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https://twitter.com/hotts58/status/1094647634290245634 My first thought to this question was I hope so. That being said, the Twins don’t necessarily need him to be what Logan Morrison was supposed to be last year. Morrison was brought in to be the team’s regular designated hitter. Lucas Duda is certainly not going to be give that responsibility with Nelson Cruz on the roster. Plus, Duda isn’t guaranteed any money under his deal with the Twins. He must be on the roster and contributing to get paid. Duda is left-handed so that could help him to find a place on a very right-handed heavy Twins line-up. Last season, he hit .241/.313/.418 with 29 extra-base hits in 107 games between Kansas City and Atlanta. He has a pair of 30 home run seasons under his belt including one as recent as 2017. CJ Cron, Tyler Austin, and Duda will all be battling for time at first base. A platoon with Cron or Austin versus lefties and Duda versus righties could add some power to the Twins line-up. https://twitter.com/MinnFan4Life/status/1094112001775886336 I certainly believe the Twins think they can contend this season especially in a very open AL Central. One of the biggest keys for 2019 is making sure the young core is ready to take the next step. Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano have plenty to prove after last season. Eddie Rosario and Jose Berrios were two of the team’s best players last year but they each could be more consistent this season. Max Kepler destroyed every level of the minor leagues and he hasn’t shown that ability at baseball’s highest level. Prospects don’t always pan out, so the club needs to continue to add depth throughout the minor league system. They were able to do that in last year’s draft and by trading away assets at last year’s deadline. Last year’s club was a good example of why one-year deals don’t typically work. There were a bunch of players with no connection to the club and very little team chemistry. Minnesota is never going to outspend other teams and I doubt many big-name free agents are identifying the Twins as an ideal destination for their talents. As much as fans don’t want to hear it, the Twins need to see what their young core can do this season. Everything could come together and be great or things could crash and burn. We will have to see what players are up to the challenge. https://twitter.com/PaulLovesTacos/status/1094016967755755520 There has been some talk of teams offering Manny Machado and Bryce Harper shorter-term deal with more annual money associated with each contract. I believe both players and their agents are looking for more long-term stability. They are each reaching free agency at a young age so the next contract they sign could take them through the bulk of their formative (and defining) years in the big leagues. They need to make sure the city and team are the right fit and that the contract works for their future. I think there are a few reasons as to why the Twins wouldn’t be interested at four-years and $40 million per season. Adding another $80 million to the payroll seems like quite the jump. Minnesota needs to get into a situation where they can make more money on their television contract and that could help open the coffers for more payroll funding. I also don’t know if these two players want to be on the same team. They both have big egos and each wants to be the face of a franchise. https://twitter.com/gary_pecinovsky/status/1094009443145170944 Nick Gordon is coming off his worst season as a professional. Most of last year, Gordon was playing at Triple-A where he was four and a half years younger than the competition. He struggled mightily with Rochester by hitting .212/.262/.283. His power hasn’t developed, and he doesn’t show much patience in the batter’s box. He’s spent the off-season adding some weight to his frame, which could help him in the power department. He was a consensus top-100 MLB prospect in each of the last four off-seasons, but he didn’t make any top-100 lists this off-season. Here at Twins Daily, he dropped from the organization’s third best prospect to the club’s 12th best prospect. He was added to the 40-man roster this off-season, so I think he will make his big league debut this season. Gordon needs to find his swing at Triple-A and then he will be just a phone call away. https://twitter.com/BlueWahoosBBall/status/1093921281458745346 There are certainly some trickle down effects from the big-league level all the way down to Double-A. Players throughout the system are impacted by those already ahead of them on the organizational depth chart. With that in mind, there are a lot of things that will impact who is starting at which level. I believe pitching continues to evolve and organizations are going to start taking a unique approach to the roles of starters. Chattanooga likely starts the year with a six-man rotation, but the organization most assuredly will be using more openers during the season. The Blue Wahoos’ bullpen will be equally important. If I am picking the rotation today, I think it will include Jorge Alcala, Tyler Wells, Sean Poppen, Daniel Camarena, Charlie Barnes, and Clark Beeker. Alcala was acquired from the Astros last season as part of the Ryan Pressly trade. Wells made five starts at Double-A last season and should start the year there again. Poppen spent the majority of 2018 in Chattanooga but there is depth ahead of him that will likely keep him at Double-A. Camarena was signed as a minor league free agent and hasn’t pitched yet in the Twins organization. Barnes pitched all last year at Fort Myers so he should move up a level. Beeker will be 26-years old this season, so he likely starts in Pensacola. What do you think? Leave a COMMENT and answer any of the questions above.

Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Wednesday. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Utility man Taylor Motter was released by the Twins. He’d been playing in Rochester. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Pawtucket 7 Box Score Fernando Romero was on the mound for the Red Wings. The right-hander went the first three innings. He gave up three runs on four hits. He walked a batter, hit a batter and struck out two in three innings. Tyler Duffey came on and gave up two runs on four hits in two innings. He struck out three. Ryne Harper gave up two runs on three hits over 2 2/3 innings. He walked two, hit one and struck out two. John Curtiss got the final four outs. Kennys Vargas had another strong game. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and his 16th double. Zander Wiel had a hit in his fist at bat, the first hit of his Triple-A career. Byron Buxton went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Montgomery 3 Box Score Clark Beeker made his first Double-A start for the Lookouts on Wednesday night. The right-hander from Davidson gave up just two hits over four shutout innings. He struck out two without issuing a walk. Anthony Marzi came on and worked the next two innings. The left-hander gave up one run on two hits and a walk. Tyler Jay worked the final two innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits, a walk and a hit batter. The Lookouts had just five hits in this game. Jaylin Davis provided the offense with a two-run, first-inning homer, his sixth with the Lookouts. Brent Rooker had a single and was hit by a pitch. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Palm Beach 1 Box Score Andro Cutura missed nearly two seasons after Tommy John surgery. On Wednesday, he turned 25 and celebrated with a Win. The right-hander gave up just one run on four hits in seven innings. He walked three and struck out four. Adam Bray gave up two hits over two scoreless innings to end the game. Taylor Grzelakowski led the way with a 3-for-5 game. He hit his 23rd double. Mark Contreras went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 15th double. Eddie De La Trinidad was 2-for-5 with his second double. Ben Rortvedt went 2-for-4 with his seventh Miracle double. Caleb Hamilton went 2-for-3 with a walk. Ryan Costello also had two hits. Alex Kirilloff extended his on-base streak to 33 games. Jose Miranda also doubled. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Wisconsin 4 Box Score Akil Baddoo paced the way early for the Kernels. In the first inning, he began the game with his 11th triple. An inning later, his 11th home run was a two-run shot that was the big hit in a five-run inning. Baddoo also walked once. Trevor Larnach went 3-for-5 with his sixth double and his second home run. Michael Helman went 2-for-4 with his third double. Michael Davis went 2-for-4 with his eighth double. Trey Cabbage knocked his 19th double, which Ben Rodriguez’s first triple drove in two runs. Blayne Enlow made the start. He gave up one run on four hits over five innings to pick up his third win of the year. He walked one, hit two and struck out eight batters. Jared Finkel went the next 2 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs on five hits and a walk. Derek Molina got the final four outs and gave up just one hit. E-TWINS E-TALK Elizabethton 2, Greeneville 1 (11 innings) Box Score Jean Carlos Arias has struggled since being demoted to the E-Twins. He had an early single. In the ninth inning, he singled in the game-tying run. And in the bottom of the 11th inning, he singled in Trevor Casanova with the game-winning run. DaShawn Keirsey had a single and two walks. Tyler Palm had another strong start. The lanky right-hander started with six scoreless innings. His final line was one run over 6 1/3 innings. He walked one, hit one and struck out four. Augustana University’s Jacob Blank came on and gave up just one hit over the final 4 2/3 innings. He intentionally walked one and struck out five to record his first professional win. GCL TWINS TALK GCL Twins 7, GCL Rays 8 Box Score The Twins played a rare night game in the Gulf Coast League. A six-run fourth inning put the Twins in a hold. However, in the seventh inning, they mounted a comeback. They scored six runs of their own to tie the game. However, in the bottom of the inning, they gave up what proved to be the game-winning run. Prelander Berroa started and gave up seven runs (just two earned) on eight hits and a walk over the first 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four. Denny Bentley came on and finished out the fourth and worked a scoreless fifth inning. Steven Cruz gave up one run on one hit and three walks over the next 1 2/3 innings. He struck out two. Petru Balan got the final four outs. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out one. Shane Carrier had two doubles in the game. Estamy Urena was 2-for-4 with a walk. Victor Tademo also had two hits in the game. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Jean Carlos Arias, Elizabethton Twins (3-5, game-tying and game-winning hits). Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Jacob Blank, Elizabethton Twins (4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 IBB, 5 K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed. #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 1-5 #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Ft. Myers) - 1-5, 2B(23), R, RBI, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #4 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 1-4, R, K #5 - Stephen Gonsalves (Minnesota) - Did not pitch #6 - Trevor Larnach (Cedar Rapids) - 3-5, 2B(6), HR(2), 2 R, 2 RBI #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 1-3, HBP, R, K #8 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, BB, 3B(11), HR(11), 2 R, 2 RBI #9 -Wander Javier - out of for the season #10 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did not pitch #11 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) #12 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 0-4, K #13 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - Did not play #14 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #15 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 2-4, 2B(7), R #16 - Yunior Severino (Elizabethton) - 0-1 #17 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - Out for the season (wrist) #18 - Ryan Jeffers (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, R #19 - Jacob Pearson (Cedar Rapids) - Did not play #20 - Luis Arraez (Chattanooga) - 1-3 #21 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, 2B(3), R, RBI, K *Since Wander Javier is out, I’d add #21 to the list. THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - RHP Zack Littell (4-6, 3.63 ERA) Chattanooga @ Montgomery (6:35 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen (5-6, 3.55 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 CST) - LHP Bryan Sammons (1-1, 8.20 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (7:00 CST) - RHP Melvi Acosta (2-4, 2.56 ERA) Greeneville @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Andrew Cabezas (1-3, 2.95 ERA) GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions about Wednesday’s games, or ask any questions you may have.

