35 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons This will be my last regular Wednesday post of the season. Thanks to everyone who’s stopped by throughout the season. Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Click here to view the article

The Twins best pitching prospect pitched his best game at the highest minor league level with the General Manager in attendance. But was it good enough to earn a call to the big leagues? The Twins are in hot pursuit of a wild card spot and played another good game Wednesday night in Tampa Bay… in front of the GCL affiliate. It’s that time of the year where the organization is coming around full circle. What else happened on Wednesday? Well, Ethan Mildren was promoted to Fort Myers and Sam Clay was promoted to Cedar Rapids. But what about those games…?RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Syracuse 0 Box Score The story - as it is every time he walks up the hill - is The Machine, Jose Berrios. On Wednesday, Berrios completed seven shutout innings on 98 pitches (65 strikes), striking out a season-high 12 batters (one off of his career-high, done last June as a member of the Miracle) and walking only one. He allowed three hits - consecutive hits to lead off the second inning - but escaped a no-out, runners-on-second-and-third jam with no damage, as seen in this video: What else is there to say really? He’s arguably the best pitcher in the entire organization right now. He could help the Twins chase a playoff berth. The issue, ultimately, is the innings. Berrios has thrown over 155 innings this season after setting a career-high (140) last year. Without knowing how many innings the Twins will allow him to throw, you have to weigh that versus giving up a full year of service on the back end of his original contract. (My opinion: If the Twins are still within a game or two in ten days, Berrios will make his Twins debut - possibly in the bullpen - on September 5.) Danny Santana and James Beresford (who deserves to come up in September as well) both led the offense with three-hit games. Kennys Vargas (who hit his 9th home run) and Josmil Pinto each drove in two runs. Oswaldo Arcia, batting 8th, hit his 12th home run. Rochester improved to 68-64, but is on the brink of elimination. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 8 Box Score The Lookouts fell to 26-31 in the second half. (But still qualify for the Southern League playoffs due to being first-half champions.) Jorge Polanco and Heiker Meneses each had two hits. Adam Walker, who leads all of AA in home runs and RBIs, hit his 29th bomb and is the first player in the minor leagues this season to drive in 100 runs. Travis Harrison hit his fifth of the season. Max Kepler, who entered the day leading AA in batting average (.337), went 0-3 and is now hitless in his last three games. (WHAT?!) He’s now batting .334. Aaron Slegers struggled, allowing six hits, four walks and two home runs - totaling six runs - in four innings. Nick Burdi struck out three in two scoreless innings. D.J. Johnson allowed a run in two innings and Brandon Peterson allowed a run in the ninth inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers - OFF DAY KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 7 Box Score The Kernels jumped to an early lead, but couldn’t hold on and dropped to 72-56. The offense accounted for 10 hits, paced by three hits from Edgar Corcino, who doubled and drove in a run. Five different Kernels doubled: Corcino, Rafael Valera, T.J. White, Max Murphy and Austin Diemer. Alex Real hit his 3rd triple. Sam Clay started after being promoted. He struck out two in five innings. He gave up six runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk. Jared Wilson allowed a run in two innings of work and Michael Theofanopoulos allowed three hits in two scoreless innings of work. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Johnson City 4 Box Score In a game of two-run innings, the E-Twins came up short. The loss drops them to 31-30 and into a tie in second place of the Appalachian League West. LaMonte Wade paced the offense with two hits. Kamran Young drove in his 21st run. Jermaine Palacios got another hit, but also committed his 14th error. Dereck Rodriguez struck out five but gave up four runs in six innings. All runs occurred on two-run home runs off of the bat of Allen Staton. Anthony Mciver struck out three in two scoreless innings. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 2 (Game 1) Box Score GCL Twins 2, GCL Rays 6 (Game 2) Box Score In the first game, the GCL Twins used stellar pitching performances by Jose Martinez (4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 K) and Max Cordy (3 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K) to propel them to victory. The offense strung together timely hits, getting four runs on six hits. Aaron Whitefield drove in his first run and stole the first base of his professional career. In game two, there were six hits again, but only two runs. Bryant Hayman had two hits, including a double, his 7th. The pitching was subpar. Rich Condeelis struck out four in three innings, allowing only one run before the wheels fell off. Moises Gomez game up three runs and got only two outs. Callen Pearce gave up two runs, and also got only two outs. Vadim Balan was pretty awesome in his pro debut - six batters, five outs, four strikeouts. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berrios, Rochester Twins Daily Minor League Hitters of the Day – Edgar Corcino, Cedar Rapids THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Syracuse (6:05 CST) - RHP Michael Bowden Chattanooga vs Tennessee (6:15 CST) – RHP D.J. Baxendale Ft. Myers vs Bradenton (6:05 CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids vs Kane County (6:35 CST) – LHP Randy Rosario Elizabethton vs Kingsport (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins vs GCL Rays (11:00 CST) - TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Click here to view the article

I should have mentioned the Miracle were facing former teammate Chih-Wei Hu. He didn't fare too well, but I believe it was his first start back after lacerating his hand in a blender accident.

