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There’s an old Chinese proverb that “a good horse will never return to eat grass it's walked past”. Whoever came up with this proverb clearly didn’t know about the cutthroat free-agent market. After a whirlwind weekend of trades, the Twins are still left with gaps to address in their bullpen. However, there are still many available arms left on the market, many of whom donned Twins uniforms in the past. Here are four free-agent relievers that the Twins should re-sign without having to give up the Trevor Story fund. Tyler Clippard Twins’ Tenure: 2020 Tyler Clippard celebrated his fifteenth season in the majors with the Arizona Diamondbacks last year, where he quietly had one of his best seasons yet. In the most competitive division in baseball, Clippard held a 3.20 ERA, 1.303 WHIP, and 1.9 K/W ratio. At age 37, Clippard is one of the oldest relievers on the market and unlikely to get a long-term contract with any team. This makes him a cost-efficient and effective addition to the team as an alternative to Taylor Rogers or Caleb Thielbar in short relief scenarios. Blake Parker Twins’ Tenure: half of 2019 Blake Parker was designated for assignment during the height of the Bomba Squad era and was quickly picked up by the Philadelphia Phillies. Last season, we briefly saw him in Cleveland’s bullpen, where he was, dare we say, pretty good! It’s as close to a 180 as we’ve seen since his last days in Minnesota. His 3.09 ERA, 142 ERA+, and 2.64 SO/W in 43 innings last season are fairly comparable to Tyler Duffey’s statistics. Similar to Clippard, his age is a disadvantage on paper, but his price tag is unlikely to break the bank. Kohl Stewart Twins’ Tenure: 2018 - 2019 The Twins selected Kohl Stewart fourth overall in the 2013 MLB Draft, over the likes of Tim Anderson, Aaron Judge, and Twins’ legend Isiah Kiner-Falefa. He demolished the Minor Leagues until he was called up to the Majors in 2018, where he fizzled out almost immediately. Things have been challenging for Stewart since his release in 2019. He opted out of the 2020 season due to having Type 1 Diabetes, pitched for two months last year with the Cubs until he was placed on the 60-day IL, and was offered only a minor league assignment with the Cubs. With that said, Kohl Stewart is only 26 years old, making him over a decade younger than the others on this list. With the addition of a Cutter last season, Stewart has a six-pitch repertoire with varying degrees of success. He currently relies heavily on his Sinker, which is by far his least effective pitch. If the Twins can focus Stewart on perfecting his virtually unhittable Slider and newly-added Cutter, Stewart can become a Sergio Romo-esque reliever with a Thielbar-esque story. Due to his recent misfortunes, Stewart is likely also the cheapest addition on this list, Signing Stewart to another Minor League assignment is low-cost with a high upside. Sergio Romo Twins’ Tenure: 2019 - 2020 Speaking of Sergio Romo, this fan-favorite has spent time with almost every team in the league with no signs of stopping. Last season, opponents had a paltry .219 batting average against his infamous Slider. Romo also pitched 61 2/3 innings last year, one inning more than his All-Star season in 2013. Romo is a workhorse who seems to defy time and gravity. His return to Minnesota will be a welcome relief (pun intended) for fans who have lost so many other favorites this past week. Who else would you like to see the Twins reunite with? Leave a comment below! View full article

Baseball’s draft is tricky because many players are years away from impacting big-league rosters. Back in the early 2010s, the Twins struggled to identify the best available players in the draft. Mid-market teams like the Twins need to succeed through scouting and the draft. The five years outlined below clarify why front office changes were made. Not every first-round pick will be a success, but high draft picks need to provide some value at the big-league level. 2010 Draft Twins Selection: Alex Wimmers (21st pick) Left on the Board: Christian Yelich (23rd pick) Wimmers fit the Minnesota mold as he had college pitching experience, and the organization had taken Kyle Gibson a year earlier in a similar draft position. Wimmers eventually made 22 appearances for the Twins as a reliever from 2016-17, but he was out of baseball after the 2018 season. The Marlins took Christian Yelich two picks after Wimmers, and he has gone on to win an MVP, earn multiple batting titles, and accumulate 33.4 WAR. Chris Sale, Bryce Harper, and Manny Machado are the only first-round picks from 2010 that have produced more career WAR than Yelich. 2011 Draft Twins Selection: Levi Michael (30th pick) Left on the Board: Trevor Story (45th pick) Minnesota was good in 2010, so that meant a late first-round pick in 2011. Michael seemed like a stretch at the time, and he never made it past Triple-A with the Twins, Mets, or Giants. Story was passed over by plenty of teams in the draft as he has produced the fifth highest WAR total among the 2011 first-round picks. The Twins have a second chance to add Story as a free agent this winter, but that seems unlikely at this point. 