Minor League Report (8/5): The Bats Are Alright

[Matt Braun]

Dalton Shuffield hit two homers and wasn't even the hitter of the day!

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Willie Joe Garry)

TRANSACTIONS
INF Kamron Willman reinstated from Development List (Fort Myers)
C Wilfri Castro activated from 60-day Injured List (FCL Twins)

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 7, Columbus 3
Box Score
Louie Varland: 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Anthony Prato (3-for-5, 2B, RBI, BB), Trevor Larnach (4-for-5, 3B, 2B, 3 R), Austin Martin (3-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI), Chris Williams (2-for-3, R, 3 RBI, BB)

The Saints won handily on Saturday.

I believe it’s a good thing when you out-hit your opponent 14 to six. Anthony Prato was a nuclear offensive force; the 25-year-old cracked a trio of hits and walked, pushing his Triple-A OPS to an unthinkable 1.119. He wasn’t even the best hitter, somehow, as Trevor Larnach tripled, doubled, and singled twice to give him his first four-hit game since July 13th, 2019. Austin Martin also had three hits. Sure. 

Louie Varland wasn’t quite himself on the mound—what with the walking three hitters and all. He still avoided allowing any earned runs thanks to some poorly-timed errors (aren’t they all?), and came one excruciating out away from earning a quality start.

His bullpen had his back, though; Cole Sands, Michael Boyle, and Oliver Ortega carried the game to its final out without allowing another run to score. They combined to strike out five.

St. Paul’s bats added eight walks on top of their 14 hits.

Technically old friend, Chris Vallimont, pitched for the Clippers, although he probably wishes he didn’t: he allowed three runs over 2 2/3 innings. 

Cleveland’s best prospect—outfielder George Valera—walked once in five plate appearances. 

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 9, Tulsa 5
Box Score
Jaylen Nowlin: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
HR: Dalton Shuffield (1, 2), Willie Joe Garry Jr. (1), Patrick Winkel (7)
Multi-hit games: Yoyner Fajardo (3-for-5, 2B, RBI), Pat Winkel (3-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB), Dalton Shuffield (2-for-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB)

An explosive sixth inning guided the Wind Surge to victory on Saturday.

No pitcher was safe. Well, Denny Bentley was; but he was the only hurler on either team to not see runs cross the plate on his watch. It was the kind of walk-fest that would make a DSL team pink in the cheeks. Fortunately, Wichita was able to come out on top.

They did it by air and by land; the team blasted four homers while swiping eight bases, surely giving them some sort of superlative record this writer is far too lazy to look up. In any case, the attack proved mightily effective, giving Wichita nine runs off just 10 hits—more than enough to best the Drillers on Saturday.

But it wasn’t easy on the pitching side of things, as Jaylen Nowlin was inefficient, placing a burden onto the bullpen to scrape together five innings. They weren’t clean—both Alex Scherff and Aaron Rozek allowed runs—but it was enough. When Bentley elicited a pop out to end the game, every pitcher likely breathed in relief, finally happy to not have this game’s tyranny ruining their ERAs anymore. 

Tulsa is typically the zenith of the Dodgers’ excellent farm system, and catcher Diego Cartaya—ranked 18th in MLB—is their finest offering. He homered in the fifth off Scherff. 

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 3, Lansing 1
Box Score
Andrew Morris: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
HR: Carson McCusker (1)
Multi-hit games: None

The Kernels won a pitcher’s duel on Saturday.

Andrew Morris was brilliant, dominant. The righty shook off a poor introduction to A+ ball in his previous start, punching out nine with 16 total swings and misses—good for a swinging strike % of 19.5. That’s Spencer Strider territory. The Lugnuts appear fortunate to have even scored once off the righty from Texas Tech.

Cedar Rapids needed the start, because the offense could only muster a minimal amount of runs. Mikey Perez knocked in one in the first, Carson McCusker plated two in the second, and then… nothing. McCusker’s homer concluded the day’s hits, and a third inning walk by Emmanuel Rodriguez proved to be the final baserunner for the Kernels.

Fortunately, the rest of the pitching staff cleaned up Lansing’s batters; Jordan Carr worked two clean frames before Mike Paredes earned the final three outs with a lone walk serving as his only traffic. 

Clark Elliott—Oakland’s 15th-best prospect—went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

Mussel Matters
Ft. Myers 3, Dunedin 4
Box Score
Jack Noble: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Ricardo Olivar (2-for-5, R), Kyle Schmidt (2-for-4)

The Mighty Mussels lost a close game on Saturday.

