Twins Minor League Report (6/23): 5 Hits for Baller from Barcelona

[Seth Stohs]

Varland's Return to Triple-A. Saints Mount Comeback After #OldFriend Leaves Game. Lee Reaches Base Four Times. Kernels Late Comeback Attempt Falls Short. FCL Twins Top Red Sox Twice. Gran Juego Para Una Beisbolista de Barcelona. El Informe de Ligas Menores de hoy está repleto de información sobre siete juegos, transacciones y mucho más. (Today's Minor League Report is filled with information on seven games, transactions, and much more.) 

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

Here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games played on Friday. 

St. Paul Saints: 42-30 
Wichita Wind Surge: 28-38
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 40-27
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 34-33
FCL Twins: 9-5
DSL Twins: 5-9

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

TRANSACTIONS
With Kenta Maeda being activated from the IL on Friday, the Twins optioned RHP Oliver Ortega to St. Paul. 

RHP Owen Griffith, who was activated from the IL earlier this week and promoted to Wichita, has been placed on the Injured List. He pitched on Thursday night and faced three batters. He gave up a walk, hit a batter and allowed a home run. After not pitching in a non-rehab assignment game since early July of 2021, I’m sure it was great to get back, and hopefully this IL stint is short and goes smoothly. 

Fort Myers activated RHP C.J. Culpepper from the IL. They also re-assigned OF Andres Centeno to the FCL after spending about a week with the Mussels. 

Catcher Austin Schell signed with the Twins in mid-January to provide depth behind the plate during spring training and extended spring training. He had played his college ball at Cal State-Fullerton. On Friday, he made the decision to retire.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 10, Toledo 6
Box Score
Louie Varland made his first start since returning to the Saints. He and his teammates faced an #OldFriend for the Mudhens in lefty Bryan Sammons. Sammons was the Twins eighth-round draft pick in 2017 out of Western Carolina. The 28-year-old spent most of the past two seasons in Wichita but also pitched for St. Paul in 2021. The Twins released him very late last season. He began this year pitching for Gastonia in the independent Atlantic League before the Tigers recently signed him. Friday night was his fourth appearance with the Mudhens. 

Sammons had a very Sammons-like start in this game. He gave up two runs on five hits over five innings. He had two walks and six strikeouts. 

Varland’s night didn’t go as well. The right-hander from St. Paul gave up five runs on six hits and two walks and a hit batter over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out four batters. 

Blayne Enlow came out of the pen and immediately got the final out of the fifth inning to strand two runners. 

Through the fifth inning, the Saints were down 5-2, but they just kept plugging away. They scored two in the sixth inning thanks to an RBI double from Anthony Prato (who homered in the third inning) who then scored on an Elliot Soto single. 

The Saints scored four runs in the seventh inning. Chris Williams drove in Matt Wallner on a sacrifice fly. Then Mark Contreras doubled, his 14th, to score Gilberto Celestino and Trevor Larnach. That put the Saints on top 7-6. Andrew Bechtold drove in Contreras with a sacrifice fly to make it 8-6.

The Saints added two more in the eighth inning. Jose Miranda scored from third on a Celestino ground out. Later, Celestino scored on a Williams single.  

Blayne Enlow gave up a run in the sixth inning, but was excellent on the way to his first Triple-A Win. The right-hander gave up one run on two hits and a walk in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out four batters. 

All nine Saints batters had at least one hit. Prato led the way. He went 3-for-4 with his fifth and sixth doubles and his second Saints homer. He also stole his third base in his short time with St. Paul. Wallner went 2-for-4 with a walk, and he was hit by a pitch. Celestino was 2-for-5 with a walk. Contreras went 1-for-3 with two walks, his 14th double, and two RBI. First baseman/Third Baseman/Catcher/Pitcher Andrew Bechtold drove in two runs and knocked his 12th double. (And just for fun, here is his first pro game in which he pitched as a pitcher - and not a position-player-pitching.)

 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 2, Arkansas 5
Box Score
The Wind Surge got to see the Arkansas Travelers celebrate on Riverfront Stadium. The Travelers clinched a playoff berth by clinching the first half title. 

