Twins Minor League Report (5/26): Pitching Continues To Be Solid, Even in Losses

[Sherry Cerny]

The Minnesota Twins affiliates pitching had some good outings on Friday night, but the offenses left much to be desired. As the organization gets deeper into the season, there is becoming a clear showing of players who are leaders on the mound and in the batters box. 

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Rafael Cruz)

TRANSACTIONS

• Wind Surge activate RHP Francis Peguero from 7-day injured list
• Mussels OF Luis Baez reinstated from the development list.
• Mussels INF Yohander Martinez (right groin strain) placed on the 7-day injured list.

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 4, Omaha 6
Box Score
Omaha worked quickly to get on the board in the first inning with two runs off starting pitcher (aka, The Opener) Connor Sadzeck. Sadzeck was replaced by Jordan Balazovic, who also gave up two runs in the second inning to give Omaha a 4-0 lead. Balazovic went 3 2/3 innings and gave up three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out three batters.

The Saints offense was smothered by Omaha's Drew Parrish and couldn’t come up for air. Parrish only struck out one batter in four innings, but he only allowed two hits and no runs.. The few times that the Saints were able to get on base, they were unable to manufacture any runs and left ducks on the pond. 

Omaha continued to control the game from the mound and in the batter's box. The Storm Chasers got another run in the fifth inning after another series of walks and singles to push Omaha ahead 5-0. 

Austin Schulfer provided 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. Kody Funderburk gave up one run on one hit and one walk over the final 2 2/3 innings. He also had two throwing errors. 

Tyler White hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, and the Saints added single runs in the eighth and ninth innings but fell short in this game. 

White, Mark Contreras, and Hernan Perez each had two hits. The Saints had eight hits and seven walks, but they went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base. 

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 0, Springfield 1
Box Score 
There was a pitching duel in Springfield on Friday night between Wind Surge starter Aaron Rozek and Springfield’s Wilfredo Pereira and went deep into the game. Only one run was given up during the battle. Unfortunately, it was allotted to Springfield after a walk and a few singles, but Rozek reclaimed control and made it through seven innings. Rozek struck out five hitters and only allowed three hits and the one earned run. 

The Wichita offense fell victim to Pereira’s accurate assault of the strike zone (10 strikeouts over five innings). They only recorded four hits and were shut out. It wasn’t for lack of trying. The offense was able to string together hits but were either groundouts, or flyouts. The few that got on base due to a walk or a single, were stranded on base. Shortstop Brooks Lee was stranded three times on base and left fielder Alerick Soularie stranded four times. It was an uphill battle all night for the offense, and one they couldn’t win. 

The Surge tried their best to bring in runs in the ninth inning. Yunior Severino reached on an error, and Will Holland pinch ran for him. After a strikeout, Aaron Sabato walked, and Anthony Prato ran for him. DaShawn Keirsey ripped a line drive to center, but Holland was thrown out at the plate. The next batter grounded out and the game was over. 

Sabato played in his first game since going on the IL after breaking a bone in his wrist on a hit-by-pitch on April 11th. He had a single and the walk. Severino knocked his first triple of the season earlier in the game but was unable to score. Keirsey had a single and a walk. The team had just five hits and three walks, but they also struck out 14 times in the game. 

Following Rozek’s strong seven-inning performance, Michael Boyle tossed a perfect eighth frame. 

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 1
Box Score 
The Kernels snapped their losing streak and got a win under their belt on Friday night. The Kernels offense started the night on a steady pace scoring three runs by the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead over Wisconsin. 

Cameron Wagoner made the start for Wisconsin. The Kernels scored three runs (2 earned) on nine hits and a walk. In the fourth inning, there was an interesting plate appearance between Kernels infielder Ben Ross and Wagoner. They battled through a 16-pitch at-bat with Wagoner ultimately getting the “W” when Ross popped out. However, it forced the Rattlers to make a pitching change. Luis Amaya was brought in to close out the inning. 

Kernels starter Marco Raya had another wonderful outing. Since Raya’s start on April 21st this season, his ERA has continued to drop from 6.75 to 3.07, and he hasn’t given up an earned run during the entire month of May. Raya struck out five batters in three innings and only threw 40 pitches. The 20-year-old prospect gave up no runs, hits or walks in his appearance, giving the Kernels a comfortable start to the game. 

Raya was replaced by lefty Jordan Carr in the fourth inning and he worked six innings to finish the game. Carr kept the Rattlers from making any progress in his six innings pitched. Carr struck out six batters, and he gave up only an unearned run. 

