Twins Minor League Report (8/20): A Good Day for Prospect Bats

[Ted Schwerzler]

A pair of Twins affiliates put up double-digit runs on the day, and offense was the story throughout the system. Yunior Severino went deep twice, and Kala’i Rosario won it for Cedar Rapids. Check out more of the action within.

TRANSACTIONS

• RHP Oliver Ortega recalled by Minnesota
• RHP Jordan Balazovic optioned to St. Paul

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 7, Indianapolis 6
Box Score
Randy Dobnak made a Sunday start for the Saints and went 2 1/3 allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits, two walks, and three strikeouts.

St. Paul scored in the first inning on a Trevor Larnach sacrifice fly that brought home Andrew Stevenson. They added another in the second inning on Yunior Severino’s third Triple-A homer.

Running into trouble during the third inning, the Saints saw Indianapolis put up a five-spot. Severino then answered with his second dinger of the game, another solo blast, in the fourth inning.

The sixth inning saw St. Paul regain the lead. Severino singled home DaShawn Keirsey Jr. Before Gilberto Celestino tripled home Jair Camargo and Severino. Stevenson then singled allowing Celestino to score and the four-run frame gave them a two-run lead. Although the Saints gave up an eighth inning run, they kept the lead in the ninth inning.

Severino led the charge with three hits, accounting for half from St. Paul's total. Kody Funderburk continues to throw well for St. Paul as he struck out one across 1 1/3 innings and picked up his fifth save.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 12, Springfield 1
Box Score
It was a good day to start for the Wind Surge as the offense exploded for 12 runs on 16 hits. Pierson Ohl was on the bump and turned in five innings of one-run baseball. He gave up just two hits while striking out three.

Springfield scored their only run in the top of the first inning, and then Wichita took over. Tanner Schobel singled home Ernie Yake in the third inning to kick things off. Alex Isola followed with a single to score Yoyner Fajardo and Schobel before Jake Rucker went deep with a two-run big fly.

Yake launched his first homer in the fourth inning, and David Banuelos doubled in Patrick Winkel and Isola. Doubling again in the eighth inning, Banuelos brought home Schobel and Winkel before Rucker traded places scoring Isola and Banuelos.

The laugher saw Rucker, Yake, and Isola each record three hits. Schobel and Banuelos each had a pair of their own as well.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 1
Box Score
Zebby Matthews started Sunday for Cedar Rapids. He twirled 4 ⅔ of one-run ball. Matthews scattered five hits and two walks while striking out five as well.

Cedar Rapids scored first when Ben Ross drove in Carson McCusker on a sacrifice fly. Kala’i Rosario launched his 18th homer of the season, bringing Jefferson Morales and Noah Miller home, to make it a 4-0 game.

Wisconsin answered with only one run and the Kernels cruised to a victory. Miller contributed two of the four Cedar Rapids hits Sunday afternoon. Mike Paredes improved to 6-1 with the victory.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 13, Palm Beach 8
Box Score
Jose Olivares took the ball for the Mighty Mussels on Sunday morning and lasted just 1 1/3 innings. The short start came with four runs allowed on three hits, two of which left the yard. Olivares also walked three while striking out two.

Danny De Andrade blasted his tenth homer of the year to kick off scoring during the first inning. In the top of the second inning, Dillon Tatum singled home Yohander Martinez before Jay Harry drove in Alec Sayre with a single of his own. Fort Myers got behind with Olivares’ tough inning coming in the bottom of the second.

The Mighty Mussels answered in the fourth inning when Gregory Duran brought in Sayre with a ground out, and Maddux Houghton raced home on a wild pitch.

It wasn’t until the seventh inning that Fort Myers scored again. Rubel Cespedes ripped a double to score Tatum and Jay Harry before Sayre’s single brought De Andrade home. The Mighty Mussels gave two back in the bottom half but still led 9-6.

Martinez singled in the eighth inning to score Harry and De Andrade. Sayre then singled in Cespedes and Houghton doubled home Martinez. Fort Myers had doubled up Palm Beach by a 13-6 tally. The Cardinals got two of their own in the ninth inning, but it wasn’t enough to erase the deficit.

Harry and Sayre both had three-hit games while Martinez and Houghton each had a pair.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Pierson Ohl (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Hitter of the Day – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 3-4, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR(4)

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:

#8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-5, 2 R, RBI
#13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, 3 RBI, HR(18)
#14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 3-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR(4)
#17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 1-4, 3 R, RBI, HR(10), K
#20 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35PM CST) - TBD
Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35PM CST) - TBD
Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05PM CST) - TBD
Dayton @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD

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

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[jkcarew]

Add Severino to the long list of AAA bats with which we can be infatuated.

Serious question…how does he grade out defensively? Is he a legitimate second or third baseman…or is he yet another DH at the major league level?

[FlyingFinn]

2 hours ago, jkcarew said:

Serious question…how does he grade out defensively? Is he a legitimate second or third baseman…or is he yet another DH at the major league level?

I think he is very Miranda-like on defense - so not that good. But someone more knowledgeable may be able to comment further.

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, jkcarew said:

Add Severino to the long list of AAA bats with which we can be infatuated.

