Twins Minor League Report (6/9): Marco Raya and Christian MacLeod Handle Business in Dayton

[Sherry Cerny]

While some of the affiliates struggled tonight, the Kernels only used two pitchers in nine-innings, and Twins FCL Harold Grant put on an absolute hitting clinic. Read here to see how the rest of the affiliates did!

Image courtesy of McKenzie Short (Cedar Rapids Kernels)

TRANSACTIONS

• RHP Josh Winder transferred to the Minnesota Twins with Caleb Thielbar going back on the Injured List. 
• Joey Gallo was sent to the St. Paul Saints on Major League rehab.
• The Wind Surge add catcher Kyle Schmidt from Fort Myers,
• OF Gregory Duran and catcher Alex Rodriguez were promoted to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins. 
• LHP Connor Prielipp and RHP Alex Phillips began rehab assignments with the FCL Twins. RHP Owen Griffith made a second rehab appearance in the FCL. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 5, Iowa 7
Box Score
Brent Headrick started on the mound in game five of seven against the Iowa Cubs on Friday in St. Paul. The southpaw worked the first seven innings and gave up just two runs on four hits (2 homers). He walked one and struck out four batters. 

The Saints jumped out to an early lead. Rehabbing Joey Gallo drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Mark Contreras hit his sixth homer of the season in the second frame, a solo blast to make it 2-1 Saints. Fast-forward to the bottom of the sixth frame and Andrew Bechtold hit a big, three-run homer to make the score 5-1. It was his first homer of the season.  

Headrick gave up a solo homer in the first inning, and then one more in the seventh inning before his night was complete. Kody Funderburk came in and tossed a scoreless eighth inning.

With a 5-2 lead going to the ninth, Funderburk got a fly out and then issued a walk. He then recorded a strikeout for the second out. Then Funderburk walked a second batter to put runners on first and second. Austin Brice came into the game. He gave up a run-scoring double, a walk, a two-run double, and a two-run single before getting the final out. 

Now down 7-5, the Saints got two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth, but they were unable to get that one more big hit they needed. 

Jose Miranda went 3-for-4 in the game to raise his average to .262 on the season. He has been quite good lately. Matt Wallner went 2-for-4 with his 15th double. Mark Contreras was 2-for-4. Joey Gallo went 0-for-2 with the first-inning sacrifice fly. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 4, San Antonio 5
Box Score
Pierson Ohl made his Wichita debut Friday night and after a nerve-driven first inning giving up one run, he calmed down and threw three scoreless innings, giving the Surge’s offense an opportunity to give their new pitcher some support. 

The Surge responded with an exciting second inning and then some. With two outs on the inning, Alex Isola got his ninth double of the season to get himself in position to score a run. Followed on base was Jake Rucker who was hit by a pitch to get two in scoring position. Seth Gray stepped up to the plate and hit a three-run home run deep into right field that gave the Surge a lead of 3-1. 

Ohl’s night started to unravel in the fifth inning with a start off single from Cole Cummings. He advanced to second base. on a wild pitch Ray Patrick-Didder ripped a ground ball to left field. Ripken Reyes first got a single to score Seagle to tie the game 3-3 and then stole second base.  The next few batters just started stringing together single after single, driving up the score one hitter at a time until the Missions led 5-1. Ohl was relieved by Hunter McMahon to stop the bleeding. The next two batters got out on a pop-fly and strike out to end the inning. 

The seventh inning, the Surge looked like they were threatening to get back in front, but were stopped at every opportunity by the Missions defense. Severino brought some hope to the game with a solo home run in the eighth inning, but it just wasn’t enough. 

The Surge now trail 3-1 in the series.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 6, Dayton 1
Box Score
There was another pitching duel in Dayton tonight. After both pitchers shook out the icks from the first inning, and a few runs allowed, the remainder of the game became a game of creating opportunities and the Kernels created just enough to be the winner. 

The Kernels got to work right away in the first inning,  working Dayton pitcher Julian Aguiar. Aguiar started out by walking Tanner Schobel, followed by a pair of singles to Emmanuel Rodriguez and Ben Ross. Shoebel scored on a force out from Noah Cardenas to get the Kernels on the board first at the top of the first. Another single from Noah Miller, scores Rodriguez, giving the Kernels a 2-0 lead to start the game.

