Twins Minor League Report (8/22): Trio Powers Mussels to Victory, Jenkins Promoted

[Steve Lein]

It was a tough day to score runs throughout the Minnesota Twins farm system on Tuesday, but the top of the lineup in Fort Myers came through multiple times in their win. In triple-A, an undefeated pitcher finally found some bad luck in hot weather, and an 18-year old you may have heard of played his last game in the Florida Complex League.

TRANSACTIONS

• The St. Paul Saints placed RHP Austin Schulfer on the 7-day injured list with a right hip impingement. In his place, they assigned RHP Francis Peguero from double-A. 
• Down in Fort Myers, three pitchers the Twins drafted this year made the move from the FCL Twins to the Mighty Mussels. They were RHP Nolan Santos (7th round), RHP Ty Langenberg (11th round), and RHP Xander Hamilton (14th round).
• Wichita Wind Surge RHP Sean Mooney was also sent on a rehab assignment to the Mighty Mussels.
• In not yet official moves, the Twins also announced after today’s FCL game that 2023 first round pick Walker Jenkins was being promoted to the Mighty Mussels.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 4, Omaha 14
Box Score
On a super hot and muggy night in Omaha (think even hotter than MSP today), Nebraska Louie Varland was ambushed in the second inning, leading to his first loss of the season with the St. Paul Saints.

It looked good in the early going for the visiting squad, as Andrew Stevenson led off the game with his 16th home run of the season. He was followed by Austin Martin’s fifth home with the Saints for back-to-back jobs to start the game.

Varland sent the Storm Chasers down in order in the bottom of the first, but that would be as good as it would get for the Minnesota native. In the second, two walks, an error, a double, and a home run turned a 2-0 lead into a 5-2 deficit the Saints would not be able to come back from. Varland did push through to finish four innings, but was charged with seven runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks. He struck out three.

The bullpen didn’t fare any better, as the trio of Austin Brice (1 IP, H, 2 ER, 3 BB), Francis Peguero (2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), and Ronny Henriquez (1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, K) all allowed multiple runs as well. The Storm Chasers pounded out 13 hits and drew nine walks compared to the Saints eight and three respectively, in their blowout win.

The Saints scored their other two runs in the top of the fourth thanks to singles from Anthony Prato, Jair Camargo, and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. for an RBI, before a wild pitch brought Camargo home.

Stevenson (2-for-5, R, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 K), Martin (2-for-5, R, HR, RBI, K), and Prato (2-for-3, R, BB, K) led the way for the Saints on offense. Trevor Larnach was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. The Saints managed to strike out four times in the eighth inning as well, which is always fun to witness.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 0, Arkansas 5
Box Score
The Wind Surge were unable to solve Traveler’s pitching on Tuesday, managing just seven hits with none of them going for extra bases. They also had just three at-bats with runners in scoring position, but their lone hit wasn’t enough to bring a run home.

Starting pitcher Travis Adams kept his team in the game for the first 4 1/3 innings. He gave up just one run on four hits, two walks, and struck out five. Denny Bentley came on in the fifth and recorded the next three outs. He allowed a run of his own on two hits while striking out two. Curtis Taylor got them through the seventh inning still down just 2-0, retiring all five hitters he faced including two K’s.

Arkansas got three insurance runs in the eighth off of Miguel Rodriguez. He struck out two in his lone inning but also surrendered four hits.

Tanner Schobel and Seth Gray each had two hits in four at-bats to lead the lineup. Alex Isola, Dalton Shuffield, and Yoyner Fajardo collected the other three singles.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 3, South Bend 6
Box Score
The Kernel’s Christian MacLeod took the bump in this one, and was solid for five innings, falling one inning short of a quality outing. He allowed three runs on six hits, walked one, and struck out four.

He left the game down 3-1, as the Kernels were only able to score on a Misael Urbina solo home run in the third inning to that point. It was his fourth home run of the season.

Reliever Jarret Whorff came on for the sixth and it didn’t go quite as well for him. In one-plus innings, he allowed three runs of his own on six hits, and the Kernels were down 6-1. Malik Barrington entered the game in the seventh, and allowed a few inherited runners to score, but otherwise finished the game for the visiting team. He allowed two hits and struck out four in two innings.

