Twins Minor League Week in Review (4/22-4/29): Between the Raindrops

[Ted Schwerzler]

Both the St. Paul Saints and the Cedar Rapids Kernels saw significant amounts of weather and limited amounts of action this week. The Kernels paced the organization, as the only affiliate to post a winning record.

Image courtesy of © Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK

Big-league pitchers Jhoan Durán and Justin Topa kicked off rehab assignments with the Triple-A club, while prospect Aaron Sabato started a rehab assignment with Low-A Fort Myers. Despite a lack of wins, there were some strong pitching performances throughout the system this week.

Both the hitter and pitcher of the week come from the two lowest rungs of the system, and each player showed out with some impressive production.

WEEK IN REVIEW
Triple-A: St. Paul Saints

• Overall: 10-15 (2-3 last week), 10th place in the IL West
• Overview: Rainouts were the theme of the weak. With two games postponed (and one not made up), it was touch-and-go every day for St. Paul. Both Durán and Topa pitched in rehab action.
• 🔥Will Holland stayed hot, playing in three of the five games, and going 3-for-6 with a double, triple, and four walks.
• 🔥Caleb Boushley made another strong start, working six scoreless innings. He worked around six hits and posted a 4/0 K/BB.
• 😏David Festa made the shortest start of all Saints pitchers this week, going just 3 1/3 innings, but his five strikeouts were a team-high total.
• 😏DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Anthony Prato both played in all five games this week and went an equal 7-for-18.
• 🥶Matt Wallner’s cold streak has continued; he went 4-for-18 with a 5/2 K/BB
• 🥶Joe Gunkel’s 4 1/3 innings were rough, to the tune of seven runs on nine hits.
• What’s Next: Louisville heads to town for a second straight home series. The Bats are currently fifth in the International League West.

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge

• Overall: 7-14 (3-3 last week), 5th place in the Texas League North
• Overview: Grabbing their first road win of the season, the Wind Surge ripped off three in a row from Thursday through Saturday.
• 🔥Carson McCusker played in five of the six contests this week and went 8-for-22. He had a double and three RBIs as well.
• 🔥Andrew Cossetti appeared in all six games this week for Wichita, and his four RBIs paced the team.
• 😏Jarret Whorff went just 3 2/3 innings, but gave up only a single run and posted a 5/0 K/BB.
• 😏Aaron Rozek worked two games in relief, totaling eight innings of work in which he gave up only a single run.
• 🥶Ben Ross played in all six games for Wichita but went just 2-for-18 with seven strikeouts.
• What’s Next: A second straight road series looms, this time with NW Arkansas. The Naturals are just ahead of Wichita in the Texas League North at 9-11.

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels

• Overall: 10-10 (4-2 last week), 4th place in the Midwest League West
• Overview: Playing Beloit with a couple of makeup games sprinkled in, the Kernels got a six-game week in despite having both Friday and Sunday’s games rained out.
• 🔥Gabriel González was on fire this, going 7-for-22. He cracked off four doubles, a triple, and a home run, with 6 RBIs.
• 🔥Rubel Céspedes had another strong week, going 6-for-16 with a pair of doubles and a home run.
• 🔥Andrew Morris got back on track with a six-inning scoreless start and a 5/1 K/BB
• 🔥John Klein and Zebby Matthews both made strong starts, allowing just a single run each across 5 and 5 2/3 innings, respectively. Klein struck out six, with Matthews adding seven.
• 😏Luke Keaschall didn’t hit as well this week, but posted a strong .391 OBP and a team-high three stolen bases.
• 🥶Danny De Andrade went just 2-for-15 this week with no extra base hits and five strikeouts.
• 🥶Jacob Wosinski gave up seven runs (six earned) across just 2 2/3 innings of relief work this week.
• What’s Next: Another home series is on deck, with Peoria coming to Cedar Rapids. They trail the Kernels in the standings at 7-14 for fifth in the Midwest League West.

Low-A: Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

• Overall: 8-13 (2-4 last week), 4th place in Florida State League West
• Overview: Continuing the theme of the past two weeks, Fort Myers recorded their third straight 2-4 week at home against Palm Beach.
• 🔥Jose Rodriguez was 7-for-23, with three doubles and a home run. His eight RBIs and 13 total bases were tops on the team.
• 🔥Ross Dunn was lights out in his start, going five scoreless innings allowing just two hits and a walk. He struck out eight.
• 😏Brandon Winokur was a solid 6-for-20 with a pair of doubles and stolen bases.
• 😏Ty Langenberg worked 5 1/3 innings during his start in which he allowed just a single run on six hits and a walk while striking out six.
• 🥶Omari Daniel scuffled, to the tune of a 2-for-17 week with a 10/0 K/BB
• 🥶Cole Elvis was hitless in four games going 0-for-10 with an 8/1 K/BB
• What’s Next: Fort Myers goes on the road to Bradenton and will match up with a 4-17 squad that is sixth in the Florida State League West