ROSTER MOVES RHP Alan Busenitz was recalled by Minnesota. OF James Ramsey was added to Rochester from Elizabethton. C Mitchell Kranson placed on the 7-day DL with Fort Myers INF Joe Cronin was reinstated from the 7-day DL at Cedar Rapids and promoted to Fort Myers. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester --, Gwinnett -- Box Score Fernando Romero, Twins Daily’s number two prospect, was scheduled to take the mound for Rochester on Sunday but the weather didn’t cooperate. Rain started falling early in the day and the field got too wet before the teams could get this one started. The teams will play a single-admission doubleheader in Rochester on Monday, April 23 starting at 4:05 pm CST. Rochester is scheduled to start a series in Charlotte on Monday night. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Pensacola 4 Box Score Former first-round pick Kohl Stewart was firing on all cylinders to start this game. He was perfect into the fifth inning before a walk on a 3-2 pitch. As you can see below, the 3-2 pitch was very close. One batter later, the no-hitter was gone and a batter after that the shutout was gone. https://twitter.com/NoDakTwinsFan/status/985694991673692160 Stewart came back out for the sixth frame but things got a little dicey. He allowed a one-out single before he committed a throwing error on a pick-off throw. During the same at-bat, he gave up a two-run home run and he was pulled from the game. Overall, he pitched 5.1 innings and was charged with three earned runs. He struck out five and walked one. Zack Jones took over for Stewart and pitched 1.2 scoreless frames. He allowed three walks and struck out one. Ryne Harper pitched a scoreless eighth but ran into some trouble in the ninth. He allowed a run to score to cut the lead to one. Williams Ramirez was called on for one out, a strikeout, as he earned his second save. Chattanooga got things started early. Zander Wiel doubled in the first and came around on a T.J. White single to put the club up 1-0. Wiel and White added to the scoring in the third. With two outs, Wiel singled before White launched a two-run bomb. In the fifth, Ryan Walker smacked a solo home run to put the club up 4-0. With things getting close in the eighth, Wynston Sawyer hit his first home run of the season and it turned out to be the game winner. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Tampa 6 (7 Innings) Box Score Rain was about the only thing that could slow down the Tarpons on this day. Clark Beeker got knocked around for three runs on four hits in two innings of work. Logan Lombana took over for Beeker but didn’t fare much better. Across three innings, he gave up two runs on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Max Cordy finished the game by surrendering one run on two hits. He struck out two and walked one. At the plate, the Miracle were limited to three hits and none of their hits were for extra bases. Caleb Hamilton reached base twice in three plate appearances. Jimmy Kerrigan scored the team’s only run after a pair of wild pitches moved him around the bases. Aaron Whitefield went 1-for-3 with a strikeout. As a team, the club went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Fort Myers has an off-day on Monday before beginning a nine-game road trip on Tuesday. Up first on their road trip is a three game series against the Dunedin Blue Jays. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids --, Clinton -- Box Score For the second Sunday in a row, the Kernels saw snow get in the way of their Sunday baseball plan. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on May 26. Game one is scheduled to start at 5:05 pm that night and game two will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Monday is a scheduled off-day for Cedar Rapids and they hope to be able to start a three game series with Beloit on Tuesday. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: T.J. White, Chattanooga (2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Kohl Stewart, Chattanooga (5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 K) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 1-4, K #14 - LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) – 0-5, K #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 0-2, BB, 2 K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Charlotte (6:04 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions about Sunday’s games, or ask any questions you may have.

Seth was joined by four guests on Monday night's podcast. They were: Clark Beeker was the Twins 33rd-round pick out of Davidson in 2016. He began 2017 in Cedar Rapids where he went 11-3 with a 2.03 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He was the right-handed starting pitcher on the 2017 Twins Daily Minor League All Star team. Get to know more about his youth, going to Davidson for five years and his fantastic 2017. Several of Clark Beeker's Kernels wins were with the assistance of closer Hector Lujan. Lujan was the second guest on this show. We discussed several topics including his fantastic 2017 season for the Kernels. What was the key to him taking a big step last year, and what does he hope to do in 2018. Find out about his community service which was recognized with a Harmon Killebrew Award, about his Eagles' fandom, and about his passion for cooking. We were also joined by another member of the Minnesota Gophers baseball program. Senior third baseman Micah Coffey hit .340/.396/.493 (.889) with 15 doubles, two triples, four homers and 46 RBI for the Gophers. How did the Illinois native get to Minnesota. What adjustments has he made over his first three college seasons? How has his time in the Northwoods League and the Cape Cod League helped him? He discusses the Gophers difficult schedule and how excited he is to get to play an exhibition game against the Twins on February 22nd in Ft. Myers. Also, what kind of statistical/analytical information do Gophers players get? Finally, Seth was joined for 23 minutes by Twins radio voice Cory Provus. They discusses several topics, baseball and other. It was fun talking to him about working college football, college basketball and MLB baseball and how the preparations are different. We talked about the Twins, the quiet offseason, his busy schedule and so much more. It was a very fun discussion that you will enjoy thoroughly. If you have any questions for any of these guests, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. I'll ask them during the show. If you are listening during the live show, I will also ask for questions on my Twitter feed, so you can ask questions there as well. To listen to Monday night's show, click here. Either way, you'll want to listen and learn more about some Twins minor leaguers and more. Also, if you subscribe to Minnesota Sports Weekly on iTunes, you'll also be able to listen to these shows. And, from what I'm told, Thursday night's Minnesota Sports Weekly episode will contain interviews with some very quality guests. PREVIOUS EPISODES While you're eagerly anticipating tonight's show, tune in to some of the previous episodes... Episode 1: Twins (LaMonte Wade, Stephen Gonsalves, Tyler Wells), Gophers (Luke Pettersen), MLB.com's prospect guru Jonathan Mayo. Episode 2: Twins (Aaron Slegers, Alex Kirilloff, Brent Rooker, Royce Lewis), Gophers (Toby Hanson) Episode 3: Twins (Bryan Sammons, Ryley Widell, Zack Littell, Travis Blankenhorn), Gophers (Alex Boxwell) Episode 4: Twins (Zack Granite, Nelson Molina, Lewis Thorpe, Josh Rabe), and Baseball HQ prospect guru, Chris Blessing. Episode 5: Twins prospects Charlie Barnes, Alex Robles, Tyler Watson, David Banuelos.

