Minor League Report...June 27, 2009

Good Morning from St. Louis.  Because we are at the weekend series with the Cardinals, this report will be brief and different than normal.


Led by the two short-season rookie league teams who remain undefeated, the organization went 20-14 this week. 

Last Sunday, Jim Rantz announced Juan Portes as the Twins Minor League Player of the Week.  Mr. Rantz also commented that Ft. Myers outfielder Joe Benson was about three weeks away from returning to action.  Michael Tarsi was named the MidWest League Pitcher of the Week.  The Twins moved Kyle Waldrop up to the New Britian bullpen to replace Jeff Manship who was promoted to Rochester.  Bobby Keppel was called up by the Twins to replace Luis Ayala who was DFA.  Alejandro Machado, who had returned from the DL a week earlier was placed back on the disabled list.  Danny Valencia was promoted to Rochester with Danny Berg moving up to New Britain as his replacement.  Denard Span was activated by the Twins with Jason Pridie moving back to the Red Wings.  Finally, Joe Testa was promoted to Ft. Myers following his appearance in the MWL All-Star game.

As of Thursday, the Twins had signed total of fourteen of this year's draft picks.  Signing this week were Christopher Herrmann (#6), Brad Stillings (#7), James Dozier (#8), Nick Lockwood (#9), Tony Davis (#12), Dakota Watts (#16), Buddy Monroe (#22), and Paul Klingsberg (#49). 

Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (2-5, 35-38, 5th place, -7.5 games)

The Wings slipped under .500 this week as they lost five straight before winning the last two nights.  Even though it was a tough week, they gained a half game on first place Scranton/WB even though they dropped another spot in the standings to fifth place.

Jeff Manship made his first start on Thursday in a game the Wings would eventually win against Columbus, 8-7.  My comment after he made it through the first inning was OUCH, as Jeff allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits with 3 strikeouts scattered amongst all the base runners.  Fortunately, it was first inning jitters as Jeff proceded to calm down and pitch 5 shutout innings as the Wings fought back for their first win of the week.  Brian Duensing pitched his best game of the year in last night's 6-1 win.  Duensing pitched 8.0 innings with 6 hits, 1 run and 4K/0BB to pick up his fourth win against six losses.  Jesse Crain made four appearances this week, including on Thursday when he pitched 0.2 innings with no hits, 1 strikeout and 2 walks that preceded a long rain delay.  Unfortunately, both runners scored with Juan Morillo on the mound when action resumed.  Crain pitched 3.0 shutout innings in his other three outings with a total of 2 hits and 6K/1BB. 

Danny Valencia has been on fire since his promotion.  In four games (18 at bats), he is hitting .500/.500/.722.  It has also been reported that Valencia will be the Red Wings regular third baseman the rest of the season.  It will be interesting to see where Luke Hughes plays when he returns from the DL...with some mention (by Ron Gardenhire) of second base, although that is currently being manned by Alexi Casilla.  Steve Tolleson continues to play very well in AAA, hitting .327/.400/.467 with 13 walks and 15 strikeouts in 107 at bats.  Brock Peterson has also been hitting better after hitting .214Average in April and .114Average in May, Peterson has his average up to .246/.321/.349 in 126 at bats. 

New Britain Rock Cats (AA) (3-2, 38-33, 2nd place, 2.5 games out)

The Cats held serve with first place Connecticut this week as they battle to stay in the hunt for a Eastern League playoff spot.

The Cats wasted an excellent start by Carlos Gutierrez in Wednesday's 5-3 loss.  Gutierrez pitched 5.0 innings with 2 hits, 1 run and 4K/0BB.  New Britain Herald reporter Ken Lipshez is reporting that Gutierrez is on a strict pitch count and will be limited to five starts (Wednesday was his fourth) for the Cats before moving to the bullpen.  In four starts (19.0 innings), Gutierrez has a 5.21ERA with 8K/8BB.  Cole DeVries got back on track with a 9-1 win last Sunday, evening his record at 5-5.  DeVries pitched 6.0 shutout innings with 4 hits and 3K/3BB.  Matt Fox has been the Cats best starter this year but wasn't as sharp in Tuesday's 5-4, thirteen inning win, pitching only 4.1 innings with 11 hits, 4 runs and 2K/0BB.  Yohan Pino got the win, his second in three decisions, by pitching 3.0 perfect innings with 5 strikeouts.  Pino has a very good 3.89ERA in 28 games (41.2 innings) with 43K/11BB.

Whit Robbins is hitting .314/.390/.477 in 239 at bats with 7 home runs and 31 RBI following the last ten games in which he hit only .175Average.  Brian Dinkelman is hitting a solid .291/.382/.430 in 237 at bats with 38 RBI.  Brandon Roberts is hitting .287/.355/.385 in 195 at bats with 31 runs scored and 9 stolen bases in 12 attempts.  With Danny Valencia moving up to Rochester, New Britain has moved last week's Player of the Week Juan Portes back to third base.

