Twins Minor League Week in Review (4/10-4/16)

[Jeremy Nygaard]

We're back into it - walk-offs, injuries, promotions - with all minor league affiliates playing a full week of baseball. There are guys performing well who we've never heard of. There are guys who are supposed to be performing who are really struggling. If you need to catch up on the entire week of minor league baseball in the Twins organization, you've come to the right place.

Image courtesy of Jean Pfiefer (aka, go4twinkies on Instagram)

If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor leagues.

TRANSACTIONS 

• On Monday afternoon, the Kernels activated RHPs Marco Raya and Mike Paredes. They made no other corresponding moves.

RESULTS

• Tuesday (4/11): E-Rod Walks it Off in Grand Fashion
• Wednesday (4/12): Ober Dominates, Lee and Rodriguez Homer
• Thursday (4/13): A Surprise Promotion and Olivar Goes Off
• Friday (4/14): Wichita Power Surge Leads to Win
• Saturday (4/15): Ben Ross and Emmanuel Rodriguez Rake in a Dismal Minor-League Day
• Sunday (4/16): Fort Myers Shines Brightest

MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT 

• Prospect Retrospective: Brent Headrick
• The Twins Most and Least Aggressive Prospect Assignments
• Prospect Retrospective: Edouard Julien

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

• Scranton/WB @ St. Paul (6:37PM CST) - TBD
• Wichita @ Tulsa (6:05PM CST) - TBD
• Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35PM CST) - RHP Jaylen Nowlin (0-0, 4-91 ERA)
• Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD

WEEK IN REVIEW 

Triple-A: St. Paul Saints (Week: 4-2)

• Overall: 8-6, 1.5 games back in the International League West. 
• Overview: Despite losing Louie Varland, Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner to the Twins, the Saints put together a winning week. They started off by winning the first four games against Indianapolis before dropping the final two. 
• 🔥: Andrew Stevenson led the offensive charge with 10 hits, three stolen bases and a home run while playing in all six games.
• 🔥: Andrew Bechtold also played in every game and totaled six hits which included three doubles and a home run. 
• 🔥: Brent Headrick shoved in his one start before promotion. He struck out eight in five innings, allowing a single run on four hits and a walk.
• 🔥: Mark Contreras stuff the stat sheet to the tune of eight hits in 25 at-bats, eight hits, five runs, two doubles, five walks and three stolen bases for a slash line of .421/.560/.526 (1.086).
• 🥶: Kyle Garlick was brought back to the Twins after striking out three times and failing to get a hit in 10 at-bats He didn't earn it with his recent performance, but the Twins needed an outfielder. 
• What's Next: Home cooking against Scranton/WB (7-8). While the forecast may not be great, there are plenty of fun ballpark activities including fireworks on Friday night.

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge (Week: 3-3)

• Overall: 5-4, 2.0 games back in the Texas League North. 
• Overview: Yoyner Fajardo continues to be an early-season surprise as he leads the team with 12 hits, four stolen bases and a .333 batting average while playing solid left field. Brooks Lee will be the draw (as long as he is on the team), you can see his week below. David Festa wasn't as great as his debut, but there's no reason to believe the Twins won't be able to use him in their future.
•  🔥: Yunior Severino only played three games, but got four hits in 12 at-bats and hit two home runs. He struck out in six of the at-bats he didn't get a hit, so there's still improvement needed, but you appreciate the at-bats that turn out well.
• 🤔: Carlos Luna is new to the organization, so when you strike out 10 in 5 2/3 innings in your organizational debut, you need to be recognized. But when you turn around and allow four hits and two runs while only recording two outs in your next outing, you don't get the fire emoji.
• 🥶: Will Holland got his first hit of the season but went 0-for-12 for the week (and is 1-for-20 on the season). He has game-changing speed... but it's really tough to use on the bath paths if you can't get on base. Holland was the college teammate of Edouard Julien (and Holland was the higher-regarded prospect.)
• What's Next: A trip to Tulsa (6-3). Only one game separates the two teams. Arkansas is currently in first place at 7-2.

