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Minnesota Twins affiliates went 4-1 on Tuesday on a pretty good day throughout the system. Chattanooga kept on trucking with a top prospect on the mound, the rookie league teams scored a lot of runs, and Fort Myers needed extra innings in a game dominated by pitching on both sides. A major leaguer also made a rehab appearance with Rochester.To find out who did what in the minors on Tuesday, read on! TRANSACTIONS There were a few of transactions before the games on Tuesday. Minnesota sent Hector Santiago on a rehab assignment to Rochester and he started their game. The option of Kyle Gibson was also made official. In the Gulf Coast League Derek Molina was activated from the disabled list and made his pro debut with the start. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Indianapolis 5 Box Score The Red Wings had trouble solving Indians starter and top prospect Tyler Glasnow, who improved to 6-0 with a 1.46 ERA in Triple-A after struggling in his first taste of the majors with Pittsburgh. He held Rochester to just one run on four hits and three walks. Hector Santiago made the rehab start for the Red Wings and labored through just 1+ innings. He surrendered four runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks. Drew Rucinski came in to the game for him after the first three hitters reached base in the second inning. If not for an Engelb Vielma error on a double-play ball, Rucinski may have gotten them out of the inning with little damage. He was literally unhittable. In four innings he struck out four, retiring twelve of the other hitters he faced and ten in a row after that error. In case you were wondering, over the months of June and July back with Rochester, Rucinski has pitched 25.0 innings, allowing just one run on fourteen hits and one walk, while striking out seventeen. (That’s pretty good…) Matt Hague finally got the Wings on the board versus Glasnow in the sixth, as he led off the frame with his eighth home run. They added one in the ninth on an RBI single from John Ryan Murphy that was basically seceded by defensive indifference. The offense as a team was just 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Mason Melotakis pitched 1.1 innings of relief after Rucinski, allowing one run on two hits and a walk before Michael Tonkin finished the final 1.1 innings. He allowed one hit and struck out three (and continues his dominance of AAA). CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Birmingham 4, Chattanooga 9 Box Score Chattanooga is a train that just keeps on rolling as they improved to a remarkable 24-7 in the second half of the season. If you take into account the first half when they won the Southern League North Division, they have an 11 game lead on the second place team in the standings. One of the main reasons why they have been so good is their starting rotation and on Tuesday it was Stephen Gonsalves' turn. Even though he wasn’t necessarily at his best, he picked up his seventh win of the season by going 5.2 innings. He allowed two runs on three hits and three walks as 51 of his 98 pitches went for strikes. He struck out six. Andy Wilkins gave the Lookouts the early 1-0 lead when he led off the second inning with his eighth home run of year. In the fourth they took back the lead 3-1 on a bases-loaded walk to Max Murphy and sacrifice fly from Ryan Walker. Randy Rosario came on with runners on first and second in the sixth and promptly gave up a double, but the throw from LaMonte Wade and relay from Gordon got the tying runner at home to end the inning and keep Gonsalves in line for the win. Rosario went 2.1 innings, allowing 2 runs on four hits. He walked none and struck out none. The Lookouts offense then exploded for a six-run bottom of the sixth. Even more impressive, all the runs scored after a double-play to notch the first two outs. Murphy, Walker and Travis Harrison all drew walks to load the bases after that before Carlos Paulino scored two with a single. Nick Gordon then delivered an RBI single, Wade a 2-RBI double, and Wilkins capped the inning with an RBI single and 9-2 lead. Nick Anderson came out for the ninth and if not for an error was perfect. He struck out two. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Lakeland 1 (13 innings) Box Score If you like pitching and defense, this was your type of game as both teams combined for just thirteen hits and two runs through the first nine innings. They then went four more before any more runs were scored. Cody Stashak made the start for the Miracle, but unfortunately only went two innings before being removed from the game for an apparent injury. He allowed only a single before his exit. David Fischer went the next three scoreless innings, walking three and striking out two. Williams Ramirez pitched a scoreless sixth before getting himself ejected in the seventh. He pitched 1.1 innings and was on the hook for the bases being loaded. Alex Muren came on in relief of him and a sac fly gave Lakeland a 1-0 lead, but escaping that jam without any further damage proved to be the pivotal point in the game. Muren finished 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing no runs on two hits and walk. He struck out two. Sam Clay took over in the extra frames, and brought them into the thirteenth with 3.0 scoreless innings of his own. He gave up one hit, one walk and struck out four. Due to his offense's rally in the top of thirteenth, he improved to 8-0 on the season with a 1.36 ERA. He hasn’t given up a run in his last seventeen appearances dating back to May 31st and spanning 27.0 innings pitched. In the top of the thirteenth the Miracle offense finally woke up, as singles from Brandon Lopez and Sean Miller put a runner in scoring position before a wild pitch and intentional walk loaded the bases for Nelson Molina. His double brought in two for 3-1 Miracle lead, and a passed ball later in the frame made it 4-1. Tom Hackimer came on to close the door, and did so for his third save with the Miracle and ninth of the season. He allowed a single and struck out one. Jermaine Palacios (2-7, R, 3B), Lopez (2-5, R) and Brian Navaretto (2-5) each had two hits to lead the offense. Zander Wiel was 1-3, drew three walks and scored a run. The teams combined to go just 2-21 with runners in scoring position on the game, and left 21 men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Scheduled Day Off The Kernels had the day off on Tuesday as they travel to Peoria for a three-game series on the road. They went 3-3 on their six game homestand against Great Lakes and Lansing and have some work to do in the second half of the season as they are just 14-17 and six games back of the Western Division-leading Quad Cities River Bandits. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 9, Pulaski 3 Box Score Elizabethton got multiple hit efforts from five hitters in their lineup Tuesday night as they handed Pulaski just their fourth loss of the season at home. Robert Molina (2-4, R, 2B, RBI) was one of those hitters and his RBI double in the second inning got the scoring started for the Twins. Mark Contreras (2-3, R, RBI) and Matt Albanese added sacrifice flies to make it 3-0 after two. Melvi Acosta made the start for Elizabethton and went the first 5.2 innings. He allowed two runs on three hits but control was a problem as he walked five. He also struck out five. With two outs in the sixth his final walk ended his day at 92 pitches (50 for strikes). The Twins added four runs in the top of the fifth after Akil Baddoo (2-5, R, 3B, 2 RBI) led off the inning with his first triple. Jose Miranda brought him in with a sac fly before Shane Carrier (2-5, 2 R’s, HR, 2 RBI) and Kolton Kendrick (2-5, 2 R’s, HR, RBI) hit back-to-back jacks to make the score 7-2 in favor of E-Town. They added two more insurance runs in the eighth on a two-RBI single from Baddoo. In relief of Acosta Juan Gamez went 1.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk while striking out two. Ricky Ramirez finished the game with 1.2 innings of scoreless ball. He allowed one hit and struck out one. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 8, GCL Orioles 5 Box Score The Twins jumped out to an 8-0 lead after four innings and it was more than enough to hold off a sixth inning rally from the Orioles. The offense put up crooked numbers in each of the first, second and fourth innings. In the first Royce Lewis led off the game with a walk, advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw, stole third base after Jean Carlos Arias was hit by a pitch, and then scored on steal attempt of second base that led to a throwing error from the catcher. Ricky De La Torre drove in Arias with a single for the 2-0 lead after one. The Twins attempted four steals in the first inning alone, with only De La Torre getting thrown out. A three-run two-out rally came in the second inning as a double from Jared Akins was followed by an RBI single from Lewis, and a two-RBI triple from Arias. Three more runs scored in the fourth thanks to Arias (RBI single), an error to score Akins, and a wild pitch that allowed Arias to scamper home from third. 2017 14th-round draft pick Derek Molina made his professional debut on the mound and went the first three innings. The right-hander out of Merced College in California gave up just two hits and struck five. Pedro Garcia added two scoreless innings before running into trouble in the sixth. He was replaced by Matz Schutte with two outs and ended up allowing three runs on three hits and three walks in 2.2 innings. Two of those runs came because Schutte gave up a grand slam after walking his first batter but got out of the inning with the score 8-5. Vadim Balan pitched the final three innings and picked up his fourth save in the process. He allowed just one hit and walked one while striking out two. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Fort Myers Miracle Staff (13 IP, 13 H’s, 5 BB, 9 K’s, 1 run allowed. W-Sam Clay, S-Tom Hackimer) Hitter of the Day – Andy Wilkins, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-4, 2 R’s, HR, 2 RBI, BB) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Indianapolis (12:35PM CST) – RHP Dillon Gee (2-1, 2.14 ERA) Birmingham @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (4-4, 3.63 ERA) Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30PM CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (2-1, 2.11 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (7:00PM CST) – RHP Tyler Beardsley (3-4, 5.98 ERA) Elizabethton @ Pulaski (6:00PM CST) – TBD GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! Click here to view the article

How many hits for Zack Granite on Friday? Lefties Stephen Gonsalves and Lewis Thorpe made starts. How did they do? Elizabethton finally started their 2017 season with a doubleheader, which included a walkoff winner! And lots of players made their debuts with new teams. Please continue reading for much, much more from a busy night in the Twins system. It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the Twins. There was the draft, and trying to get as many of them signed as quickly as possible. There was getting players to Ft. Myers. There was figuring out the short-season rosters. There was figuring out which players were getting promotions to or from full-season squads, and there were a few releases. And the big league club needed more arms too. So, things have been pretty hectic. But Friday was the first day with five affiliates playing, and next Monday, the GCL Twins will make it six. Of course, the Dominican Summer League Twins have been playing for a couple of weeks already too.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Friday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS Fair to say that it’s been a busy 24 hours for the Twins minor league department. Along with the transactions at the big leagues, which trickled down, there were also the second-half promotions from the lower levels. Some of these were mentioned yesterday, but we’ll repeat several of them here just in case you missed any of them. Nik Turley was optioned to Rochester. Ehire Adrianza was placed on the disabled list.Alex Wimmers and Mason Melotakis were DFAd.Trevor Hildenberger and Dillon Gee were promoted to the Twins.John Curtiss and Matt Tracy moved up to Rochester from Chattanooga.Jose Gonzalez was placed on Chattanooga’s disabled list.Rafael Valera, Trey Vavra and Daniel Kihle were released by the Twins from the Miracle roster.Dereck Rodriguez, Alex Perez and Brian Navarreto were promoted to Chattanooga from Ft. Myers.Keaton Steele was promoted to Ft. Myers from extended spring training.Jermaine Palacios, Jaylin Davis, Mitchell Kranson and Brandon Lopez were promoted to Ft. Myers from Cedar Rapids.Amaurys Minier, Jorge Munoz, Joe Cronin and Lean Marrero were promoted to Cedar Rapids from extended spring training.On Wednesday, the Elizabethton Twins Opening Day roster was announced. On Thursday, four more players were added, and on Friday, 11 more players were added. Click here to see the full Elizabethton Twins roster.A few more injury-related notes on players who have been in extended spring training..Callan Pearce tells me that he’s remaining in Ft. Myers rehabbing a shoulder injury.Johan Quezada had a surgery to clean up his shoulder and will likely miss much of the short-season rehabbing.Catcher Brian Olson has a broken bone in his foot.Right-hander Miguel DeJesus has a UCL sprain.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 3, Lehigh Valley 4 Box Score We have to start with Zack Granite, right? The outfielder went 3-5 in this game and is now hitting .359. Tommy Field was 2-4 with his 18th double. He also stole his fourth base. Matt Tracy got the start for the Red Wings. He gave up four runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings. He walked two and struck out seven. John Curtiss came in for his AAA debut. He got the final out in the fifth inning, and then he worked two perfect innings. Seven batters faced. Seven outs, three on strikeouts. Jake Reed came on and got all six batters he faced out as well. By the way, here is a glimpse of why so many are intrigued by the defense of Engelb Vielma. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Pensacola 1 Box Score The Lookouts were supposed to begin the second half of their season on Thursday, but rain pushed the game to Friday. Stephen Gonsalves was on the mound for the Lookouts and was terrific. The left-hander gave up just one run on three hits over seven innings. He walked just one and struck out nine in his 101 pitches thrown. He improved to 3-3 and dropped his ERA to 2.85. Following the game, Gonsalves got specific when asked what worked for him in the game. “Tonight was little bit of everything. We had fastballs a majority of time getting ahead, had two 0-0 sliders, two 0-0 curveballs that worked nicely to keep them guessing because this was an ambush team, so kept them from swinging at first pitch. Anytime I fell behind tonight (1-0, 2-1), I threw my change up which was either swing and miss or soft ground ball. Struck out seven of nine with the curveball tonight, so it's been very good in 0-2, 1-2. Other than that, my slider has been turning into a backdoor pitch to righties to get back into counts. But tonight was all about getting ahead and staying aggressive in with fastball and soft away.” Nick Anderson gave up two hits, but he struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth frame. Alex Muren gave up a hit, but no runs to close it out in the ninth. Levi Michael may have struck out three times in this game, but the one time he didn’t, he launched a three-run homer. It was the big hit for the Lookouts on this night. Jonathan Rodriguez went 2-4 with his 11th double. Edgar Corcino was 2-4 with his 13th double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Florida 1 Box Score The Miracle trotted out a much-altered lineup on Friday night, but it was able to do enough to secure a win. It was a Miracle veteran who led the offense. Max Murphy went 3-4. Jaylin Davis went 1-4 with three strikeouts, but his one hit was a big, RBI double. He batted cleanup and played left field. Jermaine Palacios batted second and went 0-3. Mitchell Kranson was 0-4 batting in the three-spot. Brandon Lopez played third base - a position he had played for just the first time a night earlier for Cedar Rapids. Lewis Thorpe has pitched well since his return, but on Friday night, he earned his first win of the season. He finished five innings and gave up just one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out two. He needed just 60 pitches. Tom Hackimer and Sam Clay each threw two scoreless innings and struck out two. For Clay, it marked his fourth save of the season. After the game, Thorpe said, "I think the best thing for me tonight was command of all four pitches. The Fire Frogs were a very aggressive team which kept my pitch count down. Innings limit is what's stopping me from going deeper into games." KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 7 Box Score The Kernels put together a big rally in the ninth inning but fell just short and lost for the first time in the second half (1-1). Sean Poppen started. The All-Star gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits over six innings. He struck out five and walked none. Logan Lombana struck out one in a perfect innings. Evan Sanders came on for the eighth and gave up one run on one hit, one walk, and one hit batter. He struck out two. The Kernels also had most of their new hitters in the lineup, but it was the guys who have been there who provided most of the offense. Aaron Whitefield went 3-5 with his 10th double. Hank Morrison went 2-4. Travis Blankenhorn walked three times. Caleb Hamilton hit his sixth homer, a three-run shot in the ninth inning. Amaurys Minier DHd and batted sixth. He went 0-3 with a walk. Lean Marrero batted eighth and played right field. He went 0-3 with a walk. Joe Cronin batted ninth and played second base. He went 1-4. E-TWINS E-NOTES The Elizabethton Twins were scheduled to begin their season on Thursday. But tropical storms caused that game to be postponed. Instead, the teams started their season with two games on Friday night. It was a big night for many of the players, but particularly for Matt Albanese. Drafted in the eighth round of the 2016 draft, he missed the season after having a couple of wrist surgeries. He was hurt again in spring training, so a year after being drafted, he finally made his debut. Albanese said, “It was awesome to get in a real competitive atmosphere and play with a good group of guys and get a win. After missing a little over a year I was anxious and ready to go.” Game 1 - Elizabethton 7, Danville 6 Box Score It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. Or at least that’s likely what E-Twins long-time manager (and former Twins catcher) Ray Smith told his team in between games. Down 5-0 after just two innings, things looked bleak, but the Twins kept coming back and scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th for a walk-off win. Edwar Colina made his States-side debut. He gave up six runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks in 4.1 innings. He struck out four. He was replaced by lefty Taylor Clemensia who was fantastic. He faced eight batters, and got each one of them out to earn the win out of the