Minnesota Twins June Awards

I will be doing my month awards once again as we move onto the month of June and see who exceeded expectations to grab the Pitcher and Hitter of the Month. I will be starting my tour of all the teams with the Twins and work my way down all the way to Beloit. I will not do Elizabethton or the GCL because they just started their seasons, but I will be adding them next month when i look back at July. I hope you all enjoy and if anybody has a disagreement with me you can either leave it in the comment box or email me at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

• Pitcher of the Month: Joe Nathan- Joe Nathan stole the show in June for the Twins. Nick Blackburn would of been a very solid pick as he went 1-2 with a very good 2.37 era in 5 June starts. For him not to get it there had to of been a performance pretty outstanding. Joe Nathan put up one of the greatest months from a closer in Minnesota Twins history. Joe appeared in 12 games for the Twins and went 0-0 with a 0.00 era in June. He pitched 11.2 scoreless innings and picked up 11 saves in the month of June. In 11.2 innings Nathan only gave up 4 hits along with a very impression 1 walk and 18 strikeouts to pace the Twins. The most impressive stat of all though was opponents hit only .105 against him in June. Normally, I prefer giving this award to a starting pitcher, but Nathans stats were too good to pass up. Joe Nathan in my opinion is the best closer out there and I am so glad the Twins decided to show him the money because as bad as our bullpen has been this year can you imagine what it would of been like without the anchor at the end in Joe Nathan. On the year Nathan has a 1.45 era and 20 saves and appears on his way to another All-Star game for the Twins.
• Others Considered: Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, Matt Guerrier

• Hitter of the Month: Jason Kubel- It is not very often that you hit .357 for the month and not win player of the month award. Jason Kubel beat out Joe Mauer even though Mauer hit .353 for the month of June. The reason I gave it to Kubel is because of production. In the month of June Jason Kubel hit .291 with an incredible 8 homeruns and 17 rbi's along with 5 doubles and 10 walks. Kubel had an obp of .371 with a slugging percentage of .628 for an ops of .999. Jason Kubel really struggles against left handed pitching as he is only a .185 hitter against lefty's. However, against right handers he is just killing the ball hitting .352 with 13 homeruns and 38 rbi's and an ops of 1.062. Jason Kubel has really come into his own in the DH spot and gives the Twins a third dangerous hitter from the left side to go with Mauer and Morneau. If need be he can play the occasional outfield and not hurt the team too bad, but his best position with his knees and defensively is DH. On the year Kubel is hitting .308 with 13 homeruns and 42 rbi's which would be up there for an All-Star selection, but with the game in the National League he won't make it. This was a tough decision between Kubel and Mauer in June so I am wondering if you all think I made the right decision.

Wednesday, July, 1st

Twins Talk
Twins 2 Royals 1

• The Twins were on the winning end of a tough hard fought 2-1 victory last night over the Royals. Scott Baker got the start for the Twins and I don't know how to describe his start. He was not bad, but he threw so many pitches that he was only able to complete 5 innings. Baker went 5 innings and gave up 1 run on 5 hits along with 2 walks and 1 strikeout to lower his era to 4.99 on the year and improve his record to 6-6. Baker did not have his good stuff on this night, but I was so impressed how he kept battling and battling out there. The Royals kept fouling pitch after pitch off. He had at bats with 7 pitches, 8 pitches , 9 pitches and 15 pitches, but Baker would not give in to the hitter and really showed his mental toughness. There are those out there that question his mental toughness because he doesn't show emotion on the mound, but Baker showed his toughness by battling the heck out of it last night to keep his team in the game even though he did not have great stuff. In the month of June Scott Baker really bounced back from a couple so so months and got back to being Scott Baker. In June Baker was 4-0 with a very Scott Baker like 3.20 era in 6 June starts. That is after he posted a 9.82 era in April and a 4.97 era in May. Baker was good, but the real story of the game was Bobby Keppel who pitched 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Is Bobby Keppel the answer out of the bullpen probably not, but he sure has pitched good in his 2 outings. Keppel went 2.1 innings and gave up no runs on 1 hit along with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. Jose Mijares and Matt Guerrier each got an out to get out of the 8th with the lead still intact. Joe Nathan then came on in the ninth to shut the door for his 20th save of the year and lowered his era to an awesome 1.45. In the month of June Joe Nathan pitched 11.2 innings and June without giving up a run and only 4 hits and picked up 11 saves. All I can say about that is WOW! Joe Nathan is the best closer in the game for my money and he might be having his best season of his career.

• The Twins did not get much on the offensive side last night, but just enough to pull out the victory. Justin Morneau led the attack going 2-3 with his 19th homerun of the year and drove in his 64th run of the year to improve his average on the year to .313. Justin Morneau is quietly putting up MVP numbers again as he is 7th in average, 4th in homeruns, 2nd in rbi's, 4th in sluggin, and 4th in on base percentage. What I mean by quietly is all anyone talks about right now is can Joe Mauer hit .400 while Morneau continues to put up the big numbers and now has hit a homerun in 3 consecutive games and drove in 6 runs in those games. Brendan Harris went 1-4 with his 12th double of the year and brought his average down to .288. Michael Cuddyer went 1-3 with a sacrifice fly to drive in his 40th run of the year and brought his average up to .277. Joe Mauer went 1-4 at the plate and still saw his average drop to .383. When you have an average that high if you don't have 2 hits every game the average will go down. Denard Span, Joe Crede, and Carlos Gomez added hits in the winning cause for the Twins.
• Today, the Twins finish their series with the Royals and their roadtrip off as Glen Perkins gets the start for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

• The Red Wings had their game with Scranton/WB rained out last night and will be made up later in the year. The Red Wings have today off before beginning a series with Buffalo tommorrow night.

New Britain Business

New Britain 9 Portland 5

• The Rockcats got back on the winning side of things after losing 2 straight to Connecticut with a big 9-5 victory over Portland last night. The Rockcats jumped all over Portland starter Kason Gabbard for 7 runs in the first inning and held on the rest of the way. Ryan Mullins got the start for the Rockcats and I felt did a pretty decent job. Basically, he is what he is and he will on most starts keep you in the game. Last night Mullins went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits along with 3 walks and an impressive 8 strikeouts to bring his era on the year down to 5.07 and improve his record to 5-8. I think Mullins era is inflated because when he gets hit he gets hit hard so there are some not so pretty lines in there so it takes forever to bring it down. Jay Rainville came in relief and really struggled giving up 2 runs on 2 hits in an inning of work along with a strikeout to raise his era to a not very good 5.64. Jay Rainville is a guy that I have been very dissapointed in as he has really struggled this year as he started out in the rotation and now is in the bullpen and the next step is probably being released. It is not all his fault though as injuries have robbed the former 1st round pick of his fastball as he struggles to get his fastball in the high 80's and in professional ball it is hard to get guys out when you don't have a good fastball. Alex Burnett then came in and pitched a good inning of relief on no hits along with a walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.33. Anthony Slama worked a scoreless ninth on no hits along with a walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.53.

• On a night the pitching was not real great the Rockcats hitters bailed out the pitching as they scored 9 runs on 11 hits. Rene Tosoni led the offense going 2-4 with his 10th homerun and drove in 2 runs to bring his season total up to 47 on the year to bring his average up to .279. Tosoni has really taken a step forward from a good prospect to one of the best hitting prospects in the organization. Toby Gardenhire got a start and made the most of it going 2-4 with his 4th double of the year to bring his average up to .240. Juan Portes went 2-4 to bring his average on the year to .311. Erik Lis went 1-5 and his 6th homerun, a 3 run shot in the first, along with 3 rbi's to bring his season total to 36. Danny Berg went 1-5 with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rbi's of the year. Danny Lehman went 1-4 with his 4th double of the year. Brian Dinkelman went 1-3 with his 18th double along with 2 walks to bring his average up to .298. Brandon Roberts also added a hit in the winning cause for the Rockcats.
• Tonight, the Rockcats continue their series with Portland as they will compete in a doubleheader with Cole Devries scheduled to start in one with Frank Mata scheduled to pitch the other.

Fort Myers Minutes

• The Miracle had their game with Lakeland rained out and will make it up with a doubleheader tonight. Mike Mccardell is scheduled to go in the first game and Tyler Robertson is scheduled to pitch in the second.

Beloit Beat

Cedar Rapids 4 Beloit 1

• The Snappers wasted an excellent start by Brad Tippett and had the relief pitching let them down in a tough to take 4-1 loss to Cedar Rapids last night to move their record to 2-3. Brad Tippett got the start for the Snappers and was outstanding. Tippett went 6 innings and only gave up 1 run although the run was unearned on 4 hits along with 4 walks and 4 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.89 on the year. Brad Tippett has been by far the most consistant starter for Beloit all year and consistantly gives good starts. I would like to see Tippett maybe get a chance with Fort Myers this summer. Either way he will be with Fort Myers at the start of next season so its not a big deal if he gets promoted this year or they wait until next year. Curtis Leavitt then came on and pitched 2 very solid innings of work without giving up a run to lower his era to 8.10 on the year. Steve Blevins then came in the 9th in a 1-1 tie and lets just say it did not go the best. In 1 inning of work Blevins gave up 3 runs on 2 hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his era to 4.46 and lower his record on the year to 2-4. I know it was a terrible outing by Blevins, but he has been so good this year that I have no doubt that he will bounce back next time to have a good outing. That is the key with any reliever and especially prospects. It is not about how you do when things are going good, but how you respond to a rough outing. I have no doubt Blevins will rebound in a big way.