2012 Draft Twins Selection: Byron Buxton (2nd pick) Left on the Board: Corey Seager (18th pick) Of all five of these drafts, Minnesota is probably most satisfied with their selection in 2012. It’s also less challenging to mess up the second overall pick. Buxton was seen as an elite five-tool talent, and he immediately became one of baseball’s top prospects. If the Twins had the chance, five players have accumulated more WAR than Buxton, including Seager. Besides Carlos Correa, the first overall pick, Seager has the highest WAR total in the 2012 first round. Both Seager and Buxton signed long-term deals this winter, so it will be interesting to see how both players age as they hit the prime of their careers. 2013 Draft Twins Selection: Kohl Stewart (4th pick) Left on the Board: Aaron Judge (32nd pick) Organizations need to be successful with top-10 picks, and the Twins made some poor choices for multiple years in a row. Stewart appeared in four games for Minnesota, but he could never put it all together as a starting pitcher. Aaron Judge was a college player who didn’t fit an outfielder’s typical mold. He was clearly misevaluated as he has produced the second-highest WAR total among first-round picks, with Kris Bryant being the only player to rank higher. Other potential options included Tim Anderson, Sean Manaea, and Jon Gray. 2014 Draft Twins Selection: Nick Gordon (5th pick) Left on the Board: Trea Turner (13th pick) At the time, Gordon seemed like a strong choice with his family’s connections and five-tool potential. Last season, he finally made his big-league debut, and he may continue to fill a utility role for the Twins in the years ahead. Unfortunately, there were some All-Star caliber players taken behind Gordon. Turner is one year away from free agency, where he will get paid like one of baseball’s biggest stars. Aaron Nola was taken directly after Gordon and has produced 24.2 WAR. Matt Chapman, Michael Conforto, and Kyle Freeland have all combined for solid big-league careers and were also available with the fifth pick. 2015 Draft Twins Selection: Tyler Jay (6th pick) Left on the Board: Walker Buehler (24th pick) Jay was a risk when the Twins took him because he had been a reliever during his collegiate career. Minnesota thought he could be a starter, but he could never make it to the big leagues. Buehler would undoubtedly look nice at the top of the Twins rotation, even with some missed time due to injury in his career. Otherwise, Boston took Andrew Benintendi one pick after Jay, and he has produced 12.5 WAR in his career. Which of these players was the biggest miss for the Twins? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email View full article

The Minnesota Twins' offseason officially kicked off on Monday, with the club announcing several significant roster moves. Nelson Cruz will be back, Martin Perez will not (at least not on the same contract), and Jake Odorizzi faces a tough decision. Meanwhile, another key instructor was extracted by another (dreaded) team, and a pair of former top pitching prospects exited the organization. Read on for more detail on each of these developments as the Hot Stove begins to spark.NELSON CRUZ 2020 OPTION ACTIVATED This barely qualifies as news. Activating the ultra-reasonable $12 million club option on Cruz was a total no-brainer, and the club's intention had already been announced via media reports. Nevertheless, it's now official: Boomstick is back. I've always heard good things about Swanson. My appreciation for him grew upon reading Parker's excellent spring training feature on his efforts to refine Mitch Garver's receiving technique, only to be crystallized as I saw those efforts pay off magnificently during the summer. Swanson is the real deal, and another tough loss in a young offseason that has already seen Minnesota lose hitting coach James Rowson and minor-league hitting coordinator Pete Fatse. If there's any silver lining to be found in this scavenging by rivals, it's that having baseball powerhouses like Boston and New York hiring out of your ranks says a lot about your eye for talent. The Twins' newly reassembled baseball ops unit is becoming a hotbed, and that's about the highest praise you could give Derek Falvey as he enters his third year on the job. (Speaking of which, let's us all just breathe a sigh of relief that Minnesota has evidently missed the biggest potential bullet: I wondered openly if the Red Sox would come calling on Falvey to replace fired GM Dave Dombrowski – turns out they did, and he said no.) How are you feeling about this smattering of moves to kick off Twins' offseason? Anything you'd have done differently? Sound off in the comments. And now an odd request from the Twins Daily community: if you found this page via Facebook, can you please add a comment telling us from which Facebook Page you followed it? It's getting quite a bit of traffic, and we would love to know who is sharing it. Thanks. Click here to view the article

