Twins Minor League Report (4/5): Three More Opening Days, but Jenkins' Day Ends Early

[Ted Schwerzler]

The affiliates not named the St. Paul Saints kicked off their 2024 regular seasons on Friday night. Some of that excitement was sapped when top prospect exited the game for Fort Myers after only one inning.

 

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

TRANSACTIONS

• Acquired INF Diego Castillo from Baltimore and assigned him to St. Paul
• INF Dalton Shuffield transferred from St. Paul to Wichita. 
• RHPs Cory Lewis and Mike Paredes were placed on the 7-Day IL for Wichita with right shoulder impingements. 
• 1B Aaron Sabato was placed on the Wichita IL with an oblique injury. 
• RHP Jack Dougherty starts the season on the Mighty Mussels 7-Day IL with a right shoulder impingement. 
• RHP Ricky Mineo is on the 7-Day IL for Fort Myers with a lat injury. 
• Catcher Daniel Pena and RHP Jacob King were added to the Mighty Mussels's roster. 
• OF Alec Sayre was released by the organization. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 6, Nashville 5
Box Score
David Festa took the ball for the Saints, and he was scheduled for a regularly scheduled outing. Not splitting with Randy Dobnak as he did in the delayed opener, he worked 2 2/3 innings but got up to 50 pitches. Allowing just a single run on four hits and a pair of walks, he struck out two.

After the Sounds took a 1st inning lead, Chris Williams evened things with his first double of the season. Anthony Prato scored on the play and put the sides neutral. In the 5th inning St. Paul took their first lead with a Patrick Winkel double bringing home both Williams and DaShawn Keirsey Jr.

Nashville got a run back in the 5th inning, but the Saints had a quick answer. In the 6th inning Prato brought home Jair Camargo on a ground out and Keirsey Jr. singled to score Yunior Severino. The 5-2 lead was the widest margin of the night Friday, and even a wild pitch leading to a run in the bottom of the 6th inning still left St. Paul with some breathing room.

The Sounds made their second error of the game on a Severino batted ball in the 7th inning, and Winkel scored to make it a 6-3 score. Nashville continued to claw back, and runs against both Michael Boyle and Jordan Balazovic in relief had them within one by the end of the 8th inning. Hobie Harris allowed a leadoff double in the 9th inning, but responded by slamming the door and grabbing the save.

Winkel highlighted the offense with a 3-for-5 night, and Williams joined him with a double of his own.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Frisco 6, Wichita 2
Box Score
Top pitching prospect Marco Raya was on the bump for Wichita’s Opening Day contest tonight. He worked three innings allowing just a single run on four hits. Raya got to just 46 pitches, but was efficient throwing 32 strikes. He struck out four and issued no free passes.

Down 1-0 in the 5th inning Noah Cardenas singled and scored Ben Ross to tie the game and give Wichita their first run of the season. The Roughriders added a pair in the 6th inning, but the Wind Surge responded with a run of their own in the bottom half when Ross drove in Emmanuel Rodriguez with a single of his own.

Frisco extended their lead with three more runs in the top of the 7th inning, and Wichita needed a sizable comeback if they were going to win on Opening Day. Veteran arm A.J. Alexy had a tough debut outing in his first within the Twins system. Kala'i Rosario attempted to spark the Wichita lineup with a one-out triple in the bottom of the 8th inning. After a pair of strikeouts, he wound up stranded and another scoring opportunity passed the Wind Surge by.

Ross recorded a pair of hits on the night and he was joined by Jake Rucker and Cardenas as they reached in the 9th. Down to just two outs left, Rodriguez recorded a double for his first extra-base hit of the season. His two-bagger cleared the bases and made it a 6-4 game. Schobel took a walk and Wichita had the winning run at the plate. Unfortunately, an Andrew Cossetti strikeout and Rosario flyout left the Wind Surge coming up short.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Beloit 3, Cedar Rapids 1
Box Score
Cedar Rapids traveled to Beloit kicking off their season, and Andrew Morris brought his best stuff. Working four innings against the Sky Carp, the Kernels starter blanked Beloit while giving up three hits and a walk. He struck out six.