• The Snappers offense did not help the pitching in this one at all as they could only muster 1 run on only 3 hits. Aaron Hicks led the offense by going 1-3 with his 6th rbi of the year and improved his average to .222 in only 27 at bats. I know he is off to a little bit of a slow start with the Snappers, but it won't be long until he takes off and hits like we all know he will. Drew Thompson went 1-2 with his 9th double of the year and improved his average on the year to .198. Ramon Santana added a base hit in the losing cause for the Snappers.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Cedar Rapids as Dan Berlind will get the start for Beloit.

E-town Entertainment

E-town 8 Bristol 7

• The E-town Twins had a hard back and forth game last night with Bristol and found a way to win it 8-7 with 2 unearned runs in the bottom of the 9th to improve their record to 7-1. Matire Garcia got the start for the Twins and was uncharacteristically wild. Garcia only lasted 2 innings and gave up 1 run on 1 hit along with an incredible 6 walks and 1 strikeout. There is nothing in Garcia's past that says that this is a problem so I have to believe this was a one time thing and Garcia will come back next time out with a much better outing. Brad Stillings then came on and went 3.2 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 4 hits along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts to bring his era down to 3.18. Edgar Ibarra then came on and pitched 1.2 scoreless innings on a hit along with 2 walks and a strikeout to bring his era down to 3.86. Kane Holbrooks then came in and pitched 2/3 of an inning and gave up a run on no hits along with a strikeout to bring his era up to 2.70. Billy Bulluck then came on and really struggled in this game. Bulluck gave up 2 runs although only 1 of them was earned on 2 hits along with 2 strikeouts to get his first win of the year and increased his era to 2.25.

• The Twins offense really bailed out the pitching in this one as they put up 8 runs on 9 hits. Jasmil Pinto led the offense by going 3-4 with his 3rd homerun of the year along with a double and drove in his 8th and 9th rbi's of the year to bring hsi average up to .273. Derek Mccallum went 2-4 with his 1st professional homerun to bring his average up to .188. Danny Rams continued his recent string of power numbers as he went 1-3 with his 4th homerun of the year and drove in 2 runs to bring his season total up to 15. Reggie Williams went 1-4 with his first homerun of the year. Chris Hermann and Tobias Streich added a hit apiece in the E-town victory last night.
• Tonight, the Twins continue their series with Bristol as Michael Munoz gets the start for Elizabethton

Tuesday, June, 30th

Twins Talk
Royals 4 Twins 2

• The Twins really had a stinker last night as they made Luke Hochevar look like an all-star. Nothing against Hochevar, but he came into the game with a 5.87 era and we made him look like Zach Grienke. Nick Blackburn pitched a better game than the numbers will show as the hitters could not do anything in the Twins 4-2 loss to the Royals last night. Nick Blackburn got the start for the Twins and was very good once again. Blackburn went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs although only 2 of them were earned along with 10 hits. He also walked a batter and struck out 4 to raise his era to 3.10 on the year and lower his record to 6-4. Blackburn was masterful in the first 5 innings as he only gave up an unearned run in the first 5. Then in the 6th he left some pitches up and gave up back to back homeruns to Alberto Callaspo and Miguel Olivo. Overall, Blackburn continues to show he is the ace of the staff right now and consistantly gives the Twins a chance to win every time out. It was Blackburn's 8th consecutive quality start and that is fantastic. I really can't put my finger on what he is doing differently this year, but he is much better and the results speak for themselves. R.A. Dickey came on in the 7th and had an uncommon for him this year poor outing as he gave up a run on 2 hits along with a walk to raise his era to still a very good 2.45. Jose Mijares pitched a scoreless 8th inning along with a walk and a strikeout to lower his era to 2.38.

• Offensively, it was not pretty for the Twins as they were only able to get 5 hits in the entire game and only 2 off Royals starter Luke Hochevar. The only bright spot offensively was Justin Morneau who belted his 18th homerun of the year and drove in his 62nd and 63rd runs of the year to bring his average down to .309. Michael Cuddyer went 1-4 with his 17th double of the year and brought his average down to .276. Denard Span, Delmon Young, and Brendan Harris all contributed singles in a losing cause for the Twins.
• Tonight, the Twins continue their series with the Royals as Scott Baker gets the start for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

Scranton/WB 5 Rochester 0

Scranton/WB 3 Rochester 1

• The Red Wings lost a couple to Scranton/WB yesterday with one being a blowout and the other being close, but in the win-loss column it still says 0-2. The Red Wings lost the games by scores of 5-0 in the first game and 3-1 in the second game. In the first game Philip Humber got the start for the Wings and was his usual self. Humber went all 6 innings and gave up 5 runs on 8 hits along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to raise his era to 6.03 and lowered his record to 2-6. I don't understand why they keep sending him out there start after start when you have a better option sitting in AA in Matt Fox. I have come up with the perfect solution. Promote Armando Gabino to the Twins and promote Matt Fox to Rochester and put Philip Humber in the bullpen and either dl/release either Tim Lahey or Reid Santos. To me that would make the most sense because every time out there Humber is getting hit. He only has 2 quality starts in his last 10 and that is just not good enough to get it done. Hopefully, a move to the bullpen would help him get going again because right now he is not very good. In the second game Jason Jones got the spot start and was much better than what he had been when he was in the rotation. Jones went all 6 innings and only gave up 3 runs on only 3 hits along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 6.33 and lower his record to 2-7. I know Jason Jones has not been very good this year so it is probably best not to make too much out of 1 start, but for as bad as he was pitching I will take a step in the right direction. Hopefully, Jones can take this good start back with him to the bullpen and he can use this as a confidence booster because there is talent there we just need to find a way to bring it out.

• Offensively, the Wings left their hitting shoes at home as they were only able to get 1 run in 2 games. In game 1 they were shutout on only 2 hits unbelievable pitching performance by Yankee starter Ivan Nova. The only bright spot in the game was Matt Macri who went 1-3 with his 15th double of the year and brought his average on the year up to .221. Steve Tolleson added a single for the Wings in the losing cause. In game 2 the Wings did not do much more than they did in game 1 as they were only able to score 1 run on 7 hits. Trevor Plouffe led the offense going 1-4 with his 41st rbi of the year and brought his averge up to .240. Jason Pridie went 1-4 with his 12th double and 16th stolen base of the year. Danny Valencia went 1-3 with his 2nd double with the Wings to bring his average up to .355. Dustin Martin went 1-3 with a run scored to bring his average up to .257. David Winfree, Matt Macri, and Brock Peterson all contributed hits in the losing cause.
• Tonight, the Red Wings finish off their series with Scranton/WB as Jeff Manship gets the start for Rochester.

New Britain Business

Connecticut 6 New Britain 3

• The Rockcats basically lost this game in the 1st inning when Cats starter Carlos Gutierrez gave up 4 runs in the 1st inning. The Rockcats kept fighting back, but could not come all the way in a tough 6-3 loss to Connecticut last night. Carlos Gutierrez got the start for the Cats and really struggled in the first inning where he gave up 4 runs on 6 hits, but after that he calmed down, but it was too little too late. Gutierrez went 4 innings and gave up 5 runs on 10 hits along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to raise his era to 6.26 and lower his record to 1-2. This is a classic case of a reliever in his first year as a starter running out of gas. Gutierrez only threw only 25.2 innings last year after being drafted and he is already at 77 innings this year. The Rockcats will likey move him to the bullpen soon to minimize his innings and look for him to be shutdown the last month or so to save his arm. You should not let his struggles at AA make you think less of him as a prospect, because this happens every year when a pitcher gets to a certain inning count they start leaving pitches up because they have never thrown that many innings before. Carlos Gutierrez will be back next year ready to make an impact and it would not surprise me to see him in a Twins uniform sometime next year. Jay Rainville then came on for an inning and gave up a run on 3 hits to raise his era to 5.45. Kyle Waldrop followed him and went 1.2 scoreless innings along with a walk. Jose Lugo then came in and pitched 1.2 scoreless innings to lower his era to 4.61. Frank Mata finished the game by going 2/3 of an inning and giving up 1 hit and no runs to lower his era to 4.85.

