Minor League Update: The Return

After some pretty intense technical difficulties, I'm finally able to keep you all updated on what's going on in the Twins' minor league system again. We'll talk about some of the bigger stories of the past week (including a scandalous bit about Dougie Baseball), as well as cover some of the better performances from the top stars of the past seven days. Let's jump right in, shall we?

News and Notes
-Did you hear about the brawl involving the Fort Myers Miracle and Bradenton Marauders, the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliate? It started when the Marauders manager got upset with a high pitch thrown at a player, and ended up with Miracle manager Doug Mientkiewicz throwing down with the Bradenton manager. His case is currently being reviewed, but I've heard word there will be a hefty fine involved.
-Jorge Polanco was put on the DL this past week with a right groin strain. The move is for the 7-day DL, and it's retroactive to August 16th, so hopefully he'll be back in the line up soon. Polanco's hit .307 for the Kernels so far this season, with 4 homers and 76 RBI.
-Late last week, the Kernels also completed a sweep of the Beloit Snappers, while also drawing a record number of attendees to the ballpark. With 5,879 in the crowd, Max Kepler put the Kernels in front with a 2-run bomb, and with the added help of a couple Snapper errors, the Kernels took the game and ended up sweeping the series. Max Kepler is hitting .246 in his first season with Cedar Rapids. He has 8 home runs, 34 RBI, and 2 stolen bases.

Some Player Updates
-Cole DeVries had his first start with the Rock Cats since May 10 this past week. He went 5 solid innings, giving up just one home run and 3 hits. He struck out three batters as well, but still earned a loss for the game against the Binghamton Mets.
-Trevor May started for the Rock Cats in Tuesday night's game, and while he did go a full 6 innings to get the win, he did give up 2 earned runs, a home run, and 4 walks. This was balanced out (kind of...) by his 4 strike outs and solid pitching.
-Alex Meyer pitched 3.2 innings in the Monday evening game for the Rock Cats. He gave up 2 hits and struck out 9 batters. Yes, you did read that correctly. Nine.
-Eddie Rosario's season OPS is now sitting at .815. His averages dropped a little after moving up to New Britain from Fort Myers (OPS went from .903 to .735), but he's still hitting .274 with 15 doubles and 3 homers since he was moved up.
-While Miguel Sano's batting average has taken a dip since being called up to New Britain (.330 to .238), he's still mashing the ball at will, it seems. He still has hit 13 home runs in NB, 15 doubles, has stolen a base, and has 46 RBI. The kid can hit, and don't be surprised if we see him as a September call up. The Twins have to give fans something to get excited about.
-Nick Blackburn is currently on the Rochester Red Wings' 7-day DL. Just in case you were wondering.
-Deolis Guerra and Lester Oliveros are also on the 7-day DL in Rochester. Ouch.
-So is Vance Worley. I hear hearts breaking all over Minnesota right now.
-Checking in on Aaron Hicks, who played his first game Tuesday night since August 10: 0-for-3 with a strikeout. His average in Rochester this season is a paltry .196. Oi. OPS is .492. I should probably mention that he's only played 13 games with Rochester so far this season as well.

Make sure to stop by later today for all of the Twins-Tigers game information you need!