Raya, still working through stretching out his arm, continues to excel in every game and was the best game he’s had thus far this season. After giving up one run in the first inning, Raya shut down Dayton throughout the remainder of his appearance. 

Ross gave the Kernels some insurance in the third inning. With Rodriguez on first base from a walk, Ross drove a line drive deep into right field for a double, sending Rodriguez home to get the Kernels a two run lead. Rodriguez got his seventh home run of the season in the fifth inning giving the Kernels another run on the night for a 4-1 lead. 

Raya threw four successful innings (the most he has thrown this season) before the Kernels brought in Christian MacLeod in the fifth inning. MacLeod was immediately locked in and had one of the best relief games he has had all season. There were no other relievers for the remainder of the game. The Kernels used only two pitchers for nine innings to hold Dayton to two runs. 

The last inning of the game, Dayton did threaten to come back stringing together a couple of hits, and getting one run, but ultimately were unable to work around MacLeod. He ended the night pitching the most innings of the season, getting a career high nine strikeouts and his first win of the season. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 6, Clearwater 1
Box Score
The Mussels pitching staff stifled the Threshers offense tonight in Fort Myers, which was a win for Fort Myers in more ways than one. Tonight the Mussels broke their three game losing streak, and managed to get back in front of the Threshers. The game remained scoreless for both teams,  but in the bottom of the third inning, Luis Baez and Dylan Neuse got a pair of singles to set up an opportunity to get on the board. 

Jorel Ortega was just the man to help with that opportunity as he sent a fly ball to deep right center scoring Baez to strike first blood. During the same play, Neuse was also coming home and got out at the plate, but it wasn’t over for the Mussels. With two outs looming and Ortega waiting patiently on third, Danny De Andrade ripped a single to center to score Ortega and give Fort Myers a 2-0 lead.

Starting Pitcher Andrew Morris had a very clean first three innings, but in the top of the fourth inning, appeared to unravel slightly.  He was able to get out without any damage, but in the fifth inning that all changed. 

The fifth inning looked a little shaky as Ricardo Rosario got a triple to right field. Emaarion Boyd got out on a fielder's choice to third baseman Rafael Cruz, who made an errant throw, allowing Rosario to score. Cruz made an errant throw to home that allowed the run to score, getting Clearwater on the board. Morris's night was done as Brian Meyer brought in Develson Aria to finish the inning and control the damage.

The fifth inning for the Mussels looked very similar to the third inning with Baez (single) and Neuse (double) creating more opportunities by putting runners at second and third with no outs. After an Ortega ground out, Baez scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 3-1. De Andrade followed with a bloop single to right that scored Neuse to give Fort Myers a three-run lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, The Mussels got in Clearwater pitcher Seth Nightingales head. The Mussels loaded the bases after Nightingale, hit Dillon Tatum, Maddux Houghton singled and then hit Luiz Baez. Neuse stepped up to the plate and  Nightingale threw a wild pitch, scoring Tatum to increase the lead to 5-1.

The Mussels A.J. Labas and Johnathan Lavallee came in to finish out the game and provide support, allowing the Mussels to get one more run to extend the score 6-1 and not allow any further damage from Clearwater.
 

COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA
FCL Twins 9, FCL Red Sox 11 (10 innings)
Box Score
Connor Prielipp got the start on the bump in his rehab assignment with FCL. Prielipp has been dealing with inflammation and right forearm soreness off and on since the beginning of April. The fact that he’s throwing live again is a good sign. 

In 2 2/3 innings, Prielipp struck out his first batter, Nataneal Yuten, and closed out the first inning without the Red Sox sniffing a run. His second inning looked a little different, a walk by Kevin Diaz and Albertson Asigen came back to haunt Prielipp. Prielipp closed out the inning and came back to start the third before being relieved by Owen Griffith. 

The good news for this team? They are full of offensive weapons and guys who love to create problems for the opposing team's pitching staff. Andres Centeno started the retaliation against Boston with his first home run this season and the first run on the board in the bottom of the second. Centeno ended the day going 3-for-5 and accounted for two of the nine RBI. 

Third baseman Harold Grant spent his day creating opportunities for the rest of his teammates going 4-for-5, and getting two RBI, kept Boston’s defense on their toes. Grant, just a homer short of a cycle, led that Twins with seven total bases in Friday’s game. Endy Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a team-high four RBI.. 

