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Let’s take a look at the Top 4 hitters for the month of April, but first here are some players deserving of honorable mention. HONORABLE MENTION 1B Gabe Snyder - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 17-52, .327/400/.558 (.958) with three doubles, three triples and a home run. 1B/C Chris Williams - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 13-51, .285/.406/.529 (.936) with two doubles, four homers and 10 RBI. 3B Brian Schales - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 14-58, .241/.405/.500 (.905) with four doubles, a triple, three homers and 13 RBI. C Tomas Telis - Rochester Red Wings - .15-53, .283/.328/.528 (.856) with four doubles, three homers and seven RBI. OF Jaylin Davis - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 22-70, .314/.342/.500 (.842) with four doubles, three homers and nine RBI. C Ben Rortvedt - Ft. Myers Miracle - 15-60, .250/.375/.467 (.842) with five doubles, one triple, two homers and nine RBI. 2B/3B Luis Arraez - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 30-95, .316/.404/.358 (.762) with two doubles, a triple and seven RBI. THE TOP FOUR HITTERS Number 4 – Pensacola Blue Wahoos - C/IF Caleb Hamilton - .283/.403/.500 (.903). 17-60 with five doubles, one triple, two home runs and nine RBI. Hamilton was the Twins 23rd round pick in 2016 out of Oregon State. Following that season, He had been an infielder in college, but following his pro debut, the Twins moved him behind the plate. He has become a trusted catcher in the organization. He has greatly improved his game calling, blocking and is a good pitch receiver. He got off to a strong start in his Double-A debut month, enough that he has received additional at-bats playing at first base and third base. Hamilton is strong and compact. He has a strong arm, and he has some power. Number 3 - Rochester Red Wings – 3B Randy Cesar - .316/.366/.566 (.932), 24-76 with 10 doubles, three homers and 18 RBI. Cesar signed a minor league contract with the Twins this spring after pending seven seasons in the Houston Astros organization. He gained some notoriety last year when he had a 42-game hitting streak. At 6-4 and 240 pounds, Cesar has a lot of power potential, though he has never hit more than the ten homers he hit last year at AA Corpus Christi. The 24-year-old is off to a fast start with the Red Wings, hitting for average and power. This is an award for hitting, so there’s really no need to mention that he has eight errors in 12 games at third base already this year. Number 2 - Rochester Red Wings – 1B Zander Wiel - .253/.313/.600 (.913), 19-75 with four doubles, two triples, six homers and 14 RBI. Wiel came to the Twins as their 12th-round draft pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt. He has moved up one level each year, though he ended 2018 with a handful of games with the Red Wings. While Wiel has spent time the last couple of seasons, and in spring training, in left field, he played exclusively at first base. Wiel strikes out a fair share of the time, but he has always been an extra-base hitting machine. The 26-year-old ended the month strong with multi-hit games in three of the month’s last four games. And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is: Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle – OF Trey Cabbage - .300/.395/.600 (.995), 21-70 with one double, one triple and six homers and 16 RBI. Trey Cabbage was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2015 out of high school in Tennessee. He spent that summer in the GCL. In 2016, he played at Elizabethton. That’s where he started 2017 as well before playing the final two months in Cedar Rapids. That’s where he spent all of 2018 as well. Cabbage was likely a bit disappointed to learn that he would start 2019 with the Kernels, but he handled it just as you would hope. Instead of worrying about things like results and promotions, he trusted the process. On the field, he got off to a fast start and carried it through the month. In fact, his final game of April came for the Ft. Myers Miracle. For the month, the powerful first baseman/outfielder led the Twins minor leagues in OPS, slugging percentage and home runs. Still just 21 years old for a couple more days, Cabbage should have an opportunity for playing time with the Miracle. While he has played mostly right field this year, he can play left field, first base and possibly third base. We would like to congratulate Trey Cabbage, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for April 2019. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions.

Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Monday, starting with the transactions of the day Be sure to check out Steve Buhr’s article on Kernels’ pitching coach and “Dragon” Leader Virgil Vasquez and his encouragement of strikeouts by his pitchers. TRANSACTIONS LHP Gabriel Moya’s MLB rehab was transferred from Pensacola to Rochester. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 6 Box Score The Red Wings fell behind 6-0, but they scored five in the fifth inning and then single runs in each of their final innings to take the 8-6 win. In the fifth inning, the Red Wings got a two-run double from Randy Cesar. He scored when Wilin Rosario switched places with him with a double of his own. Zander Wiel knocked in a run with a single before Tomas Telis hit a sacrifice fly. Cesar led the offense. He went 3-for-5 with his seventh and eighth doubles and four RBI. Wilin Rosario went 2-for-5 and his double was his first of the season. Wiel had the RBI single to go with two walks. John Andreoli went 1-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base. Luke Raley went 1-for-3 but was twice hit by a pitch. Justin Nicolino started for the Red Wings. The lefty gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out four. Ryan Eades worked the next three innings and gave up two run (one earned) on one hit and a walk. He struck out two. Matt Magill continued his rehab and worked two perfect innings, with four strikeouts. In his four appearances now, he has given up zero runs in five innings. He has allowed one hit, walked one and struck out eight. The Red Wings infield had four more errors in this game. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 7, Mobile Box Score Brusdar Graterol came into this game having giving up only one earned run in 17 innings this season. He threw five innings on Monday night and put a zero on the board in four of them. However, in the fourth inning, he lost a bit of control and gave up four runs. On the game, he gave up those four runs on four hits. He walked four and struck out six batters. Graterol was replaced by Sam Clay. Clay gave up two hits and a walk, but no runs, over his two innings. Ryan Mason came on and recorded his third save. He gave up two hits over two scoreless innings. He struck out three batters including the game’s final out. https://twitter.com/billvilonaPNJ/status/1120511795888832523 Brian Schales had a really nice night at the plate. He had a single, his fourth double and his first triple of the season. Schales came to the Twins in November from Miami in exchange for Nick Anderson. Luis Arraez went 2-for-4 with a walk. Caleb Hamilton was 2-for-3 with a walk and his fourth double. Tanner English was also 2-for-4 MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Bradenton 1 Box Score To say the Miracle have received pretty solid starts most games would be a bit of an understatement. On this night, Randy Dobnak made his third start of the year. He threw six shutout innings. He gave up five hits, but no walks, and struck out two batters. He now has 16 scoreless innings to start the season. But he isn’t the only Miracle starter with that same ERA. Bailey Ober has started the season with 18 innings and a 0.00 ERA. Their Opening Day starter, Bryan Sammons, will make his fourth start of the season on Tuesday. He has started with a 0.00 ERA in 15 innings. Hector Lujan came on and gave up one run on one hit and one walk over the next two innings. He struck out three. Johan Quezada recorded his first save of the season with a perfect ninth inning. He struck out one batter. The hitters provided two runs in the third and two more in the fourth inning. Royce Lewis had singles in his first two at-bats. He scored on Jose Miranda’s third double of the season. Ben Rortvedt added his fourth double of the season. Aaron Whitefield walked twice and stole his sixth base of the season, leading the organization. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids, Wisconsin Box Score The game in Wisconsin was postponed by rain. The teams will play two games on Tuesday, starting at 12:05. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Randy Dobnak, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Brian Schales, Pensacola Blue Wahoos PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 2-5, R, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - 5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K (81 pitches, 48 strikes) #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Play #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - No Game #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Out of Lineup (hamstring) #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) - Did Not Play #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, BB #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, BB, R, 2B(4) #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - Rained Out. #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 1-4, BB, K #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, 2B(3), RBI, 2K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (5:05 CST) - TBD Mobile @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - LHP Devin Smeltzer (2-0, 0.50 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) - LHP Bryan Sammons (2-0, 0.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (12:05 CST) - RHP Andrew Cabezas (0-1, 6.00 ERA), RHP Luis Rijo (0-2, 4.35 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games.

