Minor League Report...July 17, 2010

For the second time in his brief professional career Miguel Sano is Twinkie Town's Player of the Week, collecting 47% of 163 votes.

Although they didn't play .500 ball this week, the organization was close with 17 wins against 21 losses.  New Britain (4-1) and Ft. Myers (4-2) had winnings weeks.  In what has been the organization's most disappointing season in recent memory, today's focus will be on players who are showing that they may have a future with the Twins. 

The Twins placed Justin Morneau on the disabled list, calling up Jeff Manship for the fourth time this season.  Aaron Hicks injured his wrist diving for a ball in the outfield and was placed on the 7-day disabled list.  Tom Stuifbergen came off the disabled list to make his first start for Beloit on Wednesday.  Alexi Casilla completed his rehab assignment with the Miracle and moved up to New Britain Thursday for another ten day rehab assignment.  Alan de San Miguel moved back to Ft. Myers.  The Twins also signed their sixth round pick, left handed pitcher Logan Darnell, who was assigned to Elizabethton.  First round pick Alex Wimmers is the only top ten selection who remains unsigned.

LaVelle E. Neal III reported that the Twins will move Carlos Gutierrez to the bullpen for the remainder of the season.  He also reported that the Twins have signed shortstop Carlos Martinez from Panama.  Spencer Steedley has a bone spur in his elbow which will be removed when doctors will also determine whether he needs Tommy John surgery.      

Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (2-2, 35-59, Last place, -20.5 games behind Scranton/WB)

Jim Mandelaro of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle wrote an excellent article during the International League's all-star break.  Even though the Wings will not make the playoffs and will finish with a losing record for the second straight year, there is a lot to play for during the last seven weeks of the season.  Will they reach 500,000 attendance for only the third time in franchise history?   Can Jacque Jones win the league's batting title (his .309 average would currently be fourth in the league behind Michael Brantley who is hitting .315, however, he is a handful of at bats short of qualifying)?  The Wings have had 90 losses only five times in their history which dates to 1885.  Will they avoid 90 losses this year?  They also need to pick up eight games on Norfolk to not have the worst record in the International League. 

Jacque Jones signed with the Twins before spring training to give Jacque the opportunity to demonstrate that he could still play at a major league level.  Jones agreed to a minor league contract and all indications are he will spend his entire season in Rochester.  Jones is hitting .309/.354/.426 in 223 at bats, however, has only 3 home runs and 23 RBI.  Danny Valencia began his season by hitting only .265 average in April before a hot May when he hit .330 average which earned him a promotion to the Twins.  Although he hasn't hit any home runs this year, Valencia has been very good in limited play with the Twins (.322 average in 59 at bats).  Will he return to Rochester when Alexi Casilla and Matt Tolbert become eligible to come off the disabled list? 

Trevor Plouffe is hitting .259/.320/.450, however, he has 12 home runs and played well in his brief stay with the Twins.  Dustin Martin recovered from his disappointing 2009 season to be a starter in this week's AAA all-star game.  After hitting .338 average in April, Martin hit only .212 in June as his average slid to .260/.331/.428 with 9 home runs and 55 RBI.  After hitting for only a .230 averge in April and May, Brock Peterson hit .314 in June to raise his average to .263/.352/.483 with a team leading 14 home runs.  Unfortunately, Peterson's road to the big league's is blocked in Minnesota so he won't realize his dream until he moves on to another organization.  Matt Macri has also recovered from an off year to hit .281/.348/.432 as he works to find his second big league opportunity.

Jeff Manship has been a good pitcher for the Twins where he has a 2.84 ERA in four appearances (12.2 innings).  Although Manship has pitched the best of the three Red Wings starters with big league experience, he has only a 3-5 record with a 5.11 ERA in 81.0 innings.  The top starters for the Wings have been two young men who moved up from New Britain this spring, Ryan Mullins and Matt Fox.  Fox has a 4-7 record with a 4.44 ERA while Mullins also has a 4-7 record with a 4.70 ERA.  

Slama and Waldrop watch.....With the help of a double play and strikeout, Anthony Slama pitched a scoreless inning in Sunday's Futures All-Star game.  He returned with another shutout inning in Wednesday's PCL-IL All-Star game where he had a walk and strikeout.  Slama pitched an inning in each of the last two games, allowing two hits and an earned run in each as his ERA ballooned to 1.58 with 63 strikeouts in 51.1 innings.  Kyle Waldrop had a nightmare outing last Saturday, allowing six of his thirteen earned runs this year in a game in which he lasted only 0.2 inning while picking up his second loss.  He returned from the break last night to get out of trouble after allowing three hits and a walk in 2.0 innings to pick up his fourth win.  Waldrop's ERA nearly doubled to 1.97 in 59.1 innings.

Jose Morales had a wonderful week, going 7-14 (.500 average) with two doubles and his second home run.  After a late start to his season following January wrist surgery, Morales has his average up to .284/.385/.406.