Willians Astudillo has been in Pensacola for two games. He’s homered in both of them. La Tortuga hit a bomba, Wander Javier had a four-hit night, Bailey Ober impressed in his Double-A debut and Matt Canterino had the most impressive outing of his young career. Come check out what else happened across the system Friday.TRANSACTIONS Lewis Thorpe recalled by the Twins to replace Devin Smeltzer on the roster. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Louisville 2 Box Score Kohl Stewart: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 53.4% strikes (39 of 73 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: Wilin Rosario (2-for-4, 2B) A couple of pitchers on the Twins 40-man roster had encouraging outings. Kohl Stewart wasn’t particularly efficient, but he was effective. The six strikeouts he recorded are the most he’s had in an outing since mid-May. Both runs that scored while Stewart was in the game came in the first inning. Fernando Romero pitched around a leadoff single to record a scoreless ninth inning, earning his second save for the Red Wings. Of his 13 pitches, 10 were strikes. Between Stewart and Romero was D.J. Baxendale, who hadn’t pitched in more than two weeks. He showed no signs of rust, delivering three shutout innings of one-hit ball. It was a relatively quiet night for the bats, but they managed to build the 5-2 lead by the top of the third inning. Wilin Rosario had a pair of hits and picked up a two-out RBI in the first inning. Mike Miller, Ian Miller, Zander Wiel and Ronald Torreyes all also drove in runs. Rochester was 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 4, Chattanooga 1 Box Score Bailey Ober: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 72.7% strikes (64 of 88 pitches) HR: Willians Astudillo (2) Multi-hit games: Astudillo (2-for-4, HR), Caleb Hamilton (2-for-3), Jimmy Kerrigan (2-for-3) Here is your La Tortuga update: So that’s two homers in two games for Willians Astudillo on his rehab assignment. He was the designated hitter today, and did appear to be trying to stretch out his oblique, so I’m not sure an activation is coming anytime too soon. Still, really fun to see him back out there playing again and making progress toward a return. Bailey Ober made his Double-A debut and was outstanding. He surrendered one run on two hits over seven innings pitched. He struck out eight batters, walked one and threw an impressive 72.7% of his pitches for strikes. Basically, he looked like Bailey Ober. He now has 197 strikeouts and just 20 walks in 164 2/3 innings over his minor league career. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 4, Fort Myers 2 Box Score Jordan Balazovic: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 62.9% strikes (56 of 89 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: None Jordan Balazovic continued a trend of alternating between outstanding starts and less stellar outings. He gave up five hits, which isn’t a lot, but his season high is six hits surrendered on the season. Puts into perspective how excellent he’s been this year. To make matters worse, the Miracle bats could only muster five hits themselves. Gabriel Maciel hit a leadoff triple and scored on a Jacob Pearson sacrifice fly in the first inning. Their only other run came in the ninth inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 0 Box Score Matt Canterino: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 65.3% strikes (47 of 72 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: Wander Javier (4-for-5, 2 2Bs), Spencer Steer (2-for-5) Matt Canterino, J.T. Perez and Erik Cha combined to throw a two-hit shutout, striking out 11 batters in the process. The Twins had been limiting Canterino’s workload, allowing him to throw just 10 innings over his first four outings as a professional, but they loosened the reins a bit tonight. Canterino, who the Twins drafted in the second round this June, gave up just one hit over his five innings. He had five strikeouts and zero walks. Wander Javier was the star at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles. Yunior Severino hit a big two-run double in the first inning, advanced to third on an error and scored on a groundout. Up 3-0, Cedar Rapids was able to cruise to victory from there, thanks to the impressive pitching performance. E-TWINS E-NOTES Danville 2, Elizabethton 1 Box Score Ryley Widell: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None Tough night for the E-Town bats, as the lineup combined for just four hits. Their only run scored on a Parker Phillips double that scored Matt Wallner. On the plus side, the pitching was solid. Ryley Widell gave up a pair of runs in the first and the staff combined for a shutout from there. Widell finished his outing with four clean innings, Owen Griffin recorded the next five outs and Tyler Beck the final four outs. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins POSTPONED STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Bailey Ober, Pensacola Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Wander Javier, Cedar Rapids TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects performed: 1. Royce Lewis (PNS): 1-for-4, R, K 2. Alex Kirilloff (PNS): 0-for-4, 2 K 4. Trevor Larnach (PNS): 1-for-4 5. Wander Javier (CR): 4-for-5, 2 2Bs, R, RBI 6. Jordan Balazovic (FM): 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 62.9% strikes (56 of 89 pitches) 15. Matt Wallner (ELZ): 1-for-4, 2B, R, K 20. Travis Blankenhorn (PNS): 0-for-4, 2 K SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Louisville, 5:30 pm CT (Adam Bray) Pensacola vs. Chattanooga, 6:05 pm CT (TBD) Fort Myers at Jupiter, 4:30 pm CT (Chris Vallimont) Cedar Rapids at Quad Cities, 6:35 pm CT (Tyler Palm) Elizabethton at Danville, 5:30 pm CT (Tyler Benninghoff) GCL Twins at GCL Red Sox, 9:00 am CT (TBD) GCL Twins at GCL Red Sox, Game 2 (TBD) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games. Click here to view the article