TRANSACTIONS -OF Mark Contreras tranferred from AA Pensacola to A+ Fort Myers -RHP Jacob Blank transferred from A+ Fort Myers to Rookie ball Elizabethton RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Lehigh Valley 13 Box Score Chase De Jong: 2.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 52.1% strikes (38 of 73 pitches) HR: John Andreoli (2) Multi-hit games: John Andreoli (2-for-4, R, RBI), LaMonte Wade (2-for-5, 2 R), Luke Raley (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI), Randy César (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI) Another Saturday, another day where Chase De Jong started against the IronPigs and I got to write about it. In relief of De Jong after his two innings of work, Jake Reed fired off three excellent innings with only one earned run and six strikeouts. Now it only seems like a matter of if, not when Reed shows up on the Twins sometime this season. The offense was able to put up eight runs thanks in part to a John Andreoli blast and two doubles from Randy César that buffed up his RBI totals. While the eight runs were great, it was just not quite enough to match the IronPigs offense and the Red Wings dropped the game in the end. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 5, Mobile 0 Box Score Sean Poppen: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 11 K, 64.6% strikes (51 of 79 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: Jaylin Davis (2-for-3, R), Tanner English (2-for-2, 3 R, 2 RBI), Ernie De La Trinidad (3-for-4, RBI) Pensacola yet again got another great start from their starting pitcher, this time from the owner of one of my favorite names in the Twins system, Sean Poppen. Poppen was relieved after five innings by Jovani Moran who was relieved after two innings by Cody Stashak who fired off two innings of his own, with the carnage totaling 18 total strikeouts for Blue Wahoos pitching. The Blue Wahoos scraped together five assorted runs throughout the game from a myriad of singles (both of the infield and outfield variety) in support of the excellent pitching and it was enough to beat the BayBears pretty handily. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Charlotte 7 Box Score Charlie Barnes: 1 2/3 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 0 K, 55.2% strikes (32 of 58 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: Royce Lewis (2-for-5), Lewin Diaz (2-for-4, RBI), Travis Blankenhorn (2-for-3, R, BB), Michael Helman (2-for-4) Charlie Barnes went 1 2/3 innings and surrendered seven runs with five walks against the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Tom Hackimer came in and did fine work by striking out five over 2 1/3 innings without allowing a hit or a walk. Relievers Alex Phillips and Anthony Vizcaya followed suit with a combined five innings of work that came with six punchouts and only three hits. The Miracle bullpen in total fired off 7 1/3 innings with 11 punchouts and just three hits. The two runs for the Miracle came from a fourth inning Lewin Diaz single and a ninth inning sacrifice fly from Ryan Costello. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 5 Box Score Josh Winder: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 70.1% strikes (54 of 77 pitches) HR: Chris Williams (3) Multi-hit games: Andrew Bechtold (2-for-4, R) The Kernels went for the series sweep against the Beloit Snappers but came up just a bit short and had to settle for taking two of three instead. The scoring started in the bottom of the first when Chris Williams made another deposit into his charity fund that gives home run balls to lucky fans in the outfield stands, his two-run shot was his second homer in as many days. The Snappers responded by scoring the next five runs of the game with the earned runs being split between Kernels starter Josh Winder and reliever Tyler Palm. The Kernels were able to answer back in the seventh with runs coming from a Michael Davis double and a Gabriel Maciel single but the inning ended with the Kernels trailing by a run and the game would end in the same fashion. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Sean Poppen Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Randy César PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-5, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured list #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-4, R, K #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - Season has not started #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) - 1-for-5, K #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured list #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured list #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-4, 2 K #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured list #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, K #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did not pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 2-for-5, #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - Did not play SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Mobile @ Pensacola (5:05 P.M.) - RHP Jorge Alcala (Most other leagues are off for Easter Sunday) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games.