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels (Week: 2-3)

• Overall: 5-3, 0.5 games back in the Midwest League West. 
• Overview: This is going to be the easiest team to follow because it has so many prospects. If you don't see their names here, it's because you can see how they did for the week down in the Prospect Summary.
• 🔥: Kyle Jones might have taken the loss, but that's why "pitcher wins" are a silly stat. More on Jones below... way below.
• 🔥: Ben Ross was drafted with a reputation as a hitter. And that's what he's done. Nine hits in 20 at-bats this past week including two doubles and a home run. He strikes out too much, but you'll take the bad with the good, if the good is a 1.155 OPS. Drafted as a shortstop, his time there is going to be limited on this team as he's already been pushed to the infield corners. (Three times at third base; once at first base.)
• 🥶: The Twins acquired Alejandro Hidalgo for Gio Urshela and aggressively assigned the 19-year-old to High-A where he is the youngest pitcher on the staff. Hidalgo struggled in his start this week. He walked six and hit a batter while only recording five outs. He's always struggled with walks, but not that much. Maybe it was just too cold... yeah, that's what we're going with.
• 🥶: Kala'i Rosario was impressive in his changes with the Twins this spring training, but this week was not good. Only one hit in 17 at-bats. No walks, four strikeouts. The hit went for a double, so it wasn't a complete waste of a week. There are better days ahead for the young outfielder.
• 😭: Connor Prielipp didn't pitch this week. It's been reported that he's seeking a doctor's opinion on his surgically repaired left elbow after feeling discomfort during his debut. He will have more testing and evaluation over the next few weeks. 
• What's Next: A home series against West Michigan (6-3) who sits in a tie atop the East Division.

Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels (Week: 3-3)

• Overall: 5-4, three-way tie for first in the Florida State League West. 
• Overview: There will likely always be a storyline here because even though the Mighty Mussels don't have top prospects, they have the newest guys in the organization and some are sure to impress. Oh, and rehab guys. There was plenty going on this week. 
• 🔥: After struggling his debut, Cory Lewis got back on track with a eight-strikeout performance. A home run and a walk were blemishes, but a huge improvement over the week before.
• 🔥: Zebby Matthews has been a dude so far. It's not often you can outperform a five-inning, three-hit, seven-strikeout scoreless debut, but Zebby outdid himself by missing working five perfect innings with only a walk. Definitely a candidate for Pitcher of the Week, Matthews probably will move from Florida to hea.. er, Iowa if he keeps this up.
• 🔥: Carlos Aguiar has been lost in the mix of big-name international prospects over the last handful of years, but maybe this can be his breakout year. The all-around numbers aren't great, but he's already hit two home runs. You'd like to see him improve his eye and selectivity at the plate (he struck out 66 times versus only nine walks in low-A last year), so the ten strikeouts so far this year aren't great, but the three walks has his OBP over .300.
• 🥶: After Dalton Shuffield was drafted in the 10th round last year, he was aggressively moved from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids to St. Paul and performed admirably, posting a .917 OPS. He hasn't been bad by any means, but a 2-for-12 stretch with six strikeouts in his first full week in low-A this year isn't going to get him quickly promoted. He's been pounding the ball into the ground, which is unlike him... so things should straighten out with him eventually.
• 😏: Jorge Polanco has been a giant question mark, but now he's finally getting back around to playing in full games. Three hits in 13 at-bats isn't great for a big-leaguer at low-A, but it's about getting reps and being healthy. The offense in Minnesota needs a jolt... and Polanco may be able to provide that eventually...
• 😏: ...and if he can't, maybe Alex Kirilloff can. Kirilloff also has only three hits in 12 at-bats. But he's hit a home run and has drawn three walks to go with his three strikeouts. 
• 😏: I've long felt that Josh Winder and Jhoan Duran would make a nasty back of the bullpen. Is that the path the Twins will go with the rehabbing Winder, who pitched 2 2/3 innings over two appearances? He struck out four and allowed three hits.
• What's Next: A home series against Jupiter (5-4) might help alleviate the logjam that is the FSL. Six of the 10 teams are currently 5-4.

PROSPECT SUMMARY

This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week. The Prospect Tracker will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. (Season-long stats will be in parenthesis.)

