Good morning!  By winning three of four last night, the four full-season teams finished another week at a game under .500 with a 13-14 record.  Only Ft. Myers was over .500 at 4-2.  The other three clubs were all 3-4.

Last Sunday Jim Rantz named Ft. Myers pitcher Michael McCardell as the organization's Player of the Week.  Adan Severino was placed on Beloit's DL with bone spurs.  Juan Richardson moved from the Ft. Myers disabled list to Beloit as a replacement.  Loek Van Mil joined the Ft. Myers bullpen from EST.  Last night the Twins placed Nick Punto on the disabled list and called up Alexi Casilla.  There have been reports that Casilla will get the starters job at second with Harris at short and Tolbert as a back up for both.  My Player of the Week last week, Steve Tolleson, got his promotion to Rochester to replace Casilla. 

Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (3-4, 23-23, 3rd place, -7.0 out)

The Wings dropped back to .500, losing another game to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees who they now trail by 7.0 games.

Philip Humber got the start in Saturday's 5-4 loss to Norfolk.  Humber pitched 5.0 innings with 4 hits, 4 runs and 4K/4BB.  Ben Hendrickson made his first appearance for the Wings, pitching a perfect inning.  Bobby Keppel pitched 3.2 innings with 4 hits, 1 unearned run and 2K/1BB to get the loss and is now 1-1.........Humber got his second loss (1-2) in Thursday's loss versus Durham, 8-7.  Humber pitched 4.0 innings with 8 hits, 4 runs and 4K/4BB.........Brian Duensing evened his record at 3-3 in Sunday's 6-2 win.  Brian had his best start of the year as he pitched 7.0 shutout innings with 7 hits and 5K/0BB.........Brian was again effective last night in a 5-3 win at Lehigh Valley.  He pitched 7.0 innings with 10 hits, 3 runs and 3K/1BB.  Mike Gosling got his seventh win in eight decisions, pitching 2.0 no-hit, shutout innings with 3K/0BB.........Jason Jones had one of his better starts in the opening 3-2 loss to Durham.  Jones pitched 6.0 innings with 8 hits, 2 runs and 3K/0BB.  Juan Morillo picked up his second loss in four decisions, pitching 2.0 innings with 2 hits, 1 run and 2K/2BB.........Kevin Mulvey was also sharp in Tuesday's 5-2 win, pitching 7.0 innings with 6 hits, 2 runs and 6K/1BB.  Mike Gosling picked up his sixth win, pitching 2.0 no-hit, shutout innings with 4K/1BB.........Reid Santos has been starting since replacing Anthony Swarzak in the rotation.  Santos got his second loss in two decisions in Wednesday's 13-2 loss.  Santos pitched 4.0 innings with 5 hits, 3 runs and 5K/1BB.

MIke Gosling certainly has been in the right place at the right time, picking up nearly a third of the Wings wins at 7-1.  Yes, that is the most wins of any pitcher in the organization.  Gosling has appeared in 19 games (32.0 innings) with a 4.22ERA and 39K/15BB.  After beginning his season with a 7.88ERA in two games in April (8.0 innings), Brian Duensing has been pitching better this month with a 3.25ERA in 6 games (36.0 innings).  Duensing has a 4.09ERA in 8 starts (44.0 innings) with 24K/10BB.  With Sean Henn and Anthony Swarzak up with the Twins, Bobby Keppel has the best ERA on the staff, 2.67, in 30.1 innings with 13K/12BB.  Philip Humber rarely pitches beyond the fourth or fifth innings while accumulating a 6.52ERA in 7 games (29.0 innings) with 23K/16BB. 

Matt Macri may be hitting only .199/.284/.362, but his fourth home run (with two men on) in the top of the ninth gave the Wings a big win last night.  Justin Huber was 6-24 this week with a double and his fourth home run.  Huber is hitting .291/.370/.473 with 20 RBI.  Dustin Martin is tied for the organization lead with 31 runs scored with a team high 14 stolen bases in 15 attempts.  Martin, who is hitting .272/.333/.355 in 169 at bats, appears to be someone who can play a role with the Twins in the future.  David Winfree has been hitting better than any year since 2005 when he was the Twins Player of the Year.  Winfree leads the organization with 7 home runs while hitting .267/.278/.491 in 165 at bats with 23 RBI.  Alexi Casilla hit .316/.353/.391 in 79 at bats while with the Red Wings.  Casilla stole 6 bases in 10 attempts while striking out 12 times with 5 walks.

