On the Pond Daily (6/24): Buxton Bumped Up, Rosario Settles In

On Monday, June 24th the Twins system went a collective 2-4. The Elizabethon Twins picked up one of those two victories as they improved to 4-1 and continue to look strong in defense of their 2012 Appalachian League title. Minnesota, Cedar Rapids and the DSL Twins had scheduled off days.

Buxton is on his way to Fort Myers. (Photo Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports)

Before we get into the performances from Monday’s games however, there were a number of significant promotions that took place in the system. LHP Logan Darnell (24) was bumped up from New Britain to Rochester (2.61 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 23 BB and 77 SO in 96.2 IP) and RHP Matthew Summers (23) moved from Fort Myers to New Britain (3.59 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 22 BB and 52 SO in 72.2 IP). It will be interesting to see how both handle their new assignments, especially Summers who just recently ramped up his game against FSL hitters (4 ER in his last 19.2 IP).

The biggest news on the transaction front however was the ascension of CF Byron Buxton (19) who moves from Cedar Rapids to Fort Myers. This is the one we’ve all been waiting for as it was obviously more a matter of when than if. Buxton’s production at the plate has been astounding this season (0.341/.431/.559, 15 2B, 10 3B, 8 HR, 32 SB, 44 BB and 52 SO in 270 AB) but he’s been equally impressive in the field flashing the complete package of tools on the diamond. Baseball Prospectus’ Jason Parks published his updated Top-50 list (subscription required) this morning and he has the Twins future CF ranked first overall. On Minor League Ball, John Sickels made mention of the BP list and dropped the he too would probably have at the top of his revised list.

Minnesota Twins (34-38): Scheduled Off Day

While the Twins had the day off, they officially optioned LHP Pedro Hernandez back to Rochester.

Rochester Red Wings (39-40): 4-2 loss to Louisville (38-40)

RHP Liam Hendriks (6.0 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO) has only walked four Triple-A batters in 37.2 IP. Unfortunately, he may be around the strike zone a little too often however as he’s been tagged for 62 hits overall and 30 in his his last 15 innings.

DH Jeff Clement was the offense for the Red Wings hitting a 2-run HR – his 11th – in the 2nd inning.

New Britain Rock Cats (36-40): 6-4 win and 2-0 loss to Altoona (34-41)

The makeup of a game that should have been played on June 13th, the Rock Cats managed just two singles off Altoona pitchers. Those hits were the work of 2B Eddie Rosario and CF Daniel Ortiz. RHP B.J. Hermsen (3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) took his 6th loss of the season.

In the regularly scheduled game, New Britain scored all six of their runs in the second inning and the pitching staff did enough to make that lead hold up. Rosario was productive yet again and led the offense with a 2-4 performance that included a R, 3B and 3 RBI. LHP Pat Dean gave up 11 hits and 4 runs in just 4.2 innings.

Fort Myers Miracle (48-24): 4-2 loss to Palm Beach (31-42)

LHP Matt Tomshaw (6.2 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO) has allowed 19 hits combined in his last two starts (12.2 IP) but has somehow held the opposition to just 3 runs in each.

SS Aderlin Mejia has become a daily fixture in our daily On the Pond pieces and on Monday he was responsible for two of the teams four hits on the day. One of those hits, a triple, was the only extra base hit for the Miracle and he played a part in both runs driving in one and scoring the other.

Cedar Rapids Kernels (44-28): Scheduled Off Day

Elizabethton Twins (4-1): 7-2 win over Greeneville (1-4)

Finally we come to a truly impressive outing by a Twins starting pitcher (seems like it’s been a few days)! 19-year old lefty Randy Rosario went 5.0 shutout innings with 3 strikeouts while allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk. It was the first Appy League start and appearance of his career.

Rosario got plenty of support from the E-Twins bats. Every member of the lineup had at least one hit and finished with 14 at a team. CF Dereck Rodriguez had the best day of the bunch going 2-6 with 2 RBI and a R. Both of his hits were doubles.

GCL Twins (1-2): 5-2 loss to the GCL Rays (2-1)

RHP Sam Gibbons‘ first start (4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO) produced rather similar results to his 2012 season that was also spent pitching in the GCL.

2013 draft picks Chad Christensen (25th) and C Brian Navarreto (6th) each went 2-4.

DSL Twins (10-8): Scheduled Off Day