Twins Minor League Report (5/28): Top Prospects Continue Rehabs

[Steve Lein]

Even though he’s not a prospect anymore, Royce Lewis led a trio of young hitters continuing their trek’s back to their respective levels on Tuesday. Lewis played his third game for the Saints, Brooks Lee moved up to Hammond Stadium, and Walker Jenkins stayed on the back fields of the Lee County Sports Complex. Zebby Matthews also made his fourth start with the Wind Surge, while Luke Keaschall made his Wichita debut.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Zebby Matthews)

TRANSACTIONS
We heard about it more than 24 hours earlier, but officially Kody Funderburk was optioned to the Saints. The Twins selected the contract of veteran RHP Diego Castillo from the Saints. Josh Winder was reinstated from the 60-Day IL and optioned to St. Paul. RHP Jay Jackson cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Saints. RHP Jeff Brigham was activated from the 7-Day IL. 

Also before Game 1 on Tuesday, the Saints put 2B/OF Yoyner Fajardo and RHP Austin Schulfer were transferred to the development list. After their first game on Tuesday, Schulfer was added back to the roster, and LHP Caleb Baragar were placed on the 7-day injured list.

Down in Fort Myers, SS Rafael Cruz was released (Yes, Oneil Cruz's brother), while recent signees 1B Rixon Wingrove and OF Ryan McCarthy were assigned to the Mighty Mussels. 

RHP Mitch Stone was released from the FCL Twins roster. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
Game 1: St. Paul 2, Rochester 6 (7 innings)
Box Score
In the early game of their doubleheader, Royce Lewis batted second in the lineup and played third base. 

On the mound for the Saints was right-hander Randy Dobnak, and he struggled to limit baserunners throughout his outing. He allowed single runs in each of the second, third, and fourth innings, before the Red Wings tagged him for three in the fifth to chase him. In total, Dobnak was charged with six earned runs on eight hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out just one, gave up two home runs, and just 44 of his 80 pitches went for strikes (55%).

St. Paul finally got some offense going in the sixth inning, but it was too little too late. Austin Martin got it started with a one-out single, and a few batters later Michael Helman drove him in with an RBI single. Matt Wallner followed with an RBI double to make it 6-2 and that was that. 

Besides that inning, the Saints managed just two other hits on the game. In fun box score irregularities, the teams combined to strike out just three times total in the game.

After Dobnak’s exit, Hobie Harris finished off the final 1 2/3, allowing two hits and walking one.

In his three trips to the plate Lewis grounded into a double-play, beat out another potential double-play ball to first, and flew out to left. Martin led the way with two hits in his three trips out of the leadoff spot. Diego Castillo added a double to the effort.

Game 2: Rochester 1, St. Paul 4 (7 innings)
Box Score
In their makeup game of a postponement from back on April 28th, the Saints played as the home team in the Minnesota Twins’ former affiliates stadium. Lewis did not play in this one.

The Red Wings struck first against Saints starter Caleb Boushley, as a pair of singles put runners on the corners in the first. A ground ball allowed one to score, but that would be it for the “visiting” team against Boushley. He went on to finish five strong innings, allowing just the one run on three hits and a pair of walks, while striking out five.

St. Paul got that run back in the bottom of the first, as Austin Martin and Michael Helman led off the game with singles. Matt Wallner reached base on an error to load the bases, before Yunior Sevirino grounded into a double play that tied it at one.

They also added singles runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to make the final score of 4-1. Wallner launched his sixth home run with the Saints leading off the third to put them out front.

Martin drove in Anthony Prato with a sac fly in the fourth. Four walks in the fifth allowed their fourth run to score.

Josh Winder came on in the sixth and shut the Red Wings down for the final two innings. He allowed two hits and struck out three, throwing 19 of 26 pitches for strikes.

The Saints only managed to match their hit total from game one, with just five in game two as well, but their pitching limited the Red Wings to just five hits as well. The teams combined to go 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Wallner finished 1-for-2 with two runs scored, the home run, and a walk. Martin and Prato each had one hit and scored a run.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Springfield 2, Wichita 1
Box Score
It was a pitcher’s duel in Wichita, with rising prospect Zebby Matthews pulling his weight for the Wind Surge.

