Twins Minor League Report (4/17): Duran Shows off Mussels; Gonzalez Leads Kernels to Split

[Seth Stohs]

The Twins, Saints, Wind Surge and the Kernels all played afternoon games on Wednesday. The Kernels played two games. 

There are still plenty of individual performances that are exciting. See how Gabriel Gonzalez did today. Which Mussels hitter showed of his muscles on Wednesday. Which pitchers did well? 

Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photo of Gabriel Gonzalez)

The Twins aren't hitting. The Saints aren't hitting. The Wind Surge aren't hitting. Injuries have certainly hurt the Twins, and that trickles down. The Saints have already had to add several players via trade to attempt to field a competitive lineup. It has been a frustrating start to the season for many. 

Also of note... The Twins have played 17 of 162 games on the schedule. The Saints have been able to stay near .500. The Wind Surge have lost nine in a row, but there is a lot of season left. It's way too early to panic at any of these levels, especially not the big leagues. 

Current Win-Loss Records 
Minnesota Twins: 6-11 
St. Paul Saints: 7-9
Wichita Wind Surge: 1-10 
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 5-5
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 4-7  

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

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Jack Noble was returned to Cedar Rapids from Wichita. He had spent about a week with the Wind Surge. 

RHP Ty Langenberg was placed on the Fort Myers Development List. 

Following their Wednesday afternoon game, the Saints announced the Twins signing of veteran utility man Tony Kemp. Read more about that move here.  

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 0, Indianapolis 1
Box Score
You can call this game what you want. The options include, but are not limited to: a.) a fantastic pitchers duel, b.) a game of missed opportunities and bad offense?

The latter probably is correct from the Saints perspective. St. Paul had just three hits in the game, one each for Diego A. Castillo, Alex Isola and Dalton Shuffield. Shuffield hit a double, the lone extra base hit. Anthony Prato reached base three times on walks. When they got on base, the team stole four bases. Yet, they went scoreless because they were 0-for-11 with Runners in Scoring Position and left eight on base. 

Yet, the Saints pitchers did well. David Festa made the start and struck out five batters over four scoreless innings. He gave up just two hits and walked two batters. Diego Castillo came in and got four outs. He gave up one hit in the sixth inning and was replaced by Scott Blewett who got the final two outs of that inning. Jorge Alcala struck out four batters over two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked two batters. Ryan Jenson came in for the ninth inning and gave up the game’s lone run on two hits and a walk. 

The game itself lasted 2 hours, 23 minutes… Before it began, the teams had to wait out a 62-minute rain delay. 

And the good news? On Thursday, they get to face Pirates top pitching prospect and the #2 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Paul Skenes.   

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 1, Tulsa 2 (11 innings)                                                                                                                                                                                                      Box Score
Despite playing two bonus innings, there was another low scoring game in Wichita on Wednesday afternoon. Down 1-0, the Wind Surge scored in the bottom of the fifth inning when Kyler Fedko singled to score Kala’i Rosario to tie the game. 

The game remained scoreless until the top of the 11th inning when Tulsa took the 2-1 lead and then held on in the bottom of the inning to win the game. 

Solid pitching for the Wind Surge in this one. Jarret Whorff started and gave up one run on two hits over four innings. He had just one strikeout to go with five walks and two hit batters. Effectively wild, right? Hunter McMahon came on and settled things down. He tossed three scoreless innings and allowed only a walk. Jared Solomon struck out three batters over two innings of scoreless, hitless ball. John Stankiewicz was given the unenviable task of working in extra innings. He got out of the 10th inning without the Manfred Man scoring, but gave up the unearned run in the 11th. The pitchers got themselves into trouble with the walks and hit batters, but Tulsa went just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base. Not good, but wait until you read the next paragraph. 

The Wind Surge found their way on base throughout this game. They had eight hits and walked another six times. However, they went just 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners on base. 

Kala’i Rosario went 1-for-2 and walked three times. Jorel Ortega was 1-for-3 and walked twice. Ben Ross was the lone Surge hitter with two hits. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Game 1: Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 5  
Box Score
Rain pushed the start of this week’s six game series between the Twins and Brewers’ Triple-A squads back a day. Weather was a bit better on Wednesday. An afternoon game was on the schedule, so they turned it into a doubleheader. 

The Kernels got on the scoreboard first in the top of the third. Nate Baez scored on a balk for the first run. Then Willie Joe Garry Jr scored on a groundout. The TimberRattlers scored twice in the bottom of the inning to tie it at two. 

