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Aaron and John talk about the Twins' pitching depth vanishing with one Ricky Nolasco injury, whether Oswaldo Arcia is even wanted back, Casey Fien's return to the bullpen, Chris Colabello hurting and helping his old team, sending kids off into the world as adults, Trevor May's new approach, Tasseldega Nights, Josmil Pinto not knocking down the door, answering Meatsauce's mailbag questions, and the great corn dog vs. corn-on-the-cob debate. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

The Blue Jays are coming to town this weekend, and bringing some familiar faces. Meanwhile, the Twins are as hot as they've been in half a decade, with a five-game winning streak pushing them 10 games above .500 and into first place. Sounds like a good opportunity to catch some ball at Target Field. Let's break down the most intriguing aspects of this Jays/Twins series.Exorcising Demons These first two months have been filled with vindication for the Twins. They have gone 7-3 against the rival White Sox. Earlier this month, they took two of three from a Rays team that had gone 22-7 against them over the past four years. And this week they swept the Red Sox for the first time since 2006. Now, they'll have a shot at reversing their fortunes against a Toronto club that has also historically given them fits. Even in their contending years, the Twins could never seem to get over the hump against the Blue Jays, who had won eight consecutive season series prior to 2014, often in very lopsided fashion. If the Twins can win two or three this weekend, it might be the surest sign yet that they've truly turned a corner. Big Bad Bautista One major reason the Jays have made things so tough for the Twins is Jose Bautista, who really enjoys hitting at Target Field. In 14 career games at the park, he has nine homers and a .966 slugging percentage. Twins pitchers have been fairly stingy with the long ball at Target Field this year, however, allowing 19 homers in 23 games. The Ones That Got Away? Remember Liam Hendriks and Chris Colabello? Outside of a few flashes, neither managed to do a whole lot in Minnesota, but they're both enjoying a lot of success right now with Toronto, and will surely have their minds set on punishing the team that let them go. After demolishing Triple-A pitching in April, Colabello joined the Blue Jays in early May and has been flat-out raking with a .386 batting average in 22 games. He has collected multiple hits in 10 of those contests. Hendriks, meanwhile, has looked sharp out of the bullpen. In 21 innings, he has 24 strikeouts with just four walks and 17 hits allowed, through he was roughed up by the White Sox in his most recent outing. PITCHING MATCH-UPS Friday, 7:10 PM: Mark Buehrle vs. Trevor May Speaking of old friends, the Twins are all too familiar with Buehrle from his days with Chicago. The veteran lefty has more career wins against the Twins (28) than any other opponent. He has openly talked about retiring after this season, so this might be your last chance to see this classic rivalry. May is coming off perhaps his best outing as a big-leaguer. Can he keep the ball in the yard against Toronto's powerful lineup? Forecast (courtesy Weather.com): High of 69, scattered showers Saturday, 1:10 PM: Aaron Sanchez vs. Kyle Gibson Sanchez is something to see. Just 22 years old, he lights up the radar gun with a heater in the mid-90s, and has held opposing hitters to a .197 average in 33 big-league appearances dating back to last year. He also leads the league with 34 walks allowed. Patience will be key for the Twins. Can Gibson continue to roll? The righty has gone 3-1 with a 1.32 ERA in the month of May and has allowed only four homers all year. He'll have his hands full with a Blue Jays offense that leads the AL in slugging. Forecast: High of 66 & sunny Sunday, 1:10 PM: Drew Hutchison vs. Ricky Nolasco Hutchison has struggled immensely on the road this year, with an 8.03 ERA south of the Canadian border. Nolasco's 5-0 record in May is somewhat misleading but there's no question that he has pitched much better since returning from the disabled list. This match-up would appear to favor the Twins pretty heavily. Forecast: High of 68 & mostly sunny Click here to view the article

The Winter Meetings are always a fun time for baseball fans. If you follow twitter or MLB Trade Rumors, there are constantly updates throughout the week, at all hours of the day. There is no question that the Chicago White Sox won Day 1 of the Winter Meetings. Here is a look at what happened on Day 1 in terms of Twins news. (No, it will not be empty below.)OVERVIEW The Winter Meetings were originally set up as a meeting for all minor league teams. Then major league teams started crashing the party and since then, it has become a media Mecca. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t just a place where GMs meet with agents and other GMs. Front offices of the teams go to have meetings. That said, of course, all the teams are there. All the GMs are there. All the agents are there. There are meetings. However, how many of the rumors will turn into actual transactions during this week? A few will, and we’ll try to stay on top of everything here at Twins Daily. WHITE SOX ARE BUSY Earlier in the offseason, the White Sox signed 1B Adam LaRoche, and then they signed lefty reliever Zach Duke. Rumors throughout the night were that the White Sox and A’s were in serious discussions about Jeff Samardzija. Sox infielder Marcus Simien, who was a top 100 prospect in Baseball America a year ago, was one name mentioned. It’s hard for me to believe he would be the key piece to such a trade. I think the White Sox would need to give up a higher-ranking prospect to get Samardzija. Then as midnight approached, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted that the White Sox signed closer David Robertson for four years and $46 million. The long-time set- up man for Mariano Rivera finally got the opportunity to close last year. He turned in a solid season and got his big pay day. There are rumors that the White Sox still could be a player for third baseman Chase Headley. Teaming “Shark” with lefties Chris Sale and Jose Quintana certainly gives the South Siders some quality pitching. COLABELLO CLAIMED BY THE BLUE JAYS Late this morning, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that they had claimed first baseman Chris Colabello. He comes off the Twins 40-man roster, putting the roster at 39. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of days. Were the Twins just trying to clear up a spot for a potential free agent signing? Were they just opening up a roster spot so that they can make a Rule 5 selection on Thursday? Could other players currently be on the waiver wire to create more roster spots so that the Twins could do both? Colabello’s story was (and remains) remarkable. The Twins signed him before the 2012 season out of independent baseball where he spent eight seasons. He made the New Britain roster and raked that whole season. In 2013, he was invited to big league spring training and became a hero for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. He was named the International League Rookie of the Year and MVP for his great play in AAA Rochester. In May, all that time spent culminated with his big league debut. And, of course, he made the Twins opening day roster. He was named the American League co-Player of the Month in April. Unfortunately, he was jammed on a pitch late in the month and had thumb problems that affected him the rest of the season. Even recently, he learned from an MRI that there was still inflammation. It’s a savvy move for the Blue Jays. The powerful Colabello showed that when healthy he can hit and be quite productive in the big leagues. The Blue Jays traded Adam Lind in the offseason to Milwaukee, but then they acquired first baseman Justin Smoak. Colabello could compete with another former Twins player, Danny Valencia, for right-handed platoon at-bats. The other thing is that Colabello still has an option year remaining so he can provide the Jays with powerful depth. Of course, seeing how Toronto has operated the last couple of seasons, it’s also possible that they could now try to sneak Colabello through waivers, too. OLIVA, KAAT FALL SHY OF COOPERSTOWN At 1:00 central time on Monday, the Hall of Fame gathered the media together in San Diego to tell them that the Veteran’s Committee had elected no one to the Hall of Fame. I think a press release might have