Twins Minor League Report (8/6): Lewis Great Again, Shuffield Slugs

[Ted Schwerzler]

The Twins affiliates were all in action on Sunday. Only one of them won, but Cory Lewis and Dalton Shuffield highlighted the best performances.

Image courtesy of Ethan Chapman

TRANSACTIONS

• LHP Brent Headrick recalled by Twins
• LHP Jovani Moran optioned to St. Paul

SAINTS SENTINEL 
Columbus 2, St. Paul 0
Box Score
The Saints started Kody Funderburk as an opener for their tilt on Sunday. He worked 2 1/3 innings and gave up a run on one hit and two walks. Funderburk struck out four, and after Moran’s option, continued to position himself for a call-up to Minnesota.

Columbus scored runs in the third inning and the sixth inning on just three total hits. Trevor Larnach recorded a pair for the Saints but their three didn’t produce a run. Ronny Henriquez worked 1 2/3 innings of hitless baseball and struck out three.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 10, Tulsa 9
Box Score
Chad Donato was on the bump for Wichita, and it was a short outing. He allowed eight runs over three innings. Seven hits did him in, and he also gave up a pair of walks.

After falling behind 4-0 in the top of the first inning, the Wind Surge led off with a run when Yoyner Fajardo blasted his sixth home run of the season. Wichita gave up another in the second, but answered with five runs of their own.

Will Holland roped his third triple of the year, clearing a loaded set of bases. Willie Joe Garry Jr., Jake Rucker, and Dalton Shuffield all scored. Fajardo then lifted a sacrifice fly to score Holland before Tanner Schobel doubled home Frank Nigro.

The Drillers regained the lead in the third inning on a three-run shot, and they added a ninth run with a fifth-inning single. That made it a 9-6 game.

Looking to draw even, Dalton Shuffield stepped in and lifted and launched his ninth homer of the year to tie things up. Alex Isola and Aaron Sabato scored on the big fly. In the eighth inning Sabato doubled for the 15th time, scoring Fajardo and putting Wichita ahead. That was enough for them to hang on and grab the victory.

Fajardo picked up a pair of hits to lead the Wind Surge.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Lansing 2, Cedar Rapids 1
Box Score

The Kernels turned to Cory Lewis on Sunday and he pitched quite well yet again. The right-hander tossed six innings and gave up just one run on three hits and a walk. He also punched out five batters.

Lansing plated a run in both the sixth and seventh inning to take a 2-0 lead over Cedar Rapids. In the eighth inning, Noah Miller hit his sixth homer to put the Kernels on the board. However, the solo shot wasn’t enough to bring them back. The blast was Miller’s second hit of the day. Unfortunately, the team had just three total hits. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Dunedin 11, Fort Myers 9
Box Score

Miguelangel Boadas made the start Sunday afternoon for the Mighty Mussels. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings after allowing four runs on five hits. Boadas didn’t give up a walk and struck out four batters.

Fort Myers kicked off the scoring in the second inning when Kamron Willman doubled home both Nate Baez and Gregory Duran. The Blue Jays answered with four runs in the bottom of the third inning, but the Mighty Mussels answered in the fourth inning. Kyle Schmidt hit his second homer of the season and made it a one-run game.

The fifth inning saw Dunedin add in a big way again. Their five runs put a six-run deficit between themselves and the Mighty Mussels. That didn’t deter Fort Myers’ comeback though, and they answered with six runs of their own in the eighth inning. Yohander Martinez drove in Baez on an error before Schmidt scored on a wild pitch. Martinez followed his lead and came home on another uncorked one, before Rafael Cruz clubbed a three-run homer. His eighth of the season brought home Willman and Ricardo Olivar knotted the game at nine.

In the bottom of the eighth, Dunedin brought home two more runs which was enough to end the day with a win.

