Search the Community

Needing a win to stay close in the Triple-A Final Stretch race, the Saints fell on their face tonight. Find out what went wrong in tonight's Minor League Report. SAINTS SENTINEL Toledo 8, St. Paul 2 Box Score Saint Paul came into tonight’s game with a respectable 5-2 record in the Triple-A Final Stretch race, but with Durham sitting on a 7-0 mark, the Saints found themselves in must-win territory. Unfortunately, they got a lackluster start from Beau Burrows and it only got worse from there. They dropped this one 8-2 and with Durham winning tonight, they have been eliminated from Final Stretch contention. Burrows started out smooth with two scoreless innings, but he made a big mistake to Riley Greene in the third. The Mud Hen center fielder took him deep to center with a man on, giving Toledo a 2-0 lead. The Hens were back at it in the fourth, though they got some help from the Saints. On a first-and-third steal attempt, Saints catcher David Banuelos hesitated and threw the ball in center field, allowing Ryan Kreidler to scamper home. The Saints bats struggled early, but they grabbed Burrows a run of support in the top of the fifth on a Tomas Telis double. Drew Stankiewicz scored on the play, but Jose Miranda was thrown out at the plate trying to grab another run for St. Paul. Burrows was removed with one out in the fifth and replaced with Ian Hamilton. The Saints starter allowed three runs (two earned) in 4 1/3 innings. He only allowed four hits and struck out four, but walked three. Kreidler scored in another unusual way in the sixth. With one out in the inning and runners on first and third, Hamilton got a tailor-made double play ball to second, but Jacob Robson lured Drew Maggi into a rundown and kept the inning alive long enough for Kreidler to score to make it 4-1. Robinson Leyer took over for Hamilton to start the seventh and a bad situation got worse. Leyer allowed the first three men of the inning to reach and then gave up a grand slam to Aderlin Rodriguez that curled around the left field foul pole. Leyer was removed from the 8-1 ballgame having only gotten one out while allowing four runs. Bryan Sammons took over for Leyer and got the last five outs of the game without allowing a run, but the damage was done. The Saints grabbed a run in the ninth thanks to two Toledo errors, but that run only served to slightly obscure the troubles the offense had all night. They got six hits, but couldn’t string any rallies together. It certainly didn’t help that they struck out 14 times as a team, including eight combined K’s (and a combined 0-for-12) from the three, four, and five hitters. Telis and Maggi were the best of a bad bunch tonight as they both went 2-for-4 with Telis driving in a run and Maggi scoring one. The Saints lose 8-2 and drop to a 5-3 record in the Triple-A Final Stretch. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day: Tomas Telis (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB, K Pitcher of the Day: Bryan Sammons (St. Paul) - 1.2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, BB, 3 K PROSPECT SUMMARY #6- Jose Miranda (St. Paul)- 1-for-5 #13- Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul)- 0-for-4, 3 K #16 - Brent Rooker (Minnesota)- 1-for-3 (In Progress) SATURDAY'S PROBABLE STARTER St. Paul @ Toledo (4:05PM CST) RHP Drew Strotman (10-4, 5.09 ERA) Feel free to comment and discuss tonight’s game! View full article

The big story from a minor league perspective on Wednesday night, was perhaps the MLB debut of Joe Ryan for the Minnesota Twins. But since that is not actually the minor leagues, you’ll have to settle for a 1-3 night on the farm for Twins affiliates. Besides the St. Paul Saints, it was tough sledding for the lineups throughout the organization on Wednesday as they were unable to reward most of their pitchers for some solid efforts. TRANSACTIONS RHP Joe Ryan was officially promoted to the Twins, and made his MLB debut Wednesday night against the Chicago Cubs. Ryan was excellent besides a one inning blip, as he set the Cubs down in order in four of his five innings, striking out five and walking just one in the process. RHP Vinny Nittoli was assigned to the St. Paul Saints, rejoining them after pitching with the Saints during the 2017-18 season while in the American Association. He joins infielder Drew Stankiewicz and LHP Chris Nunn as players to suit up for the Saints as independent and affiliated players. C Stevie Berman was assigned to the Wichita Wind Surge roster after being acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for reliever LHP Andrew Vasquez. SS Ruben Santana was released from the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels roster. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 9, Columbus 2 Box Score St. Paul's lineup jumped all over Columbus starter Kirk McCarty with a five-run first inning that would prove to be more than enough for Bryan Sammons and the Saints bullpen on Wednesday night. Jose Miranda and Trevor Larnach got a rally started from the jump, with both delivering a single on the first pitches of their at bats. Mark Contreras got the first run on the board with a sac fly to score Miranda two batters later, then Gilberto Celestino made it 2-0 with a double to score Larnach from first. Jimmy Kerrigan then reached on an error and a Drew Maggi walk loaded the bases before Damek Tomscha and JT Riddle delivered back-to-back singles to score three more for the 5-0 lead. Sammons recorded 1-2-3 innings in the first and third, sandwiching the second inning where he struck out three and walked one, before facing his first challenge in the fourth. A walk, and two one-out singles loaded the bases before an awkward swinging bunt resulted in a force out at home, but a throwing error from catcher Tomas Telis to third then allowed two unearned runs to score. Sammons dusted himself off and struck out the next batter to keep the score at 5-2. Sammons would finish five innings on the night to pick up his first triple-A win, allowing four hits and three walks while striking out four Clippers. The bullpen trio of Luke Farrell, Derek Law, and Robinson Leyer then finished the game with a combined four scoreless innings. Farrell walked one in his one inning, Law allowed two hits and two walks in two frames, and Leyer walked one and struck out one in the ninth inning. The Saints added two runs to their final total in each of the third and seventh innings. Drew Maggi hit his 13th home run of the season in the third, a two-run shot, and in the seventh Celestino delivered an RBI double that was followed by a sac fly from Kerrigan. In all the good guys collected ten hits and four walks on the night, with Miranda (2-for-5, R) and Celestino (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K) collecting multiple hits. Maggi and Tomscha also added two RBI to the effort. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Arkansas 4 Box Score The Wind Surge were able to build a 2-0 lead for starter Chris Vallimont after four innings, thanks to an RBI double from Roy Morales in the third to score Aaron Whitefield, and an RBI groundout from Jermaine Palacios in the top of the fourth. Vallimont was solid in his five innings, allowing only a single run on three hits and four walks, while striking out nine Travelers. He worked around some walks over the first four innings with some big strikeouts, and struck out the side in the fourth inning. Evan Sisk was brought on to start the sixth inning, and struck out three in the frame although one of those reached base as his pitch got past the catcher. Back out for the seventh, a single and a walk put an end to Sisk’s outing, and Erik Manaoh gave up a two-run double to the first hitter he faced allowing Arkansas to tie the game at three. He would then escape that inning with the game still tied after inducing a double-play ball and a pop out to the next two hitters. Wichita had taken a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth thanks to a sacrifice fly from Spencer Steer to score Morales, who had singled to lead off the inning, before Arkansas was able to tie it up. Manoah remained in the game for the bottom of the eighth and after a one-out double, he sent an errant throw toward second base on a comebacker that allowed the go-ahead run to score. Trey Cabbage and Aaron Whitefield drew walks in the ninth to put the tying run in scoring position, but Caleb Hamilton’s 103 MPH line drive with two outs found the shortstop’s glove to end the game. Both teams collected six hits on the game, but the Travelers drew seven walks compared to three from the Wind Surge, and had three hits with runners in scoring position while the good guys were 0-for-8. Morales led the way for Wichita with three hits out of the leadoff spot, including a double. He scored a run and drove in one. Spencer Steer also added a triple to the effort and scored a run. Wichita still remains the top dog in the Double-A Central Texas League, with a four game lead over Arkansas in their division. KERNELS NUGGETS Quad Cities 4, Cedar Rapids 0 Box Score The Cedar Rapids Kernels and their second best record in the High-A Central Midwest League faced off against the team ahead of them in the standings in the West Division, the Quad Cities River Bandits on Wednesday night. While there’s very little hope for them to catch the River Bandits in the division standings over the last three weeks of the season (11.0 games behind entering play tonight), the series is still big in terms of securing a playoff matchup with them as the Kernels hold a one game lead over the next team in the league standings, the Great Lakes Loons of the East Division. Cedar Rapids had right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long on the mound for his fourth start with the team, and he did as much as he could to keep his team in second place in the standings. Over six total innings he allowed just one hit, but it was a big one for Quad Cities as it left the yard for a two-run shot in the fifth frame. He also walked three and struck out four on the night and retired the first twelve men he faced, including three K’s in the second inning. Unfortunately, he was bettered by his opposing starter, Christian Cosby, who held the Kernels lineup to just two hits and struck out six over six shutout innings. The home team got leadoff hits from Edouard Julien (single) and Michael Helman (double) in the fourth and fifth innings but were unable to make anything else happen afterward. Reliever Denny Bentley was the first man up from the bullpen to start the seventh inning and worked around a pair of walks for a scoreless inning. Back out for the eighth he immediately ran into trouble however, loading the bases with one out before a single made the score 3-0 and Osiris German was summoned. He escaped that jam without allowing another run, but in the ninth also allowed a run of his own. Bentley went 1 1/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks, while German finished the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing one run on one hit and a walk along with picking up one strikeout. Alex Isola tried to get a two-out rally started in the bottom of the ninth with a double, but Matt Wallner would swing-and-miss on three straight pitches to end the game. In all, the Kernels managed just three hits, were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, and left only three men-on-base for the game. They also did not draw a single walk compared to seven for the River Bandits. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Daytona 3 Box Score The Mighty Mussels went with a bit of a bullpen game on Wednesday night, with right-hander Matthew Swain making his first start of the 2021 season. He went the first three innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks, while punching out six Tortugas hitters. Matt Mullenbach went the next three innings and was just as good, allowing only one run on four hits and a walk while striking out four. Zaquiel Puentes got the final two innings, and allowed just an unearned run on three walks while striking out four more Daytona hitters, while being saddled with the loss. That was because the Mighty Mussels were unable to put any further runs on the board outside of the third inning, when Christian Encarnacion-Strand delivered a two-run home run that scored Alerick Soularie, who had doubled to lead off the inning. Jake Rucker added another double to the effort, but Fort Myers had just six hits as a team, were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base for the game. They drew just one walk compared to 16 strikeouts on the night, with six of their nine hitters striking out two or more times on the night. Soularie, out of the leadoff spot, was the only hitter in the lineup not to be sent walking back to the dugout on the game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Chris Vallimont, Wichita Wind Surge (5 IP, 3 H, ER, 4 BB, 9 K) Hitter of the Day - Gilberto Celestino, St. Paul Saints (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Royce Lewis (rehab) - Out for season (torn ACL) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4 #3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) - Did not pitch #4 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - Did not pitch #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) - Injured List (elbow strain) #6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, R #7 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - MLB Debut: L, 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BB, 5 K #8 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (right elbow strain) #9 - Chase Petty (Complex) - Did not pitch #10 - Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, 2 K #11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - Injured List (right shoulder impingement) #12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K) #14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #15 - Noah Miller (Complex) - No game #16 - Brent Rooker (Minnesota) - 2-for-2, HBP #17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Out for season (Tommy John surgery) #18 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, 2 K #19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) - Did not pitch #20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-for-3, R, 3B, RBI, 2 K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (11:05 AM CST) - RHP Chandler Shepherd (6-5, 5.56 ERA) Wichita @ Arkansas (7:10 PM CST) - RHP Cole Sands (2-1, 2.93 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Cody Laweryson (1-4, 4.75 ERA) Fort Myers @ Daytona (6:05 PM CST) - RHP John Stankiewicz (0-0, 2.45 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! View full article

On Thursday night (7:00 central time), Seth will be chatting with Twins left-handed pitching prospect Bryan Sammons on an all-new episode of Twins Spotlight. The discussion was live on the Twins Daily social media platforms, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube pages. Bryan Sammons grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina. After a terrific high school career, he traveled across the state and pitched four seasons at Western Carolina University. The Twins selected him with their eighth round pick in 2017. After signing, he split the remainder of the season between Elizabethton and Cedar Rapids. In 2018, he spent most of the season in Cedar Rapids before making five starts in Ft. Myers and one start in Double-A Chattanooga. In 2019 he went 4-0 with a 0.94 ERA in eight starts in Ft. Myers before finishing the season with 16 starts at Double-A Pensacola. The southpaw has four good pitches and profiles as a starting pitcher. Tonight we will talk about his background, his development and adjustments, a tough 2020 season and his goals as the 2021 season approaches. Please join us live at 7:00 tonight to watch, and participate by sending your questions. We'll cover a ton of topics and ask any questions you have. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Please watch LIVE at 7:00 pm (central time) Thursday night on the Twins Daily Twitter, Facebook or YouTube pages live. Also feel free to ask questions in the comments below or on those platforms during the show and we'll ask them. Subscribe to the Twins Daily podcast on Libsyn, Apple iTunes or anywhere you download podcasts. Here is the YouTube link where you can watch the show. Previous Episodes Click here to see more previous episodes of Twins Spotlight. Episode 22: Zander Wiel Episode 23: Blayne Enlow Episode 24: Royce Lewis Episode 25: Trey Cabbage Episode 26: Keoni Cavaco Episode 27: Casey Legumina Episode 28: DaShawn Keirsey Episode 29: Twins Wives (Maci Blankenhorn, Lexi Jeffers, Jordan Kirilloff) Episode 31: Bryan Sammons View full article

It was a night full of intrigue in the Twins minor leagues on Monday night. First, there were several interesting transactions. Pensacola played a doubleheader, and in one of the games they got a strong pitching performance and in the other, they got some big hits from top prospects. The GCL Twins were actually able to play and won two good games as they received one of the top prospects from the Dominican Summer League.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Monday, starting with some awards and the transactions of the day. AWARDS RHP Chris Vallimont was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week.RHP Luis Rijo was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the WeekRHP Andriu Marin was named the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Week. Alex Kirilloff went 2-for-4 with his 16th double, and Ryan Jeffers went 2-for-3 with a walk and his third double. Cole Sands made his first Double-A start. The right-hander gave up two runs on four hits over four innings. He walked just one and struck out six batters. Gabriel Moya tossed three shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out three batters. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers Box Score No Game Scheduled. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 2 Box Score The Kernels headed south to Davenport to take on the River Bandits again. Josh Winder got the start and pitched well. He gave up two runs on five hits over six innings. He struck out nine and did not issue a walk. He passed the 100 strikeout mark on the season, becoming the second Kernels pitcher to reach that number this year. The other pitcher on that list is Austin Schulfer who came out of the bullpen in relief. He gave up one hit, walked and and struck out three batters over two scoreless innings. Dylan Thomas worked a perfect ninth which included a strikeout. The Kernels gave Winder some good run support. OF Tyler Webb led the way by going 4-for-5 with two RBI. Trevor Casanova went 3-for-5 with his eighth and ninth doubles. Spencer Steer went 2-for-4 with a walk and his eighth double. LaMonte Wade, continuing his rehab, went 1-for-4 and walked once. Gilberto Celestino walked twice. E-TWINS E-NOTES E-Twins 2, Princeton 8 Box Score As shown above, E-Twins starter Andriu Marin was named the Appy League Pitcher of the Week on Monday. How did he do as a follow up to his fantastic start? Well, the youngster gave up eight runs (seven earned) on 12 hits over just 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out four. Osiris German came in and worked the final 3 1/3 innings. He gave up just one hit, hit a batter and struck out three. Parker Phillips led the offense. He went 2-for-3 with a walk. Ricky De La Torre hit his first E-Twins double of the season. GCL TWINS TAKES Game 1 - GCL Twins 1, GCL Pirates 0 Box Score Right-hander Miguel Rodriguez threw three shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked two, hit one and struck out three. On the year, he now has a 0.90 ERA over 30 innings and has 34 strikeouts. Junior Navas struck out five batters over the next three innings. He gave up just one hit and hit a batter. Evan Gillespie picked up the save with a scoreless seventh inning. The Twins managed just three hits. Jeferson Morales hit his third triple and later scored the game’s lone run on an error. Alec Craig had a walk and a single. Game 2 - Twins 7, GCL Pirates 2 Box Score German-born Niklas Rimmel improved to 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA. He tossed five shutout innings and gave up just three hits. He struck out seven and walked just one. Petru