Twins Minor League Report (5/7): Blowouts, Big Blasts, and a Grand Finale

[Steve Lein]

Tuesday was one of those nights where you really have to look at all the box scores to get the full picture. Multiple games were blowout victories, three of the four full season affiliates had a player hit multiple home runs, and one game ended on a walk-off grand slam that erased a three-run deficit. Trust me, you don’t want to miss anything from Tuesday’s action!

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Carson McCusker)

TRANSACTIONS

• The Minnesota Twins sent RHP Josh Winder to continue his rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints.
• On Monday, RHP Zebby Matthews was promoted to Wichita from Cedar Rapids, and RHP Hunter McMahon was released. On Tuesday, 1B Aaron Sabato was activated from the injured list.
• In a corresponding move in the Midwest League with Matthews’ promotion, RHP C.J. Culpepper was activated from the temporary inactive list.
• Down in Florida, LHP Wilker Reyes was sent to the FCL roster from Fort Myers, RF Gregory Duran was placed on the 7-day injured list, and 2B Payton Eeles was assigned to the Mighty Mussels.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 5, Toledo 7
Box Score
Starting pitcher Joe Gunkel was knocked out of this one early, as the Mud Hens jumped all over him in the first two innings. Consecutive doubles scored three runs, and a later single scored another in the first that put the Saints down 4-0 before their first at-bat. In the second a leadoff double and an RBI single chased Gunkel after 42 pitches. He was charged with five earned runs on six hits and a walk in his 1 1/3 innings.

The Saints got on the scoreboard in the top of the second thanks to the fourth home run of the season from 2023 minor league home run king, Yunior Severino. In the top of the third, it was DaShawn Keirsey Jr.’s fifth home run of the season that cut the early lead to three.

The pitching staff got a solid effort from the bullpen for the rest of the game, with Austin Schulfer (2 2/3 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 3 K), Michael Boyle (2 IP, H, BB, K), and Hobie Harris (2 IP, H, ER, 3 K) combining to allow just two more runs over the final six-plus innings.

In the top of the sixth a double from Patrick Winkel made it 6-3, and in the ninth Keirsey Jr. hit his second home run of the game, a two-run shot, to make the final of 7-5.

Keirsey Jr. (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K) and Winkel (2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI) had multiple hits in the loss. Anthony Prato added a double to the effort.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Arkansas 2, Wichita 16
Box Score
Wichita took the lead early in this one and kept the pedal to the floor throughout the game to blow past the Travelers on Tuesday night.

6-foot 8-inch tall outfielder Carson McCusker got the party started in the bottom of the second with his second home run of the season, a two-run blast to score Kala’i Rosario who had doubled to lead off the inning.

Starting pitcher Travis Adams delivered a quality start to make this one even easier for his lineup. In six innings, he allowed just two earned runs on five hits and a walk, while punching out six.

The Wind Surge put more crooked numbers on the scoreboard in each of the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to turn this one into a laugher. There were doubles from McCusker and Jorel Ortega in the fifth. A parade of singles in the sixth. Jeferson Morales led off the seventh with a homer, and McCusker added his second bomb of the game later in the frame.

In the eighth, they finally triggered their finale after the first two outs were recorded on just four pitches. Morales and Rosario clubbed back-to-back Wichitas. After an infield single from Noah Cardenas, Aaron Sabato blasted his first home of the year to drive in three. Not to go out quietly, McCusker then boomed his third home run of the game in back-to-back fashion for the final score of 16-2. Hard to put a bigger exclamation point on such a game than a 504-foot blast.

The bullpen put up zeroes over their three innings, with John Stankiewicz (1 IP, BB, K) and Taylor Floyd (2 IP, H, K) putting Arkansas out of their misery in quick fashion.

