Yes, the Elizabethton Twins have won the championship again, their 12th Appalachian League title and ninth under current manager Ray Smith.
The Final Out of Elizabethton’s Championship Season
The E-Twins 2018 story (about 7 1/2 minutes long)
Twins minor league players of the week – Michael Davis & Andrew Vasquez
The Twins have named A- Cedar Rapids infielder Michael Davis and Twins left-handed pitcher Andrew Vasquez Twins minor league Player of the Week and minor league Pitcher of the Week.
In seven games for the Kernels, Davis hit .464 (13-for-28) with one double, one triple, three home runs and 13 RBI. The Bedford, Texas native was drafted by the Twins
in the 24th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Texas Tech. Davis appeared in just three games for Elizabethton where he was 6 for 14 with a home run before being bumped up to Cedar Rapids where he has appeared in 42 games and is hitting .294 with 9 home runs and 28 RBI and playing primarily shortstop.
Prior to getting called up by the Twins, Vasquez appeared in three games for the Red Wings, pitching 4.1 scoreless innings with three walks and 10 strikeouts. The 6’6″ soon-to-be 25 year-old lefty from Rancho Cucamonga, California was drafted by the Twins in the 32nd round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft. 2018 was a breakout year for Vasquez who started the season with the A+ Miracle where he struck out 37 in 32.2 innings. Then when the Twins bumped him up to AA Chattanooga he really showed something when he struck out 59 batters in just 31 innings and walked just four. The walk ratio was the big surprise because he has had some control issues in the past. The Twins sent him to AAA Rochester at the end of the season and he appeared in just four games but struck out 12 in just 5.2 innings. The Twins then called him up to Minnesota as a September call-up and made his big league debut on September 1st. Jumping from High A in Ft. Myers to AA, then AAA and then the big leagues in one season is very impressive indeed. It will be very interesting to see what Vasquez can show us this next month.
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MLB announced on August 31 that Minnesota Twins Minor League pitcher Alex Banks, who is currently on the roster of the rookie-level Dominican Summer League Twins, has received a 72-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Banks is a 17 year-old right-handed pitcher who was spending his first season in pro ball.
Arizona Fall League just around the corner
2018 Arizona Fall League rosters were announced August 30th and the Minnesota Twins players will make-up part of the Salt River Rafters along with players from the Diamondbacks, Rockies, Marlins and Nationals. The club’s manager will be Tommy Watkins and strength and conditioning will be handled by Jacob Dean.
Players representing the Twins will be right-handed pitchers Griffin Jax and Hector Lujan, left-handed pitchers Alex Robinson and Devin Smeltzer, infielder Travis Blankenhorn, and outfielders Jaylin Davis, Luke Raley and Brent Rooker.
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Entering its 27th year, the AFL features six teams that are composed of players from all 30 Major League organizations. It offers the unique opportunity to gauge young talent against competition that usually is superior to what they experienced during the Minor League season. The rosters for this year’s AFL, are loaded with future stars. The group features 18 players ranked on MLB Pipeline’s list of the Top 100 Prospects.
Although I have not been to any AFL games the last few seasons I have attended a number of them in the past and it is a special treat to watch these young up and coming stars play ball. The price is right and often you will see more scouts than you will see paying fans. It is indeed a unique experience that I would recommend you partake in, if the opportunity presents itself.
Kennys Vargas earns post-season honors
AAA Rochester Red Wings first baseman Kennys Vargas has been named the designated hitter on the International League Postseason All-Star Team, according to the league office. The 27 year-old Vargas is batting .234 with 20 doubles, 20 home runs, 69 RBI, 39 runs scored, 56 walks and 130 strikeouts in 124 games with Rochester this season. Vargas is leading the team in hits, doubles, homers, RBI, runs and walks. He is the first Red Wing to be named the DH on the Postseason All-Star Team since Willis Otanez in 1998 and fourth since the current ballot format began in 1978.
Twins minor league players of the week – Trevor Larnach & Jhoan Duran
The Twins have named A- Cedar Rapids Kernels outfielder Trevor Larnach and Single-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Jhoan Duran as Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.
