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Rains continued to win the day in Ft. Myers and who knows when that will stop. However the other Twins affiliates did play on Sunday. The Twins added another minor league free agent. A former first-round pick tossed several shutout innings. A couple of catchers had big games. There was even a walk-off win for one of the teams.These topics and much more can be found as you work your way through today’s minor league report. TRANSACTIONS A day after adding RHP Michael Bowden to a minor league deal and assigning him to Rochester, the Twins also added 25-year-old outfielder Xavier Avery. He was in the lineup right away on Sunday evening. To make room for him, infielder Jose Martinez was placed on the disabled list. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Columbus 5 Box Score The Red Wings mounted a comeback in the ninth. With two runners on, newcomer Xavier Avery singled in Chris Herrmann to cut the lead to 5-4. Columbus brought in former big league closer Carlos Marmol who struck out James Beresford to end the game. Tyler Duffey got the start and didn’t pitch as poorly as his final line might indicate. The right-hander gave up five runs (three earned) on eight hits. He walked none and struck out three over 6.2 innings. He was hurt by a couple of errors, including Jorge Polanco’s ninth error in 21 games with the Red Wings. Mark Hamburger needed just three pitches to get out of that seventh inning. Aaron Thompson was given the eighth inning and was flawless. The offense generated eight hits, but they were unable to come up with the runs. Polanco went 2-4 with his sixth double. Xavier Avery was 2-5 with the big ninth inning hit. James Beresford went 2-4. Danny Ortiz went 2-3. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his 10th home run of the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 8, Tennessee 0 Box Score He had struggled in recent starts, particularly with his control, but on Sunday Alex Wimmers was very good. He worked 6.2 shutout innings. He gave up six hits, walked one and struck out three. Tim Shibuya came on and got the next four outs. Matt Summers pitched the ninth inning. Stuart Turner played hitting hero in this game. He went 3-4 with a walk and his fourth home run of the season. He’s likely more happy about the team pitching a shutout. Adam Brett Walker went 1-3 with two walks. He hit his third triple and stole his eighth base. The Lookouts had eight hits and seven walks in the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers, Lakeland Box Score The Miracle game was postponed by rain as poor weather has covered southwest Florida for several days now. The two teams are hoping to play a doubleheader on Monday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Beloit 4 Box Score It’s not quite how you draw it up, but the Cedar Rapids Kernels will take the win. The Kernels had a two-run lead heading into the top of the ninth inning. Luke Bard, who has been terrific since arriving with the Kernels, came on. He was charged with two runs (one earned, thanks to an error of his own) on three hits, a walk and a hit batter. The game went to the bottom of the ninth tied at four. Tanner English and Nick Gordon led off with singles. Edgar Corcino then dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Zach Larson was intentionally walked to load the bases. However, Tyler Kuresa came through with a game-winning single to center to give the Kernels the win. Kuresa led the offense. He went 3-4 with a walk and his 10th double to go with the walk-off single. Tanner English went 3-5. Rafael Valera went 2-4 with his first triple and two RBIs. Zach Larson went 1-2 with three walks. He scored three runs and stole his 12th base. Luke Westphal started and the left-hander went the first five innings. He gave up two runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out five. Ethan Mildren gave up five hits over three shutout innings. Bard got the blown save, but he winds up improving to 6-0. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Kingsport 8 Box Score Dereck Rodriguez started for the E-Twins on Sunday. He was charged with four runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk in just four innings. He struck out one. He falls to 3-1 with a 1.35 ERA. Anthony Mciver came on. He gave up three runs on four hits over the next two innings. Josh Guyer gave up an unearned run on one hit over the final two innings. He struck out two and didn’t walk a batter. For the second straight day, infielder Alex Perez went 3-5. The 22-year-old was the Twins 23rd round pick this June out of Virginia Tech. Brad Hartong came on in the middle of the 3rd inning to replace Rainis Silva behind the plate (no word yet on why Silva left the game). He went 3-4 with a triple and an RBI. Amaurys Minier went 1-2 with two walks. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox No Game Scheduled. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Alex Wimmers, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tyler Kuresa, Cedar Rapids Kernels MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Toledo (6:00 CST) – LHP Pat Dean Chattanooga – No Game Scheduled Lakeland @ Ft. Myers (DH at 5:05 CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers, RHP Ryan Eades Cedar Rapids– No Game Scheduled Johnson City @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (DH @ 10:00 CST) – TBD, TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. Click here to view the article

If you’re looking solely at wins & losses, it was not a good night in the Twins farm system. The affiliates went 0-4 and two teams were rained out. That’ll make for a busy day on Saturday with eight games scheduled. Of course, development always trumps wins and losses in the minor leagues and there were still some quality performances on Friday. Continue on to read what happened on Friday in the Twins farm system.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Columbus 8 Box Score The Red Wings fell behind early and were unable to mount a comeback. Greg Peavey started. The right-hander gave up eight runs (five earned) on six hits in 3.2 innings. He walked two and struck out three. Logan Darnell came on and was terrific. The southpaw went 4.1 scoreless innings. He gave up just five hits, walked none and struck out three. James Beresford led the offense. The second baseman went 3-5 with his first home run of the season. Eric Farris went 3-4. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-4 with his 23rd double. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-4. Jorge Polanco had a single. He also committed his eighth error with the Red Wings. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 8 Box Score Jason Wheeler made the start for the Lookouts. The lefty went six innings. He was charged with six runs on ten hits. He walked three and struck out four. Brandon Peterson worked the final two innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. Adam Brett Walker went 2-5 with his 22nd double. He drove in his 83rd and 84th runs of the season. Heiker Meneses went 2-5. Stuart Turner was 1-2 with a walk. Levi Michael walked twice. MIRACLE MATTERS Tampa @ Ft. Myers Box Score The Miracle game was postponed by rain. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Beloit 13 Box Score It wasn’t exactly a pitcher’s duel in Cedar Rapids on Friday night. It’s hard to win when a team doesn’t get good pitching or defense. Randy Rosario made the start, but he was only able to get two outs before leaving. He was charged with five unearned runs thanks to two errors. He gave up four hits and walked two as well. Randy LeBlanc came on and threw 3.1 shutout innings. However, in one more inning, he did give up two runs. Cam Booser came in for the sixth inning. He was charged with six runs on five hits and three walks in the inning. Luke Bard then struck out three in two scoreless innings. And then in the ninth, infielder Rafael Valera pitched. He gave up one hit and walked one, but he didn’t allow a run. And he even got one strikeout. The offense was able to put up seven runs. Brian Navarreto led the way. He went 2-5 including his first home run of the season. Tyler Kuresa went 2-4 with a walk and his ninth double. Austin Diemer went 2-5 with his first Kernels double. Sean Miller is now hitting .342 since his promotion to the Kernels after a 2-4 game. Tanner English notched his seventh triple. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Kingsport 5 Box Score Sam Clay started this game. The southpaw gave up five runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks over just 3.1 innings. He struck out seven. Nate Gercken came on and struck out five over 3.2 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits. Tyler Stirewalt came on and pitched a scoreless inning. He gave up one hit and struck out one. The E-Twins mustered just three hits in this one. Rainis Silva walked twice. Travis Blankenhorn drove in the lone run with a single. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox Box Score Like the Miracle, the GCL Twins were postponed due to rain in Ft. Myers. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Nate Gercken, Elizabethton Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – James Beresford, Rochester Red Wings SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Columbus (6:15 CST) – TBD Chattanooga @ Tennessee (6:05 CST) – LHP David Hurlbut Tampa @ Ft. Myers (DH at 4:05 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart, TBD Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons Elizabethton @ Kingsport (6:00 CST) – RHP Cody Stashak GCL Twins vs GCL Red Sox (9:00 CST) – TBD, TBD Feel free to leave any questions or comments below Click here to view the article

I know that this is the Minor League Report, but I’d be remiss to not mention the Brian Dozier walk-off, three-run homer to give the Minnesota Twins an 8-6 win against Detroit. Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and Danny Santana all have been in the Twins farm system this year and each contributed in that ninth inning rally. Rule 5 pick JR Graham threw three scoreless innings. Ryan O'Rourke, who began the season in Chattanooga, struck out two in a perfect inning. Another reminder than getting to know these players before they arrive in a Twins uniform is important and fun!There were seven games in the Twins farm system on Friday, plus a bunch of news and transactions. Check it all out below. TRANSACTIONS There was a bit of movement in the Twins farm system on Friday. First, a bit of news. Max Kepler, who has been out for a couple of games with a sore shoulder, has been ruled out of the Futures Game on Sunday. He was replaced by, you guessed it, a Royals’ prospect. With Travis Harrison placed on the disabled list a few days ago and Kepler out, the Lookouts needed some outfield help. The other night, pitcher Tim Shibuya was out in right field for a couple of innings (and actually played well and got an assist). Marcus Knecht was promoted from Ft. Myers to the Lookouts. Also, the Twins signed veteran minor leaguer Shannon Wilkerson to play in the outfield. He was an eighth-round pick of the Red Sox in 2009 and got to AAA with them in 2014. This year, he went unsigned and was playing for the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League. Third baseman TJ White was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers on Friday as well. Twins Daily also learned the Twins third-round pick Travis Blankenhorn was being promoted from the GCL Twins to the Elizabethton Twins. RED WINGS REPORT Game 1 - Rochester 0, Syracuse 4 Box Score Taylor Rogers was on the hill for the Red Wings in game one. The left-hander was charged with four runs on ten hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out five. He falls to 7-6 with a 3.19 ERA. The Red Wings hitters managed just three hits in this game. Eric Farris hit his eighth double, the lone extra base hit. Game 2 - Rochester 11, Syracuse 2 Box Score As poor as the offense was in the first game, they made up for it (if that is possible) in game 2. As you might guess, Oswaldo Arcia played a large role in that. He went 2-3 with two walks, his ninth double, his eighth home run and three RBI. In his final plate appearance, he worked a walk with the bases loaded. It brought up Reynaldo Rodriguez who promptly launched a grand slam, his eighth home of the year. Rodriguez had five RBIs in the game. James Beresford went 2-3 with a walk. Chris Herrmann and Wilkin Ramirez each had a double. Logan Darnell made another spot start. The lefty went the first 3.1 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. Mark Hamburger worked the next 2.2 innings and gave up two hits and a walk, but no runs. He struck out three. Cole Johnson pitched a scoreless final inning. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 0, Mississippi 9 Box Score This was a reasonably close game until the late innings. Brett Lee gave up nine hits, but just two runs, in four innings. Alex Muren threw two more scoreless innings. Jake Reed came on for the seventh and gave up two runs that inning. He was then charged with two more in the eighth. He gave up four runs on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Zack Jones came on for him. He was only able to record one out. He was charged with three runs on one hit and four walks. DJ Johnson got the final out of the eight and pitched a scoreless ninth. Newcomer Shannon Wilkerson led off and went 1-3 with a walk. Marcus Knecht batted sixth and went 1-3 with a walk and a double. Levi Michael also had a double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 0, Clearwater 3 Box Score Mat Batts just continues to impress. The lefty had another terrific start. In this game, he got a no-decision despite throwing seven shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out ten. It was his second straight game without allowing an earned run. His Miracle ERA drops to 1.71. Brian Gilbert came on for the eighth. He was charged with three runs on two hits and a walk in the inning. Matt Summers gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning. Not much offense for the Miracle in this one. Tanner Vavra continues to hit well. He went 2-3 with his fourth and fifth doubles of the year. Zach Granite and Jason Kanzler each added a single. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Kane County 8 Box Score Zach Tillery has been terrific for the Kernels this year in whatever role he’s been given. He continues to start. In this game, he gave up one run on six hits and a walk in 5.2 innings. He struck out two. Mike Theofanopoulos got the final out of the sixth inning, but not before giving up two hits, three walks and two runs. Jared Wilson gave up two runs on four hits over the final two innings. Tanner English, Max Murphy and Rafael Valera each went 2-4. Murphy has the only RBI for the Kernels in the game. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Kingsport 3 Box Score The E-Twins fall a game below .500 (8-9). Sam Clay made his first start. The lefty gave up one run on three hits and three walks in just 2.2 innings. He struck out two. 2015 pick Nate Gercken gave up one run on three hits over 4.1 innings. He walked none and struck out three. Alex Robinson got two outs. He gave up one run on one hit and one walk. He struck out one. Logan Lonbana got the final out. Manuel Guzman led the offense. He went 3-3 with a walk and his fifth stolen base. Tyler Kuresa went 3-4 including his fourth home run of the short season. LaMonte Wade hit his second home run. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Red Sox 5 Box Score Williams Ramirez made the start in this game and was terrific. He threw five shutout innings and gave up just one hit. He walked three, but he struck out seven. Hector Lujan came on to start the sixth. He gave up five runs (three earned) on two hits and two hit batters and recorded just one out. Rich Condeelis went the next 1.2 innings, walking one and striking out one. Max Cordy pitched one scoreless inning. The Twins managed just four hits in this game. Jermaine Palacios went 2-4. Luis Arraez hit his fourth double. Palacios is now hitting .389 while Arraez is hitting .328. The GCL Twins fall to 9-8 on the season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Mat Batts, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Oswaldo Arcia, Rochester Red Wings SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05 CST) – LHP Pat Dean Mississippi @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – TBD Clearwater @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – LHP Randy Rosario Johnson City @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) – RHP Cody Stashak GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00 CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. Click here to view the article

Two Twins affiliates had players representing the Twins in their league All-Star games. Adam Brett Walker won the Southern League home run derby before the game with 13 home runs. Four Lookouts batters played and three of their pitchers got into the game. The Cedar Rapids Kernels had three pitchers work in the Midwest League All-Star Game. A day after the GCL Twins played their first game of 2015, the Elizabethton Twins made their season debut. They had a couple of big, powerful performances in the game. Continue on to read everything that happened in a busy day in the Minnesota Twins farm system.TRANSACTIONS Following the Midwest League All Star game, Jeff Johnson (The Gazette, Cedar Rapids) announced that the Kernels were to be receiving LHP Brandon Bixler who has been out all year with a hand injury. Also, they will be receiving LHP Luke Westphal from the Miracle. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Pawtucket 5 Box Score The Red Wings managed just four hits and a walk against Pawtucket on Tuesday night and yet still remained in the game. Greg Peavey made his Red Wings debut. He gave up four runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings. He struck out five without allowing a walk. Ryan O’Rourke came on and walked the one batter he faced. Lester Oliveros came on and gave up a hit to the batter he faced. Caleb Thielbar came in and got out the batter he faced. However, with two outs in the seventh and the bases loaded, the rain came. Just over an hour later, the teams returned to action. Cole Johnson came on and got a line out for the third out of that inning. He gave up two hits and a walk over the final 1.1 innings, striking out one. Wilkin Ramirez and Doug Bernier each hit his sixth double of the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Southern League All Star Game Box Score The Chattanooga Lookouts were well-represented on the Southern League North Division team, which toppled the South Division All Stars by a score of 9-0. Before the game, Adam Brett Walker won the Home Run Derby, launching 13 home runs. Here is how the Twins/Lookouts players did in the game: Jose Berrios struck out two in a scoreless second inning. He gave up one hit. He was credited with the win.DJ Baxendale pitched a perfect sixth inning.Zack Jones got the final two outs of the game, one on a strikeout.Miguel Sano batted fourth and played third base. He went 2-5 with a double.Adam Brett Walker batted fifth and played left field. He went 1-5.Max Kepler batted sixth and played in right field for the first half of the game. He went 0-2 with a walk.Jorge Polanco entered the game late as a shortstop. He went 2-2.MIRACLE MATTERSFt. Myers 2, Palm Beach 0 Box Score The Miracle managed just seven hits and two runs in this game, but on this day, it was enough thanks to a strong start from Kohl Stewart and nice work by the bullpen. Ryan Walker went 2-4 with his second double and one of the two RBIs. Engelb Vielma, a day after getting three hits on his 21st birthday, went 2-3 with his fourth double and the other RBI. Kohl Stewart improved to 3-4 and a 3.62 ERA with six shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked three and struck out five. Corey Williams came on and got four outs, giving up just one hit. DJ Johnson came on and got the final five outs for his first save of the season for the Miracle. He struck out two. KERNELS NUGGETS Midwest League All-Star Game Box Score The West Division lost 5-0 to the East Division in the Midwest League All-Star Game. Three Twins/Kernels pitchers got into the game. Felix Jorge – pitched a perfect third inning, with one strikeout.Jared