Twins Minor League Report (6/5): Julien, Lee Return to Saints

[Seth Stohs]

The Saints returned to action at CHS Field on Wednesday after Tuesday's game was postponed. Specifically, Brooks Lee and Edouard Julien made their returns to the Saints and each had an impact. Wichita got a terrific start. They had a top prospect return to their lineup... and then exit the game a bit later. 

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

Over the past weekend, MLB Pipeline updated their Top 100 Prospect rankings because Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford surpassed prospect eligibility. Most prospects moved up a spot, and Twins right-hander David Festa jumped into the #100 spot. Their rankings now include: #7 Walker Jenkins, #14 Brooks Lee, #31 Emmanuel Rodriguez, #83 Gabriel Gonzalez, #100 David Festa. 

On Wednesday, Baseball America updated their Top 100 Prospect Rankings. Here is where the Twins players lined up. #7 Walker Jenkins, #16 Emmanuel Rodriguez, #45 Brooks Lee, #66 Luke Keaschall, and #100 Zebby Matthews. 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 32-26 
St. Paul Saints: 26-31
Wichita Wind Surge: 20-32
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 31-21
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 26-27
FCL Twins: 14-9 
DSL Twins: 0-2 

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

TRANSACTIONS
Wichita activated RHP Zebby Matthews from the Development List. Jaylen Nowlin took his place on the Development List. 

In Fort Myers, Danny Moreno was placed on the 7-Day IL. RHP Jose Olivares - who tossed five shutout innings on Tuesday, was placed on the

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 5, Syracuse 1
Box Score
The storyline for this game was the return of Brooks Lee to the St. Paul lineup. And understandably so. One of the Twins top prospects was one of the last cuts from spring training but back spasms kept him off the field for six or seven weeks. He has been playing in rehab games in Fort Myers the past couple of weeks. A rainout on Tuesday pushed his return back a day. Lee grounded out to second base in his first at-bat. In the sixth inning, he drove in Austin Martin with a single to left field.  

Lee wasn’t the only storyline to come out of this game though. And, it didn’t take too long to find another. Edouard Julien returned to the Saints after being optioned by the Twins on Sunday. He led off the bottom of the first inning with a long drive to left field for a home run. That was his lone hit of the game, though it should be pointed out that he had zero strikeouts in four at-bats. 

Another story happened on the mound. Right-hander Caleb Boushley continued to pitch fantastic for the Saints. He improved to 6-1 on the season with seven strong innings. He gave up one run on four hits. It came on a solo homer to Trayce Thompson. Boushley had eight strikeouts without issuing a walk. 

Michael Helman had the big hit for the Saints offense. In the sixth inning, the Saints had just taken the 2-1 lead on Lee’s RBI single. Helman came to the plate and blasted his eighth home run of the year, a three-run shot that made it a 5-1 ballgame.  

Matt Wallner and Austin Martin were both 1-for-3 with a walk in the game. Since he was sent back to St. Paul, Martin has played in 13 games and hit .310/.492/.405 (.897) with a double and a homer. What we have been paying closest attention to has been his walk-to-strikeout rate. Over that time frame, he has 15 walks and just three strikeouts. 

Wallner has also been very good of late. In his past eight games with the Saints, he is hitting .296/.424/.852 (1.276) with three doubles, four home runs, and 10 RBI. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 4, NW Arkansas 2
Box Score
Emmanuel Rodriguez was again out of the Wind Surge lineup. He had not played since last Sunday with a hand/thumb issue. He singled in his first at-bat and then had a hustle double in the third inning. On the play, he dove headfirst into second base and … well, Tom has the video here.  

Travis Adams pitched very well. He gave up one run on four hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out three batters. Regi Grace came on and gave up only an unearned run over two innings. He walked two batters and struck out two batters. Austin Brice worked the final two innings. He struck out six batters. The lone blemish was that he hit a batter.  

