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We return today with another Q&A with a Twins 2016 draft pick. Casey Scoggins was the Twins 39th round pick from the University of Tampa. The senior signed quickly and reported to Elizabethton. A week later, he was promoted to Cedar Rapids where he primarily led off and played centerfield for the Kernels as they made their playoff run. A little more on Scoggins from the scouting report of the outfielder (from the 2017 Twins Prospect Handbook): 8]Scouting Report: No stranger to south Florida, Scoggins grew up on the east side of the state in Port St. Lucie and went to Jensen Beach high school. He went to Santa Fe CC in Gainesville where he was the mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year as a freshman when he hit .400/.515/.438. He had a down year as a sophomore. He went to Tampa University for the final two seasons. He hit .352/.425/.421 (.846) and then .348/.431/.548 (.979) as a senior. All four years of college he walked more than he struck out. In addition, he was a two-time ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove winner and the national defender of the year. For a 39th round pick, Scoggins has some tools. He’s got above average speed. He is a terrific defensive outfielder. And he has good leadoff hitter qualities. Let’s get to the Q&A. Get to know a little bit more about Kernels outfielder and Twins 2016 draft pick Casey Scoggins. Seth Stohs (SS): Growing up in south Florida, which was your favorite team and who were some of your favorite players? Casey Scoggins (CS): Growing up I didn't really have a favorite team. I like different players such as Torii Hunter, Barry Bonds, Jim Edmonds, Derek Jeter, and David Eckstein. Torii was my favorite outfielder because he always made sick plays and robbed home runs and David was my favorite infielder because he was small and scrappy like me. SS: What were some of your best memories from high school baseball? Did you play other sports? Participate in other activities? CS: My favorite memory from high school was playing in the State Tournament my freshman year. A lot of my favorite memories came from playing summer ball throughout high school on a team called Team Worth we were always the underdogs every tournament we went to because we didn't have any big-name kids on the team. We would beat some of the top teams, and it was just a good feeling. I also played football and soccer in high school. SS: What were your options coming out of high school? What was it about Santa Fe College and then Tampa that made them the right place for you at those times? CS: Well coming out of high school I didn't have the grades and a lot of colleges, especially Jucos, told me I was too small and not big enough to play. Coach Wiggs at Santa Fe gave me a chance to walk on my first year, and I did what I had to do to make my way into the starting line up. After freshman year of college, I verbally committed to the University of Florida for my junior junior year. Some other D1 schools recruited me also and the long story short, things didn't work out with Florida, and I fell in love with Tampa and felt at home when I went on my visit. SS: You won a couple of college Gold Glove awards. How much pride do you take in your defense and what makes you so good, in your opinion? CS: Defense is what I take pride in. I'm not the biggest guy offensively, so I told myself I want to be the biggest threat defensively. It started growing up with my dad. He was an outfielder for the University of Florida. He started me with baseball. But, I’ve got to give credit to my mom also because at all my dad’s softball games growing up, she was the one that threw me fly balls, and I always liked running them down and trying to rob home runs. So between my parents, I was literally taking fly balls almost every day growing up for fun and I had no idea. But winning a Gold Glove made me feel like I'm getting somewhere, but I can still get better. Hopefully I get one at the next level. SS: Did you talk to a lot of scouts before the draft? Specifically, did you talk to any of the Twins scouts? CS: I actually talked to a handful of scouts at the end of my junior year and throughout my senior year. The Twins didn't come into play till Day 3 of the draft. SS: Drafted by the Twins in the 39th round... is that about where you thought you might be selected before the draft? CS: Absolutely not. I thought I would go way before that based on how the scouts were talking to me. But, being a senior sign, I figured it might happen, but not as late as it did. It just gives me more motivation. I'm very thankful that the Twins are giving me an opportunity to show what I can do. SS: Did you watch or listen to the draft? Where were you and who were you with when you found out? How busy was your phone at that time? CS: I was at home with my parents and now fiancé and some friends. I didn't want to listen to the draft, but my parents did, so I gave in. My phone didn't get busy until Day 2 and 3. That's when the phone calls started coming in pretty steady. SS: In these early stages of your career, what would you say are your biggest strengths as a player? CS: My biggest strengths, I would say, are my defense and my aggressiveness, chippy play. Also, my ability to work