Twins Minor League Report (5/13): Offense Continues to Surge for Wichita

[Seth Stohs]

Royce Lewis was back on the field in Frisco on Saturday night, playing shortstop, while Brooks Lee played the hot corner. But the story was the continued offensive output from the Wichita offense, and specifically a power surge from a much-underrated prospect. Three of four full-season affiliates won on Saturday. Find out much, much more below. 

Image courtesy of Katherine Ramirez, Frisco RoughRiders

Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions in the COMMENTS. I plan to check in frequently to answer as many questions as we get.  

TRANSACTIONS

• With Max Kepler going on the Injured List with a hamstring injury, the Twins recalled Trevor Larnach from St. Paul.
• RHP Dereck Rodriguez was optioned to St. Paul with Cole Sands being recalled by the Twins. 
• 1B Tyler White was activated from the Development List.  
• Wichita announced that RHP Tyler Beck has been released. 
• OF Alerick Soularie has been activated from the IL. He had been hit by a pitch in the wrist. 

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 1, Indianapolis 3
Box Score
In the bottom of the first inning, Matt Wallner hit his third home run for the Saints this season. Unfortunately, that was the only run for the Saints on Saturday afternoon. 

Aaron Sanchez made the start for the Saints. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on seven hits and three walks over 4 1/3 innings. He had two strikeouts. Kody Funderburk came out of the bullpen and recorded six outs, three of them came on strikeouts. He gave up no runs and no hits, though he walked one. Patrick Murphy and Oliver Ortega didn’t allow a run or a hit over the final 2 2/3 innings. 

Wallner had a good day at the plate. He went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, and the home run. Edouard Julien had a single and a walk out of the leadoff spot. Jose Miranda went 1-for-5. Hernan Perez added a triple. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 12, Frisco 3
Box Score 
The Wind Surge offense just continues to, well, surge. After scoring 16 runs on Wednesday and 13 runs on Friday, they scored a dozen runs on Saturday and won their fifth straight game. In the first five games of the series, the Wind Surge have outscored the RoughRiders 54-26. 

In this game, the offense was just very consistent throughout the game. They scored in six of the nine innings. They had 11 hits and 10 walks in the game. 

What you’re here for… Brooks Lee was back in the lineup, leading off and playing third base. He went 0-for-4 but walked twice. Royce Lewis played the first seven innings at shortstop and batted second. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and a double. He also added a stolen base. The two combined to score five of the team’s runs. 

Yunior Severino remains on fire. After hitting two home runs on Friday night, he went 3-for-4 with a walk and his 10th home run of the season. That is four home runs in five games so far this series. Jake Rucker went 2-for-4 with a double and five RBI. (So yes, the top four hitters in the lineup went a combined 7-for-15 with 10 runs scored and eight driven in.) 

Pat Winkel went 2-for-4 with a walk and did a very nice job behind the plate. Alerick Soularie returned from his wrist injury and went 1-for-3 with two walks. 

David Festa made the start for the Wind Surge and looked really good, frequently hitting 98 mph with his fastball. He was charged with one run on four hits and two walks over five innings. He had four strikeouts. 

Festa told Twins Daily what helped make him successful, “My fastball command was definitely better than previous outings, and (Pat) Winkel did a great job calling the game. We were both on the same page, and the defense was great behind me.” 

And Festa also enjoyed the opportunity to face big-league rehabber Corey Seager. In the first inning, Seager grounded out to second base. In the fourth frame, Seager popped up to the catcher. In the fifth inning, Festa walked the $325 million man. 

“Facing Corey Seager was awesome. An elite hitter like him, in a few big situations, was such a cool experience.”  

Seth Nordlin came on and gave up two runs on four hits and three walks over two innings. Jose Bravo walked one and struck out four batters over the final two, scoreless, innings. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 2 
Box Score
The Kernels clinched a series win in Davenport on Saturday night with a 4-2 win. 

Kyle Jones went the first four innings and gave up just one run on three hits. He walked two batters and struck out five batters. Niklas Rimmel came on and gave up one run on three walks over 1 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters. Malik Barrington entered the game with the bases loaded and allowed just one of the inherited runners to score. In total, he went 1 2/3 innings and gave up no runs on one hit and one walk. He struck out two batters. Miguel Rodriguez gets the save with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. 

