Twins Minor League Report (6/6): Minnesotans Wallner and Rozek Provide Twins Affiliates with a Spark

[Ted Schwerzler]

There were multiple doubleheaders on the farm for the Twins on Thursday, and a few players ripped a couple of the same type of extra-base hits. A strong pitching performance happened in Wichita, and a particular outfielder flashed some power for St. Paul.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey - Wichita Wind Surge

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 33-29  
St. Paul Saints: 27-32
Wichita Wind Surge: 22-32
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 31-22
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 27-27
FCL Twins: 14-9 
DSL Twins: 1-3

TRANSACTIONS

• RHP Cory Lewis rehab assignment transferred from FCL to Fort Myers

SAINTS SENTINEL
Game 1: St. Paul 5, Syracuse 3 (F/7)
Box Score

Playing a doubleheader on Thursday to make up for Tuesday’s rainout, Adam Plutko started game one for Toby Gardenhire’s squad. He worked 3 1/3 innings allowing three runs on three hits and three walks. He struck out three but gave up a pair of home runs as well.

Responding to the Mets run in the second inning, Austin Martin tied things up in the third inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Anthony Prato. Syracuse plated two more on a fourth inning home run, and St. Paul had work to do again. They were up to the task in the bottom half and answered in a big way.

Matt Wallner homered for the tenth time this year to draw within one, and then Tony Kemp blasted a two-run shot scoring Yunior Severino. Leading 4-3, Prato went deep for the first time in 2024 and gave the Saints some breathing room. The 5-3 lead held up and was enough for Jordan Balazovic to get the win with Josh Winder recording a two inning save.

Prato put up two hits, with his other being a double. The win gave them their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Game 2: Syracuse 9, St. Paul 4 (F/7)
Box Score

Louie Varland was the Game 2 starter and his tough season continued. Allowing six runs on seven hits and four walks, the former Twins fifth starter struck out five. However, his Triple-A ERA ballooned to 5.31 following the outing.

Wallner continued his hot streak with a first inning home run, his 11th of the year, but the Saints found themselves in an early hole. Syracuse put up a five-spot in the second inning and four more runs during the fourth inning to grow their lead. St. Paul responded with two runs in the fourth inning on a Prato double that scored Diego A. Castillo, and a Will Holland sacrifice fly that scored Chris Williams. With Michael Helman reaching in the ninth inning on an error, and advancing on defensive indifference, Castillo cashed him in with a one out single. That was the only rally they could muster though, and the game ended there.

Game 2 saw Wallner grab a pair of hits and Castillo recorded three of his own. Jeff Brigham, Scott Blewett, and Nick Wittgren all threw scoreless innings of relief for St. Paul.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Game 1: Wichita 3, NW Arkansas 2 (F/7)
Box Score
Playing a pair on Thursday, it was the often shuffled Aaron Rozek starting for Game 1. Working five innings of one-run baseball, he scattered three hits and didn’t allow a walk. Rozek struck out five during the start.

Seven of the nine Wichita batters recorded hits, and it was a team effort to come out on top. Jake Rucker doubled in the second inning to score Tanner Schobel and plate the game’s first run. The Naturals evened things at one in the bottom of the inning, but Aaron Sabato stayed hot and hit his third homer of the season to make it a 2-1 game in the fourth inning. Jorel Ortega followed his lead with a solo shot, his second of the season, in the fifth inning to make it 3-1.

Wichita gave back a run, but John Stankiewicz dialed in enough to hold the lead and record his first save of the season.

Game 2: Wichita 7, NW Arkansas 5 (F/7)
Box Score
Jarret Whorff drew the start in game two and pitched three scoreless innings allowing baserunners on just a single hit and one walk. He struck out three. Scott Engler kept things rolling with two scoreless innings of his own.

