Minor League Report (8/29): First-Place Surge Find A Way

[Nash Walker]

The Wind Surge saved the system from a sweep with another come-from-behind win. See all that happened in the Twins minor leagues on Sunday. 

TRANSACTIONS:
C Ben Rortvedt recalled to the Minnesota Twin
LHP Charlie Barnes optioned to the St.Paul Saints

SAINTS SENTINEL 
Game one: Mud Hens 10, Saints 9
Box Score
Drew Strotman: 2 2/3 IP, 3 H, 6 R/ER, 6 BB, 2 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Jose Miranda (2-for-7, 2B, 2 RBI, R), Tomás Telis (3-for-7, 2B, R), Gilberto Celestino (3-for-7, RBI, R), Ben Rortvedt (2-for-6, RBI, R), Jimmy Kerrigan (2-for-5, 2 R, BB), Drew Maggi (3-for-4, R, 2 RBI)

This wild affair finally finished Sunday afternoon, unfortunately in a loss for St. Paul. The game was halted Saturday night in the 14th inning due to curfew. No inning could start after 1:30 am local time. 

Drew Strotman started and once again struggled with his command. Strotman has walked nearly 13% of batters he’s faced since being traded to the Twins. Offensively, the Saints got plenty. Eight of their nine starters recorded a hit and three recorded three hits each. 

The Saints issued 14 walks and pitched with runners in scoring position 27 times. 

Game two: Mud Hens 9, Saints 8
Box Score
Beau Burrows: 4 IP, 4 H, 8 R/ER, 4 BB, 6 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Jose Miranda (2-for-5, RBI), Tomás Telis (2-for-5, RBI), Drew Stankiewicz (2-for-5, 2 R), JT Riddle (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB), David Bañuelos (2-for-5, 3B, 2 RBI)

This one came down to the wire with the tying run on second in the ninth. Jose Miranda and Tomás Telis each drove in a run with singles in the eighth, but the Saints couldn’t get Miranda back to the plate in the ninth. 

Twins fans may need to get used to watching Riley Greene do damage. The top Tigers prospect blasted a two-run homer off Beau Burrows in the first. Greene is ranked as the No. 7 prospect in baseball via MLB Pipeline. His teammate, Spencer Torkelson, is ranked No. 4.  

The Saints fell to 53-49 after the losses. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM 
Surge 8, Drillers 6
Box Score
Austin Schulfer: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R/ER, 3 BB, 4 K
HR: Austin Martin (3), Leobaldo Cabrera (9), Caleb Hamilton (8)
Multi-hit games: Martin (3-for-4, HR, 2B), Cabrera (2-for-3, HR, 3B, 3 R, RBI, BB), Aaron Whitefield (2-for-4, 2 2B, R, RBI)

The Drillers got out to a 2-0 lead before Austin Martin hit his second homer in as many days. Martin is six for his last nine with two homers, a double and five runs driven in. Leobaldo Cabrera stayed hot with a triple and a homer. Cabrera entered the game hitting .255/.371/.509 in 35 games with the Wind Surge. 

Austin Schulfer came into the game with a 2.84 ERA over his last four starts. He battled through five hits and three walks in Sunday’s win, providing five innings. Schulfer’s ERA on the season rose to 4.38. 

The first-place Surge have shown incredible fight and tenacity, especially over the last few weeks. The offense is clicking on all cylinders and Martin’s ability to sparkplug at the top of the lineup is benefitting the group. 

KERNELS NUGGETS 
Snappers 9, Kernels 8
Box Score
Aaron Rozek: 3 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
HR: Aaron Sabato 2 (2), Alex Isola (11), Jeferson Morales (4)
Multi-hit games: Sabato (2-for-4, 2 HR, BB), Isola (5-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI)

Alex Isola was three for his last 28 entering Sunday’s game. He turned it around in a big way. Isola homered in his first at-bat, drove in a run with a single in his second, singled in his third and singled again in his fourth. Oh, and he singled again in the 10th inning. 