Following the game, Barrington told Twins Daily, “Honestly, I try not to think about the runners when it’s a bases-loaded situation. My mentality in that situation is to just attack the hitter because if I give up a hit there, then runners are scoring regardless.” He continued, “Anytime I can get out of a jam, especially in that scenario, is a big confidence boost, and it gets the team going as well. So in that scenario, I just think ‘never shy away from competition. It’s a do-or-die situation, so throw the best I have and trust that I will be successful.’” 

The Kernels took the lead right away in the first inning when a Tanner Schobel double scored Ben Ross. Then Misael Urbina singled in Schobel for the second run. Then in the fourth frame, Ernie Yake hit a triple that scored Kyler Fedko before he was singled in by Ross. 

Cedar Rapids had seven hits by seven different hitters. The two batters that didn’t get a hit combined for three walks. They had more opportunities to score but went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 5, Tampa 2 
Box Score 
The Mighty Mussels had a four-run fifth inning and held on late to record their fifth straight win against the Yankees affiliate. 

In that fifth frame, Andrew Cossetti “drove in” the first run with a bases-loaded walk. That was followed by a bases-clearing triple off the bat of Carlos Aguiar. Aguiar drove in the other run on a fielder’s choice in the seventh inning. 

It may not surprise you that the Mighty Mussels managed just three hits in this game and had 14 strikeouts. However, they had the patience to coax 10 walks. Cossetti hit his ninth double and walked three times. Danny De Andrade, Dalton Shuffield, and Alec Sayre each had two walks. 

The Mighty Mussels had a really good day on the mound. Lefty Wilker Reyes made his first start (fifth appearance) of the season. He gave up two hits and walked three batters, but he threw two scoreless innings with the help of three strikeouts. The 21-year-old topped out at 91.7 mph. 

Sam Perez improved to 3-1 with three innings of one-hit baseball. He had six strikeouts and didn’t issue a walk. Perez is an interesting prospect. He has experienced a lot of success in the low levels of the minor leagues. He was the Twins Daily Short-Season Pitcher of the Year in 2021. As you see in this game, he gets swings-and-misses. But the southpaw tops out at 83.3 mph. Statcast calls out 38 of his 48 pitches as change ups. However, the velocity range on the pitch are from 72.5 to 83.3 mph, so my assumption is that his fastball and his changeup are both called changeups. 

Right-hander Jackson Hicks gave up three hits but no runs over two scoreless innings. He had three strikeouts. The 25-year-old threw 32 pitches and 20 of them were 81-84 mph sliders. His fastball topped out at 91.8 mph, but he threw just 10 fastballs. 

Finally, Zach Veen, the third lefty of the day, came in for the final two innings. He pitched a scoreless eighth frame, but a leadoff error led to two unearned runs in the ninth inning. He struck out two batters and dropped his ERA to 1.20 this season. The 2022 draft pick threw 25 breaking balls among his 41 pitches. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (Wichita Wind Surge) - 5 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K. 70 pitches, 43 strikes. 

Hitter of the Day – Matt Wallner (St. Paul Saints) -2-for-3, BB, 2B(7), HR(3), R, RBI.

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. 

#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 BB, 2 R, K, SB
#2 - Royce Lewis (Wichita-on Rehab) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B, R, RBI
#5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, K, E(2)
#11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B(7), HR(3), R, RBI.
#13 - David Festa (Wichita) - 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 70 pitches, 43 strikes.
#14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, K, SB(6).  
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(4), R, RBI, 3K. 
#20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, RBI, 2K. 

SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES 
Toledo @ St. Paul(2:07 PM CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-0, 2.45 ERA)  
Wichita @ Frisco (4:05 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (1-4, 8.50 ERA)  
Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (1:00 PM CST) - LHP Jordan Carr (0-1, 3.00 ERA)
Tampa @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis (3-1, 3.00 ERA) 

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games! 

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[twinstalker]

Twins have about five minor leaguers who can mildly help now, Brooks Lee who may help in a couple of years, then a long wait.

[Doctor Wu]

Thanks for another comprehensive report. Although, maybe a type on this sentence:

He gave up no runs and no walks, though he walked one. 

[FlyingFinn]

Lewis stealing bases is the best thing I've heard about him. You have to be healthy to do that. Great news.

Severino - on the 40 man or gone in the Rule 5 draft is my opinion right now. He is really hitting the ball. Lee is in a terrible slump right now though with everyone else on the team slamming Frisco's pitching. Festa with a great game. Great week for people to watch the Wind Surge (looks like they are playing in Frisco - rough week for those fans!), and even getting to see Corey Seager play.

Funderburk sure trying to show the Twins that he is ready in St. Paul.

