Twins Minor League Report (9/20): Kernels Win Midwest League Championship

[Seth Stohs]

The minor league seasons are running down, but on Wednesday night, the Cedar Rapids Kernels wrapped up an incredible season. They won their division in the first half and again in the second half, and it all culminated with the first Midwest League Championship for the Kernels in 29 years! 

Image courtesy of Jeff Johnson

Just four more games to go in the Twins minor league season. The Saints will play four more home games. The rest of the affiliates seasons are done. However, the Cedar Rapids Kernels season ended on Wednesday night in the best way a season can end... with a championship!! 

Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. 

TRANSACTIONS
Before Wednesday’s morning game in Cincinnati, the Twins placed shortstop Carlos Correa on the Injured List. To take his spot on the Twins roster, the team called up outfielder Trevor Larnach. 

AWARDS
Before they played their games on Wednesday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels learned that several of their players were recognized for their work in the Midwest League. Former Twins draft pick, prospect, infielder and outfielder Brian Dinkelman was named the league’s Manager of the Year. The Kernels had the best record in the league at 82-50. This is his fourth season as the Kernels’ manager after spending several seasons as the team’s hitting coach. 

Outfielder Kala’i Rosario led the Midwest League with 21 home runs and 94 RBI. He was named a league All-Star and the Midwest League’s MVP. His 94 RBI were 21 more than second on the list. He ranked among the Top 10 in the league in Slugging Percentage (.467), OPS (.831), Hits (112), Doubles (27), and Walks (75). In addition, he had 13 outfield assists from his right field position. 

This is the second straight year in which a member of the Kernels was named the league’s MVP. Last season, you may recall, Christian Encarnacion-Strand won the award. 

In addition to Rosario, the Kernels had three more players make the postseason All Star team. Outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez was named as the designated hitter. He hit .240/.400/.463 with 16 homers. He had 92 walks which was tied for best in the league. Infielder Tanner Schobel was named the All Star third baseman. He played 77 games for the Kernels before his promotion to Wichita. He was leading the league in home runs when he was promoted and still ranked in the top five in several other categories. Finally, Miguel Rodriguez was named the most dominant reliever. He also was promoted to Wichita but not until early August. He had a 2.85 ERA. He had 42 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 41 innings. He also had 14 Saves.

On Tuesday, Fort Myers catcher/outfielder Ricardo Olivar was named to the Florida State League All Star team. In 100 games, the 22-year-old from Venezuela hit .285/.403/.452 (.855) with 28 doubles, 10 homers, 58 RBI and 59 walks. In nearly 650 innings split between catcher and the outfield, he had just four errors on the season. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 6, Toledo 3
Box Score
Simeon Woods Richardson started on Wednesday night for the Saints against the Tigers top affiliate. He gave up a run in the top of the first and two in the third inning, but he kept battling and completed 5 2/3 innings. He gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out four batters. 

Austin Brice recorded four outs. He gave up two hits, but no runs. Finally Cole Sands worked two scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out two batters. 

The Saints tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning when Brooks Lee’s eighth Saints double scored Austin Martin, who had doubled to lead off the inning.

Down 3-1, the Saints mounted a rally in the bottom of the fourth inning. The inning started with walks by Gilberto Celestino and Anthony Prato. That brought Chris Williams to the plate and along with giving the Saints a lead, he also made a little Saints history. His 21st home run of the year placed him ahead of Brent Rooker who had 20 homers for the Saints in 2021, their first year as a Twins affiliate.

Two batters later, Brooks Lee launched his fifth home run since joining the Saints to give the team a 5-3 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the team got a little insurance. Lee led off with a walk. Yunior Severino was then hit by a pitch. After a ground out advanced both runners, DaShawn Keirsey singled to drive in Lee with the team’s sixth run.

The Saints have just four more games remaining, but for those of you near the Twin Cities, all four games are at CHS Field. Check out a game or four this weekend. Click here to order tickets. 

And… be sure to watch The Saint of Second Chances on Netflix. Great documentary on former Saints owner Mike Veeck, his family’s history in the game, and how the Saints opportunity may have been the best thing for him.

KERNELS NUGGETS
MWL Championship Game 2
Cedar Rapids 4, Great Lakes 2  
Box Score
The teams got through four-and-a-half innings on Tuesday night before the rains came and the game was suspended. Righty Andrew Morris started the game and gave up one run on three hits over five innings. He had seven strikeouts with no walks.