Carlos Luna made the start. He was charged with three runs on nine hits (including two homers). He struck out three batters and walked none. Alex Phillips finished the fifth inning and worked a scoreless sixth inning as well. Regi Grace had his first tough Double-A outing. In 1 2/3 innings, he gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. Those were the first runs he has allowed since joining the Surge and bumps his ERA up to 1.93. Francis Peguero gave up one hit and recorded the final four outs. 

Brooks Lee got the Surge on the scoreboard in the third inning when he connected for his fifth home run of the season. Lee went 2-for-2 with two walks in the game and is now hitting .266 with a .765 OPS this season.

Seth Gray went 2-for-4 and knocked his sixth double. He scored later on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Will Holland. Jake Rucker was also 2-for-4. 

Aaron Sabato went 0-for-3 in the game. He was pinch hit for late by Ernie Yake. Earlier, he had been involved in what appeared to be a minor collision on a pop up. Are the two things related? Not sure at this point, but something to check in on when Saturday’s lineup comes out. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 7, Beloit 10
Box Score
Marco Raya made the start for the Kernels in this game. He started with two scoreless innings. He then gave up two unearned runs in the third. However, his pitch count was in a good spot, so he was sent out for the fourth inning. Unfortunately, he got just one more out. After a flyout, he gave up three straight singles, none of them hard-hit, to load the bases. That’s when Brian Dinkelman came to the mound and replaced Raya with Charlie Neuweiler. He struck out the first batter he faced for the second out. However, a walk and a single later, all three inherited runners scored. In total, Raya was charged with five runs (3 earned) on four hits and a walk. He had two strikeouts. Neuweiler’s line looks OK with 2/3 of an inning, no runs, one hit and one walk. 

Jaylen Nowlin came on next and really struggled with his control and command. Of his 60 pitches thrown, just 31 were strikes. He went two innings but was charged with five runs (4 earned) on five hits and three walks. German Niklas Rimmel came on and tossed two scoreless innings to slow the burn 

The Kernels were held off the scoreboard until the fourth inning when Tanner Schobel and Emmanuel Rodriguez hit back-to-back homers. It was Schobel’s ninth of the season and Rodriguez’s 10th homer. 

Down 10-2 going to the bottom of the seventh inning, the Kernels tried to mount a comeback. The scored one run in that inning on a Jose Salas sacrifice fly that drove in Misael Urbina. Then in the eighth inning, they scored four runs. With two on, Noah Miller singled to drive in Rodriguez. Then Kala’i Rosario scored on a Noah Cardenas ground out. Next, Urbina knocked in Miller with his 11th double. After a pitching change, Jorel Ortega followed with a single to score Urbina. And then Salas’s eighth double drove in Ortega. Schobel grounded out, but the five-run inning cut the Kernels’ deficit to 10-8 heading to the ninth inning. 

In the top of the ninth, Rimmel gave up one run that pushed the score to 11-8, but the Kernels had the middle of their lineup coming up in the bottom of the inning. Rodriguez struck out to start the inning, but Rosario worked a walk. Ben Ross struck out. Rosario advanced to second on Defensive Indifference (which is a dumb thing). That helped because Noah Miller bounced a single up the middle to drive in Rosario. Miller stole second, but that was it for the Kernels. 

Misael Urbina went 3-for-4 with his 10th and 11th doubles. Ortega went 2-for-4. Miller went 2-for-5 and stole his eighth base. Along with his 10th homer, Rodriguez also walked twice. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 3, Tampa 5 
Box Score 
The Mighty Mussels fell behind 2-0, but they clawed their way back to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth frame. Unfortunately, they gave up three runs in the bottom of that inning and fell 5-3. 

Ben Ethridge got the start and gave up two runs on three hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out two batters. An impressive 42 of his 61 pitches were strikes. Danny Moreno came on and struck out three batters over two innings of one-hit ball. 

Down 2-0, Rubel Cespedes put the Mussels on the board with a solo homer, his seventh long ball of the season. Cespedes went 1-for-2 in the game with two walks. 

In the seventh inning, Dylan Neuse drove in Kyle Schmidt with a sacrifice fly .Schmidt had reached on a double. Neuse doubled earlier in the game. Then in the top of the eighth, Cespedes drove in Maddux Houghton to give Ft. Myers their first lead of the game… their only lead of the game. 

Jackson Hicks came in for the bottom of the eighth inning. He got the first two batters to ground out. Then Jared Serna doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Anthony Hall singled off of Hicks… literally off of Hicks, so Serna remained at third. With two on and two outs, Agustin Ramirez launched a three-run homer to give the Tarpons the 5-3 lead. 

COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA
Game 1: FCL Twins 5, FCL Red Sox 2 
Box Score
It was a long, hot day for the Red Sox and Twins Florida Complex teams on Friday in Fort Myers. Because of a rain-out, they had to play two games in 87-degree humidity. 

Third baseman Harold Grant missed about a week of the FCL season. The Barcelona native went 3-for-3 in Game 1 to raise his average to .455. He hit his first home run of the season. 

Isaac Pena went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .340. He hit his third double. Bryan Acuna and Fredy Michel each hit their first doubles of the season and drove in a run. 

On the mound, Matt Gabbert made the start. He was charged with one run on three hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Then Yon Landaeta came in and gave up one run on just one hit and two walks in 2 1/3 innings. He also struck out two batters. Kyle Bischoff came on and struck out five batters in two scoreless innings to record his first pro save in his second pro appearance. 

Game 2: FCL Twins 5, FCL Red Sox 1
Box Score
Harold Grant played second base in Game 2. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI to raise his average just a little more, to .462. He got the team on the board with an RBI single in the three-run fourth inning. It was followed by an RBI double off the bat of Bryan Acuna. Grant then scored the third run on a wild pitch. 

Andres Centeno singled in Omari Daniel in the fifth, and then Acuna walked with the bases loaded to score the second run of the inning and the fifth and final run of the game. 

Brayan Medina worked around some self-inflicted tough situations. He gave up just one run on one hit over five innings. He also walked five batters and struck out three. Miguel Olivares came on and struck out two in a scoreless innings. Cleiber Maldonado got the final three outs of the game. 

COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA
DSL Twins 11, DSL Yankees 6
Box Score
The Twins got an early lead, and then they used a seven-run sixth inning to take control of this game. They scored one in the second inning when Yilber Herrera singled in Ricardo Pena. They added three runs in the fourth inning. The first scored on a wild pitch which was followed by a two-run double by Ariel Castro. 

Cordero made the start and was really good. He tossed four scoreless, hitless innings. He struck out eight batters. The only “blemish” in his box score line was a two-out walk in the fourth inning. This was his third appearance of the season. In 11 2/3 innings, he has 19 strikeouts. Cordero is very interesting as he signed in January but won’t turn 17 until mid-August. 

In the top of the fourth inning, the Twins broke it open with a seven-run inning. The team hit for the cycle in the inning. They had three walks and stole a couple of bases. There were two pitching changes during the inning. Yilber Herrera got the scoring started with an RBI double. Later, Dameury Pena knocked in three with a bases-loaded triple. A few batters later, Angel Trinidad came on as a pinch hitter and drilled his first professional home run, a three-run shot to put a cap on the inning. 

Despite Cordero’s dominance, Juan Cota got the win. He was charged with two unearned runs on one hit over two innings. Joel Garcia then gave up four runs on three hits and two walks in the seventh inning. Jose Ojo walked two and struck out two batters over two scoreless innings. 

We’ll finish with the offense. The team scored 11 runs on 10 hits, seven walks, and two hit batters. Ricardo Pena went 3-for-5 with a double. Yilber Herrera went 2-for-2 with a walk and his fourth double. Castro went 1-for-2 two two walks and his first double. Dameury Pena’s triple was his first, and Trinidad’s homer was the first of his career. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Miguel Cordero (DSL Twins) - 4 IP, 0H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 71 pitches, 52 strikes.
Co-Hitters of the Day – Anthony Prato (Saints) - 3-for-4, 2-2B(6), HR(2), 2 R, 2 RBI, K, SB(3)
Co-Hitters of the Day – Brooks Lee (Wind Surge) - 2-for-2, 2 BB, HR(5), R, RBI.  
Co-Hitters of the Day – Misael Urbina (Kernels) - 3-for-4, 2-2B(11), 2 R, RBI, K, OF Assist
Co-Hitters of the Day – Harold Grant (FCL Twins) - 5-for-7, HR(1), 4 R, 2 RBI, K. 