For the first four innings the Cardinals couldn’t get anything going against him, as he scattered just two singles and a walk, picked off a runner, and induced a double-play ball.

The Wind Surge had just as little luck against Springfield’s starter through the first three innings, with a Joel Ortega double resulting in their only threat. But in the fourth a pair of leadoff walks and a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. With one out, Noah Cardena’s grounder found the middle, and one run was able to come home, but that was all Wichita could muster.

As for Matthews, the fifth inning got away from him just enough for the Cardinals. Two singles around a strikeout put runners on the corners, and a balk allowed their first run of the game to tie it. Another single moved a runner to third, and the visitors took the lead on a groundout. Matthews’ night was done after those five innings and 75 pitches (55 for strikes), and ended up allowing two earned runs on five hits and one walk, while striking out four, for his final line.

Jarret Whorff came on for the sixth, and went the next 2 1/3 innings. He allowed four hits and two walks, but no runs, while striking out four, including all three outs in the seventh. Whorff was bailed out a bit by John Stankiewicz in the eighth, who came on with one out and the bases loaded and got two outs to keep the Cardinals from extending their lead. Stankiewicz added a scoreless ninth to give the home team a chance in the bottom half, but it wasn’t meant to be as they went down in order.

Situational hitting, or lack thereof, was the story for the Wind Surge in this one as they had plenty of opportunity going 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and leaving eight men on base.

Luke Keaschall, in his Double-A debut, batted leadoff and went 2-for-4 with a double, the only hitter with multiple knocks in the game.

Of their six hits as a team, four of them were doubles, but that lack of anything else did them in. Kala’i Rosario drew two walks in four plate appearances.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Lake County 8, Cedar Rapids 2
Box Score
The top team from each division of the Midwest League kicked off their series in Cedar Rapids, IA on Tuesday, with the East team taking the opening game.

John Klein made the start for the Kernels and slogged his way through the first four-plus innings. He allowed single runs in the first, second, and third, and would end up with two more charged to him in the fifth. In all, he allowed five earned runs on eight hits and four walks, striking out three. He needed 82 pitches to make it through two hitters in the fifth, both of which he walked to end his outing.

Juan Mercedes entered the game after that, and gave up a sac fly then two-run home run to account for all of Klein’s, and his own, runs allowed. Mercedes finished off the fifth and added a scoreless sixth. Juan Mendez (2 IP, BB, K) and Sheldon Reed (1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, K) finished off the game for the bullpen.

The Kernels got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second after Austin Ruiz led off with a double. Jose Salas followed with a bunt attempt and the throw went wide, allowing Ruiz to score. Their second and final run came in the seventh thanks to Misael Urbina. He led off by drawing a walk, stole second base, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a sac fly from Nate Baez.

The Kernels were outhit 13-6 on the night, were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men-on-base for the game. Ruiz led the way with two hits in four at-bats. Urbina’s stolen base was his ninth of the season.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Bradenton 2, Fort Myers 5
Box Score
After hitting .450/.476/.550 in five rehab games in the FCL, SS Brooks Lee moved up to the Florida State League to continue his rehab assignment this week. He batted second, and played shortstop on Tuesday.

The Mighty Mussels took the lead in their first at-bat when Payton Eeles led off the game with a single. Lee moved him to second with a groundout before Brandon Winokur drove him in with his 11th double of the season for the 1-0 lead. Newcomer Rixon Wingrove then singled in his first Fort Myers at-bat to drive in Winokur and make it 2-0 early.

In the second inning, the Mighty Mussels added two more thanks to an RBI-triple from Eeles followed by a wild-pitch that allowed him to saunter home himself.

On the bump for the home team was right-hander Ty Langenberg and he pitched into the sixth inning. He would be charged with two earned runs in his 5 2/3 innings, picking up his second win of the season for his efforts. He allowed four hits, walked three, and struck out eight. 

Reliever Aaron Holiday got Fort Myers out of the sixth and started the seventh, but three walks out of the four hitters he faced put an end to his outing after just one out. Nolan Santo pitched the final three innings to pick up his third save, allowing one hit, one walk, and striking out five.

Fort Myers put their fifth run on the scoreboard in the fourth inning, when Winokur drove in Eeles (who had walked and stole a base) with a single.