done the job. For enshrinement, a player would have needed 12 of the 16 Veteran’s Committee members to vote for them. Tony Oliva and Dick Allen both received 11 votes. Jim Kaat received 10 votes. Can you imagine being one vote away from receiving baseball’s ultimate honor? One vote! Now, I have said many times in the past that I don’t think that Oliva or Kaat should be in the Hall of Fame, but whenever they are up for election again, I will hope like crazy that they make it. MASTERSON UPDATE 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson posted several tweets yesterday indicating that the Twins have been unable to meet with free agent starter Justin Masterson. It may be that his agent hasn’t been able to work out a time to talk to Terry Ryan. It’s also possible that Masterson just isn’t interested in the Twins. Listen, the reason that Masterson is appealing to many as a potential free agent acquisition is that he was coming off his age-29 season in which he posted a 7-9 record with a 5.88 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP between Cleveland and St. Louis. The thought was that he might want to sign a cheap, one-year deal with someone to regain market value, so why not the Twins? Part of the allure was that he has some upside and typically has eaten a lot of innings. However, since the hot stove league began, it’s been suggested by many that there are a lot of teams, likely well into double-digit teams, who are interested. That creates a bit of a bidding war. Frankly, it’s not a bidding war I would want to get into. His ERA+ in 2013 was 110, in 2012 it was 79, in 2011, it was 122, in 2010 it was 84 and in 2009 it was 94. That’s not the kind of guy you get into a bidding war over. OTHER FREE AGENTS OF NOTE LaVelle E. Neal of the Star Tribune posted throughout the day that the Twins have been quite active talking to agents for some free agent pitchers. That sounds good, but the four pitchers that he is linking the Twins with are Logan Ondrusek, Dustin McGowan, John Axford and Alexi Ogando. All four would be relief pitchers. None of those names are terribly exciting on a major league contract. I realize that the Twins can improve their bullpen. I just personally prefer going the minor league signing route or using starting pitchers who are not in the starting rotation. Then again, I’m good with anyone on a minor league contract. TERRY RYAN NOTES In his Monday media discussions, Terry Ryan indicated that he had no interest in the Toronto Blue Jays CEO/President position. He said he is from Minnesota, it’s where his family is and will remain. This is no surprise, of course, since Ryan had the opportunity to be the Blue Jays general manager in 2001 when the Twins were on the contraction chopping block. He could have left then but decided that he was staying. He also said that Ron Gardenhire is likely to take the 2015 year off and then determine what he wants to do in 2016. He will continue to have a standing job offer with the Twins. COMING SOON: MINNESOTA TWINS PROSPECT HANDBOOK 2015 Much more will be coming throughout this week, but this year’s Twins Prospect Handbook will be available within a week, possibly even as early as Friday. Co-Authors Jeremy Nygaard, Cody Christie and I are waiting until after the Rule 5 draft to release the book so that we can add (or subtract) any players affected that day. This year’s Prospect Handbook (my seventh) is huge, and it’s packed with Twins minor league information. There are prospect profiles on approximately 150 Twins minor leaguers. Anyone from the Gulf Coast League through guys whose Rookie of the Year status remain. You’ll find stories on our choices for Starting Pitcher (JO Berrios), Relief Pitcher (Brandon Peterson), Hitter (Mitch Garver) and Manager (Doug Mientkiewicz) of the Year. Jeremy takes a look at the Twins draft in 2014 and looks ahead to the 2015 draft when the Twins have the sixth selection. Cody took a look at the injuries. We also had articles from Steve Buhr, Eric Pleiss and former Twins minor leaguer AJ Pettersen. I’m also excited to say that St. Paul Pioneer Press’s Mike Berardino wrote a terrific foreword for the book. We also want to thank Linwood Ferguson for his pictures of the Ft. Myers players and Steve Buhr for pictures from Cedar Rapids. As I mentioned, there will be much more information coming in the next few days. If you’re looking for a Christmas gift or stocking stuffer, consider getting a copy of the 2015 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON DAY 2? The White Sox won Day 1 of the Winter Meetings in San Diego. What will happen on Day 2? Will the Twins make any news? Click here to view the article

This morning, the Twins will announce Paul Molitor as the organization’s 13th manager since coming to Minnesota in 1961. We hear and read so much about how high his baseball IQ is, but we also hear about how well he worked with players in the minor leagues. I thought I would contact several players that Molitor has worked with in his tenure with the Twins and get their feedback on Molitor. I think it’s fair to say that there are some recurring themes. (This article may be updated with more quotes throughout the day)Outfielder Denard Span spent over a decade in the Minnesota Twins organization before being traded to the Washington Nationals after the 2012 season. He spent a lot of time working with Molitor. "The main thing that stuck out to me about Paul was that he was always even keel. I think that's important for a manager, especially during a long season." Right-handed reliever AJ Achter was drafted by the Twins in 2010 and reached the big leagues this last September. : “I’m very excited for him and our organization. As a pitcher, I didn’t work with him as much as the position guys. But any time I got to talk to him, I found out very quickly his knowledge and passion for the game. He is, by far, the best baseball mind I’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to. The things he picks up on, added to his experience as a player make him extremely knowledgeable and very well respected in the clubhouse. I’m looking forward to seeing all the positives he brings as manager.” AJ Pettersen was drafted by the Twins in 2011 and believes that Molitor can be a great manager because of how well he treats people. That he’s a fellow Minnesota Gopher alum probably doesn’t hurt his opinion either. “Moli will make an excellent manager. He has the ability to connect with people of every background. I have seen him effectively communicate with Latin players just as well as he does with former Gophers. His most knowledgeable areas are base running and defense. He knows an insane amount about the game, but you would never know by the way he acts. He is the kind of guy that is continually learning, not just to advance as a manager and coach, but because he genuinely loves baseball and loves teaching players to be better. He is a calm presence in the dugout, which is very helpful through a long, stressful season. He will be an excellent manager for the Twins and with the right group around him, he will help to get the ship headed in the right direction. Plus, he is a Gopher! Ski-u-mah! Go Twins!” Jorge Polanco signed with the Twins as a 16-year-old in 2009 and has worked many times over the year with Molitor: “I have a lot of experiences. You know he is a Hall of Famer. He knows a lot about the game. Everything you ask him for, he knows it, like base runner, hitting, stealing.” Cole DeVries was in the Twins system for about eight years. Although he is a pitcher, there are still things that Molitor could help with: “I didn’t have a ton of interaction with him in the minors, outside of him helping me because I was tipping pitches. I would also ask him to tell me how he thought I did after some outings. I think it is going to be a great addition for the Twins because there aren’t too much who know as much about the game of baseball. He is also familiar with the players in the minor league system. I think he will do a good job of getting himself up to speed with being a manager and getting all the new young players up to the big league playing standards.” Adam Brett Walker has been in the organizations just a couple of years and hasn’t had a lot of time with Molitor. “But, from the small about I’ve been with him, he seems like a great guy. He has talked to me about base running, but I have heard him talk to more of the infielders about the game more. He seems like he has a lot of knowledge for the game, and I hope he does a great