Twins Minor League Report (7/27): Severino Goes Yard Again, Winokur Makes a Statement

[Ted Schwerzler]

In the Complex League today, several Twins draft prospects made their professional debuts, and none were more impressive than Brandon Winokur. Yunior Severino went jack-job in his third straight game, while Zebby Matthews and Noah Miller shined for the Kernels. Check out all of the action within.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge

TRANSACTIONS

• OF Trevor Larnach optioned to Triple-A St. Paul
• UT Hernan Perez assigned to Single-A Fort Myers on minor league rehab assignment

SAINTS SENTINEL 
Toledo 5, St. Paul 3
Box Score
Simeon Woods Richardson took his turn Thursday for the Saints on Irish heritage night. He didn’t last five innings, but the 4 1/3 innings were quality allowing just a single run on two hits. Walks were a bugaboo as he racked up five of them, but the Saints starter kept damage at bay with six strikeouts to his credit.

Trailing by one entering the third inning, Kyle Garlick stepped in for St. Paul and lifted a sacrifice fly to score Ernie Yake. That run knotted things up, and they would stay that way until the seventh inning. Austin Schulfer was looking to wriggle out of a bases loaded spot, but instead gave up a two-run single and the Saints found themselves in another deficit.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, facing former Twins reliever Matt Wisler, Anthony Prato crushed a double off the left field wall driving in both Alex De Goti and Andrew Stevenson to even things back at three.

Toledo added a run during their portion of the eighth inning, and then a tough play with the infield drawn in saw Chris Williams get no outs and another run score. He missed tagging the base at first, and made an errant throw to the plate attempting to cut down the run. St. Paul needed to come back from two runs behind with just three outs remaining. Yake stepped in needing to get things going, and it was clear Jair Camargo, Austin Martin, and Trevor Larnach were all unavailable as Toby Gardenhire didn't insert a pinch hitter.

With the rain falling significantly, Stevenson singled to bring Prato up with a chance to tie the game. He drew a walk with fans behind the plate showing off their chests in the rain, and Garlick stepped in having a chance to win it. Coming through yet again, Garlick ripped a double to right field scoring Stevenson and putting the tying run just 90 feet away. Contreras popped out to right field, and that's where the rally ended.

Prato and Yake both recorded a pair of hits on the evening.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 4, Frisco 1
Box Score
It was Pierson Ohl’s night for Wichita. He worked five innings of one-run ball. Ohl gave up three hits but walked just one and struck out five on the evening.

Patrick Winkel opened the scoring during the first inning when his ground out allowed Brooks Lee to score from his leadoff walk. They did give the run back during the top of the second inning, but recaptured the lead during their half of the third inning.

Yunior Severino crushed his 21st home run of the year, and third in three games, to score DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and make it a 3-1 ballgame.

The fifth inning saw the Wind Surge add again when Jake Rucker ripped his 14th double of the season to score Winkel and push the lead to three. Alex Scherff came on for the final two innings and shut down Frisco allowing a single hit and giving up zero free passes. He punched out four to preserve the lead.

Keirsey Jr. and Severino both finished with a pair of hits. Brooks Lee did grab one on the evening, and his days with Wichita are numbered.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Wisconsin 4, Cedar Rapids 3 (F/10)
Box Score
The Kernels went with Zebby Matthews for the start Thursday, and he worked six strong innings. Allowing just two runs on five hits, Matthews punched out seven on the evening and didn’t allow a single free pass. The Kernels were up against the Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff tonight who is working through a rehab assignment. He allowed one run on four hits while striking out three across four innings.

After getting behind by a run in the second inning, the Kernels answered when Noah Miller singled home Misael Urbina to draw even. Wisconsin answered in the bottom half, but that lead wouldn’t hold.

Again, it was Miller, this time with a fifth inning double to score Keoni Cavaco and even things up. Both sides remained tied through nine innings and extras were necessary. Because why not, it was again Miller in the 10th inning with a single to plate Cavaco for the second time, and the Kernels had their first lead of the night.

Miguel Rodriguez walked the leadoff batter for Wisconsin, and a Robert Moore single scored two for the Timber Rattlers, walking off Cedar Rapids. Miller had three hits on the night with Jorel Ortega adding two of his own.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Palm Beach 9, Fort Myers 4
Box Score
The Mighty Mussels turned to Jarret Whorff on Thursday. He worked four innings of three run baseball. Palm Beach scored on three hits and five walks, despite punching out five times during his outing.

