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My name is Travis Harrison, former first-round supplemental pick for the Minnesota Twins. I was contacted to see if I was interested in telling my story and answer questions that Twins fans might have. To be honest, this usually is not my thing, so excuse the sub-par writing skills. I do love the game of baseball and have come to love the Minnesota sports fans. So, lets give it a shot. What could go wrong?A quick intro/update on my life. I am married to my wife Jessica, who is way better looking than myself. We had a beautiful girl 10 months ago named Jamie. She sleeps from 7 pm to 7 am every night so, go me! I have stopped playing baseball officially and am currently working for the #1 Real Estate team is Southwest Florida, Domain Realty. Also, I am taking full advantage of the Twins College Scholarship Plan that was offered to me coming out of high school. Enough with the boring stuff and onto my first Minnesota Twins story. On June 6, 2011, I was attending my regular high school classes while knowing my life would change forever that evening. I was receiving calls every 20 minutes or so, and the only thing I can remember is my agent texting me, “if the Twins contact you, say you are not interested”. I didn’t think much about it until the draft had started and I got a call. It was my local Twins scout (who was the best in the area and an amazing person). He said "If you are still there and Levi Michael is off the board, we are picking you at 30." I replied with “Sounds good”. This is back when “slot money” meant less than the close door button on an elevator. People were signing for half of slot or double slot. It was just a big chess game. Anyway, pick #30 comes and goes and Levi was still there. I remember seeing my father over in the corner of the house talking on the phone with someone and wondering who it was. Turns out, he was negotiating my first professional baseball contract for me. Pick #50 comes up and Rod Carew announces my name on TV in front of all my family and friends. The time I spent with the Twins was an absolute blast. It didn’t matter if I was hitting home runs in big league spring training or striking out in AA. The lessons I learned from playing professional baseball will stick with me forever. Even though I had three concussions that really held me back, I wouldn’t change my experience for anything in the world. I have a ton of stories to tell and I would love to answer questions about ANYTHING you might want to know. -------------------------------------------------- Related Articles: 2017 Killebrew Award Winner: Travis HarrisonQ&A with Travis Harrison (5/21/13)Twins Prospect Takes Flight (Harrison is a pilot)Draft Day MemoriesSupplemental Draft Picks Have Great Talent, Made Tough Decisions-------------------------------------------------- EDITOR'S NOTE: We are hoping that Travis will write an article every week or two about various topics related to his baseball career, time in the Twins organizations, tips, tricks, and more. He certainly welcomes your questions and ideas for topics, so fill the comments with those. - Seth Click here to view the article

Harmon Killebrew leads the Minnesota Twins organization in several career statistics including games played, home runs, RBI, walks and OPS. He was also a leader off the field. When he passed away back in 2011, his off-field leadership and service was praised by the Twins and people around the game of baseball. The Twins initiated the Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service given annually to one player from each of the four Twins minor league affiliates. Today we highlight the 2017 Harmon Killebrew Award winner from the Chattanooga Lookouts, outfielder Travis Harrison.Travis Harrison was one of two supplemental first-round picks by the Twins in 2011. He spent 2012 in Elizabethton where he won a championship. He was part of the first season of the Cedar Rapids Kernels as a Twins affiliate in 2013. In 2014, he moved from third base to the outfield and advanced to Ft. Myers where he was a key cog in the Miracle’s Florida State League championship. In 2015, he was part of the Southern League champion Chattanooga Lookouts. He’s remained with the Lookouts the last two years and is currently a free agent. Off the field, Harrison is a really good, giving person. He was very involved with several youth programs. He’s done that and more in the community every year and in the offseasons as well. One area he got quite involved with was the Hydrocephalus Association. According to Dan Kofp, Lookouts PR director, “This year Travis served as the team's ambassador for the Hydrocephalus Association. Along with appearing in their campaign videos Travis also led a clinic for kids with Hydrocephalus. He was also an integral part in bringing awareness to their brand new national "No More Brain Surgeries" campaign.” It was something that meant a lot to Harrison. “I was involved deeply with the Hydrocephalus Association and got very close with some kids that have it.” But he stayed even more busy. Kopf added, “The outfielder also was the first to volunteer for any community event and even played catch with Tennessee Congressman Chuck Fleischmann when he was in town.” As I noted, working in the community and enjoying time with children is something Harrison has always done. As Harrison said recently, “I appreciate the award, but I don't do those things for an award. I don't think anybody does. I just love seeing people happy, especially people that are not as blessed as I am. When I see an opportunity where I can help make somebody happy or even make there day a little better, i'll do it every time. Whether it's signing and autograph and helping a kid who can barely walk to the batter's box with with me, I really enjoy it.” Kopf summarized the effect that Travis Harrison had in the Chattanooga community, and it likely echoes the feelings of those he worked closely within each of the cities he has lived and played in. “2017 marked Travis' third season with the Lookouts and his third year as a member of the Chattanooga community. Overall Travis was an outstanding liaison to Chattanooga and his presence will be missed by the local community.” Cedar Rapids Kernels: Hector Lujan Ft. Myers Miracle: Kevin Garcia Chattanooga Lookouts: Travis Harrison Rochester Red Wings: DJ Baxendale Click here to view the article

It was a relatively quiet day in the Twins minor league system on Wednesday. The Ft. Myers Miracle and Elizabethton Twins each had a rare day off. However, the other four affiliates played. There were two lopsided games, and two close games. A few players new to the organization pitched in the GCL, while one of the top prospects pitched well for the GCL as well. It was Fernando Romero night, and so much more.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Wednesday. Let’s start with the transaction of the day: As Jeff Johnson tweeted after the Kernels game on Tuesday night, Gorge Munoz was sent down to Elizabethton with 2017 draft pick Jordan Gore called up to Cedar Rapids.You'll see below that LHP Kevin Marnon signed with the Twins and made his GCL debut.The Twins also signed RHP Randy Dobnak and catcher Taylor Grzelakowski from the Utica Unicorns from the United Shore Professional Baseball League. Dobnak was assigned to Elizabethton. Grzelakowski was assigned to the GCL.Darling Cuestro, Jose Bermudez and Juan Mojica were sent from the GCL back to the Dominican Summer League.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 3, Lehigh Valley 4 Box Score The Red Wings clawed back from a 3-0 deficit only to lose by one. Niko Goodrum led the offense with a 3-5 game. Mitch Garver added his 22nd double. Daniel Palka went 2-5 and added his ninth home run. It was his first since returning from his injury. Palka also made a play on defense. Now, we do encourage outfielders to hit the cutoff man, and probably not to throw at the launch angle you see below, but this worked well for the Red Wings. Tim Melville made the start. The veteran right-hander went the first five innings. He gave up three runs on six hits, a walk and a hit batter. He struck out six. Drew Rucinski came on for the sixth inning. He gave up one run on two hits over two innings. Jake Reed worked two scoreless innings and struck out four. 20 of his 25 pitches were strikes. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Montgomery 2 Box Score It was Fernando Romero’s turn to start on Wednesday. He improved to 11-6 and dropped his ERA to 2.60. He gave up one run on six hits over five innings. He hit a batter and struck out six. Of his 72 pitches, 50 of them were strikes. Dereck Rodriguez, back from his weekend in Cooperstown, returned to the mound and worked two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He walked two and struck out three. Ryan Eades got the eighth and gave up one run on three hits. Gabriel Moya worked a scoreless ninth inning to record his 18th save and reduced his ERA to 0.77. Travis Harrison had the big hit early. He went 2-4 with a two-run homer, his third of the season. Levi Michael continues to hit well. He went 2-4. Ryan Walker went 1-2 with two walks. Alex Perez also walked twice. Nick Gordon added his 25th double of the season. The win ended a rare one-game losing streak for the Lookouts in the second half. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers Box Score The Miracle had a rare scheduled day off. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 9 Box Score It was a long night in Cedar Rapids. Lefty Evan Sanders made the start. He gave up five runs on six hits in five innings. He walked four and struck out three. Another lefty, Bryan Sammons came on for his first Kernels appearance. He pitched a quick 1-2-3 sixth inning. His final line was three runs on five hits and two walks over three innings. He struck out three. Logan Lombana gave up a run on two hits in one inning. The Kernels offense just wasn’t able to bunch together enough hits to score much. Christian Cavaness went 2-4 with his seventh triple. Lewin Diaz went 2-4. Jimmy Kerrigan was also 2-4. He’s hitting .333 and has at least one hit in all five games he’s played for the Kernels. In the second inning, Ben Rortvedt was called out on strikes to start the inning. That was the last play of the game for manager Tommy Watkins as he was ejected for arguing. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton Box Score There are not very many off days once the Appalachian League starts. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 9, GCL Rays 4 Box Score A couple of pitchers rehabbed. A top 2017 prospect put in his longest outing. The offense provided plenty of offense. And a guy with a fun story made his debut in affiliated ball. Just another day in the Gulf Coast League. Michael Kohn started for the GCL Twins. He gave up one run on one hit in the first inning. The 30-year-old right-hander pitched in the big leagues from 2010-2015. He hasn’t pitched since May of 2015 because of a shoulder injury. He worked out for a couple of teams, but the Twins offered him a two-year deal with an invitation to major league spring training next year. Next, Henry Centeno gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in the next 1.2 innings. He struck out one. It was his second rehab appearance. He has missed the whole season so far with an elbow injury. Next in for the GCL Twins was 2017 draft pick Blayne Enlow. He recorded his first professional win in his longest outing so far. In 4.1 innings, he gave up one run on four hits. He struck out four and did not issue a walk. ‘ The final two innings were pitched by left-hander Kevin Marnon. He signed last week after pitching for the Birmingham/Bloomfield Beavers of the United Shore Professional Baseball League. The Ball State grad threw two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and struck one out. The offense was led by Alex Robles who hit his fifth double and his third home run. He drove in four runs. Kidany Salva went 2-5. Ben Rodriguez was 1-3 with two walks. Royce Lewis went 0-2, but he walked three times and stole his ninth and tenth bases. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Fernando Romero, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Daniel Palka, Rochester Red Wings THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Hector Santiago Chattanooga @ Montgomery (7:05 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) - RHP Brady Anderson Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - LHP Tyler Watson Burlington @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 am CST) - No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday’s games. Click here to view the article