A Jay Harry double in the top of the fourth inning scored Danny De Andrade to put Cedar Rapids in the lead. However, a Luis Lara RBI single was soon followed by a two-run Luke Adams home run, and Wisconsin was in the lead at 5-3. That was about it for the offenses and the game ended after seven innings at that same score. 

Andrew Morris made the start and was charged with five runs on 10 hits and two walks over 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four batters. Jacob Wosinski got the final out of the fourth and pitched a scoreless fifth frame. Juan Mendez pitched a scoreless sixth. 

A highlight of the game was Gabriel Gonzalez showing off his arm and throwing out a runner at the plate. 

Game 2: Cedar Rapids 8, Wisconsin 2
Box Score
The Kernels bats did arrive later in the afternoon. In the second inning of the second game, they scored three runs. Keoni Cavaco put them on the scoreboard with an RBI double scoring Agustin Ruiz. Gabriel Gonzalez came through with a two-run double to give them a three-spot in the inning. 

Jump ahead to the fourth inning. With the bases loaded. Rubel Cespedes hit a double that scored Dillon Tatum and Luke Keaschall. A Jose Salas single drove in Gonzalez from third base. Cespedes scored on a ground out by Misael Urbina. At that point, the Kernels had a fairly comfortable 7-2 lead. 

Cespedes add another RBI double in the sixth inning to drive in Gonzalez with the team’s eighth and final run. 

Zebby Matthews was on the mound and worked the first five innings. He gave up two runs on five hits. He struck out four batters and walked his usual… zero. Kyle Bischoff came on and struck out three batters over two one-hit innings.  

Gonzalez went 3-for-3 with a walk and two doubles in this game, pretty much his breakout game with his new organization. Cespedes went 2-for-3 with a walk and his two doubles. With three RBI, he is already at 14 for the season. Agustin Ruiz had a double and a walk in the game. Dillon Tatum went 2-for-3 with a walk. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 3, Jupiter 4
Box Score
Gregory Duran attempted to power the Mussels to a win. Angel Del Rosario attempted to use his speed to help his team. Unfortunately on this night, it wasn’t quite enough as Fort Myers lost a one-run decision at Hammond Stadium. 

Ross Dunn made the start for Fort Myers on Wednesday night. He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk over five innings. He had two strikeouts. Nolan Santos came on and gave up an unearned run on two hits and a walk over two innings. Julio Bonilla struck out two batters over two innings in his Mussel debut. He was a hit batter from two perfect innings. 

Duran went 2-for-4 with a triple, and a three-run home run. Angel Del Rosario went 1-for-3 with a walk and four stolen bases. He already has nine on the season. Rayne Doncon went 2-for-5 with his fourth double. 

 

 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-6, BB, 2-2B, 
Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (St. Paul) - 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K 

 

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

#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 0-for-4, IBB, 2 K
#4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 0-for-3, RBI, Game 2: 3-for-3, BB, 2-2B(3), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB.
#6 - David Festa (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 KJ, 57 pitches, 39 strikes (68.4%)
#7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, R, RBI, great catch! (played CF)
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, R, 2K.
#11 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-5, 2 K
#12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 1-for-4, SB(6), Game 2: 1-for-3, BB, R, K 
#13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-for-2, 3 BB, R, 
#15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 1-for-2, HBP, 2B(2), R, Game 2: 0-for-4, 2 K
#16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-for-3, BB, K, SB(1)
#19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 0-for-3 (catcher), Game 2: DNP.

 

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES
Iowa @ St. Paul (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Joe Gunkel (0-1, 7.27 ERA) vs Paul Skenes!!
Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (1-1, 7.04 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Cedar Rapids (6:40 PM CST) - RHP John Klein (0-0, 1.13 ERA)
Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) - Jeremy Lee (1-1, 2.08 ERA) 

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

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[FlyingFinn]

Looking for good news with the Twins playing poorly but there isn't a whole lot in the minors either. Festa and Alcala both pitched great. Whorff and Matthews did as well. Gabby Gonzalez broke out of a slump and had 3 hits. Cespedes continues his great start. De Andrade getting back and getting a hit is a positive on the injury side. 

[IndianaTwin]

Phooey. With the headline, I was hoping Jhoan had started a rehab assignment I wasn’t aware of. 

[Otaknam]

Festa pitches four innings and throws 57 pitches and the Twins top starter is taken out? Their handling of starters continues to baffle. 

[DJL44]

They have to stretch Festa out past 60 pitches if he is going to have any chance to compete for a spot in the rotation this season.

