Twins Minor League Week in Review (7/17-7/23)

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Plenty of activity to follow at this time of the year, but this is your go-to website for Twins minor league coverage. We're going to wrap up the week on the farm here. There are daily recaps posted each and every day. This is your one-time-a-week, catch-up-on-everything-you-missed recap.

Image courtesy of Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News / USA TODAY NETWORK (photo of Andrew Morris)

Don’t forget to read Nick’s Week in Review to catch up on the Twins week. The Twins are a league-best 8-2 since the All-Star break. But there's much more to be talking about as well. The draft wrapped up but the activity following the draft will start to ramp up this week with assignments. But, of course, the Twins still have business to do in regards to signing their first-round pick. You can catch up on all the draft news here. Additionally, the Trade Deadline is a week away too. TwinsDaily has you covered for that too!

WEEK IN REVIEW 

Triple-A: St. Paul Saints

• Overall: 12-9 in the second half; 1.5 games behind Iowa. 
• Overview: The Saints dropped four of six to Omaha, including the final three games.
• 🔥: Left-handed hitting outfielders continue to rake in the minors. This time it's Mark Contreras, who went 6-for-18 with two doubles and a home run. 
• 🔥: Randy Dobnak made two starts, spanning 10 innings. He allowed only one run on five hits and three walks while striking out 11.
• 🔥: Not to be outdone by Contreras, Andrew Stevenson went 7-for-21 with a double and home run. 
• 🔥: Louie Varland only struck out three in his six innings of work, but walked none and surrendered five hits. The two earned runs were the blemish but an overall strong start.
• 🥶: Blayne Enlow allowed seven runs on five hits and two walks. He only recorded four outs.
• 🥶: Gilberto Celestino went only 1-for-12 on the week. 
• What's Next: St. Paul will play hose to Toledo this week.

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge

• Overall: 9-12 in the second half; 3.5 games behind Arkansas. 
• Overview: The Wind Surge lost four of six to Amarillo, ending two-game losing streaks with each of their wins. 
• 🔥: Will Holland was 6-for-16 which is impressive enough, but four of his hits were of the extra-base variety (one double, one triple, two home runs). He also stole a base. 
• 🔥: Marco Raya allowed a home run, but in four innings, he only allowed one other hit and struck out four. 
• 🔥: Yunior Severino went a ridiculous 10-for-25 this week, with three doubles and a home run. He continues to strike out a lot, walking back to the dugout eight times over his last six games.
• 🔥: David Festa has had an uneven year at AA, but this was a successful week. In three innings, Festa yielded only two hits and a walk while striking out six. He definitely needs more seasoning, but seeing how his stuff plays out of the major league bullpen could be sorta fun.
• 🥶: Aaron Sabato went 2-for-19 with four walks and six strikeouts to post a .419 OPS.
• 🥶: Taylor Floyd appeared twice and retired four batters. He also allowed seven hits (including two home runs) that resulted in six runs.
• What's Next: Back home, Frisco will come visit Wichita.

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels

• Overall: 16-8 in the second half, 3.0 games ahead of Beloit and Peoria.
• Overview: It's been a continuation of a good month. After dropping the opener to Peoria, the Kernels take a five-game winning streak and  first place in the standings into next week
• 🔥: We got to see a stretch of the good Emmanuel Rodriguez. He went 7-for-16 with a double, triple and home run. He drove in two and scored five runs. He drew six walks while striking out four.
• 🔥: C.J. Culpepper tossed five shutout innings. He struck out four. In 16 innings at High-A, Culpepper has allowed only nine hits and three walks with no earned runs. He's getting four times as many outs on the ground as he is in the error.
• 🔥: Noah Cardenas continues to impress. He collected six hits in 17 at-bats, including a double. 
• 🔥: Both Zebby Matthews and Jaylen Nowlin pitched six innings and had a WHIP lower than one. They struck out six and seven, respectively.
• 🥶: Misael Urbina was 1-for-18. It's beyond time for a reset. 
• 🥶: A.J. Labas gave up five hits and two runs in his only inning of work.
• What's Next: On the road for six games against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. 

Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels

• Overall: 11-13 in the second half, 6.0 games behind Clearwater.
• Overview: Fort Myers split with Bradenton, winning the last two games.
• 🔥: Ricardo Olivar led the Mighty Mussels with two home runs and six walks and tied for the lead with seven hits, three doubles, seven runs and five runs batted in. 
• 🔥: Andrew Morris struck out eight in six innings and allowed only four hits and a walk. One of the two runs he allowed was unearned. Morris hasn't made it to high-A like many of his draft counterparts, but he's still have an impressive start to his pro career.
• This just happened: 
• 🔥: Yohander Martinez was limited by his lack of power, but 6-for-16 was the best average (.375) on the team and his four walks helped him post a team-high OBP of .476.
• 🔥: Jose Oliveras walked four, which is too many in 4 2/3 innings. But he struck out eight and held opponents to a .125 batting average.
• 🥶: Kamron Willman struggled in his 14 at-bats, collecting only one hit.
• 🥶: Jarret Whorff struggled in his only start of the week. In 2 1/3 innings, he allowed six hits and issued four free passes. This resulted in five runs. 
• What's Next: Fort Myers will return home to host Palm Beach.

Rookie: FCL Twins

• Overall: 15-18, 10.0 games behind the FCL Pirates in the FCL South. 
• 🔥: Endy Rodriquez led the team with six hits despite only getting 10 at-bats. He collected two doubles, a triple and a home run for a robust OPS of 1.936. 
• 🔥: Brayan Medina pitched five innings in his start, allowing only three hits and two walks, but the result was two runs. His WHIP was 1.00 and his opposing batting average was .150.
• 🔥: Byron Chourio was almost perfect going 5-for-7 in the two games he played.
• 🥶: Jankel Ortiz, Andres Centeno and Alec Sayre all got double-digit at-bats and only had one hit a piece to show for it.
• 🥶: Pierce Banks (six hits, three walks and five runs) and John Klein (five hits, three walks and four runs) both struggled in this shortened week.

Rookie: DSL Twins 

• Overall: 7-25, 18.5 games back in the DSL South. 
• 🔥: Ariel Castro led the lineup with five hits, including a home run, in 13 at-bats. He tied for the team lead with four RBIs and collected the team's lone stolen base.
• 🔥: Juan Cota had the best pitching performance of the week, allowing only one hit, a walk and an unearned run over four innings. He struck out six. Though he did hit two batters, the opposing batting average of .071 is impressive.
• 🔥: Moises Lopez had a double and home run among his four hits. Angel Trinidad had three doubles.
• 🥶: Christian Hernandez allowed three hits and four walks in three innings in the least impressive start of the week.
• 🥶: Hendry Chivilli is back in the lineup after being out of it since his two-hit debut, but he's been struggling. Only one hit (a double) in 11 at-bats. He did draw four walks, but struck out six times.

