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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Granted, it probably wasn't anywhere near the "worst of times" for Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver, but the excitement of learning they had been drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the June, 2013 Amateur Draft had to have been at least slightly dampened with the realization that the Twins had drafted both of them.Going into that draft, the Twins knew they needed catching. They didn’t yet know just how desperately they needed catching. (This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com) The Twins had allowed their organization to become thin at a critical (if not THE most critical) defensive position. And it was understandable, to a degree. After all, they had the reigning American League Most Valuable Player behind the plate. Catcher Joe Mauer was not only good for a .300 batting average and .400 on-base percentage every season, but he had only just turned 30 years old a few weeks earlier. What the Twins’ brass didn’t know – and couldn’t know – as they gathered in their offices for the June 2013 Amateur Player Draft, was that Mauer would never get behind the plate to catch another big league game after the 2013 season, due to persistent concussion problems. Still, to their credit, they identified the catching position as one that warranted some focus in the 2013 draft. And focus they did. The Twins used three of their top 10 picks in 2013 on catchers and added another in the 22nd round. After selecting pitchers Kohl Stewart and Ryan Eades in rounds one and two, Minnesota picked Ole Miss catcher Stuart Turner in the third round. He was the 2013 Johnny Bench Award winner, presented to the top NCAA Division I catcher. In the sixth round, the Twins grabbed a high school catcher, Brian Navarreto. New Mexico Lobo catcher Mitch Garver was selected by the Twins in the ninth round. Garver was one of three finalists for the Johnny Bench award that Turner won. In fact, it was the second year that Garver was a Bench Award finalist. The Twins added Alex Swim out of Elon (NC) University in the 22nd round, to complete the 2013 catching class. Adding that many catchers to the organization at one time required a bit of roster manipulation on the part of the Twins farm director Brad Steil and his group. You obviously can’t just start the entire group at the same level and still get everyone enough work behind the plate to develop them. Navarreto, being a few years younger than the others, was easy to plug into the rookie league programs. Fair or not, as a lower round pick, there would be less emphasis on getting Swim adequate opportunities to show what he could do behind the plate. By the end of the 2013 season, of course, the Twins pretty much knew Mauer’s career as a catcher was effectively over and suddenly the club and its fans became much more interested in the catchers coming up through the farm system, particularly in Turner and Garver. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Turner3-450x600-450x600.jpgStuart Turner (Photo: SD Buhr)The Twins don’t make a habit of starting many of their young players at the Advanced Class A level in Ft. Myers, but it was important that both Turner and Garver get as much time working with pitchers from behind the plate as possible. That could only be accomplished by splitting the two catchers up in their first full season of professional ball. To accomplish that, Turner was assigned to Ft. Myers, while Garver spent 2014 at Class A Cedar Rapids. A year later, Turner and Garver remained one level apart as Turner was promoted to AA Chattanooga and Garver moved up to Ft. Myers. In fact, the first time the two became teammates wasn’t even technically with a Twins affiliate. The Twins sent both catchers to the Arizona Fall League in October, 2015. Both caught 11 games and DH’d in one for AFL champion Scottsdale. Garver hit .317 for the Scorpions, while Turner hit just .171. That set up a 2016 season where Garver and Turner would both begin the year at Chattanooga. While the two had been effectively competing with one another for some kind of mythical “Twins top catching prospect” designation since that 2013 draft day, this was the first time Garver and Turner were set up to go side-by-side into a regular season at the same professional level. That dynamic continued into the second week of August, when the Twins had a spot for a catcher open up at their AAA affiliate in Rochester and the call went out to Chattanooga for someone to finish out the season with the Red Wings. Since Turner was about to finish his second Class AA season with the Lookouts and Garver was still in his first tour through the Southern League, you might have thought that Turner would get the promotion – but you would have been wrong. With Garver hitting a respectable .257 (.753 OPS) at the time, while Turner was hovering around .210 (and an OPS around .650), it was Garver who was packing for Rochester. But it wasn’t just his bat that appeared to have pushed Garver ahead of Turner on the Twins’ organizational depth chart. He threw out 52% of runners attempting to steal on him (23 of 44 attempts) in Chattanooga. Turner threw out 19 of 48 attempted base stealers for a 40% clip. Admittedly, using “caught stealing” statistics as a measure for a catcher’s work behind the plate is iffy, at best. For one thing, runners steal bases off of pitchers as much as (if not more than) off catchers. However, in this case, that factor is largely mitigated since the two were catching members of the same Chattanooga pitching staff. After the season, the Twins again sent Garver to get additional work in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .229 and put up a .756 OPS, fueled by four home runs and four doubles in 70 at-bats for the AFL runner-up Surprise Saguaros. Whether Garver will eventually hit and, perhaps more importantly, catch well enough to work his way into the Minnesota Twins lineup on a regular basis certainly remains an unknown. However, we do know the Twins like him enough that, as the AFL season wrapped up, they added him to their 40-man roster. Meanwhile, Turner was not added to that roster, exposing him to Major League Baseball’s Rule 5 draft. On Thursday, the Cincinnati Reds selected Turner from the Twins in said draft. Ironically, while it’s clear that the Twins now value Garver’s big league potential over that of Turner, it’s Turner that very well could get to the big leagues ahead of Garver. As a Rule 5 pick, the Reds will need to keep Turner on their big league club in 2017 or return him to the Twins (or offer the Twins some sort of additional compensation in return for being allowed to keep him at a minor league level). At the same time, Garver will open spring training in the big league camp but has no guarantee in his pocket assuring him a spot with the Twins on Opening Day. On draft day in June of 2013, Turner and Garver had to be wondering what the chances were that the two of them would somehow both work their way into a Minnesota Twins uniform. It seemed likely that, some day, the Twins were going to need to make a choice between them. That day came and the Twins chose to cast their lot with Garver. Fortunately for Turner, he’s getting a pretty good consolation prize, courtesy of the Cincinnati Reds. Click here to view the article

