Twins Minor League Week in Review (6/5-6/11)

[Jeremy Nygaard]

There are a number of players making rehab appearances throughout the system. Two affiliates just began their season. Two teams remain in first place as season's first half is winding down. It was a busy week down on the farm. 

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

Don’t forget to read Nick’s Week in Review to catch up on the Twins week.

TRANSACTIONS 

• None as of publishing. View Monday's transactions here. 

RESULTS

• Monday (6/5): Complex Opening Days!
• Tuesday (6/6): Saints Celebrate Grand Old Day
• Wednesday (6/7): Camargo Continues to Clobber for Saints
• Thursday (6/8): Lewis Dominant in Kernels Debut
• Friday (6/9): Raya and MacLeod Handle Business in Dayton
• Saturday (6/10): Maeda Crushes Rehab Assignment in Odd Day on the Farm
• Sunday (6/11): Soularie Slugs in Wichita, Cardenas Clobbers for Kernels

MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT 

• Is the Next Joe Ryan Already in the Twins System?
• One Prospect Might Be Developing Into Minnesota’s Catcher of the Future
• Jordan Balazovic, Coming to a Bullpen Near You

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

• St. Paul @ Louisville (5:35PM CST) - RHP Aaron Sanchez
• Wichita @ Midland (6:30PM CST) - TBD
• South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - TBD
• Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30PM CST) - TBD

See Pitching Probables here. 

WEEK IN REVIEW 

Triple-A: St. Paul Saints (Week: 4-3)

• Overall: 36-26, 0.5 game ahead in the International League West. 
• Overview: The Saints won the series against Iowa, keeping them at bay. But the bigger week awaits…
• 🔥: Jair Camargo had a huge week. He hit four home runs and drove in 11. 
• 🔥: Brent Headrick allowed two home runs, but struck out four and only allowed four total hits in seven innings. He would be next up if the Twins need a starter, but…
• 🔥: Kenta Maeda gave up only three hits in four innings and struck out five. He will be ready to return to the Twins in the next couple of weeks.
• 🔥: The rest of lineup was also very good. Andrew Stevenson led the organization with 13 hits. Joey Gallo (on rehab) and Andrew Bechtold both had two home runs. In total, eight hitters had double-digit total-base weeks. In the rest of the organization, there was only ten. (Though in fairness, the Saints did play seven games.)
• 🤔: Jordan Balazovic is going to be a passenger on the long-man shuttle soon. He struck out 10 in 6 1/3 innings over two appearances. He did issue six walks, which is a problem.
• 🥶: Three potential contributor for the big club - Simeon Woods Richardson, Ronny Henriquez and Randy Dobnak - were all bad this week. I’ll spare you the gross details, but in nine combined innings, they allowed 23 hits and 12 walks resulting in 21 runs. 
• 🥶: Ryan LaMarre was 0-for-11 with five strikeouts.
• What's Next: A showdown at Louisville (35-26) for IL West supremacy.

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge (Week: 2-4)

• Overall: 23-33, 13.5 games back in the Texas League North.
• Overview: Wichita couldn’t gain ground on San Antonio, dropping four of six, but does end the week with a win.
• 🔥: Alerick Soularie has struggled to stay in the lineup consistently, but returned from a brief absence to hit two home runs on Sunday. He hadn’t hit a home run since April 15, though he missed a few weeks in early May.
• 🔥: David Festa and Blayne Enlow have been better, but they were the best of the team’s starters. Both allowed one earned run while striking out four. Enlow went a full five inning, while Festa recorded two less outs.
• 🤔: Yunior Severino tied for the team-lead in total bases (12), but led the team with eight strikeouts.
• 🥶: Welcome to AA, Pierson Ohl . In his first start since being promoted, Ohl allowed five runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out two. 
• 🥶: Anthony Prato went hitless in 11 at-bats.
• What's Next: Wichita will head to Midland (26-31) who does have a positive run differential, but has dropped nine of their last 10. 

