Twins Minor League Report (4/6): Winning Ways Powered Affiliates

[Ted Schwerzler]

The Wichita Wind Surge wasted no time for an offensive explosion, and it was a bit of everyone as they put up 13 runs for their first victory of the year. Fort Myers got contributions from plenty in Charlee Soto’s professional debut, and the Saints did enough to back pitching dominance on Saturday.

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Charlee Soto)

TRANSACTIONS
No transactions on Saturday. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 3, Nashville 0
Box Score

Plenty of intrigue lies on how well the St. Paul Saints rotation comes out of the gate. With the Twins rotation expected to have depth issues, it will be some of these arms that can step up. Among them is Brent Headrick, and for the second straight outing, he was solid. Working a scoreless five innings, Headrick gave up just a pair of hits, scattered three walks, and struck out seven.

Scoring kicked off in the 3rd inning when Yoyner Fajardo hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot, to put the Saints on the board. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. followed his lead and went back-to-back with his own jack in the very next at bat. 

The sides settled in trading zeroes for a bit, but the new Castillo announced his presence in the 6th inning. Diego A. Castillo, singled with Jose Miranda at third base, and St. Paul’s lead grew to 3-0. Patrick Winkel was stranded 90 feet from the plate to end the inning. After Ronny Henriquez blanked the Sounds over two innings, St. Paul pulled a fast one and put reliever Diego Castillo into the game as well.

Hobie Harris came on for the save in back-to-back nights and, despite issuing a pair of walks, slammed the door once again. The Saints turned seven hits, two of which came from Fajardo, into four runs. The lineup watched as their pitchers punched out ten to keep them in command.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 13, Frisco 3
Box Score

Hoping to exact revenge for the Opening Day loss, Wichita turned to Travis Adams on the bump. He put the Wind Surge in a great place by working five innings of two-run baseball. Both were unearned tallies, and came on a hit and a walk. Adams struck out four.

Responding to the RoughRiders pair of 3rd inning runs, Wichita doubled up the output. Emmanuel Rodriguez drove in the first Wind Surge run when Kyler Fedko touched home on his single to center field. Tanner Schobel then clubbed a double off the wall to bring in both Alerick Soularie and Rodriguez on the knock. A Kala’i Rosario single scored Schobel, and the four-run frame was the first crooked number of the night for the home team.

Not to be outdone in the 3rd inning, Wichita upped the ante in the 5th inning. Andrew Cossetti scored Soularie and Rodriguez on a line drive single, and Ben Ross then singled to right bringing Cossetti home. With a 7-2 lead, Jefferson Morales lined another base hit to center, this one good enough to bring Rosario and Ross across the plate. By the time the inning came to an end, Wichita had a seven-run margin and comfortable 9-2 lead.

Of course, it always makes sense to add more, and Schobel did just that with a run-scoring single in the 5th inning that brought Rodriguez home to score his third run of the game. Even the one-run response by Frisco in the top of the 6th inning kept it a 10-3 game.

After demolishing Arizona Fall League pitching for dingers, Rosario picked up where he left off, launching his first of 2024. The three-run blast in the bottom of the 8th inning made it a 13-3 game as he brought home both Schobel and Cossetti on the big fly. Wichita finished with 14 hits and all nine batters reaching base. Schobel and Rosario both had three hits while Rodriguez and Cossetti added a pair of their own.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Beloit 2, Cedar Rapids 1
Box Score

The Kernels sought to get their first win of the season after dropping a tilt on Opening Day. John Klein put them in a great position to do it, and his five innings were the highlight of this one. Allowing just three hits and a walk, he struck out six and held Beloit scoreless.

Agustin Ruiz plated the game’s first run in the second inning when the Cedar Rapids right fielder lifted a sacrifice fly, scoring Jay Harry. Despite cruising through the rest of the contest, things went pear-shaped in the 9th inning.

Kyle Bischoff came on looking to grab the save. After striking out the first batter, he saw, a pair of walks was followed by a wild pitch and a walkoff single to give the Sky Carp their second win of the season.

Cedar Rapids mustered just four hits on Saturday, and no one came away with a pair. The Kernels also didn’t record an extra-base hit.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 6, Tampa 4
Box Score

After dropping their Opening Day tilt, Fort Myers was ready to even the score on Saturday. Charlee Soto made his official professional debut, and the Twins pitching prospect worked three innings allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk. He struck out three and threw 28 of his 44 pitches for strikes.

Walker Jenkins was not in the lineup for the Mighty Mussels after exiting just an inning into his 2024 season. The injury appears to be of the mild sort, and is a hamstring issue, but it’s a wait-and-see scenario for the Twins top prospect.

The Tarpons raced out to a 3-0 lead through the first three and a half innings, but Fort Myers showed up offensively during the bottom of the 4th inning. With runners on the corners, Carlos Aguiar took off for second base. Seeing the throw through, shortstop Brandon Winokur raced home and grabbed the first Mighty Mussels run. Billed as a toolsy prospect during draft time, Winokur has flashed that with power, speed, and positional flexibility during his early pro career.

In the bottom of the 5th inning, Fort Myers got even for the first time in the game. Rayne Doncon, acquired alongside Manuel Margot from the Los Angeles Dodgers, singled and scored Byron Chourio. Winokur then lifted a sacrifice fly later in the frame to plate Doncon and even the score at three.

A 6th inning Isaac Pena single scored both Chourio and Poncho Ruiz to give Fort Myers a 5-3 lead, their first of the day. A fielding error by center fielder Jackson Castillo helped to allow additional time for the Mighty Mussels to motor around the bases. If there was any doubt added by a 7th inning Tarpons run, Doncon dispelled it during the 8th inning with his first double of the season. Ruiz scored again, and the 6-4 lead was enough to seal this one for Fort Myers’ first win of the year. 

