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The final days of the Winter Meetings is highlighted by the annual Rule 5 draft. The Twins lost hard-throwing relievers Nick Burdi and Luke Bard, but when their pick came up, they selected a pitcher with a similar profile to the two players they’d lost. The Twins selected right-hander Tyler Kinley from the Miami Marlins. At Twins Fest, Kinley talked to a few assembled media about being selected and what he hopes he can be as a member of the Twins, if he’s able to make the team and stick with them through the season.Why would the Twins have interest in Kinley, who will turn 27 at the end of this month? He split 2017 between High-A Jupiter and AA Jacksonville. He dominated the Florida State League, but he posted a 5.19 ERA in the Southern League. However, he has a couple of pitches that do make him intriguing, do make him worthy of a strong look during spring training. Here is the Scouting Report on Kinley that you can find in the 2018 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook: Scouting Report: Kinley is a big lad. He stands 6-4 and a little over 200 pounds. His potential is to be a power arm out of the bullpen. He has a fastball that sits between 96 and 98 mph. He’s got a slider that can be a dominant pitch. It sits in the upper-80s and hits 90. Both pitches can miss bats. Control has been a struggle for him throughout his career, but he has been able to stay healthy for the most part. That’s right. He can throw gas, and that slider has the ability to miss bats when he’s sharp. Kinley describes his pitch mix as “a hard fastball, typically 95 and above. A hard slider typically in the low 90s, high 80s. A good changeup.” Kinley got the news that he had been selected by the Twins while in his hotel room in the Dominican Republic where he was dominating the Winter League. “I was in the hotel room in the Dominican Republic and my agent had the Rule 5 playing live. He’s the one that kept me informed because we had heard some positive feedback from teams, but you know how drafts are, you never know until it happens. And then Minnesota happened, and Thad called me and some other guys called me, and it was awesome.” At the time of the Rule 5 draft, he hadn’t allowed a run in his first 18 innings. He ended his time in the Winter League having given up just one run in 19 innings. He struck out 32 batters, but he also did walk 11 hitters. In the Marlins organization, Kinley has been a teammate in recent years of former Twins minor league pitchers Matthew Tomshaw and Chris Mazza. Upon being drafted, he heard from both of those players. Kinley noted, “They both called me right after and told me that I was in good hands and what a good spot I would be in here in Minnesota.” Right-hander Chris Mazza, who recently received his first invitation to big league spring training for the Marlins, had a lot of good things to say about Kinley. “This is definitely a guy that Twins fans should get excited about. Other than being a good pitcher and baseball player he’s an even better person. He definitely a guy that you want to be friends with and get to know. He’s a great teammate and great guy to have in your clubhouse. I’ve been fortunate enough to get to know and become friends with Tyler or “TK” as most of his teammates call him, for over three years now. I can’t say enough about the guy. He’s truly a great person and an awesome friend and wish nothing but the best for him as he starts this new journey in his career with the Twins.” Another connection is former Twins minor league starter David Hurlbut who he played with in the Dominican Winter League this year. Hurlbut recently signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers after pitching in the Twins organization from 2011 through 2017. Kinley noted, “I’d also played with David Hurlbut down in winter ball, and he only had the highest things to say about the Twins.” Of Kinley, Hurlbut said, “He's a guy I can't speak highly enough about. Just from the time I was with him in the Dominican, I could already tell he was one of the more driven guys that I've come across. He was super easy to get along with, and throughout winter ball was focused on honing his craft. I think that him being picked up in the Rule 5 draft speaks enough for his talent and I'm just glad that he is going to be able to get a shot at the big league level this spring. Obviously fans and coaches need to see he can compete, but i have no doubt he will do just that. Definitely someone fans can get excited about.” The Twins have added three veterans to the bullpen so far this offseason. Fernando Rodney will begin the season as the team’s closer. Addison Reed and Zack Duke will set him up, along with the likes of Trevor Hildenberger, Taylor Rogers, and Ryan Pressly. Kinley will compete with the likes of Alan Busenitz, Tyler Duffey, JT Chargois, John Curtiss and others for one or two spots in the bullpen. It certainly will not be an easy task, particularly since the Twins should be very competitive in the AL Central and in a potential Wild Card race in 2018. So what are Tyler Kinley’s goals now as spring training fast approaches? “I’d say I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself because it’s the same game. So my goal is to go in there and build relationships with the guys in the clubhouse, and try to fit in with them and be part of their unity. On the field, I’m going to put my best foot forward always and let the rest take care of itself.” Click here to view the article