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#1– Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) – Hamstring strain
#2 – Brooks Lee (St. Paul) – Herniated disc
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) – 2-6, 2B, BB, K, SB
#4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 7-19, 4 2B, 3B, HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
#5 – Marco Raya (Wichita) – 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
#6 – David Festa (St. Paul) – 3.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
#7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) – 3-21, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K, 2 SB
#8 – Cory Lewis (Wichita) – Build up
#9 – Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) – 3.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 6-20, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 7 K, 2 SB
#11 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 5-23, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 9 K, 2 SB
#12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 4-18, 2B, 3 BB, 4 K, 3 SB
#13 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 5-24, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K
#14 – C.J. Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) – 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
#15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – 2-15, 3 BB, 5 K, 2 SB
#16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 3-15, HR, RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
#17 – Matt Canterino (IL) – Shoulder injury
#18 – Connor Prielipp (IL) – UCL Surgery
#19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 4-14, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 4 K
#20 – Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) – 5.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

Hitter of the Week - Gabriel González (Cedar Rapids) - 7-19, 4 2B, 3B, HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K

Pitcher of the Week - Ross Dunn (Fort Myers) - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K

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[FlyingFinn]

Wallner is going to break out and start his hot streak in May.

Maybe Will Holland is this years Anthony Prato. Prato started out 2023 in AA Wichita, hitting for a .171 BA and .553 OPS. He; then hit .302 with the AAA Saints, with an OPS of .991 the rest of the year. Holland's stats in 2023 in Wichita were .197 and .606. This year with the Saints, he has a BA of .364 and an OPS of .967.

[RpR]

6 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Wallner is going to break out and start his hot streak in May.

🤪 LOL

[Guest]

Caleb Boushley - Is this a guy that is legitimately in the depth chart and could realistically be called up for starts?

[Major League Ready]

3 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Wallner is going to break out and start his hot streak in May.

Maybe Will Holland is this years Anthony Prato. Prato started out 2023 in AA Wichita, hitting for a .171 BA and .553 OPS. He; then hit .302 with the AAA Saints, with an OPS of .991 the rest of the year. Holland's stats in 2023 in Wichita were .197 and .606. This year with the Saints, he has a BA of .364 and an OPS of .967.

Miranda is another guy that was not great in the low minors and then crushed AA and AAA.  He is also a good athlete and has played 100+ Milb games in CF.   Holland could be a great asset as a super utility guy who can back-up SS and CF.  

[Dman]

3 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Wallner is going to break out and start his hot streak in May.

 

I hope so.  Wallner has been a .900 OPS bat in AAA most months he has been there.  I think he had a cold start at AA in 2022 IIRC.  He can be a slow starter.  Hopefully he gets back on track soon.  Starting to wonder if he is getting the Larnach treatment and needs to conquer the breaking ball off speed stuff.

[Fatbat]

8 hours ago, Verified Member said:

Caleb Boushley - Is this a guy that is legitimately in the depth chart and could realistically be called up for starts?

30 yo rookie. He is the break the bourbon barrel emergency guy when the season is lost to injuries.  We got other guys getting healthy rn so Caleb will stay in MiLB.

[Dman]

Nice to see Gonzalez heating up and taking some walks.  I think walks are going to be key to his success as patience should get him better pitches to hit. and or at least up his OBP..

Cespedes is going to have quite the month of April with a 1.116 OPS as of today.  He is having some incredible BABIP luck at .455 so those numbers are going to drop but even if you take another .150 to .200 off that number it is still elite production.  He could stand to walk a bit more but contact bats generally don't walk as much.

Cossetti and Cardenas are in quite the battle with the bats at the AA level. Both have been .800 OPS bats there although I believe Cardenas is the better defender.  Still nice to see some catchers who can hit in the system.

[LambchoP]

They really need to start stretching out Festa and Raya more than 2-3 innings if they are eventually going to be starters still. They also need to get the walks under control, but that's pretty common at these levels.

[MN_ExPat]

Have to say that I find my self really rooting for Jarret Whorff.  Hasn't been doing to badly, but his name just screams to root for him... if only to spare yourself from the bat'leth strike to the face for disrespecting him.

Whorff... son of Mogh (IYKYK 😉)

[USNMCPO]

Man, Jenkin's hammy strain must have been a doozy. I was really hoping he would be back by now.

[MN_ExPat]

27 minutes ago, USNMCPO said:

Man, Jenkin's hammy strain must have been a doozy. I was really hoping he would be back by now.

Me too, but hamstrings are a funny (not haha) injury.  Push back too soon, and the whole season gets lost.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Fatbat said:

30 yo rookie. He is the break the bourbon barrel emergency guy when the season is lost to injuries.  We got other guys getting healthy rn so Caleb will stay in MiLB.

Thanks for the response