Twins Minor League Week in Review (7/24-7/30): Severino, En Fuego!

[Jeremy Nygaard]

If you haven't been diligently reading the daily minor league recaps, you can get all caught up on the last seven days of actions right here. We will take a look at some of the highlight (and lowlight) performances of the week, recap the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects' performances over the last seven days as well as reveal the public's choices for Hitter and Pitcher of the Week. 

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge

Well, it's been a down week for the Twins and you can read all about it in Nick’s Week in Review. On the positive side, the Twins did get Walker Jenkins signed, sealed and delivered and there were a number of notable individual performances across the minor leagues as well. 

WEEK IN REVIEW 

Triple-A: St. Paul Saints

• Overall: 16-11 (4-2 last week) in the second half; Tied for first with Iowa in the IL West, but only the winner of the whole International League makes the playoffs. The Saints are tied for third place in the IL, trailing Buffalo by 1.5 games.
• Overview: The Saints had a good week, especially their offense, which accounted for over seven runs a game.
• 🔥: It's maybe not fair to include Dallas Keuchel on this list because he's 35 and won a Cy Young at one point, but he's done enough to prove he deserves another shot. This week he pitched six innings, striking out eight. He did allow six hits (including a home run) and a walk. And his opt-out is Tuesday... so there will be resolution.
• 🔥: Anthony Prato seemed to have figured AA out in 2022, but was sent back there in 2023 and really underperformed. His OPS dropped from .822 to .553. He was promoted to AAA anyway and has been killing it through 37 games with an OPS of 1.151 supported by 16 doubles, seven home runs and 28:28 K/BB ratio. Last week, Prato had 11 hits including six doubles and a home run. He's played only the infield with St. Paul (mostly 2B and 3B), but played left field in Wichita. Teams might be asking about Prato, but the Twins should avoid making him the next Spencer Steer. 
• 🔥: Andrew Stevenson is a victim of bad luck. He's a left-handed hitting outfield in AAA behind a whole bunch of other left-handed hitting outfielders. He hit .435/.500/.739 last week and it didn't even move the needle. He's hit .325/.399/.521 on the season... and no one's talking about him. If the Twins were in any other division, they'd be moving of from Max Kepler and Joey Gallo and giving Stevenson a shot to see with this 29-year-old can do at the big league level. But they're in the weak AL Central and are have a log jam in the outfield.
• 🤔: When the Twins acquired Austin Martin in the Jose Berrios deal, there was no bigger fan than me. I loved Berrios, but I believed that Austin Martin was going to be the best player to come out of the 2020 draft. He was good - but not good enough - in his professional debut with the Blue Jays' AA affiliate and has only gotten worse. He's now early in his AAA career after 666 AA at-bats (with a .739 OPS). It's go-time for the 24-year-old, who will probably still be added to the 40-man roster after the season. But the star has certainly faded... a lot.
• 🥶: I still see Ronny Henriquez's name pop up on prospect lists and wonder why. I understand he's only 23, but he's an inning or two reliever who doesn't strike many hitters out and walks a ton. He did have one scoreless, hitless outing this week, but also had an outing where he gave up two runs, including a home run, walked a guy and hit a guy. Opponents are hitting .270 off him and his WHIP in St. Paul is 1.88. I would find a better use of his 40-man spot before the trade deadline.
• What's Next: St. Paul travels to Columbus this week.

