Twins Minor League Report (8/29): Saints Win in Extras, Helman Returns With a Bang

[Steve Lein]

Each of the Twins affiliates who played on Tuesday were in their home ballparks, and despite the hitting being hard to come by at each level, pitching and timely hitting ended up winning the day for each of them. The Saints went to extra innings, Wichita got a big blast from a returning prospect, and a new top prospect to the Kernels came up big in their win.

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Michael Helman)

TRANSACTIONS

• In Double-A, the Wichita Wind surge were assigned LHP Jordan Carr from Cedar Rapids. RHP Isaac Mattson and SS Ernie Yake were transferred to the development list. RHP Sean Mooney was activated from the 60-day injured list.
• Down in Fort Myers, RHP Jeremy Lee was assigned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins.
• On Monday, the Saints announced that RHP David Festa was being promoted from Wichita. RHP Alex Scherff went from the Saints to the Wind Surge. 
• In addition, utility man Michael Helman was taken off of the 60-Day IL and assigned to Wichita. 
• RHP Ricardo Velez and infielder Luke Keaschall were promoted to Cedar Rapids from Fort Myers. 
• Of course, the big transaction was LHP Kody Funderburk having his contract selected by the Twins. He took RHP Oliver Ortega's spot on the 40-man roster. Ortega was moved to the 60-Day IL. Bailey Ober was optioned to St. Paul where he will get the chance to rest heading to September. 
• The Twins released infielder Mikey Perez . He had been on the Kernels roster the past month or so. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
Columbus 4, St. Paul 5 (11 innings)
Box Score
At CHS Field in St. Paul, the Saints went to right-hander Blayne Enlow for the start. He finished the first two innings, but allowed a run in each for an early 2-0 Clippers lead. He allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out two.

In the bottom of the second Yunior Severino got him off the hook however, launching his fifth home run with the Saints, and 29th of the season, to put them out front 3-2. Brooks Lee and Trevor Larnach had drawn walks in front of him.

The score stayed that way until the ninth inning, as pitching took over for both teams. For the Saints, that was Patrick Murphy who started the season as a key setup man in the bullpen, but in his last five games has gone at least three innings. He completed five scoreless innings in this one, keeping Columbus in check through the seventh. He scattered three hits, walked three, and struck out five.

Jordan Balazovic came on for the eighth and had a one-two-three inning. Back out for the ninth, he was struck by some bad luck. A leadoff single put the tying run on base, a weak grounder to second advanced the runner, then another weak grounder up the middle found a hole past a sliding Austin Martin’s glove and the game was tied at three.

In extras, the Saints went to Austin Brice and the Clippers struck first with a run-scoring double to make it 4-3 in their favor. He picked up two strikeouts after that to keep the game within one. In the bottom half the Saints took advantage of a little league play on an Andrew Stevenson chopper to first to tie it. It clanked off the first baseman’s glove, he threw it away toward first base to allow Jair Camargo to score, and a throw home was offline allowing Stevenson to reach second. Lee and Larnach weren’t able to bring Stevenson home, and it went to the 11th inning.

Brice picked up where he left off, striking out the first two hitters of the inning, and getting a grounder to give the Saints an easier shot at the win in the bottom half. Larnach started on second base and advanced to third on a grounder, before Severino delivered a sac fly to walk it off.

Brice struck out five of the seven batters he faced in extra innings, picking up his third win of the season. 

Larnach led the way with two hits in four at-bats, also drawing a walk and scoring two runs. The Saints were outhit 11-to-5 on the game and were just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, but did just enough to pull out the win late. Willi Castro was 0-for-4 with a pair of K’s in his rehab appearance. Stevenson was 1-for-5 and stole his 43rd base. Martin finished 0-for-4 but drew a walk and stole his 14th base. Severino finished with four RBI and the game winner.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
San Antonio 2, Wichita 5
Box Score
Wichita got on the scoreboard first in this one, putting up a crooked number in the third inning. Jake Rucker drew a walk to lead off and Willie Joe Garry Jr. followed with a one-out double. A fielder’s choice from Yoyner Fajardo led to an out at home, but Michael Helman announced his return to action with a three-run homer for the 3-0 lead.

