Twins Minor League Report (6/22): A Big Name Signing and E-Rod Goes Yard

[Ted Schwerzler]

On most nights when Twins top prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez has the production he did this evening that would be the story, but it’s probably going to be trumped when a Cy Young is signed to the farm system. Check out all of the action within.

 

Image courtesy of Steve Buhr, Twins Daily (photo of Emmanuel Rodriguez)

TRANSACTIONS

• Twins sign LHP Dallas Keuchel and assign him to Triple-A St. Paul.
• RHP Andrew Cabezas was released by Double-A Wichita
• RHP Issac Mattison was signed by Double-A Wichita 
• INF Kamron Willman signed as UDFA and assigned to Single-A Fort Myers

SAINTS SENTINEL 
Toledo 6, St. Paul 0
Box Score
Despite being without Jordan Balazovic, who was recently promoted to the Twins, St. Paul went with an opener in Cody Laweryson tonight. He was attempting to follow Randy Dobnak’s strong start last night, and went two innings while allowing just a single unearned run on a hit and two walks.

The Saints gave up runs in the first, third, and fifth innings while failing to score on their own. Mustering just two hits, it was tough going for the lineup tonight. After allowing three more in the eighth inning, the 6-0 deficit all but sealed this one.

Of note, infield prospect Andrew Bechtold did work as a reliever, throwing a scoreless inning while giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 6, Arkansas 6 (in progress)
Box Score
It was a David Festa start for the Wind Surge, and he gave Wichita five innings of work but yielded three runs on four hits and a pair of walks. Festa did strike out eight on the evening which was nice to see.

Alex Isola started the scoring when he launched double number 11 to score Yunior Severino in the first inning. The second inning saw Brooks Lee drive in Will Holland with a ground out and Wichita was off and running. During the third inning Aaron Sabato singled home Jake Rucker before Alerick Soularie drew a bases loaded walk to plate Isola. Up 4-0 headed to the fourth inning, Wichita felt a decent cushion.

The Travelers came back in the fourth inning scoring three to draw within one, but an Isola home run in the bottom half made it a 6-3 game. The sixth inning saw things get knotted up when Isiah Gilliam hit his 12th home run of the season, and with two aboard, it was a new ballgame.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 6, Beloit 5
Box Score
There haven’t been many bad Zebby Matthews outings this year, but this was probably one of the tougher ones for the Twins prospect. Working 3 2/3 innings, Matthews gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. He did strike out one, but two homers tagged him for damage.

Beloit plated three runs during the third inning on a pair of longballs before the Kernels answered in the fourth inning. Emmanuel Rodriguez blasted his ninth dinger of the year before Misael Urbina doubled in Noah Cardenas to draw within one. An inning later Rodriguez recorded his second triple, scoring both Andrew Cossetti and Tanner Schobel to make it a 4-3 game.

In the sixth inning Urbina launched his third homer of the season, and the insurance run was needed given Zach Zubia’s solo shot for the Sky Carp in the seventh inning. Jorel Ortega put the Kernels back ahead by a pair when he doubled for the first time at High-A, driving in Noah Miller, and making it a 6-4 game. Beloit answered with one in the ninth inning, but that wasn’t enough to extend the game.

Rodriguez recorded three hits while Urbina and Ortega both grabbed a pair of their own.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Game 1: Fort Myers 2, Tampa 0 (F/7)
Box Score
Playing a twin bill today it was Andrew Morris starting game one for the Mighty Mussels. He worked five scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and a walk. He did strike out a pair and dropped his ERA to 3.48 on the season.

Fort Myers scored both of their runs on poor defensive plays by the Tarpons. A fourth inning wild pitch allowed Danny De Andrade to score the game’s first run, and a passed ball later in the inning brought home Kyle Schmidt. That was enough to secure the win during a game that had just a combined five hits.

De Andrade recorded a pair of his own during Game 1, and Mikey Perez grabbed thee walks.

