Pitz

How many wins does he have?

Yeah, I was wondering about the 'big-boned' comment in the article. Based on his listed height/weight (though they are rarely that accurate) and the pictures I've seen of him, he seems to be a fairly good build for a starting pitcher. Also, has it been said that the plan is for Berrios is to start on Friday? I haven't seen any confirmation and other indications were that it may be Saturday. Friday would be his 5th day, but is also the 5th day for Duffey.

I know people may not want to hear this, but is it possible that Duffey and Rogers are still ahead of Berrios in the promotion pecking order? I know Berrios is considered the much better prospect with a higher ceiling, but both Duffey and Rogers have pitched well in AAA already. How do they factor into Berrios' timetable? If he outpitches them, hopefully they don't impact his promotion at all, but what if they have about the same results or are slightly better?

Also a possibility, but in comparing him to other projected deals on McDaniel's sortable chart, I would expect the players around him to get similar deals in order to prevent the same such Dodgers or Cubs scenario. For example, Andres Gimenez, a Venezuelan SS ranked right behind Javier by McDaniel is projected to sign for $1.25 million with the Mets. I know its much more complicated than all this, but wouldn't the Mets have similar concerns about the Cubs/Dodgers?

Thanks for that. Interesting report. Don't mind the high risk/high reward, but it's interesting that the reported agreement is $4 million - which seems a bit high compared to non-Cuban deals. Seems like either another team(s) thought he was worth the investment driving the price up, or perhaps the Twins have a 'package deal' as discussed by McDaniel here. The whole international signing seems like quite a corrupted mess as McDaniel describes it.

Is there any word on when he is scheduled to make his first start for Rochester? His 5th day would be Friday, which I would be ecstatic about since I've got tickets for that game.

Walker is certainly a fascinating prospect to follow as he's continually managed to rack up run producing numbers alongside low OBPs and high Ks. It was thought by many (myself included) that as he got to the higher levels he would be exposed. And as he's halfway through a season of AA his alarmingly high K rate would indicate that he has been exposed - yet his extra base hit numbers continue to be off the charts. It just doesn't seem to make much sense. From the numbers, it seems like he either swings and misses or makes really hard contact. Is it possible for a guy to continue to sustain his odd combo? I'd love to hear from a scout/coach, who follows Walker consistently, what it is that he does to be able do what he's doing. What's his approach? Is he purely a mistake hitter with an incredible knack for not missing mistakes? Is he a guess hitter who's guess is either way off or spot on? Is he a free swinger who runs into pitches frequently, or does he sit on pitches in a certain zone and hammers anything in his sweet spot?

You wouldn't happen to be personally benefitting from them spending extra time in Chattanooga would you?

Although overshadowed by the offensive exploits of Sano/Kepler/Walker, Tyler Duffey has been fantastic of late as well. He's now gone 22.1 innings (across 3 starts) since giving up his last earned run. He's amassed 19 strikeouts to 3 walks and 15 hits in those innings. His ERA in AAA is now 2.82 (If not for a very rough start on June 11, it would be much much lower - half of his 14 AAA earned runs were given up in that 5.1 inning start.)

I'd like to see him get promoted to AAA today and spend a week there. My only rationale is that I'm heading to a Red Wings game on Friday and having him in the lineup would increase my excitement level about their lineup exponentially. After he goes 5-5 with 3 homers and 2 doubles for the Red Wings on Friday, call him up.

Any chance Sano and/or Kepler get promoted to AAA soon? Before Friday would be terrific since I'm heading to the Red Wings' game in Lehigh Valley

He's had a good month, slashing .333/.432/.440 in June - vast improvements over is April and May numbers.

Player A - 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 2 HR Player B - 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR Player C - 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 SO, 2 HR Who's your pitcher of the day?

Has it been posted on TD that Jack Barrie was released? I don't recall seeing it but its certainly possible I missed it. Didn't see his name listed on either GCL or ELZ rosters so I was curious. According to his intragram account, he was released four days ago, but it is not listed on the Twins' transaction page. Anybody have any insights on why he was released? They certainly have a number of corner infielders in the rookie leagues.

Nice to see Blankenhorn with a couple extra base hits to start his pro career. Hopefully we'll be seeing his draft mate Cabbage joining the hit parade soon. GCL does have some intriguing guys to follow.

Back to back sterling starts for Duffey. 15.1 IP; 0 ER; 11 H; 1 BB; 15 Ks

I don't have a Baseball America subscription to read the full article, but both Graterol and Bellorin signed for 6 figures. I haven't found any exact numbers anywhere, but if anybody has any info, feel free to post.