The Twins made three draft picks on Monday night. On Tuesday, they drafted eight more players. On Wednesday, the Twins will select 30 more players. I haven’t personally experienced it, but can you imagine getting that phone call or hearing your name online as being drafted and having an opportunity to play ball professionally? I asked several Twins players from the past, the present and the future what they remember about finding out they had been drafted. I got a lot of great responses. If I receive more throughout the day, I will be sure to add them.Continue on to read what current Twins players like Brian Dozier and Tyler Duffey remember from their draft day. How about former players like Jacque Jones or Jeff Reboulet? And for many Twins minor leaguers, the memories are clear as they happened recently. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the stories shared below. Thank you very much to the players for participating and sharing their stories with us. Brian Dozier, 2B, Minnesota Twins (2009, 8th round): As you may remember, I was hurt (broken collarbone and had a plate and 8 screws put in) during the draft in 2009. Leading up to the draft, I knew I would get drafted but did not know exactly how high and who would take a chance on someone that was hurt. I remember being in a Firehouse sub shop eating lunch with a few of the guys on the Southern Miss team. I honestly forgot the draft was even going on. We had just beat Florida to advance to Omaha for the World Series. While eating, I got a call from Earl Winn with the Twins, and I can vividly remember how excited he was to tell me that the Twins had taken me in the 8th round. I was surprised that the Twins took me because when they flew the cross checker in to watch me earlier that year, I had the worst game of my career. 0-5, 3 k's and 3 errors at shortstop. Somehow, they still wanted to take me. Ha! There was really no negotiating since I was in my senior year. I do remember Earl Winn calling a few days later and said they had $30,000 to give me for signing. He said he would also take me out to dinner to celebrate. I said meet me at Outback at 7, and you have a deal! Ryan O’Rourke, LHP, Minnesota Twins (2008, 13th round): For me, the draft was a surreal experience. Invited a lot of friends and family over to watch day two. Looking back, that's a pretty confident move and something I probably would have done differently. The pick came and went, it's not the most vivid memory. Taking a picture with my mother, father, and brother while I put on a Twins hat will be something I treasure for the rest of my life. Mitch Garver, C, Rochester Red Wings (2013, 9th round): I think the main emotions were excitement and relief. I had always wanted to play professional baseball and when I heard my name called, I remember just rejoicing with my family around the computer. This huge sigh of relief came over us because the long and unpredictable process of getting drafted was done, and I was very proud to call myself a pro. My family then spontaneously threw a party together and all of my closest friends and family members came over to the house and we celebrated. It was an amazing feeling. Tom Hackimer, RHP, Ft. Myers Miracle (2016, 4th round): For me, the draft was a bit clearer than the previous year when it had surprised me a little bit. I had a good idea that the Twins were going to take me on the pick they had in the fourth round, but when they did it was still a huge relief, and an incredibly satisfying feeling Casey Scoggins, OF, Extended Spring Training (2016, 39th round): My memories from draft day was a roller coaster of emotions. It's an exciting experience for everyone in your life that helped you get to that point, and the anticipation can get overwhelming the farther you drop in the draft. That's what made it a roller coaster. But when you hear your name get called, no matter where it is, it becomes a sense of accomplishment and that's the most exciting part! Zack Granite, OF, Rochester Red Wings (2013, 14th round): I remember just seeing all these names being called. It felt like the time was never going to come. But when it did, I was the happiest kid in the world. Daniel Kihle, OF, Ft. Myers Miracle (2015, 18th round): I was at a lake in SW Missouri during the draft. When I got the phone call, I was on the boat hanging out with my dad, my girlfriend, and my dad's friend and his family. Once I got the call, there were lots of hugs and smiles all around! We celebrated the rest of that day, and then I headed home to start packing! Keaton Steele, RHP, Ft. Myers Miracle (2014, 18th round): Basically just pure excitement on the outside to everyone that knows you, but inside you are being torn apart. In my experience and maybe to others as well is that there's always a chance that you don't get picked or get an opportunity. When you finally do get to hear or see your name come up, it's a relief and the waiting is over. Then you get the feeling of, now what? What do I need besides baseball gear? What clothes do I need, car, housing, and what to really expect. The reaction from people around me was always positive and your phone blows up. You hear stories, but who knows if they are true. At the end the day, only X amount of kids get a chance, and I was excited I got the opportunity. Dereck Rodriguez, RHP, Chattanooga Lookouts (2011, 6th round): I was asleep when I got drafted!! I didn't even know I got drafted until my mom started to scream. Then everyone started to call me. It was a fun day. Alex Kirilloff, OF, Extended Spring Training (2016, 1st round): Big memory that sticks out to me was just watching the draft on TV when my name was called. We were at a local restaurant with all my teammates, family, and close friends. Just a pretty awesome moment filled with excitement. Lean Marrero, OF, Extended Spring Training (2015, 16th round): My draft experience was unforgettable because it changed my life. It was a big step for me, not only career wise but personally. The first thing I did was thank God for the opportunity that the Minnesota Twins gave me. At the time I was not with my family, I received the news by myself. In that moment I thought about all the sacrifices I would have to make, I started screaming and thanked my parents for all the values they taught me. Tyler Wells, RHP, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2016, 15th round) The draft itself felt like forever. Three long days that felt like 3 weeks. When my name was finally called, it was a house full of excitement! It was a dream come true. We were all very happy that I was able to begin living out my dream to get to the big leagues! Patrick McGuff, RHP, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2016, 36th Round) It was great! Being given the opportunity to play professional baseball is a blessing. I had a lot of support from family and friends during the draft and continue to have it now. Although it was a little long and unsure at times, definitely worth it in the end and wouldn't change a thing. Trevor Hildenberger, RHP, Rochester Red Wings (2014, 22nd round): I was drafted while I was at my mom’s birthday BBQ in a public park. I was manning the grill when the phone rang and my area scout told me I was drafted. Didn't miss a beat, kept turning the sausages. After I hung up, everyone was excited. Jake Reed, RHP, Chattanooga Lookouts (2014, 5th round): I was lucky enough to have my family up with me in Eugene and have them there for the draft. I was extremely nervous, but it was definitely a relief when my name got called and one of the best days of my life, for sure. Travis Blankenhorn, 3B, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2015, 3rd round) My experience was great. I did not have a big party while the draft was going on because I was not sure when I was going to get picked, my family and agent gathered around my computer once the Twins called and told me they were going to pick me. That night, I did have a party with all my family and friends. Then I went to Minnesota to sign and saw a couple games and had a great first experience with the organization. Sean Miller, IF, Ft. Myers Miracle (2015, 10th round) I constantly try and describe the moment I was drafted. And I don't think I can. It's one of those things you play out in your head every night a couple weeks before it actually happens but nothing will live up to it. Tyler Duffey, RHP, Minnesota Twins (2012, 5th Round) It's a great time. Being selected at all is a privilege. So many with talent don't get opportunities. Guys have to realize that and fight to make the most of their chances. Really exciting and a dream come true and wouldn't trade what I get the opportunity to do for anything else. Trey Cabbage, 3B, Extended Spring Training (2015, 4th Round) My draft experience was stressful because I didn't know where I'd go. I really hoped it would be first day, but I'm very blessed and happy to be taken where I was and be here. Travis Harrison, OF, Chattanooga Lookouts (2011, supp. 1st Round) What I remember on draft day is that it was a school day for me. Starting at 8am I was constantly leaving class to take calls from different teams. Calls ranged from asking if I would take a certain money amount or teams just calling me to tell me if I'm available, they're taking me (Mostly lies). When school was over, I went home and just tried to relax. A lot of my friends and family came over to the house shortly before the draft started. I remember playing wiffle ball in the front yard up until about the 25th pick or so. My family and I were being