Cedar Rapids scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but left too many runners on base to come all the way back. With one out and the bases loaded in the eighth, a sac fly from Noah Miller was all they could muster. In the ninth, a double from Jorel Ortega scored Ben Ross, who had walked to lead off the inning.

Emmanuel Rodriguez was the only hitter with multiple knocks, going 2-for-4 on the night. Urbina added a walk to his home run. As a team they had just six hits total, and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Daytona 1, Fort Myers 7
Box Score
While the Tortugas struck first against Mighty Mussels starter Ben Ethridge, the right-hander’s lineup had his back, delivering a stronger counter-punch in the bottom half of the first inning.

Luke Keaschall got them going with a one-out triple, and Ricardo Olivar followed with a single to tie the game at one. Two batters later, Rubel Cespedes hit his 11th homer of the season, making it 3-1.

After the minor blip in the first, Ethridge worked around baserunners for the rest of his five total innings. In all he was charged with just one earned run on six hits and four walks. He struck out three, with 52 of his 83 pitches going for strikes (63%).

Fort Myers—or more specifically, Keaschall, Olivar, and Cespedes—tacked on two more runs in each of the third and fifth innings to extend their lead to 7-1. In the third Keaschall led off with a double, Olivar traded places with him for another RBI, and Cespedes later delivered a sac fly. In the fifth Keaschall drew a walk, Olivar was hit by a pitch, and Cespedes clubbed an RBI double. Danny De Andrade added a sac fly.

Starting his rehab assignment from Wichita, righty Sean Mooney pitched the sixth inning for Fort Myers. He faced four batters, walking one and striking out two. Danny Moreno then pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowing one hit and one walk. He struck out two. Zach Veen finished off the game with a scoreless ninth inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Both teams had eight total hits in the game, but the Mighty Mussels were 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position, compared to 2-for-10 for the Tortugas. Keaschall (2-for-2, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 BB), Olivar (2-for-3, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI), and Cespedes (2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI) obviously led the way. Alex Sayre also chipped in two hits in four at-bats.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Red Sox 1, FCL Twins 3
Box Score
The Twins had just four hits in the game compared to the Red Sox’s seven, but they did get one hit with the bases loaded to score two, while the visitors went 0-12 with runners in scoring position.

Anderson Nova’s two-run single in the fourth inning put the Twins on the scoreboard first, and a few walks later they had a 3-0 lead that would hold up. Byron Chourio drew two walks, one of them good for an RBI, and stole a base. Bryan Acuna and Wilfri Castro collected the other two hits, with Castro’s going for a double. Walker Jenkins singled, stole a base, and drew a walk in four plate appearances, which turned out to be his last game on the back fields in Fort Myers.

Eduardo Soriano made the start and completed 5 2/3 innings. He scattered four hits, walked one, and struck out two. Relievers Julio Bonilla (2 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) and Jeferson Lopez (1 IP) kept the Red Sox at bay the rest of the way.

In other FCL news, pitcher Kyle Bischoff was named the FCL pitcher of the week.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Eduardo Soriano, FCL Twins (W, 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, BB, 2 K)
Hitter of the Day - Rubel Cespedes, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2-for-3, R, 2B, HR (11), 4 RBI)

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

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Blayne Enlow (2-5, 9.20 ERA)
Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (2-3, 4.56 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Andrew Morris (3-1, 2.57 ERA)
Daytona @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - RHP Jack Noble (0-2, 3.15 ERA)

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

 

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[Doctor Wu]

Austin Martin is looking very locked in lately! And looking very confident at the plate, at least based on the few select highlights I'm seeing. 

[Dman]

The Muscles could use more outfield help so moving Jenkins there should help the team out.  Also nice to get him a little experience in A ball so he has leg up for next year.

Martin is really playing well.  Have to say I am surprised by the power he is showing so far this year.  That bodes well for getting to MLB.

Keaschall with a very good game and really upped hi OPS. Would be nice if he ends up a fast mover.

[Trov]

1 hour ago, Doctor Wu said:

Austin Martin is looking very locked in lately! And looking very confident at the plate, at least based on the few select highlights I'm seeing. 

