Twins Minor League Report (8/15): Wichita Surges Past Cardinals, Kernels Not Rattled

[Steve Lein]

In Tuesday’s action, a former major-league pitcher looked to continue his re-ascension in St. Paul, an up-and-comer shoved again for Wichita, and high school draft picks from earlier this summer stood out in Fort Myers.

 

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Pierson Ohl)

TRANSACTIONS

• After his brief promotion to Triple-A, RHP Carlos Luna was assigned back to the Wind Surge on Tuesday. 
• C David Banuelos was activated from the injured list for Wichita, while C Frank Nigro was transferred to the development list.
• Down in Fort Myers, RHP Matt Gabbert was assigned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL, and C Dillon Tatum was also activated. RHP Johnathan Lavallee was released.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Indianapolis 8, St. Paul 5
Box Score
Randy Dobnak has been on quite a run for the Saints lately, and he looked to continue that this week in a pair of starts against Indianapolis. To say it didn’t go his way in this one, would be an understatement, but it was not because he was bad. What I want you to focus on if you click that box score, is the fact he made it through four innings, and not that he allowed 11 hits in them.

Because those 11 hits were mostly full of complete garbage that just found hole after hole or open grass. Even when he broke multiple hitter’s bats, they ended up going for hits. It was kind of upsetting.

All that said, it still led to the Saints being down 7-1 after his outing was finally finished. Six of those went in the book as earned runs. He also walked three batters and struck out four. 

The Saints scratched across a run in the first inning. Andrew Stevenson led off the game by drawing a walk and stole his 39th base of the season. Kyle Garlick drove him in with a double. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Brooks Lee sent a liner past the center fielder, and ended up with his first triple with the Saints. Trevor Larnach drove him in with a sacrifice fly. In the eighth inning, Lee added another sacrifice fly that made it 8-3.

Out of the bullpen, the Saints got two scoreless innings from Austin Brice after Dobnak’s exit. He walked one and struck out one. Cody Laweryson (2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, K), Kody Funderburk (1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 K), and Austin Schulfer (1 IP, 1 H, K) completed the final three innings.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Saints managed to get the tying run in the batter's box, but it wasn’t meant to be. Jair Camargo drew a one-out walk. Austin Martin sent his third home run with the Saints onto the berm in left field to make it 8-5.

A pair of walks brought Lee to the plate, and he took a big hack to try and tie it up, but ended up grounding out to first before Trevor Larnach went down to end the game.

The Saints cobbled together just five hits in the game. They were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and left only seven men on base. Stevenson reached base three times in five at-bats. Martin played in left field and had an outfield assist.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Springfield 2, Wichita 5
Box Score
Alex Isola and Patrick Winkel ambushed the Cardinals starter in the bottom of the first with back-to-back jacks for an early 2-0 lead. Isola’s blast was his third home run in his past four at-bats.

Fresh off an eight-inning outing his last time out, starter Pierson Ohl was solid again in this one. He picked up his fifth win with a quality start. In six frames, he allowed two earned runs on just three hits and one walk. He punched out six. In three August outings, Ohl has a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings, going 3-0 and striking out 15 compared to just two walks.

The Wind Surge added some insurance for their starter in the third inning with a two-out rally. The bash brothers from earlier, Isola and Winkel, started it by drawing a walk and knocking a single, respectively. Aaron Sabato then stepped in and launched his eighth home run of the season to make it 5-0 Wichita.

Denny Bentley came on for the seventh inning and added two scoreless innings of relief. He allowed just one hit and struck out one. Miguel Rodriguez picked up his first save with a scoreless ninth. He worked around a pair of hits by striking out one.

The three (Isola), four (Winkel), and five (Sabato) hitters for the Wind Surge combined to go 7-for-10 with all five runs scored, a double, three home runs, and all five RBI in this one. The rest of the lineup came up with just two hits in their 22 at-bats. Yoyner Fajardo stole his 41st base of the season.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Wisconsin 1, Cedar Rapids 4
Box Score
The Kernels got strong pitching performances from Kyle Jones and Jarret Whorff to keep the Timber Rattlers at bay most of the game. Jones got the starting nod and went the first four innings. He allowed just two hits, walked three, and struck out three in four scoreless innings. Whorff went the next three frames to pick up the win. He gave up just one hit, one walk, and struck out three.