The Atlanta Braves got going right where they left off last night and hammered Perez early. For the second straight game, the Twins offense was silent through five innings, this time Fried was striking out batters left and right. They awoke in the sixth, and tried another comeback in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as they drop the series and are in trouble to be up just two games before their series against the Indians.Box Score Perez: 6 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 65.9% strikes (67 of 102 pitches) Bullpen: 3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Home Runs: Sano (20) Multi-Hit Games: Rosario (2-for-5), Sano (2-for-5, HR), Cron (2-for-4), Cave (2-for-4, 2 2B) Bottom 3 WPA: Rosario -.049, Schoop -.085, Perez -.321 Braves Ready For Perez The Atlanta Braves came out swinging early today and jumped all over Martin Perez for another rough start by Perez’s. Perez has been the Twins’ worst starter for quite some time now. Since May 30th, 11 starts, he holds a 6.21 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Today was no different for him. After getting Ronald Acuna Jr. to fly out to start the game, Albies and Freeman went back-to-back, while both only seeing one pitch. The inning wasn’t over as the Braves put together a 2-out rally with a single and double scoring another run. The home runs and double were all on fastballs left right over the heart of the plate, and Perez paid. After a quick 1-2-3 in the second, the deficit got worse in an ugly third inning that ended featuring the only Twins highlight thus far. The ugly inning went single, single, walk, passed ball to score one, error, RBI single, and a walk to bring in a run. All of this was done with no outs, but what better way to get out of an inning then getting three outs in one pitch. For the second time in just over two weeks, the Twins turned a triple play and both were behind Perez. Last time it was Arraez-Schoop-Sano, and today it started with Sano going to Schoop and ending it with Cron at first. This was the fifth time in franchise history to turn two triple plays in the same season. Perez was able to settle down after that triple play and gave up one run in his next three innings. Perez had two very bad innings, but was able to stay in the game and give the Twins six innings to allow the bullpen to do less work than seemed likely after the first inning. Fried Fires Through Twins Max Fried was red hot to start off this game, and gave the Twins offense a lot of trouble through his first five innings. After the first time through the order, Fried was perfect while striking out seven of the nine batters he faced. Jeremie Rehak was the home plate umpire and had a lot of questionable calls that had the whole Twins dugout in a frenzy and Marwin Gonzalez smashing his helmet into the ground following a strikeout. The Twins got their first hit to start the fourth inning which was a double, and later had runners on second and third with two outs. Miguel Sano drilled a liner to center field that was caught to end the Twins threat. The next inning the Twins had another second and third, this time with only one out, but Fried picked up a huge strikeout on Schoop and then Graver flew out to end the threat again. Through five innings, Fried had given up just three hits while striking out a season-high 10 batters, but much like last night, the Twins woke up in the sixth inning. The Twins put three singles together and Fried’s day was over. Fried ended up being responsible for the three runs that were ultimately scored that inning. Twins Comeback Falls Short The Twins, just like last night, were dead through the first five innings, but in the sixth inning they came alive to make things interesting. Tonight it was four singles and a double in the sixth to score three runs and trim the lead to four. Unlike last night, the Twins couldn’t use the momentum to get closer. Ronald Acuna Jr. put the finishing touches for the Braves this series as he hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to put them back in front by six runs. The Twins stranded runners on second and third in back-to-back-to-back innings, though the third time was after they scored three runs. The Braves added two more runs in the ninth to really put the game away. The Twins put together three more singles in the ninth to score another run and a Miguel Sano three-run home run brought the deficit down to just four. Next Series The Twins will face the Cleveland Indians tomorrow for a four-game series that will be huge in terms of standings. The Indians won game one today and if they win game two, they will be just two games back of the Twins. Though the starters got hammered these past two games, Zack Litell, Cody Stashak, and Kohl Stewart gave the Twins quality innings in the bullpen so the Twins’ top guys could have some time off for this huge series. Postgame With Baldelli Click here to view the article

Yes, it is that time again!! It’s time to revisit our top Minnesota Twins prospect rankings. (Be sure to look back at the preseason 2019 Top 20 Prospects.) Sure, it’s a lot more fun to follow the Minnesota Twins big league club this year than it has been much of the decade, but it’s still important to know the minor leaguers as well. Already this season we have seen several prospects make their major-league debuts. Some are top prospects, but the Twins farm system is deep and several players that many hadn’t even heard of are getting an opportunity.Over the next two weeks, Twins Daily will be revealing the Twins Daily Midseason Top 40 Prospects rankings. Our preseason Top Prospect rankings go 20 deep. Our midseason rankings double that output and give some recognition to twice as many players. Several of our minor league writers provided player rankings. They were consolidated Continue reading, and then discussing, the Twins Daily choices for 36th through 40th prospects of the Minnesota Twins below. 