Search the Community

All four Twins affiliates found themselves in close contests on Sunday. Two clubs were able to hold on and win by two runs or fewer. The other two clubs held big early leads and saw them disappear in the late innings. Who was able to perform well? Who struggled on Sunday? Let’s jump in.TRANSACTIONS OF Tanner English promoted to Rochester. OF Luke Raley placed on the 7-day IL with a left-ankle strain. AWARDS The Twins announced their weekly Hitter and Pitcher of the Week: Hitter of the Week: Lewin Diaz, Fort MyersDiaz played in six games for the Miracle and went 9-for-27 (.333 BA) with one double, three home runs, six RBI and a 1.037 OPS. Diaz, 22, was signed out of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic in July of 2013.Pitcher of the Week: Andrew Cabezas, Cedar RapidsCabezas made one start his week on Wednesday against Quad Cities. He pitched seven shutout innings with one hit allowed, no walks and nine strikeouts. Cabezas, 22, was drafted by the Twins in the 18th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft from the University of Miami. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Durham 4 Box Score Rochester used a balanced offensive attack to score runs in five different innings. This included two runs in the final three innings, which turned out to be the difference in the game. The Red Wings scored first with two runs in the second. Randy Cesar hit a two-run home run, his fourth long ball of the season. In the fifth, newly promoted Tanner English hit a solo shot. To put that in perspective, he only had four home runs all last season. Zack Littell pitched five strong innings by scattering four hits. He allowed one earned run with two strikeouts and a walk. After Littell allowed a run, Jack Cave quickly got it back with a home run to push Rochester’s lead to 4-1. Andrew Vasquez struggled to keep the Red Wings ahead. He was able to get only one out and he was charged with three earned runs. Jake Reed pitched the next 1 2/3 without allowing an earned run to score. He was charged with a blown save because of the inherited runners he got from Vasquez. Reed struck out three. Gabriel Moya pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Preston Guilmet earned his fifth save with a scoreless ninth. Rochester was able to come back thanks to a solo home run from Zander Wiel. It was his seventh of the year. Jake Cave added a two-out insurance run in the ninth. LaMonte Wade had walked and Wiel moved him to second on a single. Cave took care of the rest with a single to center. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 4, Mobile 3 (10 Innings) Box Score Pensacola is usually in good shape with Brusdar Graterol on the mound. That continued to be the case on Sunday, but he wsa not around to see the end of this one. Graterol pitched five strong innings as he allowed two runs on six hits. He struck out seven and walked two. Of his 81 pitches, 51 were for strikes. He reached 102 mph with his first pitch of the game. Alex Kirilloff created a run by himself in the bottom of the second. He doubled to lead off the inning and stole third. On the play, there was a throwing error by the catcher and Kirilloff was able to scamper home. Pensacola plated two more runs in the third after Travis Blankenhorn blasted his sixth home run of the year. The Blue Wahoos were up 3-1 and the game was in the hands of the bullpen. Alex Phillips and Tom Hackimer took over from Graterol. Each pitched a scoreless frame. Phillips walked one and allowed one hit, but he kept Mobile off the board. For Hackimer, he hasn’t allowed an earned run since 4/26. Ryan Mason pitched the final three frames. He allowed the tying run in the eighth, but he finished with two shutout frames for his second win. Joe Cronin started on second in the bottom of the tenth. Mark Contreras moved him to third on a sacrifice bunt. After a walk to Blankenhorn, Jaylin Davis slapped a single past a diving third baseman. The Wahoos won and celebrated on the field. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, St. Lucie 8 Box Score For the first time since 2015, the Miracle were swept at home in a three-game series. Fort Myers was up by as many as five runs in this game, but the Mets proved to be too much. Fort Myers built their lead with four runs in the first inning. Royce Lewis collected a one-out single and moved to third on a double from Lewin Diaz. With Jose Miranda batting, a wild pitch allowed Lewis to score. Then Miranda drove Diaz in with a single. Ryan Jeffers capped the inning with a two-run homer. Diaz was also part of the scoring in the third inning. He led off the inning with his seventh home run of the season. Fort Myers had their largest lead of the game at 5-0. Lewis would score a run in the fifth without the help of his teammates. He lined a one-out double then he moved to third and scored on two wild pitches. Fort Myers had a 6-2 advantage. Jordan Balazovic started but he couldn’t make it out of the sixth inning. Overall, he was charged with four runs on six hits. He struck out eight including the first five batters of the game. Also, he has collected seven strikeouts or more in every appearance this season. Johan Quezada pitched two scoreless innings in relief. He walked one and allowed a hit. Joe Record ran into some trouble in the ninth after pitching a scoreless eighth. He allowed four runs on four hits with a walk and a strikeout. Anthony Vizcaya came in to try and clean up the mess. It was a tough situation with a tie game and two runners on base. He walked the bases loaded and then saw runs score on a single and a sacrifice fly. He struck out the final two batters he faced. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Clinton 8 Box Score Much like the Miracle, the Kernels saw an early lead evaporate in the late innings. Andrew Bechtold put a two-spot on the scoreboard in the second with his third home run. Chris Williams had doubled earlier in the frame. Cedar Rapids kept the scoring going in the third. Gabriel Maciel walked to start the inning and then Gilberto Celestino smacked a two-run home run. Jacob Pearson followed with a single and then Williams drove him in with a triple. Williams was able to score on a wild pitch and the Kernels were up 6-0. Josh Winder was given an early lead, but he struggled to hold on to it. He allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking one. It was his shortest outing since 4/20. Brian Rapp took over for Winder and he had his own struggles. In two innings of work, he allowed three runs on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Derek Molina took the loss, but he came into a tough situation after the first three batters had reached in the eighth inning. Cedar Rapids was still up 7-5 but there were two runners in scoring position. The first batter he faced hit a single to score a run. He struck out the next two batters but a two-out single put Clinton up by one. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Brusdar Graterol, Pensacola (5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 7 K, 2 BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Travis Blankenhorn, Pensacola (3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 2-4, 2B, 2 R, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 2-3, 2B, R, BB, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 7 K, 2 BB #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – Did not play #5 - Wander Javier (EST) – Injured (quad), return…unknown #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) - Injured List (adductor) #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List, late-May return possible #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 0-3, BB, 2K #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, 2 RBI, R #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – 5.0 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 K, BB #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 0-4, R, BB, K #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, RBI, R, K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester – Scheduled Off-Day Pensacola vs. Mobile (6:35 CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (5-0, 1.43 ERA) Fort Myers vs. Bradenton (5:30 CST) – RHP Jhoan Duran (0-3, 4.21 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs. Burlington (6:35 CST) – RHP Luis Rijo (0-4, 4. ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Tanner English hit a first-inning grand slam in what was a crazy game that ended with a Pensacola victory, Devin Smeltzer impressed in his Triple-A debut and Ryan Jeffers had a big day in a Miracle win. Come check out what else happened across the minor league system Friday evening.TRANSACTIONS -Miguel Sano was bumped up from Fort Myers to Pensacola as he gears up to return to the Twins. He was not in the Blue Wahoos’ lineup tonight. -Jordan Balazovic was promoted to Fort Myers. He had a 2.18 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings for the Kernels. To make room, Moises Gomez was sent down to Cedar Rapids. He made one appearance with the Miracle. -Mark Contreras was promoted back up to Pensacola. He’s been a busy guy, spending his first six games with Fort Myers, moving up to Pensacola for four games, then rejoined the Miracle for seven games. -Outfielder Malique Ziegler has joined Fort Myers. He’s the player the Twins acquired from San Francisco for Tyler Austin. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Pawtucket 1 Box Score Devin Smeltzer: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 69.8% strikes (67 of 96 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: Zander Wiel (3-for-4), Randy Cesar (2-for-4, BB), Luke Raley (2-for-3, BB) After pitching to a 0.60 ERA in five starts for Pensacola, Devin Smeltzer was moved up to Rochester to make his Triple-A debut. Since the MLB ball is being used at the Triple-A level this season, any pitchers making the jump up have a built in excuse if they struggle right out the gates. Smeltzer didn’t need any excuses. If Smeltzer was at all nervous, it didn’t show. He looked composed on the mound and went right after hitters, throwing nearly 70% of his pitches for strikes. The funky lefty used his defense plenty, but opposing hitters struggled to square up to the ball. He gave up just one hit through the first five innings and the only run he allowed was unearned. Despite Smeltzer’s effort, the Red Wings entered the top of the ninth in a 1-1 tie. They had a big six-run ninth inning that was aided by a couple walks and a throwing error. Gabriel Moya, who had been struggling, threw a perfect inning and struck out two batters. Tyler Duffey pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Zander Wiel had a three-hit game, and is hitting .379 over his last seven games. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 10, Biloxi 8 Box Score Brusdar Graterol: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 55.8% strikes (43 of 77 pitches) HR: Tanner English (2), Joe Cronin (1) Multi-hit games: Luis Arraez (3-for-4, BB, SB), Ernie De La Trinidad (3-for-4, BB), Taylor Grzelakowski (2-for-5) Tanner English blasted a first-inning grand slam to put the Blue Wahoos up 5-0. That granny also knocked the opposing starting pitcher out of the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Palm Beach 4 Box Score Tyler Watson: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 68.2% strikes (58 of 85) HR: Ryan Costello (3), Akil Baddoo (4) Multi-hit games: Trevor Larnach (2-for-4, 2B, BB), Trey Cabbage (2-for-5, 2B), Michael Helman (2-for-4, 2B), Ryan Jeffers (2-for-4, 2B) The Miracle jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning behind a Ryan Jeffers RBI double and a Ryan Costello two-run home run. Tyler Watson couldn’t get that lead to hold up, as he gave up three runs over his five innings of work, but good thing the Fort Myers lineup still had some runs in those bats. Jeffers hit a two-run single in the sixth before Akil Baddoo slugged a solo homer and Trey Cabbage added an RBI double in the seventh. Tom Hackimer and Joe Record each provided two shutout innings out of the bullpen. Hackimer struck out four more batters tonight, putting him up to 27 over just 15 1/3 innings. He’s only given up three hits and one earned run. KERNELS NUGGETS Dayton 4, Cedar Rapids 3 Box Score Blayne Enlow: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 67.0% strikes (63 of 94 pitches) HR: Chris Williams (6) Multi-hit games: Gabe Snyder (2-for-4, BB) Blayne Enlow looked a lot better than his stat line would suggest. His breaking ball was sharp, he was getting plenty of swings and misses, but he paid for a mistake. Enlow left a 1-1 pitch right in the middle of the plate and watched it sail over the fence for a two-run homer. He was also called for a pair of balks. Enlow exited with Cedar Rapids trailing 4-1. The Kernels tallied a couple of runs in the seventh inning, then mounted a rally in the ninth. Gabriel Maciel led off the inning with a single, then Gabe Snyder walked. Chris Williams struck out one pitch after hitting a laser just foul. Jacob Pearson then flew out, bringing DaShawn Keirsey to the plate. During the plate appearance, yet another balk was called, the third of the game. That brought the tying run to third base and pushed the winning run into scoring position. Keirsey struck out on a checked swing to end the game. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Devin Smeltzer, Rochester Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Tanner English, Pensacola TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed 1. Royce Lewis (FM): 0-for-4, BB, E (2) 2. Alex Kirilloff (PNS): 1-for-2, BB, 2 HBP 3. Brusdar Graterol (PNS): 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 55.8% strikes (43 of 77 pitches) 4. Trevor Larnach (FM): 2-for-4, 2B, BB, R, K 9. Blayne Enlow (CR): 5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 67.0% strikes (63 of 94 pitches) 10. Akil Baddoo (FM): 1-for-3, HR (4), 2 BB, RBI, R, 2 K 11. Nick Gordon (ROC): 1-for-5, 2B, RBI, 2 K 13. Ryan Jeffers (FM): 2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI, R 16. Gilberto Celestino (CR): 0-for-3, BB, 2 K 18. LaMonte Wade (ROC): 0-for-5, K 20. Jose Miranda (FM): 1-for-5, R, 2 K SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Pawtucket, 5:15 pm CT (Lewis Thorpe) Pensacola vs. Biloxi, 6:05 pm CT (Randy Dobnak) Fort Myers at Palm Beach, 4:30 pm CT (Charlie Barnes) Cedar Rapids vs. Dayton, 6:35 pm CT (Tyler Palm) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games. Click here to view the article

Over their previous seven games, the Miracle had scored a combined 15 runs. A look through the batting averages of players in the lineup (besides the red-hot Lewin Diaz and his .480 batting average) showed that the bats were cold. On Sunday, they scored 12 runs on 21 hits and all nine starters had at least two hits in the game. .Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Sunday, starting with the transactions of the day TRANSACTIONS Infielder Drew Maggi promoted from Pensacola to Rochester.Infielder Joe Cronin promoted from Cedar Rapids to Pensacola.Hunter Lee promoted from extended spring training to Cedar Rapids.UPDATE on the Transactions: Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

While Major League Baseball took a day off for the Home Run Derby, the minor leagues were in full force. All six affiliates were in action on Monday, and there were several transactions for you too. Tyler Jay made a start. Jaylin Davis had a day. LaMonte Wade reached base a lot. Tanner English had a big offensive day as well. On Tuesday, several affiliate have an off-day, allowing the players the night off to watch the game that they all likely have dreamed of playing in someday.Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Monday. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Infielder Leonardo Reginnato was placed on the Rochester disabled list with a fracture in his left hand. Andy Wilkins was promoted from Chattanooga to Rochester. Also, Fernando Romero rejoined the Red Wings.Lewis Thorpe and Alex Kirilloff were removed from the temporary Inactive List of the Lookouts and Miracle, respectively.Infielder Yeltsin Encarnacion and RHP Tanner Howell have been promoted from the GCL Twins to the Elizabethton Twins. RHP Niklas Rimmel has moved from the E-Twins to the GCL.Finally, Miguel Sano was placed on the temporary inactive list. According to Twins farm director Jeremy Zoll, via Mike Berardino on Twitter, Sano has returned to the Dominican Republic due to a “family situation.” Obviously we wish Sano and his family the best. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 13, Louisville 6 Box Score Zack Littell started and went just 4 1/3 innings. He was charged with five runs on five hits. He walked four and struck out five batters. Gabriel Moya recorded five outs, four of them on strikeouts. Trevor May struck out three over two scoreless innings. Nick Anderson gave up a solo homer in the ninth, but he struck out the other three batters he faced. LaMonte Wade went 3-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs. Taylor Motter went 2-for-4 with a walk, his fourth double and his second Red Wings homer. Kennys Vargas had two hits and a walk. Jordan Pacheco also had two hits. Andy Wilkins knocked a grand slam in his first game with the Red Wings. The 29-year-old Wilkins has big league time with the White Sox (2014) and the Brewers (2016). CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Game 1: Chattanooga 7, Montgomery 11 Box Score After completing just two innings on Sunday, these teams resumed the game on Monday. Sean Poppen had started on Sunday and threw two scoreless innings, striking out four. When play resumed Monday, lefty Dietrich Enns was on the mound. It didn’t go well. He was charged with eight earned runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked on and struck out one. Todd Van Steensel came on and was charged with three runs on three hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. William Ramirez struck out two in a scoreless inning. Jaylin Davis led the offense. He went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and stole his second base. Luis Arraez went 2-for-5 with his first double. Tanner English went 2-for-4 with his 11th double. Jordan Gore had two hits, including his first AA double. Zander Wiel also had two hits. Game 2: Chattanooga 8, Montgomery 1 Box Score The regularly-scheduled game was just a seven inning affair. Jaylin Davis had another 3-for-4 game. Tanner English hit his third home run, driving in three runs. Alex Perez had a hit, a walk and was hit by a pitch. Jimmy Kerrigan and Jordan Gore each had two walks. It was a bullpen game for the Lookouts. Tyler Jay started and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and struck out two batters. Ryan Eades gave up one run over the next two innings. He struck out four. Lefties Sam Clay and Ryne Harper combined for three shutout innings. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, St. Lucie 4 Box Score Mark Contreras has been a pleasant surprise throughout the season, starting in Cedar Rapids and especially since moving up to Ft. Myers. On this night, he went 3-for-4 with his sixth home run and two RBIs. Travis Blankenhorn went 2-for-3 with a walk, his 17th double and three RBIs. Clark Beeker started and went 4 2/3 innings. He gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out three. Ryan Mason came on and gave up just two hits over 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He struck out two. Hector Lujan worked a scoreless inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Lake County 4 Box Score Randy Dobnak doing Randy Dobnak things. When the Kernels need innings, Dobnak provides them. He improved to 7-2 with seven solid innings. He was charged with three runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out seven. Jared Finkel gave up a solo homer in the ninth innings, but he struck out three over the final two innings. Trey Cabbage was the subject of Steve Buhr’s article this week. The article talked about how well he’s been hitting on the road. Well, in this game, he went 3-for-5 with his 13th and 14th doubles. David Banuelos went 3-for-4 with his 12th double and three RBI. Jose Miranda, fresh off being named the Midwest League’s Player of the Week, went 3-for-4 with his 20th double. Ben Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a walk and his ninth and tenth doubles. Jean Carlos Arias went 2-for-4 with his 11th double. He also stole his sixth base. Ariel Montesino added his first double since joining the Kernels recently. E-TWINS E-TALK Elizabethton 4, Kingsport 14 Box Score After scoring in double digits in five of their last six games, the E-Twins had it done against them. Pedro Garcia started and gave up six runs on five hits and four walks over 2 1/3 innings. He struck out three. Seth Pinkerton came on and went the next 2 1/3 innings. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on two hits and five walks. He struck out four. Juan Gamez then gave up just one run over the next 2 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two. Tanner Howell made his Appy League debut and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning. Derek Molina walked two but got the final out. Ryan Jeffers and Alex Robles each went 2-for-4 with a walk. Chris Williams also had two hits. Yunior Severino hit his third home run of the season. GCL TWINS TALK GCL Twins 2, GCL Orioles 9 Box Score The Twins got a solid start from Prelander Berroa on Monday. The right-hander gave up two runs on five hits and two walks over the game’s first five innings. He struck out two. Petru Balan came on and gave up two runs on four hits and two walks over the next two innings. He struck out three. It was his seventh outing of the season, the first in which he gave up any runs. Dylan Stowell came on for the final two innings. He gave up five runs on seven hits. The Twins had six hits and four walks in the game. Agustin Marte went 2-for-4 with his first double of the season. Yeison Perez walked and hit his fifth double. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Jaylin Davis, Chattanooga Lookouts (6-8, R, 3 RBI, K) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Ryan Mason, Ft. Myers Miracle (3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed. Please note that this Prospect Summary has been updated. #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Ft. Myers) - Did not play. #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch. #4 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 1-5, 2B(10), 2 R, 2 K #5 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Did not pitch. #6 - Trevor Larnach (Elizabethton) - Not playing yet. Could play by Wednesday (per Doogie) #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 0-5, 3 K #8 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, R, 3 K #9 -Wander Javier - out of for the season #10 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did not pitch. #11 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch. #12 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 3-4, BB, R, 2 RBI #13 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 2-3, BB, 2B(17), 3 RBI, K #14 - Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) - Did not pitch. #15 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - Did not play. #16 - Yunior Severino (Elizabethton) - 1-4, BB, HR(3), RBI, 2 R, 2 K #17 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 0-4, 3 K #18 - Ryan Jeffers (Elizabethton) - 2-4, BB, K, R #19 - Jacob Pearson (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, RBI SF, 3 K #20 - Luis Arraez (Chattanooga) - 2-9, 2B(1), R, RBI, K #21 - Jose Miranda (Cedar Rapids) - 3-4, 2B(20), 2 R, *I figured that since Wander Javier is out, I’d add #21 to the list. TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Louisville @ Rochester (10:05 CST) - LHP Adalberto Mejia (5-2, 2.56 ERA) Chattanooga - No Game Scheduled St. Lucie @ Ft.. Myers (6:00 CST) - LHP Charlie Barnes (3-5, 3.19 ERA) Cedar Rapids - No Game Scheduled Elizabethton - No Game Scheduled GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (9:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions about Monday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers had a day off to close out April. However, an unlikely hero surfaced in Chattanooga and helped the Lookouts to a walk-off win. Rochester, in search of some offense, was able to score five runs. Was it enough to win? And hey, we’ve got more transactions including the Twins announcement that top pitching prospect Fernando Romero will be promoted and start for the Twins on Wednesday.Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Saturday. And as always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Following Sunday’s Twins loss, the team announced that RH RP Tyler Duffey was optioned to Rochester. On Monday morning, they announced that RH RP John Curtiss had been promoted.Then before the Twins Monday night game, the big news broke. Paul Molitor announced that Phil Hughes was being moved to the bullpen and Fernando Romero will come up to make his first MLB start on Wednesday. Romero is the Twins #2 Prospectand is ready for any role with the Twins.The Rochester Red Wings announced that RH RP Luke Bard had rejoined the team after his time with the Angels as a Rule 5 pick.Reports indicate that LHP Kevin Marnon has been promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 5, Pawtucket 1 Box Score The Red Wings have struggled to score runs all of April, so when they scored three runs in the first inning on Monday, there was reason for excitement. Combined with a strong pitching performance, the Red Wings ended April with 9-10 record. Dietrich Enns made the start. The left-hander gave up just one run on four hits and a walk. He struck out just one, but it was a needed quality start for the Red Wings. DJ Baxendale came on and threw two scoreless innings. Mason Melotakis got the ninth frame and got out of it without allowing a run. Willians Astudillo led the offense. He went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Leonardo Reginnato went 2-for-5 with his sixth double. Brock Stassi went 2-for-5 as well. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 3 Box Score It’s been a tough start to the season for outfielder Tanner English. Coming into Monday afternoon’s game, the speedy centerfielder had just four hits in his first 51 at-bats (.078). In fact, after making out his first two at-bats in this game, he was on a stretch in which he was 0-for-23 and 1-for-40. In the 7th inning, English singled to center to break the hitless streak. Down 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth, Brian Navarreto singled. Sean Miller sacrificed him to second. LaMonte Wade was walked which brought Tanner English to the plate. On a 1-2 pitch, English connected, hitting a line drive to left. Navarreto scored, and Wade came all the way around from first base with the game-winning run. Manager Tommy Watkins noted after the game, “It was great to see him come through for the team and also for himself. Hopefully this will be the start to him taking off. He has excellent tools, and we’re just trying to get him to believe in himself.” On the mound, starter Randy LeBlanc continued (and finished) his strong April with another good start. The right-hander gave up two runs on seven hits over the first 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four. Anthony McIver came on and got the final out of the sixth inning, worked a scoreless seventh frame, and he got the first two outs of the eighth inning. He gave up just one hit and struck out three. Williams Ramirez recorded the final out of the eighth frame. He was charged with an unearned run in the top of the ninth to put the Lookouts down 3-2. Brent Rooker got the team on the board in the third inning with a two-run double, his fifth of the year. Chris Paul and Brian Navarreto each went 2-4. LaMonte Wade went 1-3 with two walks. English went 2-4 with his second double and the game-tying and -winning RBI. English said following the game, “It definitely felt good. It felt good to end the series with that win. I’ve been struggling a bit, so I was just happy to have some good ABs, the hits were just an added bonus. We all look forward to taking that momentum into Mobile.” MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers Box Score No Game Scheduled. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids Box Score No Game Scheduled. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Willians Astudillo, Rochester Red Wings (3-5, 2B(3), 2 RBI) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Dietrich Enns, Rochester Red Wings (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 1-3, BB, 2B(5), 2 RBI #14 - LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) - 1-3, 2 BB, K, R TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (5:15 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves (1st AAA start of the year) Chattanooga - No Game Scheduled Ft. Myers @ Tampa (5:30 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi (1-0, 1.93 ERA) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (1-0, 1.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions about Monday’s full schedule of games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

