Search the Community

It may have nothing to do with learning that he had been Designated for Assignment by the Twins, but Willians Astudillo is making headlines in the Venezuelan Winter League for throwing a sucker punch in an in-game benches-clearing brawl on Friday. Teammate Tomas Telis, who played for the Saints in 2021, was also involved. In an awful scene on the baseball field in Venezuela, a couple of former Minnesota Twins will likely face suspension. After Marlins pitcher Luis Madero, pitching for Lara, hit a batter with a pitch, benches cleared. As the teams were coming together, Willians Astudillo ran in from the third base line and sucker-punched Madero, clocking him in the head with a punch. Tomas Telis, the batter who was hit by the pitch and one of the Twins best Triple-A players since 2019, came in and kicked Madera while he was on the ground. Last week when the teams played, Madera was involved in another benches-clearing brawl. On Friday, the Twins announced that "La Tortuga" had been designated for assignment or release to make room on the team's 40-man roster. Since making a great first impression in 2018, Astudillo has not hit much for the Twins. It will be interesting to see if any other organizations had claimed Astudillo and how this event may alter those decisions. In eight games, Astudillo was hitting .281 for Caribes. His young brother, Wilfred, is also on the team. So is former Twins outfielder Oswaldo Arcia who, at 30, is hitting .143 through 14 games. Tomas Telis had played in 122 MLB games between 2014 and 2018 when he signed with the Twins. In 2019, he hit .330 for the Rochester Red Wings. He was at the Twins alternate site in 2020. He hit .296 with 12 homers for the St. Paul Saints this season. He already had over 100 plate appearances for Caribes when this happened and is hitting .435 with 12 doubles and three homers in 22 games. A quick twitter search for "Willians Astudillo" contains tweets in Spanish from baseball fans that are not supportive of Astudillo. Google Translate allows me to try to interpret what these fans are saying. Some simply write that they would like to see the league use Astudillo as an example and suspend him for a long time. Others have responded by saying things like Astudillo deserves a baseball to the head. One writes that Astudillo should face criminal charges, that this goes beyond "sports" saying he is a danger to others. Obviously this goes completely against the reputation that Astudillo had in the eyes and minds of most Twins fans. He was La Tortuga. He's got the big smile. He's always having fun. And, to throw out an opinion, it is likely that is the real Willians Astudillo and his actions from Friday night were a brief lapse in judgment. As we know, that is no excuse and still needs to have consequences. Will update if and when more information becomes available. View full article

Needing a win to stay close in the Triple-A Final Stretch race, the Saints fell on their face tonight. Find out what went wrong in tonight's Minor League Report. SAINTS SENTINEL Toledo 8, St. Paul 2 Box Score Saint Paul came into tonight’s game with a respectable 5-2 record in the Triple-A Final Stretch race, but with Durham sitting on a 7-0 mark, the Saints found themselves in must-win territory. Unfortunately, they got a lackluster start from Beau Burrows and it only got worse from there. They dropped this one 8-2 and with Durham winning tonight, they have been eliminated from Final Stretch contention. Burrows started out smooth with two scoreless innings, but he made a big mistake to Riley Greene in the third. The Mud Hen center fielder took him deep to center with a man on, giving Toledo a 2-0 lead. The Hens were back at it in the fourth, though they got some help from the Saints. On a first-and-third steal attempt, Saints catcher David Banuelos hesitated and threw the ball in center field, allowing Ryan Kreidler to scamper home. The Saints bats struggled early, but they grabbed Burrows a run of support in the top of the fifth on a Tomas Telis double. Drew Stankiewicz scored on the play, but Jose Miranda was thrown out at the plate trying to grab another run for St. Paul. Burrows was removed with one out in the fifth and replaced with Ian Hamilton. The Saints starter allowed three runs (two earned) in 4 1/3 innings. He only allowed four hits and struck out four, but walked three. Kreidler scored in another unusual way in the sixth. With one out in the inning and runners on first and third, Hamilton got a tailor-made double play ball to second, but Jacob Robson lured Drew Maggi into a rundown and kept the inning alive long enough for Kreidler to score to make it 4-1. Robinson Leyer took over for Hamilton to start the seventh and a bad situation got worse. Leyer allowed the first three men of the inning to reach and then gave up a grand slam to Aderlin Rodriguez that curled around the left field foul pole. Leyer was removed from the 8-1 ballgame having only gotten one out while allowing four runs. Bryan Sammons took over for Leyer and got the last five outs of the game without allowing a run, but the damage was done. The Saints grabbed a run in the ninth thanks to two Toledo errors, but that run only served to slightly obscure the troubles the offense had all night. They got six hits, but couldn’t string any rallies together. It certainly didn’t help that they struck out 14 times as a team, including eight combined K’s (and a combined 0-for-12) from the three, four, and five hitters. Telis and Maggi were the best of a bad bunch tonight as they both went 2-for-4 with Telis driving in a run and Maggi scoring one. The Saints lose 8-2 and drop to a 5-3 record in the Triple-A Final Stretch. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day: Tomas Telis (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB, K Pitcher of the Day: Bryan Sammons (St. Paul) - 1.2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, BB, 3 K PROSPECT SUMMARY #6- Jose Miranda (St. Paul)- 1-for-5 #13- Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul)- 0-for-4, 3 K #16 - Brent Rooker (Minnesota)- 1-for-3 (In Progress) SATURDAY'S PROBABLE STARTER St. Paul @ Toledo (4:05PM CST) RHP Drew Strotman (10-4, 5.09 ERA) Feel free to comment and discuss tonight’s game! View full article