counts and get on base. SS: What was the adjustment like, on and off the field, going from college to pro baseball? CS: Honestly I adjusted pretty easy. Joe Urso at Tampa runs his program like pro ball so I did pretty well with the overall adjustment. But, if I had to pick, I would say pitching was the biggest adjustment for me. Just seeing better pitching. In E-town, my at-bats weren't the best, but then when I got to Cedar Rapids, I was able to get comfortable. SS: Were you surprised to move up to Cedar Rapids so quickly, and what was the atmosphere like during the playoff push and in the playoffs? CS: Oh yes, I was very surprised especially with my slow start in E-town. It caught me by surprise, but I knew that I was a better player than what I was showing. I felt more comfortable moving up. The playoffs were great even though it wasn't the outcome we wanted. The atmosphere overall was awesome. The baseball, it just felt different. The series with Clinton, even though they didn't have a lot of fans, the baseball was like playing in the College World Series again. SS: What do you enjoy doing away from the game of baseball? CS: I enjoy spending time with my family and my fiancé. I like to try and travel as much as I can. I also like to try to help my old coaches from college anyway I can with what they need if I see them or see a player they might like. I was lucky enough to form great relationships with my college coaches so that's why I can go them if they need any help. SS:Do you have any specific personal goals for 2017? When do you head to Ft. Myers? CS: My goals for myself is to have a better season than last. Definitely get a lot more stolen bases. Just don't put too much pressure on myself. I go back to Ft. Myers the beginning of March, but I'll probably go back a little earlier if I'm allowed just because I'm getting bored here on the east coast, and it's not bad to get settled in early. SS: Who are some of the coaches and others who have helped you get to this point in your career? CS: A lot of people helped me along the way. My dad and mom obviously, but it started in Little league, then my travel-ball coaches. They helped me develop and get to college. Now, my college coaches polished me and help me mature and develop to make it to pro ball. Coach Wiggs at Santa Fe and Coach Urso at Tampa, they put me in position and pushed me to get better and put me in position to be seen. SS: Favorite Baseball Movie? CS: As a kid it was Little Big League. Now it’s Moneyball. Thank you very much to Casey Scoggins for taking the time to respond to our questions. Click here to view the article

With a 3-1 win on Thursday night, the Twins’ Class A affiliate, the Cedar Rapids Kernels, have advanced to the second round of the Midwest League’s playoffs for the third consecutive season. Cedar Rapids swept the first two games of the three-game series over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The Kernels have qualified for the playoffs all four years that they’ve been affiliated with the Twins and all four seasons under manager Jake Mauer.Eduardo Del Rosario (1-0) worked six innings on Thursday for the win, giving up just one run while striking out five T-Rats. Del Rosario surrendered five hits, all singles. He also picked off two runners, one at second base and one at first. Second baseman Luis Arraez, who was the MWL batting champion, notched four singles in a 4-for-4 night to lead the Kernels offense. Added to his 3-for-5 night on Wednesday in game one of the series, Arreaz finished the two-game series with a .778 batting average. photo by Steve Buhr (Luis Arraez) Casey Scoggins, who went 2-for-4 with one double on Thursday, was the only other Kernels batter with more than one hit on the night. All of the Kernels’ meaningful offense came in the bottom half of the third inning. After falling behind Wisconsin 1-0 in the top half of the third, Scoggins shot a double down the right field line and moved to third base on a groundout. With two outs, Arraez dropped an RBI single into left field and then scored on a Zander Wiel triple to right-center. Travis Blankenhorn’s single to right field scored Wiel for the final run of the game. Tom Hackimer threw 2 scoreless innings of relief, striking out four in the process. Anthony McIver came on in the ninth to nail down the save. The sweep means the Kernels have earned a day off on Friday before starting round two of the MWL playoffs with a home game against Clinton on Saturday. Clinton, a Mariners affiliate, swept Peoria in two games, as well. Game time Saturday is set for 4:00 pm. Game 2 and, if necessary, a deciding game 3, of the Western Division playoffs will be played Sunday and Monday at Clinton. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins were unable to complete their comeback against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon, but there were still five games to be played in the minor leagues for the organization. Left-hander Stephen Gonsalves was on the mound for the Lookouts, and put zeroes on the board for the first five innings of a game that went into extras. How did he and Chattanooga finish? Rochester got little offense and Elizabethton traded blows with their Appalachian League rival, Johnson City. Were they able to come out on top? 2016’s top draft pick also continued a hot stretch in the Appy League. Just how hot has it become?To find out the answers to those questions and how the rest of the affiliates fared on Sunday, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 0, Syracuse 6 Box Score Rochester starter Pat Dean got roughed up for six runs in five innings of work. He allowed eight hits, including two home runs, walked two and struck out two. Five of those six runs came in the third inning, and Dean did recover and finish two more innings. Ryan O’Rourke (1.2IP, 2 K’s), D.J. Baxendale (0.1IP, K), and J.T. Chargois (1.0IP, 1 H) combined to pitch three scoreless innings of relief. Top pitching prospect Reynaldo Lopez held the Red Wings to just four hits on the day, and they didn’t have a single plate appearance with a runner in scoring position. Lopez threw a complete game shutout, striking out seven along the way. John Ryan Murphy was 2-3 in the game. James Beresford and Jorge Polanco added the other singles for Rochester. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Jackson 4 (12 innings) Box Score Chattanooga took the first lead of the game in the top of the fourth inning as they sent eight men to the plate and scored three runs on two hits and two walks in the inning. The big hit was an Edgar Corcino triple to score two and put the Lookouts out front 3-0. Lookout’s starter Stephen Gonsalves was effectively wild for the game's first five innings, as he held the Jackson Generals scoreless despite five walks and three hits allowed. He also did not strike out a single hitter. It finally caught up to him in the sixth. He walked the first two men he faced, and threw a wild pitch, before Raul Fernandez came in from the bullpen. Both inherited runners would score, one on a bases loaded passed ball, and the other on a ground out. Fernandez allowed a run of his own to on a single to tie the game at three. He came back out for the seventh and allowed a double, but struck out two to finish the inning. Mason Melotakis walked three hitters around two consecutive K’s in the eighth before Zack Jones was brought on with the bases loaded. He got a fly out to end the inning and keep the game tied. Jones added a scoreless bottom of the ninth to push the game to extra innings. Trevor Hildenberger was the next reliever up for the Lookouts, and went one-two-three in each of the tenth and eleventh innings, striking out two along the way. In the top of the twelfth and a runner on second base, Corcino sent a single into right field, but D.J. Hicks was out at home on the throw, keeping the game tied. Hildenberger came back out for the bottom of the twelfth and struck out the first batter of the inning, but a throwing error on a ground ball to third baseman Niko Goodrum put the winning run on base. A single to the next batter moved him to third and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out. The next batter sent a ground ball through the hole on the right side and brought in the walk-off winning run for Jackson. The Lookouts have the day off on Monday and head back home for a five-game series starting on Tuesday against the Tennessee Smokies after losing the five-game set with the Generals 4-1. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Clearwater 7 Box score The Miracle fell behind early in the second inning as starter Miles Nordgren ran into trouble. The Threshers scored three runs on four singles and a wild pitch in the inning, and another potential run was erased on a 1-2-3 double play ball. Nordgren allowed one more unearned run in the fourth and finished five innings in the game. He allowed six hits and walked two while striking out three. The first three runs against Nordgren would be all Clearwater needed in the game, as Fort Myers managed just five hits. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his second Florida State League home run of the year. Joe Maloney, Trey Vavra, Tanner Witt and Brian Olson all had singles. Michael Theofanopoulos threw a scoreless sixth and struck out two. Luke Westphal allowed three runs (zero earned) in the seventh to put the final score on the board, thanks to a throwing error charged to third baseman T.J. White. Yorman Landa started the eighth and struck out two, but allowed a double and two walks to load the bases before Nick Anderson came on and ended the threat with a strikeout of his own. The Miracle lost the four-game series with the Threshers 3-1 and are now an even 50-50 on the season. They return home to Fort Myers on Monday to take on the Palm Beach Cardinals. KERNELS NUGGETS Dayton 6, Cedar Rapids 10 Box Score Cedar Rapids fell behind 2-0 before their first at bat, but responded with six runs of their own in the first two innings to take an early 6-2 lead. An RBI double from Sean Miller, an RBI single from Jaylin Davis, and a two-run triple from Chris Ibarra put the Kernels out front 4-2 after one. A bases loaded walk from Luis Arreaz and a run scoring double play ball in the second made it 6-2 Kernels starter Cody Stashak recovered from the first inning runs to pitch four straight scoreless innings. He allowed two more runs in the sixth but finished the inning. In his six innings he allowed the four runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out four and improves to 7-5 