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It was a rough weekend for the big-league club as the Twin lost three of four against Cleveland to see their division lead disappear. That being said, there are plenty of minor league teams still in position to make playoff runs in the weeks ahead. Would anyone help their cause on Sunday? Read on to find out…TRANSACTIONS LHP Erik Cha promoted to Cedar Rapids from Elizabethton. RHP Brian Rapp placed on IL (left groin strain). AWARDS The Twins announced their weekly Hitter and Pitcher of the Week: Hitter of the Week: Trevor Larnach, PensacolaIn five games for the Blue Wahoos, Larnach hit .412 (7-for-17) with two home runs, five RBIs, four walks and a 1.289 OPS. The 22-year-old was selected by the Twins 20th overall in the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Oregon State UniversityPitcher of the Week: Jordan Balazovic, Fort MyersBalazovic made the start on Thursday vs. Jupiter, pitching 5.0 shutout innings with two hits allowed, one walk and nine strikeouts. The 20-year-old was selected by the Twins in the fifth round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of St. Martin SS in Mississauga, Ontario. The righty pitched 1.0 perfect inning at the SiriusXM Futures Game this July at Progressive Field. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Louisville 5 Box Score Kohl Stewart started for Rochester and didn’t give up any runs in four innings. In fact, he held Louisville to one hit to go along with four strikeouts and two walks. Sam Clay would be charged with the loss after allowing two earned runs on five hits in 1- 2/3 innings. It was the first time he had allowed multiple earned runs since April 26th. Rochester scored runs in the seventh and eighth innings. With two outs in the seventh, Mike Miller drew a walk and he moved to second on a passed ball. Ivan De Jesus drove him home with a single. To start the eighth, Ramon Flores doubled before Alejandro De Aza collected an RBI-single. Jake Reed pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings and added in a pair of strikeouts. Ryan Eades surrendered two runs, both on solo home runs, in his two innings of work. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola --, Mobile – (Cancelled) Pensacola’s game versus Mobile was cancelled on Sunday due to heavy rain. The game will not be resumed since the two teams do not play again this season. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Jupiter 1 (7 Innings- Rain) Box Score Lachlan Wells went six innings without allowing an earned run to pick up his second High-A win of the season. He limited Jupiter to three hits with one strikeout and a pair of walks. Moises Gomez added one scoreless inning by striking out two and walking one. In seven of his last 10 appearances, he hasn’t allowed an earned run. Fort Myers answered right back after Jupiter scored the first run of the game in the top of the fifth. With one out, Chris Williams, Michael Davis and Gabriel Maciel all drew walks to load the bases. Jacob Pearson drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly. Jose Miranda followed with his 21st double of the season for what turned out to be the game-winning run. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 2 Box Score Gabe Snyder and Gilberto Celestino made the difference in this game as both players added solo home runs. Andrew Cabezas had a quality start on the mound with Erik Cha earning the save in his Midwest League debut. Beloit struck first by plating two runs against Cebezas in the second inning. Luckily, those were the only runs he allowed in six innings of work. He limited Beloit to three hits, and he struck out four without allowing a walk. Cha pitched three scoreless frames with one strikeout and two hits allowed. The Kernels started their comeback in the third inning. Daniel Ozoria reached base on a fielding error before Celestino added in his 23rd double to drive in a run. With two outs in the inning, Wander Javier drew a walk before Yunior Severion was able to drive in Celestino for the second run of the frame. Snyder’s home run came in the fifth and Celesino’s home run came in the sixth. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Pulaski 7 Box Score Elizabethton was in an early hole and it became tough to find their way out. Pulaski scored four first-inning runs against Ben Gross and that wouldn’t be the end of the damage he allowed. Gross made it through four innings and allowed five earned runs on six hits. He struck out five, but he surrendered four walks. Steven Cruz didn’t fare much better as he walked three batters and was charged with two earned runs even though he could only record one out. Elizabethton tried to answer back in the bottom of the first. With two outs, Matt Wallner walked before Parker Phillips collected his fourth home run of the season. This cut the lead to 4-2. Charles Mack drove in a pair of runs in the fifth inning on his fifth double. Osiris German and Benjamin Dum combined for 4 2/3 shutout innings to end the game. German was asked to get eight outs and he recorded five strikeouts. Dum was equally strong as he struck out three. The two pitchers limited Pulaski to three hits. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Lachlan Wells, Fort Myers (6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, K, 2 BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Gilberto Celestino, Cedar Rapids (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 0-2, 2 BB, K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) – No scheduled game #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – Did not play #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) – 2-3, 2 RBI, R #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) – 1-3, 2 BB, R. K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) – No scheduled game #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) – Game cancelled MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester – Scheduled Off-Day Pensacola – Scheduled Off-Day Fort Myers @ St. Lucie – TBD Cedar Rapids vs. Beloit (6:35 CST) – RHP Josh Winder (6-2, 2.86 ERA) Elizabethton vs. Pulaski (5:30 CST) – RHP Andrui Marin (1-2, 6.27 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00 am CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Rochester had a scheduled day off and those afternoon showers in south Florida again caused the postponement of the GCL Twins doubleheader. But there were four games in the Twins system, and in them there were plenty of intriguing performances. A five-run inning. A Twins organization debut. A two-homer game from a 2019 draft pick. And, there were some interesting transactions as well.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Monday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS LHP Lewis Thorpe returned to the Red Wings.RHP Drew Hutchison was traded to the LA Angels for cash considerations.IF Ivan De Jesus, Jr. has been promoted from Pensacola to Rochester.IF Jordany Valdespin is set to start a rehab stint in the GCL.Pensacola announced that IF Travis Blankenhorn has been activated from the IL.RHP Cole Sands placed on the Ft. Myers injury list with a calf strain.OF Malique Ziegler is set to begin a rehab stint in the GCL.Cedar Rapids announced that RH RP Jose Martinez has been placed on the IL.RED WINGS REPORTRochester Box Score No Game Scheduled. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Pensacola 7, Birmingham 4 Box Score Down 4-0 going into the bottom of the fifth tinning, the Blue Wahoos scored five runs to take the lead. The bullpen took over from there. Charlie Barnes started and gave up four runs (two earned) on seven hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out four batters. Marcos Diplan made his first appearance in the Twins organization since the Twins acquired him in a trade with Milwaukee a week ago after being DFAd. He walked two and struck out one in his inning. Tom Hackimer, Andrew Vasquez and Justin Cheshire followed with scoreless, hitless innings. It is important to note that the bullpen was helped by some great defense. We rarely show the great plays, but this double play started by Jordan Gore is pretty incredible. Kidany Salva followed Holland’s second homer of the night with his second homer of the season. Parker Phillips also homered for the second time with the E-Twins. Charles Mack went 2-for-4. Ben Gross made the start for the Twins. He gave up three runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out three batters without issuing a walk. Denny Bentley gave up two runs on three hits over two innings. Osiris German gave up two runs on two hits in his inning. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins , GCL Pirates Box Score The teams were supposed to play a double header, but it was again rained out. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Andrew Cabezas, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Will Holland, Elizabethton Twins PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - 0-5, R, RBI, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 1-4, RBI, 2K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Rehabbing in GCL #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - Did Not Play #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) - Temporary Inactive List (Silver medal at Pan Am Games) #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) - Rained out. #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured (groin) #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch. #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch. #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List (lower leg contusion) #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) - Did Not Play. #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) - 2-4, R, 2 RBI (gave Sano a chance) #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) - 0-4, K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - DId Not Play #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Injured (Tommy John) #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - 1-3, R, RBI, SF #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - 1-4, 2 RBI. TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Gwinnett @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen (5-1, 3.77 ERA) Pensacola - No Game Scheduled Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (5:30 CST) - RHP Dakota Chalmers (0-0, 36.00 ERA) Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - TBD Elizabethton @ Kingsport (5:30 CST) - RHP Andiu Marin (1-2, 5.70 ERA) GCL Pirates @ GCL Twins (DH @ 9:00 CST) - TBD, TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Monday games or any other minor league topics you would like. Click here to view the article

