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There were just two playoff games in the system on Tuesday night, and both were affected in different ways by rain. In the Appalachian League Elizabethton’s series' deciding game three with Greeneville was postponed, pushing the rubber match back another day. Fort Myers and the Florida State League had the added worry of impending weather that led to an announcement affecting their playoffs.In the actual game that was played on Tuesday, a late season addition to their roster and standout did all he could for Fort Myers, but was it enough? TRANSACTIONS With the Rochester Red Wings missing out on the International League wild card due to the tiebreaker, a few familiar reinforcements were brought up for the major league club. In 40-man moves, JT Chargois was recalled and placed on 60-day DL to clear a spot for reliever Michael Tonkin, who has been inconsistent with the Twins but nothing short of extraordinary with the Red Wings (2.41 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 180 K’s in 160.1 career Triple-A innings; 1.73 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 61 K’s in 41.2 IP this year). Robbie Grossman was also brought back up with Dietrich Enns being optioned to AA Chattanooga. For the Lookouts Nelson Molina, Keaton Steele and Joe Cronin were assigned to Fort Myers, with reliever Alex Muren moving up from the Miracle for their playoff series starting tomorrow. In the Florida State League, Eduardo Del Rosario was placed on the 7-day disabled list with a left oblique strain and infielder Ariel Montesino was sent down to Cedar Rapids. In a somewhat surprising move given he was a big-bonus-baby, infielder Amaurys Minier was released from the Kernels. MIRACLE MATTERS Palm Beach 3, Fort Myers 2 Box Score In interesting, and maybe somewhat surprising (or unsurprising given all the weather havoc lately) news before their game was started, it was announced that the Florida State League would not play their Championship Series due to the impending risk of Hurricane Irma bearing down on the panhandle. What that means for the Fort Myers Miracle, is that if they can win their Division Series with Palm Beach, they will be crowned as co-FSL Champions. Tonight’s opening game was also delayed by some rain at the start time, but they were able to get it in. With that, onto game one of their playoff series! The Fort Myers offense took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning when Brandon Lopez delivered a one-out triple for their first hit of the game. Brent Rooker was up next and drove him in with a single and the early 1-0 lead. Left-hander Lewis Thorpe got the nod for the Miracle and held the Cardinals scoreless for the first two innings, striking out two along the way. In the third inning Thorpe wasn’t able to work around a one-out triple, and the Cardinals got on the board to tie it at one. Thorpe worked two more scoreless innings to finish his day with the game tied. In five innings he allowed the one run on six hits and two walks while striking out five. Thorpe did run up his pitch count with 91 pitches (56 for strikes) in his five innings, perhaps making manager Doug Mientkiewicz quicker to go to his bullpen, but a solid start kept his team in it. Regular season stud Andrew Vasquez came on for the sixth inning and walked the first man he faced, putting the go-ahead run on. A fielder’s choice grounder, single, and strikeout led to runners on first and second and Mientkiewicz went to Tyler Jay to try to get the final out of the inning. On a 3-1 count, the Cardinals Thomas Spitz sent a deep fly ball to center field that Tanner English couldn’t quite catch up to, and it ended up driving in two for a 3-1 Palm Beach lead. Miracle play-by-play guy Spencer Siegel remarked on the broadcast that it would have been a long fly out on several other nights, but the lack of wind in Fort Myers was a curse on this one. Spitz finished the game 3-4 to lead the Palm Beach attack. Jay got the final out of the inning with a K, and remained in the game for the next two innings. He kept the score at 3-1 in that time, allowing two hits and a walk and racking up three K’s. In the bottom of the eighth the Miracle started a rally with singles from Sean Miller and Lopez to start the inning. This brought up Rooker with a chance to take the lead with a single swing of the bat, as he’s been known to do in his short time with Fort Myers. He didn’t quite do that, but did deliver a sac fly to close the lead to one run. Zander Wiel then drew a walk to put the tying runner in scoring position, but Mitchell Kranson and Jermaine Palacios both went down on strikes to end the threat. Sam Clay came on for the ninth and delivered a one-two-three inning to bring the Miracle up to bat down just one in the opening game of the series. Chris Paul was the leadoff man in the bottom of the ninth but grounded out for the first out, and a Jaylin Davis fly ball was run down by the center fielder for out number two and brought up number nine hitter English as their last hope. He delivered with a two-out double to make it