Aaron Sabato also had a great day at the dish, hitting his first two home runs for the Kernels. Sabato earned a promotion after a hot start to the month in Fort Myers. He’s now hit nine homers in 19 August games. 

The Kernels are 56-46 after the walk-off. They still sit 11 games behind the Quad Cities powerhouse (67-33) in the High-A Central. 

MUSSEL MATTERS 
Marauders 22, Mussels 5
Box Score
Landon Leach: 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 9 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
HR: Christian Encarnación-Strand (2)
Multi-hit games: Jesús Feliz (2-for-4, RBI), Willie Joe Garry Jr. (2-for-4, R)

Yes, you read that right. The Mussels gave up 22 runs while allowing zero home runs. The Marauders went 21-for-49 (.429) with eight doubles and 20 runs driven in. Bradenton went 14-for-30 (.467) with runners in scoring position. It was a hitting clinic. 

It was out of character for the Mussels to pitch so poorly considering they have the second-lowest ERA (4.03) in the Low-A Southeast. Third baseman Christian Encarnación-Strand, the Twins’ fourth-round pick in this year’s draft, hit a solo homer in the ninth. He’s recorded a hit in all six games since debuting. 

Struggles continued this week for Twins’ top prospects Keoni Cavaco and Misael Urbina. Cavaco went 1-for-14 with a single and no walks while Urbina went 3-for-18 with three singles and five walks. Both are sporting an OPS at .600 or below. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
The FCL Twins did not play Sunday. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Adam Lau (1 ⅔ IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 2 K, 0 BB)
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Alex Isola (5-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#1 – Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for season (torn ACL)
#2 – Austin Martin (Wichita) - 3-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI
#3 – Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) - Did not pitch
#4 – Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - Did not pitch
#5 – Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) - Injured List (Right Elbow Strain)
#6 – Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 4-for-12, 2B, 3 RBI, R
#7 – Joe Ryan (St. Paul) - Did not pitch
#8 – Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (Right Elbow Strain)
#9 – Chase Petty (Complex) - Did not pitch
#10 – Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, RBI, R
#11 – Josh Winder (St. Paul) - Injured List (Right Shoulder Impingement)
#12 – Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-5, 2 K
#13 – Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) - 3-for-7, RBI, R
#14 – Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - 2 2/3 IP, 3 H, 6 ER, 6 BB, 2 K
#15 – Noah Miller (FCL Twins) - No game
#16 – Brent Rooker (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 3 K
#17 – Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Out for Season (Tommy John surgery)
#18 – Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, BB
#19 – Cole Sands (Wichita) - Did not pitch
#20 – Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-for-4, R, RBI

 

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[darwin22]

Nash:  Despite the rough results across our affiliates today---appreciate the update.  

Very nice to see the bats for Wind Surge come back to life after losing Wed thr Friday scoring only 5 runs.  Maintaining their 5-game lead over Tulsa was good to see.  

Disappointing to see Saint Paul have such a rough week against Toledo.  Pitching again was the downfall.  Not too surprised to see result today as Burrows got lit up AGAIN.  HIs consistency (of being terrible) since thankfully being demoted comes as no surprise.  Why he hasn't been DFA'ed, which would open up a slot on our 40 man roster, is no longer just an annoyance.

[mikelink45]

None of those starters look like they are ready for the Twins.  Wow that hurts. 

[Linus]

Strotman. Wow has he been ugly. 

[Seth Stohs]

38 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

Disappointing to see Saint Paul have such a rough week against Toledo.  Pitching again was the downfall.  Not too surprised to see result today as Burrows got lit up AGAIN.  HIs consistency (of being terrible) since thankfully being demoted comes as no surprise.  Why he hasn't been DFA'ed, which would open up a slot on our 40 man roster, is no longer just an annoyance.

Burrows was DFAd and outrighted a few weeks ago. 