[mikelink45]

I hope Aaron Sanchez is not the next arm up.  He has not looked like a SP this year.  Larnach has looked better since getting called up. I hope Miranda comes alive in AAA too. 

 

[Doctor Wu]

Where is Yunior Severino ranked on the prospect list? Seems like I see his name popping more and more on these highlights. Ten homers so far in the season is quite impressive!

[DJL44]

24 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Severino - on the 40 man or gone in the Rule 5 draft is my opinion right now. He is really hitting the ball.

He's great trade bait at the deadline.

[tony&rodney]

Watching on milb.com yesterday, Lewis looks strong and that double seemed to get to the wall in a hurry. Festa pitches so quickly and simply overpowers batters at times. He is definitely a strong prospect with a bright future if he can harness 3-4 pitches.

The Saints missed on a number of chances to score. Helman out with an injury hurts their lineup. Miranda and Garlick are searching for the ball.

Always enjoy these reports on the minor league games. Thanks.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

Lewis stealing bases is the best thing I've heard about him. You have to be healthy to do that. Great news.

Severino - on the 40 man or gone in the Rule 5 draft is my opinion right now. He is really hitting the ball. Lee is in a terrible slump right now though with everyone else on the team slamming Frisco's pitching. Festa with a great game. Great week for people to watch the Wind Surge (looks like they are playing in Frisco - rough week for those fans!), and even getting to see Corey Seager play.

Funderburk sure trying to show the Twins that he is ready in St. Paul.

I think it's going to be an interesting decision on Severino. He's pounding the ball right now, but he's also got a million strikeouts, which is concerning.

Glad to see Royce get a couple of hits early in the rehab assignment.

Cossetti sure seems to be lining himself up for an early promotion. Would like to see him moved up sooner rather than later, see how he does against better competition.

[2wins87]

1 hour ago, Doctor Wu said:

Where is Yunior Severino ranked on the prospect list? Seems like I see his name popping more and more on these highlights. Ten homers so far in the season is quite impressive!

I think he ought to be on the cusp of the top ten at this point, though I'm guessing he ends up more borderline top 20 on the next update. I can be a sucker for a switch hitting prospect with power from both sides, but he's got to be the best Twins prospect with that profile since Kennys Vargas.

This isn't just one hot month at this point, the real power breakout came last year and this year has been a continuation.

I'm not too worried about his K rate after one month when the pitchers have been ahead of the hitters. It has been coming down lately, and he doesn't have a track record of particularly high K rates, though he has traded a little bit of contact as his power increased. I think it'll probably end up at a manageable level.

[Omgbenji]

Whhooooaaaaaa!!! Everybody get in here, ring the cowbell! Urbana got a hit!!

Seriously though, I feel bad for him as he’s completely overwhelmed. It will be a very interesting mid season top prospect update. 

[roger]

Thanks for the report, Seth, they are appreciated.

Best news of the day has to be Lewis on the field, getting two hits including a hard hit double, and stealing a base.  Really hope this kid is back with the Twins in 17 days, playing third base for the next decade.

After an ugly start, fantastic seeing Cedar Rapids over .500.  Question about Severino.  Is he a bit like Julian, great bat with lots of questions about whether he can play on the field?

 

[Tibs]

Royce Lewis playing 3B on the Twins this summer would just be fantastic

[Seth Stohs]

7 hours ago, twinstalker said:

Twins have about five minor leaguers who can mildly help now, Brooks Lee who may help in a couple of years, then a long wait.

There now: Varland, Larnach, Ryan, Ober, Jeffers, Kirilloff, Jax, Duran, Moran, Sands, Celestino

Now: Headrick, Miranda, Wallner, Balazovic, Dobnak, Helman, Julien, Lewis, Funderburk, SWR, Henriquez, Schulfer, Winder, Contreras.

Soon: Martin (if healthy), Lee, Camargo, Festa, Keirsey, Severino, Williams, Bechtold, 

By end of 2024: Canterino, Adams, probably some other arms that come out of nowhere. 

Obviously not all will succeed, not all will be fortunate and even get the opportunity, but while the minor-league prospect rating of the organization isn't real high, there is a lot of depth. 

[wabene]

Enlow^^^^

[Seth Stohs]

3 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Thanks for another comprehensive report. Although, maybe a type on this sentence:

He gave up no runs and no walks, though he walked one. 

Correct... thank you! 

[Seth Stohs]

3 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Lewis stealing bases is the best thing I've heard about him. You have to be healthy to do that. Great news.

