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Last week the Twins announced that they would be parting ways with the Rochester Red Wings, their long-time Triple-A affiliate. And while there’s compelling speculation that the Twins will link arms with their friends across the river, we mustn't forget about the “world’s biggest small-town” nestled four hours (three and a half if you’re going seven over) west on the prairie. Fargo.The Woodchipper. Carson Wentz. Flannel shirts and Busch Light. While these traits certainly scratch the tip of the iceberg (for better or worse), there is a wealth of untapped beauty in Fargo, North Dakota that the world has yet to uncover. One of those things is the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, the city’s independent professional baseball franchise that has graced the community with quality baseball since 1996. From years of dominance in the Northern League to recent years as a perennial staple in the American Association, the RedHawks have become a staple in the world of independent professional baseball. Their biggest rival? The St. Paul Saints, the probable favorite to step into the role of a minor league affiliate for the Minnesota Twins. And while the potential marriage of the Twin Cities’ teams seems next to perfect, there is a case to be made for knotting the RedHawks to a Major League franchise. Location, Location, Location Successful minor league baseball teams are grounded in flourishing communities. While some fans come to games to watch talented prospects (or in the American Association’s case, former ones), a majority of attendance comes from everyday folks wanting to enjoy a night at the ballpark. Fargo (and North Dakota in general) doesn’t have any major league sports teams (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL). Their ‘professional sports teams’ are NDSU football, UND hockey...and the RedHawks. In a community of 200,000 the RedHawks are planted in the perfect location to draw fans, both baseball gurus and families looking for an evening of fun. The RedHawks have developed a strong footing in the Red River Valley amongst businesses, schools, and the general public. While their marketing may not rival that of the Saints, the RedHawks anchor their image around fun as demonstrated by unique bobbleheads, letting kids run the bases, and Jimmy Buffett impersonators. Download attachment: David1.jpg A double-sided bobblehead of legendary RedHawks and Concordia College coach Bucky Burgau. Image Courtesy of David Youngs The Hawks call Newman Outdoor Field their home, nestled just off the campus of North Dakota State University. Built in 1996, the 4,513 seat ballpark features a wealth of vendors, many of which are local food and brewery options. There is a beer garden that hugs the left field line and a merchandise shop on the main concourse behind home plate. Last year an additional bar-like restaurant was added along the right field line. The Hawks weren’t the only ones to call “The Nest” their home in 2020. Due to the travel risks associated with COVID, the Winnipeg Goldeyes played their home games in Fargo. The move was a gesture of goodwill that contributed towards the RedHawks being named the 2020 American Association of the year. A Young (but Unique) History Despite their young history, the RedHawks have a myriad of storylines surrounding their franchise. The team is managed by former World Series champion Chris Coste. A catcher for the 2008 World Champion Phillies, the Concordia College alum was a star for the RedHawks on his road to the Major Leagues, documented in his autobiography The 33 Year Old Rookie.Similar to other American Association teams, the RedHawks have seen former Major League standouts come through town following their tenure in the MLB. In addition to Coste, this list includes former Twins outfielder Rich Becker, infamous Brewers standout Randall Simon, and legendary Dodgers base-swiper Maury Wills.318, 404, and 314. What do these numbers mean? No, not Pi, but the dimensions of old Yankee Stadium..and Newman Outdoor Field. Yankee great and Hall of Fame snub Roger Maris grew up in Fargo and attended Shanley High School. The original Home Run King, Maris is arguably the most notable athlete to come out of the Red River Valley. His legacy is honored by the ballpark’s dimensions and by the Roger Maris Museum at West Acres mall.Steal Homers, Not Fans There’s no doubt that having a minor league affiliate across the river from Target Field is an enticing thought. Low cost of travel, unity of fandom, and reuniting two teams that have a rich history are all extremely valuable reasons to expand the Twins family to St. Paul. However, there is one potential negative; fans having to decide whether to attend Twins games or Saints games. Of course, none of this matters until COVID is under control and fans are allowed back in ballparks. Yet the Twins expanding their web to Fargo blossoms an opportunity to expose a passionate group of fans to Twins baseball; without leaving the seats of Target Field empty. Fargo and the state of North Dakota is rich with Twins pride. Everyone and their cousin supports the Twins (except my Yankee-loving college roommate Erik Porter) in the Flickertail State and would flock Newman Outdoor Field if the RedHawks became the breeding ground of future Twins superstars. Even better, Fargo is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Minneapolis. Players would be able to make the sub-hour flight to Target Field upon being called up and the organization would certainly save money on expenses compared to Rochester. I’m not here to say that the Saints aren’t a great option; they are. However, given the blossoming community, already present fan base, and ability to stay relevant, the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks would look pretty darn good with an intertwined ‘T-C’ stamped next to their name. 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The Minnesota Twins affiliates had a busy day on the farm. Multiple clubs had doubleheaders and virtually every team was involved in a handful of roster moves. Lewis Thorpe spun a gem and Brent Rooker continued to stay hot. Read about all of the action below.TRANSACTIONS Rochester Red Wings RHP Kohl Stewart recalled by Minnesota RHP D.J. Baxendale reinstated from IL Pensacola Blue Wahoos IF Michael Davis transferred to Fort Myers LHP Jovani Moran transferred to GCL Twins on MiLB rehab LHP Bryan Sammons activated from IL RHP Alex Phillips promoted from Fort Myers Fort Myers Miracle IF Royce Lewis placed on temporary inactive list (Futures Game) RHP Ricky Ramirez reinstated from IL Cedar Rapids Kernels C Ben Rodriguez placed on 7 day IL RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Scranton/WB 2 (Game 1, 7 innings) Box Score Lewis Thorpe returned to the bump for Rochester after making his big league debut. The Aussie was dominant in six innings of work striking out eight, issuing no free passes, and giving up just two earned runs. Ryan Eades pitched a scoreless 7th, striking out two, to record his second save of the season. Brent Rooker has been on fire this season in Rochester and that didn’t change in this one. A first inning double plated Jake Cave and the Wings were on the board. He doubled again in the third to score Ronald Torreyes and double the lead. Hits from Jaylin Davis and Cave pushed Rochester’s tally to four by the sixth inning. Two runs from the home team didn’t factor into the decision. Scranton/WB 7, Rochester 6 (Game 2, 8 innings) Box Score Game two of the doubleheader saw Cody Stashak step in as Kohl Stewart was recalled by the big league club. He turned in three innings of strong work allowing just a single unearned run and fanning five. Ian Krol was blitzed for six runs (five earned) in his one inning of work eventually spelling the Wings demise. Ronald Torreyes put his stamp on this one early with a second inning RBI single. He’d put Rochester ahead again with another RBI in the seventh. Leading by a run needing just three outs Rochester allowed the Railriders to force extras. Jaylin Davis parked his seventh homer of the year and Nick Gordon drove in a run giving the away squad a two-run cushion looking to close it out. A blowup inning saw four Railrider runs score and the Red Wings found themselves on the wrong side of a walk-off. BLUE WAHOO BITES Birmingham 7, Pensacola 3 Box Score Bryan Sammons was the Wahoos starter in this one and needing 72 pitches coming up one out shy of five complete, he was chased after allowing three runs. Pensacola started the scoring in the fourth inning on Alex Kirilloff’s first homer since June 20th. His third blast of the season was followed by Mark Contreras’ fifth to give the Wahoos a 3-0 lead. From there it was all Barons. Runs in each of the next three half-innings put the home team up by a 7-3 tally, which is where this one ended. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Palm Beach 0 (Game 1, 7 innings) Box Score Another doubleheader for the Miracle began on the right foot. Blayne Enlow took the hill but lasted just one inning after being hit by a comebacker. Joe Record stepped in and twirled three innings of shutout ball while notching four strikeouts. Jose Miranda put Fort Myers ahead early after reaching on a throwing error allowing Ryan Jeffers to touch home plate. A second miscue, this time a wild pitch, gave Michael Davis the opening to score. In the fifth Trey Cabbage drove in Miranda on a single and Michael Helman pushed Cabbage across. Fort Myers 7, Palm Beach 3 (Game 2, 7 innings) Box Score Melvi Acosta was the Miracle starter in game two and he gave the home team one out into the sixth inning en route to his fifth win on the season. Allowing just two runs, he struck out five and lowered his ERA to 2.93 on the year. Fort Myers used a six-run second inning to leap out front and put it on cruise control. An Andrew Bechtold double was followed by a Trey Cabbage triple to score the first two. Michael Helman and Gabriel Maciel then plated one each with Jose Miranda driving in two on a single and a throwing error. Miranda then struck again in the sixth to afford the Miracle their seventh run. Entering into a long homestand, the doubleheader sweep was a nice foot for Fort Myers to jump out on. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Burlington 2 Box Score Josh Winder made the start for Cedar Rapids and he turned in yet another gem. The 2018 draft pick lasted seven innings and gave up just one run while striking out eight and walking none. He didn’t pick up the win but drops his ERA to 2.32 on the season. The Kernels were behind after a Bees third inning run, but Jared Akins delivered a sac fly in the fourth to knot things up. Facing a one run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning Tyler Webb notched his first double of the season to walk off Burlington. E-TWINS E-NOTES E-Twins 7, Kingsport 1 Box Score Andriu Marin began this one on the bump for the Twins and he fanned six over four scoreless innings. Denny Bentley got the win in relief allowing just one run (unearned). Elizabethton got out ahead early and stretched their lead late. Anthony Prato started the scoring with an RBI single, and Seth Gray ripped his second dinger (a two-run shot) to make it a three-run third inning. Max Smith tacked on a run with a sac fly in the sixth, and three more were added in the eighth on a double and wild pitch. GCL TWINS TAKES Today’s game against the GCL Red Sox was suspended in the bottom of the 8th inning. The Twins had just tied it up, and have runners on the corners with two outs. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Brent Rooker (Rochester) – 2-7, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – Inactive (Futures Game) #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 1-4, HR(3), R, RBI, 2 K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured List (shoulder) #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – Did Not Play #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – Did Not Play #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) –Did Not Pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) – Game Suspended #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – 2-7, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K #9 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did Not Pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) – 1.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 2-6, 2B, R, RBI, 3 BB #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 1-3, R, BB #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) - Pending #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) – 1-1, 2B, R, BB #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 0-3, R, K #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Injured (Tommy John) #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) – 1-5, 2B, RBI #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - 1-4 SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (5:35PM CST) - TBD Pensacola @ Birmingham (6:30PM CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (4-0, 2.54 ERA) Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (5:00PM CST) - LHP Tyler Watson (1-4, 4.56 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (6:35PM CST) – RHP Andrew Cabezas (2-5, 4.04 ERA) Kingsport @ Elizabethton (5:30 CST) - RHP Ryan Shreve (0-1, 3.86 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (9:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games or any other minor league topics you would like. Click here to view the article

A handful of affiliates found themselves on the wrong side of the action tonight but the Rochester Red Wings had enough offense for all of them. Brent Rooker went yard in the 16-run affair, and neither potential callup (LaMonte Wade being the other) was pulled from the game. Cedar Rapids didn’t win, but that wasn’t because of Austin Schulfer. He turned in a great start and left them in a strong position upon leaving the mound.TRANSACTIONS Rochester Red Wings RHP Carlos Torres signed by Minnesota Twins assigned to AAA Cedar Rapids LHP Petru Balan placed on temporary inactive list RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 19, Lehigh Valley 6 Box Score Another night, another high scoring affair for the Red Wings. Rochester pounced with 16 runs on 16 hits and really turned this one into a laugher late. Recently signed Drew Hutchison got the start and he went five and two-thirds innings giving up five earned on six hits. That was good enough to leave in position for the win however. Seven of the nine Rochester batters recorded base hits in this one, and eight of them reached base. Six batters had multi-hit nights and most of the damage was done without leaving the yard. Brent Rooker and Zander Wiel both clubbed their 12th dingers of the season while Drew Maggi went yard for his seventh. In the 9th Jordanny Valdespin added his sixth, a three-run shot, for good measure. Jaylin Davis continues to be a man possessed at Triple-A, and a three-hit night has his OPS sitting at 1.124 through his first nine games. This was one of those evenings where everyone contributes and it felt like no one was capable of making an out. Too bad for the Piggies but great fun for Rochester. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Biloxi 7, Pensacola 4 Box Score Adalberto Mejia continued to work his rehab assignment and turned in two scoreless in this one. Randy Dobnak put in five innings for the Wahoos and gave up four runs on eight hits. Although the hit totals were nearly even Pensacola came up three runs short in this contest. Aaron Whitefield drove in the game’s first run in the second inning. Pensacola held the 1-0 lead until things were knotted up in the fifth. Then a three-run sixth inning had the home team looking for a rally. Caleb Hamilton drove in Alex Kirilloff to drop the deficit to two, and an eighth inning Mark Contreras double evened the score. It was a ninth inning offensive output that eventually spelt demise for Pensacola. A base hit and a double put the Shuckers ahead by three and no answer came in the bottom half. MIRACLE MATTERS Charlotte 3, Fort Myers 2 Box Score Two of the best teams in the Florida State League played a low scoring affair this morning in Charlotte. Edwar Colina got the start for the Miracle and came up just one out shy of making it through six innings. He gave up two runs, neither earned, and fanned five while walking three. Immediately after trailing for the first time in the game Fort Myers responded with two runs to knot it up. A Jose Miranda double and then a Michael Helman sac fly were what pushes base runners across the plate. The Stone Crabs were able to score the game winning run in the seventh and that spelled defeat for Fort Myers. Recently promoted Wander Franco had himself a nice game going 3-for-4 and driving in the early runs for the home team. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 4, Cedar Rapids 0 Box Score Austin Schulfer toed the rubber looking to secure a series victory in this one. Despite going six strong innings with six strikeouts and allowing just two runs (one earned), the bats never came alive and the Kernels fell 4-0. Gilberto Celestino was the only Cedar Rapids player to tally multiple hits, and teammates Jacob Pearson and Estamy Urena were the only other players to up their average. Tomorrow these two teams will square off for the rubber match. E-TWINS E-NOTES Bristol 11, Elizabethton 6 Box Score Ryley Widell began the game on the mound for the E-Twins but a tough outing had him chased before he was able to record three outs. Leaving the first down 4-0, and then heading into the third with a seven run deficit, Elizabethton found themselves behind the eight ball all night. In the middle innings the home team struck. Spencer Steer recorded his first professional double to drive in Willie Joe Garry during the third inning. In the fourth it was Alex Isola and Steer again plating another three runners. An Albee Weiss fifth inning jack job brought the deficit to just two, but that’s where the runs ended. Steer is certainly off to a great start in his professional career and the 4-for-5 evening should fuel him for the next few contests. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Orioles 5, GCL Twins 0 Box Score Anthony Escobar made the start and worked three scoreless while striking out four and allowing just one hit. Tallying just four hits on the day however, a goose egg ended up being the final tally for the home team. 2019 first round draft pick Keoni Cavaco notched his second professional knock and is now 2-for-11 in his young career. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Austin Schulfer (Cedar Rapids) 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Spencer Steer (Elizabethton) 4-5, 3 RBI, 2 2B PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Fort Myers) - 0-5, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 1-3, 2 R, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured list #4 - Trevor Larnach (Fort Myers) – 1-1 #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 0-2, BB #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – 1-4, HR(12), 3 R, RBI, 2 BB, 2 K #7 - Jhoan Duran (Fort Myers) – Did not pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Fort Myers) - Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Fort Myers) - Injured list (Tommy John surgery) #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – Did not play #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured list #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Fort Myers) – Did not play #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 1-3, BB #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured list #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 2-3 #17 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) - Did not pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade Jr. (Rochester) – 0-4, R, RBI, BB, K #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Fort Myers) – 2-5, R, RBI, 2B THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05PM CST) – LHP Devin Smeltzer (0-2, 2.70 ERA) Biloxi @ Pensacola (6:35PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (0-1, 4.18 ERA) Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - TBD Bristol @ Elizabethton (5:30PM CST) – RHP Tyler Benninghoff (0-0, 13.50 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! 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Both Blayne Enlow and Charlie Barnes made debuts at new levels tonight for the Twins, while top prospect Trevor Larnach had himself an impressive night and capped it off with a dinger. Plenty of action took place on the farm, check it out below.TRANSACTIONS Rochester Red Wings C Wynston Sawyer reinstated from the injured list RED WINGS REPORT Scranton 3, Rochester 1 (Game 1) Box Score Scheduled for a doubleheader, these two squads got in just one full game before the second was interrupted by weather. Randy Dobank made the start in the seven-inning affair and he came up one out shy of four full innings. Allowing three earned runs on three hits, it was the five walks that spelled disaster in this one. The lone Red Wings run came off a Nick Gordon solo shot to start the game. It was his first blast of the season and got the away team on the board. Despite the command issues, it wasn’t until the fourth inning that Scranton answered. A bases clearing single from Ryan Lavarnway gave the home team a 3-1 lead and that was enough to make the difference. These two teams will look for better weather tomorrow. BLUE WAHOO BITES Mississippi 6, Pensacola 3 Box Score Charlie Barnes made his Double-A debut in this one, and it was nothing short of exceptional. Working five innings, he fanned seven while allowing no free passes and giving up just four hits. The offensive support wasn’t there, but he certainly kept the home team in the contest. A solo dinger put the Wahoos behind in the sixth and a five run eighth inning put the game out of reach. With just single digit hits on the night, it was never going to be enough and Barnes watched as his debut gem was spoiled late. Pensacola battled, adding three in the bottom of the ninth inning on Mark Contreras’ first homer for the Wahoos, but the three-run deficit ended up being insurmountable. Splitting the first two in this five game set, there’s still plenty of time for the good guys to come out on top. Mitch Garver played in his first rehab game during this contest going 0-2 with a strikeout. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Florida 1 Box Score Twins pitching prospect Blayne Enlow was making his High-A debut in this one, and things started out slow offensively. The former LSU commit went six innings allowing just one earned run on four hits and a walk while fanning five. In summary, he put up a dominant debut. Enlow earned the win thanks to a Ryan Jeffers RBI double in the first, and a Trevor Larnach sac fly in the fifth. Leading 2-0, the Miracle generated a three spot in the seventh and added two more, complete with Larnach’s fourth homer, for good measure in the ninth. Each of the top five batters in the Miracle lineup earned base hits tonight, and three of them recorded multi-hit games. Getting more from some of the higher profile prospects on the farm is a must, and the Miracle crew answered the call this evening. KERNELS NUGGETS Burlington 9, Cedar Rapids 4 Box Score Initially scheduled to square off for two contests today, only one would complete all of the action. Andrew Cabezas got the start in game one, and after being touched up for six runs recording just one out, he was lifted from action. Jacob Pearson drew a bases-loaded walk, and Andrew Becthold followed in his footsteps. Those two batters gave the Kernels a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom half of the first, but it’d be the last time they sniffed victory for the rest of the day. A seven-run first for Burlington gave them the lead for good, and despite Cedar Rapids plating two runs in the third, the Bees answered with two of their own in the fifth. This one was never close and the two squads will look to finish up suspended action tomorrow. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB 5 K TD Hitter of the Day- Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 3-4, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2B, HR(4) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 1-4. R. K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 0-3, BB, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Injured List #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 3-4, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2B, HR(4) #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 1-2, R, 2 BB, K #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Injured List #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did Not Pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – Did Not Pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB 5 K #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – Injured List #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 1-4, R, RBI, HR(1), K #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) – Injured List #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 2-4, RBI, BB, K, 2 2B #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 1—3, K #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, R, BB #17 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) – No Game #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 0-1, 2 BB, 1 K #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did Not Pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, RBI, BB, K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/WB (5:35PM CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (2-0, 2.45 ERA) Pensacola vs. Mississippi (6:35 CST) – TBD Fort Myers @ Florida (11:00AM CST) – LHP Tyler Watson (1-4, 4.43 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (6:30PM CST) – LHP Kody Funderburk (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday’s games. Click here to view the article

This is an excerpt of a story which originates at Zone Coverage here. Please click through to read it in full. The Minnesota Twins have placed right-handed starting pitcher Michael Pineda on the disabled list with right knee tendinitis, and are purchasing the contract of 23-year-old lefty Devin Smelzter to take his place on the roster. Smeltzer will make his debut in a start against Milwaukee on Tuesday night at Target Field. The Player: Left-handed pitcher Devin Smeltzer The Situation: Smeltzer will start for the Twins on Tuesday against the Brewers, and may head right back to Rochester with the Twins activating Nelson Cruz on Thursday when they’re in St. Petersburg to play the Tampa Bay Rays. Then, when Mitch Garver is ready to return, the Twins will likely choose between Luis Arraez and Willians Astudillo — most likely Arraez. The Numbers: 1.82 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.90 WHIP in 24.2 innings at Pensacola (Double-A); 0.60 ERA, 9.9 K/9, 0.9 BB/9, 0.73 WHIP in 30 innings at Rochester (Triple-A). For the season, Smeltzer has absolutely nuked left-handed hitters (.182/.224/.218) and righties haven’t had much success either (.206/.248/.305). Another fun split is how he’s faced against hitters younger than him (.143/.182/.143 in 44 PA) and older (.214/.258/.318 in 164 PA) and he’s not distinctly a fly ball or groundball pitcher. His groundball rate — remember that 45 percent is about average — is 41.3 percent this year in Rochester, was 41.4 percent at Pensacola and has never been higher than that outside of his stint at Low-A in 2017 (47.7 percent). The Oddity: Smeltzer, a bladder cancer survivor — rhabdomyosarcoma, say that five times fast — is one of few remaining players who not only wear high socks, but stirrups as well. The Lowdown: I watched him in his best and worst starts of the year — and it’s worth noting that both came against the Durham Bulls in the span of less than a week, and in that order. A lot of people wonder about how hitters will react to seeing a pitcher in consecutive starts — a chicken/egg debate over who it favors — but in this case, the Bulls got the better of the lefty the second time out. Physically, Smeltzer is slender and very tall. He’s not Nick Gordon thin, but there’s almost no extra weight on his frame in the upper half. He has big, strong pitcher legs adorned by the aforementioned stirrup socks.

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

The Minnesota Twins have had a strange season in 2018. Unfortunately, that doesn’t compare to the nightmare season their center fielder, Byron Buxton, has gone through so far. A myriad of injuries and struggles at the plate have made the Twins front office of CBO Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine decide to not have Byron Buxton be a part of their September call-ups so his season will end tomorrow when the AAA Rochester Red Wings season ends. The GM gave us three reasons why they made this decision: A wrist injury that is “still lingering” On-field performance that goes beyond his raw statistics in the minors A lack of playing time for him in the majors. You can probably add a 4th reason, which is that Byron Buxton is only 13 days away from accruing his 3rd year of Major League service. This means the Twins would gain another year of service and Buxton wouldn’t hit Free Agency until the year 2022. Everyone is up in arms about this because Buxton is supposed to be the Twins center fielder for the next 5-10 years and the reasoning behind it is somewhat questionable. If Byron’s wrist injury is still lingering, why is he playing at AAA and if he’s playing with it at AAA, why couldn’t he play with it with the Twins, too? His on-field performance might have been affected by the injuries he's had through the season. A lack of playing time? So, they’d rather give at-bats to Jake Cave, Robbie Grossman (Jake & the Gross Man?) & Johnny Field? Jake Cave is understandable because I’m sure they’d like to see if he can be a part of their future although Eddie Rosario & Max Kepler are already in the outfield and it’s hard to believe they want to replace either of them. Robbie Grossman & Johnny Field, on the other hand, are two players that you would assume Buxton should easily get at-bats over. Byron Buxton needs at-bats at the major league level to get better with the bat and, hopefully, reach the high potential that has been put on him. It looks like he’s figured out AAA: Byron Buxton Career at AAA(Over 4 Seasons) G/PA/AB/R/H/2B/3B/HR/RBI/SB/CS/BB/SO/(AVG/OBP/SLG) 100 429 393 77 122 25 5 18 49 13 2 28 115.310/.364/.537 2018 G/PA/AB/R/H/2B/3B/HR/RBI/SB/CS/BB/SO/(AVG/OBP/SLG) 35 148 136 22 37 11 1 4 14 4 1 9 42 .272/.331/.456 Those are pretty good stats over his career and this season’s aren’t terrible except for the strikeouts. The strikeouts stick out especially for a guy who can steal 2nd with relative ease if he can reach first base. Now, with only 100 games played in AAA over 4 seasons and 49 games being the high mark for most AAA games played in one season, it is kind of difficult to say he’s mastered that level but he also has a very good stretch of production in the majors on his resume from the 2nd half of 2017. All of this being said, maybe we should evaluate this decision like we should evaluate trades, give it some time and see if it’s the right call or not in a few years. We’ve focused on the fans perspective of the front office making a mistake with this decision. Let’s look at it from their point of view, now. Last week, Derek Falvey said the Twins will be "taking