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There were a couple of disappointing starts to the season near the top of our Top 30 list last week, but a bigger number of fantastic beginnings elsewhere. Remember you can check out all of our minor league coverage right here. In the mean time, let's get to it.
| 1 | Byron Buxton | CF | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Buxton hit a massive cold streak to start the season, but over his last five games has gone 6-for-18 (.333) with a homer, four walks, a strikeout, six runs scored, and three stolen bases. That's much closer to what we'd expect to see from one of baseball's best prospects, and a great sign for anyone who was waiting for Buxton to shake off that rust. His triple slash is up to .221/.312/.353, but all arrows are pointing up right now. | |||
| 2 | Miguel Sano | 3B | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Sano hasn't found his stride yet however, and since our last update has gone just 2-for-23 with a homer, two walks and six strikeouts. He was held out of the lineup for a couple of days to work on a couple of things, but he's back in the lineup now. | |||
| 3 | Jose Berrios | RHP | Chattanooga (AA) |
| In the two starts he's had since last week Berrios has turned in one mediocre and one pretty good day. The bad start saw him give up three runs on eight hits in just five innings, even if he didn't walk anyone. His most recent start, on Monday, saw him allow one earned run and strike out five in six frames, but he also walked four. Overall it's still a great start for the 20-year old right-hander: 3.27 ERA in 22 innings, including 28 strikeouts. | |||
| 4 | Alex Meyer | RHP | Rochester (AAA) |
| Meyer's one start since last week was yesterday, and he surrendered five earned runs off of nine hits in just four innings. He struck out two and didn't walk anyone. He's been trying to clean up the delivery in terms of consistency in his mechanics, and those adjustments will lead to different results. I'd still rather see him working on his mechanics and repertoire at the Major League level right now, since he's 25. He could be brought up should the Twins decide to put Phil Hughes on the disabled list. | |||
| 5 | Kohl Stewart | RHP | Fort Myers (A+) |
| Stewart is scheduled to come off of the disabled list anytime, but as of this morning he's still on the seven-day DL for the Miracle. We'll continue to monitor the situation, as it's difficult to say which direction right elbow inflammation could go. This report from Mike Berardino appears positive, but we'll wait on his "ramp up" before we get too optimistic. | |||
| 6 | Trevor May | RHP | Minnesota (MLB) |
| May's rookie status is now expired, but his last outing was cut short as he took a ball off the arm. He's all-systems-go however, and he's slated to start in the series opener versus the White Sox tonight. | |||
| 7 | Nick Gordon | SS | Cedar Rapids (A) |
| Gordon's seven-game hit streak came to an end yesterday. He's striking out a bit too much, so he needs to find a way to relax and not be overly aggressive. He's hitting .278/.308/.361 through 18 games with two doubles, two triples, and a stolen base. | |||
| 8 | Nick Burdi | RHP | Chattanooga (AA) |
| After three consecutive scoreless appearances just started to level out his line after that disastrous first outing, Burdi was tagged for two runs on Monday. He's getting swings-and-misses but his command has been very erratic in the early going. In six appearances and seven innings he's walked 11 and struck out eight. | |||
| 9 | Jorge Polanco | SS/2B | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Polanco is riding a five-game hit streak at the moment, but by his standards is still off to a slow start. He hit his third home run of the season on Saturday but hasn't been driving in runs otherwise. On the year he's struck out just four times but he's also earned just two walks. He's batting .268/.297/.437. | |||
| 10 | Eddie Rosario | OF/2B | Rochester (AAA) |
| Entering play today, Rosario is 7-for-25 (.280) since our last update. He continues to notch the extra-base hits, now having tallied two doubles, a triple, and three homers on the year, but the walk-to-strikeout ratio is a bit worrisome. In 19 games he's struck out 17 times and walked just three. Rosario has usually exhibited better discipline, but this is his first spin through Triple-A so we should expect some rough patches. He's batting .241/.268/.405 on the young season. | |||
| 11 | Lewis Thorpe | LHP | n/a |
| Thorpe will be having Tommy John surgery and will miss all of 2015. | |||
| 12 | Max Kepler | OF/1B | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Six games into his first stint at Double-A, Kepler has collected hits in three games as he's gone 5-for-23 (.217) with a walk and three strikeouts. He's listed as a center fielder on the roster, but he's obviously sharing an outfield with Buxton. Kepler has played all of his outfield innings in right this year. | |||
| 13 | Stephen Gonsalves | LHP | Cedar Rapids (A) |
| Gonsalves has had one start this past week, striking out 11 and walking one in seven innings. He blanked the opposition, giving up just one hit. Scouts don't seem to be too enamored with his stuff, but considering that the lefty has now struck out 30 in 20 winnings and is boasting a 0.90 ERA I feel like that "stuff" might be ready to be tested in Fort Myers. | |||
| 14 | Jake Reed | RHP | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Unlike Burdy, Reed has found a way to keep runs off the board since last week: three appearances, 4.1 innings, five strikeouts, two walks and no runs. His ERA on the season is down to 4.50. He didn't bean anyone this week, either. | |||