told that I could be picked any moment at this point. Picks came and went and I wasn't being taken, then Jon Leavitt, my area scout for the Twins, called my dad and had a brief conversation. A few picks later, Rod Carew announced my name on TV. It's a moment I will always remember. My best advice for guys going through the draft is don't look at mock drafts and nowadays don't look at what people on Twitter are saying. They're only guessing like you. Try and have fun and make sure to record the draft on TV! Tyler Beardsley, RHP, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2016, 16th round): It truly was the best day of my life. Super thankful for the Twins giving me this incredible opportunity to fulfill my dream of playing professional baseball. I was with my parents at my house when I got the call. I had family members, former teammates, coaches, and friends reach out to me and congratulate me. Truly a day I'll never forget. Dan Rohlfing, C, Chattanooga Lookouts (2007, 14th round): Draft day was definitely an exciting day. You hear all these rumors about potential rounds and what teams will take you. So it's hard to sit there and wait to find your destiny. For myself, it was a little different though. I was on an airplane flying back from Cancun, Mexico. It was a trip a few other baseball players and myself took as a graduation gift because we weren't allowed to go on spring break with our fellow classmates because of a baseball tournament. Not realizing the dates of the trip fell on draft day, I was sitting in the airport in Mexico racking up an international phone bill talking to scouts from various teams. While boarding the flight, I had still not been taken and after multiple warnings from the stewardess, I finally shut my phone off and squirmed through the 3 hour flight. Turning my phone on once we hit the ground I had congrats texts flying in from friends and family, but I still had no idea who drafted me (this was 2007, aka pre iPhone days). My phone began to ring and it was my father saying, Congrats you're a Minnesota Twin! Shortly after, I was contacted by the Twins and the rest is history. Michael Quesada, C, (2010, 24th round): Quesada played in the Twins minor league system from 2010 through 2015. 2017 has been his first year as an area scout for the Twins. My draft experience was enjoyable. As a JC player with no representation, I asked for a number that was over my value knowing I would probably get less. I had received a few calls after Day 1 from scouts hoping to take me on Day 2, but I was never called. On Day 3, the Twins called multiple times but the spot didn't happen until the 24th round. At the time, my family and I were sitting in front of the computer waiting to see my name pop up on the screen, and it was a great moment. The reaction was pure joy after all the hard work and sacrifices everyone in my life made for that moment to happen. It was 7 years ago and feels like it was yesterday. Hank Morrison, OF, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2016, 22nd round): I will always remember the day I got drafted! It was the third day of the draft, and I was very nervous because I hadn't been picked yet. My dad had listened to every pick, and I wanted him to put his headphones on cause I couldn't listen anymore! One of my buddies got picked in the 18th round, and I asked him how it happened, and he said they called him 3 rounds ahead of time. So every round that went by I was adding 3 more rounds to that and the 22nd round came around and my dad screamed my name! Then I went to the computer and saw my name pop up for the Twins and me and my parents cried out with joy! It was a dream come true! Max Cordy, RHP, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2015, 40th round) The draft was a hectic couple days, but a huge weight was lifted off my chest, and I was super excited once I found out I had been drafted/given an opportunity to pursue my dream. My family and friends were all super happy for me and supportive throughout the process. Jeff Reboulet, IF, Minnesota Twins (1986, 10th round): Reboulet played for the Twins from 1992-1996. He stayed in the big leagues through the 2003 season. Drafted by the Twins in the 10th round, my senior year, while at Omaha. Didn't know I was drafted until I got back to Dayton, Ohio, after the College World Series and had a plane ticket to Visalia, California (Cal League - High A) that left the next day. Henry Bonilla, RHP, (2000, 8th round) Bonilla is the Miracle pitching coach. He played in the Twins farm system from 2000-2006, spending a couple of seasons in AAA. Actually, i was home alone. Parents were working. Got a phone call. Then went to lunch with some buddies one, of which got drafted. Pretty boring actually. Jamie Ogden, 1B/OF (1990, 3rd round) Ogden is from White Bear Lake, so he was drafted by his hometown team. He played in the system through the 1998 season, a teammate of many very popular former Twins. His final three seasons were spent in AAA. It was a looooong time ago. I remember not having any clue on when I would get drafted. Got a call on day one of the draft from my scout Terry Ryan that I was taken by the Twins with the 77th pick/3rd round. I also remember the negotiations between my dad and Terry being entertaining. They both are very kind men but very direct. Terry would come in with a number. Dad would reiterate what it would take ($100k + college). I was planning to go to Oklahoma to play hoops and baseball (Clem wouldn't let me play both at the U). So June 30th the Twins agreed to our conditions and on July 4th I was on a beach in Sarasota (Twins rookie ball he year before Ft. Myers) JP Martinez, RHP, Minnesota Twins (2004, 9th round): Martinez spent four seasons in the Twins system, making a couple of appearances in AAA. He is now the pitching coach for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. On the day of the draft in 2004, we hung out in my college coach's office at Univ of New Orleans (Randy Bush, won two World Series with the Twins), where we listened to the broadcast. Our Friday starter went 10th overall. My brother-in-law (who was my just my best friend at the time), was getting calls as early as the 2nd round. First call I got was from Mark Quimoyog telling me the Twins had taken me in the 9th round (2 picks before my bro in law). Drafted the day before my 22nd birthday, signed my contract on my kitchen table on my birthday. Good times! Sam Clay, LHP, Chattanooga Lookouts (2014, 4th round): Well, I remember being at home with my family on the second day of the draft. My parents were very excited the whole day, and they had the draft pulled up on their computer. I was trying to keep myself distracted and calm until I got a call from my advisor. It was late during the 3rd round when I got a call and was told that the Twins were interested. The Twins pick came up in the 4th round and my name came on the screen and my parents were ecstatic. I got a lot of phone calls and texts from friends and family members congratulating me. It's a special and life changing moment. Dane Hutcheon, IF, Extended Spring Training (2016, 29th round): The draft for me was definitely a roller coaster of emotions. But through those emotions it all dawned on me how fortunate I was for the opportunity to play at the next level. I remember getting the call from my Area Scout (Jack Powell) and I didn't even hesitate to say yes. I just wanted an opportunity to be something special. It was something I dreamed of from when I was just a little kid. It was pretty sweet to see all the love and the support you got. I remember getting tons of texts messages and my phone was just blowing up, but I wanted to call and text the people closest to me first. I was actually alone up in the Cape Cod League so I really never got a chance to celebrate with my family and friends, but I made sure to call my Mom and Dad first thing and just cherish what had happened. I later went on to call my coach and other family members and some of my best friends and to see the love and support was pretty neat. It will definitely be a day that I will always remember. Cody Stashak, RHP, Ft. Myers Miracle (2015, 13th round): I had no clue my name was called. I was outside grilling some food and my phone just started going crazy. Jacque Jones, OF, Minnesota Twins (1996, 2nd round): Jones was a popular player in the Twins organization through the 2005 season. He is currently a hitting coach with the Washington Nationals. Didn't really have an experience was in the middle of preparing for the Olympics. Was a quick phone call and then went to practice. Steve Singleton, 2B, Minnesota Twins (2006, 11th Round) “Sing” played in the Twins organization until the 2011 season. He reached AAA Rochester. He is now the hitting coach of the Ft. Myers Miracle. Draft day was whirlwind. I was just with my immediate family. Mom, Dad and brother. I had heard a lot of different noise about what rounds and what teams. I thought I had a chance to go in the top five rounds and really expected top ten. I ended up going in the 11th with the Twins and was surprised. I had never filled out a questionnaire or had a sit down with the scout who ended up taking me, John Leavitt. I got calls in the 10th and 11th from the Yankees saying they were taking me with their picks right then and neither time they pulled the trigger, so I was pretty anxious after that. Once my name was called, it was a very happy moment for my family. While there was some anxiety and disappointment while we were waiting, it all disappeared once I was selected. I went to dinner with a few close friends right after and prepared for the next chapter of my life. It was a wild day. Clark Beeker, RHP, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2016, 33rd round): I remember sitting at my house and watching TV with the audio of the draft picks going on in the background. I knew there was a chance of being selected, but it definitely wasn't a given that I would be drafted in one of the final rounds. Then I heard it announced that the Twins had selected me and the next couple hours or so were extremely hectic. I received a call from my area scout about five minutes after the pick and then texts and phone calls from friends, family, and former teammates started pouring in. It was a memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life. How fun was that, getting to read so many draft day memories!? I’m guessing a small percentage of those of us reading this have had the great opportunity to experience being drafted. What a moment, not only for the player but clearly for their families, coaches and friends. ---- The Twins have made that dream happen for 11 players already in the 2017 draft, and on Wednesday, they’ll do the same for 30 more players. Hopefully we can hear more of those stories too. Feel free to discuss and tell us which are your favorite stories. Click here to view the article