Of course dealing with small sample sizes is dangerous as numbers can be altered quite significantly in one outing. On the day I posted this, Carlos Suniaga had a rough outing giving up 6 hits 1 BB and 5 ER in 1 inning of work. His K/BB numbers are still strong though despite a now quite ugly ERA/WHIP. Brusdar Graterol also pitched an inning in the game - giving up a hit while adding 2 K's to his impressive total.

I've been a Twins fan my whole life. About 6 years ago I started paying more attention to the minor league system, and found myself getting excited about the potential of young guys. As I started to pay more attention, I found myself looking further down the pipeline to the Dominican Summer League stats to see who might be the next guys to show up on prospect lists. Of course information is pretty scarce on a majority of these players and scouting reports seems non-existent except for the higher bonus guys. While scouting box scores and stat lines is always precarious, one guy caught my eye. That player was mentioned by Miguel Sano as one to watch for this most recent spring - Alexis Tapia. Tapia will likely be heading to the Appy League next week, but has pitched 2 innings in relief for Fort Myers this year as well. And while he certainly has a work a lot to prove given that he is still in the rookie levels, I am pleased to see him getting some attention. Why did he catch my eye in 2013 in the DSL box scores? A combination of his size (6'2" 190ish) and an excellent K/BB ratio (31/5). Tapia showed well in the GCL last year as well and hopefully the 19 year old will continue to develop and give Twins fan another pitcher to dream on. As I look at this years DSL squad and some of the early season returns, there are a few pitchers with similar characteristic to those that drew my attention to Tapia. Of course, we are still dealing with extremely small sample sizes, but so far so good. While Huascar Ynoa gets more attention due to his larger signing bonus, here are a few others to keep an eye on: (Click on their name to go to their respective MILB player pages) Brusdar Graterol : The 6' 1" 180lb Venezuelan righty has pitched 10 innings across 3 outings and amassed 15 strikeouts to just 1 walk, an impressive start for the youngster who is still only 16 years old! Carlos Suniaga : Another Venezuelan righty, Suniaga turned 18 last month and is 6'2" 187. In 12.2 innings he has struck out 11 and walked only 1. Miguel De Jesus : Miguel is a bit older at 19 and comes from the Dominican Republic. He's 6'2" 175 and also throws right handed. He has been dominant though, with 22 K's and only 1 BB in 15.2 innings. His WHIP is a ridiculous 0.45 and he has yet to allow a run. Due to his older age, perhaps we could see De Jesus make a few appearances in the GCL this season. Luis Bellorin : Luis is another Venezuelan. He's 17 years old 6'1" 167. He's a bit smaller and his walk numbers aren't quite as good as the others on this list. In 14.1 innings, he has walked 6 and struck out 12. Again, the numbers aren't quite as exciting, Luis is unique to the others in an exciting way due to the fact that he's a southpaw. It will be interesting to see how these young guys develop. Obviously, they've got a long way to go to even get on the prospect radar, let alone a big league roster. However, their numbers this year suggest the Twins have done a pretty good job of adding some upside arms in the international market.

To me getting him in the MLB bullpen is a win-win-win. (But it shouldn't be decisive of his future role beyond this year.) The rotation depth is there for this year, that Meyer shouldn't be needed as a starter for the big club. Win #1 - It allows Meyer to get experience getting big league hitters out. I'm in favor of starting out in lower leverage opportunities and hopefully easing him into higher leverage situations. Win #2 - It allows Meyer to work more closely with Neil Allen. Win #3 - It infuses more talent into the bullpen.

3 for 4 tonight with 2 triples. Is there a hotter hitter on the planet right now?

Rather than being early buyers, why not be promoters. Why not bring Meyer up to upgrade the bullpen and also allow him to work with the best pitching coach in the org? Promoting Buxton makes a lot more sense to me than making a trade in June. Why not get a month from these guys before the deadline to see where you're at and what you have? I'm not opposed to using their farm depth to acquire big league talent, but it doesn't make much sense to me right now.

Anyone heard anything about when Dalton Hicks or Levi Michael may be getting back on the field? After a really good May, Travis Harrison has really been struggling. Nice to see Kepler with a couple hits. I know its not wise to scout stat lines, but based on his June walk and strike out numbers already nearly matching his May totals, I'd say pitchers have made some adjustments - and he seems to be adjusting as well. Of course I could be making all this up. Anybody have any insights?

With the numbers Minier put up last season, I would be shocked if he returned to GCL. I'm hoping he can make his way up to Cedar Rapids this year. It might be a bit aggressive, but they could use an impact bat. Hope he pushes the issue once the Appy League gets rolling.

Yeah I was thinking of those examples, and if I recall correctly, Minier just came straight to the GCL. I wondered if they might follow a similar plan with Ynoa, but of its a different scenario with him being a pitcher. Perhaps it will be primarily decided by the number of pitchers they already have on the GCL roster?