Recently, Clark Beeker answered some questions about his first full season, his offseason and much more. Be sure to leave your questions or comments below. Seth Stohs (SS): It’s been a few weeks now since the season ended. Have you had a chance to reflect on your season? Did you accomplish goals you may have set before the season? Clark Beeker (CB): Looking back on my first full season in professional baseball, I was pleased with the way it went. Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers were both great places to play and having both teams in the playoffs was indicative of the talent of the players and coaching staffs. Going into the season, it wasn’t a definite that I would be one of the starters in the Cedar Rapids’ rotation so making that happen was a nice first step. As the season goes on, you make adjustments based on what in your arsenal is successful, how the hitters respond to certain pitches/sequences, and the overall daily life of being a minor league baseball player. Being open to making adjustments and learning along the way definitely helped my progression up until the culmination of the season. SS: How did you hold up, physically or emotionally, through your first full season of pro ball? CB: I felt that my body held up pretty well – I really didn’t experience any fatigue until the last couple of weeks of the season. Half the battle for playing in your first full season is being able to stay off the DL and handle the rigors of bus rides and weeks without an off day. Taking care of my body, eating right (most of the time), and getting plenty of sleep were keys for me that I focused on throughout the season. SS: You made the Twins Daily Minor League All-Star team as the right-handed starting pitcher. As you look at your stat line, what are you most excited about? CB: I see that the checks I wrote to the voters cleared – so that was a smooth transaction. Being recognized was definitely an honor considering how many strong performances there were throughout the entire organization. My biggest takeaway from the season, numbers wise, was the amount of innings I was able to throw. By averaging roughly 6.25 innings per start, I was able to keep hitters off the bases and pitch deep into games. Although pitching late into games isn’t always indicative of success, you’re not going to keep pitching into the 7th, 8th, 9th innings if you’re not pitching well and giving your team a chance to win. I typically wasn’t pleased with my outing unless I went seven innings or more. SS: To what do you attribute your success throughout the 2017 season at Cedar Rapids? CB: I think the biggest thing for me was having a plan for how I wanted to attack each hitter, every single start. It may not have been the right plan, but based on scouting reports (which video intern Sam Berk did a great job of analyzing and compiling), my pitches, and various sequences, I had a purpose with every pitch. I got away from this in Fort Myers and coupled with better/more advanced hitters, I didn’t pitch as well as I would have liked. SS: When things were going really well, such as during your 30+ inning scoreless streak, what was working well for you? CB: Being able to pitch at home in Cedar Rapids for all 4 games…haha. But all in all, I made a conscious effort to start throwing my changeup more from the first inning on. The first three months of the season, I wouldn’t start incorporating the changeup until the second time through the lineup. I started throwing it more, especially in disadvantage counts (1-0, 2-1) and was able to find some success. The combination of the changeup, limiting walks, some great plays by the defense, and obviously a little bit of luck along the way enabled me to pitch effectively. SS: What was the atmosphere like in Cedar Rapids as the team earned a playoff berth and then did well in the playoffs? CB: To preface this, Cedar Rapids has a phenomenal fan base. The support we had night in and night out definitely gave our team an advantage, especially as the season reached the second half of a long season. In one of our home playoff games, we had about 1800 fans and they were as loud and into the game as any of the 3000-4000 attendances we had throughout the season. SS: Have you been able to get away from baseball so far this offseason with any fun activities? Anything exciting for the rest of the offseason? CB: I haven’t done anything too exciting – it was nice to relax at home for the first few weeks. I have a couple weekend trips planned to visit some former teammates and friends so it will be nice to catch up with friends that you haven’t seen since the previous offseason. SS: When do you start your workouts in preparation for 2017? When do you, as a starting pitcher, pick up a ball and start throwing? CB: I’ve begun the strength training phase after I let my body recover for almost a month. I’ve tried to focus on staying flexible and getting stronger in all aspects of my body to ensure that I’m ready for spring training. I’ll start throwing in December and gradually work my way back to a long toss phase that will prepare me for bullpens in February. I hate feeling rushed, so I’ll give myself a little extra time to slowly build up my arm strength. SS: Have you had a chance to catch up with your old teammates and coaches at Davidson to touch base on their Regional and Super Regional experience in June? CB: I’ve been able to catch up with them a decent amount this offseason – I’m helping out in the athletic fundraising office at Davidson to support the baseball program’s fundraising efforts. Their run was so unlikely in the grand scheme of things, but so deserving for how hard the players work and what Coach Cooke has endured to reach this point. The best thing about looking back at the Super Regional run is seeing the outpouring of support from current players, former teammates, and the community for something that was a first for the Davidson baseball program. SS: What area of your game do you feel you took the furthest strides with in 2017? CB: I thought that my ability to pitch inside with the fastball was the biggest thing for me during the season. We would go entire games where the catcher (usually my roommate Ben Rortvedt) would exclusively call inside fastballs and abandon the fastball away. Being able to pitch inside prevented hitters from extending their hands on pitches over the plate and set up my offspeed pitches to be more effective. SS: What are the areas of your game that you would like to spend time this offseason working to improve? CB: For me, just to improve on my full body strength and arm strength which would hopefully translate to an uptick in velocity. As a pitcher, I definitely don’t scare hitters when they see my fastball velocity on the scouting report, so being able to find a comfort zone where I’m pitching at my maximum velocity every pitch is something I am working to improve. SS: Talk about Tommy Watkins and the coaching staff in Cedar Rapids and how they helped you individually and helped the team succeed. CB: Tommy (Watkins), JP (Martinez), and Dink (Brian Dinkelman) were all great to be around everyday, which is tough to do when you have a 140-game season crammed into five months. Tommy did a great job of keep things loose and challenging us to bring great energy each day at the ballpark. As a pitching coach, JP was able to find an approach that worked best for each guy and helped me create a plan for how I could have success each start. He constantly worked with me to fine tune my delivery and challenged me to not become complacent as the season moved along. SS: What was it like seeing former big leaguers like LaTroy Hawkins, Torii Hunters or other roving instructors come through Cedar Rapids. Any good conversations with any of them?. CB: It was great to hear from not only former big leaguers, but guys who have played longer than most baseball players ever envision. LaTroy talked about focusing on the details and not overlooking the importance of holding runners on base, fielding your position, etc. Even when Sam Perlozzo was around, I would try to pick up bits of information that the hitter deems important – baseball is more mental than a lot of people realize. SS: Rank the top 3-5 TV shows you’ve binge watched… CB: Prison Break, Seinfeld, Breaking Bad, Entourage, The Office (in that order) A big Thank You to Clark Beeker for taking the time to respond to our questions. Please feel free to ask questions and comment below.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Montgomery 3 @ Chattanooga 2 Box Score Chattanooga gave up a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, starting the game with three consecutive singles and a sacrifice fly to plate two runs. After a bumpy first inning, Lookouts starter Dereck Rodriguez settled down and went deep into the game. He gave up no more runs after the two in the first, went 7.0 innings, struck out seven, and walked no one. He was lifted for Cody Stashak, who gave up a run in the top of the eighth, which ended up being the difference maker. After they fell behind early, the Lookouts battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, before Stashak coughed up the lead an inning later. The Lookouts were led by Max Murpy, 2-4 with an RBI double and T.J. White, who launched a solo home run to tie the game in the seventh. The bottom of the Lookouts order really struggled on Thursday night, a combined 0-9 for the 7-8-9 hitters. The Lookouts had opportunities, but were 0-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding all eight of those runners. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7 @ Kane County 3 Box Score A big fourth inning led the Kernels back to the Western Division Championship Series for the fourth straight year. The Kernels scored six runs in the fourth, erasing an early two-run deficit, topped by a Trey Cabbage three-run homer, his only hit on a 1-2 night that included a walk. Jimmy Kerrigan had a big night at the plate as well, 3-5 with a pair of runs scored. Manager Tommy Watkins acknowledged to Kernels beat reporter Jeff Johnson that they found a tip in the Cougars pitcher. "“You know what, we got a hit and got him in the stretch. We had something on him, and it was more out of the stretch than in the windup." Read Jeff's story in its entirety here. Clark Beeker went 7.0 innings, scattered nine hits and gave up three runs (two earned) while walking three and striking out six. He was lifted for Colton Davis who gave the team 1.2 innings of two-hit baseball before Hector Lujan came in to get the final out of the game against the only batter he faced to preserve the win. The Kernels will await the winner of the Peoria and Quad Cities deciding Game 3 on Thursday night, and will begin the Championship Series on the road on Saturday. E-Twins E-Notes Pulaski 1 @ Elizabethton 12 Box Score In the first game of the Championship Series, the Twins let Pulaski know they were ready to get down to business, blasting the Yankees 12-1. The Twins were led by J.J. Robinson, 3-4 with two RBIs and T.J. Dixon, 3-3 with a double, a home run, a walk and three runs scored! Nick Brown earned the win with 6.0 innings of one-run baseball. He gave up five hits, walked three, and struck out three. Ryley Widell gave the Twins 2.0 innings of scoreless baseball, and recorded five of his six outs via the strikeout, but he also walked a pair of guys and gave up three hits. Jose Martinez finished the game with 1.0 inning, he gave up just one hit, no runs, no walks, no strike outs. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Clark Beeker, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – T.J. Dixon, Elizabethton Twins FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Chattanooga @ Montgomery (6:35pm) – TBD Cedar Rapids - Off Elizabethton @ Pulaski( 6:00pm) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games.

RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 10, Louisville 5 Box Score The Red Wings actually trailed 5-0 after three innings, but the bats went on a tear to make this look like a pretty one-sided affair. Rochester had 17 hits, but nobody shined brighter than Niko Goodrum, who was 3-for 5 with six RBI. Six! Even as late as the eighth inning Rochester held just a one-run lead, but Goodrum delivered a two-run single in the eighth and would later score on a Matt Hague single. And to really drive the nail in the coffin, Niko socked a three-run homer in the ninth. That was Goodrum’s 12th home run of the season, and he also stole his 10th base of the year. It seems like Niko has been around for ages, but he’s still only 25. He was in center field tonight, but has played everywhere on the diamond other than pitcher and catcher this season. Daniel Palka also tallied three hits and Matt Hague, Kennys Vargas, Tommy Field and Leonardo Reginatto all had two hits each. Chris Heston got knocked around over his five innings (10 hits, five earned runs), but the bullpen was excellent. Alex Wimmers threw two perfect innings with three strikeouts. Buddy Boshers got the first two batters out in the eighth, but gave up a double and a walk before being lifted for Jake Reed, who managed to end the threat. Reed walked two batters in the ninth, but he also struck out three, so no worries. It was Reed’s fourth save for Rochester. The win improved the Wings record to 73-53, putting them three games up in the Wild Card race. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Tennessee 6, Chattanooga 4 Box Score Fernando Romero had a rough night, failing to even last his customary 5.0 innings for the first time in eight starts. The 22-year-old gave up six runs for the second-straight start, surrendering eight hits while walking four batters over 4.1 innings. His ERA as gone from 2.60 to 3.30 over his last two appearances. T.J. White hit his 12th homer of the season and Andy Wilkins had a pair of hits and a stolen base. Levi Michael reached base in two of his four plate appearances, and came in to the game with a .359 OBP on the season for the Lookouts. D.J. Baxendale held the Smokies scoreless over the final 3.2 innings. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Tampa 3 Box Score Clark Beeker earned a victory in his FSL debut, but he finally gave up some runs. The right-hander had four-straight scoreless starts for Cedar Rapids prior to his promotion, but he gave up three runs for the Miracle. Thanks to the bats, however, he was pitching with the lead all night, and those runs didn’t hurt the team in the least bit. Zander Wiel hit a three-run homer, his 10th of the year, and Brent Rooker added a solo shot of his own. Rooker, who also had three RBI, now has 15 home runs in 53 professional games. Jermaine Palacios had a pair of hits, lifting his FSL average up to an even .300. Brandon Lopez also had two hits and catcher Kevin Garcia had a hit, a walk and scored twice. Michael Theofanopoulos pitched two scoreless innings before Williams Ramirez finished things off with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Beloit 0 Box Score Travis Blankenhorn hit a homer in the fourth inning and the Kernels pitching staff managed to make that one-run lead stand, as they held the Snappers to just two hits. Charlie Barnes got the start and gave up one hit and a pair of walks over 5.0 innings pitched. The Twins 2017 fourth-rounder out of Clemson struck out four batters, and lowered his Midwest League ERA to 3.18. Logan Lombana pitched the sixth and seventh, Eduardo Del Rosario had a 1-2-3 eighth before Hector Lujan picked up his league-leading 15th save thanks to a huge game-ending 5-4-3 double play completed by the combination of Jordan Gore, Blankenhorn and Lewin Diaz. The homer was Blankenhorn’s ninth of the season. Christian Cavaness was 2-for-3 with a triple and Shane Carrier had the only other hit for the Kernels, extending his hitting streak to 25 games. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Bristol 2 Box Score Down to their last out, the Bristol Pirates got a dramatic game-tying homer to send this on into extras, but the Twins prevailed thanks to a huge 12th inning. Gorge Munoz drove in Matt Albanese to score the go-ahead run, but E-Town would pile on three more runs. Ryley Widell, a seventh-round pick from this year’s draft, gave up just an unearned run over 5.0 innings. He struck out seven, and is now averaging 11.2 K/9 to go with a 2.08 ERA. Moises Gomez gave up that huge game-tying homer, but that was it over his 5.0 innings. Jose Martinez pitched the final 2.0 innings to pick up his fifth win. All the scoring prior to extra innings came from a Jose Miranda two-run homer in the sixth inning, his team-leading ninth home run of the year. Akil Baddoo had two hits, including the team’s only other extra-base knock, a double. T.J. Dixon was 2-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored. GCL TWINS TAKES Twins 8, Red Sox 2 Box Score A trio of big names appeared on the mound for the GCL Twins: Lachlan Wells, Tyler Jay and Blayne Enlow. But it was Jean Carlos Arias who stole the show, going 4-for-5 with his fourth home run and ninth stolen base of the season. Emmanuel Morel also had a big game, going 3-for-5 while stealing is 10th and 11th bases of the year. Wells, pitching for the first time since June, struck out six batters over 4.0 innings of work. He gave up one run on a pair of hits and did not walk a batter. Jay, making just the second appearance of his rehab assignment, had four K's over 1.2 innings. He gave up a run on two hits and a walk, but it was unearned (due to his own error). Enlow finished up the game with 3.1 perfect innings to pick up his second win. He struck out four batters. So over the first 17.1 innings of his career, Enlow has a 1.04 ERA, 9.3 K/9 and a 0.58 WHIP. All together, that trio of hurlers gave up just one earned run on four hit and one walk while striking out 14 batters. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Charlie Barnes, Cedar Rapids (5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Niko Goodrum, Rochester (3-for-5, HR, 6 RBI, 2 R, SB) SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Louisville, 12:00 pm CT, Stephen Gonsalves (2.08 ERA, 0.77 WHIP) Chattanooga at Tennessee, 4:30 pm CT, Lewis Thorpe (making Chattanooga debut) Fort Myers at Tampa, 12:00 pm CT, Brady Anderson (4.19 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) Cedar Rapids vs. Beloit, 2:05 pm CT, Tyler Beardsley (5.48 ERA, 1.35 WHIP) Elizabethton vs. Johnson City, 5:00 pm CT, Christian Broussard (8.10 ERA, 1.80 WHIP) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday's games.

Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Tuesday. Let’s start with the transactions of the day: RHP Clark Beeker - he of the 32.2 inning scoreless streak - has been promoted from Cedar Rapids to the Ft. Myers Miracle. RHP Eduardo Del Rosario is moving back to the Kernels from the Miracle. Keaton Steele was placed on the Miracle’s disabled list. Cody Stashak started his rehab assignment in the GCL. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Columbus 2 Box Score With Hector Santiago’s rehab put on hold, Stephen Gonsalves made the start for Rochester on his regular rest. He again performed very well. The southpaw went six innings and gave up just one run on four hits. He walked two and struck out eight. The run he gave up was on a double off the bat of the rehabbing Lonnie Chisenhall. Gonsalves struck out the side in both the second and fifth innings. With the help of the bullpen and the bats, Gonsalves recorded his first AAA win. Could his next start be in Chicago as a member of the big league club? Stay tuned. Drew Rucinski gave up a run on three hits in the seventh. John Curtiss pitched a perfect eighth. Michael Tonkin was given the ninth inning and finished off the win with a scoreless inning. A lot of guys contributed to the offense. Matt Hague led the way. He went 3-5 with three RBI. Mitch Garver went 2-4 and his 28th double drove in a run. Kennys Vargas went 2-4, was intentionally walked, and contributed his ninth homer. JB Shuck went 2-3 with his 23rd double and a sacrifice. Daniel Palka was 2-5. Niko Goodrum was 1-2 with two walks and a very, very long home run. It was his 11th of the season. Zack Granite went 1-3 before he left the game in the fifth inning. He is day-to-day. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga Box Score The Lookouts had an off-day on Tuesday before starting a five-game series against Tennessee on Wednesday. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers , Lakeland Box Score Rain won the day again in Florida and this game was postponed. The two teams will play two seven-inning games on Wednesday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Burlington 2 Box Score The Kernels got ahead early and were able to hold it thanks to some strong pitching. Lefty Bryan Sammons started and gave up two runs on four hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out six. Ryan Mason provided two scoreless innings before Colton Davis and Hector Lujan each threw a scoreless frame. For Lujan, who struck out two, it was his 13th save of the season. Caleb Hamilton provided the big blast in the first inning when he hit his ninth home run. Trey Cabbage went 2-4 with the seventh RBI. Aaron Whitefield knocked in a run with his sixth triple. He was 2-4 with a walk. He also stole his 29th base. Royce Lewis was given a game off for the first time since joining the Kernels. Tommy Watkins told Steve Buhr the following for an article which appeared in the Star Tribune. “‘I think the plan is to play him a couple of days, then give him a day or two (off),’ Watkins said. ‘Definitely not try to overload him with swinging every day. He’s coming from a high school season, first taste of pro ball, so we’ll ease him in.’” E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Johnson City 11 Box Score It was a rare afternoon games for the E-Twins, particularly leading up to a rare off day for the team on Wednesday (they have three off days all season). Things didn’t exactly go well for the Twins. Edwar Colina started. He gave up four runs on five hits and three walks in just 3.2 innings. He struck out three. Juan Gamez came on next and the converted catcher struggled with his control. In two innings, he gave up five runs on one hit and five walks. He struck out one. Rickey Ramirez gave up two runs on three hits and a walk over the final 2.1 innings. He struck out two. The Twins had seven hits. Ariel Montesino went 1-2 with two walks and his fourth double. He drove in two runs. Gorge Munoz went 2-3 and was hit by a pitch. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 4 Box Score Tyler Benninghoff was the Twins 11th-round pick last June out of high school. He fell to the 11th round because he wasn’t able to pitch much his senior year. The Twins signed him, for well over slot, and he immediately underwent Tommy John surgery. It was a gradual recovery, but on Tuesday, about 14 months following surgery, Benninghoff returned to a game mound. It went well. He threw one inning. He walked one and he struck out one. He was able to do what he wanted. Benninghoff told Twins Daily, “I had one inning or 20 pitches today whichever came first, but for me I wanted to fill up the zone and get out of the inning in less than 20 pitches.” Tyler Wells came on next and went the next five innings. He gave up four runs (two earned) on five hits, a walk and and a hit batter. He struck out four. Cody Stashak pitched the final two innings. He gave up one hit and hit a batter, but he did not allow a run. He struck out two batters. There wasn’t much offense for the Twins either. Shane Kennedy, also rehabbing, went 1-2 with two walks and a stolen base. Ben Rodriguez drove in the team’s lone run with his second home run. Emmanuel Morel was 1-4 with his ninth double. The big story of the game was the return (is it a return if it’s also his first pro appearance). It meant a lot to the right-hander, an end to one phase and a start to another. “It was a weight lifted of my shoulder being able to throw my first inning and get that under my belt. Now instead of focusing on rehab, I can focus on furthering my baseball career with the Twins.” TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Aaron Whitefield, Cedar Rapids Kernels WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Columbus (6:05 CST) - LHP David Hurlbut Chattanooga @ Tennessee (6:00 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart Lakeland @ Ft. Myers (DH at 4:00 CST) - LHP Anthony McIver, RHP Randy LeBlanc Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (6:30 CST) - LHP Tyler Watson Elizabethton - No Game Scheduled GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (9:00 CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Tuesday’s games.

Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Friday, starting with some business, followed by the transactions. Off the field, there may have been some big news. https://twitter.com/ZachVanceJCP/status/896012670259933184 The Twins have asked the city of Elizabethton to make needed improvements to Joe O’Brien Field. The Player Development contract between the Twins and Elizabethton runs out at the end of the season, and there is a real chance the Twins could go elsewhere. Even with the ballpark changes, it’s possible the Twins could go elsewhere, but this certainly helps. LaMonte Wade was activated from the disabled list. Travis Harrison was placed on the disabled list. Brian Olson ended his rehab stint in the GCL and returned to the Miracle. Cedar Rapids placed Travis Blankenhorn on the 7-day disabled list with a lower back strain. Austin Bizzle was also activated from the GCL’s DL. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Norfolk 7 Box Score Looking at the final score, you might be surprised that this game was tied 0-0 through six innings. Lefty David Hurlbut was fantastic. He did give up a run in the seventh to put the Red Wings down 1-0. Hurlbut began the eighth inning, but he gave up two singles before getting a strikeout for the first out of the inning. Jake Reed came on to try to keep it a one-run game, but that’s not quite what happened. Reed gave up a single, but Daniel Palka came up throwing and got the runner out at the plate for the inning’s second out. Uplifting, but then Reed gave up a walk to load the bases, and they were cleared by a double by Mike Yastrzemski. Yaz’s grandson scored when Paul Janish singled him in. Then the inning mercifully came to an end, but the damage was done. Luke Bard got the ninth inning, and he was charged with two runs on two hits in the inning. He struck out two. Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Red Wings had just two hits. In the ninth, Zack Granite scored on Daniel Palka’s ninth double. Palka later scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Hague. But it wasn’t enough, and the Red Wings fell. Mitch Garver hit his 26th double and Kennys Vargas went 2-4. Hurlbut’s final line? He gave up two runs on 10 hits. He struck out eight and didn’t walk a single batter. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Birmingham 2 Box Score Zack Littell made his third start for the Lookouts since coming over from the Yankees organization. He improved to 2-0 thanks to six quality innings. He gave up just one run on five hits. He walked three and struck out three. At 86 pitches, he was removed. Yohan Pino made his first appearance since a long DL stint. He gave up a solo homer in the seventh inning. Ryan Eades pitched two very efficient innings to close out the win. Nick Gordon returned to the lineup after sitting out two games. He went 2-5 with an RBI. LaMonte Wade returned after being out since July 31st. He went 1-3 with two walks and was hit by a pitch. Jonathan Rodriguez walked twice and drove in two runs. Andy Wilkins provided some insurance late with two RBI. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1 - Ft. Myers 6, Dunedin 4 Box Score It’s always good to score early… and then hang on. The Miracle got their double- header started with a big, five-run first inning and held on. With two on, Zander Wiel hit a grounder. Because the ball was misplayed, two runs scored. Next, with two runners on, Brent Rooker hit his fifth Miracle home run, a three-run shot, to give the Miracle a 5-0 lead. That gives Rooker 12 homers since signing with the Twins. Randy LeBlanc started and went 4.2 innings. He gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out three. Anthony McIver worked the final 2.1 innings. He gave up four hits, but no runs and struck out one. Brian Olson came off of the DL. He had a broken foot. He’s been rehabbing in the GCL, but this was his first Miracle game. He went 1-3. Game 2 - Ft. Myers 1, Dunedin 0 Box Score Tanner English came to the plate with a runner on third base and less than two outs. His sacrifice fly scored Jaylin Davis. Not exactly exciting normally, but when it’s tied 0-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning of the second game of a doubleheader, it’s a walk-off. The Miracle were able to sweep two games from the Dunedin Blue Jays. As you would expect from a 1-0 game, there wasn’t a lot of excitement, at least until the seventh inning. But first, we should point out that Sean Poppen started and he was fantastic. He threw six shutout innings and gave up just one hit. He walked one and struck out five. Andrew Vasquez came in for the seventh inning. He gave up hits to the first two batters. He then tried a pickoff play and threw the ball away, allowing runners to be at second and third with nobody out. However, he turned it on at the point. He got a ground out to third base, with the runners holding. Then he got a big strikeout for the second out. Another ground ball to third, and the inning was over. That set up the bottom of the seventh. Davis, who had notched his seventh double earlier in the game, started the inning with a single. One out later, he advanced to third on a single by Nelson Molina. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, English stepped to the plate and stepped up with the game-winning sacrifice fly. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 0 Box Score Clark Beeker was on the mound again for the Kernels, and that’s been must-watch pitching his last several outings. It was again on Friday night. The right-hander threw seven more shutout innings.He gave up three hits and walked three without a strikeout. His consecutive scoreless innings streak now sits at 32.2 innings. He has now given up zero runs in four straight starts. On July 23rd, he threw six scoreless innings. He threw a complete game shutout on July 29th. On August 4th, he went 8.2 innings. And now seven more shutout innings. He is now 11-3 with a Midwest League leading 2.03 ERA. For his part, Beeker says he doesn’t think about the streak, though he clearly doesn’t want to give up runs. He told Twins Daily on Friday night, “I don't think about the streak too much, but it's just so happens the streak is runs allowed and not something like hits or walks. But I definitely do bear down and focus more pitch by pitch once those guys get into scoring position. The defense made some great plays behind me tonight that definitely helped us pick up the win. ” His catcher was instrumental in the Kernels win as well. Ben Rortvedt gave the Kernels a 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the bottom of the second inning. It was his fourth homer of the year. In the fourth inning, he added an RBI single. But Rortvedt’s value obviously is felt by his pitching staff as well. According to Beeker, “Ben does a phenomenal job behind the plate. It really is impressive to watch him work and how much he values the defensive side of the game. Obviously his home run and single were huge to get some momentum going early, and he's definitely swung the bat better these last few months. His dedication to being on the same page with the pitchers and taking control of the game at his age and in his first full season is impressive and has been fun to watch, whether I'm a spectator that day or pitching.” The third Kernels run scored on a Lewin Diaz single. Diaz went 2-3 in the game. Christian Cavaness went 1-3 with two walks. Caleb Hamilton was 1-3 with two walks. Beeker’s bullpen helped finish the shutout. Ryan Mason threw a scoreless eighth inning (despite two walks). Colton Davis recorded his third save with a scoreless ninth frame. He gave up one hit and struck one out. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Greeneville 3 Box Score While the E-Twins lost on the field, it appears that they had some positive news off of it that we mentioned up above. The Twins in Elizabethton is such a great tradition, it would be unfortunate if they were unable to maintain the affiliation. On the field, the offense was able to get some chances, but they were unable to cash in often enough. Their lone run in the game came on a solo home run off the bat of Kolton Kendrick who also walked in the game. Andy Cosgrove went 2-4 with a double. Jose Miranda was also 2-4. TJ Dixon added his third double. Bailey Ober made the start for the Twins. He gave up three runs on four hits, a walk and a hit batter in 5.2 innings of work. He struck out five. Rickey Ramirez came on and threw 2.1 scoreless innings, striking out one. Jared Finkel struck out one in his inning. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score The Twins got an early lead, gave it up, and then won in dramatic fashion on a walk off. Austin Bizzle started for the Twins. He gave up two runs on three hits in four innings. He struck out six without a walk. Carlos Suniaga went the next 4.2 innings. He gave up one run on three hits. He walked three and struck out eight. David Gerics came on and got the final out. Ben Rodriguez led the Twins offense. He went 2-4 with his ninth double. In the bottom of the ninth, Taylor Grzelakowski led off with a single. Dane Hutcheon replaced him on the bases. Victor Tademo sacrificed him over to second. Emmanuel Morel had a pinch hit single to advance Hutcheon to third base. Then Humberto Maldonado singled in Hutcheon to win the game. It gave Gerics his first professional win. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Clark Beeker, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Ben Rortvedt, Cedar Rapids Kernels FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Norfolk @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers Chattanooga @ Birmingham (6:30 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez (vs Michael Kopech) Dunedin @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) - RHP Eduardo Del Rosario Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (9:00 am) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday’s games.