Game 2: Fort Myers 7, Tampa 6 (F/7)
Box Score
In the nightcap it was Jose Olivares working four innings. He didn’t fare well allowing five runs on six hits and a walk. The two strikeouts were noteworthy, but also overshadowed by a home run. Olivares now owns a 6.60 ERA this season.

Rafael Cruz kicked off the scoring with a ground rule double in the first inning. Ricardo Olivar scored and put Fort Myers in the lead. Heading to the fifth inning the Mighty Mussels trailed 5-1, but Olivar blasted his sixth homer with Maddux Houghton on to make it a 5-3 game.

After another Tampa run scored in the fifth, Danny De Andrade drove in Dillon Tatum with a sacrifice fly during the seventh. Rubel Cespedes then recorded his 12th double scoring Houghton again, and Olivar raced home on a passed ball. When the seventh inning ended, it was a new game knotted at six.

In the ninth inning newly signed Kamron Willman made his mark with a single that scored Olivar and gave Fort Myers a 7-6 lead. Gabriel Yanez held on working 2 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball to record his third win of the season.

Cespedes and Houghton both recorded a pair of hits and the Mighty Mussels grabbed two wins on the day.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 6, FCL Rays 0
Box Score
Jack Noble was great again for the FCL Twins today. Working 5 2/3 scoreless, he gave up just three hits. Noble did work around four walks but struck out right on the day as well. He dropped his ERA to 1.72 in the process.

Bryan Acuna gave the Twins their first scoring opportunity in the first inning when his ground out resulted in an error plating both Isaac Peña and Jose Rodriguez. Then in the sixth inning the Twins added again as a Peña ground out led to an Omari Daniel run. Alex Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch, and it was a four-run game headed to the seventh inning.

Another wild pitch, this one in the eighth inning, allowed Daniel to score for the second time. Rodriguez then lifted a single to center that brought Fredy Michel in.

The six runs were enough to hold up against the blanked Rays, and Rodriguez capped off his day going 4-for-4 with a walk.

DOMINICAN DAILY
DSL Twins 12, DSL Cardinals 9
Box Score
It wasn’t the cleanest game for Cristian Hernandez, but he started and his four runs (two earned) weren’t enough to sink the Twins.

Star catcher Carlos Silva was back in the lineup today following a hit by pitch, but he was 0-for-4 on the day. Jayson Bass paced the lineup going 4-for-5 with a double, and Javier Roman had a two-hit day of his own while playing first base.

Although Ariel Castro was just 1-for-6, he did score a run and drove in a pair.

The Twins wound up winning by three runs after picking up the separating tallies during the 10th inning.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Jack Noble (FCL Twins) - 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K
Hitter of the Day – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-4, 2B, 3B, HR(9), R, 3 RBI

PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. 

Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:

#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-4, RBI
#2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 2-4, RBI
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-4, 2B, 3B, HR(9), R, 3 RBI
#4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-1, K
#8 - David Festa (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-3, BB, 2 K
#13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, R, BB 
#18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL) - 4-4, R, RBI, BB
#19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-2, 2 R, BB

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland
Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP Carlos Luna
Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya
Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30PM CST) - TBD

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

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[Jocko87]

Decent chance the Kuechel thing is more about covering innings at AAA and maybe a trade chip than anything Twins related.  Win win for both. 

[Omgbenji]

Damn, it is about time E-Rod has consistently heated up. It’s been a very meh half season for our top prospects, so this performance is certainly welcome. 

[FlyingFinn]

E-Rod with a double, triple and homer. Very nice!

[Parfigliano]

Keuchel.  Has been.

[LewFordLives]

If you click on the link for Carlos Silva it takes you to THAT Carlos Silva.

[Doctor Wu]

7 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

Keuchel.  Has been.

Hey, maybe he learned how to throw a knuckleball in the offseason!

[jmlease1]

E-Rod really showing why he's considered a top 50 prospect in all of baseball. I'd say he's feeling recovered from the injury! He's having a dominant stretch right now: in the last month he's got an OPS of .975 and as many walks as Ks. He's showing better control at the plate and it's great to see how much contact he's making, because the ball is exploding off his bat.

