FanPost

Minor League Report...June 17th

The system had their second week of the season at less than .500, with a record of 12-13.  

Today I would also like to thank those sources from which I gather the information needed to compile this report each week.  In addition to the Minor League Baseball website, there is each team's official website, Jim Mandelaro of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the Courant, the Ft. Myers News-Press and Dianna who provides all of us with the best information available from the Twins base in Ft. Myers.  

Transactions

Eric Lis was last weeks Midwest League Player of the Week and Oswaldo Sosa was the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week.  Kevin Slowey was the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week.

Juan Castro was traded to the Reds for minor league outfielder Brandon Roberts who will join the Miracle.  Ruben Sierra was activated by the Twins following a brief rehab assignment in Rochester.  Tony Batista was waived by the Twins, opening a spot for Jason Bartlett who was recalled by the Twins as their starting shortstop.  Rochester filled its two open roster spots by calling up middle infielder Tommy Watkins and outfielder Alex Romero from New Britain.

Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (5-2, 43-25,1st/+6.0)

The Red Wings had another good week, expanding their lead over Scranton to 6.0 games.  

Jason Tyner continues to lead the team in hitting with a .325Ave/.382OBP.  Jason had a good week with 10 hits in 25 at bats, including a triple, 1 rbi, 4 walks and 2 strikeouts.  Chris Heintz also had a good week with 8 hits in 28 at bats with 2 doubles, 1 home run and 6 rbi.  Garrett Jones was 8 for 28 including 2 doubles, 1 home run and 7 rbi.  He is tied for the system lead in both home runs (10) and rbi (48).  

J.D. Durbin had another good start, pitching 6.2 innings, allowing 7 hits and 2 unearned runs with 2K/3BB.  Mike Smith had 1 win in his two starts, pitching 14.0 innings, allowing 12 hits and 5 runs (4 earned) with 4K/5BB.  Lefty Jason Miller joined the starting rotation from the bullpen.  He lost his only start while pitching 5.0 innings, allowing 2 hits and 1 earned run with 4K/0BB.  Scott Baker appears to be settling in as he was 1-0 in two starts this week.  Baker pitched 13.0 innings, allowing 10 hits and 3 earned runs with 14K/6BB.

New Britain Rock Cats (AA) (1-5, 27-35, 5th/-12.0)

The Rock Cats had a tough week winning only 1 game, losing another 4.5 games to league leading Portland.  It is difficult to understand why this team doesn't win as they have many of the top prospects in the system?

Alex Romero was doing well in all aspects of his game as he earned his promotion to Rochester.  Romero was only 3 for 18 this week, however, was hitting .281Ave/.384OBP/.461SLG in 167ab.  Romero also had 11 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 29 runs scored and 16 rbi.  Alex has excellent discipline, 26 walks with only 19 strikeouts, and good speed with 15 stolen bases in 22 attempts.  Denard Span was 6 for 23 with 3 walks and Matt Moses was 4 for 23 with 2 home runs raising his total to 10 which ties him with Jones for the system lead.  Moses also leads the team with 14 errors (2 this week).  Trent Oeltjen had an excellent week with 10 hits in 19 at bats, raising his team leading batting average to .324.  He had 3 doubles and a triple.

Errol Simonitsch lost his only start even though he pitched 8.0 innings while allowing only 8 hits and 2 earned runs with 4K/1BB.  Glen Perkins has been inconsistent.  He lost both of his starts this week, pitching 10.0 innings allowing 16 hits, 9 earned runs with 12K/4BB.  Top prospect Matt Garza won his only start, pitching 6.0 innings allowing 3 hits and 0 runs with 8K/2BB.  Garza currently has a 4-1 record, 1.26era and 0.81WHIP.  Aussie Tristan Crawford has been doing an excellent job this season out of the Rock Cat pen.  He appeared in 3 games this week, pitching 3.0 innings while allowing 2 hits, 1 run (0 earned) with 3K/1BB.  

Ft. Myers Miracle (Hi A) (2-4, 36-31, 3rd/-2.0)

The Miracle had a tough week, dropping out of first place with only 3 games remaining in the first half of the season.  After leading the league much of the year, it now appears it will be impossible to win the first half championship in the split season Florida State League.  

Matt Tolbert is leading the team with a .319Ave.  This week Matt was 10 for 23 with a triple, 3 rbi, 1 walk and 1 stolen base.  Speedster Alexi Casilla is hitting .315Ave.  For the week Casilla was 9 for 21 with 4 rbi and 2 stolen bases for a system leading 23 (will be tied with Brandon Roberts who was obtained from the Reds for Juan Castro).  Brock Peterson was 6 for 22 with 2 doubles, 1 home run and 3 rbi.  

Kevin Slowey had another start in which he didn't allow any runs in 6.0 innings pitched while allowing 3 hits with 5K/2BB.  Brian Duensing lost his only start, pitching 7.0 innings with 5 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) and 5K/1BB.

Beloit Snappers (A) (4-2, 34-32, 3rd/-5.5)

The Snappers continue playing well for a very young team, shaving 2.0 games off Peoria's lead.

Erik Lis continues to be the team leader with a .317Ave.  He was 5 for 22 with a double and 4 rbi.  After a season in which he had about as many walks as strikeouts, Erik had 1 walk this week while striking out 9 times.  Caleb Moore was 5 for 14 with 2 doubles and 2 rbi.  Paul Kelly continues to perform very well as a 19 year old, hitting .268Ave for the season.  This week Paul was 7 for 21 with 1 double, 1 triple and 6 rbi.  Fellow 19 year old and 2005 second round pick Andrew Thompson also had an excellent week, going 9 for 27 with 3 doubles and 1 triple.  There have been rumors that slugger Henry Sanchez may be going down to Elizabethton, however, he has been hitting better the last few weeks.  This week he was 4 for 14 with 3 doubles.

Kyle Waldrop has taken control of the starting rotation as its ace and workhorse.  Kyle won his only start this week, pitching 6.0 innings whle allowing 7 hits with 1 earned run and 2K/1BB.  Kyle has seen his era drop to 3.29 with a 1.15WHIP in 79.1 innings.  Oswaldo Sosa has been solid all season.  This week he won his only start, pitching 7.0 shutout innings with 4 hits and 7K/2BB.  Eduardo Morlan pitched a complete game gem last night, allowing 7 hits and 2 earned runs with 11K/0BB in Beloit's 5-2 win.  Alexander Smit has struggled at times this season, however, this week he pitched very well.  Smit pitched 3.2 innings in 2 games, allowing 0 hits, 0 runs with 8K/0BB which is much more like the excellent numbers he put up out of Elizabethton's bullpen last season.  

Question of the Week

Will Jason Miller continue as a starter for the Red Wings or will he return to the bullpen?  Miller has been one of the better lefties in the system for several years.  At 23, Jason remains a solid prospect for the Twins.

Watch for my Player and Pitcher of the Week on Seth's site on Monday.