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Mitch Garver had a breakout 2019 season. His college coach says that the best is yet to come for the talented backstop. Have you had Twins fans come up to you and ask about Mitch Garver? Often, you may hear them say that he came out of nowhere. But Mitch Garver did not just come out of nowhere. I ran into former Twins GM Terry Ryan at Target Field recently. We talked briefly about Garver, and I mentioned that so many people seem to think that Garver came out of nowhere, but Ryan quickly stopped me and said he definitely did not come out of nowhere. They always loved his bat, and he was also a Twins Minor League Player of the Year one year. Those who have followed Twins Daily for several years will remember that he was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year in both 2014 (Cedar Rapids) and 2017 (Rochester). Ask Mitch Garver where he came from, and it won’t take long for him to let you know that he is from New Mexico, and he is proud of it. Recently, Twins Daily caught up with Garver’s college coach at the University of New Mexico for four seasons, Ray Birmingham, to talk about his rise. Find out what he saw in Garver as a high school athlete and how he developed while in college. Learn how he helped the team on the field and off the field, and how he continues to show his New Mexico pride as a big leaguer. It won’t take long for you to see how much pride and belief Ray Birmingham has in Mitch Garver.Ray Birmingham has been coaching baseball for a long time. He has been coaching, he says, “for parts of six decades.” He became a head coach in 1988 at College of the South West. Two years later, he became the head coach at New Mexico Junior College. In 2007, he was named the head coach at the University of New Mexico. In his 12 seasons with the Lobos, he has won 384 games. He’s won over 1,200 games (65% winning percentage) over his 32 years as a head coach. He has sent over 150 players to professional baseball. In 2014, he was the hitting coach for USA Baseball’s College National team where he coached tournament MVP, and fellow New Mexican, Alex Bregman. photos from golobos.com Mitch Garver grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He attended La Cuevas High School where he was a star on the baseball diamond and on the soccer pitch. That is where and when Ray Birmingham first saw Garver and saw the talent that made him an intriguing prospect. Birmingham admits that he has a soft spot for New Mexico. “I took this job because of my passion for New Mexico kids. I grew up here. I”m a native, and I’ve watched so many kids who just needed a little good work to have a shot at playing pro ball. Mitch was one of those kids. He was one of those poster kids. He was a great goalie. He was a soccer player too. He was physical. He was raw. He had the physical tools, if he could take the time to develop and he wanted to. He was a good fit. He came from great parents. He has a great family. His head was on straight. He came to play. He walked on.” As a walk-on, Garver had to work for everything he got, and he did. But he wasn’t handed anything. In particular, he wasn’t immediately the Lobos starting catcher. That position was already taken. Birmingham notes, “We’ve had a lot of freshman All-Americans here, but unfortunately for Mitch, we had named Rafael Neda (who was drafted by the Brewers) who was a big-time catch-and-throw guy and a hitter. He was a junior that year, and Mitch was a freshman. So Mitch’s work was sporadic.” Garver played in 30 games that season, exactly half of the team’s games. He hit a respectable .277/.356/.385 (.741) with five doubles and a triple. Garver was a really good student, along with being an athlete. His goals heading to college had little to do with baseball, at least now beyond his four years of college. “Mitch wanted to be a chiropractor, and his girlfriend at that time, wanted to be a veterinarian. So he was going to school to become a chiropractor. They were very good academics, very intelligent young people. So he was going to school to play some baseball and to become a chiropractor. As most freshman, they take a back seat and wait their turn. Mitch was no different. Mitch was fine with that.” But Birmingham saw real baseball talent in Garver, and wasn’t afraid to let him know, to challenge him, and ultimately to believe in him. “I remember walking out of the weight room one day, and Neda was ahead of us, maybe a few yards in front of us. I told Mitch, ‘You’re better than he is if you just give yourself the effort and time. You’ll be an All American and get drafted.’ And Mitch went on a mission.” As a sophomore, Garver played in all 61 Lobos games. He hit .300/.380/.400 (.780) with 12 doubles and two homers. He still wasn’t catching all the time, but he was getting opportunities to play every game. “Mitch is capable of playing first base and the outfield very well. We had him at center field at one time, but that was later on. He just needed to get his feet wet in Division 1. That’s a big jump from La Cueva high school, especially with the schedule we played.” photo from golobos.com As a junior, Garver took a huge leap forward. He played 61 games again, and he hit .377/.438/.612 (1.050) with 27 doubles and ten home runs. He was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award for the top catcher in college baseball. That season, Mike Zunino from the University of Florida won the award. Said Birmingham, “So I thought, he’ll win it next year for sure. And he repeated.” Garver was a candidate again in 2013, in part because he was not drafted after his strong junior season. “I was surprised. Well, I was and I wasn’t. I’m glad he didn’t. He wasn’t on anybody’s radar until then. You know the scouts, and they were likely wondering if this was an anomaly. What was this? So they were worried about him. So they said, he’s a junior. We’ll let it ride until his senior year.” That senior season, Garver hit a remarkable .390/.458/.589 (1.047) with 21 doubles and six homers. He was drafted in the ninth round by the Twins and went to Elizabethton where he was a teammate of Ole Miss catcher Stuart Turner, who the Twins had selected in the third round in 2013. One weekend, both players were excused and able to go to the Johnny Bench Award ceremony. Both were nominated. Birmingham wasn’t happy with the result. “Stuart Turner won it, and I was upset about it. I was. And I made it known that I was upset about it. No offense to Turner. He was a really good player. Mitch deserved it. Mitch won it, but Mitch wasn’t from the SEC, and the SEC gets more votes.” He continued, “I was upset, and I told Johnny Bench too. Mitch told me that Bench congratulated him on the achievement and we’re all good now, but I was upset.” Birmingham added, “I told Johnny Bench that Mitch is going to pass Mr. Turner, and he’s going to play in the big leagues and then you’re going to see that I was right. Mitch proved it. I believe in that kid, and I think there are a lot of kids that need a little confidence, a little time. People are asking why he’s hitting so well. Well, he’s playing a lot more and experience is the best teacher.” photo from golobos.com Fast-forward six years to today. Birmingham hopes that there isn’t a replay of that situation. “Silver Slugger is for the best hitter at each position. He should get it this year. There should be no doubt that he should get it. And if it comes out any other way, I’m going to be just like I was with the Johnny Bench award. I’m going to be upset.” No doubt, Mitch Garver has become a star, and he has put up the numbers to warrant being the 2019 American League Silver Slugger award winner at catcher. Garver ended his 2019 season by hitting .273/.365/.630 (.995) with 16 doubles and 31 homers in 93 games played. His nearest competition for the award would appear to be Yankees backstop Gary Sanchez. He hit .232/.316/.527 (.843) with 12 doubles and 34 home runs in 105 games. What’s more, Birmingham says that there is more to come. “He has worked his butt off to get there, and he’s making an impact, and you haven’t seen the best of him yet. He’s sure of himself now. He’s sure that he can do this now, and he will only continue to get better. ” ------------------------------------------------------------------ Ray Birmingham has had a lot of success at New Mexico, and he is continuing to build and develop a culture. “You’ll find that these small-population states, we don’t get out much. And Coach Anderson at Minnesota is a good friend of mine. We find that once we get our players the confidence and they realize they can, then stand back, baby, because here they come. And that’s Mitch. Once Mitch knows he can... get out of his way because he will.” Birmingham says that he has a picture in his office. There are of batting practices in January, before players head off to their spring training destinations. The weather is great. The pictures show Jordan Pacheco who played for three MLB teams between 2011 and 2016. He spent part of 2018 with the Rochester Red Wings. That picture also shows Alex Bregman, the Albuquerque native who was drafted 2nd overall by the Astros out of LSU. Blake Swihart, a former 1st round pick out of high school in New Mexico, who has spent part of each of the last five seasons in the big leagues. Former first-round pick from the Lobos DJ Peterson is in the pictures. “There are big leaguers hanging around, talking hitting, working on hitting, trying to talk about what they need to do. It’s a culture,” says Birmingham. “It takes time to build. It’s a culture of, we all have a chip on our shoulders, we’re all from New Mexico and we’re going to prove that we can play with anybody in the country.” Garver comes