Serious question…how does he grade out defensively? Is he a legitimate second or third baseman…or is he yet another DH at the major league level?

He can field enough to get on the field with an .900 OPS.  He's not great.

I've watched him quite a few times live in Wichita, playing either 2nd or 3rd with Lee at short.  He makes the plays on the balls hit to him but not much more.  He's a bit better than Julien in my estimation and might actually be decent at 1st.  Long term he's a trade guy, don't get too attached.  The better he hits at AAA the better for the org.

[Ted Schwerzler]

3 hours ago, jkcarew said:

Add Severino to the long list of AAA bats with which we can be infatuated.

Serious question…how does he grade out defensively? Is he a legitimate second or third baseman…or is he yet another DH at the major league level?

He isn't great, but he isn't a butcher. I'd say Miranda-like is fair. Interesting he's played quite a bit at 1B for the Saints. They won't push him into that role this year, but creates a nice option for 2024.

[DJL44]

Larnach is having trouble getting the barrel on the ball. He seems to be taking good at-bats but doesn't connect with pitches he should be able to drive.

[Guest]

No more, please, about Dobnak being possibly able to help out this year.

[Major League Ready]

10 hours ago, Jocko87 said:

He can field enough to get on the field with an .900 OPS.  He's not great.

I've watched him quite a few times live in Wichita, playing either 2nd or 3rd with Lee at short.  He makes the plays on the balls hit to him but not much more.  He's a bit better than Julien in my estimation and might actually be decent at 1st.  Long term he's a trade guy, don't get too attached.  The better he hits at AAA the better for the org.

IDK.  He certainly is a good trade chip but I also see him as a great bench player.  He can play 1B/2B/3B/DH and he is a switch hitter with power.  That provides a lot of options.  I think what could keep him here is our lack of depth at 1B.  My guess is it's an even money bet that they hold on to Severino.

[Dman]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

IDK.  He certainly is a good trade chip but I also see him as a great bench player.  He can play 1B/2B/3B/DH and he is a switch hitter with power.  That provides a lot of options.  I think what could keep him here is our lack of depth at 1B.  My guess is it's an even money bet that they hold on to Severino.

Yeah I agree.  I think it would take something big for the Twins to move Severino.  He has been a .900 OPS hitter (if you only count high A in 2021) the last three years at three different levels.  He has the hard hit rate the Twins love and to top it off he hits well from both sides of the plate. It is the power bat the Twins crave and his only wart but it is a fairly big one is his K rate has also been around 30% most of his career. It is a Wallner type profile except Severino does hit lefties well which is also something the Twins need.

I agree he would be nice at 1st base but can also play 2nd and 3rd maybe not quite at an average level but he can play those positions.  He also would be a good DH and bench bat to have when not starting.  

I think he ends up taking on Polanco's role with the team. as their skill sets match pretty well and Severino is younger and cheaper.

[HrbieFan]

What does Funderburk have to do to get the call? Would be nice to have another reliable LH for the stretch 

[Dman]

16 minutes ago, HrbieFan said:

What does Funderburk have to do to get the call? Would be nice to have another reliable LH for the stretch 

They must not want to remove any of the young arms off the 40 man and with the trade deadline having passed they cannot trade anyone to make room.  I assume it takes another long term injury for him to be added. He might be better than Moran and Sands and Winder but until he gets his chance we just won't know.

Sands, Moran and Ortega all have good AAA numbers just like Kody so hard to know how well his stuff will translate but on the flip side he has been as good they have been and he is the only one who hasn't gotten a chance at the MLB level.

[Omgbenji]

I've mentioned this previously, but what's it going to take for Yoyner Fajardo to get a little prospect love? He seems to always be on base in these reports and I believe his average is at, or higher than 0.300. It seems like he could be a decent piece at some point. 

[DJL44]

31 minutes ago, Dman said:

They must not want to remove any of the young arms off the 40 man and with the trade deadline having passed they cannot trade anyone to make room. 

Alcala could move to the 60 day IL. I think they're concerned because Paddack and Gordon might come off the 60 day IL soon but I'll bet someone else gets injured before the season ends.

Quote

No more, please, about Dobnak being possibly able to help out this year.

Or ever.

[DJL44]

21 minutes ago, Omgbenji said:

I've mentioned this previously, but what's it going to take for Yoyner Fajardo to get a little prospect love? He seems to always be on base in these reports and I believe his average is at, or higher than 0.300. It seems like he could be a decent piece at some point. 

He's an "org" guy. Not young for AA. The Pirates didn't protect him last year and he signed with the Twins as a minor league free agent. He'll be a minor league free agent again when the season is over.

[FlyingFinn]

24 minutes ago, Omgbenji said:

I've mentioned this previously, but what's it going to take for Yoyner Fajardo to get a little prospect love? He seems to always be on base in these reports and I believe his average is at, or higher than 0.300. It seems like he could be a decent piece at some point. 

Fajardo is behind a number of guys - Martin and Stevenson to name two. Stevenson does what Fajardo does but at AAA and with power while playing CF.