Willman finished the day as the only Mighty Mussels player with a pair of hits. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Cory Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Hitter of the Day – Dalton Shuffield (Wichita) - 1-1, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR(3), 3 BB

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 (St. Paul) - 0-4, K
#5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR(7, walkoff), K
#7 - David Festa (Wichita) - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
#8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-1, 2 BB, K
#10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-4, RBI, BB
#16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 3 K

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - TBD
Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05PM CST) - TBD
Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30PM CST) - TBD
Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD

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

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[FlyingFinn]

Dalton Shuffield gets no respect. He goes wherever the Twins need a warm body. Last year, it was A, A+, and AAA. With the Saints he batted .271, with 3 doubles, 2 triples, and 2 homers. His reward.................back down to A ball with a little time in the FCL and A+. Brooks Lee gets called up and Shuffield is needed at AA Wichita. 2 home runs and a walk yesterday and they are treating him like Barry Bonds. 3 walks today and the one time they pitched to him he hit a home run. He now has an OPS of 2.317 with Wichita.

[Doctor Wu]

7 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Dalton Shuffield gets no respect. He goes wherever the Twins need a warm body. Last year, it was A, A+, and AAA. With the Saints he batted .271, with 3 doubles, 2 triples, and 2 homers. His reward.................back down to A ball with a little time in the FCL and A+. Brooks Lee gets called up and Shuffield is needed at AA Wichita. 2 home runs and a walk yesterday and they are treating him like Barry Bonds. 3 walks today and the one time they pitched to him he hit a home run. He now has an OPS of 2.317 with Wichita.

You are right; Shuffield doesn't seem to get much respect or prospect hype, especially considering the numbers he's been putting up at each level. He's looking like a handy player to keep around. 

[jorgenswest]

14 hours ago, Ted Schwerzler said:

The Saints started Kody Funderburk as an opener for their tilt on Sunday. He worked 2 1/3 innings and gave up a run on one hit and two walks. Funderburk struck out four, and after Moran’s option, continued to position himself for a call-up to Minnesota.

Funderburk and Moran do have the walks in common but I hope that doesn’t put him in a good position to be called up. His 24 walks across 52.2 minor league innings this year should keep that door closed. 

[Dman]

Schuffield wasn't great in A ball to start this year but I think his numbers were down due to injury, can't confirm that though. All I know is they threw him to wolves in AAA his draft year and he thrived against the really good pitching there.  given his numbers there was really no reason to push him all the way down to A ball other than he got squeezed out by other players who had been in the system longer there.  At any rate he is back at AA and proving once again he is a force with the bat.

Fajardo can hit but just lacks real power so really good to see him with a HR last night.  If he can gain more extra base pop he has the batting average to get it done his K rate is in a good place and while he could walk more since he has such good contact skills his line still looks solid to me.  Twins sure have a ton a good utility bats in the system.

[Trov]

The links for Austin Martin always seem to be wrong links.  His name is too common a baseball name it would seem. 

[Dman]

11 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Funderburk and Moran do have the walks in common but I hope that doesn’t put him in a good position to be called up. His 24 walks across 52.2 minor league innings this year should keep that door closed. 

He could stand to not walk as many guys but his WHIP is still barely over 1.00 at AAA.  Guys there can't touch his stuff so they aren't getting hits off of him. Also his FIP and x FIP disagree with your premise as they have him predicted at an ERA of around 3.00.

Maybe his stuff doesn't play as well at the MLB level hard to say with any pitcher but his profile sure makes him look like a 40 candidate to me.

[jorgenswest]

50 minutes ago, Dman said:

He could stand to not walk as many guys but his WHIP is still barely over 1.00 at AAA.  Guys there can't touch his stuff so they aren't getting hits off of him. Also his FIP and x FIP disagree with your premise as they have him predicted at an ERA of around 3.00.

Maybe his stuff doesn't play as well at the MLB level hard to say with any pitcher but his profile sure makes him look like a 40 candidate to me.

I don’t think his performance is that uncommon. Seems like they have a reliever like this every year in AAA. Last year it was Evan Sisk with virtually the same WHIP, good strikeout rate and poor walk rate. Ian Hamilton has had seasons like this as a minor league reliever. The small sample stat line for a minor league reliever isn’t very helpful in guiding roster decisions.

[Dman]

Agree SSS makes it almost impossible to predict relievers.  He doesn't have a big fastball but lot's of lefties don't.  If you go back to 2022 though he was a starter and his line wasn't all that different from Varland's except Louie had a much better K rate.  While in the pen Funderburk has increased his K rate.  His numbers feel almost the same throughout his minor league career so I have a bit more faith than most about him.  