Ft. Myers Miracle (Hi-A) (3-2, 1-1, tied for first place)

Congratulations to the Florida State League South Division first half champion Miracle who finished the first half with a 43-26 record.  They began the second half by splitting two games and are in a three way tie for first with Palm Beach and Sarasota.

Jim Rantz was quoted by LaValle E Neal III as saying that although the numbers don't reflect it, Deolis Guerra has made significant improvement in his mechanics and is back to throwing around 91-92.  Guerra won his fifth game in twelve decisions on Tuesday, pitching 6.0 innings with 6 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) and 3K/0BB.  Guerra has a 5.03ERA in 73.1 innings with 49K/22BB.  Steve Hirschfield was the starter in Monday's 4-3 loss as he fills the slot vacated by the Carlos Gutierrez promotion.  He pitched 5.1 shutout innings with 6 hits and 3K/2BB.  For the season, Hirschfield has started 4 of his 19 games (42.0 innings) with a 1.50ERA and 29K/13BB.  Kyle Waldrop had a 3.09ERA in 30 games (35.0 innings) with 20K/7BB before his recent promotion.  Dutch native Loek Van Mil is working hard to come back from his elbow injury.  He has appeared in 8 games (15.0 innings) with a 0.60ERA and 10K/8BB.

Deibinson Romero had two games to remember this week.  On Wednesday, he was 2-3 with 2 runs scored, his third home run, 4 RBI and a walk.  He followed that with a 4-4 night with a run scored, 2 doubles, a triple and 3 RBI.  After hitting only .163Average in May, Romero hit .389Average in his last ten games to bring his numbers up to .245/.318/.354 in 237 at bats.  Chris Parmalee has his Average up to a respectable .264/.350/.450 and also leads the Miracle with 9 home runs and 41 RBI.

Beloit Snappers (A) (1-4, 0-2, Tied/7th place, 2.0 games out)

The Snappers finished their first half in last place with a record of 27-43.  Many are hopeful that they have fine tuned their roster to make a run in the second half, however, a 0-2 start isn't the way to get out of the starting blocks.

Joe Testa got two outs as the Snappers sole representative in this weeks All-Star game.  He then proceded to pack his bags and hop on a plane to Ft. Myers.  Testa had a 0-2 record, 2.56ERA and an amazing 63K/23BB in 25 games (45.2 innings).  In his first appearance for the Miracle last night, Testa threw 2.0 innings with 3 hits, 1 unearned run and 2K/1BB.  Michael Tarsi earned his recognition by pitching 7.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 5K/0BB in a 2-1 win on June 16.  He followed that outing Sunday by pitching 6.2 shutout innings with 7 hits and 5K/2BB.  As is often the case, Joe Testa took the loss with an off night before his promotion, picking up his second loss by allowing 4 hits and 5 runs in 2.0 innings with 5K/2BB.

Angel Morales was hitting better in May, however, was battling an injury and played last night for the first time since June 17th.  Ramon Santana continues to lead the Snappers in hitting at .311/.407/.481 in 183 at bats.  Former first round pick Aaron Hicks is hitting .235/.409/.294 in 17 at bats since his recent promotion.  He also has walked 5 times with 5 strikeouts.

Elizabethton Twins (Appalachian Rookie League) (4-0, 4-0, 1st place, +1.0)

As Twins fans have become accustomed to, the Elizabethton Twins are in first place a game ahead of Johnson City.  For the week, the Twins are 4-0 with a combined score of 34-9!

Unlike prior years when some have criticized the Twins for having a team loaded with college aged players in a rookie league, this year's starting staff is anything but old.  The starters in their first two games were 20-year old veterans of the WBC returning from a year off with injuries, Tom Stuifbergen and Liam Hendriks.  Stuifbergen pitched 6.0 innings with 4 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) and 10K/0BB in their opening night 8-2 win.  Hendriks followed with 6.0 shutout innings with 3 hits and 6K/0BB in a 4-1 win.  The rest of the starting staff will be three Latin starters who anchored the GCL Twins starting rotation last season, Martire Garcia, Miguel Munoz and Angelo Sanchez.  Garcia and Sanchez are 19 while Munoz is 20.  Garcia pitched 5.0 innings in Thursday's 8-2 win, allowing 1 run with 2K/3BB.  Munoz pitched 5.0 innings in last night's 14-4 win with 6 hits and 3K/2BB.  Recent 12th round pick, Tony Davis, made two appearances (2.0 innings) with 5K/0BB while earning one save.

2007 14th round pick, catcher Danny Rohlfing, is now listed as an outfielder.  This year's 6th round pick, catcher Chris Herrmann, has also been playing in the outfield and was 4-7 in his first two games.  Last year's second round pick, Tyler Ladendorf, hit only .204/.308/.293 in 147 at bats in the GCL.  Jim Rantz was recently quoted as saying that sometimes you just have to give a player a mulligan in their first year as they adjust to wooden bats.  Well he certainly appears to be a different player this summer as he is hitting .500/.579/1.000 in his first 14 at bats with 2 home runs and 6 RBI.

