Here are some notes from around the minors:
Berrios promoted: Righthander Jose Berrios, one of the Twins top pitching prospects, made his debut today for Class AA New Britain.
It wasn't pretty, as he gave up five earned runs over five innings on three hits, three walks and two home runs. New Britain had a doubleheader the day before and the Rock Cats needed a starter, but Berrios is up for good. At age 20, he'll be in a league with more players in their mid-to-upper 20's (the Rock Cats have players 27, 28, 29 and 30).
It will be a good challenge for him after going 9-3, 1.96 in 16 starts for Fort Myers. He walked 23 and struck out 109 there. I saw once of his starts there. He hit 95 consistently and threw one pitch at 96 and had a damn good change up to go with it. Jim Souhan saw him a month later, when he touched 98. On Wednesday, a fan posted on twitter that Berrios was 93-96 for the Rock Cats and touched 97.
Pinto activated: Josmil Pinto, currently the future of catching in the organization, was activated on Tuesday after recovering from a strained hip flexor muscle. ``He was playing well before the injury," said Brad Steil, the Twins' director of minor league operations.
Vargas in Puerto Rico: Class AA New Britain: Kennys Vargas was allowed to fly home to Puerto Rico this week to be present for the birth of his first child. He should return by Thursday.
Steil wasn't told the name of the baby, but Vargas did send him a photo of a newborn in a pink blanket, so he's pretty sure it's a girl.
Vargas is in a 0-for-17 skid with the Rock Cats. Perhaps approaching fatherhood had a hand in his slump. He's expected to re-join the Rock Cats on Thursday.