New Britain Rock Cats (AA) (4-1, 28-65, Last place, -28 games behind New Hampshire)

David Bromberg has been solid for the Cats as he compiled a 5-5 record with a 3.62 ERA in 17 starts.  Although his strikeouts are down (65 in 99.1 innings) from previous year's when he led the league, Bromberg appears to have taken that big step to success in AA ball.  Although Deolis Guerra struggled in his brief appearance in AAA, he has been one of the better pitchers in the league with a 2-4 record, 3.44 ERA and 47K/20BB in 68.0 innings.  Considering that Guerra is only 21 years old, his success in AA points to a solid future with the Twins.  After dominating at Ft. Myers with a 1.87 ERA, with the exception of four starts Kyle Gibson has been very good in AA.  Gibson has a 4.15 ERA in 11 starts, however, he allowed 24 of his 30 earned runs in four games while allowing only 6 earned runs in his other seven starts.  Billy Bullock has been very good for the Cats since his promotion late last month.  Bullock has six of the Cats sixteen saves with a 4.35 ERA in nine appearances (10.1 innings).  His ERA is misleading as he allowed four of his five earned runs in his first appearance where he lasted only 0.2 inning.     

Ben Revere didn't get any hits in the Future's All-Star game, however, his appearance was a reward for another excellent season.  Revere is hitting .295/.366/.349 with the third most stolen bases (24) in the league.  Mark Dolenc continues to be a player who doesn't get a lot of attention.  Dolenc is hitting .282/.331/.363 as he continues his climb through the organizaiton.  Rene Tosoni was very good as he was limited to mostly designated hitter while playing through a shoulder injury on which he had surgery early last month.  Tosoni hit .338/385/.493 in April before his injury took its toll on his stats.       

Joe Benson had another great week for the Cats, going 8-21 (.380 average) with three doubles, a triple, home run, five runs scored and two RBI.  After a terrible start when he hit only .169 average in April, Benson has his average up to .259/.346/.548 with 12 doubles, 6 triples and 14 home runs.  Benson's 14 home runs are tied for ninth most in the league with his 6 triples tied for second most even though he spent nearly a month in Ft. Myers.  Benson's 18 home runs (includes 4 from Ft. Myers) leads the Twins organization.

Ft. Myers Miracle (Hi-A) (4-2, 9-11, 4th place, -4.0 games behind Bradenton and St. Lucie)

The Twins pride themselves in doing the little things...or do they?  After Angel Morales scored a run to bring the Miracle to within a run (6-5) in the ninth inning of Sunday's game, Alexi Casilla came to the plate with runners on first and second and no one out.  Casilla twice failed to get a bunt down before grounding into a 4-6-3 double play, ending the Miracle's chances of pulling out a come from behind win over Jupiter.  When will the Twins again focus on actually getting the little things right?

Danny Osterbrock wasn't sharp on Thursday when he allowed four runs in 4.2 innings.  Prior to that start, Osterbrock had allowed only four earned runs in his last 43 innings for a 2.79 ERA in 71.0 innings with 54K/17BB.  Liam Hendriks missed the Future's All-Star game because of emergency surgery last week.  Hendriks has arguably been the organization's top starter this year with a 2-1 record and 1.32 ERA in Beloit and a 5-3 record with a 2.00 ERA for the Miracle.  Bobby Lanigan has also been very good with a 3-1 record and 2.15 ERA in 54.1 innings with 41K/7BB.  Andrei Lobanov was very good for the Miracle before moving back to Elizabethton and eventually Beloit.  Lovanov appeared in 26.2 innings with a 2-0 record, 2.03 ERA and 22K/5BB.      

Brian Dozier has been one of the biggest stories of the organization this year.  After being drafted in the eighth round of the 2009 draft, Dozier hit an amazing .353/.417/.431 in 218 at bats for Elizabethton.  Dozier began this season in Beloit where he hit .278/.347/.338 before earning a promotion to Ft. Myers.  While with the Miracle, Dozier has been their best hitter at .321/.401/.399 with only 17 strikeouts and 24 walks in 168 at bats.  The other big surprise is Jonathan Goncalves who skipped Beloit to join the Miracle earlier this year from EST.  Goncalves is hitting .283/.379/.333 in 180 at bats.

Many were surprised when Angel Morales returned to Beloit for the start of this season.  After recovering from his normal slow start, Morales was hitting .289/.381/.474 for the Snappers when he was promoted to the Miracle a month ago.  Morales was 7-23 (.304 average) this week with a double and RBI to raise his average with the Miracle to .274/.327/.305 in 95 at bats.  More important, Morales has struck out only six times in his last ten games (36 at bats). 

