Twins Minor League Report (5/11): Festa's on Fire, and Lots of Offense in Fort Myers

[Seth Stohs]

David Festa continues to get better most every time out, and Saturday may have been his best start. Fort Myers had 24 baserunners in their game on Saturday night. What are the records of the Twins affiliates? Which players are the youngest at each level? Find out those answers and more in today's Twins Minor League Report. 

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Payton Eeles)

Here are the up-to-date team records through Saturday's games.  

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 23-16 
St. Paul Saints: 15-21 
Wichita Wind Surge: 12-19 
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 17-14
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 13-19
FCL Twins: 4-2  

Ever wonder who the youngest players are at each of the Twins affiliates? With new rules, age is becoming far less important to future time in the big leagues. However, it will always play a key role in prospect rankings. So, I went through the rosters today and tweeted out the youngest players at each level. Here they are: 

Youngest Players (by Roster)
Minnesota Twins
St. Paul Saints 
Wichita Wind Surge 
Cedar Rapids Kernels 
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 
FCL Twins 

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

TRANSACTIONS
The FCL Twins placed RHP Anthony Silvas, the team’s 16th round pick in 2023 out of Riverside CC, was moved to the 60-Day Injured List. 

Fort Myers had catcher Daniel Pena to the FCL for some rehab. 

RHP Nestor Cafe was assigned to the DSL Twins. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 0, Toledo 1
Box Score
David Festa and the Saints pitching staff was strong. Unfortunately, the Saints bats managed just two hits in the game and they fell again in Ohio.  

Festa was the story. For the second straight start, he tied a franchise-record with 10 strikeouts. He tossed six scoreless innings. He gave up three hits and walked three batters. Jordan Balazovic came on for the seventh inning. He gave up a run on two hits, though he struck out two batters. Jorge Alcala pitched the eighth frame. He gave up a hit and walked two batters, but he struck out three batters. He needed 34 pitches, but he did not give up a run. 

Anthony Prato and Matt Wallner had the lone Saints hits. Wallner’s double left his bat at just over 114 mph.  

Alex Isola had two of the five walks in the game. The Saints left six runners on base, but they were just 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position. 

Sauk Rapids veteran catcher Anthony Bemboom went 1-for-3. He also threw out DaShawn Keirsey attempting to steal third base in the sixth inning. 

By the way, be sure to read Theo’s feature on Caleb Boushley’s one day with the Twins. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 1, Arkansas 5                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Box Score
The Surge fell behind early and were unable to put enough offense together to really challenge in this one. 

Recently-signed Nick Wittgren started and gave up one run on three hits over two innings. Mike Paredes came on and gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Lefty Aaron Rozek came on to settle things down. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk, but he was able to complete the final 5 1/3 innings.  And he got a little help from his hacky sack skills and Aaron Sabato.  

Even the Surge score wasn’t exactly exciting. With one out in the fourth inning, Carlson McCusker and Jake Rucker singled. McCusker advanced to third on a fielding error. Next, Aaron Sabato grounded out to second base to drive in the team’s lone run of the game.  

McCusker led the offense by going 2-for-4. He is now hitting .327 with a .936 OPS. He has really had a big week. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 3, South Bend 4
Box Score
Down 4-1 going to the top of the ninth inning, the Kernels scored two runs and had the bases loaded with two outs but fell just shy of the comeback. 

The Kernels again scored first in this game. With one out in the top of the first, Ricardo Olivar walked. He advanced to third base on a Rubel Cespedes double. Danny De Andrade followed with a line drive single to center field that drove in Olivar, but former Gopher and Minnesota native Brett Bateman threw out Cespedes at the plate. 

C.J. Culpepper returned to the mound. He gave up one run on five hits and two walks over four innings. He had five strikeouts. AJ Labas came in for the fifth inning and gave up two runs on three hits in the inning. Rafael Marcano came in. The lefty gave up an unearned run on two hits and a walk over two innings. He struck out three batters. Sheldon Reed worked a scoreless frame. 

