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The name of the game on the farm today was pitching. At Rochester it was a shutout, for Fort Myers it was Bryan Sammons looking great once again, and with Cedar Rapids it was a combined no-hitter. The bump was filled with outstanding performances today. Read about them below.TRANSACTIONS Fort Myers Miracle Transferred LHP Kody Funderburk to Elizabethton RHP Alex Phillips transferred from Pensacola RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Buffalo 0 Box Score In the ever-enduring battle of the Wings, it was Rochester that prevailed in this one. Kohl Stewart was on the bump for the Red Wings and he turned in five innings of one-hit baseball. Striking out four and walking three, no damage was done on his watch. Fernando Romero worked 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief while fanning four, and that’s a development the big league club would like to see more of. Most of the damage came early in this one, and the home squad was able to ride that to victory. A three run first was punctuated by a pair of bases-loaded walks, and a later Drew Maggi RBI single wasn’t necessary in the eventual outcome. Nick Gordon recently was inserted back into the lineup following a brief IL stint, and he was able to tally two hits on the evening. Both LaMonte Wade and Maggi joined that club as well. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Tennessee 9, Pensacola 3 Box Score Back in action after a scheduled day off, an early deficit and a big inning spelled the demise of the Blue Wahoos. Andro Cutura couldn’t make it out of the second inning, and a bullpen game that saw Adam Bray surrender four runs on four hits and three walks without recording an out was more ugly than you’d hope. Despite ten hits during the contest, two RBI singles and a sac fly was all Pensacola could muster. Alex Kirilloff did have himself a nice outing picking up a two-hit effort and Ben Rortvedt snagged three hits while driving in a run. Despite the relatively lackluster pitching effort as a whole, reliever Tom Hackimer was a bright spot. He struck out the side in the eighth and now has gone six and one-third scoreless innings during his first venture into Double-A action. Combined with his 0.59 ERA across 15 and one-third innings at High-A Fort Myers, there’s a very solid season building here. MIRACLE MATTERS Bradenton 2, Fort Myers 1 Box Score After an abbreviated twin bill yesterday it was just one for these two clubs on Wednesday. Combining for a total of seven hits and three runs, this was the epitome of a pitcher’s duel. Bryan Sammons was again fantastic, twirling six shutout innings and fanning eight. His ERA now rests at 0.94 with just shy of 40 innings pitched. The recently promoted Trey Cabbage swatted his first dinger for the Miracle in the second inning. The solo shot was all they could must however, with the other two hits coming from Royce Lewis and Ryan Jeffers. KERNELS NUGGETS Burlington 5, Cedar Rapids 4 (Game 1) Box Score A double dip was needed today following a postponement on Wednesday. The afternoon game saw Cedar Rapids fall victim to a run in the seventh which ended up being the deciding factor. Andrew Cabezas battled command most of the day and went just four innings in the effort. After trailing by one in the top half of the second, the Kernels did all of their damage in the bottom half of the third inning. Jared Akins opened the scoring with an RBI single, and Jean Carlos Arias plated three with his second homer of the year. Burlington answered with three of their own in the next half inning before getting the tie-breaking run in the final frame. Cedar Rapids 9, Burlington 0 (Game 2) Box Score Easily the highlight of the day, Cedar Rapids watched Austin Schulfer and Jose Martinez combine for a no-hitter. Schulfer turned in five strong, fanning seven and issuing just one free pass. He’s been great all year for the Kernels and tonight’s effort was just another display of that. Martinez has scuffled during his 11 outings, but everything was working in turning in two flawless with a pair of punchouts on his own. The no-hitter certainly could have put the bats at ease, but eight hits sparked nine runs and this one was taken care of no matter what way you looked at it. For the most part, runs came as a by-product of guys doing their jobs. Fielder’s choices and groundouts were the early helpers, with a timely balk and some well placed base hits adding to the lead. The big blow came on Chris Williams home run, his eighth of the season, a three-run shot. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Austin Schulfer and Jose Martinez (Cedar Rapids) 5.0 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 9 K Hitter of the Day – Jared Akins (Cedar Rapids) 3-7, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3B, HR PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 1-4 #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 2-5, R, K, 2B #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Did Not Pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 0-3, BB, K #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - Injured (quad) #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured (wrist) #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did Not Pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did Not Pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Injured List #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 2-5, R, K #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) – Did Not Pitch #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 1-3 #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 3-4, RBI, K #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 1-7, R, BB, K (2 games) #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 2-4, R #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did Not Pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 0-4 THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (10:05AM CST) – LHP Devin Smeltzer (0-1, 1.83 ERA) Pensacola @ Tennessee (6:00PM CST) - RHP Sean Poppen (2-3, 3.58 ERA) Fort Myers @ Daytona (6:05PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (2-2. 8.28 ERA) Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (4-3, 4.95 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games Click here to view the article