Giving up two runs in the third inning, Fort Myers responded with a pair of their own during the fourth inning. Rafael Cruz singled to drive in the rehabbing Hernan Perez, and Dylan Neuse cracked his fourth triple allowing Cruz to score. The game didn’t stay tied long after the Cardinals put up a three-spot in the fifth inning.

Trying to mount a comeback, the Mighty Mussels started with one as Perez lofted a sacrifice fly to score Alec Sayre and make it a 5-3 game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Fort Myers couldn’t tack on more however, and a four-run eighth inning made it a laugher.

One last gasp in the ninth inning saw Neuse drive in Cruz, but the 9-4 lead was enough for Palm Beach to hold on. Cruz and Maddux Houghton were the only Mighty Mussels to record a pair of hits on the night.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Braves 7, FCL Twins 5
Box Score
Thursday was a big day for 2023 Twins draft picks. The first three of them, Luke Keaschall, Jay Harry, and Brandon Winokur all made their professional debuts.

Brayan Medina was on the bump Thursday for the FCL club and worked five innings of three-run baseball. He cruised through the first four before allowing two hits, and three walks to bite him. Medina did strike out three on the day.

Looking to make a comeback in the sixth inning, it was the draftees that did some of the heavy lifting. After Daniel Pena singled to score Isaac Pena, Nate Baez grounded out and drove home Luke Keaschall on the play. Keaschall reached with a walk before stealing both second and third to set up the run. Jay Harry then walked before Brandon Winokur stepped in and launched his first professional home run, putting the Twins ahead 4-3.

With the new draftees getting into just their first game, both Keaschall and Harry were lifted after the top of the sixth inning for Jankel Ortiz and Bryan Acuna. Unfortunately the Braves put up a four-spot in the seventh inning to regain the lead and they held it for good. Winokur did reach on a dropped third strike during the ninth inning, and Yasser Mercedes grounded out to bring him home.

 

No one recorded multiple-hits, but each player making their pro debut made an impression.

DOMINICAN DAILY
DSL Dodgers Mega 9, DSL Twins 7 (F/6)
Box Score
Cristian Hernandez drew the start on Thursday and gave up just a single run through his first three innings. The wheels fell off a bit when he was unable to finish the fourth inning. Working 3 2/3 on the day, Hernandez gave up four runs on three hits and five walks. He did strike out five.

Trailing 5-0 through five and a half innings, the Twins put up a four spot in their half. Unfortunately that one-run deficit wouldn’t hold as the Dodgers put up for more to open the sixth inning and stretch their advantage again. The Twins responded with three of their own in the sixth inning, but that still left them two short and the sides decided to wrap this one up there.

The Twins spread out their six hits with no one recording more than one. Each of them were singles and opportunity passed them by going 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position while leaving 12 on base.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Zebby Matthews (Cedar Rapids) - 6.0, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Hitter of the Day – Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR(21), K

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) - 1-3, R, 2 BB
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, BB, K
#10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-3, BB
#11 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 0-4, RBI, K
#12 - Luke Keaschall (FCL Twins) - 0-2, R, BB, K, 2 SB
#13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 1-3, R, 2 RBI, HR(1), K
#14 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 4.1 IP, 2 H, R, ER, 5 BB, 6 K
#16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, 4 K
#17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR(21), K
#20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 0-4, K

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - LHP Dallas Keuchel
Frisco @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya
Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones
Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP Juan Mercedes

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

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[Blyleven2011]

Good to hear that a few of our new draftees are making there debut  , we drafted quite a few pitchers  , they will probably  bring them along aliitle slower ...

It seems to be the norm for drafted pitchers in their first year of professional ball  ...

[Doctor Wu]

Happy to see Woods-Richardson with a good outing, even though it wasn't a very lengthy one. Nevertheless, it seems like he's had more good games than duds lately. 

[mikelink45]

I have to wonder what an up and down season like Larnach has suffered does to confidence and performance?  Wallner seemed to handle his demotions well, but I think he is the exception.  The Twins getting the AAA team next door has not been a great success for some players.

