Minor League Report...September 5, 2009

As summer ends and the leaves begin to change colors, the Twins organization also changed following three exciting weeks.  With three teams in the playoffs, the organization managed to win only 15 games while picking up 24 losses.  The DSL Twins championship run came to an end in the DSL finals while the GCL Twins lost their one game playoff for a second straight year.  The Elizabethton Twins were two and out against the Danville Braves who they played for the League Championship each of the last five years, winning three of the five series.

There was a lot of movement this week, mostly connected to filling the New Britain roster that has been depleted by players leaving for the World Cup.  Matt Tolbert was called up by the Twins yesterday, joining the team in time for last night's game against Cleveland.  Brian Buscher was also recalled by the Twins earlier in the week.  One injury that I missed last week is that David Winfree was placed on the disabled list by the Red Wings.  Jeff Christy moved up to the the Red Wings to replace Jose Morales who was called up by the Twins.  R. A. Dickey was designated for assignment to create a spot on the 40-man roster for Ron Mahay.  Dickey cleared waivers and remained with the Red Wings. 

Seth Stohs is reporting that two members of the DSL Twins (Jose Murillo and Francisco Nunez) were suspended for 50 games.  Yangervis Solarte completed his rehab assignment and was assigned to New Britain with Ramon Santana also joining New Britain following an excellent season at Beloit.  Zach See was added to the Ft. Myers bullpen following the GCL Twins playoff game.  The Florida State League named Jeff Smith, Manager of the Year; David Bromberg, Pitcher of the Year; and Chris Parmalee and Ben Revere as All-Stars.  The Twins also announced that Glen Perkins completed his rehab stint in Florida and was "optioned to the Rochester Red Wings."  This is odd because it means that Perkins would be using one of his three option years for a few days with the Red Wings.  One would have expected that he would have been activated and assigned to Rochester on a rehab assignment.  If the news released by the Twins is accurate, it doesn't make a lot of sense from a player management perspective.

Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (4-3, 69-71, 3rd place, -10.5 games)

Much like last year, the Wings are playing out their season with a goal of getting back to .500.  They had four big wins this week with different pitchers having solid starts in three of them.  Jason Jones pitched 8.0 innings with 2 runs in Saturday's 5-2 win over Buffalo.  Armando Gabino was solid in Tuesday's 9-6 win, pitching 6.0 innings with 4 runs.  R.A. Dickey also allowed 4 runs in 7.0 innings in Thursday's 6-4 win.  Anthony Swarzak struggled in his return to Rochester, allowing 8 hits, 3 walks and 4 runs in 2.1 innings last Sunday...a game the Wings would come back and win 5-4 in ten innings.  Swarzak pitched very well in last night's 7-3 loss, pitching 6.0 innings with 5 hits and 3 runs (2 earned).    The top pitching performance this week was from closer Anthony Slama who picked up 3 saves in 3 games, pitching 5.0 innings with only 1 hit and 8K/1BB...dropping his ERA to 3.46 with 17K/5BB in 13.0 innings since his promotion from New Britain.

Two of the team's best hitters this week were Jason Pridie and Trevor Plouffe.  Pridie was 13-33 with a home run, 4 runs scored and 7 RBI...raising his average to .265/.293/.386 in 498 at bats with 67 runs scored and 23 stolen bases in 29 attempts.  Prior to leaving for the World Cup, Trevor Plouffe was 6 for 11 in three games with a double, triple and his tenth home run.  Plouffe ended his season hitting .260/.313/.407 in 430 at bats with 26 errors as the Red Wing's regular shortstop this season.

New Britain Rock Cats (AA) (4-4, 70-68, 2nd place, -12.0 games)

The Rock Cats remain in the hunt for a second place finish which would put them into the Eastern League Playoffs.  They began their week with a three game lead over Trenton with four games against Trenton to begin the week followed by a three game series with Reading before closing out the season with another four games against Trenton.  The Cats dropped three of four against Trenton on Saturday thru Monday, losing 6-5 (Cole DeVries lasted only 2.1 innings with 5 hits and 5 runs), 2-1 (Ryan Mullins pitched 4.2 innings with 5 hits and 2 runs) and 4-2 (Matt Fox was strong, allowing only 2 runs in 7.0 innings on 6 hits).  Their one win, 5-3, was behind a 4.2 inning start by Deolis Guerra who allowed 5 hits and 1 run.  With their lead down to one game, the Cats moved on to take two of three from Reading, extending their lead to two games as they enter their season ending series.  The big game in the Reading series was a 2-0 win on Tuesday by Michael McCardell who pitched 7.0 innings of shutout ball with 5 hits and 8K/3BB.  The only loss to Reading, 3-1, was a game DeVries started and pitched very well (5.2 innings, 5 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) and 5K/2BB).  Carlos Gutierrez came on to pitch 2.1 shutout innings of relief with 2 hits and 2K/0BB.  Since giving him extra rest, Gutierrez looks a lot more like the dominant pitcher we saw earlier this season in Ft. Myers. 