The Twins will limp out of the Big Apple having been swept (again) by the Yankees. Aaron Hicks strained his left hamstring in Wednesday’s loss and will limp to the disabled list. To fill the hole in center field, the Twins will recall Byron Buxton from Rochester. Buxton will join the team tomorrow in Baltimore. After all the hand-wringing after being activated and optioned on August 10, nothing really changes. Instead of accumulating 113 days of service time, he’ll accumulate 104. Neither number is important. Because he was on assignment for less than 10 days, his option doesn’t count. All that the time in AAA did was give him confidence. Let’s check Wednesday’s action on the farm.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Buffalo 0 Box Score The Red Wings pushed over a pair of runs in three different innings to improve their season record to 66-60. Danny Santana had a 2-RBI single in the first. It likely would have gone for extra bases, but Kennys Vargas was ahead of him. James Beresford had a sacrifice fly and run scoring single. Vargas drove in a run in addition to walking twice. Buxton had an RBI double and finished his AAA season(?) (career?) with a .400 batting average and hits in all 13 games he played. Pat Dean pitched a gem. Using 114 pitches, Dean went all nine innings allowing only six hits while striking out six. While he hasn’t dominated lefties or had very high groundball or strikeout rates, Dean doesn’t issue many walks and has a sub-3 ERA. Being left-handed certainly suggests that Dean will be around for a while. Somewhere. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 11, Pensacola 0 Box Score The Lookouts jumped out a 10-0 lead in the 3rd inning in hopes of enacting the rarely-used 10-run run in the Southern League. Instead, though, they played the rest of game and added one more run to pad their easy win. After returning to the lineup on Tuesday night, Jorge Polanco quickly rounded back into form, hitting a double and a home run and stealing his 16th base. He drove in two and scored three times. Stuart Tuner one-upped him, getting three hits including a double and drove in three runs. Of course, Mad Max Kepler one-upped them both and everyone else with a four-hit game that included his ninth home run and two RBIs. He’s now batting .342 on the year and if not for Byron Buxton, would be the guy that everyone wishes the Twins would be promoting. Brett Lee pitched seven innings of two-hit shutout ball. He walked four and struck out four before turning the game over to the bullpen duo of Corey Williams and Alex Muren. Each struck out a batter in his scoreless inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Charlotte 4 Box Score After building a 6-0 lead, the Miracle had to wait out a one hour and fifteen minute rain delay before getting back into it. Jason Kanzler (3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Mitch Garver (2-5, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI) and Logan Wade (3-4, 3B, R) were the offensive stars, combining for eight of the team’s 11 hits and five of their six extra-base hits. Marcus Knecht had two RBIs and a stolen base. Luke Westphal struck out five in seven innings to get the win. Jake Reed allowed two unearned runs to score in the sixth. Zack Jones was charged with two runs in the eighth. He struck out three and walked two. Trevor Hildenburger picked up his second save, getting the last five Stone Crabs out. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Kane County 2 Box Score The offense strung just enough together to beat the Cougars. The Kernels had six hits, all singles, but drew five walks. The top five hitters in the order accounted for all three RBIs and all four runs scored (and four of the six hits). Rafael Valera scored two runs on a hit and three walks. Nick Gordon scored once. Edgar Corcino scored and drove in a run. T.J. White and Alex Real each knocked in a run. Felix Jorge picked up the win. He allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks in seven innings. Uncharacteristically, he only struck out two, matching his season low. Jared Wilson and Nick Anderson, who earned his second save, each pitched scoreless frames. The Kernels are 69-52 on the season. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton - off day GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Orioles 6 Box Score Roberto Gonzalez played well in Wednesday’s loss. Gonzalez, who recently returned from a DL stint, had two hits, stole two bases and drove in a run. His season batting average is up to .278. Rowan Ebersohn was the only other hitter with a multi-hit effort. Jose Martinez started and took the loss on three runs in five innings. Moises Gomez pitched the only scoreless inning before giving way to Callan Pearce, who allowed a run. Miguel Gonzalez came in late and gave up two runs, though his ERA is still a miniscule 1.14. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Pat Dean, Rochester Twins Daily Minor League Hitters of the Day – Max Kepler, Chattanooga THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester - OFF Chattanooga at Pensacola (6:35 CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers Ft. Myers at Bradenton (5:30 CST) – RHP Omar Bencomo Cedar Rapids vs Kane County (6:35 CST) – RHP Ethan Mildren Elizabethton at Pulaski (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins at GCL Orioles (11:00 CST) - TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Click here to view the article