bullpen. Jose Miranda and Matt Albanese provided some base runners. Miranda was 1-1 but walked twice and was hit twice. Albanese singled three times in his professional debut. But it was Kolton Kendrick who provided the power. In the fourth inning, he hit a two-run double to get the team on the scoreboard. Two innings later, he again came up to the plate with two runners on base, and this time he launched a three-run homer. Kendrick told Twins Daily, "Felt unreal. Feels so great to finally play under the lights again and love the adrenaline. And to be up here with this team is even better. Definitely missed this feeling. Great having a crowd again and hearing them and the atmosphere is awesome with the background of the field." Still, the Twins were down 6-5 heading into the bottom of the 7th inning. With one out, Trey Cabbage singled and Brent Rooker followed with his first professional hit. Shane Carrier hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game, and Matt Albanese ended it with a single. Albanese told Twins Daily, “I just wanted to have a good at bat and get a pitch I could hit hard. It felt great to get the job done for my team and win the home opener.” Albanese went 3-4 with the game-winner. Kendrick was 2-2 with a walk, a double, a homer and five RBI. Game 2 - Elizabethton 0. Danville 2 Box Score Huascar Ynoa started the second game for the Twins. He gave up two runs in the first inning before settling in. He gave up just those two runs on five hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out seven. Bryan Sammons came on for the sixth inning, but after recording two outs, one on a strikeout, the game was called due to rain. It was far enough along to call a complete game. Not much offense for the Twins in game 2. They went with the same lineup, except Rainis Silva caught game 2 with Robert Molina getting game 1. Matt Albanese added his first double. The only other hit was from Silva. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kolton Kendrick, Elizabethton Twins THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - RHP Chris Heston Pensacola @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge Ft. Myers @ Florida (6:05) - RHP Brady Anderson Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:35 CST) - LHP Domenick Carlini Danville @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Moises Gomez Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday’s games. Click here to view the article

On Thursday night the Elizabethton played their Opening Night game. We previewed their roster here. This afternoon (well, morning on Minnesota time), the Gulf Coast League Twins will play their first game of the season. The Gulf Coast League has an interesting blend of players. There are kids who signed right out of high school. There are players in their first year or two from another country There are some late-round college picks (and this year, several undrafted free agents) to help fill out the roster and to work on their tools or their control, etc. Like the E-Town roster, it allows for many more players. The roster is also subject to quite some change as more players are signed or now players can move up and down from Elizabethton. While the team plays at noon six days a week (Sundays off), the playing time is generally split a little more equally, generally with the exception of the guys who are considered strong prospects. Same thing at Elizabethton: look at the number of plate appearances and games played to see who the top prospects likely are.With that mini intro, let’s get to the GCL roster. COACHING STAFF The team is managed by Ramon Borrego. This is his seventh season with the Twins GCL squad, the sixth as the manager. He is assisted by extra coaches since these rookie leagues are all about player development. The hitting coaches are Javier Valentin (2nd year) and Steve Singleton (1st year). The pitching coaches are Virgil Vazquez (2nd year) and Cibney Bello (1st year, though he held a few pitching coach positions in the Mariners organization). HITTERS Catchers: Jhon Alvarez (20), Juan Gamez (22), Ben Rortvedt (18), Kidany Salva (17) Rortvedt clearly is the top prospect in this catching group. Drafted early this month in the second round, many believe that he will hit and have the ability to stick behind the plate.Alvarez has spent the past three seasons in the Dominican Summer League. He’s 20 and making his US debut. Last year he hit .250 with a .706 OPS. Better known for his defense.Kidany Salva was the Twins 17th round pick this month out of high school in Houston. He just signed in the last day or two.Juan Gamez was the team’s 31st round pick, a defensive-minded catcher out of NDSU.Infielders: Joe Cronin (22), Zach Featherstone (20), Dane Hutcheon (21), Kolton Kendrick (19), Jose Miranda (17), Emmanuel Morel (19), Jorge Munoz (20), Roni Tapia, Joe Cronin