On Wednesday, the game continued. The Kernels immediately tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Carson McCusker singled in Luke Keaschall. 

In the top of the sixth, Mike Paredes came in and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in just a third of an inning. None of the singles were hit hard, but they were very well placed. John Klein came in for his first Kernels appearance in Cedar Rapids. He gave up one run on three hits over 2 2/3 innings. He had five strikeouts. AJ Labas worked a scoreless ninth inning. 

Down 4-1 going to the bottom of the ninth, the Kernels mounted an intriguing comeback. The inning started with back-to-back walks to Jose Salas and Carson McCusker. Noah Miller followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-2. 

The Loons manager, Daniel Nava, went to his closer, lefty Benony Robles. The southpaw got Emmanuel Rodriguez to strike out on three pitches. Kala’i Rosario came to the plate with chants of “MVP! MVP!” ringing through the stadium. He fell behind 1-2 but was able to work a walk to load the bases with one out. 

Unfortunately, an infield fly and a strikeout ended the game and sent this series to a winner-take-all Game 3. 

MWL Championship Series Game 3
Cedar Rapids 7, Great Lakes 6  
Box Score
Because of the suspended game, Game 3 was reduced to just a seven inning game. Despite jumping out to a big lead early, this game wasn’t decided until that 21st out landed in Emmanuel Rodriguez’s glove. The Kernels won their first Midwest League championship since 1994! 

In the bottom of the first inning, the Kernels got singles from Noah Miller and Kala’i Rosario. Miller scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Andrew Cossetti to give the team the 1-0 lead. 

Starting pitcher Cory Lewis had his second straight 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, and the Kernels supported him in grand style in the bottom of the inning. Luke Keaschall and Noah Cardenas started the inning with walks. After a strikeout, Carson McCusker walked to load the bases. Following a pitching change, there was another strikeout. But Emmanuel Rodriguez came to the plate and launched his third home run of this three-game series, a grand slam to give the Kernels a 5-0 lead after two innings.

Lewis gave up a leadoff single in the third inning, but the runner was quickly erased on a Miller-to-Keaschall-to-Ortega double play. So through three innings, Lewis faced nine batters. Lewis gave up a run in the fourth inning on a walk and later a single. However, the fifth inning did not go well for him. After a leadoff single, he got a fly out and a force out. Things were looking good. However, back-to-back singles gave the Loons a second run and ended Lewis’s game. Gabriel Yanez came with runners on the corners. Catcher Dalton Rushing, the top prospect in the Dodgers organization and a Top 50 prospect in the game, greeted him with a two-run double which cut the Kernels lead to 5-4. 

The Kernels responded well in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rodriguez led off with a walk, and Rosario followed with a single. A wild pitch advanced runners to second and third base. After one out, Jorel Ortega walked to load the bases. Luke Keaschall followed by working a walk that scored Rodriguez. Noah Cardenas then flew out to left field, deep enough to allow Rosario to score a second insurance run and make it 7-4 Kernels. 

Yanez remained in the game for the sixth inning. He got a groundout and a strikeout before giving up a double. Manager Brian Dinkelman went to his closer, John Stankiewicz, hoping for a four-out save. The right-hander recorded a strikeout to end the threat. The Kernels coaxed three more walks in the bottom of the sixth but were unable to add on. 

On to the top of the seventh inning, three outs from a championship… but it couldn’t just be easy, right?

Stankiewicz started the inning with an infield pop out. However, the next batter was hit by a pitch. However, a ground ball to short meant a force out at second but no out at first base. That brought Rushing to the plate again. And, as you would expect, he launched a long home run to cut the Kernels lead to 7-6.

Fortunately, after falling behind the next batter 2-0, Stankiewicz got a flyout to Emmanuel Rodriguez. He made the catch, and the celebration ensued!

 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day – Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, 2B(8), HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K 
Pitcher of the Day – John Klein (Cedar Rapids) - 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 45 pitches, 32 strikes (71.1%)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. 

#1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B(8), HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K.
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - Game 2 (1-for-4, BB, 3 K), Game 3 (1-for-2, 2 BB, HR(3), 2 R, 4 RBI)
#7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(11), R, 2 K
#10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - Game 2 (2-for-4, R, K), Game 3 (0-for-1, 2 BB, R, RBI)
#13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - Game 2 (0-for-4, BB, K), Game 3 (2-for-3, BB, R, SB, K).
#14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, BB, 2B(2), HBP
#15 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 95 pitches, 61 strikes (64.2%)
#19 - Cory Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - Game 3 (4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 69 pitches, 45 strikes (65.2%))

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES
Toledo @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (5-9, 5.31 ERA)  

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics!