I was going to comment similar.  Over the last month he is slashing .375/.474/.656 with OPS of 1.131 those are crazy numbers.  He has walked 12 times struck out 10 over that time, hit 5 HR, power has been his big nock, stole 7 bases caught 2 times. Those are numbers over last 28 days.  I saw a couple of the HR and they were no doubters not wall scrapers too.  Not sure if it is just SSS or something has clicked, but if he can do anything close to what he is doing right now at AAA he should get called up for stretch run and possibly help us in playoffs.  Sometimes need to ride hot bats and even if that all this is, why not see what he could do up here. 

[terrydactyls]

Stevenson is leading off, has 17 HR, 40 SB, and is hitting .312.  Why can't he take Gallo's spot for the rest of the year?

[jmlease1]

Really happy for Austin Martin; he's had a bumpy ride with the trade, some injuries, COVID...but the talent is definitely there. I know he's in a hitter's environment right now, but it's still great to see him flashing some power while still getting on base and doing all the other things he does well on offense. His elbow seems to be doing ok, and I hope it doesn't flare up on him. If he finishes the season healthy and strong he'll definitely be contending for a job on the MLB roster next season. quality defense at multiple positions plus a good RH bat and impressive baserunning skills? Sign me up.

Congrats to Walker Jenkins for his first promotion. He showed immediately that he could play and it should be fun to see how he handles better competition and a tougher hitting environment. Sky is the limit on this kid.

[SF Twins Fan]

Anyone know why Walker Jenkins was mostly a DH while in the FCL?

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

First off,  Martin continues to solidfy that he is going to be in the MLB next year if not this year.  As to Jenkins,  that is great,  slightly disappointed his buddy Winokur isn't joining him.  Likely only 1 spot for the 2 of them and Jenkins has a little better bat to ball skills.  

[stringer bell]

I'm happy for Martin, but there are more major league players returning from IL than there are spots to put them, so I doubt Martin is promoted. While I don't expect the Twins will totally clear a place for him, I think it will affect who the Twins keep and pursue in the off-season. 

[Steve Lein]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

Really happy for Austin Martin; he's had a bumpy ride with the trade, some injuries, COVID...but the talent is definitely there. I know he's in a hitter's environment right now, but it's still great to see him flashing some power while still getting on base and doing all the other things he does well on offense. His elbow seems to be doing ok, and I hope it doesn't flare up on him. If he finishes the season healthy and strong he'll definitely be contending for a job on the MLB roster next season. quality defense at multiple positions plus a good RH bat and impressive baserunning skills? Sign me up.

He's still outperforming the average slash in the triple-A hitter's environment overall, but in the last month (27 games) his OPS is .180 points above league average. In August it is .335+ above league average.

In my opinion, he is a legitimate promotion candidate at this point, he has been fantastic. The only problem, as has been mentioned, is the Twins have all the IL guys that need to be added back soon, there just may not be room, which can be viewed as disappointing in his case.

[terrydactyls]

8 hours ago, Steve Lein said:

He's still outperforming the average slash in the triple-A hitter's environment overall, but in the last month (27 games) his OPS is .180 points above league average. In August it is .335+ above league average.

In my opinion, he is a legitimate promotion candidate at this point, he has been fantastic. The only problem, as has been mentioned, is the Twins have all the IL guys that need to be added back soon, there just may not be room, which can be viewed as disappointing in his case.

Gallo?  Luplow?  Half the bullpen?  I think there's room.

[Doctor Wu]

22 hours ago, SF Twins Fan said:

Anyone know why Walker Jenkins was mostly a DH while in the FCL?

I've asked that question before also, but haven't noticed any response. Seems like DH would be the last spot they would want to play a young prospect like that. 

[RpR]

As league level increases, so does performance level of pitching.

That is one way for a player to face improved pitching.

[Twins33]

On 8/23/2023 at 9:19 AM, SF Twins Fan said:

Anyone know why Walker Jenkins was mostly a DH while in the FCL?

Haven’t seen anything official. My only guess is they were easing him in to pro ball. 
 

He’s the starting CF tonight 

[Mike Sixel]

11 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

I've asked that question before also, but haven't noticed any response. Seems like DH would be the last spot they would want to play a young prospect like that. 

I doubt it matters at all at this point....but I was surprised.