[Dman]

Man Matthews looks like a beast out there.  That guy is huge and he pitched well against a tough lineup. His defense kind of let him down at the start of the first with a slow roller that De Andrade didn't charge and then over threw the 1st baseman on.  The field was wet and it took too long for the ball to get to him.  Then a couple of bad break singles that found holes and they were down two runs.  Defense came through for him in the end of the inning to escape any more damage.  He then decided to pitch lights out the rest of the of way as he didn't give them much to hit. Matthews was not overly efficient and wouldn't have finished 5 innings without a double play ball at the end.  He got through this one bad weather and all with solid results.

Doncon continues to hit well and has looked pretty darn good at third IMO.  I do think he could play short just fine. but I guess that is De Andrade's spot for now. He is only 20 and has a 900 OPS through 36 at bats so a SSS, but nice to see him off to a good start.

Cespedas continues to rake and show off a power stroke this year.  The BABIP is high right now so he is going to come down to earth some, but that power should carry his OPS.  Hoping he can sustain and move up in a few months.

Festa with better control this time out, but still only 57 pitches.  I assume they are keeping those numbers down to slowly build up and save his arm some in case he is needed at the MLB level this year.  Still am interested in seeing him go longer because he typically wears down after about 60 pitches or so. His ERA looks nice but FIP and xFIP have him two runs higher.  Likely because his WHIP is currently at 1.72. Some work to be done but off to a good start non the less.

[LambchoP]

It really looks like Alcala should not have been the one sent down when Theilbar was activated. He's looked better than he has in years. Festa seems to be doing well, but they really need to stretch him out to see if he's going to have enough endurance to really stick as a starter, which the Twins are desperate for...

[Ghost of Kirby Puckett]

1 hour ago, Otaknam said:

Festa pitches four innings and throws 57 pitches and the Twins top starter is taken out? Their handling of starters continues to baffle. 

Greg Maddux agrees with you! 

[LewFordLives]

7 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

It really looks like Alcala should not have been the one sent down when Theilbar was activated. He's looked better than he has in years. Festa seems to be doing well, but they really need to stretch him out to see if he's going to have enough endurance to really stick as a starter, which the Twins are desperate for...

Especially when they had Tonkin on the roster, and now Bowman.  Yeah, I don't get it.  Did Alcala break one of Rocco's prized bobbleheads or something?

[roger]

Thought that Wichita was going to be loaded this year, Seth.  All those guys coming up from the Champion Kernels team, they should compete for the championship.  Shouldn't they?

1-10 is a disastrous start.  Your thoughts, Seth?

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

Festa with better control this time out, but still only 57 pitches.  I assume they are keeping those numbers down to slowly build up and save his arm some in case he is needed at the MLB level this year.  Still am interested in seeing him go longer because he typically wears down after about 60 pitches or so. His ERA looks nice but FIP and xFIP have him two runs higher.  Likely because his WHIP is currently at 1.72. Some work to be done but off to a good start non the less.

If that's the plan he'll be ready to join the team after they sell at the trade deadline.

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

Matthews was not overly efficient and wouldn't have finished 5 innings without a double play ball at the end.  He got through this one bad weather and all with solid results.

Always like to here when pitchers work through bad weather because they will certainly see some of that if they make it to the Twins some day.

 

1 hour ago, Dman said:

Doncon continues to hit well and has looked pretty darn good at third IMO.  I do think he could play short just fine.

You think he can stick at SS to MLB? Never seen him play so I'm just going off snippets I've read that he likely won't stick there. If Doncon can stick at SS, it increases my rating for him a lot.

[FlyingFinn]

16 minutes ago, roger said:

Thought that Wichita was going to be loaded this year, Seth.  All those guys coming up from the Champion Kernels team, they should compete for the championship.  Shouldn't they?

No Cory Lewis yet and Raya on a very short leash has hurt the starting pitching. The bullpen has blown some huge leads and has an ERA over 9.00. Also, Cedar Rapids started slow last year and then started winning a lot come about May, if I remember correctly.

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Otaknam said:

Festa pitches four innings and throws 57 pitches and the Twins top starter is taken out? Their handling of starters continues to baffle. 

Pretty much every team is doing this. Check out Seth's link up there for Paul Skenes, he's only going 3 innings per start and he probably should have gone directly from college to the majors. Just about all of the top prospect arms pitched fewer innings in 2023 than they did in 2022, and 2024 is pacing 2023 numbers. Jackson Jobe, Jacob Misiorowski, Cade Horton, Mick Abel, Dylan Lesko, Noble Meyer. These guys are all throwing 4 innings per start or less.

I'm guessing it's about 70% injury prevention and 30% saving innings for the MLB level for those that will get there this year.