 

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[AceWrigley]

Learning to win down on the farm. I can dig it. Congrats to the Kernels, the cream of the crop.

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, AceWrigley said:

Learning to win down on the farm. I can dig it. Congrats to the Kernels, the cream of the crop.

I agree... and even Wichita, they were not eliminated until the final day of the season, which is incredible considering how bad they played in the first half. But they really turned in on in the second half and played great down the stretch. 

[nclahammer]

Congratulations to the Cedar Rapids Kernels on their Midwest League Championship!   Loved watching them play ball this summer.

[mikelink45]

I know that the team has to be thinking about the future and does not want to bring Lee to the majors to start the clock ticking, but without that restriction he would have been a better call up than Larnach when Lewis and Correa went down.

[jorgenswest]

34 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I know that the team has to be thinking about the future and does not want to bring Lee to the majors to start the clock ticking, but without that restriction he would have been a better call up than Larnach when Lewis and Correa went down.

I disagree. I don’t think it was about starting a clock ticking. They still have Castro, Farmer, Polanco, Julien and Solano that can handle the infield for the remaining 9.

Any new 40 man decision needs to be about the playoff roster and not the roster for the last 9 games. If they get to the playoffs and are thin in the infield they might consider Lee and Martin. They also might have Paddack and Stewart thriving that can be a real upgrade to the bullpen but need 40 man roster spots.

[Trov]

39 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I know that the team has to be thinking about the future and does not want to bring Lee to the majors to start the clock ticking, but without that restriction he would have been a better call up than Larnach when Lewis and Correa went down.

It is not the clock at this point, it would require someone to go on 60 day, and ask the league for a waiver to use him in the playoffs at this point.  My guess the league would not give waiver, unless it was either Lewis or CC that went on the 60 day IL, instead someone else.  I could be wrong, but my guess that is consideration as well. 

[jorgenswest]

3 minutes ago, Trov said:

It is not the clock at this point, it would require someone to go on 60 day, and ask the league for a waiver to use him in the playoffs at this point.  My guess the league would not give waiver, unless it was either Lewis or CC that went on the 60 day IL, instead someone else.  I could be wrong, but my guess that is consideration as well. 

Agree that it is not about the clock but I don’t think it help to put Lewis or Correa on the 60 day IL.

Quote

A player who doesn't meet said criteria for postseason eligibility can still be added to a team's roster in the postseason via petition to the Commissioner's Office if the player was in the organization on Aug. 31 and is replacing someone who is on the injured list and has served the minimum amount of time required for activation. (For example, a player on the 10-day injured list who has been on it for at least 10 days, or a player who has been on the 60-day injured list for at least 60 days.)

They will not have met the minimum for the 60. I think they can DFA someone to make room on the 40 and then petition the league office as a replacement for Gallo who will have completed his 10 days. 

[Patzky]

8 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

Learning to win down on the farm. I can dig it. Congrats to the Kernels, the cream of the crop.

Cream Corn! (Someone was going to say it..)

[LonelyseatinMOA]

2 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I know that the team has to be thinking about the future and does not want to bring Lee to the majors to start the clock ticking, but without that restriction he would have been a better call up than Larnach when Lewis and Correa went down.

I don't know about that. Although he had a great game yesterday he has really slowed down since his promotion to AAA. It seems to me that is where he needs to be right now. However, he should be near the top of the list for a promotion starting 2024 with a chance to break onto the team after spring training. 

[saviking]

I remember seeing the Kernals play in Peoria very early in the season. And as they say, if it plays in Peoria it plays in the rest of the country 🙃

seriously, I was amazed at all of the talent the team had. Witchita is going to be a fun team to watch next year ..

[roger]

What a fantastic season for the Kernels.  Congrats!!

One point of housekeeping, Seth.  In your game report above, you list the score for game 2 as Kernels 4, Loons 2.  Was confused when reading it why they then played a game 3, then saw it was backwards when I went to the box score.

ERod sure keeps giving us signs that he could be special.  Certainly a few things to work on, but this kid just might be the real deal.  Meanwhile, Rosario was the league MVP.  Kind of flew under the radar a bit as many of us focused on what ERod was doing.  A bit surprised none of their starting pitchers made the all-star team.  Appreciated the comment by Dinkelman about winning it all.