Wilson - recorded the first two outs of the 8th inning. One on a strikeout.Trevor Hildenberger – got the final out of the 8th inning on a strikeout.Cameron Booser – Got the first out of the 9th inning, but he left with the bases loaded. The next pitcher allowed all three runs to score, credited to Booser.Trey Vavra was also named to the team, but he was unable to play.E-TWINS E-NOTESElizabethton 9, Bluefield 5 Box Score Elizabethton opened its season on Tuesday night against the Bluefield Blue Jays. They opened with their first win of the season. Austin Diemer was drafted late in the 2014 draft. He starred in this game, going 3-5 with two home runs and four RBI. Tyler Kuresa went 1-2 with three walks; the one hit was a home run, his first since the first week of the Cedar Rapids season. Rainis Silva went 2-4 with a walk. LaMonte Wade was 2-4 with a walk, a triple and two RBIs. Sean Miller hit a triple in his pro debut. Dereck Rodriguez was given the start for the E-Twins. The right-hander went 5.1 innings and gave up just two runs despite ten hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out four. C.K. Irby went the next 1.2 innings. He gave up three unearned runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out two. Jose Abreu walked one and struck out one in two scoreless innings. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 5, GCL Orioles 1 Box Score In their second game of the season, the GCL Twins picked up a win and a lot of pitchers made their first appearances of the season. Randy Rosario, who had Tommy John surgery last April, started and gave up two hits over three shutout innings. He walked none and struck out five. Callan Pearce came on. He gave up four runs on no hits. Of course, he walked four batters. Hector Lujan walked one and struck out one in his pro debut. Williams Ramirez struck out four over two scoreless innings. Moises Gomez struck out one in a perfect inning. Johan Quezada gave up a hit and a walk, but no runs, in a scoreless ninth inning. Luis Arraez went 3-4 with a double and two RBI. He stole a base as well. Brian Olson went 2-2 with a walk and a double. Roni Tapia was 2-4 with a stolen base. A day after his first pro hit, a triple, Travis Blankenhorn recorded his first double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Kohl Stewart, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Austin Diemer, Elizabethton Twins WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (6:05 CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers Chattanooga – All Star Break Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (10:35 CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids – All Star Break Elizabethton @ Bluefield (6:05 CST) - TBD GCL O’s @ GCL Twins (11:00 CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Tuesday games. Click here to view the article

In June of 2010, the Minnesota Twins used their 11th round draft pick to select a first baseman from Oakmont High School in Roseville, California, Tyler Kuresa. The two sides negotiated right up until the deadline. Reports are that the Twins threw a lot of money at Kuresa, but he chose to go to college. Four years later, the Twins drafted him again, this time in the 16th round out of UC-Santa Barbara. This time, he signed very quickly with the Twins and began his professional career. Learn much more about Tyler Kuresa, the first baseman for the Cedar Rapids Kernels.The decision to tell the Minnesota Twins five years ago that he was not going to accept their offer and instead go to college was a difficult one. However, he was and remains fully confident that it was the right decision for him. He said, “I was so young at the time. I was 17. I didn’t really know what I wanted.” He did know one thing he wanted, and that was an education. It was important to him and to his family. Kuresa explained, “At the end of the day, I just decided that getting an education was the best route for me. Especially given my family situation. I’m a first-generation America. My dad came from Samoa. He came from Samoa to get an education here,” he continued, “My mom and dad moved here so we could all get an education so that definitely factored in.” Kuresa went to the University of Oregon where he played as a freshman in 2011. He made the decision to transfer to UC-Santa Barbara where he had to sit out the 2012 season. In 2013, he hit .296/.359/.455 (.814) with 16 doubles, three triples and five home runs. The Atlanta Braves used their 14th round pick on him, but he returned to Santa Barbara for another season. In 2014, he hit .287/.372/.495 (.867) with 13 doubles, a triple and nine home runs. “Transferring to UC-Santa Barbara was a major transition, positively in my life, for my career and for my personal life. We made a regional my junior year. It was the first time that Santa Barbara had been to a regional in twelve years. Now they’re on the right track. I think they’re #10 in the country right now. Just taking that program and seeing what Andrew Checketts was able to do with that program in such a short time. I was happy to be a part of it.” However, he also was able to follow through on his education and graduate. “I went into college wanting to study Communications, but the Communications program at Santa Barbara was so time consuming that I really couldn’t do it with baseball. So, I switched majors to Public Policy Analysis which I really ended up liking a lot because my dad was really into politics and so am I, so it’s definitely an interesting major. I don’t know if it’ll ever translate to a profession, but a degree from Santana Barbara definitely looks nice.” After being drafted and signed by the Twins, Kuresa spent last summer mashing for the Elizabethton Twins. He hit .298/.381/.478 (.859) with 14 doubles, five home runs and 44 RBI in 46 games. He played well, but the transition to pro baseball did take a little getting used to. “Just playing every day. College is definitely a grind because you play four days a week, but then you have to come back and practice the other days, which is really hard. Here you’re playing every day. Every day matters. You really have to keep the focus every day. You can’t slack off here. You’ll get exposed out there. You owe it to the fans every single night to do your best.” So far this season at Cedar Rapids, he is hitting .286/.295/.429 (.724) with three doubles and a home run. He is a very hard worker. When I was in Cedar Rapids a couple of weeks ago, I watched the Kernels take batting practice each day. Following batting practice, I went under the stadium and talked with several players and the coaching staff. I saw Kuresa walk out of the locker room and to the batting cage that is under the stadium. He hit an entire bucket of balls off of the tee, likely 100 extra swings before the game. In his first at-bat in the game, he