• 20. Misael Urbina, OF, Cedar Rapids: 2-16, 3B, RBI, R, BB, 7 K, CS. (.148/.258/.259. .517 OPS) 
• 19. Jose Rodriguez, OF: Extended Spring Training
• 18. Tanner Schobel, 2B, Cedar Rapids: 5-16, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, 5 K. (.313/.353/.500. .853 OPS), played four games at second base and committed no errors in 12 chances (one in 23 chances total). 
• 17. Ronny Henriquez, RHP: On Minnesota’s injured list with elbow inflammation.
• 16. Jordan Balazovic, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0 (0.00 ERA), 2.1 IP, H, 3 BB, 4 K. (1.91 WHIP, .182 BAA)
• 15. Matt Canterino, RHP: Still recovering from Tommy John surgery.
• 14. Noah Miller, SS, Cedar Rapids: 4-13, RBI, 5 R, 6 BB, K, SB. (.321/.441/.357. .798 OPS), played shortstop in three games (six total) and committed no errors in 8 chances (25 total); played one game at second base and committed no errors in three chances.
• 13. David Festa, RHP, Wichita: 0-0 (5.06 ERA), 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 6 K. (0.68 WHIP, .167 BAA)
• 12. Yasser Mercedes, OF: Extended Spring Training
• 11. Matt Wallner, OF, St. Paul: 2-7, 2B, 2 BB, 3 K. (.286/.500/.429. .929 OPS); Minnesota: 0-8, BB, 4K, CS (.000/.273/.000. .273 OPS)
• 10. Austin Martin, SS: Martin is still recovering from an arm injury.
• 9. Louie Varland, RHP, St. Paul: DNP. (1.00 WHIP, .222 BAA); Minnesota: 0-0 (.450 ERA), 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 HR, BB, 8 K (1.17 WHIP, .250 BAA)
• 8. Jose Salas, INF: 2-16, R, RBI, BB, 4 K, 3 SB, CS (.125/.160/.125. .285 OPS), played two games shortstop (no errors in six chances) and two games at third base (one error in two chances (seven total)). He previously played one game at second base (no errors in four chances)
• 7. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids: Did not pitch. Was placed on IL with some elbow soreness. Hopefully, the next news will be good news. (1.75 WHIP, .294 BAA)
• 6. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, St. Paul: 0-1 (13.50 ERA), 3.1 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, HR, BB, 3 K. (2.43 WHIP, .412 BAA)
• 5. Edouard Julien, 2B, St. Paul: 1-2, 2B, RBI. (.290/.421/.548. .969 OPS); Minnesota: 2-17, HR, RBI, 2 R, BB, 5 K (.118/.167/.294. .461 OPS)
• 4. Marco Raya, RHP: Getting a late start to the season after some arm soreness.
• 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 4-16, 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB, 11 K. (.185/.324/.630. .954 OPS) 
• 2. Royce Lewis, SS: Lewis is still recovering from his second ACL surgery. 
• 1. Brooks Lee, SS, Wichita: 6-18, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB, 4 K. (.323/.382/.516. .898 OPS), played all five games (eight total) at shortstop and committed no errors in 25 chances (37 total). 

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 
PITCHER - Kyle Jones, Cedar Rapids. Last year's 7th-round pick has had a great start to the season for the Kernels. With an aggressive placement at High-A. Jones has answered the bell. In his start against Quad Cities this week, Jones allowed only a single run on three hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out four. He was saddled with the loss, but the 23-year-old gets bonus points for being assigned to a harder environment than many of the other 2022 pitchers.

HITTER - Emmanuel Rodriguez, Cedar Rapids. There is so much not going right for the 20-year-old - he's walking back to the dugout after striking out almost two and a half times per game - and he's not walking nearly as much as he did last year. But when E-Rod is touching the ball... well, touching is the wrong word. Because he's assaulting it. In four games, he hit three home runs (including a monster walk-off) and drove in ten runs. By the time teams see him for a second time, they're going to wish they didn't have to.

Who would have been your picks? Any early season surprises or disappointments? Ask questions and discuss the Twins prospects in the COMMENTS below. 

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[FlyingFinn]

Great write-up. 

Didn't realize Stevenson had such a good week for the Saints. What's up with Severino only playing three games? He should be playing at least 5 every week. Minor injury? Prielipp's injury has to be the most depressing news.

Hey, when do the rest of the guys in extended spring training get going with games?

[mikelink45]

It is sad to see Balazovic not performing in a year that I think is key to his future and Connor Prielipp is showing signs of being another good arm/bad arm prospect - good when well, but bad too often.