[Scott51104]

The Twins' affiliates scored 38 runs in 5 games, and were outscored by 18 runs. Wow.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, Linus said:

Strotman. Wow has he been ugly. 

I always viewed him as the bonus part of the trade. 

[Seth Stohs]

32 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I always viewed him as the bonus part of the trade. 

For sure he was the 2nd of two guys, but he's also a good prospect who the Rays chose to put on the 40-man roster despite recovering from Tommy John surgery. My HOPE is that it's true that control is the last thing to come back in the Tommy John recovery... I'm not sure that's the case, and certainly not always the case. 

[blindeke]

Martin and Sabato flashing power? That's good news! 

[Rosterman]

I would still give Strotman an opportunity in September. Just see how he fares on a major league mound. He is, after all, on the 40-man. Do you keep him? Now is the time to test and look at the results.

[glunn]

43 minutes ago, Rosterman said:

I would still give Strotman an opportunity in September. Just see how he fares on a major league mound. He is, after all, on the 40-man. Do you keep him? Now is the time to test and look at the results.

I would like to see him come up, but think that he first needs at least one decent appearance in AAA.

[HrbieFan]

Will there be a fall league this year? If so, any guesses as to who the Twins will send? 

[roger]

Biggest question for me is why the Marauders went for two after scoring their third touchdown?

Big day for Isola, who is a name we have become more familiar with this summer.  Is his defense adequate to be considered a major league prospect?  Was this Martin's second straight 3-hit game?  Or it might seem that way cause I did look at the box scores last night.

Saw that Sabato must read this post every day and took exception to my pointing out his batting average yesterday.  For which I was correctly reminded was after playing only a few games at Hi-A.  One good game and it increased about 60%.

[darwin22]

13 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

Burrows was DFAd and outrighted a few weeks ago. 

Seth:  Thanks for the clarification.  Saying that, I still wonder and question why Burrows is still pitching in any capacity for this organization.  Anyone can point to his age and high draft status for this, but his performance since joining the Twins organization has been abysmal.  

[Mike Sixel]

8 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

Seth:  Thanks for the clarification.  Saying that, I still wonder and question why Burrows is still pitching in any capacity for this organization.  Anyone can point to his age and high draft status for this, but his performance since joining the Twins organization has been abysmal.  

Someone has to pitch.. the minors are filled with fringe players.....

[Steve Lein]

6 hours ago, HrbieFan said:

Will there be a fall league this year? If so, any guesses as to who the Twins will send? 

Yes there will be! https://www.mlb.com/news/arizona-fall-league-returning-for-2022?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

And I'll be excited to bring you weekly recaps again on how the Twins prospects perform. If I was putting together a wish list of possible guys I'd like to see, it'd be something like this:

Pitchers:

Jordan Balazovic
Simeon Woods Richardson
Jhoan Duran
Matt Canterino
Chris Vallimont
Sawyer Gipson-Long

Hitters:

Austin Martin
Matt Wallner
Spencer Steer
Trey Cabbage
Mark Contreras
Aaron Sabato
Alerick Soularie
Edouard Julien

 

[bean5302]

The players chosen for the AFL will be interesting. I think pitchers might be in short supply due to dead arms.

[darwin22]

8 hours ago, darwin22 said:

Seth:  Thanks for the clarification.  Saying that, I still wonder and question why Burrows is still pitching in any capacity for this organization.  Anyone can point to his age and high draft status for this, but his performance since joining the Twins organization has been abysmal.  

Seth:  Believe what you responded was true, but wondering why------if Burrows was DFA'ed/ off 40 man roster--------why is he showing still on Twins 40-man roster on Saints official website?  

 

[HerbieFan]

Two very simple questions.  Why is Jose Miranda still at AAA?  And why is Beau Burrows taking up innings?  If someone is going to get lit up, why not elevate Balezovic and give him the experience at least?