There were multiple streaks to keep an eye on during Tuesday's action in the Twins farm system. Stephen Gonsalves entered his start tonight with a streak of 11 straight scoreless innings. LaMonte Wade entered play today with a 12-game hit streak, the longest currently active streak in affiliated baseball. Would either of these streaks continue? You'll have to read on to find out.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Pawtucket 9 Box Score Pat Dean and Loek van Mil ran into some tough times on the mound on Tuesday night. Dean earned his third loss after allowing four earned runs over five frames. He struck out four and walked two. Van Mil didn't do much better in relief as he gave up four runs in 1.2 innings with a strikeout. Dan Runzler and Buddy Boshers put zeros up the rest of the way but the Wings were in a deep hole. As a team, Rochester was held to four hits but three of the four hits were for extra-bases. David Murphy hit his first home run since signing with the Twins. James Beresford and Kennys Vargas both collected their second double of the season. Wilfredo Tovar doubled his stolen base total on the year by swiping second twice in the game. The team was 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left five runners on base. With the loss, the Red Wings drop to 4-8 on the season as the team has lost six of their last eight games. They are currently in last place in the International League North and trail the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders by four games. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Mississippi 7 Box Score David Hurlbut started for the Lookouts and he couldn't make it out of the fourth inning. In 3.1 innings, he allowed four earned runs on nine hits with three strikeouts. Corey Williams took over for Hurlbut and allowed one run, a solo home run, across two innings with three strikeouts. Marcus Walden and Jake Reed finished off the last 2.2 innings by allowing one run, a home run given up by Reed. Joe Maloney and Levi Michael each went 1-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI, and a walk. Leonardo Reginatto had the team's lone extra-base hit, his third double of the season. Shannon Wilkerson reached base three times but also struck out twice. The team left nine men on base and went 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position. The loss drops Chattanooga to 4-9 on the season as the team has lost four of their last five games. They are currently in last place in the Southern League North and sit 4.5 games behind the Jackson Generals. These two teams will square off again tomorrow in game four of a five game series. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Jupiter 1 Box Score Stephen Gonsalves has been on quite the roll to start the season. He gave up three runs in his first inning this season and he entered the night with 11 straight scoreless frames. He carried that streak into the fifth inning tonight before allowing a leadoff home run. Gonsalves wouldn't factor into the decision but he made it through seven innings by allowing the one earned run with eight strikeouts and a walk. Trevor Hildenberger earned his first victory of the year as he pitched two scoreless innings to close out the contest. Alex Swim was the lone Miracle batter with multiple hits as he finished the night 2-for-4 before being pulled for a pinch runner in the late innings. Tanner English walked to start the bottom of the sixth inning and followed this up by stealing second. Swim grounded out to advance him to third and Nick Gordon drove him in with another ground out. English was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the eighth and this was followed by a Swim single. One batter later, Trey Vavra walked to load the bases for Chris Paul who used a sacrifice fly to score the winning run. With the victory, the Miracle have won six of their last eight games. Their six-game homestand continues tomorrow with the second game of their series with Jupiter. Former first-round pick Kohl Stewart is scheduled to take the mound. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Burlington 5 Box Score The Kernels struggled to get any offense going against Bee's starter Jamie Barria as he took a perfect game into the fifth inning. However, the Kernels were right in the game behind a solid start from Randy LeBlanc. He lasted a career-high seven innings and limited the Bees to two runs (one earned) on four hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Logan Lombana allowed three earned runs in his one inning on the mound to allow the Bees to add to their late inning lead. Seven of the nine batters in the Kernels line-up had a hit but the team only had four at-bats with runners in scoring position. Rafael Valera cracked his fourth double of the season as he drove in the team's lone run. In the seventh inning, J.J. Fernandez tried to score from first on a double from Jermaine Palacios but he was gunned down at the plate and the Kernels were out of scoring opportunities. LaMonte Wade's 12-game hit streak was snapped with an 0-for-4 day. The Kernels and the Bees are tied at 1-1 in this three game series with the rubber match scheduled for Wednesday evening. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day- Stephen Gonsalves, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day- Alex Swim, Fort Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Pawtucket (12:35 CST)- RHP Alex Meyer (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Chattanooga @ Mississippi (10:35 am CST)- RHP Aaron Slegers (0-1, 3.60 ERA) Fort Myers vs. Jupiter (6:05 CST)- RHP Kohl Stewart (1-0, 1.50 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (6:30 CST)- RHP Andro Cutura (2-0, 2.45 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Tuesday games. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins announced their first batch of cuts from spring training this afternoon. They reassigned five players to minor league camp. Infielders Engelb Vielma, Reynaldo Rodriguez, Heiker Meneses, catcher Alex Swim, and right-handed pitcher Jake Reed will report to the minor league facilities on Monday morning. More transactions are anticipated by the club Monday morning.There were no real surprises among the list of players reassigned. The surprise was that, at this time, the Twins have not officially optioned any players off of their 40-man roster. (Again, expect information on that to come on Monday) Reynaldo Rodriguez is leaving Twins spring training to join the WBC-Qualifying team from Colombia. He will most likely spend the season in Rochester again. Engelb Vielma had a solid showing in his first big league spring. Earlier in the day, he was awarded the organization's top defensive infielder award in the minor leagues. He is likely to spend the season in Chattanooga. Heiker Meneses spent all of last season in Chattanooga and is likely to return there. He played a lot of second base, though he played shortstop when Jorge Polanco was with the Twins or Red Wings. Alex Swim spent last season in Ft. Myers. He could go back there after missing time in the second half due to injury, though he is likely to spend time in Chattanooga as well in 2016. Jake Reed pitched a clean inning today and has been solid in his first big league camp. As Paul Molitor said after the game, it is his command that will need work. He should go back to Chattanooga to start the season, but he could surface in the big leagues late in the season. Feel free to discuss this group, and remember to check back tomorrow for more roster decisions. Click here to view the article

It was a busy day on and off the field in the Twins system. The big league club started out their 2nd half by powering their way to a 5-0 win over Sonny Gray and the A’s. All six affiliates played. The team worked hard trying to sign compensation pick Kyle Cody, but they were unsuccessful. The ramifications of not signing him for the dollars they wanted went far beyond losing the one player.There were three, one-run ball games on the farm, and two blowouts. Continue reading to find out everything. Three players made rehab appearances in the GCL, so be sure to read to the bottom! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 0, Lehigh Valley 1 Box Score Pat Dean was terrific on this night, but the Red Wings offense was not able to support him. He went eight strong innings. He gave up just one run on seven hits. He walked one and struck out seven. Mark Hamburger pitched a perfect ninth. Unfortunately, the Red Wings managed just four hits in this one. Oswaldo Arcia went 0-3 and has struck out in six straight plate appearances since homering in his first at bat on Thursday. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Biloxi 5 Box Score The Lookouts got a lead and were able to hang on at the end. Heiker Meneses went 3-4 with his seventh double. Stuart Turner was 3-4. In his last four games, he is 8-17, raising his season average to .206. Adam Brett Walker went 2-5 with his 21st double and his 76th RBI. Max Kepler went 2-5 and stole his 13th base. Kennys Vargas returned to the lineup and went 1-4 with a walk. DJ Baxendale went the first six innings. He was charged with three runs on nine hits. He walked one and struck out seven. Alex Muren threw two shutout innings, giving up only a walk. JT Chargois came on for the ninth. He gave up two unearned runs in the ninth thanks to two errors in the Lookouts infield in the ninth, but got a ground out with the bases loaded to end the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 12, Brevard County 1 Box Score It was a great night for the Miracle bats, and Batts! Let’s start with offense. Alex Swim and Brett Doe each had four hits in the game. Swim was 4-5 with his 11th double and two RBI. Doe was 4-6 with two RBI. Ryan Walker went 2-6 and drove in three runs. Chad Christensen went 2-4 with a walk and his first triple of the season. Tanner Vavra went 2-4. Jason Kanzler was 2-5. On the mound, lefty Mat Batts continued his mastery. He gave up just one run on five hits over seven innings. He struck out five without issuing a walk. The outing reduces his Miracle ERA to just 1.66 in nine starts and 54.1 innings. Todd Van Steensel gave up a single but no runs in the eighth inning. Nick Burdi struck out two in a perfect ninth. In his eight innings now with the Miracle, he is yet to give up a run. He has given up four hits, walked none and struck out 12. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Burlington 3 Box Score The Kernels offense got eight hits, but they were unable to bunch enough together to score enough runs in this game. Edgar Corcino led the way. He went 3-4. Pat Kelly went 2-4 in the game. Nick Gordon had a walk and a single. His hitting streak is now at 16 games. He is now 23-67 in those games, a batting average of .343. Coming into the game, he had hit .305/.380/.366 (.746) with ten doubles since May 22 (41 games). Randy Rosario started for the Kernels. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out three. Luke Bard struck out two over the next two innings. He gave up just two hits. Randy LeBlanc gave up one run on three hits over the final two innings. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Danville 2 (10 innings) Box Score Andro Cutura was drafted by the Twins last year, but he didn’t pitch due to injury. He had a terrific start on this night. He gave up just one run on two hits over seven innings. He walked none and struck out four. Anthony Mciver came on and gave up two hits and a walk, but no runs, in his inning. He struck out two. Logan Lombana pitched a scoreless ninth inning, but he takes the loss after giving up the winning run with two outs in the tenth. He gave up three hits, walked two and struck out two in 1.2 innings. AJ Murray led the offense. He went 2-4 including his third home run of the season. Rainis Silva was 2-2 in the game. Nelson Molina went 2-3 and added his first double of the year. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 8, GCL Red Sox 2 Box Score The Twins put together a seven-run third inning and held on for another win to improve to 13-8 on the season. They got a little offense throughout the lineup. Dalton Hicks made his first rehab appearance since being injured very late in April. He had a hit in three at bats. Brian Olson went 1-3 with two walks. Trey Cabbage went 2-4. Roberto Gonzalez went 2-3 with a walk and his second double. Lewin Diaz had an RBI triple in the first inning. Luis Arraez walked twice. Jermaine Palacios went 2-4 with his second triple. After starting the season 1-19, he has now gone 28-51(.549) and hit in 12 of his last 13 games. He has multi-hit games in 11 of those 13 games. For his second straight start, Williams Ramirez gave up just one hit over five shutout innings. In this game, he walked two and struck out two. In 21 innings for the GCL Twins, Ramirez has given up one run on six hits. He has walked nine and struck out 26. Very solid numbers, though the Dominican right-hander will turn 23 years old in early August. Ramirez was replaced by the rehabbing Stephen Pryor. Reports from Ft. Myers indicated that his fastball was 87 to 91 mph, which is nowhere near where he was before his injuries started a couple of years ago. He walked one and struck out one in a scoreless innings. Matz Schutte came on and gave up a solo home run before getting the next three batters out. John Curtiss walked one and struck one out in a scoreless inning. He has not pitched due to a forearm strain since May 25th. Moises Gomez gave up one run on two hits and a walk in the ninth inning. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Mat Batts, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Alex Swim/Brett Doe, Ft. Myers Miracle SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (5:05 CST) – RHP JO Berrios Chattanooga at Biloxi (7:10 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Ft. Myers at Brevard County (5:35 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart Cedar Rapids vs Quad Cities (6:00 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons Elizabethton at Danville (6:00 CST) - LHP Sam Clay GCL Twins vs GCL Red Sox (9:00 CST) - TBA Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. Click here to view the article

Brian Dozier is an All-Star. The Twins topped the Tigers again. Kohl Stewart and Randy Rosario were very good. A 2015 draft pick continues to impress on the mound in E-Town, while a fellow 2015 pick was promoted to Cedar Rapids. The minor league leader in hits added three more on Saturday and a top prospect had his first two doubles. And, Rochester had a big, late inning rally. It was a full day in the Twins system on Saturday!Here's what happened in the Twins farm system on Saturday. TRANSACTIONS 2015 Twins draft pick Sean Miller was promoted from Elizabethton to Cedar Rapids, taking T.J. White’s spot. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Syracuse 4 Box Score Down 4-2 going into the eighth inning, the Red Wings put together a very quick rally. James Beresford singled to lead off the inning. Oswaldo Arcia doubled high off the right field wall to drive in one. Reynaldo Rodriguez scored Arcia with his 21st double of his own. Danny Ortiz then homered to break the tie and give the Red Wings a 6-4 lead. All runs were charged to #OldFriend PJ Walters. The Red Wings added two more runs in the top of the ninth. James Beresford went 3-5. Arcia went 2-4 with a walk and his tenth double. Ortiz drove in three runs. Chris Herrmann went 2-3 with a walk and a double.Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-5 with a double. Pat Dean started. He went the first four innings and was charged with three runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out five. Alex Meyer went the next 2.1 innings. He gave up one run on four hits. He walked two and struck out three. Michael Tonkin gave up just one hit and recorded the next five outs. AJ Achter came on to protect the four-run lead in the ninth. After giving up back-to-back singles to start the ninth, he got back-to-back strikeouts followed by a groundout to end the game. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Mississippi 5 Box Score The Lookouts continue to struggle, falling to 3-12 in the second half. DJ Baxendale started and gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out two. Scott Atchison needed just 20 pitches to get through two perfect innings. Tim Shibuya walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth. The Lookouts managed just five hits. Adam Brett Walker went 2-4 (including a ninth inning single off of fellow Milwaukee native and former Twins prospect Tyler Jones – who struck out two in a scoreless ninth frame). Kennys Vargas went 1-3 with a walk and his second Lookout double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Clearwater 1 Box Score Kohl Stewart improved to 4-5 on the season and dropped his season ERA to 3.28 on Saturday night. The right-hander went seven innings and gave up one run on seven hits. He walked three and struck out two. Dallas Gallant struck out one in a scoreless eighth inning. Corey Williams gave up two hits but no runs in a scoreless inning. Alex Swim provided another big game. He went 3-4 with his ninth double and two RBIs and is now hitting .316. Michael Quesada went 2-2 with two walks. Ryan Walker went 2-4. Mitch Garver hit his 15th double. Tanner Vavra’s two-run single gave the Miracle the lead. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 0 Box Score Randy Rosario began the 2014 season in the Cedar Rapids rotation. After one start, he was done and had Tommy John surgery. On Saturday night, Rosario made his second start since his return. He went six shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked two and struck out four. Cameron Booser struck out three over two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked a batter. Trevor Hildenberger worked the ninth inning. He gave up a hit but recorded his 12th save of the season, as his ERA dropped to 0.85. Brian Navarreto got the Kernels offense going. His two-run single in the second inning provided all the scoring. Newcomer Sean Miller played shortstop and went 2-4. Tanner English led off and went 2-4 with a walk. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Johnson City 1 Box Score Cody Stashak was the Twins 13th round pick in June out of St. Johns. In his first two starts, he gave up no runs in nine innings. This start began with three more scoreless innings before he gave up a single run in the fourth. In his six innings, he gave up just the one run on six hits. He struck out seven without issuing a walk. Onesimo Hernandez gave up two hits and a walk in two scoreless innings. Kuo Hua Lo pitched a perfect ninth. Amaurys Minier led the offense. He hit his first two E-Town doubles in his first two at-bats and ended the game 3-4. A.J. Murray went 2-4 and put the game out of reach with a two-run homer in the eighth inning. The homer was his second of the season. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 0 Box Score The Twins scored two in the bottom of the first. That was it for scoring. Fortunately, five pitchers were able to hold the Red Sox scoreless all nine innings. Luis Arraez led off the bottom of the first with a single. Three batters later, Lewin Diaz doubled him in. Later, Jermaine Palacios scored on a passed ball. The Twins had just seven hits in the game. No one had more than one. Jose Martinez started and threw four scoreless innings. He gave up three hits and walked one. Miguel Gonzalez came on and struck out four over two shutout innings. Chris Mazza struck out two in his rehab outing. Johan Quezada came on and hit 97 a few times. He worked a perfect eighth. Yorman Landa finished things out with a perfect ninth. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy Rosario, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Amaurys Minier, Elizabethton Twins SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (12:05 CST) – RHP Greg Peavey Mississippi @ Chattanooga (1:15 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Clearwater @ Ft. Myers (305 CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (1:00 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons Johnson City @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez GCL Twins – No Game Scheduled. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

It was an interesting day in the Minnesota Twins minor league system on Tuesday even though the Chattanooga Lookouts had an off day. The Ft. Myers Miracle had a Miracle Win in the bottom of the ninth. And, congratulations to Jake Mauer and his Cedar Rapids Kernels as they will head to the Midwest League playoffs for the third time in their three seasons as a Twins affiliate.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 6 Box Score Pat Dean has been tremendous for the Red Wings all season. However, on this night, he struggled. The left-hander gave up five runs on nine hits and a walk in five innings. Mark Hamburger came on and threw two scoreless innings. Ryan O’Rourke faced two batters. He struck out one, but the other homered. Cole Johnson made his AAA debut and recorded five outs, one on a strikeout. Reynaldo Rodriguez led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk and two RBI. Oswaldo Arcia went 1-3 with a walk and hit his first home run in the ninth inning. Ryan Wheeler added his third double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga Box Score No Game Scheduled. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Daytona 4 Box Score The Miracle were down 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth. The first two batters got out. Then things got crazy. Tanner Vavra was hit by a pitch, Engelb Vielma got on because of an error, and Zach Granite walked to load the bases. Next, Alex Swim then walked in a run to cut the deficit to one. After a pitching change, Marcus Knecht came up and hit a slow roller back to the pitcher. However, the throw one-hopped the first baseman. Vielma scored the tying run, and on the bobble, Zach Granite continued around third base and raced in to score the winning run. Swim went 2-4 with the walk and the seventh double of his season. He drove in two runs. Granite was 1-3 with two walks. Ryan Eades got the call to start this game on the mound. He gave up three runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings. He didn’t walk any and struck out seven. Brian Gilbert went 1.2 scoreless out of the bullpen. Matt Summers gave up one run on two hits in the top of the ninth inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Burlington 1 Box Score The offense didn’t show up for most of this game, but Felix Jorge was terrific and the Cedar Rapids Kernels will be going to the playoffs for the third time in three seasons as a Twins affiliate. Down 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth, the Kernels loaded the bases on singles by JJ Fernandez, Brian Navarreto and a TJ White in between. With two outs, Tanner English walked to score the tying run. Next, Nick Gordon worked a walk to score the go-ahead run. Felix Jorge was terrific. He went the first seven innings. He gave up just one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out five. Luke Bard came in and despite giving up three singles in the eighth, he did not allow a run. Once the team had the lead, Jake Mauer went to Trevor Hildenberger to close it out. Three batters later, Bard had improved to 4-0, Hildenberger had his seventh save, and Mauer had his third straight playoff berth with the Kernels. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Felix Jorge, Cedar Rapids Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Alex Swim, Ft. Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – TBD Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – LHP Brett Lee (vs Matt Tomshaw) Daytona @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Tuesday games. Click here to view the article

With all the rainouts, there was a bevy of baseball being played on Wednesday night. Counting the DSL and the Twins doubleheader there were nine games played. How did they do? Before we spin around the farm, there were a few transactions to make mention of: Oswaldo Arcia was activated and optioned to Rochester. Michael Tonkin pitched with the Twins and will head back to Rochester. Dallas Gallant went to the Fort Myers DL and Corey Williams, who hasn’t pitched since 8/30/13, was activated.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Lehigh Valley 4 (Game 1) Box Score Oswaldo Arcia got his first hit in AAA. (He’s now batting .067.) But it was a big hit, a two-out, two-run single in a four-inning third inning that helped propel Rochester to a win. Danny Ortiz and Argenis Diaz both also drove in two runs. Jason Wheeler was not great. He allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits in 3.2 innings. His ERA has jumped to 6.11. Luckily, the combination of Caleb Thielbar (four outs, one hit, one strikeout), Mark Hamburger (three outs, two hits, one strikeout) and A.J. Achter (three outs, one strikeout) pitched shutout ball and the Red Wings were able to get a win. Rochester 3, Lehigh Valley 2 (Game 2) Box Score Lester Oliveros certainly wasn’t as impressive in this start as he was in the last one but still helped get the job done. He allowed two runs in 3.2 innings. He was relieved by Alex Meyer, who knows how to fill up a box score. He walked two, hit one, allowed one hit and struck out five in 2.1 innings. Despite his inefficiency (56 pitches, 34 strikes), he picked up the win. (At this point, seriously, just put him in the big-league pen… he’s not a starter anymore, at least not this year. And he would be an interesting option to have at Molly’s disposal.) Achter, who earlier picked up his eighth save, pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his ninth save. Josmil Pinto hit his sixth home run. Oswaldo Arcia hit a double - but struck out twice. Kennys “Big Spoon” Vargas was officially 0-1, but walked twice and scored a run. The Red Wings are two games up on Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Tennessee 6 Box Score Lookouts star pitcher Jose Berrios certainly didn’t look like his normal self, arguably pitching his worst game in recent memory. Berrios was sharp through two innings but struggled in the third allowing a two-run single and then a three-run home run to consecutive batters. To his credit, though, Berrios was able to come back and get through three more innings, mowing down the batters in order in both the fourth and sixth innings. All told, Berrios allowed five run (all earned) on six hits and three walks. He struck out seven. This is the second time in as many starts against Tennessee that Berrios has struggled. Luckily, Tennesse is a Cubs affiliate, so he should be able to avoid most of these hitters - for the most part - until they meet in the World Series. Having a start like this isn’t all bad. It helps remind the player that he still has things to work on. It also helps remind us fans that la máquina is, in fact, human. Nick Burdi allowed a run that can be blamed on his lack of control. He walked a batter, then had a wild pitch and that runner came around to score on a single. He struck out one. Burdi has improved after a very poor start, but there is still a lot left to be desired. Cole Johnson allowed a hit in a scoreless ninth. After putting up three second-inning runs, the Lookout bats went cold. Max Kepler continued swinging a hot bat, doubling in a run. Carlos Paulino drove in two with a single. Byron Buxton singled twice and stole his 16th base of the season. Miguel Sano missed the game after aggravating a finger injury in last night’s game. This current five-game tailspin has dropped the Lookouts to 29-22 and has seen their division lead shrink to only percentage points over Tennessee. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Charlotte 5 (10 innings) (Game 1) Box Score The Miracle got 11 hits in the opener of today’s doubleheader, but couldn’t manage to string together enough offense to defeat Charlotte, losing the extra-extra-innings game. The trio of catchers, Alex Swim, Mitch Garver and Michael Quesada, all had two-hit games. Niko Goodrum, Garver and Bryan Haar all had doubles. Ryan Eades allowed a lot of contact. He three runs on nine hits and two walks. He struck out one. Brandon Peterson struck out three, getting five outs without allowing a hit. Peterson dropped his ERA to 0.94. Matt Summers blew the save, and took the loss, allowing two runners to score in the bottom of the 10th. The Miracle had taken the lead in the top of the inning on Garver’s double, which scored Engelb Vielma. Ft. Myers 4, Charlotte 2 (Game 2) Box Score Alex Swim and Marcus Knecht each had three hits in a game where Fort Myers only scored in one inning, but was able to do it four times. Logan Wade, Zach Granite and Swim all provided run-producing singles and Jared Wilson, making his high-A debut, produced five innings of quality baseball to help get the Miracle a win. Wilson struck out five batters and walked one before giving way to Todd Van Steensel. Van Steensel struck out four in two innings to get the save. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, South Bend 5 Box Score Don’t look now, but this Cedar Rapids team is getting it done. Five straight wins and nine out of the last 10. And it’s an opening-day rotation that has lost three guys to Fort Myers and one guy to injury. One guy who has spent all year in this rotation is Felix Jorge. In 6.2 innings, Jorge allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks. He struck out four. While the line isn’t that impressive, it is the third time this season that he’s made it into the seventh inning. He fell one out short of completing seven for the second time of the year. Luke Bard replaced Jorge and earned the win. He gave up one run in 2.1 innings. By “earned” the win, though, I mean he was the pitcher of record when the Kernel bats went nuts. The six-run eighth saw seven consecutive batters reach and 11 bat total. The biggest hits came in the form of two-run doubles: One by Edgar Corcino and the other by Tanner English. Alex Real had three hits, including a double and two RBI. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jared Wilson, Fort Myers Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Alex Swim, Fort Myers (combined to go 5-8 with three RBI) THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Pawtucket (6:05 CST) – RHP Taylor Rogers Chattanooga at Tennessee (6:05 CST) – RHP Greg Peavey Ft. Myers vs Bradenton (6:05 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart Cedar Rapids at South Bend (6:05 CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez Feel free to leave any questions or comments below! Click here to view the article

With a rainout in Boston and the Red Wings having a scheduled off-day, the Twins' two highest clubs didn't take the field on Monday night. There wasn't much to be excited about down on the farm with the teams that did take the field. Two offenses struggled to score runs and it took a nearly perfect pitching performance for the other affiliate to come out victorious. Luckily, most of the team's affiliates are still holding on to division leads as the calendar turns to June. Here's the action from down on the pond.TRANSACTIONS Late on Monday, we learned that after another stellar outing on Monday afternoon, Stephen Gonsalves has been promoted to Ft. Myers. In a tweet, Gonsalves wrote, "I want to thank the @CRKernels fans for my time here and ending it with a standing ovation. I'm on my way to Florida to continue my year."RED WINGS REPORT Rochester (Scheduled Off Day) The Red Wings have lost six of their last nine games and their last three series in May to end the month on a sour note. Rochester still leads the International League North by one game with a 27-23 record. Rochester ends their road trip with a two-game series at Lehigh Valley starting on Wednesday before an important series against second-place Pawtucket. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3 Tennessee 13 Box Score Miguel Sano cracked his tenth home run of the season but it wasn't nearly enough to keep Chattanooga in this one. David Hurlbut was charged with the loss after allowing four runs on four hits in four innings. Jake Reed allowed nine runs (five earned runs) on five hits while collecting only three outs in the seventh and eighth innings. A trio of fielding errors from Jorge Polanco, Jake Reed, and Adam Brett Walker didn't help stop the bleeding. On a brighter note, Byron Buxton picked up his fifteenth steal and reached base two times. Walker hit his twelfth double but the team was only 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The loss dropped Chattanooga to 29-20 but the club has four more games against Tennessee in the next four days so there will be plenty of chances for redemption. The Lookouts still hold a two game lead over Tennessee for the top spot in the Southern League North. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 1, St. Lucie 5 Box Score The Miracle offense took a while to wake up in this one as the team found themselves down five runs before they were able to push one across the plate. The team went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and they left eight runners on base. Marcus Knecht was the lone player with multiple hits. Mitch Garver reached base three times while Alex Swim and Bryan Haar each cracked a double. Mat Batts started and allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Brian Gilbert and Alex Muren combined to throw the last 2.1 frames while striking out six. Gilbert allowed the only other run of the game. The Miracle have now lost a season-high five games in a row and they finished their road trip 2-5. Fort Myers returns home on Tuesday to face the first place Charlotte Stone Crabs as they look to get back to playing winning baseball. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Clinton 0 Box Score Stephen Gonsalves took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the Kernels were able to complete a four-game sweep of Clinton. Gonsalves continued his strong start of the season by tossing seven scoreless frames on the way to his sixth victory. He struck out 11 and walked four while lowering his ERA to 1.15. Randy LeBlanc finished off the shutout with two scoreless frames. Zack Larson drove in two runs and collected his eleventh double. Edgar Corcino knocked a triple and a double and reached base three times. Nick Gordon scored two runs and went 1-for-5 at the plate. Brett Doe drove in two runs. T.J. White had an interesting line as he collected three walks and was officially 0-for-0 at the dish. The Kernels have an off-day on Tuesday before beginning a six-game road trip on Wednesday. When Cedar Rapids takes the field at South Bend, Felix Jorge is scheduled to be on the mound to keep the win streak going. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Edgar Corcino, Cedar Rapids Kernels TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Durham (6:05 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Chattanooga vs. Montgomery (6:15 CST)- RHP Alex Wimmers Ft. Myers vs. Bradenton (6:05 CST) – RHP Ryan Eades Cedar Rapids - Scheduled Off-Day Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Monday games. Click here to view the article