Balan gave up a run on two hits in the sixth inning. Bradley Hanner gave up a run on two hits in the seventh inning, but he struck out three. Luis Milla went 3-for-3 with his second double. Jake Hirabayashi went 2-for-3 with his second home run. Sergio Toribia went 2-for-3 as well. Also, playing his just his second GCL game since being promoted from the DSL, Luis Baez picked up his first stateside hit and stole a base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Josh Winder, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tyler Webb, Cedar Rapids Kernels PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - Game 1 (Did Not Play), Game 2 (0-4, K) #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Game 1 (1-3), Game 2 (2-4, 2B(16), R, RBI, K) #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - Game 1 (0-3, 3 K), Game 2 (1-2, BB, HR(6), HBP, R, 2 RBI) #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 0-5, R, 3 K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) - Did Not Play (quad) #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Injured List (hamstring) #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List (lower leg contusion) #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) - Game 1 (Did Not Play), Game 2 (2-3, BB, 2B(3), R) #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) - 3-5, 2B(8), R #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) - 0-3, BB #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - Injured List #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Injured (Tommy John) #18 - Jorge Alcala (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - 0-4, BB #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - Game 1 (0-3, K), Game 2 (0-4) TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Devin Smeltzer (1-3, 3.45 ERA) Pensacola @ Mississippi (6:35 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (4-0, 2.25 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (5:30 CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6;35 CST) - LHP Kody Funderburk (0-2, 4.37 ERA) Elizabethton @ Princeton (5:30 CST) - TBD GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (11:00 CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Monday games or any other minor league topics you would like. Click here to view the article

It was a good night for the Twins top four prospects, each of who plays for Pensacola. Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach combined to go 8-for-14 with four runs and three RBIs, and Brusdar Graterol recorded the first save of his professional career.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Wednesday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS RHP Ryan Eades was DFAd by the Twins and claimed by the Baltimore Orioles.RHP DJ Baxendale was activated by the Red Wings, and RHP Cody Stashak returned from the Twins.C Ben Rortvedt was placed on the Pensacola injured list. C/1B Taylor Grzelakowski returned to the Blue Wahoos from Ft. Myers.RHP Jose Martinez was activated from the IL. RHP Alex Schick went on the IL with a hamstring injury.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 3, Indianapolis 5 Box Score Griffin Jax made his second start for the Red Wings. He gave up five runs (three earned) on seven hits in four innings. He gave up runs in three of the four innings he pitched. He did not walk or strike out anyone. Preston Guilmet and Ryan O’Rourke each tossed two scoreless innings. Guilmet gave up two hits, walked one and struck out three. O’Rourke gave up one hit and struck out three. Wynston Sawyer returned and led the offense. He went 4-for-4 in the game. Zander Wiel hit his 21st home run of the season in the ninth inning, but the rally came up short. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Pensacola 9, Chattanooga 7 Box Score Pensacola put up big, crooked numbers in two of the innings and held on when the Lookouts had one big inning. Alex Kirilloff led the way. He went 3-for-5 and hit his eighth home run in the first inning to put the Wahoos on the scoreboard. He also stole his sixth base. Trevor Larnach went 3-for-4. Royce Lewis went 2-for-5 and stole his third base. Jimmy Kerrigan was 2-for-5 and stole his 13th base. Caleb Hamilton was 1-for-2 with two walks. Seth Aside (because I get asked a lot): I have no doubt that Brusdar Graterol will be called up on the last day of August, if not sooner, assuming he remains healthy. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, St. Lucie 1 Box Score The Miracle put together a well-pitched game, and a couple of Florida State League “Firsts” helped them to the win. Tyler Watson started and gave up just one run on six hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out six. Johan Quezada came in and got out outs. Moises Gomez got the final five outs of the game, four on strikeouts. The Miracle got on the board in the third inning. Jacob Pearson knocked his first home run for the Miracle. He went 3-for-4 in the game and also stole his sixth base. In the seventh inning, Yeltsin Encarnacion crushed his first Miracle home run, and it proved to be the game-winner. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 3 Box Score The Kernels fell behind early, but runs in the eighth and ninth innings tied the score. However, they fell on an infield hit in the bottom of the ninth. In the eighth inning, a Wander Javier single scored Daniel Ozoria. Then in the top of the ninth inning, Trevor Casanova lofted a fly ball deep enough to score Spencer Steer with the tying run. Ozoria led the offense. He went 2-for-2 and was hit by a pitch. He stole his 10th and 11th bases. Kody Funderburk started for the Kernels. The left-hander started with four scoreless innings before giving up two runs in the fifth frame. In his 4 2/3 innings, he gave up the two runs on four hits and three walks. He struck out five. Jose Martinez gave up two hits but no runs over the next 1 1/3 innings. He struck out two. Dylan Thomas tossed two scoreless innings. Nate Hadley came in for the ninth inning, but with two outs, he gave up an infield single that scored the winning run. E-TWINS E-NOTES E-Twins Box Score No Game Scheduled. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins, GCL Braves Box Score The GCL Twins were postponed by rain… again. The two teams are scheduled to play two games on Thursday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Tyler Watson, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Alex Kirilloff, Pensacola Blue Wahoos PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - 2-5, R, K, SB(3) #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 3-5, HR(8), 2 R, 2 RBI, K, SB(6) #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K (13 pitches, 5 strikes) #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - 3-4, R, RBI, K, SF #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, BB, RBI, K #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) - 0-4, BB, R, 2 K #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (25 pitches, 17 strikes) #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - 2-5, 3B(5), R, RBI, K, CS THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Indianapolis (6:05 CST) - LHP Charlie Barnes (0-0, 8.31 ERA) Chattanooga @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (3-0, 2.52 ERA) St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (6:00 CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (6-3, 2.76 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (7:05 CST) - RHP Luis Rijo (4-7, 2.84 ERA) Elizabethton @ Danville (5:30 CST) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (0-1, 5.65 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Braves (DH @ 9:00 CST) - TBD, TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Wednesday games or any other minor league topics you would like. Click here to view the article

It was another very fun day in the Twins’ minor league system as nearly every team who played won their game and there was a no-hitter flirtation. There were also some bombs hit by some top prospects which is always fun. All that and more in this edition of the minor league report.TRANSACTIONS SS Mike Miller signed and assigned to AAA Rochester LHP Lewis Thorpe optioned to AAA Rochester OF Jake Cave recalled by Minnesota RHP Zack Littell recalled by Minnesota RHP Williams Ramirez released by AA Pensacola 2B Yunior Severino activated from the 7-day IL for A Cedar Rapids RHP Matt Canterino promoted to A Cedar Rapids RHP Cody Laweryson assigned to Elizabethton Twins RHP Benjamin Dunn assigned to Elizabethton Twins RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Pawtucket 4 Box Score Drew Hutchison: 5 ⅓ IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 64.8% strikes (59 of 91 pitches) HR: Brandon Barnes (25) Multi-hit games: Alejandro De Aza (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI), Ronald Torreyes (3-for-5, 2B, R, RBI) The Red Wings won a pretty clean game this Saturday. It was the new guys in the lineup who proved to be the major force as Mike Miller, Brandon Barnes, and Alejandro De Aza all had an extra-base hit and at least one run scored. Mike Miller is the newest of those guys and he made his Rochester debut with a double and a walk. If he continues to do this, they may start to really like him over there. Alejandro De Aza now has an OPS over 1.000 with the Red Wings so he seems ready in case the Twins (knock on wood) would ever need some more OF depth. Ryan Eades worked a great outing in relief of Hutchison as he got five outs with three coming via strikeout and just one hit allowed. All in all, Rochester pitching struck out ten without walking a single batter. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 3, Birmingham 1 Box Score Bryan Sammons: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 6 K, 56% strikes (56 of 100 pitches) HR: Larnach (3), Costello (3) Multi-hit games: Ivan De Jesús Jr. (2-for-3, 2B) Bryan Sammons was very very good on Saturday, notably so with a pair of goose eggs in more than one stat up there. Unfortunately, the five walks inflated the pitch count so he could not go any deeper for the no-hitter. Gabriel Moya relieved Sammons and gave up the first hit for the Barons in the eighth off a cheeky infield pop-up that didn’t get any home cooking from the official scorer. Either way, the Blue Wahoos’ pitching allowed only a single run on the day. Trevor Larnach had been having a somewhat rough time recently in his first games at AA, but he hit his third home run at AA on Saturday and that had to have felt good. In fact, the first three Blue Wahoos’ hitters (Lewis, Kirilloff, and Larnach) all had a hit. What are we nicknaming this group? The trifecta? C(Rush)? Let us think about it at least. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Lakeland 4 Box Score Blayne Enlow: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Yeltsin Encarnacion (2-for-4, R) The Miracle lost a heartbreaker this Saturday. They got out to a lead first thanks to a Gabriel Maciel single in the third inning that scored Ernie De La Trinidad. Blayne Enlow was on the bump and he did the job as he went six innings with just one earned run. Normally I have the pitch count but MiLB.com has it that he threw forty-two pitches and well, I can tell you that that is not true. The Miracle added two more runs in the seventh off an Aaron Whitefield single to put the game at 3-1. Zach Neff working in his second inning in relief of Enlow in the eighth allowed four straight batters to reach and two runs to make it a 4-3 deficit. The Miracle could not recover. Aaron Whitefield had a good game as he reached base three times and knocked in a run. ( The second run that scored on his single was not counted as an RBI because that run scored on a throwing error.) He was also picked off once but I won’t dwell on the negative. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Burlington 2 Box Score Matt Cantinero: 2 ⅔ IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 47.7% strikes (31 of 65 pitches) HR: Wander Javier (7) Multi-hit games: Gilberto Celestino (2-for-4, R) Matt Cantinero made his Kernels debut and did not allow any hits or runs but fought his command as he failed to hit the 50% strike mark. I watched some of his start and it looked like he could not keep the breaking ball down specifically but this was most likely just nerves. Also, his delivery has more funk than a Red Hot Chili Peppers album from the 80’s. The Kernels only scored one time and it was from Wander Javier who blasted a three-run homer in the sixth inning to take the lead. It has not been the easiest of time for Wander at Cedar Rapids but the power is starting to flash as this was his second homer in nine games. Yunior Severino made his return to the Kernels’ lineup and he got a hit while striking out twice. E-Town E-Notes Elizabethton 9, Bristol 6 Box Score Ryley Widell: 4 ⅓ IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K HR: Seth Gray (8) Multi-hit games: Seth Gray (2-for-5, HR, 2B, 1 R, 4 RBI), Anthony Prato (3-for-3, 2 R, RBI) Good pro tip: if you give up a lot of runs, make sure to score more runs. Thanks, I’ll be here all week. It was looking bleak for Elizabethton as they were down headed into the bottom of the ninth and there were some shenanigans regarding the sprinkler system: Anyway, it was a 6-4 game in favor of Bristol in the ninth before a Willie Joe Garry Jr. single scored a run to make it a little closer. DaShawn Keirsey walked to load the bases before Seth Gray hit a walk-off grand slam. That was Gray’s second extra- base hit of the day and he chose a great time to do it. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins postponed The GCL Twins were postponed today so I have nothing to tell you here, move on. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Bryan Sammons Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Seth Gray PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - 1-for-4, 3B, R #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 1-for-4 #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - IL #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI, 2 K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB, K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) - Postponed #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Day to day #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) - Did not play #14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) - Did not play #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) - 0-for-4, R, K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - 1-for-3, BB #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - 0-for-4, R, BB #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - IL SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (12:05 A.M.) - RHP Adam Bray Birmingham @ Pensacola (5:05 P.M.) - RHP Edwar Colina Fort Myers @ Lakeland (12:00 P.M.) - RHP Bailey Ober Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 P.M.) - RHP Tyler Palm Bristol @ Elizabethton (5:00 P.M.) - RHP Tyler Benninghoff Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. Click here to view the article

It was a full slate of action in the Minnesota Twins system on Tuesday night and if not for a shutout on the road in the Florida State League, the organization would have gone undefeated on the day after the Twins bludgeoned Blake Snell and the Tampa Bay Rays at Target Field. There were some big nights for a couple of recently promoted hitters on the day, including the first home run at his new level for one, and two blasts from the other. The Kernels were also being no-hit for a majority of their game, but finally broke through against the opposing bullpen to pull out a win.To find out how it all went down in the system on Tuesday, and just how big of a night those two hitters had, keep reading! TRANSACTIONS The Red Wings activated infielder Ronald Torreyes from the injured list and transferred him to Fort Myers.The Miracle activated infielder Jose Miranda from the injured list, and placed RHP Calvin Faucher on the 7-day IL with a left ankle sprain.RED WINGS REPORTScranton/WB 9, Rochester 10 Box Score Right-hander Kohl Stewart took the mound for the Red Wings for his first turn since his last recall for the Twins and delivered two scoreless innings to start the game. He ran into trouble in the third however, as a leadoff home run, a walk, then three straight singles and a ground ball put the RailRiders out front 3-1. Stewart’s day was then done as he threw over thirty pitches in the inning. He allowed the three runs on five hits and a walk along with striking out two. Jaylin Davis picked him up in a big way in the bottom of the inning however, as he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs and delivered a grand slam to put Rochester back out front 5-3. Davis wasn’t done either, as in the fifth he’d add a two-run shot to his ledger that also already included a double. He also drew a walk and had an outfield assist in an all-around effort. Chase De Jong relieved Stewart to start the fourth and went the next 3 1/3. He allowed three runs on three hits, including a home run, and struck out three. Ryan Eades came on with one out in the seventh and allowed both inherited runners to score along with two of his own and the RailRiders closed the gap to one run. Back out for the top of the eighth, Eades got two quick outs before a single was followed by a double and the game tied. He gave up another single before Cody Stashak was summoned to snuff out the two-out rally. He got a fly out to keep it tied. In the bottom of the eighth, the Red Wings loaded the bases with a double from Drew Maggi and consecutive hit batsman, and then with one out Zander Wiel delivered an RBI single to score one to take back the lead 10-9 and bring Davis up again. He got a 2-2 pitch and…missed it, but the one run would be enough as Stashak worked around a two-out double from Logan Morrison in the ninth to pick up his third win with Rochester. Joining Davis with multiple hits on the day were Maggi (4-for-5, 3 R, 2 2B), LaMonte Wade Jr. (3-for-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Wiel (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB, K) and Tomas Telis (3-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB). BLUE WAHOOS BITES Biloxi 3, Pensacola 8 Box Score Pensacola jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after two innings thanks in large part to a big night from the recently promoted Lewin Diaz. His first inning blast was his first home run in Double-A, and he capped off a four-run second inning with a bases- clearing triple. Jimmy Kerrigan led off the second inning with his fifth home run of the year, then later in the game Jordan Gore contributed a two-RBI single that was followed by a run-scoring single from Travis Blankenhorn to account for all the Blue Wahoos runs. Alex Kirilloff added a double to the effort. Bryan Sammons made the start for the home team and picked up his second win with five scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits, walked one, and struck out six. Anthony Vizcaya contributed two scoreless innings of his own, navigating around three walks and one hit along with punching out two. Zach Weiss finished the game off with two innings, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk and striking out three. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Charlotte 2 Box Score In a moment of déjà vu, the Miracle and Stone Crabs basically repeated the same game I recapped a week ago, as they again combined for just eight hits and two runs in a game Fort Myers would lose 2-0. Jhoan Duran got the start in this one and was solid over five innings. He allowed both of Charlotte’s runs on four hits and three walks while striking out eight. Of his 101 pitches, 61 went for strikes. Melvi Acosta and Alex Phillips combined to throw three shutout innings of relief, with Acosta walking two and Phillips striking out two. The Miracle were only able to mange four singles as a team, with Ronald Torreyes, Trevor Larnach, Jose Miranda, and Malique Ziegler each contributing one. As a team they finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left only four men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 3, Cedar Rapids 4 Box Score It was tough sledding for the Kernels for the first six innings, as the only thing preventing Timber Rattlers starter Logan Gillaspie from having a perfect game intact to that point was the walk he issued to the first batter he faced on the game. That story line finally changed in the bottom of the seventh when Chris Williams stepped up to the plate with one out and deposited a 1-2 pitch onto the street beyond the left field porch to make it 2-1 Wisconsin. Starting pitcher Kai-Wei Teng was nearly as good over seven innings as his counterpart but his day would end with him in line for a loss despite his efforts. He also went seven innings, allowing just two runs on six hits and a walk along with striking out five hitters. After Alex Schick delivered a one-two-three eighth inning, the Kernels were finally able to pop against the Timber Rattlers bullpen. A leadoff single from Jared Akins and consecutive walks loaded the bases with nobody out, and a groundout scored one to tie the game before a two-run double from Estamy Urena put them out front 4-2. Back out for the ninth, Schick struck out the first two hitters of the inning before surrendering a solo home run to make it 4-3 but recovered just fine to strike out the next hitter and secure the victory. He struck out four in his two innings to finish the game. E-TWINS E-NOTES Bristol 5, Elizabethton 6 Box Score Elizabethton took an early 6-1 lead behind a five-run second inning where they batted around, but that came after 3rd-round pick Spencer Steer’s first professional home run to lead off the bottom of the first. Those five runs in the second were courtesy of an RBI single from Max Smith, a two-RBI double from Albee Weiss, and a two-RBI single from Yeremi De La Cruz. On the mound the Twins got four innings from Prelander Berroa, allowing one run on three hits and three walks while striking out seven Pirates. Denny Bentley had a rough fifth inning where he allowed four runs that made the score 6-5, but got through a scoreless sixth for two total innings. He allowed those four runs on four hits, a walk, and struck out one. Osiris German then went two scoreless frames, allowing a hit, two walks, and striking out four. Nate Hadley picked up his first professional save with a scoreless ninth inning including a strikeout and a hit batter. On offense Elizabethton got multiple hits from Smith (2-for-5, R, RBI), Matt Wallner (2-for-4, K), and De La Cruz (2-for-4, K). Charles Mack drew three walks and scored a run. Wallner has hit safely in all five of his games thus far. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Pirates 1, GCL Twins 4 Box Score The Twins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning thanks to a two-run home run from their 2019 39th-round draft pick, Jake Hirabayashi out of UCLA, that was his first as a professional in just his second game. Hirabayashi would finish the day 3-for-3 to lead his team, who added single runs in the fourth and seventh innings on an Erick Rivera RBI single, and an RBI groundout from Jim Caceras. Keoni Cavaco batted second in the lineup playing short and finished this one 0-for-3. Those four runs were more than enough as Twins pitchers combined to hold the Pirates to just six singles and four walks, while striking out ten hitters. Donny Breek made his 2019 debut on the mound and went the first four innings, scattering four hits and a walk along with picking up four K’s. Rogelio Reyes then made his pro debut after being drafted in the 22nd round earlier in the month and added two scoreless innings, walking one and striking out one. He was followed by 21st-round pick Bradley Hanner’s debut, also two scoreless frames, where he walked two and struck out three. Tyler Beck then finished the final inning, allowing one run two hits while striking out two. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Bryan Sammons, Pensacola Blue Wahoos (W, 5.0IP, 2 H, BB, 6 K) Hitter of the Day – Jaylin Davis, Rochester Red Wings (3-for-4, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4 #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 1-for-4, R, 2B #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured list #4 - Trevor Larnach (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, BB, K #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - 0-for-4, 3 K #7 - Jhoan Duran (Fort Myers) - L, 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Fort Myers) - Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Fort Myers) - Injured list (Tommy John surgery) #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 0-for-5, 4 K #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured list #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Fort Myers) - 0-for-2 #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - 0-for-4, 2 K #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured list #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, BB, K #17 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) - Did not pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade Jr. (Rochester) - 3-for-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05PM CST) - RHP Drew Hutchison (0-0, 0.00 ERA w/Red Wings) Biloxi @ Pensacola (6:35PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (3-0, 2.38 ERA) Fort Myers @ Charlotte (9:00AM CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (3-2, 3.51 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Austin Schulfer (5-3, 2.79 ERA) Bluefield @ Elizabethton (5:30PM CST) - TBD GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! Click here to view the article

It was a very full day in the Twins minor league system on Thursday. There were again a ton of transactions. Rochester played two games that started in the morning. Each of the other affiliates played also (as we wait for the GCL Twins to start next Monday). Brent Rooker and Royce Lewis each have three homers in their past three games, and there were a bunch of firsts for Elizabethton.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Thursday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS The Twins signed third-round pick Spencer Speer on Wednesday. They have also now signed Nate Hadley and Jake Hirabayashi. Keep up with the signings of their their 2019 draft picks here.The Twins optioned RHP Sean Poppen to Rochester and called up RHP Kohl Stewart.Adalberto Mejia’s rehab has been transferred from Ft. Myers to Pensacola.Pensacola announced that Alex Kirilloff has been activated from the IL.OFs Aaron Whitefield and Mark Contreras promoted from Ft. Myers to Pensacola.OF Gabriel Maciel has been promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers.OF Malique Ziegler has been activated from the IL.RHP Brian Rapp activated from the Cedar Rapids IL.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 6, Columbus 2 (Completion of Suspended Game Monday) Box Score These two teams got into the fifth inning on Wednesday night before rains came and the game was suspended. When the game started, Cody Stashak made the spot start and was very good. He gave up one run on two hits over three innings. Fernando Romero came in to start the fourth inning and got four outs, but then the rains came. When play resumed, Adam Bray made his first AAA appearance in the Twins organization and earned his first win. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk over 3 2/3 innings.He struck out two. Lefty Ian Krol made his first appearance in the Twins organization and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning. When the game resumed, the score was tied 1-1. The Red Wings run came on Brent Rooker’s ninth homer of the season. In the seventh inning, Zander Wiel knocked his 11th homer of the year, a three-run shot that proved huge. Columbus scored one but the Wings added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Jaylin Davis’s first AAA hit scored a run, and later Nick Gordon’s 12th double of the season drove in another run. Davis and LaMonte Wade each went 1-for-3 with a walk. Wade hit his eighth double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Bryan Sammons, Pensacola Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Ricky De La Torre, Cedar Rapids Kernels PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 2-4, BB, HR(5), 3 RBI, 2 R, SB(12), K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 0-3, BB, R, 2K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured List (shoulder) #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - 1-5, 2K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2K #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Game 1 (1-3, BB, 2R, RBI, HR(9), 2K), Game 2 (1-3, BB, HR(10), 2R, 3 RBI) #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch. #9 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, HBP, (87 pitches, 64 strikes) #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Injured List (Tommy John surgery) #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Game 1 (1-3, BB, 2B(12), RBI, SB(7), 2K), Game 2 (1-4, R, SB(8), K) #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List (elbow) #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Play. #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - 2-3, BB, HR(4), R, 2 RBI #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (thumb) #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, 3 BB #17 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - Game 1 (1-3, BB, R, K), Game 2 (0-2, 2BB, R) #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - 2-5, 2B(14), 3 RBI FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Toledo (DH @ 5:05 CST) - TBD Pensacola @ Jacksonville (6:55 CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (2-0, 1.67 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (5:30 CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 CST) - RHP Luis Rijo (1-4, 3.05 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Thursday games or any other minor league topics you would like. Click here to view the article