crushed a pitch well over the wall in right field. Asked what he was looking for on the pitch, he gave a tremendous answer showing what goes through the mind of a good hitter during an at-bat. “He had thrown me an 0-0 changeup. They had thrown me consecutive changeups the night before so it was kind of in the back of my mind that another change up might be coming. That’s what it was and I was able to get the barrel on it.” Why the extra tee work? “It’s still so early in the season that you’re just trying to get your legs under you in the box, trying to see the ball. I just wasn’t seeing it very well the day before. So sometimes when you get on the tee and you polish off some of the mechanical issues that you may be having, it helps you see the ball a little bit better.” What about seeing the extra work pay off in the game? Kuresa’s response was tremendous, “Yeah, definitely (it feels good). But putting the extra work in, it’s all a process. Sometimes it’s not going to show up on the field. Sometimes you’re going to have a really great BP and put in a lot of extra work and you’re not going to play well on the field. Sometimes you’ll play well in the field and not do well in batting practice, so it’s just how it goes sometimes.” That response is a good illustration of why it is so important to look beyond the statistics at these lower levels, especially early in the season when they’re adjusting to a new level, playing in cold weather conditions and adjusting to being a professional. His hitting coach, Tommy Watkins, continues to work with Kuresa. Of the burly first baseman, he said, “To start, he’s a good kid and works really hard. With him, we’re just trying to work to stay down on his swing. He likes to come up too soon. He lets the ball get too deep sometimes. So, we’re trying to get the ball out front a little bit, the head out.” Watkins had a long professional career that culminated with his one promotion to the big leagues late in the 2007 season. Kuresa’s Elizabethton coaches, manager Ray Smith and hitting coach Jeff Reed, both spent time in the big leagues. Kuresa said, “They’ve been there. It’s definitely really nice to work with people every day who have been where you want to go and know what it takes to get there. They’ve been where you are, and they’ve been through the grind, and they know exactly where you’re going to which is really nice, really comforting to know.” Kuresa, with his size and strength plays first base, but he doesn’t want to just get by on defense. He takes a lot of pride in his glove work. “I’ve always taken a lot of pride in playing first base well. I don’t consider myself just a big guy that they throw over there. I take a lot of pride in it. I try to help my team win on the defensive side of the ball, and then anything I can do to contribute on the offensive side of the ball is a bonus.” So, as Tyler Kuresa enters his first full season as a professional baseball player, what kind of goals does he have? “I’m not much of a numbers guy. I just like to, every night I have a set number of quality at bats that I’d like to have. I usually like to have two or three quality at-bats a night.” He continued, as you would expect, talking about team goals. “I really just want to win a championship. That’s all I want to do. Some guys say that and they don’t really mean it, but this is a special team. We’re going to lose guys throughout the season and get guys in. I’d really like to be the last team standing at the end.” Oh, and he made one guarantee too. “And, I can promise you that I’ll have at least one home run at the end of the year.” Tyler Kuresa is a bright, young ball player who is enjoying his time with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. He is playing first base against right-handers at this point. He is grateful for this opportunity to play in the Twins organization. “I’m definitely glad that the Twins picked me up again. I get a second chance with them.” Click here to view the article

On Monday night in Cedar Rapids, the Kernels topped the Beloit Snappers by a score of 9-0. With the win, they improve to 5-0 on the young season. As has been the case throughout the first five games, the Kernels had a perfect combination of strong pitching and big hitting.Here are some notes from Monday night’s game in Cedar Rapids and some additional notes. FELIX JORGE SHINES Following Felix Jorge’s seven shutout innings on Monday night, Kernels manager Jake Mauer called it a “Great start. Just to watch his poise and the look in his eyes, it was a lot different than when he took the mound out here last year.” 2014 was a strange season for Jorge. He came into the 2014 season as one of the more intriguing pitching prospects in the system. A year earlier, at Elizabethton, he went 2-2 with a 2.95 ERA. He had 72 strikeouts and just 18 walks in 61 innings. He moved up to Cedar Rapids to start last season, but he struggled mightily. In 12 games (8 starts), he went 2-5 with a 9.00 ERA In 39 innings, he gave up 57 hits, walked 20 and struck out 23. He was finally sent down to Elizabethton when the short-season started and was named the Appy League Pitcher of the Year. He went 4-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 12 starts. In 66 innings, he walked just 14 and struck out 61. Those numbers, coupled with his struggles a year ago, make the 6-2, 170 pound right-hander one of the more intriguing prospects again in 2015. On Monday night, he gave the Kernels and the Twins reason for optimism. Jorge completed seven shutout innings and gave up just two hits. He walked two and struck out ten. Through six innings, he had given up just one hit and one walk. His seventh inning started with a single and a walk, but after a visit from pitching coach Henry Bonilla, Jorge responded. He struck out the next two batters. He got a fly out to left field. It was a very good note to end his first start of the season. Mauer discussed that seventh inning. “You get in that situation. It’s his runs and a shutout, you don’t want to turn it over to the bullpen. You want to give him a chance. I think he earned the right to give him a chance to keep the shutout. We got Theo up. I think he saw that, and he said, ‘You’re not taking me out.’ So that was pretty good.” Left-hander Mike Theofanopolous came in and threw zeroes on the board in the eighth and ninth innings to maintain that shutout. But the talk on this night revolved around Felix Jorge. Mauer reiterated, “It’s a testament to him. He went down to E-Town and worked his tail off. Henry (Bonilla) was down there and had him. He regained his confidence. His fastball command was good. He kind of used their aggressiveness against him. Using that fastball, getting outs early. He threw seven innings and he was up at only about 90 pitches. That’s pretty good. So what is the scouting report on Jorge, and more important, what are the keys to his success going forward this season. According to Mauer, it starts with his fastball. Everything else feeds off of it. “Fastball command, I think, is number one for him. He throws so many strikes, and a lot of them are up in the zone. For him, fastball command and learning how to get the ball down. Also, his secondary pitches have really improved and he’s able to throw those for a strike. Getting that ground ball to get out of innings. Anytime you’ve got a guy that throws a lot of strikes, they’re going to make contact obviously. It’s just a matter of understanding the type of contact you’d like them to make. Sinking it here, cutting it there, elevating when you have to with two strikes and then being able to bury one. He moved the ball up and down and in and out really well tonight.” One observer – OK, me – noted that Jorge’s curveball looked really good on this night. Mauer said, “Yeah, he’s got a good breaking ball. It’s going to be a strikeout pitch for him.” According to the stadium radar gun (and adding for the two miles per hour that it is purported to be), Jorge’s fastball sat between 89 and 92, touching 93 a few times. His curveball was usually in the upper-70s and dropped. He stayed on top of it throughout the game. As impressive, he showed a calm, a poise, even in those rare times that he did allow base runners. It was a terrific start to Jorge’s 2015 season. After his struggles in the Midwest League in 2015, it was likely a nice obstacle for him to overcome. Hopefully it can springboard him into a strong season. If so, he certainly is someone who could rocket back up prospect rankings. It is easy to forget – and important to remember - that he is still just 21-years-old. KERNELS NUGGETS The Kernels had batting practice on the field. First baseman Tyler Kuresa put on a very strong power display in BP, hitting several balls well over the fence in right field. After the team’s batting practice was complete and the team was in its locker room, Kuresa went to the batting cage under the stadium. He hit another 100 baseballs off the tee. He was by himself. He was focused. The extra work paid off during the game, and early. He came to the plate with a runner on in the second inning. He got a fastball and he got all of it, hitting a rocket over the fence in right-center field. Mauer said, “It was fun to see Kuresa get the head out. He’s been working really hard on it all spring with Tommy, and he turned on it and that ball got out in a hurry.” He added a single later, but he hit the ball on a line a couple of times. Second baseman Pat Kelly was the Twins 12th round pick in 2014 out of the University of Nebraska. He is a native of Red Wing, Minnesota. He played just one of the first four Kernels game, but he took advantage of the playing time on Monday night with a good game. In his first at-bat, he rocketed a double. In his second at-bat, he did more. With two runners on, Kelly launched a three-run homer over the left field wall. “It was a fastball, fastball in. I just reacted.” Jake Mauer said it was a huge homer for Kelly and for the team. “Pat Kelly kept his hands in and got one over the fence there. That was a big three-run home run that really opened the game up.” Robbinsdale, MN, native Max Murphy was out of the lineup on Sunday night for the first time this year. He was back in the lineup, hitting cleanup and playing right field. He hit the ball real hard. He had a triple to deep right center field. Trey Vavra was back in the lineup after not playing Sunday as well. He played left field in this game after playing first base in the earlier games. It’s not a position he’s unfamiliar with. Last year at Elizabethton, he played 27 games at first base, but another 13 games he spent in left field. He was aggressive at the plate. He hit singles in his first two at-bats. The first was a hard-hit ground ball, the second provided a big RBI. Nick Gordon was impressive again. He notched three more base hits and walked another time. He is now 9-21 (.429) on the season with two triples. He has a very smooth, left-handed swing and a good idea of the strike zone. Though he isn’t going to be a home run hitter yet, he does have some serious thump in his bat. From my not-a-scout-but-have-seen-a-lot perspective, I believe that he will develop some home run power over time. His first two hits in this game were both pulled. Late in the game, facing a left-handed reliever, Gordon stayed down on the ball really well and lined a single to left-field. Mauer noted, “I don’t think he’s missed the barrel many times this year. Not yet, that’s for sure.” That’s encouraging because of his young age relative to most of the league. He’s still able to get the barrel of the bat to the ball. Last year, Jason Kanzler played a lot of center field and made a lot of web gems for the Kernels. Tanner English has been the primary center fielder so far for the Kernels (and likely will remain so other than the occasional day off). On Monday night, there was a low, line drive hit to center field. English came charging in and dove forward to make the lunging catch. That’s one of the more difficult plays a center fielder can make. He has very good speed, but he looks natural out in center field. He appears to get really good jumps and take good routes to fly balls. Listed at just 5-10 (generous) and 160 pounds, the Twins 11th round pick a year ago out of South Carolina is very talented. According to Jake Mauer, “He’s really good defensively. He’s a guy that’s got a lot of tools, a lot of tools. I think he’s going to surprise some people.” In one of the lighter moments in the postgame discussion with Mauer, he was asked about English’s approach at the plate. Mauer said, “He’s gotten way better. That’s what we’ve been working on is his being aggressive to his pitch. He took two sinkers that, earlier in the year, he was swinging at.” Mauer caught himself and smiled. “Earlier in the year, like, three days ago.” Right-hander Jared Wilson gets the start for the Kernels on Tuesday night against Beloit. Other than three starts in the GCL in 2013, Wilson has been a reliever. Even going back to college at UC-Santa Barbara. Last year, he moved up to the Kernels in May and posted a 2.95 ERA in 58 innings (56 strikeouts).He is getting a chance to start in 2014. I asked him before Monday’s game if there would be a pitch or inning count on him this year because he had been a bullpen guy. Sure, he had just 58 innings with the Kernels year, but he said between spring training, some extended spring training, the Kernels season and Instructional League, he actually through close to 120 innings. He’s been stretched out this spring to start, so he thinks he should be able to throw 85 to 100 pitches, which isn’t limited at all. The Kernels are off to a 5-0 start and really playing well. Some of the discussion in the press box has been, ‘Is this team really this good or are they playing weaker Midwest League teams to start the season?’ Obviously that’s to be determined as the season goes on, but I have been able to observe that there are a lot of very good baseball players on this roster. Click here to view the article