Regi Grace got the nod as an opener of sorts, his first start of the 2023 season, and went the first three-plus innings. He retired the first eight hitters he faced, before a single was sent into right field with two outs in the third. The runner tried to stretch it into a double however, and Garry Jr. cut him down at second base to keep Grace’s batters faced at the minimum through three. In the fourth inning Grace gave up a walk and recorded two more outs before reaching his pitch count. In 3 2/3 innings pitched, he allowed just one hit, walked one, and struck out four. 32 of his 48 pitches went for strikes (67%) and lowered his ERA to 3.23 with the Wind Surge.

Jordan Carr came on as a piggy-back for his first outing after being promoted to Wichita, and promptly gave up a double. This allowed an inherited runner to score, but he went on to finish 3 1/3 innings himself. He allowed one run of his own on four hits, walked one, and struck out two.

In the bottom of the fifth the Wind Surge got a run back thanks to a solo shot from Garry Jr. that made it 4-1 for the home team. They added another insurance run in the eighth when Fajardo led off with a single and stole his 47th base of the season, advancing to third on a throwing error on the play. Patrick Winkel then brought him in with a sac fly for a 5-2 lead.

Aaron Rozek finished the final two scoreless innings, picking up his first save with the Wind Surge in the process. He allowed one hit and struck out three.

Both teams had just six hits on the game, but the home runs for Wichita provided enough scoring. Garry Jr. was the only hitter with multiple knocks, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Fajardo scored two runs and stole two bases.

Top 10 major league prospects, Ethan Salas and Jackson Merrill of the Missions and San Diego Padres organization, finished the game a combined 1-for-8, with Merrill striking out twice. Salas signed in January and turned 17 in June. He is the younger brother of Kernels infielder Jose Salas . 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Lake County 1, Cedar Rapids 2
Box Score
The Kernels got a very solid, if unspectacular, start from right-hander Andrew Morris. In six innings he held the Captains to just one run on four hits. He struck out only two and walked three, working around traffic to win the battles all game. He improved to 5-1 in the Midwest League as his bullpen and a new hitter in the lineup took care of business.

Cedar Rapids tied the game at one in the bottom of the fourth, with Luke Keaschall taking advantage of a pair of walks in front of him to drive in a run with a single in his first game as a Kernel. He struck again in the sixth, driving in Jorel Ortega with another single to give the home team a 2-1 lead.

Mike Paredes came on for the seventh inning and worked two scoreless frames. He allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out three.

Still up by one in the ninth, the Kernels went to Jarret Whorff to close it out. He struck out the first hitter he faced before giving up a single. The Captains got the tying run to third base, but Whorff got both hitters after the single to pick up his second save with Cedar Rapids.

The Kernels had just six hits on the game, but Keaschall came through with runners in scoring position, collecting both their hits in 10 such at-bats. Emmanuel Rodriguez joined him in the multiple hit category, finishing 2-for-4 with a double. Noah Cardenas also added a double to the effort.

Jeff Johnson of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids has been following and covering the Kernels for a long time, including all of the seasons since 2013 when the Twins spent their first season in Cedar Rapids. He notes that this 2023 team is one of the best in the city's vast baseball history. Please follow Jeff on Twitter/X at @jeje66, and check out his article on how good this team has been. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers @ Clearwater - Postponed.

As Hurricane Idalia approaches the gulf coast, games in the Florida State League are being postponed and/or canceled. Tuesday’s matchup is currently scheduled to be made up on September 1st, while Wednesday’s contest has been canceled.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Austin Brice, St. Paul Saints (W, 2 IP, H, R, 5 K)
Hitter of the Day - Yunior Severino, St. Paul Saints (1-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out our full top 20 list here and how they performed on Tuesday below!