More rainouts on the farm made for somewhat of a muted schedule on Wednesday, but the Kernels helped the organization to avoid a sweep with a big win in game two of their doubleheader. Rochester tallied runs despite coming up short, and Pensacola saw a 2018 breakout have an impact once again. Read about it below.TRANSACTIONS Fort Myers Miracle RHP Bailey Ober placed on the seven-day IL with a right ulnar nerve subluxation RED WINGS REPORT Scranton/WB 8, Rochester 6 Box Score Zack Littell got the start for Rochester tonight and turned in seven innings of strong work. Fanning seven while walking two and allowing seven hits, he ceded four earned runs and needed some offensive help once he departed. The runs came, but unfortunately they weren’t unanswered. Scranton got on the board first in this one, scoring one run in the bottom of the second. In the third, Randy Cesar drove in John Andreoli with an RBI single to knot things up on the road. The Railriders pulled away in the fourth with a three-run tally. Attempting to chip away, Rochester added runs in the sixth, eighth, and ninth innings drawing even on another Cesar RBI. Headed to extras, Luke Raley got things started with his fifth homer of the season, a two-run shot. In the bottom half of the 10th, Scranton pushed across four and ended the game in walkoff fashion. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Biloxi 7, Pensacola 3 Box Score Taking the ball in this one was Sean Poppen, and needing 51 pitches to get through just two innings, this turned out to be an abbreviated start for the otherwise impressive prospect. The Shuckers pushed across seven runs through the first three innings and the Blue Wahoos had an ugly hole to climb out of. A fielder’s choice in the third allowed Pensacola’s first run to score, but it wasn’t followed by bunches. Taylor Grzelakowski grabbed an RBI on a sac fly in the fourth, and generated the same result in the sixth. Down 7—3 at that point, the score stood as the home side fell. MIRACLE MATTERS Postponed – Rain KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1- Bowling Green 3, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score After a rainout yesterday, the Kernels and Hot Rods attempted a shot at two today. In the first half of the doubleheader Luis Rijo was on the bump. Turning in six solid innings of work, he allowed just one earned run (three total) while fanning five and walking none. Uber prospect Wander Franco generated the game’s first run on an RBI single, but a passed ball allowed the Kernels to even the score at one in the bottom of the third. David Banuelos homered in the fourth giving the home team the lead, but a 2-run shot in the fifth wiped that away and gave us the final tally. Game 2- Cedar Rapids 6, Bowling Green 4 Box Score Working game two on the day, Austin Schulfer turned in four innings allowing just one earned (two total) run. He picked up six strikeouts and walked just two batters. Leaving with the game knotted, a decision remained up in the air. Cedar Rapids found themselves looking at a 2-0 deficit when the entered the bottom half of the third inning. A Ben Rodriguez double wiped that out as both Gabriel Maciel and Chris Williams scampered home. Once again the Hot Rods would lead by two, but this one would be overcome quickly. In the fifth Rodriguez drove in Williams again, and Jacob Pearson crossed the plate on a double play. Andrew Bechtold cracked his second dinger of the season, and when the inning was over, the Kernels led 5-4 into the 6th. Having done damage all night long, Williams added to the lead with his fifth homer of the season, and Cedar Rapids was ahead by the eventual winning score of 6-4. Joe Record was able to pick up his fifth save on the season, which is a Midwest League season high. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Luis Rijo (Cedar Rapids) 6.0 IP 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Chris Williams (Cedar Rapids) 2-3, 3 R, RBI, BB, K, HR(5) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - No game #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – No game #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - No Game #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Did not play #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - No game #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured list #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured list #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - No game #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - No game #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, BB, K #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – 7.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 0-4 #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - No game THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (5:35PM CST) – RHP Chase De Jong (0-2, 21.00 ERA) Biloxi @ Pensacola (6:35PM CST) – RHP Jorge Alcala (4-1, 5.70 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers, Game 1 (3:00PM CST) – RHP Jhoan Duran (0-3, 3.63 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers, Game 2 – LHP Tyler Watson (0-3, 4.98 ERA) Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Click here to view the article