Kyler Fedko led the offense. He went 2-for-4 and hit his second homer of the season in the sixth inning. Andrew Cossetti had two doubles in three at-bats. He was also hit by a pitch. Emmanuel Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with his second double. 

Mussels Matters
GAME 1 - Fort Myers 8, Dunedin 4
Box Score
The Mussels had a full day Friday against the Dunedin Blue Jays. They began by completing the game that started on Thursday night but was suspended due to weather. When there is a scheduled doubleheader, both are seven-inning games. However, when a game is suspended, that game is played first and played to nine innings. The regularly-scheduled game is then a seven-inning game. 

 C.J. Culpepper gave up one run on one hit and one walk over the first two innings. Andrew Morris ‘started’ when the game resumed on Friday. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out three batters. Jarret Whorff recorded the save with three innings of one-run ball. He gave up two hits and three walks. 

The bats got hot early in the game and never slowed down in the first of two games on Friday. The Mussels came out strong in the third inning running. The inning started when Alec Sayre and Dillon Tatum were both hit by pitches. Proving that they were OK, they were successful on a double steal. So when Jorel Ortega grounded out, he got an RBI. Danny De Andrade came to bat next and singled to score their second run of the inning. (This is when the game ended on Thursday and where it began on Friday.) A new pitcher entered, but Ricardo Olivar and Dalton Shuffield added back-to-back singles to bring De Andrade home. 

Tatum doubled to score Sayre with the team’s fourth run in the fourth inning. Dunedin scored twice in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the Mussels’ lead to 4-3. However, Rubel Cespedes’s second homer of the season gave Ft. Myers a 5-3 lead in the sixth inning. The Blue Jays got a run back in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Cespedes drove in a run in the eighth frame on a fielder’s choice. 

The Mussels added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning. Ortega singled in Sayre, and Olivar singled in Ortega. 

Sayre had two singles, and Tatum had two doubles. Ricardo Olivar led the offense. He went 4-for-5. He also stole his seventh base of the season. And just for fun, he threw out a runner at home from his position in left field. 

GAME 2 - Fort Myers 0, Dunedin 2
Box Score 
Fort Myers bats were cold throughout Game 2 of the double-header. 

Mussels starter Cory Lewis allowed a double and a home run in the first inning, which allowed Dunedin to go ahead 2-0, but unlike Game 1, the Mussels’ bats couldn’t get anything going. 

Third baseman Jorel Ortega provided most of the offense. In the first inning, he singled and stole second and later third base but was left stranded. He went 2-for-3 in the game to boost his batting average to .301. His second hit of the game was his 15th double of the season. 

The Mussels continued to threaten throughout the night, even stringing together hits (Dylan Neuse and Sayre hit back-to-back singles) in the second inning, but all the gas was out of the line-up and carried through on the mound from the Blue Jays whose pitching staff only allowed four hits total and struck out 12 batters.

Lewis and the bullpen didn’t give up any further runs throughout the remainder of Game 2, but the damage was done. The right-hander gave up two runs on four hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out seven batters. Zach Veen gave up a hit and a walk in the sixth, but no runs.  The bats were unable to create any runs to close the gap, and Lewis fell to 4-2 on the season. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Marco Raya (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5K, 40 pitches, 26 strikes)
Hitter of the Day – Ricardo Olivar (Fort Myers Mighty Mussels) - 4-for-5, R, RBI, K   

PROSPECT SUMMARY
The Twins Prospect Tracker  is the best way to see how each of the Twin's top prospects performed during their games, but in case you wanted a quick look, Here is how each of the top 20 performed today: 

#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-4, K
#2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab-St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, R, K. 
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2B(2), R
#4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 
#6 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5K 
#9 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) -
#12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 3 K
#14 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3K
#19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 3B(1), K 

SATURDAY SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTERS: 
Omaha @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (1-1, 5.45 ERA)
Surge @ Springfield (6:35 PM CST): RHP Travis Adams (1-4, 7.01 ERA)
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo (0-1, 2.33 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:00 PM CST) - 

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday's games! 

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[Rik19753]

The lack of production from Jose Salas is alarming. I skim through these minor league affiliate reports every day and I don't recall seeing his name mentioned. I know he's still very young and has room to improve, but it seems like good prospects find a way to shine even if they aren't hitting, either through baserunning or defense, and from what I can tell he hasn't really been doing anything notable. 

