Twins Minor League Report (6/5): Complex Opening Days!

[Seth Stohs]

There are no minor-league games on Mondays... until there are. On Monday, the Florida Complex League and the Dominican Summer League began their seasons. Find out how the teams and the players performed. Also, several players are moving up the Twins organization, so be sure to check the transactions too. 

Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily

I enjoy following the Twins minor-league system. I've been doing that for a minimum of 20 years, and really even further back. Why? Well, even when the Twins are struggling, I can follow four more box scores and keep up with over 100 Twins prospects. Well, then in early June when the short-season, rookie leagues begin, there are two more teams and nearly 60 more prospects to keep up with. 

The FCL roster includes several of the Twins top young prospects, like 17 and 18 year olds who were signed to seven-digit signing bonuses six months ago. Soon, you will see the Twins Daily Minor League Week in Review which will discuss the good, the bad and the ugly. That will be limited to the four full-season this week. But we would love your input. Is it better to post a Twins Minor League Report on Monday's for the two Complex teams, or do you think it should be included in the Week in Review? Let us know below. 

Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. 

TRANSACTIONS
Austin Martin began a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins.  
RHP Miguelangel Boadas has been promoted from the FCL to Fort Myers. 
Infielder Jankel Ortiz and outfielder Argenis Jimenez have been placed on the FCL Twins 7-Day IL. 
RHPs Pierson Ohl and Regi Grace promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita. 
RHP Cory Lewis promoted from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids. 
RHP Orlando Rodriguez activated from Cedar Rapids' Development List. 
Wichita placed RHP Chad Donato on the Development List, and RHP Seth Nordlin was released. 

COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA
FCL Twins 4, FCL Rays 1 
Box Score
Opening Day for the Florida Complex League Twins was on Monday at noon local time at Bill Smith Field in Fort Myers. The roster certainly has some intriguing players. 

The first thing to point out is that Austin Martin played in his first game since early in spring training. He has been rehabbing an elbow injury. He batted second and played second base. He grounded out to shortstop in his first plate appearance. Then in the third inning, he came up and hit a solo home run. He came to the plate one more time and was hit by a pitch. He added a stolen base. His game was complete soon after, replaced by Isaac Pena who singled in his line at-bat. He scored the team’s fourth run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jose Rodriguez. 

The offensive star of the game was Venezuelan catcher Daniel Pena who went 3-for-3. In the fourth inning, the 18-year-old hit a two-run homer to increase the Twins lead to 3-1. 

19-year-old lefty Cesar Lares posted a 2.93 ERA in 11 starts in the DSL last year (with 71 strikeouts in 46 innings). On Monday, he got the nod to make the team’s first start. Lares gave up one run on two hits and two walks in four innings. He had an impressive nine strikeouts.

Juan Mercedes then struck out five batters over three scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and one walk. Yon Landaeta walked two and struck out two batters in a scoreless inning.  24-year-old Ricardo Velez struck out the side in a perfect ninth to record the save. 

Velez signed with the Twins in July of 2021 as an undrafted free agent from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, an NAIA school. He had been playing in the United Shore League. He has pitched a lot the last couple of offseasons in the Puerto Rican Winter League. 

Byron Chourio, who came to the Twins in the Luis Arraez/Pablo Lopez deal, batted fifth and played center field. He went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. Bryan Acuna batted fourth and played shortstop. Ronald and Luisangel’s younger brother went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. 

Finally, the Twins 14th round pick last year was Florida prep infielder Omari Daniel. He didn’t play in 2022 because he had Tommy John surgery. So Monday was his professional debut. He batted ninth and played third base. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. 

COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA
DSL Twins 1, DSL Giants Orange 5
Box Score
The DSL Twins began their season with a home game. Ledwin Taveras started and gave up three runs in the first inning. The 18-year-old responded with two scoreless innings before two unearned runs scored in the fourth frame. The error was his own. In four innings, he gave up five runs (3 earned) on eight hits and two walks. He also notched seven strikeouts. 