The Mighty Mussels clobbered the Tortugas, but the remainder of the games were decided by four runs combined. TRANSACTIONS RHP Luke Farrell activated from 60-day IL, sent to Twins LHP Andrew Albers optioned to St. Paul RHP Derek Law DFA SAINTS SENTINEL Game 1: Columbus 9, St. Paul 8 Game 2: St. Paul 1, Columbus 0 The Saints dropped their first game of the day against the Clippers in … unfortunate fashion. They took a 8-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh when Columbus promptly scored five runs against Ian Hamilton and the newly-signed Vinny Nittoli to pick up the win. Jason Garcia started the bullpen game for St. Paul and allowed four runs in two innings. Yennier Cano and Kyle Barraclough combined to pitch four scoreless innings, striking out six, walking two, and allowing two hits. The Saints picked up 15 hits as a team, including four from Tomas Telis alone. Caleb Hamilton crushed a home run and went 2-for-4 in his first game at Triple-A. Gilberto Celestino and J.T. Riddle also contributed two hits apiece. Charlie Barnes started the second game for the Saints and pitched five innings of shutout ball. He struck out three, walked one, and gave up only two hits. Nick Vincent pitched a scoreless sixth inning after loading the bases by striking out three. Edgar Garcia solidified the shutout and earned the save. Offensively, David Bañuelos went 2-for-2, while Drew Maggi drove in the Saints’ lone run. WIND SURGE WISDOM Arkansas 2, Wichita 1 Box Score The Wind Surge dropped a low-scoring affair to the Travelers on Sunday, though, at least that means that Jordan Balazovic pitched well. Balazovic struggled during the month of August — “struggle” being relative to his usual dominance — posting a 3.72 ERA with a 22:13 K:BB ratio in 29 innings. Encouragingly, the Canadian pitched a gem against Arkansas as he struck out six and did not allow a walk in 5 ⅔ innings of work. It was the first time since August 10 and only the fourth time all season that Balazovic did not issue a free pass. Although he missed some time earlier in the season with an injury, Balazovic has put together a truly encouraging season. His strikeout numbers are down (92 vs. 129) and his walk numbers up slightly (32 vs. 25) compared to his 2019 season split between Low- and High-A, but overall Balazovic has been one of the more consistent starting pitchers in the Twins farm system. His performance in 2021 should have him on track to debut at some point next summer, which will be his age 23 campaign. However, despite picking up seven hits collectively, Wichita was unable to bring home more than a single run. Roy Morales was the lone Wind Surge player to contribute more than one hit, going 2-for-4 with a double. Trey Cabbage also clobbered a double and rose his OPS to .874 at the Double-A level. Austin Martin, Spencer Steer, Leobaldo Cabrera, and Ernie De La Trinidad all hit singles. Zach Neff and Erik Manoah Jr. pitched 2 ⅓ innings of hitless ball in relief. KERNELS NUGGETS Quad Cities 6, Cedar Rapids 4 Box Score The Kernels stuck tight to the River Bandits all afternoon, though, in the end, the Quad Cities offense was simply too much to overcome. Cedar Rapids rallied with three runs across the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game at 4-4. However, Quad Cities scored two runs in the top of the ninth off the typically robust Zach Featherstone to claim the win. Tyler Watson started on the mound for the Kernels and tossed five innings, striking out four, walking three, and allowing four earned runs. Denny Bentely — who has put together a quietly great season out of the pen — tossed the next 2 2/3 innings, striking out five. Featherstone was ultimately handed the loss after striking out two and allowing two earned runs in 1 ⅔ innings. The Kernels mustered only four total hits at the plate, one of each coming off the bat of Edouard Julien (single), Yunior Severino (single), Jeferson Morales (double), and Aaron Sabato (home run). MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 10, Daytona 2 Box score The Mighty Mussels crushed the Tortugas on Sunday to improve their record to .500 (52-52). Fort Myers threw five pitchers — Regi Grace, Zaquiel Puentes, Logan Campbell, Bradley Hanner, and A.J. Labas — who combined to strike out 14 Daytona batters and only walk three. No Tortuga athlete had more than a single hit. Conversely, the Mighty Mussels had three athletes contribute multi-hit games. Christian Encarnacion-Strand led the way with three hits, including his fourth home run of the season. Willie Joe Garry Jr. — who picked up two hits — also hit a dinger, his third, while Will Holland crushed his ninth. Kyler Fedko went 2-for-5. FCL COMPLEX REPORT FCL Twins off day TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day — Jordan Balazovic, Wichita: 5 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day — Tomas Telis, St. Paul: 5-for-8, 3B PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Royce Lewis (rehab) - Out for season (torn ACL) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4 #3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) - 5 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K #4 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - Did not pitch #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) - Injured List (elbow strain) #6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-for-6, RBI, BB #7 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - Did not pitch #8 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (right elbow strain) #9 - Chase Petty (Complex) - No game #10 - Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) - Did not play #11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - Injured List (right shoulder impingement) #12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) - 2-for-5 #14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #15 - Noah Miller (Complex) - No game #16 - Brent Rooker (Minnesota) - Did not play #17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Out for season (Tommy John surgery) #18 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) - 0-for-2, 3 BB #19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) - Did not pitch #20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-for-4 MONDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS FCL Twins at FCL Braves — 11 a.m. CST, TBD View full article