Spoiler Alert: Carson McCusker is your hitter of the day (though he actually did have some stiff competition…). He finished 5-for-5 with three home runs, a double, five runs scored, and six RBI. Morales, Rosarios, Cardenas, and Sabato all had multiple hits and multiple runs scored on the day as well. All but one hitter reached base in the game, and only one other did not have multiple hits, which was Emmanuel Rodriguez of all people, who struck out three times.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 16, South Bend 6
Box Score
Six Kernels hitters picked up multiple knocks on the day, leading to a thrashing of the Cubs in South Bend, Indiana, that matched their double-A brother’s output.

The Cubs took the first lead of the game in the bottom of the second, stringing together three singles and three walks against Kernels starter John Klein to go ahead 3-0 and chase him from the game. A.J. Labas picked up the pieces and went the next 2 1/3 innings, allowing two hits, no runs of his own, and striking out two.

Cedar Rapids got those first three runs back, and one more, in the top of the third inning. With two runners on, Rubel Cespedes launched his fifth home run of the season to tie the game at three. Danny De Andrade followed that with a single and came around to score on a Jay Harry double as they took the lead and never looked back.

They added two more in the fourth with a sac fly from Cespedes and a bases-loaded walk from Harry. Then in the fifth, they put up another four-spot to take a 10-3 lead. The big hit in that inning came from De Andrade, which was a double that cleared the bases.

Relievers Sheldon Reed (2 IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 earned), BB, 4 K), Juan Mercedes (2 IP, H, BB, 2 K), and Juan Mendez (IP, H, ER, 2 K) finished off the final five innings for the Kernels in the win.

With the score 10-6 heading into the final furlong of the game, the Kernels pulled away by batting around in their last at-bat. The first seven hitters of the ninth reached base, and the final push was a two-RBI single from Agustin Ruiz.

Rubel Cespedes was the standout in a game with several of them. He finished 2-for-4 with three runs scored, a walk, a homer, and six RBI. De Andrade (3), Harry (2) and Ruiz (2) all had multiple runs batted in. Ruiz also reached base five times in six plate appearances and scored a pair of runs. Luke Keaschall, Ricardo Olivar, Nate Baez, and Willie Joe Garry Jr. also scored multiple runs.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Dunedin 7, Fort Myers 8
Box Score
Not to be outdone by their fellow upper-level affiliates, the Mighty Mussels also put together a dramatic late effort on Tuesday to pull out a win in grand fashion.

The score in this one remained nil-nil until the bottom of the fourth inning, when first baseman Poncho Ruiz launched his first home run of the season, a solo shot, for a 1-0 Mighty Mussels lead.

It was still scoreless until then as starting pitcher Spencer Bengard delivered a fantastic outing, allowing just a single unearned run on five hits in six innings, while striking out five Blue Jays hitters.

The Mighty Mussels took the lead back in the sixth as an error extended their at-bat to Ruiz, who blasted another home run that made it 3-1 Fort Myers after six.

Unfortunately for Bengard, he wouldn’t factor into the decision for his efforts, as the bullpen duo of Ben Ethridge (1 IP, 2 H, 4 R (1 earned), 2 BB, 2 ) and Nolan Santos (2 IP, H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K) coughed up six runs after Bengard’s exit, putting the home team down 7-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth.

The first two outs of their last at-bat were sandwiched around a hit by pitch and single, putting the home team on the ropes, but a single from Rayne Doncon kept their hopes alive by loading the bases for Brandon Winokur, down by a convenient four runs. In a five-pitch at-bat…he drew a walk (sike!) to score one and bring up the go-ahead run in the form of 18-year-old Jose Rodriguez.

He went Super-Saiyan and walked it off with a grand slam the opposite way, sending the Mighty Mussels and their fans into pandemonium and ending a four-game losing streak.

Ruiz finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored, his two home runs, and three RBI. Rodriguez scored two runs and drew a walk in addition to his walk-off grand slam. Winokur finished 1-for-4 with a run scored, a double, and a walk.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 2, FCL Pirates 0
Box Score
The Pirates outhit the Twins 4-3 on the day, but while the Pirates had just four at-bats with runners in scoring position, the Twins had twelve. Never mind that they were a combined 0-for-16 in those situations, but the Twins just had far more opportunities and were able to take advantage. 