In six games for the Kernels, Larnach hit .391 (9-for-23) with two doubles, one home
run, three RBI, three walks and six runs scored. The California native was drafted by the Twins 20th overall in this past June’s draft. The 6’4″ left-handed hitting Larnach started playing pro ball in Elizabethton and moved up to Cedar Rapids after 18 games. The Twins are expecting Larnach to move up the Twins system quickly.
Duran made two starts for the Kernels, going 1-0, 0.66 ERA (13.2 IP, 1 ER) with three walks and 19 strikeouts. Duran, who earned this award earlier in the month, was acquired at the trade deadline from Arizona in exchange for infielder Eduardo Escobar. The 6’5″ 20-year-old right-hander has started five games for the Kernels since the Twins acquired him and has a 2-1 record but that is deceiving. He has allowed just 16 hits in 32 innings while striking out 41 and walking 7. Duran has an ERA of 2.25 and a 0.719 WHIP. The guy is tearing it up! WOW! Duran could be a steal.
Did You Know?
Regulars that stop by this site know that I am a fan of La Vida Baseball. There is a new post out the site called THE LEGACY OF A JEWELER ON LATIN AMERICAN BASEBALL. One of the players that Andres Reiner signed was Johan Santana. The posting includes a short video called “Johan Santana 1995 scouting report“. It is very interesting and talks about how Reiner had the vision to see a pitcher in Johan Santana when he was a first baseman/outfielder with no power. Check out the story and the video.
Twins minor league players of the week – Jose Miranda & Prelander Berroa
The Twins have named A+ Ft. Myers Miracle infielder José Miranda and GCL Twins right-handed pitcher Prelander Berroa as Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.
The 20-year-old Jose Miranda played seven games for the Miracle, hitting .320 (8-for-25) with two doubles, one home run, four RBI and a .414 on-base percentage. Miranda plays primarily second and third base but has played some shortstop. Miranda was selected by the Twins 73rd overall in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft and signed for a reported $775,000. Bats and throws right-handed. Miranda also was the Twins player of the week back in June when he was with Cedar Rapids.
Prelander Berroa, an 18-year-old Dominican right-hander made one start for the for the GCL Twins on Thursday vs. GCL Orioles, pitching 5.0 shutout innings with one hit allowed and nine strikeouts. Berroa has not allowed an earned run in his last three starts, games he which he pitched 5,4 and 5 innings. Berroa was signed as a 16-year-old undrafted free agent in July of 2016 for a reported $200,000 and started pitching in the Twins minor league system in 2017.
Twins Minor League Report 081818
Shortstop Royce Lewis and outfielder Alex Kirilloff were named to the 2018 Midwest League Postseason All-Star Team. Outfielder Ernie De La Trinidad who came over from Arizona in the Eduardo Escobar trade and is now playing with the Ft. Myers Miracle also made the same All-Star team.
If you are a baseball fan you will love La VIDA Baseball
Not that long ago I ran across a site called La VIDA Baseball. La VIDA Baseball is produced in association with the National Baseball Hall of Fame, celebrates the past, present and future of Latino baseball through our own lens and voice.
If you are interested in Latin Baseball and legends of the past, current stars or future up and coming Latino stars than this site is for you. They publish new articles on a regular basis and the writers are very, very good. If you are a fan of baseball than you should check this site out and bookmark it.
The Twins have had many Latino stars over the years and a lot of them have great stories written about them on this site. Here are just a few examples and there are many, many more.
ESCOBAR HUNTING FOR AN ARIZONA OCTOBER
The San Francisco Giants finally even the score against the Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins picked 30th in the June 2011 draft and in round one they selected shortstop Levi Michael. The Twins signed Michael to a $1.175 million dollar bonus and sent him directly to A+ Ft. Myers in 2012. At the end of the 2017 the Twins let him go after Michael peaked with 12 games at AAA Rochester. The New York Mets signed him and he is playing in AA ball this season.