[Dman]

Pitcher of the week for me is Matthews.  I did not see him performing this well this early.  Not that I knew a ton about him to begin with but that kind of domination gets me excited.  Kyle Jones being a level higher certainly fits as well it is just that Matthews shiny zero ERA trumps all for me.

I really think Ben Ross is going to be a steal.  4 for 4 days are hard to come by and I think he could be a special hitter if he can keep the K's down and maybe walk more.

Also liked what Miller did with his eye at the plate and hitting the ball a bit better too although this week not quite as well.  He also is a defensive asset so very well rounded player as long as he keeps his bat going.

E-Rod is special too but lack of plate discipline has me concerned. He is gonna have to find the patience he had last year if he wants to move up.  He has an amazing powerful swing that covers a lot of the plate but he needs to stop chasing to make that swing pay off.

Love the writeup Jeremy.  Thanks!

 

[Mike Sixel]

Great writeup!

[wabene]

The season stats in parentheses is a winner. 

[ashbury]

Shoved?  Punchies?  Dig that hip lingo all you cool cats out there!

[HrbieFan]

Doesn't sound good on Prielipp, praying it is some SCar tissue 

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Appreciate it guys! I'm all for new ideas. If there's something you all would like to see and I have access to it, let me know!

[terrydactyls]

9 hours ago, ashbury said:

Shoved?  Punchies?  Dig that hip lingo all you cool cats out there!

I keep seeing the word "shoved" being used.  Is that another new baseball term or just another lazy typo?

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, terrydactyls said:

I keep seeing the word "shoved" being used.  Is that another new baseball term or just another lazy typo?

Is there a reason you'd suggest laziness?

[Ricky Vaughn]

Have to go with Ross as the hitter. Having 11 k's in 19 at bats takes Rodriguez out of the running.

[Steve Lein]

3 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

I keep seeing the word "shoved" being used.  Is that another new baseball term or just another lazy typo?

Shoved = pitched really well. I hadn't heard of the usage myself until a few years ago. Darn kids and their newfangled vocabulary...

[Dman]

4 hours ago, Jeremy Nygaard said:

Appreciate it guys! I'm all for new ideas. If there's something you all would like to see and I have access to it, let me know!

I like the hot and cold emojis and as already stated the parentheses Stats.  Several of the quick writeups gave a lot of information in an efficient but fun manner.  Thanks again!

I can't think of anything off the top of my head to add.  Just fun to keep track of the week to week progress or lack thereof for the Twins prospects.

[Trov]

I am not concerned about E-Rod K number yet.  He missed a lot of time of live action and pitchers are going to try their best to get him to strike out.  I have not watched him at all, but would not be surprised if he is trying a little hard to get going like he did last year.  Also, possible he is trying to hit for even more power than he did before, leading to a little more swing and miss. If the K-rate stays at level for a few more weeks I will have concern. 

[terrydactyls]

11 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Is there a reason you'd suggest laziness?

Because it only takes a brief moment to double-check what you've written to make sure you typed what you meant.

[jkcarew]

Nice write up!

Connor Prielipp. Sigh.

Not getting a good vibe watching Rodriquez. I hope he's willing to listen and learn. A lot of success early on...but the path is rarely linear.

[jkcarew]

On 4/17/2023 at 6:58 PM, mikelink45 said:

It is sad to see Balazovic not performing in a year that I think is key to his future and Connor Prielipp is showing signs of being another good arm/bad arm prospect - good when well, but bad too often.

I don't think we know yet that Balazovic is "not performing" this year, do we?

It seems like they are working on stretching him out since he didn't have a spring training. Ridiculously small sample, but it's significantly better than his typical appearances last year. I'm assuming the appearances will get longer and more frequent. TBD.

[FlyingFinn]

On 4/18/2023 at 1:27 PM, Trov said:

I am not concerned about E-Rod K number yet.

Agreed. More concerning is that he went on the IL.

[mikelink45]

14 hours ago, jkcarew said:

I don't think we know yet that Balazovic is "not performing" this year, do we?

It seems like they are working on stretching him out since he didn't have a spring training. Ridiculously small sample, but it's significantly better than his typical appearances last year. I'm assuming the appearances will get longer and more frequent. TBD.

I meant that he had not been on the mound - last night he was the closer and did well.