The Rochester Red Wings played a double-header on Tuesday, and they along with the major league team had a lot of roster movement leading into it. A top pitching prospect twirled his best start of the season and got a ton of offensive support in a win, while a few other games had very little offense for the good guys.Keep reading to check out a more than full slate of action in the minors on Tuesday! TRANSACTIONS There were a bunch of transactions between the Twins and Rochester in anticipation of their games on Tuesday. Minnesota recalled Buddy Boshers while Drew Rucinski was optioned and Adam Wilk was outrighted to AAA. Daniel Palka went on the disabled list with a fractured index finger and Engelb Vielma was placed on the temporary inactive list. Pitchers Ryan Eades and Kam Mickolio were assigned to the Red Wings to be available for their double-header. RED WINGS REPORT Game 1: Rochester 6, Durham 1 (7 innings) Box Score In the regularly scheduled game the Red Wings jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings thanks to an RBI groundout in the second from Tommy Field and a two-run home run in the third off the bat of Niko Goodrum. Kennys Vargas led off the second with a walk and moved to third on a Byungho Park double that allowed him to score. Zack Granite was on first after a single before Goodrum’s blast. Making the start and his AAA debut for Rochester, was Ryan Eades. He was pretty good, going the first five innings and allowing just one run on five hits and a walk while striking out five. The run he allowed came in the bottom of the fourth on a two-out double. Rochester added to their lead in the sixth as doubles from Park, John Ryan Murphy and Leonardo Reginatto contributed to three insurance runs. Murphy’s drove in two, while Reginatto’s brought in the third. Trevor Hildenberger pitched two perfect innings of relief to seal the victory, striking out three along the way. Goodrum and Park were 2-4 on the game to lead the offense. Goodrum’s home run was his fifth on the year and he ended game one with a nine-game hitting streak. Game 2 (makeup of 5/25 PPD): Durham 4, Rochester 0 (7 innings) Box Score In the makeup of their postponement on May 25th in Rochester, the Red Wings took the field as the home team for the nightcap. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to talk about in the loss. As a team they managed just two hits and two walks, with J.B. Shuck’s double in the fifth inning being their biggest hit. D.J. Baxendale made the start in a bullpen game, and he made it through 2.2 innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks. He struck out one. Kevin Chapman went the next three innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk while striking out three. Newcomer Kam Mickolio made his AAA debut for the Twins organization and pitched the final 1.1 innings. He allowed a hit, a walk and struck out one. Niko Goodrum’s hitting streak came to an end in this one, but over his last ten games he has hit .384 with seven runs scored, two home runs and eight RBI. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 11, Birmingham 0 Box Score The Lookouts jumped out to an early lead and would never look back, as starter Fernando Romero delivered his best start of the season. An RBI double from Travis Harrison gave them the lead 1-0 after one inning, and an RBI single from Nick Gordon made it 2-0 after two. Romero was in control from the get go, finishing six innings and allowing just two hits and two walks. He racked up seven strikeouts, including three of the swinging variety for a true mow-em-down inning in the fifth. He threw 98 pitches, with 64 going for strikes to pick up his fourth win of the year. Chattanooga went on to batter the Barons’ bullpen, adding a single run in the fifth, three in the sixth, and five in the ninth to reach their final blowout tally of eleven. Gordon (2-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI), Ryan Strausborger (3-4, 3 R’s, 2B, RBI), Wade (2-5, R, 2 RBI), Harrison (2-4, 2B, 3 RBI) and Levi Michael (2-5, 2 R’s, SB) had multiple hit nights. Ryan Walker added a double and RBI to the effort while also walking three times. Todd Van Steensel was brought in for the seventh inning and pitched two scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and two walks, but also got two strikeouts. Tyler Jay was summoned to finish the game in the ninth, his second appearance since being activated. He walked the leadoff man but picked up two K’s around a groundout to close it out. The Lookouts improve to 29-22 on the season and end the night in second place in the Southern League North Division. MIRACLE MATTERS Bradenton 8, Fort Myers 4 Box score Lachlan Wells took the mound for the Miracle in this one, and the Marauders pounced in the first inning due in part to a couple of errors. Shortstop Sean Miller and Wells each had a throwing error that put runners on second and third and the Florida State League’s home run leader, Logan Hill, added to his total with his fourteenth of the season to make it 3-0. The Miracle got those back and more in the bottom of the second as Miller led off the inning with a single, Alex Perez drew a walk and Tanner English brought them both home with his first triple of the season. He scored on a Nelson Molina single, and Molina later scored on a single off the bat of Bradley Strong to put the home team up 4-3. Wells made it through the fourth inning, but not before another home run put his team back behind 5-4. He allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and a walk in his outing. He struck out just one. The Fort Myers bullpen surrendered single runs in each of the sixth, seventh and ninth innings to put the game out of reach. Anthony McIver allowed one run on three hits in two innings while striking out one. Alex Muren allowed one run while striking out three in the seventh. Williams Ramirez worked around a walk and another Miller error in the eighth to pitch a scoreless frame. Cam Booser had trouble with his control and walked five in the ninth but managed to allow just one run as after the first walk the next batter lined into a double play. Michael Theofanopoulos got the final out to finish the game. English’s triple was the team’s only extra-base hit, and Strong stole his fifth base. They did go 3-5 with runners in scoring position as a team, but with just six hits and one walk on the game they didn’t generate enough chances. KERNELS NUGGETS Quad Cities 8, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score Eighteen hitters went down in order before the Kernels finally ended River Bandits’ starter Carlos Sanabria’s perfect game bid in the seventh inning. They would chase him later in the frame, but it was too little too late by then. Quad Cities took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with a two-out rally against Cedar Rapids Starter Eduardo Del Rosario. A double was followed by a walk and run-scoring single to start the game’s scoring. Del Rosario made it into the fifth inning before getting chased after a two-out single to make the score 6-0 in favor of the visiting team. Ryan Mason came on for his second appearance of the season and allowed an inherited runner to score before getting the final out of the frame. In the sixth Mason allowed two more runs after two singles and a double led off the inning. The Kernels finally got to Sanabria in the seventh when Arial Montesino led off the inning with a double and was followed by a Jermaine Palacios home run, his seventh of the year. Lewin Diaz would also doubled in the inning but was left stranded. Zack Tillery came out of the bullpen for the seventh inning and worked around two walks with a couple of strikeouts for a scoreless inning. He also pitched a scoreless eighth, striking out two more. Max Cordy pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing a single and striking out one. Cedar Rapids was outhit 16-3 on the game and left just two men on base. They fall to 29-23 on the season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Fernando Romero, Chattanooga Lookouts (W, 6 IP, 2 H’s, 2 BB’s, 7 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Ryan Strausborger, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-4, 3 R’s, 2B, RBI) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Durham (6:05PM CST) – RHP Yohan Pino (0-0, -.-- ERA) Chattanooga @ Birmingham (7:05PM CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30PM CST) – RHP Brady Anderson (2-0, 3.45 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – RHP Tyler Wells Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! Click here to view the article

The Twins were working in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday night. Chattanooga had a morning start while Rochester began in the early afternoon. Ft. Myers had a game to forget, and the Kernels stayed over .500 with an all-around strong game. The pitching wasn’t as good in the system as it was a day earlier, but there was one very strong start, and another starter gave up his first earned run of the season and gave a quality start. Ehire Adrianza is looking to earn a big league roster spot with his strong rehab performance.And… so much more. It was a full day of baseball in the Minnesota Twins minor league system. So, grab a cup of coffee, or a big glass of water and enjoy… RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Gwinnett 3 Box Score Lefty David Hurlbut came into his third start having given up zero earned runs through 11 innings pitched. In the first inning, an unearned run was charged to him due to a passed ball. However, his streak of unearned runs came to an end when he gave up two runs in the third inning. Nevertheless, he put together a quality start on Wednesday afternoon. He gave up those three runs (two earned) on seven hits and a walk in 6.1 innings. He struck out three. His season ERA, now through 17.1 innings, is at 1.04. Drew Rucinski got the final two outs of the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth frame as well. Alex Wimmers struck out one in a perfect ninth. Ehire Adrianza had two hits for the second straight game. He is now 4-9 in his two-game rehab stint. John Ryan Murphy added his second and third doubles in four at-bats. Tommy Field hit his fourth double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 8 Box Score It just wasn’t Felix Jorge’s day on Wednesday afternoon. The talented right-hander gave up six runs on ten hits and a walk in his five innings. He struck out four. Ryan Eades came on and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks… in two innings. He struck out… two. Mason Melotakis pitched another scoreless inning in relief ,and Nick Burdi struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning. Both keep their ERAs of 0.00 intact. Melotakis has thrown 8.2 innings, and Burdi has tossed 7.1 innings so far. Travis Harrison led the offense. He went 2-2 with two walks in the game. Down 4-1 in the fourth, Jonathan Rodriguez hit a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 4-3. However, this was the Jason Vosler story. The Cubs’ 16th round pick in 2014 out of Northeastern came into the game hitting .180 with one home runs. He went 3-5 and hit three, two-run homers. The first gave the Smokies a 4-1 lead in the third. In his next at bat, he hit a two-run homer to give the Smokies another three-run lead after Rodriguez’s homer. Then in the seventh inning, he hit his third of the game to give the final 8-4 margin. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Bradenton 16 Box Score This is a game to forget. Doug Mientkiewicz, his coaching staff, and the players would all like to just completely forget about their game on Wednesday night. Sure, the box score will be there, but the goal will be to try to forget it ever happened, though they’ll want to learn from it still. Cody Stashak started and gave up seven runs (five earned) on five hits and a walk. He struck out four. Mike Theofanopoulos came on and recorded just two outs. He was charged with six runs on five hits and a walk. Brady Anderson came on and gave up three runs on six hits, but he was able to get the game to the ninth inning. Jonny Drozd came on and pitched a scoreless ninth. The Miracle, who have been scoring a lot of runs of late, were held to just four hits and two runs in the game. Zander Wiel had an RBI double in the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Burlington 1 Box Score The Kernels used a five-run second inning to grab an early lead and got a strong pitching performance to improve to 11-9. In that second inning, Shane Carrier drove in the first run with an RBI double. Then the red-hot Jermaine Palacios came up with the bases loaded and cleared them with a triple. The next batter, Mitchell Kranson, bounced a single to the outfield to score Palacios. Lewin Diaz led the way with a 3-4 game. He added his seventh double. Kranson went 2-4. Travis Blankenhorn went 1-2 and walked twice in the game. Tyler Wells pitched well on improved to 2-0 on the season. The right-hander gave up one run on five hits over seven innings. He walked one and struck out seven, dropping his season ERA to 1.88. Max Cordy and Colton Davis worked the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, without giving up a run. Palacios tripled for the third straight game, and it was his fifth triple of this young season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Tyler Wells, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Travis Harrison, Chattanooga Lookouts SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Gwinnett @ Rochester (10:05 a.m. CST) - LHP Jason Wheeler Chattanooga @ Jackson - (6:05 CST) - RH Paul Clemens Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (5:35 CST) - RHP David Fischer Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:30 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday night’s games. Click here to view the article

There are so many minor league stories to follow in 2017. Yesterday we talked about what could be a very intriguing starting staff in Chattanooga throughout the season. Today’s article is more about the business of baseball. A player can become a minor league free agent after he has played six full seasons of minor league ball, unless added to the 40-man roster. So it is fair to say that this is a big year for a handful of Twins minor leaguers.There are five Twins minor league players who were drafted by the Twins in 2011 who have yet to reach the big leagues. Could they be called up sometime during the 2017 season? Could they be added to the 40-man roster following the season, before the World Series is complete and become free agents? 2010 draft pick Niko Goodrum spent the first half of the 2016 season on the disabled list. Following the season he could have become a minor league free agent, but instead, he quickly re-signed with the Twins. Fellow 2010 draft pick Alex Wimmers could have become a free agent after the Twins took him off of their 40-man roster following the season. Instead, he quickly returned to the Twins on a minor league contract. Both are playing well in spring training. So while it would be great for these five players to have big seasons in 2017 and force the Twins hand, doors could open up for them after the season via free agency, or they could choose to stay in the Twins organization. LEVI MICHAEL The Twins had the 30th overall pick in the 2011 draft. The Twins selected North Carolina shortstop Levi Michael. In his three years with the Tar Heels, he spent a season at each of three infield positions. Many scouting sources had Michael ranked higher than 30th, and the Twins needed middle infielders in the system. The pick made sense. Unfortunately, he missed the rest of that season with injury, and he has fought a variety of injuries throughout his career. He has spent parts of the last three seasons at AA. In 2016, he played in 95 games and hit just .215/.293/.291 (.584) and lost playing time as the season went on. He recently turned 26, and it would be nice to see him get some AAA time in 2017. TRAVIS HARRISON The Twins took Harrison with the 50th overall pick in 2011 out of high school in California. He quickly moved up one level each year until 2016 when he returned for a second season in AA Chattanooga. In 120 games, he hit .230 but had a .338 on-base percentage and a .339 slugging percentage. He had 22 doubles, seven homers and stole 15 bases. He has been in the outfield the last three seasons, though he has moved from left to right and back and forth a couple of times. No one questions Harrison’s work ethic, and anyone who has watched him knows that he has tremendous power potential and strength. He will still be just 24 years old through the 2017 season. DERECK RODRIGUEZ Dereck Rodriguez, as you know, is the son of recently-named Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez. The Twins drafted him in the sixth round in 2011 out of high school in Florida. They drafted him as a potential five-tool outfielder, but when he was unable to hit in the rookie leagues for three seasons, the decision was pretty easy to give him the option of pitching. He’s progressed slowly up the ladder as a pitcher. In 2015, he was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year. He began 2016 really struggling in Cedar Rapids, but in the middle of June, he started pitching much better. He earned a promotion to Ft. Myers where he pitched well too. He pitched very well this winter in Puerto Rico and helped the team win the Caribbean Series. He now is part of Team Puerto Rico in the WBC. He’ll continue to start as the season begins, but the 24-year-old could be a solid bullpen arm. JASON WHEELER Wheeler is the one player on this list who has been on the Twins 40-man roster. Two years ago, he was added to the roster and went to spring training with the big club. He really struggled in 2015 and by season’s end, he was removed from the 40-man roster. After that point, he went on to lead the Chattanooga Lookouts to the 2015 Southern League championship (he was named MVP, won a game and recorded a four-inning save). 2016 was a very good year for Wheeler. He began in Chattanooga again, but he moved up to Rochester quickly. And, he put up terrific numbers, good enough to be named the starting pitcher for the International League team in the AAA All-Star game. The left-hander doesn’t throw real hard, but he is generally around the plate and uses his defense. The 26-year-old was the Twins eighth-round pick in 2011 out of Loyola Marymount. DAVID HURLBUT The Twins liked Hurlbut enough to draft him twice. He was the team’s 35th-round pick in 2009 out of junior college. Two years later, the Twins took him in the 28th round out of Cal State-Fullerton. He missed some time at the start of 2016 with a shoulder issue, but he pitched well once he got on the mound. He went 7-7 with a 3.51 ERA in 23 starts in AA. He finished the season with five starts in Rochester. The 27-year-old is a soft-throwing left-hander, occasionally touching 90, but he has pinpoint control and a good changeup. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obviously all five of these guys are “prospects’ as they have yet to play in the big leagues. The two 24-year-olds are the two that would fit into the “prospect” category meaning there is still a lot of potential with them. It’s a big year for each of them. Not only are they working for a big league opportunity with the Twins, but they will have another season to be monitored by scouts and coaching staffs from the other 29 organizations too. So what are your hopes or expectations for these five? Will any of them get to the big leagues in 2017? Could any be found on the 40-man roster after the 2017 season? Click here to view the article

Since the end of the Twins minor league season, he at Twins Daily have handed out several awards. We have named the minor league Starting Pitcher, Relief Pitcher and Hitter of the Year. We named a Twins minor league All Star team. Now it’s time to start thinking about prospects. Today, I’m going to start my preliminary Top 50 Twins prospect rankings by posting choices for prospects 41-50. Over the next week or two, we’ll work our way up to the top prospects in the organization. Your thoughts, suggestions, comments and questions are welcomed. These prospect rankings may look a little different than they have in recent years. Consider the fact that players like Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco and Jose Berrios have all graduated from “prospect” status. However, the Twins still have several high-end prospects. There are many more who have the potential to get to that level, or to have big league futures in some manner. In Part 1, we’ll look at prospects 41-50. This is an interesting group of prospects. There are several relievers with some upside. There are a couple of pitchers who are a little older and for their level for a variety of reasons, but they still have potential to be big leaguers in time. There are a couple of starters. There are a couple of hitters who have upside or who have put up some numbers at some point. Your input is welcomed.Players eligible to be on this list include players who remain eligible for Rookie of the Year voting in 2017. That is to say, hitters with less than 130 at-bats and pitchers with less than 50 innings. (The list is preliminary. Following research for the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2017 - which Cody Christie, Jeremy Nygaard and I are working on - I’ll provide my final Top 30 prospects list.) Top Prospects 41-50 #50 – Tyler Wells - 22 – RHP – Elizabethton Twins The Twins used their 15th round pick this June on the right-hander from Cal State-San Bernadino. There, he made 15 starts and was 4-7 despite a 2.84 ERA. He had 89 strikeouts in 92 innings. At 6-8 and about 265 pounds, he has the potential to be a hard-throwing, strikeout pitcher. Obviously he’s got a long ways to go to get there. He finished the season with 19.1 scoreless innings. In his penultimate start, he gave up just one hit over seven innings and struck out 14 batters. He makes this list as a guy worth watching. #49 – Taylor Clemensia - 19 – LHP – GCL Twins The young Amsterdam native played in the Dutch leagues for a couple of years. He was an outfielder, a very good athlete with a big arm. The Twins signed him and moved him to the mound. He had a solid debut in the GCL this year. He posted a 2.47 ERA in 11 games (43.2 innings). He showed the ability to miss bats, at times, and he fought