I spent eight full days in Ft. Myers, and for at least some of each day, I spent time down on the minor league side of things. When there was a big league game, I would maybe only spend a couple of hours watching practice. When the big league team was on the road, I would spend as much as seven hours watching practices and games. There is a lot of talent in the Twins minor league system. Today I wanted to highlight a handful of players who caught my eye, specifically with guys who are not often found on prospect sheets.I don’t know if you want to call them sleepers or just guys that stood out to one observer, me, but there were several players that I didn’t necessarily rank real high on Twins prospect lists. This isn’t an article to say that suddenly these guys will jump into my Top 10 or even my Top 30. But every year there are a couple of players that do good enough work throughout the time I’m there (admittedly a small sample) to get noticed. At the same time, Royce Lewis is a standout. Brent Rooker's approach and swing at the plate are eye-popping. Akil Baddoo is impressive at the plate, on the bases and in the field. Alex Kirilloff’s swing is so smooth. Blayne Enlow appears to be as advertised. Brusdar Graterol throws gas and looks the part of a starter. Fernando Romero and Stephen Gonsalves look close to big-league ready. We already know that. That’s why those guys are top ten types of prospects. Today I want to highlight some guys that maybe you haven’t heard a lot about. Maybe some of them will end up being Top 20 guys by season’s end. Maybe some of them won’t be with the organization in September. I don’t know. But it’s fun to observe, and in some ways, play amateur scout. While I was in Ft. Myers, I watch a lot. I love watching bullpens. I love watching infielders take group balls. I love pop up drills. I love watching guys take game at bats against live pitching because that is often different than batting practice swinging, which is also fun to watch. In my time down there, I had the chance to briefly talk to Mike Radcliff, and I met Deron Johnson for the first time. I only wish I had their abilities to scout and evaluate players not only for what they are today, but what they might be in three years, or five years. Scouting is a tough job. And maybe this little exercise will highlight that. So let’s get to it. Here are five guys (non-Top 20 types) who stood out in my mind having watched them over the course of my eight days in Ft. Myers. Ben Rodriguez Ben Rodriguez was the Twins 38th-round pick last June out of Pepperdine where he had played for four years. Drafted as a catcher, Rodriguez stands 6-6 and about 230 pounds. After being drafted, he played 50 games in the GCL where he hit .290/.399/. 457 (.856) with 17 extra base hits. While I did see him working on a few drills with the catchers, Rodriguez spent the majority of his time at first base. What is noteworthy is that he spent most of spring training with the Ft. Myers group that is starting the season in Cedar Rapids. He essentially passed by the likes of Kolton Kendrick and JJ Robinson who played first base at Elizabethton last season. He’s had some swing-and-miss in his game, but as you would guess from his size, he has a ton of power and power potential. We’ll see if it comes to fruition, but in my mind, that was a great late-round pick. Rodriguez is very athletic, strong and has potential that makes him intriguing. Andrew Vasquez Vasquez is kind of a late bloomer on this list. The left-hander was the Twins 32nd- round pick in 2015 out of Westmont College in California. He’s been moved fairly slowly, but he ended 2017 strong. After starting in Cedar Rapids, he moved up to Ft. Myers. Combined, he posted a 1.55 ERA and struck out 85 batters in 58 innings of work. He ended the season with an invitation to the Arizona Fall League where he struck out 14 batters in 12.2 innings (1.42 ERA). I first noticed him in the spring of 2017 when I watched him throw a bullpen. Actually, I heard him throw a bullpen. Just warming up, the ball could be heard as it went by. While his velocity wasn’t too high, it was a heavy fastball. This year, I watched him pitch in a couple of spring games. As I was taking in pitches from the side, and seeing hitters’ knees buckle, I decided to go stand behind home plate and watch. I’d obviously heard about the slider of Vasquez, but to see it is something else. After watching a couple, I looked at Twins assistant minor league pitching coordinator JP Martinez and he just shook his head at me and said, “I wish I could take credit for that.” We watched a couple more of his sliders dart into the strike zone, and it made his fastball appear even faster than its low-90s velocity was. He’s a two-pitch pitcher, and both pitches are really good. Tanner English 2017 was a forgettable year for Tanner English. He began the season by spending about a month in Chattanooga, but he just couldn’t get his bat going. He moved back to Ft. Myers and continued to struggle with the bat. He will begin 2018 with the Lookouts again, looking to take his career to the next level. You may recall the big league spring training game that English played hero in just over a week ago. He entered the game in the 8th inning as a pinch runner and then hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game. While he’s not a big guy, English has good tools. The first one you notice is his speed. He’s a good base runner and base stealer. He really shines in center field. English can cover a lot of ground, and he possesses a very strong arm. While he hasn’t hit for average, English puts together really good at-bats. He knows the strike zone and he understands the value of getting on base. And again, despite the lack of size, English has a bit of pop in his bat. The spring training big league home run landed near the top of the berm in left center field at Hammond Stadium. 2018 is a big year for him, and a solid offensive year, with his defense, could make him a candidate for a fourth or fifth outfielder job. Taylor Grzelakowski Grzelakowski went undrafted last year after his four years at Madonna University in Michigan. After the draft, “Gelly” was set to play in the United Shores Professional Baseball League, but after playing in 29 games, the Twins signed him. He went to the GCL where he played in 12 games. He spent this offseason continuing to work on his body. He noted that he lost 20 pounds since the end of last season, and he has now lost 62 pounds since entering college. All that is a nice back story, but Grzelakowski was impressive this spring. Though he played in the GCL last year, he has made the Ft. Myers Opening Day roster because he had such a strong camp. He’s got a smooth, but strong, left-handed swing. He knows the strike zone. Defensively, he’s got work to do behind the plate, but his improved physique has made him much more agile on balls in the dirt. His footwork has improved a lot. And, he’s always had a strong arm. With Mitchell Kranson and Caleb Hamilton also in Ft. Myers, it will be interesting to see how playing time is allocated. Kranson and Hamilton both have the ability to play multiple positions. Landon Leach Leach was ranked in the 20s among Twins prospects by most ranking sources. That was probably too low if only based on him being a second-round pick. Leach will begin the season in extended spring training, but he does have a lot of potential. People are excited about the Twins 2017 draft, but generally the focus is turned to Royce Lewis, Brent Rooker and Blayne Enlow. Leach isn’t talked about as often. However, after seeing him work in the bullpen and in games, I’m convinced he will be very good too. Drafted out of high school in Canada, the term “helium” was appropriate as the draft approached. He may be a bit more raw than some, in part due to cooler climate, but he also has only been pitching for a couple of years after being a catcher before that. Leach is a big, tall kid with a strong frame. He was clocked at 96 in a game, but he sat 94. He’ll have to continue to work to improve his secondary pitches, but he’s got a huge arm and will continue to grow. Like Brusdar Graterol, Leach could be a guy who gets to Cedar Rapids before the short season leagues start. Just a few more… Shortstop depth is good. Even after trading Jermaine Palacios, the Twins have Nick Gordon, Royce Lewis and Wander Javier at the position. And Sean Miller was named the Twins organization’s best minor league infielder for 2017. At Extended Spring Training, the Twins will have 2017 draft pick Ricky De La Torre and international