back and works out, but also talks to the current Lobo players as they prepare for their next season. And he gets involved in the community as well. “Mitch is showing that (he can compete with anybody). He comes back and he gets involved in the community. His wife is a sweetheart. His parents are unbelievably awesome. It’s a culture, and we’re all proud to be New Mexicans.” “Half our team is New Mexico kids. We take a bullet with them sometimes, and we’re going to get beat by giving them experience, but eventually they’ll come together. We’ve been nationally ranked in the top 25 six of the 13 years we’ve been there because they’ve learned and they’ve got a chip on their shoulder, which we promote. I put them in high competition, and they finally get that confidence that they can do that. Mitch is a poster child for that. So is Bregman. So is Swihart. So is Pacheco. I can go all the way back to Brendan Donnelly, who played for me. It’s a confidence deal that they can, and if they get the right work together, they’ll do it.” In the last couple of years, Birmingham has held some watch parties. “We’ve had the team get together and eat pizza and watch Mitch play.” They’ve done that for other New Mexico players including 2017 Marlins first-round pick Trevor Rogers, a graduate of Carlsbad (NM) High School. ------------------------------------------------------- In his senior season, Garver was the co-MVP of the Mountain West conference with teammate DJ Peterson. He was part of a team that went to four straight regional tournaments, a rarity in the college game. Peterson was a first-round pick that year (2013). That same season, an outfielder from Fresno State named Aaron Judge was a second-team all-conference, and a first round pick. But back to Garver, Birmingham sums up his thoughts real well. “He’s a fantastic human being and I love him like he’s my own child. That’s his strong suit, his character. And he gets that from his mom and dad. They are fantastic people. Mitch knows he can, and he will. We are family. We’re one family, and we try to promote that. New Mexico is one family. We’re all pushing the rock in the same direction. Mitch is not afraid of things being hard, and he’s very intelligent. Very intelligent. He’s going to be a big leaguer for a long time. You haven’t seen the best of Mitch yet.” And hey, if Garver and the Twins can beat Aaron Judge and the Yankees in the ALDS, there may just be a matchup between Garver’s Twins and Alex Bregman and the Houston Astros. If that’s the case, you can rest assured that Ray Birmingham will be hosting a watch party with a bunch of pizzas at the University of New Mexico. Click here to view the article

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Granted, it probably wasn't anywhere near the "worst of times" for Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver, but the excitement of learning they had been drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the June, 2013 Amateur Draft had to have been at least slightly dampened with the realization that the Twins had drafted both of them.Going into that draft, the Twins knew they needed catching. They didn’t yet know just how desperately they needed catching. (This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com) The Twins had allowed their organization to become thin at a critical (if not THE most critical) defensive position. And it was understandable, to a degree. After all, they had the reigning American League Most Valuable Player behind the plate. Catcher Joe Mauer was not only good for a .300 batting average and .400 on-base percentage every season, but he had only just turned 30 years old a few weeks earlier. What the Twins’ brass didn’t know – and couldn’t know – as they gathered in their offices for the June 2013 Amateur Player Draft, was that Mauer would never get behind the plate to catch another big league game after the 2013 season, due to persistent concussion problems. Still, to their credit, they identified the catching position as one that warranted some focus in the 2013 draft. And focus they did. The Twins used three of their top 10 picks in 2013 on catchers and added another in the 22nd round. After selecting pitchers Kohl Stewart and Ryan Eades in rounds one and two, Minnesota picked Ole Miss catcher Stuart Turner in the third round. He was the 2013 Johnny Bench Award winner, presented to the top NCAA Division I catcher. In the sixth round, the Twins grabbed a high school catcher, Brian Navarreto. New Mexico Lobo catcher Mitch Garver was selected by the Twins in the ninth round. Garver was one of three finalists for the Johnny Bench award that Turner won. In fact, it was the second year that Garver was a Bench Award finalist. The Twins added Alex Swim out of Elon (NC) University in the 22nd round, to complete the 2013 catching class. Adding that many catchers to the organization at one time required a bit of roster manipulation on the part of the Twins farm director Brad Steil and his group. You obviously can’t just start the entire group at the same level and still get everyone enough work behind the plate to develop them. Navarreto, being a few years younger than the others, was easy to plug into the rookie league programs. Fair or not, as a lower round pick, there would be less emphasis on getting Swim adequate opportunities to show what he could do behind the plate. By the end of the 2013 season, of course, the Twins pretty much knew Mauer’s career as a catcher was effectively over and suddenly the club and its fans became much more interested in the catchers coming up through the farm system, particularly in Turner and Garver. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Turner3-450x600-450x600.jpgStuart Turner (Photo: SD Buhr)The Twins don’t make a habit of starting many of their young players at the Advanced Class A level in Ft. Myers, but it was important that both Turner and Garver get as much time working with pitchers from behind the plate as possible. That could only be accomplished by splitting the two catchers up in their first full season of professional ball. To accomplish that, Turner was assigned to Ft. Myers, while Garver spent 2014 at Class A Cedar Rapids. A year later, Turner and Garver remained one level apart as Turner was promoted to AA Chattanooga and Garver moved up to Ft. Myers. In fact, the first time the two became teammates wasn’t even technically with a Twins affiliate. The Twins sent both catchers to the Arizona Fall League in October, 2015. Both caught 11 games and DH’d in one for AFL champion Scottsdale. Garver hit .317 for the Scorpions, while Turner hit just .171. That set up a 2016 season where Garver and Turner would both begin the year at Chattanooga. While the two had been effectively competing with one another for some kind of mythical “Twins top catching prospect” designation since that 2013 draft day, this was the first time Garver and Turner were set up to go side-by-side into a regular season at the same professional level. That dynamic continued into the second week of August, when the Twins had a spot for a catcher open up at their AAA affiliate in Rochester and the call went out to Chattanooga for someone to finish out the season with the Red Wings. Since Turner was about to finish his second Class AA season with the Lookouts and Garver was still in his first tour through the Southern League, you might have thought that Turner would get the promotion – but you would have been wrong. With Garver hitting a respectable .257 (.753 OPS) at the time, while Turner was hovering around .210 (and an OPS around .650), it was Garver who was packing for Rochester. But it wasn’t just his bat that appeared to have pushed Garver ahead of Turner on the Twins’ organizational depth chart. He threw out 52% of runners attempting to steal on him (23 of 44 attempts) in Chattanooga. Turner threw out 19 of 48 attempted base stealers for a 40% clip. Admittedly, using “caught stealing” statistics as a measure for a catcher’s work behind the plate is iffy, at best. For one thing, runners steal bases off of pitchers as much as (if not more than) off catchers. However, in this case, that factor is largely mitigated since the two were catching members of the same Chattanooga pitching staff. After the season, the Twins again sent Garver to get additional work in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .229 and put up a .756 OPS, fueled by four home runs and four doubles in 70 at-bats for the AFL runner-up Surprise Saguaros. Whether Garver will eventually hit and, perhaps more importantly, catch well enough to work his way into the Minnesota Twins lineup on a regular basis certainly remains an unknown. However, we do know the Twins like him enough that, as the AFL season wrapped up, they added him to their 40-man roster. Meanwhile, Turner was not added to that roster, exposing him to Major League Baseball’s Rule 5 draft. On Thursday, the Cincinnati Reds selected Turner from the Twins in said draft. Ironically, while it’s clear that the Twins now value Garver’s big league potential over that of Turner, it’s Turner that very well could get to the big leagues ahead of Garver. As a Rule 5 pick, the Reds will need to keep Turner on their big league club in 2017 or return him to the Twins (or offer the Twins some sort of additional compensation in return for being allowed to keep him at a minor league level). At the same time, Garver will open spring training in the big league camp but has no guarantee in his pocket assuring him a spot with the Twins on Opening Day. On draft day in June of 2013, Turner and Garver had to be wondering what the chances were that the two of them would somehow both work their way into a Minnesota Twins uniform. It seemed likely that, some day, the Twins were going to need to make a choice between them. That day came and the Twins chose to cast their lot with Garver. Fortunately for Turner, he’s getting a pretty good consolation prize, courtesy of the Cincinnati Reds. Click here to view the article