| 15 | Adam Brett Walker | RF | Chattanooga (AA) |
| In the last week Walker has struck out eight times in 21 at-bats. But on Tuesday he was also 1-for-1 with four walks. How's that for a day to up the on-base percentage? Two-thirds of his walks on the season came in one day. He's hitting .258/.319/.565 and hit his fifth homer of the season on Monday. | |||
| 16 | Amaurys Minier | LF/1B | Extended Spring Training |
| Minier is currently in extended spring training. | |||
| 17 | Stuart Turner | C | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Turner had a hard week, going 2-for-23 (.087) with two walks and seven strikeouts. A good week will go a long way in pulling him out of his season-long funk, but so far he's batting .196/.236/.216. | |||
| 18 | Chih-Wei Hu | RHP | Fort Myers (A+) |
| When you only allow one run in six innings while striking out four and not walking anybody - and it's considered a step back from your previous start - you're doing something right. Hu owns a 1.50 ERA after 18 innings, along with 20 strikeouts and one solitary walk. Opponents are hitting a measly .164 off of him. | |||
| 19 | Mitch Garver | C | Fort Myers (A+) |
| Garver is trying hard, evidenced by his five walks and eight strikeouts this last week, but it's not paying a lot of dividends. He's up from last week - now batting .167/.277/.208 - but he's struggling to adapt in the early going. The season is just getting started though, so he has plenty of time to show some of that offensive potential that surprised us all last year. | |||
| 20 | Tyler Duffey | RHP | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Duffey got hammered in his start this week, giving up five runs in five frames. His first couple of starts were great, so they're buffering his overall line, but he's now followed two really good starts with two less impressive starts. He struck out six and only walked one on Sunday, but eight hits got to him. | |||
| 21 | Travis Harrison | LF | Chattanooga (AA) |
| This last week has cooled Harrison off a bit, seeing him go just 6-for-30 (.200) with a walk and 11 strikeouts. He's spent all of his time in right field so far instead of left. A rough week means Harrison's triple slash is down to .250/.329/.382. | |||
| 22 | Taylor Rogers | LHP | Rochester (AAA) |
| Like a slightly older version of Gonsalves, Rogers isn't considered a pitcher with great stuff but he's getting results. On Monday he went eight full innings, allowing one run off of four walks and two hits while striking out four. Rogers has posted a 2.00 ERA through his first four starts of the season. | |||
| 23 | Zack Jones | RHP | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Another week, and Jones has still only allowed one run this year. No runs this week, and no hits - in three innings he struck out two and walked one, but nobody notched a hit. That's 13 strikeouts in seven innings for Jones. Is his secondary stuff good enough to warrant a promotion to Triple-A? The Red Wings may be looking for a reliever or two about now. | |||
| 24 | Lewin Diaz | 1B | Extended Spring Training |
| Diaz is currently in extended spring training. | |||
| 25 | Michael Cederoth | RHP | Cedar Rapids (A) |
| Just four innings from Cederoth in his start this week, which makes it twice in three starts that he's failed to get beyond that point. He didn't walk anyone but eight hits in four innings is a lot, and he was touched for three runs. His 5.14 ERA isn't terrible, as one good start would go a long way in correcting it, but until he shows that he can go five or more innings consistently and effectively, I'm not sure the rotation is the right place for a pitcher who was a reliever in college. | |||
| 26 | J.R. Graham | RHP | Minnesota (MLB) |
| Graham has been stashed for the last week and a half at the end of Eddie Guardado's bullpen. He's been shaky with his results and erratic at times with his pitches, to Paul Molitor is clearly bringing him along slowly. If the Twins don't use him soon it will be interesting to see whether they come up with a phantom injury to put him on the disabled list. As a Rule 5 pick he only needs to be on the active roster for 90 days, and he's close to 30 of that already. Finding a way to get him some "rehab" appearances in the minor leagues might be a good way of preparing him for a mid-season return to Minnesota. We'll see what happens. | |||
| 27 | J.T. Chargois | RHP | Fort Myers (A+) |
| Chargois has been good since his second appearance of the season, when he allowed four earned runs in a third of an inning. Since then he's logged five scoreless innings in a row. On the season he's struck out eight and walked two in 6.1 innings. The ERA is down to 5.68. | |||
| 28 | Huascar Ynoa | RHP | n/a |
| Ynoa is not currently in-season and he is not attending extended spring training. | |||
| 29 | Levi Michael | 2B | Chattanooga (AA) |
| A good few days brought his average up to .250, but he's 0-for-6 between Tuesday and Wednesday. He's working the count and looking for his pitch, which is good. He's walked seven times versus ten strikeouts in 14 games. In spite of a .214 batting average, his on-base percentage (.346) and slugging (.429) are just fine. He's also 3-for-4 in stolen base attempts this year - all of which came this week. | |||
| 30 | Tanner English | CF | Cedar Rapids (A) |
| After a hot first week, English's second week saw his bat cool off a little. He's stolen seven bases in eight attempts this season, and his six walks are a plus even if he's struck out 13 times in 17 games. English's game is his defense, and he's been getting good marks in center for the Kernels. The triple slash is down a bit, to .273/.339/.364. | |||