Twins Minor League Report (8/10): Skenes Debuts Against Twins

[Ted Schwerzler]

The entire Twins system was on display on Thursday, but the highlight may have taken place at one of the lowest levels. The FCL club saw a professional debut for the 2023 first overall draft pick, and the DSL team may have have the best hitting performance. 

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 8, Louisville 5
Box Score
Lots of storylines were present for Thursday’s Saints action. With Royce Lewis back in the lineup during his rehab assignment, the Bats sent Hunter Greene to the mound on a rehab assignment of his own. Hunter was taken one pick after Lewis in the 2017 draft, and the pair were teammates for Team USA in 2016 and in 2014.

Blayne Enlow went four innings allowing four runs on four hits. He walked only one and punched out six on the evening.

After getting down 1-0 in the top of the first inning, Trevor Larnach answered with a solo blast of his own in the bottom half. Noelvi Marte homered in the second inning, and Louisville added a pair in the third inning. Looking to respond, St. Paul scored one on an Andrew Stevenson solo shot in the bottom of the third.

Jair Camargo made it a one-run game with a double that scored Kyle Garlick in the fourth inning, and Yunior Severino tied things when he drew a bases loaded walk scoring Lewis in the fifth. Garlick then lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in Larnach before Camargo took a walk on a wild pitch that scored Anthony Prato. Gilberto Celestino doubled home both Severino and Camargo putting the Saints ahead 8-4.

The Bats added a run in the sixth inning to make it a three-run game, but that was as close as they'd get. St. Paul finished with six hits, and no one recorded more than one. Lewis was 0-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run scored.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
NW Arkansas 9, Wichita 6
Box Score
Travis Adams took the ball Thursday for the Wind Surge and went just 4 1/3 innings allowing six runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out three during his outing.

After getting behind 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning, Wichita looked for an answer. Willie Joe Garry Jr. singled home Seth Gray in the second inning before Aaron Sabato hit his seventh homer of the season, a third inning solo shot, to make it a 3-2 game.

Putting up a four-spot in the fifth inning, Northwest Arkansas really started to pull away. The Wind Surge answered with four of their own in the seventh inning. Sabato singled home Garry Jr. and Will Holland before Patrick Winkel drove in Yoyner Fajardo on a single of his own. Dalton Shuffield then singled home Sabato to draw within one.

Wichita gave two back during the bottom of the seventh inning and faced a three-run deficit going into the eighth inning. Unable to add in the eighth, while giving up another run, the Wind Surge were blanked in the ninth inning as well.

Sabato put up a three-hit game with Shuffield and Alex Isola both grabbing two apiece. The ten total hits for the team still came up just short.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 11, Quad Cities 5
Box Score
It was Christian MacLeod’s night on the hill for Cedar Rapids, and he turned in five innings of three-run baseball. MacLeod gave up five hits and three walks while striking out for on the evening.

Jorel Ortega opened the scoring with a first inning sacrifice fly that brought home Emmanuel Rodriguez, but Quad Cities responded with three runs in the bottom half.  Noah Miller made things closer with an RBI single in the second inning that scored Carson McCusker, and the Kernels made waves during the third.

A four-run third inning started with Ben Ross’s 15th home run of the year, and was followed by Jose Salas driving home Andrew Cossetti on a single. McCusker then singled home both Noah Cardenas and Salas to make it a 6-3 game.

In the sixth inning, Kala’i Rosario ripped his third triple of the season to plate Rodriguez, and the Kernels lead was extended again. Ortega singled home Rosario before McCusker brought Ross home on a single of his own. Another four run inning made it a 10-3 game.

Rodriguez singled in the ninth inning to add another run when McCusker scored, and Cedar Rapids had a lead big enough to cruise for a victory. Rodriguez, Rosario, and Ross all had two hits while McCusker added four of his own.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Bradenton 15, Fort Myers 8
Box Score
This season Ben Ethridge has put up solid numbers, but it was a weird outing for the Fort Myers starter. He lasted just four innings allowing only two runs on two hits, but he walked five and struck out only three.

The Mighty Mussels got ahead early when Danny De Andrade doubled in the first inning. Scoring both Nate Baez and Ricardo Olivar, his 16th two-base hit did damage. Rafael Cruz then followed with his 13th double to drive in De Andrade and make it a 3-0 game.