[twinstalker]

Yoyner, org guy, 24 at AA, Pirates (Pirates!) didn't want him after a .700 ops last year as an older OF.  Wichita and St. Paul can fool you, as they're both hitter's parks (esp SP), and he's an OF at Wichita, old for a real prospect, avg age for the league, and he's an .800 guy.  Because he's OF, I doubt he's ever more than an org guy, but he might get a chance elsewhere if some team ignores the park and just needs AAA depth.  Twins might just need AAA depth.

Severino, switch hitter, is much better at AA/AAA than he ever was in the lower minors, at least partially if not mostly due to the ballparks (see Miranda).  He can't field, hits righties better this year, at least, and strikes out way to much to be an MLB threat.  I'm still not sure why for the last two seasons I've excused Wallner's k rate when I deem it so important, but there's something different with Wallner I can't quite place, and I doubt the likes of Severino and Larnach and most all others who strike out way too much in the minors will ever be anything in MLB.

 

[roger]

Appreciate the above comments, especially those about Severino's defense.  As we see his power numbers increase at St. Paul, was asking myself the last few days...Has he surpassd Miranda as the next best option at third base on the Twins depth chart?  Kid seems to have legit power and striking out around 30% of his plate appearances isn't all that bad.  Twins got lucky when Atlanta decided to bend the rules and got this kid for a huge bonus.  Maybe it will work out.

Just excited as all get out every time I see Bechtold with another clean outing.  Will we see him in a Twins uniform come 2024?  Sure would be interesting having your third catcher sitting out in the bullpen.  Also interesting that Noah Miller's August numbers are better than the earlier months, much better.

 

[dvaupel]

Anybody know what happened to Schulfer? Was at the game, and after a couple rough pitches to a batter they called the trainer out, he was pulled mid at-bat, but didn't see any info about why. (Boyle did a great job cleaning up)

 

Can't find any news about it today, either.

[Dman]

2 hours ago, Omgbenji said:

I've mentioned this previously, but what's it going to take for Yoyner Fajardo to get a little prospect love? He seems to always be on base in these reports and I believe his average is at, or higher than 0.300. It seems like he could be a decent piece at some point. 

I like him more than most but as others have noted with not much power you really have to show you can hit and have a high OBP. Also as others have noted he is in a hitters league and still only OPSing .800. To make it at the MLB level he would need to be around that number and those marks usually drop 100 to 200 points when moved to the majors where every pitcher you face is good to elite.

There are things to like about his profile.  His K rate is low and walk rate almost double digits.  He can steal bases and I believe is a good defender.  He isn't young for the level and with the Twins already having their fair share of utility guys he needs to really stand out and he doesn't. 

I think he is very good player but until he can get into that .900 OPS range he kind of is just another guy.

 

[Mike Sixel]

14 hours ago, Ted Schwerzler said:

He isn't great, but he isn't a butcher. I'd say Miranda-like is fair. Interesting he's played quite a bit at 1B for the Saints. They won't push him into that role this year, but creates a nice option for 2024.

Why not? He literally can't be worse than Gallo has been. he has to be protected this year.....why not?

[gman]

It looks like both Harry and Keaschall could both be in double A early next year. Fast for both '23 draft picks. Harry has been at 4 positions and Keaschall at 3. I think they are both above Ft Myers level although of course in small sample size yet.

[jkcarew]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Why not? He literally can't be worse than Gallo has been. he has to be protected this year.....why not?

Ironically, he has some Gallo in him. K’ing over 30% at AA and the Saints this year. But, yes…Joey is at 40%, and Severino is young enough that you’d think he could improve on it.

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, jkcarew said:

Ironically, he has some Gallo in him. K’ing over 30% at AA and the Saints this year. But, yes…Joey is at 40%, and Severino is young enough that you’d think he could improve on it.

I have no idea if Severino is better or worse at the MLB level....but it would be hard to be worse at this point. I wish Gallo had worked out, it was an interesting risk (though more money than needed, imo). 

[Major League Ready]

22 hours ago, Dman said:

They must not want to remove any of the young arms off the 40 man and with the trade deadline having passed they cannot trade anyone to make room.  I assume it takes another long term injury for him to be added. He might be better than Moran and Sands and Winder but until he gets his chance we just won't know.

Sands, Moran and Ortega all have good AAA numbers just like Kody so hard to know how well his stuff will translate but on the flip side he has been as good they have been and he is the only one who hasn't gotten a chance at the MLB level.

I don't think it's a reluctance to remove someone off the 40 man for Funderburk.  It's that they are going to need 40-man space when they reinstate Buxton / Ryan and Kirilloff.  Hopefully, Paddack and Stewart as well.  Alcala?  That's going to be a challenge, so they don't need to make it worse by adding Funderburk.  Plus, I would assume they are looking at managing this to set-up for the playoff's.  Ryan and perhaps Kuechel end up in the BP and best case scenario Paddack and Stewart are back.  

With a little luck where health is concerned, we are going to have a very deep pitching staff for the playoffs.

[Doctor Wu]

On 8/21/2023 at 11:00 AM, Minderbinder said:

No more, please, about Dobnak being possibly able to help out this year.

Sad to see, but looks like a true assessment.