To be honest he might not be that different from Sands and he got his shot.  Same with Ortega.  He isn't getting any younger why wait until he turns into Ian Hamilton who would be our Bullpen ace if we had given him a chance.  Hamilton has a 1.67 ERA and 1.19 WHIP at the MLB level for the Yankee's this year and he never really got a chance in MN.  If Funderburk stinks then waive him because he isn't going to be any better than he is right now as like I said earlier his numbers have been good but static.

[roger]

Although he is no longer listed among the Top 20, always great seeing Miller with a multi-hit day.  Still has lots of time to develop into a hitter similar to his brother.  When combined with his glove, that would be a very good big league player.

Assume Lewis will be in your Top 20 next time you do it?

[william]

all you have to look at is felix Bautista Appeared at three different minor league levels, beginning the season with High-A Aberdeen and finishing with Triple-A Norfolk...Went a combined 1-6 with a 1.54 ERA (8 ER/46.2 IP) and 77 strikeouts across 40 appearances, all in relief...Posted a combined 1.07 WHIP with a .126 opponents batting average between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A...Recorded 11 saves in 14 opportunities combined between each affiliate...Allowed one hit in seven appearances (8.1 IP) 

Kody Funderburk  2023 INP 52.2  H 37 14 ER BB 24 SO 79 AVG .195 WHIP 1.16 HLD 7 3 SV HIS NUMBERS ARE COMPARABLE TO FELIX ALL IN TRIPLE A. I GUARANTEE YOU MARLINS ARE REGRETTING  LETTING HIM GO.  Dman  i don't understand why not call him up and see what the kid can do he a rule 5 and i would hate to see him leave BUT WE WILL PUT IN DALLAS KEUCHEL WHO TOPS OUT AT 88!  

[2wins87]

4 minutes ago, william said:

Kody Funderburk  2023 INP 52.2  H 37 14 ER BB 24 SO 79 AVG .195 WHIP 1.16 HLD 7 3 SV HIS NUMBERS ARE COMPARABLE TO FELIX ALL IN TRIPLE A. I GUARANTEE YOU MARLINS ARE REGRETTING  LETTING HIM GO.  Dman  i don't understand why not call him up and see what the kid can do he a rule 5 and i would hate to see him leave BUT WE WILL PUT IN DALLAS KEUCHEL WHO TOPS OUT AT 88!  

I'm all for giving Funderburk a shot, but for the record he sits like 90-92, so velocity isn't exactly an argument in his favor (and he's definitely a different kind of pitcher than Bautista).

 

[william]

90-92 is right  at times he 94 to 95 but he's a big k guy . No home runs in over 50 inning!

[2wins87]

1 minute ago, william said:

90-92 is right  at times he 94 to 95 but he's a big k guy . No home runs in over 50 inning!

Yes he can touch 95 (he never sits there).  I'm just pointing out that stylistically he might be as close to Keuchel as he is to Bautista.

I think maybe Tayler Saucedo could be a pretty good comp.

[USNMCPO]

i read the headline that Lewis was great again and my first reaction how in the heck did I miss Royce starting a rehab assignment. Oh well.

[MN_ExPat]

1 hour ago, roger said:

Although he is no longer listed among the Top 20, always great seeing Miller with a multi-hit day.  Still has lots of time to develop into a hitter similar to his brother.  When combined with his glove, that would be a very good big league player.

Assume Lewis will be in your Top 20 next time you do it?

Obviously I will double check, but... he dropped out?

[jorgenswest]

2 hours ago, Dman said:

Agree SSS makes it almost impossible to predict relievers.  He doesn't have a big fastball but lot's of lefties don't.  If you go back to 2022 though he was a starter and his line wasn't all that different from Varland's except Louie had a much better K rate.  While in the pen Funderburk has increased his K rate.  His numbers feel almost the same throughout his minor league career so I have a bit more faith than most about him.  