• The Rockcats just did not have enough offense in this game as they were only able to push across 3 runs in the game and normally that is not going to be good enough to win. Whit Robbins led the offense by going 3-5 with his 17th double of the year and his 32nd rbi of the year to bring his average up to .312. Erik Lis went 2-4 with his 33nd rbi of the year and improved his average to .302. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 with his 39th rbi and improved his average to .297 on the year. Allan De San Miguel added his 4th double of the year. Brandon Roberts also contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Rockcats.
• Tonight, the Rockcats begin a series with Portland as Ryan Mullins is scheduled to pitch for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 5 Lakeland 1

• The Miracle got back on track with a big win last night against Lakeland by a score of 5-1. David Bromberg got the start for Fort Myers and really bounced back from a start that was bad by his standards. Bromberg went 6.1 innings and only gave up 1 run on 5 hits along with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.57 and improve his record on the year to 6-0. David Bromberg has been so solid this year that we should of known that Bromberg would rebound from his last start and he did. Speaking of that David Bromberg has had a nice comeback season after a so so season last year at Beloit. I'll be honest I did not see this coming out of Bromberg as I thought he walked too many guys to be successful at this level . However, he has proven me wrong as he has gotten much better with the walks and shown just how dominant he can be so hopefully he can keep it up. Spencer Steedley came in relief and was good once again as he went the last 2.2 innings for his 4th save of the year. Steedley went 2.2 innings and gave up 1 hit along with a walk and 3 strikeouts to lower his era to 0.95 on the year.

• The Miracle finally got it going offensively as they have struggled hitting the ball lately, but broke out for 5 runs on 10 hits last night. Jair Fernandez led the attack going 2-4 with his 7th double and drove in his 11th and 12th runs of the year and improved his average up to .214. Nick Romero went 2-4 with his 2nd and 3rd doubles of the year and drove in his 11th and 12th runs of the year to improve his average to .280. Chris Parmalee went 2-4 with his 13th double of the year and improved his average to .271. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 to improve his average to .245. Ben Revere went 1-5 to bring his average down to .319. Chris Cates also contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Miracle last night.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Lakeland as Tyler Robertson gets the start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

• The Snappers had yesterday off and will begin a series with Cedar Rapids tonight with Brad Tippett scheduled to pitch for Beloit

E-town Entertainment

E-town 11 Bristol 5

• The E-town Twins got back to their winning ways with a big 11-5 victory last night over Bristol. Liam Hendricks got the start and was ok in this one for the Twins. Hendricks went 6 innings and gave up 4 runs on 8 hits along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. Kyle Carr then came on and pitched 2 innings and gave up 1 run on 2 hits along with 3 strikeouts. Billy Bulluck came on and pitched another solid inning of relief on 1 hit along with a strikeout.

• The E-town Twins offense exploded in this one by scoring 11 runs and pounding out 19 hits. Danny Rams led the way going 2-4 with his 2nd and 3rd homeruns of the year and 4 rbi's. Chris Hermann went 4-5 with 2 doubles and his 1st homerun of the year along with 2 rbi's. Tyler Ladendorf went 3-5 with a double and a rbi. Michael Gonzalez went 2-4 with a double. Anderson Hidalgo went 3-4 with 2 doubles and an rbi. Herbert Lara went 3-5 at the plate for the Twins. Derek Mccallum, and Jon Goncalves each contributed a hit apiece in the winning cause for the e-town Twins.
• Tonight, the Twins continue their series with Bristol as Matire Garcia gets the start for Elizabethton.

Q&A with Tyler Robertson

I am back with another Twins minor league system Q&A and had the pleasure to have one with top pitching prospect Tyler Robertson. In my recently completed Travis Talks top 50 prospect list I had Tyler listed at #5 so obviously this is a big interview and am thrilled to death that Tyler was gracious enough to answer my questions. I hope you all enjoy and keep coming back to my site because I am working on some other ones as well. Also I welcome you to look back in my archive at the first Q&A I did with Beloit Snapper relief pitcher Steve Blevins who I had rated at #35 on my list. So enjoy and again leave your comments in the box or send me an email to let me know what you thought of the interview or who you would like me to interview next at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

Travis Talks: Tyler, growing up in California who was your favorite baseball team?

Tyler Robertson: I Never Really Had A Favorite Baseball Team, I Was More In To Individual Players. If I Had To Pick One Growing Up Though, It Was Probably The Cleveland Indian. My Dad Was Working With Them At The Time.

Travis Talks: In high school did you just play baseball or were there other sports you played. If so what sports?

Tyler Robertson: I Played Baseball, Football, and Basketball. Loved Football. Had Offers To Play College Football But I Like Baseball More And Its Always What I Have Wanted To Do.

Travis Talks: Tell me about your high school career?

Tyler Robertson: Played 4 Years Varsity, Tried Out For The Team As A Freshman and Made It. Was A High School Underclassman All American As A Soph and Jr. and Was The California State Player Of The Year In 2006. Pitched and Played 1st Base.

Travis Talks: You were drafted in the 3rd round in 2006 is that where you were expected to be drafted?

Tyler Robertson: I Was Told Between The 2nd and 4th Round

Travis Talks: Had you been talking to the Twins or were you surprised that they drafted you?

Tyler Robertson: The Twins Scout Who Signed Me (Kevin Bootay) Did An Awesome Job, He Only Missed Like 2 Games My Whole Senior Year. I Knew They Were Interested But Its Hard To Tell How Serious. He Was Honest With Me And Told Me He Liked Me A Lot.

Travis Talks: With your Dad being a former Twins scout did you go to alot of games?

Tyler Robertson: He Worked For The Twins A Long Time Ago. I Think Before I Was Born. So I Didnt Go To Twins Games But I Use To Go To Games With Him All The Time Growing Up And I Would Watch While He Scouted.

Travis Talks: After signing with the Twins you went to GCL how did you feel about that season?

Tyler Robertson: The GCL Was Good. It Was Nice To Get Out Here And See What Pro Ball Was Like And Get My Feet Wet

Travis Talks: What kind of a pitcher would you consider yourself?

Tyler Robertson: I Just Compete Everytime I Am Out There And Try To Give My Team A Chance To Win Everytime I Pitch

Travis Talks: What pitches do you throw?

Tyler Robertson: Fastball, Curveball, Change-Up, and Slider.

Travis Talks: Being a California guy what was it like spending the year in Beloit where it can be cold?

Tyler Robertson: I Was Called Up To Beloit About A Month Into The Season So I Missed The Real Cold Stuff. I Am From Northern California Though And It Gets Cold Up There In The Winter So I have Played and Workout In Cold Weather Before.

Travis Talks: After Spending the 2007 at Fort Myers and having a good year were you surprised you started last year in Fort Myers again.

Tyler Robertson: A Little Bit, I Missed About Half Of The Season With Tendonitis Tho So I Figured They Would Want To Make Sure I Was Healthy And Go Slow.

Travis Talks: Halfway through last season you suffered an injury what was the injury?

Tyler Robertson: Biceps Tendonitis. I Am Just Real Happy It Was Nothing Too Serious.

Travis Talks: What was the rehab like?

Tyler Robertson: Basically My Rehab Was Rest, Its The Only Way Tendonitis Will Go Away, So Rehab Was Actually Kind Of Boring.

Travis Talks:Was it hard to get confidence back in your stuff?

Tyler Robertson: Not Really. As Soon As It Was Healthy Again And I Didnt Feel Anything Unusual I Just Treated It Like Nothing Ever Happened. Although I Do Know That It Takes A Long Time To Get FULL Strength Back From Any Arm Injury No Matter How Small. So I Am Still Working On That

Travis Talks: For someone that doesn't know what is a usual day like when it is your turn to pitch?

Tyler Robertson: I Try And Keep The Days I Pitch Just Like Every Other Normal Day. Get To The Park Play Cards With The Guys And When Its Time To Get Ready For The Game That When I Will Start Thinking About What I Have To Do That Night Or Day.

Travis Talks: What things do you have to work on the most as you progress through the system?

Tyler Robertson: Just Keep Building Arm Strength and Staying Healthy. And Command Of All My Pitches.

Travis Talks: As a member of the Twins organization do you pay attention to the teams ahead of you or just focus on yourself.

Tyler Robertson: Just Try To Focus On Myself And Getting Better Each Day. You Cant Control What Goes On Ahead Of You

Travis Talks: What will it be like pitching in Target Field?

Tyler Robertson: Hopefully Not As Cold As I Imagine It Could Be

Travis Talks: What was it like when you received your first professional baseball paycheck?

Tyler Robertson: Pretty Nice Considering It Was My First Paycheck Ever

Travis Talks: What are your expectations for the second half?

Tyler Robertson: Just Keep Trying To Get Better Each And Every Start. If I Can Do That, Good Things Will Happen.

I would like to thank Tyler Robertson again for answering my questions I really appreciate it.