The organization had a trio of hitters recognized in their leagues on Wednesday: Kennys Vargas was named Hitter of the Week in the Southern League. Vargas has since been promoted to Rochester. Tanner English and LaMonte Wade took the honors in the Midwest League and the Appalachian League, respectively. Former Twin Alexis Tapia, who was pitching for Elizabethton before being included in the Kevin Jepsen trade, was recognized for his week in the Appalachian League as well. In his first start with the Tampa Bay organization, Tapia pitched six shutout innings, allowing only three hits while striking out eight. Did you see what Miguel Sano and Aaron Hicks did for the Twins in their win against the Rangers? If not, you need to get some highlights pronto. Let’s check Wednesday’s action on the farm.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Buffalo 5 Box Score Rochester’s comeback fell one run short, but Byron Buxton is the story. He was 4-5 tonight (and now batting .458 in AAA) with four singles. He scored twice and also struck out once. Vargas had three hits including two doubles and drove in two. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit a three-run triple. Taylor Rogers lost his tenth game of the season, pitching five innings (10 hits, two walks) and allowing five runs. He threw 83 pitches (55 strikes). Alex Meyer pitched the final three innings. He allowed a run, but allowed only two hits and no walks (though he did throw two wild pitches). He struck out two. Something worth watching: He threw 56 pitches (stretching him out?) with 36 of them finding the strike zone. Rochester drops to 60-58. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Tennessee 4 (13 innings) Box Score The Lookouts dropped to 62-50 with an extra-inning loss. Max Kepler led the offense (again) with two hits, including his 28th double. He drove in a run and recorded an outfield assist. Stephen Wickens also had two singles and his 14th stolen base. The team went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base. Greg Peavey pitched a two-hitter over eight innings, but the two runs were too many. He struck out three and gets a no-decision. J.T. Chargois walked one in the ninth. D.J. Johnson struck out four in three big innings. Adrian Salcedo allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in the 13th. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, St. Lucie 0 Box Score A Chad Christensen sac fly that followed a Ryan Walker triple was the difference in Wednesday’s Miracle victory that helped improve the team to 63-54. Walker’s three-bagger was the only extra base hit of the six hits the Miracle scratched out. Engelb Vielma stole his 28th base. Kohl Stewart picked up his fifth win. He allowed eight hits and a walk, while striking out five over 6.2 shutout innings. Corey Williams struck out two in recording four outs. Trevor Hildenberger picked up his first FSL save. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Lake County 6 Box Score T.J. White accounted for the only Kernel extra-base hit (a double) among their five hits. Nick Gordon was 1-4 with a walk. Tanner English swiped two bags and has 37 on the year. Offensively, Cedar Rapids was 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Felix Jorge picked up a no-decision. He struck out six in six innings, allowing three hits and a walk. Unfortunately, one of those hits was a three-run blast. Jared Wilson was charged with the loss. He gave up three runs in two innings. The Kernels are 67-48 on the season. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Greeneville 4 Box Score The offense of the E-Twins was very quiet on Wednesday. Only Travis Blankenhorn got a hit. Jermaine Palacios snapped a 15-game hitting streak with an 0-4 performance. He also committed his eighth error in the Appy League. Sam Clay didn’t allow an earned run over seven frames, but the two unearned runs hung him with a loss. He struck out four and walked one. Alex Robinson recorded four outs, but walked four and allowed two runs to score. Josh Guyer recorded two outs, one by strikeout. Elizabethton drops to 25-25 GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 5, GCL Rays 2 (Game 1) (7 innings) Box Score The GCL affiliate took the first game of a doubleheader. Two big innings accounted for all five runs. Eight of the nine starters got hits, led by Robert Molina, Ruar Verkerk and Ariel Montesino all having two-hit games. Interestingly, the top four hitters - Christian Cavaness, Luis Arraez, Josmil Pinto and Kolton Kendrick - all doubled. Cavaness drove in two runs. Molina and Verkerk accounted for the other two RBI. Williams Ramirez allowed two unearned runs over 4.2 innings. He struck out four. Hector Lujan got the win, striking out one in 2.1 scoreless, one-hit innings. GCL Twins 0, GCL Rays 1 (Game 2) (9 innings) Box Score The bats fell cold in the second game, getting shut out on five hits. Trey Cabbage had two singles. Christian Cavaness doubled. Cavaness also stole his third base of the season. Max Cordy (4 IP) and Brandon Paulson (2.2 IP) had identical lines: one hit, three walks, four strikeouts. Johan Quezada walked two and retired four. Moises Gomez was charged with the loss, allowing a walkoff home run in the ninth inning. The GCL Twins split the doubleheader and are 23-20. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Greg Peavey, Chattanooga Twins Daily Minor League Hitters of the Day – Byron Buxton, Rochester THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Buffalo (11:35 CST) – LHP Pat Dean Rochester at Buffalo (Game 2) – TBD Chattanooga vs Tennessee (6:15 CST) – LHP Brett Lee Ft. Myers vs Palm Beach (6:05 CST) – LHP Luke Westphal Cedar Rapids at Lake Country (6:00 CST) – RHP Zach Tillery Elizabethton at Bristol (6:00 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez GCL Twins at GCL Rays (11:00 CST) - TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Click here to view the article

This is his Twitter page.