[Mike Sixel]

36 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Pretty much every team is doing this. Check out Seth's link up there for Paul Skenes, he's only going 3 innings per start and he probably should have gone directly from college to the majors. Just about all of the top prospect arms pitched fewer innings in 2023 than they did in 2022, and 2024 is pacing 2023 numbers. Jackson Jobe, Jacob Misiorowski, Cade Horton, Mick Abel, Dylan Lesko, Noble Meyer. These guys are all throwing 4 innings per start or less.

I'm guessing it's about 70% injury prevention and 30% saving innings for the MLB level for those that will get there this year.

Facts. Stop it 

[Dman]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

You think he can stick at SS to MLB? Never seen him play so I'm just going off snippets I've read that he likely won't stick there. If Doncon can stick at SS, it increases my rating for him a lot.

He is only 20 and he has a pretty big frame.  I can see why they say he might need to move off Shortstop.  Still his arm looks really good and he moves well right now.  I agree odds are 3rd base long term, but I like him more than I thought I would.

[jmlease1]

56 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Pretty much every team is doing this. Check out Seth's link up there for Paul Skenes, he's only going 3 innings per start and he probably should have gone directly from college to the majors. Just about all of the top prospect arms pitched fewer innings in 2023 than they did in 2022, and 2024 is pacing 2023 numbers. Jackson Jobe, Jacob Misiorowski, Cade Horton, Mick Abel, Dylan Lesko, Noble Meyer. These guys are all throwing 4 innings per start or less.

I'm guessing it's about 70% injury prevention and 30% saving innings for the MLB level for those that will get there this year.

Yeah, I'm no longer surprised by it, but I still wonder whether it's going to be effective. And I do think it's almost entirely about injury prevention, but I don't know that this gets to the cause of those injuries.

Doncon is having a nice start to the season. Be great if he continues to hit like this in the FSL. I don't expect him to stick at SS, but if he can hit like this he won't need to be a real prospect.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

I'm guessing it's about 70% injury prevention and 30% saving innings for the MLB level for those that will get there this year.

Is it actually preventing any injuries? Pitching injuries seem like they are at all-time highs.

[nicksaviking]

3 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Is it actually preventing any injuries? Pitching injuries seem like they are at all-time highs.

These lowered innings seem pretty clearly to be a reaction to the league-wide rash of injuries, that's why minor league starters were throwing fewer innings in 2023 than in 2022.

Are you suggesting they try nothing to prevent all the injuries? 

[DJL44]

4 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

These lowered innings seem pretty clearly to be a reaction to the league-wide rash of injuries, that's why minor league starters were throwing fewer innings in 2023 than in 2022.

Are you suggesting they try nothing to prevent all the injuries? 

I'm suggesting that innings aren't the cause of the injuries. Maximizing velocity and spin is causing injuries. The training to maximize velocity and spin happens during practice, not during games.

I suppose they can try to keep their pitchers from getting injured by never pitching them but that seems counterproductive when the whole point is to find someone who can throw 6 innings. Right now, MLB isn't developing starting pitchers and they're still having loads of injuries.

[2wins87]

Nice to see Festa's command coming around a bit.  It looks like he debuted a curveball in this game too (just one, but pretty different in velocity and shape from his slider so it seems like it actually is a new 4th pitch for him).  Threw a lot of sliders and got a lot of whiffs with it in this game.

Also good to see Gonzalez have a big game.  Super slow start but with only one K in 38 PAs.  Also only 2 BBs.  I'm not entirely sure what to think.  Always a solid floor for guys that can put the ball in play that much, but it seems the approach may be limiting him a bit right now with a lot of poor contact quality.

[nicksaviking]

2 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I'm suggesting that innings aren't the cause of the injuries. Maximizing velocity and spin is causing injuries. The training to maximize velocity and spin happens during practice, not during games.

I suppose they can try to keep their pitchers from getting injured by never pitching them but that seems counterproductive when the whole point is to find someone who can throw 6 innings. Right now, MLB isn't developing starting pitchers and they're still having loads of injuries.

So now that the hitters have adjusted to this increase in velocity and spin rate you want to dial it back?

What do you think the average scores of games will be? You can't reverse course on this without an absolute offensive explosion. Which by the way will hurt the Twins and their subpar bats more than it will hurt other teams.

People aren't going to like it, but these 4 innings/start games very well might be the wave of the future because outside of biological advancements, there likely is no other choice.

[DJL44]

5 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

So now that the hitters have adjusted to this increase in velocity and spin rate you want to dial it back?

That explains why MLB batting averages are at all-time lows, because the hitters have adjusted so well.

[nicksaviking]

9 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

That explains why MLB batting averages are at all-time lows, because the hitters have adjusted so well.