Eduardo Soriano (20) came on and tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up four hits and no walks, and he struck out four batters. Eider Machuca (18) worked the final two innings without further runs scoring. He gave up one hit, walked one, and hit one batter. He had three strikeouts. 

Meanwhile, the DSL bats were quiet in their first game of the season. Hendry Chivilli had two of the team’s four hits in the game. He played shortstop and hit leadoff. The 17-year-old signed with the Twins in January for $2.1 million. Yilber Herrera had the lone extra base hit, a double, and added the team’s lone walk in the game. He also stole a base. Moises Lopez, who turned 17 a month ago, had the team’s lone RBI, a single to score Herrera. Lopez also stole a base and was hit by a pitch. 

The Twins top international signing in January was outfielder Ariel Castro who reportedly received a $2.4 million bonus. He batted third and played center field. He went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. The third seven-digit signing bonus the Twins gave in January went to catcher Carlos Silva, who got $1.1 million. On Opening Day, he batted seventh and was the team’s DH. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.  

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Cesar Lares (FCL) - 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K.
Hitter of the Day – Daniel Pena (FCL) - 3-for-3, HR(1), R, 2 RBI

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

#10 - Yasser Mercedes (EST) - 0-for-5, K
#11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, HBP, HR(1), R, RBI, E (played 2B)
#18 - Jose Rodriguez (EST) - 1-for-3, SF, RBI, K

TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES
Iowa @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-1, 4.45 ERA)
Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CST) - TBD
Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones (3-3, 4.70 ERA)
Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - TBD
FCL Twins @ FCL Rays (11:00AM CST) - TBD
DSL Twins @ DSL Phillies Red (10:00AM CST) - TBD

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Monday’s Complex League Opening Day games! 

 

 

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[chpettit19]

That Austin Martin news is very nice to hear! Not just that he's playing, but that he's playing the field. Hopefully that means he's in a good place with the elbow. Maybe he's our answer in CF in a couple months? 

[Dman]

Have to say I don't usually get all that exited about the FCL team but this year is different.  There are some very interesting players pretty much top to bottom this year in Mercedes, Rodriguez, Chourio, and Nova in the outfield.  Isaac, Daniel and Alexander Pena, Daniel, Ortiz, and Acunca in the infield.  Just a ton of young interesting bats and some noteworthy all around players.

I don't know a ton about the pitching at that level but Lara was excellent last year in the DSL and is off to a good start in the FCL. Brayan Medina is supposed to have some decent stuff and hopefully there are more guys to come.  The FCL will get reinforcement after the draft as well.

Really hoping some of these guys excel and push their way to A ball this year.  Thanks for the report.  I will be watching the FCL closely this year.

[USNMCPO]

The Martin news is really nice. If he could pan out it could be a big addition (maybe CF?). At this point I really am not concerned whether he hits for power. Just hit, Baby!

[roger]

Thanks, Seth, for bringing us news from these really young kids.  Add me to those who would like to see you reporting on this group separate from the four full season teams.

I know it is one game, but could Peña be the answer to every Twins fan prayers?  A catcher who is great both behind the dish and with his bat?

Several very interesting young kids in this group, with Acuna, Lara and Silva leading the way.

 

[FlyingFinn]

Add my vote to have this minor league report on Mondays. 

Martin playing 2nd base is interesting but probably just to get him back on the field without too many long throws.

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

Add my vote to have this minor league report on Mondays. 

Martin playing 2nd base is interesting but probably just to get him back on the field without too many long throws.

I would assume the plan would be to keep playing him somewhere once/if he comes back and stays healthy the rest of the year. Would be good to get him time at SS, 2B, 3B, LF and CF. 

[Seth Stohs]

8 hours ago, roger said:

Thanks, Seth, for bringing us news from these really young kids.  Add me to those who would like to see you reporting on this group separate from the four full season teams.

I know it is one game, but could Peña be the answer to every Twins fan prayers?  A catcher who is great both behind the dish and with his bat?

