By james art
Game Results:
Tuesday, 22.10 | Scottsdale 8, Salt River 6
Wednesday, 10/23 | Surprise 5, Salt River 6
Thursday, 24.10 | Glendale 9, Salt River 6
Friday, 10/25 | Salt River 7, Glendale 6
Saturday, 26.10 | Salt River 6, Peoria 7 (8 innings)
In their five games of the week, the Salt River Rafters finished with a 2-3 record. They are 8-8 overall for the minor league season. That’s good for fourth in the standings and leaves them three games behind the league-leading Surprise Saguaros. The Rafters offense has certainly been consistent in their five games as they have scored six runs in four of them and seven in the other. It reflected one of the Twins’ hitting prospects, who had at least one hit in every game and raised his batting average to over .300 in the process. It’s been a mixed bag for the pitchers, but overall their performance continues to be a bright spot for the Rafters in the desert.
OF Kala’i Rosario
week: 6-for-15, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, SB
In general: .326/.389/.500
The pinch-hitting outfielder batted third or fourth in the Rafters’ order in each of his four games on the week, playing two games in left field, one in right and DH in the other. He picked up a hit in every contest, even though they were all singles, and he also struck out just as many times as he struck out.
In Tuesday’s loss to Scottsdale, Rosario led off the fourth inning but was stranded. In the fifth at bat, he struck out with the bases loaded, but a Twins teammate picked him up moments later. With a runner on third and the Rafters up 6-4 in the sixth, Rosario was unable to provide the insurance they needed by striking out again to end the inning. On a hopeful note though, this will be his last shot of the week. Down 8-6 after two runs in the top of the ninth by Scottsdale, Rosario smoked a two-out groundball single at 107 MPH to bring the tying run at the plate in the bottom half, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Rosario played a big role in Wednesday’s win over the Saguaros. Batting third as a DH, he reached base in all four of his appearances, picking up a team-high one with a hit in addition to three singles. With two outs and the game tied at three in the bottom of the fourth, Rosario’s single to center field brought in two runners to give the Rafters a 5-3 lead. However, he ended up getting caught at second base on a throw to end the inning. In addition to the three hits and two RBI in this one, he also scored two runs.
The Rafters defeated the Glendale Desert Dogs 7-6 on Friday, and while Rosario didn’t make much of an impact at the plate, he reached base in two of his five trips to the plate. His walk in the third inning put a runner in scoring position, and one batter later the Rafters took a 2-0 lead. Leading off the top of the ninth inning, Rosario hit an infield single and later stole third base, but that’s all it took before the Rafters held on for the win.
In Salt River’s final game of the week on Saturday, Rosario reached base twice again, one of them coming on a fielder’s grounder that unfortunately left a runner in nobody’s ground between third and home. Leading off the seventh with the score tied 5-5, Rosario laced another grounder that the third baseman couldn’t handle for his sixth single of the week. He moved to third on a double and scored on a groundout to give the Rafters a 6-5 lead. This one went into “extra” innings to start the eighth, and the Javelinas won in the bottom half.
IF Ben Ross
week: 2-for-14, 2 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K
In general: .182/.345/.295
Ross also appeared in four games during the week, starting at shortstop in three of those contests and center field in the other. He batted at number five or six in the Rafters line-up in every game.
In Tuesday’s loss at Scottsdale, he didn’t get a walk or a hit, but his fielder’s choice gave him an RBI and tied the game as part of a five-run fifth inning. That fight came with the bases loaded and followed Rosario’s hit. He also missed one in the seventh, sending a liner 400 feet to center field that was hit against the wall.
Playing center field Wednesday, Ross went 0-for-3 with a walk and a hit. That walk came in the bottom of the first inning and loaded the bases for the Rafters. They would go up 2-0 on the ensuing sac fly. He didn’t see much action in center, recording just one strikeout and one hit, but it’s a position he’s no stranger to, having started there 28 times this season with the Wichita Wind Surge.
Returning to shortstop Thursday, Ross had a hit and a walk in the Rafters’ 9-6 loss to Glendale. His hit came in the bottom of the second inning, on a fastball with a 99.2 MPH clock from top prospect Andrew Painter. He gave it back to the pitcher, right up the middle at 103 MPH for a line drive single. His walk came in the seventh inning and loaded the bases on a 9-0 Glendale run, but a fly ball turned into a double play and they couldn’t get a breakthrough.