Monday, June, 29th

Twins Talk
Twins 6 Cardinals 2

• The Twins completed a very successful swing through the National League with a very good 12-6 record as yesterday the Twins finished interleague with a much closer than the score indicates 6-2 victory over the Cardinals. Francisco Liriano got the start for the Twins and showed why the Twins have been so patient with him and that is because when he is on like he was yesterday he is very very good. When he is on Liriano has by far the best stuff on the staff and if he could become more consistant he has Cy Young type of stuff. The whole deal with Liriano is he is a tease as he has a start like this and the start before he was awful needing 117 pitches to get thru 5 innings. You really don't know what your going to get from Liriano, but when he is on like he was yesterday the Twins are very hard to beat. Liriano went 7 innings and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits along with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts to lower his era to 5.62 and improved his record on the year to 4-8. This is the type of start the Twins want out of Liriano in that it is economical with his pitches to allow him to pitch 7 innings as it only took him 98 pitches to get thru 7. He only walked 2 and one of them was an unintentional intentional walk to Albert Pujols. He had a little hiccup in the 6th giving up 3 straight hits to start the inning and 2 runs, but settled down and retired the last 6 batters he faced. Overall, a very good start by Liriano and the continuation of a much better month of June out of Liriano as he is 2-1 with a 3.77 era in 5 June starts and that is an improvement from a 6.04 era in April, and a 7.12 era in May. So hopefully this is just the beginning of a good second half from the Franchise. Jose Mijares came on for the 8th and faced 1 batter and walked him. Mijares has walked too many batters this year as he has walked 11 batters in only 21.2 innings. For Mijares to take the next step to be a shutdown reliever he needs to cut down on the walks or he will be back in the minor leagues. Matt Guerrier came in and pitched a clean 8th on 1 hit along with a walk to lower his era to 2.83. R.A. Dickey had his first rough outing in a long time as he faced 4 batters and only retired one of them as one of the outs came on the bases. Joe Nathan came on and got the last out for his 19th save of the year and lowered his era to 1.50 on the year.

• The Twins did not hit as well as the numbers would indicate as they got 6 runs on 11 hits, but after getting 3 runs in the first Cardinals starter Joel Piniero settled down and kept the Cards in the game until the Twins struck for 2 runs late in the game. Justin Morneau led the offense going 1-4 with his 17th homerun a three run shot in the first that put the Twins up 3-0. Morneau added 3 rbi's to bring his season total up to 61 and brought his average on the year down to .309. Joe Mauer went 2-5 at the plate to keep his average at a still awesome .394. Jason Kubel had a big game going 3-4 with his 17th double of the year and his 42nd rbi to bring his average up to .317. Joe Crede went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .238. Brendan Harris had another good game going 1-4 with his 20th and 21st rbi's of the year. Denard Span and Matt Tolbert each contributed hits in the Twins victory.
• Tonight, the Twins return to the American League as they continue their roadtrip in Kansas City as Nick Blackburn gets the start for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 6 Scranton/WB 2

• The Red Wings continued their hot string as of late as they won their 4th consecutive game with an impressive performance against first place Scranton/WB by a score of 6-2 last night. Anthony Swarzak got the ball for the Red Wings and man was he impressive as he tries to prove that he doesn't belong in AAA and I have to agree with him. Swarzak went 7 strong innings and only gave up 1 run on only 2 hits along with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts to lower his very impressive era to 2.34 on the year and improve his record to 4-4. I really don't know what to do with Swarzak because he is pitching awesome down in AAA and honestly belongs up with the Twins, but with the starting staff improving there really is not a spot for him. You could bring him up and put him in the bullpen, but having him pitch 2 or 3 innings a week does not seem like the right use for Swarzak. It is a nice problem to have as there are teams out there that can't put 5 decent starters out there and the Twins have 6 legitimate major league starting pitchers. Unfortunately, for Swarzak the best course of action for the Twins is probably to keep him in AAA and see if someone gets injured. Jesse Crain came in and pitched the last 2 innings and was shaky once again. Crain gave up 1 run on 2 hits along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts to bring his era down to 4.76. With interleague play now done the Twins will probably send Jose Morales back down to Rochester and call up another pitcher and I am afraid it is going to be Jesse Crain who really has not earned the promotion because he has been the same with Rochester as he was with the Twins. Crain has walked 5 batters in only 5.2 innings of work. I really think it would be a mistake to bring up Crain right now because he hasn't solved the problem for his demotion in the first place and that is placing his fastball. I know Gardy wants 12 pitchers, but if they need to bring someone up I would suggest Armando Gabino who has a nice 3.05 era this year over Jesse Crain, Juan Morillo, or Rob Delaney because none of them are ready to be with the Twins.

• The Red Wings could not get anything going against Scranton/WB pitching until they exploded for 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th to put the game away. Brock Peterson has continued his torrid streak as he went 3-4 with his 3rd homerun a 3 run shot that put the game away in the 8th inning and 3 rbi's to bring his season total up to 15 on the year. Peterson has been very good in June hitting .358 with 2 homeruns and 11 rbi's in 20 June games. With that streak it has improved Brock's average up to .262 on the year. Justin Huber has been the best hitter all year for Rochester and continued it yesterday. Huber went 2-4 with his 11th homerun and drove in 2 runs to bring his total up to 42. Jason Pridie, Alexi Casilla, Steve Tolleson, and Tommy Watkins each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Red Wings.
• Today, the Red Wings will take on Scranton/WB in a doubleheader as Philip Humber will start the first game and Jason Jones will get spot start in the 2nd game.

New Britain Business

Connecticut 4 New Britain 3

• The Rockcats suffered their second consecutive gut wrenching loss to Connecticut as they lost yesterday by a score of 4-3. Matt Fox got the start for the Rockcats and was much better than his last start. Fox went 5.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 8 hits along with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts to raise his era to 2.95 on the year. Fox really improved on his last start where he gave up 11 hits in only 5 innings. I still think that Matt Fox deserves the promotion up to AAA Rochester and would do a good job there. Kyle Waldrop then came on and pitched 1.2 scoreless innings along with a strikeout and has not allowed a run on 3.2 innings since his callup from Fort Myers and I would like to see him get a chance to start for the Rockcats as they have sent Jay Rainville to the bullpen and with the promotion of Jeff Manship to AAA the Rockcats need another starter so I hope Waldrop gets the chance to be that starter. Anthony Slama came in the 8th inning and gave up the winning run to drop his record on the year to 4-2. Slama went 2 innings and gave up 1 run on 1 hit along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to increase his era to 2.59 on the year. I still think that Slama is ready for AAA and would like the Twins to recall Armando Gabino and promote Slama to AAA and see how he does.

• The Rockcaats continued a recent problem of leaving guys on base as they had 10 hits, but were only able to score 3 runs. The problem was they left a very bad 10 runners on base in the game. Rene Tosoni continued his hot June by going 3-4 with his 15th double and 4th triple of the year to bring his average on the year up to .280. In June Tosoni is hitting .310 with a homer and 15 rbi's and on the season he has been very productive leading the Rockcats with 9 homeruns and 45 rbi's. Tosoni has really come on as a hitting prospect and I would expect if he has a second half like he had a first half that you should see him in AAA next year. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 to increase his average to .294. Brandon
  Roberts went 1-4 with his 9th double of the year to increase his average to .285 on the year. Yancarlos Ortiz, Erik Lis, Juan Portes, and Danny Lehman each contributed a hit apiece in the losing cause for the Rockcats.
• Tonight, the Rockcats finish off their series with Connecticut as Carlos Gutierrez gets the start for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Daytona 5 Fort Myers 1

• The Miracle continued their second half swoon as they lost their 3rd straight game to Daytona. This one was by a score of 5-1 as they dropped 3 of 4 to Daytona in the series. Deolis Guerra got the start for the Miracle and was not real great in this one even though it wouldn't of mattered as the Miracle could only manage 1 run. Guerra went 5.2 innings and gave up 5 runs although only 4 were earned on 9 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 5.13 and lower his record to 5-8. Like I have said time and time again Deolis Guerra has been the model of inconsistancy and until he develops consistancy in his pitching he won't get out of the FSL. He has loads of talent and reminds me of Francisco Liriano in that he is underperfoming for his talent level. Hopefully, he can get it going and show some more consistancy because the Santana trade is going to be judged by how Guerra ends up doing and right now it is not looking good. Santos Arias then came on and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief along with a walk and a strikeout to lower his era to 2.41. Blair Erickson pitched a shutout inning of relief to lower his era to a very good 2.45 on the year.

• The Miracle could not get anything going against Daytona pitching in this one as they were only able to get 1 run on 4 hits. Rene Leveret went 1-4 with his 10th double of the year that brought his average down to .282. Leveret has been in a real slump after getting off to a fast start. In the month of June Leveret is only hitting .176 with no homeruns and only 7 rbi's that has brought his average down about 60 points in the month. Jair Fernandez went 1-4 with his 6th double of the year and brought his average up to .205 on the year. Jair has been a disappointment considering how well he hit at Beloit last year and I know he has gotten limited playing time, but I guess I just expected him to hit better than this for the year. Nick Romero and Mark Dolenc also added base hits in the losing cause for the Miracle.
• Tonight, the Miracle begin a series with Lakeland as David Bromberg gets the start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 6 Clinton 2

Beloit 6 Clinton 4

• The Snappers got back in the 2nd half race with a doubleheader sweep of Clinton yesterday by scores of 6-2 in the first game and 6-4 in the second game to pull their record in the second half to 2-2. In the first game Bobby Lanigan got the start for the Snappers and was very good. Lanigan went 6 innings and only gave up an unearned run on 5 hits along with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.46 and improve his record to 7-4. Lanigan got off to a rough start, but has been much better in June by going 2-1 with a very good 1.73 era in 5 June starts. The Snappers rotation has really come on after really struggling in the first half. Look at these June era's from the Snapper starters. Dan Osterbrock-2.28, Lanigan-1.73, Tarsi-1.20, Tippett-4.15, Berlind-3.97. Those are some impressive numbers and will be bouyed by the return of Shooter Hunt in a few weeks because it appears he has found the strikezone again. Steve Blevins pitched the 7th and gave up an unearned run along with a walk to lower his era on the year to 3.82. In game 2 Mike Tarsi got the start and was good once again for the Snappers. Tarsi went 5 innings and gave up only 2 earned runs on 10 hits along with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts to lower his era to 1.95. Tarsi has been a breath of fresh air for the Snappers since his addition to the starting rotation and I don't know if it is a coincidence, but the Snappers pitching has improved since then. Matt Williams pitched the last 2 innings to pick up his 5th save of the year as he gave up a run on a hit along with a walk and 3 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.48.