Cedar Rapids took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning thanks to Jorel Ortega’s seventh home run in the Midwest League, and 13th overall of the season. The home team made it 3-0 in the fifth after Carson McCusker’s fourth Kernels home run and an RBI groundout from Ben Ross. The Kernels finished off their scoring in the eighth when Noah Cardenas drew a walk with the bases loaded. They could have broken the game open then, as there were no outs and all four hitters had reached base, but the next three went down in order.

Malik Barrington picked up his second save by finishing the final two innings. He allowed one run on three hits and struck out three.

In the leadoff spot, Noah Miller went 2-for-4 with a double and scored a run. Ross drew two walks and scored a run. In addition to his home run, Ortega also drew two walks. Emmanuel Rodriguez and Midwest League RBI leader Kala’i Rosario both finished 1-for-4. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 9, Palm Beach 2
Box Score
Starting pitcher Juan Mercedes delivered a solid five innings to pick up his second win of the season. He allowed no runs, scattered six hits, and struck out three in five scoreless innings.

The Mighty Mussels took the lead in the top of the second thanks to Danny De Andrade, who led off with a single, stole second base, and scored on a single from Rubel Cespedes.

They added a pair of runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to extend their lead to 5-0. Ricardo Olivar drove in two with a single in the fifth. Alec Sayre drove in one run with a bases loaded ground ball in the sixth, and Cespedes scored the second on a wild pitch.

Wilker Reyes contributed three innings from the bullpen. He was charged with the Cardinals two runs on five hits, and struck out four. Ricardo Velez finished off the game with a scoreless ninth. He allowed one hit and struck out two.

Fort Myers tacked on four runs in the ninth for an extra cushion. With the bases loaded, Nate Baez delivered a two-run single, and a third run scored on an error. Kyle Schmidt then drove in Baez to cap the scoring.

Jay Harry (2-for-5, R, 2B, K), De Andrade (2-for-4, 2 R, BB, 2 SB), and Baez (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, K) each had multiple hits. Luke Keaschall added a double, a walk, and scored two runs in four at-bats.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 7, FCL Braves 11
Box Score
The Braves jumped all over Twins pitching early, and put enough distance between them to hold off a comeback from the Twins.

Starting pitcher Eduardo Soriano was only able to record three outs, pitching into the second inning but not recording an out. He surrendered five runs (four earned) on four hits, a walk, and struck out one. Julio Bonilla came on and recorded six outs, but didn’t fare much better on the scoreboard. He allowed four runs on three hits and four walks. He did strike out four.

Down 9-0 heading into the sixth, the Twins finally broke through. An error and singles from Isaac Pena and Walker Jenkins loaded the bases for Brandon Winokur, and an RBI groundball got them on the board. Harold Grant then cashed in the other two runners with a single to make it 9-3.

In the seventh. a pair of walks preceded a pair of doubles from Endy Rodriguez and Winokur that made it 9-6. In the top of the ninth Walker Jenkins blasted his second home run as a pro, a solo shot to give the Twins their final tally on the scoreboard.

Relievers Sean Mooney (1 IP, 2 K), Jefferson Lopez (3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 4 K), and Miguel Olivares (1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB) accounted for the rest of the innings from the pitching staff.

Jenkins (2-for-5, 2 R, RBI), Winokur (2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, K), and Grant (2-for-5, 2 RBI, K) led the way on offense with multiple hits. Winokur also had an outfield assist. Anderson Nova added a double.

DOMINICAN DAILY
DSL Angels 7, DSL Twins 1 (7 innings)
Box Score
Right fielder Jayson Bass went yard for the Twins in the bottom of the fourth inning, but that was basically it for the offense on the day. They collected just four hits as a team, were 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position, and left only two men on base for the game. They also didn’t draw a single walk. If there was a positive, they struck out only five times, so they were putting the ball in play.

Carlos Silva, Ewing Matos, and Javier Roman each had a single to account for all of their hits.

On the mound Leonardo Lugo got ambushed in the first two innings, but pushed through to finish three frames with a one-two-three third inning. He was charged with six runs (five earned) on eight hits and a pair of walks. He struck out one.

Reynel Garcia added two scoreless and hitless innings in relief of Lugo, then Eider Machuca (1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K) and Oscar Paredes (1/3 IP) finished off the shortened seven inning contest.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Pierson Ohl, Wichita Wind Surge (W, 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)
Hitter of the Day - Aaron Sabato, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-3, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
We have again updated our top 20 prospect list. Check out the full list here and how they performed on Tuesday below!