40. Sean Poppen – RHP Age: 25 ETA: 2019 2019 Stats MLB: 4.0 IP, 6.75 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 4.5 K/9, 9.0 BB/9, 0.50 K/BB MILB (AA/AAA): 57.2 IP, 2.97 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 11.4 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 2.52 K/BB 2019 Preseason Ranking: NR Seth: 23 | Tom: NR | Cody: NR | Ted: NR | Steve: NR From a timing standpoint, we couldn’t ask for anything more. If you watched Poppen in his Major League debut on Wednesday night, you saw why he has impressed coaches and decision-makers in the organization over the last couple of months. The fastball is consistently 95 to 97 mph with movement. His mid-80s slider is sharp. He showed a few changeups as well, which is his clear third pitch. He struggled with control, something that he has done the last year or two, but if he can relax and throw more strikes with his stuff, he can be successful. Look at his strikeout numbers. They have increased dramatically the last year or so. The changeup may determine whether his future is in the bullpen or as a starter. Poppen was the Twins 19th-round pick in 2016 out of Harvard. 39. Zander Wiel - LF Age: 26 ETA: 2019 2019 Stats (AAA): .252/335/.472 (.807 OPS), 13 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 76 K, 23 BB 2019 Ranking: NR Seth: 42 | Tom: 35 | Cody: 47 | Ted: NR | Steve: NR Wiel was the Twins 12th-round draft pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt University. He has gradually worked his way up the ladder, approximately one year at a time and continuing to be productive. He leads the 2019 Red Wings in home runs this season with ten. Wiel isn’t afraid to work a count, though he does strike out quite a bit. He has mostly played first base in 2019 after splitting his time in left field the past couple of seasons. Wiel is big and strong, but he has made himself a little more athletic in the last year or two and he runs well. He finds himself in a tough spot with CJ Cron as the primary first baseman but with the likes of Marwin Gonzalez and Ehire Adrianza and Willians Astudillo also getting time at first base. The Twins also have strong depth in the corner outfield positions. 38. Bailey Ober - RHP Age: 23 ETA: 2022 2019 Stats (High-A): 24.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 9.8 K/9, 1.1 BB/9, 8.67 K/BB 2019 Ranking: NR Seth: 30 | Tom: 39 | Cody: 44 | Ted: NR | Steve: NR Ober was the Twins 12th-round draft pick in 2017 out of the College of Charleston. He was the national freshman of the year his first year of college. Unfortunately injuries cost him much of the next two seasons, but the Twins saw enough to draft him. When the 6-9 right-hander has been healthy, he’s been really good. In 2018 in Cedar Rapids, he went 7-1 with a 3.84 ERA in 75 innings. His season began late and then ended early. His numbers (above) are from April when he was the runner-up in Starting Pitcher of the Month voting. But when the month ended, Ober went back on the IL with an elbow injury. 37. Kohl Stewart - RHP Age: 24 ETA: 2021 2019 Stats: MLB: 12.0 IP, 6.00 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 2.3 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 0.60 K/BB MILB (AAA): 51.1 IP, 4.56 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 1.88 K/BB 2019 Preseason Ranking: HM Seth: 44 | Tom: 37 | Cody: 30 | Ted: NR | Steve: NR The fourth overall pick in the 2014 draft out of high school, Stewart worked his way up the ladder. It was a surprise when he was called up last August, he showed some glimpses, and the same can be said with his two MLB starts so far in 2019. In late April, he gave up five runs over six innings at Houston. In mid-May, he earned a win with a quality start (6 IP, 3 ER) against Detroit. Stewart is approaching a career crossroads of sorts now. He could be a back-of-the-rotation MLB starter for some teams, or he could move to the bullpen and see what he can do in shorter stints. 36. Gabriel Maciel - OF ETA: 2018 Age: 20 2019 Stats (Low-A): ..309/.395/.377 (.771 OPS), 3 2B, 4 3B, 0 HR, 31 K, 23 BB. 2019 Ranking: HM Seth: 46 | Tom: 40 | Cody: 24 | Ted: 30 | Steve: 27 The Twins acquired Gabriel Maciel from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Eduardo Escobar trade last July. He joined the Cedar Rapids Kernels and hit .263 (.683) with four doubles, two triples and two homers in 30 games. He began this season on the injured list. He returned to the Kernels and he has taken a step forward. He is not a big guy, but the Brazilian has a real solid approach at the plate and terrific speed. He has primarily played in center field this year but has seen quite a bit of time in right field too. That's it for now. Feel free to ask questions and leave comments below. Learn about another five pack of Twins prospects tomorrow. Click here to view the article