In the third inning after a Dameury Pena single and Bryan Acuna walk, consecutive groundouts to the right side moved the runners up and brought home their first run of the game. In the fifth Pena led off with a walk, and scored from first on Acuna’s second double of the young complex league season.

In addition to that double, Acuna drew two walks to lead his offense. Ricardo Pena added two walks of his own, while Yasser Mercedes chipped in their other hit.

Twins pitchers Anthony Narvaez and Adrian Bohorquez kept the Pirates in check all game. In the first inning, Narvaez gave up a triple but stranded the runner there. In the second, he again worked around a one-out double to keep them off the board. In his four innings, Narvaez was charged with all four hits and two walks, but no runs, while striking out six. Bohorquez held them hitless over the final three innings, walking one and striking out three.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Spencer Bengard, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (6 IP, 5 H, 1 R (0 earned), 5 K)
Hitter of the Day - Carson McCusker, Wichita Wind Surge (5-for-5, 5 R, 2B, 3 HR (4), 6 RBI)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) – 1-for-5, 3 K
#7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) – Pinch hit, 1-for-1
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, R, 2B, BB, 2 K
#11 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 2-for-5, 2 RBI
#12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-2, 3 R, BB, 2 K
#13 – Kala’I Rosario (Wichita) – 3-for-5, 3 R, 2 2B, RBI, K
#15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-4, R, 2B, 3 RBI, BB
#16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 1-for-3, R, HR (4), RBI, BB, K
#19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 BB

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Toledo (10:05 AM CDT) - RHP Caleb Boushley (3-1, 3.98 ERA)
Arkansas @ Wichita (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (1-2, 4.50 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (10:05 AM CDT) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (1-2, 3.86 ERA)
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Charlee Soto (0-2, 4.96 ERA)

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

 

 

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[FlyingFinn]

Multiple guys had great hitting days and easily would be the hitter of the day but not last night. McCusker goes 5 for 5 with 3 homers. Wow! IIRC, he was undrafted and the Twins picked him up as a free agent. 

[tony&rodney]

McCusker is a really big dude and like most very tall hitters has some issues with maintaining contact. The thing that makes him a little different is that he is extremely athletic and strong. He has been improving bit by bit every week and last night was a show of his power. 

The Twins will have some thinking to do by June/July if McCusker continues to have good at bats for Wichita.

Brandon Winokur, another tall athletic player, has looked smoother than I expected in his first month of A ball. A ton of swing and miss but also steady improvement from week to week and playing good defense at both shortstop and centerfield.

 

[Dman]

Keirsey is having a year.  I guess give it another month but he sure looks ready to me.  Too bad there is no room on the 40 man. Would love to have him in center at the MLB level.

I watched McCusker last year and know he can hit HR's.  It was the K rate that was killing him.  You could tell he was working on it this spring sacrificing power for contact.  Looks like he is picking his spots for when to go deep and was obviously feelin it last night.  While the K rate is down from nearly 40% last year it is still at 30% this year.  He is a dangerous hitter though and props to him on the 3 homer night and going 5 for 5.  Extremely hard to do that and some players never hit 3 homers in the same game.  He can be impressive at times.  Greater consistency is the key and it looks like he is working on that.

Cespedes continues to hit and hit for power.  He is starting to look like he has come into his power and he has good plate discipline.  If he keeps it up he likely gets promoted at the halfway point. 

I was watching the Ft Meyers game on the gameday app ands saw the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th.  Was waiting for the typical groundout or fly out.  I saw Winoker come up and thought he might blast one out and he walked.  I saw Rodriguez come up and thought he could do it too but the odds just seemed so low that they would walk it off with just the number of runs they needed to win that game.  Then sure enough he hits it out!!  Was nice to see one of our teams come back from a deep deficit late and steal a win after our pens have given up so many games late this year. 