Gonna be interesting to see how many pitchers who are rehabbing at St. Paul will be added to the Twins roster.  Gotta believe Stewart will be added.  Maybe tomorrow.  Also see that Buxton will be rehabbing in St. Paul this weekend.

[PDX Twin]

Quote

MWL Championship Game 2
Cedar Rapids 4, Great Lakes 2

I think this might be in error...

[Alex Schieferdecker]

Exciting end to the season for the Twins minor leaguers.

Brooks Lee looks ready for 2024. Emmanuel Rodriguez has recovered all of his prospect stock after his terrible start. Austin Martin has recovered some of his usefulness stock after a bad professional career and could be a good utility option competing with Castro next year. Luke Keaschall might have been a real find. And I'm noticing Noah Miller's name in these write-ups more often.

Hopefully strong finishes to the year from SWR, David Festa, and Marco Raya also portend good seasons ahead.

Things are looking up!

[2wins87]

Great to see the Kernels come out on top.  That was a really stacked roster for most of the season.  Outside of top prospect ERod, pretty much the whole lineup was full of legitimate prospects, maybe not future stars but a lot of guys who are still young enough for the league and could easily figure to be future role players at the very least.  The rotation was also full of guys who have shown some promise in their first year out of college who could be just a few steps away from turning into top pitching prospects.

I caught parts of both playoff series.  I came away pretty impressed with the playoff run that Cardenas had.  He was really great working the count and finished 4 for 11 with 8 walks and only 1 K in his 5 games.  He's not a guy that has gotten much attention but with a good defensive reputation as a catcher he could certainly turn into a solid major leaguer still.

I didn't catch much of Culpepper's start, though he seemed to have been dominant.  I was impressed with Morris in his second start bouncing back from a rough first outing.  He was just cruising outside of one mistake.  It was good to see 12 Ks in 10 playoff innings too, since the K rate this season was the one weak spot in his profile.

I think most of the Cedar Rapids team should start next year in AA, so the Wichita team should hopefully be a lot of fun next year.

 

[FlyingFinn]

52 minutes ago, roger said:

ERod sure keeps giving us signs that he could be special.  Certainly a few things to work on, but this kid just might be the real deal.

I listened to part of the game last night. Adding together his stats and some comments on TD, parts of him are clones of Julien. He doesn't swing at those borderline pitches which gives him a lot of walks and a lot of looking third strikes. But when the pitchers bring it in there, he has the power to blast it out of the park. Easier to change him to swing more at 2 strike pitches than to stop a player who swings at anything they can reach.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, roger said:

What a fantastic season for the Kernels.  Congrats!!

One point of housekeeping, Seth.  In your game report above, you list the score for game 2 as Kernels 4, Loons 2.  Was confused when reading it why they then played a game 3, then saw it was backwards when I went to the box score.

ERod sure keeps giving us signs that he could be special.  Certainly a few things to work on, but this kid just might be the real deal.  Meanwhile, Rosario was the league MVP.  Kind of flew under the radar a bit as many of us focused on what ERod was doing.  A bit surprised none of their starting pitchers made the all-star team.  Appreciated the comment by Dinkelman about winning it all.

I'm always impressed when someone takes a team that on paper doesn't have much for pitching and gets very good perrfomances out of the pitching staff. Good job by Dinkelman and his staff.

[darwin22]

Although transplanted to Missouri 30+ years ago for a teaching job, I still claim my "Iowa roots" as I grew just north of there (Cedar Falls) in the 70s and attended the University of Northern Iowa in the mid 80s.

Great seeing the Kernels reward their fans, coaches and themselves with a well earned MW league championship!

Disappointed that I didn't make the time for a road trip to CR this summer after having done so the last two years.

As others have noted, the Wind Surge roster should be stocked next year as I'd assume a large number of these players will move up to Wichita next summer.   I will definitely be making a trip to Wichita or Springfield from the KC area to check out these young and talented players!

[jkcarew]

5 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Adding together (Rodriquez’s) stats and some comments on TD, parts of him are clones of Julien. He doesn't swing at those borderline pitches which gives him a lot of walks and a lot of looking third strikes.

Fair. Obviously, he brings more potential defensive value than Julien. On-field personality is also quite different, as well…to put it in understated terms…he has a lot of “flair”.

[jkcarew]

In general, a very successful year for top prospects. Performance and health-wise.

[Linus]

21 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

Learning to win down on the farm. I can dig it. Congrats to the Kernels, the cream of the crop.

So creamed corn?