At the highest level, one of the Twins most prized pitching prospects settled into a groove for his best start on the young season. A scary scene in Pensacola halted the action in the midst of a victory. Down in Fort Myers, it was a less than ideal way to end a road trip, but home cooking is on the horizon. Read about all the action below.TRANSACTIONS Cedar Rapids OF DaShawn Keirsey Jr. placed on 7-day IL with a right hip strain RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Syracuse 4 Box Score Coming into 2019 Lewis Thorpe was among my favorite picks for a Twins prospect to debut at the big leagues sooner than anticipated. He’d put together a strong 2018, and looks the part of a rotation contributor at the highest level. Unfortunately his 2019 didn’t get off to a great start, but that changed today. Finishing one out shy of making it through six complete innings, Thorpe allowed just two runs on four hits while issuing a single free pass. The eye-popping number during his start was the 12 Syracuse batters he set down on strikes. He was also very efficient on the day, throwing 64 of 94 pitches for strikes. Scoring finally got underway in the middle innings. Randy Cesar drove in both LaMonte Wade and Wilin Rosario on a single to left fielder Tim Tebow. From there, Luke Raley helped to put up another pair of runs on his second homer of the season in the bottom half of the fifth. Thorpe ceded his two runs in the sixth, and while the Mets closed the deficit with single runs in the seventh and eighth, Rochester responded. Rosario, the former Rockies catcher, launched his fourth long ball of the year to put the good guys in the lead going into the ninth. Preston Guilmet was able to shut it down for the save. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Pensacola 5, Biloxi 2 Box Score Rolling through his start looking sharp, as he has all of 2019, Devin Smeltzer turned in four strong innings allowing two runs (one earned) while fanning four and walking one. Disaster struck when he was hit in the head by a comebacker sending him to the floor. He was able to walk off the field under his own power, but it was no doubt a scary scene nonetheless. The Blue Wahoos gave their starter a lead early in this one. Jimmy Kerrigan drew a bases-loaded walk to plate the first run in the top of the first inning. Adding two more in the second, singles from Jordan Gore and Brian Schales scored Joe Cronin and Luis Arraez respectively. After allowing the Shuckers to draw within one in the bottom half of the second, Pensacola added some distance in the sixth. Tanner English drove in Arraez to score his second run of the night, and a throwing error attempting to nail Schales gave Gore the chance to scamper home. Up by three with three innings to play, that was enough for Adam Bray and Sam Clay to slam the door. MIRACLE MATTERS St. Lucie 7, Fort Myers 2 Box Score Identical organizations squaring off as in the Triple-A action today, this one saw the Mets top the Twins farmhands. Jhoan Duran lasted just one out into the fourth inning, and needed 71 pitches to get there. Five strikeouts was a nice tally, but three runs and three walks while allowing four hits could’ve certainly been better. St. Lucie put up all of their damage in the fourth inning. Breaking a 0-0 tie, the Mets plated seven runs and raced out to a big lead. A Ryan Jeffers single in the sixth scored Jose Miranda, but the only other run came on Ryan Costello’s second home run of the year in the top of the ninth inning. Generating just five hits as a team, Fort Myers will look to wake up the offense again tomorrow when they host the Stone Crabs back home. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities Postponed- Rain TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 12 K Twins Daily Hitter(s) of the Day – Jordan Gore (Pensacola) 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 3 BB PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 0-5, 2 K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Did Not Pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 1-5 #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - No Game #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – 1-4, K #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – 3.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 12 K #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did Not Pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – 0-4, BB, 2 K #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, RBI, 2 K #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) – Did Not Play #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – No Game #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - Did not play #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 0-3, R WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (5:30PM CST) – RHP Zack Littell (0-2, 7.71 ERA) Pensacola @ Biloxi (6:35PM CST) – RHP Griffin Jax (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Charlotte @ Fort Myers (5:30PM CST) – LHP Tyler Watson (0-1, 4.09 ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – RHP Jordan Balazovic (1-1, 2.79 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Click here to view the article