In a first here this season in the Twins Minor League Reports, we are going to have a Vote for Hitter of the Day. Max Kepler and Max Murphy both had big days for their respective teams. Read today’s articles, the contributions of each and then please vote for your hitter of the day in the comments section below. One team’s winning streak ended. One batter’s hitting streak was extended. There were two extra innings games; one of them ended on a walk-off home run.Continue reading for all of the news and notes from a full, five-game night in the Twins minor league system. And then, be sure to vote in the comments for your hitter of the day. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 0, Toledo 8 Box Score Taylor Rogers has been terrific all season. He started this game with four shutout innings. However, in the fifth inning, he had his first really rough inning of the season. He gave up five runs in the inning, the big hit being a grand slam. Overall, he went five innings and gave up five runs on eight hits and three walks. He struck out seven. Lester Oliveros struck out two in a perfect sixth inning. Caleb Thielbar had a one, two, three inning. Tim Stauffer made his first rehab appearance and got two groundouts and a fly out. Ryan O’Rourke gave up three runs on five hits and a walk in the ninth inning. He struck out two. There wasn’t much offense for the Red Wings on this night. They had just four hits. Argenis Diaz had two hits. James Beresford had the lone extra-base hit, a double. The Red Wings fall to 17-14 on the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Birmingham 3 (8 innings) Game 1 – Box Score Knowing that the team would be going with a bullpen game in the second game, Tyler Duffey needed to pitch deep into game one of the double header. He did just that. He pitched seven innings. He was charged with two runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out five. However, the game was tied after seven innings, so Zack Jones came in to start the eighth inning. On a 1-1 pitch to the first batter he faced, he gave up a game-ending home run to Joey DiMichele. The Lookouts had just six hits in the game. Max Kepler went 2-3 with his fifth double. Miguel Sano doubled for the sixth two-base hit of the season. Chattanooga 4, Birmingham 0 Game 2 – Box Score When a minor league team goes with a bullpen game, you never know what you’re going to get. In this game, manager Doug MIentkiewicz got everything he could have hoped for. Madison Boer made the start and worked the first three innings without allowing a run. He gave up just one hit and struck out five. Cole Johnson came on to pitch the next two innings. He gave up a hit, walked one and struck out two. D.J .Johnson came on and got his second save of the week. He worked the final two innings. He gave up a hit and a walk and struck out two. The Lookouts had seven hits in the second game. Max Kepler again led the way. He went 3-3 and added two stolen bases. Jorge Polanco went 2-3 with his sixth double and his sixth stolen base. In the two games, Sano went 1-6. Byron Buxton was 0-8 on the day. His streak of consecutive games with an RBI ended at ten. In his first seven games with the Lookouts, Max Kepler hit just .185. In his ten games since, he is hitting .432 (16-37). Overall, he is now hitting .328. With the split, the Lookouts record now stands at 19-13. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Dunedin 2 Box Score The Miracle had a winning streak end on Monday but put another one in the win column on Tuesday. Alex Swim extended his hitting streak to 16 games with another 2-4 game. He is hitting .411 (30-73) in that stretch. It was his fifth multi-hit game in his last six games. He is now hitting .349 on the season. Swim wasn’t the only hitter to contribute to the Miracle win. Zach Granite was 0-1, but he walked twice, was hit by a pitch and stole two bases. Chad Christensen went 2-4 with a steal. Michael Quesada went 2-3 and was hit by a pitch. Mitch Garver went 2-3 with a walk and his first stolen base of the season. Michael Quesada went 2-3 and was hit by a pitch. Aaron Slegers started for the Miracle and worked the first five innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out six batters and got seven groundouts. Brandon Peterson struck out two over two scoreless innings. J.T. Chargois struck out two in the eighth inning. Todd Van Steensel recorded his fourth save, striking out two in the ninth frame. The Miracle are now 15-17 on the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 5 (11 innings) Box Score It took 11 innings, but the Kernels seven-game winning streak came to an end on Tuesday night. Mat Batts started for the Kernels. He started with three scoreless innings. However, uncharacteristically, he lost his control starting in the fourth inning. He gave up just one run in the fourth despite giving up a single and walking three. He came out for the fifth inning, but after giving up a single, throwing a wild pitch and walking a batter, he was replaced by C.K. Irby who got out of the inning allowing only one run (one of Batts’ runners). Irby went two innings and gave up no runs on three hits. He walked none and struck out three. Mike Theofanopoulos worked a scoreless seventh inning. In the eighth inning, he got two outs, but there were two runners on when Cameron Booser was summoned from the bullpen. The power-lefty got a strikeout to end the threat and hold the Kernels lead. Holding a 2-1 lead in the top of the ninth, Booser gave up a single, a walk and a single to tie the game at two. He walked another but was able to get a strikeout and a groundout to get out of the inning with the game still tied. He came back to strike out the side in the 10th inning. Sam Clay pitched the 11th inning and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk to take the loss. Max Murphy was the hitting hero for the Kernels again. He hit a two-run homer (second of the year) in the fourth inning that temporarily gave the Kernels a lead. He added two doubles in the game as well and has five on the season. In his last nine games, Murphy has hit .474 (18-38) with four doubles, a triple and two home runs. Through the first 19 games of the season, he was hitting just .173 (13-75). After Tuesday, he is hitting .274 overall. Zack Larson went 2-5 with his fourth double. Rainis Silva hit his second double. The Kernels had ten hits, but they also struck out 19 times in the 11-inning game. The seven-game winning streak came to an end, but the Kernels are still 20-12 on the season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Madison Boer, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Twins Daily Vote (Please vote in the Forum below. Here are the candidates): Max Kepler – Chattanooga Lookouts (5-6, 2B, 2 SB) Max Murphy – Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-5, 2-2B, HR) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ Rochester (12:35 CST) – LHP Tommy Milone Chattanooga @ Birmingham (11:00 am CST) – RHP JO Berrios Dunedin @ Ft. Myers (9:35 am CST) – RHP Chih-Wei Hu Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 CST) – RHP John Curtiss Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Tuesday games. Click here to view the article

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... Actually these games happened in our galaxy and they took place tonight but it's still May 4th. The major league version of the Twins was hosting a Star Wars themed night including a Phil Hughes bobblehead with him dressed as a Jedi Knight. Down on the farm, there was a trio of games with the Twins affiliates facing off against some of the best young players in the galaxy. Would the Rebels be able to come out victorious? Or would the evil Empire reign supreme? Fire up your light sabers and let's find out.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester- Scheduled Off Day The Red Wings entered their off day on a high note after winning the final two games of their weekend series with Norfolk. Rochester has won seven of their last nine and they currently have a 14-9 record. Entering play on Monday, the team was tied with Pawtucket for second place in the International League North Division, a half game behind Buffalo for first. Of qualifying players, James Beresford leads the team with a .345 batting average. Aaron Hicks is off to a good offensive start as he leads the team in slugging percentage (.494), OPS (.869), triples (3), and RBI (13). Reynaldo Rodriguez has the most doubles with six and Brock Peterson has hit four home runs to lead the team. On the pitching side, Taylor Rogers has pitched the most innings (34.0 IP) and he's tied with Alex Meyer for most strikeouts (28). Pat Dean has the lowest ERA (1.98) and WHIP (1.06) of the Red Wings starters. Before being called up, Michael Tonkin collected five saves out of the bullpen. Lester Oliveros was also been very effective with a 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts in only 12 innings. Rochester starts a tough series on Tuesday in Indianapolis, the leaders of the International League West. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Jacksonville 0 Box Score Earlier in the day on Monday, Byron Buxton was named Southern League Player of the Week. In the last week he raised his average from .190 to .287 and this was part of a seven-game hitting streak. In five of the seven games during the stretch, he recorded multiple hits including one game with two triples and a double. He also stole five bases and scored 11 runs last week which is the highest total in all of minor league baseball in that span. Buxton played hero later in the day as well. After the Lookouts had been held to one hit through eight innings. Buxton stepped into the box with one runner on in the bottom of the ninth. He crushed his third home run of the season to left field for a walk-off home run. Miguel Sano had the only other hit of the night, his third straight game with a hit. DJ Baxendale started the contest and pitched six shutout frames. He had to wiggle out of a few jams with five walks and three hits but he used five strikeouts to help his cause. In three of his five starts this season, he has pitched at least six innings and allowed no runs. D.J. Johnson kept the shutout going with two innings of work. Zack Jones earned his first win with two strikeouts in the ninth inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Bradenton 3 Box Score The Miracle offense struggled on this night as there were no extra base hits and the team went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Fifteen straight batters were sent down at one point. Zach Granite was the lone player with multiple hits. Alex Swim, Chad Christensen and Bryan Haar all added one hit. Swim is in the midst of a nine game hit streak. Luke Westphal was charged with his second loss even though he allowed only one earned run in just over four innings. He danced around eight hits and two walks but limited the runners crossing the plate. Alex Muren tossed 2.2 shutout frames and struck out three. Todd Van Steensel allowed two run on a home run in the eighth inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Wisconsin 3 Box Score The Kernels offense was popping on Monday evening as the team combined for nine runs on nine hits. T.J. White reached base four times and knocked two doubles. Max Murphy drove in three runs as part of a two-hit effort. Jorge Fernandez managed only one hit but it was his first triple. Zack Larson and Trey Vavra both scored a couple of runs. Jared Wilson earned his third victory after going six innings and giving up three runs on six hits. He struck out seven and walked two. Zach Tillery threw two perfect frames with four strikeouts. He's allowed one hit or less in five of his six appearances and every outing has been multiple innings. It was only the second win in the last six games for the Kernels. Cedar Rapids is tied with Burlington for second palce in the Midwest League Western division. Quad Cities sits five games up in the division with only six losses so far. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – DJ Baxendale, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Byron Buxton, Chattanooga Lookouts TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Indianapolis (6:05 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Chattanooga- Scheduled Off Day Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:35 CST) - LHP Mat Batts Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Monday games. Click here to view the article

The Twins reached .500 with their third straight victory over the White Sox on Saturday. Chattanooga also returned to .500 on Saturday with a big win. The Lookouts got big contributions from some major prospects including Jose Berrios, Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco and Zack Jones. And yes, Byron Buxton’s hot streak continued. In eight games since Doug Mientkiewicz sat him for two games, Buxton is hitting .452 and his batting average has increased from .180 to .284! The Miracle won in dramatic fashion as well!It was a good day in the Twins farm system on Saturday. Read below for all of the scores and highlights. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Norfolk 4 Box Score The game was knotted at three going into the bottom of the ninth inning. Veteran Doug Bernier led off the inning with a double, his second of the season. Shortstop Argenis Diaz was asked to bunt. He got the bunt down and pitcher Pedro Beato threw the ball away, allowing Bernier to score the winning run. Taylor Rogers made the start for the Red Wings. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on seven hits. In seven innings, he walked two and struck out five. He helped himself by picking off two runners as well. Logan Darnell came on for the eighth inning and got two outs. One of those came on a pickoff as well. Lester Oliveros got the final out of the eighth and three outs in the ninth to get the win. He walked one and struck one out. Diaz was 2-3. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his sixth double. Eric Fryer hasn’t played a lot, but when he does, he has raked! In this game, he was 2-3 with a walk and two doubles, his second and third. He has played in just eight games, but he now has 12 hits in 23 at bats. His slash line is .522/.577/.652 (1.229). CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Jacksonville 3 Box Score Yesterday, I wrote that Byron Buxton is officially back. That trend continued on Saturday night. He doubled in the first inning. He added a triple in his second at bat. In his final at bat, his RBI triple gave the Lookouts some insurance. He was 3-5 in the game with a double and two triples. For a little extra measure, late in the game with a runner on first base, Buxton caught a liner in left centerfield. He then threw out the runner getting back to first base for a big double play, showing off his rocket of an arm. Again, after Doug Mientkiewicz benched him for two games a week ago, Buxton was hitting .180. After today’s showing, he is now at .284. In those eight games, he is hitting .452 (14-31). It was a good day for the big prospects. Jorge Polanco had a big game. He went 2-3 with two walks and his fifth double of the season. He drove in two runs. He also stole his fifth base of the season. Miguel Sano hit his third double off the top of the wall in centerfield. On the mound, Berrios improved to 3-1 with another quality start. He gave up three earned runs on eight hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out nine batters. Cole Johnson worked the next two innings. He gave up two hits, but walked none and struck out four. Zack Jones came on for the ninth inning. He recorded his sixth save in six attempts with a 1-2-3 innings. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Charlotte 3 (11 innings) Box Score In the 11th innings, the Miracle had nobody on and two outs. Michael Quesada walked and was replaced by Chad Christensen on the base paths. Tanner Vavra singles. Engelb Vielma then singled to left and Christensen scored to put the Miracle ahead 4-3. Todd Van Steensel came in and shut the door on the Miracle’s extra-inning win. Alex Swim led the Miracle offense. He went 4-5 in the game and is now hitting .326. Marcus Knecht went 2-4 with his fourth double. Tanner Vavra went 2-5. Ryan Eades made the start for the Miracle. He struggled with his command. He gave up three runs on two hits and five walks in five innings. He struck out four. Alex Muren came on and threw two scoreless innings. Madison Boer struck out three over three scoreless frames. Van Steensel’s save was his first of the year. He struck out one. The bullpen combined for six no-hit, no-run innings to give the team a chance. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Clinton 6 (13 innings) Box Score Third baseman TJ White led off the bottom of the 13th inning with a triple. After a pop-out, Red Wing native Pat Kelly came up and hit a fly ball to left field. Fortunately for the Kernels, and the fans waiting for fireworks after the game, White was safe at home and the Kernels had a one-run win. video by Steve Buhr In the 11th inning, Tanner English had tripled. Because his team had struggled to score runs in the last week, Jake Mauer sent him home but he was thrown out. Down by a run in the bottom of the 9th, it was Nick Gordon who singled in a run to send it to extra innings. Gordon led the offense. He went 3-6 in the game and drove in two runs. TJ White went 2-4 with two walks and the triple. Tyler Kuresa had two hits. Brett Doe hit his first home run. Michael Cederoth started the game for the Kernels. He gave up three unearned runs on three hits. In four innings, he walked five and struck out seven. Randy LeBlanc came in and gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in two innings. CK Irby walked one and struck out four over two scoreless innings. Cameron Booser came on and gave up one hit and two walks in two scoreless innings. He struck out three. Finally, Trevor Hildenberger struck out four batters in three scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit to get the Win. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Madison Boer, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Byron Buxton, Chattanooga Lookouts SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Norfolk @ Rochester (12:35 CST) – RHP Alex Meyer Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (1:15 CST) – RHP Greg Peavey Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (3:05 CST) – LHP Brett Lee Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – RHP Felix Jorge Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