With the first overall pick in the Rule 5 draft, the Twins selected RHP Miguel Diaz from the Milwaukee Brewers. MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo notes that it is expected that he will be traded to the San Diego Padres. Mike Berardino says the Twins will get RH SP Justin Haley from the Angels. It turns out that both were right. The Cincinnati Reds selected catcher Stuart Turner with their 2nd Rule 5 pick of the MLB draft. Each year, MLB has its Rule 5 draft on the final day of the Winter Meetings. Players eligible for the draft include guys signed at 19 years old or older in 2013, or guys that signed when they were 18 or under in 2012. It costs $100,000 to make a pick, and that player needs to remain with the team that selected him through the 2017 season.Miguel Diaz is a 6-1, 175 pound right-hander went 1-8 for Wisconsin in the Midwest League last year. He had 91 strikeouts in 94+ innings. He is 22 years old. Following the draft, the Twins announced that they had traded the right-hander to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Justin Haley and a Player To Be Named Later or Cash considerations. Haley had been the eight pick in the Rule 5 draft by the Angels. Haley began the day, in the Domican Republic, no less, as a member of the Boston Red Sox organization. He was the Angels Rule 5 pick, but they traded him to San Diego who then traded him to the Twins. Justin Haley is a 25-year-old right-handed starting pitcher. It's rare to find starting pitching available in the Rule 5 draft. Last year for AA Portland, he went 5-4 with a 2.20 ERA in 12 starts. In 61.1 innings he walked 19 and struck out 59. He moved up to AAA Pawtucket where he went 8-6 with a 3.59 ERA. In 85.1 innings, he walked 26 and struck out 67 batters. He's got four pitches, with a low-90s fastball a decent changeup and OK fastball and sliders, according to reports. Here is a look at his fastball/slider combination. Losing Stuart Turner is too bad. The Twins just signed Jason Castro for three years. They have John Ryan Murphy as a backup option, and Mitch Garver has passed Turner on the depth chart as well. Garver was added to the roster. So, it stinks to lose a defensive talent like Turner, but when deciding who to add, and thinking about who they could afford to lose, they likely chose pitching over their #4 catcher. The Twins did not select anyone in the AAA portion of the Rule 5 draft. They also did not lose anyone Click here to view the article

It’s the final day of the Winter Meetings. Things have been very quiet on the Twins front, to be sure, but that doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way. There were a couple of major moves made on Wednesday, and of course, the Rule 5 draft will take place this morning. The Rule 5 draft is often called the official end of the Winter Meetings, but it has also been a day of moves. It’s like it is the last day where teams and/or agents can meet in person and they want to reach agreements before they fly home. Two years ago, the Twins announced the signing of Ervin Santana moments after the Rule 5 draft. Five years ago, the Twins and Phillies made the Ben Revere for Vance Worley and Trevor May trade.Before we get to the Rule 5 discussion, let’s start with the moves from Wednesday: The Nationals didn’t get Chris Sale, and they couldn’t reach an agreement with the Pirates on Andrew McCutchen. So, they turned their attention to the White Sox. Mid-afternoon, it was announced that the Nationals had acquired outfielder Adam Eaton in exchange for three right-handed pitching prospects. Lucas Giolito was the Nationals top prospect and the top pitching prospect as recently as midseason. Reynaldo Lopez was their #3 prospect. Dane Dunning was their #6 prospect and the team’s first-round pick last June. Adam Eaton is a real solid player, but there is no question that the Chicago White Sox did very well for themselves. Eaton is controlled through the 2021 season which made him very appealing to the Nationals. He also is an elite right fielder, though he will likely play centerfield for the Nationals. The White Sox have certainly changed the outlook of their minor league system. They had one of the worst minor league systems in baseball two days ago. Along with the three pitchers, they acquired baseball’s top prospect, Yoan Moncada, and hard-throwing Michael Kopech plus two more prospects from the Red Sox in the Chris Sale trade a day earlier. The White Sox will likely still be looking to deal 1B Jose Abreu, 3B Todd Frazier, LH SP Jose Quintana, and Closer David Robertson, each likely adding multiple quality prospects. Robertson should bring back a quality return thanks to the crazy closer market this week. It started with All Star Mark Melancon getting a four year, $62 million deal with the Giants. Wade Davis was officially traded to the Cubs on Wednesday morning for outfielder Jorge Soler. There were rumors 24 hours ago about Aroldis Chapman being offered $92 million. Late on Wednesday, he signed a five year, $86 million to return to the Yankees. That leaves Kenley Jansen as the big remaining closer on the free agent market. The Marlins are very much interested, but the Nationals must remain interested too. Of course, Robertson is likely appealing to many teams as well, and frankly, with the White Sox plans for 2017, they don’t need an elite closer. TWINS RUMORS OF THE DAY RULE 5 DISCUSSION Early this morning, the Rule 5 draft will take place. In the past, there were three phases of the Rule 5 draft, the MLB phase, AAA and AA phases. This year, there will be the MLB and the Minor League Rule 5 drafts. Makes sense. In recent years, few players were taken from the AA portion of the draft. The other change is that it will cost a team $100,000 to make a Rule 5 pick. It has been $50,000 for many years. As Nick wrote yesterday, there are at least nine relief pitchers available to teams in the Rule 5 draft today who have hit triple digits with their fastball. Could the Twins be interested in one of them? For the most part, people seem to believe this is a fairly weak group of prospects eligible to be selected. The Twins brass noted yesterday that they are receiving a lot of phone calls and interest in the #1 pick in today’s Rule 5 draft. I would not be surprised at all if the Twins trade that #1 pick. Of course, we won’t know about the trade until after the draft is complete. It’s possible they could trade with a team lower in the draft in exchange for their pick and cash. There could be other trade options. If you’re looking for names that the Twins might take in the Rule 5 draft, here is Baseball America’s list and here are five names (And two more) to watchaccording to Thrylos from his blog other day. It’s hard to predict who the Twins might take with their Rule 5 pick. It’s probably even harder to figure out which Twins players the other organizations might have interest in. However, here are some guys I think have a chance of being selected from the Twins: #1 - Aaron Slegers - The 6-10 right-hander was the Twins 5th round pick in 2013 out of Indiana. He has gradually moved up, one step a year, and he’s always been solid. He isn’t overpowering, but he has good control and a good start pitch-mix that he could certainly be intriguing. #2 - DJ Baxendale - He’s been primarily a starting pitcher in since he was the Twins 10th round pick in 2012 out of Arkansas. However, he kind of stalled at AA. He moved up to AAA and into the Red Wings bullpen where is fastball/slider mix proved to be good. He doesn’t throw very hard. #3 - Yorman Landa - I’m not certain if the hard-throwing right-hander is eligible or not. It was mentioned the other day that Landa had re-signed with the Twins. If he actually already put pen to paper, he would be another triple-digit right-hander available to teams in the Rule 5 draft. #4 - Niko Goodrum - He could have become a free agent, but he chose to sign back with the Twins right after the season. He’s just kind of coming into his own and his raw athleticism turned into some decent numbers in 2016, despite missing the first two months with injury. He could be interesting to teams because he can play three or four positions on the field. #5 - Stuart Turner - We’ve seen the value of defense at catcher in recent years escalate. For his shortcomings with the bat, Turner is very good behind the plate. I still believe that he has the approach at the plate and some pop to eventually hit a little bit. But his defense can make him a solid backup backstop. #6 - Lewis Thorpe - He’s missed the last two seasons after Tommy John surgery, but he was a top prospect before the injury, and he is very talented. And he’s still just 21 years old. He is a question to be able to stick on a roster after so much missed time (and not pitching above Low A), but he has the upside to be very intriguing to teams. We’ll get an article posted as soon as the Twins make their Rule 5 pick, and we’ll update it with any players that they should lose in the drafts. We’ll also update it should the Twins announce any trade regarding their Rule 5 pick. So be sure to check back. Click here to view the article