[Major League Ready]

The $1.5M signing bonus for Winokur was $640K over slot so they apparently thought highly of him.  Hopefully, this early statement is a good indication they are right.  I am wondering if they will go over their draft allocation to get their 19th or 20th round picks.  Parker is another huge power guy.  Larson is a higher profile prospect.  Have they ever gone over?  They could spend up to $850 without losing picks.  They obviously set themselves up with these two picks at the end they knew would require more than the $150K limit.

[Doctor Wu]

25 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I have to wonder what an up and down season like Larnach has suffered does to confidence and performance?  Wallner seemed to handle his demotions well, but I think he is the exception.  The Twins getting the AAA team next door has not been a great success for some players.

Very good point. I can't imagine that being sent up and down repeatedly is very helpful to a player's development. I'm sure a psychologist out there might have better insight, but if I'm the player being shuttled back and forth I would get very frustrated if not feeling angry at being treated that way. Sure, that's the nature of the game, but most players in that situation would start to wonder if he is truly valued by the team. 

[Dman]

Pretty cool that Winokur's first professional hit was a HR!  I had and still have my questions about the bat but if it is for real the Twins got a steal in the 3rd round.

Severino 2nd in HR's and 5th in OPS for the Texas League.  I keep saying the K rate is too high and his BABIP should come down, bringing down his stats and yet here we are more than half way through the season and he is still a league leader with the bat.  Twins have a lot of good hitters at 2nd base in the system and Severino has the best power profile.

Nice to see Miller with a couple of hits keeping his July in the .700 OPS range.  Hoping he can get that hit tool going so he can start moving up levels.

Twins have some really good hitters in the system but pitching is not a strength.  There are a few arms that look good but I don't know that I see an elite arm in this system right now.  Hopefully guys figure stuff out and things change but they could use more help on the pitching side.  Hoping the new crop of players strengthens everything.

 

[twinstalker]

Does this mean finally Noah Miller has been taken off the top 20? 

[twinstalker]

42 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I have to wonder what an up and down season like Larnach has suffered does to confidence and performance?  Wallner seemed to handle his demotions well, but I think he is the exception.  The Twins getting the AAA team next door has not been a great success for some players.

Probably is not a good thing for a not so good player.  What might be worse, though, were if he were continually exposed to MLB pitching.

[terrydactyls]

7 minutes ago, twinstalker said:

Probably is not a good thing for a not so good player.  What might be worse, though, were if he were continually exposed to MLB pitching.

You will never learn to hit major league pitchers if you don't face major league pitchers.

[annismark]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

I have to wonder what an up and down season like Larnach has suffered does to confidence and performance?  Wallner seemed to handle his demotions well, but I think he is the exception.  The Twins getting the AAA team next door has not been a great success for some players.

Have no idea about the psychological aspects, but I'm wondering for some guys it allows them to continue to work on a new pitch in the minors against live competition, but in lower leverage situations? Or they learn something about approach at the plate.  Julien seemed to get better each time he got recalled.

[roger]

53 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

The $1.5M signing bonus for Winokur was $640K over slot so they apparently thought highly of him.  Hopefully, this early statement is a good indication they are right.  I am wondering if they will go over their draft allocation to get their 19th or 20th round picks.  Parker is another huge power guy.  Larson is a higher profile prospect.  Have they ever gone over?  They could spend up to $850 without losing picks.  They obviously set themselves up with these two picks at the end they knew would require more than the $150K limit.

Signing deadline was Tuesday.  One of the last two high school picks is going to JC, thus they can sign him next spring following his season to a maximum contract of $225,000.

Continue to be pleasantly surprised by Bechtold, who had another clean inning of relief.  Caught your comment, Ted, about Lee.  Have you heard something about his moving up to St. Paul?  Or just your belief that it is time for the move?

Will second those above comments that it is great to see some of this year's draft picks in action.  Heck of a first game for both Winokur and the second baseman from ASU.

[roger]

43 minutes ago, Dman said:

Pretty cool that Winokur's first professional hit was a HR!  I had and still have my questions about the bat but if it is for real the Twins got a steal in the 3rd round.

Severino 2nd in HR's and 5th in OPS for the Texas League.  I keep saying the K rate is too high and his BABIP should come down, bringing down his stats and yet here we are more than half way through the season and he is still a league leader with the bat.  Twins have a lot of good hitters at 2nd base in the system and Severino has the best power profile.