In the seventh inning, Grant hit a triple which scored Isaac Pena home to even up the score 7-7 for the next two innings. 

Alex Phillips made his first rehab appearance and threw an absolute gem of an inning. He only threw five pitches, three were strikes. Julio Bonilla replaced Phillips and struggled in his first outing, giving up four runs in the sixth. 

A lot of back-and-forth, bats on fire and ten stolen bases between the two teams pushed the game into extra innings. Boston completely obliterated Ricardo Velez in the top of the tenth inning, scoring another four runs to pull ahead 11-7. The FCL Twins did their best to answer in the bottom of the 10th, but could only manufacture two more runs. 

COMPLEX THOUGHTS from the DOMINICAN
DSL Twins 6, DSL Mets Blue 10
Box Score
The DSL Twins team has yet to get a win in their short season. There were not as many runs as there were against the Angels on Thursday night, but they did get six runs in to stay competitive, but the Met’s pitching was on point during their Friday game. 

The Twins lineup had 13 strikeouts against the Mets, and a lot of offensive substitutions. The Mets got on the board first, but the Twins offense answered in the bottom of the second with a double from Javier Roman (2-for-3). Dameury Pena (2-for-4) hit a routine single to shortstop Branny De Oleo, but after Oleo fielded the ball, he had an errant throw and Roman scored to bring the score 2-1. Pena immediately stole a base, but was unable to capitalize on it. Moises Lopez hit his first double of the season. 

A set of doubles and a single from Carlos Silva (1-for-3), Moises Lopez (1-for-4) and Ariel Castro (1-for-3) put the Twins in a better position to close the gap, but the pitching staff was overrun by the Mets offense. 

Miguel Cordero made his first start of the season and his career on Friday. He pitched 3 2/3 innings, gave up three earned runs, one walk and struck out five. He got the loss on the night, but his strike record looked good. Oscar Paredes relieved Cordero, going 2 1/3 innings and giving up three earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts. The final pitcher was 18-year-old Joel Garcia who also had his debut on Friday. Pitching two innings, the rookie gave up one hit but three earned runs. His biggest downfall was his control as evidenced by his five walks and no strikeouts.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Christian MacLeod (Kernels) - 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K.
Hitter of the Day – Harold Grant (FCL) - 4-for-5, 2B(1), 3B(1), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 K

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects. These are the prospects that played tonight and how they did!

#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, 2 K
#2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 4-for-4, R
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, BB,, HR(7), 3 R, RBI
#4 - Edouard Julien (Saint Paul) - Did Not Play (assume he’s heading to Toronto)
#5 - Connor Prielipp (FCL Rehab) - 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
#6 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, HBP, 3 K. (51 pitches, 35 strikes)
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2B(15), R 
#10 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL)  - 1-for-6, K, SB(1)
#12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K, SB(10) 
#13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, RBI, K
#15 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K (90 pitches, 54 strikes)
#18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL) - 2-for-6, R
#19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-4, HR(13), R, RBI,

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES
Iowa @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Kenta Maeda (3rd rehab start, 0-0 3.60 ERA)
Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (2-2, 5.06 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews (3-1, 2.42 ERA)
Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Jose Olivares (2-2, 6.225 ERA)
FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (11:00AM CST) - TBD
DSL Mets Blue @ DSL Twins (10:00AM CST) - TBD

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

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[mikelink45]

Quote

 Matt Wallner went 2-for-4 with his 15th double. Mark Contreras was 2-for-4. Joey Gallo went 0-for-2 with the first-inning sacrifice fly. 

And we play Garlick, Kepler, Larnach and now expect Gallo back - what does Wallner have to do.  Please Twins learn from Arraez - hits matter. 

[FlyingFinn]

Yes! Raya went 4 innings and broke his 3 inning ceiling. Good innings as well but not as good as MacLeod. Certainly nice to see that. Our hot hitters are having a great week - Wallner, Miranda, Camargo, Keirsey, Lee, Severino and De Andrade. (some with only one hit today but it continues their hitting streak). Tough week to pick who is the best. 

[jmlease1]

Good to see Prielipp pitching again. Hope this was just a blip for a guy still working his way back from TJ and we'll get to see him working off the mound some more.