Minor League seasons are coming to an end quickly. Next Thursday marks the final regular season games for the two Twins short season teams. The full season seasons come to an end on Labor Day, though the final Miracle game is on the Sunday before Labor Day. Playoff spots are still up for grabs for the Twins affiliates. Also over the next week, we’ll start hearing about September call-ups, but we’ll also hear more about which players will represent the Twins in the Arizona Fall League.On that note, the Red Wings played plenty of bonus baseball. The Lookouts had a big offensive night. The Miracle and the Kernels each got great pitching performances. One of the top 2016 draft choices had his best game as a pro. It was a full day, six games in the Twins farm system. Read on for the entire minor league report. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Norfolk 3 (13 innings) Box Score There was bonus baseball down in Norfolk on Wednesday. Byron Buxton’s eighth home run gave the Red Wings a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Unfortunately, that was it for the Rochester run-scoring. Kennys Vargas walked twice. Wilfredo Tovar and Adam Brett Walker each had a single and a walk. David Hurlbut continues to impress in his AAA starts. On this night he gave up two runs (1 earned) on eight hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out four and dropped his ERA to 2.70. Neil Ramirez threw a scoreless eighth inning. Alan Busenitz gave up two hits and walked two over two scoreless innings. Edward Mujica gave up two hits over two scoreless innings. Jake Reed got the 13th inning. He gave up a run on two hits and a hit batter to take the loss with one out in the bottom of the inning. Norfolk’s left fielder, LJ Hoes, worked a scoreless top of the 13th inning and recorded the win in the game. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 9, Jacksonville 3 Box Score Kohl Stewart improved to 8-6 with the Lookouts with another quality start. A look into the numbers and you have to wonder how. Stewart went six innings and gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked five and struck out just two. His ERA with Chattanooga is now just 3.14. Brandon Peterson struck out two over two scoreless innings. Luke Bard worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Stuart Turner led the strong Lookouts offensive attack. He went 4-5 with his 22nd double, his sixth home run and two RBI. Zack Granite went 3-5. He stole two bases and now has 50 on the season. Edgar Corcino went 2-5. He had a bases-clearing triple in the team’s five-run seventh inning. Levi Michael went 2-4 with his second homer of the year. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Palm Beach 0 Box Score Mad Money Miles Nordgren recently returned to the Miracle, and on Wednesday he put together his best start yet and recorded his first Florida State League win. Nordgren gave up just one hit over six shutout innings. He walked one and struck out two. Cam Booser got two outs in the seventh inning, but he walked three to load the bases. Nick Anderson got the final out of the seventh and worked two more scoreless innings to record his seventh save of the season. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out three. The Miracle had just four hits in the game. Their run scored when AJ Murray doubled home Daniel Kihle. It was Murray’s tenth Miracle double. Murray went 2-4 in the game. Alex Perez walked twice. Check out this defensive play by Center Fielder Tanner English. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 0 Box Score The Kernels got a terrific pitching performance, giving up just two hits in the shutout. 2016 draft pick Sean Poppen went the first four innings. He gave up just one hit, walked three and struck out five. Michael Cederoth came on and went the next three innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out five. He improved to 4-0 with a 2.76 ERA. Tom Hackimer hit a batter over two scoreless innings to pick up his fourth save with the Kernels. Rainis Silva went 2-3 with his second double and an RBI. Travis Blankenhorn hit his fourth double since joining the Kernels. Luis Arraez hit his 28th double of the season. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 3, Burlington 8 Box Score The Twins fell behind early and weren’t able to put together enough offense for a comeback. Alex Schik started. He gave up six runs (five earned) on five hits (including two home runs) and four walks. He struck out five in his five innings. Alex Robinson came on and gave up two runs on one hit, three walks and two hit batters in 1.1 innings. All four outs came via strikeout. Quin Grogan gave up just a walk over 2.2 scoreless innings finish things out. He struck out three. Ben Rortvedt had his best game in an Elizabethton uniform. He went 3-3 with a walk. Shane Carrier went 2-4 with his 14th double and second triple. Amaurys Minier and Caleb Hamilton each hit their seventh double. Ariel Montesino added his fourth double. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Orioles 14 Box Score Minnesota-Duluth’s Bo Hellquist was back on the mound on Wednesday. He gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits, two walks and a hit batter in five innings. He struck out six. Safe to say that this wasn’t the best performance for right-hander Daniel Martinez. He gave up eight runs on seven hits and a walk. He recorded just one out. Onas Farfan hit a batter but got the final two outs of the inning. Mat Jones came on and gave up four runs on two hits and two walks. He got just two outs, both came on strikeouts. Matz Schutte walked one and got four outs. Jorge Munoz went 2-2 with two doubles his 11th and 12th of the season. Lean Marrero went 2-3. They combined for four of the team’s five hits on the day. For the Orioles, Brian Duensing threw one inning in his rehab outing. He gave up one hit, no runs and walked one. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Miles Nordgren, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Stuart Turner, Chattanooga Lookouts THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Norfolk (11:05 am CST) - RHP Omar Bencomo Chattanooga @ Jacksonville (6:05 CST) - RHP Ryan Eades Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells Burlington @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Jose Martinez GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday's games. Click here to view the article

It was a busy night in the Twins minor league system. The Red Wings held their Hall of Fame ceremony pre-game and then hit four home runs in their game. Was it enough? The Lookouts got a quality start, but their offense was tremendous. One of the organization’s top pitching prospects put on a display in Ft. Myers. The Kernels had a batter with a five-hit game. The E-Twins had a big inning. And, Minnesota kids got the win and save for the GCL Twins on Friday. We also need you to help vote for today's Hitter of the Day. Too many good choices. There were a couple of transactions of note on Friday as well: With Tommy Milone going on the disabled list, the Twins called up Pat Dean to fill the long-relief role that Andrew Albers successfully filled on Thursday night.Following the Twins game, they announced that Andrew Albers has been DFAd and a pitcher will be added before the game on Saturday.With two of their starters now with the Twins, the Red Wings announced that lefty David Hurlbut has been promoted from Chattanooga and will start on Saturday.With that, let’s get to the Minor League Report for Friday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 12 Box Score In the last few days, the Red Wings have lost ⅖ of their starting rotation to the Minnesota Twins. First, it was Andrew Albers and on Friday it was Pat Dean. Things didn’t go as planned, however. Jason Wheeler, who has been the Red Wings most consistent starter all season, gave up four runs in the first inning. He gave up another in the second and two more in the third. Through three innings, he had given up seven runs. Normally that would be a time to remove the starter. However, manager Mike Quade stuck with Wheeler and the left-hander threw three scoreless innings. So his final line says that he gave up seven runs on seven hits (including three homers) and three walks in six innings. Key Play: If you had a chance to watch the game on milb.tv, you may have seen the unfortunate first inning against Wheeler. With one out and runners on first and second Wheeler coaxed a ground ball to third base. Leonardo Reginnato fielded and threw to James Beresford at second for the first out. Beresford made the turn and made a terrific throw to first base, a step before the batter reached first. However, Reynaldo Rodriguez casually caught the ball and stepped away from the bag... the problem was that he casually stepped off the bag before he caught the ball. The umpire made the correct call. Safe. Could have been out of the inning, and after the blunder, Wheeler gave up four runs in that first inning. Can't help but wonder how the game goes if that play is made properly. At that point, the Red Wings offense had caught up. Adam Brett Walker hit a three-run homer, his International League-leading 23rd homer of the season. Byron Buxton added his seventh Rochester homer, a solo blast. Reynaldo Rodriguez added his third homer to cut the deficit to 7-6. DJ Baxendale came in for the seventh inning. His ERA jumped to 1.67 as he gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks in the inning. Neil Ramirez threw the final two innings. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. He struck out four. John Ryan Murphy added his second homer of the year to give the Red Wings their seventh run. Buxton was the lone Wings player to have multiple hits. He was 2-4 and stole his sixth base. Before the game, the Red Wings added Jason Bartlett and Merv Rettenmund to their Hall of Fame. Bartlett played parts of the 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons in Rochester. In those seasons, he hit .331, .332 and .306. He played ten seasons in the big leagues. Rettenmund played 13 seasons in the big leagues after one season in Rochester. That season he was The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year after hitting .331 with 22 homers for the Red Wings. He was the International League’s Rookie of the Year and MVP in 1968. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 12, Birmingham 1 Box Score Aaron Slegers returned to nearly his pre-disabled list form in this game, and his offense provided plenty of offensive support. Before going on the DL, Slegers had a run of nine straight quality starts. Since his return, he has thrown two innings twice and worked up to five innings in his most recent start. On this night Slegers gave up one run on six hits in seven innings. He struck out five without issuing a walk. Brandon Peterson worked two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out two. The Lookouts scored six runs in the third innings. They got an RBI double from Zach Granite, an RBI double from Niko Goodrum, a two-run double from Stuart Turner and a two-run single from TJ White. They added four more runs in the sixth inning, and two more runs in the ninth inning. Zach Granite led the way. He went 3-6 with his 15th double, sixth triple and five RBIs. Turner went 3-4 with a walk and his 17th and 18th doubles. Goodrum went 2-5 with his fourth double. TJ White was 2-5. Travis Harrison hit his 21st double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 0, Charlotte 2 Box Score The Miracle lost, but Fernando Romero was as impressive has he has been all year. The hard-throwing right-hander from the Dominican went the first seven innings. He gave up no runs. He gave up six hits, walked none and struck out 11. His Miracle ERA drops to 2.39. One of the hits Romero gave up was off the bat of a rehabbing Oswaldo Arcia. Cam Booser replaced Romero in the 8th inning. He walked a batter and then gave up a two-run homer to Arcia which was the entirety of the game’s scoring. It was the only hit Booser gave up. He struck out two. Luke Bard worked a perfect ninth inning. The Miracle offense managed just three hits in the game. Joe Maloney hit his 13th double. Tanner Witt and Trey Vavra were each 1-2. Witt walked once as well. Vavra was hit by a pitch. Miracle Manager Jeff Smith was ejected in the 8th inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Kane County 1 Box Score The game was delayed by rain in the third inning, but it didn’t slow down the Kernels’ bats. Speaking of bats that haven’t cooled down, out hitter of the month of July, Zander Wiel, went 5-5 in this game to lead the way. Sean Miller and JJ Fernandez were both 2-5. Casey Scoggins went 2-4. Travis Blankenhorn added his second double. Brandon Lopez went 1-3 with two walks. It was a pretty unique game for catcher Kevin Garcia. He was on third base early in the game when Christian Cavaness stole second base. Garcia took off for home and scored. In the ninth inning, he hit a three-run homer. I am guessing that it is the first time Garcia has stolen home and homered in the same game in his career. They were his first stolen base and first home run of the season. Miles Nordgren started and returned to the mound even after the 42-minute rain delay. He went seven innings for his fourth win. He gave up only an unearned run on five hits. He walked two and struck out four. Logan Lombana threw two scoreless innings in relief. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Kingsport 4 Box Score A four-run third innings gave the Twins a lead that they were able to hang on to the rest of the way. In the big inning, infielder Caleb Hamilton hit a two-run double. Soon after, Amaurys Minier hit a two-run homer to give them a 4-0 lead. Minier went 1-2 with two walks and the homer, his eighth. Hamilton went 2-4 and both hits were doubles to give him four on the season. Sean Poppen started. He threw four scoreless innings, though he gave up four hits and walked three. He struck out four. He met his pitch count after just four innings, and Austin Tribby came into the game. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits over three innings. He struck out three and didn’t walk any. He was credited with the Win to improve his season record to 4-0. Patrick McGuff gave up a run on three hits over the final two innings to record his fourth save. He struck out three without issuing a walk, something he has called a key to his success so far as a pro. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 1 Box Score Left Bo Hellquist made the Friday start for the GCL Twins. The Minnesota-Duluth alum threw five shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out three. Moises Gomez came on and threw three scoreless frames. Onas Farfan came on for the ninth to protect a two-run lead. He gave up three hits and one run, but he held on to record his fourth save of the year. Hellquist improved to 4-1. Jorge Munoz has been hitting well of late. The infielder went 2-4 in this game with his ninth and tenth doubles. Max Murphy, in another rehab appearance, added a double. Lean Marrero went 2-3 and stole his second base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Fernando Romero, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – You Vote: Zach Granite, Chattanooga LookoutsStuart Turner, Chattanooga LookoutsZander Wiel, Cedar Rapids KernelsSATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (6:05 CST) - LHP David Hurlbut Chattanooga @ Birmingham (6:30 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells Elizabethton @ Bluefield (6:05 CST) - RHP Jose Martinez GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (9:00 am CST) - RH Huascar Ynoa Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games. Click here to view the article

As you will find out reading the rest of this report, I don’t have to say much more in this opening other than pitching was fantastic on this night throughout the Twins’ affiliates after the clunkers the MLB team put on display in their double-header. They were 6-0 on the day (7-0 if I include the DSL), and you can check out all the standout pitching performances, including Stephen Gonsalves achieving “Ace” status by taking down his fifth Southern League opponent, the Birmingham (Red) Barons, in dominating fashion, by reading on!RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Syracuse 3 Box Score Rochester took an early lead in the first inning, thanks to a solo home run from Daniel Palka, his seventh with the Red Wings and twenty-eighth of the season. After that, it was a pitcher’s duel until the seventh inning. Red Wings starter Nick Greenwood went those first seven innings. Through the sixth, he had scattered just five hits in keeping the Chiefs off the board. Logan Schafer added a solo home run of his own in the top of the seventh for a 2-0 lead, but in the bottom frame the Syracuse lineup finally got to Greenwood. A single, double, and two-run single tied the game before Greenwood induced a double play ball to end the inning and his night. All told, he pitched seven innings, with two earned runs allowed on eight hits while striking out four. He factored into the decision as in the top of the eighth Byron Buxton led off with a single and later scored after some small ball to put Rochester back out front 3-2. Sean Burnett came on and pitched a scoreless eighth, “retiring” all four hitters he faced as his lone strikeout ended up with the runner on first. He was credited with his ninth hold. The Red Wings pushed their lead to 5-2 in the top of the ninth thanks to an RBI double from Mitch Garver and RBI single from Leonardo Reginatto. Twins organization newcomer, Pat Light came on for the ninth and picked up his ninth International League save of the year and second with the Red Wings. Hopefully that was a good enough consolation prize, as he perhaps was supposed to be on his way to Minnesota earlier in the day. He allowed three hits and one run two score in the ninth, but also recorded all of his outs via strikeout. Rochester got multi-hit efforts from Palka (2-5, R, HR, RBI), Reynaldo Rodriguez (2-4, RBI), and Schafer (3-5, 2 R’s, HR, RBI) to lead their offense and improve to 66-53 on the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Birmingham 1 Box Score The Lookouts got a dominating starting performance out of lefty phenom Stephen Gonsalves in this one, who finished it for his first nine inning complete game of his career. Interesting enough, it was also the first time he had ever finished more than seven innings in a game. He allowed just one unearned run in the second inning thanks to a Heiker Meneses error that put a runner on second to start the inning. The rest of the game he allowed just two hits and two walks, and racked up eight strikeouts. From the third through the end of the ninth he faced the minimum, picking up three double-play balls to assist along the way. He improved his record with the Lookouts to 5-1, and lowered his ERA to 2.01. In support of Gonsalves catcher Stuart Turner had a big game, going 3-4 with a double and two RBIs. Travis Harrison scored two runs and added a double. Edgar Corcino had two hits including an RBI triple. They scored four of their seven runs in the fourth inning, and added a single run in the sixth and two in the eight for the final score. Zach Granite stole his 40th base of the year. Is it too early to discuss Gonsalves to AAA?! Outside of one short appearance on July 6th in which he allowed six runs, Gonsalves has allowed just two, zero, zero, one, two, one, and zero runs in each of his other starts with Chattanooga not including today’s gem. He is striking out 10.6/9 IP in AA. MIRACLE MATTERS Charlotte 0, Fort Myers 1 Box score Not to be outdone by Gonsalves, the Miracle also got a fantastic outing from Cody Stashak in his second game in the Florida State League. He went the first seven innings, holding the Stone Crabs to just four hits and one walk. He struck out two and improves to 2-0 with Fort Myers. The Miracle’s lone run came in the seventh inning to break the stalemate, as Tanner Witt led off with a double and scored on a double play ground out off the bat of Alex Perez. Fort Myers got two hits on the game from Nick Gordon and Witt. Both of Witt’s hits were doubles to give him nine on the season. Randy Rosario finished the game’s final two innings, and picked up his first FSL save of the season in the process. He allowed no hits, walked one, and struck out two. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 0 Box Score Like their high-A friends, the Kernels also blanked their opponent on this night. Eduardo Del Rosario went the first five innings in this one and scattered five hits and a walk. He ran his pitch count a little high, at ninety-four four five innings, but went deep into several counts that mostly ended with strikeouts. He had eight for the game. The Kernels scored both their runs in the second inning, after Travis Blankenhorn led off the frame with his first Midwest League double. Later with the bases loaded and two outs, an error on a Luis Arreaz fly ball to left field scored both runs. Nelson Molina and Blankenhorn each had two hits on the game to lead the lineup. Cedar Rapids got two scoreless innings of relief from both Williams Ramirez (2.0IP, H, BB, 2 K’s) and Anthony McIver (2.0IP, H, 3 K’s). Ramirez got his fourth hold, and McIver his seventh save. The victory was manager Jake Mauer’s 300th with the Kernels, and they improved their record to 62-53 on the season and at 26-20 in the second half currently reside in second place in the Western division. E-TWINS E-NOTES Kingsport 2, Elizabethton 5 Box Score In keeping with the day’s theme, the E-Twins also got a strong effort from their starting pitcher on Thursday night. In this one, it was right-hander Alex Schick. Kingsport took a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks in part to an errant pickoff throw from Schick, but he settled in after that, scattering for hits and two walks in his six innings. He struck out five and improves to 4-1 with Elizabethton. He got plenty of offensive support, as Elizabethton scored two runs in the second, and three in the third to take the lead for good. The big blow was a two-run home run of the bat off Mitchell Kranson, his second of the year. Manuel Guzman added two hits, including a double. The bottom third of the order consisting of Trey Cabbage, Caleb Hamilton and Robert Molina each added an RBI. Quin Grogan pitched into the ninth inning, but was lifted after allowing two runners on and uncorking a few ill-timed wild pitches. His final line included 2.1 innings pitched and one run allowed on one hit and one walk, while striking out one. Hector Lujan finished the ninth for his second Appalachian League save. He retired both men he faced on groundouts, but the first of those scored the run credited to Grogan. Elizabethton improves to 25-22 on the short season, and are 1.5 games back of Johnson City for the West Division lead. GCL TWINS TAKES Twins 4, Orioles 3 Box Score It was a team effort on the pitching front for the GCL Twins in this one, as they used five pitchers on the night, with all of them recording a win, hold or save in their stats. Justin Fox got the Wwn as the starter. He went five innings, allowing just one run on five hits and two walks. He struck out three. Daniel Martinez, Garrett Kelly, and Callan Pearce all picked up holds for their efforts. Martinez pitched a scoreless sixth, Kelly a scoreless seventh and eighth, and although he was charged with two runs (one earned) Pearce also was credited with a ‘H’ after Zach Strecker came on with the tying runner on first in the ninth. Strecker got the save by striking out the first batter he faced, and getting a fly out to end the game. The Twins scored single runs in each of the third, fourth, seventh, and ninth innings to give themselves enough cushion. No hitter had more than one hit, but Gorge Munoz, Brian Olson, and Lean Marrero each had doubles, and Aaron Whitefield slugged his second home run of the season to lead the offense. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Chattanooga Lookouts (CG-W, 9.0IP, 0 ER’s, 3 H’s, 2 BB, 8 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Logan Schafer, Rochester Red Wings (3-4, 2 R’s, HR, RBI) Also a special shout-out to the DSL Twins centerfielder, Humberto Muldanado, who was 3-5 with three runs scored, two doubles, a triple, and three RBI’s to lead the DSL Twins to a 12-8 victory against the DSL Orioles2. FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes-Barre @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler (9-3, 2.97 ERA) Chattanooga @ Birmingham (7:055PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (8-6, 3.59 ERA) Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Fernando Romero (3-2, 2.79 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30PM PM CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren (3-61, 3.16 ERA) Kingsport @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (2-3, 3.34 ERA) GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday’s games. Click here to view the article

As we continue to prepare for the 2016 MLB Draft, today I present a review of the catchers in the Minnesota Twins organization. Yesterday, we reviewed the Outfielders. Next week, we’ll continue with the Infielders and the pitchers while I’ll also post my updated Top 30 Twins Prospect rankings. Why look at the organization’s depth before the draft? As we mentioned yesterday, taking "best player available" is always the right strategy early in the draft, but in the later rounds, it might be important to add some depth at other positions as they look to fill some rosters.Minnesota Twins - Kurt Suzuki, Juan Centeno The Twins signed Suzuki before the 2014 season to a nice, one-year contract. He had an all-star caliber first half, so they extended him and he immediately turned back into the catcher and hitter he had been the previous few seasons. The Twins have played him less this year, ensuring that his $6 million option will not vest. Juan Centeno was brought in as a minor league free agent. He had a solid spring training and when John Ryan Murphy struggled and was sent to Rochester, the 26-year-old was called up and is off to a good start. Rochester Red Wings - John Ryan Murphy, Carlos Paulino Murphy came over from the Yankees where he spent parts of three seasons backing up Brian McCann. Nothing in his MLB or minor league track record indicated he would slump as badly as he did in the season’s first month. However, he is still young and can become a starting-caliber MLB catcher. Carlos Paulino also was invited to MLB spring training after joining the Twins organization a year ago. He is a defense-first catcher. Chattanooga Lookouts - Stuart Turner, Mitch Garver, Jairo Rodriguez In a way, Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver have been linked since they were drafted in the 2013 draft. At the same time, this is the first year they have been on the same team since that summer in Elizabethton. While the senior-sign Garver began his first full season in Cedar Rapids, Turner (who signed after his junior season at Ole Miss) skipped straight to High-A. While Garver was our hitter of the year in 2014, Turner has struggled with the bat. Turner spent all of 2015 in Chattanooga while Garver is there for the first time. Turner has the reputation as a better defensive catcher while Garver is known for a bigger bat. Reports indicate that Garver has narrowed the gap defensively. He stacks up among the best in the minor leagues at pitch framing while throwing out about 73% of would-be base stealers. Garver just returned to the lineup on Wednesday after suffering a concussion. Jairo Rodriguez is one of the longest-tenured players in the Twins organization. He has played throughout the system over the last eight or nine years, serving as a backup (or third catcher) where needed. Ft. Myers Miracle - Brian Navarreto, Kevin Garcia Brian Navarreto has a powerful arm. He also has size that one might think could develop some power. To this point, however, he hasn’t hit at all. Kevin Garcia signed with the Twins before spring training after being let go by the Tigers after a couple of pro seasons. He began this season in extended spring but came up when Alex Swim abruptly retired. Cedar Rapids Kernels - AJ Murray, Brian Olson AJ Murray has been one of the better hitters in the organization so far this year. He takes quality atebats, gets on base and has some power. He also has been the primary catcher behind the plate. Olson was a late-round pick a year ago. He hit well in the GCL and in Elizabethton last year. While he started the season in EST, he has hit well over .300 since joining the Kernels. Extended Spring Training - Bryant Hayman, Robert Molina, Rainis Silva, Jhon Alvarez, Jose Ortiz, Kerby Camacho (Suspended) Rainis Silva is the best prospect of this group. He is very good defensively. He spent a little time in Cedar Rapids last year before the Elizabethton season started. Hayman started the season in Cedar Rapids this year but was recently sent back to extended spring. Molina played last year in the GCL. He also gets time at first base. Alvarez and Ortiz are in the States after playing in the Dominican Summer League last year. Top Prospects 1.) Mitch Garver, 2.) Stuart Turner, 3.) AJ Murray Draft Thoughts It is very difficult to get a catcher to the big leagues for several reasons. Injury/Concussion - Yes, there are a lot of catcher concussions due to repeated foul tips to the face mask as well as “regular” injuries. It is a position of attrition in some ways.Most organizations value defense above hitting for catchers for obvious reasons. They have to be smart and call a good game while working with individual pitchers, but they also need to have a strong arm and enough accuracy to help control a running game. Pitch framing and ability to block balls in the dirt are also important.However, a starting catcher also needs to hit enough . “Enough” can be dependent on team.Look at the number of catchers the organization keeps at extended spring training. In some ways, an organization needs to draft a few catchers every year just to help with bullpens in the rookie leagues and in spring training (and EST). In the past, the Twins have typically drafted at least one catcher in the top ten rounds. They then will draft a couple more in the later rounds. Just a few years ago, the Twins drafted Stuart Turner, Jorge Fernandez and Mitch Garver in the first nine rounds. The Twins have quantity of catchers. In my opinion, they should take one in the top three or four rounds if they believe he can develop into a starter at some point. Then maybe add one or two in the late rounds. Click here to view the article