 

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

#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 2-for-2, 2 BB, HR(5), R, RBI
#2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, HR(4), R, RBI, K 
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, HR(10), 2 R, RBI, K, E  
#6 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 54 pitches, 36 strikes
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, HBP, R, 3 K.
#12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2B(8), SF, RBI, K
#13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI, 3 K, SB(8)
#17 - Blayne Enlow (St. Paul) - 4 1/3 IP, 2 H, R, BB, 4 K, 59 pitches, 38 strikes.
#18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-for-8, K

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES
St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Aaron Sanchez (4-4, 5.12 ERA)
Arkansas @ Wichita (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Jose Bravo (2-2, 6.16 ERA) 
Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones (3-4, 4.47 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30 PM CST) - LHP Develson Aria (2-3, 6.75  ERA)
FCL Twins - No Game Scheduled.
DSL Angels @ DSL Twins (10:00AM CST) - TBD

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! 

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[FlyingFinn]

Some good games from Enlow with the Saints, Lee with the Wind Surge, and E-rod, Miller and Urbina with the Kernels. All three of these Kernels have picked it up after slow starts while Rosario is slumping a little this week.

[jkcarew]

When you watch Emmanuel Rodriguez, it doesn’t take long to notice that the body language and attitude seem…interesting.

Has the making of someone who’s going to give everyone a run for their money…opponents, fans, managers, umpires, teammates.

[Althebum82]

Monster game for Prato.    Even before this game he was off to a hot start since his promotion to the Saints from AA where it would actually be kind to describe his offensive accomplishments as modest.    Might be interesting to check in on his progress in a couple of weeks to see if he is still in some measure showing some surprising promise.

[jmlease1]

3 hours ago, jkcarew said:

When you watch Emmanuel Rodriguez, it doesn’t take long to notice that the body language and attitude seem…interesting.

Has the making of someone who’s going to give everyone a run for their money…opponents, fans, managers, umpires, teammates.

I'm not going to worry about his attitude & body language too much at this point. He's still so young and this is part of what the minors are for: iron out some of the professionalism you need in MLB and I think he'll get there. The error wasn't great, but I think he'll learn from it. 

Nice to see Urbina have a good game. He had a pretty slow start to the season, but maybe his bat is starting to heat up.

[mikelink45]

Sabato is our minor league Gallo - 78 ABs, 32 Ks, 205 BA.  

How far is Rodriguez from a MLB call up?  I see him taking Taylor's place, but next year and Celestino is not showing what I would like to see from him.

The saints with Wallner/Celestino/Larnach - Miranda makes me feel like I am reading about the Twins.  

[roger]

OK, Seth, I know nothing, nothing about Grant.  How bout someone doing a feature on this guy?

Always great seeing Miller with a couple hits and oh so good that ERod has been hitting for awhile like the player we expected him to be.  Add in a nice appearance by Enlow and all is good in Twinkie Land.

Thanks for a great report.

[Aerodeliria]

It's nice to see co-stars if it is warranted. Thanks for that.

It seems like when starters get demoted from the big club, they inevitably have a very rough time at the outset. This pattern held true again with Varland.

 

Bechtold can really bring the heat, but the ball didn't seem to have much movement... it's still early days (as they say in the UK), so time will tell.

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

How far is Rodriguez from a MLB call up? 

Emma Rodriguez - 2025. Very slow start this year, with some people saying he's not going to make it to MLB. Seems to me I've heard his defense may eventually be more suited for LF/RF but maybe Seth or someone more knowledgeable can shed some light. He will be on the 40 man though this winter.

[Seth Stohs]

53 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

How far is Rodriguez from a MLB call up?  I see him taking Taylor's place, but next year and Celestino is not showing what I would like to see from him.

The saints with Wallner/Celestino/Larnach - Miranda makes me feel like I am reading about the Twins.  

Emmanuel Rodriguez? Or am I forgetting another Rodriguez? His timeline is likely 2025 sometime, and that would be impressive. 

Celestino is coming back from a broken thumb and missing 2+ months. He's so young still and talented. 

[Seth Stohs]

40 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

2025. Very slow start this year, with some people saying he's not going to make it to MLB. Seems to me I've heard his defense may eventually be more suited for LF/RF but maybe Seth or someone more knowledgeable can shed some light. He will be on the 40 man though this winter.

I think he's fine defensively in CF. 

