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After posting out Twins Daily Minor League Hitter and Starting Pitcher of the Month of May the last two days, we will look at the relief pitchers who got their jobs done in May. There were a bunch and like the starters, you could make arguments for a couple of these guys to claim the title. All nine guys mentioned before deserve the recognition. But who won? We talked to the May Relief Pitcher of the Month to see what helped make him so successful. In case you missed them here are the previous May winners: Hitter of the Month: Byron Buxton, Rochester Red Wings. Starting Pitcher of the Month: Tyler Jay, Ft. Myers Miracle. So, who will join them in the May Twins Minor League Awards? Continue reading to find out.First, a few relievers worthy of mention: RHP Michael Cederoth (Cedar Rapids) – 7 G, 1-0, 3.09 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 7 H, 5 BB, 16KLHP Buddy Boshers (Rochester) - 7 G, 1-0, 1 Save, 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 10 KRHP Brandon Peterson (Ft. Myers) - 11 G, 2-0, 3 Saves, 3.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 15.0 IP 12 H, 3 BB, 17 KRHP Marcus Walden (Rochester) - 7 G, 1-0, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 15.2 IP, 12 H, 5 BB, 10 KTHE TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS Number 5 - Chattanooga – LHP Luke Westphal - 7 G, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 16 K It was a long and winding road for Westphal from affiliated ball to the Twins organization, but the southpaw from Wisconsin has been quite good since signing with the Twins 16 months ago. Last year, Westphal went back and forth between Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids, and between the bullpen and the rotation. This year, he’s been exclusively in the bullpen. He was promoted to the Lookouts at the end of April and had a good first month in AA. In May, opponents hit just .238/.273/.262 (.535) off him and he struck out 13.1 batters per nine innings. Pretty dominant showing. Number 4 – Chattanooga – RHP Trevor Hildenberger - 11 G, 1.20 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 15.0 IP, 9 H, 3 BB, 13 K Hildenberger was our choice for Twins Daily Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2015 when he split the year between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. He’s appeared in these monthly reports pretty much every month the last two seasons and here he is again. After a solid showing in the Arizona Fall League a year ago, he began 2016 with the Miracle, but he was up in AA within a month. At a level where even the top relief pitching prospects have struggled, Hildenberger keeps getting the job done. The side-winding righty limited opponents to a .176/.222/.294 (.516) slash line for the month. He took over as the team’s closer and recorded five saves. Number 3 – Chattanooga – RHP JT Chargois - 8 G, 1.12 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 11 K 2012 2nd-round pick was finally healthy and bringing the high-90s heat in games in 2015. He was added to the 40-man roster in the offseason and showed well in big league spring training. He started with the Lookouts but in early May he was promoted to AAA Rochester where he’s continued to dominate. For the month, Chargois held hitters to a .182/.280/.318 (.598) slash line. While control has always been his problem, he has shown some strong glimpses in 2016, though a walk every other inning is all that is likely delaying his promotion to the big leagues.Soon the reliever whose last name is pronounced shag-waa will become a household name for Twins fans. Number 2 – Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers – RHP Nick Anderson - 8 G, 0.64 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 22 K The Twins signed Anderson last August out of the independent leagues. The mid-90s throwing right-hander from Brainerd (via Mayville State) continued to dominate in Cedar Rapids until a mid-May promotion to Ft. Myers. He had a remarkable and dominant month. Look again at the strikeout-to-walk rate of 22-to-1! He also struck out 14.1 per nine innings. Opponents hit just .109/.128/.130 (.258) off him. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Cedar Rapids – LHP Mike Theofanopoulos - 7 G, 0.73 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 20 K Mike Theofanopoulos was the Twins 30th-round pick in 2014 out of California. The left-hander grew up about a half-hour from Berkeley so when he was offered the scholarship, he immediately accepted, happy to play Division 1 baseball and get a Berkeley education. After spending the rest of that season, in the GCL, he spent all of 2015 in Cedar Rapids. Though he was likely disappointed in returning to the Kernels to start the 2016 season, he has handled it very well and grown from the experience. According to his pitching coach JP Martinez, he’s used his return to the Midwest League to better himself. “He’s a gritty kid, not a high pick, so he’s had to produce. He had a really good year here last year, and it just turned out that it was a numbers game so he had to come back. The good thing for him is that there is a comfort zone can work on things that they need to clean up so they’re ready for the next level.” Maybe it was frustration - or maybe it was just cold - but Theofanopoulos struggled the first week or so of the season, but he quickly got things back and made some improvements and he has been very good since. “I really wanted to harness in and focus on not walking guys. Earlier on in the season, I started pretty slow, putting guys on, trying to do too much and walking the world. I’m in a nice groove now, just realizing how to use my pitches. Fastball command has been there. That’s a huge part of it which allows me to get to my offspeed which are my strikeout pitches. Being able to finish hitters and put them away. I was trying to overproduce and do way too much.” In May, Theofanopoulos had a streak of 19 scoreless innings that ended with an unearned