[Doctor Gast]

26 minutes ago, Dman said:

Keirsey is having a year.  I guess give it another month but he sure looks ready to me.  Too bad there is no room on the 40 man. Would love to have him in center at the MLB level.

I watched McCusker last year and know he can hit HR's.  It was the K rate that was killing him.  You could tell he was working on it this spring sacrificing power for contact.  Looks like he is picking his spots for when to go deep and was obviously feelin it last night.  While the K rate is down from nearly 40% last year it is still at 30% this year.  He is a dangerous hitter though and props to him on the 3 homer night and going 5 for 5.  Extremely hard to do that and some players never hit 3 homers in the same game.  He can be impressive at times.  Greater consistency is the key and it looks like he is working on that.

Cespedes continues to hit and hit for power.  He is starting to look like he has come into his power and he has good plate discipline.  If he keeps it up he likely gets promoted at the halfway point. 

I was watching the Ft Meyers game on the gameday app ands saw the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th.  Was waiting for the typical groundout or fly out.  I saw Winoker come up and thought he might blast one out and he walked.  I saw Rodriguez come up and thought he could do it too but the odds just seemed so low that they would walk it off with just the number of runs they needed to win that game.  Then sure enough he hits it out!!  Was nice to see one of our teams comes back from a deep deficit late and steal a win after our pens have given up so many games late this year. 

Keirsey is pretty impressive & deserves a call-up to see what he can do on the MLB level. Great to see the hitting floodgates opened last nite, looks like E Rod took a breather. Are they changing their hitting approach throughout the organization? Hope Soto has a good day pitching today.

[mikelink45]

Gunkel is 32 with an era of 10+ - don't we have some prospects we can use in AAA?

Keirsey vs Margot - I call up Keirsey.

 

[DJL44]

27 minutes ago, Dman said:

Keirsey is having a year.  I guess give it another month but he sure looks ready to me.  Too bad there is no room on the 40 man. Would love to have him in center at the MLB level.

If they cut Margot and move Keirsey up that opens a spot for Emmanuel Rodriguez in AAA. It might be a matter of weeks.

[LambchoP]

I also love the idea of cutting Margot and calling up Keirsey Jr. I haven't seen Deshawn play yet, but he's got to be a better defender than Margot has been this year. I mean, what the heck happened to Margot, he looks lost out there. If we did call up Keirsey, then they could move E-Rod up to AAA to take his place. Maybe around June they'll consider this, at least they should. Though I doubt they will cut ties with Margot and eat the salary. That would be admitting they were wrong...lol

[Steve Lein]

51 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Multiple guys had great hitting days and easily would be the hitter of the day but not last night. McCusker goes 5 for 5 with 3 homers. Wow! IIRC, he was undrafted and the Twins picked him up as a free agent. 

It was surprising how many guys actually had a legitimate case even with a 5-for-5, 3 HR game in there! Great night for hitting!

[FlyingFinn]

Kiersey for Margot isn't going to happen. If Kiersey batted RH, it would have a chance. The Twins aren't going to overbalance themselves with LH bats, especially the way we platoon.

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, Steve Lein said:

RHP Hunter McMahon was released

This closes the books on Ryne Harper's tenure with the Twins.  (That's who we traded to get McMahon, back in '20.)

[ashbury]

35 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Kiersey for Margot isn't going to happen. If Kiersey batted RH, it would have a chance. The Twins aren't going to overbalance themselves with LH bats, especially the way we platoon.

This is a very good point.  We know how the FO looks at platooning in general.

Here's another point.  Keirsey's 2024 stats show him hitting better against lefties than righties.  And that seems to include last night, when he hit 2 HR against righties.  This is still small-sample territory and last year he did have a more typical L/R split, and they seem to have platooned him more then, than so far this year.  But in prior years to that, he didn't have much of a split at all.  I dunno, there's a chicken-and-egg aspect to hitting against same-sided pitchers, and I feel like the team has gone a little too far in the one direction.

