Twins Minor League Report (7/5): Nowlin, Salas, Bullpen Lead Kernels to Victory

[Seth Stohs]

There wasn't a lot of offense, but there were a lot of close games. Find out which affiliates won, and which hitters and pitchers came up big for their teams on Wednesday. 

Image courtesy of Steve Buhr (photo of Jaylen Nowlin)

The Twins got a great start from Pablo Lopez. Jose Salas had a couple of key hits in a Kernels run. Hopefully Byron Chourio had a great day and got a little better on a non-game day in the FCL. 

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

St. Paul Saints: 49-33 
Wichita Wind Surge: 32-44
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 47-30
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 39-38
FCL Twins: 10-12
DSL Twins: 6-15

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

TRANSACTIONS
The Twins concluded the rehab assignment of RHP Cole Sands. In bringing him back up, Josh Winder was optioned to St. Paul. 
The Twins released RHP Connor Sadzeck. He had been pitching with the Saints. 
RHP Chad Donato was activated by the Wind Surge. RHP Pierson Ohl has been moved to the Wichita Development List. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 2, Iowa 3
Box Score
This was a bit of a back-and-forth, low-scoring game in Des Moines. The Saints fell behind 1-0  in the second, but they tied it up in the fourth inning. Iowa re-took the lead 2-1 after five innings. The Saints tied it again in the top of the seventh. Unfortunately, the Cubs scored their third run in the bottom of the seventh inning and held on for the 3-2 win. 

After a record-setting performance last week in St. Paul against Gwinnett, the Saints lineup was a bit quiet on Wednesday. In fact, they had just four hits, though they walked five times. 

Kyle Garlick put the Saints on the board with his seventh double. It scored Matt Wallner who hit his 20th Saints double of the season in this game. The game was tied again in the seventh inning when Anthony Prato drove in Chris Williams with a sacrifice fly. Williams had left off the inning with his second triple of the season. 

Veteran Aaron Sanchez was on the mound in this one for St. Paul. He was charged with two runs on six hits and a walk over the first five innings. He struck out five batters. 

Andrew Bechtold came in for his third relief pitching appearance. He had a 1-2-3 sixth inning. He recorded an infield pop out, a strikeout and a groundout in the inning. 

Austin Schulfer entered the game in the seventh inning. He gave up the go-ahead run on two walks and a hit. Austin Brice worked a perfect ninth inning. 

It marked the second straight one-run loss for the Saints. They are two games over .500 in such games. Unfortunately, the Iowa Cubs are now 19-3 in one-run contests. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 1, Tulsa 4
Box Score
The Surge fell behind 4-0 after just two innings. That was all. Unfortunately, the Wichita offense wasn’t able to do much against the Drillers on Wednesday. 

Carlos Luna gave up four runs (2 earned) on just four hits over four innings. He walked one batter and had seven strikeouts. 

Alex Scherff came on and struck out four batters over two scoreless innings. Isaac Mattson then had a walk and a strikeout over the final two, scoreless innings. 

Unfortunately, the Wind Surge were only able to muster two hits in the game. Alex Isola hit his 13th double and was walked once. Jake Rucker had the other hit. Seth Gray reached base twice via walks. DaShawn Keirsey scored the team’s lone run in the ninth inning on a wild pitch after reaching via an error. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 2
Box Score
Speaking of close, one-run games, the Kernels have continued to find ways to win games, and that was the case on Wednesday. 

The story of the game was the performance of lefty Jaylen Nowlin. He started and gave up two runs on two hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out 10 batters in the game. As if usually key for him (and most pitchers), throwing strikes is very important. Of his 76 pitches in this one, 51 of them were strikes (67%). 

Nowlin’s blemish came in the fifth inning when he gave up a two-run homer that put the River Bandits ahead 2-1. 

Fortunately, the Kernels responded with two runs over their own in the bottom of the fifth and then the bullpens took over and kept the score at 3-2 for the home team. 