[Doctor Wu]

It seems like all of Marco Raya's starts are very short ones, both in innings and number of pitches. What's the story with that? Is he on some of pitch limit or what?

[roger]

Great seeing Raya pitching so well.  Curious to see an answer to Doc’s question.

Can not tell you how good it is to see a game like this from ERod.  Hopefully, there are many more to come…..SOON!

[FlyingFinn]

2 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

It seems like all of Marco Raya's starts are very short ones, both in innings and number of pitches. What's the story with that? Is he on some of pitch limit or what?

Yes, someone please answer this. It's been asked for weeks now. He seems to be on a 3 inning limit no matter how many pitches he throws. 40 pitches! How can he not come out for the 4th inning. If he gets any better, he's going to get them out with 25 pitches in the 3 innings. Don't get this at all.

Odd night for our pitchers. Saints once again use the 1 inning opener for Balazovic. Funderburk makes 2 throwing errors. Great pitching by Carr (who does every other game now) and Rozek (who needed a great game).

[Seth Stohs]

2 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

It seems like all of Marco Raya's starts are very short ones, both in innings and number of pitches. What's the story with that? Is he on some of pitch limit or what?

I don't have any official answer, just my own theories. So, feel free to agree or disagree. 

Since the Twins drafted Raya, he's had several 'minor' shoulder issues. His is not a big guy, so he'll likely always have to fight the thing about smallish pitchers being bullpen guys. So I do assume they have a plan that includes a pitch count or an up-and-down (innings) count. 

I personally am curious how it will play out over the long haul, but I don't mind it for now. Try to keep him healthy. Keep him working on a consistent basis. He works really hard in the bullpen and in the weight room, so he is getting work and developing. Maybe the plan is to keep seeing him get bigger and stronger before asking him for too many pitches for innings. 

I can try to find out more. Not sure I'd be able to get anything too official. But for now, the results in these shorter stints hve been quite positive. 

 

[jmlease1]

3 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

It seems like all of Marco Raya's starts are very short ones, both in innings and number of pitches. What's the story with that? Is he on some of pitch limit or what?

He's had some injuries, so it looks like they're trying to build him up slowly. He's very talented, but only 20, so I'm sure they're trying to make sure they do right by him and are being cautious about his development. YMMV on whether they're being too cautious?

I would like to see him start going deeper into games, but the other end of the spectrum is Matt Canterino whose arm and MLB career may have been ruined by overwork at a young age at Rice (the poster child college for running up pitch counts).

[2wins87]

2 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

I don't have any official answer, just my own theories. So, feel free to agree or disagree. 

Since the Twins drafted Raya, he's had several 'minor' shoulder issues. His is not a big guy, so he'll likely always have to fight the thing about smallish pitchers being bullpen guys. So I do assume they have a plan that includes a pitch count or an up-and-down (innings) count. 

I personally am curious how it will play out over the long haul, but I don't mind it for now. Try to keep him healthy. Keep him working on a consistent basis. He works really hard in the bullpen and in the weight room, so he is getting work and developing. Maybe the plan is to keep seeing him get bigger and stronger before asking him for too many pitches for innings. 

I can try to find out more. Not sure I'd be able to get anything too official. But for now, the results in these shorter stints hve been quite positive. 

 

They haven’t drafted many HS pitchers but I'd be curious if they have a long term health strategy where they limit his in game pitches a lot early on while development is still going on behind the scenes, at least until he gets to the upper minors where his workload can be built up.

It seems like last year he actually pitched deeper early in the season before having a few brief absences and then somewhat short outings in the second half. I think there were a couple minor health issues in there but I don't remember any specifics. So that seems more like they are trying to manage his health more specifically to avoid any of those nagging issues from popping up. Makes me wonder a little more about his durability long term but if it does manage to get him to the majors without any major injuries that's a big plus.

[2wins87]

Good to see Cossetti carrying over success into high A so far.

I'm preparing myself to start really getting excited about his stat line if he can repeat his low A numbers for a couple months with Cedar Rapids.

[ashbury]

47 minutes ago, 2wins87 said:

They haven’t drafted many HS pitchers but I'd be curious if they have a long term health strategy

We got a taste of their strategy less than a year after they drafted Chase Petty.

[gman]

Its good to see ERod have a 2 hit game. Only his third multi hit game of the year so far.  Looks like A+ has slowed him up. Hope he catches up in June.