Twins Minor League Report (5/23): Flirting With Perfection and Some Key Big Flies

[Ted Schwerzler]

It was a busy day on the farm for the Minnesota Twins. With a near-perfect game taking place for the Kernels, and more than a handful of key prospects launching the ball, something was happening at each level. The Saints took a ridiculous number of walks and won in their resumed game.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Jaylen Nowlin)

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 18, Buffalo 3
Box Score
Finishing off the game that was suspended last night, the Saints exploded for an 18-run output. They took a franchise-record 15 walks and saw everyone in the lineup reach base. Spreading out 15 hits, both DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Yunior Severino had four-hit days.

Leading 3-0 when the rain came on Wednesday, St. Paul gave up a run quickly as the game started again Thursday. They then put up a four-spot in the 4th inning thanks to a Keirsey Jr. single, Austin Martin walk, Chris Williams Walk, and a Will Holland hit by pitch. If you weren't sure baseball was being played, it almost had the look of a carnival carousel.

 

Matt Wallner and Yunior Severino drove in two more runs during the 7th inning to push the score to 9-1, and a Keirsey double in the 8th inning made it 11-1. Buffalo got a two run homer to show a heartbeat in the bottom half of the inning, but St. Paul went back to work. Firmly in the lead, Diego Castilo, Keirsey Jr, and Wallner all singled in runs during the 9th inning. Severino hit a grand slam to truly make it a laugher.

Buffalo 5, St. Paul 1
Box Score
After scoring 18 runs in the resumed game, it appeared that St. Paul may have sputtered out to finish the afternoon. Adam Plutko made his Triple-A debut for the Saints and worked 2 1/3 innings allowing three runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out one.

A three-run first inning for the Bisons was achieved with a single blast, and St. Paul found themselves down early. Patrick Winkel homered in the 2nd inning to make it a 3-1 game. Buffalo added another pair by the 5th inning, and the Saints couldn’t mount a 7th-inning comeback.

Michael Helman recorded a pair of hits, but Winkel’s dinger was the only extra-base hit of the contest. Martin, by the time both games were done Thursday, had recorded seven walks, or 630 feet of free passes.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 8, San Antonio 0
Box Score
Jaylen Nowlin started the game for Wichita and turned in a great performance. Earning his third win on six innings of shutout work, he gave up three hits while striking out seven and walking two.

The Wind Surge quickly kicked things off when Emmanuel Rodriguez homered for the seventh time this season. His 1st inning blast brought home Tanner Schobel and made it a 2-0 game. Carson McCusker added a third run on a sacrifice fly to score Kalai Rosario.

Ben Ross homered in the 2nd inning, driving in Kyler Fedko, and Wichita suddenly had a 5-0 lead. They added again in the 3rd inning when Schobel reached on a fielder’s choice that plated McCusker for the sixth run.

A Schobel triple in the 6th inning scored Ross before Rodriguez drove in more with a single to score Schobel. Up 8-0, that’s where this one ended. Rodriguez recorded three hits on the night and continues to make a mockery of Double-A pitching. Jeferson Morales and Ross both had a pair of hits each.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 8, Peoria 5
Box Score
C.J. Culpepper was on the bump for Cedar Rapids and was nothing short of perfect. Throwing six flawless innings, he struck out eight and turned it over to the bullpen. Gabriel Yanez then recorded a pair of flawless innings, striking out two, and setting up a perfect game just three outs away. The wheels came off in the 9th inning, but the effort was to be applauded anyway.

Luke Keaschall kicked off the scoring in the 5th inning with a single to score Jose Salas and Dalton Shuffield. Salas then homered in the 6th inning, and the three-run blast brought home Rubel Cespedes and Jay Harry.

Not done adding, the recently-promoted Rayne Doncon singled to score Keaschall and Keoni Cavaco, giving the Kernels a 7-0 lead. Harry then followed his lead with a single of his own, and Ricardo Olivar scored on the play.

Ricardo Velez walked the first batter he saw to lose the perfect game, then gave up a single to cast aside the no-hitter. Peoria pushed across five runs, but the all-around performance was still an impressive one.

Doncon and Keaschall both recorded three-hit games while Salas, Harry, and Olivar grabbed a pair each.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Daytona 7, Fort Myers 6
Box Score

Back from a rehab assignment, Jose Olivares drew the start for Fort Myers. He worked three scoreless innings while scattering four hits and striking out four.