Minnesota had their anchor at catcher but tell the baseball gods your plan and they will laugh in your face. Joe Mauer was locked into a long-term contract and he looked like he was on his way to a Hall of Fame catching career. There was a chance that Mauer could beat out the likes of Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra to be the best backstop of all time. Those plans changed in recent years as Mauer's concussion-related symptoms have moved him out from behind the plate.The Twins found themselves in a little kerfuffle with their long-term catching plans. Kurt Suzuki was brought in to bridge the gap to some of the younger catching prospects in the organization. With Suzuki's aging body, the Twins traded former first round pick Aaron Hicks to the Yankees for catcher John Ryan Murphy. Murphy has struggled in limited action this season. Through this weekend's games, he has three hits in 35 plate appearances and only one of those hits has been for extra-bases. Suzuki has fared a little better as he has gone 7-for-37 but four of his seven hits have gone for extra-bases. With the weak production from the current catching core, it's tough not to look to the future. Stuart Turner was drafted by the Twins in the third round of the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft from the University of Mississippi. With his college experience, the Twins have not been afraid to be aggressive with Turner. He has been younger than the competition at every stop except for rookie ball. With Minnesota's aggressive approach, Turner has encountered some offensive struggles. At Fort Myers in 2014, he hit under .250 with a .698 OPS while getting on base 32.2% of the time. Those numbers dipped a little last season as he made the jump to Double-A. He still posted a .322 OBP but hit only .223 and slugged .306. These aren't exactly offensive numbers to write home about. Turner has gotten high praise during his time in the system as a good game caller while being a strong defensive presence behind the plate. He's a leader on and off the field and that provides a lot of value to a club even if his bat never turns around... but what if his bat finally caught up to his defensive prowess? The Twins sent Turner to the Arizona Fall League this past off-season and for the first time in his career, he has been asked to repeat a level to start 2016. The Twins could have been aggressive with him and sent him to Rochester but the organization thought it would be best for him to go back to Chattanooga. That decisions seems to be paying dividends so far. Through this weekend's action, Turner was hitting .286/.432/.486 with four doubles and a home run. All of those numbers would put him on pace for career high totals. The most positive sign might be that Turner is doing this at Double-A in his age-24 season where he is roughly the same age as the competition. This isn't a move that is going to happen in the next week or month but Turner is looking more and more like a long-term solution to the Twins catching woes. If Turner can continue to evolve into a catcher who can be more than a defense-first option, he can become a vital piece for the Twins as they head into a new era. When the Twins have gone on World Series runs in the past, the catcher has always been a role player. His defense, game calling, and leadership will continue to be strong. Turner can be that type of solid contributing role player as the Twins attempt to return to their World Series glory in the years to come. Click here to view the article

After taking a week off to lick the wounds of over a half-dozen losses and to take a look at some names that could be in play when the Twins draft in June, the sometimes-popular TRENDING article is back. So what’s been new? This week we’re going to look at some minor leaguers who got off to a very quick start.The Miracle Rotation If you would have been asked to project the ceiling - statswise - for the Miracle starters 13 games into the season, you would be fixing some tiles after the group of Stephen Gonsalves, Kohl Stewart, Tyler Jay, Randy Rosario, Felix Jorge and Keaton Steele went Macklemore all over your ceiling. Through 13 games - stats were compiled before Wednesday’s game - the starters combined to pitch 75.2 innings and strike out 74 batters. They’ve combined for a WHIP below 1.000, allowing only 44 hits and issuing 18 free passes (0.951) for a combined ERA of 1.90. That’s absolute dominance. In about half the innings, the bullpen has allowed only four less runs. With full rotations in both Minnesota and Rochester and Gonsalves and Stewart both pushing towards earning promotions, you wonder how secure some rotation holds are in Chattanooga. Trending towards Chattanooga… right?!? J.T. Chargois, power closer Chargois has been nasty. He’s made five one-inning appearances and has gotten pretty consistent results: No walks, no hits, no runs, and lots of swings-and-misses. On the season, Chargois has thrown 77 pitches (by game: 16, 17, 15, 13, 16) and 50 strikes (65%). Thirteen of those strikes have been swings-and-misses. While it is a very small sample size, a swinging-strike percentage of 26% is very high. In fact, compared to MLB, only one player, #oldfriend A.J. Achter (27.3%), has a higher rate. (Achter has pitched one inning, so even with the inclusion of the smallest of sample sizes, Chargois still has a very high rate.) And did I mention he hasn’t allowed a walk, hit or run? What could be next for Chargois? Well, he is on the 40-man, so he could get a call to the big league if the need presented itself. Could it also be possible that Rochester has a need in the bullpen and summons Chargois, as Chattanooga opens up a spot for the return of Nick Burdi? Trending towards Rochester and, eventually, a future in the Target Field bullpen. Maybe soon. And maybe even sooner if Jepsen doesn’t return to 2015 Jepsen. Nick Gordon, future starting shortstop Entering the offseason, the shortstop position was likely considered the deepest position in the organization, likely boasting a legitimate shortstop prospect at every full-season roster and adding a four million dollar bonus baby, to boot. It didn’t even take until the season started to hear questions of Jorge Polanco’s ability to stick at shortstop. (He hasn’t even played the position this year.) Engelb Vielma suffered a hamstring injury that has kept him from playing for over a week. Jermaine Palacios, who flirted with .400 last season, has seen his full-season career start in a 6-for-35 slump that has offered hardly any power. So who’s left? Nick Gordon. Gordon has 18 hits in 51 at-bats and has hit safely in 10 of the 12 games he’s played. He’s demonstrated the ability to stick at the most difficult position to play defensively. He’s bulked up and shown more pop. (He’s already matched his career-high total in home runs: one.) He hasn’t shown the ability to draw a walk, but, you know, BLOODLINES! Trending towards the top of the Twins prospect lists. The very top? Check in later this summer. Stuart Turner, catcher Before going hitless on Wednesday, Turner had a hit in seven of his first eight games including a three-hit night in the season opening series. There have been many questions about Turner’s hit tool as he’s struggled with the bat as a pro (career .246 batting average) and seen all of his triple slash numbers decrease from Fort Myers to Chattanooga last year. Turner has flashed a little more extra base pop this season as he has three doubles and a home run already in his first 25 at-bats (or one every 6.25 at-bats, compared to last year where he hit one every 18.2 at-bats). Trending towards consideration of being a two-way threat… or at least, not strictly a defense-only catcher. There were many others who could have been included. Who has impressed you with their start to the season? Click here to view the article