The Wind Surge scored a pair in the second inning that started with Carson McCusker doubling home Kala’i Rosario. Rucker then singled and brought McCusker across the plate. Adding four in the third inning, the frame started with Andrew Cossetti reaching on an error that scored Luke Keaschall. McCusker brough Jeferson Morales home on a fielder’s choice and Rucker drew a bases loaded walk allowing Cossetti to trot across the plate. Kyler Fedko then sent a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Rosario and it was a 6-0 game.

McCusker doubled for the tenth time this season to score Rosario in the fifth inning, and his second two-bagger of the game made it a 7-0 lead for Wichita. They did give a run back in the bottom of the sixth inning, and let the Naturals made noise in the seventh inning against Jared Solomon with two outs, but the big lead held up. Taylor Floyd came on and gave the final out and recorded a save. McCusker and Rosario both had a pair of hits during the nightcap.

The road doubleheader sweep was the first time Wichita had done so since May 6, 2022. Despite returning to the lineup yesterday, Emmanuel Rodriguez was pinch hit for on Wednesday and didn’t play in either game on Thursday.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Great Lakes 8, Cedar Rapids 3
Box Score

Darren Bowen worked five innings and allowed four runs on five hits. He struck out four and walked one while allowing a home run. The Loons leadoff hitter, and shortstop, was former Twins prospect Noah Miller. The minor league platinum glove winner was dealt to the Dodgers in the Manuel Margot trade.

Great Lakes touched up Bowen for four first inning runs and put the Kernels in a bad spot early. Cedar Rapids didn’t quit though, and responded with three of their own to open the second inning. Jose Salas singled to drive home Kevin Maitan and Misael Urbina before Nate Baez brought him home with a double.

The Loons added another in the bottom of the sixth inning and two more in the seventh inning. Pushing another tally across in the eighth inning, they led 8-3 going into the final frame. Cedar Rapids couldn’t mount a comeback, and with just six hits, no player recorded a pair on their own.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 9, Tampa 4
Box Score

Moved to Fort Myers for his rehab assignment, Cory Lewis made the start and worked three innings of scoreless baseball. He allowed just a single hit and walked one while striking out three. He should be headed back to Double-A Wichita shortly. Jack Noble got the win and Nolan Santos recorded his fifth save of the season.

Scoring started in the third inning with Ryan McCarthy driving home Yohander Martinez on a single before Payton Eeles plated him with a sacrifice fly. Recently back from his hamstring injury, Walker Jenkins flashed the leather with a diving catch in the fourth inning. The fifth inning saw Isaac Pena homer for the first time this season, a solo shot, before Eeles brought home Martinez with a ground out.

After the Tarpons added two of their own in the bottom of the fifth inning, Fort Myers responded in the seventh inning. Rehabbing catcher Jair Camargo homered, and his three run shot brought home McCarthy and Eeles in the process. Giving one back in the eighth inning, Carlos Aguiar doubled home McCarthy and Eeles in the ninth inning to make it 9-3. The last inning run for the Tarpons didn’t change the result, and the Mighty Mussels wrapped up the victory.

Both Jenkins and Camargo had a pair of hits on the evening. Just returning from the injured list, the Twins top prospect is sporting a .929 OPS early.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Braves 4, FCL Twins 3
Box Score
Joel Garcia took the ball for the FCL squad and worked three innings. He gave up a pair of runs but both were unearned. Allowing three hits, Garcia didn’t allow a walk and struck out three. Miguel Cordero surrendered two more unearned runs in three innings of relief work.

Ariel Castro opened the scoring in the first inning with a single that scored Yasser Mercedes. Bryan Acuna moved to third base on the play but was stranded there to end the inning. The Braves took the lead in the bottom half with a pair of runs.

After the Braves plated two more in the fourth inning the Twins had to claw back. Yilber Herrera scored Javier Roman with a sixth inning single and Acuna scored Mercedes with a seventh inning single. They couldn’t get the tying run though and fell just short. Mercedes, Acuna, and Roman each had a pair of hits. Through 76 at bats, Mercedes owns an impressive .909 OPS.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins 3, DSL Tigers Two 1
Box Score
Having just gotten underway last week, the DSL Twins were still seeking their first win after starting 0-2. Facing the DSL Tigers second squad, the sides remained scoreless through the first three innings. Murphy Hernandez broke the tie in the fourth inning with a single that scored Yandro Hernandez and put the good guys on top. Ramiro Dominguez singled in the fifth inning to score Ricardo Paez and make it a 2-0 game. Adding more breathing room, Dominguez scored Luis Fragoza with a seventh inning sacrifice fly.