Bradenton answered with two runs in the second inning, but Fort Myers added again in the fourth. Maddux Houghton blasted a solo shot and it was a 4-2 game after the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Alec Sayre stepped in and launched a grand slam to score Cruz, Kyle Schmidt, and Gregory Duran. Now up 8-2, this one seemed plenty in hand.

The Marauders clawed back on a three-run homer during the sixth inning, but the Mighty Mussels still had a commanding advantage. That advantage quickly disappeared during the eighth inning when Bradenton put up a seven-spot to pull ahead 12-8. They added another three runs in the ninth inning, and the 15-8 score represented a laugher.

Cruz contributed a trio of hits with Olivar posting two of his own.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 4, FCL Pirates 2
Box Score
Thursday’s FCL game had a good deal of intrigue as top Pirates prospect Paul Skenes was making his professional debut. Selected first overall in the 2023 Draft, Skenes was dominant for LSU. He pitched just a single inning for the Pirates, but faced Twins prospects Byron Chourio, Brandon Winokur, and Walker Jenkins. He gave up no hits, and got Jenkins on a strike out.

After getting down in the first inning, the Twins answered with a three-run third inning. Winokur grounded into a force out that allowed Daniel Pena to score before a Jenkins single brought in Andres Centeno. With the bases loaded, Isaac Pena took a walk to bring Winokur home.

For the second time in the game, the Twins drew a bases loaded walk scoring a run. This time it was Chourio bringing home Daniel Pena. Devin Kirby finished off 4 2/3  of scoreless relief work to slam the door. Jenkins finished as the only player with two hits.

DOMINICAN DAILY
DSL Giants Black 8, DSL Twins 5
Box Score
Miguel Cordero got the start Thursday and worked five innings allowing just two runs, only one of which was earned. He gave up three hits and a walk while striking out three.

Ariel Castro had arguably the best game of his young career. The Twins top international free agent signee in January picked up three hits, including a double and triple. He drove in a pair of runs on the day as well. Hendry Chivilli and Jayson Bass each had hits as well, with Junior Del Valle as the only other player to record a pair of hits.

The Twins scored in the first inning on a wild pitch, added another on a second wild pitch in the third inning, and then grabbed three more in the fifth inning. The Giants added six in the seventh inning to take the lead and make it a 8-5 game. The Twins didn’t mound a comeback and that’s how this one ended.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Devin Kirby (FCL Twins) - 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB 4 K
Hitter of the Day – Ariel Castro (DSL Twins) - 3-4, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI 

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:

#2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL Twins) - 2-5, RBI, K
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB
#5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-1, BB
#10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-4, K
#13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 0-5, R, RBI, 2 K
#16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, R, RBI, BB, K, 3B
#17 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-2, R, RBI, 2 BB
#18 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, R, RBI, BB, K 
#20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 0-3, BB, K

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland
Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya
Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30PM CST) - RHP Andrew Morris
Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP Jack Noble

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

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[mikelink45]

Larnach showing all he can, but he is stuck.  Enlow showing another poor performance.  I just have not believed in him since we drafted him.  

Would we ever consider trading Vasquez and bringing up Carmargo?

[miracleb]

What is the word on Carmargo's defense?

[Nashvilletwin]

Poor Larnach - how he wishes he had been traded at the deadline or instead of Steer or CES.  He really needs to get out of this organization if he’s ever going to full fill his dream of being a major leaguer. I feel bad for the guy. 

Sabato, somewhat quietly, appears to be figuring things out a bit more. Hmmmm.

[roger]

Good seeing Lewis get a rehab game against a Big League pitcher who also was on a rehab assignment.  0 for 2, but two walks and a run is a good day.  Seeing he was again at third base is telling us that's where he is going to play for the Twins the rest of 2023.  With the way the Twins were swinging the bat yesterday, they are screaming to get this young man back in their lineup.  Getting AK back would also help, although we haven't heard much about when?

Also great seeing ERod and Jenkins with two hit games with ERod also picking up two walks.   Will these young men be two-thirds of a future Twins outfield? 

Enlow teased the Twins with his pitching earlier this season.  But unless he is pitching thru an unreported injury, his recent results are telling us a call back to the 40-man ain't gonna happen.  Really is disappointing, because most of us have thought since the day he signed with the Twins that he could/would be a good one.