Payton Eeles kicked off the scoring with a single to bring home Gregory Duran in the 1st inning. After Daytona put up a five-spot in the 4th inning, it was time to get to work. Brandon Winokur hit his third homer of the season in the 6th inning, and the big fly scored Eeles and made it a 5-3 game.

Down 6-3 in the 8th inning, it was Winokur coming through again. His double scored Eeles and Angel Del Rosario to draw within one, and Kyle Hess evened the score to drive in Winokur. Unfortunately, the Tortugas walked it off in the bottom of the 9th, but the comeback was impressive nonetheless.

Winokur and Hess both had two-hit games, with the former driving in four runs as well.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 4, FCL Pirates 2
Box Score

The Twins got a boost again on Thursday with both Brooks Lee and Walker Jenkins in the lineup. They wasted no time making their impact felt as Lee led off with a double before Jenkins drove him in with a single of his own.

Omari Daniel scored on a wild pitch in the 2nd inning before a Jenkins triple scored both Moises Lopez and Lee. The triple is a good sign as to how the hamstring is feeling in that the Twins prospect was able to cut loose and run.

The Pirates put up a pair of runs, but that was as close as they could get.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – C.J. Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Hitter of the Day –  Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 3-4, R, 3 RBI, 2B(11), HR(7)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#1– Walker Jenkins (FCL - Fort Myers) – 2-3, 3 RBI, BB, 3B
#2 – Brooks Lee (FCL - St. Paul) – 2-4, 2 R, 2B
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) – 3-4, R, 3 RBI, 2B(11), HR(7)
#8 – Austin Martin (St. Paul) – 2-4, R, RBI, 7 BB
#9 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 3-5, R, 2 RBI
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 2-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B(10), HR(3)
#12 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 1-4, R, K
#13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, 3B(2)
#19 – C.J. Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) – 6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 2-5, R, K

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Buffalo (5:05 PM CST) – LHP Caleb Baragar (0-1, 2.45 ERA)
Wichita vs San Antonio (7:05 PM CST) – RHP Marco Raya (0-0, 4.98 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (7:05 PM CST) – RHP Christian MacLeod (0-0, 2.84 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Daytona (5:35 PM CST) – RHP Cesar Lares (1-0, 1.76 ERA)

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

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[stringer bell]

Good day for the Top Twenty prospects. Great to see Lee and Jenkins playing. 

[Dman]

Man Culpepper was dealing.  Only 66 pitches through 6 innings.  If his arm was more stretched out they might have let him go all 9.  I got to watch a decent portion of that game and he was just unbelievably good at least after the 3rd inning on.  They knew he was going to throw strikes so they were swinging early in counts and if they decided not to swing he was hitting the zone as his 8 K's indicate.  It is just one game but he looked better than Zebby to me in this one.  Absolutely dialed in and they couldn't generate hard contact at all.  To me the sign of an elite pitcher is the other team knows you are going to throw strikes and are ready to swing but they still can't touch your stuff. They were ready for him and he no hit and no walked them through 6 innings with 8 K's.  This is only High A, but if he brings that up to AA man the Twins have some interesting options there right now.

I am on the Keaschall bandwagon to get him to AA.  He is just killing it at high A.  Home runs, doubless, clutch hits for RBI's he is dialed in right now.  I know they can wait a few weeks but they should move him up to get him acclimated to AA.  He needs a greater challenge.

Emmanual Rodriguez with a three hit night and another home run.  I've run out of good things to say about this guy.  Maybe give him a crack at AAA and some of the junk ball willy veteran arms they have there and see how he handles them?  He seems to have AA conquered right now.  Several people on the board have said he is going to get his chance at the MLB level and given what I am seeing I am inclined to agree.

Nice to see Jenkins getting his groove back.  Can't wait to see him in A ball.

A ton of great performances tonight.  I hope they keep this up as it is fun to watch.

[ashbury]

If only we could have this much good news in every report.

[Doctor Wu]

5 hours ago, ashbury said:

If only we could have this much good news in every report.

Yeah, I hesitate to say this was TOO MUCH good news, and wouldn't mind such an overflow of good stats every game, but wow, a great report from the farm! Terrific pitching, timely hits, and the top prospects back in action again. Spoil us some more! At some point there may be too many cooks in the kitchen, but great to see so many of these youngsters playing well. 