job.” Cedar Rapids middle infielder Ryan Walker spent time with Molitor a year ago in the Instructional League. “He was there teaching and instructing in basically every area of the game. It was quickly obvious why he’s in the Hall of Fame. His knowledge and understanding of how everything in baseball works isn’t matched by very many. There were a couple of times he even talked about things that I had never heard of in my life – which is really rare considering how much we play and study the game. He seemed like the kind of person that truly knows every aspect of baseball, in and out, and I can’t imagine a better qualification for the position.” Chris Colabello came to the Twins organization in 2012 after years in independent ball. He speaks more to the type of person that Molitor is: “Obviously I am thrilled for him. His resume and background speak for themselves and based on that alone, he is more than qualified. What I think will make him most successful as a manager is how quality of a person he is. Since the day I met him in my first minor league camp, he was as kind and willing to chat as anyone I met that first year. He is a student of the game and is always looking to share information that he is gaining on a day-to-day basis to help guys do their job. I would be honored to play for him. Like Molitor, Nate Hanson played for the University of Minnesota. He recently re-signed a minor league contract to stay with the Twins, his hometown organization and the team he has played for since being drafted in 2008. “The way Moli sees the game is unlike anyone else I have been around. I have learned so much from him in all facets of the game. His hiring is a great thing for the organization. His humble and steady demeanor should make him a great leader in the clubhouse and on the field.” Logan Darnell signed with the Twins in 2010 after being drafted out of college. He debuted with the Twins in 2014. “I think it’s a great thing. He is one of the best baseball minds I’ve been around. He’s been a rover and even last year when he was a bench coach, he was helpful on how I was tipping pitches. Just things like that he picks up on well, I feel. But, I’m excited for him, and he’s a good guy!” Danny Rams signed with the Twins in 2007 after being selected in the 2nd round out of high school. He remained in the organization through the 2012 season. “(Molitor) was real quiet but extremely humble considering all his accomplishments. Any question I ever asked him, he gave me his honest opinion, good or bad. Molitor is going to make a great manager because he has a master mind. He is one of the smartest guys to ever play the game. Molitor’s brain is on another level, above a catcher’s instincts.” Aderlin Mejia, who spent 2014 between New Britain and Ft. Myers, understands the greatness of Molitor. “The experiences I had with him were very good because it was with a baseball legend and a Hall of Famer. His teachings helped me to improve in the field, both defensively and also with base running.” Steve Singleton was drafted by the Twins in 2006 and remained in the organization into the 2012 season. He played everywhere between rookie ball and AAA. “Molitor is awesome! He was the best baseball guy in that system during my entire career. In all aspects. Situations, mechanics, hitting, defense, relating to the guys, etc. He will do a great job, and I can’t really imagine a better hire around the league. I’d much rather see him there than Maddon.” As I said, if I get more responses throughout Tuesday, I’ll be sure to add them. So be sure to stop back from time to time and discuss. Click here to view the article

[Originally posted on twinsandlosses.com] It seems a little inappropriate to call Kennys Vargas “Little Papi”. According to Baseball Reference he is an inch taller (6’ 5”) and weights thirty-five pounds more (275) than Mr. Ortiz. One can assume that this comparison has more to do with their skills with a bat than their impressive physical stature. They may not be the fastest nor the best when it comes to flashing the leather but they do both possess an important skill, one that Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame deems the most vital (albeit his reasoning pertains to motor vehicles): power. Over the last thirty days Kennys has put himself among some very impressive company thanks to his prowess with a baseball bat. He ranks 5th in the MLB in RBI (23), 13th in hits (33), 13th in batting average (.333), 16th in slugging percentage (.525) and 18th in on base plus slugging (.890). If we compare his stats to just those in the American League he stands 3rd in RBI, 6th in hits, 6th in BA, 7th in SLG and 8th in OPS. So he’s top 20 in the MLB and top 10 in the AL. Not bad for a guy who was called up to the majors from AA New Britain less than a month ago. So not bad in fact that if he stays at this pace, using Baseball Reference’s OWn% (percentage of games a team with nine of said player batting would win given average defense and pitching) the Twins would be sitting high and mighty above the rest of the league at 117-45 thanks Team All-Kennys averaging 7.4 RC/G (runs created per appox. 27 outs). Unfortunately, that is about as likely as Roger Goodell handing out suitable suspensions for violating certain NFL policies. Not all of Vargas’ stats are as rosy as those mentioned above however. With great power comes great responsibility and part of said responsibility is patience at the plate. In his twenty-four games played (yes, yes, very small sample size) Kennys has a strikeout rate of 26.2% compared to a walk rate of 3.7%. Not so good. His K/BB rate is 7.0, which is also… not so good. He does hit homeruns at the same pace he draws walks though Surprisingly, for a player with so little time in the majors his plate discipline isn’t terrible: http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r502/ectofoto/ScreenShot2014-08-28at64416PM_zps550d591a.png A few things we can draw from the chart above: • Vargas sees more pitches outside the zone than in the zone. Not at all uncommon for batters new to the MLB; for example just over 50% of the pitches thrown Danny Santana’s way are in the zone and he’s been hitting consistently since the beginning of May. • Of those outside pitches, Kennys has swung at less than half of them, showing he has a decent grasp on what is and isn’t in the zone. Even when he does swing at pitches he technically shouldn’t, whether chasing or fouling off, he’s still able make contact more than half the time, which is encouraging. • While he may not see as many pitches in the zone, he seems to have a good grasp where the zone is as evidenced by a 31% increase in both swing tendencies and contact made when the ball crosses the plate between the black. For perspective, this season Joe Mauer has swung at 53% of pitches in the zone and made 90% contact. A 4% difference in contact on strike pitches between a guy who has been in the majors for a month and a 3-time batting champ isn’t too shabby. • Overall, Vargas has a little work to do when it comes to leaving the bat on the shoulder on pitches that are balls, his contact percentages both on those pitches in and outside the zone is an indication that he knows what he can and cannot touch, and that will go a long way when building his foundation as a solid hitter. I do fear for the day where opposing pitchers take note of Kennys tendencies at the plate. With 28 strikeouts and 4 walks in 99 total at bats, it’s hard to see those numbers getting much worse but then again at the beginning of the year we all thought Chris Colabello would be our run producing machine for the season. I think what we’re all expecting is a DH who plays 1B every once in a while and mashes the ball with such strength we hear Dick Bremer nearly speechless aside from a feeble “…Oh my…” as was the case in Houston when Kennys planted a ball halfway up the second deck in right field. He certainly has some work to do at the plate when it comes to walks and strikeouts, but if the lineup for the future includes a second coming of the Bash Brothers in the switch hitting Vargas and righty Oswaldo Arcia back to back, you can bet the cameras at Target Field won’t shy away from showing the upper deck seats as much unless one of them cranks a moonshot. The sun may be setting on another 90+ loss season for the Twins and you've probably stopped reading this because football is right around the corner, but if you're a die hard like I am you'll tune in to the bitter end to see what Vargas (and the other youngins) can do.