signings Victor Tademo and Yunior Severino. All three were impressive with the glove and the bat.Centerfield defense is also an important trait, it seems, throughout the Twins system. Byron Buxton. Zack Granite. Tanner English. Aaron Whitefield. Akil Baddoo. Having watched 2017 draft pick TJ Dixon man centre field, they may have another. And Jacob Pearson can also play center field, though he played mostly right field.While watching the Astros/Orioles game last night, the announcer pointed out that Carlos Correa was clocked at 97 mph from the hole at shortstop to first base. That’s pretty impressive. Twins fifth-round pick in 2017, Andrew Bechtold, told me that before he came to spring training, he was clocked at 101 mph on a throw across the infield. While he has a good approach at the plate and some power potential, his defense is a big positive in his game.Along with all of the new coordinators and other positions in the minor leagues, the Twins have also added a fourth coach at each of the minor league levels. In the past, each affiliate would have a manager, a hitting coach and a pitching coach. One more coach can only be a positive.A little over a week ago in a minor league spring training game, Felix Jorge took a laser liner to the knee. While it is not believed to be serious, it is the reason he’s starting the season on the Disabled List.While the Twins added minor leaguer pitcher Adam Bray and first baseman Robbie Rinn in trades, the Twins also traded catcher Rainis Silva to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for cash.Losing weight was an important offseason activity for several Twins minor leaguers besides Taylor Grzelakowski. RHP Tyler Wells lost nearly 30 pounds over the winter. After losing about 25 pounds last offseason, catcher Mitchell Kranson said he lost about 10 more this offseason. And outfielder Shane Carrier, who had a fantastic second half in 2017, lost about 20 pounds as well. And he did so without losing any power as he launched a couple of the longest home runs I've seen.Roster Previews Kernels Class of 2018 “Should Be Pretty Entertaining” - Steve Buhr Ft. Myers Miracle Preview - Tuesday Night Chattanooga Lookouts Preview - Wednesday Night Rochester Red Wings Preview - Thursday Night Click here to view the article

FORT MYERS - Seth discusses the last day or so at Twins spring training. Topics include Miguel Sano not being suspended, the roster moves, Erick Aybar, Ryan Lamarre, Tanner English's big blast and some notes from minor league spring training, including a couple of transactions there too. You can listen to it here, or better yet, subscribe to it on your smartphone using the directions below.To add this podcast to your iPhone podcast app, do the following: 1. Open up this page in your iphone and copy this link: http://twinsdaily.libsyn.com/rss 2. Go into your iPhone podcast app and click on the "Library" tab at the bottom and then click on "Edit" in the upper right-hand corner: 3. Click on "Add a Podcast by URL..." 4. Paste the link you just copied into the dialog box and click on 'Subscribe'. Now you'll get every episode delivered to your phone to listen to whenever you want Click here to view the article

Royce Lewis, Minnesota's #1overall pick, did little to disappoint in his Midwest League debut on Saturday. He collected a career-high four hits while scoring twice, driving in a run and stealing a base. He seemed to show Twins faithful that he was ready for the big promotion, skipping over Elizabethton. It was going to be tough to live up to the hype after his fantastic first game. What could he do for an encore on Sunday?RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Norfolk 3 Box Score Rochester found themselves down 3-1 as they stepped to the plate in the fifth inning. Lucky enough for them, Tim Melville and a pair of bullpen arms combined for five straight shutout innings to end the game. Melville collected two outs in the seventh before ending his day and was credited with his fourth win. He hasn't lost in over a month and he has pitched into the seventh inning in four of his last five appearances. Nik Turley finished off the seventh and pitched the eighth for his first hold. Alex Wimmers earned his sixth save with a perfect ninth inning. Zack Granite used his speed to create a run in the first inning. He led off with a single and hustled all the way to third on a Mitch Garver single. Kennys Vargas brought him home with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1. In the fifth inning, Engelb Vielma reached on a fielding error which allowed him to get all the way to second. Daniel Palka used a two-out single to plate the run and cut the lead to 3-2. The sixth inning was when the Red Wings were finally able to take the lead. Kennys Vargas singled to start the inning. Niko Goodrum got a pitch down the middle of the plate and parked it for a go-ahead two-run homer. It was his first home run since July 26th and he set a new career-high with his tenth home run of the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Birmingham 7 Box Score Fernando Romero was scheduled to start on Sunday but he is closing in on his innings limit for the season. This meant a shift in the Lookouts rotation with Felix Jorge getting the nod on Sunday and DJ Baxendale taking Monday's start. Things didn't go smoothly for Jorge as he failed to make it through five innings for the first time since July 23rd. He left the game after being charged with three earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Randy Rosario cleaned up the fifth inning and pitched the sixth to help keep the Lookouts in the game. Rehabbing Glen Perkins ran into a rough spot in the seventh after having seen Chattanooga tie the game in the top half of the frame. He walked a batter, got a sacrifice bunt, struck out a batter, and walked another batter. With two outs, he was removed with runners on the corners. Sam Clay replaced Perkins and walked the first three batters he faced but both of those runs were charged to Perkins. Overall, Clay was charged with five walks and he was asked to collect only four outs. Nick Gordon started the sixth with his 27th double and then moved to third on a Edgar Corcino single. LaMonte Wade brought him in with a sacrifice fly to start the team's scoring. Max Murphy doubled to start the seventh inning and moved to third on back-to-back walks from Carlos Paulino and Alex Perez. A wild pitch allowed all three runners to advance with Murphy scoring. Levi Michael brought in a run with a ground out. Gordon walked to load the bases again before Corcino singled to drive in another run. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 11, Dunedin 7 Box Score Every batter in the Miracle line-up reached base as the team pounded out 14 hits and 11 runs. Tanner English and Zander Wiel led the way with each reaching base four times. English had a pair of doubles and scored three runs while Wiel fell a home run short of the cycle. Jermain Palacios drove in three runs as part of a multi-hit day. Brandon Lopez didn't record a hit but reached base three times on free passes. Brady Anderson allowed one earned run on four hits with a strikeout and a walk. Keaton Steele pitched three innings as he allowed two hits and one earned run. Tom Hackimer pitched to six batters in the ninth and didn't record an out. He was charged with five runs on two hits with four walks. Alex Muren was called on to collect the final three outs. He allowed one hit and he struck out two. Both runs scored with Muren on the mound were charged to Hackimer. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Quad Cities 6 Box Score Things were looking glum for the Kernels even though the club held an early 3-1 lead. Charlie Barnes got knocked around for five runs in the third inning to see the team's lead evaporate. This included three home runs and one of those home runs was a grand slam. Evan Sanders and Patrick McGuff combined to pitched six shutout innings while only allowing one hit. This kept things close and set up a dramatic bottom of the ninth. With the Kernels down by three, Jimmy Kerrigan and Lewin Diaz singled to start the frame. Caleb Hamilton walked to load the bases before a Shane Carrier run-scoring single cut the lead to two. Trey Cabbage walked in a run and then Joe Cronin sent everyone home happy with a walk-off single. Royce Lewis was held to a 1-for-4 effort but he did score a run. Carrier finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double. Aaron Whitefield collected his eleventh home run of the year, a two-run shot. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 12, Johnson City 1 Box Score The E-Twins used some timely hitting and a strong start from Melvi Acosta to move 11 games over .500. Acosta earned his fifth win by tossing seven innings of one-run ball. The seven innings were the most he's thrown since July 22nd of last season. Jovani Moran pitched two scoreless innings to end the game while collecting strikeouts for five of the six outs he recorded. No batter in the E-Twins line-up had more than two hits but every starter reached base at least once and scored at least one run. Kolton Kendrick, Andrew Bechtold, Mark Contreras and Matt Albanese all had two-hit games. Contreras drove in four runs including a two-run shot. Three of his four RBI came with two outs in the inning. Bechtold added a pair of doubles to bring his season total to nine. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Melvi Acosta, Elizabethton Twins (7 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB) Hitter of the Day – Tanner English, Fort Myers Miracle (4-for-4, 2 2B, 3 R) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester - Scheduled Off-Day Chattanooga @ Birmingham (7:05 CST) - RHP DJ Baxendale (0-0, 9.00 ERA) Fort Myers vs. Lakeland (6:05 CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe (3-4, 2.86 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (6:30 CST) - RHP Tyler Beardsley (3-6, 5.63 ERA) Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 CST) - RHP Nick Brown (1-1, 4.24 ERA) GCL Twins vs. GCL Rays (11:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Most of the Twins minor league games were done by 5:00 central time on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately for this article's author, that's about when Elizabethton started their game. The author of today's article is Stevie Larson. For now, he'll be serving as a backup for Twins Minor League Reports. So, be sure to welcome Stevie to the fold.Minor Rumblings Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reported on Sunday morning that Glen Perkins is scheduled to pitch on a rehab assignment for the Chattanooga Lookouts next Thursday, Sunday and Monday, with the goal of returning to the Twins shortly after. Prior to their game, the Chattanooga Lookouts placed CF LaMonte Wade on the seven-day disabled list with a right thumb sprain. Wade is batting .277 this season with six home runs in 95 games played. The 23-year old was a ninth-round draft pick for the Twins in 2015. Saturday night, GM Thad Levine told Aaron Gleeman of Baseball Prospectus that he is very impressed with Rochester OF Mitch Garver. Garver is batting .278 this season for the Red Wings with 16 home runs and 43 runs batted in. The 26-year old was a ninth-round selection of the Twins in 2013. Just after their games concluded, it was announced that LHP Stephen Gonsalves and RHP Luke Bard were transferred from Chattanooga to Rochester. Gonsalves is the Twins No. 3 prospect, and was 6-0 with a 2.36 ERA in his last nine starts. Twins Daily has learned that Edgar Corcino is heading back to the Lookouts. Another corresponding move will be needed on Monday. Red Wings Report Rochester 8, Syracuse 4 Box Score The Red Wings defeated the Syracuse Chiefs 8-4 on Sunday afternoon thanks to a four-run eighth inning that was capped off with an RBI double from J.B. Schuck. The Red Wings hit two home runs, as Zack Granite hit his fourth of the season in the first inning, and Kennys Vargas hit his eighth of the season in the third inning. On the mound, Aaron Slegers got the start and went five innings, giving up four runs and seven hits while recording six strikeouts. He ended up getting a no-decision, as Alex Wimmers threw two innings to pick up his third win of the season. Chattanooga Chatter Chattanooga 17, Jackson 5 Box Score The Lookouts absolutely thrashed the Jackson Generals on Sunday afternoon, as they put up eight runs in the first inning and four in the second inning to essentially end the game before it even got started. Despite putting up such high numbers, it was not a game filled with home runs, as the first came in the fourth inning off the bat of Andy Wilkins, and the second and final homer came in the fifth off the bat of Brian Navarreto. Navarreto was also the top hitter, going 3-5 with five runs batted in. On the mound, Zack Littell got the start, and went 5.2 innings, giving up eight hits and five runs while recording five strikeouts. The next two pitchers for the Lookouts combined to give up just one hit while locking down the huge win for the Lookouts. Miracle Matters Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 4 (10 innings) Box Score After jumping out to a 4-1 lead after the first inning thanks to home runs from Tanner English (his seventh) and Zander Wiel (his ninth), the Miracle ended up going to extra innings against the Jupiter Hammerheads. In the bottom of the 10th, the Miracle walked-off after a single from Wiel that scored English. Sean Poppen got the start for the Miracle, and only lasted three innings, giving up three runs on six hits with three strikeouts. The win was credited to Andrew Vasquez, who pitched the 10th and gave up one hit but struck out two. It is his first win of the season for the Miracle. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 0 Box Score The Kernels didn't have a big inning, but they used a run here and a run there to down the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Sunday afternoon. The Kernels were led by Shane Carrier, who went 3-4 with two runs scored and two home runs. On the mound, Charlie Barnes got the start, and picked up the win, his first of the season for Cedar Rapids, having just recently been promoted from Elizabethton. He went five innings, giving up just two hits and no runs while recording seven strikeouts. Logan Lombana and Ryan Mason each followed with two innings of shutout ball to end the game for the Kernels. E-Twins E-Notes Elizabethton 3, Bluefield 8 Box Score The lone loss for Twins affiliates came in the final game of the night when the Bluefield Blue Jays defeated the Elizabethton Twins 8-3. The Twins put up two runs in the top of the first, but the Blue Jays responded with two of their own in the bottom of the inning, and capped it off with a five-run fourth inning to sink the Twins. GCL Twins Takes Did not play. Twins Daily Players of the Day Pitcher - Charlie Barnes (CR) (5.1 IP, 7 strikeouts) Hitter - Shane Carrier (CR) (3-4, 2 home runs) Monday's probable starters Rochester - Tim Melville Chattanooga - TBD Fort Myers - Eduardo Del Rosario Cedar Rapids - Tyler Beardsley Elizabethton - TBD GCL Twins - TBD Click here to view the article

Bartolo Colon Day was delayed almost two hours and the 44-year-old was not exactly sharp once Rochester’s game got underway. But Stephen Gonsalves, who Colon may be competing with for a rotation spot, had nine strikeouts and no walks in his five-inning start. Chattanooga put together a rally in the bottom of the ninth to walk it off, 18-year-old Wander Javier hit a milestone homer, Tanner English helped lead the Miracle to a doubleheader sweep and there was a bit of a dustup down in the GCLFind out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday. RED WINGS REPORT Lehigh Valley 6, Rochester 1 Box Score Bartolo Colon, making his first minor league appearance since 2009, had a bit of a rough first inning. He labored, throwing 23 pitches, and gave up a run on a couple of doubles. To be fair, one double was on a ball Mitch Garver, playing left field for just the 11th time, should’ve caught. He had the range to get to the fly ball, but alligator armed the catch attempt. It appeared he may have been bracing himself for a potential impact with the wall. Colon pitched a 1-2-3 second inning before giving up a solo homer to J.P. Crawford in the third. He then walked the first batter he faced, Dylan Cozens, in the fourth inning. A couple more defensive mistakes allowed Cozens to advance to third. Colon was credited with an error on a pickoff attempt, though I’m sure first baseman Matt Hague would admit he should have caught that ball. Also, J.R. Murphy had a passed ball. Colon then walked old friend Pedro Florimon (who nearly hit a homer off him earlier) and then gave up a two-run double. Ending on a high note, Big Sexy struck out the final two batters he faced before reaching his pitch count limit. Colon’s final line on the evening: 3.2 innings, four hits, four runs, two walks, five strikeouts. He threw 76 pitches, 50 for strikes. It was his first outing since June 28 and the game was delayed almost two hours, so you could understand if he was a bit rusty and/or thrown off his regular routine. But still, he did give up a lot of hard contact. D.J. Baxendale and Alan Busenitz each pitched 1.2 perfect innings with two strikeouts. John Curtiss gave up two runs in the ninth, the first runs he’s surrendered with the Red Wings. Garver was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Tommy Field hit a double, drew a walk and drove in the Wings’ only run of the game. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Jacksonville 4 Box Score The Lookouts entered the bottom of the ninth trailing by a run. LaMonte Wade led off the inning with a single. After Jonathan Rodriguez struck out, Max Murphy drew a walk and T.J. White hit a game-tying double that scored Wade. After Travis Harrison was walked to load the bases, Alex Perez hit a ground ball to first base that managed to score Murphy from third to walk it off. Stephen Gonsalves struck out nine batters over five innings, giving up three runs (just one earned) on six hits. He didn’t walk a batter for the third time in 11 starts this season. Randy LeBlanc kept his team in the game, giving up an unearned run over three innings. Paul Clemens pitched a perfect ninth. The Lookouts are now 58-33 (.637). MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1: Fort Myers 4, Charlotte 3 (7 innings) Box Score The red-hot Miracle were trailing 3-1 heading into the sixth inning, but they rallied back to win it, picking up their seventh straight victory. Tanner English started that comeback rally with a single and Mitchell Kranson delivered the big blow, a two-run double. Lewis Thorpe struggled, giving up three runs on six hits over four innings. He walked three batters and had three strikeouts. Alex Robinson pitched a perfect fifth and stuck out the side in his FSL debut. Per the team’s Twitter account, he hit 98 mph. Keaton Steele pitched a scoreless sixth before Sam Clay came in and locked down his sixth save. Brandon Lopez was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run. Along with his big lead off hit in the sixth, English also drew two walks and stole a base. Game 2: Fort Myers 5, Charlote 3 (7 innings) Box Score Have yourself a day, Tanner English! This time the 2014 11th-round pick finished off a big inning, hitting a two-run triple to cap a big fourth inning. The Miracle scored all their runs in that frame, as Jaylin Davis also hit a two-run triple and Sean Miller had an RBI single. English also led off the game with a single and stole another base, giving him 15 steals with Fort Myers. He also swiped six bags during his time in Chattanooga, and is 21-for-24 in stolen base attempts this year. Brady Anderson went five innings, giving up three runs on six hits. He had a pair of strikeouts without giving up a walk. Andrew Vasquez pitched the final two innings, striking out five batters. The big lefty has now thrown 16.2 scoreless innings for the Miracle and has 29 strikeouts against just three walks. Make that eight straight wins for the Miracle. KERNELS NUGGETS West Michigan 3, Cedar Rapids 2 (10 innings) Box Score Gorge Munoz led off the sixth inning with a home run. The Kernels manufactured their second run of the inning without the luxury of a hit. Aaron Whitefield walked, advanced to third on an error and scored on a Lewin Diaz sac fly. Munoz made a pivotal error at shortstop in the bottom of the tenth, which was followed by a walk-off double. Evan Sanders made his second start for Cedar Rapids, holding the Whitecaps to one run over 4.2 innings. Tyler Beardsley surrendered another run over his three innings of work. Hector Lujan suffered the loss. He gave up three hits and struck out two over 1.2 innings. The Kernels were outhit 12-3. Trey Cabbage hit a double and Ben Rortvedt singled. E-TWINS E-NOTES Burlington 5, Elizabethton 4 Box Score Wander Javier hit his first home run in the United States, a two-run shot that came with two outs in the ninth inning. Andrew Bechtold, a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft, was 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI. This year’s ninth-rounder, Mark Contreras, was 2-for-4 with a double and scored a couple of runs. Melvi Acosta gave up five runs over 4.1 innings, but his bullpen was outstanding. Jovani Moran threw 2.2 scoreless innings, giving the 2015 seventh rounder 11.1 shutout innings this season. Jared Finkel pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Orioles 9, GCL Twins 5 Box Score Left fielder Roni Tapia was the standout hitter for the Twins, going 2-for-4 with a couple of doubles, three RBI and a run scored. Second baseman Emmanuel Morel also had a pair of hits before he was ejected in the ninth inning after being hit by a pitch. There were a total of eight hit batsmen and a couple of ejections in this one. The benches cleared at one point. Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press was in attendance, and shared some of the aftermath on his YouTube channel. Mike also shared some video from a chat with GCL manager Ramon Borrego and Royce Lewis yesterday. Pedro Garcia started and gave up four runs on six hits over 4.2 innings pitched. He got three strikeouts, and while he didn’t walk a batter, he did hit two, threw two wild pitches and was called for a balk. Juan Mojica surrendered five runs in his 2.1 innings (he hit two guys and threw two wild pitches, as well). Jose Bermudez held the Orioles scoreless over the final two innings, but he also hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Stephen Gonsalves, Chattanooga (5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K) Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Tanner English, Fort Myers (3-for-6, triple, 2 BB, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB) FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Lehigh Valley, 6:05 pm CT, Justin Haley (3.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) Chattanooga vs. Jacksonville, 6:15 pm CT, Kohl Stewart (3.73 ERA, 1.51 WHIP) Fort Myers at Charlotte, 5:35 pm CT, David Fischer (3.72 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) Cedar Rapids at West Michigan, 6:00 pm CT, Clark Beeker (2.71 ERA, 1.01 WHIP) Elizabethton at Burlington, 6:00 pm CT, Charlie Barnes (2.53 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) GCL Twins vs. GCL Red Sox, 11:00 am CT, TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games. Click here to view the article

Twins top prospect Nick Gordon took center stage on Sunday as part of MLB's Futures Game. Gordon led off the game and started at shortstop for the USA squad and worked the count to 3-1 before a sharp ground out to second base. In his second at-bat, he was more aggressive as he swung at the first two pitches before popping out to short. For his third and final at-bat, Gordon would follow a Brendan Rogers single with a single of his own. He moved to third on a double and scored on another double. Gordon finished the game 1-for-3, including two hard hit balls, with a run scored.Transactions Rochester: LHP Craig Breslow began his MLB rehab assignment Fort Myers: LHP Alex Robinson promoted from Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids: RHP Tyler Beardsley activated from 7-day DL RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Syracuse 2 Box Score Mitch Garver put on a hitting clinic in this contest. As part of a four-run second inning, Garver clocked his first home run of the day, a two-run shot. He stepped up with two outs in the fourth inning and blasted a solo-shot. Two innings later, he sent his third ball of the day over the fence, his twelfth home run of the season. He ended the day 3-for-5 with four RBI. Garver wasn't the only one teeing off on Syracuse pitching. Bengie Gonzalez matched Garver with three hits including two doubles. He also walked once. Matt Hague, ByungHo Park, Ryan Strausborger and Engelb Vielma all had doubles in the winning effort. On the mound it took a combination of pitchers to get the win. Justin Haley continues to be stretched out in the Red Wings rotation. He pitched four frames while allowing one run on three hits. Craig Breslow made his first rehab appearance and saw a runner score after he gave up a walk and a double with two outs. Nik Turley pitched two scoreless frames for his third win. Mason Melotakis, Michael Tonkin and Alex Wimmers put up zeros over the final two frames. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Pensacola 1 Box Score Even with Gordon out of the line-up for the Futures Game, the Lookouts managed a solid win. Kohl Stewart made his best start since returning from the DL. He pitched six innings while allowing one earned run on three hits. He struck out six and walked one. Todd Van Steensel pitched two scoreless innings with a strikeout and a walk. Nick Anderson finished off the game with a perfect ninth including a strikeout. Chattanooga got things going offensively in the third frame. LaMonte Wade doubled before a Jonathan Rodriguez single put runners on the corners. Andy Wilkins brought them both in with his tenth double of the season. The Lookouts were staked to a 2-0 lead. Things were still close until Chattanooga got some separation in the last two innings. TJ White and Max Murphy started the eighth with singles before a Travis Harrison walk loaded the bases. Dan Rohlfing walked to bring in the first run of the frame. With two outs, Ryan Walker would struck out but a wild pitch allowed the team's fourth run to score. In the ninth, Rodriguez singled in front of a Wilkins hit by pitch. Murphy brought home Rodriguez with his first double with Chattanooga. Rodriguez finished the day 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Wade and Murphy both went 2-for-5 with Wade collecting a pair of doubles. Rohlfing was the lone batter not to collect a hit but his walk to drive in a run was critical. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Palm Beach 2 Box Score Tanner English cracked two home runs and helped the Miracle to their fifth straight victory. Locked in a pitchers duel for the first four and a half frames, Jaylin Davis walked and moved to second on a balk. Shane Kennedy opened the scoring with an RBI single. English belted the first of his home runs to start the sixth inning and push the lead to 2-0. However, the Cardinals would tie the game in the seventh. English stole the lead back in the eighth inning as he connected for his second long ball of the day. The Miracle also added an insurance run later in the frame. Jermaine Palacios struck out with two outs but reached first base on a wild pitch. Mitchell Kranson singled and Zander Wiel walked to load the bases. Davis singled to drive in a run before Kranson was thrown out at home. Cody Stashak scattered four hits over six strong innings. He allowed two earned runs and struck out two while walking a pair. Andrew Vasquez pitched a scoreless seventh as he has yet to allow a run since being promoted to High-A (14.2 IP). Tom Hackimer picked up his second win as he pitched two perfect innings with a pair of strikeouts. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 1 Box Score The Kernels found themselves in an early 1-0 hole after Anthony Marzi allowed back-to-back singles and a sacrifice fly. He did not allow any hits in his final five frames and faced one batter over the minimum in that stretch.. His final line read seven innings with six strikeouts and one walk. Ryan Mason and Colton Davis each saw one base runner reach but they put up zeros to complete the win. Peoria's lead wouldn't last for long. Aaron Whitefield tied the game with his tenth home run of the season. Things got crazy in the seventh. Gorge Munoz struck out but advanced to second on a wild pitch and a throwing error by the pitcher. Christian Cavaness hit a sacrifice bunt and the pitcher committed another error to put runners on the corners. Whitefield drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly. Cedar Rapids picked up their season-high-tying fourth consecutive victory and have a chance to sweep this four-game series on Monday afternoon. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Johnson City 2 Box Score The E-Twins out-hit the Cardinals six to three but Elizabethton left five runners on base and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Edwar Colina was outstanding over seven shutout innings. He struck out eight, walked one and allowed two hits. Jared Finkel took the tough-luck loss. A passed ball by Rainis Silva and a Finkel throwing error allowed two unearned runs to score. Brent Rooker started the seventh with a single. Rooker came around to score after Shane Carrier reached on a fielding error by the third baseman. That was the end of the scoring for the E-Twins. Batters two through four in the line-up all struck out multiple times and no batter managed more than one hit. TJ Dixon reached base twice in three plate appearances. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Edwar Colina, Elizabethton Twins (7 IP, 0 ER, 8 K, 1 BB, 2 H) Hitter of the Day – Mitch Garver, Rochester Red Wings (3-for-5, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester - Scheduled Off Day Chattanooga @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (6:05 CST) - RHP Sean Poppin (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs. Peoria (12:05 CST) - RHP Eduardo Del Rosario (7-4, 4.69 ERA) Elizabethton vs. Johnson City (6:00 CST) - RHP Huascar Ynoa (0-1, 2.57 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00 am CST)- TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

What had been a very interesting last couple of days in Twins territory turned into a clunker at Target Field on Saturday, but there were a handful of minor moves that took place which are definitely noteworthy.Outfielder Edgar Corcino was promoted to take the place of Zack Granite. The Red Wings still have an open roster spot - and only three active outfielders - so Granite’s presumptive return after Sunday’s game won’t necessitate Corcino being sent back to Chattanooga. In turn, the Lookouts added outfielder Max Murphy to take Corcino’s place and also received starting pitcher Felix Jorge back from the Twins. The Lookouts had room for both after moving shortstop Nick Gordon to the temporarily inactive list due to his participation in the Futures Game on Sunday afternoon. His return will need to have a corresponding move. Fort Myers added second baseman Dane Hutcheon from the GCL Twins to fill out their roster, though that move sounds only temporary as it was reported that lefty reliever Alex Robinson is being promoted from Cedar Rapids to Fort Myers. There are other dominos likely to fall as well over the next couple of days as the #TwitterRumorverse was ablaze with talk of first overall pick's impending move from the GCL to Elizabethton. And who is going to join the Kernels? Brent Rooker, anyone? <exhale> Let’s check in on all of Saturday’s games. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Syracuse 0 Box Score Aside from a fourth inning ByungHo Park triple that scored Tommy Field, which followed a wild pitch that scored Niko Goodrum - both of who had walked - there wasn’t a whole lot of offensive action in a game that saw the Red Wings score two runs on only three hits. Field also reached base on his 22nd double of the season. Corcino went 0-3 with a strikeout in his AAA debut with the Twins organization. (He actually got four at-bats in a three-game cameo for Toledo in Detroit’s organization in 2012 -- when he 20.) Aaron Slegers pitched very well. He left with two outs in the eighth inning. After allowing a leadoff single in his final frame, he erased the runner with a ground ball double play, but was lifted when he allowed another hit. Jake Reed recorded the final four outs for his third save of the season. Slegers improved to 9-4. He struck out three and scattered seven hits over 7.2 scoreless innings. The Red Wings improved to 48-39 but still sit five games out of the wild card standings. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 5 Box Score The Lookouts surrendered a first-inning lead and fell after allowing the game-winning run to break a tie in the top of the ninth. Stephen Gonsalves only last four innings (and one batter into the fifth), but threw 97 pitches. He allowed three runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out three and took a no-decision. Raul Fernandez did a nice job pitching three scoreless frames before turning it over to Luke Bard. Bard allowed a game-tying home run in the eight, blowing the save, and allowed another run in the ninth to take the loss. It is his first blown save and second loss of the season. The offense was led by multi-hit games from Ryan Walker, Jonathan Rodriguez and Alex Perez. Walker, Levi Michael and Carlos Paulino all doubled. The first-half champion Lookouts have a five-game second-half lead, but fall to 13-3. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Palm Beach 2 Box Score The Miracle laid in the weeds for most of the game, trailing 2-0 as they headed into the home half of the seventh. A three-run seventh inning, followed by a six-run eighth-inning, meant the home team never got to bat again. Each member of the starting lineup got a hit or two. Jermaine Palacios hit his first High-A home run (and his 12th of the season) among two hits. Jaylin Davis was 2-4 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored. Sean Miller (double), Mitch Kranson and Tanner English (home run, two RBI, two runs) joined Palacios and Davis in the two-hit club. Anthony McIver pitched four innings, allowing five hits, one run, one walk and striking out one, but didn’t last long enough to factor into the decision. David Fischer struck out four in three innings, surrendering one run on three hits, and picked up the win, improving to 4-6. Sam Clay earned his fifth save for the Miracle, walking two batters over two scoreless, no-hit innings. At 11-4 in the second half, Fort Myers is pacing the FSL North division by a game and a half. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 5 Box Score An early four-run inning evaporated in the middle innings and the Kernels needed a walk-off hit by Travis Blankenhorn to break the ninth-inning tie. Griffin Jax lasted 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. He struck out four. Patrick McGuff retired all four batters he faced. Hector Lujan, who was brought in to protect the save, blew it by giving up a home run, and picked up the win instead, improving to 3-0. The Kenels offense popped for 12 hits. Aaron Whitefield was 2-4 with his 19th stolen base, a double and a triple. Gorge Munez also tripled. Blankenhorn, Amaurys Minier, Caleb Hamilton and Andre Jernigan all had doubles as well. Jernigan and Munoz each drove in two. Minier committed two errors at first base. The playoff-bound Kernels dropped to 9-8 in the second half. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Johnson City 3 Box Score Brent Rooker continues to tear up rookie-league pitching. On Saturday, he went 3-4 with a double and a home run, his fifth of the season. Shane Carrier also went 3-4 and hit home run number two. 2016 comp round pick Jose Miranda also homered, his third. Bryan Sammons struck out six in 3.2 innings. He also walked three, allowing only one hit. Nick Brown worked four innings in relief, striking out five, but also allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits. Blair Lasko picked up his first win, working four scoreless outs. The E-Twins are 12-5, a half-game behind Greeneville. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 5, GCL Orioles 2 Box Score The pitching on Saturday consisted of four guys who combined to throw a shutout. Tyler Beardsley allowed only one hit over three innings, with two strikeouts. Taylor Clemensia picked up the win… but did walk five in three innings. He allowed a hit and struck out three. Austin Bizzle, pitching in only his second game since turning professional, threw his first multi-inning game. Bizzle picked up the hold by coaxing five ground ball outs and striking out one in two innings. Vadim Balan picked up the save. Colton Burns led the offense going 2-3 with a walk, two stolen bases, RBI and run. Royce Lewis went 1-4 with a strikeout. The GCL Twins improve to 9-3, atop the FSL South by two games.. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers, Rochester Hitter of the Day – Tanner English, Fort Myers SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Syracuse (12:35 CST) - RHP Justin Haley (REHAB) (0-0, 4.50 ERA) Chattanooga vs Pensacola (4:05 CST) - TBD Fort Myers vs Palm Beach (3:05 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs Peoria (2:05 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Elizabethton vs Pulaski (5:00 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (2-0, 2.93 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. Click here to view the article