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Earlier today, we announced our choice for Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month, Stephen Gonsalves. There were so many terrific starting pitchers in August, and there were some relievers that helped their teams to success too. Let’s take a look some of the top performances in the bullpen and our choice for Twins Daily Relief Pitcher of the Month of August.First, a couple of relievers worthy of mention: Moises Gomez - GCL - 5 G, 1.17 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 15.0 IP, 13 H, 4 BB, 7 KBrandon Peterson - Chattanooga - 6 G, 1.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 6 H, 8 BB, 16 KJohan Quezada - Elizabethton - 8 G, 1.93 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 9 KWilliams Ramirez - Cedar Rapids - 7 G, 1.98 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 5 H, 11 BB, 15 KTHE TOP FOUR RELIEF PITCHERS #4 - Nick Anderson - Ft. Myers - 10 G, 1.88 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 11 H, 5 BB, 18 K The Twins signed Nick Anderson out of independent ball last July (2015), and he helped the Cedar Rapids Kernels to the Midwest League championship series as their closer. He returned to the Midwest League to start this season, but after dominating again, he moved up to Ft. Myers. He had some initial struggles there, but has been terrific the last five or six weeks. In August he was terrific. Opponents posted just a .519 OPS off of him. He struck out a lot of batters and generally was dominant. #3 - John Curtiss - Ft. Myers - 10 G, 1.32 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 17 K Earlier this week, we learned that Curtiss would be part of the Twins contingent at the Arizona Fall League. He was our choice for relief pitcher of the month back in April and was promoted to the Miracle as the calendar turned to May. He had some ups and downs the first couple of months, but in August, he teamed with Anderson at the back-end of the Miracle bullpen and got the job done. He also has the ability to strike batters out with a mid-90s fastball. The Twins 6th -ound pick in 2014 out of the University of Texas, Curtiss has thrived in the bullpen. #2 - Andrew Vasquez - Cedar Rapids - 7 G, 1.15 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 15.2 IP, 10 H, 7 BB, 18 K After a so-so pro debut in the GCL last year after being a late-round draft pick, Vasquez began the 2016 season at Extended Spring Training. He actually made a couple of appearances for Elizabethton before coming up to the Kernels. Since then, he has really helped solidify Jake Mauer's bullpen. Vasquez is tall and strong, but he occasionally has some bouts with his control. But when he's on, he misses a lot of bats and makes opposing batters uncomfortable. They posted just a .474 OPS off of him in August. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Rochester Red Wings – RHP Jake Reed - 10 G, 1.59 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 11.1 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 11 K It's almost hard to believe that Jake Reed was only drafted by the Twins two years ago. We have heard his name so many times over those two years as a future bullpen arm. The Twins used their 5th-round pick in 2014 to take the reliever out of Oregon. In college, he was a solid starter his first two seasons, but the move to the bullpen helped him take off. The Twins signed him and sent him to Elizabethton, but he very quickly got to Cedar Rapids where he was completely dominant. He gave up one run in 25 innings (0.72 ERA). Then he dominated in the Arizona Fall League. He began the 2015 season in AA Chattanooga, but he struggled and went back to Ft. Myers where he pitched great. He returned to the Lookouts and helped in their Southern League championship run. He again went to the AFL last year and pitched really well again. He earned an invitation to Twins big league spring training where he made a good impression. He began this season in Chattanooga again where he had some ups and downs early, but he really pitched well before being promoted to Rochester. In his first appearance for the Red Wings, he struggled and allowed a couple of inherited runners to score. Since then, he has been dominant. He should again be invited to Twins spring training and there is a chance he surfaces with the Twins before June. He is blessed with a mid-to-upper 90s fastball with a lot of movement. Sometimes it's clear he's getting so much movement that it runs out of the strike zone. He also has a very good slider. He's got great makeup for a late-innings reliever. There were several very strong relief pitcher performances in August. Feel free to agree or disagree with the order, if you like, but congratulations to each of these individuals on an excellent month. Congratulations to the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for August 2016, Jake Reed. Click here to view the article

The Chattanooga Lookouts roster returned 19 players who were part of the 2015 Southern League championship. Heading into Wednesday’s game, they were just 1-5 on the season. They used some power to get their second win, and their first home win. An intriguing prospect was promoted to the big leagues. The Miracle rotation began its second time through the rotation with a good start! Really good. Continue reading to find out more detail about Wednesday in the Twins farm system:TRANSACTIONS As you now know, Glen Perkins was placed on the disabled list, while Taylor Rogers received his first promotion to the big leagues. Expect Stephen Wickens to be removed from Rochester’s disabled list on Thursday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Lehigh Valley 6 Box Score In a back and forth game, it came down to whoever had the last at-bat. Fortunately, the Red Wings were the home team and got to bat last. Reynaldo Rodriguez singled to the gap to score Buck Britton with the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Tyler Duffey made his second start, and for the second time, he was unable to complete five innings (though the first time was due to rain). Duffey flirted with danger the first four innings but was able to get out of those innings unscathed. However, in the fifth inning, a couple of runs crossed the plate. In all, Duffey went 4.2 innings and gave up two runs on six hits. He walked four and struck out four. He needed 96 pitches. He was replaced by Loek Van Mil who gave up a soft single to right to score the second run. He went 0.2 innings and gave up one run on three hits and two walks. Buddy Boshers relieved him and got the next five outs. He was charged with one run on three hits. Brandon Kinzler got the final two innings and gave up two runs in the top of the ninth. Along with his game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth, Rodriguez went 3-5 with his first double. Lead off hitter Darin Mastroianni went 3-4 with a walk and a double. Wilfredo Tovar went 2-3 with a walk and a double. James Beresford went 2-4. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Jackson 2 Box Score A couple of big flies help the Lookouts to their first home win of the 2016 season.. Dalton Hicks got the scoring started in the 4th inning with a long, two-run, opposite field home run. When Jackson cut the lead to one, Daniel Palka pushed the lead back to two in the 6th inning with his first home run of the year. In the 8th inning, Travis Harrison knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly. Later Dalton Hicks added another RBI, singling in a run. Hicks was 2-4 with his first home run and three RBI. Hicks also stole his first base of the year, matching his career high which he also hit in 2012, 2014 and 2015. Palka had a big game. He went 3-4 with his second double to go with his first home run. Mitch Garver was also 2-4. DJ Baxendale got the start and was credited with his first win of the year. The right-hander gave up just one run on seven hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out three. Brett Lee came on and gave up one run on two hits over two innings. Brandon Peterson struck out two in a perfect inning. Marcus Walden pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the year. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Brevard County 0 Box Score In his first start of the season, Stephen Gonsalves gave up a three-run homer in the first inning. He proceeded to throw five scoreless frames after that. On Wednesday, he made his second start and threw six shutout innings. The lefty gave up just two hits, walked three and struck out four. That is 11 consecutive scoreless innings, if you’re counting. Another left-hander, Luke Westphal came in for the 7th and struck out the side. Righty Trevor Hildenberger worked two scoreless innings to record the save. Hildenberger needed just 16 pitches to get through the two innings. Nick Gordon again led the way on offense. The shortstop went 3-4 with a double and drove in a run. The Miracle had seven total hits. Trey Vavra had the only other extra base hit, a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 4 Box Score The Kernels were unable to muster much offense. LaMonte Wade had two of their four hits in this game, raising his season batting average to .385. Jermaine Palacios had the lone extra base hit, a double. He scored later on a sacrifice fly from Zander Wiel, who also walked once. Randy LeBlanc made his second start. The right-hander from Tulane went the first six innings. He gave up just two runs on four hits. He walked two, hit three and struck out six. Logan Lombana pitched the seventh and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. John Curtiss came on for the eighth inning and struck out one in a perfect inning. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Daniel Palka, Chattanooga Lookouts THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (1:05 CST) - LHP Pat Dean Jackson @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – LHP David Hurlbut Brevard County @ Ft. Myers (12:00 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (1:15 CST) – RHP Andro Cutura Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Wednesday games. Click here to view the article

