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Biloxi Shuckers @ Chattanooga Lookouts Tyler Wagner vs. Greg Peavey Final: Shuckers 2, Lookouts 0 Box In the top of the first inning, Greg Peavey gave up a single and a double to the first two batters of the game to put runners at second and third with no outs. Peavey managed to limit the damage, with only one run scoring on a sacrifice fly sandwiched between a pair of infield popups. Greg Peavey made it through the next three innings without giving up an additional run, but not without drama as he put the leadoff batter on base in each inning. In the fifth, Peavey again put the leadoff man on base, via a double. After a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk to Orlando Arcia, Manager Doug Mientkiewicz decided he had seen enough and lifted Peavey in favor of D. J. Johnson. Johnson walked the first batter he faced to load the bases. The next batter hit into a fielder's choice, but the Lookouts couldn't turn two, only grabbing the out at second base, allowing a run to score. D.J. Johnson managed to keep more runs off the board, despite throwing a wild pitch and walking the next batter before striking out Biloxi's centerfielder, Brett Phillips. Johnson recorded one out in the seventh before being lifted for Brett Lee. Brett Lee and Jake Reed finished things up, allowing just two hits the rest of the way. Two runs were plenty for the Shuckers as the Lookouts were 0-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding ten runners in the process. Shuckers pitchers Tyler Wagner and Yhonathan Barrios combined to strike out ten and walked just two, giving up eight hits. The first three hitters in the Lookouts lineup, Stephen Wickens, Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler went a combined 0-12. Cleanup hitter Travis Harrison had a great night, 3-3 with a walk and a double, but without anyone on base ahead of him, he didn't have any chances to drive in runs. Centerfielder and number nine hitter Shannon Wilkerson also had a pair of hits, going 2-4 with a strike- out. The Shuckers and the Lookouts are back on the field Sunday at 1:15pm. The Lookouts need a win to stay alive. West Michigan Whitecaps @ Cedar Rapids Kernels Artie Lewicki vs. Keaton Steele Final: Whitecaps 1, Kernels 2 Box The Kernels took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on a Rafael P. Valera sacrifice fly, but then gave a run back to the Whitecaps in the top of the fourth to knot things at one-one. The game continued on, deadlocked, until the top of the ninth. Pitching his second inning of relief, Luke Bard walked the leadoff hitter and then found himself with a runner on second and one out after a sacrifice bunt. A single to center field scored the go-ahead run, and Bard capped the inning with back-to-back strikeouts, with the Kernels now down 2-1, down to their last three outs. Edgar Corcino doubled to start things off for the Kernels in the bottom of the ninth, and then T.J. White came up with a double of his own, off of the left fielder's glove. Because the ball was nearly caught, Corcino was holding up and only advanced to third. With runners on second and third with no outs, the Whitecaps brought in their closer Joe Jimenez was was 5-1 with a 1.47 ERA in the regular season, converting on 17-20 save opportunities and racking up 61 strike outs against just 11 walks in 43 innings. Jimenez proceeded to walk the first batter he faced, LaMonte Wade, loading up the bases for Chris Paul. Paul struck out swinging. Max Murphy came up to bat with the bases still loaded and delivered a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Edgar Corcino and tying the game at 2-2, putting runners at the corners for Brian Navarreto. Navarreto worked deep into the count, with LaMonte Wade advancing to second on defensive indifference midway through the at-bat. Navarreto fouled off a couple of pitches before hitting something close to a Baltimore Chop, a high bouncer that came down midway between the pitchers mound and third base. With T.J. White running home on contact, the only play for Whitecaps third basemen Francisco Contreras was at first. Navarreto beat the throw and the Kernels werewalk-off winners and are just one win away from winning the Midwest League Championship! Kernels pitching held the Whitecaps to just five hits all night, led by Keaton Steele who pitched seven innings, struck out five, walked one and gave up four hits. Luke Bard picked up the win thanks to those ninth inning heroics, giving up a hit, a run, striking out two and walking two. Kernels hitters struggled a bit, recording just seven hits, but three of them came in the ninth when they needed them most. Navarreto's infield single was his only hit of the night (1-4), and T.J. White, who scored the winning run, was the only Kernel with multiple hits, 2-4 with a double. The Kernels will play for the Midwest League Championship at 2:05pm on Sunday.