#1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, 3B, RBI, K
#2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL Twins) - 2-for-5, 2 R, HR (2), RBI
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, K
#7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, HR (3), 2 RBI
#8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K
#9 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, K
#10 - Luke Keaschall (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, K
#13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K
#14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 K
#17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, 2 R, BB, 2 SB (14)
#18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-for-5, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Indianapolis @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP Louie Varland (7-0, 4.03 ERA)
Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Travis Adams (2-8, 6.24 ERA)
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Christian MacLeod (4-0, 3.86 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Ben Ethridge (2-5, 2.34 ERA)

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

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[jmlease1]

Increasingly feels like Jenkins and Winokur will be going to A-ball to start the season next year. Maybe I'm wrong, but they seem to be showing they're ready and I feel like the Twins won't be afraid to send a prized draft pick to Ft. Myers early.

Love seeing the dinger from Austin Martin. The worry on him has been that he'll just be a slap hitter (I think there's enough power in there, but I get the concern and there's legit reasons for it) so seeing him take a guy deep is encouraging as he looks to finish the year strong. I'd have no problem if he looked a lot like a Shannon Stewart sort of player (with better defense).

[mikelink45]

You really worked hard to make a lousy outing by Dobnak sound like it was a positive.  Sorry, I like Randy, but don't bring him back to Minneapolis. 

[roger]

Thanks for the report, Steve.  And thanks for the comments about Dobber's outing.  Read in the paper over coffee that he gave up 11 hits in 4 innings.  Seeing he had been pitching well of late, was really disappointing.  Your explanation of what was going on helped.

I have a question for you Steve, the TD guys and anyone who sees a lot of games in Wichita.  They were not very good during the first half of the season.  The second half begins and they promote their three best players to St. Paul.  They then begin winning half their games and are in the hunt for first place in their division.  Can anyone explain that?

[Trov]

Happy to see Martin staying hot.  Over his last 28 days, he is hitting at elite level, with an OPS 994 with walking about as much as striking out.  He may not have the power the Twins seek normally, but I could see him playing CF next year leading off, getting on base and stealing bases.  I do not know how he ranks in CF, but if Buck cannot do it, I would rather see Martin hitting over either Taylor or Celistino, unless Martin is just terrible out there. I know his arm is not super strong but if he can make the catches that will be more important. 

[Steve Lein]

Fun anomaly in the statcast data from the Saints game yesterday:

Martin's home run definitely was not the longest ball hit in baseball this season (Ohtani has a 493-footer on record), but it was a laser beam shot onto the berm in LF. Wonder what caused it to register like that!

[2wins87]

31 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Increasingly feels like Jenkins and Winokur will be going to A-ball to start the season next year. Maybe I'm wrong, but they seem to be showing they're ready and I feel like the Twins won't be afraid to send a prized draft pick to Ft. Myers early.

Royce Lewis played in A ball in his draft year and was promoted to high-A in the middle of his second season.  Kala'i Rosario started in A ball the year after his draft and has continued to move up every year.

I'd be a little surprised if Jenkins and Winokur weren't at least on those respective timelines.

For all the hand wringing on this forum about when guys are getting promoted, this developmental regime has not been shy about moving the top guys quickly when they perform.  There are a few teams that are sometimes uber aggressive (Braves, Jays, Angels), but the Twins are certainly no slower than average for their top prospects.

[Steve Lein]

42 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Increasingly feels like Jenkins and Winokur will be going to A-ball to start the season next year. Maybe I'm wrong, but they seem to be showing they're ready and I feel like the Twins won't be afraid to send a prized draft pick to Ft. Myers early.

Love seeing the dinger from Austin Martin. The worry on him has been that he'll just be a slap hitter (I think there's enough power in there, but I get the concern and there's legit reasons for it) so seeing him take a guy deep is encouraging as he looks to finish the year strong. I'd have no problem if he looked a lot like a Shannon Stewart sort of player (with better defense).

I don't see any reason they wouldn't be in Fort Myers to start next year. I also don't think it's out of the question one or both of them get some run there to end this season. Alex Kirilloff started at low-A his first year after being drafted. Royce Lewis played 18 games there the season he was drafted.

Martin has been looking like a guy recently. It's a great development if he keeps it up.