Cristian Hernandez worked four hitless innings as the starter, and allowed just a pair of walks while striking out five. Jose Vasquez worked 2 2/3 innings of relief allowing just a single run, and Manuel Compres grabbed a save in a one-out professional debut.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Rozek (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Hitter of the Day – Carson McCusker (Wichita) 2-3, R, 2 RB, 2 2B

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday. 
#1– Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) – 1-3, BB
#2 – Brooks Lee (St. Paul) – 0-3, K
#8 – Austin Martin (St. Paul) – 0-5, RBI, BB, K
#9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 1-7, R, 2B, BB, K
#12 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 3-7, 3 R, BB, 3 K
#13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-3, R, 2 K
#15 – Cory Lewis (Wichita) – Rehab with Fort Myers - 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB 3 K
#18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 1-2, R, BB
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, BB

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul vs Syracuse (7:07 PM CST) – RHP David Festa (1-2, 3.56 ERA)
Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CST) – RHP Marco Raya (0-1, 5.06 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Great Lakes (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Jeremy Lee (0-1, 17.18 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30 PM CST) – RHP Cesar Lares (2-1, 2,48 ERA)

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

View full article

[bean5302]

Nothing to see here. If there was a good player to call up, Rocco, I want to relive my career through my players, and I would have been a superstar if I rested 3x a week Baldelli wouldn't have used them anyway.

[FanFromPhilly]

Jenkins reached base twice but he didn't have a pair of hits.

[Major League Ready]

I guess the good news is there are signs of life from Matt Wallner.

Last 10 games    .333 / .450 / .970    1.420 OPS

[Karbo]

Is it time to move Varland to the pen?

[roger]

Highlite for me today was seeing the youngest Acuna playing for the FCL Twins.  Recall he had a fantastic year in the DSL two years ago before being not so good last year in the FCL as a 17 year old.  Good seeing him off to a great start this year.  

See he came back yesterday after being out for a month or so.  Does anyone know what injury he was out with?  And does anyone have a clue how he is in the field at shortstop?

[Dman]

2 hours ago, Karbo said:

Is it time to move Varland to the pen?

Yeah I don't know what is going on, but he seems like a shell of himself from past years.  His control hasn't been great but 27 hits in 16 innings pitched and 6 of those were HR's says his stuff is way, way too hittable right now. It looks like he is trying to stay more out of the zone to compensate, but they need to revamp pitch shape, how they are attacking the zone or maybe just new pitches but a 9.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP isn't going to bring him back to the show.

IMO somethings wrong as he has been better than this all the way up.  I have no idea what that something is, but hopefully they can get it corrected sooner rather than later.

Edit: sorry those were MLB numbers.  Actually even though his ERA is 5.31 at AAA his FIP is 3.78 and xFIP 3.58 which says the results should be better than they are.  The K 9 is still good at AAA. Walks are in-line too.  I don't know how to remove this post but it is not accurate.  He is doing ok at AAA, but not dominating like he had in the past.. 

[Guest]

Has anyone an idea what if anything Wallner is doing differently now?  Both HRs look like they were on breaking balls in and down.

And yes, One-Inning Louie should be in the 'pen.

[tony&rodney]

Wallner must give the Twins fits. The eyes see him flail wildly, take strikes, and then flip his bat for towering home runs or opposite field doubles. Sometimes these hits come on pitches well out of the strike zone while he misses pitches right down the middle.

I'm wondering how the guys in charge of evaluating Wallner see his path back to MLB. The at bats don't seem to be any different in terms of a player making subtle changes to close the holes that major league pitchers exploited. By contrast, Julien is consciously swinging at  pitches on the edges of the strike zone thus far in St. Paul. 