Nice to see Miller with a couple of hits keeping his July in the .700 OPS range.  Hoping he can get that hit tool going so he can start moving up levels.

Twins have some really good hitters in the system but pitching is not a strength.  There are a few arms that look good but I don't know that I see an elite arm in this system right now.  Hopefully guys figure stuff out and things change but they could use more help on the pitching side.  Hoping the new crop of players strengthens everything.

 

Unfortunately, the two most elite arms in the system are probably Canterino and Prielipp.  Will either be healthy next year and get back on track?  Canterino should be ready in spring, Prielipp not likely.

[Major League Ready]

26 minutes ago, roger said:

Signing deadline was Tuesday.  One of the last two high school picks is going to JC, thus they can sign him next spring following his season to a maximum contract of $225,000.

Continue to be pleasantly surprised by Bechtold, who had another clean inning of relief.  Caught your comment, Ted, about Lee.  Have you heard something about his moving up to St. Paul?  Or just your belief that it is time for the move?

Will second those above comments that it is great to see some of this year's draft picks in action.  Heck of a first game for both Winokur and the second baseman from ASU.

I did not realize the draft and follow rule has a $225K maximum?

[Jocko87]

Attended the turbo tubs game last night and a few observations.

Firs and foremost, I've now lived about 16 years in Wichita and still don't know what a turbo tub is. I do know it's an abomination.

Yuniors home run was certainly wind aided, it carried hard on everyone. Didn't sound well struck but still nice to see lift the opposite way.

Brooks Lee still looks like Brooks Lee. One beautiful play on defense where Severino cut in front of him. It's was obviously the shortstops ball, dunno what Yunior was doing.

Schoebel looks like a baseball player. Hit a couple of balls hard but his error at 2nd was a stone boot on a slow roller.

Kierseys double was a can of corn lost in the lights by the Rangers #1 prospect Evan Carter. I do think kiersey is in play to be traded shortly.

Heading back out tonight to see Raya pitch.

[Ted Schwerzler]

2 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Happy to see Woods-Richardson with a good outing, even though it wasn't a very lengthy one. Nevertheless, it seems like he's had more good games than duds lately. 

5 walks is pretty rough though. He's really struggled with command, and the stuff just hasn't played well at all.

[Ted Schwerzler]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

The $1.5M signing bonus for Winokur was $640K over slot so they apparently thought highly of him.  Hopefully, this early statement is a good indication they are right.  I am wondering if they will go over their draft allocation to get their 19th or 20th round picks.  Parker is another huge power guy.  Larson is a higher profile prospect.  Have they ever gone over?  They could spend up to $850 without losing picks.  They obviously set themselves up with these two picks at the end they knew would require more than the $150K limit.

Winokur is a five-tool high school kid. Can do it all, but raw. He was very highly rated.

Neither Parker or Larson was signed. The deadline was the 25th, and neither were expected to sign.

[Ted Schwerzler]

35 minutes ago, roger said:

Continue to be pleasantly surprised by Bechtold, who had another clean inning of relief.  Caught your comment, Ted, about Lee.  Have you heard something about his moving up to St. Paul?  Or just your belief that it is time for the move?

Both. I'd guess his days at Double-A are limited to about 4.

[chpettit19]

33 minutes ago, roger said:

Unfortunately, the two most elite arms in the system are probably Canterino and Prielipp.  Will either be healthy next year and get back on track?  Canterino should be ready in spring, Prielipp not likely.

Really hoping to see Canterino moved to the pen, and hope that gives him a near immediate MLB shot once he gets his footing under him. Prielipp is just so hard to judge now. Loved the pick, but didn't expect another elbow surgery after 2 appearances. He's a long ways away at this point. Hoping Canterino can be the next Duran, though (with less octane, obviously), and just come up and dominate out of the pen.

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, Jocko87 said:

Heading back out tonight to see Raya pitch.

Fun! And you get to see one of Brooks Lee's last four games in Wichita from what Ted is saying.

[nclahammer]

1 hour ago, Jocko87 said:

Attended the turbo tubs game last night and a few observations.