The Kernels scored their first run in the third inning when Noah Cardenas scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth, Jose Salas drilled a first-pitch homer to tie the game. Later, Ben Ross singled to score Jeferson Morales with the go-ahead (and winning) run). 

Malik Barrington replaced Nowlin to start the seventh inning. He gave up two hits over two scoreless innings. He had four strikeouts and no walks. Miguel Rodriguez came in and tossed a perfect ninth inning for his 10th Save of the season. 

Salas led the way with his first triple of the season to go with his third home run of the year. He also had a sacrifice bunt in the game. Doubles were hit by Cardenas (13th) and Morales (5th). 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 4, Jupiter 3 (10)
Box Score 
And yes, another one-run game on Wednesday night. This one had the added bonus of an extra inning. 

The score was tied 2-2 heading to the 10th frame. The Mussels began the top of the inning with Kamron Willman pinch running at second base for Gregory Duran. Mikey Perez laid down a nice sacrifice bunt, but a throwing error allowed not only Willman to score, but Perez was able to advance to third base. After an out, Maddux Houghton drove in Perez with a double. 

In the bottom of the inning, the Hammerheads had two singles and one run. But fortunately for the Mussels, it wasn’t enough and Fort Myers got another win. 

Ben Ethridge dropped his season ERA to 2.49 after giving up two runs (1 earned) on five hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out two batters. Gabriel Yanez came on and struck out five batters over three, one-hit innings. Ricardo Velez pitched a scoreless ninth and held onto the lead in the 10th to record his first Win. 

Dillon Tatum led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with a walk. Gregory Duran went 2-for-5. Ricardo Olivar went 1-for-3 with two walks. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitters of the Day – Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-2, SH, 3B(1), HR(3), R, RBI.
Pitcher of the Day – Jaylen Nowlin (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, BB, 10 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. (Note - our next prospect rankings update will come after the draft.)

#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, HBP, 3 K.
#4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 1-for-2, BB, HR(6), R, RBI, K. 
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(20), R
#11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, K. (2B, batted second)
#12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-2, SH, 3B(1), HR(3), R, RBI.
#13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3.

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES
St. Paul @ Iowa (6:38 PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (2-1, 6.57 ERA)
Wichita @ Tulsa (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Chad Donato (1-5, 10.73 ERA)
Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones (4-4, 4.02 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30 PM CST) - LHP Jarret Whorff (2-0, 1.63 ERA) 
FCL Orioles @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) - TBD 
DSL Rockies @ DSL Twins (10:00AM CST) - TBD

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

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[jkcarew]

Tough losses for St Paul and Wichita tonight.

To be fair, the results probably would have been better if they, too, had gotten to play the Royals.

Nice to see Jose Salas do some damage with the bat!

[FlyingFinn]

Cedar Rapids is getting consistent, strong pitching and just enough hitting to keep winning. Nowlin with a good game last night. 

[mikelink45]

I have to admit that I'm really disappointed and all of the strikeouts that Rodriguez is getting this year. I really had high expectations and he still can reach him but he hasn't looked like the player I hope for

[strumdatjag]

Jarrett Whorff is pitching tonight in Fort Myers.   First Klingon from the Next Generation to play professional baseball. 

[2wins87]

27 minutes ago, strumdatjag said:

Jarrett Whorff is pitching tonight in Fort Myers.   First Klingon from the Next Generation to play professional baseball. 

It's easy to get confused, but he's actually the father of Mogh, from the movie era, not the son of Mogh, from the TNG era.

[2wins87]

Good to see Nowlin having a good start after a string of mediocre to bad ones.  Especially nice to see the 10-1 K-BB for a guy who's biggest issue is command.

Salas has had improved offensive numbers every month, but still had only a .621 OPS in June (which speaks to just how brutal his start was).  He's has an .833 OPS after just 5 games in July, which probably means nothing but it would be really nice to see him put together some sustained success.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, 2wins87 said:

Good to see Nowlin having a good start after a string of mediocre to bad ones.  Especially nice to see the 10-1 K-BB for a guy who's biggest issue is command.