Unfortunately the Twins game decided to be really good and also really, really, really bad so the minor league report is brought to you with great sadness as my sad Spotify playlist plays in the background. The current track is Pearl Jam’s “Black” if you want to know how I am doing. Moving forward, there were many great hitting performances in the minor league system and one exceptional pitching performance especially, all that and more in this edition of the minor league report.TRANSACTIONS -Catcher Kyle Schmidt promoted from the GCL to Elizabethton. -GCL Twins activated Regi Grace from the IL. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Gwinnett 5 Box Score D.J. Baxendale: 1 IP, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (opener for Devin Smeltzer) HR: None Multi-hit games: None A quiet game from the Red Wings that ended in a loss to the Gwinnett Stripers. Devin Smeltzer was the primary pitcher (or bulk pitcher, whatever you prefer) after D.J. Baxendale and he gave up four runs over his four innings of work. He struck out none and walked two batters. Fernando Romero came on in relief of Smeltzer and fired off two scoreless innings while allowing just one hit, walking one and striking out four. The Red Wings offense was stagnant all game as they put together just four hits with none going for extra bases while striking out eleven times. A rare off day for a typically great offense that is missing Brent Rooker’s presence in the lineup. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola postponed vs Mississippi The rain came in and made sure that no game would be played today which is great for my laziness but not great for the people who wanted a game to be played, shame. A doubleheader will be played tomorrow. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Florida 0 Box Score Lachlan Wells: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 72.9% strikes (62 of 85 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: Royce Lewis (2-for-4, R, BB), Jacob Pearson (2-for-4) The Miracle played a well-rounded game this Saturday that ended in a win. Lachlan Wells was dominant but so were Calvin Faucher and Zach Neff who each pitched scoreless outings in relief of Wells. Combined, they gave up just three hits, walked just one hitter, and struck out ten hitters. A well-pitched game indeed by the Miracle. The Miracle bats didn’t want the pitching to steal the thunder as they smacked eight hits and walked more than they struck out on their way to scoring five runs. Both Ryan Jeffers and David Banuelos had two-run doubles and Jose Miranda had an RBI single following Ryan Jeffers’ double in the first. That was all the scoring that was done but hey, why score runs you don’t need? Royce Lewis continued his hot streak by knocking a pair of singles and taking a walk, a good sign for the top prospect who has had to work through a tougher season than most anticipated. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Fort Wayne 4 Box Score Kai-Wei Teng: 3 ⅔ IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 58.2% strikes (39 of 67 pitches) HR: Yeltsin Encarnacion (2) Multi-hit games: Spencer Steer (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI), Yeltsin Encarnacion (2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI), Gilberto Celestino (3-for-5, 2 2B, RBI), Gabe Snyder (2-for-5), Daniel Ozoria (3-for-5) I made some snarky comment here about close games last week so the Kernels decided to spite me and actually have a close game, this one ended with another win for them so I guess we all can be happy. Spencer Steer has continued to just rake even after the promotion as his OPS with the Kernels is now .993 after another multi-hit game. Shoot, he might be major league ready already! Gilberto Celestino has also started to heat up recently as his OPS now sits at .680 after a slow start to the season. He had an OPS of .913 in July coming into the game and that will go up even higher thanks to his three-hit effort that came with a pair of doubles. Jose Ramirez relieved Teng and got ten outs without allowing a run. Rickey Ramirez received the save after he threw two scoreless innings that came with four strikeouts and just two hits. E-Town E-Notes Elizabethton 10, Bluefield 7 Box Score Prelander Berroa: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: Willie Joe Garry Jr. (2), Kidany Salva (1), Seth Gray (5) Multi-hit games: Willie Joe Garry Jr. (2-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI), Max Smith (2-for-5, 3B, 2B, R), Charles Mack (3-for-5, R, RBI) It was quite the offensive game as both teams dropped twelve hits and a combined seventeen runs. The difference, however, was that Bluefield foolishly had only one hit of the extra-base variety while the intelligent Elizabethton Twins had five including three home runs. All but one Elizabethton batter had a hit. Willie Joe Garry Jr. and Max Smith played the part of the bash brothers as they combined for four extra-base hits and would have had a combined cycle had either of them bothered to get a single. Oh well, their slugging percent thanks them anyway. There wasn’t much to talk about on the pitching side of things but Dylan Thomas had a scoreless outing that included four outs and three strikeouts. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 3, GCL Red Sox 5 Box Score Regi Grace: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jim Caceres (2-for-4) The GCL Twins struck out 14 GCL Red Sox hitters on Saturday. I feel like I have noted something similar for both the GCL Twins and Elizabethton Twins every week so be happy that the Twins are punching tickets and taking names in the early stages of development. The GCL offense was sporadic as only two hitters reached base multiple times and they only reached base nine times all day. The end result was three runs, all of which scored in the fourth inning. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Lachlan Wells Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Willie Joe Garry Jr. PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, R, BB #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Postponed game #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Postponed game #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - Postponed game #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - Did not play #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) - 0-for-2, 2 BB #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Did not play #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI, K #14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) - 0-for-3 #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) - 1-for-4, R, BB, 2 K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - Postponed game #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Postponed game #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - 0-for-5 #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - Postponed game SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Gwinnett (12:05 A.M.) - RHP Sean Poppen Pensacola @ Mississippi (5:05 P.M.) - RHP Jorge Alcala Fort Myers @ Florida (11:00 P.M.) - RHP Bailey Ober Cedar Rapids @ Fort Wayne (12:05 P.M.) - RHP Austin Schulfer Elizabethton @ Bluefield (4:30 P.M.) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. Click here to view the article

Sunday was a huge day for a couple of left-handed prospects from Australia. Lewis Thorpe pitched well for five innings in his major-league debut. For Ft. Myers, Lachlan Wells made his first start for the Miracle since September 2, 2017. He had Tommy John surgery last May and returned with five innings as well.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Sunday, starting with the transactions of the day. AWARDS Every Sunday, the Twins announce their weekly Player and Pitcher of the Week. Here are this week’s winners: Player of the Week: Rochester 1B Zander Wiel. For the week, he went 13-for-30 (.433) with five doubles and two home runs. He had five multi-hit games. And his alma mater, Vanderbilt, won another College World Series championship. He was the Twins 12th-round pick in 2015.Pitcher of the Week: Ft. Myers RHP Cole Sands. The right-hander made one start and threw five no-hit innings. He struck out six batters. Sands was the Twins fifth-round pick last year out of Florida State.TRANSACTIONS Outfielders Jake Cave and LaMonte Wade, Jr., were back on the Rochester roster.3B Brian Schales was returned to Pensacola.LHP Lachlan Wells has been added to the Ft. Myers Miracle roster.OF Malique Ziegler was placed on the Miracle IL.Following Sunday's game in Chicago, Lewis Thorpe was optioned to Rochester.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 5, Pawtucket 10 Box Score Things started out well for the Red Wings. Ronald Torreyes gave the team a 2-0 lead with a single in the bottom of the second. Kohl Stewart started with two scoreless innings. However, he gave up two runs in the third, another run in the fourth and five runs in the fifth inning before Sean Poppen got the final out of that inning. In total, Stewart gave up eight runs on nine hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out four. Poppen struck out five batters over the next 3 1/3 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits. Andrew Vasquez gave up a hit and two walks but did not allow a run in the ninth. Jake Cave went 2-for-5 with his 13th double. LaMonte Wade went 1-for-3 with two walks. Wynston Sawyer hit a double and was hit by a pitch twice. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 7, Mississippi 5 Box Score Jordan Gore has provided strong defense for the Blue Wahoos all season. On Sunday, Gore provided the offense for a Pensacola win. The shortstop went 2-for-4 with his seventh double and four RBIs. He also stole a base. Adalberto Mejia made another rehab appearance for the Blue Wahoos. He pitched the first inning and it was a perfect frame. He has now pitched 6 games during his rehab. He's given up zero runs on four hits, one walk and he's struck out ten batters.His first rehab appearance was June 10th, so there are approximately ten more days in his rehab assignment. Andro Cutura came on and gave up three runs on six hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out five. He also hit three batters. Zack Weiss gave up two runs on three hits over the last two innings. Caleb Hamilton went 2-for-3 with a walk and drove in two runs. The catcher also stole his sixth base. Alex Kirilloff went 3-for-3 with a walk . Kirilloff also made a game-saving catch in the ninth inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Bradenton 7 Box Score Lachlan Wells last pitched for the Miracle on September 2, 2017. He had Tommy John surgery last May and pitched three innings in a GCL game as part of his rehab a week ago. On Sunday afternoon, Well returned to the Miracle mound. The left-hander gave up three runs on four hits over five innings. He struck out six batters without a walk, though he did hit one batter. Melvi Acosta came on and struck out eight batters over the next three innings. However, he gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. Zach Neff gave up two runs on three hits in the ninth inning. He struck out two batters. Trey Cabbage and Andrew Bechtold hit back-to-back RBI singles to get the Miracle on the board in the second inning. Cabbage hit his third home run with the Miracle, his ninth overall in 2019. Bechtold and Michael Helman each went 2-for-4 as well. Gabriel Maciel went 2-for-5 with his fourth stolen base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 5 Box Score Lack of offense in this game by the Kernels made RHP Andrew Cabezas the tough-luck losing pitcher. The Twins Daily’s 2018 short-season Minor League Pitcher of the Year threw eight innings and gave up just one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out seven batters. However, the Kernels managed just four hits in the game and only scored one run. Jacob Pearson hit his 10th double. Yeltsin Encarnacion had a single and a walk. Trevor Cabezas had the lone RBI on his second double since joining the Kernels. In the ninth, Jose Martinez was charged with four runs (three earned) on four hits to take the loss. E-TWINS E-NOTES E-Twins 4, Greeneville 2 (10 innings) Box Score In a well-pitched game, the Elizabethton Twins just couldn’t mount any offense. At least not until the 10th inning. Charlie Mack gave the team a 1-0 lead that lasted until the bottom of the ninth inning. Cody Laweryson threw three perfect innings, striking out three. Tyler Benninghoff gave up one hit in a scoreless innings. Osiris German came on and struck out five batters Nate Hadley pitched a scoreless eighth inning. However, the ninth inning started with a double. After a sacrifice bunt, Greeneville tied the game. So it was off to extra innings. In the tenth inning, the E-Twins scored three runs on a couple of walks, a hit batter, a wild pitch and a single from Alex Isola. Isola had two doubles in the game before the big hit in extra frames. Dylan Thomas came on and gave up one run in the bottom of the tenth but locked down the save. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins Box Score The GCL does not play games on Sundays. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Andrew Cabezas, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Trey Cabbage, Ft. Myers Miracle PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 0-5, K, RBI, SF #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 3-3, BB #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - 1-5, K #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - 1-4, BB, 2B(14), K, 2R #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Minnesota) - (MLB Debut) 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (70 pitches, 47 strikes) #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 0-4, RBI, SF, 2K #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R, K #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 1-3, 2 BB #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - 1-4 MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - RHP Drew Hutchison (6-4, 5.01 ERA) Mississippi @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (3-0, 3.00 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (6:00 CST) - TBD Kane Country @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 CST) - RHP Kai-Wei Teng (2-0, 2.57 ERA) Elizabethton @ Pulaski (5:30 CST) - TBD GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Sunday games or any other minor league topics you would like. Click here to view the article

Three Twins affiliates did not play on Monday, but the three teams that did provided a lot of highlights. Keoni Cavaco and the 2019 GCL Twins played their first professional games. A couple of talented lefties made rehab appearances. Rochester powered their way to a win. Two Red Wings hit their first Triple-A homer. Sean Poppen made his first Red Wings start since his MLB debut. Griffin Jax was terrific. And Travis Blankenhorn kept raking. The Twins signed another draft pick, and we know where Cody Allen has been assigned.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Thursday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS RHP Kohl Stewart returned to Rochester.OF Jimmy Kerrigan returned to Pensacola.LHP Andrew Vasquez and LHP Lachlan Wells began rehab assignments with the GCL Twins.Cody Allen will be assigned to Double-A Pensacola to start his minor league assignment. (he appears on the Blue Wahoos roster)In the GCL, Landon Leach and Seth Pinkerton were added to the 7 Day IL. Also, Zach Featherstone, Danny Moreno, Luis Gomez, Michael Montero, Sean Mooney, Jon Olsen and Fredderi Soto were placed on the 60 Day IL.RHP and 2019 draft pick Tyler Beck returned to the GCL Twins after his one appearance with the Ft. Myers Miracle.11th-round pick Tanner Brubaker has signed. That means that the Twins have signed 16 of their first 17 draft picks so far. Darren Wolfson tweeted that fifth-round pick Will Holland (Auburn) is expected to come to Target Field this week and sign. For more on the Twins draft pick signings, click here. Davis wasn’t the only Red Wings player to hit his first AAA home run on Monday night. Brian Schales hit his homer an inning earlier. Earlier in the game, Wilin Rosario hit his eighth home run of the season. Zander Wiel went 2-for-4. Schales was 2-for-3 with a walk. Wynston Sawyer went 3-for-4 with his 11th double. Sean Poppen made his first start for the Red Wings since his MLB debut last week. He struck out seven batters over 5 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs on six hits and two walks. Adam Bray came on and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. DJ Baxendale struck out two batters in his inning. Krol gave up the solo homer and a walk in the ninth. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 2, Jacksonville 4 Box Score Griffin Jax put together arguably his best start of the season, but on this night the bullpen was unable to hold the lead. Jax started and threw seven shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out five. He needed just 72 pitches to go seven innings and 56 of them were strikes. In the eighth inning, Jeff Ames came on. He faced three batters and gave up two hits and a walk. Still leading 2-1, Sam Clay was brought in with two runners on. Three hits later, the two inherited runners and one more scored. The Blue Wahoos were not able to generate much offense. Mark Contreras hit a fifth-inning homer, his third of the year. Travis Blankenhorn led off the game with his 13th home run with the Blue Wahoos, and 14th overall. Blankenhorn now has hits in 18 of his last 19 games. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers Box Score The Miracle had the day off. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids Box Score No game scheduled for the Kernels. E-TWINS E-NOTES E-Twins Box Score Elizabethton had their first day off since their season began a week ago. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Pirates 4 Box Score There are a lot of storylines in the GCL Twins opening game to their 2019 season. So let’s start with the game itself. The Twins fell behind 4-0. They attempted a comeback in the top of the ninth inning, but it fell just short. One big story is the return of LHP Lachlan wells to a game mound. It was the first time he has pitched in a regular season game since September 2, 2017. He had Tommy John surgery last May. In this game, he started with four scoreless innings, but he was charged with three runs in the fifth inning. He gave up six hits, walked none and struck out nine batters. Following the game, the still-22-year-old Wells told Twins Daily, “It felt awesome to be back out there competing again. Can’t wait for the rest of the season.” After Wells’ day was done, LHP Andrew Vasquez came on. He has been on the IL since June 4th with a left shoulder strain. He worked two hitless innings. He walked one and struck out six batters. German right-hander Niklas Rimmel pitched the eighth inning. He gave up one run on one hit and one walk. The other big story of the game was the professional debut of Keoni Cavaco. He played shortstop and batted second in the order. He flew out to center field the first two times to bat. He then grounded out to third base. In his final at bat, he singled to left. Bryon Gandy, the Twins 32nd-round pick out of Lurleen B Wallace St JC this year, went 2-for-3 in the game. Parker Phillips (27th round, Austin Peay) had a single and an RBI. Jake Hirabayashi (39th round, UCLA) also had a single and an RBI. For each, the hits were their first in pro baseball. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Griffin Jax, Pensacola Blue Wahoos Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jaylin Davis, Rochester Red Wings PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 1-4, 3K #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - 0-3, BB, K #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 0-5, R, K #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 1-4, 2B(10), R, RBI, K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (11:35 am CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart (5-3, 4.76 ERA) Biloxi @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - LHP Bryan Sammons (1-1, 5.70 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (5:30 CST) - RHP Jhoan Duran (1-6, 3.15 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - RHP Kai-Wei Teng (2-0, 2.57 ERA) Bristol @ Elizabethton (5:30 CST) - TBD GCL Pirates @ GCL Twins (11:00 CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Monday games or any other minor league topics you would like. Click here to view the article