has a Hall of Fame name, however, the 34th round pick will have to earn his playing time. The Twins selected him as a shortstop, though he has played mainly first base and third base in the last two seasons and Boston College.Featherstone was drafted after two seasons at Tallahassee CC. He is expected to get time in left field and at first base.Dane Hutcheon was the Twins 29th round pick. He played mostly shortstop at the U of Montevallo. He’s got good speed.Kolton Kendrick was the Twins 8th round pick a year ago out of high school in Louisiana. He came down with mono so his season started late and he didn’t really regain his strength until after the season. He was drafted for his power. (Here is a Q&A with the slugger)Jose Miranda was the Twins first 2nd round Lottery B pick (#73) last month out of high school in Puerto Rico. He will turn 18 next week. Many believe he is likely to move to second or third, he is going to get a lot of time at shortstop this summer.Emmanuel Morel is one of the fastest players in the Twins minor leagues. The 5-10, 164 pound infielder spent the last two seasons in the DSL. Last year he hit .282 with a .428 OBP and 24 stolen bases. He will play both middle infield spots.Jorge Munoz is one of the players that really stood out to me. He’s thin. He's two inches taller than Engelb Vielma (6-1) and weighs exactly the same amount (165). But he’s got a little pop in his bat. He hit .315 with a .415 OBP last year in the DSL. He played almost exclusively on the left side of the diamond. Strong defensively at shortstop, he can get a bit flashy at times. He just turned 20 this week.Tapia got a nice bonus from the Twins a couple of years ago ($500K). He spent a year in the DSL and then really struggled last year in his first go-round in the GCL. At 6-3 and 205, he’s got the strength. He’ll play both corner infield spots.Outfielders: Juan Carlos Arias (18), Lean Marrero (18), Luis Martinez (20), Aaron Whitefield (19), Akil Baddoo (17), Tyree Davis Arias debuted in the DSL a year ago where he hit .311/378/.537 (.914) with 13 doubles, nine triples and two homers. At 5-11 and 180 pounds, he’s got good strength to go with real good speed.Marrero was drafted a year ago in the 16th round of the the Leadership Christian Academy, the same school Jose Miranda was drafted from this year. Last year, he struggled to a .159 average. Weighing in at 6-1 and 177 pounds, Marrero does have a nice, left-handed swing worth watching this year.Martinez is a terrific defensive center fielder which is why he played 39 games for the DSL Twins last year despite hitting just .140. Obviously he’ll have to hit, but at 5-11, 190 pounds, he has some potential pop.Aaron Whitefield signed with the Twins last summer in time to play in six games in the GCL. He had only started playing baseball a year earlier. He ended up being an All-Star in the Australian Baseball League this winter. He’s a great athlete with terrific speed and defense. You’ll want to read his back story here.Still just 17, Baddoo has a ton of potential, but we will have to be patient with him. Drafted with the Twins second 2nd round Lottery B pick (compensation for not signing Kyle Cody a year earlier) this month, he is known to have a really quick bat and good speed.Tyree Davis was the Twins 37th round pick in 2014 out of Compton, California. He got hurt again last season and missed time, but he worked out hard and jumped up to 6-3 and 200 pounds. He is one of the best pure athletes in the organization and has a very high upside. He just needs to stay healthy and get the at-bats to gain some confidence.PITCHERS Starters: Huascar Ynoa (18), Miguel de Jesus (20), Taylor Clemensia (19), Quinton Grogan (23), Tyler Fox (22), Brady Anderson (23). Huascar Ynoa was the Twins big international signing in 2014 though it was the only year in at least the last four years where they didn’t hand out a 7-digit signing bonus to an international, 16-year-old. Ynoa is the younger brother of White Sox pitcher Michael Ynoa (who once got a $4 million signing bonus from the A’s when he was 16). This Ynoa throws 90-94 gets good movement and knows how to pitch. He has the ability to dominate. He is 6-3 and 215 pounds and just turned 18. He went 2-5 last year in the DSL but posted an ERA of 2.70.De Jesus is pretty similar. He’s 6-1 and 205 pounds. Last year in the DSL, he went 6-6 and a 4.30 ERA and a strikeout per inning. He has a fastball that sits 92-94. He gets a lot of sink on it and should be a ground ball machine in time. Though he signed last summer,Clemensia is a left-hander out of The Netherlands who will be making his professional debut.Quinton Grogan had 83 strikeouts in 75.1 innings at Lewis-Clark State this year.Following this month’s draft, the Twins signed right-hander Tyler Fox out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha where he went 10-2 