The first seven innings saw both teams continue to go down in order. Neither side could crack the scoreboard, and it wasn’t until a pair of home runs in the 8th inning that Beloit was able to change the scoreboard. Looking to battle back in the top of the 9th inning, Jose Salas singled to score Gabriel Gonzalez. With Salas and Ricardo Olivar on base, Cedar Rapids had a threat, but couldn’t push anything else across.

Gonzalez was the lone Kernels batter with a pair of hits on the evening, and Misael Urbina’s double was the only extra-base hit. Luke Keaschall led off as the designated hitter, a spot he’ll play until he’s cleared to get back in the field.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Tampa 4, Fort Myers 2
Box Score

Ross Dunn was the Opening Day starter for Fort Myers tonight, and his four innings of work represented a solid outing. Giving up just a single run, he worked around three hits and walks while also striking out six. For a professional debut, he definitely made an impression.

The big news out of Fort Myers was bad luck injury news regarding top prospect Walker Jenkins. After making a running grab in center to start the game, he exited in the second inning. Jenkins suffered a quad injury earlier in the spring and scratched for the Spring Breakout game, but had recovered in time for MiLB Opening Day. 

Tampa grabbed the lead in the 3rd inning, but the Mighty Mussels grabbed their first of 2024 in the 6th inning. Yohander Martinez singled to score Brandon Winokur before a Cole Elvis force out brought in Poncho Ruiz. The lead didn’t last long as the Tarpons scored three in the top of the 7th inning, and the 4-2 tally is where this one would end.

Fort Myers has a roster loaded with prospect potential, but seeing someone like Jenkins go down so soon is a big blow. Both Martinez and Byron Chourio were responsible for the two-hit nights. None of the Mighty Mussels six hits went for extra bases.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris (Cedar Rapids) - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6K
Hitter of the Day – Patrick Winkel (St. Paul) - 3-5, R, 2 RBI, 2B(1), K

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#1– Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) – 0-1, K
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) – 1-4, 2 RBI, 2B(1), R, BB, 3 K
#4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 2-4, R
#5 – Marco Raya (Wichita) – 3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
#6 – David Festa (St. Paul) – 2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-3, R, BB, 3 K
#11 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 0-3, 2 BB, K
#12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 0-4, K
#13 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 1-4, 3B(1), K
#15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – 0-4
#16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-4, R, BB, 2 K
#17 – Matt Canterino (IL) – Shoulder injury
#18 – Connor Prielipp (IL) – UCL Surgery
#19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, BB, 2 K

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Nashville (6:35 PM CST) – RHP Brent Headrick (0-0, 4.91 ERA)
Frisco @ Wichita (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Travis Adams (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (1:05 PM CST) – RHP John Klein (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:05 PM CST) – RHP Charlee Soto (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

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

View full article

[Parfigliano]

Jenkins injury just fan fbomb fantastic.

[FlyingFinn]

Jenkins injury news is like Royce Lewis going down. It ruins the good news.

But there was some good pitching news. Andrew Morris was great for Cedar Rapids on the mound. Raya was good and and Ross Dunn had a good outing in Fort Myers. The Twins continue to be ultra conservative with Raya and Festa. Listened to some of the Saints game and the announcers knew in the first inning that Festa was going about 3 innings.

The Twins must really be beefing up their international program. If I counted correctly, 12 of the 16 hitters with Fort Myers are from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Mexico. There's another dozen, pitchers and hitters, on Cedar Rapids. AA and AAA combined only has about a half dozen.

[nclahammer]

Good to have all the boys back for a full report, awesome job TD!

[Fatbat]

42 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Jenkins injury news is like Royce Lewis going down. It ruins the good news.