Minnesota Twins Affiliates took out some frustration on their opponents on Tuesday night to the combined score of 39-8 in their three wins on the evening. Much of that damage was thanks to eight home runs from some big sluggers, and men on base all night as they also drew 32 walks to go along with 42 total hits on the night. A top pitching prospect also made his return to the minors after his MLB debut. So keep reading to find out just how crazy the night was for your favorite Twins prospects! TRANSACTIONS Minor League Gold Glove OF Mark Contreras was promoted to St. Paul from Wichita In Fort Myers recent free agent signing OF Justin Washington was assigned from the GCL Twins, 3B Wander Valdez was sent back to the GCL Twins roster, and SS Ruben Santana was activated from the disabled list. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 17, Iowa 6 Box Score The Saints took advantage of some wildness from double-A’s 2019 strikeout king, Corey Abbott to jump out to an early lead. They got to the Cubs prospect for six runs in the first two innings, with a three-run Tomas Telis homer doing the bulk of that damage. They would tack on four more in the fourth after an RBI double from Ben Rortvedt was followed by another three-run blast, this one off the bat of JT Riddle, his first with the Saints. In all St. Paul hitters mashed seven hits (five for extra bases) and drew five walks against Abbott, taking full advantage of the extra baserunners and opportunities they were given. As far as the Saints starting pitcher went, it was Bailey Ober’s first appearance since making his MLB debut, and he dazzled. In five innings he allowed just one earned run on four hits, striking out five. It was good for his first win of the 2021 season. While watching the game the opposing broadcast’s announcer was excited to see Abbott on the mound, but Ober was the one who left a mark on him. “I’m very impressed so far with Bailey Ober. You understand why he posts zeroes so often [and] can see why he is tough to pick up. Six-foot-nine, long reach, and hides the ball very well.” With the big lead Ober’s day was done after just seventy pitches, with Ian Hamilton coming on for the sixth. Hamilton was hitting high 90’s with his fastball in his inning and struck out two. Robinson Leyer delivered two scoreless frames, allowing one hit and striking out one. Another RBI double from Ben Rortvedt and RBI single from Jimmy Kerrigan added a few more runs in the sixth, then Ryan Jeffers and Brent Rooker added insult to injury with home runs in the seventh and ninth innings, respectively. Jeffers was a three-run no-doubter, and Rooker’s a two-run blast to dead center that made the score 17-1. They were the fourth home run of the season for each player. Tom Hackimer would come on for the ninth but made the game last quite a bit longer than it should have. The bases were loaded before he recorded an out, then he was not able to finish it off. In all, Hackimer allowed 5 runs on three hits, four walks, and a hit batter. St. Paul was forced to go to Andrew Vasquez for the final out, and he made sure it went as quick as possible, getting a strikeout to end the game. WIND SURGE WISDOM Springfield 7, Wichita 2 Box Score Unlike the rest of their affiliate brethren, the Wind Surge were unable to pile on the runs on Tuesday, falling to the Cardinals in Wichita. Starter Bryan Sammons went the first four innings and surrendered all the damage Springfield would need as their pitchers allowed just six hits and three walks to Wichita’s lineup. In total he allowed four earned runs on five hits and a pair of walks in his time. While he struck out six, three of his hits allowed were home runs. Dakota Chalmers came on for the fifth and went two innings. He allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits (including a homer of his own) while striking out two. Jonathan Cheshire was the only Wind Surge pitcher without a blemish, pitching a scoreless seventh, though he did walk two. Hector Lujan finished the final two frames, allowing a solo home run and striking out one. Jermaine Palacios led the way hitting for Wichita with a 2-for-4 night. Andrew Bechtold hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot in the fourth. Jose Miranda contributed an RBI single in the third. As a team the Wind Surge had just three at-bats with runners in scoring position and left only five men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 2, Cedar Rapids 9 Box Score Cedar Rapids slugger Seth Gray put the Kernels on the board early with a two-run blast in the first. He and Michael Helman would add to that lead in the third with a pair of RBI doubles, Helman’s of the 2-run variety for a 5-0 lead after three. Starter Tyler Beck ran into some trouble in the top of the fourth, allowing a run to score after three singles and a walk, and exiting with the bases loaded. In all he went 3 1/3, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out four. Jordan Gore came on and allowed one inherited runner to score on a groundout but would stop the bleeding there by picking up a strikeout. He would add a scoreless fifth inning and add another K to his ledger. Lefty Tyler Watson would keep Cedar Rapids out front three scoreless innings. He scattered one hit and two walks while striking out three. The Kernels bats went pretty silent for the middle innings, but in the seventh Spencer Steer woke them up again with a leadoff double. Wander Javier drove him in with a single that was misplayed by the center fielder and allowed another runner to score that made it 7-2. Leobaldo Cabrera’s first home as a Twins prospect would make it 9-2 after eight. Lefty Zach Featherstone would finish the game for Cedar Rapids with three strikeouts in the ninth around a walk. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 13, Lakeland 0 Box Score After losing four in a row to the Tampa Tarpons by a combined score of 53-13, the Mighty Mussels have unleashed some frustration the past two games. In the final game of their series with the Tarpons they won 9-3 and were even more impressive in the opening tilt with the Flying Tigers. Fort Myers also got the scoring started early in this one courtesy of a slugger, in their case Aaron Sabato. His first inning home run was his second of the season and gave them the early 2-0 lead. They added another run in the second after loading the bases on a Misael Urbina sac fly but were just getting started. Starter Brent Headrick went the first five innings and was dominant. He threw just 67 pitches (43 for strikes), allowing only two singles and one walk while striking out five to pick up his second win of the season. Juan Pichardo went the next two scoreless innings, walking one and striking out two. Matthew Swain would finish the shutout for the Saints going the final two innings. He allowed one hit, a walk, and struck out two. The Mighty Mussels broke the game open in the top of the sixth with quite a bit of help from Lakeland pitchers. Consecutive singles were followed by two four-pitch walks to score the first run of the inning. After a strikeout of Sabato another four-pitch walk scored another run before the bullpen was summoned for the Flying Tigers. It was greeted by a Kyle Schmidt double on their first pitch, scoring two more. Then two more walks, an RBI single from Anthony Prato, and a 2-run double from Edouard Julien would push Fort Myers’ lead to 11-0 before the inning was over. They would add a few more in the top of the ninth on a Yunior Severino two-run single for the final of 13-0. In all the Mighty Mussels racked up fourteen (!) walks and twelve hits against Flying Tigers pitching. Julien (2-for-3, 3 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K), Schmidt (3-for-4, R, 2 2B, 2 RBI), and Prato (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI) had multiple hits. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brent Headrick, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (W, 5.0 IP, 2 H, BB, 5 K) Hitter of the Day – Tomas Telis, St. Paul Saints (4-for-6, 3 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota) – 2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, K #2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – 0-for-3, 2 K #4 - Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul) – 2-for-5, 3 R, HR, BB, 2 K #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – Did not pitch #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Injured List (back) #7 - Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) – Did not play #8 - Aaron Sabato (Fort Myers) – 1-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K #9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Wichita) – 0-for-3, BB #12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – 2-for-6, R, HR, 3 RBI, K #13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – Did not play #14 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K #15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – Did not pitch #16 - Edwar Colina (Rehab) - 60-Day IL (elbow) #17 - Ben Rortvedt (St. Paul) – 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB #18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A #19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – 1-for-3, RBI #20 - Bailey Ober (St. Paul) – W, 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 5 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (1-0, 3.95 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) – RHP Cole Sands (0-0, 3.00 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – LHP Kody Funderburk (0-0, 1.32 ERA) Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30PM CST) – RHP Regi Grace (1-0, 4.50 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

Just two games in the system tonight as Pensacola prepares for their playoff push and the two Florida-based leagues were cancelled. Still, there was some action in the system and some potential theories regarding who will be called up to the majors with the expanded rosters. All that and more in this edition of the Minor League Report.TRANSACTIONS RHP D.J. Baxendale activated from the 7 day IL at AAA Rochester RHP Edwar Colina transferred to AA Pensacola RHP Adam Bray placed on the 7 day IL at AA Pensacola 1B Chris Williams assigned to A Cedar Rapids from A+ Fort Myers C Kyle Schmidt placed on the 7 day IL at A Cedar Rapids OF Ian Miller will reportedly be called up by the Twins RHP Brusdar Graterol will reportedly be called up by the Twins sometime in September RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Syracuse 3 Box Score D.J. Baxendale: 3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Ramón Flores (2-for-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI), Tomás Telis (4-for-5, 2B, R), Wilin Rosario (2-for-5, R), Alejandro De Aza (2-for-5, 2B, RBI), Ronald Torreyes (2-for-3, R), Mike Miller (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI) The Red Wings ran a bullpen game against the Syracuse Mets who also ran a bullpen game. I’m sure every reliever got their steps in with all the pitching changes made in the game. Baxendale started the game and was able to go three innings for his first outing off the IL. Jake Reed picked up after him and was able to net seven outs with just one earned run. After Reed, potential call-ups Jorge Alcala and Fernando Romero combined for 11 outs and no earned runs to put the finishing touches