On the farm today, the Twins system had a split between day matinee action and nighttime offerings. Across the system, there were a couple of strong starting performances, and despite early offense, a few games saw things get a bit too close late. Check out all of the action below.TRANSACTIONS Minnesota Twins Recall LHP Andrew Vasquez Option RHP Chase De Jong to Triple-A Rochester Red Wings Received RHP Sean Poppen from Double-A Pensacola RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Syracuse 2 Box Score Sean Poppen was promoted prior to the game in order to make his Triple-A debut. Although not lights out, he was more than good enough on Wednesday. Turning in five innings of work, Poppen scattered five hits and two runs while walking three and fanning five. In line for the win when he bowed out, the bullpen got the job done and secured his first victory at the new level. Rochester jumped out to an early lead in this one against former Twins starter Hector Santiago. Veteran Wilin Rosario smacked a two-run shot in the first that put the good guys in the lead. Damage against Poppen came in the form of a single run each of the next two innings, and the game headed to the third inning deadlocked at two. Another former Twins hurler, Ryan O’Rourke, was on the bump for Syracuse in the sixth when he uncorked a wild pitch. Jordany Valdespin made it hurt as he crossed home plate and put the Red Wings back on top. Looking for some breathing room, Rochester broke out in a big way to start the ninth inning. Randy Cesar ripped his third double to drive in LaMonte Wade. A Wynston Sawyer single scored both Cesar and Wilin Rosario pushing the tally to 6-2. Valdespin then notched his first double of the season to score Zander Wiel and Sawyer. The 8-2 score went unchanged as Austin Adams locked it down and recorded his first save of the season. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Pensacola 5, Jacksonville 4 Box Score Twins prospect Jorge Alcala was on the bump for this one, and he improved to 2-0 on the season after another strong outing. Going five innings, he ceded just two runs while issuing no free passes and striking out four. Leaving the game with a 4-2 lead, the bullpen and lineup made sure to preserve the victory. Drew Maggi started off the scoring in the second inning with a solo blast, his first dinger in the Twins organization. Jimmy Kerrigan then doubled to score Brian Schales and Pensacola headed to the third up 2-0. After a Brian Schales fourth inning homer, also his first of the year and in the organization, the Blue Wahoo stepped out to a 3-0 tally going into the 5th inning. The Jumbo Shrimp began to claw back making it 3-2 before the bottom half of the fifth, but a Jaylin Davis solo blast gave Pensacola some breathing room once again. Schales then helped the cause again in the seventh. After Jacksonville drew within one, his second double of the season plated Davis to put the Wahoos back up by two at 5-3. Jacksonville got within one before this contest was over, but Ryan Mason worked 1 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball to secure the victory and pick up his first save on the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 0 Box Score After having Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in their lineup the past few days, Dunedin looked to take the field without the uber-prospect today. Fort Myers gave Royce Lewis his first day of rest this season, and the Miracle threw up a shutout in the matinee. Bryan Sammons earned his first victory on the year finishing one out shy of six innings pitched. He allowed just two hits on the afternoon and fanned eight batters while walking three. Scoring in this one was hard to come by, and after the Miracle jumped out to an early lead, that was enough to be the difference. A three-run second inning was sparked by doubles from Aaron Whitefield and Mark Contreras. The two teams would go scoreless until the 8th when Lewin Diaz, last night’s hero, drove in Jose Miranda on a sac fly. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Kane County 4 Box Score Looking for their second win on the young season the Kernels sent Blayne Enlow to the mound. Hoping to rebound from an ugly 2019 debut, the Twins prospect left after five quality innings. Generating five strikeouts and walking just one while allowing only one run, this is a start the Louisiana product can build off of. Cedar Rapids found themselves in a 1-0 hole after the first inning, but they rebounded quickly with a run of their own in the second. Jean Carlos Arias reached first on a throwing error allowing Trey Cabbage to notch the first run for the home team. From there, the Kernels looked to put distance between themselves and the Cougars. A four-run fifth inning had the home team up by a 5-1 tally. Yunior Severino singled to right, and Chris Williams grabbed his first double of the season. Up 3-1 after those two at-bats, Williams came across after an error on a Trey Cabbage at bat, and Andrew Bechtold singled to drive in Cabbage. With the bases juiced in the eigth inning things got a bit dicey for Cedar Rapids. The Cougars ripped off a bases-clearing double that reduced the deficit to just one run. Joe Record came on in the ninth to slam the door however, and grabbed his first save of the season while striking out the side. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K Twins Daily Hitter(s) of the Day – Wilin Rosario (Rochester) – 1-4, HR(2), 2 R, 2 RBI PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – Did Not Play #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Did Not Pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - 2-4 #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - No Game #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – 0-4, K #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – 0-4 #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – Did Not Play #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) – 0-2, R, BB, 2 K #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – 1-4, RBI #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 0-4, R #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 2-3, 2 R, BB #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 1-3, R WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (12:05PM CST) – LHP Lewis Thorpe (0-1, 20.25 ERA) Jacksonville @ Pensacola (6:35PM CST) – RHP Brusdar Graterol (0-0, 193 ERA) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (12:00PM CST) – RHP Jhoan Duran (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – RHP Jordan Balazovic (1-0, 1.80 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Click here to view the article