Happy Memorial Day, Twins fans! Unfortunately it was a quiet day on the minor league diamonds in the Twins organization on Monday. The Rochester Red Wings played. The Cedar Rapids Kernels got rained out. Ft. Myers and Pensacola had scheduled off-days as they prepare to begin new series. But there were quite a few transactions and the announcement of a couple new minor league coaches.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Monday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS The Twins announced that catcher Mitch Garver will begin a rehab with AA Pensacola and could be activated by the weekend if things go well. CEDAR RAPIDS Cedar Rapids officially announced what we heard last night, that Blayne Enlow has been promoted to the Ft. Myers Miracle.Also, RHP Alex Schick has been activated by the Kernels after completion of his 50-game suspension.RHP Luis Rijo has been placed on the Kernels injured list (hamstring).LHP Kody Funderburk has been promoted from extended spring training.PENSACOLAPensacola sent Melvi Acosta back to the Miracle after making a spot start for them on Sunday.LHPs Charlie Barnes and Bryan Sammons were promoted from Ft. Myers to Pensacola.LHP Jovani Moran was placed on the injured list.OF Jimmy Kerrigan was activated by the Blue Wahoos.This week’s Inside Twins episodeincludes an interview with Twins minor league director Jeremy Zoll. The Twins are adding a couple more coaches at the minor league level, one to take the spot vacated earlier this year by Frank Jagoda. Both of these new coaches are finishing up their seasons at their respective colleges and should join their new teams around June 1st. Nat Ballenberg - Will be the fourth coach at Ft. Myers. He has been the pitching coach at Haverford (alma mater of Thad Levine and Jeremy Zoll).Jared Gaynor - will be added to the Cedar Rapids staff. Comes from Virginia Commonwealth University.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 7, Pawtucket 3 Box Score The Red Wings ended up as the only Minnesota Twins affiliate to play on Memorial Day. Kohl Stewart pitched well and the offense put together a huge inning to give the Red Wings the win. Stewart worked six innings. He gave up three runs (just one earned) on three hits. He walked one and struck out three. He improves to 4-2 with a 3.19 ERA. DJ Baxendale threw two scoreless innings, and Preston Guilmet worked a scoreless ninth frame. Down 2-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Red Wings tacked on six runs that inning. Following a John Andreoli sacrifice fly, Nick Gordon drove in another run with a triple. Zander Wiel singled in Gordon. Jake Cave drove in a run with a double. Finally, Randy Cesar drove in two more runs with a single. Cave went 3-for-4 and the double was his second. Wilin Rosario was 3-for-4 with his fifth double. The Red Wings are now 18-29 on the season. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola Box Score No Game Scheduled. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers Box Score No Game Scheduled. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids, Peoria Box Score Rain caused this game to be postponed. Since Peoria is not scheduled to play in Cedar Rapids again in the first half, they will make up this game in Peoria on June 9th. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Kohl Stewart, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jake Cave, Rochester Red Wings PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - No Game Scheduled #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured List (shoulder) #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled. #5 - Wander Javier (CR) - Rained Out. #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured (wrist) #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - promoted to Ft. Myers. #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Injured List (Tommy John surgery) #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 1-5, 3B(1), R, RBI #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List (elbow) #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - No Game Scheduled #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (thumb) #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - Rained Out #17 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) - Night Game #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 0-2, 2 BB, R #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - No Game Scheduled. #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled. TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (5:35 CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (0-0, 4.50 ERA) Mississippi @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - LHP Bryan Sammons (1st AA start of season) Ft. Myers @ Florida (5:00 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (2-1, 3.78 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (6:30 CST) - RHP Austin Schulfer (4-2, 2.41 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Memorial Day game or any other minor league topics you would like. Click here to view the article

With two months gone in the season, the Minnesota Twins big league club has the best record in baseball. In the minors, unfortunately, many big prospects are injured, some for a long period including Brusdar Graterol, Akil Baddoo, Stephen Gonsalves, Tyler Wells and Yunior Severino. However, there have been a number of bright spots in the minor league system. Many players have deservedly been already promoted this season. This list is for the players who should be moved up, and likely will be sometime relatively soon. In this list, I avoided putting players in their first year with the level. Because of that, I did not put either Austin Schulfer or Gabe Snyder on this list, even though they have dominated at Low-A Cedar Rapids. Maybe they’ll make my August edition, if they are still with the Kernels at that time. Honorable Mentions: Michael Davis, SS, Cedar Rapids Jared Akins, RF, Cedar Rapids 5. Gabriel Maciel, CF, Cedar Rapids Maciel arrived in a July trade last season that sent Eduardo Escobar to Arizona. The 20-year-old is in the midst of his best year of full-season baseball. In his 30 games with the Kernels after the trade last season, he hit .263 and had an OPS of .683. He isn’t a power hitter, so his OPS will never be super high, but his OBP is .389, which is the best of his pro career, and his .728 OPS is the second-highest of his career. As a matter of fact, his OBP is the among the best in the Twins system, just behind Luis Arraez and Kernels teammate Gabe Snyder. Part of that strong OBP is his ability to draw walks, having coaxed 17 already this season. If Maciel keeps it up, I see him in Fort Myers sooner rather than later. 4. Jaylin Davis, RF, Pensacola Davis is having one of his best seasons of pro ball. Not only is he hitting for power, his OBP is by far the best of his pro career at .386. That is helped by him cutting down on his strikeouts a bit and walking a lot more this season. In Fort Myers and Chattanooga last season, he combined to walk 44 times in 439 at-bats. However, in 142 at-bats this season, he already has 22 walks. Not only that, but his .430 slugging percentage is the best since he put up a .486 slugging percentage in 66 games with Cedar Rapids in the first half of 2017. He has a good batting average of .282 as well. Last year, in those 439 ABs, he had 11 homers, and he already has five this season. His numbers are up across the board, and should make an appearance in Rochester this season. However, Rochester is loaded at OF, so he might be blocked for the time being with Brent Rooker, LaMonte Wade, Luke Raley, Zander Wiel and Jake Cave all in New York. 3. Bryan Sammons, LHP, Fort Myers Sammons has pitched extremely well in his first full season with the Miracle. Last year, he started the year in Cedar Rapids and dominated, going 5-5 with a 2.32 ERA, before being promoted to Fort Myers. In his first stint with the Miracle, he struggled, going 1-2 with an 8.49 ERA. He got a start with the Chattanooga Lookouts, but was knocked around there as well. He returned to Fort Myers to start 2019, and has been virtually unhittable. In his eight starts, he has given up four runs.....total. Sammons is 4-0 with a sparkling 0.94 ERA. He keeps the ball in the yard, having allowed just nine in his minor league career in 201.1 innings, and has given up just one in 38.1 innings this season. His strikeouts per nine innings is really good, as well, with 46 strikeouts in those 38.1 frames (10.8 K/9). Sammons’ .227 opposing batting average is impressive, and it is only a matter of time before he takes his talents to Pensacola to join the Blue Wahoos. 2. Hector Lujan, RHP, Fort Myers Lujan got off to a slow start in 2019, as he allowed three runs in three innings in his first appearance of the season, and he allowed five in his first eight innings. Since then, he has been lights out. In his last 11 outings (21.1 innings), he has allowed just one earned run (0.43 ERA). Last season, he had a solid showing for the Miracle, going 5-5 with a 2.64 ERA. Although his numbers were solid across the board last year, he has improved significantly upon those numbers. He has a 1.84 ERA in 14 appearances. His strikeouts per nine innings rate has improved from 8.5 to nearly nine strikeouts per nine and from a 3.09/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio to 4.14/1. His batting average against has gone down significantly, from .248 in 2018 to .198 in 2019, and his WHIP has improved from 1.26 in 2018 to 0.95 in 2019. It is time for a challenge for Lujan, and I expect him to get that sometime in June. 1. Lewin Diaz, 1B, Fort Myers Diaz was a big International Free Agent signing, and has had an up-and-down career so far with the Twins. He is just 22 years old, and doesn’t turn 23 until November. After a down season with the Miracle in 2018, he has turned the Florida State League into his personal launching pad. Diaz hasn’t put up numbers like this since his time in Rookie ball with Elizabethton. He already has more homers this year (9) than he had all 2018 (6) in half the at-bats. Diaz is still strikeout prone, but he has drawn more walks this season (8) and he drew 10 in all of 2018. I don’t know what has clicked, but numbers are so much better than 2018, even in a pitcher-friendly league. His OPS was just .598 last season, but that has sky-rocketed to an outstanding .911 this season. Diaz has shown he can be dominant, and he should move up to Pensacola relatively soon, especially with Taylor Grzelakowski struggling at first.