Beloit Snappers (A) (1-4, 8-12, 7th place, -4.5 games behind Quad Cities and Kane County)

Will Tom Stuifbergen's return be the shot in the arm the Snappers need to get into the playoff hunt?  Stuifbergen returned on Wednesday with 3.0 innings of shutout ball with three hits.  Stuifbergen has a 4-0 record and 1.36 ERA in 39.2 innings after being out since June 1st.  Kane Holbrooks recently moved into the starting rotation after being their closer where he compiled a 3-3 record with a 1.47 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 43.0 innings.  Brad Stillings was also very good before going on the disabled list, winning seven of eleven decisions with a 3.58 ERA.  B. J. Hermsen has a 5.16 ERA in 68.0 innings while fellow 2008 draft pick Michael Tonkin has a 4.20 ERA in 60.0 innings.  Dakota Watts had an excellent 2.31 ERA in 46.2 innings of relief before his recent promotion to Ft. Myers.  

Anderson Hidalgo has been another huge surprise for the Twins as he is the league's fifth best hitter at .320/.370/.458 and a team best 24 doubles.  Aaron Hicks, who is one of the organization's top prospects, is hitting .264/.375/.408 with five home runs, 21 doubles, and 12 stolen bases in 21 attempts.  Steven Liddle has eight home runs while hitting .253/.321/.381 on his first full season team.  Although he has been gone for a month, Angel Morales leads the Snappers with seven triples.

Some in the organization believe that James Beresford will be the Twins regular second baseman a few years from now.  This young Aussie was 7-20 (.350 Average) this week with 6 runs scored, a double, home run and 2 RBI.  After hitting only .164 Average in April, Beresford is now hitting .287/.345/.358 in 321 at bats with 24 walks, 37 strikeouts and 9 stolen bases in 18 attempts.

Elizabethton Twins (Applachian Rookie League) (2-3, 13-10, 2nd place, -1.5 games behind Johnson City)

The Twins dropped three to their arch rival Danville Braves this week, falling into unknown territory...second place.  Early in this short season, the story out of Eastern Tennessee has been Oswaldo Arcia.  Arcia has the league's second best average (.387) while leading the league with a .742 slugging percentage with the third most home runs (7). 

Adrian Salcedo has a 2-2 record with a 3.00 ERA in five starts.  In what hasn't been a surprise to some, Manuel Soliman moved straight from the DSL to Elizabethton where he has a 2-2 record with a 4.43 ERA in four starts.  Nelvin Fuentes has two saves with a 0.66 ERA in eight appearances (13.2 innings). 

Martire Garcia returned to Elizabethton where he was 5-3 last year with a 4.42 ERA.  This year he is 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA following Sunday's start when he pitched 6.0 shutout innings with seven hits and 8K/0BB.

GCL Twins (Gulf Coast Rookie League) (2-4, 8-15, last place, -8.0 games behind Red Sox)

This year's version of the Twins is very young with South African Hein Robb (18), Australian Mark Trau (19) and four seventeen year olds, Wander Guillen, Jorge Polanco, Miguel Sano and Max Kepler-Rozycki.  These young prospects have huge potential, however, the Twins will struggle as they are very inexperienced.

Cesar Ciurcina allowed four unearned runs in their sixteen inning loss to the Red Sox Thursday.  He has a 1-2 record with a 1.08 ERA in 25.0 innings.  Recent thirty-third round pick Justin Parker is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 18.2 innings.  Late 2009 pick Eddie Ahorrio has a 1.74 ERA and two saves.

In Kyun Kang leads the team at .364/.421/.424 while center fielder Candido Pimentel is hitting .324/.390/.419 with 8 stolen bases in 11 attempts.  Recent fourth round pick Eddie Rosario is hitting .324/.373/.500 with two home runs and team leading six doubles and nine stolen bases without being thrown out.  Top prospect Miguel Sano is hitting .314/.359/.543 with five doubles and a home run.

Max Kepler-Rozycki was 6-14 this week before Thursday's sixteen inning loss when he was 0 for 7.  He is hitting .275 Average in his last ten games (40 at bats) with 2 doubles, a triple, 3 RBI, 5 walks and 7 strikeouts.

DSL Twins (DSL Summer League) (1-6, 19-20, 5th place, -10.0 games behind the Cubs1)

The Twins continue to get excellent pitching, however, their top hitter was Miguel Sano who is gone to Florida and their next best hitter, Romy Trinidad, hasn't played in ten days.  Trinidad is hitting .309/.367/.407 while Sano was leading the team at .344/.463/.547 (1.009 OPS).  Second baseman Juan Blanco is hitting .319 average, however, at twenty-one years old he isn't a top prospect.

Seventeen year old starters Angel Mata (0-3, 2.22 ERA) and Elias Villasana (1-4, 2.57 ERA) are both intriguing prospects who may be in Florida a year from now.  Eighteen year old Sterling Bonilla (3-0, 0.87 ERA) and ninteen year old Ezequiel Zarzuela (5-2, 2.80 ERA) should certainly come north next year.

Jose Jimenez was the loser on Saturday (0-1) when he allowed one run in 6.0 innings with five hits and four strikeouts.  Yesterday he pitched 4.0 innings with five hits, one run and four strikeouts without allowing a walk in either game.  Jimenez is anothe eighteen year old who has a 1-3 record, 2.63 ERA and 22K/9BB in 37.2 innings.