[Steve Lein]

35 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

You really worked hard to make a lousy outing by Dobnak sound like it was a positive.  Sorry, I like Randy, but don't bring him back to Minneapolis. 

Watched the whole game, I'm not underselling it. After the two doubles to start the game, the first of which was probably the weakest hit double I've ever seen, it was nothing but ground balls squeaking by the gloves of infielders, or being hit in such a way a play to get an out wasn't possible. By my count, he broke four bats, and of those three ended up as hits, which is just ridiculous.

Brooks Lee also made one of the best SS plays I've seen this season on a slow chopper in the hole, backhand stab, strong throw across his body on the move. The runner just beat it. 🤷‍♂️ (on this front, Lee has looked better than I expected as a SS this season, I think he could absolutely stick there if needed)

Randy is still having an issue of not being able to put guys away as good as he'd like (he's recently stated since his finger injury, his sinker isn't as good), but 9 times out of 10 if he pitches like he did yesterday he's going to have better results. 

I'm also not saying he's due to come to Minneapolis over other guys right now, but he could be a great long-man option if a need comes up.

[Dman]

I haven't been a fan of Winkel mainly because I feel his defense isn't that great and his bat sort of ho hum.  For the month of August though he has an OPS over 1.000.  Probably just a hot streak but if the bat stays even close to those numbers the Twins have have a lot of bat first catchers in the system in Winkel, Cossetti, Cardenas and Morales with Camargo a Power first bat. Hoping he keeps it going.

Ohl I love his stuff and mentality but I do wonder if it will translate to MLB.  Does anyone know if he has plus pitches or does he just mix things and have great control?  He is looking like one of the better arms at AA right now.

[DJL44]

32 minutes ago, roger said:

I have a question for you Steve, the TD guys and anyone who sees a lot of games in Wichita.  They were not very good during the first half of the season.  The second half begins and they promote their three best players to St. Paul.  They then begin winning half their games and are in the hunt for first place in their division.  Can anyone explain that?

Every other team promoted their best players too.

[Steve Lein]

32 minutes ago, roger said:

Thanks for the report, Steve.  And thanks for the comments about Dobber's outing.  Read in the paper over coffee that he gave up 11 hits in 4 innings.  Seeing he had been pitching well of late, was really disappointing.  Your explanation of what was going on helped.

I have a question for you Steve, the TD guys and anyone who sees a lot of games in Wichita.  They were not very good during the first half of the season.  The second half begins and they promote their three best players to St. Paul.  They then begin winning half their games and are in the hunt for first place in their division.  Can anyone explain that?

Without going in depth looking at it, I'd point to their pitching.

The Wind Surge have been a top offense in the Texas League all season, but they've also had one of the worst pitching staffs. But David Festa has been a lot better in the second half. Pierson Ohl has been great for over a month. Carlos Luna had also been good enough to get a spot start in St. Paul last week.

They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and a half-game out of first in their division in the second half at 20-20.

[2wins87]

4 minutes ago, Dman said:

Ohl I love his stuff and mentality but I do wonder if it will translate to MLB.  Does anyone know if he has plus pitches or does he just mix things and have great control?  He is looking like one of the better arms at AA right now.

I'm guessing it's more the latter.  His stuff has probably improved somewhat since low-A, but I did collect some statcast data for him from his starts there last year.

He averaged 89.5 MPH with his fastball and topped out at 92.5.  He didn't seem to rely on any one secondary, but had a changeup, slider, and curveball all with whiff rates around 35%.  I'd say a whiff rate over 40% might be indicative of a plus secondary pitch.  So maybe three average-ish secondaries that he mixes well.

[jmlease1]

24 minutes ago, Trov said:

Happy to see Martin staying hot.  Over his last 28 days, he is hitting at elite level, with an OPS 994 with walking about as much as striking out.  He may not have the power the Twins seek normally, but I could see him playing CF next year leading off, getting on base and stealing bases.  I do not know how he ranks in CF, but if Buck cannot do it, I would rather see Martin hitting over either Taylor or Celistino, unless Martin is just terrible out there. I know his arm is not super strong but if he can make the catches that will be more important. 