on the season. Cedar Rapids added four more runs in the seventh inning thanks to bases loaded walks from Davis and Ibarra, and a two-RBI ground-rule double off the bat of Rainis Silva to make it 10-4. Reliever Andrew Vasquez picked up his first hold with the Kernels, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out four. Cam Booser allowed two runs on one hit and two walks in the ninth inning. He struck out one. The Kernels offense got multi-hit efforts from Miller (2-3, 2 R’s, 2B, RBI, BB) and Nelson Molina (2-4, R, 2B). Casey Scoggins drew four walks and scored three runs out of the leadoff spot. The Dragons and Kernels wrap up their three-game series with a high-noon rubber match tomorrow at Veterans Memorial Stadium. E-TWINS E-NOTES Johnson City 4, Elizabethton 5 Box Score The Twins and Cardinals traded blows in this one, as Elizabethton scored one in the bottom of the first to take the early lead thanks to an errant pick-off throw with runners on the corners. Right fielder Alex Kirilloff may have saved a run in the first inning, as he cut down a runner at third on a single for the outfield assist and the inning's first out. It was the beginning off a good day that brought his average on the year up to .383. He singled in the bottom of the inning to move Ariel Montesino into scoring position for the errant pickoff (Kirilloff was also thrown out at third trying to stretch the error into a two-base error). Johnson City scored two runs in the third against Elizabethton starter Jose Martinez to go up 2-1, and scored a third in the fourth thanks to an error. Kirilloff scored the Twins second run in the bottom of the fourth, as he singled and scored on a single from Shane Carrier to bring them within one. The Cardinals went up 4-2 in the top of the fifth as another Twins error led to another unearned run for their starter. Martinez would finish six innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on nine hits while striking out four. In the bottom of the fifth Elizabethton tied the game at four, with the tying run being driven in by none other than Alex Kirilloff. Luis Martinez had driven in Robert Molina with a double earlier in the inning. In the bottom of the sixth the Twins took back the lead thanks to an RBI single from Martinez to drive in Carrier, and the bullpen took it from there. Quin Grogan recorded five outs and allowed three hits and a walk, but got some help thanks to a 9-6-4 double play that was started by Kirilloff in right field. The runner on first also tagged on the fly and shortstop Montesino cut the throw off and nabbed the trailing runner at second. Kirilloff got credit for his second outfield assist of the game. Grogan got a double play ball in the eighth but then allowed a double that summoned Johan Quezada from the bullpen. He got the final out of the inning, and though he walked the bases loaded in the ninth, he also struck out two including the final out of the game to pick up his second save with Elizabethton. Kirilloff finished 3-4 with a run scored and RBI and is second in the Appalachian League in batting average. He also owns a ten game hitting streak over which time he is 21-44 (.477) with two doubles, three home runs, fourteen runs scored and ten RBIs. Carrier (2-4, R, RBI), Molina (2-4, R), and Martinez (2-3, R, RBI) also added multiple hits. GCL TWINS TAKES The GCL Twins, like most the rest of the Gulf Coast League, had the day off on Sunday. They get back to action tomorrow morning on the road against the GCL Orioles. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Vasquez, Cedar Rapids Kernels (Hold, 2.0IP, BB, 4 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Casey Scoggins, Cedar Rapids Kernels (0-1, 3 R’s, 4 BB) (Because I love a day like that out of a leadoff hitter!) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (6:05PM CST) – LHP Nick Greenwood (2-1, 3.75 ERA) Chattanooga – Scheduled day-off. Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Keaton Steele (4-9, 4.64 ERA) Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (12:05PM PM CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells (2-2, 2.05 ERA) Elizabethton @ Pulaski (6:00PM CST) – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Saturday was a big day in the Twins organization as Torii Hunter was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. I mentioned in an article a few weeks ago that the guys we are writing about in these daily reports are striving to reach the big leagues. Do you ever wonder if any of the players currently in the Twins minor leagues will play well enough to go into the Twins Hall of Fame? Well, we’ll need to revisit this in about 25 years to find out. On the field, the Twins affiliates had two extra-innings games. One team knocked out 23 hits. There were more multi-hit games and even a multi-home run game. One team threw a shutout, and we saw a bit of Palka Power again.For more information on the Twins minor leagues, please continue reading. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Norfolk 0 Box Score A couple of big hits and some terrific pitching was the recipe for a Red Wings win on Saturday night. Andrew Albers started and worked six shutout innings. He gave up eight hits, walked two and struck out two. DJ Baxendale worked two scoreless innings, striking out one. He has now thrown 10.1 scoreless innings out of the Red Wings bullpen. Ryan O’Rourke struck out one in a scoreless ninth. Carlos Paulino led the way. He went 2-3 and had a two-run single. Daniel Palka added his third Red Wings homer. Wilfredo Tovar (17) and Tommy Field (8) each added a double. Byung Ho Park went 1-2 and was hit by a pitch. Dalton Hicks went 3-5 with two RBI. Zach Granite went 2-5 with his 10th double. Niko Goodrum went 2-4. Ryan Walker went 1-3 with a walk and his eighth stolen base. Mitch Garver led the way again. He went 1-2 and was hit by a pitch, walked and hit a big three-run homer in the first inning. It was his ninth homer of the year. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Tampa 1 (13 innings) Box Score Down 1-0 in the 8th, TJ White launched his fifth home run of the year to tie the game. In the 13th, the Miracle scored on an error and held on for the win. Sam Clay started for the Miracle. He gave up no runs on three hits over five innings. He struck out five. The only problem was that he also walked seven batters and just 43 of his 85 pitches were strikes. John Curtiss came on and gave up an unearned run over his two innings. He struck out two. Todd Van Steensel pitched a scoreless inning. Yorman Landa struck out two over two scoreless innings. Michael Theofanopoulos worked three shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked two (one intentional) and struck out five to gain the Win. Joe Maloney went 3-6 with his fifth and sixth doubles for the Miracle. Nick Gordon extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a 2-5 game and his average is now at .304. Tanner Witt went 2-6. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 13, Ft. Wayne 10 (10 innings) Box Score This game definitely started out poorly for the Kernels, but with a big comeback and a lot of hits they put together another win. The Kernels were down 6-0 after two innings and 8-1 after four innings, so it was quite improbable. Sam Gibbons is back in the rotation, though on this night it did not go well. He gave up eight runs (five earned) on six hits in just four innings. Three of the hits left the ballpark. He also walked two and struck two out. Kuo Hua Lo came on and threw three scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out two. Tom Hackimer was charged with two unearned runs over his two innings. He struck out four and got credit for the win. With the lead in the 10th, Williams Ramirez came on and struck out two in a perfect inning for the save. The Kernels accumulated 23 hits in this game. 2016 draft pick Casey Scoggins went 4-7 with his fourth double, three RBI and his first stolen base. Rainis Silva went 4-6. Nelson Molina entered the game after Jermaine Palacios left after being hit by a pitch. Molina went 3-4 with a triple and four RBI. He also stole his fourth base. Luis Arraez had yet another multi-hit game, his 32nd of the year. He was 3-6 with a walk. It was his tenth game with at least three hits. He also stole his first base of the season. Zander Wiel was 3-7. He hit his 18th double as well as his ninth and tenth home runs. Chris Cavaness added two hits as well. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Princeton 5 Box Score Ryan Mason made another start for the Twins. He threw four shutout innings. He allowed two hits, walked one and struck out three. Alex Schik came on and gave up three runs on five hits over three innings. He struck out five without issuing a walk. Hector Lujan gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits in the eighth inning. He struck out two. Brandon Lopez was hit by a pitch to start the game. He left the game and was replaced by Ariel Montesino who went 2-3. Alex Kirilloff went 2-4 with his sixth double. Roberto Gonzalez was 2-4 with his first triple. He drove in the lone run for the Twins. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 4 Box Score The Twins got a great start but the offense just wasn’t able to come through. Brady Anderson, the non-drafted free agent from Florida Gulf Coast, gave up just one hit over the first five innings. He walked none and struck out three. Next, 2016 draft pick Matt Jones came in for his professional debut. He walked both batters he faced before being removed. Zach Strecker came in and both inherited runners scored. He gave up four hits and two more runs in the inning. Two of the outs came on strikeout. Garrett Kelly pitched the final two innings. He gave up a hit and walked two over two scoreless innings. He struck out three. Jorge Munoz led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk and his third double. Jorge Andrade added his third double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Brian Anderson, GCL Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Zander Wiel, Cedar Rapids Kernels SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Norfolk @ Rochester (12:35 CST) - RHP Jose Berrios Mobile @ Chattanooga (1:15 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge Lakeland @ Ft. Myers (3:05 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero Cedar Rapids @ Ft. Wayne (12:05 CST) – RHP Eduardo del Rosario Elizabethton @ Princeton (4:00 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday's games. Click here to view the article