Prospect heads rejoice! It’s time to revisit the top prospects list. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be revealing the Twins Daily Midseason Top 40 Prospects List. That’s right, we’re expanding the size of the official site rankings, doubling upward from our preseason list. The journey starts today with numbers 40 through 36.40. Aaron Whitefield – CF Age: 21 ETA: 2020 2018 Stats (A+/Rk): .220/.301/.293 (.594 OPS), 3 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 23 K, 9 BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 29 | Tom: NR | Cody: 42 Whitefield just recently returned to action with the MIracle. He suffered a broken hamate bone in late April, which forced him to miss all of May and most of June. He made a name for himself with the Kernels last year flashing both speed (33 stolen bases) and power (11 homers). He’s also a legit center fielder. Over the winter, Whitefield won his third-straight Claxton Shield (which is awarded to the Australian Baseball League champions). Here’s hoping he can get back healthy and continue to build momentum. 39. Jaylin Davis – RF Age: 24 ETA: 2019 2018 Stats (AA/A+): .265/.358/.395 (.753 OPS), 11 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 67 K, 27 BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 41 | Tom: 43 | Cody: 35 Over his first two seasons in the system, Davis displayed impressive power but it came with a hefty number of strikeouts and not many walks to offset them. This season, he’s looked like a whole new hitter. After posting a career 30.2 K% and 6.8 BB%, Davis has improved those rates to 25.2 K% and 11.0 BB% in 2018. The power took a dip, but that was to be expected in the FSL. The higher-ups took note of the strides Davis was making, and promoted him up to Chattanooga a couple of weeks ago. 38. Ricky De La Torre – SS Age: 18 ETA: 2022 2018 Stats: .333/.417/.500 (.917 OPS), 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 7 K, 3 BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 44 | Tom: 29 | Cody: 43 Drafted out of Puerto Rico, De La Torre made his pro debut last year as a 17-year-old and opted to sign with the Twins instead of heading to Auburn. He cracked three homers with the GCL Twins last year, which doesn’t sound like much, but only 15 batters went deep five or more times in that entire league last season. Shortstop is a crowded spot in the system, which is a good problem to have, but De La Torre may be the best suited of anyone to make the transition to third base due to his strong arm. 37. Lachlan Wells – LHP Age: 21 ETA: 2021 2018 Stats: None, injured. 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 48 | Tom: 33 | Cody: 32 Another Australian! Wells had Tommy John surgery in mid May and will miss the entire 2018 season. Originally looked over due to his diminutive stature, Wells really filled out the past couple years, though he’ll still never be mistaken for Tyler Wells (who’s listed at 6-foot-8, 265 lbs). In 204 innings as a pro, Lachlan has a 2.74 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and has averaged 8.2 K/9 against just 2.0 BB/9. It’s a shame we won’t get to see him on the mound again for quite some time. 36. Aaron Slegers – RHP ETA: 2018 Age: 25 2018 Stats (AAA): 83.2 IP, 3.55 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 2.89 K:BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 33 | Tom: 34 | Cody: 45 Slegers lacks the kind of overpowering stuff that puts pitchers higher up on prospect lists, but there’s no questioning his track record of getting outs in the high minors. He’s made five appearances with the Twins over the past two years, but during that time he’s also 20-9 with a 3.38 ERA over 37 starts for Rochester. Slegers pitched the fifth-most innings in the Southern League in 2016, logged the fourth-most innings in the International League last season and is easily pacing his Red Wings teammates in innings so far this year. That's it for now, check another five pack of prospects tomorrow. Click here to view the article

The Twins and Seattle are playing a makeup game at Target Field and needed to wait nearly two hours to get started, so as you’re watching them, check out what happened on Monday night in the Twins minor league system. Rochester had a scheduled day off, and Ft. Myers had their game postponed. So it was up to the Lookouts and Kernels to provide the entertainment on this night, and they both played well.Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Monday. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Not a transaction, and we reported that it was happening a week ago, but LHP Lachlan Wells had Tommy John surgery on Monday.The Kernels announced that Brusdar Graterol has been activated from the DL and will start on Monday.The Miracle announced that Brandon Lopez has been reinstated from the disabled list. Also LHP Paco Rodriguez (former big leaguer) has been added to the Miracle roster.Infielder Ryan Walker was activated from the DL by Chattanooga. Alex Robles was sent back to extended spring training.Per Baseball America, the Twins also released RHP David Gerics who was a non-drafted free agent last year.RED WINGS REPORTRochester Box Score No Game Scheduled. So here is something fun. Check out this Tipsy Tales, by Josh Whetzel (Red Wings play-by-play man and all around good guy) about the Rochester Hop Bitters. On May 26, the Red Wings will play as the Hop Bitters to honor the original professional baseball club in Rochester. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Tennessee 2 Box Score If the reason for LaMonte Wade to start back in Chattanooga in 2018 was with the idea of letting him work to develop his power, it’s worked. On this night, Wade went 2-for-3 with a walk and his fifth home run of the year. Edgar Corcino went 2-for-4 with his third home run and two RBI. Brent Rooker had the other two RBI on his seventh double. Nick Gordon was 2-for-4 with his fifth stolen base. He’s hitting .350. Omar Bencomo made the start for the Lookouts. He gave up two runs on five hits over the first six innings. He struck out six without issuing a walk. Ryan Eades threw the next two innings. He gave up two hits and walked one but gave up no runs. He struck out one. Williams Ramirez walked one and struck out one in his inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers , Jupiter Box Score Game postponed. Teams will play two games on Tuesday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Quad Cities 1 Box Score Brusdar Graterol was the Twins Daily #9 prospect before this season. I think it’s fair to say that if we did a midseason ranking, he would be ranked significantly higher. Jeff Johnson is the long-time Kernels writer at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids. He had not seen either of the first two Graterol starts, so he was excited to see him. He couldn’t have been disappointed. His first two pitches were 100 mph. He hit 101 mph in the first inning (and that pitch resulted in a single). On the night, Graterol threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up just two hits, walked one and struck out ten. And he did so with just 76 pitches because 55 of them were strikes. [media] Calvin Faucher, in his return from Ft. Myers, got the next four outs. He gave up only a walk. Jared Finkel came on for the final two innings. He gave up a run on two hits and a walk. Alex Kirilloff extended his hitting streak to 13 games in the first inning with a single. He added his 13th double later in the game. Jean Carlos Arias went 2-for-4 with his second double. Akil Baddoo went 1-for-3 with a walk, and Shane Carrier knocked his first triple. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: LaMonte Wade (2-3, BB, HR(5)) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Brusdar Graterol, Cedar Rapids Kernels (5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, K #3 - Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) - 2-4, SB(5) #5 - Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, 2B(13), R, K #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 1-4, 2B(7), 2 RBI #9 - Brusdar Graterol (Cedar Rapids) - 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K (76 pitches, 55 strikes) #10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, BB, R, 2 K #14 - LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) - 2-3, BB, HR(5), 2 RBI TUESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers (3-1, 2.41 ERA) Tennessee @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Randy LeBlanc (5-1, 2.23 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (DH @ 4:00) - TBD, TBD Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (2-1, 1.47 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions about Monday’s full schedule of games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