He's not going to be an elite CF, but he can handle the position just fine (decent range, solid glove, good enough arm). He'd be fairly elite in either corner with his range and athleticism, especially in LF. I think he'd be a great fit as the 4th OF next season if he can stay healthy: excellent on-base skills, very good baserunner, can handle multiple positions effectively, right-handed bat. He's better than Celestino and should be more consistent at the plate than Taylor (Taylor is still better in the OF, but Taylor is still better than most of baseball in the OF) 

I love seeing Martin get on a bit of a roll at AAA. Dude has had a lot of tough luck in his career with injuries, and has caught a lot of fire for not being an instant star as well. I still really like him and I think he's going to be a great value piece for the Twins starting next season.

[Steve Lein]

5 minutes ago, 2wins87 said:

I'm guessing it's more the latter.  His stuff has probably improved somewhat since low-A, but I did collect some statcast data for him from his starts there last year.

He averaged 89.5 MPH with his fastball and topped out at 92.5.  He didn't seem to rely on any one secondary, but had a changeup, slider, and curveball all with whiff rates around 35%.  I'd say a whiff rate over 40% might be indicative of a plus secondary pitch.  So maybe three average-ish secondaries that he mixes well.

Agree. I wouldn't call any of his pitches as "plus," but he is one of the better command/control guys with an elite SO/BB ratio. Locates everything he throws, so they play up some. 

[Steve Lein]

For some extra browsing, in addition to updating our own Top 20 prospect list (linked in article), MLBPipeline also released their newest top 100:

https://www.mlb.com/prospects/top100/

Twins have 3 players in it:

16. Walker Jenkins

18. Brooks Lee

52. Emmanuel Rodriguez

[Dman]

11 minutes ago, 2wins87 said:

I'm guessing it's more the latter.  His stuff has probably improved somewhat since low-A, but I did collect some statcast data for him from his starts there last year.

He averaged 89.5 MPH with his fastball and topped out at 92.5.  He didn't seem to rely on any one secondary, but had a changeup, slider, and curveball all with whiff rates around 35%.  I'd say a whiff rate over 40% might be indicative of a plus secondary pitch.  So maybe three average-ish secondaries that he mixes well.

Thanks! I thought that was the case, but was hoping for more especially on the fastball side.  Gonna be hard to move past AA with that arsenal. Kind of Cody Lawyerson like.  Well I still like the kid and maybe he can be a one in a million Radke type pitcher.

[gman]

If Martin can play center without smashing into walls and being injured all the time he can fit great. High obp and lots of steals, with occasional pop and he can lead off for the Twins.

Julian can lead off, but I think he would do better batting second and letting Martin lead off. That would make a great 1-2 punch.

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, Trov said:

Happy to see Martin staying hot.  Over his last 28 days, he is hitting at elite level, with an OPS 994 with walking about as much as striking out.  He may not have the power the Twins seek normally, but I could see him playing CF next year leading off, getting on base and stealing bases.  I do not know how he ranks in CF, but if Buck cannot do it, I would rather see Martin hitting over either Taylor or Celistino, unless Martin is just terrible out there. I know his arm is not super strong but if he can make the catches that will be more important. 

Martin is the prospect I’m happiest to see coming together. He fits the roster perfectly replacing the Nick Gordon role with more positional flexibility and options.  Being right handed is a nice perk too.  He’s also not a guy we are trying to mold into something useful, he’s a high pedigree guy who is trying to get healthy and do what he’s already been able to do.  He has significant potential to be a great fit.  He would probably play as much as Castro but not be exposed by to much playing time.  

[Mike Sixel]

Anyone that wants Martin in a utility or backup rule is under rating him. I've always been irrationally positive on him, but I'd have him in Minnesota right now as the fourth OF, and starting in CF next year when Buxton doesn't. Heck, I'd give him a first base glove right now....

I am still hoping the two HS players crushing the FCL are prompted this year. No doubt they start next year in A ball. I'll be disappointed if one or both isn't in A plus at some point next year. 

[Jocko87]

21 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Anyone that wants Martin in a utility or backup rule is under rating him. I've always been irrationally positive on him, but I'd have him in Minnesota right now as the fourth OF, and starting in CF next year when Buxton doesn't. Heck, I'd give him a first base glove right now....

I am still hoping the two HS players crushing the FCL are prompted this year. No doubt they start next year in A ball. I'll be disappointed if one or both isn't in A plus at some point next year. 

The utility role that plays 5 or 6 times a week is a very high level role. So long as it's because they are trying to get him in the lineup rather than a who's left role I like it.