with a 3.04 ERA in just over 100 innings.Brady Anderson doesn’t have far to travel. The Twins signed out of of Florida Gulf Coast University. He graduated in 2015 but had a year of eligibility remaining so he started taking Masters courses and continued pitching. He leaves the school as one of the best pitchers in the school’s history, though I think Chris Sale likely edges him out for the top spot.Relievers: Clark Beeker (23) Onas Farfan (23), Moises Gomez (19), Bo Hellquist (22), Garrett Kelly (21), Daniel Martinez (22), Pat McGuff (22), Callan Pearce (20), Matz Schutte (18), Zach Strecker (22). Beeker was the Twins 33rd round pick this month out of Davidson. He was a 5th-year senior who throws a lot of strikes.Farfan went to Robbinsdale Cooper and was drafted in 2014 out of Ridgewater College in Willmar. He is coming back after missing the 2015 season with Tommy John surgery. Just turned 23 yesterday. Gomez struck out 12 and walked 14 in 24 innings out of the GCL bullpen a year ago, but he has some stuff and will get another shot as a 19-year-old this year.Hellquist had a solid four-year career at Minnesota-Duluth. When he went undrafted earlier this month, the Burnsville High School grad signed with the Twins. He fits the ‘crafty lefty” mold and could get a shot as a starter as well.Garrett Kelly is another non-drafted free agent signed following the draft. He is an interesting story in that he only became a full-time pitcher a year ago, as a college junior. Before that, he was a catcher. He had a strong arm and has been clocked at 96 mph. He’s the kind of guy you take a shot on.Daniel Martinez is the younger brother of Cedar Rapids pitching coach JP Martinez. He too wasn’t drafted despite a solid college career at the University of New Orleans. In 2016, he led the team with 12 saves and struck out 66 batters in 59.2 innings.Patrick McGuff started the last couple of years at Morehead State where he struck out basically a batter per inning (98 Ks in 99 IP). He was the Twins 39th round pick this year.This will be the third straight season in the GCL for right-hander Callan Pearce, though he is just 20. He was signed out of South Africa, and this spring he was pitching important innings for his country’s WBC Qualifier team that almost upset host Australia. He needs to find his control.Matz Schutte is just 18. He posted a 3.07 ERA last year in the GCL, his first, but he throws in the low-to-mid 80s now. The right-hander from The Netherlands does have some pitch-ability.Zach Strecker is another non-drafted signee. He pitched at the University of Kentucky. He posted a 1.84 ERA over 29.1 innings this spring for the Wildcats.Your random note of the day: At a U15 tournament in 2012, Taylor Clemensia was named the best batter and Matz Schutte was named the top pitcher. So there you have it… a current look at the Gulf Coast League team roster. There appear to be more non-drafted free agents than the Twins have signed in recent years, or in the last decade that I can remember. Then again, they have had non-drafted free agents get to the big leagues. The youngest player on this roster is 17 while the oldest just recently turned 23. It’s a diverse group in terms of number of countries represented as well. It’s always a fun roster to follow and we can start following those box scores on Friday! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, though I may need Jeremy Nygaard’s thoughts on some of the 2016 draft picks. Click here to view the article

Kolton Kendrick was the Twins eighth-round pick this past June out of high school in Louisiana. He gave up a scholarship to Southeastern Louisiana to sign with the Twins. At 6-3 and 225 pounds, Kendrick has been long touted for his tremendous power potential. Unfortunately, he didn’t get much time to show what he could do in 2015. After signing with the Twins, he came down with mono and missed several weeks before joining the GCL Twins. In mid-July, he started playing, but not at full strength. In 24 games, he hit .200/.371/.271 (.642) with three doubles and a triple. He participated in the Twins Florida Instructional League and now is enjoying his first offseason as a professional.Continue on to read more about another new Twins minor leaguer, Kolton Kendrick. ----------------------------------------- Seth Stohs (SS): Growing up in Louisiana, who was your favorite team to follow, and who were some of your favorite players? Kolton Kendrick (KK) I never really had a favorite team in the MLB or a favorite player, but I really enjoyed going to college games like LSU football and baseball and Southeastern Louisiana baseball, where I was going to college. There are very close from where I live, and my family and I really enjoyed that a lot. SS: Drafted by the Twins in the eighth round... is that about where you thought you would be selected before the draft? What