So this spring, we will set out to identify those players who have the most to gain from posting impressive stat lines and eventually crown one of them Sire of Fort Myers. I know what some of you are thinking, “really, are we that desperate for baseball we’re going to keep an eye on a bunch of has-beens and never-beens?” Well first off, yes. It’s February and the snow piled around my house is taller than Michael Pineda, so I am that desperate for baseball. Secondly, how dare you speak ill of Sire Ryan LaMarre, he who smote the Clevelanders in the Battle of Puerto Rico. Lastly, this is like a really, really serious honor, OK? Show some respect. Last year was really the perfect time to debut this idea. Coming into spring, who could have seen LaMarre heading north with the Twins? Here’s part of what I wrote in my preview last year: “But, just to be clear, these guys' chances of breaking camp with the Twins are anywhere from remote to downright unthinkable.” He did it. Ryan LaMarre dreamed the impossible dream and made the team. That was crazy. So I’m not ruling anything out this time around. Who are the top contenders for this year’s crown? Let's go over who’s eligible first. Anyone who’s not on the 40-man roster is eligible, as well as the few players who are on the 40 man but haven’t made their MLB debut. So before anybody asks, no, Willians Astudillo (a 2018 Sire of Fort Myers honorable mention) is not eligible this year. Just a reminder, this isn't about identifying the player most likely to make the team, it's simply honoring the player who had the most impressive spring training performance. Without further ado, here’s who I think are the top 10 contenders for 2019 Sire of Fort Myers, in alphabetical order: Randy Cesar, 24, 3B/1B This guy seems interesting. Cesar hit .296/.348/.428 (.777 OPS) for Houston’s Double-A team and had a 42-game hitting streak last year. His BABIP dropped from an insane .444 through his first 64 games (which coincided with the end of that impressive streak) to just .277 over his final 52 games. So maybe his success was a complete mirage, but he’s a fun guy to bring in on a minor league deal. Cesar split time between third base and first base last year. Tim Collins, 29, LHP Remember this guy? Collins was a long-time member of the Royals’ bullpen before he had to suffer through not one but two Tommy John surgeries. He worked his way back to the big leagues for the first time since 2014, pitching to a 4.37 ERA in 22 2/3 innings with the Nationals last year. His fastball velocity was pretty much back to where it was when he was with Kansas City, averaging 92.5 mph. Chase De Jong, 25, RHP The Twins removed De Jong from the 40-man roster earlier this offseason, but he cleared waivers. Acquired in the trade that sent Zach Duke to Seattle, De Jong barely hits 90 mph but manages to induce a fair amount of weak contact. He had a 3.57 ERA in 17 2/3 innings with the Twins, 3.20 ERA in 39 1/3 innings with Rochester and a 3.80 mark in 120 2/3 innings with the Mariners’ Double-A team. Lucas Duda, 33, 1B Duda is hands down the favorite this year. He boasts a career 118 OPS+ and has hit 27 or more home runs three times in the big leagues. They’re trending in two different directions, but Duda’s resume is really even more impressive than that of projected starting first baseman C.J. Cron. The past few years have not been kind to one-dimensional players such as Duda. The fact he had to settle on a minor league deal illustrates that, but he still hit .264/.336/.477 (813 OPS) against right-handers last season. Ryan Eades, 27, RHP Eades was drafted in the second round in 2013 but his prospect shine faded fairly quickly. Last year was his second season pitching primarily out of the bullpen. Something clicked. After averaging 6.7 K/9 previously, Eades posted a 10.4 K/9 in 2018. He finished on a particularly high note, giving up just five earned runs over his final 30 1/3 innings (0.89 ERA) while holding opposing hitters to a .198/.244/.225 line, earning a promotion to Rochester in the process. Nick Gordon, 23, SS/2B Probably the most recognizable