[D.C Twins]

22 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Kiersey for Margot isn't going to happen. If Kiersey batted RH, it would have a chance. The Twins aren't going to overbalance themselves with LH bats, especially the way we platoon.

That would make sense.... if Margot was actually hitting any type of pitching, buuuuuut......

[D.C Twins]

11 minutes ago, ashbury said:

This closes the books on Ryne Harper's tenure with the Twins.  (That's who we traded to get McMahon, back in '20.)

now THAT is a deep cut

[jmlease1]

McCusker sure had himself a day. he's hit ever since joining the organization, but he will need to keep the Ks manageable in order to keep climbing. Looks like we signed him out of the independent leagues? Good scouting to spot him as a potential hitter. Power is for real, even in the Texas League. He's not young, so he need to advance.

Great news on Zebby Matthews moving up to AA! He's certainly earned it, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he does there. With Lewis on the IL it's nice to see another pitcher advancing.

[ashbury]

20 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

That would make sense.... if Margot was actually hitting any type of pitching, buuuuuut......

Fun fact: among Twins who hit from the right side against lefties (so that includes switch-hitters), as of this morning Margot leads the team with 33 plate appearance, with an OPS of .660.

That's not stellar but it's not a black hole in the lineup* when facing a left-hander, either.  Buxton and Farmer represent right-on-left matchups who've been more of a problem for the Twins this season than Margot.

I want to see Keirsey get his opportunity, and his 2024 AAA numbers support that, but I'm not so confident he would exceed that .660 OPS when facing lefties, right out of the chute.  So, it is a bit of a conundrum for the FO to figure out.

* An example of a black hole would be Margot's .344 OPS versus right-handers

[DJL44]

15 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

That would make sense.... if Margot was actually hitting any type of pitching, buuuuuut......

Or fielding worth a darn. Keirsey's glove should more than make up for any difference in their hitting.

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

58 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Kiersey for Margot isn't going to happen. If Kiersey batted RH, it would have a chance. The Twins aren't going to overbalance themselves with LH bats, especially the way we platoon.

I think platooning is generally a smart move. But at some point you have to look at who you're actually sending out there to take ABs and say screw it, even if this guy can't hit left handed pitching he's a massive upgrade against the more common pitcher and in the field.

I don't think they will actually do it any time soon, but they really should. 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

Kiersey for Margot isn't going to happen. KeIf Kiersey batted RH, it would have a chance. The Twins aren't going to overbalance themselves with LH bats, especially the way we platoon.

When Buxton is not on the IL, I would expect Keirsey to head back to AAA. Buxton does tend to spend time on the IL and there is no reason not to replace him with a LH hitter when he is injured.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

McCusker I think got stung a bit by the Covid draft,  never was able to get into an organization.  We picked him up last year.  Doing what he is doing in AA is impressive.  Yes he is older, but he wasn't really a prospect.  I don't think we can hold age against him in this case,  other than it will take some of prime years away if he does make it.  He has gone from no reasonable shot at being a major leaguer to he is now on the radar.  For him it is a heck of an accomplishment.  

2023 -  Independent leagues, A,  High A

2024 - AA,  maybe AAA      

Could be in the big leagues next year if keeps improving.  

[mikelink45]

2 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Kiersey for Margot isn't going to happen. If Kiersey batted RH, it would have a chance. The Twins aren't going to overbalance themselves with LH bats, especially the way we platoon.

Because Margot at a RH is providing so much value?

[FlyingFinn]

6 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Because Margot at a RH is providing so much value?

Because the Twins won't do it.

[2wins87]

The Twins Prospect Development twitter said Bohorquez hit 97 with his fastball.  Looked like he has a good power curve as well.  Exciting stuff from a 19-year-old.

From last year's DSL team I was intrigued by him and Miguel Cordero.  Looks like Cordero is on the FCL roster as a 17-year-old, so hopefully he will make an appearance soon.