Twins Minor League Report (5/30): Fireworks for the Kernels

[Ted Schwerzler]

The Cedar Rapids called upon Rayne Doncon to provide the fireworks for the farm on Thursday night, with the rest of the affiliates failing to show up in the win column.

Image courtesy of David Malamut (@MWLArchives on X)

TRANSACTIONS

• RHP Cody Laweryson activated from IL by Wichita

SAINTS SENTINEL
Rochester 6, St. Paul 3
Box Score

Royce Lewis continued his rehab assignment with the Saints, as he batted second and played third base this morning. The game started at 10 AM Central, and maybe that contributed to something of a sluggish start.

Jordan Balazovic worked as the opener, throwing two innings and allowing a pair of runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out three. Down 5-0 through five innings, Matt Wallner got the good guys on the board with a home run. His two-run shot scored Diego A. Castillo and became his fourth straight game with an extra-base hit.

Down 6-2 in the eighth inning, Lewis was lifted for Yoyner Fajardo, after going 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts. Yunior Severino crushed a solo shot in the ninth inning to give St. Paul another run, but with two outs already recorded, there wasn’t enough runway to complete the comeback.

Alex Isola was the lone Saints hitter to record a pair of hits, as they struck out 12 times while drawing only three walks. Kody Funderburk was the only pitcher to avoid a run, but did give up a walk.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Springfield 7, Wichita 5
Box Score

Travis Adams started for the Wind Surge on Thursday, and the Cardinals saw him a bit too well. They got him for 11 hits, leading to seven runs. He didn’t walk anyone, but struck out just two.

Down 5-0 before they took at-bats in the bottom of the second inning, Wichita had plenty of work to do. Tanner Schobel provided a spark, launching his second home run of the season, and the solo shot got them on the board. Unfortunately, Springfield answered with two more runs of their own.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Kala’i Rosario singled home Jake Rucker, and while it wasn’t the damage he did on Wednesday night, it notched the second Wind Surge run of the evening. Luke Keaschall singled home Aaron Sabato and Kyler Fedko in the fifth inning to make it a 7-4 game. He has picked up right where he left off prior to his promotion. Carson McCusker lofted a sacrifice fly, scoring Keaschall and bringing Wichita within two.

Sabato singled to open the ninth inning and give Wichita a chance, and Jorel Ortega replaced him on the base paths. Down to the team's final out, Keaschall stepped in and singled, bringing the winning run to the plate. Rucker, the only other player with two hits on the night, was set to be the batter. He singled to load the bases for Rosario with a chance to do it again. On a 1-2 pitch, he swung through a foul tip and the threat was over.

After a tough start, the bullpen of Mike Paredes, Cody Laweryson, and Miguel Rodriguez pitched wonderfully to cover four scoreless innings.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 4, Lake County 2
Box Score

Christian MacLeod worked four innings of one-run baseball. He worked around three hits and a walk, while striking out one.

The sides traded runs in the second inning, and the Kernels got theirs on a José Salas double that scored Misael Urbina. Lake County took the lead again with a run in the seventh inning, but Cedar Rapids wasn’t going to settle. Ricardo Olivar singled to score the recently promoted Kyle Hess and tie the ballgame.

Looking for a victory before extras, Rayne Doncon stepped up in a big way. With one out in the ninth inning, following an Urbina walk, the prospect acquired alongside Manuel Margot blasted his first High-A home run to walk it off with a victory. With just five hits on the day, it was the big fly that did the most damage. Reliever Ricardo Velez got the win, moving his record to 5-0 on the year.

MUSSEL MATTERS
With inclement weather appearing at Hammond Stadium on Thursday, the game with Bradenton was postponed and will be made up as a doubleheader on Saturday.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Orioles 10, FCL Twins 2
Box Score

After they had a day off Wednesday, Walker Jenkins and the FCL Twins were back in action. Joel Garcia made the start and worked two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. The Orioles put up a three-spot against Eduardo Soriano in the third inning, and got him for four more in the fourth inning to take a 7-0 lead.

Dameury Pena scored Amilcar Vasquez on a fifth inning groundout to score the Twins first run. Down 10-1 before their final at bats, Jenkins crushed a double to score Yilber Herrera. Jenkins scored on a Hendry Chivili single, but the third run was the last for the Twins. Javier Roman was the only player to grab a pair of hits.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Christian MacLeod (Cedar Rapids) - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Hitter of the Day – Jake Rucker (Wichita) - 3-5, R, K

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#1– Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) – 1-4, 2B, R
#8 – Austin Martin (St. Paul) – 0-4, 2 K
#9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 2-4, R, 2 RBI, K
#12 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 1-4, RBI, K
#13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-4, R, RBI, HR(2), 3 K
#18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 1-3, HR(9), BB, K
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 1-4, RBI, 2 K

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Rochester (5:05 PM CST) – RHP Louie Varland (2-3, 4.41 ERA)
Wichita vs Springfield (6:35 PM CST) – RHP Marco Raya (0-0, 4.21 ERA)
Cedar Rapids vs Lake County (6:35 PM CST) – RHP Darren Bowen (2-2, 4.32 ERA)
Fort Myers vs Bradenton (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Ross Dunn (0-0, 3.42 ERA)

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

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[Doctor Wu]

Seeing Doncon's name appear more often in these articles lately, and hopefully that's a good sign. Looks like he may be the real keeper from that Dodgers trade. 

[roger]

Hated losing Miller.  But will Doncon end up being the better player?  Trade looks a lot better considering Margot as a throw in.

[miracleb]

1 hour ago, Doctor Wu said:

Seeing Doncon's name appear more often in these articles lately, and hopefully that's a good sign. Looks like he may be the real keeper from that Dodgers trade. 

Any information on his glove?  (Great, solid, poor....?)

[wabene]

Keaschall, again.

[Dman]

Cedar Rapids is the only affiliate with a chance at making the playoffs. With Keaschall now at AA would really be nice if they sent Eeles from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids.  I think he could provide a similar spark to the lineup.  I would also have them send Poncho Ruiz.  He is top 3 in the Florida State League in OPS and Batting average. 

They have good starting pitching but could use some lineup help and I think they could be a playoff contender again.  Those two players could get them, there.

Speaking of Poncho Ruiz and I know this is a small sample size, but how did they not draft him in their top 20 picks last year?  I believe he was known as a really good defensive catcher with maybe not much of a bat, but as of right now he is one of the top hitters in his league.  I hear they picked him up right after the draft and he came in with the rest of the draftee's which was a great pickup, but if he was identified as a draft worthy player why not draft him instead of some of those longshot players they draft at 19 and 20? At any rate he could be the catcher the Twins have been looking for if he can keep hitting all the way up.  In the end great get by the Twins.

[LambchoP]

Doncon looking like he can really hit. I'm also curious about the glove and where he'll fit defensively. Keaschal looking like the real deal. Another infielder that can hit! Nice to have, but what I think we really need are pitchers

[Dman]

4 hours ago, LambchoP said:

Doncon looking like he can really hit. I'm also curious about the glove and where he'll fit defensively. Keaschal looking like the real deal. Another infielder that can hit! Nice to have, but what I think we really need are pitchers

I don't know if you have watched Doncon on MiLB.tv but he looks really good at 3rd base IMO.  Probably a plus defender there.  I think he looks OK at short right now as well, but he is a big guy and I think as he fills out he will likely have to move off of short.  I don't think they have had him play in the outfield but I think he would be a great left fielder as well.  He has the arm and he runs well. High A will be a big test with the bat since he is younger.  If the bat holds up he should be a very versatile player that could be a plus defender in a couple of spots.