Jake Odorizzi was chased after four, Jorge Polanco’s home run was the only run scored by the Twins, and the defense had three errors. The pitching may have been enough to win, but the offense and defensive performance certainly weren’t up to snuff. Overall, tonight was a bad game, but the Twins have three more to bounce back with in Kansas City.Box Score Odorizzi: 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 66% strikes (X of X pitches) Bullpen: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Home Runs: Jorge Polanco (11) Multi-Hit Games: Cron (2-3) WPA of +0.1: None WPA of -0.1: Schoop -.111, Odorizzi -.223 Download attachment: Win620.png (chart via FanGraphs) Active First Inning The Twins opened tonight’s scoring with a Jorge Polanco solo home run to right field in the second at-bat of the game. The Royals would answer in their half of the first with three runs off of singles by Whit Merrifield and Nicky Lopez, a double by Alex Gordon, and a single by Lucas Duda, following a very interesting fielder’s choice to put Cheslor Cuthbert on third base. Odorizzi Chased After Four Jake Odorizzi had an uncharacteristically bad start tonight, giving up four runs in four innings. Outside of the first, the Royals scored one more on a single, sac bunt, and double in the fourth. Odorizzi has been the Twins best starter this season and been in talks for the AL Cy Young Award. In his last seven starts before tonight, he had an ERA of 1.77, 47 strikeouts, and has won six without a loss. Tonight may have been a product of the fact that this is the second start in a row that Odorizzi had against the Kansas City Royals. He faced them on Saturday and gave up four over six innings. Defense Has Another Bad Day The Minnesota Twins defense had another bad night with three errors in the field, One throw into the head of Alex Gordon, one ball booted by Willians Astudillo at third, and another grounder missed by Jonathan Schoop at second. This means the Twins have now committed 14 errors in their last 10 games. One bright spot for this defense is the number of double plays turned. They turned four behind Twins pitchers tonight. Also, their errors only resulted in one run as both Astudillo and Schoop’s missed grounders were stranded. Kohl Stewart Pitches Well Out of the Bullpen After the Twins’ marathon 17 inning game on Tuesday, a short start from Jake Odorizzi was the last thing Rocco Baldelli and the Twins wanted, but Kohl Stewart saved the rest of the bullpen by pitching the game after Odorizzi was pulled. Stewart went four innings, surrendered just two hits, and allowed no runs. Offense Only Manages One Run It’s been a year where the Twins have been able to overcome some poor pitching performances, but this is the second time in four days that the offense has squandered a pretty decent pitching performance. On Monday, they were unable to manage even one run against the Red Sox and tonight was not much better. Following Polanco’s home run in the first, the Twins could not manage any extra- base hits and had only one at-bat with runners in scoring position. Their hits were all spread over the innings and when they hit the ball well, they seemed to go right at Kansas City fielders. Of course credit has to go to the Royals pitching, but the Twins offense just didn’t show up for the first game of this road trip. Hopefully they figure it out before tomorrow. Postgame With Baldelli Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Pen620.png Click here to view the article

Yesterday, we announced our choice for May’s Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month. Today, we will look at a group of starting pitchers who had strong starts to their season. The rankings were really difficult, so be sure to add your rankings as well. Previous 2019 Starting Pitchers of the Month: April - Devin Smeltzer - Pensacola Blue WahoosBefore we share our choices for the Twins Minor League Top Five Starters for May, there were some other strong starting performers that just missed the cut. You can certainly agree or disagree with the rankings. Let’s discuss the top starting pitchers in the organization in May. HONORABLE MENTION Brusdar Graterol - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 4 GS, 20.1 IP, 1.33 ERA, 1.08 WHIP. 15 H, 7 BB, 18 K Josh Winder - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 4 GS, 27.0 IP, 3.67 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 19 H, 8 BB, 19 K Bryan Sammons - Ft. Myers Miracle/Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 4 GS, 20.0 IP, 1.35 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 19 H, 6 BB, 29 K Randy Dobnak - Pensacola Blue Wahoos/Rochester Red Wings - 6 GS, 26.0 IP, 3.81 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 23 H, 8 BB, 27 K THE TOP FIVE STARTING PITCHERS #5 - RHP Austin Schulfer - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 7 G, 4 GS, 22.0 IP, 3.27 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 13 H, 10 BB, 32 K Schulfer was the Twins 19th round pick one year ago out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he was a four-year starter. He had an impressive professional debut. For Elizabethton, he went 3-0 with a 1.58 ERA. He began the 2019 season in the Kernels bullpen, but it was in long relief. Likely that was to help with his innings count over the season. In May, opponents hit just .165/.258/.266 (.524) off of him. He now appears to be in the Kernels rotation and pitching well. #4 - RHP Kohl Stewart - Rochester Red Wings - 4 GS, 1.93 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 18.2 IP, 15 H, 8 BB, 18 K For the second time this season, Kohl Stewart was called up by the Twins to make a spot start. On May 7th, Stewart made a start against Toledo. He went just two innings because the team knew he would be starting game 2 of the May 11th double header against the parent club of the Mudhens, the Detroit Tigers. Stewart gave up three runs in six innings to pick up the win. Those numbers aren’t included in his monthly total above. Stewart may