#1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, BB, 2 K
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2B
#7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, BB, K, SB (14)
#8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-3, 2 K
#10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, 2 RBI
#13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
#14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI, 2 K
#16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 2 H, ER, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Columbus @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (Triple-A debut)
San Antonio @ Wichita (6:35 PM CDT) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (3-0, 1.57 ERA)
Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Cory Lewis (4-1, 2.77 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Clearwater - Canceled.

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

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[Dman]

Good to see Helman back and popping HR's.  That injury was a huge bummer but at least he is back looking like pretty  much the same hitter.

I have to say I had kind of given up on Willi Joe Gary but here he is doing better than Tanner Schobel at AA.  I don't understand what changed but he is hitting for good power and all his other tools are plus so if he finds that hit tool on a consistent basis that would be quite the break for the Twins.  Still a long way to go but it is nice to say something positive about the young man for once.  He hasn't had much press to this point.

Andrew Morris with another really good outing and that pen for Cedar Rapids is a rock.  Very close game but they managed the win with a very well pitched game.

 

[terrydactyls]

Small Sample Size Alert!!!!  The Twins' 2023 draft is looking very good so far.

[roger]

Cedar Rapids is 31 games over .500.  WOW!  And Wichita is only 4 games under .500.  It seems that team never loses after losing most of the first half.  

When I watched that clip of Severino, I kept thinking he reminds me of Clevland's Ramirez.  Is that a fair comparison?  Could he possibly be that good in a couple years?  Is his defense at third base adequate?  Or is he better suited for second?

Sure going to be interesting watching the front office deal with their infielders going into spring training 2024.  As of today they would have AK, Polonco, Julien, Farmer, Correa, Lewis Miranda, Gordon and Castro (I am assuming Gallo is gone).  Add Solano should they decide to bring him back.  The best prospects next up would be Lee, Martin and Severino.  And they are all close.  That could be as many as thirteen players for 6 or 7 spots on their roster.  Yes, the three prospects can begin their season at St. Paul and Castro and Gordon also play outfield, but it sure seems that one or more will have to go if they pick up Polo's option and bring Solano back.  Hopefully, they can find a good trading partner to bring back someone to fill a position of need.

 

[mickster]

17 minutes ago, roger said:

Cedar Rapids is 31 games over .500.  WOW!  And Wichita is only 4 games under .500.  It seems that team never loses after losing most of the first half.  

When I watched that clip of Severino, I kept thinking he reminds me of Clevland's Ramirez.  Is that a fair comparison?  Could he possibly be that good in a couple years?  Is his defense at third base adequate?  Or is he better suited for second?

Sure going to be interesting watching the front office deal with their infielders going into spring training 2024.  As of today they would have AK, Polonco, Julien, Farmer, Correa, Lewis Miranda, Gordon and Castro (I am assuming Gallo is gone).  Add Solano should they decide to bring him back.  The best prospects next up would be Lee, Martin and Severino.  And they are all close.  That could be as many as thirteen players for 6 or 7 spots on their roster.  Yes, the three prospects can begin their season at St. Paul and Castro and Gordon also play outfield, but it sure seems that one or more will have to go if they pick up Polo's option and bring Solano back.  Hopefully, they can find a good trading partner to bring back someone to fill a position of need.

 

Miranda and Gordon should not be in the mix.   Polanco is a question mark on the pickup.   If Julien picks up 1B then AK can do some time in the OF.   Castro, I am not sure on.

I think they will look for trading partners for Miranda and possibly Martin.     We had Steer and Encarnacion-Strand in this discussion as well, and a lot are not happy about the Mahle trade.   I think it was good at the time.   If we hadn't made that we would really have a log jam.