Eeles finished 2-for-4 with three runs scored, a triple, RBI, walk, and two stolen bases. Newcomers Wingrove and Ryan McCarthy each had two hits in their debut with the Mighty Mussels.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 8, FCL Orioles 9 (7 innings)
Box Score
The FCL Twins built a big lead heading into the final inning, with crooked numbers in both the second and fourth innings.

Down 1-0 heading to the second, the Twins were able to take advantage of three consecutive walks, getting a 2-RBI single from Moises Lopez, and a sac fly from Walker Jenkins that made it 3-1.

In the fourth they expanded their lead to 7-1 after putting together a two-out rally. Ricardo Pena led off the inning with a double, but that was followed by two quick outs that seemed destined to limit any damage. Yilber Herrera drew a walk, and an error on a pickoff attempt gave them more life. Lopez again delivered a two-run single, before Jenkins launched a double to bring him home. Another error off the bat of Yasser Mercedes allowed Jenkins to score their fourth run of the inning before an Orioles pitching change got them out of the inning.

Starting pitcher Adrian Bohorquez continued his early season success, allowing just one earned run on three hits in his four innings. He walked none and struck out five. 

The Twins added one more insurance run in the sixth, on a bases loaded single from Harold Grant. They probably wish they could have taken better advantage of that situation however, as one wasn’t enough.

Anthony Narvaez relieved Bohorquez to start the fifth, and he got through the sixth allowing just one run. But in the seventh, pretty much everything went off the rails. While he did record two outs amongst them, five singles and two walks later had the Orioles down by just one with two runners on base, and Ezequiel Ventura came into the game. A wild pitch put both runners in scoring position, and the Twins were walked off by a single that brought them both in and erased their six run lead.

Continuing his rehab, Jenkins finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI. Lopez drove in four with two hits in two at-bats, and also drew a walk. Mercedes finished 0-for-5 with three K’s, but also stole his 12th base of the season. Grant and Pena also contributed two hits apiece.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Nolan Santos, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (S, 3 IP, H, BB, 5 K)
Hitter of the Day - Moises Lopez, FCL Twins (2-for-4, R, 4 RBI, BB)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#1 – Walker Jenkins (Rehab w/FCL Twins) – 1-for-3, R, 2B, 2 RBI, K
#2 – Brooks Lee (Rehab w/Fort Myers) – 0-for-4, 2 K
#8 – Austin Martin (St. Paul) – 3-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI (2 games)
#9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 2-for-4, 2B, K
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 2-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, K
#11 – Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) – W, 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
#12 – Kala’I Rosario (Wichita) – 0-for-2, 2 BB, K
#13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-for-4, K
#14 – Zebby Matthews (Wichita) – L, 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K
#18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-for-2, BB
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-5, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Rochester (5:05 PM CDT) - RHP Adam Plutko (0-1, 11.57 ERA)
Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (3-2, 3.93 ERA)
Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (2-0, 2.63 ERA)
Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Jose Olivares (0-0, 4.50 ERA)

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

 

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[FlyingFinn]

Anthony Prato's #'s are looking eerily similar to his start last year in Wichita, maybe with more walks. I thought he would take off by now and get better like Helman is doing.

[LewFordLives]

Thanks for the updates. Hopefully Wallner is getting things going. We all know what he's capable of.

[MN_ExPat]

Jarret Whorff...Son of Moog

[stringer bell]

I didn't see Keirsey Jr.'s name in the box scores. Surprising that he didn't play in either game. Is he on his way to Minneapolis or does he have a minor injury? 

Martin is doing very well for the Saints. I know he's started both at second and in the outfield. I still hold out hope for him to be a quality major league regular, with a floor of utility guy. 

[Dman]

2 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Anthony Prato's #'s are looking eerily similar to his start last year in Wichita, maybe with more walks. I thought he would take off by now and get better like Helman is doing.

It is so odd how those numbers can fluctuate in the minors.  I guess guys get figured out? Williams, Prato, Wallner, most of the Saints lineup hasn't been all that great this year except for Keirsey  I too was hoping for more from Prato after what seemed like a breakout last year and while the walks are great he needs to hit and with extra bases to get looked at.

Helman looking more like the guy the Twins would use if needed as his HR power and position flexibility make him very appealing, but can he stay healthy?

