Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Twins Minor League Notebook

Last night, I hosted Twins Minor League Weekly, a weekly podcast that dives head-first into the Twins minor league system (hence, the shows’ name). In last night’s podcast, I interview Ft. Myers Miracle starting pitcher Bruce Pugh which was a lot of fun and went in several directions. Next, Knuckleballs’ Jim Crikket joined the show and discussed the Beloit Snappers who just completed a four-game series in his home town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Here are some more minor league notes:

· Aaron Hicks has not played the last couple of days, and he could miss another week. He has a crack in his pinky.

· It’s been a tough year for former Gopher and Beloit Snappers 2B Derek McCallum. He returned to the Disabled List. Daniel Santana returned to the Beloit roster.

· Evan Bigley was promoted from Ft. Myers to New Britain (and had a nice debut!). Erik Lis has been on a tear with the Rockcats, so he returned to Rochester, where he began the season.

· Yangervis Solarte finished up a rehab assignment and reported back to the Ft. Myers Miracle.

· A month ago, Liam Hendriks found out that he was going to go to Anaheim. He had been invited to participate in the Futures Game, representing the Twins and Australia. Soon after, he was packing for a road trip, when he had major pains. An emergency appendectomy took place, and he has not pitched since. On Tuesday, Hendriks threw 45 pitches in a bullpen and said he felt good. He will throw another bullpen and probably a simulated game. If all goes well, it is possible he could get back on the mound in a game before the season comes to an end.

· Brad Tippett is in Minnesota going through a series of tests. He has not been able to throw most of the season. He has tried, but returns have been short-lived. He is hoping to find a reason, but right now, there is a lot of uncertainty.

· The Twins used their 7^th round pick in the 2010 draft on RHP Matt Hauser from the University of San Diego. He is a hard thrower who spent eight games with Elizabethton before moving up to Beloit. He pitched in four games with the Snappers. He has not pitched since August 1^st, and he is likely out for the year with shoulder tendonitis.

· Derrick Phillips was the 23^rd round pick of the Washington Nationals in 2008. He spent 2008, 2009 and 2010 with the team’s GCL team. The Nationals released the outfielder in mid-July. The Twins signed the 6-3, 220 pound athlete and sent him to Elizabethton where he debuted on Tuesday night.

Here is a quick glance at what happened on Tuesday in the Twins minor league system:

Red Wings Report

Rochester and Gwinnett were postponed on Monday night by rain. So they played twice on Tuesday night. In game one, Gwinnett won 6-0. The Red Wings managed just one hit, a single by Jair Fernandez. David Bromberg started and gave up five runs (2 earned) on three hits. He walked three and struck out four. Anthony Slama gave up one run on one hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. He struck out two.

In the second game, Anthony Swarzak produced a quality start. In six innings, he gave up three runs on seven hits. He did not issue a walk and struck out three. Rob Delaney pitched a scoreless inning. Down by a run in the 6^th, Toby Gardenhire laid down a perfect suicide squeeze to tie the game and start a seven run inning. Matt Macri went 2-3 with a walk and his 17^th double. Brendan Harris went 2-3 with a walk and his ninth and tenth doubles. Brandon Roberts went 2-4 with his first triple. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 with his 27^th double. D’Angelo Jimenez went 2-4 with his ninth double. The Red Wings won 10-3.

New Britain Notes

New Britain lost 7-1 to Erie on Tuesday. Bobby Lanigan started and gave up five runs on eight hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out one. Tony Davis gave up two hits and a walk, but he got four outs and did not allow a run. Cole DeVries threw the final 2.2 innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. The Rockcats had just five hits in the game. Newly-promoted Evan Bigley went 3-4 with a home run in his AA debut.

Miracle Matters

Ft. Myers beat Jupiter 2-1. Santos Arias gave up one run on six hits in 5.1 innings. He walked one and struck out four. Dakota Watts came into the game after a rain delay with two on and one out, but he struck out the next two batters. He went two more innings. Jhon Garcia struck out the side in the ninth for his first save. The Miracle had six hits. Drew Thompson and Michael Harrington each hit a double.

Snappers Snippets

The Snappers lost to Cedar Rapids 5-1. Danny Rams hit a first inning home run, his 13^th of the year, but the team managed just five more hits in the game. Edgar Ibarra gave up five runs (4 earned) on eight hits. He didn’t walk any and struck out three. Andrei Lobanov threw two shutout innings before Sam Spangler pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

E-Twins Talkers

Elizabethton got more terrific pitching in their 2-0 win over Greeneville. Logan Darnell made the start and threw five shutout innings. He allowed three hits, walked one and struck out two. Adrian Salcedo came out of the bullpen and threw four perfect innings for the save. Brian Burke went 2-4 with his 12^th double. Derrick Phillips hit a double in his Twins debut.

GCL Twins Topics

The GCL Twins lost on Tuesday to the Rays 3-0. Justin Parker gave up three runs on nine hits and a walk in 4.1 innings. Matt Schuld went 2-2 scoreless frames. Eddie Ahorrio struck out four in his two innings. The Twins had just six hits. Matt Tolbert went 1-2 with a walk in his first rehab performance. Miguel Sano and Matej Hejma each doubles. Eddie Rosario stole his 19^th base.

Any thoughts on the Twins or the minor league system? Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.

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