Minnesota Twins affiliates combined to go an even 2-2 on Tuesday night, with one of those losses coming in the form of a walk-off home run in Mississippi. Miguel Sano continued his strong rehab work with a three-hit night, while a top hitting prospect in the Florida State League launched his first home run(s) of the year. Keep reading to find out how everything went down on Tuesday in the Twins farm system!TRANSACTIONS Twins reliever Addison Reed was sent on rehab assignment with the Rochester Red Wings and made his season debut in their game.RED WINGS REPORT Toledo 10, Rochester 5 Box Score Righthander Kohl Stewart got the start for the Red Wings, and although he gave up a run in the top of the first, he also struck out the last four batters he faced, and five total. That’s notable, as he only went the first two innings, which begs the question if he’ll be in line on Saturday for the Twins with a doubleheader on the schedule. 26 of his 39 pitches went for strikes, and he coaxed five swinging strikes. Rochester took the lead in the second inning as Jordany Valdespin clubbed his third home run of the year, a two-run shot and that was followed in the third by an RBI single from Wilin Rosario to give them a 3-1 lead. After Stewart was done, it was the 2019 debut for reliever Addison Reed to kick off his rehab assignment and he pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one. Ryan Eades then got the fourth inning and it went poorly, as he allowed three runs on five hits and a walk, raising his ERA to 8.47 on the year and ending up taking the loss. Jake Reed didn’t fare much better in the fifth and sixth as he surrendered four runs on three hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings bringing his ERA to 6.75. Lefty Gabriel Moya came on in the seventh with two outs and the bases loaded but followed two of J-Reed’s walks with two of his own to allow a couple of those inherited runners to score. Back out for the seventh Moya was better, setting down the Mudhens hitters one-two-three including the first two via K’s. Preston Guilmet finished the final two innings, allowing two runs on four hits for Toledo’s final tally of 10 runs on the game. He struck out three. The Red Wings offense got within three of the Mudhens in the seventh inning, as Luke Raley and Brent Rooker each delivered their sixth home run of the year in back-to-back fashion, but the team went quiet from there and they fall to 12-17 on the season. Nick Gordon finished the game 2-for-4 and Raley 2-for-5 for the only multi-hit efforts. Gordon and Drew Maggi each stole two bases. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Pensacola 3, Mississippi 5 Box Score Pensacola jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the top of the second inning thanks to a Miguel Sano RBI-sac fly in the first, and a run scoring ground ball in the second off the bat of Taylor Grzelakowski. It wouldn’t last though, as starter Jorge Alcala allowed a run in the second and two more in the third to put his team behind 3-2. Alcala settled in from there though, finishing with just those three runs allowed on eight hits and a walk in his five innings while striking out three. In the top of the fifth his lineup tied the game back up at three thanks to a sacrifice fly from Travis Blankenhorn that scored Alex Kirilloff, who had led off the inning with a walk and reached third on a Sano double, but that would be it for the good guys the rest of the game. Sano finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles while Jaylin Davis also added two hits and two walks. As a team the Blue Wahoos were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, so it wasn’t like they lacked opportunities, they just weren’t able to cash them in with a big hit. After Alcala left the game, Adam Bray went three scoreless innings, retiring seven men in a row to end his outing and striking out four in the process. Coach Ramon Borrego went to Alex Phillips with the score tied at three in the ninth, and the leadoff man was able to draw a walk after a foul pop-up was dropped by catcher Caleb Hamilton. Two batters later the Braves walked it off in dramatic fashion with a two-run homer. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Charlotte 7 Box Score The Miracle lineup got on the board early and often in this one, thanks to home runs off the bats of Trevor Larnach (his first HR of the year) and Lewin Diaz (his second). Those blasts made it 3-0 after the top half of the first, and they added two more in the second inning thanks to a couple of errors and the rare RBI-sacrifice-fly-double-play (can’t say I ever recorded one of those in a scorebook). Starter Bryan Sammons, who carried a 0.40 ERA into the game, went five innings and despite allowing four runs, only raised his ERA to 0.66 as three of those runs were of the unearned variety after consecutive errors from third baseman Ryan Costello in the second inning. Sammons improved to 4-0 on the season with his effort that included ten strikeouts, a new career high for the lefthander. With the score 5-4 in favor of Fort Myers heading into the seventh inning, Larnach added some needed insurance with his second home run of the game, this one a three-run shot. After Sammons exited after five, Hector Lujan delivered two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out two. Johan Quezada came on for the eighth and ran into some trouble, allowing three runs (two earned) on three singles and a throwing error from Royce Lewis. Akil Baddoo added an RBI single in the eighth to make it 9-7 for the Miracle before Charlotte’s last chance. Quezada came out to start the inning and gave up a leadoff single before getting the next two hitters out, but another single brought the winning run to the batter’s box and Calvin Faucher was brought in to get the final out. He struck out his man to end the game and pick up his first save of the year, while Quezada ended his day with 1 2/3 innings with two K’s. The offense was led by Larnach who finished 3-for-5 with the two home runs and four RBIs, but Baddoo (2-for-4, 2 RBI, K), Lewis (2-for-5, R, K), Diaz (2-for-5, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI), and Trey Cabbage (2-for-5, 2 R) also provided multiple hits on the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, South Bend 5 Box Score The offense for the Kernels popped early and late in this one to secure a victory against the Cubs, but in between it was closely contested. They took an early lead by putting up four runs in the top of the second thanks to a pair of sacrifice flies and multiple errors from the South Bend defense. Starting pitcher Luis Rijo gave them all back in the third but managed to finish 5 2/3 innings. He allowed four earned runs on six hits and a walk, striking out three. 62 of his 92 pitches went for strikes in the outing. Brian Rapp got the final out of the sixth and came back out for the seventh, but when it was done he was charged with a blown save as the Cubs tied it back up at five. Luckily for Rapp, he also got the win as in the top of the eighth Gilberto Celestino delivered a two-run bases loaded single to take back the lead, and a wild pitch would allow another insurance run to score for the final score of 8-5. Derek Molina closed out the game with two perfect innings, striking out one and picking up his third save. Outfielder Jacob Pearson finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk, and while nobody else got multiple hits on the day, they did record 10 walks as a team and finished 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Bryan Sammons, Fort Myers Miracle (5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 10 K) Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Trevor Larnach, Fort Myers Miracle (3-for-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-5, R, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 1-for-4, R, BB, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - No Game #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI, BB, K #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, 2 RBI, K, SB #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 2-for-4, 2B, BB, K, 2 SB #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured list #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-5, 3 K #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-5, R, 2B, 3 K #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 RBI, BB #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did not pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 1-for-4, R, 2B, BB, K #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - 5 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, BB, 3 K #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-4, R, 2B, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – RHP Zack Littell (1-2, 4.67 ERA) Pensacola @ Mississippi (10:35AM CST) - RHP Brusdar Graterol (3-0, 2.23 ERA) Charlotte @ Fort Myers (5:30PM CST) – RHP Jhoan Duran (0-3, 4.03 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (9:35AM CST) – RHP Andrew Cabezas (0-3, 5.21 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! Click here to view the article