the long-term view about our players...Any player we bring up, we're thinking about what's the benefit to the September experience -- whether it's hitting, pitching, defense or an opportunity that's here in terms of at-bats and playing time. … Our focus should exclusively be what we think is the best for Byron long term, and that's where it's going to be." Byron Buxton has had a nightmare season. Look at everything he’s gone through so far this season: Hit .195/.233/.244 (AVG/OBP/SLG) in the season’s first 12 games April 13th - Came down with migraine headaches when the team went to Puerto Rico April 22nd - Sent on a 1-game rehab assignment with the Fort Myers Miracle, fouls a ball off his big toe, breaking it May 10th - Missed 20 games - Activated from the Disabled List (DL) but played through the pain of his broken toe - hits .122/.140/.163 in 17 games (17 strikeouts) May 30th - Placed back on the DL to let the broken big toe heal June 19th - Sent to AAA on a rehab assignment July 2nd - Activated off DL/Optioned to AAA July 12th - Injures wrist on a check swing - Left wrist strainHit .224/.298/.355 in 20 games at AAA [*]July 14th - Placed on AAA DL retroactive to July 13th [*]July 27th - Activated off DL [*]August 1st - Placed back on DL after left wrist soreness comes back [*]Hit .143/.250/.571 in 3 games at AAA (8 PAs 2 Rs 1 H 1 HR 1 RBI 1 BB 5 K) [*]Has hit .385/.400/.596 in the 12 games since (19-for-52-12 Rs 19 Hs 7 2Bs 1 3B 1 HR 7 RBI 1 BB & 13 K) [*]August 14th - Activated off DL WOW! Now, look at all of that and put yourself in the shoes of the person in charge. Do you shut him down and end Byron’s season so nothing else happens to him this season? Do you think, “If we shut him down now, we get another season from him in 2022 and we can consider 2018 almost a throwaway/redshirt type of season?” It’s easy for fans and bloggers to look at the stats since Byron was activated on August 14th and say it looks like he’s finally turning things around with the bat but we’re just looking at the stats. We’re not seeing those at-bats. The front office is getting reports from the AAA Coaching Staff on how those at-bats are going? Is Byron taking good at-bats? Are they worried about how he’s dealing with everything that’s happened this season? Is he trying too hard to be productive? We’ll leave you with this. This decision wasn’t made on a whim. The front office knows what kind of talent Byron Buxton possesses both defensively and offensively. In the end, they think this is what’s best for Byron Buxton. Yes, that might also help the big club because they get another year of control out of it but, if Byron Buxton turns his career around in the next 1-3 seasons, is that extra year of control going to matter? Or, will the front office give him an extension and buy out those free agent years? THANKS for reading Our ‘Takes!!! We’d love to hear Your Takes on social media and/or in the comments. That’s why we say…. Our 'Takes, Your 'Takes, TwinsTakes.com!!!

With the first half of the season quickly coming to a close for some of the Twins minor league affiliates, taking a couple extra victories before the second half remains the goal. In day matinee, Jose Miranda stole the show in a losing effort for the Kernels, while starting pitching was the focus for Rochester, Chattanooga, and Fort Myers. The Lookouts broke out the bats, and runs were put up in bunches. Read about the action below.TRANSACTIONS Fort Myers Miracle OF Jimmy Kerrigan promoted to Chattanooga RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 3 Box Score Dietrich Enns was on the bump for this one, and he turned in a strong start coming up just short of seven full innings. He left the game with a one run lead, and despite being outhit 11 to 5, the Red Wings had the upper hand in the only category that matters. Rochester would get the scoring started in the top of the 2nd inning. Wynston Sawyer would double in Chris Carter, and he'd then come around to score on an errant pickoff throw. The only damage done against Enns would be in the form of a Billy McKinney solo shot in the 4th. From there, the two teams would remain quiet on the scoreboad until the 8th inning. With Alan Busenitz on the mound, Scranton would push across the tying run on a Brandon Drury single. Willians Astudillo made sure that the Red Wings would answer however, as he blasted a two run shot in the top half of the 9th inning. Trevor May was given the 9th inning and locked down his second save of the year for Rochester. One run would come across, though it was of the unearned variety. May would allows two hits and a walk through his one inning of work. A rehabbing Joe Mauer played all nine innings in the field tonight, going 0-4 with a strikeout at the dish. He's tentatively expected to rejoin the Twins on Friday. With the win, the Red Wings were able to able to put an end to the 10 game losing streak they were on. They'll head to Buffalo for a four game set beginning tomorrow night. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 14, Montgomery 4 Box Score With Lewis Thorpe on the mound, and giving the Lookouts six very strong innings tonight, Chattanooga did something the parent club could not. Throughout the lineup, this team hit and put runs up in bunches over the course of the game. Thorpe's nine strikeouts and only one walk helped to punctuate a start that was only blemished by some slight trouble in the 7th. Right away in the first, Chattanooga jumped out to a lead. First Edgar Corcino drove in Sean Miller, and then Andy Wilkins would ground a single to right driving in Chris Paul. Taking an inning off, more runs were added in the top of the third inning. Paul would drive in Miller on a single of his own, and then Wilkins would notch his first homer of the season on a three run blast. Up 6-0 already in the 4th inning, Brent Rooker would get in on the action. A liner would drive in a run, and Paul would continue his nice night at the dish. Tallying his 17th double on the season, Paul would drive in both Rooker and Corcino, putting the good guys up 9-0. Wilkins would then rip his second homer of the night (and season) to center, and Jimmy Kerrigan would go back-to-back grabbing his first longball in his first Double-A game. By the 8th, Birmingham had scratched away a bit, and pushed four runs of their own across. Adding a bid of insurance, Corcino would score Ryan Walker on a ground out, and Paul would drive in Miller on a sac fly. Up 14-4 by the 9th, Ryan Eades would come on to grab the final three outs. It was a great way for the Lookouts to start their final series of the first half. They'll match up with the Barons again tomorrow evening. With just four games left in the 1st half, Chattanooga will be looking to pile on wins and overtake Jackson (1.0 GB) in the Southern League's North Division. MIRACLE MATTERS Palm Beach 7, Fort Myers 6 Box Score The recently reinstated Griffin Jax was on the bump for the Miracle in this one, and he turned in a very nice outing. Going six innings, he allowed just three runs (two earned), on six hits. Jax tallied five strikeouts and walked just two. Leaving the game before the Miracle scoring started, he found himself at the mercy of his offense. As noted, the Miracle got off to a slow start in the run column for this one. They found themselves down 3-0 through six innings and needed to get something going. From there though, runs would come in three straight frames. Joe Cronin got the party going with a two run homer (his 5th of the year) in the 7th. Caleb Hamilton would then join in with a two run homer of his own, and his first of the season. After seven innings, the Miracle had erased the three run deficit, and found themselves clinging to a one run lead. In the 8th, Ryan Mason found himself in trouble, and Palm Beach would push across four runs of their own. Fort Myers was tasked with answering in the 9th, and nearly did enough to grab the W. Travis Blankenhorn drove