 

[Steve Lein]

30 minutes ago, roger said:

When I watched that clip of Severino, I kept thinking he reminds me of Clevland's Ramirez.  Is that a fair comparison?  Could he possibly be that good in a couple years?  Is his defense at third base adequate?  Or is he better suited for second?

He can remind you of Ramirez, sure! I wouldn't call it a fair comparison necessarily (Ramirez is a high expectation), but I can see similarities.

Severino has been playing mostly 1B with the Saints, but some 2B, and 3B as well. Can fill in at some spots in a pinch. I thought he looked pretty good at first yesterday, made a nice pick.

Fun stat, Severino ranks #7 in all of the minor leagues in home runs this season, with 29. The MiLB leader has 34.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, roger said:

Cedar Rapids is 31 games over .500.  WOW!  And Wichita is only 4 games under .500.  It seems that team never loses after losing most of the first half.  

When I watched that clip of Severino, I kept thinking he reminds me of Clevland's Ramirez.  Is that a fair comparison?  Could he possibly be that good in a couple years?  Is his defense at third base adequate?  Or is he better suited for second?

Sure going to be interesting watching the front office deal with their infielders going into spring training 2024.  As of today they would have AK, Polonco, Julien, Farmer, Correa, Lewis Miranda, Gordon and Castro (I am assuming Gallo is gone).  Add Solano should they decide to bring him back.  The best prospects next up would be Lee, Martin and Severino.  And they are all close.  That could be as many as thirteen players for 6 or 7 spots on their roster.  Yes, the three prospects can begin their season at St. Paul and Castro and Gordon also play outfield, but it sure seems that one or more will have to go if they pick up Polo's option and bring Solano back.  Hopefully, they can find a good trading partner to bring back someone to fill a position of need.

 

Severino is not a great defender; his best position is "hitter". but he could be pretty good at 1B, and I suspect that's where he'll end up.

Gordon is likely out of the Twins plans after a lost season, but even if he's still in consideration, it won't be for the infield. They've shown no interest in trying him at 3B, have tried to keep him away from SS except in an emergency, and he only really got time at 2B this season when Polanco and Farmer were both down. Martin is likely going to find his future more in the OF as well; while he can play 2B just fine he fills an OF slot even better and we're stacked at 2B.

But there's no question that the Twins have a lot of options for the infield for 2024. I suspect AK will be the preferred starter at 1B, with Julien at 2B, Correa at SS, and Royce at 3B. Castro comes back as a utility guy with Farmer, and Martin moving to the OF primarily. Miranda, Severino, and Lee will be on the 40-man and the first options out of AAA, with Polanco very possibly being dealt. (that said, I could also see Farmer being moved if they think Polanco would be a fit as more of a super-utility and if Castro/Lewis could backup SS). Solano could get brought back under this scenario, but it would leave us a little thin in the OF unless the FO decided to keep 14 position players (highly unlikely).

It's a good problem to have, but it does mean you have to make the calls right on who to deal.

Severino is having a very good season and will definitely be factoring into the Twins plans. 29 HRs in a season is nothing to sneeze at, here's hoping he crosses 30 for the year!

[Seth Stohs]

2 hours ago, roger said:

When I watched that clip of Severino, I kept thinking he reminds me of Clevland's Ramirez.  Is that a fair comparison?  Could he possibly be that good in a couple years?  Is his defense at third base adequate?  Or is he better suited for second?

Fair comparison? No.

Could he be that good? No. 

Defense at third base adequate? Not compared to Royce Lewis. 

Severino's played 2B and 3B and he's started playing some 1B with the Saints. I think he's finally put himself into a situation where the Twins have to add him to their 40-man roster (after not the last two offseasons). 

[roger]

2 hours ago, Steve Lein said:

He can remind you of Ramirez, sure! I wouldn't call it a fair comparison necessarily (Ramirez is a high expectation), but I can see similarities.

Severino has been playing mostly 1B with the Saints, but some 2B, and 3B as well. Can fill in at some spots in a pinch. I thought he looked pretty good at first yesterday, made a nice pick.