• The Snappers brought their hitting shoes to the park as they got 6 runs in both games yesterday. In game 1 the Snappers had 6 runs on 10 hits as they jumped all over Clinton pitching for 5 runs in the first 3 innings. James Beresford led the attack going 2-3 to bring his average up to .292. Drew Thompson went 2-4 with his 8th double of the year to bring his average up to .194. Buddy Munroe made his pro debut and went 1-4 with a double and 2 strikeouts. Angel Morales went 1-4 with his 7th homerun of the year along with his 25th rbi of the year. Nathan Hanson went 1-2 with 2 walks and his 3rd homerun of the year and his 20th rbi. Aaron Hicks went 1-4 to bring his average up to .238. Jon Waltenbury and Alex Soto each contributed a hit in the winning cause. In game 2 the Snappers had 6 runs on 11 hits. Nathan Hanson led the offense by going 3-4 with his 11th double and his 3rd triple of the year to bring his average up to .258 on the year. Ramon Santana went 2-4 with his 15th double of the year and his 32nd rbi of the year to lead the team. Michael Harrington went 2-4 to raise his average to .238 on the year. Jeff Lanning went 2-3 with his 6th rbi of the year. Aaron Hicks went 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout along with 2 rbi's to bring his season total up to 5 and lowered his average to .208. Jon Waltenbury and Dominic De La Osa each contributed a hit apiece in the winning cause for the
  Snappers.
• The Snappers have today off before beginning a series tommorrow with Cedar Rapids.

E-town Entertainment

Pulaski 9 E-town 6

• Surprise Surprise the E-town Twins are human and actually can lose a game as they lost 9-6 last night to Pulaski to drop their record to 5-1. Tom Stuifbergen got the start for the Twins and was decent. Stuif went 5 innings and gave up 3 earned runs on 6 hits along with a walk and 4 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to a very good 3.27. Winston Marquez then came on and gave up 2 runs on 1 hit along with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts in his 1 inning to raise his era to 4.50 on the year. Ramon Acosta pitched 1 inning of relief on a hit along with 1 walk and 1 strikeout to lower his era to 3.00. Tony Davis had a rough outing giving up 3 runs on 5 hits along with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts to lower his era to 8.10. Kane Holbrooks came on and pitched a scoreless 9th along with a strikeout.

• The E-town offense was not the problem in this one as they put up 6 runs on 8 hits, but the pitching could not hold down Pulaski. Danny Rams led the offense going 2-3 with his 1st homerun, a grand slam, of the year and 4 rbi's to bring his total on the year to a team high 9. Jon Goncalves went 2-4 with his first double of the year. Tobias Streich went 1-4 with his 1st homerun of the year and drove in 2 runs to bring his season total to 2. Tyler Ladendorf, Paul Klingsberg, and Anderson Hidalgo all contributed a hit in the losing cause for the E-town Twins in this one.
• Tonight, the Twins begin a series at home with Bristol as Liam Hendricks gets the start for Elizabethton.

Sunday, June, 28th

Twins Talk
Twins 3 Cardinals 1 Friday
Cardinals 5 Twins 3 Saturday

• The Twins split the first 2 games of the weekend series with the Cardinals winning the first game Friday night by a score of 3-1 and then falling yesterday by a score of 5-3. On Friday night Glen Perkins got the start for the Twins and had his best start of the season as he went 7 great innings to beat the Cardinals. Perkins went 7 innings and gave up 1 run on only 4 hits along with 3 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.70 on the year and raise his record to 3-4 on the year after spending some time on the disabled list. Perkins put in his finest performance of the season as it only took 82 pitchest to get through 7 innings. He could of gone longer, but on a steamy night in St. Louis it was the right decision to make a change after 7. Matt Guerrier then came on in the 8th and got an out along with 2 hits and a strikeout. Jose Mijares then came on and got out of the 8th on one pitch with a double play. Joe Nathan got into a little trouble in the 9th after a one out double brought Albert Pujols up with the tying run. Those are the kind of at bats that basebase fans love as one of the best closers in the game against one of the best hitters in the game with the game in the balance. Joe Nathan won this battle by striking out Pujols. Nathan struck out Rick Ankiel to end the game and pick up his 17th save and lower his era to 1.52 on the year. On Saturday Kevin Slowey took the mound trying to pick up his American League best 11th win of the season and to be blunt it didn't work out too good. Slowey only lasted 3 innings. In 3 innings Slowey gave up 5 runs on 6 hits along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to raise his era to 4.41 and dropped his record on the season to still a very good 10-3. The thing that I did not understand is after the first Albert Puljos homerun why would you pitch to him again it just doesn not make sense to me. Puljos is that good of a hitter that when he is on your pitches you have no chance against him. Myself, personally I would walk him everytime he comes up, but for sure after he hit the first homerun there is no way I would of pitched to him after that. The argument could be made that Slowey did not make good pitches and that is true, but a hitter of his class should not be allowed to beat you considering that whole offense is revolved around Puljos so there is not a lot of other hitters behind him. In a more positive note Bobby Keppel made his debut with the Twins and pitched very good in relief of Slowey. Keppel went 4 innings and did not give up a run on 2 hits along with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. It was nice to see an outing like that out of Keppel and hopefully he can conatinue the good work. Sean Henn came on for the 8th inning and continued to be bad facing 3 batters and only retiring 1 of them and walking the other 2. R.A. Dickey came on and finished the inning by getting the last 2 outs to lower his era to 2.34 on the year.

• Friday night the Twins did not get much going against Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, but it was enough because of the well pitched game by Perkins. The Twins only got 3 runs on 7 hits in the game, but that proved to be enough. Jason Kubel led the offense by going 2-4 with his 16th double of the year and his 41st rbi of the season to raise his average up to .313 on the year. Michael Cuddyer also contributed 2 hits and his 39th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .281 on the year. Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer are pivotal for the Twins offense because you know what you are getting with Mauer and Morneau, but when you get good nights from Kubel and Cuddyer it just takes our offense to the next level and so far they have combined for 24 homeruns and 81 rbi's. That is the difference between the Twins offense of last year and the one of this year is that those 2 guys are consistantly putting good at bats together and driving in runs. Joe Mauer, Joe Crede, and Matt Tolbert all contributed a hit apiece to the big Twins victory. Saturday afternoon the Twins really could not do anything as they only mustered 3 runs on only 6 hits. Brendan Harris was the hitting star of the game going 2-4 with 3 rbi's to bring his season total up to 19 and brought his average up to .290. Michael Cuddyer went 1-4 with his 16th double of the year and brought his average up to .281. Joe Crede, Matt Tolbert, and Delmon Young all contributed a hit in the losing cause.
• Today, the Twins finish off interleague play as they try to take the series from the Cardinals as Francisco Liriano gets the start for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 6 Columbus 1 Friday Night

Rochester 6 Scranton/WB 5 Saturday Night

• The Red Wings continued their hot streak as of late as they won a couple of games over the weekend to extend their winning streak to 3 and get back in the Wild Card race in the IL. On Friday Night they defeated Columbus by a score of 6-1 and followed that up on Saturday with a 6-5 victory over first place Scranton/WB. On Friday Brian Duensing got the start for the Wings and was very very good. Duensing went 8 innings and only gave up 1 run on 6 hits along with 4 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.66 and move his record to 4-6 on the year for the Wings. Duensing has been so inconsistant this year that one start you think he should be released and then the next one you think he is ready for the major leagues. All that means is until he develops more consistancy he is going to continue to start at the AAA level and it also means that he has the talent he just needs to put it all together. Jesse Crain pitched a scoreless ninth to finish off the game and was much better than the day before as he went 1 inning and gave up no runs on 1 hit along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to bring his era down to 4.91. On Saturday night Kevin Mulvey got the ball and was fantastic for 6 innings, but everything fell apart in the 7th inning. In the first 6 innings Mulvey had only given up 1 run on 5 hits and was looking veyr good. However, in the 7th inning everything fell apart for Mulvey as he gave up 4 runs on 3 hits along with 2 walks to mess up a great outing and put the Red Wings behind. In all Mulvey went 6.2 innings and gave up 5 runs on 8 hits along with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts to raise his era to 3.91 on the year. For most of the game Kevin Mulvey was in control of it and just because he ran out of gas in the 7th should not make what he did earlier in the game seem less because in my mind it was a good outing. Rob Delaney came in and was shaky once again going 1.1 innings and gave up 1 hit along with 2 walks, a strikeout and a wildpitch to lower his era to 5.28 on the year. I don't know what the problem with Delaney is lately as his control has been off since he got to Rochester. After walking only 6 batters in 36 innings at New Britian he has already walked 6 batters in only 15.1 innings at Rochester. I don't know if it an anamoly that will take care of itself or if he is trying to hard, but Delaney's strength is his control so he needs to get that fixed fast. Tim Lahey pitched a scoreless inning of relief in the 9th and allowed the Wings to come back in the bottom of the ninth. Lahey allowed 1 hit along with 1 walk and 1 strikeout to lower his era to 8.18 and get his first victory of the season for the Wings.