were your thoughts when you heard your name called? KK: I'm very blessed to get this opportunity, and where I went in the draft, it's been a lifelong dream. I was projected first five rounds, but I didn't sit on it just because I heard how the draft is in the past, and I just thank God every day that He put me in the position of going in the eighth round. Whether it was the first round or the 40th round, I still would be blessed either way and give the thanks to God. I was very excited when my name came across the screen. SS: You had the commitment to play at Southeastern Louisiana. How difficult was the decision to sign with the Twins, or did you know you wanted to sign all along? KK: It was very difficult, but it was a family decision, and I think I made the right decision to take it. Southeastern is a great school and is on a huge rise in their baseball program. They have one of the best coaching staffs, and they teach their players how to play the game hard and the right way. They get theie players mentally and physically ready for real life situations and game situations. SS: After signing, you came down with mono. How frustrating was it for you to have signed and then have to wait to get to play? KK: It was very frustrating because the doctors wouldn't let me do anything for a whole month. I thought I was going to go crazy cause that's never happened to me before. When I went back down to Florida, I was rusty and had to get back to where I was. It took me a while to get used, to it but I got the hang of it. SS: What was the biggest adjustment you had to make, going from the high school and amateur season to the pro game? On or off the field? KK: The biggest adjustment I had to make was probably staying more mentally focused into the game and taking care of my body. It was tough going from 32 games in high school to playing every day, but it takes time to get used to it. Fortunately, we were all blessed with great trainers and older guys being down there in rehab because they will teach you some things that they've learned along the way. You have to take those things into consideration if you want to mature as a person and become a better player. SS: In these very early stages of your career, what would you say are your biggest strengths as a player? KK: My biggest strengths are probably my power when hitting and working my butt off when no one is looking. My power numbers really didn't show this past year like they have my whole life. I was disappointed, but I know it takes time. I will do whatever it takes to get back to do doing what I've been doing my whole life and that's hitting with power and playing the game hard. SS: What are the things that you feel you need to improve over the offseason and going forward? KK: I definitely need to get bigger, stronger, and faster because I lost a lot of it when I had mono, and lost a lot of weight during the season. I also need to mentally prepare myself and learn how to take care of my body to have a healthy career SS: What were some of the highlights of your high school and amateur career? (What other sports or activities did you participate in?) KK: My highlight of my high school career was going to state my senior year for baseball, getting all-American two years in a row, my junior and senior years, and playing in the high school all-star game my senior year. SS: What are your plans for the offseason? (Baseball Training, but also what do you enjoy doing away from the game of baseball?) KK: I'm working out with former big leaguer Ryan Theriot and a bunch of pro guys. Ryan has a huge facility and a ton of pro guys are working out in there, so it's great to be around all that. He has a lot of great trainers and nutritionists and people teaching you how to take care of your body. I also love to duck hunt and deer hunt. I've been doing it my whole life and it's become a passion. It really gets my mind off of things, and I can relax without any worries. SS: Who are some of the coaches and others who have helped you get to this point in your career? KK: First off I’d like to give the glory to God and my wonderful family, but there's been so many people that have impacted me on this journey and helped me get to where I am. I'd like to give credit to Wade Miley. He's taught me some things, and he's playing for Boston Red Sox right now in the big leagues. He grew up and still lives in the small town where I'm from. All my coaches from when I played travel baseball when I was younger. I'd really like to give credit to Leo Mcluer and Trey Mcluer and also my high school coaches and Tony Salim who has helped me every step of the way. ------------------------------------------------ A big Thank You to Kolton Kendrick for taking time to respond to our questions. Best wishes to him! Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. Click here to view the article