Fun stat, Severino ranks #7 in all of the minor leagues in home runs this season, with 29. The MiLB leader has 34.

I don't know enough about either Severino or Ramirez to make a informed comparison.  What got me thinking that was more how they appeared to me.  They looked kind of similar, Severino's size and watching him on that clip compared with what I remember from seeing Ramirez playing the Twins.  And we sure as heck wouldn't mind finding someone with Ramirez' talent, eh?

[roger]

1 hour ago, Seth Stohs said:

Fair comparison? No.

Could he be that good? No. 

Defense at third base adequate? Not compared to Royce Lewis. 

Severino's played 2B and 3B and he's started playing some 1B with the Saints. I think he's finally put himself into a situation where the Twins have to add him to their 40-man roster (after not the last two offseasons). 

Thanks, Seth.  What got me thinking about them is that he appears to me while watching that clip to look a bit like Ramirez.  Am talking about his build, etc.  That got me wondering, with his 30 home run power, could he maybe be something like him?

[2wins87]

6 minutes ago, roger said:

I don't know enough about either Severino or Ramirez to make a informed comparison.  What got me thinking that was more how they appeared to me.  They looked kind of similar, Severino's size and watching him on that clip compared with what I remember from seeing Ramirez playing the Twins.  And we sure as heck wouldn't mind finding someone with Ramirez' talent, eh?

I think some important things to consider with Ramirez is that he was already getting significant major league exposure at age 21, and before that he was making Arraez levels of contacts in the minors.  His contact ability has always been on another level not just compared to Severino but compared to nearly any other major or minor leaguer, and then he added better plate discipline and significantly more power starting at a young age in the majors.

Statistically, I think maybe Cal Raleigh is sort of in the ballpark as a potential comp as a switch hitter.

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Miranda, Severino, and Lee will be on the 40-man and the first options out of AAA,

Lee won't be added to the 40 man roster until they want him starting for the Twins.

[Old Crow]

Any chance tonigt's Saints game might be televised?

[Mike Sixel]

36 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Lee won't be added to the 40 man roster until they want him starting for the Twins.

Correct. 

[DocBauer]

Great to see Helman back. What a disappointing season of missed opportunity for him due to injury. No guarantees, of course, but I'd be willing to bet he'd of spent half the year with the Twins were he healthy. 

No reason Severino can't be a good bat contributor as a 1B/DH who can help put at 2B/3B. Love that he's a switch hitter. Thought I heard he was pretty good from both sides?

Wasn't expecting Festa to be moved to AAA this season. Exciting!

Going to agree on several INF points. Gordon is INF only in emergency and might not be back. Lee won't be added to the 40 man until he's promoted to the Twins. (Just no need). Martin will be an OF who can help out at 2B and maybe 3B, though he might not need to. I believe one of Farmer or Polanco is back, but no room for both. When you factor in the $1M buyout of Polanco vs $10M option and Farmer expected to be around $8M, I'd go with Polanco and get him used to 1B to make him a daily option at all 4 spots. But I can see Farmer MAYBE avoiding arbitration and signing for less??? Either way, room for just the one. Castro plays INF AND OF. Prato and Helman do the same and provide competition and depth, depending on 40 man and rule 5 implications. 

A lot of depth, a lot of options for the 2024 INF.

[DJL44]

38 minutes ago, Old Crow said:

Any chance tonigt's Saints game might be televised?

On MILB.tv. This weekend's games are over the air broadcast.

[twinsfan02]

What was Helman's injury? He was out a long time

[stringer bell]

I wonder if there are a lot of Twins front office types watching the Saints game tonight. 
 

So far, both Buxton and AK have hits as well as Martin and Lee. 

[FlyingFinn]

4 hours ago, twinsfan02 said:

What was Helman's injury? He was out a long time

Separated shoulder I believe.