• Offensively, the Red Wings have been very good as of late and continued it on Friday against Columbus as they put up 6 runs on 12 hits. Steve Tolleson led the offense for the Wings going 3-4 to bring his average up to a very good .327 on the season. Tolleson has played so well since his callup from New Britian that if Nick Punto has to go on the disabled list because of the rib injury I would have no problem promoting Tolleson to the Twins and playing him every day and see what he can do. Matt Macri had another big game for the Wings going 2-3 with his 14th double of the year along with 2 rbi's to bring his season total up to 25 and his average up to .217. Danny Valencia continued his hot start by going 2-4 with 2 runs scored and his 4th rbi of the year and brought his average up to .500. Alexi Casilla went 2-4 with his 1st double of the year to bring his average on the year to .349. David Winfree, Dustin Martin, and Tommy Watkins all contributed hits in the winning cause for Rochester. On Saturday night the Wings offense showed how resiliant they are by overcoming a 5-3 deficit going into the bottom of the 7th. Danny Valencia tied the game in the 8th with a homerun and Alexi Casilla drove in Tommy Watkins with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Trevor Plouffe led the offense by going 2-4 with his 6th homerun of the year and his 11th double of the year along with his 39th rbi of the year which ranks him 2nd on the team. Drew Butera went 2-4 with his 6th and 7th doubles of the year along with his 14th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .222. Justin Huber went 1-4 with his team high 10th homerun and brought his rbi total up to a team high 40. Danny Valencia went 1-4 with his 2nd homerun since his callup which tied the game at 5 in the bottom of the 8th. Jason Pridie, Alexi Casilla, Steve Tolleson, Dustin Martin and Matt Macri each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Red Wings.
• Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Scranton/WB as Anthony Swarzak gets the start for Rochester.

New Britain Business

New Britain 0 Connecticut 0 Rained out Friday Night

Connecticut 3 New Britain 0 Saturday Night

• The Rockcats suffered a tough loss last night after having their game with Connecticut washed out by rain on Friday night. Last night they suffered a tough loss to swallow as Cole Devries had another good start, but they could not touch the Connecticut pitching in a 3-0 loss. Cole Devries got the start for the Rockcats and was solid once again. Devries went 7 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 6 hits along with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts to lower his era to a very good 2.96 and lowered his record on the year to 5-6. Cole Devries has been the biggest surprise on the entire New Britain team because we keep waiting for him to fall apart and he never does. I am done making predictions what he is going to do because they are always wrong. I think we should just sit back and relax and enjoy the show because Cole Devries is a very good pitcher. Jose Lugo came in relief of Devries and struggled only getting 2 outs and giving up a run on a hit along with a strikeout to raise his era to 4.58 on the year. Alex Burnett came in and put out the fire going 1.1 innings of shutout relief on 1 hit along with a strikeout to lower his era to 2.95 on the year.

• The Rockcats could get nothing going against Connecticut pitchers Jesse English and Ben Snyder as they were only able to muster 4 hits and no runs. In all they got 4 meaning less singles by Rene Tosoni, Toby Gardenhire, Whit Robbins, and Brian Dinkelman. Sometimes there are games where you just have to tip your hat to the pitchers because there was not alot you can do because sometimes the pitching is just better and that appeared to be the case last night for the Rockcats.
• Today, the Rockcats continue their series with Connecticut as Matt Fox gets the start for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Daytona 8 Fort Myers 6

Daytona 6 Fort Myers 4

• The Miracle have run into the usual 2nd half malaise when you win the first half title when you are in the playoffs anyway and it doesn't matter what you do in the second half because you are already in. The last couple of days the Miracle dropped a couple competitive games to Daytona by the scores of 8-6 and 6-4. On Friday night Mike Mccardell got the start for the Miracle and he was not real great in this one. Mccardell went 5 innings and gave up 7 runs although only 6 were earned on 11 hits along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to raise his era to 4.32 and lowered his record on the year to 7-5. Mccardell has been so good this year that we need to give him a break when he just doesn't have it and realize how good of a season Mccardell has had. Joe Testa then came in and gave up an unearned run on 3 hits in 2 innings of work along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Santos Arias then came on and pitched 2 shutout innings on 2 hits to lower his era to 2.56 on the year. On Saturday night Steve Hirschfeld got the start for the Miracle and was just ok. Hirschfeld went 5 innings and gave up 4 runs on 11 hits along with 3 strikeouts to raise his era to 2.11. Steve Hirschfeld is a very good reliever that I am not sure if he has the stuff to be a starter, but he deserves the chance to find out after the great first half working out of the bullpen for the Miracle. It will be interesting to see how he does in the rotation and if this is a permanent thing or if starters like Brad Tippett or Dan Osterbrock could get a chance in the second half. Henry Arias then came on and pitched 3 innings and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits along with 3 strikeouts to raise his era to 5.35. Spencer Steedley pitched a shutout inning of relief along with 1 hit and 1 strikeout to lower his era to 1.02.

• The Miracle put up some good offensive numbers on Friday night as they had 6 runs on 10 hits, but it could of been even more as the Miracle left 8 guys on base in the game. Chris Parmalee led the attack going 3-5 with his 12th double and drove in 3 runs to bring his season total up 41. With the 3 hits Chris raised his average up to .264. Jair Fernandez went 2-4 with his 2nd homerun of the year to raise his average to .203 on the year. Chris Cates went 2-4 to raise his average up to .270 on the year. Rene Leveret went 1-4 with his 9th double of the year to bring his average up to .282. Ben Revere and Steve Singelton each contributed a hit in the loss for the Miracle. On Saturday night the Miracle continued 2 trends as of late in that they are hitting the heck out of the ball with 14 hits, but on the opposite side of things the Miracle have left quite a few guys on base lately and yesterday was no difference as they left 10 guys on base. Ben Revere led the offense going 3-5 at the plate with his 9th double and drove in his 30th run of the year. With the 3 hits Revere is now hitting .323 on the year. Chris Cates went 2-4 with his 6th double of the year and raised his average to .275. Nick Romero went 2-4 to raise his average to .271 and drove in his 10th run of the year. Mark Dolenc went 2-5 to raise his average to .273 on the season. Evan Bigley went 1-4 with his 6th double of the year to raise his average up to .272 on the year. Steve Singelton, Deibinson Romero, Rene Leveret, and Chris Parmalee each contributed a hit in the losing cause.
• Today, the Miracle try to even the series with Daytona as Deolis Guerra gets the start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Clinton 4 Beloit 3 Friday Night

Clinton 0 Beloit 0 Rained out Saturday Night

• The second half for the Snappers is going just about the same way as the 1st half ended for the Snappers. On Friday night Dan Osterbrock got the start for the Snappers and was solid like usual for the Snappers. Osterbrock went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits along with 7 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.87 on the year. Osterbrock has been very good in June as in 2-0 with a 2.28 era in 5 starts. Maybe it took him a little while to get going on the year but, Dan Osterbrock right now is the ace of the Snapper staff and if he continues this would be in line for a possible promotion to Fort Myers. It takes most players time to adjust to a full season team and it took Osterbrock a little bit longer than the Twins had hoped, but right now he is pitching as good as anyone in the organization. Bruce Pugh came on for Osterbrock and gave up the winning run in 2 innings on 3 hits along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts to bring his era up to 4.15 on the year and dropped his record to 2-2.

• The Snappers saw their pretty much season long hitting slump continue as they were only able to get 3 runs on 7 hits. To make things worse the Snappers left 9 guys on base so Friday night was a game that they let get away. Nathan Hanson led the Snappers attack by going 2-4 with his 10th double of the year and drove in his 19th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .244. James Beresford had a big game going 2-4 with a walk to bring his average up to .286. Top prospect Aaron Hicks went 1-5 with his 3rd rbi along with 3 strikeouts and is hitting .235 in very limited duty. Ozzie Lewis and Jon Waltenbury each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Snappers.
• Today, the Snappers have a doubleheader with Clinton to make up for the rainout last night. Bobby Lanigan gets the start in the first game and Brad
  Tippett gets the start in the second game for Beloit.

E-town Entertainment

E-town 14 Pulaski 4

E-town 8 Pulaski 3

• The E-town Twins continued their dominance with 2 huge wins that brought their record to 5-0 with blowout wins over Pulaski by scores of 14-4 and 8-3 and makes you wonder how good is this team going to be. On Friday night Mike Munoz got the start and was very good. Munoz went 5 good innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 6 hits along with a walk and an impressive 9 strikeouts to put hsi era to 3.60 and gave him his first win of the year. Edgar Ibarra then came on and pitched 2 innings and gave up a run on 2 hits along with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts to bring his era to 6.00 on the year. Kane Holbrooks pitched a scoreless inning of relief along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Tony Davis pitched a very good 9th inning of relief along with 2 strikeouts. On Saturday night Angelo Sanchez got the start for the Twins and he was very good again. Sanchez went 5 solid innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits along with a walk and 7 strikeouts to bring his era to 5.40 on the year. Brad Stillings pitched 2 solid innings of relief on 1 hit along with 2 strikeouts. Kyle Carr then came in and pitched a shutout 8th inning on 1 hit along with 1 strikeout. Billy Bulluck pitched a shutout 9th along with a strikeout to finish the game for the E-town Twins.