The Cats got a solid start from Deolis Guerra last night as they beat Trenton 8-7, stretching their lead to two games with three head-to-head games remaining.  Guerra pitched 6.0 innings with 6 hits and 5 runs while picking up a lot of support from Wilson Ramos, All-Star Brian Dinkelman and newcomer Ramon Santana.  Ramos was 3-5 with a run scored, double and 2 RBI...giving him a team high .318/.343/.446 which would be the fourth highest average in the league if he had enough at bats to qualify.  With the team in the midst of a playoff run, Ramos has been hitting .395Average in his last ten games.  Dinkelman was 2-5 with a run scored and double and his .298/.386/.444 puts him amongst the league's ten best hitters.  Ramon Santana was 2-5 with 2 runs scored in his first game in AA.  Eric Lis has been battling a bad back, however, returned with a 3-4 night with a home run in Wednesday's 11-6 win.  Lis leads the Cats with 17 home runs and is second to Rene Tosoni with 66 RBI.  

If the Rock Cats can take one of three from Trenton, they will begin the playoffs against the division champion Connecticut Defenders.  We all know that anything can happen once you reach the playoffs, however, the Cats have lost 16 of their 20 games with the Defenders this year.  Maybe they are due to have some good fortune should they meet them again next week?

Ft. Myers Miracle (Hi-A) (3-3, 37-30, 1st place, +3.0 games)

The Miracle clinched the second half championship, making them league champs for both halves of this season.  After their regular season ends on Sunday, they begin the playoffs with a best of three game series against second place Charlotte.  The Miracle had identical 7-3 records against Charlotte in both the first and second halves, including taking 3 of 4 two weeks ago. 

The FSL Pitcher of the Year, David Bromberg, began this week with a 5.0 inning start with 3 hits, 1 run and 8K/2BB in a 2-1 win against Jupiter.  Bromberg picked up his fourth loss (13 wins) Thursday, pitching 5.0 innings with 6 hits and 3 runs.  Although David Bromberg is the league's Pitcher of the Year, Steven Hirschfield may have been their best pitcher since the all-star break with a 2.46ERA in 80.1 innings with 60K/20BB.  Hirschfield was the loser, 2-1 on Wednesday when he pitched 6.1 innings with 4 hits and 2 runs (1 earned).  

Ben Revere is closing out this season strong, hitting .395Average in his last ten games as he battles for a league batting championship.  Revere, .311/.371/.367, currently trails Logan Schafer of Brevard County who is hitting .313/.367/.448.  Revere has taken 39 walks with only 33 strikeouts in 460 at bats while swiping 44 bases in 61 attempts.  As the season comes to an end, Chris Parmalee is tied for second in the home run race (16), two behind the league leader.  Parmalee is also one short in the RBI race with 73.  Although my pre-season prediction could be two-thirds wrong (that his home run total would lead the Miracle, lead the FSL and set a Miracle record), Parmalee has had a wonderful season with a .811OPS.

Beloit Snappers (A) (2-5, 27-40, 7th place, -14.5 games)       

The Snappers season will soon end, a season that is certainly disappointing for many of the young stars from last year's Appy League champs.  There haven't been a lot of high spots this season, yet, several of the organization's top prospects took steps forward in their development.  Included in this group is Angel Morales, who struggled mightily at the start of the season, however, made the adjustments by hitting .310/.361/.517 since the all-star break.  After two very disappointing seasons for former second round pick Danny Rams, he earned a promotion to Beloit where he began hitting like a future star.  He cooled as the season wore down, yet, hit 7 home runs and 14 doubles in only 168 at bats as he is finishing at .232/.303/.440.  Ramon Santana was the team's leading hitter at .296/.384/.453 and we will now get a glimpse of how he will do in AA as the Rock Cats battle for a spot in the playoffs.  Brad Tippett (9-8) was solid all season with a 3.21ERA and 107K/25BB in a team high 146.0 innings.  Bruce Pugh was a pleasant surprise when added to the starting rotation where he has a 1.98ERA in 7 starts (36.1 innings) with 39K/17BB.  Recent second round pick, Billy Bullock, was solid out of the bullpen with 7 saves and a 2.59ERA in 24.1 innings with 31K/11BB. 