As April turned to May, the Fort Myers Miracle were in close pursuit of Bradenton and Palm Beach for the top spot in the Florida State League’s South Division standings, with a 17-10 record after sweeping a double header with Clearwater on Thursday night. Of course, you’d expect a squad with a pair of first round draft picks and two more second rounders to be competitive and manager Toby Gardenhire has exactly that going for him. He has 2017’s first overall pick Royce Lewis playing shortstop for him and the Twins’ 2018 first rounder, Trevor Larnach in the outfield. Two catchers that Gardenhire has to choose from when he fills out his lineup card were Twins second rounders, Ben Rortvedt in 2016 and Ryan Jeffers in 2018.The Miracle have indeed had some good things happen on the offensive front this season, but when you dig into what’s been a major cause of the club’s encouraging start, it’s the pitching side of the ledger that draws the attention very quickly. The Miracle have employed a six-man starting rotation and all six have had strong performances at one time or another this season. Three of them, however, have been better than just “good.” Bailey Ober, Randy Dobnak and Bryan Sammons have 13 starts between them and have allowed a total of two earned runs, collectively. Through his four starts, Ober has kept his ERA at a pristine 0.00. He’s struck out 26 batters and walked just three. Ober had been scheduled to make his fifth start on Friday in Palm Beach, but was placed on the Injured List Wednesday, with a right ulnar nerve sublation. Sammons’ strike out total is similar to Ober’s at 25. His fifth start, on Tuesday, was the first tough start of his season. He threw 38 pitches in the first inning, giving up two hits and walking a pair, but also notching two strikeouts. He created a bases-loaded jam for himself, but still managed to work out of it without giving up a run. The Twins typically do not allow their young arms to go back out for another inning after tossing 35 or more pitches in an inning and, true to form, Sammons exited the game after one inning on Tuesday. Dobnak doesn’t get the strikeouts that Bailey and Sammons typically rack up, but he also has kept opponents from crossing the plate. He gave up his first earned run (first run of any kind, in fact) on Sunday. Dobnak was rewarded for his strong early work with a promotion to Class Double-A Pensacola on Wednesday. As Sammons prepared for his start on Tuesday, Ober and Dobnak sat down and discussed the strong start that Miracle pitching, and those three starters in particular, have gotten off to in 2019. “A lot of it, I believe, is going into our pregame preparations,” Ober said. “We’re doing a really good job this year of going into detail on hitters. Really making sure the pitchers and the catchers are on the same game plan throughout the entire game instead of just the first time through the lineup.” “We have meetings before each series, the whole pitching staff and the catchers.” Dobnak added. “We go across the lineup, briefly for everybody, and then we get pretty in-depth for the top three of four guys, the power guys, guys that get on base a lot.” “One of the bigger adjustments that we’ve made is being able to go through a lineup and say, ‘their guys have made changes that we didn’t have in our notes,’” Ober added. Dobnak was also quick to credit the defense playing behind him. “For me, the defense has been really good,” he said. “This year, I’ve been throwing a lot of sinkers, so I’m trying to get ground balls a lot. I don’t have many strikeouts so I rely on the defense, which has been really good for me.” Dobnak said he started focusing on the sinker toward the end of his season in Cedar Rapids last season, adding, “This year’s it’s been my primary pitch. I think it’s worked out for me a lot.” Asking about Ober’s go-to pitch gets a smile from both pitchers. “High fastball,” said Ober. So, high heat? “Oh yeah,” confirmed Bailey. “No matter what,” added a laughing Dobnak. “I don’t know what it is, but (hitters) like it. They’re intrigued by the high fastball,” Bailey said. “Bailey’s got the high carry,” Gardenhire confirmed later. “He’s been doing a good job with everything, too. His (velocity) is down just a little bit from what it was last year. The amazing thing is, he’s got such carry that he’s still throwing his fastball by people and his off-speed pitches are all good. He’s got a good breaking ball, he’s got a good slider, he’s got a good change up and he uses all those. He’s just a really good pitcher. He’s done a nice job.” Gardenhire managed both pitchers in Cedar Rapids last year and was equally complimentary of Dobnak. “Randy worked really hard in the offseason,” he said.”He did a velo camp down here before spring training. He’s done a good job and the work’s paying off for him. His stuff looks really good. It’s sharp. We saw him a lot last year (in Cedar Rapids), we know he’s got good stuff. We know he’s a competitor. He’s going to give you everything he’s got every time out. He just keeps getting better. Pretty proud of him." Despite the hiccup on Sunday, Gardenhire remains very appreciative of Sammons’ work, as well. “He’s been throwing the ball great. Sammons has been good all year for us,” Gardenhire said. “(Tuesday night) was tough. He battled through and got through the inning, but they did a good job of fouling pitches off, hanging in at-bats, and he just threw too many pitches. He’s a good kid and we want to keep him healthy, so too many pitches in the first inning. Got to get him out of there.” With Dobnak now wearing a Blue Wahoos uniform and Ober temporarily on the shelf for the Miracle, it’ll be up to Sammons and the rest of the Fort Myers rotation to pick up the slack. Miracle Notes Fort Myers’ 17-10 record has them nipping right at the heels of the Bradenton Marauders (PIT) and Palm Beach Cardinals (STL) in the FSL-South standings. They trail by just a half-game. Hitting: (stats through Wednesday) Lewin Diaz has been the hottest Miracle hitter early in the season, slashing .317/.348/349 (.697 OPS).Ben Rortvedt has hit .250, but his five doubles, one triple and two home runs have pushed his OPS up to a team-high .842.Akil Baddoo has three doubles, three triples and three home runs.Trevor Larnach has a team-high seven doubles.(eighth down was on Thursday)Pitching: (stats through Wednesday) In addition to Ober, Dobnak and Sammons, other a couple of relief pitchers are also off to excellent starts:Tom Hackimer has a 0.68 ERA in 13.1 IP over eight appearances, striking out 23.Alex Phillips has matched Ober’s 0.00 ERA, striking out 20 and walking just three in 13.2 IP over nine games.Special note: Melvi Acosta made his first start of the season in a spot start after throwing 16 innings of relief work this season over five appearances. All he did in his spot start was throw six shutout innings for the Miracle in the nightcap of their double header Thursday night. Click here to view the article