Minor League Report (7/15): Kernels Continue Slugfest, SWR Deals in Uneven Day on the Farm

[Matt Braun]

It seems like something is going on in Cedar Rapids. 

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (image is of Simeon Woods Richardson)

 

TRANSACTIONS
INF Yohander Martinez reinstated from 7-day IL at Fort Myers
OF Luis Baez transferred from 7-day IL to 60-day IL at Fort Myers
OF Matt Wallner recalled by Twins
RHP Pierson Ohl reinstated from development list
RHP Jose Bravo reinstated from development list and released
RHP Jordan Brink released 
OF Armani Smith released 

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 4, Durham 2
Box Score
Brent Headrick: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
HR: Anthony Prato (6), Jair Camargo
Multi-hit games: Jair Camargo (2-for-4, HR, 2B, R, RBI)

The Saints scored late to win on Saturday.

They did it again. After the wild success that was last Saturday’s Brent Headrick/Simeon Woods Richardson’s piggyback, the Saints tried the strategy again. Headrick crushed his start, tossing a trio of scoreless innings, while Woods Richardson flourished as well, allowing a lone earned run over five frames. Kody Funderburk slammed the door with a quiet 9th.

The bats aided the outstanding pitching effort. Anthony Prato and Jair Camargo both hammered late homers, earning and extending the precious lead. 

0Prato now has a 1.064 OPS since joining the Saints. 

No hitter batting 1-4 got a hit on Saturday; only once did they reach base. 

Durham’s finest prospect is INF Curtis Mead. The Australian—third in the system; 32nd in MLB—doubled and singled in three at-bats. 

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 2, Springfield 10
Box Score
Pierson Ohl: 4 ⅓ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
HR: Brooks Lee (8)
Multi-hit games: None

The Wind Surge got smoked on Saturday.

Pierson Ohl was not himself. The righty, so adept at throwing strikes, never found his command; he walked three with a smattering of base hits to allow three runs on his watch. Given that he was only reinstated from the Development List today, he may have just been rusty. Hopefully his typical strike-throwing self appears soon.

Brooks Lee gave Wichita their first run when he smoked a solo shot in the 4th inning.

But they could only score once more against the Cardinals. Ace pitching prospect, Tink Hence, allowed both runs in an atypically mediocre outing, but Springfield’s bullpen was nails, and the Wind Surge never even got a hit after Hence exited the game.

Wichita’s pitchers found no such fortune. Taylor Floyd and Hunter McMahon allowed seven combined runs in support of their starter. The team never recovered.

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 9, Beloit 7
Box Score
Kyle Jones: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K 
HR: Kyler Fedko (3)
Multi-hit games: Andrew Cossetti (3-for-3, R, RBI, BB)

An explosive 1st inning carried the Kernels to victory on Saturday.

It took until the seventh batter for Beloit starter Zach King to earn his first out; even that ended up as a run-scoring sacrifice fly. Cedar Rapids went double, hit by pitch, single, single, walk, single, before earning their fifth and final score of the inning when Andrew Cossetti flew a ball deep enough to coax in a run. 

The Kernels all-around offense continued throughout the game—and the team ended up walking more than they struck out (nine to eight) with every hitter reaching base at least once.

Pitching wasn’t as smooth. Kyle Jones was cromulent over five innings, allowing a trio of earned runs, but a few late runs pushed the game within striking distance; fortunately, the Sky Carp never found the critical game-tying knot. Miguel Rodriguez stared down his last man and caught him looking, stranding a runner at third to conclude the game. 

The Kernels improved their season record to 51-32.

Beloit’s star prospect—the second-in-the-system third baseman, Jacob Berry—doubled and struck out three times in five trips to the plate. 

Mussel Matters
Ft. Myers 7, Clearwater 8 (10 Innings)
Box Score
Jarret Whorff: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
HR: Danny De Andrade (7), Mikey Perez (5)
Multi-hit games: Ricardo Olivar (3-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB)

The Mighty Mussels blew a late lead, turning a three-run advantage with one in the 9th into an extra-innings loss.

Jarret Whorff was who he needed to be. The 24-year-old righty worked five scoreless frames, holding the second-scariest offense in the Florida State League to just a pair of singles, scattered and harmless. He unfortunately exited before his bats could give him the support he deserved.

But they did come through eventually. Clearwater took a slim lead before Fort Myers roared back, plating four with a Danny De Andrade two-run shot exclaiming the scoring with authority. 

The lead held strong, guiding the Mighty Mussels into the 9th confident in their work. Gabriel Yanez acquired the first out before Jackson Hicks entered the game. He fell apart. A pair of singles and a three-run homer instantly zapped away the lead. The game entered extra innings.

Zach Veen suffered just as well. The new pitcher allowed a back-breaking bases-clearing triple, eventually exiting with four runs standing between Fort Myers and the game continuing. They nearly did it. Mikey Perez blasted home himself and the Manfred Man. A productive groundout brought the game within one, but that was as close as the team could get, and Rubel Cespedes’ full-count strikeout delivered the game its final, disappointing verdict. 