Several very interesting young kids in this group, with Acuna, Lara and Silva leading the way.

I like the idea too... and I'll talk it through with our minor-league writers. I could probably do it fairly frequently, but not every day. It would get these guys a bit more recognition, maybe... not more words, but Yeah, i'm not sure. I do like the idea of keeping it separate from Jeremy's MILB Week in Review on Mondays. 

As for Daniel Pena... I would give it a little bit more time. :-) 

Mercedes and Rodriguez are the two Top 20 prospect guys... Acuna, Chourio are in that next category. 

[Seth Stohs]

9 hours ago, Dman said:

Have to say I don't usually get all that exited about the FCL team but this year is different.  There are some very interesting players pretty much top to bottom this year in Mercedes, Rodriguez, Chourio, and Nova in the outfield.  Isaac, Daniel and Alexander Pena, Daniel, Ortiz, and Acunca in the infield.  Just a ton of young interesting bats and some noteworthy all around players.

I don't know a ton about the pitching at that level but Lara was excellent last year in the DSL and is off to a good start in the FCL. Brayan Medina is supposed to have some decent stuff and hopefully there are more guys to come.  The FCL will get reinforcement after the draft as well.

Really hoping some of these guys excel and push their way to A ball this year.  Thanks for the report.  I will be watching the FCL closely this year.

Last year was the first time that we included the DSL Twins updates in our daily minor league reports. In the past, we just had to limit it somehow, but now that we have 5-6 MILB report writers, it isn't asking too much, in my opinion, to add one more game to the report. 

Anyway, I feel like because of that, hopefully more people are at least familiar with some of these kids in the FCL this year because they were discussed in the DSL last year. Also, we write about the guys they signed in January, and now we write about how they perform in our daily reports. 

[Seth Stohs]

9 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

That Austin Martin news is very nice to hear! Not just that he's playing, but that he's playing the field. Hopefully that means he's in a good place with the elbow. Maybe he's our answer in CF in a couple months? 

I think Martin should be a candidate in CF. I think he and Royce Lewis would be the best for that spot. Maybe have them race and see which is faster. Ha! No, I guess you keep Royce at 3B because he's so good there whereas Martin could be significantly better if he's in the OF. 

[nclahammer]

I like the idea of daily coverage, if possible, added to the regular fantastic minor league reporting of TD.  If it becomes too much, or there's just not enough meaningful daily content, I like the Monday approach, since that's just a recap day for the minors.  Either way, thank you Twins Daily staff for the tremendous job you do covering our mostly minors, in the minors.

[Trov]

17 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

That Austin Martin news is very nice to hear! Not just that he's playing, but that he's playing the field. Hopefully that means he's in a good place with the elbow. Maybe he's our answer in CF in a couple months? 

I was wondering the same thing about him and CF.  I know his arm is not the strongest, which could be an issue in CF, but if he can get on base at high clip and cover enough ground he may be the CF in the near future.  Not saying this year, unless he is lighting it up later, but looking into next year CF is a big question with the looks that Buck is never getting back out there. 

[chpettit19]

8 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

I think Martin should be a candidate in CF. I think he and Royce Lewis would be the best for that spot. Maybe have them race and see which is faster. Ha! No, I guess you keep Royce at 3B because he's so good there whereas Martin could be significantly better if he's in the OF. 

I've been driving the "Lewis to CF" bus for a long time. If Martin can get back to the type of player he was in the AFL, and cover CF (which I think he could) that'd be great with me, too. I don't like the idea of Royce being "stuck" at 3B instead of playing up the middle when we lack so much depth up the middle (moving forward, not necessarily today). But if Martin can be the guy we hoped, and cover CF, I'm happy with Lewis at 2B. Just want their best athletes up the middle. If you can get 2 way players up the middle you give yourself a real advantage.

