On the Pond Daily (6/27): Lewis Thorpe Shines in the GCL
By Wally Fish
The Minnesota Twins system turned in a 5-3 record on Thursday, June 28th and for the first time in a while had four fantastic starts turned in by their pitching.
Deduno was dealing on Thursday. (Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports)
Minnesota Twins (35-40): 3-1 win over Kansas City (36-40)
RHP Samuel Deduno (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO) would be a happy camper if he could face the Royals every time he takes the mound. In seven starts this year he’s produced a Game Score (GSc) of 65 or better and two of them have been against Kansas City this month (the other was against Milwaukee on May 29th). For his career he’s allowed 15 H, 6 BB and 2 R in 19.1 IP against KC batters. Also of note: Deduno now leads all Twins starting pitchers with an ERA+ of 123.
1B Justin Morneau stood out at the plate last night. Not only was he the only Twins batter to have more than one hit, he accounted for both of the team’s extra-base hits. His pair of doubles were numbers 19 and 20 on the year.
Rochester Red Wings (41-41): 8-4 win over Indianapolis (53-29)
RHP Vance Worley (6.0 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO) has a 3.47 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 28-9 SO-to-BB in 46.2 IP with Rochester this season. Unfortunately his ERA in 48.2 innings with the Twins is more than double that (7.21).
He’s long in the tooth and struggles to make contact consistently but 1B Jeff Clement has his moments. On Thursday he went 2-4 with 2 R, 2B, HR and 3 RBI and has now driven in two or more runs in four straight games. During his recent, mini hot streak he’s 6-16 with a pair of doubles and three home runs.
New Britain Rock Cats (38-41): 9-2 loss to Reading (33-45)
RHP Virgil Vasquez (6.0 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO)
3B Miguel Sano only had one hit in four trips to the plate but he made it count taking Austin Wright deep in the 4th inning. DH Reynaldo Rodriguez and RF Jordan Parraz each went 2-4 with a double.
Fort Myers Miracle (48-27): 11-2 loss to Jupiter (40-36)
Until yesterday LHP Taylor Rogers (4.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO) had managed to avoid being saddled with a clunker on his resume since joining the Miracle. That’s out the window now but given that he’s been one of the few consistent bright spots this season he deserves a pass.
Fort Myers had just two extra-base hits (both doubles) on Thursday and both came off the bat of LF Jhon Goncalves (2-4, SO).
Cedar Rapids Kernels (47-28): 9-0 win over Burlington (27-45)
RHP Christian Powell (6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 4 SO) and RHP Tyler Jones (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO) combined to toss a 1-hit shutout. For Powell it was his third straight time he’s allowed one or zero runs in a start. In fact in his last 18.0 IP he’s allowed as many walks (12) as he has hits (10) plus runs (2). An 18-13 SO-to-BB in 23.0 innings isn’t exactly a recipe for success against more advanced competition but it’s working for him in the Midwest League so far.
The top three hitters in the Kernels lineup all had fantastic games to power the offense and support Powell and Jones. LF J.D. Williams went 3-5 with three runs and a pair of triples. SS Niko Goodrum only had 1 hit but drew four walks and scored three times. 2B Jorge Polanco capitalized on the RBI opportunities and drove in four while going 3-4 at the plate with two runs and also hit three-run homer in the 2nd inning.
Elizabethton Twins (7-1): 6-3 win over Princeton (1-6)
RHP Josh Burris (4.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO)
CF Zack Granite (2-3, 2 R, RBI, SO) finished with two hits for his third straight game and RF Dereck Rodriguez (2-4, R, RBI, SO, SB) extended his hit streak to five.
GCL Twins (3-3): 7-4 loss to the GCL Orioles (3-3)
Aussie lefty Lewis Thorpe (4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO) was solid in his professional debut on June 21st but took things to an entirely new level on Thursday. He’s now struck out 12 in his first 8.0 innings pitched with just 1 walk, 6 hits and 2 runs. One rough start can drastically alter his stat line but it’s hard to imagine a better start to a career for a 17-year old.
After not hitting a home run in 15 games with the GCL Twins in 2012, CF Zach Larson (2-4, 2 R, RBI, SO) hit a homer for the second straight day on Thursday.
DSL Twins (11-10): 11-1 win over the DSL Padres (7-15)
RHP Onesimo Hernandez (4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO)
C Jhonathan Alvarez (2-3, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB) led the way for the DSL Twins. As a team they were 12-39 with 8 walks and stole 7 bases.