As a way to look back at a great minor league season and look ahead toward the release of the 2018 Twins Prospect Handbook, I’ll be writing a series of features on prospects I am especially high on. Next to receive the spotlight treatment is left-handed starting pitcher Lachlan Wells.Ranking prospects is a difficult task and everyone has a bit of a different methodology. This series isn’t meant to be critical of any of the other lists out there, it’s all about presenting a positive case for the featured player. We’re starting at the bottom of my list and working up from there. Here’s a look at what’s on deck: Range 41-50 spotlight: Zander Wiel, No. 48 Range 31-40 spotlight: Tom Hackimer, No. 36 Range 21-30 spotlight: Lachlan Wells, No. 22 Range 11-20 spotlight: Coming Dec. 12 Range 1-10 spotlight: Coming Dec. 19 While the first couple of players I’ve highlighted in this series were drafted out of college and have been a little old for their level, the exact opposite is true of Wells. Signed out of Australia in 2014, Wells has been on an aggressive path. He faced older hitters 91.2 percent of the time last season and was three years younger than the average player in his league. At just 20-years-old, he was the youngest player to pitch for the Miracle and the third youngest in the Florida State League to throw at least 80 innings. Here’s the list of pitchers who logged at least 80 innings for Fort Myers in their age 20 season since 2010: 2017: Lachlan Wells, 81.1 IP 2015 Kohl Stewart, 129.1 IP 2014: Jose Berrios, 96.0 IP After turning heads by posting a 1.77 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 7.9 K/9 with Cedar Rapids in 2016, Wells had a 3.98 ERA for Fort Myers. While he didn’t have as easy a time carving through FSL lineups despite the notoriously pitcher-friendly atmosphere, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited about Wells’ future. He still had a 1.17 WHIP and 3.58 K:BB ratio. Those marks ranked 11th and 16th, respectively, among the 48 pitchers with at least 80 IP in the FSL last season. So what’s with the much uglier ERA? Giving up a .276/.328/.496 line (.824 OPS) with runners on certainly didn’t help. Wells’ 2017 got off to an exciting start, as he was able to represent his home country during the World Baseball Classic. On March 8, he pitched 2.0 innings perfect innings out of the bullpen with two strikeouts for Australia against Japan in front of more than 41,000 fans in the Tokyo Dome. One of the hitters he struck out, Yoshi Tsutsugo, led the NPB with 44 home runs in 2016 and was eventually named the WBC Pool B Most Valuable Player. Wells also got off to an excellent start with Fort Myers. In his first three games, he only gave up one run over 14.0 innings (0.64 ERA) with 17 strikeouts and just one walk. On May 17 he pitched a nine-inning complete game, throwing just 90 pitches, a pretty impressive feat considering only five other pitchers had a nine-inning complete game in the FSL last season. Unfortunately, Wells missed all of July and most of August with an elbow flexor muscle strain, but he still established a new career high of 85.1 innings (he made a 4.0 inning rehab appearance in the GCL). He also managed to end 2017 on a high note, throwing 5.0 shutout innings with seven strikeouts in his final start. Over the past three seasons, Wells has pitched 204.0 innings to the tune of a 2.74 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. I honestly feel like his prospect stock was suppressed by some outlets last year because his online profiles all listed him as only standing 5-foot-8 for so long. Almost any write-ups I could find that year made reference to how small he was. He’s still not the biggest guy, but those profiles have since all been updated to 6-foot-1. Still, his relatively unimpressive stat line in the FSL combined with an influx of talent into the system from both the draft and trades will keep him from shooting up most rankings. Along with the WBC, Wells has had the honor of representing his country on a few other occasions. He was teammates with Lewis Thorpe at the 2013 18U World Cup in Taiwan. Lachlan has a twin brother, Alex, who was named the Orioles’ Minor League Player of the Year for 2017 after posting a 2.38 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over 140.0 innings, though he was playing a step below Lachlan in the South Atlantic League. It has to be somewhat beneficial to have not only a large group of Australian pitchers as teammates in the Twins system, but also a sibling going through the same process of trying to fight through the minor leagues. Per Baseball America, Wells was already able to occasionally touch 90 mph when he signed back in 2014. In a piece for BA in April 2016, Phil Miller reported Wells sits in the low 90s comfortably, but his best pitches are his curveball and changeup. I typically like to lean on the numbers, but there’s something about Wells’ delivery that I like. He starts out slow and smooth and then everything speeds up, especially with his upper body, and his head even does a subtle jerk, almost like you’d see from max-effort little league pitchers. Maybe that’s not ideal mechanics, but the action seems to create especially good deception for his off-speed offerings. Everything looks like it’s coming in hard. Again, I don’t pretend to have an eye for scouting that kind of stuff, but below is a little bit of video from YouTube of his rehab appearance with the GCL Twins. You can kinda see what I’m talking about in the parts that were shot from the first-base side (starting around the 1:00 mark). The lack of workload is a concern, but it’s worth noting that while Wells’ innings only increased 19.6 percent from 2016 to ’17, his total pitches thrown increased by 26.2 percent. Only time will tell if Wells can make it as a starter, but if he’s forced to the bullpen at some point the fact he’s a lefty helps. With a three-pitch mix and especially strong secondary options, he seems like a safe bet to continue to progress. There’s obviously no guarantee he see advances in his fastball, but if anything it’s only going tick up and he already has very good control. For more on Lachlan Wells and about 170 other Twins minor leaguers, be sure to pick up a copy of the 2018 Twins Prospect Handbook, which will be available later this winter. Click here to view the article

Last week, I began to review my Top 50 Minnesota Twins prospects by looking at prospects 41-50. That list was comprised of several nearly-ready relievers and some young players with plenty of promise. Today, the list continues with a look at my choices for prospects 31-40. This group is kind of all over the place. There are some upper-level arms that are likely big leaguers, maybe back-end of the rotation types. There are some very young, high-risk, high-reward players as well. Injuries have been a factor in some of these rankings also.Let’s get started by reviewing prospects from 40 down to 31, starting with a left-hander selected out of Clemson in 2017. #40 LHP Charlie Barnes The Twins made Barnes their fourth-round pick in 2017 after three years at Clemson. Touted as one of the best changeup pitchers in the draft, Barnes made six appearances for the Elizabethton Twins and then was promoted to Cedar Rapids where he made another six starts. After working 101 innings in college, he worked 48.1 innings in pro ball. He walked 18 and struck out 46 batters in his debut. Barnes turned 22 following the minor league season. #39 Ricky De La Torre When the Twins used their sixth-round pick in 2017 on the shortstop, he became the highest-drafted player from the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy since Carlos Correa was the #1 overall pick in 2012. De La Torre was projected to go earlier in the draft, so the Twins were happy to swoop up the athletic, 6-2 shortstop. The 18-year-old hit .268/.341/.359 (.701) in 42 games during his pro debut. He played a bit of second base when Royce Lewis was in the GCL, but upon Lewis’s promotion, De La Torre played mostly shortstop. He should advance to E-Town in 2018. #38 LHP Tyler Watson The Twins acquired Watson from the Nationals at the trade deadline for Brandon Kintzler. The 20-year-old had been Washington’s 34th-round pick in 2015 out of high school in Arizona. Most believed he would go to college. He had posted a 4.35 ERA at Hagerstown (Low A) in 98 innings. In 120.1 combined innings, he walked 32, struck out 116. At 6-6, there is a lot of projection. He’s throwing a little over 90 now with good, but still developing, secondary stuff. #37 LHP Lachlan Wells As a 19-year-old, Lachlan Wells spent the second half of the 2016 season in Cedar Rapids. He went 6-4 with a 1.77 ERA in 12 starts. In 71.1 innings, he walked 16 and struck out 63. In 2017, he moved up to Ft. Myers where he went 4-10 with a 3.98 ERA. His peripheral numbers were all pretty similar to his numbers a year earlier. He did miss nearly two months with an elbow flexor muscle strain. He did return to the Miracle late in the season. He won’t turn 21 until late February. #36 RHP Jake Reed Like Nick Burdi, Reed was a 2014 draft pick that we figured we would see before now. He dominated pro ball his first season. Since then, he has had some control issues and some injury issues that have cost him time. He was well on his way in 2017 until an oblique injury on the final day of spring training cost him the season’s first two months. He remains a legit relief pitching prospect. He has a fastball with a lot of movement at 97. He also has a darting slider. #35 RHP Landon Leach Leach was a prospect who had a lot of helium as the draft approached. He had been a catcher in the Canadian youth leagues until the last couple of years when he got a shot on the mound and reached into the mid-90s with a fastball. He agreed to the terms set out by the Twins and they took him in the second round of this year’s draft. It took several weeks for Leach to get his work visa and then he headed down to Ft. Myers. He turned 18 in July and pitched in 13.1 innings over five appearances before the end of the season. #34 RHP Aaron Slegers Slegers was the Twins fifth-round pick in 2013 out of Indiana where he was the reigning Big 10 Pitcher of the Year. He has moved up one level each season. He received an invitation to big league spring training in 2017, and had a really nice season with the Red Wings. He went 15-4 with a 3.40 ERA. In mid-August, he made a spot start against Cleveland and responded b y giving up just two runs in 6.1 innings. He made four total appearances for the Twins. He is 6-10. He doesn’t throw real hard, sitting mostly in the low-90s but occasionally touching 94. He’s got the secondary pitches and know-how to pitch. He can be a solid back-of-the-rotation starter. #33 LHP Gabriel Moya Moya came to the Twins in late July from Arizona in exchange for catcher John Ryan Murphy. At the time of the trade Moya had a 0.82 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP for Jackson (also in the AA Southern League). After the trade, he helped Chattanooga to a share of the Southern League championship. With the Lookouts, he had a 0.61 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP in 14.1 innings. When the Lookouts finished their playoff run, Moya was summoned to the big leagues. He posted a 4.26 ERA in seven games for the Twins. The left-hander has a herky-jerky, deceptive motion and delivery making his 90 mph fastball appear much faster. He has a good slider and a changeup and has a chance to be a good lefty-reliever for years. Recently, he was named MiLB.com’s minor league relief pitcher of the year. #32 RHP Tyler Wells Another tall starter, Wells spent most of his 2017 season in Cedar Rapids. Drafted in the 15th round in 2016 out of Cal State - San Bernadino, Wells has a good fastball. His best pitches might be his breaking balls. He has a really good 12-6 curveball, but he also has shown a really sharp slider. He was limited to 14 starts in 2017 due to a couple of stints on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. He went 5-3 with a 3.11 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. In 75.1 innings, he walked 22 and struck out 92 (11.0 K/9). #31 RHP Nick Burdi Like Reed, the assumption was that Burdi would already be on the 40-man roster, an established, dominant, late-inning reliever for the big league club.. Instead, he is now a question mark to be added to the 40-man roster in November after having Tommy John surgery early in the 2017 season. But this almost still feels too low. Yes, he’ll probably miss a majority of the 2018 season, but when he comes back from surgery, he’ll still be a reliever with upper-90s fastball and an upper-80s slider. And, he’ll only be 25 throughout the 2018 season. So there you have it, my choices for Twins prospects 31-40. What do you think of these choices or these rankings? Feel free to ask questions or leave your comments below. Click here to view the article