The Kernels had a few chances but were unable to come up with just one more big hit. In the eighth inning, Cespedes walked and De Andrade singled. With two outs, they advanced to 2nd and 3rd on a wild pitch. Misael Urbina walked to load the bases, but the inning ended on a strikeout. 

Then in the top of the ninth, with one out, Luke Keaschall and Olivar singled. Cespedes singled to drive in Keaschall to cut the deficit to 4-2. Cespedes advanced to third base on a wild pitch. After a strikeout for the second out, Jay Harry walked to load the bases. Agustin Ruiz was hit by a pitch which scored Olivar with the third run. Unfortunately, a groundout ended the game. 

De Andrade went 3-for-5. Keaschall was 2-for-4 with a walk. Cespedes was 2-for-4 with a walk and his double was his 10th of the season. Harry went 2-for-4 with a walk. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 12, Dunedin 2
Box Score
Through five innings, the Twins affiliate had an 8-1 lead over the Blue Jays affiliate. Sound familiar? Well, in the Florida State League, the Mussels added on with two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth inning while the pitching staff did not allow the Jays to comeback at all. 

The Mussels got on the board in the first inning. Byron Chourio singled, and with two outs stole second base. On a passed ball, Chourio advanced to third and scored on a wild throw.  

The game was tied at one when Fort Myers came to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning. Rafael Cruz led off with a double and scored when Isaac Pena singled to left field. Matthew Clayton was hit by a pitch, and Payton Eeles walked to load the bases. Pena scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Chourio. 

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Mussels had a big inning to turn a two-run lead into a seven-run lead. Brandon Winokur got things started by being hit by a pitch, but he stole second right away. He advanced to third on a Maddux Houghton single. Houghton immediately stole second. Rafael Cruz walked to load the bases. Then Pena walked to score Winokur. Then Clayton was hit by a pitch to score Houghton. Then Eeles walked to score Cruz. Pena scored on a Chourio double play. Rayne Doncon drove in Clayton with a single to give the Mussels an 8-1 lead. 

Let’s take a moment to credit the pitchers who had a really solid day. Jeremy Lee came off the Injured List and threw two perfect innings on just 15 pitches. Ben Ethridge came in and gave up only a solo home run over three innings. Jack Noble was charged with an unearned run on three hits over 2 2/3 innings. Samuel Perezk got the final four outs, two on strikeouts. 

The Mussels had 12 hits and 11 walks in this game, plus three hit batters (well, Clayton was hit twice and Winokur was hit one). 

Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit. Poncho Ruiz was 0-for-2, but he had three walks. Payton Eeles was the lone batter with multiple hits. He was 2-for-4 with two walks and his first triple. Cruz’s fifth double of the season was the only other extra base hit. He had two weeks as well. Clayton was 1-for-2 with a walk and those two hit-by-pitches. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 10, FCL Red Sox 5
Box Score
The FCL Twins were looking to end their week on a high note. A six-run fifth inning was enough to give them their fourth win of the season. 

It was a hectic first inning for the Twins. Yasser Mercedes led off the game with a walk. He stole second but was thrown out trying to steal third base. Right after that, Dameury Pena hit a double. He scored on a Daniel Pena single to put the Twins in the lead. 

In the third inning, Anderson Nova led off with a triple and scored on a wild pitch when Mercedes walked. He later scored on an Ariel Castro single. That tied the game at three. 

That’s how the score remained until the fifth inning. Dameury Pena walked and scored on a Daniel Pena double. Castro and Hendry Chivilli walked to load the bases. After a pitching change, Jayson Bass singled in a run. Ricardo Pena followed with a bases-clearing double. Two outs later, Mercedes singled home Pena with the sixth run of the inning. Mercedes added another RBI single in the seventh inning to drive in Pena with the team’s 10th run. 

21-year-old Jose Olivares made a second rehab start. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on three hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. He had one strikeout. Alejandro Crisostomo came in and faced one batter to get out of that second inning. 

2023 draft pick Dylan Questad came on and worked the next four innings. He gave up two runs on four hits (1 homer). He had seven strikeouts without issuing a walk. Cleiber Maldonado pitched a scoreless seventh. 