Ross finished his week with his best game Saturday, scoring two runs and reaching base twice in Salt River’s loss at Peoria. His single in the fourth inning put runners on the corners and before it was over, Ross crossed the plate for a 3-1 Salt River lead. Leading off the top of the sixth, he drew a walk, and two batters later scored again to make it 4-2. Defensively, Ross also tallied an unassisted double play, catching a liner and doubling the runner at second base to end a threat against one of his fellow Twins pitchers.
IF Dani de Andrade
week: He hasn’t played.
The Venezuelan infielder hit .243/.333/.359 in 29 games with the Cedar Rapids Kernels before injuring his ankle in May. He spent the rest of the season on the injured list and the hope was that he would be able to make up some at-bats in the Arizona Fall League, but that has yet to happen.
RHP Devin Kirby
week: 1 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K (1 appearance)
In general: 0-0, 6.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, .158 BAA, 7 BB, 4 K (6 IP)
Kirby’s only appearance came in Thursday’s 5-0 Desert Dogs loss to Glendale in the seventh inning. To say his knuckles were making too many knuckles would be a bit of an understatement. He got the first two hitters out of the inning to cause some trouble before taking a hit. Then a single, wild pitch, walk and double put Glendale ahead by eight. Another run would score on a groundout before he got the type of placement off his slant he wanted, bringing up the third out on a three-pitch hit. Twenty-four of his 36 innings pitched were knuckleballs on the day, and 13 of those were callballs.
RHP Jack Noble
week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB (1 appearance)
In general: 1-0, 1.50 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .222 BAA, 4 BB, 6 K (6 IP)
Noble’s only appearance of the week came against the Desert Dogs on Friday, in the back half of a home-and-home scheduler. He was the first reliever called up after three scoreless innings by the Rafters starter. He was credited with the hold as he pitched a scoreless inning with Salt River up 2-0. He issued a pair of walks, but they were between three fly outs. Of his 22 passes, only 10 went for touchdowns. He continues to sit 93 MPH with his fastball, and his breaking stuff is slush right now, needing better definition and command to turn the corner.
LHP Cade Bragg
week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (1 appearance)
In general: 0-1, 3.60 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .111 BAA, 4 BB, 4 K (5 IP)
Bragg pitched the sixth inning in the Rafters’ loss to Glendale on Thursday for his only appearance of the week. The score was now 5-0, so all the left-hander wanted to do was keep any more runs off the plate against the middle of the Desert Dogs lineup. He did that much better than any of the other three pitchers up to that point, going one-two-three and striking out one. The Rafters offense put up six runs in the eighth inning to make this game interesting late, but it wasn’t enough. Bragg has interesting relievers, but as a soft-thrower who only hits 90 MPH, he’ll need to show great command of them.
RHP Jacob King
week: 2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 2 K (2 appearances)
In general: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.46 WHIP, .071 BAA, 1 BB, 3 K (4 1/3 IP)
King was the only Twins pitcher to see action in multiple games during the week, being credited with a save in each appearance for his effort.
On Tuesday against Scottsdale, he went into the sixth inning, 5-4 Salt River. He gave up a one-out walk but retired everyone else he faced, including pitching top-100 prospect Termar Johnson out of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization to end the frame.
His second appearance came in Saturday’s extra-inning loss to Peoria. He started the fourth inning with the score 3-1 in favor of Salt River and went one-two-three, with one more strikeout to end the inning. Retiring for the fifth, he ran into a little trouble after a single out and an error that brought in a run for the Javelinas. He was lifted after the inning, getting two of the three outs in the frame, but was also given a hold for his effort as they got out of it with a one-run lead still intact.
RHP Liam Rocha
week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K
In general: 1-0, 3.00 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, .280 BAA, 4 BB, 5 K (6 IP)
Rocha was called up for the third inning of the Rafters’ game against Peoria on Saturday. The game was tied 1-1 and would stay that way after it was over. He gave up a leadoff hit and a defensive error left the bases loaded with just one out, but he got some help from Twins teammate Ben Ross, whose unassisted double play ended the threat and the inning. Rocha threw 25 pitches in his outing, 12 of them for strikes.
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