Here are the game reports of the Twins and their minor league affiliates. Before you get started, check out Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet. Although there is just one Twins prospect in the Top 20, three others get mentioned in the Helium Watch. Check out who!

Tuesday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Chris Parmelee, Beloit Snappers
Tuesday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Anthony Swarzak, New Britain Rockcats

TWINS THOUGHTS
Tuesday - Twins 2, Mariners 7  

• Scott Baker "Pitched" last night. He gave up two homers in the 2nd innings and a single run in the sixth. Technically, he went 6.2 innings and gave up three runs, so that is a Quality Start. This is a case where ERA is what matters... and WHIP should only be used to tell the story. Three runs in the game is all that matters, but he pitched out of a lot of trouble. You see, in 6.2 innings, he gave up 14 hits and a walk! And yet he found a way to get out of innings. That is certainly not a pattern that any starter would go into a game hoping for, but it does show something about Baker.

• Baker was helped by Juan Rincon who got that final out of the seventh inning without another run scoring. But then came the Return of Rincon. He gave up three runs on a hit, a walk and a hit batter. Pat Neshek came in and allowed the inherited runs to score, plus one of his own. It has amazed me to see some of the Mariners hits. Jose Guillen and Adrian Beltre both had doubles off the baggy off of fastballs up and well out of the strike zone and on swings they wouldn't use to coach anyone. But it must have just been the good part of the bat. I also thought that Neshek was getting squeezed, and I'm not sure why.

• I have found a level of respect for Dick Bremer. Sitting out with the fans, he refused to do The Wave. He said he has been refusing to participate in it since 1984! Now, I don't know what happened then, but like him, I think it is arguably the dumbest thing in baseball. Even dumber than the whole beach ball thing!

• When Tommy Watkins came to the plate against Brandon Morrow in the bottom of the 7th inning, he popped up to 2nd base. But as I saw that matchup, I couldn't help but notice just how different the career paths of the two players has been Watkins was a 38th round pick out of high school. He spent 10 seasons in the minor leagues before getting his first big league call up this month. Morrow was the 5th overall pick in last year's draft out of the University of California. He signed and pitched in seven games of rookie ball, then one game at Hi-A. He was on the Mariners opening day roster this year and has remained with the team since then.

• Because the bullpen has been used so much the last couple of days, the team needed another bullpen arm. After the game, Ron Gardenhire told us that Julio DePaula would be back with the Twins, and Luis Rodriguez was headed down to AAA. It is a move that makes sense on several levels. Yes, I am a fan of Luis Rodriguez and think given any playing time, he would be able to contribute solid at bats, but he has had just one at bat in the last two weeks. Tommy Watkins has taken over 3B and done well, and even with Jason Bartlett out the last several games, Luis(!) still hasn't been on the field. It's just good roster management. DePaula had a great debut, then two really bad outings before being sent down. In 83.2 innings for the Red Wings, he is 12-5 with a 2.90 ERA. He has walked too many (27) and struck out just 63, but remember he is a sinkerball pitcher and gets a lot of groundballs. Is he necessarily ready yet? We don't know that. But he can eat innings if need be, and that's what they need right now. It will now be interesting to see what happens when Brian Buscher comes back in a day or two and Jason Bartlett is able to play. Will Watkins be sent down?

• Just in observing Tommy Watkins in the handful of games he has now played in, I've noticed a few things. His swing is anything but pretty, but to this point, it has remained successful. I like how he takes pitches, draws walks and yet doesn't strike out very often. Defensively, it appears that he doesn't have great range, but he does make the plays. He also has a decent arm. The main thing that I have noticed is that he is absolutely a Ball Player. The term is certainly a positive. It simply means that he just looks like he knows what he's doing, he has good instincts, he makes the right plays, he's smart and in general, he just gets it!

• I can see some fans enjoying listening to Ron Coomer, but has anyone else noticed that, like Bert Blyleven, Coomer has already developed many of his clichés and key points. Quite annoying!