Mercedes did a nice job as the table setter. Batting leadoff, he went 2-for-3 with two walks. Dameury Pena was 1-for-3 with two walks. Daniel Pena went 2-for-3 in the game. Both D Pena’s, along with Ricardo Pena had a double in this game. Anderson Nova was 2-for-3 with a walk and his first triple.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day – Payton Eeles (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, 2 BB, 3B(1), R, 2 RBI, K, SB(2).  
Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 K, 86 pitches, 53 strikes (61.6%)

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, 3 K
#6 - David Festa (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 K, 86 pitches, 53 strikes (61.6%)
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 1-for-3, BB, HBP, 2 R, K, SB(7)
#12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-4, BB, R, K
#13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) -  0-for-4, 
#14 - C.J. Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 76 pitches, 47 strikes (61.8%)
#15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – 3-for-5, RBI, K, CS(2) 
#16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-for-4, 2 K. 
#19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-4, BB, 2 R 
#20 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) - 4.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 91 pitches, 61 strikes (67.0%)

SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES
St. Paul @ Toledo (1:05 PM CST) - RHP Joe Gunkel (0-3, 9.15 ERA)
Arkansas @ Wichita (1:05 PM CST) - RHP Jarret Whorff (0-1, 3.52 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (1:05 PM CST) - LHP Christian MacLeod (0-0, 4.50 ERA)
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) - LHP Cesar Lares (1-0, 1.37 ERA)
FCL Twins - No Game Scheduled 

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

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[FlyingFinn]

If the Twins have a double-header, I'm betting Festa gets a free taste of MLB. He's hitting 10 SO's in multiple games now and tossed 6 shutout innings today.

Oops, didn't realize Gabby Gonzalez was quite that young. I shouldn't have been so hard on him in my rankings.

Low A ball can be interesting. Kudos to the Fort Myers pitchers for not walking anyone while they received 11 walks.

[Dman]

Nice to see that swing and miss from Festa.  Just needs to keep those walks down and gain a bit more consistency and he should be ready for the next step.

Culpepper with a solid outing as well.  He has been good this year but not quite as dominant as I thought he might be.  He has great stuff and while the numbers are similar to last year I thought he might bring his K9 up a bit and give up fewer hits, but he is still doing very well.

This Eeles character is interesting.  Sample size is too small but he is off to a good start with a well rounded batting profile.  He is older at 25 but if the bat plays all the way up they might have something there.

Really good hitting in Cedar Rapids and Fort Meyers.  Nice to see the batting lines being raised.

[ToriiRules!!]

Nice to see a top pitching prospect actually go a few innings 

[ToriiRules!!]

Wasn’t Falvey suppose to be a pitching whisperer before he took control?? Cleveland is still pumping our pitchers!!! Who has he developed while being here??? Time for him to go 

[FlyingFinn]

5 hours ago, ToriiRules!! said:

Wasn’t Falvey suppose to be a pitching whisperer before he took control?? Cleveland is still pumping our pitchers!!! Who has he developed while being here???

Much of the time, Cleveland has been trading for their pitching, not drafting and developing everyone.

[jmlease1]

Very nice start by Festa. I still have concerns about his control and the free passes, but the stuff is real and this was the kind of start that has people excited about him. Not the first excellent outing from him this season, and he's on a good path. I still think Varland is the next man up if/when we need another starter, if possible, but Festa is doing what he needs to do. I like seeing him go 6, so it looks like they're letting him go a little deeper as the season rolls on. Be great for him to be pushing for a chance in June.

Keaschall is playing like a guy who wants a mid-season promotion. Worth keeping an eye on his power production to see if he can tick that slugging up a bit more, but he's doing very well and looks to have a solid professional approach.

[D.C Twins]

Cespedes must be really wondering what more he needs to do for the promotion.....

[Shaitan]

How many innings does Festa get this year? Is there a realistic chance of accumulating any MLB innings, or more in a spot-start or Sept relief scenario?

[roger]

Commented the other day that Balazovic had been better of late.  Dah!

See that DeAndrade has been hitting well the first month or so of the season.  I recall that Miller was the top defensive shortstop in the organization.  What about DeAndrade's D?  Is it better than average?  Or not?