[Dman]

It was good game for Zebby, but with his standards set so high it felt a bit like a let down as he wasn't as dominant as he has been.  St. Louis has some good hitters and it showed.  Still he pitched well and this is why he was moved to AA to face tougher hitters.

Langenburg has been a bit up and down, but he is starting to pile up the K's.  The stuff is there.  Hopefully he refines it and moves up to high A at the mid way point.

[jmlease1]

Zebby Matthews walked a guy! Incroyable!

he's doing just fine in AA, even if he took the loss. Nice to see Keaschall have a good debut. One game doesn't really mean anything, but it's still probably nice for him to get that first AA hit out of the way, He's having an excellent season and AA should be a good challenge for him. 

Winokur is having a good week, and it's nice to see a little more pop in his bat. He hasn't exactly fallen apart, but a lot of 1-4 days where he's only getting a single were dragging him down. Would like to see him driving the ball more consistently and showing a bit better control of the strike zone. But he's still very young, so this is all part of the learning curve I think.

Martin is having no trouble with AAA this year. but it's good to see him doing well after getting sent down. Right now he's showing the best side of himself at the plate: really hard to get out, doing some damage when he deigns to swing, never afraid to lean in and get hit to get on base, and even threw in a couple of steals. I wasn't surprised to see him struggle a bit in his first opportunity at MLB, but I still think he can be a quality player. Good to see him playing mostly LF-CF for Saint Paul; I think with some more reps out there he can be a solid defender in CF and plus in LF with his range, even if he doesn't have the strongest arm.

[bigdave]

Are the Twins thinning out their minor league rosters? I saw Cruz's release and they cut Garry Jr. and Soularie in the past week as well.

[Steve Lein]

6 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Martin is doing very well for the Saints. I know he's started both at second and in the outfield. I still hold out hope for him to be a quality major league regular, with a floor of utility guy. 

 

4 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Martin is having no trouble with AAA this year. but it's good to see him doing well after getting sent down. Right now he's showing the best side of himself at the plate: really hard to get out, doing some damage when he deigns to swing, never afraid to lean in and get hit to get on base, and even threw in a couple of steals. I wasn't surprised to see him struggle a bit in his first opportunity at MLB, but I still think he can be a quality player. Good to see him playing mostly LF-CF for Saint Paul; I think with some more reps out there he can be a solid defender in CF and plus in LF with his range, even if he doesn't have the strongest arm.

I am a believer in Martin. Yeah, he may not hit for HR power, but I think the Twins need a lot less of the all-or-nothing three-outcome-approaches from their hitters. It is maddening at times the slumps that teamwide approach contributes to, and it's why this team has been scorching-hot or ice-cold. No consistency.

Also, Martin made this play yesterday:

 

Edited May 29, 2024 by Steve Lein

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, bigdave said:

Are the Twins thinning out their minor league rosters? I saw Cruz's release and they cut Garry Jr. and Soularie in the past week as well.

The Twins have been signing some free agents. Hess and Eeles have been fantastic at low A Fort Myers. Hess already moved up to high A Cedar Rapids this week. Eeles looks good and plays 2B, With Keaschall moving up, it creates a spot for Eeles there. Some of the FCL guys moved to Fort Myers. This is normal - players either perform or are replaced (though they give first rounders a LONG time to fail).

[TwinsHater1991]

Noah Miller??

[Seth Stohs]

16 hours ago, stringer bell said:

I didn't see Keirsey Jr.'s name in the box scores. Surprising that he didn't play in either game. Is he on his way to Minneapolis or does he have a minor injury? 

Martin is doing very well for the Saints. I know he's started both at second and in the outfield. I still hold out hope for him to be a quality major league regular, with a floor of utility guy. 

Not sure if you have seen the new minor league report, but Keirsey went on the IL with a left calf strain. 

Love the com that has been mentioned. If Austin Martin can become what Chris Taylor has been in his career (until this year), that is an absolute win! 

[Seth Stohs]

9 hours ago, bigdave said:

Are the Twins thinning out their minor league rosters? I saw Cruz's release and they cut Garry Jr. and Soularie in the past week as well.

I don't think any of those are terribly surprising... The reduction in # of players in an organization's minor league system  is definitely altering things. Not totally sure how yet. I think all these indy league guys they're signing are part of it. I also think that there have been so many prospect injuries and several of them are starting to come back too.