To be honest he might not be that different from Sands and he got his shot.  Same with Ortega.  He isn't getting any younger why wait until he turns into Ian Hamilton who would be our Bullpen ace if we had given him a chance.  Hamilton has a 1.67 ERA and 1.19 WHIP at the MLB level for the Yankee's this year and he never really got a chance in MN.  If Funderburk stinks then waive him because he isn't going to be any better than he is right now as like I said earlier his numbers have been good but static.

If Funderburk averages 100 mph on his fastball combined with a plus second pitch like Bautista’s split finger they need to bring him up.

I don’t have access to pitch level data and the relief pitcher data we can see isn’t helpful in knowing whether he will be successful in the majors. Those kind of numbers for relievers in the minors are not uncommon. The Twins have much better data besides working with him first hand. 

[Dman]

25 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

If Funderburk averages 100 mph on his fastball combined with a plus second pitch like Bautista’s split finger they need to bring him up.

I don’t have access to pitch level data and the relief pitcher data we can see isn’t helpful in knowing whether he will be successful in the majors. Those kind of numbers for relievers in the minors are not uncommon. The Twins have much better data besides working with him first hand. 

I agree that the FO and staff have a lot more knowledge about Funderburk than the few stats we get to look at and even stats often times are not predictive level to level because players have to be able to adjust and not all of them can.  Still I question just how much they know when they let go of guys like Coulombe, Hamilton, Hoffman  who are doing very well for other teams.  They have been right about several other relievers they let go most notably Sisk who has been terrible at AAA this year.  Still if they "really know" what will make a guy successful at the MLB level they wouldn't have let those 3 guys walk this year without trying to roster them.

I get all three of the names I mentioned did not have options left and the Twins wanted to have more flexibility to bring guys up and down and they also needed to work in some of those young arms taking up 40 man space but it seems like they miscalculated there. 

Moran was supposed to be good and he still has the same control problems he always had.  Sands was supposed to be a long man but he has given up a lot of hard contact at the MLB level and it seems they don't trust him in any role other than mop up. They tried Ortega with mixed results. Winder had been a disaster until recently.  Henriquez can't even get AAA hitters out and loves to give up homers.  So those things make me wonder about the FO decision making when it comes to pen arms.  Do they know what they are doing? or are they essentially guessing like the rest of us?

[2wins87]

1 hour ago, jorgenswest said:

If Funderburk averages 100 mph on his fastball combined with a plus second pitch like Bautista’s split finger they need to bring him up.

I don’t have access to pitch level data and the relief pitcher data we can see isn’t helpful in knowing whether he will be successful in the majors. Those kind of numbers for relievers in the minors are not uncommon. The Twins have much better data besides working with him first hand. 

FYI, you can see pitch level data for AAA and most A games via baseball savant's gamefeeds.

Here is the pitcher breakdowns for the Saints' last game when Funderburk was the opener.  The data is a little less detailed and sometimes less reliable than for major league games but you can get a pretty good idea of velocity and spin from just a couple appearances, and I like to track whiff rates on individual pitches across multiple appearances for guys that I'm interested in.

Funderburk is a bit over 40% whiff on his slider, around 30% on his 4-seam, and 20% on his sinker.  All of these are good but not spectacular whiff rates for those pitch types.  Overall he's getting whiffs on more than 30% of his swings which does back up the K-rate, though Balazovic, for one example, had a slightly better whiff rate in AAA which hasn't quite translated to the majors. The Twins probably also have some additional ideas on his pitch shape, release point etc., but from my perspective I don't see any reason he wouldn't be at least decent in the majors.

I think the front office has shown that they aren't looking for just one type of pitcher, so he doesn't have to be like Felix Bautista to get a shot.  It does seem like they value veterans, probably to excess, so that seems to be the main issue for him. Trying to crack not just the mlb roster but the 40-man as well, when the front office seems intent on holding onto every veteran who they've made even a tiny investment on.

[jorgenswest]

Thanks. Looks like velocity was in the 90-91 range on the 4 seam fastball and 92-94 on the sinker yesterday.

I didn’t bring up Bautista but replied to another post how the two had similar stats as relievers in the minors. That kind of AAA success for a reliever is not uncommon but from my one game look it appears the tools that Bautista and Funderburk used to get there are pretty different.