Jack Noble was good, but not good enough; the righty worked six frames, allowing a trio runs—a total lower than he should have, but we’ll talk about that later—off seven hits. He threw 83 pitches.

A pair of 2023 draftees—Luke Keaschall and Jay Harry—collected hits on Saturday, with Harry earning his first A-ball double and Keaschall reaching base twice. 

In one of the stranger things that can happen at a ballpark, Dunedin centerfielder Jaden Rudd was thrown out at home twice, with the two corner outfielders each adding to their collection of assists. 

The Mighty Mussels offense was actually very well-rounded, walking five times while only punching out in six at-bats, but they couldn’t quite string together the hits needed to break through Dunedin’s meager lead. 

The Blue Jays have a pair of excellent pitching prospects at A-ball, but neither played in Saturday’s game, making shortstop Tucker Toman the best representative of Toronto’s farm system in this game. He earned two RBIs on a third inning double.

Complex Chronicles
FCL Twins 2, FCL Red Sox 7
Box Score
John Klein: 4 2/3 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Brandon Winokur (3-for-4, 2B, R, RBI), Walker Jenkins (2-for-4, RBI)

Two 2023 draft picks had big days on Saturday.

Brandon Winokur—selected in the third round out of Edison High School—collected three hits, one of them being a double; Walker Jenkins singled twice. 

Pitching was less fortunate, though, as both John Klein and Matt Gabbert were roughed up, despite impressive K/BB numbers.

One of the main culprits? Kyle Teel. Boston’s first-round pick in 2023 filled up the box score, homering, singling twice, and walking to give himself a perfect day at the plate.

Dominican Dailies
DSL Twins 5, DSL Nationals 6
Box Score 
Joel Garcia: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None

The DSL Twins were walked-off on Saturday.

It was another classic DSL slopfest; the Twins scored five runs, but only acquired three RBIs, earning two of their runs off a fielder’s choice/fielding error double whammy. It wasn’t enough, though, as the team literally walked away their chances of winning, handing out five free passes in the final frame—including two to tie and lose the game.

Big-name international signing, Hendry Chivilli, has an OPS of .582 after going 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. 

Dameury Pena, however, now holds an OPS of 1.020, and he swiped a base in Saturday’s game.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Trevor Larnach

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 0-5, K
#2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL Twins) - 2-4, RBI
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-2, R, BB
#5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, K
#8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 3-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI
#10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-5, K
#12 - Luke Keaschall (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, BB
#13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 3-4, 2B, R, RBI
#15 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
#16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, 3 K
#17 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-5, R, K
#20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 0-4

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Columbus (3:05 PM) - LHP Brent Headrick
Tulsa @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Chad Donato
Lansing @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) - RHP Cory Lewis
Fort Myers @ Dunedin (11:00 AM) - TBD

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[mikelink45]

How great! I really like that you put up multi-hit games as well as HR and pitching.  It recognizes good ABs and not just the splash of the HR.  Something tells me that Larnach really belongs in the majors!  Can't we teach him how to play 1B - it has to be better than Gallo. Will Prato get a shot at the bigs?  Chris Williams seems like he is ready to bust out too and Austin Martin had a good night - but where do we put him? 

[Doctor Wu]

24 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

How great! I really like that you put up multi-hit games as well as HR and pitching.  It recognizes good ABs and not just the splash of the HR.  Something tells me that Larnach really belongs in the majors!  Can't we teach him how to play 1B - it has to be better than Gallo. Will Prato get a shot at the bigs?  Chris Williams seems like he is ready to bust out too and Austin Martin had a good night - but where do we put him? 

I think Larnach can certainly hit better than Gallo at this point, but not sure about his fielding skills at that position. 

[Doctor Wu]

Wow, so many impressive performances on the farm, a lot of highlights to enjoy. Thanks for keeping us in the loop! Great to see Austin Martin getting some hits. Show us your stuff! And Willie Joe Garry, Jr. delivers for his callup to AA. I'm impressed with this kid. I think we could end up seeing him with the Twins at some point in the future. Most likely a utility guy, but then again he could blossom into player as good as another former Twins prospect such as Lamonte Wade. 

[FlyingFinn]

37 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Can't we teach him how to play 1B - it has to be better than Gallo.

That is a complaint of mine about this front office. Why didn't we develop a left-handed hitting 1B this year - Wallner or Larnach - when Gallo was struggling. If Gallo gets hurt (don't think he will get DFA'd until Kirilloff comes back - and what is the update on him?), are we really going with Solano and Farmer at 1B all the time?