New Britain Rock Cats (AA) (3-4, 23-24, Tied/3rd place, -4.0 games out)

Following an offensive thrust that had them hitting better than any team in the Eastern League, the Rock Cat bats went silent on Monday as they scored only 1 run in three of their last four games.  The Cats are now tied for third, dropping another game behind division leading Connecticut.

The Rock Cats beat Binghamton last Saturday, 7-5, behind Matt Fox who pitched 5.1 shutout innings with 6 hits and 3K/3BB.........Fox repeated that sterling performance in Thursday's 7-2 win over Trenton, pitching 7.0 shutout innings with 5 hits and 3K/0BB.........Jeff Manship was more like the pitcher we got to know last year at Ft. Myers in Sunday's 10-1 win.  He pitched 8.0 innings with 4 hits, 1 run and 4K/0BB to pick up his fourth win (4-3).........Manship was again solid in last night's 6-0 loss to Binghamton.  He pitched 7.0 innings with 8 hits, 3 runs and 1K/1BB to even his record at 4-4.........Jay Rainville was very good in Monday's 5-4, eleven inning loss.  Rainville pitched 6.0 shutout innings with 3 hits and 4K/3BB.  Zach Ward pitched 1.1 innings with 4 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) and 1K/3BB to get his first loss of the season (2-1).........Ryan Mullins had been very good his last couple times out, but not in Tuesday's 11-0 loss to Trenton.  Mullins pitched 4.2 innings with 13 hits, 6 runs (4 earned) and 4K/2BB.  The loss dropped his record to 2-6.........Cole DeVries was back on track in Wednesday's 5-1 loss, pitching 5.0 innings with 6 hits, 3 runs and 3K/3BB, getting his fourth loss (3-4). 

Jeff Manship has a 5.34ERA in 10 games (a team high 55.2 innings) with 34K/15BB.  Cole DeVries has an excellent 3.12ERA in 49.0 innings with 32K/17BB.  Anthony Slama leads the organization with 9 saves, however, he had a rough week with 8 hits and 5 runs in 3 games (2.2 innings).  Slama has a 3.12ERA in 22 appearances (26.0 innings) with 40K/15BB.  Rob Delaney gave up a run and 3 hits in 3.1 innings this week and now has a 2.12ERA and 1.09WHIP in 34.0 innings with 36K/6BB.  Yohan Pino has appeared in 19 games this season (26.2 innings) with a 5.40ERA and 30K/7BB.

Steve Tolleson was 7-19 this week and was hitting .258/.343/.391 in 151 at bats with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs, 21 runs scored and 13RBI when he got the call yesterday to move up to Rochester.  He had 16 walks, 20 strikeouts and was hitting .315/.407/.511 in 92 at bats in May following his slow start in April.  Danny Valencia is also hitting like someone who deserves a promotion, .314/.410/.547 in 137 at bats with 22 walks and 27 strikeouts.  Whit Robbins was 9-26 this week and is hitting .313/.386/.513 in 150 at bats.  Brian Dinkelman was 7-20 and leads the Rock Cats at .338/.421/.487 while also leading the organization with 30 RBI.  Dinkelman is another player who the Twins must consider in their future plans. 

Ft. Myers Miracle (Hi-A) (4-2, 30-16, 1st place, +6.5 games)

The Miracle stretched their lead over Charlotte and Jupiter another 3 games this week.  As the end of the first half of the FSL season approaches, the Miracle is in great shape for earning a second trip to the playoffs.