On July 2nd, the Rochester Red Wings were 11 games behind Pawtucket in the International League Northern Division. With a win tonight, and a Pawtucket loss, the Red Wings are now 60-51 and in sole possession of first place in the division. The Red Wings have now won 19 games in July, their most since 1999. Defense has been a big part of the Red Wings success. They have not committed an error in their last nine games, a span covering 82 innings. In fact, looking at errors, the Red Wings' 66 miscues on the season are the fewest in all minor league baseball. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Monday: Rochester 5, Norfolk 3 Box Score It’s been a pretty busy week for PJ Walters. On Friday, he became a father again to a little girl. He had very little sleep and caught a 6 a.m. flight to Rochester to make the start on Monday night. They immediately put him to work, and Walters came through. He needed 116 pitches to complete seven innings, but he gave up just one run on seven hits. He walked three and struck out five. He got the win and is now 5-2 with a 3.57 ERA with the Red Wings. Cody Eppley came on to start the eighth inning, but he got just one out and left with runners on first and third after giving up two hits and a walk. Aaron Thompson came in and preserved the 5-3 lead for the Red Wings. Michael Tonkin came on for the ninth inning and gave up one hit and no runs to record his seventh Red Wings save. Antoan Richardson led the offense. He went 3-4 with his 13th double. Oswaldo Arcia gave the team a lead in the third inning when he hit his 10th homer. He was 2-3 and was hit by a pitch. Eduardo Escobar was 2-4 with his fifth double. New Britain No game Scheduled. Ft. Myers 5, Daytona 0 Box Score Lefty Matt Tomshaw began the 2013 season in the Cedar Rapids bullpen; since his promotion to the Miracle he has been primarily a starter. The crafty southpaw had his best start of the year, throwing eight shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked three and hit one while striking out four. Nelvin Fuentes gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth inning to maintain the shutout. Plenty of hitters helped the Miracle to this win. Byron Buxton went 2-5 with his sixth stolen base. Stephen Wickens was 2-4 with his seventh stolen base. Dalton Hicks was 2-4 with a walk. JD Williams went 1-2 with two walks and his sixth stolen base. Matt Koch went 1-2 with a walk, was hit by a pitch and hit his sixth home run of the season. Former Twins starter Scott Baker, rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, started the game for the Cubs. He went 3.1 innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) on three this. He walked two and struck out two. Cedar Rapids 4, Clinton 3 Box Score JO Berrios started this closely contested game. The young right-hander went the first six innings. He gave up three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out two. Alex Muren came on and gave up one hit and two walks in two scoreless innings; he improved to 6-1 since his promotion to the Kernels. Brian Gilbert came on for the 9th inning and recorded the save. Max Kepler gave the Kernels an early lead with a two-run double, his eighth of the season. He later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Travis Harrison went 2-4 and scored the go-ahead run. Jeremias Pineda went 2-4 with his fifth double. Adam Walker hit his 24th double and stole his eighth base. The Kernels are now 65-39 after their three-game sweep of the LumberKings. Elizabethton 0, Kingsport 4 Box Score Felix Jorge started and gave up one run in each of the first three innings. One of them was unearned. He went four innings and gave up six hits, walked two and struck out seven. Andrew Ferreira gave up a run on one hit and three walks in 1.2 innings. He struck out three. Austin Malinowski came on and struck out four in 3.1 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked one. There was not much offense for the E-Twins on this night. Carlos Avila went 1-1 with two walks. Mitch Garver hit his seventh double. GCL Twins 9, GCL Orioles 4 Box Score The Twins were down 3-2 going into the bottom of the 7th inning. Brian Navarreto stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and connected for his third home run. The team added three more runs in the 8th. Jorge Fernandez went 3-4 with his second stolen base. Will Hurt and Adonis Pacheco each tripled. Wilkin Ramirez returned to the field and went 1-2 with a double. Darin Mastroianni was in a game for the first time in a long time. He went 1-3 with two RBI. Alex Wimmers started and worked the first four innings. He gave up one run on two hits. He walked two and struck out six. Dan Sattler gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and one walk in just 0.2 innings. Tyler Stirewalt gave up two hits in the next 1.1 innings. Zach Hayden gave up one hit, walked one and struck out one in his inning. Jose Abreu recorded his third save, giving up one run on four hits in the final two innings. Amaurys Minier has not played since leaving a game on July 24. He has a strained quad. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. View full article