Three of the Twins affiliates are in the midst of a run for their respective league titles. This is a growing trend in the Twins system over the last couple seasons as the organization stockpiles younger players. Hopefully these winning ways will start to translate to the major league level over the next couple seasons but for now the focus is on the task at hand.The Miracle kicked off their Florida State League playoff series on Tuesday night. Fort Myers has been strong the last two years but they were swept out of the first round last season. This year their eyes are on a higher prize. The E-Twins suffered a one-run loss in a game on Monday that, if they had won, would have put them in the Appalachian League championship round. The loss led them to hand the ball to Felix Jorge, one of the Twins best pitching prospects, in a decisive third game on Tuesday night. They were looking to win the Apply League crown for the second time in three years. MIRACLE MATTERS/ FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Fort Myers 8, Bradenton 7 Box Score Pre-Game Notes: On Tuesday it was announced that a pair of Miracle players had been given awards. The Florida State League gave Stuart Turner the Hitter of the Week award and Ethan Mildren was named the Pitcher of the Week. Turner went 8-for-18 during the week with two homers and eight RBI. Mildren pitched a complete game shutout, pitching seven innings and allowing only three hits. Game Recap: After two innings in Tuesday night's game, the Miracle found themselves in a hole. Anderlin Mejia made a fielding error with two outs in the frame. Bradenton took advantage of this extra out by scoring seven unearned runs, all to the account of Miracle starter Brett Lee. By the end of the inning, Fort Myers was down 7-3. In the top of the fourth inning, the first three batters of the inning reached base via walk. This brought Jason Kanzler to the plate to face a new pitcher out of the bullpen. He crushed a grand slam to right field to tie the game. It was his second extra-base hit of the night and he wound up driving in six runs. Max Kepler had the only other extra-base hit, a double that drove in a run. The second biggest hit of the night came in the sixth inning after a rain delay. Following a Niko Goodrum strikeout, Travis Harrison got things started with a double to left. Dalton Hicks wasted little time and drove a single to right that scored Harrison from second as the Miracle took the lead. The Miracle bullpen was outstanding as they shut out the Marauders over the last 7.1 frames. During that stretch, there were only four base runners. Todd Van Steensel earned the win after he threw one inning and struck out one. Nick Burdi needed a helpful double play to get out of the eighth but he did earn a hold. Zack Jones saved the game with a perfect ninth, with two strikeouts. E-TWINS E-NOTES/ APPY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Elizabethton 4, Johnson City 5 Box Score Pre-game Notes: There was unfortunate news that came out affecting the E-Twins. Nick Gordon, the Twins first round pick this year, is out for the season after breaking a bone in his left index finger. He is done for the season and will likely miss all of the Instructional League with the injury. Game Recap: The E-Twins took an early lead in this one after a two-run home run by Tyler Kuresa. Tanner English had started the bottom of the first with a single. The next two batters were retired but Kuresa made sure Elizabethton wouldn't leave the frame empty-handed. Johnson City responded quickly with three runs of their own in the top of the second to take the lead. In the bottom of the third, the Twins used a trio of singles and a throwing error to push across two runs and retake the lead. Blake Schmit, Trey Vavra and Tyler Kuresa all collected hits with one out in the inning. The Johnson City shortstop tried to turn a quick double play to end the inning but the ball got by the first baseman and Vavra was able to score all the way from second. Johnson City scored a run in the sixth off of starter Felix Jorge to tie the game. Jorge finished with 5.2 innings pitched as he gave up four earned runs on eight hits. He struck out six and walked none. C.K. Irby gave up the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh. There was a lengthy rain delay before the bottom of the ninth inning but the E-Twins didn't have enough in the tank to continue their season. They lost by one run for the second straight night to be eliminated. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day: Zack Jones, Fort Myers Miracle Hitter of the Day: Jason Kanzler, Fort Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:05 CST)- TBA (Listen) Miracle lead 1-0 - DJ Baxendale Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST)- TBA (Listen) Game 1 - Chih-Wei Hu Click here to view the article

In the majors, Minnesota Twins starter Yohan Pino ran into trouble in the seventh inning, and it led to four runs and a 6-4 Chicago White Sox lead. The Twins were able to make an immediate comeback with a three-run eighth inning, punctuated by a two-RBI double off the bat of Oswaldo Arcia. They added an insurance run in the ninth, courtesy of Danny Santana’s fifth home run, and Glen Perkins shut the door on the White Sox to pick up his 27th save on the year. In the minors, one affiliate mounted a similar comeback, two games were finalized early due to rain, and another went 2-0 in a double-header with assistance from a monstrous bullpen. Check it out!RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Louisville 3 Box score Starting pitcher Mark Hamburger was making his third turn in the Rochester rotation on Saturday and left the game in line for the loss after five innings, with Louisville out front 3-2. He’d take a no-decision for the game however, as the Red Wings added a run in the top of the sixth, two in the seventh and a final insurance run in the eighth to take the victory from the Louisville Bats. For the game, Hamburger surrendered five hits, three walks and three runs (two earned), with three K’s. Aaron Thompson struck out the side in the sixth, Lester Oliveros went two scoreless innings with two hits allowed and three strikeouts, and Michael Tonkin picked up his seventh save with two strikeouts in the ninth. The Rochester offense got multiple hit nights from the top four hitters in their lineup which were Eric Farris (2-5, R, RBI), James Beresford (4-5, 2 R’s, 2B, SB), Josmil Pinto (2-5, 2B, RBI), and Wilkin Ramirez (2-5, R, RBI), as