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge

• Overall: 11-16 (2-4 last week) in the second half; 4.5 games behind Arkansas in the Texas League. 
• Overview: After dropping the first two to Amarillo, Wichita managed a split over the final four games. 
• 🔥: Have a week, Yunior Severino . 23 at-bats, six home runs. He's been absolutely crushing it (when he's not striking out) and after 500 AA at-bats, he's clearly beat the league. It will be an interesting case though, because he's mostly a third baseman who has also started playing some second base. There's no clear long-term third baseman with the Twins (and you could argue that Edouard Julien isn't the long-term answer at second base), but there are a ton of options between MLB, AAA and AA to play those two positions. Any of which could be on the move in the next 24 hours. Severino's value, right now, is trending upwards... and smart teams find a way to capitalize on that.
• 🔥: ...and part of the reason I think Severino could be a trade-chip is because it's also time for Brooks Lee to move up to AAA. He was 10-23 last week with a home run and only one strikeout. He drew two walks. He's not going to be long-term shortstop (unless Carlos Correa voluntarily moves to third base), so he, along with Royce Lewis, is probably the favorite to be the third baseman of the future. Or maybe he's the solution at second base with Julien becoming the DH when Buxton's knees are right again. Personally, I'd move Lee to third base and keep Julien at second base. I think Royce Lewis is a best fit in centerfield, but that's a narrative for a different time.
• 🔥: Pierson Ohl was met with some resistance in his first handful of AA starts. He surrendered too many home runs, then the strikeouts started to fade and the walks came. On July 15, he gave up two home runs, walked three and struck out two. But in his start this week, he lasted five innings, kept his WHIP at 1.00 and struck out five. He's been a somewhat quiet pleasant surprise as the 23-year-old is getting pushed by a number of 2022 draft picks.
• 🥶: Tanner Schobel has struggled since his promotion, with only five hits through 10 games. He went 2-for-16 last week though he did manage to hit a home run. Schobel is another name that will eventually be a part of the conversation, but right now there is so much depth in the middle infield and third base that it's fun to play "what if". 
• 🥶: Marco Raya really got battered in his lone start of the week. He allowed eight runs on six hits, a walk and two hit batters. He only lasted 2 1/3 innings, striking out two. He has struggled through two turns in AA and his name has come up in trade rumors, but the reality is that he's still the team's best pitching prospect and just needs to log some innings at this level.
• What's Next: Home-cooking for a week against the Tulsa Drillers.

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels

• Overall: 18-12 (2-4 last week) in the second half, 2.0 games ahead of Wisconsin. The Kernels have clinched a postseason berth.
• Overview: A very competitive week with three one-run games (all of which went Wisconsin's way). 
• 🔥: Kala'i Rosario keeps showing off his power, this week he had two more home runs. He also shows off his ability to strike out, doing so 10 times in 20 at-bats, but his four runs were second on the team and his two home runs and six runs batted in both led the team. 
• 🔥:  Zebby Matthews was the best of the bunch this week. He allowed five hits in six innings, though one was a home run. He struck out seven. Between him, Kyle Jones, Cory Lewis, Andrew Morris and C.J. Culpepper, the 2022 draft is looking good so far on the pitching side (as well as the hitting side). 
• 🤔: I'm not sure what to make of Emmanuel Rodriguez . I certainly have opinions, but the inconsistency with bad week like this past week (2-18) following up good weeks. It's time to get more aggressive and see what ballplayer is actually there.
• 🥶: The aforementioned Morris struggled in his high-A debut, allowing 10 hits in five innings, resulting in four runs. He struck out two... but it's ok to struggle right away in the transition.
• 🥶: Ben Ross was 1-for-18 on the week. 
• What's Next: Back at home for six games against Lansing.

Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels

• Overall: 12-18 (1-5 last week) in the second half, 9.0 games out of first place.
• Overview: Not a great week for the Mussels against Palm Beach, dropping five of six.
• 🔥: Rafael Cruz hit 100% of the two home runs the Mighty Mussels had this past week. He also added a double while going 4-for-16 in five games. 
• 🔥: Zach Veen had an excellent week in the bullpen. He appeared in three games spanning 4 1/3 innings, allowing a single hit and struck out four. A 0.23 WHIP and .071 BAA is quite a string of three games. 
• 🔥: Ricardo Velez wasn't far behind. In 3 1/3 innings, he allowed only one hit and one walk. He struck out three.
• 🥶: Carson McCusker burst onto the scene in July carrying an OPS north of 1.000 into the week, but had a pretty brutal last handful of games. He went 2-for-21 with 10 strikeouts and no walks. He's now slashing .295/.350/.537 (.887). That's a drop of 56 batting average points, 65 OBP points and 112 slugging points.
• 🥶: When you drop five of six and have 10 different pitchers allow multiple earned runs, you have many candidates for the ice-cold emoji. So we're not going to pick on any one player in particular.
• What's Next: A road trip to Dunedin is next on the agenda. 

