Minor League Notes; Malinowski Signs

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If you missed Saturday’s blog on the Twins Unsigned Draft Picks, you’ll want to read through it today as it is the deadline (at 11 p.m. tonight) for teams to sign their 2011 draft picks. As of now, the Twins still have not signed their three first round picks, although most of the first round picks have yet to sign. Click here to see my thoughts on the Twins draftees needing to sign. There was one thing that I was wrong about. Late last night, the Twins came to terms with their 16^th round pick, Austin Malinowski. It was a surprise to me because he had told me late last week that he figured he was heading to the University of Arizona. Malinowski, a LHP from Centennial High School in Circle Pines, Minnesota, was the 2011 Mr. Baseball in Minnesota. This summer, he played for the Lino Lakes Centennial American Legion team that was the runner up in the American Legion state tournament. Malinowski was named the tournament’s Outstanding Player.

• Before we start, be sure to tune in to Twins Minor League Weekly at 10:00 tonight!!! Hopefully we’ll have some good news on the Twins draft picks. But first, check out last night’s SethSpeaks.net Sunday Night Twins Podcast with guest and frequent contributor Cody Christie, the North Dakota Twins Fan.
• Be sure to read Travis Twins Talk today. He blogged about the state of the Twins minor league system. Be sure to check out the comments too!
• I wrote last week that I thought Trevor Plouffe should play every day the rest of the year… then he got sent to Rochester, but then Alexi Casilla went back on the DL and Plouffe came back up. The North Dakota Twins Fan and the Baseball Outsider both wrote about Plouffe.
• Nick Nelson asks where Burden of Blame should be regarding the disappointing 2011 season for Francisco Liriano.
• Check out Aaron Gleeman’s Twins Notes with a lot of great information.
• Parker wrote about the disappointing defense of Tsuyoshi Nishioka.
• The Bat Shatters points out What a Difference an Infield Can Make.
• Fanatic Jack waxes poetic about the virtues of Terry Ryan.
• Before the weekend, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau had played 9 games in the last 195 Twins games together. Twins Fan From Afar points out that the M&M Boys are Together Again.
• In his StarTribune.com Your Voices blog, Doogie Wolfson wrote that it’s Time for Twins to Think about 2012.
• Howard Sinker, in his Fan from Section 219 blog, asks if the Twins are smart enough to change.  

The Twins and Cleveland were rained out yesterday. Kevin Slowey finally made his return to the Twins and finally made his first Twins start of the year, and yet, Ron Gardenhire finally got him to pitch the role he had been envisioning for him… Two Innings. Then the rains came. But Slowey looked alright. The Twins will now start a series against the Tigers in Detroit.

Here are some minor league highlights from the weekend:

ROCHESTER RED WINGS

On Saturday, the Red Wings lost 11-7 to Columbus. Eric Hacker started and gave up three runs on five hits. In five innings, he walked three and struck out seven. Carlos Gutierrez came in to start the sixth. He gave up five runs on three hits and two walks without recording an out. Cole DeVries came in and was charged with one run on three hits in two innings. Kyle Waldrop pitched a scoreless inning. Jim Hoey then gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in his inning.

Sunday afternoon, the Red Wings activated Ray Change from the Disabled List, but the Wings and Columbus were rained out.

NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS

New Britain lost 8-5 to Bowie on Saturday. Bobby Lanigan started and gave up four runs (2 earned) on seven hits. In six innings, he walked one and struck out five and walked one. Matt Schuld gave up one run on one hit in 1.1 innings. Dakota Watts came in and gave up three more runs on three hits before getting the final two outs. Michael Hollimon went 2-4 with his 13^th home run. Evan Bigley hit his 28^th double. The winning pitcher for Bowie was former Twin Armando Gabino. 