On the first Saturday of the college football season, the Minnesota Twins topped Kansas City with a football score, 17-0. In the minor leagues, playoff spots are to be had or prepared for, and there were strides toward those spots. There have been playoff-setting transactions, and some very good performances, so enjoy today’s Minor League Report.Let’s start with the recent transactions: Kohl Stewart was removed from the DL to pitch for the Lookouts.IF Joe Cronin, who was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers last week, was now promoted to Chattanooga.RHP Alex Muren was sent back to Ft. MyersIF Ariel Montesino was promoted from Elizabethton to Ft. Myers.C Jhon Alvarez was promoted from the GCL to Ft. Myers.The Twins signed IF Daniel Crespo and assigned him to the GCL. Needing players for their playoff run, the Twins have signed Crespo, who was the 34th round pick of the Yankees in 2013 out of Appalachian State. He just turned 26. He spent 2014 and 2015 in the independent Frontier League. I’m not sure where he was most recently.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 3, Pawtucket 5 Box Score Felix Jorge was on the mound. The right-hander gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks over the first 4.1 innings. Luke Bard had an interesting outing. He walked two and struck out four in 1.2 innings. Just one of seven batters even put the ball in play off of him. Michael Kohn gave up a home run in the seventh inning. Jake Reed then gave up one run on three hits in his inning. Yohan Pino gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning. Byungho Park went 2-4. Levi Michael hit his first AAA double and drove in two runs. Lehigh Valley was rained out on Saturday, so the Red Wings magic number to take the IL wild card spot sits at two with two games to play. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Montgomery 3 Box Score The Lookouts already had a playoff spot. They earned that in the first half. Then they went out and had an even better second half. Kohl Stewart returned from the DL to make the start in this one. He gave up two runs in the first inning but settled in after that. He gave up just those two runs on four hits and three walks in three innings. DJ Baxendale came on and was able to work the next 4.2 innings without allowing any more runs. He gave up three hits, a walk and struck out three. Todd Van Steensel gave walked one but got the final out of the eighth inning. In that time, LaMonte Wade hit a two-run homer (his seventh) to tie the game at two. In the top of the ninth, the Lookouts took the lead when Wade doubled in Edgar Corcino (who had led off with a double). Later, Max Murphy singled in Wade with the fourth run. So Nick Anderson came into the game to protect a two-run lead. He gave up one run on two hits, but he recorded his ninth save for the Lookouts. Wade led the way going 3-4 with his 22nd double, seventh home run and third RBI. Corcino went 2-4 with his 19th double. Murphy went 2-4 with his 12th double. Nelson Molina went 1-3 with a walk. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Jupiter 1 Box Score The Miracle came into their Saturday night game against Jupiter with a magic number of two. Charlotte lost to Bradenton 5-0, dropping the magic number to one. Could the Miracle clinch a playoff spot? The answer... Yes. Lefty Lachlan Wells returned to the mound for the Miracle and was very good. He went five shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out seven. Tyler Jay came on for the sixth inning and allowed a run to score to tie the game at one. He worked the seventh as well. In his two innings, he struck out five. Zander Wiel had given the Miracle a 1-0 lead with his 13th home run. When the Miracle lost their lead in the sixth, they grabbed it right back in the bottom of the inning. Mitchell Kranson hit a solo homer to give the lead back to the Miracle. Kranson led the way for the Miracle offense. He went 3-4 with two doubles (eight on the season) and his fourth home run. He drove in three runs. Tanner English went 2-3 with a walk and his 29th stolen base. Ariel Montesino drove in the other run and went 2-3 with a walk. Jermaine Palacios and Sean Miller each had two singles in four at-bats. Tom Hackimer recorded his seventh Kernels save with two scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out two. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 2 Box Score The start of this game was delayed by more than 90 minutes, but the teams were able to get it in. 2017 eighth-round pick Bryan Sammons made the start. He gave up only an unearned run on three hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out six. Evan Sanders came on and gave up one run on two hits and two walks over his two innings. Patrick McGuff pitched two no-hit innings to close things out and earn his first save. He struck out two and walked one. The Kernels got three of their runs in the fourth inning, which got started with a Travis Blankenhorn triple. Aaron Whitefield drove him in with a single and advanced to third on a base hit by Lewis Diaz. Trey Cabbage drew a walk and Shane Carrier delivered a bases-loaded two-run single. Whitefield, Carrier and Jordan Gore each had two hits on the night. Gore also drew a walk. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton, Greeneville (Rain - Postponed) Box Score The E-Twins were supposed to start their playoff run on Saturday, but unfortunately rains pushed the start of their postseason back a day. The two teams will play Game 1 on Sunday. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins Box Score The doubleheader was cancelled due to potential for rain in Ft. Myers. The team will begin its playoff hopes on Sunday. The will play the semi-finals game on Sunday morning against the Nationals. Should they win, they’ll advance to the finals on Monday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Lachlan Wells, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Mitchell Kranson, Ft. Myers Miracle SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (5:05 CST) - LHP Hector Santiago Montgomery @ Chattanooga (5:15 CST) - RHP Randy LeBlanc (vs Logan Darnell) Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (10:05 am CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (2:00 CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak Elizabethton @ Greeneville (5:00 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (Playoffs - Game 1) GCL Twins @ GCL Nationals (11:00am CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (Playoffs - Semi-finals) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. Click here to view the article

Jaylin Davis has been bringing the thunder ever since arriving at Cedar Rapids late last season, but tonight he also made a beautiful catch to help lead the Kernels to victory. Stephen Gonsalves and Lachlan Wells both picked up a “W” and John Curtiss was electric (as always) out of the Chattanooga bullpen. Find out what else happened around the Twins' minor leagues on Saturday.RED WINGS REPORT Syracuse 8, Rochester 6 Box Score Wings starter Yohan Pino got lit up in this one. Over 1.2 innings, he gave up five runs on eight hits, three of them homers. Rochester battled back to make this one interesting, but fell short. Mitch Garver connected for his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot, and drew a pair of walks. Matt Hague was 3-for-5 with two RBI. Zack Granite had a multi-hit game streak snapped, but had a nice game, going 1-for-2 with three walks. D.J. Baxendale saw his ERA jump to 3.99 after giving up three runs over 3.1 innings out of the bullpen. Kam Mickolio was perfect over the final four innings. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Montgomery 3 Box Score Stephen Gonsalves needed 96 pitches to get through five innings, but he battled his way through to put his team in position to win. It doesn’t hurt that he was backed up by a spectacular bullpen. Gonsalves struck out six and gave up three runs on five hits and walked a pair of batters. Nick Anderson threw two perfect innings, notching a couple of strikeouts. John Curtiss came on in the eighth with the Lookouts up one. His untainted 0.00 ERA appeared to be in jeapordy as he gave up a leadoff double. Curtiss induced a foul pop out and struck out the next two batters to protect the lead. Chattanooga added two runs in the top of the ninth to give Curtiss some wiggle room in the bottom of the inning. He wouldn’t need it, of course, as he retired the Biscuits 1-2-3 for his 12th save of the season. Ryan Strausborger hit his first home run for the Lookouts, a go-ahead two-run bomb in the third. T.J. White was 2-for-4 with a double and drove in three runs. Nick Gordon, LaMonte Wade and Travis Harrison each walked twice, as Chattanooga drew nine free passes. This was a huge game for Chattanooga, which entered the day tied with Montgomery in the standings. The Lookouts now trail the first-place Tennessee Smokies by just a half game. The first half ends June 18. And it sounds like they’re getting some reinforcements. Randy Rosario is being sent back down from the Twins. And then there’s this from Dereck Rodriguez’s Twitter account: Coming off a rocky start in which he gave up six runs, Eduardo Del Rosario bounced back to hold the Bees to two runs over six innings to pick up the win. He struck out four batters and walked one. Caleb Hamilton hit his fifth home run of the year to give the Kernels the lead in the sixth inning, immediately followed by Davis’ dinger. Ariel Montesino was 3-for-4 and Hank Morrison had a pair of hits. Out of the bullpen, Ryan Mason, Alex Robinson and Hector Lujan each pitched a scoreless inning. The win secured Cedar Rapids’ two-game lead in the Midwest League Western Division. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – John Curtiss (2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, save) Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jaylin Davis (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI) SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Syracuse, 12:35 pm CT, Matt Tracy (appears he’ll be promoted, he’s listed as the starter in the bottom of this Syracuse game story) Chattanooga at Montgomery, 5:35 pm CT, TBD Fort Myers OFF Cedar Rapids vs. Burlington, 2:05 pm CT, Max Cordy Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday's games. Click here to view the article