The Wind Surge scored three runs in the third inning. Following Rodriguez’s leadoff double, he advanced to third on a wild pitch. Jeferson Morales singled to drive in the team’s first run and tie the game. Morales stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. He scored on Tanner Schobel’s ninth double. With two outs, Jake Rucker switched spots with Schobel with his ninth double of the season. 

They added another run in the fifth inning. Luke Keaschall doubled and scored on a two-out single by Carson McCusker. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 3, Great Lakes 10
Box Score
This game was really just a story of one, half-inning. Great Lakes took advantage of an error to put together a six-run third inning. 

Christian MacLeod started. After two scoreless innings, he was charged with six runs (2 earned) in the third inning. In all, he went 2 2/3 innings and allowed five hits and four walks.

Juan Mendez got the final out of the third inning and then worked two more scoreless frames. He had five strikeouts. Rafael Marcano gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in his inning. Finally, Sheldon Reed gave up two runs on one hit and two walks over two innings.  

The Kernels offense didn’t do much. In the fifth inning, a Ricardo Olivar single drove in Agustin Ruiz. In the ninth inning, Jay Harry knocked a two-run homer. 

Harry was the team’s leadoff hitter. He went 2-for-3 with two walks and the homer was his fourth of the season. Kevin Maitan went 2-for-3 with a walk. 

Former Twins first-round pick Noah Miller led off for Great Lakes. He went 2-for-4 with a walk and a home run. The 21-year-old was the Twins Competitive Balance pick after the first round in the 2021 draft. After this game, he is now hitting .249/.336/.369 (.705) with eight doubles and six home runs. Last year with the Kernels, he hit .223/.309/.340 (.649) with 20 doubles, five triples and eight home runs. In March, he went to the Dodgers in exchange for OF Manuel Margot infielder Rayne Doncon who was recently promoted to the Kernels. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 9, Tampa 3
Box Score
The Mussels scored three runs in the first inning, three more in the second inning, and then scored a combined three runs in the eighth and ninth innings. 

Jair Camargo, making another rehab start, led the offense. He went 3-for-4 with a double. He also worked behind the plate in the game. Walker Jenkins went 2-for-4 with a walk in this game, his first two hits of the season. He had a double, scored two runs and drove in two runs. 

The Mussels also got some solid performances on the mound. Ty Langenberg gave up one run on four hits and two walks over five innings. He had four strikeouts. Danny Moreno was charged with two unearned runs in the sixth inning. Ricky Castro came on and struck out four batters over three scoreless innings to record his first Save. 

In the first inning, Byron Chourio led off by reaching on an error. Then Jenkins singled. Camargo drove in a run with a single. Then Brandon Winokur drove in two runs with another single. 

In the second inning, Isaac Pena walked and stole second. Yohander Martinez singled him in. Following a Chourio walk, Jenkins knocked in two runs with a double. 

Gregory Duran knocked his third home run of the season to give the Mussels a 7-3 lead in the eighth. They added two more in the ninth inning on a Rixon Wingrove single.  

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
DSL Twins 1, DSL Nationals 2
Box Score
The Dominican Summer League schedule began on Monday. In fact, these two teams started on Monday. However, after two-and-a-half innings, the rains came and it was delayed. They completed the game on Wednesday. 

Anderson Chacon got the start on Monday. He went two innings and gave up a hit and a walk, but no runs. Melvin Rodriguez took over when the game resumed. He gave up two runs on four hits over 3 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five batters. Anderson Ramos got the final two outs of the sixth inning, one on a strikeout. 

The Twins managed just four hits in the game. Romiro Dominguez, Yandro Hernandez, Luis Rodriguez, and Davirik Fuenmayor each had a single.  

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day - Jay Harry (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, 2 BB, HR(4), R, 2 RBI.   
Pitcher of the Day – Caleb Boushley (St. Paul) - 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K, 78 pitches, 53 strikes (68.0%)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. 

