On the Pond Daily (6/26): Jose Berrios and Felix Jorge Impress

On Wednesday, June 26th the Twins organization went 5-3. The pitching in the upper levels was sketchy but from Cedar Rapids on down the starters fared much better.

After overachieving in 2012, Diamond has regressed this season. (Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports)

Minnesota Twins (34-40): 5-3 loss to Miami (27-50)

Nothing takes the optimism out of the air like losing back to back games to a Marlins team that has the worst record in baseball (and it’s not particularly close right now). If there is a positive to take away from what happened in the last two days, I think we have a definitive answer when it comes to figuring out if the team should be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline approaches.

LHP Scott Diamond (5.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO) pitched out over his skis in 2012 and there was nothing in the data that suggested he could sustain that level of production. Now we’re seeing the pendulum swing the other way and when comes to a stop it will be sitting much closer to his 2013 performance than 2012.

Joe Mauer (3-5) and Oswaldo Arcia (2-3, BB) were, once again, the only two players in the Twins lineup with multiple hits and drove in two of the three runs scored.

Rochester Red Wings (40-41): 9-7 win over Indianapolis (53-28)

RHP Cole De Vries (5.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO) managed to duplicate Diamond’s pitching line with the Twins to the letter except for the complete lack of strikeouts. Triple-A hitters have made it very clear that De Vries either needs to make an adjustment or he’s simply not good enough. He’s allowed 67 hits in 37.2 innings and has allowed more hits than innings pitched in each of his 8 starts with Rochester.

1B Chris Colabello hit his 18th HR with the Red Wings and finished 2-4 with 2 R, 2 RBI and 2 SO. DH Jeff Clement (2-5), SS Doug Bernier (2-4) and 2B James Beresford (2-4) each chipped in with multi-hit games of their own.

New Britain Rock Cats (38-40): 6-3 win over Altoona (34-43)

The Rock Cats offense staked RHP Tom Stuifbergen (5.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) to a 6-0 lead before he took the mound in the bottom of the 1st. He did his part to make that lead hold up on a day that it was apparently an organizational plan to allow 8 hits in 5.0 innings.

RF Jordan Parraz (1-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SO) hit his 4th home run of the season, while LF Daniel Ortiz and 3B Miguel Sano each went 2-4 with a, triple and run scored. Ortiz had two RBI and has now hit in 7 straight games. Sano added a double and RBI to his triple and is now hitting 0.191/.305/.489 in 15 games since moving to Double-A. Even though he’s just 8-36 in his last 10 games (0.222) he’s slugging 0.611 and providing value to the team during a rough stretch.

Fort Myers Miracle (48-26): 5-3 loss to Jupiter (39-36)

RHP Tyler Duffey (6.0 IP, 12 H, 5 ER, o BB, 2 SO) gave up all 5 runs and 6 of the 12 hits in the 3rd inning. Like Cole DeVries with the Red Wings, Duffey has been hit around since joining Fort Myers (35 H in 21.2 IP).

2B Candido Pimentel went 2-3 with a run scored and a double. The rest of the lineup only managed three hits off Hammerhead pitching. Byron Buxton was 1-4 with an RBI and a strikeout while Mike Kvasnicka hit a solo HR to give him 4 in 5 games.

Cedar Rapids Kernels (46-28): 5-2 win over Burlington (27-44)

If the performances from the four starting pitchers above have you a little depressed, RHP Jose Berrios‘ outing should perk you up a bit. He went 7.0 innings allowing 5 hits, 2 runs and 0 walks while striking out 9. Through 10 starts with the Kernels, he’s been consistently churning out quality outings with only 2 blips along the way. His 3.09 ERA, 1.28 WHIP are both excellent for a 19-year old in the Midwest League but his 65-15 SO-to-BB in 55.1 IP is the most encouraging sign.

Berrios was backed by a solo HR from CF Max Kepler (1-3) – his 2nd homer in as many days – and doubles from SS Niko Goodrum (1-4), 2B Jorge Polanco (1-4) and 1B Dalton Hicks (2-4).

Elizabethton Twins (6-1): 5-4 win over Princeton (1-5)

RHP Felix Jorge (5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO) isn’t nearly as deep into his season as Berrios is at Cedar Rapids, but this 19-year old has been impressive in his first two Appy League appearances.

The E-Twins offense was hitting on all cylinders Wednesday cranking out 15 hits in 36 at bats. They also drew 2 walks and struck out just 3 times. Every member of the lineup participated in the hit parade while C Bryan Santy led the festivities with a 3-4 day. CF Zack Granite (2-5), RF Dereck Rodriguez (2-4, SB), 3B Javier Pimentel (2-4, 2B) and SS Ryan Walker (2-4, 2B) also had multi-hit games.

GCL Twins (3-2): 3-2 win over the GCL Orioles (2-3)

RHP Leonel Zazueta (4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO)

RF Adonis Pacheco (2-3, R, 3B, RBI, BB)

DSL Twins (10-10): 9-5 loss to the DSL Reds (12-9)

RHP Williams Ramirez (3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO) gave up his first run of the year in 10.1 innings.

SS Joel Ramirez (3-3, 3 R, 2B, BB, SB) had a perfect day at the plate and broke a 3-18 slump in the process.

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