One of the stories lost in the hype of Trevor May's debut was the demotion of Chris Colabello. The 30-year old former independent league standout is heading back to Triple-A for the second time this season. In 114 games over the last two seasons, he's hit .214/.284/.364 with 13 home runs and 16 doubles. These aren't exactly the power numbers a team likes to see from a first baseman who will turn 31 before the start of next year.It took quite the fairy tale for Colabello to make it to the big leagues. He went undrafted out of college and spent six seasons toiling in the Canadian-American Association as he waited for his chance. The Twins finally gave him an opportunity after Baseball America named him the Independent Leagues Player of the Year. Colabello certainly made the most of his opportunity over the next couple seasons. His career in affiliated baseball started in Double-A where he was more than 3.5 years older than the average age of the other hitters in the league. Even with the age difference, he went on to have a monster year for New Britain in 2012, leading the Eastern League in doubles and ranking second in RBI. Colabello seemed better than advertised and it was hard not to wonder what he could do as he moved up the ladder. The 2013 season turned out to be even better as he jumped to Rochester in the International League. He led the league and the minors in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS. He was handed plenty of accolades at the end of the season as he was named the MVP and the Rookie of the Year in the International League. Even the start of the 2014 season looked like Colabello had turned over a new leaf. During the first week of year, he hit .391 (9-for-23) with four doubles, one home run, 11 RBI and four runs scored. He led all AL players in RBI and he ranked second in doubles. He was named co-recipient of the American League's Player of the Week Award. Things slowly unraveled for Colabello as the league made adjustments to him. After his hot start, he hit .264/.321/.417 for the rest of April. Of his 19 hits, seven were for extra-bases and his strikeout to walk rate was 20 to 6. He not only led the team in RBI in April - he set a team record. But by the end of May he was back in the minors. Colabello was recalled by the Twins near the start of July but his latest audition didn't go much better. In 19 games he has hit .222/.288/.389 with five extra-base hits and 16 strikeouts. This left Colabello's roster spot in jeopardy. Kennys Vargas has shown some good signs in his first handful of games and Joe Mauer was returning from injury. The Twins might also need Colabello's 40-man roster spot for a player like Alex Meyer. If this is the end of Colabello's time with the Twins, his story will always be one to remember. From independent baseball to minor league all-star, he had to fight to live out his dream of becoming a big league player. The Twins gave him the opportunity to live his dream and I for one am glad they did... For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win against the Houston Astros on Wednesday, it means that on Thursday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com. Click here to view the article

The biggest Twins story of the weekend was the call-up and debut on right-handed pitching prospect Trevor May. Fans have been clamoring for months to see May or his Rochester counterpart Alex Meyer. This new version of the M&M boys is supposed to provide some stability to a lack-lust Twins rotation but only time will tell. One of the stories lost in the hype of May's debut was the demotion of Chris Colabello. The 30-year old former independent league standout is heading back to Triple-A for the second time this season. In 114 games over the last two seasons, he's hit .214/.284/.364 with 13 home runs and 16 doubles. These aren't exactly the power numbers a team likes to see from a first baseman that will turn 31 before the start of next year. It took quite the fairy tale to imagine how Colabello made it to the big leagues. He went undrafted out of college and spent six seasons toiling in the Canadian-American Association as he waited for his chance. The Twins finally gave him an opportunity after Baseball America named him the Independent Leagues Player of the Year. Colabello certainly made the most of his opportunity over the next couple of seasons. His career in affiliated baseball would start in Double-A where he was over 3.5 years older than the average age of the other hitters in the league. Even with the age difference, he would go on to have a monster year for New Britain in 2012 by leading the Eastern League in doubles and ranking second in RBI. Colabello seemed better than advertised and it was hard not to wonder what he could do as he moved up the ladder. The 2013 season turned out to be even better as he jumped to Rochester in the International League. He led the league and the minors in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS. He would be handed plenty of accolades at the end of the season as he was named the MVP and the Rookie of the Year in the International League. Even the start of the 2014 season looked like Colabello had turned over a new leaf. During the first week of year, he hit .391 (9-for-23) with four doubles, one home run, 11 RBI and four runs scored. He lead all AL players in RBI and he ranked second in doubles. He would be named co-recipient of the American League's Player of the Week Award. Things would slowly unravel for Colabello as the league made adjustments to him. After his hot start, he would hit .264/.321/.417 for the rest of the month of April. Out of his 19 hits, seven of them were for extra-bases and his strikeout to walk rate was 20 to six. He was leading the team in RBI but by the end of May he would be back in the minors. Colabello was recalled by the Twins near the start of July but his latest audition didn't go much better. In 19 games he hit .222/.288/.389 with five extra-base hits and 16 strikeouts. This could leave Colabello's roster spot in jeopardy. Kennys Vargas has shown some good signs in his first handful of games and Joe Mauer is scheduled to return from injury. The Twins might also need Colabello's 40-man roster spot for a player like Alex Meyer. If this is the end of Colabello's time with the Twins, his story will always be one to remember. From independent baseball to minor league All-Star, he had to fight to live out his dream of becoming a big league player. The Twins gave him the opportunity to live his dream and I for one am glad they did... For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

On Sunday morning, seven players from Minnesota Twins spring training were told that they would not be on the Twins Opening Day roster. The most intriguing name of the bunch was infielder Chris Colabello. This leaves the Twins with 42 players on their spring roster.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Here are the players sent to minor league camp: Chris Colabello was last year's feel-good minor league story. He has had a great past 12 months. At this time last year, he has just signed with the Twins after being named Baseball America's Independent Leagues player of the year in 2011. He made the New Britain roster and was a mainstay in the middle of their lineup all season. He received the invite to spring training and made a name for himself on a national (international?) level with some big games and big hits for Team Italy in the WBC. He returned to the Twins late last week. He will likely spend most of the season in Rochester this year, but don't be at all surprised if the Twins call his name if they have a need for a bat. Brian Dinkelman hit .301 for the Twins in 2011 in a part-time role. He spent all of 2012 with Rochester and didn't play a lot due to injury. He provides the Twins with depth in the corner outfield spots as well as the right side of the infield. Clete Thomas got some time with the Twins in 2012 after spending his entire career in the Tigers organization. He returned to the Twins on a minor league deal after hitting for power with the Red Wings. He'll return to Rochester this spring and play all around the outfield. Mark Sobolewski was selected by the Twins in the minor league portion of December's Rule 5 draft from the Blue Jays organization. He showed well for himself in Twins camp, displaying good defense. He likely would have competed with Deibinson Romero for playing time but Romero has still not arrived from the Dominican Republic due to visa issues. Deolis Guerra came off of the 40 man roster last November, but he returned on a minor league contract. He pitched very well in the Venezuelan Winter League and was excited to represent his country in the WBC. Unfortunately, shoulder pain was diagnosed as a blood clot. He will be having surgery in the near future. Shairon Martis was invited to big league camp after coming to the Twins in a minor trade last summer. He didn't pitch much for the Twins before joining Team Netherlands in Taiwan, and then Japan, and now in San Francisco for the WBC. He should factor into the Red Wings pitching staff this season. Eric Fryer got time with the Pirates the past two season. He played well in spring, but he could find himself in either New Britain or Rochester. The Twins now have 42 players in big league camp including 22 pitchers (5 non-roster), 4 catchers (1 non-roster), 9 infielders (3 non-roster) and 7 outfielders (2 non-roster). View full article