on a well- pitched game. While the offense only scored five runs, there were many opportunities to expand that for the Red Wings as they had 16 hits total in the game. Telis was the big winner at the plate with his four hits but there were five other hitters with multi-hit games and every hitter except one had a hit. In total, the only thing that could stop the Red Wings from scoring was themselves as they had a runner on base in every inning except for the ninth. Naturally, there was no ninth because they were the home team and had the lead following the top of the ninth so the bottom of the ninth did not exist, a shame. BLUE WAHOO BITES No game MIRACLE MATTERS Season cancelled KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 1 Box Score Josh Winder: 4 ⅔ IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Matt Wallner (2-for-4, 3B, 2 R) In the only other game that was played in the Twins’ system, their affiliate won again. How’s that for a clean sweep? Josh Winder started the game and continued his excellent season with just one lone earned run given up. His ERA on the year now stands at an excellent 2.65 and he should get a fair amount of consideration for the Twins Daily minor league pitcher of the year. The offense was not loud for the Kernels but it got the job done. A DaShawn Kiersey ground out in the fourth plated their first run of the game and a passed ball in the sixth scored Matt Wallner following his triple earlier in the inning. The lone run scoring base hit came from a seventh inning Spencer Steer single which gave the Kernels an insurance run that was not needed. Not to be out-shined by Winder’s start, Dylan Thomas and Jose Martinez worked in relief and nailed down the game with 4 1/3 scoreless innings combined. As a whole, Winder, Thomas, and Martinez combined for just one earned run and 13 strikeouts on the night. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Josh Winder Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tomás Telis PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - No game #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - No Game #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Rochester) - Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - No game #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) - Cancelled season #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) - Cancelled season #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) - No game #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Cancelled season #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured list #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) - No game #14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) - 0-for-1, K #15 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 3B, 2 R, 2 K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - No game #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery #18 - Jorge Alcala (Rochester) - 1 ⅔ IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - Season over #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - No game SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (5:05 P.M.) - TBD Pensacola @ Montgomery (5:05 P.M.) - LHP Charlie Barnes Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (2:00 P.M.) - LHP Kody Funderburk Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. Click here to view the article

Tonight on the farm there were a pair of affiliates that scored runs in bunches. The Red Wings put on a hitting clinic and the E-Twins saw every batter record a base hit. Jordan Balazovic had a shortened but strong outing, and a pair of outfielders showed progress in their rehab assignments. Read all about it below.TRANSACTIONS Rochester OF Luke Raley begins rehab assignment with GCL Pensacola OF LaMonte Wade Jr. rehab transferred from Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids LHP J.T. Perez placed on IL with lower back strain RHP Alex Schick activated from IL RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 20, Buffalo 3 Box Score After losing by three last night it didn’t matter who was on the mound as the Red Wings pounded out 20 runs on 19 hits. Kohl Stewart went five innings allowing just two hits and no runs while fanning two. This one was a laugher en route to his eighth win of the season. The scoring started early for Rochester with a four-run first being followed by a five- run second. The third inning came up, short generating just two runs, but after the first third of the game the good guys were ahead 11-0. Buffalo tried to make a game of it answering with a trio in the sixth, but Rochester responded with a nine-spot in the bottom half. Five of the Red Wings batters recorded three or more hits on the evening, with Tomas Telis going a perfect 4-for-4. Turtle man himself went 3-5 out of the two-hole, scoring three times. Brandon Barnes launched his 28th dinger of the season, a grand slam, and Ronald Torreyes grabbed his 11th. This one wasn’t competitive from the get go and the Red Wings pulverized the Bison, holding the opposition to just three hits. Zack Littell worked 2 1/3 scoreless while not allowing a hit and Jake Reed struck out the side to close out the contest. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Mississippi 3, Pensacola 1 Box Score Adam Bray was back in Florida for this one and he turned in four strong for the Wahoos. Keeping the Braves scoreless, he worked around three hits and three walks while striking out three. No one had pushed a run across when he had left the game, and it would be on Pensacola to try to strike first. The game’s first runs came in the sixth inning when Mississippi put up a crooked number. Tallying a three spot, Pensacola found themselves in a late hole. The only answer they could muster came on Jimmy Kerrigan’s ninth homer of the season in the eighth. It was his second in two days and as a solo shot, represented the lone offense for the visitors. Pensacola generated just four hits on the night, and two of them came from leadoff hitter Alex Kirilloff. LaMonte Wade joined Royce Lewis, Trevor Larnach, and Ryan Jeffers in the 0-fer department. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Charlotte 2 Box Score Stud prospect Jordan Balazovic was on the bump for this one, and though he came up an out shy of completing five innings, he turned in a strong outing. The Canadian allowed just two runs on three hits while issuing a single free pass and posting seven strikeouts. The Miracle provide Balazovic some early breathing room by scoring five in the first three innings. Trey Cabbage drove in two in the first before Andrew Bechtold followed with another. Gilberto Celestino then scored in the second before Yelstin Encarnacion doubled home another in the third. Charlotte answered with two of their own in the fifth, but that was all the damage they did. Phenom Wander Franco was held to a 1-for-5 evening and fanned twice. KERNELS NUGGETS Clinton 6, Cedar Rapids 0 Box Score Unfortunately it was another ugly night for the Kernels. Aftering going down 9-0 last night, they made it 15-0 in the two day stretch. Matt Canterino was on the bump and gave up four runs (two earned) on two hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked two but it was a dropped third strike that cost him dearly. Clinton scored four times in the first, and tallied two on an ugly dropped third strike and then a follow-up throwing error from Canterino. They added single runs in both the sixth and eighth to widen the margin. Cedar Rapids generated just four hits in the game, and catcher Trevor Casanova was responsible for two of them out of the eight-hole. Alex Schick returned to the bump from the injured list and gave up a run on one hit in one inning of work. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 14, Johnson City 4 Box Score Following up a close loss last night, it didn’t take long for the Twins to exact their revenge. Ryley Widell turned in a quality start going six innings allowing just three runs on three hits while fanning seven and walking two. It was his second win of the season, and among his better starts of 2019. The E-Twins motto in this one was early and often. They popped up with three first inning runs, took a break for just one in the second, and then added an eight-spot in the third. For good measure another pair crossed the plate in the eighth and this one was a ten-run-rule worthy affair by the time all was said and done. Elizabethton notched 15 hits in the contest but only Max Smith had more than a pair, as he went 3-for-5. Each E-Twins batter recorded a hit on the night, and five of the nine had multi-hit efforts. It was a singles barrage though as Smith accounted for the only double and homer (a grand slam) throughout the nine inning affair. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Orioles 13, GCL Twins 3 Box Score Two straight wins for the GCL Orioles were achieved by knocking off the GCL Twins in each of the past two days. Anthony Escobar gave up six earned runs before getting out of the first inning in this one, and it became a larger uphill battle than the visitors could overcome. The GCL Twins generated just four hits in the contest, and three runs came across in three separate innings. Rochester Red Wings outfielder Luke Raley made his rehab debut and went 1-for-4 on the day. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jordan Balazovic (Fort Myers) - 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K Hitter of the Day – Tomas Telis (Rochester) 4-4, 2 2B, 2 R, 6 RBI, 2 BB PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - 0-4, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 2-3, BB #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Rochester) - Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - 0-4, 2 K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Fort Myers) - 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL) - Did not play #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured List (groin) #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Fort Myers) - Did not pitch #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Minnesota) - Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List (leg contusion) #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) - 0-4, K #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) - 0-3, K #15 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, BB, K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - Did not play #17 - Akil Baddoo (Fort Myers) - Injured List (Tommy John surgery) #18 - Jorge Alcala (Rochester) - Did not pitch #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL) - Did not play #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - 1-3, K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05PM CST) - TBD Jackson @ Pensacola (6:35PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (3-3, 3.34 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:30PM CST) - RHP Tyler Palm (3-8, 3.84 ERA) Danville @ Elizabethton (5:30PM CST) - TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (11:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! Click here to view the article