Severino - on the 40 man or gone in the Rule 5 draft is my opinion right now. He is really hitting the ball. Lee is in a terrible slump right now though with everyone else on the team slamming Frisco's pitching. Festa with a great game. Great week for people to watch the Wind Surge (looks like they are playing in Frisco - rough week for those fans!), and even getting to see Corey Seager play.

Funderburk sure trying to show the Twins that he is ready in St. Paul.

Severino was in the low-20s or high-30s. He's probably been a little underrated for awhile, but definitely will be rising in our next prospect rankings update (coming soon), though probably not as much as we would like. 

I meant to point out that Funderburk hit 95 last night. So he's added 2-3 mph over the last couple of years. Fastball/Slider. That can play in the big leagues. 

[roger]

3 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

There now: Varland, Larnach, Ryan, Ober, Jeffers, Kirilloff, Jax, Duran, Moran, Sands, Celestino

Now: Headrick, Miranda, Wallner, Balazovic, Dobnak, Helman, Julien, Lewis, Funderburk, SWR, Henriquez, Schulfer, Winder, Contreras.

Soon: Martin (if healthy), Lee, Camargo, Festa, Keirsey, Severino, Williams, Bechtold, 

By end of 2024: Canterino, Adams, probably some other arms that come out of nowhere. 

Obviously not all will succeed, not all will be fortunate and even get the opportunity, but while the minor-league prospect rating of the organization isn't real high, there is a lot of depth. 

Out of those 35 guys, it would really be fantastic if 4 or 5 ended up being that big time stud great teams need.  Seems like three are on the verge, Ryan, AK and Duran.  Will there be at least two more?

[Seth Stohs]

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I hope Aaron Sanchez is not the next arm up.  He has not looked like a SP this year.  Larnach has looked better since getting called up. I hope Miranda comes alive in AAA too. 

 

Sanchez is behind at least SWR, Balazovic and Headrick in the pecking order. If they need pitchers beyond those two, they're in trouble anyway. Dobnak may be ahead of Sanchez too, even though he's been a swing guy to this point. 

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, Omgbenji said:

Whhooooaaaaaa!!! Everybody get in here, ring the cowbell! Urbana got a hit!!

Seriously though, I feel bad for him as he’s completely overwhelmed. It will be a very interesting mid season top prospect update. 

I noted in my Cedar Rapids roster preview before the season that there were several very, very young-for-level prospects being pushed to High-A, and understandably they have struggled. Urbina, Salas, Rodriguez, Miller. All have had tough starts. Kala'i Rosario seems to have broken out a bit. But all of those guys, and others, really could have started in Ft. Myers. That said, it will be fun to see which of them make some adjustments and finish strong. The team could be better in the second half, and Raya and Hidalgo will obviously be key in that too. 

[Seth Stohs]

54 minutes ago, Tibs said:

Royce Lewis playing 3B on the Twins this summer would just be fantastic

That is something that will happen a lot. 

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, roger said:

Thanks for the report, Seth, they are appreciated.

Best news of the day has to be Lewis on the field, getting two hits including a hard hit double, and stealing a base.  Really hope this kid is back with the Twins in 17 days, playing third base for the next decade.

After an ugly start, fantastic seeing Cedar Rapids over .500.  Question about Severino.  Is he a bit like Julian, great bat with lots of questions about whether he can play on the field?

Severino is definitely more offense than defense, but he was signed (twice!) as a shortstop and he can adequately play 3B and 2B, maybe even an average fielder at those spots. 

Offensively, the difference would be the walks, but other than that, they can both hit. 

[bird]

Lewis appears to be an adequate SS. Maybe Correa goes to 3rd and Lewis takes SS?

[Rosterman]

What is the scoop on bye-bye to Tyler Beck? Too many walks. Will need to be Rule 5 protected and they don't see him advancing to St. Paul at all?

[Dman]

2 hours ago, 2wins87 said:

I think he ought to be on the cusp of the top ten at this point, though I'm guessing he ends up more borderline top 20 on the next update. I can be a sucker for a switch hitting prospect with power from both sides, but he's got to be the best Twins prospect with that profile since Kennys Vargas.

This isn't just one hot month at this point, the real power breakout came last year and this year has been a continuation.

I'm not too worried about his K rate after one month when the pitchers have been ahead of the hitters. It has been coming down lately, and he doesn't have a track record of particularly high K rates, though he has traded a little bit of contact as his power increased. I think it'll probably end up at a manageable level.