• Two more backwards- K's for Jason Kubel. But very nice to see him back in the lineup against a lefty!

• Alexi Casilla went 2-4 with a single and a double. At the plate, he seems to understand his role and his limitations. But I also loved his big swing at a high fastball. I like that mentality. Sure, Coomer or Bremer or someone said that he can't be doing that to which I say Why Not? If this series has shown Twins fans anything, it is that home runs are important too!

• Garrett Jones deserves this call up and he deserves some more consistent time and opportunity... but the guy looks lost. There is a reason that he was ranked in the 30s of my Top 50 Twins Prospects lists, and then didn't make the Top 50 with my most recent update, even after making it to the big leagues.

ROCHESTER REPORT
Tuesday - Game 1 - Red Wings 3, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 1 – Dave Gassner had a solid outing and improved to 5-12. The lefty went 6.1 innings and gave up a run on two hits. He walked two and struck out four. Bobby Korecky got the final two outs to record his 33rd save. Chris Basak went 2-3 against his former team. Denard Span was 2-4 with his 25th stolen base. Chris Heintz hit a two run double. 

Tuesday - Game 2 - Red Wings 0, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 1 – The Red Wings sent their best pitcher to the mound in Game 2, and he didn't disappoint. Because of lack of run support, he also didn't get a Win. Kevin Slowey went all six innings. He gave up one first inning run on three hits.  He walked none and struck out four. Kei Igawa went six shutout innings for the Yankees (Formerly the Red Barons) and struck out seven. Minnesota-born Jim Brower came in and got his 22nd save. Darnell McDonald went 2-3 with his 27th double. Gil Velazquez went 2-3 as well. 

NEW BRITAIN NEWS
Tuesday - Rockcats 2, New Hampshire 0 – The Rockcats didn't hit much either last night, but a Kyle Geiger two run double in the second was all that Anthony Swarzak needed. Swarzak improved to 5-4 with 8.1 shutout innings. He gave up six hits, walked one and struck out eight. Jose Mijares came in to get the last two outs and his eighth save. Of the five hits that New Britain had, four of them were doubles including Trevor Plouffe's 36th of the year. 

FT MYERS MEMOS
Tuesday - Miracle 2, Dunedin 9 – Two straight rough nights for the Miracle. Kyle Waldrop took the loss in this one. He gave up seven runs (5 earned) on nine hits, two walks and a hit batter. David Shinskie gave up a run on four hits and a walk in just two innings. Robert Delaney then gave up a run in 2.1 innings, striking out four. No Miracle batter had more than one hit. The team had seven hits. Steve Tolleson and Johnny Woodard each doubled.

 

BELOIT BITS
Tuesday - Snappers 7, Kane County 5 – 2006 1st round pick Chris Parmelee had an nice well around game. He went 2-3 with a walk and two doubles (21 on year). He also had two outfield assists, one at 2B and one at the plate. Steve Singleton went 3-5 with his 16th double. Wilson Ramos went 2-5 with two RBI. Eli Tintor was 1-3 with a walk. Alex Burnett improved to 8-7. He gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out five. Matt Williams threw two perfect innings. Jose Lugo gave up a run in 2/3 of an inning. Anthony Slama got the final four outs, two on strikeouts, for his eighth save. 

 

E-TWINS REPORT
Tuesday - E-Twins – No Game Scheduled

 

GCL TWINS REPORT
Tuesday - GCL Twins 7, GCL Red Sox 8  – Ben Revere is definitely starting his career well. He went 2-3 with a walk and his tenth triple. James Beresford went 2-3 with a walk and his seventh stolen base. Danny Rams went 2-4 with his sixth double. Jon Waltenbury went 2-5 with his sixth double. Alexander Soto went 2-5. Winston Marquez gave up two runs on five hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out three. Dominique Rodgers took the loss. He gave up six runs (3 earned) on five hits. He did strike out four. Jose Acosta pitched a scoreless inning.