interesting for leadoff man Miller, but his looping line drive to left didn’t loop quite enough and found the glove of the defender to end the game. The Miracle go down 1-0 in the three-game series, which will be condensed with a do-or-die double-header starting at 4:00PM CST Wednesday afternoon. Of note in the game, is all three runs for the Cardinals were scored with two outs and the Miracle were unable to take advantage of their opportunities. They were just 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Lopez (2-4, R, 3B) and English (2-4, 2 2B’s) each had two hits for the Miracle, and Rooker had both RBI. E-TWINS E-NOTES Greeneville @ Elizabethton – Postponed (Rain) Unfortunately for the E-Twins, rains on the East coast again played havoc with their scheduled game on Tuesday. They lost game one 3-2 on Sunday afternoon after Saturday’s postponement, then evened the best of three series with a 14-7 win on Monday. They’ll look to advance to the Appalachian League Championship Series with a victory Wednesday night. Right-hander Edward Colina gets the starting nod for Elizabethton in the deciding game. Both the Chattanooga Lookouts and Cedar Rapids Kernels will start their playoff series on Wednesday in what will be a fun day in the system. Stay tuned here at Twins Daily for all the action! WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Montgomery @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST), Game 1 of 5 game series – RHP Zack Littell (19-1, 2.12 ERA on season) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (4:00PM CST), Game 2 of 3 game series – RHP Sean Poppen (9-4, 3.17 ERA on season) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach, Game 3 (if necessary) – TBD Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST), Game 1 of 3 game series – RHP Tyler Wells (5-5, 3.03 ERA on season) Greeneville @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST), Game 3 of 3 game series – RHP Edwar Colina (3-5, 3.34 ERA on season) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the Miracle’s loss on Tuesday as they look to take the doubleheader tomorrow for all the Florida State League marbles! Click here to view the article

On Tuesday afternoon, news came out that Brent Rooker had been promoted from Elizabethton to Ft. Myers. It was a strategy the Twins had mentioned after selecting the four-year college start from Mississippi State with the 35th overall pick (supplemental 1st round). He played in 22 games for Elizabethton and posted a.952 OPS with seven homers. John Bonnes tweeted the following: I hear stuff like that a lot. Many believe that the Twins aren’t aggressive enough with prospects. But for a 2017 draft pick, even a college hitter, I think that jumping to High-A ball is pretty aggressive. But honestly, I was just really curious. I needed to know.So, I went to Baseball-Reference (I know, obviously) and researched which college hitters were drafted ahead of Brent Rooker in the 2017 draft. I was curious to see where other teams had started those players and where they are now, if different. Secondly, because Rooker is a four-year college guy (the Twins actually drafted him in 2016 in the 38th round), I thought it would make sense to look at the college hitters drafted in the first round in 2016 as well. For them, I was curious where they got to by the end of 2016 as well as where they are right now, midway through the 2017 season. I’m willing to admit when I’m wrong, but I did have a couple of assumptions in my mind before doing the research. I assumed that none of the other college hitters drafted in 2017 have reached High-A yet. I did expect that a couple of the very high draft picks would be at Low A by now.I assumed that most of the college hitters drafted in 2016’s first round were at least at High-A, unless there was an injury at play or something.The College Hitters Drafted in 2017 ahead of Brent Rooker (4) Brendan McKay - Tampa Bay Rays - There were rumors that the Twins were interested in the two-way player from Louisville. To this point, McKay has played in just two games in the New York-Penn League (NYPL) which is a short-season A league. The Twins don’t have a short-season A club, but the level is between Advanced Rookie Leagues like the Appalachian League and Low-A Leagues like the Midwest League. McKay is 0-8 with 4 strikeouts, but I think that would be considered Small Sample Size. (7) Pavin Smith - Virginia - Arizona Diamondbacks - Smith has played in 20 games for the DBacks affiliate in the Northwest League. Like the NYPL, the Northwest League is a short-season A league. (8) Adam Haseley - Virginia - Philadelphia Phillies - Smith’s teammate began his pro career with three games in the GCL before moving up to the NYPL where he’s played in 14 games. (9) Keston Hiura - Milwaukee Brewers - Hiura, who was drafted out of UC-Irvine, has played in 15 games for the Brewers affiliate in the Arizona League which is similar to the Gulf Coast League (the lower short-season league), though he is hitting .435 (1.339 OPS). (11) Jake Burger - Chicago White Sox - Burger was drafted out of Missouri State. He