run. Opponents hit just .093/.152/.140 (.292). He also struck out 14.6 batters per nine innings. “Left-handed and breathing” is a saying in baseball, but Theofanopoulos shows more than that. He has a good fastball that sits 90-92. He has a curveball and a changeup, but his second breaking ball seems to have helped him to another level. According to “Theo,” one of the keys to his success has been “Developing a harder curveball. That’s been a big piece for me, especially against left-handers, changing the hitter’s eyes.” With Nick Anderson being promoted to the Miracle, Kernels manager Jake Mauer says that Theofanopoulos may be in line for some late-inning, closer opportunities. “He started out real slow, walking a lot of guys, but he’s been real good lately. Really good. We’re probably going to use him late. He’s giving us some pretty good reason to use him later in games.” His pitching coach (Martinez) said of the southpaw, “If you get a lefty with two breaking balls who can spot his fastball, that’s pretty tough to hit. I wouldn’t say he had fastball command issues, but he wasn’t getting ahead with the fastball as much as he could. We made a couple of adjustments, and I think he got comfortable right around the second week. He looked relaxed out there. He looks comfortable on the mound, like there’s no place he’d rather be than on the mound. He’s a pretty cerebral guy so he knows how to attack hitters. I think what he’s done really well is spot the breaking ball and the fastball early and then be able to put that breaking ball away later in the count.” Theofanopoulos will continue to work later in games for the Kernels. We would have to assume that like John Curtiss, Nick Anderson and Randy LeBlanc before him, it should just be a matter of time before he gets called into his manager’s office and told he too is heading to Ft. Myers to join the Miracle. He’s ready. There were several very strong relief pitcher performances in May. Feel free to agree or disagree with the order, if you like, but congratulations to each of these individuals on an excellent month of may. Congratulations to the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for May 2016, Mike Theofanopoulos. Click here to view the article

In the last several days, we have posted our Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher and Hitter of the Month of August. There have been a lot of strong candidates for each category and that remains the case as we look at the top performing relief pitchers for August. There are a couple of 2015 draft picks, some guys who have been around a long time, and a guy who has a really long last name.There were a lot of very strong August performances out of the bullpen at the Twins affiliates. Below you’ll find the Top 5 Relief Pitchers in August, but first a few relievers worthy of mention: RHP Yorman Landa – Cedar Rapids – 7 G, 1-1, 0.71 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 13 H, 4 BB, 12 KRHP Jake Reed – Ft. Myers – 9 G, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 7 KLHP Corey Williams - Chattanooga – 10 G, 0-0, 1.54 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 4 H, 8 BB, 11 KTHE TOP FIVE Number 5 – Cedar Rapids Kernels – LHP Mike Theofanopoulos - 7 G, 1.59 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 11.1 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 15 K The Twins drafted the southpaw with their 30th round draft pick in 2014 out of California where he teamed with Trevor Hildenberger and Chris Paul. He turned 23 years old in early August and put together arguably his best month of the season. Opponents hit just .222 off of him in the month. He isn’t a flame-thrower, but he has some deception and enough movement to miss bats. In 68.1 innings this season, he has walked 29, but he’s also struck out 74 batters. Number 4 – Elizabethton Twins – Logan Lombana - 7 G, 1.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 20.0 IP, 17 H, 3 BB, 23 K Lombana is on this list, in large part for the sheer number of innings that he pitched for the E-Twins. Twenty innings in one month as a reliever is pretty impressive. The three walks to 23 strikeout ratio is also very impressive. Lombana was the Twins 25th round draft pick this year out of Long Beach State. Overall this year, he went 1-2 with a 2.25 ERA in 15 games (32 innings) for the E-Twins. Number 3 – Ft. Myers – Tyler Jay - 8 G, 1.13 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 12 K The Twins first-round pick from Illinois struggled in his jump from the Big 10 to the Florida State League. Through July 31, he pitched 8.1 innings and gave up nine runs (7 earned) on 13 hits and five walks. However, things were much better in his second month. The Twins are always cautious with their current-year picks, so Jay pitches about every fourth day and only for one inning. He greatly improved his walk to strikeout rate and was much more successful. Number 2 – Chattanooga – JT Chargois - 9 G, 0.87 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 11 K What a story JT Chargois has and will have later in life to tell. The Twins second round pick in 2012 out of Rice, he had pitched in just 12 games as a professional and none in the last two seasons due to elbow injury and surgery. He impressed at Instructional League last year, touching triple digits. The goal was likely to get him through this season healthy, and he has done that. He posted a 2.40 ERA in 15 innings in Ft. Myers before moving up to Double-A Chattanooga. There, he has posted a 3.52 ERA in 30.2 innings. However, it is important to note that he has allowed just one earned run in his last 17.2 innings. He definitely is one to watch in 2016. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Elizabethton Twins – Kuo Hua Lo - 9 G, 1.98 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 8 H, 6 BB, 23 K Lo was signed by the Twins as a free agent from Taiwan in 2011. He pitched in the GCL in 2012. He has spent the last three seasons with the Elizabethton Twins. As a 22-year-old this year, he has pitched very well. In fact, last week, he was named to the Appalachian League post-season All-Star list as the top reliever. Domination would be a good word to describe his August, striking out almost two batters per inning. In 19 games and 31.1 innings this season, he gave up just 15 hits, walked eight and struck out 43 batters. He is 4-1 with seven saves. He has a 1.44 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. After three years in the Appy League, he has earned an opportunity in the Midwest League. So what do you think? I’ve ranked the top five bullpen arms in the Twins organization in August, along with several more that deserve to be recognized for their great final month to the 2015 season. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)? Click here to view the article