#1 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, BB, 2B(1), 2 R, 2 RBI
#2 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - Game 2: 1-for-3, BB, RBI (rehab in FM, DHd)
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 2-for-2, 2B(12), R (left with injury)
#8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, R, SB(3)
#9 - Luke Keaschall (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B(2), R 
#10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, BB, RBI, SB(11)
#13 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(9), R, RBI, K. (played 3B)
#18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 2 K
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2 K (DHd)

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES
Syracuse @ St. Paul (DH @ 5:07 PM CST) - RHP Adam Plutko (0-1, 4.26 ERA), RHP Louie Varland (2-4, 4.30 ERA) 
Wichita @ NW Arkansas (DH @ 4:05 PM CST) - RHP Jarret Whorff (0-2, 3.80 ERA), LHP Aaron Rozek (1-3, 1.43 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Great Lakes (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Darren Bowen (2-2, 4.74 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Tanner Hall (0-0, 2.45 ERA)
FCL Twins @ FCL Braves (11:00 AM CST) - TBD
DSL Twins @ DSL Tigers 2 (10:00 AM CST) - TBD

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

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[FlyingFinn]

Ah, Emma Rodriguez, don't dive head first into a base when returning from a hand injury. Go feet first.

[mikelink45]

I can see Julien, Lee, and Martin back with the Twins this season, but who goes will be another mystery just like Julien's demotion.  It will be time to get rid of vets who are under performing.

[yeahyabetcha]

25 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I can see Julien, Lee, and Martin back with the Twins this season, but who goes will be another mystery just like Julien's demotion.  It will be time to get rid of vets who are under performing.

Like Buxton??

[Patzky]

26 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I can see Julien, Lee, and Martin back with the Twins this season, but who goes will be another mystery just like Julien's demotion.  It will be time to get rid of vets who are under performing.

Farmer goes and gets a couple hits last night. Margot involved in run production again and a great catch.

 

Maybe the trade Kepler bells ring true .

 

[strumdatjag]

27 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I can see Julien, Lee, and Martin back with the Twins this season, but who goes will be another mystery just like Julien's demotion.  It will be time to get rid of vets who are under performing.

All two could be back, Lee could be here for the first time (cue uo that song by Foreigner).    
Meanwhile, glad to see Jarrett Whorff is pitching tonight for Wichita (Cue up the theme from Star Trek: The Next Generation for the Twins only Klingon player ever).  

[Dman]

Happy to have guys back.  I think Camargo looks close to returning as well so St. Paul should be at full force soon.  That lineup should be good with several players on the cusp of MLB time in Julien, Wallner, Martin, Camargo and Lee (could possibly add Hellman as well)..

I really liked BA's top 100 list.  I do think Keaschall deserves some recognition for his 1.000 OPS to start his first season of pro ball.  I also liked that they recognized just how dominant Matthew's has been with his elite control and command.  Granted I think Festa belongs as well, but their point about control being such a difference maker when making the jump makes sense to me.  I mean Zebby is throwing strikes.  They know he is throwing strikes and they can't do anything about it..  That is some good stuff.

[Doctor Gast]

Great job Seth! Saints look super. What impressed me most about Julien wasn't his HR but his 0- Ks, keep up the good work. Wallner is progressing well in his Ks only having 1. Their clone Severino, since they also have the book on him, isn't doing very well & Keirsey (who didn't play last night) is more deserving of the 40-man spot. Martin is being Martin & should be up in the show. Especially with both Julien & Lee in AAA, they should have Julien play 1B

Lead-off hitter Jay Harry (CR) had a good night but the Loons cleaned up on CR. Happy to see Loons lead-off hitter (former GG Twins prospect) Noah Miller having a good night with his bat, sorry!

 

[Cory Engelhardt]

Lee continuing to play SS is good. IF he gets recalled and is set to play another position, that SHOULD be ok right?

I also see Cade Povich is starting for Baltimore today. Wish him well.

[wabene]

Man I guess I'm not the only one high on Keaschall. Enters the BA top 100 at 66, nice! Zebulon getting some love as well. The Twin's farm is gaining strength as Falvey holds back on his itchy trigger finger, lol.