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

• Overall: 32-25, 3.5 games up in the Midwest League West. 
• Overview: Kernels settle for a split with Dayton, but increase their lead in the division. 
• 🔥: Emmanuel Rodriguez would be here for only striking out once in 24 plate appearances. But he also had six hits, a home run, stole a base and drew five walks.
• 🔥: Welcome to high-A, Cory Lewis ! Eight strikeouts in five shutout innings is an impressive feat.
• 🔥: Marco Raya gave up a run, but he threw a season-high four innings.
• 🔥: Ben Ross continues to hit. His team-leading eight hits included two doubles and two home runs. 
• 🥶: Zebby Matthews had a great debut, but didn’t make it out of the first inning in his start this week. He gave up eight runs on eight hits and only retired two batters.
• 🥶: It’s not new, but Jose Salas (1-for-13, 6 K) and Misael Urbina (1-for-15, 2 K) continue to not look equipped to handle this level of baseball.
• What's Next: It’s another showdown. Second-place South Bend (28-28) will look to make up ground on Cedar Rapids as the end of the first half quickly approaches.

Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels (Week: 2-4)

• Overall: 30-27, 10.5 games behind Clearwater in the Florida State League West. 
• Overview: It could have gone worse against the league’s top team.
• 🔥: Rubel Cespedes has rebounded after a bad May. This past week he led the team with eight hits, 13 total bases, five RBI and tied for the team lead in runs (4), doubles (2) and home runs (1). 
• 🔥: A.J. Labas struck out eight in 4 1/3 innings over three appearances. He walked one and allowed two hits.
• 😏: Austin Martin is back on rehab. Not doing much yet production-wise, but it’s nice to have him back. On Thursday, he made a catch in left field to end the third inning. Unfortunately, he collided with shortstop Danny De Andrade and didn't play the rest of the week. They will see how he progresses this week to determine if they will restart his 20-day rehab timeline. 
• 🥶: Develson Aria walked five in 1 2/3 innings. It resulted in four runs.
• What's Next: Fort Myers will go to Bradenton (30-27) to battle it out for second place.

Rookie: FCL Twins (Week: 3-2)

• Overall: 3-2, in a three-way tie for first place in the FCL South. 
• Overview: The complex teams kicked off their season. This will be a fun team to follow.
• 🔥: Jose Rodriguez led the team with eight hits in 21 at-bats. He doubled twice and drove in two runs. 
• 🔥: Local product John Klein struck out 11 in four innings in his season debut.
• 🥶: Bryan Acuna - you may have heard of at least one of his brother - has had a cold start to this season. One hit in 15 at-bats. Eight strikeouts. 
• 😉: Connor Prielipp struggled in his rehab start, but him throwing again is a good sign.

Rookie: DSL Twins (Week: 0-5)

• Overall: 0-5, 4.0 games back in the DSL South. 
• Overview: Not a great start to the season. Only a few of these players will ever make it stateside, but we’ll still cover the good… and less good. 
• 🔥: Hendry Chivilli is going to be one of the more-watched prospects on this team. He got two hits in his first game, but then hit the injured list.
• 🔥: Adrian Bohorquez - who you have likely never heard of - accumulated all nine of his outs by strikeout. He allowed three hits and a walk which resulted in two runs (one earned). 
• 🥶: Yency De Jesus is one of the oldest players on the roster and struggled in his lone outing. He recorded two outs, but issued two walks, allowed four hits and seven runs (three earned).
• 🥶: Angel Trinidad and Jesus Peraza were the only two hitters not hit safely this week. 