in Brandon Lopez on a sacrifice fly, and a Jaylin Davis brought in Luis Arraez cutting the lead to one. Unfortunately that's where the rally would end, and they'd come up one run short. Fort Myers outhit Palm Beach 12 to 11, but they combined to go 3-13 with runners in scoring position, as well as leaving eight runners on base. The Miracle will look to take the series and end the first half with a win tomorrow. KERNELS NUGGETS Kane County 6, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score Brusdar Graterol was on the bump for this one, and was looking to follow up his great performance from his last time out. While it wasn’t a blow up, the Kernels hurler surrendered three earned runs on five hits across four innings pitched. Despite coming out of the game with Cedar Rapids trailing just by two, the bats couldn’t turn hits into runs on the day. Right away in the first inning, the Kernels jumped out on top. Royce Lewis ripped his 14th double of the year, and Jose Miranda drove him in on an RBI single. That lead would hold until Graterol allowed a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning. The Cougars would then add another in the 4th, and Cedar Rapids found themselves trailing 3-1 in the top half of the 5th. With the bases loaded, Andrew Bechtold would draw a walk and an RBI to bring Cedar Rapids back within one. Despite outhitting Kane County by a tally of 12 to 9, the two runs were all Toby Gardenhire’s squad could push across on the day. The Cougars would answer with a run of their own in the 5th, as well as two more in the 6th. That 6-2 total would hold through the last three innings, and push the two teams to a series split with a rubber match still to come. Miranda had a fine day at the plate going 3-4 with the RBI and a double of his own. Both Bechtold and Jean Carlos Arias would also record multi hit games, picking up two each. Seven of the Kernels nine hitters would tally a base hit, and all but one were able to reach base on the day. Jovani Moran did a great job in relief working three innings of no-hit, no-run ball. He struck out six and walked just two. The two clubs will meet tomorrow night to decide the series. Cedar Rapids will then head home for a three game set with Peoria to put a bow on the first half of the season. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Lewis Thorpe 6.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Andy Wilkins 3-4, 2 R, 6 RBI, 2 HR(1,2) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY 1. Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) – 1-5, R, 2B 3. Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 0-4, K 7. Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 1-5, R, RBI 9. Brusdar Graterol (Cedar Rapids) – 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K 10. Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 0-4, BB, K 12. Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) – 6.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K 13. Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 0-5, K 14. LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 0-4 17. Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 1-3, RBI THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (6:05PM CST) – LHP Adalberto Mejia (1-2, 3.86 ERA) Chattanooga @ Birmingham (7:05PM CST) – TBD Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (1-4, 4.14 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30PM CST) – RHP Bailey Ober (2-1, 6.21 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Click here to view the article

Half of the Minnesota Twins affiliates are in action this morning, with the Cedar Rapids Kernels playing a second straight doubleheader. On top of the big league action, and the final day of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft, it's a busy day across the organization. Check back throughout the day as the action unfolds throughout the systemTRANSACTIONS AND NEWS Rochester Red Wings Add RHP Zack Littell Release INF Jermaine Curtis Fort Myers Miracle Taylor Grzelakowski was named to the Florida State League All Star Game today. Cedar Rapids Kernels Activated C David Banuelos off DL Activated RHP Brusdar Graterol off DL Placed C Ben Rodriguez on DL Brusdar Graterol, Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, and Jared Finkel were named to the Midwest League All Star Game RED WINGS REPORT Indianapolis 7, Rochester 2 Box Score In just a three game set with Indianapolis, the Red Wings were looking to take tonight's game in order to knot up the series. Giving up seven runs on 12 hits and mustering just four of their own, the effort fell short. Aaron Slegers was on the bump, and he was staked to a 1-0 lead after Rochester's first at-bat. Jake Cave was able to drive a ball deep enough, allowing Zack Granite to score from third. The sac fly was Cave's 25th RBI on the year. After allowing the Indians to draw even, Chris Carter put the home team back on top with his 4th HR of the season. Leading 2-1 through the 5th inning, that's where things went downhill for Rochester. Slegers would be removed from the game shortly after allowing a third run to score on a solo shot. In the 6th, another would follow, and runs were posted in both the 8th and 9th innings as well. A final of 7-2 dropped Rochester in a 2-0 series hole, with an ability to get one back during tomorrow's day game. Cameron Rupp made his Twins organization debut in this one. He batted seventh and went 0-2 with two strikeouts and two walks. He has a July 15th opt out that can be exercised should he not be placed on the big league roster by that point. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Mobile 15, Chattanooga 4 Box Score Coming off an 11-6 loss yesterday, the Lookouts were trying to exact some revenge against Mobile today. Despite getting out to a 1-0 lead early in the first inning, it wouldn’t hold up and the BayBears piled on. After a LaMonte Wade walk to start off the home half of the first, Brent Rooker drove in the game’s first run on his 13th double. Starter Anthony Marzi was given a lead, but the third inning would spell danger for the Chattanooga hurler. Mobile answered the Lookouts run with eight of their own, and the deficit only grew from there. Not rolling over, the Chattanooga offense responded with two runs in the bottom half of the third inning. A Zander Wiel single drove in LaMonte Wade and put Brent Rooker at third base. Edgar Corcino then scored Rooker on a sac fly during the very next at-bat. Rooker, the lone Lookout hitter to have a strong day at the dish, hit his eighth home run of the season in the fifth inning. Unfortunately for Chattanooga, that tally was their last of the game. With Mobile scoring four in the fifth, three in the sixth, and two more in the ninth, the final rested at 17-4. Both Alex Perez and Tanner English worked as position players on in relief to round out the eighth and ninth innings in this one. Having taken the middle three games of the series, Mobile will win the five game set. Chattanooga can look to salvage an extra game as they square off one last time tomorrow evening. MIRACLE MATTERS Palm Beach 9, Fort Myers 5 (10 innings) Box Score This game saw 14 runners cross the plate, and there was a total of 22 hits recorded. Unfortunately for the Miracle, the majority in both categories were recorded by Palm Beach. Having dropped the first two in the series, an offensive outburst was the result this club was looking for. Early on, things were going well for Fort Myers. Putting up a crooked number in the second inning, Luis Arraez doubled and Mitchell Kranson singled to score three runners. The lead wouldn't hold up however, as all three were given back in the top half of the 4th. Palm Beach then took their first lead in the 5th, to the tune of a 4-3 tally. A Shane Carrier single for the Miracle knotted things up in the bottom half, and the roller coaster affair would continue. Fort Myers then jumped back out on top in the bottom of the sixth, this time with Arraez delivering again, on a sac fly. As had been the case throughout the entirety of the game, the lead would be short lived. A Palm Beach home run off of Ryan Mason would send the Miracle to bat in the seventh tied at five. Neither team could push anything across in the 8th or 9th, and this one would head to extras. The final blow on the evening came against Miracle All-Star Andrew Vasquez. With the bases loaded, Palm Beach's Dylan Carlson lifted a grand slam to right field. Down 9-5, Fort Myers wasn't able to pull even again and they fell to 0-3 in the series. Looking to salvage a game, they'll have one last opportunity tomorrow night. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1: Beloit 4, Cedar Rapids 3 (8 innings) Box Score Brusdar Graterol returned from the disabled list (hand contusion) to start this one for Cedar Rapids. He was on cruise control most of the game, and allowing just two runs over six strong innings, his final line was another good one. Beloit got the scoring started in the top half of the fifth inning, tallying one against Graterol. Andrew Bechtold scored on a David Banuelos single in the bottom half, to knot the game up. Unfortunately the lead was short lived with the Snappers striking again in the top of the 6th. Down to their last raps in the bottom of the seventh inning, Bechtold led off with his second double of the game. After two quick outs, Jordan Gore found himself at the dish with the game on the line. The Kernels were down to their final strike when Gore ground a single through the infield to right, scoring Bechtold and forcing extras. In the extra frame, Calvin Faucher came on for Toby Gardenhire, and was tasked with holding the automatic runner at second. After a Beloit sac bunt, the runner came in to score on a wild pitch. The Snappers added an insurance tally before their half of the inning was over, and Cedar Rapids faced a 4-2 deficit. Royce Lewis was tabbed the automatic runner for the Kernels in the bottom of the 8th, and he scored on a Robby Rinn two-out single. Needing to push one more across, the rally fell short as Jacob Pearson was caught stealing with Bechtold at the plate. A split of their second straight doubleheader would again be the goal in game two. Game 2: Beloit 3, Cedar Rapids 0 (7 innings) Box Score Tanner Kiest was making his second start in the Twins organization, and this one would be of the abbreviated sort. Despite allowing just two runs in the first frame, he needed 36 pitches to get through the inning. With the new organizational rule limiting minor leaguers at 35 pitches, he was then removed from the game. Randy Dobnak came on in relief, and he gave the Kernels everything they could ask for. Throwing six innings of one-run baseball, the three-run deficit was a score that allowed the offense opportunity to rally. The bats went cold after the seven-hit performance in the first game, and two base knocks were all the squad could muster. Having played four games in two days, the Kernels (and Snappers) will welcome a one game affair to close out the series tomorrow night. With the Kernels trailing three games to one in this set, they'll look to draw closer to even as the end the three day homestand. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Brent Rooker 2-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR(8), 2 BB Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Brusdar Graterol 7.0 IP 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY 1. Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) – 0-4, R 3. Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 1-4 5. Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – (2 Games) 1-5, 2 BB, K 7. Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 2-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR(8), 2 BB 9. Brusdar Graterol (Cedar Rapids) – 7.0 IP 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K 10. Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – (2 Games) 1-5, 2 BB, 3 K 13. Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 0-5, 2 K 14. LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) – 0-3, 2 R, 2 BB 15. Mitch Garver (Minnesota) – 2-4, 2B 16. Ben Rortvedt (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, K 17. Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 0-4, BB, K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ Rochester (11:35AM CST) – LHP Dietrich Enns (4-5, 4.81 ERA) Mobile @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) – TBD Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) – RHP Griffin Jax (0-0, 5.79 ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – RHP Bailey Ober (1-1, 7.86 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Click here to view the article

Today was filled with early action on the farm for the Minnesota Twins affiliates. Each of the four minor league teams played afternoon matinee games, and there was plenty of action. With Omar Bencomo replacing Aaron Slegers at Triple-A, and Jose Miranda putting on a show for the Kernels, highlights were long and across the board.TRANSACTIONS Minnesota Twins- Add RHP Aaron Slegers from Triple A Rochester Rochester Red Wings- Add RHP Omar Bencomo from Double A Chattanooga RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Durham 2 Box Score For the Red Wings, Aaron Slegers was initially slated to start today’s matinee. With the Minnesota Twins having exhausted their bullpen in an extra-innings affair last night, he was needed to provide length in relief. In his place, Omar Bencomo came up from Double A Chattanooga. Bencomo last pitched for Rochester back in 2016. After spending 2017 in the Marlins organization, today represented his 2018 debut with the Twins Triple A affiliate. Suggesting that the outing went well would be an understatement. He shoved for 6 innings allowing just one hit and striking out four while walking none. By the time Rochester’s starter left, they were in command of the game. Facing former Minnesota prospect Chih-Wei Hu, Kennys Vargas homered in the top of the second inning. It was his seventh of the year and second in as many days. The Red Wings would then pile on against Hu in the fourth. Jake Cave drove in Nick Gordon (who picked up his first Triple A triple) on a single, while Chris Carter cleared the bases with a two-run shot. Nick Buss then tripled in Wynston Sawyer to put the away club up 5-0. Alan Busenitz came in to work two scoreless innings, which has become the expectation when he’s on the bump for Rochester. The reliever now owns a 0.54 ERA and a 24/5 K/BB ratio across 16 2/3 innings at Triple-A in 2018. Working the ninth inning, John Curtiss would get himself into a bit of a jam after allowing a walk and hit to give Durham runners on second and third with two outs. A throwing error by Nick Gordon on what would have been the final out allowed both Bulls runners to score. Curtiss would pick up his teammate and record the final out on the next batter however. Tomorrow night, Rochester goes for the three game series sweep. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Birmingham 7, Chattanooga 1 Box Score Kohl Stewart took the mound today for the Lookouts and was attempting to right the ship. After posting strong starts in five of his first six outings, he’d given up six runs in twoed of his last three. Unfortunately for both Stewart and the Lookouts, this one follow the latter pattern. From the second through fourth innings, the Barons hopped all over the Chattanooga starter. Yielding seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits and three walks, Kohl was able to fan just four. Headed into the top of the fifth inning against top 100 prospect Dane Dunning, Chattanooga was staring at a seven run deficit. Recently activated LaMonte Wade helped to push across the lone Lookouts run of the day. On an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning, Ryan Walker came around to score. With just five hits to their credit across the nine frames, Chattanooga wouldn’t be able to do enough to force a comeback. Sam Clay and Paco Rodriguez worked two innings each in relief of Stewart. Both held the Barons scoreless and they struck out three and two batters respectively. With the series knotted at one game apiece, Chattanooga will look to take back the advantage tomorrow evening. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Clearwater 3 Box Score Hometown kid Brady Anderson was on the bump for the Miracle again today, and while he’s had an up and down season for the Miracle, this outing was good enough to keep them in it. Working 5 1/3 innings, Anderson scattered seven hits, allowed three runs, while both walking and striking out four batters. For his efforts, Anderson recorded his first win of 2018. Given a lead in the second inning, a Travis Blankenhorn double pushed across Jaylin Davis for the game’s first run. A wild pitch from Anderson in the third would knot the game at one, but that would be the last time Clearwater would draw even. Jimmy Kerrigan launched his sixth home run of the season in the top half of the sixth inning, and Taylor Grzelakowski doubled to drive in both Davis and Blankenhorn. Although a 4-3 lead may have held up, insurance was added in the ninth. Mark Contreras singled in Blankenhorn and Kerrigan then drove him in with a sharp single of his own. 6-3 into the final half inning was enough to grab the victory. Both Davis and Blankenhorn fueled the offense today for the Miracle, tallying three hits apiece. Blankenhorn busted out of a three game hitless streak in a nice way, while Davis continues to trend towards the .300 mark on the year. Wrapping up the three-game set with Clearwater tomorrow night, the Miracle find themselves positioned for a sweep. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 15, Wisconsin 4 Box Score Early and often was the mantra today for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. With Blayne Enlow on the bump, the home team knew a little run support should get them the victory. Luckily for manager Toby Gardenhire, the run support came in bunches and was highlighted by a massive finish. The Kernels jumped out to a quick lead with Royce Lewis driving in Akil Baddoo on an RBI single; he would then come around to score on a Jose Miranda double. In the second inning, already one time through the order, Lewis doubled in Baddoo and score on an Alex Kirilloff two-bagger. It was in the third inning that Enlow finally ran into some trouble. Giving back the lead, Cedar Rapids found themselves tied at four heading to the bottom half of the third frame. Ben Rortvedt quickly gave the home team some separation with an RBI double in the bottom half however. In the fourth, Miranda then tacked on another run, pushing the lead to 6-4, on his second RBI double of the game. Up by two runs heading into their final hacks, the Kernels decided to turn on the afterburners. In the bottom of the eighth, Miranda started things off with a grand slam, his fourth home run of the year. From there, Jacob Pearson launched his first career homer, and Robby Rinn followed with his first in the Twins organization. Not ready to be done, Jordan Gore doubled in Ben Rortvedt, and Akil Baddoo’s third long ball of the season put a stamp on things. When the dust settled, Cedar Rapids was able to head to the ninth holding a 15-4 lead. Jose Martinez came on for the final frame, and the 11 run lead would stay intact. The Kernels have now hung 21 runs on Wisconsin in the past two games to cement a series victory. They can go for the three game sweep tomorrow night. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Omar Bencomo, 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Jose Miranda 3-5, R, 6 RBI, 2 2B, GS HR(4) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY 1. Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) – 2-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2B 2. Fernando Romero (Minnesota) – 3. Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 1-4, R, 3B, 2 K 5. Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – 1-4, R, RBI, BB, 2B, 2 K 7. Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 0-4, 2 K 8. Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K 10. Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, 4 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, HR(3), 2 K 14. LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) – 1-4, RBI, K 15. Mitch Garver (Minnesota) – 16. Ben Rortvedt (Cedar Rapids) – 3-4, R, RBI, 2 2B, BB, K 17. Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 3-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Durham (6:05PM CST) – LHP Dietrich Enns (3-5, 5.11 ERA) Chattanooga @ Birmingham (7:05PM CST) – TBD Fort Myers @ Clearwater (6:00PM CST) – RHP Clark Beeker (1-3, 2.93 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Click here to view the article

At the beginning of the 2018 Minor League season a vast amount of people didn’t know who Jimmy Kerrigan was. However, after hitting .324/.394/.541 the Twins moved him from high-A Miracle to triple-A Rochester, he has been since moved back down to the Miracle. I had the chance to talk to Jimmy via. Twitter. Me: How do you feel about being bumped up from Fort Myers to Rochester? Jimmy: I'm actually back in Fort Myers now. I got sent back on Thursday. Rochester was awesome though, it was a great experience and I thought I did pretty well and hope to get that opportunity again. Me: So what were some things that you worked on to get better going into this season? Jimmy: I worked on my approach a lot, swinging at better pitches, being aggressive. Also, worked with my hitting coach in Ft Myers, Steve Singleton, and developed a leg lift which I believe has helped me so far this year. Me: What diets do you follow to keep healthy? Jimmy: Our pregame and post game meals are always healthy. Usually grilled chicken, steak, or some kind of meat, rice or potatoes and vegetables. So our staff makes it easy for us to stay in good shape. Me: Is there a MLB player that you try to play like? Jimmy: I try to play with a lot of intensity. I got that from watching Chase Utley play growing up when he was with the Phillies. He gives it 100% every single day and I have admired that since I was a kid. Me: So when you aren't playing baseball what other things interest you? Jimmy: Other than baseball i’m interested in fishing, golfing sometimes, going to the beach, seeing a movie, things like that. Me: Who or why was the reason you started playing baseball? Jimmy: I started playing when I was 6 when my sister was playing tee ball. My parents said I ran out on the field and asked if I could play on the team and ever since then I just loved it. Its always been my #1 sport. Me: What other sports did you play as a kid? Jimmy: Other than baseball I played football, and basketball mostly. I played soccer for a couple of years when I was really young but that's it. Me: Ok, what is one of your favorite memories playing baseball? Jimmy: I have a few haha. In High School we won three catholic league and city championships, and when I was at VCU we won the Atlantic 10 championship, won a regional and went to super regional against Miami. Me: So when did you realize that you could play baseball professionally? Jimmy: I always had the confidence that I could play at the highest level. I believe that my work ethic and respect for the game will get me to the top. I think I became the player that I am today throughout my junior and senior year of college and even last year when I played Indy ball for the River City Rascals of the Frontier League Me: If you could own any car in the world. What would it be? Jimmy: That's a tough one, i’m into older cars so I guess I would say i'd like to have a 69 Chevelle. I would like to thank Jimmy for this interview and I wish him the best of luck getting to the Majors!