• The E-town Twins offense is on fire to start the season as they put up 14 runs and 8 runs respectively. On Friday night they were led by Jon Goncalves who went 3-4 with his 2nd rbi to bring his average up to .500. Tyler Ladendorf went 1-3 with his 2nd homerun and drove in 4 rbi's to bring his season total up to 6. Chris Hermann went 2-3 with a double and 2 rbi's. Mike Gonzalez, Danny Rams, and Paul Klingsberg each contributed 2 hits each. Anderson Hidalgo contributed his first homerun of the year. Derek Mccallum and Dan Rohlfing each contributed a hit in the winning cause. On Saturday night the E-town Twins continued their offensive onslaught as they put up 8 runs on 8 hits in which most of the damage was done in a 6 run bottom of the first inning to put the game away early. Reggie Williams led the attack going 2-4 to bring his average up to .188. Herbert Lara went 1-4 with his 1st homerun of the year and 2 rbi's. Mike Gonzalez went 1-4 with 2 rbi's for the Twins. Jasmil Pinto went 1-4 with his 2nd homerun of the year along with 4 rbi's. Chris Hermann, Tobias Streich, and Jon Goncalves each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the E-town Twins.
• Tonight, the Twins take on Pulaski in game 3 of the series as they try to get the sweep as Tom Stuifbergen gets the start for Elizabethton.

Travis Talks prospect list: Prospect #1

After going from player number 50 all way down we and finally at in my opinion the top prospect in the whole Twins organization. He is something special who I believe is the future for the Twins. I hope you enjoy this and if you have questions on him or anyone I put in my top 50 either leave a comment in the comment box or email me at travis_aune@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading my top 50 because I put a lot of work into it and hope you enjoyed.

1. Aaron Hicks CF 19 (10/2/1989)

2008 teams: Gulf Coast League Twins

• Aaron Hicks was the Twins first round draft pick, 14th overall, in the 2008 draft out of high school in Long Beach, California. After signing with the Twins Hicks was assigned to the Gulf Coast League Twins. In 45 games there he hit .318 with 4 homeruns and 27 rbi's and 12 stolen bases. He also had 10 doubles and 4 triples for an ops of .900. This year he started the season in Extended Spring Training and just recently got called up to Beloit. Aaron Hicks really has it all and it gets mentioned alot, but he is the prototypical 5 tool player in that he can hit for average, hit for power, great speed, great arm, accurate arm. This should tell you all you need to know about how freakish of an athelte Aaron is many teams had him as a first round pick as a pitcher where he touched 97 on the radar gun in high school. He made it clear that he preferred to be an outfielder and that was fine with the Twins who are looking for that type of player. I have heard Twins scouts claim he is the top prospect the Twins have had since Joe Mauer. That is saying quite a bit considering how Joe Mauer has turned out. The thing about him too is he is only 19 years old and you can take your time with him as the Twins should. I have heard fans complaining that some first round picks are already in the bigs and ours wasn't even at A ball. What I tell them is that is like comparing Apples to Oranges it is not the same thing because those guys are college guys and those guys don't have the ceiling like Hicks does. I really believe if you are patient with him Aaron Hicks has the ability to be really special, like franchise player special. He is a switch hitter thatplays center who can hit from both sides of the plate so the obvious comparision is to Carlos Beltran of the Mets. If Hicks turns out like that I would be pretty happy with him. I think he has the ability to be a 30-30 guy eventually at the major league level and be a gold glove guy in the outfielder. Seriously people be patient with him because you will not be disappointed because we have on our hands another superstar in the Mauer, Morneau range and just enjoy the ride because Aaron Hicks will be the Twins next American Idol.


• 2009: Spend season playing center for Beloit


• Projection: I view him as a superstar centerfielder who could hit 30-30 for the Twins and could be with the Twins as early as 2013 and be there for 10-15 years.

Travis Talks prospect list: Prospect #2

Tonight we will be nearing to the end of my top 50 prospect list as I name the number 2 prospect in my eyes in the whole Twins organization. The top 2 could be argued all day long because they both deserve to be number one. In my eyes they are like 1a and 1b, but I had to pick one over the other so one of them had to be number 2. I hope you all enjoy and will leave a comment on this in the box below. Thanks.

2. Ben Revere CF 21 (5/3/1988)

2008 teams: Beloit Snappers

• Ben Revere was the Twins first round draft pick, 28th overall, in the 2007 draft out of high school in Lexington, Kentucky. After signing with the Twins Ben was assigned to the GCL Twins. In 50 games there Ben hit .325 with no homeruns and 29 rbi's along with 21 stolen bases. He also had 6 doubles and 10 triples for an ops of .849. For the 2008 season Ben Revere started in Extended Spring Training, but an injury to Joe Benson opened up a spot for Revere in Beloit and he did not waste the opportunity. In 83 games with the Snappers Revere his an unbelievable .379 and was above .400 most of the season. He also hit 1 homerun and had 43 rbi's and 44 stolen bases along with 17 doubles and 10 triples for an ops of .930. That is the kind of season that every player dreams of having and hardly anyone can. As a former player I can appreciate how hard it is to hit a baseball and for him to do it so consistantly and with such success just blows my mind. This year Ben moved up to Fort Myers where he has been very successful in his own right. In 68 games Revere is hitting .319 with 2 homeruns and 29 rbi's and 28 stolen bases along with 8 doubles and a triple for an ops of .768. Ben Revere is a hitting machine as he can hit fastballs, curveballs, sliders, and changeups. It does not matter to him because he can hit them all. Revere is very fast and uses his legs to get infield hits quite regularly. He reminds me of a young Kenny Lofton in that he is left handed and plays center field and they both use their legs to create their offense. The only difference is Ben Revere is alot better hitter than Kenny Lofton ever was. Ben does not strike out which is a plus as his highest total as a professional was 31 in 340 at bats last year. He could walk a little bit more too so he can get on base and use his speed as his highest walk total was 27 last year too. You ask with all those stats why is he not number 1 and the reason is he has no arm in the outfield. He is not a great outfielder either as he uses his speed to make up for taking bad routes to balls. He doesn't have much of an arm in centerfield so that is a bit of a problem. Teams are going to run all over him if he can't strengthen his arm. There has been some talk about moving him back to 2nd base where he was some in high school. However, with his speed he is best served in the outfield and his bat will far outweigh his arm. I expect Ben to be a .330 hitter who will steal 50-60 bases at the major league level. He is so good of a hitter that he reminds me of Joe Mauer in his approach at the plate and how he can spray the ball all over the park. I think he will be patrolling the outfield in Target Field as early as 2012.


• 2009: Spend season playing center for Fort Myers


• Projection: As close to a sure thing as the Twins have who will hit .330 with 50-60 stolen bases for the next 10+ years.

Friday, June, 26th

Twins Talk
Twins 6 Brewers 4

• The pulled off a series win with a tough hard fought game yesterday as they beat the Brewers by a score of 6-4. Scott Baker got the start for the Twins and was awesome for the first 5 innings. In the first 5 he gave up no runs on only 2 hits along with 2 walks, which one of them was intentional, and 3 strikeouts. Then the 6th inning happened which has been his problem all year as he gave up homeruns to Casey Mcgehee and Prince Fielder turned a comfortable 4-0 lead into a tight 4-3 game. Overall, though Baker had another quality start his 5th consecutive quality start in which he has gone 3-0 with a very good 3.43 era in those starts. That is the Scott Baker that we all used to seeing because he will never be lights out, but he is very solid in the mid 3's all season long. In all Baker went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts to lower his era to 5.17 and improved his record to 5-6. R.A. Dickey came into the 7th inning a role I have been saying for a while that he has earned and I am glad he got the chance. Dickey did not dissapoint as he pitched a scoreless 7th to lower his era to an awesome 2.38 on the year. With Dickey taking over the 7th inning role look for Bobby Keppel to become the long man out of the bullpen and he should do that job just fine. Another guy that has earned his role is Matt Guerrier who pitched the 8th and only gave up a solo homerun to Ryan Braun to raise his era to a very good 2.94. Joe Nathan pitched a perfect 9th along with 2 strikeouts to pick up his 17th save of the year. With the good inning Nathan saw his era drop to 1.57. After getting off to a slow start in the save department Nathan has really turned it on and become the Joe Nathan we are used to seeing and if he doesn't make the all-star team there is something wrong with his 17 saves which are 3rd in the American League and his era is the best of all the closers under consideration.