Nick Gordon has been gaining some significant momentum of late, as he hit .348 with a .937 OPS in July. Tonight, he was hit directly in the left knee by a pitch and was forced to exit Rochester’s game early. He was able to walk off the field under his own power, so here’s hoping everything’s OK. Come see what else happened Friday night across the minors.TRANSACTIONS OF Brandon Barnes assigned to Rochester. C Wynston Sawyer placed on the IL. 1B Taylor Grzelakowski assigned to Fort Myers. RHP Johan Quezada placed on the IL. RHPs Cody Laweryson and Dylan Thomas assigned to Cedar Rapids. RHP Tyler Beck assigned to Elizabethton. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Pawtucket 2 Box Score Randy Dobnak: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 64.2% strikes (52 of 81 pitches) HR: Tomas Telis (7), Zander Wiel (19) Multi-hit games: Telis (3-for-4, 2B, HR), Wiel (2-for-4, 2B, HR), Jake Cave (2-for-4, 2B), Ramon Flores (2-for-4) The Rochester lineup has experienced some turnover of late, but one guy who’s been a rock all year is Zander Wiel. He was at it again Friday night, hitting a two-run homer, his 19th of the season, to go with his 31st double of the year. Catcher Tomas Telis was also en fuego, going 3-for-4 with a double and homer of his own. The Red Wings pitching staff not only held the PawSox to two runs, they even did it having to pitch around three Rochester errors. Jeremy Bleich pitched a scoreless first inning as the opener before Randy Dobnak took over. After giving up just one earned run over six innings, Dobnak’s ERA with Rochester is down to an even 2.00. Ian Krol finished things off with a pair of clean innings. Nick Gordon exited this game after being hit by a pitch in the top of the sixth inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Lakeland 3, Fort Myers 2 (5 innings) Box Score Tyler Watson: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 2 K, 52.4% strikes (44 of 84 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Miracle jumped out to a lead in the top of the first thanks to an Ernie De La Trinidad two-out, two-run single. Unfortunately, Fort Myers starter Tyler Watson struggled with his control and the Miracle ran out of time to make a comeback after falling behind in the bottom of the second inning. This game was called off in the middle of the fifth inning due to heavy rain. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 2 Box Score Cody Laweryson: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 63.5% strikes (47 of 74 pitches) HR: None Multi-hit games: Jared Akins (2-for-3, BB), Daniel Ozoria (2-for-4, 2B) Cedar Rapids entered the top of the ninth inning of this game trailing 2-1. After their leadoff man was retired, Wander Javier and Trevor Casanova followed with back-to-back walks. Jared Akins hit a single to right field to plate the game-tying run before Albee Weiss delivered the go-ahead run with a single of his own. Jose Martinez, who had given up a run in the eighth inning, redeemed himself by making that one-run lead hold up in the bottom of the ninth. Cody Laweryson, a 14th-round pick from this year’s draft, had an impressive Midwest League debut, firing five shutout innings. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 10, Bristol 6 Box Score Erik Cha: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: Charles Mack (6), Seth Gray (7) Multi-hit games: Mack (2-for-4, 2B, HR), Kidany Salva (2-for-4) Charles Mack hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning and Seth Gray blasted a two-run shot in the sixth to propel the E-Twins to victory. It was a rough night in the field, as the Twins committed five errors, but they were incredibly efficient on offense, scoring 10 runs on just eight hits. Sawyer Gipson-Long had a rough start, giving up 11 hits in just 3 2/3 innings, but Erik Cha (3 1/3 scoreless innings) and Frandy Torres (one run over two innings) were excellent out of the bullpen. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 1 (10 innings) Box Score Donny Breek: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jim Caceres (2-for-3, BB) Donny Breek continued his impressive 2019 season with six shutout innings today. That lowered his ERA to 0.72 on the season, which spans 25 innings pitched. Jose Guevara also shined on the mound for the Twins, striking out five batters in three scoreless innings. He has not surrendered a run in 14 1/3 innings pitched this season. This game was 0-0 through nine innings. The Red Sox managed to get their bonus runner around to score in the top of the 10th, but the Twins responded immediately. Victor Heredia tied the game 1-1 with a leadoff double in the bottom of the inning. He was later brought around to score on a Jim Caceres walk-off bunt single. Gotta love the GCL ... C.J. Cron was 0-for-4 in this game, as was Yunior Severino. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Donny Breek, GCL Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Tomas Telis, Rochester TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects performed: 1. Royce Lewis (PNS): 2-for-5, 2 K 2. Alex Kirilloff (PNS): 1-for-5 4. Trevor Larnach (PNS): 1-for-4, HR, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, K 5. Wander Javier (CR): 0-for-3, BB, R, K 9. Jhoan Duran (PNS): 6.0 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 67.9% strikes (57 of 84 pitches) 12. Nick Gordon (ROC): 0-for-1, RBI, K, HBP (exited early) 13. Ryan Jeffers (PNS): 2-for-4, BB, 2 R, K 15. Matt Wallner (ELZ): 1-for-4, R, E (fielding) SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Pawtucket, 5:15 pm CT (TBD) Pensacola vs. Birmingham, 6:05 pm CT (Bryan Sammons) Fort Myers at Lakeland, 5:00 pm CT (Blayne Enlow) Cedar Rapids vs. Burlington, 6:35 pm CT( TBD) Elizabethton vs. Bristol, 5:30 pm CT (Ryley Widell) GCL Twins at GCL Red Sox, 9:00 am CT (TBD) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games. Click here to view the article

Have you ever wanted your own airplane? Well, the Twins’ Double-A affiliate was sort of able to accomplish this on Thursday. There’s more to the story below. Also, there was plenty of action throughout the Twins’ system. Two teams tried to mount comebacks, while another took advantage of the opportunities provided by the other team.TRANSACTIONS ACTIVATED: C David Banuelos from the 7-day injured list for Cedar Rapids RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Lehigh Valley 6 Box Score Rochester outhit the IronPigs (10 to 7) and scored a late run to make things interesting, but it wasn’t enough. The club didn’t take advantage of some opportunities as they left eight runners on base and went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Kohl Stewart took his bumps and bruises in this one as he couldn’t make it out of the fifth inning. He allowed six runs on six hits including two home runs. He struggled to find the zone for most of the night as he threw 100 pitches and only 52 of them were for strikes. After a promising first start of the season, Stewart has thrown clunkers his last two times out. Rochester continued to rely on the long ball in this game. With three solo shots on Thursday, Rochester has hit 22 home runs to produce 33 of the 62 total runs scored this season. LaMonte Wade, Tomas Telis, and Jordany Valdespin joined the home run parade. Also, Telis and Valdespin each added a double. DJ Baxendale pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings by only allowing one hit. He struck out six and walked one. Matt Magill took the final frame and didn’t allow a runner. He had one strikeout and he has yet to allow a run this season. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola --, Biloxi – (Postponed-Rain) The Blue Wahoos and the Schuckers were postponed on Thursday due to rain. The game will be made up as part of a double-header on Friday, April 19 with first pitch scheduled for 5:35 CST. Pensacola currently has a 9-4 record and they are in first place by two games in the Southern League South. In other news, the Blue Wahoos have teamed up with Silver Airways for a Kazoo- themed airplane. Kazoo is the name of the Blue Wahoos mascot. Silver Airways has flights from Pensacola to Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Orlando. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Charlotte 6 Box Score Fort Myers rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but a six-run deficit was too much to overcome. Tyler Watson started and pitched into the sixth inning for the second consecutive game. He allowed two runs on three hits while striking out five and walking one. Anthony Vizcaya took over for Watson and struggled in parts of two innings. He allowed four runs on four hits as Charlotte pushed their lead to 6-0. Calvin Faucher had a very nice bounce back game. In his last appearance, he allowed three runs while only recording one out. Tonight, he pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings with a pair of strikeouts and two walks. In the bottom of the ninth, Akil Baddoo lead off with a triple and was driven home on a Lewin Diaz groundout. Jose Miranda followed with a double before Trevor Larnach singled to put runners on the corners. A double from Ryan Jeffers scored a run and there were still runners on the corners. Ben Rortvedt would ground out to score another run and Michael Helman recorded the game’s final out. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Beloit 2 Box Score Cedar Rapids jumped out to an early 4-0 thanks to some miscues by the Snappers. With one out, Gabe Snyder was hit by a pitch. Trey Cabbage followed and reached base on an error by the shortstop. Jacob Pearson struck out for the second out of the inning and it looked like Beloit might get out without allowing a run. However, Gilberto Celestino and Andrew Bechtold knocked back-to-back singles to push across a pair of runs. Celestino then stole third but it wouldn’t matter because David Banuelos tripled to score two more runs and put Cedar Rapids up 4-0. Cedar Rapids allowed a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning, but the club got those runs back in the bottom of the frame. The Kernels were able to do this without recording a hit. Celestino and Bechtold walked to start the inning. With Banuelos batting, an error by the third baseman loaded up the bases. Michael Davis drew a walk to score one run and a wild pitch put the score at 6-2. Jordan Balazovic pitched five strong innings. He struck out eight, walked one, and limited the Snappers to two runs (one earned). He has allowed two runs or fewer in every start this season. His eight strikeouts tonight were the fewest he’s had all year (nine strikeouts in both previous starts). Jose Martinez pitched two shutout innings and struck out one. Joe Record collected the final six outs with four strikeouts. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Jordan Balazovic, Cedar Rapids (5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 8 K, 1 BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Tomas Telis, Rochester (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, R) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – Did not play #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - No Game #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, R #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - No Game #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Did not play #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – 1-3, 3B, R, K #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, 2B, RBI, K #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 0-4, RBI #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, RBI, 2 K #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – Did not pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 2-4, HR, R, RBI, BB #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – No Game #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, 2B, R, K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) – RHP Zack Littell (0-2, 7.71 ERA) Pensacola @ Biloxi (5:35 CST) – RHP Griffin Jax (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Pensacola @ Biloxi (Game 2) – TBD Fort Myers vs. Charlotte (5:30 CST) – RHP Bailey Ober (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs. Beloit (6:35 CST) – RHP Cole Sands (0-0, 3.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday’s games. Click here to view the article

While there were no real big stories revolving around the Twins on Tuesday, there were several little stories of interest. A couple of Twins players hit big home runs in Winter League play. The Twins made some announcements about Joe Mauer. The Twins made another minor league hire. Hopefully you will enjoy this format from time to time, a place to discuss these types of stories. Feel free to discuss any of them and ask questions.1st Inning - Miguel Sano homers Click here to view the article