This is really late. Typically, I post my choices for the monthly minor league award winners within days of the end of the month. Because of a trip to Cedar Rapids and a bum computer, the Hitter of the Month for June is a little tardy. But, better later than never, I guess. The players listed below performed well and deserve to be recognized. It was another good month for the hitters. We have a repeat winner and a few of the top prospects in this month’s report. In fact, there were enough who warranted recognition that I included a Top 6 and some Honorable Mentions. Let’s get to it. Here are my selections for the Top 6 Minnesota Twins Minor League hitters in June: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Number 6 – Rochester – Doug Bernier - (35-100) .350/.416/.540 (.956) with ten doubles, three triples, one home run and 15 RBI. Bernier signed a minor league contract with the Twins before spring training this year. The middle infielder played his college ball at Oral Roberts and then spent 2002 through 2008 with the Colorado Rockies. He played two games for the Rockies in 2008. He then spent 2009 with the Yankees AAA team. He spent 2010 with the Pirates AAA team. He had spent 2011 and 2012 with the Yankees AAA squad. Overall with the Red Wings, he is hitting .297/.368/.398 (.766) with 13 doubles, three triples and three homers. He was very good in June. Number 5 – Ft. Myers – Kennys Vargas - (28-79) .354/.420/.544 (.965) with nine doubles, two home runs and 17 RBI. Vargas is still just 22 years old, but many forget how little baseball he has played over the last couple years. In 2011, he played in just 44 games. In 2012, he played in only 41 games. The Twins had him stick around Ft. Myers much of last offseason, and he remains with the Miracle, having now played 78 games in Ft. Myers. On the season, he is hitting .298/.373/.528 (.902) with 24 doubles, a triple and 13 home runs while driving in 63 RBI. Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano have moved up, yet Vargas hit well in June without them around. I suspect he will move up at some point this season. Number 4 – Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers – Byron Buxton - (33-93) .354/.412/.548 (.960) with five doubles, five triples, 1 home run and 19 RBI. After a tremendous April, Buxton had a more pedestrian May. He even went through a mini-slump. However, in June, Buxton did exactly what you would hope a top prospect would do; he made some adjustments and had a strong month. In 72 at-bats with the Kernels, he hit .361/.420/.597 (1.017) with ten extra base hits; he then got the promotion that fans had been clamoring for. Despite starting out his tenure with the Miracle going 2-13, he then proceeded to have five straight multi-hit games and ended the month strong. He was also named to represent the Twins in the Futures Game. Number 3 – Cedar Rapids – Dalton Hicks - (36-108) .333/.372/.620 (.992) with ten doubles, seven home runs and 33 RBI. The 23-year-old first baseman was the Twins 17th round pick out of Central Florida. He split time in Elizabethton last year, but this year he has been the Kernels every day first baseman. Overall this year he has hit .298/.359/.498 with 26 doubles and 13 home runs. His 77 RBI lead the Midwest League (by a large margin). Listed at 6-5 and 228 pounds, Hicks has a long, but very powerful swing. He was tremendous in June and is a leader on the Kernels roster. I believe that if (or when) Kennys Vargas gets a promotion to New Britain, Hicks will move up to Ft. Myers. Number 2 – Ft. Myers/New Britain – Miguel Sano - (19-82) .232/.336/.646 (.982) with three doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 22 RBI. Sano was named to the Florida League All-Star team in early June. However, the day after the Miracle clinched the first half title and a playoff spot, he (and Eddie Rosario and Angel Morales) were promoted to the New Britain Rock Cats. Let’s not pretend that the lack of batting average for Sano is not a big deal, especially when it comes with many strikeouts, but he’s still so early in his New Britain tenure that it’s not worth worrying about quite yet. Despite a lack of singles, Sano’s power has been tremendous in New Britain. In June with the Rock Cats, he had ten extra base hits in 62 at bats, with just four singles. His power potential is immense, and fans are rightfully excited about what he can become. He will just need to work on his K-Rate to help avoid a case of BrandonWood-itis. The June Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is... Rochester Red Wings 1B Chris Colabello (34-94) .362/.451/.660 (1.111) with four doubles, no triples, eight home runs and 26 RBI. I am certain I sound like a broken record, but the Chris Colabello story should be talked about more, and he should be getting even more attention. He debuted with the Twins in May and still was the choice for minor league hitter of that month. This month, he spent the entire time with the Red Wings and still was incredible. He hits for average, takes walks and hits for power. He is the force in the middle of the Red Wings lineup that has helped them get back over .500 again. Overall, in 77 games with the Red Wings this year, he has hit .358/.436/.653 with 22 doubles, 21 homers and 67 RBI. He was recently named to the International League All-Star team, and frankly, he’s been one of the best handful of players at any level of minor league baseball. There were several strong performances in June that weren’t included in the Top 6. Here are six Honorable Mentions: Josmil Pinto (Rock Cats) – (25-89) .281/.407/.449 (.856) with six doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI. Nate Hanson (Rock Cats) – (29-93) .312/.350/.516 (.866) with 11 doubles, one triple, two homers and 18 RBI. Matt Koch (Miracle) – (23-70) .329/.382/.586 (.967) with six doubles, four homers and 14 RBI. Travis Harrison (Kernels) – (23-90) .256/.382/.489 (.871) with nine doubles, four home runs and 17 RBI. Jorge Polanco (Kernels) – (31-96) .322/.377/.469 (.846) with seven doubles, two triples, one home run and 23 RBI. JD Williams (Kernels) – (29-91) .319/.404/.440 (.844) with two doubles, three triples, one home run, and 14 RBI. It was another very solid month for Twins minor league hitting prospects which is always fun to see. We hope that can continue into July Feel free to comment and discuss. View full article