Only three of the Twins four full-season affiliates were in action on Tuesday, as the Chattanooga Lookouts enjoyed a much needed day off. They also got some good news for their already stalwart bullpen, as a top prospect was activated from the disabled list. A much talked about name in the offseason made an appearance in AAA, but Rochester’s starter made the bigger story. A couple of hitters also continued impressive showings in the last week with home runs.To find out who did what in the minor leagues on Tuesday night, read on! TRANSACTIONS There was a notable move in AA today even though the Lookouts didn’t play, as Todd Van Steensel and 2016 first-rounder Tyler Jay were activated. Randy LeBlanc was assigned back to Fort Myers to help make room. Also, Cam Booser was added to the Ft. Myers roster off of the DL. Van Steensel was dealing with a groin strain, while Jay has yet to pitch this year with tendinitis in his pitching arm. RED WINGS REPORT Durham 0, Rochester 4 Box Score The story of the game in this one for Twins fans may have been the fact it was Jose De Leon making the start for the Durham Bulls. Yep, that De Leon. He had missed all of April with an arm injury, and this was his third start of the season. The Red Wings got to him in the second inning for all the runs they would end up needing, as Jason Wheeler outdueled the top prospect. Singles from Byungho Park and Matt Hague led off the second inning, and they both scored on a double from J.B. Shuck. Engelb Vilema and Zach Granite added an RBI double and an RBI single, respectively, to cap the scoring. De Leon went just four innings, allowing eight hits and a walk. Wheeler pitched seven shutout frames in opposition, allowing just five hits while striking out nine. Durham did not send more than four hitters to the plate in any inning while Wheeler was on the mound, and didn’t cause trouble until he came out for the eighth inning. A lead-off single followed by a double put runners on second and third, leading to Trevor Hildenberger being called in from the bullpen. He got the first man to line into a double play, and then induced a pop-out in foul territory to snuff out the threat. He closed out the game in the ninth for his third save on the season, allowing just a two-out single. JB Shuck had two doubles and Engelb Vielma had two hits, including a double, to lead the rest of the offense. It was Vielma’s first double since moving up to AAA. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Scheduled day off. The Lookouts enjoyed an off day after a brutal stretch that was made worse by some early rain. They played 20 games in 20 days and went 12-8 over that stretch. They were 11-3 before the rigors caught up with them and they lost five in a row at the tail end before getting a needed victory yesterday. They are 24-21 on the season, and in fourth place in the Southern League North Division, though less than two games back of first. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Dunedin 3 Box score Aussie left-hander Lachlan Wells was on the mound for the Miracle, and it was opposing major leaguers who made his day worse than it actually was. In five innings, he allowed three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out four. Two of the three runs came courtesy of a Josh Donaldson RBI single in the second, and a Troy Tulowitzki solo-home run in the fifth. Fort Myers got back in the game in the sixth, scoring their only two runs of the game on a Zander Wiel home run, his sixth of the season. It was also his third in the last four nights. He was the only hitter in the Miracle lineup with multiple hits, adding a single to lead off the ninth as the game-tying run. He reached second base after a Tulowitzki throwing error, but a bunt attempt resulted in him being forced out at third. A liner to center field off the bat of Rafael Valera ended up turning into a double play, as the potential game-tying runner was doubled off second to end the game. The bullpen tandem of Cameron Booser (2IP, 2 BB) and Sam Clay (IP, H, BB, K) got them to that point, combining for three innings of scoreless baseball. It was Booser’s first appearance of the season, and he set the Blue Jays down one-two-three in his first inning. Daniel Kihle added a double for the offense, which went just 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base for the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Clinton 7, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score Clinton got the jump on Cedar Rapids starter Domenick Carlini in the top of the first, as the lead-off man led off the game with a home run for an early 1-0 lead. They would extend that lead to 7-1 as they tacked on two runs in each of Carlini’s final three innings. He did make it through five innings, allowing the seven runs on eleven hits and a walk. He struck out two. Zach Tillery and Max Cordy each pitched two innings of relief and each struck out two LumberKings. Tillery allowed one hit in his two frames, Cordy went one-two-three in each. The Kernels got their lone run of the game in the fourth inning, as Jaylin Davis launched his tenth home run of the season. He leads the Midwest League in that category after his recent binge (six HR’s in seven days) and is hitting .375 in his last ten games. He finished this one 2-4. Caleb Hamilton added two hits and a walk to the effort, and Travis Blankenhorn added a double. The lineup was just 1-10 with runners in scoring position, leaving ten on base. At 26-19, the Kernels lead the Midwest League Western Division, a half-game in front of rival Kane County. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler, Rochester Red Wings (W, 7 IP, 5 H’s, 9 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Zander Wiel, Fort Myers Miracle (2-3, HR, 2 RBI) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Durham @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (4-3, 3.83 ERA) Montgomery @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) – RHP Fernando Romero (2-5, 4.73 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30PM CST) – RHP Brady Anderson (2-0, 3.42 ERA) Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (12:05PM CST) – RHP Clark Beeker (5-2, 2.76 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! Click here to view the article

The last two seasons have been a whirlwind for Aaron Whitefield. Recently, I had the chance to spend some time with Whitefield to talk about several topics. We talked a bit about his softball career and how and when he turned to baseball. How did the Twins find him and sign him? We talked about his approach at the plate, where he likes to play on the field, and who has helped him get to this point. With his background and athleticism, Whitefield has become one of the most intriguing prospects in the Twins system.Aaron Whitefield may want to read The Road Less Traveled. Why? His path to prospect status is a bit different than any other's. Than most. Maybe different than any. As you know from our original Get To Know ‘Em interview, Whitefield grew up playing softball, not baseball. Whitefield said, “My dad grew up playing softball. So did my mom. So I grew up on a softball field. Everyone says that I was pretty much born on a softball field. So baseball was never really the future for me.” Consider this, he did not play baseball until he was 17 years old. Instead, he grew up playing several sports. None of them was baseball. He said, “I played a lot of other sports like track, touch football, rugby, AFL, so I did every other sport but baseball.” He wasn’t just playing fast-pitch softball. He was thriving, playing for Australia in international competitions. “I didn’t play softball until juniors, when I was 13 or 14, and then I went to softball with my family and fell in love with it. We went to the World Series in Argentina.” When he came home, he was noticed by a baseball scout. “Somehow a scout from Cincinnati said ‘Hey, would you mind having a tryout with us?’ I was like, ‘Why not? I’ve got nothing to lose.’ We threw a baseball around. I was horrible. I couldn’t do what he said. (He told me to) go do a year of baseball and we’ll come back and look at you.” There aren’t necessarily a lot of people from his area of Australia in pro ball. Whitefield mentioned his friend Connor MacDonald, a first baseman in the Astros system. “It was a pretty big thing (when MacDonald signed) because no one in my area really signed for baseball. I was looking into it. My dad was like, ‘Why don’t you give it a go? You’ve got nothing to lose.’ So I played a year. I was a shortstop then, and I got a Gold Glove at our national event. Got looked at by scouts.” Unfortunately, he had a shoulder injury and had to sit out a year. “When I returned, my agent put me in a tournament. He told me ‘No one will see you. Just get your rhythm back.’ Twins scout Howie (Norsetter) came to the tournament. He offered me and I took advantage. I haven’t looked back since. I was 17. At that time I was still playing both (softball and baseball). When the Twins signed me is when I stopped playing softball completely.” What did he know about the Twins before signing? Did he know any of the players? How about the Australians in the Twins organization? “Didn’t know Jimmy Beresford. Didn’t know Logan Wade until I started playing here. He lives maybe 20 to 30 miles from me, and I didn’t meet him until I came here.” He continued, “I met Wellsy (Lachlan Wells) at our Australian academy after that tournament. That’s in Gold Coast in Queensland, where I’m from. I met him there. So I knew him. But the older guys like Beresford or even guys that played like (Luke) Hughesy, I didn’t know any of them. Until I made my first All Star game (in the ABL) and started making the Australian teams, that’s how I started meeting the older guys. All the younger generation that I played with at home, they all know those guys. I had to look on the web and research.” While he didn’t know the names or those players, he now credits them for helping him improve his game, physically and mentally. He’s played with some with Brisbane in the ABL and now in the WBC as well. “My coaches and the older guys back home helped, especially mentally. Hitting is a lot of a mental game as well as physical. You’re going to have bad days. You’re going to have really bad days and you’ll have good days. I was never used to playing every day. I was used to just playing weekends and I’d have the whole week to just just think about it and recover.” His manager with the Brisbane Bandits has been former big league catcher Dave Nilsson. Nilsson is incredibly interesting because in 1999, as a 29 year old, he became the first Australian to make an All-Star team. The catcher ended the season hitting .309/.400/.554 (.954) with 21 homers. He could have signed for big money. Instead, he chose not to sign. He wanted to focus his attention on playing for Team Australia in the 2000 Olympics. He didn’t play again in the big leagues. Of Nilsson, Whitefield said, “He’s awesome to talk with and easy to talk to. It’s fun (playing with the Bandits), the guys like Dave Nilsson.” The Bandits have won the last two Claxton Shields. “The year before was my first, so I got to meet all the guys. Now, they’re like brothers.” Fellow WBC participant and former Twins infielder James Beresford is a guy that Whitefield really admires. “The road he took, ten to eleven years, over 1,000 minor league games, but he stuck with it. He set his goal to make the big leagues and he made it. For us younger players, if you put the work in and you stick with it, good things can happen.” ----------------------------------------------------------- Here is a quick look at his schedule over the last two years. And we’re going to do it in bullet point view, just to try to keep it straight. It’s been a whirlwind tour for the 20-year-old. Signed with the Twins in May of 2015.Played in six games for the GCL Twins in late August 2015Played for Brisbane Bandits in the Australian Baseball League (ABL).Extended spring training 2016.Gulf Coast League Twins 2016.Played for Australia in the World Cup tournament.Played all season for the ABL champion Brisbane Bandits.Played for Australia in the World Baseball Classic in Japan.Spring Training 2017.Cedar Rapids Kernels.According to Whitefield, “I think I had about six to seven days from the end of the ABL season to the WBC. So that was kind of my break for the offseason.” The Australian World Baseball Classic roster was not necessarily something that he was expecting. The Australian team is usually comprised of older players who have reached higher levels of the minor leagues. However, it was clear that it meant a lot to him when he found out he had made the team. “It was always in question. There are a lot of older guys on the team that are still playing and playing in the ABL. I just tried to set myself up as well as I could during the ABL, trying to put up some good numbers, made the All-Star team back home in Australia. I had a really good season. Toward the end of the season I thought I really can’t do much better. Found out, I think it was the last week of the season which was about February. Then during the playoffs, I found out then and I was pretty excited to get the experience to play.” Just in case you missed it, Whitefield hit great for Brisbane in the ABL this season. He hit .338/.379/.490 (.869) with 12 doubles and four home runs. He also stole 20 bases in 23 attempts. Whitefield was excited to make the WBC roster along with fellow Twins minor leaguers Todd Van Steensel, Lachlan Wells and several former Twins and Twins minor leaguers. Before going to Japan, the Australian team played some games in Korea. “We had a warm-up tournament in Korea. We played a few teams, which was unreal. I’d never been to Korea before, and how much they love baseball is crazy. Their stadiums are huge and they’re all indoor facilities.” Then it was off to Japan for a few tune up games before starting the WBC. He noted that they played a couple of games in Osaka before going to Tokyo for the WBC. As far as what he learned from the WBC experience, it was more about learning the game from some veterans. “Probably more the mental game, it helped me with. Talking to the older guys like Luke Hughes, Trent Oeltjen, Ryan Rowland-Smith. People like that who have been through the whole system and made it to the big leagues. That kind of helped me out a lot.” -------------------------------------------------------------------- Immediately following the elimination of Australia from the WBC, Whitefield hopped on a plane and made the multi-time zone trek from Japan to Ft. Myers where he jumped right into spring training. He took advantage of the long plane flight to start thinking about his 2017 season and set some goals. “I wanted to make a full-season team and make that jump and show them that I can make that jump and I’m ready to go. Spring training is just getting the feel back. I kind of shut down a little bit. A bit of off time mentally. And then turning it back on and telling the body to go and do it again.” But the jump from the GCL to the Midwest League isn’t an easy one. According to Kernels manager Tommy Watkins, “I would say it’s a big jump from the GCL to here.” But Whitefield impressed the coaches and others this spring and earned a spot on the Kernels Opening Day roster. As of today, Whitefield is hitting .281/.324/.477 (.800) with six doubles, two triples and five home runs for Cedar Rapids. But the first thing people talk about with Whitefield is his defense. Last year, he played all over the diamond for the GCL Twins. He started 26 games at first base, 18 games in center field, eight games in right field, seven games at third base and three games in left field. Whitefield noted, “Last year, I played mostly in the infield because if I wasn’t at first base, I’d play third base, and if I wasn’t at third base, I’d play occasional outfield.” But it’s actually something that Whitefield enjoyed and sees value in. “I’d like to be noticed as a utility guy. If someone goes down, I can fill in. It’s a good thing. Now I’ve practiced in the outfield in the ABL and kind of got my feet in there. Left field still isn’t my favorite position out of them all, but center field, I like to take control and to be able to control the other guys. It’s a lot more room to run around.” Whitefield has played 38 games so far this year for the Kernels, and his manager has played him in center field in all 38 of them. Watkins said, “He’s been doing a good job for us. Defensively, hands down, I’d put him out there with the best. He can go get it.” At 6-4 and 200 pounds, Whitefield can really run. He’s very fast. He’s still learning in the field, but he does have a strong arm too. With his size, he is a tremendous athlete, and he’s got the tools to be an all-around player. Watkins agreed. “He’s got tools. We changed a couple of things at the plate with him and the quality of his at bats went up. He started hitting the ball with more power, driving the ball more. He’s a great talent. He’s fun to watch.” Last year, Whitefield was the lone representative from the GCL Twins on the Gulf Coast League’s postseason All-Star team. He hit .298/.370/.366 (.737) with seven doubles and two home runs in 51 games. He also stole 31 bases. There were a lot of challenges in jumping from softball in Australia to professional baseball in the United States. “It took me a little bit to get started because I wasn’t playing every day at the start of the season (in the GCL). Once I started performing, I was in the starting lineup every game. I got my feet wet, but then I would have a bad day and had to get over that mentally. So last year has really helped me get to where I am now. To be able to mentally be where I’m at now, especially thanks to those older guys.” Steve Singleton is a former Twins prospect who joined the organization in 2016 as a GCL hitting coach where he worked a lot with Whitefield. Singleton was promoted this year and is the hitting coach for the Ft. Myers Miracle. Whitefield gives Singleton a lot of credit. “Big shout out to Sing for helping me out. I still had a softball swing coming from there. He helped give me the confidence to say I can drive the ball and not just slap the ball and run it out. I worked with him last year and my numbers show the work that we put in.” What kind of player is Whitefield, and what kind of player can be become? That’s all to be determined. Even Whitefield can’t answer that question with any real certainty. “(The power is) Still coming. My heart size is there, but I haven’t put on the pounds yet to be noticed as a power guy. I’ve still got it in there, but I want to be noticed as a guy who can do everything. Like, he’s fast, he’s just using his speed. As well as offense, my defense is a big thing I take pride in.” So what are Whitefield’s goals for the remainder of this season? “Cutting down the strikeouts is a big thing this year. Put the ball in play. I’ve got the speed. I can beat it out and not just be an easy out. Also, my goal for the year is ten home runs and 60 steals. I want to be able to do both. Stolen base is slightly less at the start of the year than where I want it to be, but I’ve been driving the ball a bit better than what I thought I would as well.” In the GCL, Whitefield struck out 22% of his plate appearances. His strikeout rate with the Kernels is just 23% so far. He’s halfway to his home run goal already, but he’s got a long ways to go on the stolen bases. 60 may be tough, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him get to 35 or 40. While Whitefield does have a long ways to go to reach his big league dreams, it is important to remember a few things. First and foremost, he has only been playing baseball since he was 17. That’s less than four years. He’s got the size. He’s got the athleticism, and he’s already putting up numbers in the Midwest League against older pitchers. There’s no question that he fits in with the likes of Lewis Thorpe and Lachlan Wells as prospects to watch in the Twins system. Click here to view the article