Yeah, nice outing from Nowlin, but he definitely has some things to work on. WHIP isn't the end-all, be-all for pitching stats, but it does tell a few things and they haven't been good for Nowlin. Right now he looks like a pitcher who is struggling to consistently command his pitches, walks a fair number of guys, and then gives up hits when he tries to get over on a guy with a pitch well in the zone. a 1.4 WHIP just isn't going to get it done. be interesting to see if he can build on this very successful start.

Salas had a really really slow start to the season. Hopefully that was more about adjustment period and he's starting to get on a roll. Big talent, but it's been rough so far. Good to see him have a better run.

[roger]

Item that caught my attention was Bechtold having a legit relief appearance.  And it couldn't have gone better.  Is it possible, or even likely, Seth, that this kid could earn a spot in the Twins bullpen?  And if he does, could he double as the Twins third catcher?  Baseball has been around for a long time, but I gotta believe that may have never happened.  But the more I think about it, it is likely there was someone back whenever who did this.

[DocBauer]

I know it sounds simplistic and cliche, but if Nowlin can reign in that control on a more consistent basis, he's a legit ML SP prospect, IMO. At worst, he becomes a lethal LH RP.

The thing is, his control isn't always bad. He's flashed days where the control is there, like yesterday's game, and you get really enthused. Then he walks 5 in 4 the next game and you scratch your head. 

I'm excited as he has stuff to work on, but when you can actually see what he can do, it's hard not to be.

[nicksaviking]

Anthony Prato is throwing his hat in the ring for one of those MLB OF or utility spots. He lacks the high end pop, but it sure looks like he's taking professional at bats, which obviously is what everyone's been complaining about with the MLB roster. 

 

[ashbury]

6 hours ago, 2wins87 said:

It's easy to get confused, but he's actually the father of Mogh, from the movie era, not the son of Mogh, from the TNG era.

I'll stick my neck out and guess that the young man never gets tired of the riffs on his name.  🙂

[DocBauer]

4 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Anthony Prato is throwing his hat in the ring for one of those MLB OF or utility spots. He lacks the high end pop, but it sure looks like he's taking professional at bats, which obviously is what everyone's been complaining about with the MLB roster. 

 

Really liked what he did last season and was a little surprised he wasn't on the Saints roster to begin the year, even if it was rather packed. And then he got off to such a rough start this season in Wichita I was very surprised and disappointed. Really great to see him at AAA and doing so well now. He's stretched, I believe, at SS and CF, which is why he's played them the least amount, but I think he might be able to fill in there. And frankly, I don't know how good his arm is, but he can, and has, played just about anywhere and everywhere so far, and he's got a nice mix of BA, OB%, SLG and speed with legitimate SB ability.

One thing the Twins AREN'T lacking right now is utility options, now and 2024, between Gordon, Castro, Farmer, Helman (when healthy again), and Severino. And I'm probably missing someone.

[Blyleven2011]

Seth ,

Could you please state what the development list really is ?  ,,, 

[Doctor Wu]

12 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Seth ,

Could you please state what the development list really is ?  ,,, 

I second the motion!

[Doctor Wu]

19 hours ago, DocBauer said:

I know it sounds simplistic and cliche, but if Nowlin can reign in that control on a more consistent basis, he's a legit ML SP prospect, IMO. At worst, he becomes a lethal LH RP.

The thing is, his control isn't always bad. He's flashed days where the control is there, like yesterday's game, and you get really enthused. Then he walks 5 in 4 the next game and you scratch your head. 

I'm excited as he has stuff to work on, but when you can actually see what he can do, it's hard not to be.

The more I read about Nowlin, and following his outings, I don't think it's so far-fetched that he can reach the majors, at least in some capacity. He just has that look, and hopefully enough control to make his stuff work at a higher level.