[FlyingFinn]

6 hours ago, Dman said:

This is only High A, but if he brings that up to AA man the Twins have some interesting options there right now.

Culpepper should be promoted when he is fully ramped up BUT that Wichita rotation doesn't have room (not sure Raya or anyone is ready for AAA quite yet). Nowlin might have been the guy but look what he did last night. And the guys in Wichita, mostly the same guys who were in Cedar Rapids last year, are doing the same thing - start the year slow but really starting to play great now.

And Brian Dinkleman and Cedar Rapids keeps sending players to Wichita and yet they keep winning.

[Doctor Gast]

Great night on the farm! Hats off to Culpepper for 6 perfect innings. I think there's some deserving  promotions out there. Let's see them.

[Dman]

2 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Culpepper should be promoted when he is fully ramped up BUT that Wichita rotation doesn't have room (not sure Raya or anyone is ready for AAA quite yet). Nowlin might have been the guy but look what he did last night. And the guys in Wichita, mostly the same guys who were in Cedar Rapids last year, are doing the same thing - start the year slow but really starting to play great now.

And Brian Dinkleman and Cedar Rapids keeps sending players to Wichita and yet they keep winning.

Yeah at AA they have six starters for sure and they have also used Rozak in a long relief role with technically starter innings generally piggy backing off of Raya.  Still Ohl could be moved to AAA if needed and Adams feels more like a pen arm than starter to me so he could be moved as well.  The one wild card would be Lewis.  Not sure when he would be ready, but he will need a spot when he comes back. Another long shot move would be if Matthews continues to dominate AA they could move him to AAA earlier than normal.  He shouldn't have much of an issue with the tighter zone there since he throws so many strikes and doesn't walk many batters.  He has to continue to perform though and AA can be tough for pitchers so not a given that he would be ready for AAA early.

So, I feel like they could make it work if needed, but to your point there is technically no room for him at AA right now or the near future unless other moves are made.  If he continues to pitch this well though I am pretty sure they will find him a spot.

Edit: If Culpepper were to make it to AA and Lewis came back they would have 5 top 30 pitchers in AA (Raya, Matthews, Morris, Lewis and Culpepper)

[Major League Ready]

Really hoping for this pitching to continue.  We could have great SP depth next year with Varland / Festa / Matthews and Culpepper although I think chances are pretty good Varland ends up in the BP.  That would be just fine, especially if these other guys continue to thrive.

[Patzky]

I'm delighted by all the good news from the farm!

 

But truly all I will remember from this article by tomorrow is.. 'Winkel's Dinger'.

[DJL44]

Seven walks in one day for Austin Martin. That will keep his OBP high for a while.

[LambchoP]

Great to see Jenkins and Lee playing and producing again. Now let's see how Lee looks in AAA. I think E-Rod deserves a promotion there too. 

[mikelink45]

Best prospect summary of the year!

[roger]

Fantastic game for Lee and Jenkins.  Jenkins going 2-3 with a double, triple, walk and 3 RBI sure seems like he is ready to move across the parking lot.  

What I found interesting is that Lee was at third base.  Expect both will be at their expected spots in ten days or so, ie, Lee at St. Paul and Jenkins at Cedar Rapids.

[terrydactyls]

Beautiful left-on-left swing by E-Rod.  Too bad he'll never get to show it in the big leagues.  The Twins play statistical baseball, so E-Rod would be on the bench.

[tony&rodney]

25 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

Beautiful left-on-left swing by E-Rod.  Too bad he'll never get to show it in the big leagues.  The Twins play statistical baseball, so E-Rod would be on the bench.

Emmanuel hits left-handed pitchers just fine so it is unlikely he would be platooned unless lefties give him any trouble  at AAA, which is also unlikely. Hopefully EmRod pushes his way to AAA soon. Physically he is ready.

Worth noting that Robby Snelling is the top rated left-handed pitcher in all of the minor leagues. He has really good stuff and EmRod handled him easily.

Had fun switching between Wichita and Cedar Rapids games. Nowlin has a good arm. I think he is possibly a sleeper in the system. Hitters have a really tough time squaring him up when he has control. Culpepper was dealing last night. Lastly, I agree that Keaschall looks to be in need of facing better pitching and AA should happen in a couple of weeks.

[jmlease1]

43 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

Beautiful left-on-left swing by E-Rod.  Too bad he'll never get to show it in the big leagues.  The Twins play statistical baseball, so E-Rod would be on the bench.