Elizabethton Twins (Rookie) (1-3, 45-23, 1st place, +7.5 games)

The Twins finished another dominating season, facing the Danville Braves for the fifth straight year in the league Championship Series.  After winning three of the previous four meetings, this year didn't go as well for the Twins.  The Braves have an excellent pitching staff that was able to silent the potent Twins bats, beating the Twins 7-1 and 5-0.  Tom Stuifbergen got the start in the first game, pitching 7.1 innings with 8 hits, 4 runs and 7K/1BB.  After beating the Braves a couple weeks ago, Edgar Ibarra was unable to repeat in game two when he allowed 7 hits and 4 runs (only 1 earned) in 6.0 innings with 3K/3BB.  The Braves Matt Crim pitched a 9.0 inning complete game shutout in the second game.

Brian Dozier finished his season hitting a league second best .353/.417/.431.  Josmil Pinto had the league's fifth best average (.332/.387/.610) while leading the league with 13 home runs.  Tobias Streich was tied for second with 10 home runs.  Pinto had the league's second most RBI (55) while Michael Gonzalez had the fourth most (43).     

GCL Twins (Rookie) (1-0, 34-21, 1st place, +4.5 games)

The GCL has an odd playoff format.  Three division champs plus one wild card team qualify for the playoffs.  The playoffs begin with a one game playoff with the winners moving on to a championship series.  The GCL Twins faced the Nationals in the one game playoff, a game they lost last year.  This year the game was an unbelievable game, a 12 inning affair that they lost 1-0 on an unearned run.

B.J. Hermsen got the start, pitching 7.0 shutout innings with 5 hits and 1K/0BB.  Jose Gonzalez followed by pitching 2.0 one-hit innings with 2K/0BB.  Zach See came on to pitch the final 3.0 innings, allowing 3 hits and the lone unearned run of the game.  The Twins 19 year old Hermsen faced off against the Nationals' ace, Daniel Rosenbaum, who is a 21 year old lefty taken in the 22nd round of this year's draft out of Xavier University.  Hermsen right out of Iowa high school ball last year matched the older college ace, pitch for pitch.

Congratulations to Manager Jake Mauer and all of the Division Champion GCL Twins!

DSL Twins (46-23, 2nd place, -0.5 games)

After finishing second, a half game behind the Yankees-2, and winning their first two playoff series the DSL Twins moved on to face the league's best team in the championship series.  The Twins pitchers performed as they had all year, yet, the Giants pitching staff was a little better as they swept the Twins, 4-3, 3-1 and 2-1.  Cesar Ciurcina (5.2 innings with 4 hits and 2 runs (1 earned)), Wilson Sanchez (5.1 innings with 1 hit and 1 unearned run), and Luis Nunez (4.0 innings with 4 hits and 1 run) all pitched very well.  The problem was that there weren't a lot of bright spots from the Twins offense.  Finishing second best in the 33 team Dominican Summer League is an excellent accomplishment, one that Manager Ramon Barrego and all his DSL Twins can be very proud of.

Player of the Week

This year's final Player of the Week goes to someone who is really one of the organization's best stories.  After being selected in the 49th round of the 2002 draft, Brock Peterson began to work towards his dream of someday playing for the Minnesota Twins.  He began his professional career with Elizabethton in 2003 where he hit for a .290 Average with a .404OBP and 9 home runs.  Peterson struggled a bit the next two years at Quad Cities (.253 Average with 7 home runs) and Ft. Myers (.250 Average with 12 home runs).  Brock returned to Ft. Myers in 2006 when he had his break-out season, hitting .291 Average with 21 home runs and 75 RBI.  He moved on to New Britain in 2007 where he hit a respectable .285 Average with 15 home runs.  He returned to New Britain for most of last year, hitting .264 Average with 14 home runs before a late season promotion to Rochester. 

Peterson had to be excited this spring as he joined the Twins for spring training.  He returned to Rochester where he struggled early (hitting .214 in April and .114 in May).  Peterson found his swing in June and has been the Red Wings best hitter since the all-star break.  With only three games remaining, Brock has the third highest average on the team (.311) behind Alexi Casilla and Jose Morales.  For the season, Peterson is hitting .311/.386/.483 in 302 at bats with 18 doubles, 2 triples, 10 home runs and 42 RBI.

Peterson went from a strong second half to a torrid pace this week with 13 hits in 24 at bats (.542 Average) with 7 runs scored, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 7 RBI, 3 walks and only 2 strikeouts. 

Peterson has worked hard on his defense the past few years as evidenced by his committing only four errors this year.  Normally players having a year like Peterson would be rewarded with a September callup.  Brock isn't on the 40-man roster which makes it unlikely he will finally achieve his dream this season.  This winter Peterson will be a six year minor league free-agent, one who this writer believes the Twins should sign.  Peterson's professional career began when his name was called in the second last round of the 2002 draft.  It appears that sometime during the next year he will hear his name announced for the first time in a major league ballpark.