Firs and foremost, I've now lived about 16 years in Wichita and still don't know what a turbo tub is. I do know it's an abomination.

Yuniors home run was certainly wind aided, it carried hard on everyone. Didn't sound well struck but still nice to see lift the opposite way.

Brooks Lee still looks like Brooks Lee. One beautiful play on defense where Severino cut in front of him. It's was obviously the shortstops ball, dunno what Yunior was doing.

Schoebel looks like a baseball player. Hit a couple of balls hard but his error at 2nd was a stone boot on a slow roller.

Kierseys double was a can of corn lost in the lights by the Rangers #1 prospect Evan Carter. I do think kiersey is in play to be traded shortly.

Heading back out tonight to see Raya pitch.

As with many things one encounters in life, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that may be the case with the Wichita Turbo Tubs alternate ego/identity uniforms.   Here is the rest of the story/history behind the name and Turbo Tub uniform...https://www.milb.com/wichita/fans/turbo-tubs  These uniforms remind me of the Houston Astro unis they wore back in the mid 70s - mid 80s, which also had its fans and detractors https://www.outsports.com/2020/4/27/21227162/mlb-houston-astros-jersey-1975-1986-lgbt-sports

For the minor leagues especially, I like the different looks and options.  When we road tripped it to Wichita last summer, I knew I was coming back with a Turbo Tub jersey.

[FlyingFinn]

2 hours ago, Dman said:

I don't know that I see an elite arm in this system right now. 

Raya would be that elite arm IMO. The Twins are holding his pitch count down but he's moving up levels at a young age.

[Dman]

33 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Raya would be that elite arm IMO. The Twins are holding his pitch count down but he's moving up levels at a young age.

That is true.  I will be a bigger believer when they add more innings on.  So many of our elite guys end up with TJ and end up relievers.  Still you are correct he really can bend a baseball so he has elite stuff if he can stay healthy.

[Jocko87]

1 minute ago, FlyingFinn said:

Raya would be that elite arm IMO. The Twins are holding his pitch count down but he's moving up levels at a young age.

Going to see him tonight, he looked good the last time I saw him. Let me know if you want me to keep an eye on something specific. I sit close.

[2wins87]

Nice to see Winokur make an impact in his first professional game.  He did have 2 strikeouts to go along with his homer which fits with the hit tool questions in his scouting report.

It'll be something to watch going forward but right now I'm just excited for the ceiling and eager to follow his development.

[Major League Ready]

4 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Really hoping to see Canterino moved to the pen, and hope that gives him a near immediate MLB shot once he gets his footing under him. Prielipp is just so hard to judge now. Loved the pick, but didn't expect another elbow surgery after 2 appearances. He's a long ways away at this point. Hoping Canterino can be the next Duran, though (with less octane, obviously), and just come up and dominate out of the pen.

Is Canterino expected to pitch competitively at all this late summer/early fall?

[jkcarew]

11 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I have to wonder what an up and down season like Larnach has suffered does to confidence and performance?  Wallner seemed to handle his demotions well, but I think he is the exception.  The Twins getting the AAA team next door has not been a great success for some players.

I doubt moves are made based on anything other than major league active roster needs and nothing else. Frequency not impacted by proximity of the AAA club. The only impact is the player is sometimes (when both clubs are home) immediately available to play…which is a good thing for the player and the clubs the club.

[Ted Schwerzler]

9 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Really hoping to see Canterino moved to the pen, and hope that gives him a near immediate MLB shot once he gets his footing under him. Hoping Canterino can be the next Duran, though (with less octane, obviously), and just come up and dominate out of the pen.

That should have been the decision a bit ago, but I'm with you. Has the makings of a dominant reliever.

[chpettit19]

5 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

Is Canterino expected to pitch competitively at all this late summer/early fall?

I haven't seen anything on him lately, but we're coming up on a year since his surgery so I'd hope they're planning to get him some innings. An AFL stint would make sense to me to get him a few innings to knock the rust off a little and get the feeling of being on a mound back before spring training next year.

[Doctor Wu]

On 7/28/2023 at 8:59 PM, Ted Schwerzler said:

5 walks is pretty rough though. He's really struggled with command, and the stuff just hasn't played well at all.

Thanks for that. I hadn't noticed the high walk total. Hmm... maybe not such an encouraging performance after all.