with control ,at times. However, Clemensia is said to have a good feel for pitching despite the fact he’s still learning. #48 – Travis Harrison - 23 – OF - Chattanooga Lookouts Harrison was the 50th overall pick of the 2011 draft out of high school in California. He’s been around quite some time, but he still is just 23 years old. In 2016, he repeated the AA Southern League level. Unfortunately, it was a difficult season. His batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage all dipped. He moved from left field to right field in 2016. In mid-July, he was hit in the head with a pitch and missed about two weeks with a concussion. He hit just .191 in 37 more games for the rest of the season. He’s got a strong work ethic, and 2017 will be a big year as he could become a free agent at the end of the season. #47 – Michael Cederoth - 23 – RHP – Cedar Rapids Kernels Cederoth was the Twins 3rd round pick in 2014 out of San Diego State. He was tried as a starter that season and at the start of the 2015 season. After missing the second half of the 2015 season with an illness, he began 2016 on the DL with an oblique strain. Once he came back to the Kernels, he was very good. He went 4-0 with a 2.45 ERA. In 47.2 innings, he gave up 35 hits, walked 33 and struck out 62 batters. Cederoth throws real hard and now that he’s healthy, he could move up quickly in 2016. #46 – Williams Ramirez - 24 – RHP – Cedar Rapids Kernels Ramirez is already a little bit older, but he’s still worth watching. He signed at an older age and debuted in the DSL at age 20. He spent two seasons there transitioning from infielder to pitcher. He was our choice for Twins Daily short-season pitcher of the year in 2015 when he went 4-2 with a 1.14 ERA and 0.91 WHIp and 10.3 K/9 in the GCL last year. After starting the 2016 season in Extended Spring Training, but by mid-June, he was up with the Kernels. As Jake Mauer told me in late May, his first night game with the Kernels was the first time he had ever pitched under the lights. Ramirez is a max-effort pitcher who works in the mid-90s. He’s also got a very sharp slider. He’s likely going to be a bullpen arm at this point. #45 – Miguel De Jesus - 21 – RHP – GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins De Jesus signed with the Twins in 2014 from the Dominican Republic. He pitched there in 2015 before coming to the States this year. He began in the GCL where he made seven starts and went 3-1 with a 2.06 ERA. In 35 innings, he walked 11 and struck out 34. He was moved up to Elizabethton where he went 0-2 in four starts with a 3.00 ERA. He turned 21 just last week. He sits 92-96 with a fastball that gets a lot of movement. At 6-2 and a wiry 175 pounds, he has room for growth. #44 – Yorman Landa - 22 – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle The Twins signed Landa as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela. He slowly works his way up the system, continuing to develop. He missed some time in 2014 and again in 2015 with a shoulder injury, but when he came back in the second half of 2015 in Cedar Rapids, he showed an upper-90s fastball with secondary pitches with big potential. Following the season, he was added to the Twins 40-man roster. He moved up to Ft. Myers this year. He made the Florida State League All Star team and hit 100 mph with three pitches in his inning. He went on the DL in July with more shoulder issues. Injury has been the one thing that has held him back, and keeps him from being higher on this list, but when healthy, he has potential to be a terrific late-inning reliever. #43 – Dereck Rodriguez - 24 – RHP – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle Rodriguez is the son of soon-to-be Hall of Famer Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez. The Twins drafted him in the 6th round of the 2011 draft as an outfielder. He spent three seasons in the rookie leagues trying to hit. Starting in 2014, he made the transition to the mound. In 2015, he was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year in Elizabethton. He began the 2016 season in the Cedar Rapids rotation. Through his first nine starts, he was 1-7 with a 7.71 ERA. At that point, things started getting better. In his final nine starts with the Kernels, he went 3-4 with a 3.02 ERA and went at least six innings in each of those starts. He moved up to Ft. Myers where he went 1-2 but posted a 2.56 ERA. So while his overall numbers in 2016 don’t look great a deeper look shows that he started figuring things out over the final three months of the season. #42 – Aaron Whitefield - 20 – IF/OF – GCL Twins Signed out of Australia in the summer of 2015, Whitefield is an intriguing prospect. He hadn’t really played much baseball until shortly below that time. He had played for Team Australia in international softball competitions. However, he has great speed and some power potential. He can play all over the diamond. He was one of just a couple of GCL players who played nearly every day. He was the team’s leadoff hitter and hit .298/.370/.366 (.737) with seven doubles and two homers. He also stole 31 bases in 40 attempts. He was encouraged to run and had the green light. He played 1B and 3B and all three outfield positions. He just turned 20 at the start of September. #41 – Zander Wiel - 24 – 1B – Cedar Rapids Kernels Wiel was the Twins’ 12th round pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt. His debut summer was shortened when he was hit in the wrist with a pitch. He struggled early in 2016 in Cedar Rapids, but as Parker pointed out in a recent article, he made some adjustments and his numbers in the second half were terrific. In July, he posted a .310/.407/.660 (1.067) with nine doubles, a triple and eight home runs. He ended the season strong too. He had nine hits over his final four games including four home runs and 11 RBI. He ended the season with 86 RBI which led the Midwest League. The first baseman had 17 errors at first base during the season. So what do you think of Part 1, Prospects 41-50? Next up will be prospects 31-40. Click here to view the article

Rain was the story in Ft. Myers as both the GCL’s final regular season game and the Miracle game were postponed. Elizabethton had the day off to prepare for their playoff series. Their regular season ended with a record above .500 for the 28th straight season. The Red Wings came into the night needing to win out for a shot at the playoffs. The Lookouts are hanging on to some hope, and the Kernels needed to work some overtime.Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Friday night. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Lehigh Valley 7 Box Score The Red Wings came into the final weekend needing to win all four remaining games. The drama of a playoff run ended quickly. The Red Wings were down 5-0 before they even came to bat in the bottom of the first inning. Lefty Jason Wheeler, who has been the Red Wings most consistent starter all season, was able to record only one out. He gave up five runs on four hits, two walks and a hit batter. DJ Baxendale came on and went 4.2 innings. He gave up one run on three hits. He struck out six without issuing a walk. Neil Ramirez struck out four in 1.2 scoreless innings. Jake Reed gave up one run on two hits in 1.1 innings. Alan Busenitz struck out two in a perfect ninth inning. One bad inning of pitching isn’t all that hurt the Red Wings on this night. Phillies prospect Ben Lively threw six perfect innings. Joely Rodriguez came on and threw two more no-hit innings, though he walked two. In the ninth, Elvis Araujo got the first two outs, but then he walked James Beresford. Beresford took second on defensive indifference and scored on a Reynaldo Rodriguez single to end the no-hitter and the shutout. Unfortunately the Red Wings playoff hopes also ended on Friday night. It will be the first time in their history that they have won 80 or more games and not made the playoffs. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Jackson 0 Box Score It all starts with pitching, and Aaron Slegers put together another terrific start. Slegers threw seven shutout innings. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out seven. Mason Melotakis and Brandon Peterson each worked a scoreless inning in relief. Niko Goodrum went 3-4 with his ninth double. Dalton Hicks went 2-4 with his 26th double. Travis Harrison wente 2-4 with a walk and his 22nd double. Edgar Corcino contributed his sixth triple. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers , Bradenton Box Score The doubleheader was postponed due to rain. They teams will try to play a doubleheader on Saturday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Wisconsin 4 (16 innings) Box Score It started out like any other game. A nice 7:00 start time. The score was 4-4 after four innings. And that's where it remained until Nelson Molina again played hero for the Kernels and an unlikely pitcher got his first win of the season. Five hours and 27 minutes after it began, the Kernels ended the game as the winner. Tyler Beardsley started. He threw three no-hit innings but struggled after that. He ended the day having given up four runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out two. Michael Cederoth went the next 2.1 innings and gave up only one hit. He struck out two. Anthony McIver struck out four over three shutout innings. He gave up two hits and walked one. Max Cordy threw three shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out five. Colton Davis came on for his first Midwest League appearance. He worked a scoreless 14th inning. And then the fun began. Jake Mauer turned to his backup catcher, Kevin Garcia, and he was good. In two perfect innings, he struck out two and became the winning pitcher. In the top of the 16th, Zander Wiel singled with two outs. It was followed by a Nelson Molina triple. Way back in the second inning, JJ Fernandez hit a solo home run to put the Kernels on the board. It was his ninth of the season. In the 4th inning, Zander Wiel's 16th home run gave the team two additional runs. Manuel Guzman singled in the third run that inning and fourth of the game. Wiel and Fernandez each went 3-8 in the game. Brandon Lopez was also 3-8. Molina went 2-6. The triple was his third of the season. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton Box Score The E-Twins final regular season game was scheduled for Thursday night, but it got rained out. They had Friday off in preparation for their three-game playoff series against Johnson City. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins, GCL Red Sox Box Score Rains remained in Southwest Florida and caused this all-important GCL matchup to be delayed until today (Saturday). It will be the final game of the regular season. The Red Sox and Twins are tied at 32-28. The winner will advance to the playoffs and play the Cardinals on Sunday. The loser will be done for the season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Niko Goodrum, Chattanooga Lookouts SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (5:35 CST) - RHP Tyler Duffey Chattanooga @ Jackson (6:05 CST) -RHP Randy LeBlanc Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Brady Anderson Playoffs Round 1: Johnson City @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - RHP Miguel DeJesus GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00 am) - LHP Taylor Clemensia Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games. Click here to view the article