name on this list to Twins fans, Gordon’s stock dropped some after an uninspiring first showing in Triple A. In 164 games at Double A, however, Gordon hit .285/.350/.436 (.787 OPS) with 39 doubles, 11 triples and 14 home runs. He also stole 20 bases during his time in Chattanooga, had 86 RBIs and scored 102 runs. Even in a down season, Gordon posted his best OPS against left-handed pitching (.636) since his draft year. Mike Morin, 27, RHP Morin was a mainstay in the Angels’ bullpen from 2014-17, pitching to a 4.49 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 3.42 K:BB ratio over 177 appearances. He spent the majority of last season with Seattle’s Triple-A team, where he had a 3.86 ERA and 1.19 WHIP, though he also pitched in three games for the Mariners. Morin’s fastball sits 91.5 mph but he mixes in a changeup about a third of the time and relies on his slider for roughly a quarter of his pitches. I think he’ll get plenty of looks this spring, making him a strong contender for the crown. Morin was born in Andover but grew up in Kansas. Jake Reed, 26, RHP FREE REED! This guy has a 1.92 ERA in 89 career Triple-A innings. Considering some of the other guys the Twins have trotted out in their bullpen the past few years it’s pretty incredible he hasn’t had an opportunity to make his debut. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out 50 batters in 47 2/3 innings for Rochester last year. In 246 2/3 career innings in the minor leagues, Reed has surrendered just seven home runs. He’s faced 576 right-handed hitters and they’ve taken him deep just four times. That’s crazy. https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1099458324037332992 Lewis Thorpe, 23, LHP The 2018 season was a great building block for Thorpe. He reached a career high 129 2/3 innings, excelling in his first regular time in Double-A to the point where he earned a late-season promotion up to Rochester. Altogether, the Aussie lefty had a 3.54 ERA and 1.24 WHIP while averaging 10.9 K/9 against just 2.5 BB/9. That works out to an outstanding 4.36 K:BB ratio. The Twins have, understandably, been a little careful with him, but I wonder if they may loosen the reins a bit this year. LaMonte Wade, 25, OF It was nowhere near the level of Gordon’s drop off, but Wade slumped some in his first shot in Triple-A too. It was the first time he had more strikeouts than walks, which is pretty incredible in today’s age. But allow me to make the same kind of presentation we did with Gordon. In 163 career games in Double-A, Wade hit .294/.396/.418 (.815) with 14 home runs, 102 walks and just 91 strikeouts. He scored 104 times and drove in 94. He’s played all over the outfield, but seems to have settled in as a left fielder. Here are the other non-roster invitees I didn’t include in the top 10: Preston Guilmet, Ryne Harper, Justin Nicolino, Brian Navarreto, Ben Rortvedt, Wynston Sawyer, Tomas Telis, Luis Arraez, Randy Cesar, Royce Lewis, Adam Rosales, Alex Kirilloff, Luke Raley and Brent Rooker. Just a couple quick notes on those included on that list above: I’d expect Lewis and Kirilloff to be among the first cuts. It wouldn’t surprise me if Arraez turned some heads, he just missed my top 10. Harper was another guy who just missed, he had an insane 8.60 K:BB ratio down on the farm for the Twins last year (65 IP, 86 K, 10 BB). Guilmet's another guy who could've very easliy been named in the top 10. He has some ugly MLB numbers but a 2.45 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 9.9 K/9 in 265 career innings at Triple A. Rosales is 35 now, but he’s coming off of somewhat of a power outburst, as he popped 18 home runs for Cleveland’s Triple-A team last year. There will be other minor leaguers who work their way in from time to time, especially on the days where the Twins have split squad games on the schedule, but I wouldn’t anticipate them getting enough playing time to be in contention for this most prestigious honor. So what do you think? I’ve tabbed Duda as the favorite among hitters and Morin among pitchers. Will anybody give either of those guys a run for their money?