played in four games in the Arizona League before moving up to the White Sox Low A affiliate in the South Atlantic League (Low A). (17) Evan White - Seattle Mariners - The first baseman was drafted out of Kentucky. The Mariners have had him play 14 games so far in the Northwest League (short-season A). (22) Logan Warmoth - Toronto Blue Jays - The middle infielder selected out of North Carolina began his career with five games in the GCL. He moved up to the Northwest League (short-season). (23) Jaren Kendall - Los Angeles Dodgers - The Wisconsin kid was drafted out of Vanderbilt. He signed on the final signing day, so he is yet to play in a game. (33) Kevin Merrell - Oakland A’s - Drafted out of South Florida, the A’s placed Merrell in the NYPL to start his career. SUMMARY Of nine college hitters drafted before Brent Rooker at the 35th pick, here is the quick breakdown of where they are playing right now: Low Rookie - 1 Advanced Rookie - 3 Short-season A - 3 Low A - 1 Rooker played 22 games for Elizabethton (Advanced Rookie) before playing in his first Ft. Myers Miracle (High-A) game on Tuesday night. While he is the first to play in High-A from this group, it doesn’t mean he’ll be the last. In fact, it’s likely he won’t be. He shouldn’t be as the 35th overall pick, not when there are five college hitters who were taken in the first 11 picks. And, of course, on an even bigger level, we won’t really know the value of any of these picks for another half-dozen years, at least. The College Hitters Drafted In 2016s First Round (2) Nick Senzel - Cincinnati Reds - The second overall pick in the draft out of Tennessee, Senzel reached the Midwest League last season. He began this year in the Florida State League, but he was promoted to AA where he has now played 23 games. (5) Corey Ray - Milwaukee Brewers - Drafted out of Louisville, Ray started his career with three games in Low A before being pushed to High A where he played 57 games to end the season. That is where he remains to this point in the 2017 season as well. The only difference is that the Brewers High-A affiliate is now in the Carolina League. (10) Zack Collins - Chicago White Sox - Collins was playing in the Florida State League shortly after playing in the College World Series. That is where he remains to this point in the 2017 season. (11) Kyle Lewis - Seattle Mariners - Lewis was believed by some to be a possibility as the #1 overall pick. He fell to #11 and played some in the short-season A ball league. He had a major knee injury and has just recently began to play in 2017, playing two games in High A. (16) Matt Thaiss - Los Angeles Angels - The first baseman from Virginia began his career last year in rookie ball before playing 52 games in Low A. He began 2017 in High A before being promoted to AA about a couple of weeks ago (22) Will Craig - Pittsburgh Pirates - The third baseman from Wake Forest spent his entire 2016 pro season in the NYPL. This season, he jumped straight to High-A, where he remains. (32) Will Smith - Los Angeles Dodgers - The catcher from Louisville spent about two weeks in rookie ball, 23 games in Low A and 25 games in High A in 2016. He began 2017 in High A with 72 more games in High A. He was promoted to AA about a week ago. He played one game before landing on the DL. (39) Anfernee Grier - Arizona Diamondbacks - After signing last year out of Auburn, Grier split his 2016 between two levels of the rookie leagues. He has spent the 2017 season in Low A ball. 2016 SUMMARY There were eight college hitters selected in the first round of the 2016 draft. Here is where they ended their 2016 season (First pro season): Short-season A - 2 Low A - 3 High A - 3 Here is where those eight players are right now: Low A - 1 High A - 4 AA - 3 (the three players have a combined 33 games in AA) OVERALL SUMMARY Brent Rooker was the Triple Crown winner in the SEC this year at Mississippi State. He is the first to do that since Rafael Palmiero. In other words, he should be considered an advanced hitting prospect. Hence, he was selected with the 35th overall pick a year after the Twins made him the 38th round pick. I understand that Rooker is 22, and he will turn 23 in November. While many want to push him to the big leagues in 2018 or early in 2019, I’m not even a little bit concerned about that. I want him to come up when he is ready to come up and contribute, whether that is in June of 2018 or July of 2020. The reality is that the Twins can get 6+ seasons out of a player before free agency hits. I don’t care whether those are their age 21 through 28 seasons or 25 through 32 seasons. Brian Dozier was a four-year guy. He debuted within two years of being drafted. Mitch Garver was a four-year guy. As a catcher, he’s taken a little longer to develop behind the plate. So, he’s 26, but when he comes up (hopefully soon), he will be ready to go. Trevor Hildenberger was a five-year college guy. His first pro season was spent only in the GCL. Does that matter now? We need to get rid of the stigma placed upon these guys that they are older than their level, even if it is factual. It just isn’t all that