The Miracle got their week off on the right track behind a great outing by Deolis Guerra, who pitched 7.0 innings with 6 hits, 1 run and 1K/1BB in a 2-1 win over Charlotte as he picked up his third win in seven decisions.  Henry Arias earned his second save, pitching 2.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 2K/1BB.........Guerra was even better last night in a 3-0 win over Tampa.  Guerra pitched 6.0 shutout innings with 5 hits and 1K/0BB to even his record at 4-4.  Alex Burnett earned his fourth save, pitching 1.0 shutout inning with 1 hit and 0K/0BB.........David Bromberg was equally strong in Sunday's 3-2 win, pitching 5.0 innings with 3 hits, 1 unearned run and 3K/1BB to get his fourth win without a loss.  Santos Arias picked up his second save, pitching 2.0 shutout innings with 1 hit and 1K/0BB.........Tyler Robertson picked up his second loss (2-2) in Tuesday's 3-1, seven inning loss to Tampa.  Robertson pitched 6.0 innings with 9 hits, 3 runs and 3K/2BB.........Michael McCardell, who was the Twins Player of the Week last week, was again very good in Wednesday's 8-0 win.  McCardell allowed 4 hits in 7.0 shutout innings with 3K/0BB to earn his sixth win (6-2).........Carlos Gutierrez allowed 7 runs in 3.2 innings on Thursday, although only 1 was earned.  Unfortunately, Gutierrez committed two errors himself while allowing 5 walks as the Miracle lost 8-3 with Gutierrez getting his second loss in four decisions.  

David Bromberg has been very good as he has compiled a 2.00ERA and 1.18WHIP in 9 games (45.0 innings) with a perfect 4-0 record.  The only surprise is that the pitcher who led all of minor league baseball in strikeouts last year, has only 30 strikeouts this year with 22 walks.  This week Deolis Guerra was pitching his best baseball since joining the Twins a year and a half ago in the Santana trade.  Guerra leads the staff with 52.1 innings with 33K/14BB and a 4.47ERA.  Michael McCardell has a 3.63ERA and 1.02WHIP in 52.0 innings with 45K/9BB.  McCardell had a perfect 4-0 record in May with a 2.90ERA and 29K/6BB in 31.0 innings.  The Miracle have used several pitchers late in games, including Santos Arias who has a 2.57ERA, 1.29WHIP and 14K/6BB in 21.0 innings with 2 saves.  

Ben Revere, who was 11-22 this week, continues to be one of the most exciting players in the FSL.  He leads the league in hitting at .347/.408/.405 in 173 at bats and is third (first in the organization) in stolen bases with 21 steals in 31 attempts.  Revere also leads the organization in hits (60) and runs scored (31).  Yet, Revere isn't the top hitter on the team, that is Rene Leveret who is hitting .360/.476/.500 in 86 at bats which aren't enough to qualify for the league lead.  Chris Parmalee leads the team with 5 home runs and 27 RBI.  More important, he has raised his average to .267 by hitting .318/.404/.459 in 85 at bats in May.  Deibinson Romero is considered to be one of the top prospects in the organization.  After a great start, he has struggled of late and is hitting only .201/.277/.266 in 154 at bats while leading the Miracle with 10 doubles.     

Beloit Snappers (A) (3-4, 18-29, 8th place, -10.5 games out)

The Snappers dropped another game and now trail Kane County by 10.5 games. 

Bobby Lanigan wasn't sharp in last Saturday's 9-1 loss to Wisconsin.  He pitched 4.2 innings with 10 hits, 7 runs and 4K/2BB to pick up his third loss in seven decisions.........Lanigan responded with his best start of the season as the Snappers beat South Bend Thursday, 4-2.  Lanigan pitched 7.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 5K/2BB, improving his record to 5-3.  Joe Testa came on to get the last out with one strikeout and two walks to earn his third save.........Joe Testa made a surprise start on Sunday, pitching 3.0 shutout innings with 1 hit and 4K/0BB.  Brad Tippett came on in relief to pitch 6.0 shutout innings with 1 hit and 5K/1BB to pick up his fourth win in five decisions.........Tippett returned to his normal starting spot last night and was again very good as the Snappers' bats came alive in a 15-2 win over division leading Kane County.  Tippett pitched 6.0 innings with 5 hits, 1 run and 7K/0BB as he picked up his fifth win.........Michael Allen had a solid start in Monday's 7-4 loss as he lost his sixth start without a win.  Allen pitched 5.0 innings with 4 runs (2 earned) and 3K/5BB.........Danny Berlind has been very good since he moved into the starting rotation.  He was the loser (1-4) in a rain shortened 4-1 loss against South Bend on Tuesday, pitching 4.0 innings with 3 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) and 7K/4BB.........Daniel Osterbrock was very good in Wednesday's 3-2, fifteen inning loss.  He pitched 8.0 innings with 7 hits, 2 runs and 8K/0BB.  Michael Tarsi came on in the fourteenth to pitch 1.2 innings with 2 hits, 1 run and 1K/2BB as he picked up his first loss since recently joining the Snappers from EST.