The Twins had two supplementary first round picks for the loss of Orlando Hudson and Jesse Crain and at number 50 they took third baseman Travis Harrison and signed him for $1.050 million. Harrison spent three years (2015-2017) in AA Chattanooga and the Twins let him go and Harrison is playing Independent League ball this season.
The Twins used their other (number 55) supplementary pick to take and sign RHP Hudson Boyd from Bishop Verot High School in Ft. Myers for $1 million. Boyd lasted with Minnesota just three seasons and reached A- Cedar Rapids and was sent packing in November 2014 for his off the field issues and no one has bothered to take a chance on him. No longer in pro ball.
Round 2 – Twins select RHP Madison Boer. The Twins released Boer after the 2015 season when he peaked in AA Chattanooga. Boer is no longer in pro ball.
Round 3 – Twins select LHP Corey Williams. Williams got to AA Chattanooga in 2016 but the Twins let him go and he pitched for the St. Paul Saints in 2016-2017 but is no longer in pro ball.
Round 4 – Twins selected RHP Matt Summers. Summers also reached AA Chattanooga before being released in 2015 and no longer in pro ball.
Round 5 – Twins select shortstop Tyler Grimes and in his fourth season he played at A+ Ft. Myers. The Twins let him go and he is no longer playing pro ball.
Round 6 – The Twins selected outfielder Dereck Rodriguez, son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez and signed him for $130,000. In 2014 Dereck Rodriguez switched to the mound. The Twins started him out as a reliever in his first season as a pitcher but used him as a starter after that. Rodriguez reached AA Chattanooga in 2017 but left the Twins organization as a free agent after the 2017 season ended and signed with the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants had Rodriguez start the season in AAA where in 9 starts he was 4-1 with a 3.40 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 50.1 innings with just 11 walks. He was called up to the big leagues and made his major league debut on May 29, 2018 in relief and pitched 3.1 innings and allowed four runs but only one earned in Colorado. His next appearance was as a starter against the Phillies and he pitched 6 innings allowing just one run and notched his first big league win. This year Rodriguez has started 12 games and has a 2.25 ERA with a 6-1 record with 80 innings pitched and has 65 strikeouts and allowed only 61 hits. In his 12 starts Rodriguez has gone less than five innings just once. Rodriguez has been one of the most impressive rookie starters in all of baseball despite being allowed to reach minor-league free agency last fall by the Twins.
The Giants can count their found fortune later; for now, it’s enough that they’ve already received a huge contribution from Rodriguez and control him for six more seasons to come. It took 14 years but looks like the San Francisco Giants have finally gotten even for the A.J. Pierzynski trade they made with Minnesota back in November of 2003. That was the trade where the Giants acquired Pierzynski and cash for Boof Bonser, Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano.
The only player the Twins got out of the 2011 draft that put on a Twins uniform was LHP Jason Wheeler and he appeared in 2 games throwing 3 innings before moving him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. I see no record of Wheeler pitching anywhere in 2018 so he may have put baseball in the rearview mirror.
The Twins had a terrible draft in 2011 but the Dereck Rodriguez story is a great one!
Twins minor league players of the week – Royce Lewis & Edwar Colina
The Twins have named A+ Ft. Myers Miracle shortstop Royce Lewis and A- Cedar Rapids Kernels right-handed pitcher Edwar Colina as Twins minor league Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week.
Lewis, who was selected first overall in the 2017 MLB Draft, played seven games for the Miracle, hitting .345 (10-for-29) with a triple, two home runs, six RBI, five walks and a .457 on-base percentage. In 101 games this year between Cedar Rapids (75) and Ft. Myers (26) the 19-year old right-handed hitting shortstop is hitting .318 with an OPS .867 and has 12 home runs and 71 RBI not to mention 28 stolen bases.
Colina,21, started one game for the Kernels on Monday vs. Beloit, pitching 8.0 innings with two unearned runs, no walks and eight strikeouts, earning his sixth win of the season. For the year the 5’11” left-hander is 6-3 with just 64 hits allowed in 84.2 inning with 75 KO’s and 45 walks. The Caracas, Venezuela native was signed by the Twins as a free agent in September of 2015.