well as Danny Ortiz (2-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB). It was the two runs in the seventh inning that gave the Red Wings the lead for good after run-scoring singles from Pinto and Ramirez. ROCK CATS REVIEW Erie 3, New Britain 5 Box Score Like the Twins, the Rock Cats came back in this one to take the victory by pulling within one in the seventh, and taking the lead 5-3 with three runs in the bottom of the eighth. It was a Brad Boyer double in the seventh that scored Stephen Wickens, followed by an RBI double from Eddie Rosario to bring in Boyer.In the eighth inning, Aaron Hicks led off with a single, which was followed by a Tony Thomas single and a Mike Gonzalez walk to load the bases with one out. Wickens then doubled to clear the pond, and the Rock Cats wouldn’t look back. Rosario was 1-5 with two strikeouts in his first game in four days and Hicks was 1-2 with two walks. Wickens and Boyer each had two hits. Starter Pat Dean went seven quality innings, scattering seven hits and two walks (one solo-HR), allowing three runs (two earned) with six K’s. Alex Wimmers picked up the win by pitching a perfect eighth inning, while Mason Melotakis and Ryan O’Rourke combined to finish the ninth. O’Rourke notched his fourth save. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Lakeland 4 (Final after five innings) Box Score This game was shortened by rain, and ruled complete after just four and a half innings innings with Lakeland as the home team. There wasn’t much offense for the good guys, as Fort Myers had just one hit, a single from Travis Harrison and one walk from Stuart Turner in the game. Lakeland starter Tanner Bailey struck out four in his five innings. Miracle “Ace” Brett Lee was on the mound and had arguably his worst start of the season, yet his ERA rose to just 2.10. In four innings he allowed eight hits (three doubles), one walk and four earned runs with just one K. KERNELS NUGGETS After their rain postponement at Pohlman Field in Beloit Friday night, the Kernels had a double-header on Saturday. Stephen Gonsalves pitched the only inning for the Kernels on Friday and will take the hill again on Sunday. Game 1: Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 2 Box score After play resumed with a 0-0 in the second inning, it was Josue Montanez on the mound for the Kernels, and he pitched three innings, allowing three hits and three walks, but just one run with two K’s. Chris Mazza then pitched two innings, allowing a run of his own on three more hits and one walk, with three K’s. Collegiate closers Jake Reed and Nick Burdi finished the final three innings, with Reed tossing two scoreless with two strikeouts, and Burdi picking up his third save with a 1-2-3 ninth, including two strikeouts. Max Murphy led the offense with a 2-4 game including an RBI, while Bryan Haar and J.D. Williams added doubles to the effort. Logan Wade and Chad Christensen each reached base via a walk, and each stole second base. Wade’s was just his second stolen base of the year in 49 games with Cedar Rapids, but also his second straight game with one. Christensen’s steal was his team leading twenty-fourth of the year. Game 2: Cedar Rapids 5, Beloit 2 Box Score A three-run home run from Bryan Haar in top of the eighth inning broke the tie and made the score 5-2 Kernels before Beloit failed to tie the game in the bottom half to make it the second game on the day that was finalized early. Haar was 3-5 in this one with two runs scored and a walk to go along with the go-ahead home run, while Jon Murphy added a multi-hit effort by going 2-3. Max Murphy and Michael Quesada tallied the two other RBI’s for Cedar Rapids. Mat Batts took the mound for the Kernels and struck out seven in five innings. He gave up just three hits, one walk and one run. Jared Wilson pitched two innings of relief, allowing a solo home run, and striking out four. Dallas Gallant picked up his fourth Midwest League save of the year by striking out the side in the ninth. BONUS CRAZY STAT: If you combine the last 10 appearances from the three-headed-bullpen monster of Nick Burdi, Jake Reed, and Dallas Gallant for the Kernels, you get the following numbers: 37 innings pitched, just 19 hits and 8 walks allowed, 5 runs (3 earned) scored, and SIXTY-THREE STRIKEOUTS. That’s a 0.73 ERA, 15.32 K/9IP, and a sub .170 batting average against. Wowzers… E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Kingsport 0 Box Score Elizabethton received seven shutout innings courtesy of starter Sam Gibbons, who allowed just two hits and one walk, while racking up seven K’s. Randy Leblanc pitched the final two innings and kept the shutout intact despite allowing three hits. He struck out one. Gibbons' seven scoreless innings matched his season high from June 26th, when he allowed just one hit and one walk against Burlington. The Elizabethton offense scored two runs in the first and two runs in the fourth on their way to the victory. Tyler Kuresa led the way with three RBI’s on a groundout and a single. He was 1-4 on the game. Leadoff man Jeremias Pineda (2-4, 2 R’s) and two-hole hitter Nick Gordon (2-4, R) added multiple-hit nights. Tanner English was 1-2 with two walks and stole his first base of the season. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score The GCL Twins scored all four of their runs in the sixth inning to take the lead, when they sent eight men to the plate. An Amaurys Minier double scored one and a Rafael Valera fielder’s choice scored another before Joel Ramirez brought home the final two with a single. They held on for the win despite a threat with runners on second and third from the Red Sox in the eighth and two hits in the ninth. Six pitchers took the mound for the Twins, including starter David Hurlburt who left in the second inning after allowing a single and recording one out. Callan Pearce finished the second with a hit, walk, and strikeout. Zack Jones allowed two runs in one-third of an inning, before Josh Guyer was able to provide a break for the bullpen, throwing five innings with just one run allowed (unearned) on four hits and two walks, with two strikeouts. Seth Wagner and Trevor Hildenberger combined to finish the final 1.2 innings, each allowing one hit and totaling three K’s. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher – Three-Headed-Bullpen Monster (4IP, 0 R’s, 1 H, 1 BB, 7 K’s), Cedar Rapids Kernels Hitter – Bryan Haar (2 games, 4-6, 3 R’s, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB’s), Cedar Rapids Kernels SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Louisville – Alex Meyer (6-4, 3.05 ERA), 5:05PM CST Erie @ New Britain – TBD, 12:35 CST Fort Myers @ Lakeland – TBD, 12:00PM CST Cedar Rapids @ Beloit – Stephen Gonsalves (1-0, 0.00 ERA), 2:00PM CST Johnson City @ Elizabethton – Felix Jorge, 5:00PM CST Click here to view the article