Coming into the 2019 Major League Baseball season, the Minnesota Twins will have plenty of organizational changes. From coaches to players throughout the system, there have been plenty of new developments. Among the biggest changes is the shift from a Double-A squad in Tennessee to one in Florida. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos will play home to some very exciting future Twins this season, and it's time to introduce them to Twins Territory.Having reached out to the Blue Wahoos in hopes of best representing and introducing them to Minnesota fans, I was presented with the idea of a guest article. Senior Writer Bill Verona put together a great piece and Media Relations Manager Daniel Venn did an exceptional job coordinating things. Before you're introduced to this new affiliate over the weekend at Twins Fest, here's an opportunity for them to introduce themselves. Take it away Bill... All right, Twins fans, so you’re intrigued about this new partnership with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos as the Double-A affiliate. It’s new for everyone here, too. The Blue Wahoos were the Cincinnati Reds’ affiliate in the Southern League since the team’s inception in 2012. First, let’s start with the name. Blue Wahoos won the fan vote of choices and it’s a good connection. A wahoo is a sport fish, found in the nearby Gulf of Mexico. Edible for humans, especially appetizing when cooked grilled or blackened. The species is fast, fierce, not easy to catch, and surprisingly strong, but not quite like a shark. Blue Wahoos is connecting the blue waters here, along with homage to the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, based at Naval Air Station-Pensacola. People here are rightfully as proud of the Blue Angels as they are Blue Wahoos Stadium or the sugar-white beaches nearby. The stadium was built on neglected land along Pensacola Bay, which leads into the Gulf of Mexico. So, there is normally a breeze, which helps keep the stadium comfortable in mid-summer. From the ballpark to Pensacola Beach, it’s an 8.8-mile drive. Blue Wahoos owners Quint and Rishy Studer went through a six-year odyssey to see this stadium finally become reality. Just like everywhere else, there is never universal support for stadiums when using public money, no matter how much. They invested millions to make it happen. Since the day it opened, the stadium has been transformational for the downtown area of Pensacola, community pride and adding to the quality of life in the community. The Studers previously owned the Pensacola Pelicans, an Independent League team that formerly competed in the American Association that includes the St. Paul Saints. That team played at the University of West Florida baseball field and it was called Pelican Park during the summer months when the team played. Blue Wahoos Stadium, part of the Community Maritime Park project, is used year-round. The University of West Florida football team, an NCAA Division II member of the Gulf South Conference, has made the stadium a unique home-field setting since beginning a football program in 2016. The stadium also hosts everything from sunrise Easter Sunday services to weddings to dinner events to Fourth of July celebrations to an NFL Flag Football youth league sponsored by Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks, who grew up in Pensacola. When the Blue Wahoos opted to switch affiliations, the Minnesota Twins were the overwhelming choice in a fan poll when paired with the San Diego Padres. Pensacola has a couple things in common with Minnesota. Both are in the Central Time Zone. Both have plenty of waterfront land. Both are in areas where the weather can quickly change, just not in the same way. It has spit snow here in rare years since weather has been recorded. But most winter days feature afternoon temperatures in the 50’s-low 70’s. When it gets below 50 degrees as a daytime temperature, people start shivering. Many of us have moved from other places, including areas like Minneapolis and other cold-weather places in the winter. It’s easy to get soft. But Pensacola is different weather than Fort Myers, the Twins spring training home on the Gulf Coast. That’s south Florida. The opposite side of the Everglades from Fort Lauderdale-Miami. Big difference. It’s a 10-hour drive from Pensacola and the winter temperature difference could be 20-30 degrees. Pensacola rests near the Florida-Alabama state line on Interstate 10. Mobile, Alabama is 60 miles away. You can drive in four states (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana) when traveling three hours to New Orleans. The Twins are only the second major league affiliation in Pensacola in more than a half-century. Prior to joining the Southern League, Pensacola’s last affiliated baseball team was the Pensacola Senators in 1962 in the Alabama-Florida League. Click here to view the article