Cedar Rapids – The Kernels completed their second sweep of the season tonight in Cedar Rapids to improve to 6-0 on the young season. The team’s eight runs was one more than their season average coming into the game. They are playing very good defense, and getting some good pitching as well. Though they may not have as many top twenty prospects as some of the other Twins affiliates, this team has a lot of talent that is worth watching. Below you will find the Kernels game story as well as the Twins Minor League Report for Tuesday.KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Beloit 4 Box Score The Kernels got the scoring going right away in the first inning. After two were out, left fielder Trey Vavra launched a home run to left-center field on a 1-2 fastball. After the game, he said, “He threw me a fastball, inner half and I was able to get to it. He had thrown me two curve balls before and though he could get it by me.” The Kernels added four runs in the second inning to take a commanding 5-0 lead. With one out, Tyler Kuresa singled and TJ White walked. Pat Kelly beat out a fielder’s choice, but there were now two outs and runners on first and third. The Kernels have really done a good job in this series scoring multiple runs after two outs. Tanner English singled in Kuresa with the first run of the inning. Zach Granite walked to load the bases for Nick Gordon. Gordon came up big again, driving in two runs with a single up the middle. His eight RBIs is one shy of the league leader, Kernels outfielder Zack Larson. Gordon worked with hitting coach Tommy Watkins on his approach in such situations this spring. “In spring training, Tommy (Watkins) and I had a little fun with it. With runners in scoring position, I would get really big. I would try to bring everybody in. He told me to calm down and stay within myself and let things happen. With runners in scoring position, we have a little deal. Every time I try to get big and go deep, I owe him a buck every time. It’s kind of a Twins Court that we have. It’s really been helping me. It’s kind of competitive, and for him to do that for me keeps me focused.” According to manager Jake Mauer, Gordon is “a good hitter. He knows where the barrel is. He just keeps going. It’s what you look for. A lot of the guys that have success and get up to the big league level always did real well with runners in scoring position, for whatever reason, they just relish that, and that’s when it kind of rises. They don’t let the situation get too big.” The fourth run of the inning came when Trey Vavra lined a shot that went right through the legs of the third baseman. Beloit had three errors in this game while the Kernels had none. Defense has been a key for the Kernels early success. Mauer said, “We worked hard in spring training. We really did a lot of the little things. We really harped on the little things. The boys have really taken to it. We’re going to make our fair share of errors. There’s no doubt about it, but we’re making the plays we’re supposed to, and I think that’s a big reason that we’ve started the way that we have.” Starter Jared Wilson did a nice job in his first start of the season. He hadn’t really ever been a starting pitcher before this year, so it was a good showing. He went five innings and gave up two runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out three. Following the game, he said, “I felt pretty good. Obviously it’s the longest I’ve gone in my pro career, and I never really started in college, so it’s uncharted territory, but I felt strong.” It didn’t always come easy, and he had to work himself out of a couple of tough situations, but he was able to successfully limit damage. “I’ve spent so much time in the pen and inherited a lot of runners in past experiences, so I didn’t get too rattled. It’s more just trying to find a way to get out of it. I didn’t really have straight-out-of-the-bullpen stuff, but I was just trying to find ways to keep guys off balance and get out of the inning.” Randy LeBlanc pitched a scoreless sixth inning. However, he struggled in the seventh. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in the inning. C.K. Irby came in to get the final out on a ground out. The Kernels still had a 6-4 lead. The team responded well right away in the bottom of the inning. Tanner English initiated the scoring again with a leadoff single. Zach Granite followed with a line-drive single to left field. Nick Gordon sacrificed both runners (though he appeared to be bunting for a base hit). With two outs, Max Murphy walked to load the bases. Jorge Fernandez was due up, but the Snappers manager brought in a left-hander, so Fernandez had to move to the right-hander’s batter’s box. He responded with a solid, line drive beyond a diving shortstop. The hit scored two runs and gave the Kernels their four-run lead again. Mauer said, “Fernandez had a heck of an at-bat. It was two big runs there to give us a cushion. He was right on it.” Irby walked three batters in the eighth inning but the Snappers were unable to score in that inning. Cameron Booser was brought in for the ninth inning. He needed just nine pitches to get through the inning. Of those nine pitches, eight were fastballs and all sat between 95 and 96 mph. He threw one changeup at about 85 mph. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 1 Box Score Up 1-0 in the sixth, the Red Wings added two runs to their lead. Argenis Diaz doubled in James Beresford. Later, Aaron Hicks tripled in Diaz. Pat Dean made the start for the Red Wings. He replaced Trevor May in the Red Wings rotation. He performed well. He went six innings and allowed only an unearned run on three hits. He walked two and struck out eight. Lester Oliveros recorded five outs, three of them on strikeouts. Logan Darnell got the final out of the eighth inning. Michael Tonkin pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save, his third of the young season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER After playing their first five-game series of the season in Montgomery, the Lookouts return home to play their home opening series today. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Tampa 3 Box Score The Miracle played a morning game, and their bats were unable to wake up in this one. Of course, there are two exceptions to that. Niko Goodrum knocked his fifth double in addition to a walk. Alex Swim extended his hitting streak to all six games by going 2-4. Logan Wade added a double. Lefty Luke Westphal made the start for the Miracle. In 3.1 innings, he was charged with three runs (two earned) on five hits. He walked none and struck out five. Tim Shibuya came on and gave up four hits, but no additional runs, in his 2.2 innings. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out two. Brandon Peterson walked on and struck out one in two scoreless innings. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Pat Dean, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Alex Swim, Ft. Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (9:35 a.m. CST) – RHP Alex Meyer Birmingham @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – RHP Tyler Duffey Tampa @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – LHP Mat Batts Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Wednesday games. Click here to view the article