Assumes facts not in evidence. Emma has neutral splits so far in his professional career and demonstrated that he has the ability to hit LHP even as a LH batter. The Twins sit LH in MLB that have shown they are less effective against LHP. I'd say it's pretty likely they'll give E-Rod a shot to hit lefties consistently until he shows he can't. I really don't understand why people oppose platooning when a hitter is clearly worse against same-sided pitching. Did we learn nothing from watching Jacque Jones struggle mightily against LHP?

[Mike Sixel]

I mean move Emma up already...  I'd even be good if he skipped AAA. 

I'd consider Ohl to AAA at this point also. 

The best news was the health of Lee and Jenkins.

[DJL44]

7 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I mean move Emma up already...  I'd even be good if he skipped AAA. 

I'd consider Ohl to AAA at this point also. 

The best news was the health of Lee and Jenkins.

I noted already that Double-A starts repeating itself in mid-June. He'll run out of new pitchers to face then and he's already beat up on the ones he has seen. He needs to be promoted by June 15 at the latest.

Ohl to AAA could make some sense. There's plenty of room in the Saints rotation and promoting Ohl would allow them to promote Culpepper. 

[jmlease1]

18 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I mean move Emma up already...  I'd even be good if he skipped AAA. 

I'd consider Ohl to AAA at this point also. 

The best news was the health of Lee and Jenkins.

I think they'll be making more of the promotion decisions in June; while I wouldn't mind advancing the calendar a bit I'm not going to get super upset if they stay on a June timeline.

Culpepper and Nowlin were both very good, and they're intriguing prospects. It'd be nice to have a LH starter in the mix, but Nowlin still has things to work on. I think either him or Ohl would make sense to move to AAA, which opens space for Culpepper in Wichita (and Cory Lewis on his return). I like the wave that's coming through in AA with the pitchers, going to be interesting to see how that winnows out. You have to assume that not all of them are going to keep doing this well, but it sure would be an awesome problem to have.

Walker Jenkins is too good to play in rookie ball...which is awesome. Hammy looks fine, hopefully it doesn't give him any more trouble. No objections to the Twins being cautious in working him back, though: he's a special player. get him right, and let him wreak havoc upon his enemies!

Lee will bear watching. Back injuries can be tricky and everything can be going great and then it flares again. Hopefully he's feeling good, feeling strong and can put it past him. I'm looking forward to having him in Saint Paul ASAP.

[FlyingFinn]

4 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Nowlin still has things to work on.

Yes, consistency. Lights out last night but other nights he walks guys and other nights they hit him (I'm assuming he's trying not to walk guys and ends up with too many pitches down the middle). I think Wichita is a great place for him to continue to work on this for now. I have him in my top 20 as he has a high ceiling.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

I think they'll be making more of the promotion decisions in June; while I wouldn't mind advancing the calendar a bit I'm not going to get super upset if they stay on a June timeline.

Culpepper and Nowlin were both very good, and they're intriguing prospects. It'd be nice to have a LH starter in the mix, but Nowlin still has things to work on. I think either him or Ohl would make sense to move to AAA, which opens space for Culpepper in Wichita (and Cory Lewis on his return). I like the wave that's coming through in AA with the pitchers, going to be interesting to see how that winnows out. You have to assume that not all of them are going to keep doing this well, but it sure would be an awesome problem to have.

Walker Jenkins is too good to play in rookie ball...which is awesome. Hammy looks fine, hopefully it doesn't give him any more trouble. No objections to the Twins being cautious in working him back, though: he's a special player. get him right, and let him wreak havoc upon his enemies!

Lee will bear watching. Back injuries can be tricky and everything can be going great and then it flares again. Hopefully he's feeling good, feeling strong and can put it past him. I'm looking forward to having him in Saint Paul ASAP.

Yup, I know the timing. Don't have to like it....He's ready. Do it now. They might need him in MN THIS YEAR. 

[Major League Ready]

Sometime in June .... Lares to Cedar Rapids, Culpepper to Wichita, Ohl to St. Paul.  Wichita is going to have one heck of a rotation.  Let's hope that translates to STP having one heck of a rotation next year.

Eeles to Cedar Rapids, Keaschall / Cespedes and Olivar all look ready for Wichita, and last but not least E-Rod to STP.