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Monday means another week's worth of honors handed out by each league in the minors. The Twins were well represented this week as three position players took home top honors. Minnesota's Opening Day DH isn't exactly where he'd like to be but the Southern League recognized his outstanding play. In seven games, Kennys Vargas went 10-for-23 with a double, two triples, and three home runs. He showed remarkable patience by drawing seven walks and he also drove in 10 runs. (Note - following Monday's marathon game in Chattanooga, Kennys Vargas was promoted to AAA Rochester.) Tanner English has been on a tear through the Midwest League. Over the last six games, he went 13-for-25 with five doubles and a triple. He's hit .315/.383/.490 since the All-Star break. He ranks third overall in the Midwest League with 35 stolen bases and second overall in runs scored. LaMonte Wade was a ninth-round pick by the Twins back in June and he's already making his mark in the Appalachian League. Across six games this week, he went 8-for-22 with a pair of homers and a double. He coaxed eight walks on the way to scoring eight runs. Only four Appy League players have more than his seven home runs.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester --, Buffalo -- (Postponed) The Rochester game in Buffalo was postponed on Monday night due to rain. The team was already scheduled for a doubleheader on Tuesday to make up a postponed game from 5/31. This means the teams will play another doubleheader on Thursday. Five games in three days between the two teams tied for second place in the International League North. Sounds like some exciting baseball should be on the docket. Byron Buxton was also reinstated from the disabled list and officially optioned to Triple-A. He had five hits in 12 at-bats for Rochester on rehab assignment. The move stops his service-time clock and it also uses up one of Buxton's three minor league option years. To make room for Buxton infielder Nate Hanson was released. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Mobile 5 (16 Innings) Box Score The Lookouts played well into the night as both clubs tried to gain the upper hand in this back and forth contest. Chattanooga jumped out to a first inning lead after Jorge Polanco led off with a triple. It took a two-out infield single from Kennys Vargas but the run scored. The offense went silent until the seventh inning when the club plated three runs after three singles and a hit-by-pitch started the inning. Tim Shibuya was long gone before a decision was handed out in this one. He went four shutout innings, striking out two. Alex Muren pitched three big shutout innings in the late stages of the game to keep zeros on the board. Alex Wimmers earned his seventh victory after two shutout innings of work even though he had to escape a bases-loaded jam. Over five hours after the game started, Niko Goodrum drove in the winning run with a single after Heiker Meneses and Jorge Polanco had singled. He had been 0-for-5 on the night with a pair of walks before the big hit. Max Kepler was the lone starting player to not pick up a hit in the contest. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 8, St. Lucie 4 Box Score Fort Myers used a balanced attack to pound out eight runs on 14 hits. Four batters collected multiple hits including a three-hit, three-RBI night from Aderlin Mejia. Tanner Vavra collected a pair of doubles and scored two runs. Marcus Knecht smacked his fourth triple on his way to reaching base three times. Mat Batts started and scattered four runs on seven hits. Over five innings, he struck out five and walked three for his six victory. Jake Reed and Nick Burdi combined for four scoreless innings of relief. Burdi was perfect across two frames, getting three strikeouts. The Miracle scored six of the eight runs with two outs and eight of the nine batters in the order registered at least one hit. David Wright, on MLB rehab assignment for the Mets, finished the night 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. E-TWINS E-NOTES E-Twins 3, Greeneville 5 (7 Innings) Box Score Elizabethton saw their two-run lead disappear over the final two innings, including two unearned runs in the last frame. Jose Abreu threw a wild pitch and shortstop Manuel Guzman had a throwing error that turned into the final two runs. Andro Cutura got the no-decision after lasting four innings and allowing one earned run. The E-Twins were limited to two hits on the offensive side of the ball. Jermaine Palacios hit his sixth double and scored a run. Kamran Young drove in two runs with his third home run of the season. The team didn't have many other opportunities as they went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring positions. E-Twins 3, Greeneville 2 (7 Innings) Box Score It looked like the E-Twins were on their way to being swept in their doubleheader before the offense decided to wake up in the bottom of the seventh inning. After two walk to start the frame, Nelson Molina used a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. Jermaine Palacios grounded out for the second out but Daniel Kihle saved the day with a single. Palacios is now hitting .458. Nate Gercken allowed both runs and he was pulled with two outs in the fifth inning. He struck out seven and walked two. Anthony Mciver earned his second win after collecting the last seven outs and allowing only one hit. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 11, GCL Rays 3 Box Score The GCL Twins capitalized on some wild pitching in the bottom of the second inning to score eight runs on two hits. There were six walks, two hit-by-pitches, two fielding errors, and two wild pitches. It sounds like it was quite the circus of an inning. Both Christian Cavaness and Robert Molina went 2-for-4 including a double, the team's lone extra-base hit, for Cavaness. Every batter in the line-up scored at least one run. Roberto Gonzalez reached base three times and scored two runs. Eduardo Del Rosario improved to 3-0 on the season after tossing five innings of one-run ball. He struck out four and didn't walk any as his ERA improved to 1.46. Luis Hernandez and Andrew Vasquez each pitched two frames and combined to allow a pair of runs. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Eduardo Del Rosario, GCL Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Aderlin Mejia, Fort Myers Miracle TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (4:35 CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers Rochester @ Buffalo (Game 2) – RHP Tyler Duffey Chattanooga vs. Mobile (6:15 CST) – LHP David Hurlbut Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (5:30 CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (6:00 CST) – RHP Keaton Steele Elizabethton @ Greeneville (6:00 CST) – TBA GLC Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00 am CST) – TBA Click here to view the article

A day after being part of a no-hitter that he started three weeks ago, Trevor May did something else that was a little strange; he pitched in relief for the Twins game. This was something he hadn't done since 2010 at the High-A level. After a rough big league debut, it was probably nice for May to get back on the mound and prove he belongs at the big league level. It was a strange day in the minor leagues. Two Twins' affiliates had weather interfere with their game and one team had to finish a game they started at the end of June. Let's see how things shook out after all of the weather issues. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Lehigh Valley 1 (3rd Inning- Suspended) Box Score These two teams couldn't get their game completed as rain interrupted things after two innings of play. A double-header is scheduled for tomorrow with the first game being a nine inning contest and the second game being a shortened seven inning game. Look for a full report on this game as part of tomorrow's minor league report at Twins Daily. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 2, Bowie 0 Box Score For the first time since the beginning of July, Jason Wheeler was credited with a victory. He tossed 7.1 shutout innings by striking out five and walking none. He limited the Baysox to four hits with only two of the hits being for extra-bases. Ryan O'Rourke and Daniel Turpen collected the final five outs to keep the shutout intact. It was the second save for Turpen and the tenth hold for O'Rourke. Mike Gonzalez provided the big hit for the Rock Cats. He cranked his third home run of the season, a two-run shot, in the fourth inning. After two quick outs to start the inning, Tony Thomas singled. He advanced to second on a balk ahead of the Gonzalez home run. Eddie Rosario and Jorge Polanco both went 1-for-3 with each reaching base a second time with a walk. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 6, St. Lucie 8 (Game 1- 9 Innings) Box Score The post Byron Buxton era in Fort Myers didn't go as planned as the team would drop a pair of games. The first game was a resumed game that had been rained out in the top of the fifth with the Miracle leading 3-2. The team held the lead for most of the game before the bullpen allowed five runs over the last two frames. Tyler Jones was the man on the mound for all of the late inning damage. The five runs were scored on five hits including a home run. Tim Shibuya had started the game on June 26th and limited the Mets to two runs, one earned, on six hits in a little over four innings. Fort Myers used a balance offensive attack to build up their early lead. Six different players drove in a run. Anderlin Mejia and Niko