[Dman]

Was starting to get worried about Cedar Rapids bats but it looks like they are back. Nice to see Ross with a big night was starting to wonder what happened to his contact skills. McCusker went 4 for 5 so he seems to be handling High A as well as A ball.  Also good to see Rodriguez with no K's and two walks.  I swear he is a different player every night.

Cruz finally hit the 700 OPS mark on the season but it has taken a 1.277 OPS in August to get there.  He is hot at the plate right now and I hope he has figured some things out as he is young for the level and could be a good bat in the future.

If you would have asked me who would transition better to AA Tanner Schobel or Willie Joe Gary I would have hands down said Schobel as Gary hasn't had an OPS over .700 in his minor league career. It is a super small sample size but right now Willie Joe has a 1.041 OPS at AA and Schobel .554. Sometime things click and sometimes they don't I guess.

Larnach continues to hit the ball well.  Not sure if those hits are coming off breaking stuff or still just fastballs but he looks ready for another chance when and or if it comes.  Nice to see the hitters getting back in a groove again now if the pitching could be better there would be more wins.

[TopGunn#22]

I don't know about Sabato, Nashville.  Seven HR's for a bat first/1B/DH draft pick at this stage of the season and of his minor league career to date with the Twins just doesn't cut it with me.  He's a lot like Enlow.  Just nothing to show for optimism going forward for as long as they've been in the system.  

I agree about Larnach.  They should have dealt him last year when he still had some value.  The Twins FO will never come up with a convincing argument that the signing of Gallo had any logic behind it. 

There are some strengths to this Twins team but holes galore.  There is not a level that won't see some kind of major turnover this off season.  Starting pitching:  Where do Gray and Maeda end up?  At least one FA signing (Blake Snell?) will be needed to go along with Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Paddock, and Varland.  How does that measure up with the further development of Raya, Balazovic and SWR??  The bullpen outside of Duran and Jax is a huge question mark.  How much will a 36 y/o Theilbar have left?  Stewart, Floro, Alcala, Moran Pagan etc...that's not looking that promising right now.  Who will be in our OF?  Who will be in our IF??  Will there be solid bounce back seasons from Correa and Buxton?  Outside of Jeffers and Vasquez returning behind the plate there seem to be more questions than answers for this team looking ahead to 2024.  

Is our FO capable of steering this ship?  Clearly, Rocco is NOT the equal of someone like Terry Francona.  But is Rocco good enough?  Or is a change needed there?  Something is just not clicking with this coaching staff.  Does Rocco need to clean house?  Or do the Twins FO need to clean house in one last try to save their own jobs?  Should be an interesting off season.  And I wouldn't over emphasize what happens in the post season (should they eventually stumble and bumble their way into the playoffs) when deciding what needs to be done for 2024.  

[mikelink45]

1 hour ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Poor Larnach - how he wishes he had been traded at the deadline or instead of Steer or CES.  He really needs to get out of this organization if he’s ever going to full fill his dream of being a major leaguer. I feel bad for the guy. 

Sabato, somewhat quietly, appears to be figuring things out a bit more. Hmmmm.

Sabato's line does not look like a first round 24 year old prospect to me. 41% K rate and a line that is only 221/342/421/762.  He has a long way to go. 

 

[teufellove]

I am not sure I get all the fuss over Larnach. He seems to be just another below league average left-handed bat that is useless against LHPs and marginally useful against RHPs. He may just a be a AAA+ type talent, but that could just be me. However, I don't think he's just a change of scenery away from being an everyday big leaguer. 

[jmlease1]

Tanner Schobel is finding life in the Texas League a little tougher it seems.

I'm still not there on Sabato; he's had some good stretches and seems to be competing in AA, but dude is 24 and outside of a 22 game stretch in Cedar Rapids has never posted a SLG% over .450. With his relatively low BA, he needs to be showing more power, even if he's still taking walks well.

Walker Jenkins sure looks like a hitter. he's going to be fun to follow. I think there's a really good chance that he'll be playing in Ft. Myers early next season, if not starting there. Eventually he'll need to start taking some walks, but it's hard to ask a guy to show more patience when he's 9-21 with 3 xbh! It's nice that they're getting done with signings from the draft earlier and guys can start in on minor league play earlier. Oodles of talent from this dude.