• Rookie: FCL Twins

• Overall: 16-21 (1-3 last week) on the season. 10.5 games behind the FCL Pirates in the FCL South. 
• 🔥: Dalton Shuffield  looked out of place (4-7, 1.238 OPS) on his rehab assignment and moved quickly up to Cedar Rapids. Nate Baez (3-10, 2 2B, 1.167 OPS) did the same making his season debut after rehabbing a broken hamate bone. He's been moved up to the Mighty Mussels. 
• 🔥: Cesar Lares gave up two home runs and five runs (four earned) total, but limited his opponents to only three hits and walk over five innings when striking out eight. He's 0-4 on the season with an 8.33 ERA and has been way too hittable, but a 39:8 K to walk ratio is impressive in 27.0 innings. He's a young (smallish) lefty... and exactly the type of player a team would want as a throw-in when making a trade.
• 🔥: Kyle Bischoff and Jacob Wosinski are both 24 years old and should dominant this level and they did last week combining to pitch five scoreless innings with six strikeouts. 
• 🥶: This team has a handful of young international hitters to watch - Jose Rodriguez, Yasser Mercedes, Byron Chourio and Bryan Acuna are all Top 30-type guys - and collectively, they had a tough week. 5-for-41 (.122) with 10 Ks just isn't getting it done. It's possible, maybe even probable, that they will start to get more time off and see things improve as the 2023 draft picks start to get more involved in the lineup. Three of the four hitters who signed - everyone but Walker Jenkins - have made their debuts, so there should be less focus on the aforementioned foursome, especially when Jenkins gets involved.
• 🥶: Brayan Medina was acquired as a player to be named later in the Opening Day 2022 trade with the Padres. He's really struggled with command and continued to walk many too many hitters. In 6 1/3 innings last week, he walked five and hit two. It's a credit to him that he pitched into the 7th - you don't see that too often in Complex Leagues - but the reality is that if you walk that many guys, you're going to get moved to the bullpen and you won't still be pitching in the 7th innings. You might finally be pitching in the 7th inning. He's 20. There's time to figure it out and 4.5 BB/9 is better than the almost nine per nine it was last year, but a lot of improvement is still needed.

• Rookie: DSL Twins 

• Overall: 8-28 (1-3 last week) on the season. 20.5 games back in the DSL South. 
• 🔥: Dameury Pena  didn't lead the team in hits this week, but he hit 4-8 with a double and a triple. The 17-year-old has been the most impressive player on the team and was a DSL All-Star, hitting .414/.468/.556 with a 1.024 OPS on the season while playing second base.
• 🔥: Yency De Jesus led the team in innings pitched (5 1/3), WHIP (0.94) and tied for the lead in strikeouts (5). He did walk three and give up three runs (two earned). The Twins signed the 21-year-old from the Dominican Republic only last fall, which is rare to sign someone that old. So they obviously saw something they liked, but I'd anticipate the Twins become more aggressive with him in the near future.
• 🔥: Moises Lopez (six hits, four RBI, four stolen bases), Yilber Herrera (five hits, two doubles, five RBI, stolen base) and Jayson Bass (five hits) also helped lead the offense.
• 🥶: Leonardo Lugo is on his repeat year in the DSL and the 18-year-old is struggling. Back in the bullpen after making a spot start, Lugo walked five and allowed two hits, yielding six runs (four earned) while recording only five outs.  You never want to give up on a guy too early, but you want to start seeing success before sending anyone stateside.
• 🥶: Hendry Chivilli is probably the highest-profile prospect on this roster (or at least was coming into the season). He went 2-for-16 last week, but did hit a home run. He's only recently returned from a month-plus absence. The Twins will be patient with the young shortstop.

• 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: 3-15, 2B, R, 1 BB, 3 K. (.262/.331/.408. .739 OPS)
• 19. Brent Headrick, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 4 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 HRA, 4 BB, 2 K. (1.32 WHIP, .258 BAA).
• 18. Jose Salas, INF, Cedar Rapids: currently on the Development List and appears on the FCL Twins roster but has not played. (.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: 8-23, 6 HR, 10 RBI, 7 R, 4 BB, 7 K, CS. (.290/.365/.567. .932 OPS).
• 16. Kala'i Rosario, OF, Cedar Rapids: 5-20, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB, 10 K. (.270/.381/.488. .869 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, 2.08 ERA, 4.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 5 BB, 6 K (1.63 WHIP, .279 BAA); Minnesota: (1.85 WHIP, .313 BAA)
• 13. Brandon Winokur, OF, FCL Twins: 1-8, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 4 K. (.125/.125/.500. .625 OPS)
• 12. Luke Keaschall, 2B, FCL Twins: 0-5, R, 2 BB, 2 K. (.000/.286/.000. .286 OPS)
• 11. Yasser Mercedes, OF, FCL Twins: 1-10, RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 SB. (.189/.245/.378. .625 OPS)
• 10. Tanner Schobel, INF, Wichita: 2-16, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 4 BB, 3 K (high-A/AA combined .274/.361/.467. .828 OPS), played 3 games (31 total) at second base and committed one error in 12 chances (6 errors in 135 total chances), played two games (50 total) at third base and committed no errors in three chances (three errors in 103 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: 6-14, HR, 2 RBI, 4 R, 2 K, SB. (rehab/AAA combined .221/.306/.316. .622 OPS), in St. Paul has played 2 games in left field and committed no errors in four chances, played three games in centerfield and committed no errors in seven chances, and played 14 games at second base and committed two errors in 61 chances. (Not so sure we can call him a shortstop prospect anymore,)
• 7. David Festa, RHP, Wichita: 0-1, 13.50 ERA, 2.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 HRA, 2 BB, 4 K. (1.44 WHIP, .263 BAA)
• 6. Charlee Soto, RHP: Has not played in a professional game.
• 5. Matt Wallner, OF, Minnesota: St. Paul (.291/.403/.524. .927 OPS); currently with the Twins.
• 4. Marco Raya, RHP, Wichita: 0-1, 30.86 ERA, 2.1 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 2 HB, BB, 2 K. (AA/Hi-A combined 1.03 WHIP, .199 BAA)
• 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 2-18, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 6 R, 7 BB, 7 K, SB. (.220/.389/.423. .812 OPS)
• 2. Walker Jenkins, OF: Signed on deadline day, but has not played in a professional game.
• 1. Brooks Lee, SS, Wichita: 10-23, HR, 5 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 K. (.293/.368/.478. .846 OPS), played 5 games (80 total) at shortstop and committed one error in 19 chances (12 errors in 328 total chances). Lee has committed one error in three chances in one game at third base this season.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