Goodrum did a good job at the top of the order. They combined to go 4-for-9 with two doubles and three runs scored. Dalton Hicks added a double of his own and he came around to score a run. Fort Myers 6, St. Lucie 5 (Game 2- 7 Innings) Box Score Aderlin Mejia kept his hot hitting going in the second game recording another two-hit performance. In his last six games he has four multi-hit games so he's in the middle of quite an offensive run. Tyler Grimes knocked in three with a home run as part of a two hit night. Jairo Rodriguez only had one hit but he scored two of the team's runs. Adam Brett Walker added his 88th RBI of the season. Ethan Mildren got knocked around for seven hits and he allowed six runs. Only four of the runs were earned following a couple of defensive miscues by Mejia and Bryan Haar. It was the first time in his last three starts that Mildren hadn't pitched six innings. Madison Boer struck out the side in the sixth and DJ Johnson pitched a perfect seventh. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 12, Beloit 5 Box Score The Kernels used a small ball approach to rack up 12 runs in this game. Cedar Rapids didn't have an extra-base hit but they used a balance attack with every batter besides Ryan Walker, the lead-off man, getting at least one hit. Chad Christensen plated three runs including two of them with two outs in an inning. The bottom three men in the order (JD Williams, Engelb Vielma, and Tanner Vavra) all drove in two runs. The Kernels went 9-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Ryan Eades was able to coast to his second straight win and he hasn't been charged with a loss since July 20th. He scattered nine hits and allowed two earned runs for his eighth victory. Josue Montanez got into a little bit of trouble as he allowed three runs in an inning of work. Hudson Boyd limited the Snappers to two base runners over the last two frames. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton --, Bristol -- Rain got in the way of this contest between the E-Twins and the Pirates. It was the second time in the tree game series that weather postponed due to rain. The game will be made-up as part of a double header on August 24th when the E-Twins return to Bristol. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 5 Box Score The GCL Twins were only out hit 11 to 10 but the team struggled to get runners across the plate. Overall the team went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and they left nine runners on base. Joel Polanco and Zack Larson each had a double as part of a two-hit day. Amaurys Minier reached base three different times but his teammates couldn't move him in to score. Zach Tillery took his second loss of the season after throwing three innings and allowing one earned run on four hits. He struck out two and walked one. Josh Burris relieved Tillery and four runs were scored against him but they were all unearned because of a couple defensive errors. Jhon Silva, Callan Pearce, and Miles Nordgren shut out the Rays offense the rest of the way. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Aderlin Mejia, Fort Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Durham @ Rochester (4:05 CST)- Completion of 8/12 Game Durham @ Rochester (30 minutes after Game 1) – Mark Hamburger (Listen) New Britain @ Trenton (6:05 CST) – Tyler Duffey (Listen) St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (4:05 CST) – TBA (Listen) St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (30 minutes after Game 1)- TBA Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (7:00 CST) - Chih-Wei Hu (Listen) Greeneville @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - John Curtiss GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and toread his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

Minnesota Twins Minor League Report for July 26, 2014. The Twins had yet another rough one with the White Sox. Three Twins pitching prospects had impressive, shutout performances. There was a walk-off win for one of the affiliates, and another needed 11 innings to win.Logan Darnell made his first Major League start on Saturday night at Target Field against Chris Sale and the White Sox. It was a David and Goliath matchup, and in this case, Goliath dominated. Darnell’s first inning was terrific. Three ground ball outs and eight pitches. Then things went downhill. In all, he gave up seven runs on 11 hits in five innings. That start may not have been great, but there were three very strong starts in the Twins minor leagues on Saturday night. It was a struggle to figure out who the pitcher of the day should be. Be sure to comment on which one you would pick. And, a Minnesota native provided a walk-off win for one of the Twins affiliates. Here is the Minor League Report for Saturday: RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Indianapolis 0 Box Score It was quite a pitcher’s duel in Rochester on this night and it ended in a walk-off win. Lefty Sean Gilmartin was up for the challenge. He went 7.1 scoreless innings. He gave up just five hits, walked two and struck out four. He was helped by his defense as well. With a runner on third base and one out in the 3rd inning, Gilmartin got a fly ball to right field. Chris Rahl made the catch and threw home to get the runner for the third out. Righty Stephen Pryor came on for his first Red Wings appearance since coming to the organization earlier this week from the Mariners. He walked one but got the final two outs of the eighth inning. Michael Tonkin came on for the ninth. He made it interesting, giving up a hit and hitting a batter, but he completed the shutout. There wasn’t much offense, but just enough. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Eden Prairie’s Nate Hanson singled up the middle to drive in Eric Farris for the walk-off win. It was one of just four hits for the Red Wings. Deibinson Romero pinch hit in the ninth and walked. It was the 23rd straight game he’s played in and reached base. Hanson had a slow start in his first ten games after being promoted from New Britain to Rochester. He now has a seven-game hitting streak during which time he is 10-27 (.371). ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 7, Portland 0 Box Score Download attachment: Tyler Duffey 2.JPG Tyler Duffey seems to have found his way in the Eastern League of late. On this night, he went seven innings without allowing a run. He gave up five hits, walked none and struck out seven. He improved to 7-2 with a 3.75 ERA. In his last three starts, he has thrown 21.1 innings and given up just three earned runs. He has given up 12 hits, walked just one and struck out 24 in that time. Jim Fuller gave up only a walk in the final two innings. Jorge Polanco made it to New Britain in time to play. He led off and went 1-4 with a double. The middle of the lineup hit well in this one. Cleanup man Kennys Vargas went 2-4 with his 16th double. Aaron Hicks, batting fifth, went 2-4 with his seventh and eighth doubles and three RBI. Brandon Waring hit his 19th and 20th doubles in four at bats. Mike Kvasnicka went 2-4 with his 20th double. Eddie Rosario added his 11th double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 8, Tampa 6 (11 innings) Box Score Aderlin Mejia had a big game that concluded with a game-winning RBI single in the 11th inning. He went 2-2 with three walks and his 13th and 14th stolen bases. Michael Gonzales went 2-3 with his 21st doubles and seventh home run. Byron Buxton doubled twice in six at bats. Travis Harrison went 2-6 with his 26th double. Niko Goodrum went 2-5. Matt Tomshaw made the start. The lefty gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings. Todd Van Steensel threw two shutout frames. Brandon Peterson struck out two in a perfect eighth inning. Tyler Jones gave up two unearned runs on one hit and two walks in the ninth. He did strike out two. Brian Gilbert struck out three over the last two innings. He didn’t allow a base runner. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Dayton 0 Box Score Chih-Wei Hu has been tremendous since his promotion to the Kernels. Saturday’s start was his best yet. The right-hander went six shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked one and struck out ten. He is now 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA with the Kernels. Jake Reed, the Twins 5th round pick this summer, struck out three in two perfect innings. Nick Burdi came on and struck out one in his perfect innings. These two have been strikeout guys. Burdi now has 16 strikeouts in eight innings for Cedar Rapids. Reed has 21 strikeouts in 15 innings between Elizabethton and Cedar Rapids. The Kernels struck for three runs in the first inning, and that was enough. Engelb Vielma went 2-4. JD Williams hit his 12th double. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Johnson City 5 Box Score Michael Cederoth was back on the mound for the E-Twins. He went five innings and gave up three runs (1 earned) on three hits. He walked one, hit three and struck out two. Cameron Booser gave up two unearned runs on one hit and three walks in two innings. He struck out two. Dereck Rodriguez continued his impressive streak at the start of his pitching career. He has only given up an unearned run in his 16 innings over ten games this season. Pat Kelly went 3-3 in this game with his fourth and fifth doubles. Nick Gordon went 2-4 with his third double. Tyler Kuresa doubled for the ninth time. Max Murphy went 1-3 with a walk. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Red Sox 5 Box Score The GCL Twins won again. Amaurys Minier went 2-3 with his seventh double and two RBI. He was also hit by a pitch. Jarrard Poteete went 2-4 with two RBI. Brandon Easton worked the first four innings. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits and three walks. Eduardo Del Rosario threw three innings and gave up just one hit. Trevor Hildenberger worked two perfect innings in relief. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Chih-Wei Hu, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Aderlin Mejia, Ft. Myers Miracle SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ Rochester (12:05 CST) – Kris Johnson Portland @ New Britain (12:35 CST) – Virgil Vasquez Ft. Myers @ Tampa (12:00 CST) – Ethan Mildren Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (1:00 CST) – Stephen Gonsalves Elizabethton @ Johnson City (3:00 CST) – Sam Gibbons GCL Twins – No Game Scheduled. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

We are all very excited about the potential of Jose (JO) Berrios. DJ Baxendale has been the best pitcher in the Twins organization to this point of the season. Tyler Duffey has been strong and consistent through the year. Two other 2012 draft picks made impressive starts on Tuesday night. 2nd Round Mason Melotakis looked to end the Cedar Rapids Kernels’ six-game losing streak. 11th round pick Taylor Rogers looked to keep the good times rolling for the Miracle.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It would be nice to get Luke Bard and JT Chargois going, but even without those two starting yet, the Twins 2012 draft class is off to a very strong start. Check out what happened in the Twins minor league system on Tuesday: Rochester Red Wings, Lehigh Valley IronPigs This game was suspended by rain with one out in the top of the 5th inning. Andrew Albers was working on his first clunker of the season. Jeff Clement had homered. When the game is completed, we’ll provide the game’s story. New Britain Rock Cats 1, Richmond Squirrels 2 Box Score Logan Darnell had another very good start but unfortunately the Rock Cats' bats were kept quiet. Darnell has been very good of late. In this game, he went six innings. The lefty gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out five. Cole Johnson came to the team from Ft. Myers and got into game action right away. He pitched a scoreless inning in his AA debut despite giving up two hits and a walk. Michael Tonkin came on and struck out five over two perfect innings. Jordan Parraz hit his second home run in the week. It was one of just three hits for the team. Down a run in the ninth, Reynaldo Rodriguez doubled to lead off the inning. AJ Pettersen bunted him to third base, but the team was unable to plate the game-tying run. Bruce Pugh was put on the disabled list. Cole Johnson and catcher Kyle Knudson were promoted to the Rock Cats. Ft. Myers Miracle 5, Bradenton Marauders 0 Box Score Aderlin Mejia continues to impress with the Miracle, but it was different player who didn't start the season with the team who was the story tonight. In last year's draft the Twins selected Taylor Rogers in the 11th round out of the University of Kentucky. He began the season with the Kernels but was promoted to Ft. Myers at the start of this month. On this night, he worked seven shutout innings. He gave up seven hits, walked none and struck out seven to improve to 4-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.32 with the Miracle. Ryan O’Rourke returned to the Miracle bullpen and threw a scoreless inning. He struck out two. Matt Hauser struck out the side in the 9th. Photo by William Parmeter Mejia is supposed to be in Ft. Myers waiting for the Elizabethton season to start. If he keeps playing like he has, he may have to stick. In this game, he went 2-2 with three walks. He doubled for the fourth time and stole his eighth base. Eddie Rosario went 2-3 with two walks and his 10th double. Miguel Sano went 2-4 with his 14th double. Jhon Goncalves went 2-4 with his fourth double. Angel Morales was also 2-4. Cedar Rapids Kernels 9, Clinton LumberKings 4 Box Score The Kernels found a winning formula to end their six-game losing streak. They got some big hits, including a couple home runs, and a terrific start. Like Rogers and Baxendale, Mason Melotakis was a 2012 draft pick. He improved to 4-2 with a 3.69 ERA with seven strong innings in this game. He started with six shutout innings before yielding two runs in the seventh. In all, he gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out three. Tim Atherton pitched the eighth. He gave up two runs on a walk and a home run. Steven Gruver struck out two in a scoreless ninth. JD Williams led the offense. He went 3-4 with his fifth home run. Byron Buxton went 3-5. Travis Harrison knocked his eighth home run. Jorge Polanco hit his seventh triple. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article