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. Michael Helman, UTIL, St. Paul: On the Injured List with a dislocated shoulder. (.333/.434/.711. 1.145 OPS)
• 19. Yunior Severino, 3B, Wichita: 6-27, 3 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 8 K. (.274/.348/.527. .875 OPS).
• 18. Jose Rodriguez, OF, FCL Twins: 8-21, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K. (.381/.417/.476. .893 OPS)
• 17. Blayne Enlow, RHP, Wichita: 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 5 IP, 7 H, ER, 2 HB, 4 K. (1.13 WHIP, .236 BAA)
• 16. Matt Canterino, RHP: Still recovering from Tommy John surgery.
• 15. Brent Headrick, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 2.57 ERA, 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 HRA, BB, 4 K. (1.30 WHIP, .270 BAA)
• 14. Jordan Balazovic, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 4.26 ERA, 6.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, HRA, 6 BB, 10 K. (1.53 WHIP, .250 BAA)
• 13. Noah Miller, SS, Cedar Rapids: 4-16, RBI, 2 BB, 3 K. (.208/.283/.279. .562 OPS), played shortstop in five games (45 total) and committed one error in 13 chances (five errors in 179 total chances); played no games (six total) at second base (no errors in 16 total chances).
• 12. Jose Salas, INF, Cedar Rapids: 1-13, RBI, R, 6 BB, 6 K, 2 SB, CS. (.155/.253/.211. .464 OPS), played one game at shortstop (11 total) and committed no errors in three chances (three errors in 36 chances total), played no games (10 total) at third base (three errors in 22 total chances). He played four games (25 total) at second base with one error in 16 chances (two errors in 100 total chances).
• 11. Austin Martin, SS, Fort Myers: 0-4, BB, K. FCL Twins: 1-2, HR, RBI, R, SB. Martin has played two games at second base and one game in left field so far.
• 10. Yasser Mercedes, OF, FCL Twins: 3-21, 2B, RBI, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K, SB, CS. (.143/.240/.190. .430 OPS)
• 9. Matt Wallner, OF, St. Paul: 8-27, 3 2B, 3 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 9 K. (.299/.405/.549. 954 OPS); Minnesota: (.368/.520/.579. 1.099 OPS)
• 8. David Festa, RHP, Wichita: 0-0, 2.08 ERA, 4.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 4 K. (1.42 WHIP, .255 BAA)
• 7. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 16.20 ERA, 3.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, HRA, 4 BB, 3 K (1.96 WHIP, .322 BAA); Minnesota: (1.85 WHIP, .313 BAA)
• 6. Marco Raya, RHP, Cedar Rapids: 0-0, 2.25 ERA, 4.0 IP, 3 H, ER, HB, 3 K. (0.73 WHIP, .157 BAA)
• 5. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids: On a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. Pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out four. (1.75 WHIP, .294 BAA)
• 4. Edouard Julien, 2B, St. Paul: 4-14, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K. (.293/.435/.496. .931 OPS), has played all 34 games at second base and has committed three errors in 158 chances; Minnesota: 3-7, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB, 3 K, SB (.246/.338/.478. .816 OPS)
• 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 6-18, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB, K, SB. (.198/.355/.397. .752 OPS)
• 2. Royce Lewis, SS: Minnesota: 8-16, 3 RBI, R, 4 K (.317/.317/.488. .805 OPS).
• 1. Brooks Lee, SS, Wichita: 5-19, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 3 R, 5 BB, 7 K, CS. (.262/.349/.416. .765 OPS), played five games (48 total) at shortstop and committed one error in 18 chances (five errors in 197 total chances). Lee has committed one error in three chances in one game at third base this season.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (as voted on by fans on Twitter)

PITCHER - Cory Lewis, Cedar Rapids. 

(Lewis 53%, Headrick 31%, Labas 8%, Klein 8%)

HITTER -  Jair Camargo, St. Paul.

(Camargo 83%, Ross 14%, Centeno 3%)

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

View full article

[roger]

Cedar Rapids is quietly having a very nice season.  After a very slow start, ERod has been on fire the past couple weeks.  

Speaking of slow starters, Acuna had a terrible first month in the DSL last year, yet, I believe ended up as one of the top hitters on the team.

Great having Prielipp back on the hill.  Is there any news related to when/if Canterino will be back this year?

[FlyingFinn]

17 minutes ago, roger said:

Cedar Rapids is quietly having a very nice season. 

Yes, kind of amazing with some of the hitting #'s from guys like Urbina, Salas and even Miller. 

[chpettit19]

18 minutes ago, roger said:

Cedar Rapids is quietly having a very nice season.  After a very slow start, ERod has been on fire the past couple weeks.  

Speaking of slow starters, Acuna had a terrible first month in the DSL last year, yet, I believe ended up as one of the top hitters on the team.

Great having Prielipp back on the hill.  Is there any news related to when/if Canterino will be back this year?

If I remember correctly Canterino didn't have his surgery until August last year. I'd guess the best hope is he's back on a game mound late August, or September. I know he was doing flat ground throwing in spring training, but haven't seen anything recently. I'd guess getting him some relief appearances late is probably their goal with him this year. Will be interesting to see if they make a fulltime move to the pen with him next year. He'll be 26 next year, and a long ways away from being ready to throw a starter's workload, but if his stuff comes back he's likely ready to contribute out of the pen next year.