The Minnesota Twins continued to have the number of American League Cy Young contender Chris Sale, who was chased after just three innings, nine hits, and six earned runs. Torii Hunter slugged his nineteenth home run of the year in the first inning to get it started, and they never looked back behind the start of Kyle Gibson. He went 7.2 innings of shutout ball, and struck out seven. The win kept the Twins just one game back of the Texas Rangers for the final AL Wild Card, who also won Sunday afternoon. In the minors on Sunday, both the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Chattanooga Lookouts continued their postseason push. One team found themselves down early and needed a comeback if they wanted to prevent a sudden death game three, and the other had to hold off a late comeback if they were going to take a series lead on the road. To find out how all it all went down on Sunday night, keep reading! CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Montgomery 3 Box Score The Chattanooga offense got things started quickly, and it was courtesy of the Southern League home run champ, Adam Brett Walker. His two-run blast in the second inning put them up 2-0, as Lookouts starter Greg Peavey cruised in the early innings. Singles from Shannon Wilkerson, Stephen Wickens, and Max Kepler loaded the bases with one out in the third inning, and an error and fielder’s choice would add to more runs to make it 4-0 early. Peavey scattered five hits and three walks in six innings, striking out five while holding the Biscuits off the scoreboard. The Lookouts would add an insurance run for him in the top of the seventh on a Jorge Polanco sac fly. Peavey was relieved by Alex Wimmers with a five run lead in the seventh, and that’s when things got dicey. He recorded the innings first out, but consecutive walks were followed by a three run home run to make it 5-3. A double and single would follow to put the tying run in scoring position before the bullpen could get warmed up. Lefty Corey Williams was summoned for a same-sided hitter matchup, but he walked the batter to load the bases. Jake Reed was quickly brought in to face the right-handers coming up, and escaped the threat with consecutive strikeouts. The Lookouts mounted a two-out rally in the eighth, as an error put runners on second and third for Wilkerson, who brought them in with a single to right field to make it 7-3. Reed remained in the game for the eighth inning and kept Montgomery off the board, despite two walks. D.J. Johnson was called upon for the ninth, and finished the game with a one-two-three inning. The Lookouts got multiple hits from Wickens (2-5, R) in the leadoff spot, and Wilkerson (3-3, 2 R’s, 2 RBI) in the nine hole. Kepler was 1-4 with walk, and Walker’s home run was their only extra base hit of the day. The win puts Chattanooga out front 2-1 in the series, and they’ll look to end the five game series tomorrow night on the road. KERNELS NUGGETS Peoria 4, Cedar Rapids 5 Box Score In game two of their best of three Midwest League Western Division title series, Cedar Rapids sent left-hander Randy Rosario to the mound. He was spotted a 1-0 lead in the second inning when doubles from Chris Paul and Austin Diemer got the Kernels on the board first, but a rough top of the third for Rosario put Peoria out front. Consecutive singles started the inning, and a fielder’s choice ground ball and walk put runners on the corners. A strikeout for the second out gave Rosario two outs and a chance to escape unscathed, but a T.J. White error allowed the first two Chiefs runs to score and prolonged the inning. A balk on Rosario would score the third run of the inning and move another runner into scoring position, who came in on a single to the next batter to make it 4-1 Peoria early. Rosario picked up another strikeout to end the threat, and went on to finish six innings total. He retired the side one-two-three in each of the fifth and sixth. All of the four runs against Rosario were unearned. He allowed seven hits and walked one, while striking out five on the day. The Kernels would come back to pull within one run by scoring single runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Max Murphy led off with a single, and was followed by a double from Brian Navaretto to put runners on second and third. Diemer sent a single into left field to score Murphy, but Navaretto was gunned down at home for the innings first out. A double play ball would end the inning. The fifth started with a double from Edgar Corcino, and his run made the score 4-3 when LaMonte Wade doubled to right field. Michael Theofanopoulos came in from the bullpen for the seventh inning and struck out two hitters in a scoreless inning. He allowed one hit. In the bottom of the seventh, Nick Gordon wreaked some havoc on the bases, and the result put the Kernels out front. He led off the inning with a single and was moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Corcino to put the tying run in scoring position. Gordon didn’t think he was quite close enough, as he took off for third and stole it to put himself ninety-feet away. It was a pretty smart and important base, as a wild-pitch to the next batter allowed him to score the tying run and moved White to second. He would score on Paul’s single a batter later put the Kernels out front 5-4. Yorman Landa was then summoned from the Kernels bullpen in the eighth, and came out throwing fire. He struck out the side in quick fashion, all swinging, and made it four K’s in a row to start the ninth. He then walked a batter to put the tying run on base for Peoria, but followed that up by inducing a game-ending double play for his first postseason save. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DryBCJCz3fo&feature=youtu.be (Video by Steve Buhr) As a team the Kernels outhit the Chiefs thirteen to eight, and had far more scoring opportunities than Peoria. They were 4-18 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base, compared to just 1-4 with runners and scoring position and four men left on base for Peoria. Gordon led the Kernels with a 3-5 night, scoring one run and adding a double. Corcino (2-3, 2B, R), Paul (2-4, 2B, R, RBI), and Diemer (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI) each had two hits on the night. With the sweep of the three game series, the Kernels will make their first appearance in the Midwest League Championship Series since 1994, when they defeated Rockford three games to one in the five game series. Their defeat of the Chiefs also marks the second series win of the postseason where their opponent finished one or both halves of the MWL season with a better record. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Yorman Landa, Cedar Rapids Kernels (Save, 2.0 IP, 1 BB, 4 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Shannon Wilkerson, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-3, 2 R’s, 2 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Chattanooga @ Montgomery (7:05PM CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids – Day off before MWL Championship series begins on Wednesday. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games!

RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Buffalo 5 Box Score Rochester’s comeback fell one run short, but Byron Buxton is the story. He was 4-5 tonight (and now batting .458 in AAA) with four singles. He scored twice and also struck out once. Vargas had three hits including two doubles and drove in two. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit a three-run triple. Taylor Rogers lost his tenth game of the season, pitching five innings (10 hits, two walks) and allowing five runs. He threw 83 pitches (55 strikes). Alex Meyer pitched the final three innings. He allowed a run, but allowed only two hits and no walks (though he did throw two wild pitches). He struck out two. Something worth watching: He threw 56 pitches (stretching him out?) with 36 of them finding the strike zone. Rochester drops to 60-58. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Tennessee 4 (13 innings) Box Score The Lookouts dropped to 62-50 with an extra-inning loss. Max Kepler led the offense (again) with two hits, including his 28th double. He drove in a run and recorded an outfield assist. Stephen Wickens also had two singles and his 14th stolen base. The team went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base. Greg Peavey pitched a two-hitter over eight innings, but the two runs were too many. He struck out three and gets a no-decision. J.T. Chargois walked one in the ninth. D.J. Johnson struck out four in three big innings. Adrian Salcedo allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in the 13th. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, St. Lucie 0 Box Score A Chad Christensen sac fly that followed a Ryan Walker triple was the difference in Wednesday’s Miracle victory that helped improve the team to 63-54. Walker’s three-bagger was the only extra base hit of the six hits the Miracle scratched out. Engelb Vielma stole his 28th base. Kohl Stewart picked up his fifth win. He allowed eight hits and a walk, while striking out five over 6.2 shutout innings. Corey Williams struck out two in recording four outs. Trevor Hildenberger picked up his first FSL save. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Lake County 6 Box Score T.J. White accounted for the only Kernel extra-base hit (a double) among their five hits. Nick Gordon was 1-4 with a walk. Tanner English swiped two bags and has 37 on the year. Offensively, Cedar Rapids was 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Felix Jorge picked up a no-decision. He struck out six in six innings, allowing three hits and a walk. Unfortunately, one of those hits was a three-run blast. Jared Wilson was charged with the loss. He gave up three runs in two innings. The Kernels are 67-48 on the season. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Greeneville 4 Box Score The offense of the E-Twins was very quiet on Wednesday. Only Travis Blankenhorn got a hit. Jermaine Palacios snapped a 15-game hitting streak with an 0-4 performance. He also committed his eighth error in the Appy League. Sam Clay didn’t allow an earned run over seven frames, but the two unearned runs hung him with a loss. He struck out four and walked one. Alex Robinson recorded four outs, but walked four and allowed two runs to score. Josh Guyer recorded two outs, one by strikeout. Elizabethton drops to 25-25 GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 5, GCL Rays 2 (Game 1) (7 innings) Box Score The GCL affiliate took the first game of a doubleheader. Two big innings accounted for all five runs. Eight of the nine starters got hits, led by Robert Molina, Ruar Verkerk and Ariel Montesino all having two-hit games. Interestingly, the top four hitters - Christian Cavaness, Luis Arraez, Josmil Pinto and Kolton Kendrick - all doubled. Cavaness drove in two runs. Molina and Verkerk accounted for the other two RBI. Williams Ramirez allowed two unearned runs over 4.2 innings. He struck out four. Hector Lujan got the win, striking out one in 2.1 scoreless, one-hit innings. GCL Twins 0, GCL Rays 1 (Game 2) (9 innings) Box Score The bats fell cold in the second game, getting shut out on five hits. Trey Cabbage had two singles. Christian Cavaness doubled. Cavaness also stole his third base of the season. Max Cordy (4 IP) and Brandon Paulson (2.2 IP) had identical lines: one hit, three walks, four strikeouts. Johan Quezada walked two and retired four. Moises Gomez was charged with the loss, allowing a walkoff home run in the ninth inning. The GCL Twins split the doubleheader and are 23-20. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Greg Peavey, Chattanooga Twins Daily Minor League Hitters of the Day – Byron Buxton, Rochester THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Buffalo (11:35 CST) – LHP Pat Dean Rochester at Buffalo (Game 2) – TBD Chattanooga vs Tennessee (6:15 CST) – LHP Brett Lee Ft. Myers vs Palm Beach (6:05 CST) – LHP Luke Westphal Cedar Rapids at Lake Country (6:00 CST) – RHP Zach Tillery Elizabethton at Bristol (6:00 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez GCL Twins at GCL Rays (11:00 CST) - TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below!

RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Lehigh Valley 2 Box Score Greg Peavey picked up his first win since being promoted from Double-A at the end of last month and the bottom half of the batting order provided enough offense for the club's 51st win. Peavey tossed six frames while allowing two earned runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked three. Michael Tonkin and Logan Darnell combined for three perfect innings to close out the win. Rochester got off to a slow start in this one as they were being no-hit through four innings but they combined to go 4-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Eric Farris, Argenis Diaz and Carlos Paulino all had two hits as they batted seven through nine in the order. Diaz drove in two runs and scored two while Paulino drove in three and threw out a runner from behind the plate. With the win, Rochester improved to seven games over .500 as the club leads the International League North Division by one game over the Scranton/WB RailRiders. The Red Wings next opponent, the Gwinnett Braves, is two games under .500 and seven games out of first in the IL South Division. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga --, Biloxi -- (Postponed- Rain) Rain postponed this game before a pitch could be thrown. The two clubs will not meet again during the regular season so the game will not be made up. The Lookouts won three of the four games in the series before tonight's cancellation. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Jupiter 3 Box Score Jupiter pounded out 10 hits to slide by Fort Myers. Nick Burdi took the loss after allowing two runs in two innings of work. Stephen Gonsalves started the game and pitched five innings of one-run ball with two strikeouts and two walks. Brian Gilbert pitched two shutout innings to end the game. TJ White was the lone Miracle batter with multiple hits as he went 2-for-4. Mitch Garver kept the team in the game with a solo home run, his seventh of the year. Alex Swim collected a pinch-hit double but that runner was one of nine runners left on base by the club. Fort Myers has lost seven of their last nine games but the club is surprisingly only four games out of first place in the Florida State League South Division. The Miracle will look to get back on track as they continue the series against the last place Jupiter Hammerheads on Monday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Quad Cities 5 Box Score Luke Westphal took the loss but it wasn't because of his performance on the mound. He went six strong innings while allowing two runs, one earned run, with four strikeouts and two walks. At one point, the southpaw retired nine straight batters. After Westphal left, Chris Mazza got beat around for three runs on four hits, minimizing the chances for a comeback victory. Edgar Corcino reached base three times as part of a 2-for-3 effort. Tyler Kuresa scored the lone run of the game for the Kernels. The only extra-base hit came off the bat of Pat Kelly, his eighth double of the season. Nick Gordon saw his 17-game hitting streak come to an end after going 0-for-4. Overall, the team left five runners on base and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. The Kernels have lost six of their last eight and they sit eight games behind Kane County for first place in the Midwest League Western Division. E-Twins E-Notes E-Twins 3, Burlington 13 Box Score The E-Twins found themselves in a very tight game before the B-Royals pounded out eight runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Tyler Stirewalt and Jose Abreu surrendered all eight runs in the inning with seven of the eight runs being earned. Cody Stashak started and finished with six innings, two earned runs, five strikeouts and three walks. It wasn't all bad for the E-Twins. Amaurys Minier went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Daniel Kihle reached base three times in four trips and hit his first triple. LaMonte Wade scored a run and knocked his third triple of the season. It wouldn't be nearly enough as the team was sent to a double-digit loss for the first time all season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Greg Peavey, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Amaurys Minier, Elizabethton Twins MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Gwinnett (6:05 CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers Chattanooga vs. Montgomery (6:15 CST) – LHP David Hurlbut Ft. Myers vs. Jupiter (6:05 CST) – TBA Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (1:00 CST) – TBA Elizabethton @ Burlington (6:00 CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez GLC Twins vs. GCL Orioles (11:00 am CST) – TBA

We begin with a few players deserving of mention. Chattanooga RHP JO Berrios – 5 GS, 2-1, 3.62 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 27.1 IP, 20 H, 7 BB, 12 K Chattanooga RHP Alex Wimmers – 5 GS, 3-1, 2.97 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 30.1 IP, 26 H, 12 BB, 27 K Ft. Myers RHP Ryan Eades – 4 GS, 1-0, 2.70 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 26.2 IP, 28 H, 5 BB, 21 K Ft. Myers LHP Mat Batts – 5 GS, 2-2, 2.63 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 27.1 IP, 29 H, 3 BB, 25 K TOP 5 STARTING PITCHERS IN JUNE Number 5 – Ft. Myers – RHP Aaron Slegers - 4 GS, 1-1, 2.13 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 25.1 IP, 21 H, 7 BB, 20 K The 6'-10" Slegers was the Twins fifth-round pick in 2013 out of the University of Indiana where he had been named the Big 10 Pitcher of the Year that season. He went 7-7 with a 4.54 ERA in 20 starts for Cedar Rapids a year ago before ending his season with three starts with the Miracle. In 14 starts with the Miracle this year, he is 5-4 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 84 innings. He has terrific control. His 1.8 BB/9 this year is actually higher than his overall pro average of 1.6 BB/9. Slegers was primed to be high on the May starting pitcher ranking until he had a big clunker, but he has responded from his one bad start with a strong June. He doesn’t throw hard, sitting between 90 and 92, but he has a good slider. Number 4 – Cedar Rapids – RHP Felix Jorge - 4 GS, 0-1, 2.28 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 27.2 IP, 17 H, 7 BB, 18 K Jorge was signed from the Dominican Republic in 2010 for $250,000. He has pitched well at each level. He began the 2014 season in Cedar Rapids but really struggled. He went down to