Relief pitchers can get a tough rap, with one bad outing resulting in inflated numbers that they have to work to improve for the rest of the season. With a limited amount of appearances to leave their mark, relievers need to show their stuff in short appearances in order to continue their path to the major leagues. The Twins Minor League Report authors each voted for the five awards being handed out this week. Today, we'll take a look at the top relief pitchers in the Twins minor league system for 2015. We each voted for out top six performers in this category.You'll see short profiles of our Top 6, but first, here are some honorable mentions. Honorable Mention Michael Theofanopoulos - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 37 G, 5-3, 3.82 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 68.1 IP, 68 H, 29 BB, 74 KCameron Booser - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 32 G, 1-2, 3.72 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 46.0 IP, 31 H, 40 BB, 64 KNick Burdi - Chattanooga Lookouts/Fort Myers Miracle - 43 G, 5-6, 3.82 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 63.2 IP, 52 H, 35 BB, 83 KAlex Muren - Chattanooga Lookouts/Fort Myers Miracle - 44 G, 3-3, 3.03 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 71.1 IP, 62 H, 24 BB, 54 KRandy LeBlanc - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 33 G, 9-5, 3.03 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 89.0 IP, 78 H, 28 BB, 69 KLuke Bard - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 28 G, 7-1, 2.41 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 52.1 IP, 45 H, 15 BB, 47 KRELIEF PITCHER OF THE YEARHere are the top six vote-getters for the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. #6 - JT Chargois - Chattanooga Lookouts/Fort Myers Miracle - 48 G, 2-1, 2.63 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 48.0 IP, 38 H, 25 BB, 53 K In his first professional action since the Appalachian League in 2012, Chargois made a strong impression back on the mound. He underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2013 and he enter the season with a lot of buzz out of the Instructional League. In his second appearance back on the mound, he was lit up for four earned runs on five hits while only recording one out. Over his next 14 appearances with Fort Myers, Chargois did not allow an earned run while holding opponents to a .137/.214/.196 batting line. His streak continued after being promoted to Chattanooga and it only came to an end after two months and 20 appearances. He ended the year with another impressive run as he gave up one earned run on 11 hits over his last 19.2 innings with 24 strikeouts. #5 - Todd Van Steensel - Fort Myers Miracle - 46 G, 2-4, 2.32 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 66.0 IP, 53 H, 32 BB, 81 K Van Steensel started back in the Florida State League after finishing the 2014 campaign with the Miracle. Fort Myers relied a lot on the Australian native throughout the year as he compiled the best professional numbers of his career. He got off to a strong start in the month of April with a 1.35 ERA and 22 strikeouts in just over 13 innings. June was also be a good month as he held opponents to a 0.796 WHIP and 20 strikeouts in 16.1 innings. Right-handed batters actually hit worse against the righty as their OPS was 17 points lower. He led the Miracle in saves, games finished, appearances, and he finished second on the team in strikeouts even though he never made a start. #4 - AJ Achter - Rochester Red Wings - 43 G, 4-2, 2.63 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 48.0 IP, 28 H, 13 BB, 47 K The Twins have gotten quite the run out of the 46th round pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. Achter has made appearances with the big league club in each of the last two seasons and he continued to improve himself in the minor leagues. Throughout the entire season, he only allowed opponents to hit over .190 against him in one month (June) and that was the month he made his fewest number of appearances. Achter put up some crazy numbers in May (12 appearances) with a 0.75 ERA and a 0.42 WHIP while opponents hit .103/.125/.179 against him. He tied for Rochester's team lead with 14 saves and lead the relief pitching core with 48 total innings. #3 - Brandon Peterson - Chattanooga Lookouts/Fort Myers Miracle - 41 G, 2.07 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 61.0 IP, 44 H, 28 BB, 77 K After some up and down appearances through the first month of the season, Peterson hit a nice groove near the beginning of May and stretched it all the way to July. During that time he didn't allow a run over 26.0 innings while striking out 33 and holding opponents to a .103/.161/.115 batting line. During that stretch he was promoted from Fort Myers to Chattanooga where he'd finish the season. His time in the Florida State League was outstanding as he posted a 0.85 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. The jump to the Southern League saw his ERA jump to 3.38 and his WHIP bump up 55 points. Peterson was almost a year and a half younger than the other pitchers at Double-A so it was an overall very impressive season. #2 - Michael Tonkin - Rochester Red Wings - 33 G, 2-1, 1.10 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 41.0 IP, 25 H, 5 BB, 46 K Tonkin hasn't been able to stick at the big league level over the last handful of years but he showed that he can thoroughly dominate hitters at the Triple-A level. Tonkin changed rosters nine different times this year including one stretch where four straight appearances on different teams between Rochester and Minnesota. From June 30 to August 29, he allowed two earned runs in 28.0 innings with 28 strikeouts and two walks. Opponents hit .160/.186/.202 against him during that stretch and Rochester handed over the closer role to him to end the year. Even with all the trips to Minnesota, Tonkin stilled tied Achter for the Rochester team lead with 14 saves and he had the best ERA of any pitcher on the staff. Tonkin doesn't have much left to prove at Triple-A so it will be up to the Twins to find him a big league role for 2016. Relief Pitcher of the Year - Trevor Hildenberger - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Fort Myers Miracle - 41 G, 3-2, 1.55 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 64.0 IP, 39 H, 7 BB, 80 K Hildenberger, a 22nd round pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, spent all of his debut season pitching for the Twins two rookie league affiliates. His numbers were good but that can be expected for an experienced college pitcher going against younger hitters. He finished the 2014 season with a 2.48 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP with 32 strikeouts in 29 innings. This year would be a test as he would be asked to make the jump to the full season leagues and test his stuff against some older competition. He wasted very little time making his mark in Cedar Rapids. In the month of April, he allowed one earned run on six hits in ten innings with 13 strikeouts. He continued his masterful mound performance into May as he didn't allow a run for the entire month while striking out 23 in 18.2 innings. In fact, Hildenberger had a stretch from April 19 to June 21 (31.1 IP) where he allowed one run on 11 hits with 40 strikeouts and four walks. Batters could only compile a .107/.148/.117 line against him and he struck out 36% of hitters during this impressive run. Hildenberger's numbers jumped up a little during his 13 appearances in the Florida State League and he has been older than the competition at every stop along the way. Next year will be huge for him as he will likely spend some time back in the Florida State League before making a jump to the higher levels of the minors. It was a very impressive season but there's still room for him to grow in the coming years. THE BALLOTS In an attempt to be transparent, here are the ballots from our Twins Daily minor league writers. Seth Stohs - 1.) Trevor Hildenberger, 2.) Michael Tonkin, 4.) AJ Achter, 4.) Brandon Peterson, 5.) Todd Van Steensel, 6.) JT ChargoisJeremy Nygaard - 1.) Trevor Hildenberger, 2.) Michael Tonkin, 3.) AJ Achter, 4.) Todd Van Steensel, 5.) JT Chargois, 6.) Nick BurdiCody Christie - 1.) Trevor Hildenberger, 2.) AJ Achter, 3.) Brandon Peterson, 4.) Todd Van Steensel, 5.) Cameron Booser, 6.) JT. ChargoisSteve Lien - 1.) Trevor Hildenberger, 2.) Michael Tonkin, 3.) Brandon Peterson, 4.) AJ Achter, 5.) JT Chargois, 6.) Todd Van SteenselEric Pleiss - 1.) Trevor Hildenberger, 2.) Brandon Peterson, 3.) Michael Tonkin, 4.) Michael Theofanopoulos, 5.) JT Chargois, 6.) Todd Van SteenselFeel free to start the discussion and explain who you think should be on the ballot Click here to view the article

How are the Minnesota Twins’ affiliates doing, and who are the statistical leaders in the hitting and pitching stats in the Twins farm system? The seasons are over three months complete. There are about seven weeks left in those seasons. There are some top prospects and familiar names boiling to the top of these lists as the season moves forward.Here is a look at the updated Twins minor league standings and statistical leaders through Friday, July 10. Feel free to discuss. STANDINGS Here is a quick look at where the teams rank in their divisions. The International League All-Star game is next week, right after the MLB All-Star Game. The other five affiliates are all in full swing the rest of the way out. Rochester is now 48-41 and 1.5 games ahead of Scranton/Wilkes Barre in the International League North Division. Chattanooga is 46-36 on the season. However, after winning the first-half title and clinching a playoff berth, the Lookouts are just 3-11 in the second half of the season. Promotions of Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco and JO Berrios along with injuries now to Travis Harrison and Max Kepler and the Lookout roster is quite a bit different than it was the first half. Ft. Myers has an overall record of 49-37. They are 11-5 and one game back of Palm Beach. Cedar Rapids is 50-34 overall this season. They are 10-6 in the second half, though they are four games back of Kane County. They earned a playoff berth in the first half. Elizabethton is 8-9 in their season. They are currently in fourth place in their division, but they are just 1.5 games out of first place. The GCL Twins are 9-8 so far. They are four games back of the GCL Red Sox. HITTERS For batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, IsoD and IsoP, we used a minimum of 220 plate appearances. Plate Appearances: Zach Granite (356), Reynaldo Rodriguez (343), Jorge Polanco (334), Nick Gordon (329), Adam Brett Walker (327) Batting Average: Max Kepler (.327), Alex Swim (.310), Jorge Polanco/James Beresford (.302), Byron Buxton (.283) On-Base Percentage: Max Kepler (.401), Miguel Sano (.374), Mitch Garver (.367), Zach Granite/Travis Harrison (.357) Isolated Discipline: Mitch Garver (.124), Travis Harrison (.106), Miguel Sano (.100), Tanner English/Niko Goodrum (.099), Stuart Turner (.094) Slugging Percentage: Adam Brett Walker (.575), Miguel Sano (.544), Max Kepler (.515), Byron Buxton (.489), Reynaldo Rodriguez (.422) Isolated Power (IsoP): Adam Brett Walker (.311), Miguel Sano (.270), Byron Buxton (.206), Max Kepler (.188), Reynaldo Rodriguez (.166) OPS: Miguel Sano (.918), Max Kepler (.917), Adam Brett Walker (.896), Byron Buxton (.840), Jorge Polanco (.749) Hits: Jorge Polanco/Alex Swim (94), James Beresford (87), Max Kepler/Zach Granite (85) 2B: Max Kepler (24), Reynaldo Rodriguez/Adam Brett Walker/Danny Ortiz (20), Miguel Sano/Travis Harrison (18) 3B: Byron Buxton (12), Max Kepler (8), Max Murphy (7), Tanner English (6), TJ White (5) HR: Adam Brett Walker (23), Miguel Sano (15), Reynaldo Rodriguez/Oswaldo Arcia (8), Danny Ortiz (7) Runs: Zach Granite (56), Miguel Sano (55), Reynaldo Rodriguez (52), Adam Brett Walker (51), Nick Gordon (48) RBI: Adam Brett Walker (73), Reynaldo Rodriguez (49), Miguel Sano (48), Danny Ortiz (46), Zach Larson (41) SB: Tanner English (26), Nick Gordon/Engelb Vielma (21), Byron Buxton (20), Zach Granite (17) STARTING PITCHERS (>64 IP) Innings: Taylor Rogers (115.2), Tyler Duffey (111.0), JO Berrios (101.1), Pat Dean 99.2), Greg Peavey (94.0) ERA: Stephen Gonsalves (1.67), Mat Batts (1.94), Felix Jorge (2.00), Chih-Wei Hu (2.20), Tyler Duffey (2.51) WHIP: Felix Jorge (0.90), Stephen Gonsalves (0.98), Mat Batts (1.05), Chih-Wei Hu (1.07), Zach Tillery (1.08) K/9: Stephen Gonsalves (10.6), JO Berrios (9.2), Mat Batts (9.0), Chih-Wei Hu (8.3), Tyler Duffey/Alex Wimmers (7.9) BB/9: Greg Peavey (1.6), Aaron Slegers (1.7), Felix Jorge (1.8), Tyler Duffey/Mat Batts (1.9), Pat Dean (2.0) Strikeouts: JO Berrios (104), Tyler Duffey (98), Stephen Gonsalves (95), Mat Batts (88), Taylor Rogers (82) Wins: Stephen Gonsalves (9-1), JO Berrios (8-3), Taylor Rogers (7-6), Eight pitchers with 6 wins (Ryan Eades/Randy LeBlanc 6-1). RELIEF PITCHERS (>24 IP, Games: AJ Achter (35), Todd Van Steensel (30), Alex Muren/JT Chargois (29), Mark Hamburger/DJ Johnson (28) Innings: Alex Muren (51.0), Randy LeBlanc (49.1), Todd Van Steensel (47.1), Mike Theofanopoulos (44.0), Brandon Peterson (42.0) ERA: Brandon Peterson (0.64), Trevor Hildenberger (0.87), Alex Muren (1.41), Randy LeBlanc (1.46), Luke Bard (1.82), Todd Van Steensel (2.09) WHIP: Trevor Hildenberger (0.65), AJ Achter (0.832), Brandon Peterson (0.833), Matt Summers (0.87), Randy LeBlanc (.097) K/9: Cameron Booser (12.7), Trevor Hildenberger/Brandon Peterson/Todd Van Steensel (12.0), Lester Oliveros (11.6) BB/9: Trevor Hildenberger (1.1), Tim Shibuya (1.4), Matt Summers (1.9), Luke Bard (2.2), AJ Achter (2.5) Saves: AJ Achter (14), Trevor Hildenberger/Todd Van Steensel (11), Zack Jones (10), JT Chargois (9), Cameron Booser (8) There you have it. The Twins Minor League Leader Board through Friday, July 10. What are your thoughts? What surprised you? 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Each month here at Twins Daily, we post our choices for Twins minor league relief pitcher, starting pitcher and hitter of the month. Today, I want to share with you some of the top relief pitchers in the Twins minor league system in the month of June. You can get to know a little more about this month's choice for Top Reliever of the Month. I'll follow up over the next 24 hours with the starting pitcher and hitter of the month.There were many terrific bullpen performances in June. I’ve ranked the top five, but before getting to them, here are some pitchers who deserve honorable mention. RHP Cole Johnson – Chattanooga/Rochester – 8 G, 11.2 IP, 0-0, 2-Saves, 1.69 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 8 H, 2 BB, 8 KRHP JT Chargois – Chattanooga – 9 G, 8.2 IP, 1-0, 5-Saves, 2.08 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 6 H, 6 BB, 9 KRHP DJ Johnson – Ft. Myers – 10 G, 13.1 IP, 1-0, 3-Saves, 1.35 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 10 H, 4 BB, 13 KRHP Brian Gilbert – Ft. Myers – 9 G, 13.1 IP, 1-0, 2.03 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 10 H, 5 BB, 13 KRHP Trevor Hildenberger – Cedar Rapids – 8 G, 9.2 IP, 0-0, 3 Saves, 2.79 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 10 H, 2 BB, 13 KRHP Luke Bard – Cedar Rapids – 7 G, 13.1 IP, 3-0, 1.35 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 11 H, 3 BB, 8 KThe Top 5 Twins Relievers for June 2015 Number 5 – Rochester – AJ Achter – 11 G, 14.0 IP, 0-0, 6 Saves, 2.57 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 7 H, 2 BB, 14 K Since moving to the bullpen in 2012, Achter has been one of the best – and certainly the most consistent – relief pitcher in the Twins minor league system. He has pitched in every role. He has been in long relief, used as a set up man and now he is succeeding as a closer this year. Overall this year, he is 3-2 with 13 saves. He has a 2.27 ERA and a miniscule 0.63 WHIP. He throws strikes (1.8 BB/9) and yet still doesn’t give up hits. He also has struck out 8.6 batters per nine innings the last two seasons in Rochester. With the issues we have witnessed in the Twins bullpen this year, it is surprising that we have not seen Achter yet this year. Number 4 – Ft. Myers – Todd Van Steensel – 10 G, 16.1 IP, 0-0, 5 Saves, 1.10 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 7 H, 6 BB, 20 K Since coming back to the Twins organization before the 2014 season, Van Steensel has turned himself into a big-time strikeout weapon out of the bullpen. He began this season in Ft. Myers after spending the final month of the 2014 season with the Miracle. Overall, he is 1-2 with a 1.97 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has nine saves already. He has been a workhorse for the Miracle. In 45.1 innings, he has given up 31 hits. He has walked 23 (4.5 BB/9) which is a bit high, though he improved on that in June. He has been able to get a lot of strikeouts, averaging 12.2 K/9 on the season. With recent bullpen issues in Chattanooga and already some transactions, Van Steensel could, or at least should, end the season with the Lookouts. Number 3 – Ft. Myers – Alex Muren – 9 G, 16.2 IP, 1-0, 1 Save, 0.54 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 13 H, 2 BB, 20 K Muren was the Twins 12th round pick in 2012 out of Cal State - Northridge. He spent the final two months last year with the Miracle and has been a workhorse with the team so far this year as well. In 26 games, he is 2-2 with a 1.60 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He has good control (2.6 BB/9) and has been much-improved this year in terms of strikeout rate (8.4). But he is a ground ball pitcher. Managers often put him in with runners on base, needing a double play. His month culminated with a much-deserved promotion to AA Chattanooga. Number 2 – Cedar Rapids – Randy LeBlanc – 7 G, 18.1 IP, 1-1, 0.49 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, 10 H, 2 BB, 17 K Recently, LeBlanc had a streak of 26 consecutive scoreless innings come to an end when he gave up one run. How did he respond? In his next outing, he threw three shutout innings. LeBlanc, a Tommy John survivor, has been a starter most of his life. The Twins 10th round pick in 2014 from Tulane has adjusted well to working out of the bullpen this year. Overall, in 20 games this season for the Kernels, he is 5-1 with one save. He has a 1.59 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP in 45.1 innings. He throws strikes and does have the ability to miss bats. Most months, LeBlanc would be an easy choice for this award, and if you were to tell me that he should be, I wouldn’t have much of an argument. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers/Chattanooga – Brandon Peterson – 7 G, 11.2 IP, 1-0, 1 Save, 0.00 ERA, 0.51 WHIP, 3 H, 2 BB, 15 K Peterson was the choice as Twins Daily Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2014. He had some lofty goals heading into the 2015 season. “My first goal was to be healthy to start the year. That's a huge aspect that can't go overlooked. Also, I wanted to start up in Chattanooga. Last, I wanted to have a better season than I did previously. That's always my goal” Peterson grew up in and still lives in Savage, Minnesota and went to Burnsville High School. After two years at Des Moines Community College, he received a scholarship to Wichita State University. Following one season there, he was the Twins 13th round selection in 2013. He began his 2014 season in Cedar Rapids, but after nine games, he moved up to Ft. Myers. Overall, he went 2-1 with a 1.57 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. In 57.1 innings, he walked just 19 and struck out 84. He began his 2015 season back with the Miracle. Peterson said, “I was slightly disappointed repeating A ball again, but I used it as motivation and worked on a few things that needed to be honed in before making the next step. I had a blast with those guys down there.” He handled any disappointment very well, putting up strong numbers again. In 21 games and 31.2 innings with the Miracle, he posted a 0.85 ERA with a 0.92 WHIP. He also had 44 strikeouts (12.5 K/9). Finally in mid-June, he received that call to AA Chattanooga. “I got the word when we were in Lakeland. It was pretty exciting, as well as seeing your friends happy for you too.” He has begun his Lookouts career with seven shutout innings in four games. He has given up just two hits, walked two and struck out ten. He has handled the success and taken things in stride. “I've been dealt a pretty good hand by God to do what I love and get paid to do it. I try and not take things for granted and see what happens.” Peterson primarily uses a four-seam fastball and a slider to get outs. He is also working to improve a third pitch. “I need to work on the change a lot more. My pitching coaches and coordinator (Stu Cliburn, Ivan Arteaga, and Erik Rasmussen) all have helped work with me, whether it's throwing my slider better or working on a new change up grip.” Now with the Lookouts, Peterson has a front-row seat to their remarkable offense. “It's unreal watching and pitching behind these guys. At any time, they can put up a five-spot like its nothing.” Peterson’s goals for the remainder of the season are very team-oriented. “I want to win the Southern League Championship, to win the 2nd half, and to be a guy my team and staff can count on coming into pressure situations.” After his tremendous 2014 season, Peterson has been in the top five relievers each month this season. He earned his promotion to AA and has started out very well there. As he continues to achieve great success at the higher levels, it becomes more and more likely that he will become a part of his hometown team’s bullpen at some point in the future. So what do you think? I’ve ranked the top five bullpen arms in the Twins organization in June, along with a few more that deserve to be recognized for their great performance last month. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)? Be sure to check back later for the June Starting Pitcher and Hitter of the month. 