RED WINGS REPORT Game 1: Syracuse 2, Rochester 1 (7 innings) Box Score Dietrich Enns’ Minnesota org debut will go down as a complete game. Sure, it was only a six-inning outing, but it still counts. Enns, whom the Twins acquired from the Yankees in the (second) Jaime Garcia trade, gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out four. Niko Goodrum hit his 22nd double of the year and drew a walk. Engelb Vielma hit his eighth two-bagger since being called up from Chattanooga. Daniel Palka was 1-for-2 with a walk. Both managers got ejected from this one, in separate incidents/innings and even by different umpires. Had to make it a little awkward to go back out there for Game 2. Game 2: Rochester 3, Syracuse 2 (7 innings) Box Score Mitch Garver was 2-for-3 with a double and sparked the game-winning rally. With the score tied in the top of the seventh (and final) inning, Garver hit a leadoff single. That was followed by a Leonardo Reginatto double. Consecutive walks by Niko Goodrum and J.B. Shuck forced in the go-ahead run. Nik Turley got off to a great start, striking out three batters in three scoreless innings, but a rain delay knocked him out of the game. Drew Rucinski gave up two runs over 2.1 innings. Jake Reed pitched 1.2 scoreless innings for his first win of the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Jackson 1 Box Score Nick Gordon hit his eighth home run and Stephen Gonsalves pitched 6.2 shutout innings to help lift the Lookouts to victory. Gordon also stole his 13th base and drew a walk. He has five more homers than he’s ever hit in a season, and both his current OBP (.357) and slugging percentage (.431) would represent career highs by a large margin. Gonsalves has been incredibly consistent this season. Tonight was his 13th start. You know how many times he’s given up four runs? Zero. Tonight was just his second scoreless outing, however, and the second consecutive game he’s pitched into the seventh inning. Third baseman T.J. White has also been essential to the special season Chattanooga is putting together. He was 2-for-2 tonight with a double, a homer and two walks. Max Murphy also had a pair of hits. Todd Van Steensel continued his excellent season by striking out a pair of batters over 1.1 scoreless innings. Gabriel Moya, recently acquired in the John Ryan Murphy trade, gave up a solo homer, but managed to earn the save. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Jupiter 0 Box Score Lewis Thorpe struck out nine batters over five shutout innings. He gave up just two hits and walked three. Thorpe threw 97 pitches on the night, 59 for strikes, as he lowered his ERA to 2.79 on the season. The nine K's was a season high, and Thorpe has now racked up 64 strikeouts in 58.0 innings this season. Here’s what Thorpe told Seth Stohs of Twins Daily after his outing: “Slider was working tonight. And the fastball. It wasn't really the plan but in the first two innings we figured out they were gonna be aggressive.” The K's kept coming, as Michael Theofanopoulos had four over his two innings and Williams Ramirez had three over his two frames. So it was a 16-strikeout game for the Miracle pitching staff. Plus, catcher Kevin Garcia was 2-for-4 with a couple of RBI. Nelson Molina was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. This was a huge win for Fort Myers, as it put them a half game in front of Jupiter for the Flordia State League South division lead. After finishing the first half two games under .500, the Miracle are 25-16 so far in the second half. KERNELS NUGGETS Kane County 2, Cedar Rapids 0 (10 innings) Box Score Clark Beeker was phenomenal, as he’s been all season for the Kernels. The Davidson product pitched 8.2 shutout innings, striking out seven without issuing a walk. He gave up four hits, all singles. He gave up a two-out single in the top of the ninth after he had surpassed the 100-pitch mark, so it seemed logical that was as far as he was going to pitch in this one. This was the 24-year-old’s third-straight scoreless start. He pitched a complete game shutout on July 29 after throwing six shutout innings in July 23. Unfortunately, Cedar Rapids just couldn’t get anything going offensively. Seth also found time to catch up with Beeker tonight, here’s what he had to say about his marvelous performance: “The game plan was very similar, mix in all counts and use the changeup early to set up the fastball later in at-bats. It was the third time facing these guys so I had a decent idea of how I wanted to pitch some of their hitters. I'd be lying if I said I completely ignored the scoreless streak, but I try not to think too much about it. I just know if I put up scoreless innings, it gives our team the best chance to win and keeps the bullpen fresh.” Colton Davis gave up a couple of runs in the top of the 10th inning, but it appeared for a moment the Kernels might mount a comeback. Ben Rortvedt drew a leadoff walk. After Trey Cabbage struck out, Hank Morrison hit a deep fly out to center field. Jordan Gore singled, but Rortvedt was thrown out at the plate for the game’s final out. That run wouldn’t have mattered much, so it was a bit of a head-scratcher. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 10, Burlington 5 Box Score Catcher Robert Molina had a big game, going 3-for-5 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Akil Baddoo was on base four times, hitting two singles to go with a pair of walks. Multi-hit games also came from Shane Carrier, J.J. Robinson, Ariel Montesino and T.J. Dixon. Brusdar Graterol, who turns just 19 later this month, picked up his first Appy League victory, giving up a pair of runs over five innings. He struck out three batters. Randy Dobnak, who was recently signed out of the United Shore League, earned the save by throwing the final four innings. He gave up three runs and struck out five. E-Town improved to 27-15 on the season, extending their lead in the Appy League West to 4.5 games. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 9, GCL Red Sox 8 Box Score Jean Carlos Arias, a 19-year-old Dominican center fielder, was 3-for-4 with a triple, a walk, two runs scored and an RBI. Emmanuel Morel, Benjamin Rodriguez, Alex Robles and Jared Atkins all had two hits a piece. Rodriguez drove in three runs. Altogether, the Twins had 14 hits, eight walks and stole five bases. They were also 8-for-17 with runners in scoring position. Royce Lewis had his second-straight three walk game, stole his 11th base (in 13 attempts) and scored a pair of runs. He’s now played 30 games. He has 32 hits, 16 walks and 34 runs scored. Lewis’ slash line is .291/.405/.445 (.850 OPS). Carlos Suniaga started and gave up two runs (one earned) over five innings. The Twins built an 8-4 lead before their bullpen sputtered a bit, letting the Red Sox back in this game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Clark Beeker, Cedar Rapids (8.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K) Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: T.J. White, Chattanooga (2-for-2, HR, 2B, 2 BBs SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Syracuse, 6:05 pm CT, David Hurlbut (3.34 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) Chattanooga vs. Jackson, 6:15 pm CT, Zack Littell (3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) Fort Myers vs. Jupiter, 5:05 pm CT, Anthony McIver (2.32 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) Cedar Rapids at Wisconsin, 6:35 pm CT, Anthony Marzi (2.27 ERA, 0.95 WHIP) Elizabethton vs. Burlington, 5:00 pm CT, Bailey Ober (0.00 ERA, 0.55 WHIP) GCL Twins vs, GCL Red Sox, 9:00 am CT, TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games.