Elizabethton and was named the Appy League Pitcher of the Year. In his second shot in the Midwest League this spring, he has been terrific. He has made 13 starts and is 3-3 with a 2.20 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. In his second start of this season, he struck out nine in five innings. He has not pitched less than six innings in any other start this year. He has been very consistent. Still just 21-years-old, Jorge has certainly reclaimed a place among Twins top starting pitching prospects. Number 3 – Chattanooga/Rochester – RHP Greg Peavey - 5 GS, 2-2, 2.56 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 31.2 IP, 24 H, 3 BB, 17 K Greg Peavey was the Twins minor league Rule 5 selection in December from the Mets organization. He began the season in AA with the Lookouts and it wasn’t pretty. In his first five starts, he went just 22.1 innings and posted a 10.48 ERA and a 2.24 WHIP. Doug Mientkiewicz stuck by him. He made eight more starts for the Lookouts and in that time, he went 5-1 with a 2.12 ERA. In those 51 innings, he gave up just 37 hits and walked eight. Following that run, he was promoted to Rochester where he made two more starts and gave up a combined six runs in 11.1 innings. The Scott Boras client was the sixth-round pick of the Mets in 2010. He did a Q&A with Twins Daily shortly after the Rule 5 draft. Number 2 – Rochester – RHP Tyler Duffey - 5 GS, 3-2, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 33.0 IP, 31 H, 5 BB, 29 K Duffey was the Twins fifth-round draft pick in 2012 out of Rice University. He was the co-closer there with JT Chargois. Since signing with the Twins, he has worked primarily as a starter. In 2014, he made 25 starts at three different levels. He was invited to big league spring training, but he was sent back to AA – this time to Chattanooga – to start the season. He responded well. He made eight starts with the Lookouts and went 2-2 with a 2.56 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. In mid-May, he returned to Rochester. On June 11, he made his second straight start against Scranton/Wilkes Barre and gave up seven runs. He pitched against them six days later and struck out nine over eight shutout innings. In two starts since then, he has not given up an earned run. In his seven starts with Rochester, he is 3-4 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Duffey should debut with the Twins in 2015. If not, he’s almost a given to be added to the 40-man roster following the season. (Read the Get To Know Tyler Duffey story from Spring Training.) And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Rochester Red Wings – LHP Taylor Rogers – 6 G, 5 GS, 3-1, 2.40 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 41.1 IP, 36 H, 7 BB, 24 K Taylor Rogers was the Twins 11th round pick in 2012 out of the University of Kentucky. He split time that season between Elizabethton and Beloit and posted a 2.27 ERA in 63.1 innings after a solid college season. He began the 2013 season in Cedar Rapids but made just three starts before being promoted to Ft. Myers. There, he went 11-6 with a 2.55 ERA and was named the 2013 Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. In 2014, he moved up to AA New Britain. After a slow start in the first month, Rogers ended the season 11-6 with a 3.29 ERA. He finished third in the 2014 Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. He went to the Arizona Fall League where he was hit by a line drive in his first outing. It cost him most of that season, though he did return late in the Salt River Rafters’ championship run. (His twin brother Tyler represented the Giants organization in the AFL as well.) The success earned him a spring training invite this year, an experience he enjoyed. “The spring training invite was great. I was honored to be there and just wanted to watch and see how everyone prepared for their season.” He began this season in the rotation for the Rochester Red Wings. In all, he is 7-4 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He has already thrown 103.1 innings. He has walked just 27 and struck out 71. He has made 15 starts, and he is credited with one relief appearance. Actually, he “started” a rain-suspended game from earlier in the season and worked the remaining seven innings. The transition to AAA has gone well for Rogers and yet it hasn’t been easy. “I think the biggest difference is the quality of the lineups. Everybody can hit and pitch. It's so much fun to compete out there every day.” Rogers has a strong three-pitch mix of fastball, curveball and change up, though he’s continuing to work on the latter. “I’ve been working on using the change up more often and effectively. It's a work in progress so far.” His out pitch? “Usually my curve is more of the out pitch, but situation dependent, it could be anything well executed.” The Twins already have a difficult decision to make. Whose spot in the rotation will Ervin Santana take? Having strong starting pitching depth is unusual in the Twins recent history. Consider there are six or seven options for five starting rotation spots right now, and that doesn’t factor in Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey, Greg Peavey and Jose Berrios who are all now in the Rochester rotation. The bullpen is certainly an option for Rogers as Twins left-handed relievers in the big leagues have been struggling mightily of late. Rogers has dominated left-handed batters in AAA to the tune of a .174/.193/.183 (.376) slash line, including two walks against 35 lefty at-bats. He would not be against a call-up to the Twins bullpen. “I think having depth in the organization is a strength of ours. And, anyone will tell you a lot of people are deserving of a call. It will happen when it’s supposed to happen.” Rogers can only control himself and he reminds himself, “I just have to stay in the moment.” One thing is for certain, Taylor Rogers had terrific 2013 and 2014 seasons, and he’s impressing with his strong first half in AAA. In fact, today he was named to the International League All-Star roster. Rogers could be a call up during the 2014 season. If not, he’s a guarantee to be added to the team’s 40-man roster following the season. Please feel free to post your comments on Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey and the rest of the Twins minor league starting pitchers who pitched well in June. How do you feel about the rankings? We’ll be back tomorrow with the Minor League Hitter of the Month of June.