Raya really looks like a serious pitcher. I'd like to see them stretch him out a little more. I understand they're being careful with him after some injuries, but only 51 pitches? I have no expectation that they'll let him start going 90-100, but maybe let's stretch him out to 70-75 and see how he does. 

Good signs from E-Rod. Maybe he's heating up a little after the slow start. Really talented player, and good to see him blast the HR and take a walk.

[Doctor Wu]

4 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Good to see Prielipp pitching again. Hope this was just a blip for a guy still working his way back from TJ and we'll get to see him working off the mound some more.

Raya really looks like a serious pitcher. I'd like to see them stretch him out a little more. I understand they're being careful with him after some injuries, but only 51 pitches? I have no expectation that they'll let him start going 90-100, but maybe let's stretch him out to 70-75 and see how he does. 

Good signs from E-Rod. Maybe he's heating up a little after the slow start. Really talented player, and good to see him blast the HR and take a walk.

Yes, I sure hope they start to stretch Raya's starts. As you suggested, nothing close to 100 pitches, but maybe just a few more? He doesn't strike me as that fragile a pitcher, so let him go longer in the games. 

[Doctor Wu]

39 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

And we play Garlick, Kepler, Larnach and now expect Gallo back - what does Wallner have to do.  Please Twins learn from Arraez - hits matter. 

Yes indeed. I like seeing batters hitting doubles! Okay, not as productive as a home run, but much much better than strike out after strike out. Get those runners on base, someway, somehow. 

[roger]

Great seeing Prielipp back on the hill.  Much like Enlow last summer, I don’t care about the results.  Just want to see him pitching every fifth day.

Looking at these rosters, I am seeing a number of kids from Mexico.  If memory serves the Twins had almost no Mexicans on their rosters in the past.  Is this a change in their scouting philosophy?

After an ugly first month, plus, ERod is having a good June.

[Linus]

Gallo goes on a rehab assignment but Kepler does not. Interesting. 

[Seth Stohs]

36 minutes ago, Doctor Wu said:

Yes, I sure hope they start to stretch Raya's starts. As you suggested, nothing close to 100 pitches, but maybe just a few more? He doesn't strike me as that fragile a pitcher, so let him go longer in the games. 

But he is thin, and he has had a lot of minor arm issues in three years. So, he has been fragile. I think the plan makes a ton of sense. 

[wabene]

2 hours ago, Linus said:

Gallo goes on a rehab assignment but Kepler does not. Interesting. 

Yes I noticed that too. Can't go on a rehab assignment, can't play center. Just getting that special superstar treatment, wait, what? 

[D.C Twins]

30 minutes ago, wabene said:

Yes I noticed that too. Can't go on a rehab assignment, can't play center. Just getting that special superstar treatment, wait, what? 

That minor league contract with spring training invite he's going to have to sign next year will be a rude awakening for sure!

[ashbury]

6 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

But he is thin, and he has had a lot of minor arm issues in three years. So, he has been fragile. I think the plan makes a ton of sense. 

That has been conventional wisdom for a long time.  Raya is 170 pounds (according to b-r.com) so he is indeed small for a player, particularly a pitcher these days.  Yet we go out and acquire 217 pound Chris Paddack and 210 pound Tyler Mahle, and they wind up with arm issues too.

If there is one thing I'd like to be able to tap into MLB analytics, it is how different aspects of body type correlate to what kinds of injuries.  I am certain that the better teams have gotten more of a handle than I have on it; and, possibly (certainly more importantly), more of a handle on it than our Twins do.

[gman]

Its good seeing Raya, ERod, and Prielopp getting on the field. We are hoping on these players in the next few years.

[wabene]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

I am certain that the better teams have gotten more of a handle than I have on it; and, possibly (certainly more importantly), more of a handle on it than our Twins do.

Yep I think that's right the consensus is the size of the love handles is crucial factor

[ashbury]

5 minutes ago, wabene said:

Yep I think that's right the consensus is the size of the love handles is crucial factor

Big Sexy certainly managed to have a long career.

[weitz41]

"Rehabbing Joey Gallo drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning."

That's got to be a typo.😁 Doesn't he have like 4 sac flies in his entire MLB career? Plenty of nice performances on Friday.