[nclahammer]

I was at the Kernels game Friday night and saw the error that Rodriguex made in CF that allowed two uneanred runs.  The phrase "lolly-gagging" comes to mind.  A mental mistake which hopefully he will learn from (good range, he made all the other plays, and has a good arm.)  When you lose a game 11-9 with your comeback falling short in the 9th, those two unearned runs loom much larger.  He seems quite athletic, and drew a couple of walks in addition to hitting a solo homer.  Last season in Ft. Myers her had more walks that strikeouts, not the case this year, but still good numbers  (62 Ks/39 BBs), and an OBP of .379.  I had a quick chat with him after the game outside their new $3.5 million training center adjacent to the ballpark, and the exchange was quite cordial (told his friends to keeping walking and he'd catch up), he was polite and gladly signed a ball for me (asked me where I wanted it signed.) I told him I'd see him the next night and good luck and he said, "Thanks."  From what I've heard he seems to have a lot of upside (#3 overal prospect), I look forward to watching his growth and maturation as a person and player.  Good chance for rain & t-storms for tonight's game, maybe play two on Sunday?  Ernie Banks would love that.

[Seth Stohs]

I watched the last couple of innings of the Kernels game, so I didn't see the E-Rod error. However, I messaged Tom Froemming to see if he had watched the video of it. He said Rodriguez had to run quite a long ways to get to the ball and it was just an error, not so much due to the 'lollygagging'. I'm sure that's up to individual evaluation and opinion for everyone. Why would I have even asked that question to Tom?

 

[AceWrigley]

I didn't know MiLB baseballs are made in China. Should switch to the SSK (Osaka, Japan) pre-tacked baseballs; very consistent and players seem to like them very much.

[Dman]

7 hours ago, roger said:

OK, Seth, I know nothing, nothing about Grant.  How bout someone doing a feature on this guy?

 

I didn't even have Grant making it to the FCL this year even though he did have a good year last year in the DSL. Lot's of players got over shadowed by Mercedes and Rodriguez last year.  Isaac Pena is another player I don't know much about whose bat has been hot to start the year as well.  I agree with @roger that it would be nice if someone could get a bit more info on some of the new FCL players that are hitting well.

[Dman]

Brooks Lee with a perfect 2 for 2 day with a couple of walks.  Was nice to see the HR.  His approach has been solid all year but he has been hitting it right at people so his BABIP is not real high.  Still with the K rate under control and his ability to take walks I think he always going to be a tough out.  Just needs more time to adjust and he will be OK.

When Prato is hitting well I see solid utility player.  The thing is he might need to move to another team because that role is packed right now and he isn't getting any younger.  He can steal a base and when he is "on" he has a very solid batting line.  Honestly not that much different than Lee numbers wise. Consistency is key for him if he is going to make it though.

Nice to see the St Paul bats rebound after a really tough game Thursday.  Wallner keeping that average up and seems to be K'ing less.  He still looks ready for another shot at the Majors but I guess we will have to wait for the trade deadline to see what happens.

 

[roger]

4 hours ago, Dman said:

Brooks Lee with a perfect 2 for 2 day with a couple of walks.  Was nice to see the HR.  His approach has been solid all year but he has been hitting it right at people so his BABIP is not real high.  Still with the K rate under control and his ability to take walks I think he always going to be a tough out.  Just needs more time to adjust and he will be OK.

When Prato is hitting well I see solid utility player.  The thing is he might need to move to another team because that role is packed right now and he isn't getting any younger.  He can steal a base and when he is "on" he has a very solid batting line.  Honestly not that much different than Lee numbers wise. Consistency is key for him if he is going to make it though.

Nice to see the St Paul bats rebound after a really tough game Thursday.  Wallner keeping that average up and seems to be K'ing less.  He still looks ready for another shot at the Majors but I guess we will have to wait for the trade deadline to see what happens.

 

I think we all need to remember that a year ago Lee was finishing his college career and yet to be drafted.  For a kid with such little experience at AA, his numbers are more than solid.

[Althebum82]

10 hours ago, Dman said:

Wallner keeping that average up and seems to be K'ing less.  He still looks ready for another shot at the Majors but I guess we will have to wait for the trade deadline to see what happens.

 

Buxton fighting the "back spasm" pain Saturday may lead to Wallner's return sooner than the trade deadline.  Noone ever wants Buxton on the IL (no matter how conditioned we have become to seeing it), but the timing is good for him to focus on getting healed and giving Wallner the shot he has clearly earned.