[chpettit19]

10 minutes ago, Trov said:

I was wondering the same thing about him and CF.  I know his arm is not the strongest, which could be an issue in CF, but if he can get on base at high clip and cover enough ground he may be the CF in the near future.  Not saying this year, unless he is lighting it up later, but looking into next year CF is a big question with the looks that Buck is never getting back out there. 

My ideal OF dream for a while now has been Martin in LF, Buxton in CF, Royce in RF. The ground they'd cover would be incredible. That dream has been pretty well shattered, but Royce and Austin give me hope that we still have a shot at a stud in CF. It's going to be an interesting rest of 2023, and into 2024, to see how all the pieces start to fall together. And how quick the FO is willing to start handing jobs to young guys over vets (looking at you Kepler!). Exciting times! But lots of question marks we need to go the right way.

[Seth Stohs]

21 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

I've been driving the "Lewis to CF" bus for a long time. If Martin can get back to the type of player he was in the AFL, and cover CF (which I think he could) that'd be great with me, too. I don't like the idea of Royce being "stuck" at 3B instead of playing up the middle when we lack so much depth up the middle (moving forward, not necessarily today). But if Martin can be the guy we hoped, and cover CF, I'm happy with Lewis at 2B. Just want their best athletes up the middle. If you can get 2 way players up the middle you give yourself a real advantage.

I get the up-the-middle thing, but I think playing 3B is so much more difficult than 2B. I do think Royce should continue to play some SS in case Correa is out for an extended period in the coming years. But with Correa at short... more depends on where Lee is more comfortable playing (2B or 3B)... and Polanco's status moving forward. 

[jmlease1]

I really hope Austin Martin is recovered from the elbow injury and doesn't need surgery. Twins are due for a little luck on the "rest and rehab" plans (they've had several guys where they've tried to do this for several months and then the season-ending surgery happened anyways). But more than that, I'm rooting for Austin Martin, who looked like he was getting back on track after getting healthy and playing well in the AFL. He's had a screwy development path and struggled with some injuries, but he's still very talented and could be a significant contributor.

It'll be fun to follow some of these guys at the complex: Chourio is definitely one I want to keep an eye on after seeing some write-ups on him.

[Mike Sixel]

No way martin should ever see SS again. He's not a SS. Put him in LF or at second, maybe center. Help him succeed.

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, Seth Stohs said:

I get the up-the-middle thing, but I think playing 3B is so much more difficult than 2B. I do think Royce should continue to play some SS in case Correa is out for an extended period in the coming years. But with Correa at short... more depends on where Lee is more comfortable playing (2B or 3B)... and Polanco's status moving forward. 

I just want the guys with the most range up the middle. I believe Royce has more range than Lee so I'd prefer Lee at 3B, and Royce at 2B if they're the ones covering those spots. But I'm a big Polanco fan so I hope he's here for a few more years.

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

No way martin should ever see SS again. He's not a SS. Put him in LF or at second, maybe center. Help him succeed.

I was really disappointed when Martin got hurt.  He finally looked like he was getting on track in the AFL.  Martin would be a great replacement for MAT if his defense is good.  Have you seen him play CF?  Anyone actually seen him in CF that cares to comment?  We could have a crazy flexible bench next year with Martin / Castro and Gordon.

[Mike Sixel]

9 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

I was really disappointed when Martin got hurt.  He finally looked like he was getting on track in the AFL.  Martin would be a great replacement for MAT if his defense is good.  Have you seen him play CF?  Anyone actually seen him in CF that cares to comment?  We could have a crazy flexible bench next year with Martin / Castro and Gordon.

I have not....has he played much OF with the Twins? I feel like he's been put at SS because "value." or some reason. 

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

Anyone actually seen him in CF that cares to comment? 

I watched him in Arizona last fall. He played in two of the three games I attended, one at SS and one in CF.  He badly messed up a room-service DP grounder, so my view of him at SS is now set in stone.    He was, unfortunately, completely untested in his game in CF, handling one or two can-of-corn flyballs at most, so I came away with no impression or opinion at all of him out there.