It was a big day in Rochester on Friday. Twins interim-GM Rob Antony has been in town to see and evaluate players. However, on Friday, he completed a trade, signed a minor league veteran, and was on hand to help the Red Wings announce a two-year extension to their current Player Development Contract with the Twins, keeping the Twins AAA affiliate in upstate New York through the 2018 season. Let’s start with the trade. Chris Cotillo was first to announce that the Twins had traded Red Wings left-handed reliever Sean Burnett to the Washington Nationals in exchange for a player to be named later, or cash. It’ll likely be a few dollars. Burnett, a former big league All-Star, came to the Twins after opting out of his Braves minor league deal. While he had a mid-June opt-out with the Twins, he stuck with the organization with the understanding that if another team offered him a big league opportunity, the Twins would accommodate it. The Nationals are going to send Burnett to their AAA affiliate in Syracuse, but he is going to be called up to the big league club for September. During the Red Wings game, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle beat writer Kevin Oklozija tweeted that veteran Edward Mujica was warming up in the Red Wings bullpen. He was throwing a side-session, having just arrived in Rochester that day. Mujica is a 32-year-old right-hander who was an All-Star in 2013 and has ten years of time in the big leagues. From an affiliate standpoint, arguably the biggest news of the day was that the Red Wings and Twins agreed to continue their player development contract two more years, through the 2018 season. Representatives from the Red Wings and the Twins were very happy about the news. Red Wings President, CEO and COO Naomi Silver said, ““The Twins have been an outstanding partner to the Red Wings. With a Major League affiliation, a Minor League club hopes for three important things: a competitive team, having future Major Leaguers and top draft picks being a part of that team, and a Big League team that values the importance of the Minor League system. The Twins have been great to us in each of these areas. They’ve regularly fielded winning teams here and we’ve seen a lot of great players come through Rochester. Every month someone from the Twins top management comes to town to see their players and to consult with field personnel and our front office. They rely on their Minor League system to develop young players, and we are the ones who benefit from that. We consider ourselves lucky that the Minnesota Twins respect and appreciate our organization and want to continue this affiliation.” Rob Antony noted, ““It’s been a tremendous partnership that we’ve had with Rochester. The biggest things you look for in an affiliate are A. you want good ownership, Rochester has that, B. you want good facilities, Rochester has that, and C. you want a good fan base and the fans in Rochester have been very supportive of this club.”The Red Wings also hosted several members of the Miracle on Ice, the 1980 Gold Medal hockey team from the USA. Hockey legend Dave Christian “threw out the first pitch” before the game by using his hockey stick to ‘shoot’ the ball to the catcher. The Red Wings wore red, white and blue uniforms with USA across the chest. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Burlington 4 Box Score This game went back and forth until the ninth inning. Tied at four, Ariel Montesino singled and was bunted over to second base. Shane Carrier came through with an RBI single to give them a lead they would hold on to. Montesino went 3-5 with his fourth stolen base. Carrier went 3-5 with his 13th double. Mitchell Kranson went 3-5 with his third home run. Andre Jernigan went 2-3 with a walk and his fifth double. Hank Morrison hit his second triple. (I won’t mention the other side of the ledger, but if I did, it might show that Amaurys Minier went 0-5 with five strikeouts). Jose Martinez started and went the first four innings. He gave up four runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out two. Alex Robinson struck out four over three scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and, most important, walked none. Austin Tribby has done a great job as a vulture for the E-Twins. He threw a scoreless eighth inning so when the E-Twins scored in the top of the ninth and held on for the win, Tribby improved to 5-0. Patrick McGuff picked up his seventh save for the E-Twins with a scoreless ninth. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, Red Sox 5 Box Score While several of the Twins affiliates found a way to win a close game at the end, the opposite was true for the GCL Twins. They went into the bottom of the ninth holding a 4-3 lead and walked off the field with a 5-4 loss. Huascar Ynoa started. He gave up three runs on five hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out two. Garrett Kelly came on and threw two scoreless innings. Onas Farfan came on for the ninth. He’s been quite good this year, returning from Tommy John surgery. On this day he gave up two runs on three hits and a walk, and recorded just two outs to take the loss. The Twins had 11 hits on the day. Jose Miranda went 2-3 with two walks and a triple. Lean Marrero went 2-4 with his third double. Jhon Alvarez went 2-4. Brian Olson added his third double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Kohl Stewart, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nelson Molina, Cedar Rapids Kernels SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Gwinnett (6:05 CST) - LHP Adalberto Mejia Montgomery @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Omar Bencomo Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) - LHP Sam Clay Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – Tyler Beardsley Elizabethton @ Burlington (6:00 CST) - RHP Miguel DeJesus GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games. Click here to view the article

I apologized for the lateness of Saturday’s minor league report. Summers tend to be a bit busy for everyone, and the minor league games just keep getting played. So today’s report might just be a little shorter than normal, but it is very important for me that the players that perform get recognized. Continue on to read the highlights of Saturday’s minor league games. As a quick aside, I took my daughter to the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks game last night at Newman Outdoor Field. It’s such a great venue for minor league baseball. Last night, they faced Mark Hamburger and the St. Paul Saints. The Saints, as you know, have several former Twins and Twins minor league prospects. Their manager is former Twins pitcher George Tsamis. Tony Thomas had the night off, but he’s putting up great numbers for the Saints. Tanner Vavra played shortstop, batted second and had two hits and a walk. Nate Hanson played third base and batted third. Chad Christensen batted eighth and DHd. Mark Hamburger threw another complete game and improved to 9-0 on the season. They Saints bullpen also includes left-handers Caleb Thielbar and Mike Strong. Their Friday night starting pitcher was 36-year-old Dan Johnson, a long-time big league and minor league first baseman who is attempting to become a knuckleball-throwing pitcher. There is a lot of great minor league baseball around the Midwest. Several other former Twins minor leaguers are playing well in the American Association. Rene Leveret is playing for Lincoln and picked up his 1,000th career minor league hit last week. Eden Prairie’s Blake Schmit plays for Sioux Falls and he was leading the league in hitting. Check out some American Association ball games if you have a chance. Next weekend, the Saints are at home at CHS Field in St. Paul taking on the FM Redhawks.OK, after that brief former Twins minor league report, let’s get into what happened in the Twins farm system on Saturday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 2 Box Score Logan Darnell was on the mound for the Red Wings. The left-hander was charged with two unearned runs on three hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out three. DJ Baxendale faced one batter and walked him. Buddy Boshers came on and got the next three batters out, two of them on strikeouts. Darin Mastroianni went 2-4. Jorge Polanco went 1-3 and was hit by a pitch. He also drove in the lone Red Wings run. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Tennessee 0 Box Score There was some strong pitching in Tennessee on Saturday night. Lefty David Hurlbut certainly did his part to give his team a chance to win. He went eight shutout innings. He gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out four. He improved to 7-4 with a 3.28 ERA. However, the Lookouts bats were pretty quiet too. Ryan Walker was 2-4. Leonardo Reginnato hit his 12th double. However, in the top of the 9th, Travis Harrison recorded his second hit of the night, and it was a big one. His sixth home run of the year gave the Lookouts a 1-0 lead. With the lead, Trevor Hildenberger came in for the ninth frame. He gave up a hit and issued a walk, but he did not give up a run. He now has 13 saves with the Lookouts (16 on the season) and a 0.89 ERA. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Dunedin 4 Box Score Sam Clay made his first Miracle start. The left-hander gave up two runs on nine hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out two. Nick Anderson struck out two over two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked one. Yorman Landa threw the final two innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk, but he finished out the Miracle win. Eight Miracle players had one hit in the game. Fortunately, half of their hits left the ballpark. TJ White hit his seventh double. AJ Murray hit his second homer. Trey Vavra hit his eighth homer. Daniel Kihle hit his first Florida State League homer. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Kane County 7 Box Score Dereck Rodriguez put together one of his best starts of the season. He had a quality start. He gave up two runs on five hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out seven. Max Cordy came in for his first Kernels appearance. According to Jeff Johnson (The Gazette in Cedar Rapids), Cordy was hitting 95 mph on the radar gun. He gave up three runs on three hits and two walks over two innings. He struck out two. Cam Booser worked the ninth inning. He gave up two runs on one hit. He walked three and struck out one. Jaylin Davis added his first triple. Casey Scoggins was 2-5. Christian Cavaness went 2-4 with his first steal. Brian Olson was also 2-4. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Greeneville 3 Box Score The E-Twins got solid pitching and a big blast early in the game and held on for the win. Travis Blankenhorn had just one hit in the game, but it was a big one. In the third inning, he hit his fifth home run of the season, a three-run homer. Brandon Lopez went 2-3 with a walk. Lewin Diaz added his fifth double. Alex Schik made the start this time around. He gave up just one run on two hits over the first five innings. He struck out three without issuing a walk. Ryan Mason came on and gave up one run on four hits over 2.2 innings. He struck out two. Colton Davis picked up his third save. He gave up a run, but he got the final four outs, each of them on a strikeout. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score Huascar Ynoa put together easily his best start of the short-season. He threw five shutout innings. He gave up two hits, didn’t walk any, and struck out eight. Matz Schutte got the next five outs without any issues. Onas Farfan gave up a run over the next 1.1 innings. He struck out two. Garrett Kelly gave up one run on two hits in his inning. Zach Strecker gave up six hits but somehow just one run over the next 2.2 innings. He struck out two. Clark Beeker got the final out on a strikeout. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – David Hurlbut, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Travis Harrison, Chattanooga Lookouts SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (12:05 CST) - LHP Andrew Albers Chattanooga @ Tennessee (6:15 CST) - LHP Tyler Jay Dunedin @ Ft. Myers (3:05 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (2:00 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons Greeneville @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday's games. Click here to view the article