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

If Gallo gets hurt (don't think he will get DFA'd until Kirilloff comes back - and what is the update on him?), are we really going with Solano and Farmer at 1B all the time?

I think they should be doing that now even with a healthy Joey Gallo. The obvious answer (to me) is to give Julien a first baseman's mitt.

[DJL44]

Is Keaschall going to make it to Cedar Rapids before the season ends?

[FlyingFinn]

12 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Is Keaschall going to make it to Cedar Rapids before the season ends?

Cedar Rapids is in the playoffs and the Twins usually stack those teams as much as possible by bringing a player or two up in September. Did it with Lee last year for Wichita. Having said that, if Salas is coming back to the Wind Surge from the development list and FCL stint there isn't much room between Miller, Ortega, Ross, and Salas at 2B, 3B and SS. Of course, we should just move Cavaco out of the way at 1B and give the rest of the guys more playing time.

[RJA]

Prato kind of reminds me of Spencer Steer as he has not had a lot of hype and has flown under the radar, but my oh my, he has exploded at St Paul much like Steer. If he keeps this up, he will force himself into the picture for next year. And, he hits right handed and is killing southpaws this year. 

[Otaknam]

It is hard to believe that Gallo hasn’t been released, given his lack of production and almost 50% strikeout rate. I guess the front office doesn’t want to admit their mistake and swallow the remainder of the ridiculous $11 million they wasted on this guy. But everyone already knows that signing Gallo was a mistake, so they aren’t really saving face by keeping him. Can Chris Williams play first? His minor league production success and right handed bat might help the team. 

[stringer bell]

Good game for Martin, as well. His versatility and speed would play really well with the major league team if he can hit and field enough. I see he played left field last night. 

[Blyleven2011]

Nice varland had a outing that he didn't allow a Home .... 

Prato is hitting  , but no room on roster ...

Nice to see the top prospects  of this years draft doing well  ...

[DJL44]

48 minutes ago, RJA said:

Prato kind of reminds me of Spencer Steer as he has not had a lot of hype and has flown under the radar, but my oh my, he has exploded at St Paul much like Steer. If he keeps this up, he will force himself into the picture for next year. And, he hits right handed and is killing southpaws this year. 

Prato is doing what they wanted Austin Martin to do.

[Guest]

Martin looks like he may have muted his leg kick.  He's got one month to keep his roster spot.  Perhaps Jeffers' success will have a trickle-down effect (and Ryan gave credit to oft-maligned Popkins, too).  Larnach would do well to take notes here.  He's got an MLB job next year if he can start to control the zone and put more balls in play.

[twinstalker]

People are going to think Brandon Winokur is from Minneapolis Edison.

[roger]

Fantastic seeing Martin with another multi-multi hit game.  Also noticed he was in left field again.  Expect the writing is on the wall and it says his future is in the outfield.

Noticed this Winkel kid had another big game with the bat.  What's his defense like behind the plate?  If it is good, add his name to the list of potential catchers for 2026 and beyond.

Great night from those two high school kids taken in the first three rounds this year.  I want to see people talking about Jenkins as the next Mickey Mantle.  Wouldn't that be nice.  Although if my memory isn't totally gone, the Mick's career was shortened by leg injuries.

[raindog]

Just FYI, every time y’all link to Austin Martin it’s the wrong one on Basevakl Reference. 

[jmlease1]

3 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Good game for Martin, as well. His versatility and speed would play really well with the major league team if he can hit and field enough. I see he played left field last night. 

He can field effectively anywhere except SS (not really enough range there), C (never played it), or 1B (don't think he's ever played there either, though he could probably adapt) and should hit fine as long as he can stay healthy. He looks like an excellent fit to fight for a super-utility role next season. He just had some rotten injury/illness luck.

[gman]

I still think Martin is the future center fielder for this team. Prato, a right handed hitting corner outfielder. Can't think of any team looking for one.

[FlyingFinn]

5 hours ago, Otaknam said:

Can Chris Williams play first?

He can and does quite a bit. How well, I don't know. He is streaky with the bat. Add in major league pitching, he may look like a RH Gallo at times. But I would take that chance unless Kirilloff is coming back soon.

[Doctor Wu]

14 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

He can and does quite a bit. How well, I don't know. He is streaky with the bat. Add in major league pitching, he may look like a RH Gallo at times. But I would take that chance unless Kirilloff is coming back soon.

We sure need some more options at first base in case Kiriloff isn't able to come back soon. The ability to adequately play first may be the only reason Gallo is still on the team at this point. In addition to all the strikeouts, his previous ability to draw walks seems to have vanished, and his OBP keeps dropping.