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 periodically 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. Jose Rodriguez, OF, FCL Twins: 4-15, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 5 K. (.270/.341/.426. .767 OPS)
• 19. Brent Headrick, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 3.00 ERA, 3 IP, H, ER, HB, 4 BB. (1.29 WHIP, .262 BAA).
• 18. Jose Salas, INF, Cedar Rapids: currently on the Development List. (.181/.268/.265. .533 OPS), previously played two games at shortstop and committed one error in seven chances (13 total; four errors in 43 chances total), played one game (14 total) at third base and committed no errors in one chance (three errors in 32 total chances). He played five games (40 total) at second base with no errors in 16 chances (three errors in 161 total chances).
• 17. Yunior Severino, 3B, Wichita: 10-25, 3 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 8 K, CS. (.285/.259/.525. .884 OPS).
• 16. Kala'i Rosario, OF, Cedar Rapids: 5-22, 2 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 K. (.271/.385/.477. .862 OPS).
• 15. Jordan Balazovic, RHP, Minnesota. St. Paul: (1.60 WHIP, .261 BAA); currently pitching out of the Twins bullpen.
• 14. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 3.60 ERA, 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 K (1.63 WHIP, .287 BAA); Minnesota: (1.85 WHIP, .313 BAA)
• 13. Brandon Winokur, OF: Has signed with the organization, but has not been assigned to a roster.
• 12. Luke Keaschall, 2B: Has signed with the organization, but has not been assigned to a roster.
• 11. Yasser Mercedes, OF, FCL Twins: 4-20, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 4 K, 2 SB. (.200/.244/.413. .657 OPS)
• 10. Tanner Schobel, INF, Wichita: 3-18, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K (high-A/AA combined .281/.364/.475. .839 OPS), played 3 games (28 total) at second base and committed no errors in 6 chances (5 errors in 123 total chances), played two games (48 total) at third base and committed no errors in one chance (three errors in 100 total chances).
• 9. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids: Announced that Prielipp will be undergoing season-ending elbow surgery. (1.75 WHIP, .294 BAA)
• 8. Austin Martin , SS, St. Paul: 4-19, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K. (.164/.266/.218. .484 OPS), 
• 7. David Festa, RHP, Wichita: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 K. (1.37 WHIP, .253 BAA)
• 6. Charlee Soto, RHP: Has signed with the organization, but has not been assigned to a roster.
• 5. Matt Wallner, OF, Minnesota: St. Paul (.291/.403/.524. .927 OPS); currently with the Twins.
• 4. Marco Raya, RHP, Wichita: 0-1, 2.25 ERA, 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, HRA, 4 K. (AA/Hi-A combined 0.92 WHIP, .176 BAA)
• 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 7-16, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 5 R, 6 BB, 4 K, SB, CS. (.228/.392/.434. .826 OPS)
• 2. Walker Jenkins, OF: Unsigned as of Sunday night.
• 1. Brooks Lee, SS, Wichita: 7-21, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K. (.283/.360/.472. .832 OPS), played 4 games (75 total) at shortstop and committed no errors in 16 chances (11 errors in 309 total chances). Lee has committed one error in three chances in one game at third base this season.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Pitcher - Randy Dobnak. It's been a disappointing few years for Dobnak after exploding onto the scene and starting a playoff game for the Twins in 2019. Prior to the 2021 season, the Twins locked Dobnak up with a five-year extension which guaranteed him almost $10 million. He would spend the next handful of years in the Twins rotation and the "happily ever after" story would continue. Instead, Dobnak suffered a pulley injury to his right middle finger that derailed his career. Healthy again, Dobnak is starting to perform like the Randy of old and gives the organization some starter depth going into the late summer. 

 

Hitter - Emmanuel Rodriguez. He won't turn 21 until spring training next year, so even during the cold streaks it's too early to be alarmed. But during the hot streaks... woo boy. He's got all the tools, just too much swing-and-miss. He's this close to getting it straightened out and being a 21-year-old at AA knocking on the door for an opportunity in 2024. But right now it's more tease than something you can count on. And there was plenty of teasing over the last seven days.

 

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[Dman]

Love these summaries!  Thanks!

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, Dman said:

Love these summaries!  Thanks!

Agreed. One of the best parts of the site for sure. 

[SD happy]

Thank you! Always a good read. Any updates on Jenkins signing? Is it time to get nervous/concerned?

[jkcarew]

Maybe we shouldn't have Jenkins on the list yet?

Only first round pick that remains unsigned.

Tick, tick, tick...

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Maybe we shouldn't have Jenkins on the list yet?

Only first round pick that remains unsigned.

Tick, tick, tick...

One of five guys taken in the first 10 rounds, I believe.....

[jkcarew]

13 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

One of five guys taken in the first 10 rounds, I believe.....

It looks like the Twins should be able to get to $8M (or very, very close) without triggering the lost pick. Clark took $7.7M at 3, and Langford $8M at 4.

I don't see what the hold up is...unless Jenkins just doesn't like the Twins situation for whatever reason, and wants to go the J.D. Drew route. Or the Twins are agonizing over the tax to go over $7.3M

Probably the latter.

[Mike Sixel]

7 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

It looks like the Twins should be able to get to $8M (or very, very close) without triggering the lost pick. Clark took $7.7M at 3, and Langford $8M at 4.

I don't see what the hold up is...unless Jenkins just doesn't like the Twins situation for whatever reason, and wants to go the J.D. Drew route. Or the Twins are agonizing over the tax to go over $7.3M

Probably the latter.

If they pass on him over 700K, well, I've already called for their heads before this.....let's hope they sign him.

[FlyingFinn]

Nowlin moving up to Wichita. Wow, his numbers haven't been great but his walks have been way down lately.

[Guest]

I guess it must be Brent's twin brother, Bart Headrick, who's the LHP....

[Dman]

12 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Nowlin moving up to Wichita. Wow, his numbers haven't been great but his walks have been way down lately.

Yeah I think most years they would have left him at High A all year but they needed to move someone up and he has the most experience of any pitcher other than Paredes who doesn't throw real hard and doesn't have the K rate Nowlin does either.