Hopefully someone else here has more to add.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

I watched him in Arizona last fall. He played in two of the three games I attended, one at SS and one in CF.  He badly messed up a room-service DP grounder, so my view of him at SS is now set in stone.    He was, unfortunately, completely untested in his game in CF, handling one or two can-of-corn flyballs at most, so I came away with no impression or opinion at all of him out there.

Hopefully someone else here has more to add.

He hasn't played a ton of OF for the Twins, but the impression I've gotten is they saw enough from him to be like "ok, we know he can play there and be fine" and have had him playing SS to see if he can stick on the dirt. I don't have a lot of concerns about him fielding the OF, but he would have more value as a super utility guy if he can reasonably play the infield too (a la Willi Castro). Oddly, Martin played less SS in college than he has in the pros...have to wonder if that set him back in a chance to stick at SS as a pro?

[Doctor Wu]

I didn't realize that Chourio was part of the package we received for Arreaz. I knew about Lopez and Salas, but didn't know that there was a third piece in the return. Not that it lessens the sting at this point, but still good to have another prospect on board. 

[terrydactyls]

21 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

I just want the guys with the most range up the middle. I believe Royce has more range than Lee so I'd prefer Lee at 3B, and Royce at 2B if they're the ones covering those spots. But I'm a big Polanco fan so I hope he's here for a few more years.

You want the guys with the most range up the middle but you hope that Polanco is at 2B for a few more years?  Isn't that a contradiction?  Why aren't you advocating for moving Polanco to 3B and Lewis to 2B?  Or is your theory only valid some of the time?

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

You want the guys with the most range up the middle but you hope that Polanco is at 2B for a few more years?  Isn't that a contradiction?  Why aren't you advocating for moving Polanco to 3B and Lewis to 2B?  Or is your theory only valid some of the time?

Same reason I don't want Polanco at SS, he doesn't have the arm for it. He's not capable of playing 3B so why would I advocate for him to be moved there? Lee and Lewis are both capable of playing 2B, and 3B. They're interchangeable pieces so when it comes to making the decision between them I'd put the one with the most range up the middle. So my "theory" is valid all the time, there's just the caveat that the players I'm comparing are capable of playing both positions.

But Polanco is one of their best players, so I want him around for a while. I'd prefer Buxton be able to play some CF so Polanco can get some DH ABs over the next couple years. But I don't see Lee being in the bigs for another year anyways so it's not that big of a concern right now.

[twinstalker]

My guess is they rehabbed Martin to get him some playing time this year but will shut him down for TJS in/by August.  Won't be surprised if he's DHing fully his final X weeks.  He'll be able to start batting in the spring and playing the field again at some point.  Better than him missing a full season now.

[terrydactyls]

10 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Same reason I don't want Polanco at SS, he doesn't have the arm for it. He's not capable of playing 3B so why would I advocate for him to be moved there? Lee and Lewis are both capable of playing 2B, and 3B. They're interchangeable pieces so when it comes to making the decision between them I'd put the one with the most range up the middle. So my "theory" is valid all the time, there's just the caveat that the players I'm comparing are capable of playing both positions.

But Polanco is one of their best players, so I want him around for a while. I'd prefer Buxton be able to play some CF so Polanco can get some DH ABs over the next couple years. But I don't see Lee being in the bigs for another year anyways so it's not that big of a concern right now.

Lee isn't on the Twins so the question is between Polanco and Lewis - who plays 2B?

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

Lee isn't on the Twins so the question is between Polanco and Lewis - who plays 2B?

Yeah, I'm not going to do this. This thread is about the complex league, and the conversation that was taking place was about the future of the Twins and what that'd look like. You tried to get a "got ya" moment on me for suggesting I'd like Polanco on the team for the upcoming seasons while discussing Lewis, Martin, Lee and the future of the young Twins. You didn't get me. It's alright. There'll be more opportunities. I'm not going to participate in derailing this thread about young players when you know very well that that's what was being discussed.