RED WINGS REPORT Rochester (Schedule Off Day) After ending a six-game losing streak on Sunday, Rochester enjoyed a scheduled off day before starting a six-game home stand. In a weird schedule quirk, the Red Wings, who just finished a four game road series versus Scranton/WB, will play three more games versus the RailRiders. Rochester has gone 5-4 against Scranton/WB this season. Over the last 10 games, the Red Wings offense has struggled to score runs. They are averaging 2.7 runs per game and they've been outscored 27 to 50 during that stretch. The team entered play on Monday night trailing Scranton/WB by 3.5 games in the International League North. The team is also 2.5 games out of the wild card chase. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Birmingham 1 Box Score Chattanooga pounded out 14 hits and that was more than enough for them to finish off Birmingham in the series finale. The Lookouts took four of five games in the series to improve their record to an impressive 15 games over .500. After losing the first four games of June, Chattanooga have won 10 of their last 11. Miguel Sano cracked his 12th home run of the season and finished the day 1-for-4 with a walk. Adam Brett Walker and Max Kepler both went 4-for-5 and two of Walker's hits were doubles. Stephen Wickens only managed one hit but he collected three steals in the game, including a steal of home. Greg Peavey was impressive over eight innings by allowing one earned run on three hits. He struck out five and walked one to improve to 6-2 on the season. Zach Jones allowed a hit and a walk in the ninth but was still able to collect his ninth save. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Daytona 2 Box Score In their last eight games, Fort Myers has six wins but they suffered two one-run losses to Bradenton over the weekend. The Miracle returned home on Monday night to face Daytona with a chance to get back to the .500 mark and start a new winning streak. Fort Myers and starter Mat Batts found themselves in an early 2-0 hole after two innings but that's where Daytona's scoring ended. Batts finished with four strikeouts and no walks in six innings while lowering his ERA to 1.90. DJ Johnson and Alex Muren kept putting zeros up on the board to finish off the Tortugas. Muren earned his second save after pitching 1.2 innings and striking out four. Zach Granite helped to get the offense moving with a two-out bunt single in the third. A missed pickoff attempt moved Granite to second before a Engelb Vielma single cut the lead in half. Granite scored another two-out run in the bottom of the sixth on an Alex Swim single. Bryan Haar started the seventh with a hit by pitch before a Jason Kanzler single put the winning run in scoring position. Chad Christensen almost hit into a double play but a throwing error by the shortstop allowed the winning run to score. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Lansing 8 Box Score Cedar Rapids entered the day looking to sweep Lansing but the Lugnuts had other ideas. They pounded out 12 hits and capitalized on three Kernels errors for the win. Jared Wilson took his second loss of the season after allowing five earned runs on seven hits. In four innings, he allowed three walks and struck out one. Jose Velez and Miles Nordgren pitch five innings without allowing an earned run but Lansing plated three unearned runs against Nordgren. Brett Doe had an error at first base on a pickoff throw and Rafael Valera had two throwing errors from second base. One the offensive side of the ball, Alex Real reached base three times and hit his first home run. Brian Navarreto drew two walks, scored a run and extended his hitting streak to six games. The team left six runners on base and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Greg Peavey, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Adam Brett Walker, Chattanooga Lookouts TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Scranton/WB (6:05 CST) – LHP Pat Dean Chattanooga- Scheduled Off Day Ft. Myers vs. Daytona (6:05 CST) – RHP Ryan Eades Cedar Rapids vs. Burlington (6:35 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Monday games.

Check out what happened throughout the Twins farm system on Tuesday. RED WINGS REPORT The Rochester Red Wings and the Durham Bulls played a day-night double header in New York on Tuesday because Durham’s field was to be used for the ACC Tournament. It gives the Red Wings an extra home game. Rochester 4, Durham 3 Game 1 - Box Score Needing an extra starter for the extra game, the Twins dipped down to High-A Ft. Myers and asked Chi-Wei Hu to make a spot start for Rochester. Hu has been arguably the best starting pitcher in the Twins minor leagues so far this season. He threw very well. He got through the first four innings without allowing a run. In the fifth, he gave up a one-out double that put runners on second and third, but allowed just one run to score. He came back in the sixth inning with a quick, 1-2-3 inning. In his six innings, he gave up one run on just two hits. He walked four and struck out six. It’s interesting that giving up one earned run in six innings increased his overall season ERA from 1.03 to 1.10. The Red Wings gave Hu a lead in the second inning when James Beresford singled in the first run of the game. In the fourth inning, Brock Peterson hit his fifth homer, a two-run shot off of former Twins starter Scott Diamond to give the team a 3-0 lead. After Hu gave up the fifth-inning run, the Red Wings got it right back in the bottom of the inning. Hu’s day was done after six strong innings. He was at 93 pitches, 55 of which were strikes. Caleb Thielbar threw a scoreless seventh inning, with one walk allowed. Mark Hamburger was given the eighth inning. He gave up four hits, but allowed just one run in the inning. AJ Achter came on for the ninth and despite allowing a solo home run, recorded his fifth save since Michael Tonkin was promoted. Peterson’s home run was the big hit of the day. James Beresford went 2-2 with a walk. Danny Ortiz went 2-4. Rochester 2, Durham 4 Game 2 - Box Score Alex Meyer started the nightcap in Rochester. He went just 4.2 innings and needed 109 pitches to get there. He gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks. He struck out seven. Lester Oliveros came and on struck out five in two innings. He walked two and gave up a hit, but no runs. Lefty Ryan O’Rourke came on and got four outs, two of them on strikeouts. Logan Darnell struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning. The Red Wings managed just six hits in the second game. Eric Farris went 2-4. Josmil Pinto hit his sixth double and drove in a run. Reynaldo Rodriguez fouled a ball off his foot in the first game and left that game. Nate Hanson came in for him in Game 1. He played first base in Game 2 as well and went 1-3 with a walk. After the doubleheader split, the Red Wings are now 22-17. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 10, Montgomery 3 Box Score The Lookouts got strong starting pitching and a couple of big home runs on their way to another Southern League win. Greg Peavey put together his third consecutive strong start. He gave up two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and did not issue a walk. In fact, 72 of his 101 pitches were strikes. He has given up just four earned runs over 19 innings in his last three starts. He is now 4-1 despite a 6.53 ERA. Tim Shibuya came on and gave up a run on two hits over the final two innings. The Lookouts got a single run in the first inning to jump out to a quick lead. In the second inning, they scored three more runs. The big blow in that inning was a two-run homer from Stuart Turner. The Biscuits cut the lead to 4-2 in the top of the fourth inning, but in the bottom of the fourth, the Lookouts put the game out of reach. Byron Buxton’s long grand slam gave the Lookouts an 8-1 lead. The Lookouts added two more in the top of the first, the first coming on an RBI single off the bat of Max Kepler. Kepler went 2-3 with a walk. Buxton was 2-5. The home run was his fifth of the year, and he is now up to 29 RBI on the season, out of the leadoff position. He also stole his 11th base. Mike Gonzales went 3-4 in the game. Turner’s home run was his second of the year. He drove in three runs in the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Bradenton 6 Box Score With Chih-Wei Hu starting for Rochester on Tuesday, Ethan Mildren was plugged back into the rotation. He gave up six runs on ten hits and a walk in just four innings. Brian Gilbert struck out two over the next two innings. Luke Westphal walked two and struck out one in 1.2 scoreless innings. Brandon Peterson struck out in 1.1 innings. The Miracle managed just five hits. Logan Wade drove in the lone run. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 7 Box Score Through five innings, Kernels starter John Curtiss was pitching well. He had given up two runs on three hits and a walk. His team had given him a three-run lead. Then he gave up a single to start the bottom of the sixth inning. It was followed by a walk and another single to load the bases. Peoria catcher Steve Bean came up and hit a grand slam and suddenly the three-run lead became a one-run deficit. Peoria added one more run and the Kernels were defeated. Curtiss’s final line isn’t nice. In six innings, he gave up six runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out four. Yorman Landa came on to pitch the seventh inning. He struck out one in a perfect inning. More important for the hard-throwing right-hander, it was his first game since May 22, 2014. He is returning from shoulder surgery. Mike Theofanopoulos came on and gave up a run in the eighth inning. “What did Trey do today” is the likely mantra for Kernels fans this season. Coming into the game, he led the Kernels in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, doubles, home runs and RBI. Again on Tuesday morning, Trey Vavra led the Kernels offense. He went 2-4 and launched a three-run home run in the third inning which gave the team a 4-2 lead. It was his sixth home run of the season. Pat Kelly had a nice 2-4 day. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Greg Peavey, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Byron Buxton, Chattanooga Lookouts WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Durham @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Montgomery @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – RHP DJ Baxendale Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – RHP Ryan Eades Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (7:00 CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Tuesday games.

RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Lehigh Valley 6 (11 innings) Box Score Alex Meyer was back on the mound. Though the results weren’t great, it was certainly a step in the right direction, an improvement. The right-hander gave up five runs (just three earned) on seven hits. He walked two and struck out four. His fourth strikeout was the first out in the seventh inning. He walked the next batter and was removed from the game. Logan Darnell came in and gave up a single. Mark Hamburger replaced him and gave up two hits, one allowing a run, the other resulted in a runner thrown out at the plate. Tim Stauffer continued his rehab. He threw two quick, scoreless innings and struck out one. Caleb Thielbar pitched a scoreless tenth inning, but the takes the loss after giving up one in the 11th. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-5 with his third home run. Jose Martinez was also 2-5 with his first home run. Eric Farris went 2-5. Josmil Pinto hit his fourth double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Birmingham 1 Box Score Greg Peavey’s season couldn’t have started much worse. Through his first five starts (22.1 innings) he had 10.48 ERA and opponents had a 1.048 OPS off of him. In his last start, he gave up just one run over five innings. On Thursday night, he continued that positive trend. He gave up just one run on four hits over seven innings. He walked none and struck out three. Zack Jones finished things up with two scoreless innings in relief. He struck out two. Max Kepler continued to rake. He went 2-4 with his seventh and eighth doubles. Travis Harrison went 2-3 with a walk and his league-leading 11th double. Mike Gonzales went 2-3 with a walk. Adam Brett Walker hit his first triple of the season. One To Watch: In his last 12 games, Kepler is hitting .422/.447/.622 (1.069) with seven doubles and a triple. In his current six-game hitting streak – during which he has four multi-hit games – he is hitting .522/.522/.826 (1.348) with seven doubles. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Dunedin 6 Box Score Ryan Eades has been very good this season, but he had a clunker on Thursday night. He gave up six runs in the game’s first two innings. He did settle down and gave up only those six over five innings. He gave up ten hits, walked three and struck out two. Alex Muren came on and struck out three in two scoreless innings. Todd Van Steensel then struck out two more over the final two innings. The Miracle bats came to play. They had 11 hits and walked four times. However, they were only able to muster three runs in the game. Jason Kanzler went 2-5 and hit his third home run of the season. Zach Granite went 2-4 with a walk and his first FSL double. Alex Swim’s 16-game hitting streak came to an end on Wednesday, but he started a new one. He went 2-5 in this one. Mitch Garver went 2-3 with a walk. Logan Wade was 2-4 with his sixth double. One To Watch: Earlier this week, the Minnesota Twins named Zach Granite their minor league hitter of the month for April. In 19 games with Cedar Rapids in April, he hit .358/.463/.463 (.925) with five doubles and a triple. He also walked 12 times while striking out just six times. When the calendar changed to May, he was promoted to Ft. Myers. He had just one hit in his first 14 at bats (three games) with the Miracle, but since then, he has been terrific. In ten games since, he is hitting .425/.500/.525 (1.025) with a double and his first professional home run. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids, Peoria (Game Suspended in fourth inning) Box Score There was rain at Perfect Game Field at Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids most of the day. The tarp was removed from the field about thirty minutes before game time. They were able to get through three innings, but in the top of the fourth, the rains came and the game was suspended. It will continue where it left off next Monday in Peoria before their regularly-scheduled game. Stephen Gonsalves started and gave up two first-inning runs. Through four innings, he gave up just those two runs on four hits. He walked none and struck out four. Trey Vavra gave the Kernels a lead in the second inning when he launched his fourth home run of the season, a three-run shot. Tanner English had a triple and a walk in the game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Greg Peavey, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Reynaldo Rodriguez, Rochester Red Wings; Jose Martinez, Rochester Red Wings; Jason Kanzler, Ft. Myers Miracle FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Chattanooga @ Birmingham (7:05 CST) – RHP DJ Baxendale Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (5:35 CST) – LHP Brett Lee Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Michael Cederoth LEADERBOARD Be sure to check back on Saturday morning to see who is leading the Twins organization in many of the statistical categories. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Thursday games.

One of the reasons that we waited a few extra days to release the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2015 was because we wanted to have profiles for any players who came to the Twins in the Rule 5. If you purchase the Prospect Handbook, you will find prospect profiles for Peavey and fellow-righty and (MLB) Rule 5 selection JR Graham. Greg Peavey is a 6-2, 185 pound right-hander. In 2014, he went 11-3 with 2.90 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP in 18 starts for AA Binghamton. He also made six starts for AAA Las Vegas, generally known as the worst place in baseball to pitch, and went 1-5. By being selected in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft, he does not need to be returned to the Mets organization. Peavey lives just north of Portland, Oregon, in a smaller city called Ridgefield, Washington, with his wife and nine-month old son Graydon. Let’s get to the questions. Growing up in Washington, Peavey was fan of the one major league team in the Northwest. “I was definitely a huge Mariners fan. Some of my favorite players were Ken Griffey, Jr., Jay Buhner and Randy Johnson. He was the Yankees 24th round pick out of high school but elected to go to college instead. Two years later, he was the Astros 32nd round pick. He still went back for one more year of college. “Every time I said 'No' was a little tougher. Saying 'No' to a childhood dream is never easy. The opportunity to play with the Oregon State Beavers made it a little easier. I really enjoyed my time there." In 2010, the Mets made him their sixth round draft pick and he signed. He has worked his way up to Triple-A. He had some great memories with the organization. “I have a lot of great memories and met a lot of great people during my time with the Mets. Winning the Eastern League championship last year was a huge thrill. The first time putting on a professional uniform was a memory I won't forget.” And then on Thursday, he was suddenly a member of the Minnesota Twins organization. The Twins had picked him with their Triple-A Rule 5 draft pick. He was surprised. “I was very surprised and definitely excited for the new opportunity. I found out through a text message from my agent while I was eating breakfast.” He knows some about the organization and even knows a couple of the players. “I've played against the Twins organization quite a bit in my time with the Mets. They've always had a very talented minor league system at every level I've played them. I remember a lot of names but I know Jim Fuller from his time with the Mets and Trevor May, having played in the same high school league as him.” So, what about Greg Peavey the pitcher? What does he throw, and how does he describe himself as a pitcher? “I'm known as a control guy with four pitches - fast ball, curve ball, slider, and change up. The key to my success is being aggressive down in the strike zone. I try to use all my pitches for strikeout pitches, but it depends on the situation.” There’s the baseball stuff, but Peavey is much more than that and has several other interests. “I’m a big Trail Blazer and Seattle Seahawk fan and really enjoy watching them play. I also enjoy spending time with my family, having a 9 month old son is a great time, it's a new adventure every day!” In summary, he is excited about a new opportunity in a new organization. “The organization contacted me and gave a warm welcome and let me know they will be in touch. I'm just looking forward to getting to Ft. Myers this spring!” When Peavey gets to Ft. Myers, he’ll have a lot more people to get to know. He’ll also be competing for a roster spot. He could start in Rochester or Chattanooga, and he could work out of the bullpen or be a starter (which he has been through his career). Certainly this is an interesting time for Peavey.