have walked a few too many, but the former 1st-round pick continued to throw well and show that he is ready to pitch in the big leagues when summoned. #3 - LHP Devin Smeltzer - Rochester Red Wings - 4 GS, 1.82 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 24.2 IP, 20 H, 7 BB, 15 K Smeltzer was the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month in April when he produced an impressive month in Pensacola. He was quickly promoted to the Red Wings in May and ended the month with six shutout innings against the Milwaukee Brewers in his big-league debut. Those numbers aren’t included in the above, but I’d say that big league time can be a tie-breaker. And, these numbers do tell us that Smeltzer was very deserving of The Call. Even at the highest level of the minor leagues, Smeltzer displayed calm. He doesn’t throw hard, but he knows how to pitch and is able to hit spots. His first start in June will also be with the Twins. Get to know him here. #2 - RHP Blayne Enlow - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle - 5 GS, 2.12 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 29.2 IP, 22 H, 8 BB, 30 K There were a couple of rough starts for Enlow in April, but in May, Blayne Enlow was a terrific. After spending 2018 in Cedar Rapids, Enlow began 2019 as a Kernel again. He was pitching well in May. Well enough, in fact, that he was promoted to Ft. Myers and finished the month with a strong Miracle debut. He started with six shutout innings before giving up a leadoff home run in the 7th inning and coming out. For the month, opponents hit just .191/.244/.348 (.592) against him. The Twins 3rd-round pick in 2017 out of high school in Louisiana had a good fastball and can spin the ball well too. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers Miracle - RHP Jordan Balazovic - 5 GS, 2.13 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 12 H, 5 BB, 35 K Balazovic was the Twins 5th-round draft pick in 2016 out of secondary school in Mississauga, Ontario. He had some ups and downs in 2017, but he took off last year after being pushed up to Cedar Rapids. He made 11 starts for the Kernels and showed promise. Sure, he hoped to start 2019 in Ft. Myers, but he did spend the first month of the season back with the Kernels. He pitched well last month. In four starts, he went 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA and opponents hit just .195 off of him. His first start in May came for the Ft. Myers Miracle, and it was rather memorable. In a game in Palm Beach, Balazovic tossed seven perfect innings. No runs. No hits. No errors. 21 up, 21 down. And ten of those outs came on strikeouts. In his second Miracle start, he struck out 12 batters in five innings. His fourth start was again seven shutout innings.His final start of the month went just over an inning because of a rain delay. Balazovic has really good stuff. He throws hard. He throws strikes. He has swing and iss stuff. Opponents hit just .140/.211/.163 (.373) off of him in May. He is certainly rising up the charts. Congratulations to our Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month of May, Ft. Myers Miracle right-hander Jordan Balazovic. Feel free to discuss and ask questions. Click here to view the article

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

This Twins lineup is a thing of destructive beauty. The scary part: Even a couple of the guys who got off to slow starts are starting to catch fire. C.J. Cron hit a big three-run home run tonight. He also homered this afternoon, giving him nine round trippers in his last 25 games. Marwin Gonzalez added a dinger of his own.Game 2 Box Score Stewart: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 63.3% strikes (57 of 90 pitches) Home Runs: Cron (9), Gonzalez (3) Multi-Hit Games: Cron (4-for-5, 2B, HR), Rosario (3-for-5), Gonzalez (2-for-4, HR, BB), Buxton (2-for-4, 2B) WPA of +0.1: Cron .243 WPA of -0.1: None Download attachment: Win511g2.png (chart via FanGraphs) Through his first 10 games with Minnesota, Cron had just a .508 OPS and Twins fans were starting to compare him to the other former Tampa Bay first baseman who flopped with the team. After a big day at the plate, Cron’s OPS is all the way up to .839. He’s been on an absolute tear. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Pen511g2.png Next Three Games Sun vs. DET, 1:10 pm CT (Perez-Norris) Mon vs. LAA, 6:40 pm CT (TBD) Tue vs. LAA, 6:40 pm CT (TBD) Last Game DET 5, MIN 3: Tigers Out-Tater Twins, Gardy Gets Tossed Click here to view the article

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

With the Pensacola Blue Wahoos having a travel day and the Cedar Rapids Kernels being rained out, there were just two games on Tuesday night in the system. A Minnesota Twins slugger made his first appearance in game action on the year, kicking off his rehab assignment with Fort Myers while Rochester’s offense clubbed their way to double-digit runs.To find out how all of your favorite Twins prospects who were in action on Tuesday fared, keep reading! TRANSACTIONS As alluded to above, Miguel Sano was officially sent on a rehab assignment to the Fort Myers Miracle.