GCL Twins (3-0, 3.0, 1st place, +1.0)

The GCL Twins began this season on a three game winning streak and lead the Orioles by a game.

A young man who I mentioned frequently while in the DSL last year, Adrian Salcedo, got the opening day start.  Only 18 years old, Salcedo proceded to pitch 4.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 5K/0BB.  Building on a season in the DSL where he was 4-4 in 54.8 innings with a 1.65ERA and 50K/8BB, Salcedo appears to be someone we will continue to hear about as he moves up the ladder towards the Twins.  The second games starter was someone that we heard lots about last year, but not from the mound.  The Twins signed 6th round pick, Brett Hermsen, only hours before the August deadline after the summer Iowa high school season had ended.  Thus, his first professional start was Wednesday when he proceded to pitch 6.0 perfect innings with 3K/0BB to pick up his first win, 5-0.  The Twins bullpen backed up Hermsen with three more hitless innings to give the Twins a staff no-hitter in their second game of the season.  Eliecer Cardena pitched 1.0 no-hit inning with recent sixteenth round pick Dakota Watts pitching 2.0 no-hit innings, however, with one walk to finish off the no-hitter.  On Thursday, Shooter Hunt made a rehab start for the Twins, pitching 4.0 shutout innings with 3 hits, 1 strikeout, NO walks and NO wild pitches for a very solid performance by this young man who is battling back from an injury and the control problems he faced with the Snappers.

Most Twins fans are very familiar with all the excellent young centerfielders in the organization while many are not familiar with the GCL Twins centerfielder, Wang-Wei Lin.  Lin is hitting .500/.500/.714 with 1 home run and 5 RBI in 14 at bats.  I recently commented that the Twins entry in the GCL shouldn't be named the Twins, rather, the Internationals...as they fielded an opening day starting ten with three players from the Dominican Republic (Adrian Salcedo, Jhonatan Arias and Daniel Santana), two from South Korea (Hyeong-rok Choi and In-Kyun Kang), and one each from Puerto Rico (Kennys Vargas), Australia (Rory Rhodes, who is only 17), Venezuela (Oswaldo Arcia), Taiwan (Lin), and the Czech Republic (Matej Hajma).

DSL Twins (Dominican Summer League) (4-1, 15-8, 2nd place, -1.5 games out)

The Twins moved up a spot into a two team tie for second while picking up a game and a half on the division leading White Sox.

Former Player of the Week Cesar Ciurcina pitched 6.0 innings in Tuesday's 6-3 win giving him three wins without a loss.  He allowed 3 runs (2 earned) with 6 hits and 2K/0BB.  Ciurcina has a 1.38ERA in 26.0 innings with 18K/1BB.  Pedro Guerra was 8-2 last season with a 2.45ERA in 84.1 innings with 75K/12BB.  It may be a bit surprising that this 19 year old didn't move up to the GCL this year and he is certainly pitching like he believes he deserves that next move.  He pitched 6.0 shutout innings with 6 hits and 3K/1BB in Wednesday's 2-0 win.  For the season, Guerra is 2-0 in five starts (25.0 innings) with a 0.00ERA and 27K/5BB.    

Third baseman Yorby Martinez (20 years old) leads the Twins in hitting at .305/.394/.322 in 59 at bats.  Second baseman Juan Blanco (20) is hitting .286/.329/.403 in 77 at bats while leading the team with 10 stolen bases in 14 attempts.

Player of the Week

The Twins drafted outfielder Rene Tosoni in the 36th round of the 2005 draft.  For various reasons, this young Canadian didn't play for the Twins until 2007 when he was one of the leading hitters for the Elizabethton Twins before making a brief appearance for the Beloit Snappers in the playoffs.  Last season Tosoni skipped A ball to become one of the top hitters early in the season at Ft. Myers.  Unfortunately, he broke his foot which limited him to only 42 games (140 at bats) in which he hit .300/.408/.414.

The Twins are an organization with a history of not pushing prospects.  Yet, this season they assigned Tosoni to AA New Britain even though his only experience other than rookie ball was 42 games at Ft. Myers and a handful at Beloit in 2007.  Tosoni responded by hitting .180/.261/.361 in 61 at bats in April with only 6 walks and 23 strikeouts.  This talented young prospect continued to work and improved in May, hitting .323/.422/.591 in 93 at bats while nearly doubling his walks to 11 and holding his strikeouts at 23.  Although his average has dipped a bit this month to .281, he has maintained his OBP at .418 with a SLG PCT of .453 in 64 at bats.  More important, he has walked 13 times with only 12 strikeouts.

Tosoni is this week's Player of the Week after going 9-19 (.473Average) with 6 runs scored, 3 doubles and 1 home run with 10 RBI and 1 stolen base in 2 attempts.  After his tough first month, Tosoni has his average up to .271/.377/.486 in 218 at bats while leading the Rock Cats with 45 RBI and 9 home runs.  He also has 14 doubles, 3 triples, 35 runs scored and 30 walks with 58 strikeouts. 

To cap off his week, Tosoni was named to play in the Futures All-Star game in St. Louis as a member of the World Team.