On Saturday, the Twins fell again and are now 0-5, with Ricky Nolasco set to make his first start on Sunday. We’re getting increasingly close to Twins minor league reports becoming the most important part of Twins Daily. Then again, minor league coverage is always fun and exciting from day to day. Even when things are bad in the big leagues, there are three or four more box scores to give us something to get excited about. Of course, now Max Kepler is not going to be appearing on minor league reports, at least for a little while, after today. A couple of relief pitchers provided reason for optimism, and the Lookouts recorded their first win of the season thanks to a huge inning. The Kernels now have a winning streak.Continue reading to find out all that happened in the minor league games on Saturday as we look forward to JO Berrios’s first start of the season on Sunday. TRANSACTIONS With Danny Santana placed on the disabled list after Saturday night’s Twins loss, the Twins called up outfielder Max Kepler from AAA Rochester. For Cedar Rapids, Zack Tillery was placed on the disabled list. RED WINGS REPORT The game was postponed already on Friday afternoon. The Red Wings home opener will now be on Sunday. JO Berrios will start for Rochester opposite former Twins pitcher Anthony Swarzak. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 9, Biloxi 5 Box Score A big inning helped Chattanooga to post their first win of the season on Saturday. Down 2-0 through two innings, the Lookouts offense, woeful to that point in the season, put together a rally to score six runs. Levi Michael got things going with an RBI triple and scored when Engelb Vielma singled him in. Later, Dalton Hicks singled in a run before Joe Maloney doubled in two more runs. Levi Michael led the way. He went 3-4 with the triple and three RBI. Stuart Turner continues his hot start with a 3-5 day. Dalton Hicks, who wasn’t in the original lineup, went 2-4 with a walk. David Hurlbut got the start and worked the first five innings. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and two walks. He struck out two. Corey Williams came in and got four outs. He gave up no runs on one hit two walks and strike out. He was replaced by Marcus Walden who was charged with two runs on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. JT Chargois came on for the ninth inning and struck out the side to give the Lookouts the win. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Bradenton 1 Box Score Lefty Tyler Jay made his first start of the season for the Miracle. The 2015 top pick had some issues with control, but he also showed how dominant he can be. He needed just over 80 pitches to get through five innings. He gave up just one run on three hits. He walked three and hit one batter. He also struck out seven. Jay left after five and was replaced by Todd Van Steensel. He walked three and struck out one over two scoreless and hitless innings. Luke Bard came in and worked the final two innings. He was perfect and struck out three batters to record the Save. The offense didn’t come up with a lot, but they were able to bunch some hits together. They managed six hits and walked four times. TJ White and Alex Swim each had two hits in the game. Nick Gordon and Trey Vavra each had one. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 2 Box Score After playing two games in Cedar Rapids, these teams shifted their match-up to the southwest and played in Davenport, Iowa. The result at the end of the day was the same, a Kernels’ win. Australian Sam Gibbons started and went the first five innings. He gave up one run on five hits and three walks. He struck out four. Logan Lombana came on for his first appearance and worked three innings. He gave up one run on one hit. John Curtiss came in for the ninth. He walked the first batter he faced, but responded by striking out the next three batters. The River Bandits committed three errors that helped two of the runs score. However in the 3rd inning, Rafael Valera hit a two-run triple. In the 6th inning, LaMonte Wade knocked in two runs with a double. Valera also walked twice while Wade walked once. Bryant Hayman was the catcher and played in his first game. He was 1-3 with a walk. Luis Arraez, on his 19th birthday, made his first start, batting ninth and playing second base. He went 1-3 with a walk. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – JT Chargois, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Levi Michael, Chattanooga Lookouts SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (12:35 CST) - Jose Berrios (vs Swarzak) Chattanooga @ Biloxi (1:10 CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (12:00 CST) – RHP Keaton Steele Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (1:15 CST) – LHP Sam Clay Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

In 2015, the Minnesota Twins got very little production from their catchers. Kurt Suzuki logged a lot of innings behind the plate. Chris Herrmann and Eric Fryer were the backups, but it was clear that Paul Molitor had little confidence in either as they would play about once a week. The Twins acquired three new catchers by early December clearly indicating it was a position they felt they needed to improve.According to Terry Ryan, it was something that was important to them, and he’s been generally pleased with what he’s seen from the new guys. “Yeah. I think we’ve done OK here as far as that depth and choices and so forth. Catching is always a major concern for every organization. I don’t care who you are. You can be the World Series defending champs like the Royals. We all worry about catching. It comes and goes. The injuries. When you find a catcher that’s got the total package, you’ve got something. That's nice to have. So we kept looking and trying to acquire and continue to add. We’ve added a fair amount here. We lost a fair amount. It’s encouraging.” Soon after the World Series Terry Ryan traded Chris Herrmann to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league outfielder Daniel Palka. Herrmann is competing for a starting job, and regular playing time, with the team. A day later, he traded centerfielder Aaron Hicks to the New York Yankees in exchange for 24-year-old catcher John Ryan Murphy. Eric Fryer was a free agent and chose early to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals where he has a good chance to be their backup. By early September, the Twins announced that they had signed 26-year-old veteran Juan Centeno. Murphy comes to the organization after spending parts of the last three years as a backup to Brian McCann in New York. He put up decent offensive numbers considering his limited playing time. Defensively, he is generally regarded as average, or a little better than average, across the board in all categories. Average offense and defense from the catcher position would be a nice improvement. John Hicks has been regarded as a potential average hitting catcher and a very good athlete with a strong arm behind the plate. Juan Centeno has been one of this spring’s fun stories. He has a .636/.667/1.182 (1.848) line on offense. Sure, he’s got just 11 a- bats, but he’s 7-11 with three doubles, a homer and six RBI. The 26-year-old from Puerto Rico has played in 24 big league games over the past three years. He has a .408 OPS in 66 plate appearances in that time. However, in three seasons of AAA - all in the Pacific Coast League - he has hit a combined .298/.335/.367 (.692). Note, however, that he’s averaging just under 58 games a year which means that despite hitting ‘alright’ for a catcher he has primarily been a backup. While he has just three home runs in over 1600 minor league at-bats in his nine seasons, he has looked good at the plate this spring. What he has done this spring is take really good at-bats. He’s driven the baseball. As Molitor said after Sunday’s game, “Good at-bats. He’s been that way since he’s been there. He’s one of those left-handed guys who can slice it out there and battle. He handles himself really well. You can tell he’s had some experience.” When asked about what kind of reports the Twins had on Centeno’s defense before signing him, Molitor indicated that they were positive. “Overall reports before came were a plus receiving. We’re watching how he calls pitches and handles pitchers. Part of that, at the beginning, he’s learning the pitchers. I would say (he has a) plus arm.” Molitor said that it was definitely an area they needed to focus upon. “It was a point of emphasis for us. Prospects that we might have are starting to climb. The urgency at this level was somewhat obvious. Between Murphy, Hicks and Centeno, I think we’ve protected ourselves well there.” That brings us to the likes of Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver. Where do they stand? There’s no doubt that the Twins really like both catchers. They feel Turner brings a little more defensively, though Garver has greatly improved the last year or two. Both have very strong arms. Last week on The Ride with Reusse on 1500 ESPN, Patrick Reusse was joined by Chattanooga manager Doug Mientkiewicz. When asked some of the players he might have in a Lookouts uniform this year, he mentioned both Garver and Turner. I’ve advocated for giving Turner another half-season (or even a full season) in the Southern League. He has the size, strength and takes decent at-bats. I think that extra time at a level he’s played at could be beneficial for a guy who skipped Low A and struggle in the first half at Ft. Myers. In acquiring Murphy, they have a 24-year-old who they can control for five more seasons. Hicks has two option years remaining and only a little over a month of service time. Centeno is still young too. Turner and Garver are guys to continue to hope for and believe in. As Ryan said, it’s hard to find catchers. It can be a position of attrition with all the foul tips, the drain of a long season and such. When you find a guy who can play good defense behind the plate and work well with pitchers there is a lot of value. If you can find that guy, and he can hit, you have something to really like. For now, The Twins have several quality young catchers who could become something as they start the season with Kurt Suzuki as the starting catcher. Depth is very important at the position and the Twins feel good about theirs. Click here to view the article