[Trov]

10 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

E-Rod really showing why he's considered a top 50 prospect in all of baseball. I'd say he's feeling recovered from the injury! He's having a dominant stretch right now: in the last month he's got an OPS of .975 and as many walks as Ks. He's showing better control at the plate and it's great to see how much contact he's making, because the ball is exploding off his bat.

He is putting up the numbers he did last year before his knee injury now.  Remember he not only had the knee injury last year, but was on shelf part of this year I believe with a core muscle issue. I am not surprised he started off slow, as someone who has had an ACL repair much of when you are coming back is mental, but then you throw in core muscle injury that will really affect your swing. I am hoping he has figured it back out and gets moved up to AA some time second half. 

[terrydactyls]

Time to drop Wallner down to Wichita!  He was 0-3 and his average is under .300.  Good thing the Twins have a strong OF.

[Dman]

Interesting numbers on Bechtold.  Those fastball numbers with a solid slider could make him dominant.  I think he should explore the pitching side because while he is a solid hitter I don't know if it is "good enough" to get him to MLB.  The arm just might.

E-Rods .572 OPS in May was starting to make me wonder if he was going to come back as the same player. As others have noted he has had a monster June with what I calculate as a 1.059 OPS. Also as mentioned earlier as many walks as K's.  Looks like he is back to the super star numbers at least for now.  He and Rosario are quite the 1, 2 punch for Cedar Rapids.

Olivar back to an .800 OPS.  He is holding his own in A ball.  Just needs a few more extra base hits and he would be ready to move up.  He looks like the best hitter on that team for now.  Would be nice to see De Andrade get things going again as well.

The bats are coming around.

[2wins87]

Festa seems to be a pretty frequent victim of the one-bad-inning syndrome.  Worth noting that 3 singles and 2 walks were all in the 4th inning, and the only other base runner was a leadoff single in the first.  I did watch some of the outing and it seemed that his changeup was baffling the opposing hitters a lot.

He's still a very lanky guy, and I think a lot of times his bad inning has come in the 4th or 5th, so building strength and stamina could be a significant help.  ERA is pretty far down my list of useful metrics for judging prospects anyway, and his FIP, xFIP, K rate are all quite good.

[Seth Stohs]

Fun to see Bechtold get this opportunity to pitch too. 

He wanted to try catching to make himself more versatile, and pitching adds another layer to that. 

I remember in spring training in my 2018 or 2019, talked with Royce and Andrew outside of the Twins complex as they were waiting to board a bus for a minor league spring training game. Just yapping, I remember Bechtold mentioning that he was clocked at 102 throwing across the diamond, so fun to see him averaging almost 97 with his fastball but also having a slider/cutter. 

[2wins87]

18 minutes ago, Dman said:

Interesting numbers on Bechtold.  Those fastball numbers with a solid slider could make him dominant.  I think he should explore the pitching side because while he is a solid hitter I don't know if it is "good enough" to get him to MLB.  The arm just might.

I'm very interested if they are going to keep developing him as a reliever/utility player.  Seems like his stuff could be similar to Jordan Gore who they tried the reliever conversion with recently, the difference is Bechtold's bat seems good enough that he could hold his own in the majors, and I know his defense is very good at third and would think it could at least be solid elsewhere.

My first impression is that it's hard to see that much utility in the majors for a guy that can literally do everything but might be just marginal at everything.  Would still be intriguing to see how that could work out though.

[D.C Twins]

4 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Hey, maybe he learned how to throw a knuckleball in the offseason!

...or a Keuchelball?

[USNMCPO]

Is it just me or is Brooks Lee scuffling a bit? There seem to be quite a few hitless games lately. I know players performance will ebb and flow during long season but hopefully i am wrong about Lee.

[roger]

Hell of a day for kids named Rodriguez.  Jose goes 4 for 4 and can't even earn the Hitter of the Day honors.  But ERod's double, triple and homer sure adds a smile for a young man we all hope will be a star for the Twins beginning as soon as ???????