Outfielder Justin Crawford, Philadelphia’s 3rd-best prospect, and the best prospect playing for the Threshers, singled in five plate appearances. 

Complex Chronicles

The FCL Twins game was halted in the fifth; they will continue their match against the FCL Red Sox on the 21st.

Dominican Dailies
DSL Twins 2, DSL Guardians Red 6
Box Score
Juan Cota: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Jayson Bass (2-for-3), Juan Zapata (2-for-3, 3B, RBI)

The DSL Twins lost handily on Saturday.

It took until the 5th for either team to score—and the game still ended up a seemingly normal affair. Starter Juan Cota has his stuff, leading to three scoreless frames with a pair of strikeouts—and, unusual for a DSL pitcher—no walks.

But the Twins’ batters couldn’t take advantage of the effort; a Juan Zapata triple was their lone extra-base hit. 

The Guardians Red (what a clunky team name) stole four bases, and caught the Twins stealing twice.

Hendry Chivilli, Minnesota’s big international signing in January, struck out three times in the game. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Simeon Woods Richardson
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jair Camargo

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-4, HR, R, RBI, 3 K
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, R, BB, 2 K
#7 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
#11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-4, K, SB
#13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, R, BB K
#15 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
#19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 0-4

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Durham @ St. Paul (2:07 PM) - LHP Dallas Keuchel
Springfield @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Travis Adams
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (1:05 PM) - LHP Christian MacLeod
Clearwater @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM) - RHP Andrew Morris

 

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[FlyingFinn]

Camargo keeps looking like he needs to be on the Twins 40 man roster this winter. 

[D.C Twins]

Lee with a HR and 3 SO.... please tell me they are NOT trying to ruin his sweet swing by jamming him into the 3 true option mold.... 

[Jocko87]

24 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

Lee with a HR and 3 SO.... please tell me they are NOT trying to ruin his sweet swing by jamming him into the 3 true option mold.... 

Went live last night and I don't see it.  He has a very advanced approach and sprays line drives all over. 

[wabene]

2 hours ago, D.C Twins said:

Lee with a HR and 3 SO.... please tell me they are NOT trying to ruin his sweet swing by jamming him into the 3 true option mold.... 

they are NOT trying to ruin his sweet swing by jamming him into the 3 true option mold

[2wins87]

9 hours ago, D.C Twins said:

Lee with a HR and 3 SO.... please tell me they are NOT trying to ruin his sweet swing by jamming him into the 3 true option mold.... 

It's only one game. He's been around a 15% K rate the whole season. Since he's had a bit of a power surge starting mid June his K rate has basically been the same.

He's a guy that can do both contact and power and probably needs to. He's not going to get many hits putting the ball on the ground.

[jmlease1]

Seem to be a lot of Twins hitters in Cedar Rapids with a good understanding of the strike zone these days. 

Like seeing Cossetti settling in on his promotion: only 6 hits in his first 10 games in high A; 11 in his last 10. 4 walks in his first 10, 6 walks in the last 10. Hopefully he starts to find that power stroke a little more, but he seems to be on track again, and it's good to see him playing plenty of catcher, even if he dropped in at 1B yesterday. I find him to be a really interesting prospect, the kind of guy who is unlikely to ever hit a national top prospect list, but one of those late round guys that if he can keep developing could be a real asset to the franchise. He's doing pretty much everything right so far!

[roger]

1 hour ago, 2wins87 said:

It's only one game. He's been around a 15% K rate the whole season. Since he's had a bit of a power surge starting mid June his K rate has basically been the same.

He's a guy that can do both contact and power and probably needs to. He's not going to get many hits putting the ball on the ground.

After seeing Lee having 3 K's last night, did the same thing 2wins87.  Checked his stats to see that he is well under 20% K rate this year.  So just an off night!

Was listening to Proud Mary while reading this.  Got me thinking that this Cedar Rapids Club just keeps on rollin.  What an amazing team, yet they don't have all that many of the Twins big name prospects.  I know they won the first half of their season, are they again in first place?

Didn't have a clue who this Whorff kid is.  Checked and see he was signed a couple months ago out of independent ball.  Granted he is a bit old for the FSL, 24, but sure looks like another find by their scouts?  See that the DSL Twins don't have many hitters with numbers like last year.  Heck, the Silva kid who got the big money is well under the Mendoza line.  The Bass kid from Mexico looks like he might be a good one with an average over .300, well over.  

 

[ashbury]

11 hours ago, wabene said:

they are NOT trying to ruin his sweet swing by jamming him into the 3 true option mold

Please tell me you were having a bit of fun with your response.  Please also tell me you're giving me a million dollars..

[wabene]

@ashbury just trying to give the man want he asked for, lol. And yes the check is in the mail