Joe Testa has been one of the brightest stars in the organization this season as he has compiled a 1.62ERA and 0.99WHIP in 18 games (33.1 innings).  Testa is tied with the Miracle's Michael McCardell for the organization lead with 45 strikeouts compared with 17 walks.  Brad Tippett has been the one starter who can be counted on every outing, compiling a 2.79ERA and 1.03WHIP in 9 games (48.1 innings) with a 5-1 record and 37K/8BB.  Daniel Berlind has a 3.67ERA in 34.1 innings with 35K/10BB.  Matt Williams has a team high 4 saves and 1.89ERA in 14 appearances (19.0 innings) with 16K/8BB.  After a first few games that were disasters, Steve Blevins had a 3.00ERA in 9 games in May (15.1 innings) with 14K/5BB to lower his ERA to 4.61.

We don't know if another move is in the works with an infielder moving up to New Britain from Ft. Myers.  If there is, Ramon Santana certainly is deserving of a promotion to the Miracle.  With 99 at bats, Santana doesn't qualify for the league leadership, but his .374/.456/.586 would currently rank second and is the highest of any player in the organization.  Michael Harrington is hitting only .218/.273/.361, however, his 17 doubles leads the organization with five more than David Winfree who is second with 12.  Angel Morales hit .258/.342/.454 in 97 at bats in May, including 10 extra base hits (5 doubles, 1 triple and 4 home runs).  Morales is tied for the Snapper lead with 5 home runs.  Catcher Alex Soto is another catcher that fans need to keep an eye on.  He also has 5 home runs in only 92 at bats while hitting .261/.343/.467.  James Beresford began this season with the Australian team in the WBC where he was 2-4 versus Cuba.  This young 20 year old is quietly having an excellent season, hitting .314/.390/.331 in 121 at bats. 

I will be on vacation next week, thus, my report will be brief.  With the draft the following week, my report will include a review of how the Twins drafts have faired the past ten years.

Player of the Week

When the Twins drafted Matt Fox with the 35th overall pick (first round sandwich pick) in the 2004 draft, they thought this Central Florida pitcher could possibly follow in the footsteps of Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey.  Unfortunately, his arm had taken a beating in college and the 26.2 innings he would pitch that summer with Elizabethton would be his only action for nearly two years.  

Following shoulder surgery, Fox returned to Elizabethton where he had a 4-0 record in 2006 with a 3.79ERA in 40.1 innings in 20 games (1 start) with 46K/13BB.  Fox moved up to Beloit in 2007 where he had a 7-2 record with a 3.50ERA in 22 games (82.1 innings) including 13 starts with 66K/23BB.  Last season Fox took another step forward, moving up to Ft. Myers where he again began the season in the bullpen before moving into the starting rotation.  With the Miracle, Fox had a 7-7 record with a 3.37ERA in 32 games (117.2 innings) including 14 starts with 99K/33BB.

Fox took another step up the ladder this year to New Britain where he has been in the starting rotation.  With 5.1 innings of shutout ball in Sunday's 7-5 win and 7.0 shutout innings in Thursday's 7-2 win, Fox had the best week of his Twins career since surgery derailed his career.  His numbers this week included 12.1 shutout innings, 11 hits and 6K/3BB including two wins (4-2). 

With his ERA down to 3.00 in 51.0 innings, Matt Fox is beginning to look like the pitcher who once was considered a potential front of the rotation starter when drafted five years ago.