Jeremy Lee came on in relief of Soto and provided four innings of one-run baseball. He walked three, but gave up just two hits and struck out six. The effort earned him his first professional win. Nolan Santos earned his first professional hold, and Xander Hamilton recorded his first professional save.

Fort Myers got hits from seven of their nine starters in the contest, and Chourio, Doncon, and Ruiz had a pair apiece.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – John Klein (Cedar Rapids) - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Hitter of the Day – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 3-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR(1)

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

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Nashville (2:05 PM CST) – RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Frisco @ Wichita (1:05PM CST) – RHP Pierson Ohl (0-0, -.-- ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (1:05 PM CST) – RHP Christian MacLeod (0-0, -.-- ERA)
Fort Myers @ Tampa (11:05 AM CST) – RHP Tanner Hall (0-0, -.-- ERA)

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

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[FlyingFinn]

I just think that stacked team from Cedar Rapids last year is now at Wichita, with more great pitching left at Cedar Rapids ready to move up. Rodriguez, Schobel, Cossetti and Rosario are going to be fun to watch this year. Speaking of Cedar Rapids, their pitching is doing great (Morris yesterday and Klein today). They just can't hit anything, other than Gonzalez. 

[mikelink45]

Like the FlyingFinn I find Wichita my favorite team.  What a lineup!

Looking at the prospects list it is so sad to see the two pitchers both seriously injured and Walker's injury scares me.  If it is hamstring related it really worries me. 

[USNMCPO]

54 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Like the FlyingFinn I find Wichita my favorite team.  What a lineup!

Looking at the prospects list it is so sad to see the two pitchers both seriously injured and Walker's injury scares me.  If it is hamstring related it really worries me. 

I thought they had said that the injury was a mild quad not a hammy.

[jmlease1]

Fajardo is off to a nice start at AAA; I have to assume that he'll improve the OBP and take walks like he has through his whole minor league career and if his improvement in power production is for real then he's a very nice minor league Rule 5 grab. Could be a fun guy to watch and a useful depth piece.

Wichita lineup should be pretty damn good this year. Rosario is looking good so far, it'll be fun to see if he's able to keep making good contact all year and slamming the ball like this as he's rising in the minors. Rodriguez is definitely a beast. Lot of good hitters down there, and if they impressed in AA it's a really good sign.

[roger]

Had to check to see who this Chourio guy is.  See he was acquired as part of the Arraez/Lopez trade.  Could the Twins be so fortunate to get more out of that deal?

I know his bomb was late in a game that was over several innings earlier, but isn't it great seeing Rosario pick up from where he was at late last year?  Can this kid be part of the solution to the Twins corner outfield woes?  Of Rosario, ERod, Gonzales and Jenkins, he seems to be the one who could be the first to arrive.

[Dman]

The Cedar Rapids rotation is stacked so for John Klein to make that Rotation must mean he is pretty darn good,  He had a slow start last year but made it through three levels. He had a solid K9, but he didn't look like anything special to me last year and I was surprised by him making the starting 6 this year.  It looks like he wasn't drafted. Hoping someone on TD has the  low Down on him (i.e. what he throws, how hard he throws etc..)? He is off to a good start this year,

I know these are SSSS's, but nice to see Chourio off to a hot start and if his eye at the plate is improved he looks like he will be a tough out,  I am hoping he is a special bat so hopefully he keeps it up.

I am going to echo what others are saying about AA.  The first four in that lineup are Rodriguez whose arms look as big as my legs and was top 5 in OPS and HR's last year.  Then Schobel with a well rounded bat who led his league in HR's and OPS until he was promoted to AA last year. Then Cossetti who had a great year last year followed by Rosario the MVP of his league last year betting cleanup.  After that there is still Ross who has good power, Cardenas who is a tough out that lacks power and several other hitters who are just a tick below that level.  The one thing holding that team back might be the pen, but the offense should be there if those guys stay healthy.

Was also impressed with Adams first outing.  I had him as a reliever after a not great year last year, but it looks like he is ready to prove me wrong this year.

Granted the Twins top three prospects are lefties but after that the rest of the top 30 is righty dominated.  So they might want draft some lefty hitters this year.  Should be a fun year to prospect watch.

[mikelink45]

13 hours ago, Ted Schwerzler said:

Walker Jenkins was not in the lineup for the Mighty Mussels after exiting just an inning into his 2024 season. The injury appears to be of the mild sort, and is a hamstring issue, but it’s a wait-and-see scenario for the Twins top prospect.

Quote

Walker Jenkins was not in the lineup for the Mighty Mussels after exiting just an inning into his 2024 season. The injury appears to be of the mild sort, and is a hamstring issue, but it’s a wait-and-see scenario for the Twins top prospect.

I did not know hamstring until I read this in the article.

[FlyingFinn]

2 hours ago, Dman said:

but the offense should be there if those guys stay healthy.

After 7 batters today, Wichita has 6 runs with homers by Rosario and Cardenas.

[jkcarew]

Doncon is repeating low A (to start)…and he is off to the exact type of start there as you would hope. Keep it going kid, and get to AA!

Fine debut for Soto. Get acclimated, get comfortable, and the results will hopefully come.

Nice to see most of the top hitting prospects off to nice starts!

Severino (after Sunday) is now 0 - 23 to start the campaign. Thoughts and prayers.

[Doctor Wu]

It's good that Soto finally got to pitch in a real game. Not a super impressive start, but not horrible either. It feels like we will need to be patient with him while he works on his control. The strikeouts will no doubt be plentiful, I'm just worried about him giving up a bunch of hits or walking a lot of batters. But hey, it's VERY early days, so I'm just happy to see him pitching finally.