I think you have a good point for top 10.  You look at Wallners stats and Severino's and they appear to be similar players at the plate.  Both pretty aggressive with K rates around 30% and walk rates around 10%.  Both can hit home runs and hit the ball hard.  Wallner is rated number 7 on the MLB site and Severino doesn't even make the list.  Yet Severino had a better walk rate, K rate and similar OPS to Wallner and to top it off he is younger than Wallner and a switch hitter as well.  I think he is under rated right now and will probably continue to be until he proves it for another half year at Double A.  Still, given his stats have been pretty steady the past 3 years I don't think top 10 is out of the question right now.

He doesn't stack up to Jullien quite as well from a plate discipline perspective but his power is equal to Julliens and his defense likely a little better although both are not real strong fielders IIRC.  At any rate if he keeps this up I think the Twins will need to find room for him.  A switch hitter with that kind of power is just too good to lose to Rule V.  Not sure where he fits on the MLB team but they need to hang onto him.

[OptimisticTwinsFan]

2 hours ago, 2wins87 said:

I think he ought to be on the cusp of the top ten at this point, though I'm guessing he ends up more borderline top 20 on the next update. I can be a sucker for a switch hitting prospect with power from both sides, but he's got to be the best Twins prospect with that profile since Kennys Vargas.

This isn't just one hot month at this point, the real power breakout came last year and this year has been a continuation.

I'm not too worried about his K rate after one month when the pitchers have been ahead of the hitters. It has been coming down lately, and he doesn't have a track record of particularly high K rates, though he has traded a little bit of contact as his power increased. I think it'll probably end up at a manageable level.

Not to mention once he got promoted to A+ in 2021 he hit .321 - .414 - .907. He was hitting XBH's rather than HRs so his SLG was .493. This means he's been producing like a top prospect for at least parts of 3 different seasons. To me, this should put him at least in the Wallner type tier of prospect. It's not like other Twins "top" guys like Rodriguez, Wallner, and others don't have K issues as well. His BB% has been like ~11-12% across levels over each of the last 3 years as well which isn't bad. 

I guess to be fair on the other side Wallner has been in like the 15-16 to 18% range which insane and E-Rod is at 21% which is even more insane albeit at lower levels (guy has a 57% K rate this year lmao). 

[Doctor Gast]

They need to keep Gordon in the OF where he's naturally better instead of systematically trying to jam in the INF where doesn't fit. Last year was a good year to give Helman a shot at 2B.

Lewis is a spark plug that can get any team fired up.

[darwin22]

Seth:  Thanks for the continued excellent reporting on our minor league affiliates.

Was wondering if you know how long of a commitment Twins have in keeping Lewis at Wichita?

Selfishly, I'm hoping he'll remain with the Wind Surge for another 10 days as I have a road trip (from KC area) to Springfield, Mo planned for May 22-23 to take in two games.

 

 

[Doctor Wu]

18 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

Severino was in the low-20s or high-30s. He's probably been a little underrated for awhile, but definitely will be rising in our next prospect rankings update (coming soon), though probably not as much as we would like. 

I meant to point out that Funderburk hit 95 last night. So he's added 2-3 mph over the last couple of years. Fastball/Slider. That can play in the big leagues. 

Funderburk is looking more and more like a legit prospect, one we can use pretty soon. Thanks for all the info!

[TwinsDr2021]

20 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

There now: Varland, Larnach, Ryan, Ober, Jeffers, Kirilloff, Jax, Duran, Moran, Sands, Celestino

Now: Headrick, Miranda, Wallner, Balazovic, Dobnak, Helman, Julien, Lewis, Funderburk, SWR, Henriquez, Schulfer, Winder, Contreras.

Soon: Martin (if healthy), Lee, Camargo, Festa, Keirsey, Severino, Williams, Bechtold, 

By end of 2024: Canterino, Adams, probably some other arms that come out of nowhere. 

Obviously not all will succeed, not all will be fortunate and even get the opportunity, but while the minor-league prospect rating of the organization isn't real high, there is a lot of depth. 

You left out Alcala (27) and for the Now, Really only Ryan has proved himself, I believe Varland, Ober, Jeffers and Duran are real close, AK and healthy and if you want to include Jax.

Ages of the players you listed

Now; 25,25,25,24,28,27,24,24,26,22,23,27,26,28

Soon: 24,22, 23,23,26, 23, 26, 27

What I see is two possible better than average offense players, Lewis and Lee, (Maybe Julien as well), Maybe two starting pitchers Festa and SWR. and a bunch of fill ins and relief pitchers (both which are important)