important. At the same time, I do think it is important to do a little research like this. I didn’t know what it would tell me. However, when honestly comparing where Rooker is relative to his draft class (2017) or his age class (2016 college draft picks as juniors), the Twins are certainly pushing him with this promotion to Ft. Myers. ---------------------------------------------------- BONUS CONTENT Looking at this, I was curious where some of the other college hitters that the Twins drafted and signed in recent years are now. Here’s a very quick look. 2016: (7) Matt Albanese - Bryant College (RI) - Elizabethton (debuting this season due to wrist injuries) (9) Mitchell Kranson - California - Ft. Myers (10) Brandon Lopez - Miami - Ft. Myers (14) Andre Jernigan - Xavier - Cedar Rapids (22) Hank Morrison - Mercyhurst (PA) - Cedar Rapids (23) Caleb Hamilton - Oregon State - Cedar Rapids (29) Dane Hutcheon - Montevallo (AL) - Elizabethton (down from Ft. Myers for Rooker) (31) Juan Gamez - NDSU - Elizabethton (drafted as catcher, transitioned to pitching) (34) Joe Cronin - Boston College - Cedar Rapids (39) Casey Scoggins - Tampa - Release (after spending time in Ft. Myers early this year) From 2015, Chris Paul (6), Sean Miller (10), Zander Wiel (12), and Jaylin Davis (24) are with the Miracle. LaMonte Wade (9) and Alex Perez (23) are with the Lookouts. Five other college hitter picks have been released. I show this only to show how difficult the path is to the big leagues, even for college hitters. Even for college hitters from big-time colleges in big-time conferences. Baseball is Good, but Baseball is Hard! Click here to view the article

Despite the fact that the GCL Twins don’t play on Sundays, it was a very busy day in the Twins minor league system. AA Chattanooga finished their suspended game and played their regularly-scheduled game. Ft. Myers played two games against the Tebows, I mean, St. Lucie Mets. The Kernels had a quality prospect make his Midwest League debut. It was also the first day of the new International signing period. That means that the Twins (and all the other teams) could start signing 16-year-old international players. Most of the top names come from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. But players from Cuba, Australia and other countries will also be signed. While it was posted that the Twins have an agreement with SS Jelfry Marte, they are likely to sign another dozen or more kids from foreign countries. According to Ben Badler from Baseball America, the Twins are also the favorite to sign OFs Carlos Aguilar and Mauro Bonafacio. As for Sunday night, the Twins have not yet actually signed any of these players. That will happen over the course of the next week, and in some cases, over the coming months.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Sunday, starting with the transactions of the day. OK, there was just one transaction. Felix Jorge was returned to Chattanooga following his MLB debut as the 26th man in the Twins doubleheader. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 0, Lehigh Valley 3 Box Score David Hurlbut put together another quality start, but the Red Wings offense was unable to score. The left-hander gave up three runs on eight hits over 7.2 innings. He struck out nine without issuing a walk. Alex Wimmers came on and struck out the one batter he faced. The Red Wings offense had just five hits in the game. Zack Granite went 2-4 and is now hitting .367. Mitch Garver - who played left field again - went 0-3 with a walk which ended his 15-game hitting streak. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Mississippi 3 (completion of suspended game from Saturday) Box Score On Saturday, the Lookouts started their game, but after two innings, it was suspended by rain. They completed that game on Sunday. Fernando Romero started on Saturday and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up a hit, walked two and struck out three. Randy LeBlanc started when the game resumed on Sunday. He gave up four runs on five hits and two walks in 5.2 innings. He struck out five. Luke Bard picked up the save by recording the final four outs. He gave up three hits and walked one without allowing a run. He struck out two. Nick Gordon went 2-4 and drove in a run. Levi Michael went 1-3 with a two-run homer, his third of the season. Chattanooga 4, Mississippi 0 (regularly-scheduled games) Box Score In the regularly-scheduled, now-7-inning game, the Lookouts got some really good pitching. Ryan Eades made the start and threw three shutout innings. He didn’t give up a hit or issue a walk and struck out five. Alex Muren came on and also threw three shutout innings. He gave up four hits, and struck out one. Randy Rosario pitched a perfect ninth. Edgar Corcino led the offense with a 2-3 game. He stole his second base and scored two runs. They scored three runs in the 6th to solidify their lead. TJ White knocked a two-run double, his tenth of the year. Levi Michael followed with his ninth double to drive in White. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1 - Ft. Myers 4, St. Lucie 5 Box Score Through the first four innings, Brady Anderson gave up only one run. However, he started the fifth by giving up three singles to load the bases. The bases were then unloaded with a grand slam. That certainly, and quickly, altered Anderson’s pitching line. He gave up five runs on eight hits and four walks in four innings. Jonny Drozd came on and gave up a hit and two walks but no runs over two innings. David Fischer worked a scoreless seventh frame. The Miracle started slow and made a comeback in the seventh that fell just shy. In that inning, Brandon Lopez and Jermaine Palacios had RBI singles to cut the lead to one, but the team could not get one more hit to extend the game. Lopez went 2-3 with a walk and has hit .438 in his first five games with the Miracle. With a 3-4, Palacios is now hitting .407 through his first seven games since joining the team. Max Murphy went 2-4. Sean Miller was 1-2 with a walk and his second stolen base. Game 2 - Ft. Myers 12, St. Lucie 1 Box Score Playing a mid-afternoon doubleheader in early July in Ft. Myers is not advised. With that heat and humidity, it can be difficult. After a close first game, the Miracle were able to put a strong offensive performance together for a big win. Nearly everyone in the offense contributed in some way. Brandon Lopez stayed hot. He went 3-5 in game two and is now at .476 in six games. Shane Kennedy went 3-3 with a walk and his second triple. Max Murphy went 2-5 with his 16th double. Nelson Molina went 2-4. Tanner English was 1-2 with two walks and his eighth double. Jermaine Palacios hit his second double and drove in three runs. Zander Wiel hit his seventh home run. Anthony McIver made another start and did well again. He gave up one run on five hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out three. Keaton Steele gave up two hits and a walk over two scoreless innings. Lopez has enjoyed his time in Ft. Myers and appreciates the coaching he's received. "The adjustment has been easy really thanks to the coaching staff and my teammates. It's a fun group of guys that love to go out there have fun and at the same time get better doing it. Since I got up here I've been working with Doug (Mientkiewicz) and Sing (hitting coach Steve Singleton) in cages on a few things with my swing and I've definitely felt more comfortable in games at the plate." KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Clinton 0 Box Score The Kernels made another commuter trip to Clinton and drove home with a nice, clean win. Griffin Jax was terrific in his first Midwest League start. The right-hander drafted a year ago from Air Force worked seven shutout innings. He walked one and struck out four. Jax was happy with his performance following the game. He said, “I was able to establish my fastball to both sides of the plate for the most part. Our report on them was that they had trouble with the fastball, so that was the game plan moving forward. I had some early-game nerves but after the first inning I settled in.” Jeff Johnson from The Gazette posted the following on Saturday night regarding Jax. Assume he does have a 60-day leave, and that he’s been at extended spring training and made a start in Elizabethton, he should be able to spend four to five weeks with the Kernels. Logan Lombana worked a scoreless eighth inning. Hector Lujan recorded his seventh save of the season. The Kernels scored one run in each of the first three innings. In the first, Travis Blankenhorn hit a two-out double and scored on a Lewin Diaz single. The in the second, Andre Jernigan walked and scored on a Lean Marrero double, his first since joining the Kernels a week ago. In the third, Aaron Whitefield hit his ninth home run of the season. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Danville 7 Box Score The E-Twins played an afternoon game in Danville on Sunday. It was a good game until a five-run bottom of the eighth gave Danville a big win. Charlie Barnes made his second start. In 3.1 innings, he gave up one run on five hits and two walks. He struck out five. Chris Broussard worked 3.2 scoreless innings, but he was able to get just one out in the bottom of the eighth. He was charged with four runs on six hits and a walk. Jared Finkel came on and got the final two outs, though he was charged with two runs (one earned) in that inning as well. The E-Twins managed just three hits in the game. Wander Javier had two of them including his fourth double. He stole his second base as well. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins Box Score There are no Gulf Coast League games on Sundays (with some exceptions). TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Griffin Jax, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Brandon Lopez, Ft. Myers Miracle MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers Chattanooga @ Mississippi (6:00 CST) - LHP Matt Tracy St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) - RHP Cody Stashak Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:30 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi Elizabethton @ Danville (6:00 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00 am CST) - RHP Brusdar Graterol Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. 