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Happy Father’s Day across Twins Territory!!! While Jake Arrieta was taking it to the Minnesota Twins lineup and Anthony Rizzo continued to bash their pitchers on Sunday afternoon, three of the four full-season league affiliates were in action in the minors.The organization went 2-2 on the day. In the minors a come-from behind victory was sparked by a pair of bash-brothers in a single inning, and there were several standout bullpen performances. Read on to find out about all the action on Sunday afternoon! RED WINGS REPORT Louisville 3, Rochester 2 Box Score The Red Wings managed to score first and last in this contest, but were still handed a loss as Louisville put a crooked number on the scoreboard in an inning, while the Wings did not. In the first inning Danny Santana led off the game for Rochester with a double and after being moved to third on a groundout he trotted home to score the game’s first run on a Danny Ortiz single and 1-0 lead. It would remain that way until the third inning, when Red Wings starter Pat Dean gave up a solo home run to number eight hitter Ryan Lamarre to tie the game at one. Dean had retired the first seven hitters of the game to that point. He ran into further trouble in the fourth inning as the middle of the lineup for Louisville came through with some more power. Number three hitter Hernan Iribarren singled to start the inning, and trotted home on a two-run home run from cleanup man Josh Satin, making the score 3-1. Dean faced the minimum over the next nine outs before walking two around a strikeout to begin the top of the seventh. He was relieved by Alex Meyer who escaped the inning with no damage after two fly-outs. In the bottom of the seventh inning, it was again Santana providing a spark for Rochester. His third triple in 12 games with the Red Wings allowed him to score on a sac fly to left field from James Beresford, moving the score to 3-2. Meyer pitched a scoreless eighth inning, picking up two strikeouts along the way, to keep the game within striking distance for Rochester. Caleb Thielbar retired the side one-two-three in the ninth, bringing up the home team for their final at-bat. Eric Farris singled with one out, then was erased on an Eric Fryer fielder’s choice. Fryer moved to second on a balk, placing the tying run in scoring position for the games star to that point, Danny Santana. Unfortunately, this at-bat ended in a groundout to second base instead of an extra-base hit, and Rochester fell 3-2. Santana (2-5, 2 R’s, 2B, 3B) and Oswaldo Arcia (2-4) were the only hitters in the lineup with multiple hits and Reynaldo Rodriguez added a triple to lead the offense. Dean managed a quality start, allowing the three runs on five hits and two walks in 6.1 innings, striking out five. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Jacksonville 5, Chattanooga 6 Box Score The Lookouts found themselves down 5-1 after the top-half of the sixth-inning, but the powerful bats in their lineup refused to let them stay there. D.J. Baxendale made the start and pitched the first three frames in his first start returning from shoulder discomfort. He allowed zero runs on one hit and two walks, while striking out three. Tim Shibuya came on for the fourth inning, and promptly allowed a solo home run to the first batter he faced, the rehabbing Michael Morse of the Miami Marlins, to tie the game at one. It didn’t get much better for Shibuya, as he allowed two runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to put the Lookouts in a 5-1 hole. Brandon Peterson came on in the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on third, but picked up a strikeout to end the frame. This is when the big boppers in the Chattanooga lineup came out to play. Mike Gonzalez led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk, and Adam Brett Walker made the score 5-3 with his Southern League-leading 19th home run of the year. Singles from Jairo Rodriguez and Levi Micheal around a Stephen Wickens fly out and a Niko Goodrum strikeout would bring Miguel Sano to the plate. His 13th home run of the season put the Lookouts out front 6-5 and they never looked back. Peterson picked up four more strikeouts and did not allow a single base runner in the seventh and eighth innings, before yielding the save opportunity to J.T. Chargois. He walked one but retired the three other hitters to pick up his fifth save in eight appearances with the Lookouts. His ERA stands at 2.08 for the season and 1.17 with Chattanooga. Assisting Sano (1-3, 2 R’s, HR, BB, 3 RBI) and Walker (1-4, R, HR, 2 RBI) with multiple hits in the comeback victory were Michael (2-4, R, BB, SB), and Rodriguez (2-4, R). Max Kepler was 0-2 but reached base via walk twice and stole his eleventh base from the cleanup spot in the lineup (behind Sano). The Lookouts finish the first half of the Southern League season atop the North Division standings, and tied with the Biloxi Shuckers of the South Division with 43-25 records. The 43-25 mark is the Lookouts best first half record in the history of their home park, AT&T Field. MIRACLE MATTERS The Miracle enjoyed a day off on Sunday afternoon, and host the Palm Beach Cardinals for a three game series starting tomorrow at 6:05 PM CST at the Century Link Sports Complex and Hammond Stadium. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Clinton 2 Box Score Cedar Rapids jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Brett Doe led off the frame with an infield single and moved into scoring position when T.J. White was hit by a pitch. He scored on a Rafael Valera single. Kernels starter Jared Wilson gave the run back in the bottom half when a two-out single brought home Joseph DeCarlo, who had doubled. Cedar Rapids responded by adding two runs in each of the third and fifth innings. Max Murphy was the catalyst in both of those innings. In the third, he slugged his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot to make the score 3-1. In the fifth, his double put runners on second and third. A balk scored Alex Real and moved Murphy up to third, before a pick off attempt caught Pat Kelly between first and second base with two-outs. Kelly was savvy enough to make the LumberKings attempt multiple throws in a rundown, and Murphy was able to scamper home before they tagged out Kelly to end the inning. Randy LeBlanc was the first pitcher in relief of Wilson, and he went three scoreless innings to improve his record to 5-0. He allowed just two hits and struck out two. These three scoreless innings improved his ongoing scoreless streak to 26 innings, tying him with Trevor Hildenberger for the team’s longest streak of the year and lowered his ERA to 1.52. Lefty Cameron Booser came on for the eighth inning and allowed one run on a sac fly after a walk and two singles, but struck out the last two hitters he faced to escape with limited damage. Hildenberger then came on for the ninth and recorded his eighth save by striking out the side. His ERA rests at 0.51 on the season and has not been above 1.00 since April 23rd. The Kernels got multiple hits from Real (2-5, 2 R’s, 2B), Murphy (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) and Valera (2-3, BB, RBI) to lead the offense. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brandon Peterson, Chattanooga Lookouts (W, 2.1 IP, 5 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Miguel Sano, Chattanooga Lookouts (1-3, 2 R’s, GW 3-Run HR, 3 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Tyler Duffey (1-4, 4.15 ERA) Chattanooga – Scheduled Day Off. Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids – MWL All-Star Break. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Relief pitchers seem to go under the radar when they do their jobs well. On the occasions when they don’t do their job well, then they get noticed. Here at Twins Daily, we want to make sure that the relief pitchers get some positive recognition. Instead of just doing a Minor League Pitcher of the Month, we separate the starters and the relievers because many relievers deserve to be noticed for positive reasons.There were a lot of very strong May performances out of the bullpen at the Twins affiliates. Below, you’ll find the Top 6 Relief Pitchers for the month, but first a few relievers worthy of mention: RHP Nick Burdi – 8 G, 2-0, 2.03 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 13.1 IP, 13 H, 3 BB, 15 KRHP JT Chargois – 9 G, 0-0, 2 Saves, 0.00 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 11 KRHP Madison Boer – 8 G, 2-2, 2.55 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 17.2 IP, 13 H, 7 BB, 10 KLHP Mike Theofanopoulos – 9 G, 1-0, 1.56 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 17.1 IP, 12 H, 8 BB, 16 KRHP Zach Tillery – 7 G, 2 GS, 1-1, 1 Save, 1.88 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 19.0 IP, 16 H, 6 BB, 19 KNow let's get to the Top 5 Minnesota Twins Minor League Relief Pitchers for May 2015: Number 5 – Cedar Rapids – LHP Cameron Booser - 9 G, 0.68 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 13.1 IP, 5 H, 9 BB, 17 K The Twins signed the left-hander as a non-drafted free agent late in 2012. He turned 23 at the beginning of May. He was terrific in April and even better in May. Overall, he has a record this year of 1-0 with five saves. He has an overall ERA of 0.77 with a WHIP of 0.99. As noticeable, he has struck out 35 batters in 23.1 innings, a rate of 13.5 per nine. He will have to improve his control as he has walked 13 batters. However, his stuff is tremendous and opponents have just ten hits off of him all year. He is blessed with a fastball that easily reaches into the upper 90s and even touches triple figures at times. When I talked to him in Cedar Rapids, he fully acknowledged that he was still learning how to pitch, and that is very exciting. Number 4 – Chattanooga – Zack Jones - 9 G, 1.74 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 9 K Though he hasn’t been talked about as much as some of the other relievers who began the season in Chattanooga, he has been Doug Mientkiewicz’s most consistent, reliable bullpen arm all season. Overall, he is 3-1 with 7 saves. In 17.1 innings (over 16 games), he has a 1.56 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. The biggest improvement this year has been his control. He’s walked just five batters through the season’s first two months. Blessed with a fastball that sits between 95 and 98, Jones was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2012 out of San Jose State. He missed most of last season due to an aneurysm in his right shoulder. Number 3 – Ft. Myers – Brandon Peterson - 11 G, 1.10 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 16.1 IP, 8 H, 8 BB, 25 K Peterson was the Twins 13th round pick in 2013 out of Wichita State. The Savage, MN, native was our choice for Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2014. He returned to the Miracle to start this season and continues to dominate the league. Overall, he is 1-0 with two saves in his 18 appearances. He has posted an ERA of 1.00 and WHIP of 1.04 in his 27 innings. He has struck out 13.0 per nine innings, which is the same rate he had in 31 games with the Miracle last year. His lone flaw to this point is 15 walks in 27 innings which will need to be addressed. Number 2 – Rochester – AJ Achter - 12 G, 0.75 ERA, 0.42 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 11 K Michael Tonkin and Ryan Pressly were promoted. People talked about Lester Oliveros. All the while, AJ Achter outperformed them all in Rochester. When Tonkin promoted to the Twins, Achter took over as the Red Wings closer and did very well. He was 7-7 in save opportunities. On the season, he has pitched 21.2 innings in 21 games. He is 3-2 with the seven saves. He has a 2.08 ERA and a 0.60 WHIP. He’s walked just five and struck out 20. The 26-year-old debuted with the Twins last September and deserves to be back up with the team in 2015. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Cedar Rapids – Trevor Hildenberger - 9 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.38 WHIP, 18.2 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 23 K Hildenberger was a close runner-up for this award in April, and he dominated the Midwest League in May as well. Not only did he not allow any runs, but opponents hit just .083/.113/.100 (.213) against him. He has worked a few times for just one inning, but for the most part, he is throwing two or three innings at a time. He currently has a streak of 25 innings without allowing a run and has given up just one run in 28.2 innings through the season’s two months. I’m going to make a paragraph just for his 2015 season numbers, just because they are so ridiculous. In 14 games and 28.2 innings, he has an ERA of 0.31 and a WHIP of 0.49. He has been successful using two fastballs (two-seam and four-seam), a changeup and a slider. Hildenberger pitched for four seasons at Cal-Berkeley, so he is already 24-years-old. It is inexplicable to me why he remains in Cedar Rapids, but he is taking it all in stride. He told Twins Daily, “I try not to worry about moving up or not. I just keep getting the next hitter out no matter where we are or what the situation is.” Most likely the day after the Kernels either clinch a playoff berth or after an All- Star game appearance, he will find himself packing and heading back to Ft. Myers, this time to join the Miracle. Who knows? It could be even sooner. Hildenberger was the Twins 22nd round pick last year out of Cal-Berkeley. He pitches from an interesting angle. “I would describe myself as sidearm. I know my release point can rise up from time to time, but I definitely categorize myself as sidearm.” The right-hander hasn’t always thrown from the side. “It started back at the end of my third year at Cal Berkeley when my teammate wore the wrong number jersey to practice. My pitching coach, Mike Neu, commented on what he pictured when he saw my teammate’s number. I asked him what he pictured when he saw my number 26, and he said a sidearm pitcher because UCLA and Washington both had sidearm relief pitchers with the number 26. At that point in time I had thrown a cumulative 12 innings in three years and was clearly not effective enough to compete. So he asked me to throw a bullpen from a lower arm angle. I obliged not realizing it was a permanent change. He liked what he saw and sent me off to summer ball in Bend, Oregon, in the summer of 2012 to refine my new style and experience some growing pains.” As a senior in 2014, he pitched in 28 games. He was 3-3 with 10 saves and a 2.83 ERA. In 47.2 innings, he gave up 41 hits, walked 11 and struck out 48. It was enough to get him drafted by the Twins where he has continued to work on his new delivery while experiencing a ton of success. In that same 2014 draft, the Twins selected Hildenberger’s teammate, LHP Michael Theofanopoulos. If nothing else, the Twins have an advantage on other organizations should a Scrabble tournament be played where only names of players in their organization can be used. It was a positive for both to come to professional baseball together as teammates. “Theo and I were lucky to be drafted together by the same team in the same year. We had known each other for the previous four years playing at Cal together and were friends coming into the draft. It made the transition from college to professional baseball easier and gave me a no-brainer catch partner when we first started. We lived together last summer in the GCL and in instructional league, and now we live together with the same host family here in Cedar Rapids. It's nice to have someone who knows your pitching history to discuss outings or mindsets so candidly.” Hildenberger worked with pitching coach Ehren Wasserman in the GCL last year and has been working with Kernels pitching coach Henry Bonilla this season. He says that he has been able to learn from each. “Luckily, Wass was a sidearm pitcher who pitched with the White Sox in the major leagues, so I was able to learn specific tips to help me improve my slider and fastball command. Henry has taught me a mindset that has helped me become successful at this level. To keep attacking hitters with the same pitch or location until they prove they have made an adjustment. He stopped me from overthinking as I did in 2014 and allowed me to become more relaxed and confident in my approach.” The Kernels are 32-18 at this stage of the season, and as you would expect with a record like that, the clubhouse has a terrific atmosphere. “The Kernels Clubhouse is extremely loose right now (May 31). We're competing with everyone we play. Our starting pitching has been outstanding. Our defense kept us in games. Our bullpen has been magnificent. And our offense has led the way with timely hitting. As a staff, we are aggressive and relaxed, knowing our defense will back us up and our hitters will provide enough offense to win. It’s extraordinarily fun to come to the ballpark every day knowing the starter and every guy in the ‘pen will do his job, giving us a chance to win. Booser, Theo, LeBlanc, Bard, Velez, and Cederoth have all dominated lately, allowing us to win tight games.” Speaking of dominating, did I mention yet that Hildenberger, through two months and 28.2 innings with the Kernels, has an ERA of 0.31 and a WHIP of 0.49? He’s also giving up 3.5 hits per nine, 0.9 walks per nine and striking out 11.9 batters per nine innings. However, Hildenberger has bigger goals for 2015 than just dominating for two months or (gasp) a Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month award. He started with team goals before considering his personal goals. “My goal is to make the playoffs this year. Last year, I spent with the GCL Twins, and we missed out on the postseason. When I got called up to Elizabethton, I got a taste of what the playoffs were like. So hopefully we can keep winning games and clinch a playoff berth in the first half. Personally, my goal is to be in Fort Myers (High-A) by the end of the season and help them reach the postseason as well. Being an older guy, I know getting drafted at 23 isn't exactly an advantage, and that you have to perform right away. Hopefully I can continue the success I've had early here in 2015 and advance towards the ultimate goal of helping the Twins bring a World Series championship to Minnesota.” Count me in on someone that would love to see that as well! Congratulations on a great month of May and a great two month start to the season, Trevor Hildenberger. I’m thinking the Miracle bullpen will be adding a side-armer very soon. So what do you think? I’ve ranked the top five bullpen arms in the Twins organization in May, along with another five that deserve to be recognized for their May performance as well. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)? Be sure to check back later for the Starting Pitcher and Hitter of May. 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Each month here at Twins Daily, we will be posting choices for Twins minor league relief pitcher, starting pitcher and hitter of the month. First, I want to share with you some of the top relief pitchers in the Twins minor league system in the month of April. I'll follow up over the next 24 hours with the starting pitcher and hitter of the month. There were a lot of very strong April performances out of the bullpen at the Twins affiliates. Below you’ll find the Top 6 relief pitchers in April.First, a few relievers worthy of mention: RHP Michael Tonkin – 8 G, 0-1, 5 S, 2.45 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 10 KRHP Todd Van Steensel – 7 G, 0-2, 1.35 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 13.1 IP, 8 H, 8 BB, 22 KRHP Randy LeBlanc – 5 G, 1-0, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 15 KRHP Zach Tillery – 5 G, 1 GS, 2-0, 1.88 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 14 KTHE TOP SIX RELIEF PITCHERS Number 6 – Cedar Rapids – LHP Cameron Booser - 6 G, 0.90 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 18 K The Twins signed the left-hander as a non-drafted free agent late in 2013. In a recent Twins Daily story on Booser, we learned that he’s had a lot of injuries and is now finally healthy. He’s also blessed with an upper-90s fastball and a very good slider. And, he’s still learning. Once he shows that the control he’s shown so far this season is legit, he could move quickly. He turns 23 on Monday. Number 5 - Rochester – Lester Oliveros - 6 G, 1.69 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 10.2 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 21 K The 26-year-old appears to be completely back after having Tommy John surgery and missing the 2013 season. He was very good in 2014, and he’s off to a great start in 2015. Oliveros came to the Twins from the Tigers in August of 2011 in the Delmon Young trade. Oliveros made his first start since he played in the Venezuelan Summer League in 2006. He went four innings and struck out nine. He is good at missing bats! He should be up with the Twins, or at least he should be soon. Number 4 – Ft. Myers – Brandon Peterson - 7 G, 0.84 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 10.2 IP, 5 H, 7 BB, 14 K Peterson was the Twins 13th round pick in 2013 out of Wichita State. He went to Burnsville High School. In his first full season, he was the choice for Twins Minor League Reliever of the Year for what he did with Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. In 40 games and 57.1 innings, he posted a 1.57 ERA, 0.98 WHIP. He also walked 19 and struck out 84. The 23-year-old returned to the Miracle to start this season and is experiencing the same success. Number 3 – Chattanooga – Zack Jones - 7 G, 1.29 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 13 K Jones was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2012 out of San Jose State. An aneurysm near his shoulder and a blood clot cost him most of the 2014 season. However, he did return in time to be the Miracle closer for their championship run last year. The hard-throwing righty had a great first month as the closer in Chattanooga. He is 5-5 in save opportunities. The problem he has had in his young career has been throwing strikes, but he did a great job of that in the season’s first month. Number 2 – Cedar Rapids – Trevor Hildenberger - 5 G, 0.90 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 13 K Hildenberger was the Twins 22nd round pick a year ago out of the University of California (Berkeley) where he was a very good closer. He throws from a three-quarter arm slot and throws a lot of strikes. For the Kernels, he has thrown in various roles already. Sometimes it’s just one inning, but he has been stretched out and thrown as many as three innings already. He should be the first Kernels reliever promoted to the Miracle when there is a need. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers – Tim Shibuya - 6 G, 0.66 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 13 K Shibuya was the Twins 23rd round pick in 2011 out of UC-San Diego. That season, he was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year. Since then, he has continued to pitch well, when healthy. He returned to the Miracle to start the 2015 season. He pitched really well in April with the team, and as soon as there was a need in Chattanooga, he was the one promoted. He has missed at least some time with an injury each of the last three seasons. However, he has had the right mindset in his rehab and come back strong. He told Twins Daily, “It is always frustrating to get hurt, no matter how the results turn up on the field. But it is something you have to get over quickly so it doesn't affect your physical rehab. Having a good mindset each day is vital to being able to get all of your work in each day. ” Shibuya is a tremendous athlete and fields his position very well. A year ago, his manager Doug Mientkiewicz touted him as the best defensive pitcher he’s ever seen. Shibuya takes a lot of pride in his defense and continues to work on it. He said, “Playing defense has always been my favorite part about baseball, and I enjoy being the fifth infielder. My parents constantly hit me ground balls at short so I am very grateful for their commitment over the years. Our coaching staff in the Twins organization also stresses fielding. We typically have some sort of PFP a few times per week to stay sharp.” Shibuya put up great numbers in April. Asked what his keys to success were, he said, “I didn't do anything too much different than my normal pitch plan. I tried to work in and out with the fastball and get quick outs on the ground. I'd use some off-speed in certain situations, but for the most part I located well down in the zone. Our catching core in the organization are phenomenal all around and call a great game so it was nice working in sync with them.” In April, Shibuya pitched in various roles. He can pitch one inning, or as he did more often, pitches two or three innings. It’s a role that he enjoys. “I go into the game with the mentality that my job is to get outs, whether that is in the third inning or ninth inning. I feel like I can be pretty versatile and enjoy the different situations.” He is continuing to work on pitches and just wants to get innings. “I have located my fastball and cutter well so far. I would like to continue to improve my breaking ball to be able to get more comfortable with it in different situations. That will come with time and reps I believe. ” As the calendar turned to May, he was promoted to Chattanooga and threw two scoreless innings in his Double-A debut. If the trend continues, the 25-year-old could keep marching up the organizational ladder. So what do you think? I’ve ranked the top six bullpen arms in the Twins organization in April, along with a few more than deserve to be recognized for their great start to their 2015 season. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)? Click here to view the article

In recent years, the Twins have managed to stock the farm with flame throwers who project as late inning relievers. Several are projecting as shut down closers. These days, MLB pitching staffs have evolved from two positions, starter and reliever, into several positions: Starter, long relief, LH specialist, 7th inning guy, set-up guy, and closer.The hierarchy moves two directions: long relievers want to be starters, 7th inning and set-up guys want to be closers (I don’t know what to say about the aspirations of LH specialists- they are special). Very few teams ever seem very interested in or able to utilize a closer by committee type of late inning relief system. I’ve only been a TD member for about a year, and lurked for a couple years before then, and in that time, I can’t recall any standout discussions about closer by committee. But it seems like such a debate must have taken place somewhere along the way. So, hopefully I’m not opening some old ridiculous can of worms, beating a dead horse, or-r-r-r disturbing any sleeping dogs. For the purposes of this piece, and in light of what the Twins have coming up over the next few years, I’m going to advocate for it. Although, calling such a system “closer by committee” doesn’t seem quite right. It seems more like the position of closer is just eliminated. There can really only be one closer. If you have multiple relievers who all pitch in save situations, they wouldn't all be called 'closer', would they? Ugh, what am I talking about? Okay, this system would only work if you had three to five relievers all of closer quality. This doesn’t work if you have no relievers of closer quality and are just trying to puzzle it together playing match-ups. Neither does it work if you have one legit closer and a few guys who are okay. The Twins current relief corps could not do this. Maybe no team in baseball could. I think maybe the Royals could have done it last season. What they had in Herrera, Davis, and Holland was possibly unprecedented. It was also their ticket to the postseason and their key to success therein. It seems like any time a team has more than one successful late inning reliever, they will lose one in the following offseason. Either the closer leaves and the set-up guy becomes the new closer, or the set-up guy goes elsewhere to become a closer. So this is a market-driven issue as closers get more money than do other relievers, and teams aren’t yet willing to pay closer money to a non-closer. So, in the event a team accumulates three or more closer types at once, how should theat team use them, and how can they keep them around? When I look at the Twins minor league relievers, I think these become serious questions. Here’s a list of dudes: Nick Burdi, J.T. Chargois, Jake Reed, Mason Melotakis (L), Zack Jones, Yorman Landa, Fernando Romero, Michael Cedaroth, Cameron Booser (L), Alex Meyer, CK Irby, Brandon Poulson, Cole Johnson, Tyler Jones, Todd Van Steensel, Brandon Peterson, and Corey Williams (L). This is admittedly a wild list. It includes pitchers from Rookie to AAA, a few guys who are still starting but get plenty of press as possible future closer types. 75% of them throw in the upper 90s (a few hit triple digits) and the ones who don’t still boast K rates around 10/9. All of them but Poulson have solid secondary offerings. Several of them have sustained significant injury, some have returned already, some are still in recovery. So, hypothetically, Burdi, Reed, Chargois, Melotakis (L), and Meyer are all ready in 2016, and then Meyer doesn’t pan out as a starter. I pick these guys, because they all project as closers (if Meyer doesn’t cut it as a starter), they all throw gas, and they all are close enough to be up by 2016. You could push it back a season, and/or trade out names if you want. The point is that 2016-2017 is when the Twins should be back in business, and some combination of these guys could be ready. I think the Twins should be prepared to do something unorthodox with the situation, rather than trade what is perceived as excess or keep it stuffed in the minors or do a traditional 1, 2, 3 like the Royals, with Perkins at the top. Maybe something like a back-end five man rotation would work. It wouldn’t be predictable like the starting rotation, and it could be entirely match-up based, or partially, but probably not reliant on the hot hand. It would ideally keep opposing offenses from preparing to face one closer. I think eventually most closers gain enough regular exposure that their effectiveness can diminish. When a team comes to play the Twins, I think their hitters prepare to face the starter, and Glen Perkins. I don’t think they prepare for Caleb Theilbar- not because he isn’t good, but because of the unpredictability of facing him and also the unpredictability of the situation in which you might face him. If you are facing a closer, you know who it will be and you know the situation really counts. In one series you could face Perkins every night, and Theilbar not once. It seems like taking away the predictability of the closer position, thus taking away the ability of the offense to prepare, is a significant advantage. Especially, and maybe only, when the options to fill the role are multiple of comparable quality. What are the obstacles to implementing this kind of system, or something like it? Are managers too attached to the reliability of the traditional system? Are relievers too attached to the hierarchy of the 7th inning, set-up, closer system and the financial consequences involved? It seems like now might be the time to challenge those obstacles, if they exist. There is a new manager who could be open to different ideas. The relievers will all be new major leaguers, ideally more focused on performance than on title and/or relative pay. If such a system were to prove successful, why not the pay accurately reflect the value of each man. What am I missing here? Is this trying to reinvent the wheel? I don’t really know diddly about managing a pitching staff. I just see all those names about to be knocking on the door, and see those numbers attached to those names: 97mph, 98mph, 99mph, 100mph, 101mph, and think there’s got to be a way to put them all to work in equally contributive roles. Will everyone on the list make the show? Unlikely. Will all the ones who do be of closer quality? Unlikely… …but the scouting reports do look pretty damn good. Click here to view the article