Thursday was a busy day in minor league baseball as the Twins shuffled their affiliate rosters, moving more than a dozen players around. Transaction Report: Daniel Palka has been promoted to Rochester, David Martinez has been released, Edgar Corcino, Tyler Jay, and Felix Jorge have all been promoted to Chattanooga. Omar Bencomo has been placed on the disabled list. Sam Clay, Miles Nordgren, and Daniel Kihle have been promoted to Fort Myers. Max Cordy, Andrew Vasquez, Casey Scoggins, and Christian Cavaness have been promoted to Cedar Rapids. Christian Ibarra has been placed on the disabled list.Continue reading to find out more detail about Thursday in the Twins farm system: RED WINGS REPORT Rochester @ Lehigh Valley IronPigs Box Score In his first at bat in Triple-A, Daniel Palka hit a home run, and for good measure he hit another one later in the game, helping power Rochester to victory. Here is a video of Palka's first home run of the evening. @https://twitter.com/MorrieSilver8/status/751249706794180608 Palka also added a double as part of his 3-5 evening that included three runs scored, a pair of RBIs and a couple of strike outs. The Red Wings also benefited from a big night out of Adam Walker, who was also 3-5. Walker had a pair of doubles, a run scored, a pair of RBIs and a strikeout. There is a lot of power in the middle of that Rochester lineup with those two hitting fourth and fifth, respectively. Pat Dean struggled on Thursday, giving up 12 hits and seven runs (all earned) over just 4.0 innings. He walked one, struck out three, and gave up three home runs. He was lifted for D.J. Baxendale who pitched two scoreless innings and earned the victory, as Baxendale and the rest of the Rochester bullpen shut down Lehigh Valley the rest of the way. Ryan O'Rourke pitched a scoreless inning and earned his fourth hold of the season. Closer J.T. Chargois came in for a six out save, striking out three and giving up just one hit, earning his sixth save. Final: Red Wings 8, IronPigs 7 LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN Birmingham Barons @ Chattanooga Box Score Lookouts starter Aaron Slegers gave up a first inning run, but the Lookouts rallied, including six runs in the bottom of the fourth, carrying Slegers to his eighth victory of the year. Slegers final line was 6.0 innings, 7 hits, 2 earned runs, a walk, a strikeout, and he gave up a solo home run. Mason Melotakis pitched a perfect seventh, striking out the side on 12 pitches. Rual Fernandez finished the final two innings, giving up a pair of runs on a hit and two walks. He struck out three. Chattanooga had contributions up and down the lineup as all nine players recorded at least one hit, and six players had multi-hit games. Zach Granite was 3-5 with a run scored, a double, and two RBIs as the leadoff hitter. D.J. Hicks had a big game, too, 2-5 with a home run and three RBIs. Travis Harrison and Niko Goodrum added home runs as well, both solo home runs. Final: Barons 4, Lookouts 10 MIRACLE MATTERS Bradenton Marauders @ Fort Myers (continued from June 26th) Box Score With Bradenton back in Fort Myers, the two teams continued a rain-shortened June 26th game, picking up in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and a 4-0 Miracle lead. In an interesting statistical note, Niko Goodrum hit a home run early in that game prior to the delay, meaning he had a home run in High-A and Double-A in games that ended on Thursday night. Using a total of 13 different hitters, the only Miracle with multiple hits was Joe Maloney, going 2-2, including a triple. The Miracle added one additional run in the seventh. Miracle starter Randy Rosario did not return to his start, replaced instead by Luke Bard, who earned the win with 2.0 scoreless innings. Brandon Peterson added 2.0 scoreless innings of his own, before being replaced by Todd Van Steensel who pitched a scoreless ninth to finish off the June 26th game in a shutout. Final: Marauders 0, Miracle 5 Bradenton Marauders @ Fort Myers (Game 2) Box Score Coincidentally, Randy Rosario was on the bump to start the second game of the evening, meaning he started both ends of this Miracle double-header. Rosario picked up his fifth win of the year to move to 5-5 with 6.1 innings of 3-run baseball. He gave up 7 hits, 3 earned runs, walked 3 and struck out two. He was lifted for John Curtis who shut down the Marauder threat, retiring both batters he faced to finish the 7-inning game. The Miracle tallied 12 hits in this seven inning game, including a pair of hits from each of T.J. White, Nick Gordon, and Daniel Kihle (making his High-A debut). Kihle was 2-3 with a double, run scored, 2 RBIs and a strikeout. LaMonte Wade also added an extra base hit (a double), plus an RBI and a walk. Final: Marauders 3, Miracle 8 KERNELS KORNER Wisconsin Timber Rattlers @ Cedar Rapids Box Score In a good old-fashioned pitchers' duel, the Kernels held on to a 1-0 lead to defeat the Timber Rattlers in front of 2,077 fans at Perfect Game Field. Kernels starter Cody Stashak was perfect through five innings before a broken-bat single broke things up in the top of the sixth, the only hit Stashak would give up over eight innings of stellar work. Stashak walked three and struck out eight. Tom Hackimer pitched a perfect ninth to earn his first save of the year for the Kernels. The Kernels managed to scatter seven hits against Timber Rattlers starter Jordan Yamamoto over seven innings, but managed to push just that single run across the plate, an RBI groundout from Rainis Silva in the bottom of the second inning, scoring Jaylin Davis. Davis was the only hitter, on either team, with more than one hit, 2-3 with a double and a run scored. Final: Timber Rattlers 0, Kernels 1 E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton @ Bristol Pirates (Game 1) Box Score With a doubleheader slated for the evening, a long night was made longer due to a 1-hour rain delay, pushing first pitch back to 7pm, and pushing the start of the second game back to nearly 10pm. In the first game, Elizabethton managed four runs on just four hits, despite striking out 10 times in seven innings. Lewin Diaz was 1-3, including a home run, and a pair of runs scored. First round draft pick Alex Kirilloff was the only player to record a multi-hit game, 2-3 with a double and an RBI. Kirilloff is hitting .414 through his first 8 games of the season with an OPS over a thousand. Elizabethton starter Domenick Carlini gave up 10 hits and seven runs (all earned) over 4.0 innings. He walked one, struck out two, and gave up a home run. He was lifted for Hecto Lujan who pitched a pair of scoreless innings, striking out three, and giving up just one hit. Final: E-Twins 4, Pirates 7 Elizabethton @ Bristol Pirates (Game 2) Box Score The E-Twins struggled with the bats again in the second game of the evening, with just five hits. Lewin Diaz was 1-3 with a double, and Shane Carrier was 1-3 with a double, as well. Kirilloff was 1-3 with the Twins' lone RBI. Tyler Wells didn't make it out of the fourth inning, giving the Twins 3.2 innings of two-run baseball before being lifted for Griffin Jax (phenomenal name, good luck to ya kid), who gave up a pair of runs as well. Wells struck out six without walking anyone. Jax added a strikeout of his own, and also did not give any free passes. Neither pitched particularly poorly, but without much run support, they needed to be better. Final: E-Twins 1, Pirates 4 GCL TWINS TALK GCL Twins @ GCL Rays Box Score The Twins just barley managed more hits (4) than errors (3) en route to losing handily to the Rays. Ben Rotvedt was 1-4 with a double, the lone extra-base hit for the Rays. The Twins managed just three at-bats with runners in scoring position all evening. Starter Bo Hellquist picked up the loss (0-1), spreading five runs (just two earned) over 4.0 innings, walking one and striking out three. Moises Gomez had a great outing in relief, pitching three scoreless innings, walking no one and he struck out five. Zach Strecker pitched the eighth, giving up two runs on four hits to end the night for the Twins. Final: GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 7 DSL TWINS TAKES DSL Twins @ DSL Orioles2 (Game 1) Box Score Final: DSL Twins 5, DSL Orioles2 3 DSL Twins @ DSL Orioles2 (Game 2) Box Score Final: DSL Twins 1, DSL Orioles2 6 The DSL Twins split a double-header on Thursday morning. The Twins more or less threw two bullpen games, with Carlos Suniaga the biggest bright spot of the day, pitching 4.0 innings of relief. Suniaga gave up three hits, and a walk, but what really jumps off the page is his nine (NINE!) strike outs. The other six pitchers the Twins used on the evening managed just 7 more Ks. Over two games, the Twins had just two players record multi-hit games, one in each. Ruben Santana was 2-4 with a hit and an RBI in the first game, and Yestin Encarnacion was 3-4 with a run scored in the second game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Daniel Palka, Rochester Pitcher of the Day - Cody Stashak, Cedar Rapids FRIDAY'S PROBABLES Rochester @ Scranton/WB - Jose Berrios (8-3, 2.43) Birmingham @ Chattanooga - Kohl Stewart (2-3, 3.58) Dunedin @ Fort Myers - Randy LeBlanc (2-2, 4.33, also has a great mustache) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids - Lachlan Wells (1-0, 1.74) E-Twins @ Bristol - Ryan Mason (0-1, 14.14) GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox - TBD DSL Orioles2 @ DSL Twins - TBD Please ask questions and discuss the Thursday games. -ERolf Click here to view the article