The Twins got a nice 2-1, 10-inning win in Chicago against the White Sox. Eduardo Escobar, who came to the Twins last July from the South Siders, beat out an infield single to shortstop. Ryan Doumit advanced to third base and then went home when Jeff Keppinger was unable to cleanly catch the one-hop throw from Alexei Ramirez. Finally, Glen Perkins came on to record the save. There were also a couple of one-run games in the Twins farm system. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]A big home run helped Rochester to a win, giving them their first back-to-back wins of the season. The Ft. Myers Miracle also played an entertaining one-run game, but you’ll have to keep reading to see whether or not they won. Byron Buxton’s batting average dropped to .420, but how did the Kernels play? Were the Rock Cats able to bounce back from a big loss a night earlier? Check down below, and please feel free to discuss. Rochester Red Wings 5, Pawtucket Red Sox 4 Box Score It was a back-and-forth game on Saturday afternoon between these two teams. Fortunately, the Red Wings managed to score last on Chris Colabello’s sixth home run of the season. Colabello went 2-4 with that organization-leading sixth home run. Clete Thomas went 2-3 with a walk. Joe Benson was 2-4. Andrew Albers started and really struggled. Typically an aggressive control pitcher, Albers walked three in just two innings. He gave up three runs on four hits and struck out just one. Caleb Thielbar came on pitched well. The lefty gave up two hits and a walk in three scoreless frames. He struck out three. Shairon Martis gave up a solo home run. He gave up just that one run on three hits and a walk in two innings. Tim Wood’s rehab stint continued with his first appearance in Rochester. He had been the International League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2012 and struck out two on this day. Anthony Slama came in for the ninth and went 1, 2, 3 for his second save of the year. New Britain Rock Cats 1, Portland Sea Dogs 7 Box Score After losing 12-1 on Friday night, it was important for the Rock Cats to get off to a fast start on Saturday afternoon. Danny Santana led off the game with his second triple. James Beresford drove him in with a sacrifice fly. That was about it for the Rock Cats offense. Santana was 2-4. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his sixth double. Danny Ortiz hit his seventh double. Logan Darnell started for New Britain. The left-hander gave up five runs (3 earned) on seven hits and two walks. In five innings, he struck out six. AJ Achter gave up two runs on four hits and two walks in his 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Aaron Thompson came on and gave up two hits but no runs in 1.1 innings. Ft. Myers Miracle 5, St. Lucie Mets 6 Box Score So Close! On Saturday night, Ft. Myers was inches away from a Miracle win in St. Lucie. Down 6-2 going into the ninth frame, Eddie Rosario singled. Then three straight Miracle hitters walked which cut the lead to 6-3. Another reliever came on and gave up a single to Kennys Vargas to cut the lead to 6-4. Eight and nine hitters, Lance Ray and Andy Leer, struck out. That brought up AJ Pettersen. Pettersen hit a hard ground ball off of a diving first baseman. The single scored one run. However, pinch runner Stephen Wickens attempted to score from second on the play but was thrown out at the plate. The Miracle were that close to keeping the game going, but unfortunately, they fall to 14-2 with the 6-5 loss. Tom Stuifbergen started and gave up just one run through the first six innings. In the bottom of the 7th, a one-out single was followed by a controversial hit batter. The Miracle believed that the ball hit the batter’s bat. With the runner attempting to steal third, the next batter grounded to third base, but Miguel Sano committed his fourth error of the year which loaded the bases. TJ Rivera then hit a bases-clearing double that opened up the game. That was the end of the line for Stuifbergen. In total, he went 6.1 innings and gave up five runs (3 earned) on seven hits. He walked none and struck out five. Adrian Salcedo came in and gave up a run on three hits in 1.2 innings. Miguel Sano went 2-3 with a walk and his fifth double. photo to the right is courtesy of Cedar Rapids Kernels Facebook page. Be sure to "Like" it. Cedar Rapids Kernels 11, Peoria Chiefs 2 Box Score If you can put up crooked numbers on the scoreboard, it’s always a good thing. The Red Wings scored six runs in the first inning and another five runs in the fourth inning to jump out to a huge lead. The Kernels collected 17 hits in the game. Drew Leachman led the offense with a 4-5 day. He was playing for just the fourth time on the season and came into the game hitting .142 (2-14). He now is hitting .316 after missing almost two weeks with a shoulder injury. Niko Goodrum went 2-4 with two walks and had two RBI. Romy Jimenez went 2-4 with his second double and four RBI. He had a bases-clearing double in the first inning. Jhonatan Arias went 2-5, his first two hits of the season. Travis Harrison was 2-4 with a walk. Adam Walker was 2-4. Jorge Polanco was 2-6. Byron Buxton’s batting average dropped to .420 with an 0-4 game. He did, however, walk twice in the long first inning. Lefty Mason Melotakis started and gave up one run on four hits. Unfortunately with the run support he got, Melotakis was only able to go 3.1 innings, in part because of four walks. Steve Gruver came on for an “easy” “Win” but pitched well. The southpaw gave up one run on four hits in 4.2 innings. He walked none and struck out four. Tyler Jones pitched the ninth inning and gave up a hit, but no runs. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

It’s almost like they know. Coming into Friday, Miguel Sano had 20 home runs this season. Chris Colabello had 18. In his first two at-bats on Friday, Colabello homered, catching up to Sano. But it wasn’t long before Sano hit his 21st. Then, a little more than an hour later, Sano hit his 22nd homer of the year. (It’s almost like last year when Trevor Plouffe and Josh Willingham seemed to so frequently homer on the same day.) The two are easily the top home run hitters in the organization. The next highest home run hitters in the organization are Cedar Rapids third baseman Travis Harrison, who hit his thirteenth home run tonight, and Ft. Myers first baseman Kennys Vargas, also with thirteen. Check out what happened in the Twins farm system on Friday:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 2, Indianapolis Indians 4 Box Score Andrew Albers was back on the mound for the Red Wings. The Canadian left-hander gave up four runs in six innings. He gave up eight hits, three of them home runs. He walked one and struck out four. Aaron Thompson came on and struck out one over two scoreless innings in relief. The offense managed just four hits in the game. Chris Colabello went 2-4 with his 19th and 20th home runs of the season. He is now hitting .367 with an OPS right around 1.100. The thing that impressed me most about Colabello is that he talks a lot about only being able to control what he can control. And he lives that thinking. That’s the thought-process he needed when he wasn’t given an opportunity in affiliated ball. It’s what he had to think in AA, and in his first big league spring training, and in the WBC, and when he was sent AAA. And, it is likely why he has maintained this performance throughout the season despite numbers that should have him in the big leagues now. New Britain Rock Cats 5, Reading Fightin Phils 6 Box Score So, it didn’t take Miguel Sano too long to figure out Eastern League pitching. Yes, he got off to a slow start, but his power numbers have been tremendous and, despite a loss in this game, he showed his power here. The Rock Cats had just five hits; three came off of the bat of Miguel Sano. In the bottom of the fourth, he hit a long, two-run home run. In the bottom of the ninth, he came to the plate with two runners on base and the Rock Cats down by four. His second homer of the day, sixth home run with the Rock Cats and 22nd home run of his season, cut the deficit to just one, but that was all the team could muster. Sano drove in all five runs. The one time he made out, the centerfielder made a catch at the wall. Of his 13 AA hits, Sano has six home runs, two triples, one double and four singles. Video of the second home run from Twins Fan from Afar (video of the 1st will be in the comments): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMmmGqKjrvE Trevor May made the start and gave up a home run on the first pitch. In all, he went five innings and gave up four runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out six. Dan Turpen came on and struck out three in two scoreless innings. Bruce Pugh came off of the disabled list. He gave up a solo home run, but that was the only blemish in the inning. AJ Achter pitched the ninth and gave up one run on three hits and a walk. Ft. Myers Miracle, Jupiter Hammerheads (Suspended in 3rd) This game was suspended due to rain with one out in the bottom of the third inning. It will be resumed when the Miracle next heads to Jupiter, which will be in mid-August. Manuel Soliman had given up three hits and two walks but no runs in 2.1 innings when the game was called. He had struck out four. Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Burlington Bees 1 Box Score The streak continues for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. They are now 8-0 since the All-Star break. They got off to a fast start and kept the lead. In the first inning, Travis Harrison hit a two-run double. Adam Walker soon followed with a two-run homer to make it 4-0. In the second innings, Harrison hit a two-run homer. Harrison was 2-4 with his 23rd double, his 13th homer and four RBI. Walker was 2-3 with a walk and the homer was his 12th of the season. JD Williams was 2-4 with his 14th stolen base. Jeremias Pineda went 2-3. Niko Goodrum (16th two bagger), Dalton Hicks (26th) and Jhonatan Arias (3rd) each doubled. It was not just about the hitting on this night. Josue Montanez was terrific in the start. The young left gave up two hits in five shutout innings. He walked none and struck out four. Hudson Boyd made his first appearance out of the bullpen. He gave up an unearned run on two hits and a walk in two innings, striking out three. Madison Boer was activated from the DL and sent to the Kernels. He had broken his hand (left-hand) and had made a couple appearances with the GCL Twins. He gave up two hits, but no runs, in his inning. Steven Gruver came on and struck out two in a perfect ninth. Mike Pelfrey will be making a rehab start for the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Monday. Elizabethton Twins 8, Princeton Rays 0 Box Score This was a pitcher’s duel until the E-Twins scored seven runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to finish an 8-0 win. The E-Twins got on the scoreboard just an inning earlier when shortstop Ryan Walker hit his first professional home run. The big hits in the eighth inning were two-run doubles off the bats of Rory Rhodes and Javier Pimentel. Walker, Pimentel and catcher Mitch Garver each went 2-4. Yorman Landa was again terrific in the start. The young right-hander threw five shutout innings. He gave up just one hit, walked one and struck out eight. So, in his first two starts, he has thrown ten innings, walked two and struck out 15! Brian Gilbert made his Twins debut with a scoreless sixth frame. He struck out one. Kuo Hua Lo gave up one hit and one walk, but no runs, in two innings. He struck out two. Brandon Peterson struck out two in a scoreless ninth frame. GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 2 Box Score Nick Blackburn returned to the mound in a game for the first time since 2012. The right-hander has been rehabbing all season. In October, he had bone chips removed from his elbow. Then in January, he had wrist surgery. On Friday afternoon, he made a start for the GCL Twins. He went four shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and struck out four. He was replaced by Damian Defrank who worked the next four innings, giving up two runs on four hits. He struck out one and walked none. Miguel Gonzalez came on for the ninth and recorded his second save. He gave up one hit and struck out one. Jorge Fernandez led the offense. He went 3-4 with his first double. Jason Kanzler went 2-4 and stole his second base. Lance Ray’s rehab continued and he had a two-run double. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

It’s been fairly easy to write the Twins minor league reports the past four or five days. Aside from the Ft. Myers Miracle, the other Twins affiliates have each missed games this week due to weather. The Cedar Rapids Kernels haven’t played since Monday. So, on a Saturday, it all came together. Four Twins affiliates played a total of six games. Rochester and Cedar Rapids played doubleheaders. The Twins nearly got no hit by Matt Harvey in their fifth straight loss to fall to 4-7 on the season. Wilkin Ramirez was put on the Paternity List following the game, so we’ll find out the corresponding move soon. Could the Miracle win their ninth straight game to start the season? Keep reading, and find out…[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Game 1 - Rochester Red Wings 1, Pawtucket Red Sox 7 Box Score The Red Wings managed just four hits in the first. Chris Colabello drove in the lone run. Chris Herrmann went 1-2 with a walk. Shairon Martis started and gave up one run on four hits in 3.2 innings. He walked four and struckout four. Tyler Robertson got the next three outs. He gave up no runs despite two hits and a walk allowed. Anthony Slama had a rough one and took the loss. In just 0.1 innings, he gave up four runs on two hits and two walks. Of his 18 pitches, just five of them were strikes. Caleb Thielbar got the final three outs, but not before giving up two runs on two hits. He did strikeout two. Game 2 - Rochester Red Wings 1, Pawtucket Red Sox 7 Box Score The Red Wings had just four hits in Game 1, and that was twice as many hits as they managed in Game 2. Eric Farris had a single. Chris Colabello launched his fourth home runs of the season. On the mound, veteran Virgil Vasquez gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk. In four innings, he struckout three. Bruce Pugh’s struggles continued. He gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in his inning. Michael O’Connor pitched the sixth frame and gave up one run on two hits. Andrew Albers is set to take the mound for the Red Wings on Sunday afternoon. New Britain Rock Cats 5, Portland Sea Dogs 6 (10 innings) Box Score Alex Meyer made his second start for the Rock Cats. He gave up a leadoff single and two, RBI doubles in the first innings before settling down. He gave up just those two runs on six hits and two walks in five innings. He struckout six. Bobby Lanigan came on and gave up one run on one walk in 1.2 innings. He struckout two. Jose Gonzalez walked the one batter he came in the face. Michael Tonkin came on and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. Edgar Ibarra worked two innings and gave up the 10th inning run on three hits and two walks. He struckout three. Antoan Richardson went 2-4 with a walk. He stole his third and fourth bases. Nate Hanson went 2-4. Curt Smith was 2-5 with a double. Evan Bigley was 2-5. Blake Martin will take the ball for the Rock Cats on Sunday afternoon. Ft. Myers Miracle 8, Jupiter Hammerheads 7 Box Score With the win, the Miracle are now 9-0 and tied with the 1994 Miracle for the best start in franchise history. The team got plenty of offense led by centerfielder Angel Morales. He went 3-5 with his fifth and sixth doubles. Eddie Rosario was 2-5 with a stolen base. Kyle Knudson was 2-4 with his first double. Lance Ray and Miguel Sano each doubled. Kennys Vargas was 1-3 with two walks and a big, three-run home run. Madison Boer started and worked the first six innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked none and struckout three. Miguel Munoz made things close. He gave up four runs on four hits over two innings. Corey Williams worked a 1-2-3 ninths for his third save. DJ Baxendale will make his second Miracle start on Sunday. Game 1 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 4, Clinton LumberKings 3 Box Score Hudson Boyd was back on the mound for the Kernels as they returned to action against the LumberKings. The right-hander gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in five innings. Following the game, he tweeted me saying, “It felt good today. Let the athletes behind me do most of the work” That may be true, but he also struckout six. Brett Lee came on and gave up two hits but no runs in his inning. Chris Mazza recorded his second save. He gave up a walk in a scoreless seventh inning. Niko Goodrum hit his first two doubles of the season in this game. Dalton Hicks hit his fourth double. Jorge Polanco walked twice. Byron Buxton was 1-3 with a walk. Game 2 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 2, Clinton LumberKings 1 Box Score If fans wanted to see all the action of this double header, they could have watched the first game and just the first inning of the second game. In the top of the first, Dalton Hicks knocked in two runs with his fifth double. It scored Byron Buxton and Candido Pimentel. In the bottom of the first inning, Mason Melotakis gave up a leadoff home run. That was it for the scoring. Melotakis went the first five innings and gave up one run on three hits. He walked one and struckout seven. Steven Gruver gave up one hit and struckout four over the final two innings to record his first save. Pimentel went 1-2 with a walk and his second stolen base. JD Williams had a walk and stole his fifth base of the season. The Kernels are now 6-1 on the season. Tyler Duffey and David Hurlbut will pitch for the Kernels on Sunday afternoon. View full article