Yesterday, we named JO Berrios as the Minnesota Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. Today, we will be diving into the top relief pitchers for the season. Clearly the Twins have made it a focus tto obtain power arms in recent years, particularly in the draft. Many of them have moved up the system and are performing very well. Hopefully several of those power arms will quickly work their way up the farm system to the majors.It’s been a very good year for relievers in the Twins minor leagues. I think we need to recognize several more pitchers who have had terrific seasons. HONORABLE MENTION Jim Fuller – New Britain Rock Cats (3-1, 1 save, 2.41 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 56.0 IP, 48 H, 30 BB, 68 K)Ryan Pressly – Rochester Red Wings (1-4, 6 saves, 2.98 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 60.1 IP, 55 H, 21 BB, 63 K)Jared Wilson – Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-4, 2.95 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 58.0 IP, 46 H, 25 BB, 56 K)Nick Burdi – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle (2-0, 5 saves, 2.66 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 20.1 IP, 13 H, 10 BB, 38 K)Brandon Bixler – Cedar Rapids Kernels (7-4, 2.68 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 74.0 IP, 49 H, 37 BB, 77 K)Chris Mazza – Cedar Rapids Kernels (4-4, 2.79 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 48.1 IP, 47 H, 11 BB, 62 K)Dallas Gallant – Cedar Rapids Kernels (2-1, 5 saves, 0.64 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 28.0 IP, 12 H, 9 BB, 46 K)Michael Tonkin – Rochester Red Wings (3-4, 2.80 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 45.0 IP, 41 H, 12 BB, 46 K)Feel free to debate them, or ask any questions you may have. Relief Pitcher of the Year #6 – Alex Muren – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle (4-2, 1 save, 2.77 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 74.2 IP, 65 H, 12 BB, 55 K) Muren was the Twins 12th round pick in 2012 out of Cal State-Northridge. He has worked out of the bullpen since signing and despite not having a huge fastball, he has put up solid numbers all the way through. In 2014, he began in Cedar Rapids. The 22-year-old posted a 2.89 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 56 innings over 29 games in Cedar Rapids. He was promoted to Ft. Myers where he posted a 2.41 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP. He averaged just 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings, but he doesn’t hurt himself with walks, having given up just 1.4 walks per nine innings. Muren is successful because he has been able to coax about 2.8 ground balls per flyout and keet the ball in the park. #5 – Jake Reed – Elizabethton Twins/Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-0, 8 saves, 0.29 ERA, 0.45 WHIP, 31.0 IP, 11 H, 3 BB, 39 K) Should Reed be on this list since he only started pitching in late June? Well, just take a look at those numbers again and tell me that we shouldn’t find some place for him in the top 6. Including the playoffs, he ended the season by tossing 24.2 consecutive scoreless innings. The 21-year-old was the Twins 5th round pick this June out of the University of Oregon. He is blessed with a mid-90s fastball and good secondary stuff too. Like fellow 2014 pick Nick Burdi, Reed could move up quickly in the Twins farm system. In fact, he will be participating in the Arizona Fall League this year. #4 – AJ Achter – New Britain Rock Cats/Rochester Red Wings (4-4, 7 saves, 2.17 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 78.2 IP, 47 H, 25 BB, 80 K) Achter won this award in 2012, his first year as a reliever. Last year, he was the runner up to Tyler Jones. This year, he falls to #4 on the list, but he is doing it at the highest level. He was the Reliever of the Month the first two months of the season. And on September 1st, he learned that he was headed to the big leagues. Achter was the lone representative of the Rochester Red Wings in the AAA All-Star game. He pitched in every role for the Red Wings this season. He was the closer, a set up man, a long reliever and even made a spot start. He has three or four pitches and when he has control, he can be very good. #3 – Todd Van Steensel – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle (1-0, 9 saves, 1.39 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 58.1 IP, 38 H, 24 BB, 71 K) It’s been an interesting ride for Van Steensel the last five years. He signed with the Phillies and pitched in the GCL in 2009. He was released, but he signed with the Twins and pitched at Elizabethton in 2011. The Twins released him after that season. Then, he pitched in the Netherlands and in his native Australia. He became a reliever, started throwing harder and the Twins gave him another opportunity before spring training this year. He began the season at extended spring training but was soon promoted to Cedar Rapids where he became a late inning man. In 34.2 innings, he walked just nine and struck out 45. He posted a 1.30 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He was promoted to Ft. Myers where he fit into the sixth and seventh innings. With the Miracle, he worked 23.2 innings and struck out 26. The 23-year-old has a big, tall leg kick and then throws a low-to-mid 90s fastball with a sharp slider. #2 – Lester Oliveros – New Britain Rock Cats/Rochester Red Wings (4-3, 18 saves, 1.64 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 65.2 IP, 44 H, 27 BB, 88 K) Oliveros came to the Twins in August of 2011 in the Delmon Young trade. In September of 2012, he had Tommy John surgery and aside from a few rehab appearances, he missed the entire 2013 season. The Twins chose to start him off in New Britain where he dominated as the team’s closer for the season’s first half. In 24 games and 30.1 innings, he posted a 0.89 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He walked 14 and struck out 36. He was just as good in Rochester where in 24 games, he worked 35.1 innings. He walked 13 and struck out 52. He finished the season very strong in August and earned his September recall to the big leagues. Relief Pitcher of the Year – Brandon Peterson – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle (2-1, 4 saves, 1.56 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 57.2 IP, 37 H, 19 BB, 84 K) In June of 2010, Brandon Peterson was finishing his senior year in high school. He was Burnsville high school’s shortstop and their top pitcher. His team played in the Minnesota state high school championship game. They lost 5-3, but Peterson became the first high school player to hit a home run at Target Field. Now Peterson’s ultimate baseball goal is to pitch in Target Field and attempt to not give up home runs for the Minnesota Twins. After two years at Des Moines Area Community College, Peterson went to Wichita State where he had a strong junior season in 2013 with the Shockers. After the season, he was the Twins 13th round draft pick. Since signing, he has been a strikeout machine. In 27.1 innings with Elizabethton last year, he struck out 40. He began the 2014 season in Cedar Rapids where he pitched in just nine games. In 12.2 innings, he walked just two and struck out 19. He posted a 0.71 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. He was quickly promoted to Ft. Myers. In 45 innings, he walked 17 and struck out 65. He posted a 1.80 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He did not give up a home run all year. Though he did not get as much name recognition as teammates like Nick Burdi and Zack Jones late in the season, Peterson was a vital man in the seventh and eighth innings for the Miracle. Peterson throws a fastball that sits 92 to 93 mph and occasionally touches 95. He also has a slider in the low 80s. ---- Congratulations again to Brandon Peterson and all of these relief pitchers who had some terrific seasons of the bullpen in the Twins farm system. We’ll be back tomorrow with the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year. Click here to view the article

Today I’ll start announcing my choices for the July Minor League Awards. Each month, I like to post which pitchers and hitters had the best months. Today, I’m going to start the July versions with the relief pitchers. If you’re looking for a good reason for why the Cedar Rapids Kernels ended July by winning 16 of their final 20 games of the month, look no further than this article. The Kernels' bullpen has been absolutely dominant. Sure, you’ll learn tomorrow when we go through the starting pitchers that they were also a part of that, along with the Kernels' hitters. However, if the Kernels have a lead through five or six innings, they’re most likely going to win.Here are my choices for the Top 5 Twins Minor League Relief Pitchers in July. However, first I just need to point out several Honorable Mentions. It’s encouraging there are this many who warranty recognition this month! HONORABLE MENTION RHP Deolis Guerra – Rochester – 7 G, 12.1 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 16 K, 0.73 ERA, 0.81 WHIPRHP Adrian Salcedo – New Britain – 6 G, 2 GS, 11.1 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 7 K, 1.53 ERA, 0.94 WHIPLHP Jim Fuller – New Britain – 7 G, 12.2 IP, 11 H, 8 BB, 15 K, 2.13 ERA, 1.50 WHIPLHP Mason Melotakis – Ft. Myers/New Britain – 10 G, 13.0 IP, 11 H, 2 BB, 20 K, 1.