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The Twins used their 10th-round pick in June on Brandon Lopez, a shortstop from the University of Miami. He wasn't able to sign for a couple of weeks because he helped lead the Hurricanes to the College World Series in Omaha. After signing, he was sent to Elizabethton where he spent about a month. In 27 games, he hit .337/.470/.413 (.883) with five doubles and a triple. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids. He played in 18 games and hit .286/.393/.329 (.721) with three doubles. It was a strong first impression in the organization, especially the defense he played and his ability to get on base.Today, we catch up to the talented shortstop. We thank Brandon Lopez for taking time to answer our questions. Seth Stohs (SS): Growing up in south Florida, who was your favorite team to follow? Who were some of your favorite players? Brandon Lopez (BL):I've always been a Marlins fan growing up in South Florida. My favorite players growing up are Derek Jeter and Troy Tulowitzki. I would always make sure to watch them play and try to pick out certain things they did to better my game. SS: What were some of the better memories of your high school baseball career? Did you play other sports or were you involved in other activities? BL:The best memory of my high school career has to be winning states my senior year. I also played basketball in high school for two years. SS: What was the recruitment process like for you out of high school, and was there any question that you wanted to go to Miami? BL:Growing up in South Florida, it was a childhood dream of mine to go to Miami. When I was offered a scholarship there sophomore year of high school, it was a no-brainer for me and my family. SS: What were a couple of your highlights from your two college years at Miami? How great was the College World Series experience? BL: Hitting a go ahead home run in the ACC tournament was one of my most memorable highlights. Playing in Omaha was definitely one of the best experiences in my career. Playing in front of 30,000 fans is a feeling that words cannot explain how incredible the feeling is. SS: Did you have the chance to speak with many scouts before the draft? What was your interaction with the Twins scout? BL:I did speak with a lot of scouts before, including the Twins. Once I got the call from the Twins, I knew this was the perfect team for me. SS: The Twins took you in the 10th round. How did you find out that you had been drafted? How busy was your phone at that moment? BL: Well, at the moment we were getting ready to play a super regional game against Boston College. I had given my phone to my trainer in case my agent called with any news. My trainer came out during our stretch and told me the news. and all my teammates congratulated me t was awesome. SS: What has the adjustment like for you, from the college game to the professional game, both on and off the field? BL: There isn't the biggest adjustment because Miami did a great job preparing us for the next level. The biggest adjustment is playing everyday as to college just the weekend series. SS: You put up great numbers in Elizabethton, and now have been very good in Cedar Rapids. Are you at all surprised to have experienced such success already, and what do you think has been the biggest reason for the success? BL: I'd say the whole college experience and playing four years helped me develop my game every year. Also that baseball is a game of failure and it doesn't matter who you are, you're going to have bad days. The key is to stay confident in your game and abilities throughout the year. SS: At this very early stage in your career, what would you say are your biggest strengths? BL:My biggest strengths are my defense and my ability to get on base. SS: What are the areas of your game that you would like to spend time working to improve? BL: Driving the ball in the gaps for power more often. SS: What do you have planned for the offseason? What was your major in school? BL: Hanging out with my family and friends back home and also heading to New York City for New Years. My major was sociology. SS: Who are some of the people who have helped you get to this point in your career? BL: My mom and dad are my role models. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today. SS: Favorite Baseball movie? BL:Major League Thank you again to Brandon Lopez for taking to to let us get to know him. Please feel free to discuss and ask questions in the comments below. Click here to view the article