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 11, Scranton/WB 2 Box Score The Rochester lineup pounded out 12 hits and drew four walks as they blew out the RailRiders 11-2 behind home runs from Drew Maggi, Zander Wiel, and Jordany Valdespin. Wiel’s fifth inning blast was his sixth of the year as he continues to slug above his career norms in the season’s opening month. He finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored, three RBI, and also drew a walk. They took a 3-1 lead in the top of the third and never looked back as they tacked on more in each of the fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. Randy Cesar (2-for-5, R, 2B, RBI), Valdespin (2-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBI), and Maggi (2-for-4, 2 R, 3B, HR, 2 RBI) also collected multiple hits on the game. Kohl Stewart got the start for the Red Wings, his first turn back with Rochester after making a spot start for the Twins and delivered a quality outing. He went the first six innings, scattering five hits and three walks and allowing just one run. He struck out three and was effectively wild, as just 51 of his 91 pitches went for strikes (56%). Tyler Duffey went the next two frames, allowing one run on three hits along with striking out three. Austin Adams finished the game, allowing two hits but no runs. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Scheduled Day Off Pensacola took a series on the road against the Jackson Generals 3-2 and got the day off on Tuesday as they head home for a series against the Biloxi Shuckers. The Blue Wahoos finished the month of April with their best record in team history at 17-8. They have won all five series they’ve played thus far and look to continue that trend with righthander Sean Poppen on the hill on Wednesday. MIRACLE MATTERS Clearwater 3, Fort Myers 0 Box Score The story heading into this game was the start of a rehab assignment for the Twins Miguel Sano. With his lacerated foot finally healed, he slotted in at third in the Miracle batting order, playing third base. In is first at-bat of the night, he was hit by pitch with the count at 2-0, and in his second drew a four-pitch walk where no pitch was close to the zone. With him scheduled to play just five innings he’d need some help from teammates to get another plate appearance, and luckily Royce Lewis did so with a two-out single. The first pitch Sano saw was definitely in his wheelhouse but ended up as just a towering infield flyout. Lewin Diaz then entered the game for him at first base, with Ryan Costello sliding over to third. On the mound for the Miracle was lefty Bryan Sammons, who carried a 0.42 ERA into this start. Although he managed to improve that mark to 0.40 on the game, he was only able to finish one inning as the Threshers lineup worked him for several long at-bats resulting in 37 total pitches. He gave up two hits, walked two, and struck out two but escaped with the bases loaded. Anthony Vizcaya came out from the bullpen for the second inning and finished the next three. He allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk while striking out four. Johan Quezada went the next two after that, allowing one run on one hit and three walks. He struck out three. Tom Hackimer then added two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out three. His ERA on the year in 13 1/3 innings now stands at 0.68. Calvin Faucher finished the game for the Miracle with a scoreless ninth, walking two but allowing no hits and striking out one. There wasn’t much offense to talk about for Fort Myers, as they managed just three hits on the game. Lewis raised his average back above .200 with a 2-for-4 night. Ben Rortvedt had the only extra-base hit with a double and drew a walk four plate appearances. KERNELS NUGGETS Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids - PPD: Rain The Kernels were unable to get their game in at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Tuesday as persistent rain kept the field too wet. They’ll make it up with a doubleheader on Wednesday, with right-hander Luis Rijo taking the mound for Cedar Rapids in game one at 5:00PM CST. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Tom Hackimer, Fort Myers Miracle (2.0 IP, H, 3 K) Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Zander Wiel, Rochester Red Wings (3-for-4, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4 #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - No game #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-4, 2 K #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - No Game #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Did not play #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-4, 3 K #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured list #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured list #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - Did not play #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-3, 2B, BB, K #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - Game PPD #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did not pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 1-for-3, 2 R, BB, K #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - No game #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-4 WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (5:35PM CST) – RHP Zack Littell (1-2, 4.50 ERA) Biloxi @ Pensacola (6:35PM CST) - RHP Sean Poppen (2-0, 0.75 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (12:00PM CST) – RHP Jhoan Duran (0-3, 3.63 ERA) Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids, Game 1 (5:00PM CST) – RHP Luis Rijo (0-2, 4.20 ERA) Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids, Game 2 - RHP Austin Schulfur (3-1, 2.45 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! Click here to view the article