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIPRHP Alex Wimmers – New Britain – 9 G, 16.1 IP, 18 H, 4 BB, 21 K, 2.20 ERA, 1.35 WHIPRHP Tyler Jones – Ft. Myers – 12 G, 13.2 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 15 K, 1.32 ERA, 0.95 WHIPLHP Brandon Bixler – Cedar Rapids – 9 G, 15.1 IP, 7 H, 6 BB, 19 K, 1.76 ERA, 0.85 WHIPRHP Todd Van Steensel – Ft. Myers – 11 G, 14.1 IP, 9 H, 10 BB, 19 K, 1.88 ERA, 1.33 WHIPRHP Dereck Rodriguez – Elizabethton – 7 G, 10.0 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 7 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.90 WHIPRHP Eduardo Del Rosario – GCL Twins – 8 G, 13.0 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 12 K, 2.08 ERA, 1.00 WHIPRHP Trevor Hildenberger – GCL Twins – 11 G, 14.2 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 14 K, 3.07 ERA, 1.02 WHIPTOP 5 MINNESOTA TWINS RELIEF PITCHER OF JULY 2014 Number 5 – Cedar Rapids – RHP Nick Burdi - 9 G, 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 21 K The Twins drafted Nick Burdi in the 24th round out of high school, but they were unable to sign him. He said he wasn’t ready at that time. After three years as a dominant closer at Louisville, the Twins were able to draft him in June with their 2nd round pick, 46th overall. He signed after the College World Series and a couple weeks later he debuted with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. I was at his professional debut. He threw fastballs between 96 and 99 mph and a couple sliders around 88-89. However, he walked all four batters he faced and later all four came around to score. That was in late June. Since the beginning of July he has been terrific. His fastball has reportedly hit 100 mph a few times, and his slider is at 89-91. He has thrown strikes and missed a lot of bats. My sense is still that the 21 year old will be up with the Twins very early in the 2015 season. Number 4 – Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers – RHP Alex Muren - 8 G, 0.59 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 15.1 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 14 K Muren was the Twins 12th round pick in 2012 out of Cal State – Northridge. He spent the final 2/3 of the 2013 season with the Kernels and went 6-1 with a 2.85 ERA in 60 innings. This year, he was 3-1 with a 2.89 ERA in 56 innings with the Kernels before being promoted to Ft. Myers where he has made three appearances. Though he doesn’t throw real hard, he gets a lot of sink and induces a lot of ground balls. With the Kernels, he has had more than 2.5 ground outs per fly out. He also did a good job of getting the baseball to run below the bats in July, striking out nearly a batter per inning. Number 3 – Ft. Myers – RHP Brandon Peterson - 9 G, 1.29 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 4 H, 8 BB, 21 K Peterson has become a regular on these monthly lists. The Burnsville native was the Twins 13th round pick a year ago out of Wichita State. He began this season in Cedar Rapids, but he was promoted to the Miracle just nine appearances into the season. His transition to the Miracle has been very impressive. The 22 year old has a 1.82 ERA over 34.2 Florida State League innings. He has 50 strikeouts to go with just 13 walks in that time. He was very good in July, and a little better control would likely allow him to move up another level. In July, opponents hit just .089 off of him, but eight walks pushed their on-base percentage over 22% Number 2 – Cedar Rapids – Dallas Gallant - 9 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 20 K I mean, 90% of months, the numbers that Dallas Gallant put up in July would have been easily the top bullpen performance of the month. However, this month, it’s good for only number two. Let’s just say that he, and the Twins, will take more months like this from anyone. He was taken in the 23rd round of the 2010 draft out of Sam Houston State. He has had Tommy John surgery and missed time for other reasons including the first 50 games this season. However, since he has been activated by the Kernels, he has been lights out. Overall, he has 27 strikeouts to just four walks in his 16.2 innings this year. In July, opponents hit just .140/.213/.163 (.376) against him. Frankly, there’s no reason that he shouldn’t be in Ft. Myers right now. He throws mid-90s heat and has good secondary pitches as well. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Elizabethton/Cedar Rapids – Jake Reed - 7 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.18 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 16 K The Twins used their fifth round pick this June on Jake Reed, a closer from Oregon. The hard-throwing right-hander was sent to Elizabethton. However, after just four appearances and six innings, he was promoted to Cedar Rapids where he has continued to pitch great. As the Twins do with current-year draft pick pitchers, they don’t pitch real often, generally getting three days in between appearances. However, when Reed was on the mound in July, he was about as dominant as it gets. Opponents hit just .054/.079/.081 (.160) off him. Reed throws hard, having touched 97 at times. He has an OK breaking ball which will need to improve. He throws a little from the side, giving hitters a different look. He started his first two seasons at Oregon, so he could possibly go back to that role, though he could move much more quickly as a bullpen arm. So what do you think? I’ve listed five relievers here (along with several other Honorable Mentions) that deserve to be recognized for their terrific performances. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)? Be sure to check back the next couple days for the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher and Hitter of the Month of July. ---- Twins win last night and you do today. Order a large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com using the promo code TWINSWIN and get it for 50% off. Click here to view the article

On Saturday, MLB held its third day of the draft. It covered rounds 11 through 40 and lasted over six hours to complete. However, at the end of the day, the Minnesota Twins had made 40 picks this year. Day 3 was filled with a pitching-led theme again. The Twins drafted a bunch of power arms, looking to accumulate pitchers with velocity that they can work with on command and control. They took a couple of high-potential pitchers in Florida prep Taylor Blatch and Logan Shore [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]although both are likely to go to college instead of signing. The Twins also accumulated plenty of talent to help fill their GCL and Elizabethton rosters. Below, you will find each of the Twins draft picks, and on many of them, Twins Daily's draft expert Jeremy Nygaard added some brief comments. It's taken two days to get through ten rounds of the MLB Draft. On Saturday, a conference call of 30 teams, each making 30 picks, will complete the 2013 draft. It'll be rapid fire throughout the day. As soon as one team makes a selection, the next will get about 5 seconds to make their pick. It's actually quite something to listen to. As Twins picks are made, we will continue to update the Twins selections below. Please comment throughout the day with your thoughts. The Twins have made ten picks through the first ten rounds. They have chosen six pitchers (4 college, 2 high school), three catchers (2 college, 1 high school) and a college third baseman. What will they do with their final 30 picks? Well, we can be assured that they will continue to find more pitching, but will they be able to find any hidden gems in the late rounds? Of course, only time will tell. Day 3 40th Round (1190) - Kelly Starnes - OF - Los Medanos College (CA) 39th Round (1160) - Seth Wagner - LHP - Mifflin County HS (PA) 38th Round (1130) - Javier Salas - RHP - U of Miami 37th Round (1100) - Julien Service - OF - Northeast Texas CC 36th Round (1070) - Joe Greenfield - RHP - Eastern Illinois U 35th Round (1040) - Nick Lemoncelli - LHP - Lower Columbia College (WA) 34th Round (1010) - Ivory Thomas - CF - Cal St. Dominguez Hills 33rd Round (980) - Stephen Stensley - OF - University HS (Louisiana) 32nd Round (950) - Carlos Avila - SS - Cal St. Dominguez Hills 31st Round (920) - AJ Bogucki - RHP - Boyertown HS (PA) 30th Round (890) - Tanner Vavra - 2B - Valporaiso (3B Coach Joe's son) 29th Round (860) - Logan Shore - RHP - Coon Rapids HS (MN) 28th Round (830) - Chris Erwin - LHP - Grayson HS (GA) 27th Round (800) - Tyler Blatch - RHP - Jensen Beach HS (FL) Blatch, who doesn't even check in at six feet, is going to tough to sign with his 95 mph fastball and two solid off-speed offerings. 26th Round (770) - Ryan Halstead - P - Indiana 25th Round (740) - Chad Christianson - OF - Nebraska Christianson started at SS for two years before moving to the outfield for his last two years. Showed more strength as a junior than he did as a senior. 24th Round (710) - Brandon Easton - LHP - Lakeland CC Easton is also a high-K pitcher (78 in 59.2 IP) and big (6-6). Easton was the OCCAC Pitcher of the Year. (Easton is in MLB's database as a 1B, but he's a pitcher.) 23rd Round (680) - Zach Hayden - RHP - South Carolina - Aiken Hayden struck out 41 in 21 innings for the Pacers this year. He also walked 23. 22nd Round (650) - Alex Swim - C - Elon University Swim is a senior who stole 15-of-18 bases and started all 64 games. 21st Round (620) - Tyler Stirewalt - RHP - Fresno State Stirewalt is a project. He walked-on the Fresno State football team for three years before switching over to baseball in 2012. Obviously athletic, Stirewalt can hit 94. 20th Round (590) - Jason Kanzler - CF - Buffalo Fifth-year senior, batting .330 with some power (12 HRs) and speed (21 SBs). 19th Round (560) - Jared Wilson - RHP - UC Santa Barbara A fifth-year senior with big arm strength and a lack of control. Good fastball and curve, but any success will depend on figuring out how to make it goes where he wants it to. 18th Round (530) - Ryan Walker - SS - Texas-Arlington Walker will be a solid shortstop for the E-town Twins, batted .304 in 58 games for the Mavericks. 17th Round (500) - Tanner Mendonca - RHP - Sacremento State Good body with a fastball up to 94 and a decent breaking ball. 16th Round (470) - Brandon Bixler - LHP - Florida Gulf Coast Bixler offers two pretty significant pieces: first, his ability to miss bats - a good fastball with two solid secondary pitches (curveball and change-up). Secondly, he doesn't always throw it in - or near - the strike zone. Bixler is also about 5-10, 160. 15th Round (440) - Derrick Penilla - LHP - Mt San Antonio College Not a lot of info out there on Penilla, a lefty. Started for MSAC and averaged over a strikeout per inning. 14th Round (410) - Zack Granite - CF - Seton Hall Three-year starter and leadoff centerfielder for the Pirates. Granite is small, but gets on base and has good speed. 13th Round (380) - Brandon Peterson - PHP - Wichita State Stop me if you've heard this: A college reliever who should get a shot to start in pro ball. Features a low-90s fastball and a slider. Was successful as Wichita State's closer with a ceiling as a set-up man if the starter thing doesn't work. 12th Round (350) - Ethan Mildren - RHP - Pittsburgh A tall, groundball pitcher who throws four pitches, including a low-90s fastball. 11th Round (320) – Nelson Molina - SS - Puerto Rico HS 6-3, 170, skinny and weak but very projectable. A scout's dream that could stick at shortstop with soft hands, quick release, but lacks the cannon arm. Day 2 10th Round (290) - C.K. Irby - RHP - Samford University 9th Round (260) - Mitchell Garver - C - U of New Mexico 8th Round (230) - Dustin DeMuth - 3B - U of Indiana 7th Round (200) - Brian Gilbert - RHP - Seton Hall University 6th Round (170) - Brian Navarretto - C - Florida (High School) 5th Round (140) - Aaron Slegers - RHP - U of Indiana 4th Round (110) - Stephen Gonsalves - LHP - California (High School) 3rd Round (78) - Stuart Turner - C - U. of Mississippi Day 1 2nd Round (43) - Ryan Eades - RHP - LSU (College) 1st Round (4) - Kohl Stewart - RHP - Texas (High School) View full article