Yet another double-header for the Rock Cats on Sunday. In the first game, they beat Bowie 3-0. Spencer Steedley started and worked four scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits, walked one and struck out four. Deolis Guerra came in and gave up just one hit over the final three innings for the win. He walked none and struck out two. Chris Parmelee and Evan Bigley were each 2-3 with a double. Brian Dozier hit his second Rock Cats home run. Deibinson Romero and Chris Cates each hit a double. 

In the second game, the Rock Cats won 6-1. Bret Jacobson started and gave up one run on four hits in four innings. He walked none and struck out three. Tyler Robertson came in and won for the 8^th time. He struck out six in three scoreless innings. Deibinson Romero went 3-3 with his 11^th home run. Joe Benson was 1-3 with a walk and his 11^th home run. Michael Hollimon went 2-4 with his first triple.  

FT MYERS MIRACLE

It was another rough start for Pat Dean on Saturday as the Miracle lost 9-5 to Palm Beach. Dean gave up five runs (4 earned) on nine hits and a walk in five innings. Shooter Hunt came in and gave up one hit and walked two while recording two outs (one on a strikeout). Matt Hauser got the next four outs. He gave up only an unearned run. Bruce Pugh pitched two innings and gave up three runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out four. Anderson Hidalgo went 3-4 with his 21^st double. Josmil Pinto was 3-4 with his tenth double. Aaron Hicks was 1-3 with two walks. Oswaldo Arcia hit his second triple.

The Miracle lost a Sunday matinee against Palm Beach 9-3. Tom Stuifbergen took the loss. He went five innings and gave up five runs (4 earned) on six hits and a walk. Ricky Bowen then gave up three runs on three hits in two innings. Matt Tone threw a scoreless frame before Matthew Tomshaw gave up one run in the ninth. The Miracle recorded just four hits. Aaron Hicks notched his 27^th double.

BELOIT SNAPPERS

Beloit managed just two hits on Saturday but beat Burlington 3-1. Wang-Wei Lin and Lance Ray each hit an RBI single. Pedro Guerra started for the Snappers. He went five innings and gave up one run on seven hits and two walks. He struck out eight. Michael Tonkin threw two perfect innings. Bart Carter struck out two in his scoreless inning. Jose Gonzalez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

AJ Achter gave up three unearned runs in Beloit’s 3-0 loss to Burlington. He gave up the three runs on four hits and three walks in six innings while striking out seven. Sam Spangler struck out three in two scoreless innings. Adrian Salcedo struck out two in his scoreless inning of relief. Adam Bryant went 2-4.   

ELIZABETHTON TWINS

Another game, another Miguel Sano home run. The powerful 18 year old went 1-4 with three strikeouts, but the one hit was his 13^th home run of the season. Unfortunately, it provided the E-Twins with their only run of the game. Tyler Koelling and Niko Goodrum each doubled. Marcus Limon started and gave up five runs on five hits in five innings. Three of the hits were home runs. He walked two and struck out four. Cole Johnson went the final four innings and gave up one run on five hits. He walked none and struck out five.

The E-Twins fell 6-4 to the team atop the Appalachian League, Johnson City. David Hurlbut started and gave up five runs (3 earned) on seven hits. In six innings, he walked one and struck out five. Steven Gruver then gave up one run in two innings. Matt Summers struck out two in his inning. Matt Parker went 2-3 with a walk. Eddie Rosario went 2-4. JD Williams then hit his second home run.  

GCL TWINS

On Saturday, the GCL Twins lost 4-3 to the GCL Red Sox. Nathan Fawbush started and gave up three runs on six hits in three innings. Angel Mata came in and threw three perfect innings, including three strikeouts. Gerardo Ramirez pitched a scoreless inning despite two walks. Markus Solbach took the loss. He gave up one run on two hits and two walks in two innings. He struck out three. Candido Pimentel went 2-4 with his seventh stolen base. Drew Leachman was 1-1 with a pinch hit homer. 

The GCL Twins did not play on Sunday.

Any thoughts?? E-mail me, or leave some Comments.