There will be quite the log jam set up when Trevor Plouffe comes off of the disabled list early next week. There was some talk of Miguel Sano being optioned to Rochester, but that’s not likely. Kennys Vargas has been better in this go-round with the Twins. Meanwhile, Byung Ho Park, Adam Brett Walker and Daniel Palka are providing a powerful punch in the middle of the Rochester lineup. It will be interesting to see what happens. Speaking of power in Rochester, how about the back-end of the bullpen with JT Chargois and Pat Light throwing gas?There were a couple of transactions of note on Friday as well: Brian Olson was sent from Ft. Myers to the GCL.Logan Lombana returned to the Miracle following his 80-game suspension.Miguel De Jesus was promoted from the GCL to Elizabethton.With that, let’s get to the Minor League Report for Friday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Lehigh Valley 2 Box Score The Red Wings didn’t score a lot, but they got the big hit that they needed near the end to pick up the win. Nick Greenwood made another start. The lefty gave up two runs (one earned) on eight hits over the first seven innings. He struck out two and walked none. Ryan O’Rourke continued to pitch well with a perfect inning including two strikeouts. Pat Light topped 100 a few times in his perfect ninth inning. He struck out one. Byung Ho Park played hero in this one. He went 2-4 and in the top of the 8th inning, his 10th Red Wings homer gave them the 3-2 lead. Trevor Plouffe continued his rehab. He went 1-4 with a double. Reynaldo Rodriguez and Logan Schafer each had a double. Adam Walker hit his 22nd home run of the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Jacksonville 7 Box Score Aaron Slegers took the loss as he was charged with four runs on six hits in five innings. However, all four runs were unearned. He struck out four without issuing a walk. Brandon Peterson came in and gave up two runs on one hit in two innings. He walked four and struck out four. Zack Jones gave up a run on three hits over his two innings. He struck out three. Former Twins prospect Chris Mazza started for Jacksonville and went the first five innings to earn his fourth win of the season. Ryan Walker led the offense. He went 3-4. Zack Granite went 2-3 with a walk. Niko Goodrum went 2-2 with two walks and his third home run. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Charlotte 1 Box Score Cody Stashak made his Miracle debut on Friday night and pitched well. He gave up one run on six hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out four and earned his first win. Mike Theofanopoulos go the next four outs, three of them on strikeouts (though he did give up a hit and walked two). Nick Anderson recorded his fourth save. He got the final five outs without allowing a run. He gave up a hit, walked one and struck out one. Chris Paul provided the Miracle with their big blast. His first Miracle home run of the season was a three-run shot. He went 2-4. Tanner English returned to the Miracle after being on the disabled list for about three months. He hit his third double and first triple in his four at-bats. Nick Gordon was also 2-4. Joe Maloney went 2-3. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1 - Cedar Rapids 3, Clinton 7 (Completion of Suspended game) Box Score Lightning, wind and torrential rains caused Thursday night’s game to be suspended. On Friday they completed that game before playing the regularly-scheduled game. Eddie Del Rosario pitched the first four innings on Thursday. He gave up three runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out seven. Andrew Vasquez started on the mound when the game resumed. The lefty threw three shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked two, hit one and struck out five. Tom Hackimer came one and worked the eighth and ninth innings. He gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits, a walk and two hit batters to take the loss. Zander Wiel continued to hit. He went 2-4 with his 13th homer of the season. Chris Ibarra was 2-4 with his fourth double. Nelson Molina went 1-3 with his first home run of the year. Luis Arraez went 1-2 on Thursday and did not play due to injury on Friday night. Game 2 - Cedar Rapids 3, Clinton 7 (regularly-scheduled game) Box Score Miles Nordgren made his first start since his return to the Kernels. He gave up five runs (three earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out four. Michael Cederoth worked the final two innings. He gave up one hit and walked two but did not allow a run. He struck out three. Chris Ibarra hit his fifth and sixth doubles in four at-bats with an RBI. Rainis Silva went 2-3 with an RBI. Zander Wiel drove in the third run. Per Jeff Johnson, Luis Arraez has a bump/bruise on his right wrist. He will be meeting with doctors on Saturday. Also, Nelson Molina took a ground ball off of the nose but hopes to keep playing. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 14, Johnson City 1 Box Score Alex Schik was the beneficiary of a big night of offense to earn his third win of the year. In his 5.1 innings, he gave up one run on four hits. He walked three and struck out four. Domenick Carlini threw 2.2 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and struck out two. Johan Quezada walked two in a scoreless ninth inning. The Twins put up 14 runs on 17 hits. Eight of the nine starters reached base at least twice. Amaurys Minier, however, went 0-5 with four strikeouts. Here is the rest of the lineup: Brandon Lopez went 3-5 with a walk and his fifth double. Travis Blankenhorn was 3-6 with his seventh double and ninth home run. Alex Kirilloff went 2-6. Lewin Diaz was 3-6 with his 12th double. Shane Carrier went 2-4 with his fifth home run and three RBI. Minier batted sixth. Caleb Hamilton went 1-3, walked twice and hit his first triple. Trey Cabbage went 2-4 with a walk and his fourth double. Robert Molina added his first double of the season. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Rays 2 Box Score Taylor Clemensia put together another solid start. The left-hander from the Netherlands went the first five innings and gave up just two runs. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out four. Tyler Fox came on in relief and worked the final three innings. He walked one, hit one and struck out one, but did not allow any runs. Aaron Whitefield continued to play well. He went 1-3 with a walk, his fourth double and his 20th stolen base. Jorge Munoz went 1-4 with his sixth double. He drove in Whitefield with the lone run for the Twins. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Cody Stashak, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Travis Blankenhorn, Elizabethton Twins SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Lehigh Valley (5:35 CST) - LHP Andrew Albers Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (5:05 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (5:05 CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (9:00 am CST) - LHP Bo Hellquist Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games. Click here to view the article

Kyle Gibson was terrific, but Brandon Kintzler had to pull a Houdini Act to give the Twins a 2-1 lead on Friday night in Boston. The biggest play was a bases-loaded 4-2-3 double play off the bat of David Ortiz. Our hitter of the day for Friday night in the minor leagues is a guy who was compared to Ortiz when he was signed as a 16-year-old three years ago. Oh, and Jose Berrios was back on the mound for Rochester on Friday night. Like Gibson, Berrios gave up a first-inning run. How did he respond?For much more information on the scores and highlights from all six of the Twins minor league affiliates in the States, please continue reading. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Syracuse 1 Box Score Jose Berrios made another AAA start on Friday night. He gave up a run in the first inning, and that was about it. The red-hot right-hander gave up just the one run on three hits and a walk over eight innings. He struck out nine. Berrios improved to 10-4 and reduced his AAA ERA to just 2.31. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 12, Johnson City 8 Box Score For the second straight game, the E-Twins posted double-digit runs, and they again needed it. The Twins scored seven runs over the first three innings but when they came to bat in the bottom of the 4th inning, they were down 8-7. They got a big blast in the sixth inning and piled on some more. Lewin Diaz had a tremendous game. The powerful, David Ortiz look-a-like went 3-4 with his tenth double, his fifth home run and six RBIs. His home run came in the sixth inning and with the bases loaded. He is now hitting .315 on the short-season. Brandon Lopez led off and went 3-4 with a walk and his first triple. He’s hitting .382. Travis Blankenhorn is hitting .304 after a 3-5 game. Alex Kirilloff went 3-5 and is hitting .360. He hit his third home run. Mitchell Kranson went 2-5 with his fifth double. Roberto Gonzalez added his first home run of the season. Alex Schik was back on the mound. He gave up eight runs on ten hits in just 3.2 innings. He walked one and struck out six. Hector Lujan gave up just two hits over 3.1 shutout innings. He struck out two. Colton Davis struck out four (and walked one) over two scoreless, hitless innings. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 5 (suspended after 9 innings) Box Score Earlier in the week, the GCL Twins played a 15 inning game. On Friday, they played nine innings before the rains came. The game was suspended after nine innings and the rest of the game will be played on Saturday as part of a doubleheader. More will be written on this game tomorrow but there were a couple of highlights from the nine innings that were played. For instance, Brady Anderson started and threw six shutout innings. Jordan Balazovic made his professional debut and threw two shutout innings in relief. Aaron Whitefield and Jorge Andrade each had two hits. Roni Tapia was 1-3 with his first home run which increased his batting average to .067. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berrios, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Lewin Diaz, Elizabethton Twins SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05 CST) - LHP Jason Wheeler Chattanooga @ Jackson (6:05 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (5:15 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario Johnson City @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00 CST) - TBD (completion of suspended game and regularly scheduled game.) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games. Click here to view the article