It was quite the power display for the Rochester Red Wings, something the Twins AAA-affiliate needed badly. Clete Thomas and Chris Colabello continue to make their case for big league jobs. Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton continue to make their cases for being the #1 prospect in baseball going into the 2014 season.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Twins fell again in Cleveland, but there was plenty to watch in the Twins minor leagues. There was good pitching. The top prospects each had multi-hit games. And, the Red Wings got some big time power from the middle of their lineup. Check out what happened on Saturday in the minor league parks: Rochester Red Wings 8, Columbus Clippers 2 Box Score The middle of the Red Wings lineup came through in a big way on Saturday night in Ohio. Clete Thomas, Chris Colabello and Jeff Clement (the 3-4-5 hitters) combined to go 8-15 with a double, five home runs and seven RBI. Thomas is now hitting .386 after going 2-5 with his fifth and sixth home runs. Chris Colabello went 4-5 with his seventh double and seventh home run. Jeff Clement was 2-5 with the first two home runs of his season. Joe Benson had a single to extend his hitting streak to nine games. (Photo - Naples News) Liam Hendriks made the start. He gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out five. Caleb Thielbar came on and threw two scoreless innings, walking one and striking one out. Luis Perdomo gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth. He struck out two. New Britain Rock Cats 1, Portland Sea Dogs 2 Box Score The score was tied at one going into the bottom of the 9th inning. Lefty Edgar Ibarra, who threw a scoreless eighth inning, was back on the mound. He walked the leadoff batter and proceeded to throw two wild pitches to get the runner to third base. He then intentionally walked the next two batters in an attempt to set up a force at home plate. Jose Gonzalez was brought in, and he proceeded to walk in the winning run. Trevor May was very good while Terry Ryan watched from the stands. The hard-throwing right-hander went seven strong innings. He gave up one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out three. The Rock Cats jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first. Veteran Charlie Haeger, the knuckleballer who spent parts of five season in the big leagues, was on the mound for Portland. He missed all of the 2012 season after having Tommy John surgery. He walked Antoan Richardson to lead off the game. Richardson stole his twelfth base of the year and then advanced to third on a groundout by Danny Santana. With Mark Sobolewski batting, Haeger threw a pitch that knuckled past the catcher to score Richardson. That was the lone run of the game for New Britain. The Rock Cats had just four hits on the game. AJ Pettersen left Ft. Myers very early on Saturday morning and landed in Portland, Maine, two hours before the early afternoon game. He arrived at the ballpark to find that he was in the lineup, batting ninth and playing second base. In his first plate appearance, Haeger walked him. In his next plate appearance, he was hit by a knuckleball. He then flew out to right field twice. Alex Meyer will face Brandon Workman when the two teams play on Sunday at noon (central time). Ft. Myers Miracle 5, St. Lucie Mets 10 Box Score The Miracle’s nine game winning streak came to an end on Saturday night. Tom Stuifbergen made the start and gave up six runs on seven hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out three. Nelvin Fuentes struck out five over the next two innings. He gave up one hit and an unearned run. Corey Williams pitched the eighth inning. He gave up a solo home run and he struck out two. Chad Rodgers yielded two runs in the ninth. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out two. Miguel Sano did his part. The slugger gave the Miracle a 3-0 lead after one inning with a three-run blast, his tenth home run of the season. He had three hits in the game and drove in four runs. Matt Koch went 3-4 as well. Cedar Rapids Kernels 5, South Bend Silver Hawks 6 (11 innings) Box Score Tyler Duffey continued to pitch well, but it wasn’t enough on this night. The right-hander went the first seven innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out five. Tyler Jones came on and struck out the one batter he faced. Josh Burris came on and gave up three runs on one hit and three walks in one inning. Tim Atherton came on and got out of the ninth inning. He got the game to the 11th frame, but a leadoff walk led to a game-losing run. He gave up the run on two hits and three walks (one intentional) in two innings. Byron Buxton continued his streak of getting on base in all 27 games so far this season. He was 2-5 with a walk and his sixth and seventh doubles. He also stole his 12th base. Jorge Polanco went 2-5 with a walk and his third triple. He is now hitting .352. Tyler Grimes was 2-4 and was hit by two pitches. Niko Goodrum had a single, two walks and his third stolen base. A LOOK AHEAD to Sunday Sam Deduno will be making his first start of the season for the Red Wings on Sunday at noon (central time) in Columbus. Alex Meyer will be starting for New Britain in Portland, Maine on Sunday at noon. Ft. Myers plays at 3:05 on Sunday afternoon and will have Cole De Vries making a rehab start. J.O. Berrios will start for the Kernels in South Bend when they start at 1:05. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

Following the Minnesota Twins impressive series win in New York against the Yankees, GM Terry Ryan shuffled the roster. Down to Rochester go outfielders Oswaldo Arcia and Chris Parmelee, and infielder Eduardo Escobar. The Twins promoted infielder Doug Bernier and catcher/outfielder Chris Herrmann. This means there is one more player to be added to the 25 man roster. I believe it can be assumed that player will be 1B/OF Chris Colabello. The MLB and AAA All-Star breaks are at the same time, so Colabello will be able to participate in the home run contest and then the All-Star game. I assume he'll be promoted following the game. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Three weeks ago, many were touting Oswaldo Arcia as a potential American League Rookie of the Year candidate. However, he has been mired in an extreme slump the last couple weeks and clearly needed this. Parmelee began the season as the team's starting right fielder. He is fourth on the team with eight home runs, but is hitting just .223. His playing time has been fairly sporadic throughout the first half. Escobar got off to a fast start in April, but has not hit at all since. He is still just 24 and really needs to get some playing time in AAA. He was dubbed a utility infielder a year ago by the White Sox. Herrmann hit well in very limited time earlier in the season, but he has not hit at all in Rochester. After an 0-4 on Sunday, he is hitting .227 on the season, with a Escobaric .608 OPS. He can be the third catcher, allowing Doumit to play in right field. And, he can play in the outfield, as well. Bernier is a lesser known name. He is a minor league veteran. The 33 year old is hitting .295/.370/.407 with 23 extra base hits. Bernier went 0-4 in two games in 2008 with the Colorado Rockies, and this is his first time in the big leagues since. Along with the Rockies, he has spent time in the Yankees and Pirates organizations. This is a great story, if nothing else, of a guy not giving up. The Twins like having two infielders on the bench; Jamey Carroll is the other. The team has a spot on the 40 man roster for him. And, assuming the third player promoted is Colabello, I don't think anyone would question that. We hope he can get more consistent playing time in this, his third stint with the team. He has been our choice for Twins minor league player of the month in May and June. Overall with the Red Wings, he is hitting .354/.432/.652 (1.084) with 24 doubles and 24 home runs. He deserves an opportunity. Again, the Red Wings and the Twins begin their All-Star breaks now. The MLB All- Star game is Tuesday night while the AAA game is Wednesday night. Players will be with their second-half teams Thursday. View full article