[wabene]

Wallner is finally getting it together, hopefully Eddie does the same in quicker fashion.

[KBJ1]

It's time to see if a AA prospect can make the jump. We've tried all the AAA guys and none have been able to stick.

The Twims need a spark from somewhere. Preferably and OF or Pitcher. Might as well try someone.

[4twinsJA]

Looks like Boushley making a case to surpass Varland in starting pitching pecking order. I would have Festa, Boushley, then Varland.

[Jocko87]

1 hour ago, wabene said:

Man I guess I'm not the only one high on Keaschall. Enters the BA top 100 at 66, nice! Zebulon getting some love as well. The Twin's farm is gaining strength as Falvey holds back on his itchy trigger finger, lol.

By my count that's 7 top 100 prospects, not including china doll Raya. Pretty good.

Also, don't get too attached. Keaschall is the current perfect example of their mindset. Draft all the "shortstops" hit on one or two and trade the rest. Picking the right one to keep is the hard part.

[bean5302]

Lots of other teams have fringe top-100 prospects as well. Just as easy for David Festa to fall out of the top-100 as it is for another Twins player to sneak in.

It's never a bad thing to see Twins player or prospects doing well, and the Twins have quite a few guys who are turning some heads and distracting the scouting world at the moment. Here's hoping I'm wrong about the guys I don't think are as good as they're rated, and that the guys I think are going to be awesome really are, haha.

[Mike Sixel]

Bleep 

That aside, I'd like to see Julien get time at first and Lee time at second...... Because Lee isn't playing SS any time soon in Minnesota. They did this to Martin, even though everyone knew he wasn't a SS. 

Otoh, Lewis might get hurt again, and Lee will play third...

[wabene]

6 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Bleep 

That aside, I'd like to see Julien get time at first and Lee time at second...... Because Lee isn't playing SS any time soon in Minnesota. They did this to Martin, even though everyone knew he wasn't a SS. 

Otoh, Lewis might get hurt again, and Lee will play third...

IDK Lee has a quick move and strong throw from short, good instincts. Yes maybe he's not fast but he can at least fill in at short in the bigs.

[wabene]

Watching the Twinks get bowled over by the Unmentionable a thought on what this team is missing; it was noticable when Wallner was rolling last season that he was a gorilla out there. Running over the glass jawed New Jackie Robinson and just having a physical presence out there. This team needs an edge and it just may be on their own farm.

[RpR]

1 hour ago, wabene said:

Watching the Twinks get bowled over by the Unmentionable a thought on what this team is missing; it was noticable when Wallner was rolling last season that he was a gorilla out there. Running over the glass jawed New Jackie Robinson and just having a physical presence out there. This team needs an edge and it just may be on their own farm.

Actually he looked more like Willie Norwood in the field.

[mikelink45]

23 hours ago, yeahyabetcha said:

Like Buxton??

Like Vasquez his contract would guarantee he stays.  But overall the fans and teams love affair with Buxton insures he stays through his contract. 

[yeahyabetcha]

25 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Like Vasquez his contract would guarantee he stays.  But overall the fans and teams love affair with Buxton insures he stays through his contract. 

Yeah, I doubt he is going anywhere soon.  Buxton is on my top two (along with Sano) list of unrealized career expectations for all past Twin prospects.  In your opinion, who else would be a candidate for this list?

[Mike Sixel]

14 hours ago, wabene said:

IDK Lee has a quick move and strong throw from short, good instincts. Yes maybe he's not fast but he can at least fill in at short in the bigs.

My point is that we better hope he's not playing SS any time soon, because that means CC isn't...

[mikelink45]

13 hours ago, yeahyabetcha said:

Yeah, I doubt he is going anywhere soon.  Buxton is on my top two (along with Sano) list of unrealized career expectations for all past Twin prospects.  In your opinion, who else would be a candidate for this list?

Right now Kiriloff is challenging that list.