HITTER - Yunior Severino. Plenty was said about Severino above, so just enjoy this 438-foot home run.

PITCHER - Zebby Matthews. The Twins are showing an astute ability to take non-Power 5 pitchers and turn them into dudes. It's probably too early to call Matthews a "dude," but he had a heck of a month of July.

 

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[dogsday]

Tough enough week on the farm without the hitters and pitchers getting all mixed up.🙃 (Hitter of week, Mathews and pitcher of week, Severino.🤔)

[Dman]

I wonder if the Twins can find a trade partner for Stevenson.  I know it wouldn't be much of a return but he could appeal to teams that want a centerfielder they can stash at AAA in case of injury.  He also could be a good 4th outfielder addition for the playoffs with a solid bat, ability to steal bases and be a good defensive replacement late in games.  I guess it just depends on how much you believe in the numbers but he is having an elite year at AAA and he is blocked pretty badly right now.

Severino could be an interesting trade chip.  From what I read his defense is not great but he has a power bat that teams love and his batting average is very good too.  Some warts with the high BABIP and K rate but he is barreling up balls and the Twins will have to decide if they are willing to add him to 40 man or trade him.  Hate to see a bat like his traded away but with Lee, Jullien and maybe Lewis and AAA options in Prato and Helman they are going to have to decide what they want to do there.

Rosario is back to striking out more but he still leads his league in OPS.  Probably time for a bigger challenge and the Twins need to know sooner than later whether his right handed bat plays because he is Rule V decision at the end of the year as well.  Let's see what the young man has at a new level.

I know Raya is taking his lumps at AA but it will make him a better pitcher faster as he realizes what he needs to change to be more successful.  He has good pitches and I think it was a good idea to be aggressive with him especially since they needed the 2022 pitchers to pitch at High A. 

Glad you mentioned Henriquez because I think the Twins got taken in that deal.  He has been homer prone since he arrived and any way you look at his stats he sucks.  WHIP is bad, K rate bad, ERA bad, FIP bad XFIP bad I don't know how the Twins made him worse than when he was with Texas but they found a way.  Not sure he has been 100% this year but he is killing the team being on the 40 man and being that bad.

Thanks for the summary always appreciate getting a look at the whole week.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

30 minutes ago, dogsday said:

Tough enough week on the farm without the hitters and pitchers getting all mixed up.🙃 (Hitter of week, Mathews and pitcher of week, Severino.🤔)

🤦‍♂️

[mikelink45]

When I look at the results it makes me reflect on my thoughts about Prospects.  Just because a person is. drafted high they do not belong on this list with those who have a track record.  Let them earn their ranking.

But overall I also think this is a weak prospect listing compared to what we have been used to.  

[twinstalker]

I doubt it would be easy to find a taker for Severino.  His K rate for his age at AA is pretty bad and portends poorly.  He might be a second player thrown into a deal, but his need to be protected on the 40 probably makes that unlikely, too.  He might be the guy the team with a low value reliever is referring to when they say to the Twins, "Just give us a player we can take to our fanbase and say we got something."

Jeremy, did the Twins waste $2.5 million on Ariel Castro?  Should someone with that bonus be striking out 37.2% of the time in the lowest league possible?  See ball, hit ball, no?