Yes, and what will happen if the pitchers start throwing softer and with less spin? What team is going to willingly give up that advantage?

[DJL44]

26 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Yes, and what will happen if the pitchers start throwing softer and with less spin? What team is going to willingly give up that advantage?

You deaden the ball to decrease the number of HR. More balls in play, run scoring kept in check by reducing the rate of HR/hit.

That's the choice. Deaden the ball or the Hall of Fame pitcher becomes extinct.

[jmlease1]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Yes, and what will happen if the pitchers start throwing softer and with less spin? What team is going to willingly give up that advantage?

the team that wants to only need 6-7 starters to get through a season and have them throw enough innings that they're not hoping a couple of meh relievers can give them 70-80 innings of competent relief? At a certainly point we're going to burn through so many starters that the surest way to a winning season is keeping your rotation mostly healthy...even if they're not elite. Which will be better: 30 starts from a decent starter who can consistently throw 6+ or 10 from an elite guy, 10 from a decent guy, and 10 from a garbage fire?

It's an interesting question. I don't think we're there yet, but it could be a real factor if trends continue. I suspect baseball isn't going to deaden the ball...

[IndianaTwin]

6 hours ago, Otaknam said:

Festa pitches four innings and throws 57 pitches and the Twins top starter is taken out? Their handling of starters continues to baffle. 

If it's helpful context, his starts have been...

• 3.0 innings, 49 pitches
• 2.2 innings, 50 pitches
• 2.2 innings, 69 pitches
• 4.0 innings, 57 pitches

The number of pitches per inning in the previous games is a problem. Turns out he'd walked nine in the 8.1 innings going into last night.

I'd also like to see him build up further at some point, particularly if looks like he's going to be up soon. But in addition to the overall "load management" things people have noted, I wonder if there's also a confidence factor. They could say, "Nice job, dude. Four baserunners, five strikeouts and no runs over four innings. That's the guy you can be. Way to bounce back. Let's feel good about this outing, call it a day and leave with a good taste in your mouth.*" 

After his previous three games, I don't mind going that route. WIthout knowing the rest of the context, for last night I'd rather him pulled an inning too soon vs. an inning too late.  

 

*Which may or may not be the ballpark nachos. 

[IndianaTwin]

22 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

the team that wants to only need 6-7 starters to get through a season and have them throw enough innings that they're not hoping a couple of meh relievers can give them 70-80 innings of competent relief? At a certainly point we're going to burn through so many starters that the surest way to a winning season is keeping your rotation mostly healthy...even if they're not elite. Which will be better: 30 starts from a decent starter who can consistently throw 6+ or 10 from an elite guy, 10 from a decent guy, and 10 from a garbage fire?

It's an interesting question. I don't think we're there yet, but it could be a real factor if trends continue. I suspect baseball isn't going to deaden the ball...

It is an interesting question.

I suppose part of the equation is whether the decent starter will remain decent if he backs off a bit. It seems that teams aren't willing to take that risk. Or, they're trying to turn the equation to at least 12 starts from the elite guy, 10 from the decent and only 8 from the garbage fire.

Personally, I think the next step in "preserving arms" will be the gradual transition to a six-man rotation [even if that means adding a 27th player (i.e., 14th pitcher), since that guy will be cheap.] With the minor league schedule set up so nicely with six-game series, it seems like the logical next step in their "development," which transitions to the majors when the guys coming up are used to being on that calendar. You hear about Japanese guys being the "Friday starter" based on that type of schedule. 

And note that I didn't say "preferred" next step. It just seems to me like the direction they are heading. 

Check back with me in 2028. 

 

Oh, and I agree. I don't think they'll deaden the baseball. More runs equals more (perceived) excitement. It's also counterproductive in this case, since it also means more pitches needing to be thrown.

[DJL44]

11 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

If it's helpful context, his starts have been...

• 3.0 innings, 49 pitches
• 2.2 innings, 50 pitches
• 2.2 innings, 69 pitches
• 4.0 innings, 57 pitches

So he's adding about 5 pitches per start. Should be ready for an actual starter's workload by start 10. He has a sparkly ERA but his walk rate is awful.

[Doctor Gast]

5 hours ago, LambchoP said:

It really looks like Alcala should not have been the one sent down when Theilbar was activated. He's looked better than he has in years. Festa seems to be doing well, but they really need to stretch him out to see if he's going to have enough endurance to really stick as a starter, which the Twins are desperate for...

Agree, the excuse they gave to send Alcala down was to rest him. Where's the rest? 2 innings! he could get more rest on the MLB level if they wanted to.

Festa will be a very good  MLB #7 or #8 SP.