The Twins surprised everyone and won on Thursday afternoon, taking two out of three against the Royals to win their first series of the year. Down on the farm, things did not go as well with every affiliate in action taking the loss.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Pawtucket PawSox 8 Box Score Despite seven runs on twelve hits, the Red Wings lost to the PawSox in the bottom of the ninth when Ryan Pressly, working in his third inning of the evening, gave up a one out home run to Pawtucket's Bryce Brentz. Pressly, who entered the game with two outs in the sixth, was charged with a blown save and a loss. Red Wings' starter Taylor Rogers was lucky to escape without a decision after giving up five runs, all earned, in six innings. Rogers struck out seven, but he also walked three and gave up two long balls. Logan Darnell came on the start the sixth and put two men on base before yielding to Pressly who gave up a double, allowing both inherited runners to score and tagging Darnell with two earned runs. Twelve hits and seven walks led to plenty of scoring opportunities for the Red Wings, who failed to tally an extra-base hit and left ten runners on base despite going 4-10 with runners in scoring position. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 3-4 with a walk and an RBI to pace Rochester. Eddie Rosario (2-4), Josmil Pinto (2-2, 3BB), and Jose Martinez (2-4) all collected two hits. Pinto is now hitting .417, including six hits in his last seven at-bats, plus those two walks. He has to be wondering how much longer it will be until he is back with the Minnesota Twins. LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN Birmingham Barons @ Chattanooga POSTPONED - Jose Berrios will have an extra day of rest as the Lookouts were rained out tonight in Chattanooga. MIRACLE MATTERS Tampa Yankees 7, Fort Myers 6 (10 innings) Box Score Down 6-2 in the bottom of the eighth, the Miracle rallied for four runs on a Logan Wade grand slam to send the game into extra innings. Aaron Slegers, Fort Myers' starter, went just 5.2 innings, surrendering six runs, four earned. He walked one batter and struck out five. Madison Boer finished the sixth for Slegers and pitched two more scoreless innings after that to get the Miracle through the eighth. With the game now tied, Todd Van Steensel pitched 1.2 scoreless innings before yielding to Brandon Peterson, with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the tenth. Peterson quickly got ahead of Angelo Gumbs 0-2 on a pair of breaking balls and then balked in a run when he dropped the ball while he was standing on the rubber, before eventually striking out Gumbs to retire the side. The Miracle were aided by four Tampa errors, but Engelb Vielma and Alex Swim managed to go 0-10 at the top of the order, leaving Fort Myers to manufacture runs without their table setters on base. Logan Wade's grand slam was part of his 2-4 night and was the punctuation mark on the night for the Miracle hitters. Marcus Knecht was the only other Miracle hitter with multiple hits, 2-4 with a double, a walk, and an RBI. Niko Goodrum finished the night 1-4 with a single and two walks. With a runner on second in the bottom of the tenth, Max Kepler was caught looking to end the game. Kepler, DHing on Thursday night, ended 1-5 with a walk and two strike- outs. KERNELS KORNER Peoria Chiefs 3, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score A quick ballgame on Thursday in Iowa, lasting just two hours and five minutes. Kernels' starter John Curtiss cruised through five innings, but gave up three runs in the sixth inning to take the loss. The Kernels now need a win tomorrow night to avoid being swept at home by the Chiefs. Curtiss scattered ten hits, struck out six and walked just a single batter. His ERA now sits at 4.63 on the young season. Michael Theofanopoulos pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings, and C.K. Irby finished the game with an interesting ninth, walking two and striking out two. There was not a lot of offense for the Kernels against Peoria's Austin Gomber, who struck out eight Cedar Rapids batsmen and yielded just a single run on an RBI single by Zack Larson in the bottom of the third. That Larson RBI gave the Kernels their first lead of the series against the Chiefs, but the Kernels did not have the hits to keep pace. Zach Granite was the bright spot for Cedar Rapids, going 3-4 with a double, raising his season average to .458 while extending his hitting streak to five games. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Josmil Pinto, Rochester Red Wings Pitcher of the Day - Michael Theofanopoulos, Cedar Rapids Kernels THURSDAY'S PROBABLES Rochester @ Pawtucket - Jason Wheeler (0-1, 2.70) vs. Henry Owens (0-0, 1.42) Birmingham @ Chattanooga - Mike Recchia (0-0, 5.40) vs. Jose Berrios (1-0, 1.42) St. Lucie @ Fort Myers - Marcos Molina (0-0, 3.) vs. Chih-Wei Hu (0-0 3.60) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids - Daniel Poncedeleon (1-0, 0.00) vs. Stephen Gonsalves (1-0, 1.50) On the most recent episode of the Talk to Contact podcast, Seth Stohs identified Gonsalves as his pick to be the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Click here to view the article