• The Twins found a way of winning that has been missing the last couple weeks, but found it just in the nick of time to get the win. That way of winning is a person and that player is Denard Span. Span went 1-2 with 3 walks, his 3rd triple of the year, and 3 runs scored. With the hit Span raised his average to .293 and improved his ops to a very good .388. Joe Crede went 1-4 with his 11th homerun of the year and drove in his 35th run of the year. Joe Mauer came out of a 1-18 slump to go 2-5 along with his 12th double of the year to raise his average to a unbelievable .395. Brendan Harris went 2-4 with his 16th rbi of the year to raise his average to .291. Matt Tolbert finally contributed going 2-4 to raise his average to .176. Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel each contributed hits to the winning cause.
• Tonight, the Twins begin a series in St. Louis as Glen Perkins will get the start for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 8 Columbus 7

• Last night against Columbus was futures night as they had big contributions from future Twins that helped them snap a tough 5 game losing streak with a 8-7 victory. Jeff Manship made his AAA debut and after a horrible 1st inning he showed why the Twins are so high on him. Manship gave up 3 earned runs in the first and not another one the last 5 innings he was in there. In all Manship went 6 innings and gave up 3 earned runs on 10 hits along with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts to leave his AAA era at 4.50. Jesse Crain then came in and in a word was not very good and that is discouraging considering the Twins were hoping it would be a short stay with Rochester before returning to the Twins. I know one outing can't make that decision, but really it was not very good so hopefully , he can rebound next time out. Crain only got 2 outs and gave up 2 run on no hits along with 2 walks and a strikeout. Crain had his era jump to 6.75 on the year. Juan Morillo then came in and showed once again why he is not ready to be with the Twins. Morillo went 1.1 innings and gave up 1 run on 2 hits along with 2 walks and a strikeout to raise his era to 3.30. Rob Delaney then pitched a scoreless 9th to pick up his 3rd victory and lowerd his era to 5.79.

• The Red Wings came back from a 7-5 deficit going into the bottom of the 9th to snap their 5 game losing streak. Tommy Watkins rbi single with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th broke the tie in the 9th and gave the Wings the win. Justin Huber had a huge game at the plate going 3-5 with his 8th and 9th homeruns of the year along with his 8th double and 4 rbi's to bring his season total up to 38. Danny Valencia also had a big game going 3-5 with his first homerun as a Wing that tied the game at 7 in the 9th inning. In 3 games with the Wings Valencia is 7-14 for a .500 average. Tommy Watkins went 3-6 with 2 rbi's to bring hsi season total up to 9 and brought his average up to .268. Alexi Casilla made his return to the Wings lineup by going 3-5 with his 11th rbi and brought his average up to .343. Dustin Martin went 2-4 with his 10th double of the year and brought his average up to .259. Brock Peterson also added a hit in the winning cause for the Red Wings.
• Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Columbus as Brian Duensing gets the start for Rochester.

New Britain Business

New Britain 8 Harrisburg 5

• The Rockcats bounced back from a tough loss the night before to pick up a big win last night against Harrisburg by a score of 8-5. Ryan Mullins got the start for the Cats and was very solid going 6 innings and giving up 3 runs on 7 hits along with 5 strikeouts to lower his era to 5.12 and improved his record on the year to 4-8. Jay Rainville came in relief and was not very good once again. Rainville went 2 innings and gave up 2 runs on 3 hits along with 3 strikeouts to raise his era to 5.40 on the year. I have been pretty disappointed in Rainville this year and the Cats just can not trust him as a starter right now and are hoping he can right the ship as a reliever. At only 23 years old Rainville is too young and way to talented to give up on, but hopefully he can develop into a good relief pitcher because I don't think he throws hard enough anymore to be a starting pitcher. Anthony Slama pitched a perfect 9th inning to pick up his 15th save of the year and lowered his era to a very good 2.50. Slama has been much better as of late after going through a rough stretch with walking people. In Slama's last 7 outings he has only walked 1 batter in 8.2 innings. I really think with the walk thing under control that Slama is ready for AAA and hope they give him the chance up there.

• The Rockcats continued their recent string of hitting the tar out of the ball as they put up 8 runs on 8 hits. The Rockcats were led by Rene Tosoni who went 2-4 with his 13th and 14th doubles and drove in 3 runs to bring his rbi total up to 45. With the 2 hits Tosoni is now hitting .271 and has been even better in June as he is hitting .281 with 1 homerun, but 15 rbi's in the month of June for an ops of .871. Tosoni was also chosen to play in the Futures game at the All-Star game as part of the world team. Brian Dinkelman went 1-4 with his 4th homerun of the year and drove in his 37th and 38th rbi's of the year. Matt Moses hit his 6th homerun of the year and drove in his 37th and 38th rbi's of the year. Brandon Roberts, Juan Portes, Yancarlos Ortiz, and Danny Lehman contributed hits in the victory.
• Tonight, the Rockcats begin a series with first place Connecticut as Cole Devries is scheduled to start for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 6 Daytona 4

• The Miracle got the second half of the year the same way as they finished the second half with a win. Last night in Fort Myers the Miracle defeated Daytona by a score of 6-4. Tyler Robertson got the start for the Miracle and was pretty good, but was undone by the defense. Robertson went 6 innings and gave up 4 runs although only 1 of the 4 was earned on 7 hits along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts to lower his era to 3.48 and improved his record to 5-3 on the year. Tyler Robertson has really picked it up as of late especially in June where he is 2-1 with a very good 2.63 in 4 June starts. Loek Van Mil came in and pitched 2 really good innings of ball. In 2 innings he only gave up 1 hit and a walk to lower his era to an out of this world 0.60. Blair Erickson then came on the 9th to pick up his 8th save of the year on 1 hit along with 2 strikeouts to lower his era to a very good 2.55. Erickson has been very good as of late with a 2.79 era in the month of June.

• Offensively, the Miracle just did enough to pick up the win as they had 6 runs on 8 hits on the night. Deibinson Romero is out of his mind at the plate the last 2 games as he is hitting 6 for his last 7 with 2 doubles, a triple and a homerun along with 7 rbi's. Last night Romero went 4-4 with his 14th and 15th doubles and his 1st triple along with 3 rbi's to bring his average up to .248. Romero went through a bad slump earlier in the year, but he has really rebounded well to get his average back in the range that he is usually at. Ben Revere went 1-4 with his 28th stolen base of the year and brought his average down to .319. Steve Singelton, Evan Bigley, and Nick Romero each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Miracle.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Daytona as Mike Mccardell gets the start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Clinton 7 Beloit 2

• The Snappers started their second half much of the way that they ended the second half with a loss. Last night they came on the short end of the stick in a 7-2 loss to Clinton. Dan Berlind got the start for the Snappers and was ok going 3.2 innings and giving up 6 runs although only 2 of them were earned on 9 hits along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts to raise his era to 4.04 and lower his record on the year to 2-8. Blake Martin then came on and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings on 3 hits aloing with a walk to lower his era to 4.26. Mike Allen then came on and pitched 2 scoreless innings on 1 hit along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 5.48. Thomas Wright finised the game with 1 ining and gave up a run on 2 hits to raise his era to 9.00 on the year.

• Offensively, the Snappers were not able to get much going against Clinton pitching as they only got 2 runs on 7 hits in the game. The Snappers were led by James Beresford who went 2-4 with his 13th rbi of the year. Aaron Hicks picked up an rbi on a bases loaded walk his 2nd rbi of the year. Michael Harrington, Ozzie Lewis, Jon Waltenbury, Dominc De La Osa and Alex Soto contributed hits in the losing cause for the Snappers as they tried to come back against Clinton in vain.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Clinton as Dan Osterbrock is scheduled to start for Beloit.

E-town Entertainment

E-town 8 Bluefield 2

• The E-town Twins completed the 3 game sweep with a very impressive 8-2 win over Bluefield last night. Top Prospect Matire Garcia got the start for the Twins and was very impressive. Garcia went 5 innings and only gave up 1 run 3 hits along with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts to pick up his first win of the year and leave his era at 1.80. Ramon Acosta then came in and pitched 2 solid innings giving up a run on 2 hits. Winston Marquez then came on and pitched a scoreless 8th inning. Finally, 2nd round pick Billy Bulluck made his pro debut and did not disappoint as he mowed Bluefield down 1-2-3 along with 2 strikeouts. Bulluck should be fun to watch as he develops as a closer and it would not surprise me to see him with Beloit some time this summer.

• The Twins showed how much offense they have from top to bottom in this series as they have guys on the bench that would be starters for other teams. Tyler Ladendorf showed in this series why the Twins were so high on him and the offseason seems to have rejuvenated him and allowed him to show how good he really is. Ladendorf went 2-5 with his first homerun as a Twin and drove in 2 runs along with his first double. Ladendorf is now hitting .545 on the young season and I look for him to explode into superstardom this year. Jon Goncalves had a big night going 2-3 with an rbi to bring his average up to .400 on the young season. Chris Hermann went 2-4 with a walk in his first start of the year. Derek Mccallum got his first hit as a professional for the Twins. Danny Rams, Jasmil Pinto, and Paul Klingsberg each contributed hits in the E-town Twins big victory last night.
• Tonight, the Elizabethton Twins begin their home schedule with a series with Pulaski as Angelo Sanchez is scheduled to pitch for Elizabethton.