Before we get to our Top 6 starting pitchers for the month of July, here is a list of a others who deserve to be recognized for a solid month. HONORABLE MENTION Edwar Colina - Elizabethton - 5 GS, 24.2 IP, 1-2, 2.19 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 20 H, 10 BB, 29 K Stephen Gonsalves - Chattanooga - 6 GS, 32.2 IP, 3-0, 3.31 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 32 H, 11 BB, 36 K Brusdar Graterol - GCL/Elizabethton - 5 G, 3 GS, 19.1 IP, 2-0, 2.33 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 13 H, 7 BB, 23 K. David Hurlbut - Rochester - 5 G, 4 GS, 29.2 IP, 3-1, 3.03 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 29 H, 4 BB, 24 K. Griffin Jax - Elizabethton/Cedar Rapids - 4 GS, 26.1 IP, 2-1, 2.39 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 19 H, 7 BB, 13 K. Bryan Sammons - Elizabethton - 5 G, 3 GS, 21.0 IP, 2-0, 1.29 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 11 H, 6 BB, 25 K. THE TOP SIX STARTING PITCHERS #6 - Fernando Romero - Chattanooga Lookouts - 6 GS, 3-1, 1.67 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 27.0 IP, 22 H, 11 BB, 36 K Romero was the Twins Daily #1 Twins Prospect coming into the season. He’s pitched like it through most of the season. Over the last six starts, he has been limited to five innings per start, and as you can see from the July numbers, he’s been very good. His fastball is consistently 96-99 mph. He’s got a good, sharp slider. His changeup is his pitch that needs work, but reports are that it continues to improve. It will be interesting to see how he is used the rest of this season. July was a good month for Romero, but he’s been good all year. He’s 11-6 with a 2.60 ERA with 115 strikeouts in 110.2 innings. #5 - Clark Beeker - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 5 GS, 3-1, 0.84 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 32.0 IP, 22 H, 3 BB, 23 K Beeker has been a regular in these monthly reports this season. He was the Twins 33rd-round pick in 2016 out of Davidson. In July, batters hit just .190/.230/.241 (.471) off of him. An ERA under 1.00. A WHIP under 1.00. You can’t ask a starter to do that, but Beeker’s been doing it while still providing a lot of innings. Last week, he tossed a complete game shutout. On the year, Beeker is now 11-3 with a 2.31 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He’s got tremendous control, having walked just 14 batters in 113 innings. #4 - Eduardo Del Rosario - Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers Miracle - 4 GS, 1-2, 1.33 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 27.0 IP, 15 H, 5 BB, 17 K Del Rosario was the Kernels Opening Day starter, and he was their first starter coming back after the All-Star break. At the end of July, he was finally promoted to the Miracle. In his final start of July, his first start with the Miracle, he gave up just an unearned run and one hit over eight innings. For the full month, opponents hit just .165/.232/.275 (.507) against him. He’s not a big guy, but he’s wiry, and throws with a whip-like action. On the season, he is now 7-6 with a 4.39 ERA. He’s got 90 strikeouts in 98.1 innings. #3 - Tim Melville - Rochester Red Wings - 5 GS, 1-3, 1.89 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 33.1 IP, 25 H, 8 BB, 28 K Melville was the Royals fourth-round pick in 2008 out of high school in Missouri. He was very highly-touted, but he struggled right away. He stayed in the Royals organization through the 2014 season. He pitched for Detroit’s AAA affiliate in 2015. He went to the Reds in 2016 and received a three-game, 11 inning big league debut. Following the season, he was not signed by anyone. So he went to the independent Atlanta League where he was a teammate for Twins legend Lew Ford with the Long Island Ducks. The Twins came calling, and since joining the Red Wings, Melville has been quite good. In nine games (eight starts), he is 3-3 with a 2.72 ERA. In July, batters hit just .205/.263/.279 (.542) off of him. Reports indicate that the still-just-27-year-old is sitting between 93 and 96 with his fastball, and he’s got a good breaking ball too. He might be a guy given an opportunity if the front office doesn’t believe that the AA guys are ready yet this year. #2- Charlie Barnes - Elizabethton Twins - 6 G, 5 GS, 2-0, 0.37 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 24.1 IP, 17 H, 8 BB, 26 K I mean, what can Charlie Barnes possibly do in his second month of pro ball after a debut like this. He gave up two runs in 2.1 innings in his pro debut (which came in June). In his next start, he gave up one run, the only run he gave up in 24.1 innings over the whole month. Opponents hit just .183/.255/.215 (.470) off him. Drafted in the fourth round out of Clemson this year, Barnes was touted as a changeup artist. It was no surprise that he was quickly promoted to Cedar Rapids where he threw four shutout innings to keep the streak going. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Rochester Red Wings - RHP Aaron Slegers - 5 GS, 5-0, 0.99 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 36.1 IP, 26 H, 4 BB, 22 K For the second month this season, Aaron Slegers is our choice for Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month. He was also the choice in May. Slegers made five starts in July and won all five of them. He gave up three runs in the first start. Over the last four starts, he gave up one run in 29.2 innings. Opponents hit just .202/.226/.240 (.466) off of him in July. The 24-year-old was the Twins fifth-round draft pick in 2014 out of Indiana. He wasn’t protected from the Rule 5 draft which made a lot of people in the organization nervous. When he wasn’t selected, he received an invitation to big league camp. He made a strong impression on the coaches and has taken some of the things he learned and put them to use this season. His five straight wins in July extends his streak to eight straight starts with a win. In that stretch, he is 8-0 with a 1.73 ERA. Overall on the season, Slegers has made 19 starts. He is 12-4 with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. In 118 innings, he has walked just 25 and struck out just 85 (6.5 K/9). Slegers isn’t a flame thrower. Opponents get hits off of him. But what he does is not hurt himself with walks, and he keeps the ball in the yard. His fastball sits in the low 90s, but he’s been known to touch 94 and even 95 at times. He’s got a good pitch mix and knows how to pitch. He should gets an opportunity to make starts for the Twins before season’s end. Congratulations to our Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month of July, Rochester starter Aaron Slegers. Feel free to agree or disagree with the order, if you like. It wasn’t as easy a decision as you might think. There were several solid starters in July, and several really stood out.

Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Saturday. On a fun note, Chattanooga starting pitcher Dereck Rodriguez told me the other day that he will be in Cooperstown on Sunday when his father officially enters the Baseball Hall of Fame. Let’s start with the transactions of the day: As we mentioned a couple of days ago, the Twins signed outfielder Jimmy Kerrigan, a 23-year-old from the independent Frontier League. At the time, they announced that he would report on Saturday. The corresponding move is that infielder Andre Jernigan, a 2016 draft pick out of Xavier who joined the Kernels about a month ago from extended spring training, was released. Miracle RHP Henry Centeno began a rehab appearance in the GCL on Saturday. Kernels RHP Tyler Wells also began a rehab stint. Expect some more moves on Sunday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Toledo 6 Box Score The Red Wings jumped out to an early lead. They once led 5-1. However, the bullpen’s most reliable arm was unable to hold the lead. The game went to extra innings, and former (albeit brief) Red Wings hitter John Hicks knocked in the game-winning run for Toledo. Hector Santiago made his second rehab start (on this stint) with the Red Wings. He gave up a run on three walks and a hit in the first inning, but he settled down after that. In three innings, he gave up just the one run on two hits. He walked three and struck out four. David Hurlbut came on. The lefty gave up one run on four hits and a walk over four innings. He struck out five. 40 of his 55 pitches were strikes. Byron Buxton played again. He struck out in his first two at-bats before singling in his final two at bats before being removed from the game. https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/891494379738865664 Byungho Park went 2-6 with his 21st double and eighth home run. Daniel Palka was 2-5 with his second triple. Niko Goodrum and JB Shuck were 2-6. Anthony Recker made his Twins and Red Wings debut. He hit a double. With a three-run lead heading into the bottom of the eighth, Drew Rucinski came on. He gave up three runs on three hits and a walk and got just the first two outs (both strikeouts). Jake Reed came on and allowed the third run to score on a hit before getting the third out. Nik Turley came on and went the next three innings. He gave up the 12th-inning run. He gave up a total of three hits and three walks while striking out just one. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Birmingham 1 (21 innings) Box Score It was a long night in Chattanooga. These two teams essentially played two games though it only counted as one in the overall standings. There were a lot of pitchers, a lot of men left on base, and there were even pitchers hitting, well, getting at-bats. It came down to position players pitching, for both teams. Felix Jorge started and was fantastic. The right-hander went the first nine innings. He gave up just one run on four hits. He struck out eight batters without walking any. Randy Rosario was next. The southpaw gave up three hits, but no runs, over two innings. Ryan Eades was next. He walked two and struck out two over two scoreless innings. Then Raul Fernandez came on and struck out six over three scoreless innings. So, how did pitchers start hitting? Why was that a thing in this game? Well, the Lookouts were down 1-0 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs, Jonathan Rodriguez, the DH, got on base. Jake Mauer decided to pinch run Alex Perez for him. The move worked as Perez came around to score on an Andy Wilkens hit. The game went to extra innings. Carlos Paulino pinch hit for Randy Rosario, but due to other moves throughout the earlier inning, there were no more hitters on Mauer’s bench. Ryan Eades struck out in his at-bat. Raul Fernandez grounded out in his lone at-bat. Luke Bard came on for the 17th inning. He struck out two in a scoreless inning. He struck out another in a quick, 1-2-3 18th inning. Bard struck out to end the 18th inning. So, in the 19th inning, Jake Mauer put infielder Alex Perez in to pitch. Pitcher Randy LeBlanc went out to right field. Max Murphy moved to centerfield while Levi Michael replaced Perez at second base. Alex Perez was the pinch runner who replaced the DH in the ninth inning. He walked one, but got three outs without allowing a run. But the Lookouts didn’t score in their half of 19th either. Perez pitched a one-two-three 20th inning, including a fly out to LeBlanc in right field. Perez enjoyed his time on the mound. "It was fun to get on the mound again. Been like two years since my senior year of college." In the 21st inning, Alex Perez shifted back to second base, and Max Murphy went to the mound. He walked the first batter. The next guy bunted him to second. A grounder advanced the runner to third, but Murphy got a strikeout to end the threat! Birmingham finally went to a position player in the bottom of the 21st inning. With two outs, he walked the bases loaded before Levi Michael walked to end the marathon!! Along with his first win, Max Murphy went 3-8. Alex Perez was 2-5. Levi Michael was 2-8 with the game-winning walk... It was a long night for several others at the plate. Perez was called up to the Lookouts about a month ago, and Chattanooga has just continued to roll. He notes, "This team just doesn't stop fighting. We never count ourselves out of any game. The atmosphere every time we take the field is unlike any team I've been a part of. I have enjoyed my time here that's for sure." MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 0, Clearwater 3 Box Score JoJo Romero is the #18 ranked prospect of the Philadelphia Phillies. On Saturday, he was terrific. In fact, the only hit he gave up to the Miracle was a single to Jermaine Palacios in the sixth inning. And that remained the only hit the Miracle had for the whole game. Tanner English walked twice. Lewis Thorpe was on the mound to start for the Miracle. The left-hander gave up two runs on four hits over the first six innings. He struck out five without a walk. Glen Perkins came in to start the seventh innings. He gave up one run on two hits in 0.2 innings. Both outs came on strikeouts. Alex Robinson got the final four outs, three on strikeouts. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Clinton 0 Box Score Let’s start with the Kernels offense, and save the best part of this game story for last. There wasn’t a lot of offense. The team had eight hits in the game, but were only able to string together enough for two runs. In the third inning, Joe Cronin singled in Christian Cavaness to give the team a 1-0 lead. Then in the fifth frame, it was Cronin again. He knocked in Gorge Munoz, who went 2-3, with a sacrifice fly. But on this night, that was just an insurance run because Clark Beeker threw a tremendous game. Beeker completed nine shutout innings and needed just 100 pitches. 73 of them were strikes. He gave up just five hits, walked none and struck out seven. A quality changeup and a strategy that has proven successful for Beeker. Beeker told Twins Daily moments after the game’s completion, “I was able to get a good feel for my changeup in the early innings and was able to keep their hitters off balance. That allowed me to use my fastball to put away guys the second and third times through the lineup. His pitching coach agreed. J.P. Martinez said, “The changeup was the difference-maker tonight. (It had) good tumble, and he spotted it low all night. He had them out front and made them late to the fastball.” Beeker now has thrown 17 straight scoreless innings for the Kernels and is 10-3 with a 2.31 ERA for the season. For Beeker, it was just nice to be able to finish what he started. “It was a great feeling to finish the game; I hadn’t done so since college, so it was nice to get deep in the game and save our bullpen. I was fortunate enough to get some early-count outs and keep my pitch count low enough to finish the game.” E-TWINS E-NOTES Game 1 - Elizabethton 6, Princeton 0 Box Score These teams completed two full innings of work on Friday night before rains caused a delay and an eventual suspension of the game. Before that time, the Twins held a 3-0 lead. With two outs in the first inning, Jose Miranda hit his seventh home run, and it was followed by the fifth E-Twins homer of the season by Shane Carrier. Edwar Colina threw two scoreless innings and struck out four. When the game resumed, Bailey Ober was on the mound. The 2017 draft pick struck out three over four scoreless, hitless innings to earn his first pro win. Blair Lakso threw a scoreless seventh inning. Andrew Bechtold went 2-3 with his first triple. Mark Contreras was 2-3, and he had the big hit. His second home run of the season drove in three runs in the sixth inning and put the game out of reach. https://twitter.com/Mike_Gally21/status/891422430635470848 Game 2 - Elizabethton 13, Princeton 3 Box Score Make that 20-2… In fact, in this, the regularly-scheduled game, the E-Twins scored seven runs in the first inning. Obviously there were a few big hits, but the final one was a two-run home run by Carson Crites out of the nine-spot in the lineup. It was his second home. Jordan Gore led off the second inning with his first professional home run. Of the home run, Gore, who went 3-4 in the game, told Twins Daily, “It was a great feeling hitting the first one. I had a pretty good feeling it was going to get out.” Matt Albanese added his second home run as well. Crites went 2-3. Colton Waltner went 3-4. Andrew Bechtold went 2-4 with his fourth double. The E-Twins have a lot of really solid hitters. Gore said, “It's a thrill being a part of the offense. We have a guys that really know how to hit. It's fun being on an offensive team.” Brusdar Graterol made his first start for the E-Twins on Saturday. The hard-throwing right-hander went the first four innings. He gave up two runs on four hits. He walked three and struck out six. Jared Finkel recorded the final nine outs. He was charged with an unearned run on four hits. He struck out six without issuing a walk. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 6, GCL Red Sox 5 Box Score The Twins traveled down Daniels Parkway this morning to take on the GCL Red Sox. It was an early start time, but the Twins got their bats going early, in large part due to Royce Lewis. In his first at bat, he singled in the Twins first run of the day. In the Twins four-run, third inning, Lewis knocked in two runs with another single. Emmanuel Morel led off and went 2-4 with a walk. Jean Carlos Arias went 2-5 with his second triple. Victor Tademo went 2-4 with his second stolen base. A couple of minor leaguers made rehab appearances in the GCL game. Right-hander Henry Centeno, who has been on the Miracle disabled list with an elbow injury since the beginning of the season, went the first inning. He walked a batter, hit a batter and struck out a batter in a scoreless inning. Tyler Wells, who is in his second DL stint with the Kernels due to biceps tendinitis, threw the next two innings. He gave up an unearned run on two hits and a walk. He struck out four. Shortly after the game, he told Twins Daily, “It’s been going and feeling really good. Really been working on a few mechanical things, and they’ve been going really well. Now it’s just a matter of getting everything dialed in.” TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Clark Beeker, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jordan Gore, Elizabethton Twins SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Toledo (5:05 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers Chattanooga @ Montgomery (5:35 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (DH @ 12:00 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen, LHP Anthony McIver Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi Kingsport @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

Sunday, the Twins recognized Armed Forces Appreciation Day at Target Field. It was a great ceremony where the various military branches were recognized. On Saturday night, Kernels right-hander Griffin Jax made his final appearance before he leaves to fulfill his final two years of his military commitment. I think it would have been great if the Twins would have brought Jax to Target Field to be recognized. However, when he left the mound with two outs in the seventh inning in Cedar Rapids on Saturday night, he received a standing ovation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmpMlnPpWRA&sns=fb And Steve Buhr captured a great photo of it. https://twitter.com/JimCrikket/status/888937227232923649 Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Sunday. Let’s start with the transactions of the day: Following the Twins loss on Sunday, the team announced the veteran Craig Breslow had been DFAd, and that a corresponding move would be made on Monday. Since Justin Haley is on Day 29 of a maximum 30-day rehab assignment, it is likely that he will be recalled to be a long reliever. Rochester announced that OF Daniel Palka has been reinstated from the DL. Ryan Strausborger was placed on the disabled list. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Toledo 1 Box Score After this game, Aaron Slegers is now 11-4 overall with a 3.35 ERA. Over those seven starts, he is 7-0 with a 2.05 ERA. In seven innings, he gave up one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings. He also struck out seven. Drew Rucinski struck out two in his scoreless inning. Jake Reed then struck out two in a scoreless ninth. On the offensive side, Mitch Garver again led the way. Batting second, he went 2-3 with two walks, his 21st double and his 14th home run. Matt Hague went 2-4 with a walk and his 18th double. He also stole his sixth base. Kennys Vargas added his fifth home run. Daniel Palka made his return and went 1-2 with two walks. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Mobile 6 Box Score Felix Jorge had his second straight rough start since returning from the big leagues. The right-hander gave up six runs on ten hits and a walk over just 2.2 innings. He struck out three. Todd Van Steensel came on and threw 2.1 scoreless innings to drop his season ERA to 1.47. He walked one and struck out two. Paul Clemens walked two and struck out two over two scoreless innings. Luke Bard struck out one in a scoreless eighth frame. The team tried to come back but fell short. Former Brewers outfield Andy Wilkens led the way by going 3-5 with his 13th double and seventh home run. Carlos Paulino went 3-3 with his fourth double. Max Murphy went 2-5 with his fourth double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Tampa 6 Box Score It was a very interesting game for the Miracle, well, even before the game started. While meeting with the umpires and the opposing manager before the game, Miracle manager Doug Mientkiewicz was ejected. In the fifth inning, when Sean Miller was called out on a stolen base attempt, hitting coach and acting-manager Steve Singleton was ejected. Later that inning, Kevin Garcia was tossed after being called out at first base. Brady Anderson started for the Miracle and went the first six innings. He gave up six runs on eight hits. He walked four and struck out two. Tom Hackimer came on and threw two scoreless innings, striking out four. His Miracle ERA dropped to 1.21. Sam Clay struck out two in a perfect ninth. The Miracle bats managed just six hits in the game. Brent Rooker went 1-3 with a walk. Brian Navarreto and Nelson Molina each had RBI singles. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Lansing 5 Box Score Several hitters had big games for the Kernels, but they also received a really strong start. Clark Beeker recorded his ninth win of the season. The right-hander threw six shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out three. Ryan Mason came on and was charged with three runs on four hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Max Cordy got the final four outs, but gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits in 1.1 innings. Caleb Hamilton went 3-3 with a walk and three RBI. Hank Morrison went 3-4 with a walk. Amaurys Minier had the big hit of the game, though. He hit his third home run, a grand slam. Travis Blankenhorn went 2-5 with his ninth stolen base. Aaron Whitefield went 2-5 with his 25th stolen base. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 9, Bluefield 11 Box Score This game was back and forth. The Twins fell behind early, had a big comeback, but then lost it late. Huascar Yona started and struggled. He gave up six runs on eight hits and two walks in 3.2 innings. He struck out three. Then Bailey Ober came in for his professional debut. The 12th-round pick from the College of Charleston threw 3.1 scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out three. 31 of his 41 pitches were strikes. Akil Baddoo played his second game for the E-Twins. He went 3-4 with a walk and he led off the bottom of the first inning with his first Appy League home run. Jordan Gore continues to rake. With a 3-5 game, he is now hitting .418 on the season. He added his fourth double. Jose Miranda was 2-5 with three RBI. Down 6-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, Kolton Kendrick led off with a solo homer, his second homer of the year. Later in the inning, Shane Carrier hit a three-run homer to give Twins the lead. It was his third homer with the E-Twins. Blair Lakso got the final two innings. He was charged with five runs on five hits over those innings. He walked two (one intentional) and struck out three. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins Box Score The GCL Twins do not play on Sundays. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Akil Baddoo, Elizabethton Twins MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Indianapolis (6:05 CST) - LHP Nik Turley Chattanooga - No Game Scheduled. Tampa @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe Lansing @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi Elizabethton @ Pulaski (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.