Minor League Report...August 3, 2012

There is some exciting news with a couple key prospects so I wanted to get a brief report out before heading to the airport and Lake Tahoe.

Alex Wimmers had Tommy John surgery yesterday. When speaking earlier this week about Wimmers' most recent setback, Terry Ryan is quoted as saying, "I don't get it." It sounds as if he is as frustrated with the uncertainty surrounding several recent diagnosis by the medical people as us fans are. Assuming Wimmers can match the recovery Kyle Gibson has made, he should be back pitching in the GCL sometime next June.

Speaking of Gibson, he threw three innings for the GCL Twins on Wednesday. He struck out seven with his only blemish a walk. Rob Antony is reported to have said that he is throwing as well as he has seen him throw with his fastball consistently at 93-94mph. He also indicated that Gibson should soon be moving up to the Fort Myers Miracle. Eddie Rosario also completed his rehab with the GCL Twins and reported back to Beloit on Wednesday. In his first three games with the Snappers, he was 3-5 with a double, triple and two RBI, 3-5 with a double, and 2-5 with a double and two RBI. Andrew Albers also began his rehab with the GCL Twins on Tuesday as he works to get back to New Britain as they make another run for the playoffs.

The organization was a game over .500 at 23-22. In the closest voting of the year, Deibinson Romero edged Jeff Manship by two votes for our Player of the Week. A quick review of the organization follows the jump.

The Rochester Red Wings (56-56) won four of six to climb back to .500. They are in fourth place, five and a half back of the Empire State Yankees and Pawtuckett. After dropping their first two to Syracuse and Columbus, they beat Columbus three straight, 8-5, 7-2 and 10-8 in twelve innings. They then opened with a 4-1 win at Toledo on Thursday. Liam Hendriks picked up his second loss at Columbus Saturday, allowing six earned runs in five innings. He was back to his normal self Thursday when he allowed only four hits and one run in seven innings to build his record to 8-2. The Wings' hottest player continues to be Chris Parmelee. Parmelee, who has hit safely in his last ten games, was 12-27 (.444 average) with five runs scored, eight driven in, one double, and four home runs making him my Player of the Week.

The New Britain Rock Cats (59-52) dropped four to third place Reading last weekend as they slipped from a battle for first place to trying to hold onto second and a playoff spot. With only one win in seven games they are currently in second place, eight back of Trenton and a half game ahead of Reading. The formula for their success starts with a pitching staff that has allowed the fewest walks in the league (309) with a defense that is tied with Erie for allowing the fewest unearned runs (42). They also have two players who have scored more runs than anyone in the league, Aaron Hicks (72) and Chris Herrmann (71). Their only quality start was by B. J. Hermsen on Tuesday. They beat Bowie 2-1 with Hermsen allowing six hits and one unearned run in 5.1 innings. Bruce Pugh picked up his sixth save by pitching three no hit innings. Oswaldo Arcia continues to be their top hitter at .309 average with a .874 OPS. My player of the week is catcher Dan Rohlfing, who was 6-12 (.500 average) with a run scored, two driven in and three doubles.

The Fort Myers Miracle (19-23) won two and lost five and are in fifth place, two back of Palm Beach and Bradenton. One of their best starts of the week was by Matt Summers in a 11-3 win against Brevard County on Sunday. Summers pitched five innings with six hits and one run. Madison Boer made a quality start in Friday's 6-3 win over Brevard County. He had a better start in Wednesday's 2-1 loss at Daytona, pitching six innings with six hits and one run. Josmil Pinto, Daniel Santana and Lance Ray all had two multi-hit games. My Player of the Week is last year's top pick, Levi Michael. Michael had three multi-hit games, going 8-26 (.307 average) with two runs scored, two driven in and a double. Michael is hitting .238 average with a .635 OPS in 353 at bats. He has stolen four bases without being thrown out while striking out 68 times and taking 44 walks.

The Beloit Snappers (18-21) won four of seven. They are tied for fifth place, six back of Clinton. With Eddie Rosario back in the lineup, do they have enough time to overtake the LumberKings? David Hurlbut was the winner against Kane County Tuesday, pitching 8.2 innings with four runs in their 9-4 win. Steven Gruver made two excellent relief appearances, pitching seven shutout innings with three hits and two walks. Although Rosario was 8-15, their Player of the Week has to be Kennys Vargas. Vargas, who leads the Snappers with a .350 average and 1.383 OPS in only 40 at bats, was 10-25 (.400 average) with six runs scored, nine driven in, two doubles, a triple and three home runs. With six home runs amongst his fourteen hits, Vargas' first seven hits all went for extra bases following his recent return from his suspension. With Vargas and Rosario back, look for Sano to see better pitches to hit during the last month of their season and in the playoffs.

The Elizabethton Twins (29-13) won four of six and remain in first place, six ahead of Greeneville. Hudson Boyd struggled a bit, allowing four earned runs in a 3.2 inning outing in Friday's 12-9 loss to Greeneville. He returned with a 3.1 inning outing Thursday when he allowed three runs on nine hits in a 15-5 loss to Burlington. Their top starts were by Angel Mata and Corey Kimes who each threw five shutout innings in wins on Saturday and Monday. Candido Pimentel hit safely in all six games this week with four multi-hit games. He was 12-27 (.444 average) with seven runs scored, five driven in, three doubles, a triple and home run. He was walked three times while also striking out three times. Pimentel, who is my Player of the Week, is now hitting .364 average with a .879 OPS in 140 at bats. Another player worthy of mention is infielder Jorge Polanco. Having turned nineteen last month, Polanco has added a strong bat to his excellent defense. With a 9-18 week, Polanco has his average up to .321 in 109 at bats. He also has been charged with only two errors in 32 games.

The GCL Twins (24-16) also won four of six and are in first place, two ahead of the Red Sox. That lead is the result of taking two from the Red Sox last weekend, 12-3 and 4-1. Can both of the Twins short season teams win championships this year? The Twins continue to get outstanding pitching from a stable of young pitchers, including Jose Berrios who made his first start in Saturday's win. Berrios pitched four shutout innings with only two hits, no walks and six strikeouts. That performance makes this year's supplemental round pick my selection as the GCL Twins Player of the Week. In seven appearances, Berrios has a 0.64 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 21 strikeouts and only two walks in 14.0 innings. Yorland Landa, who has a 1.54 ERA, also pitched four shutout innings in Monday's 3-1 win over the Rays. Felix Jorge pitched 3.2 shutout innings in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Orioles with Sam Gibbons allowing a run in three innings of work on Thursday. The big hitters this week were Aderlin Mejia with three multi-hit games and Joel Licon and Randy Rosario with two each. The high school centerfielder taken in the twentieth round who the Twins went $90,000 over the maximum to sign, Zach Larson, is hitting .368 average with a .928 OPS in his first nineteen at bats.

The DSL Twins (24-27) also won four of six and are in fifth place, six and a half games behind the Rockies. Their best starts were by Jose Abreu on Friday, five innings with four hits and a run, and Junior Subero on Saturday, six innings with four hits and a run. Outfielder Ernesto Ciprian had three multi-hit games, making him my Player of the Week. Ciprian is hitting .289 average in 135 at bats with a .825 OPS.

See you in two weeks!