But there was some good pitching news. Andrew Morris was great for Cedar Rapids on the mound. Raya was good and and Ross Dunn had a good outing in Fort Myers. The Twins continue to be ultra conservative with Raya and Festa. Listened to some of the Saints game and the announcers knew in the first inning that Festa was going about 3 innings.

The Twins must really be beefing up their international program. If I counted correctly, 12 of the 16 hitters with Fort Myers are from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Mexico. There's another dozen, pitchers and hitters, on Cedar Rapids. AA and AAA combined only has about a half dozen.

Its not just Raya and Festa getting the slow go treatment. Paul Skenes is only getting 3 innings at AAA Indy. 
Yes, we have loaded up international signing prospects.

[Karbo]

An awful lot of pitchers on the IL it seems.

[Guest]

Jenkins injured from and hug-and-kiss of the CF wall?  Oh, boy....  The video didn't look bad, but the Twins have that one wrapped in bubble wrap.  Bigger bad news is Cory Lewis' "right shoulder impingement."  Hope it's just 7 days....

[Doctor Gast]

Thanks Ted for the update. I'm a little confused on why the Saints are starting Helman at CF? Isn't Keirsey more qualified? And Helman is more of a utility guy, especially when Martin is not there. 

It was great to see Cardenas, our best defensive catcher in the system, being able to bat in our 1st run. & I'm disappointed that the Twins aren't able to develop Olivar, who is very athletic & has a lot of raw defensive talent, very quickly.

[roger]

We just can't enjoy having top prospects, can we?  

If my memory isn't totally gone, I recall that the pitcher in the movie "Summer Catch" was something Dunn?  Don't think it was Ross, maybe Ryan?  Will always remember seeing it two days after 9/11 in a theatre in Eden Prairie Mall with one other couple joining my wife and I.  Forget her name, but that gal from up north who is married to what's his first name Timberlake looked so good in that movie. 

Don't like seeing only one W in four games, but isn't it fantastic to be able to read a complete report this morning?  Thanks guys. 

[FlyingFinn]

3 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Thanks Ted for the update. I'm a little confused on why the Saints are starting Helman at CF? Isn't Keirsey more qualified? And Helman is more of a utility guy, especially when Martin is not there. 

Helman is an excellent defender. He plays CF more than LF and RF. Over 600 innings there and only 2 errors. His speed is right up there with Kiersey, maybe one notch below. Helman has been playing SS as well. To me, it tells me, if the Twins have 1 or 2 injuries, Helman would get the call first, before Kiersey, and they want him to get some games in at CF. Just guessing.

[Mike Sixel]

Sigh. Seriously? Ugh. 

[Ted Schwerzler]

13 hours ago, Minderbinder said:

Jenkins injured from and hug-and-kiss of the CF wall?  Oh, boy....  The video didn't look bad, but the Twins have that one wrapped in bubble wrap.  Bigger bad news is Cory Lewis' "right shoulder impingement."  Hope it's just 7 days....

Was told he is building back up alright, but that he wasn't out of the gate this spring so they are being cautious.

[Ted Schwerzler]

13 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Thanks Ted for the update. I'm a little confused on why the Saints are starting Helman at CF? Isn't Keirsey more qualified? And Helman is more of a utility guy, especially when Martin is not there. 

It was great to see Cardenas, our best defensive catcher in the system, being able to bat in our 1st run. & I'm disappointed that the Twins aren't able to develop Olivar, who is very athletic & has a lot of raw defensive talent, very quickly.

I think Helman's bat plays quite a bit more at the next level, so it's basically making sure he can fit everywhere. Helman is also solid in CF, and unlike most utility players that are kind of just average everywhere, he seems to get bounced from the premium positions by being a lesser prospect than some of his counterparts.

[Rosterman]

Severino 0-17 now with 9ks. Yikes!

[bean5302]

12 hours ago, Rosterman said:

Severino 0-17 now with 9ks. Yikes!

Falvey is already salivating... if only he could get his K rate up to 100%...