[Dman]

16 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Wallner must give the Twins fits. The eyes see him flail wildly, take strikes, and then flip his bat for towering home runs or opposite field doubles. Sometimes these hits come on pitches well out of the strike zone while he misses pitches right down the middle.

 

I wonder if those pitches out of the zone are the only way they give him fastballs?  He loves fastballs.  I too agree that I don't think I have seen a player with more swing and miss at pitches right down the middle or at least over the heart of the plate.  Granted if GameDay can be believed a lot of those pitches have quite a bit of movement, but you would think he could at least grab a piece of the ball in those situations.  I think there is still a lot to work on, but am happy he is at least seeing some positive results again.  With the tight zone at AAA he needs to be more consistent than he has been to earn a trip back IMO.

[tony&rodney]

7 minutes ago, Dman said:

With the tight zone at AAA he needs to be more consistent than he has been to earn a trip back IMO.

I watch minor league games via milb.com and listen to the Twins on the radio more often these days. AAA uses the ABS system three times per week and a challenge system on the weekends. The strike zone is very clean in my opinion. I have heard a number of comments listening to the Twins games that referenced the AAA strike zone as tighter and do not agree with the MLB umpires choosing their own strike zone. Hitting is really tough at the MLB level and the inconsistent zone leaves a fraction of doubt for hitters. This favors the pitchers which naturally will depress batting averages. In addition it seems odd that the Twins announcers will comment on the AAA strike zone because they never see AAA games. Naturally, this topic is ongoing with no solution short term because Manfred and the umpires are holding the game back.

[mickster]

2 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

I guess the good news is there are signs of life from Matt Wallner.

.333 / .450 / .970    1.420 OPS

I hate to say this, but it might be time for Wallner to take Kiriloff's place on the roster.   If one were RH it would make things much easier.

[mickster]

2 hours ago, Karbo said:

Is it time to move Varland to the pen?

He should be there, and would be back up very shortly if he bought into it.

[LambchoP]

Sure seems like Wallner has figured something out. Maybe swap him in for Larnach or Kiriloff for two weeks. See if his recent success can carry over the the big leagues.

[LambchoP]

I also think it's past time to move Varland to the pen. We gave him every opportunity, it's just not working out. He looked great in the pen late last year. If he can have even some of that type of success again he will still be valuable to us. Imagine having three guys at the back end of our pen that can throw 100mph. Duran, Alcala and Varland. I saw Alcala hit 101 last night against the Yankees!

[RpR]

1 minute ago, LambchoP said:

Sure seems like Wallner has figured something out. Maybe swap him in for Larnach or Kiriloff for two weeks. See if his recent success can carry over the the big leagues.

It is AAA pitching; Stevenso ripped AAA pitcher a new butt hole last  year and the Bigs pitchers did the same to him.

Wishful thinking.

Wait a month.

[saviking]

Now, Varland to the pen?

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, Karbo said:

Is it time to move Varland to the pen?

They can either develop him to be a bad AAA starter or a good MLB reliever. Clock is ticking.

[DJL44]

15 minutes ago, mickster said:

I hate to say this, but it might be time for Wallner to take Kiriloff's place on the roster.   If one were RH it would make things much easier.

Kirilloff's last 2 weeks in MLB: .280/.321/.600. That's more impressive than Wallner beating up on the Rochester Red Wings.

[bean5302]

35 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Kirilloff's last 2 weeks in MLB: .280/.321/.600. That's more impressive than Wallner beating up on the Rochester Red Wings.

I've seen all I care of Kirilloff and his career 0.0 WAR in 871 plate apperances. I don't think there's anything he can do short of PA wRC+ 120 or higher for at least 200-300 plate appearances while not being totally shielded from lefties to convince me he's going to make it. That said, if Kirilloff doesn't do that, it's probably his last year in a Twins uniform.

Wallner has more options, and he was ice cold to start the year. Wallner's going to need at least another 100 PA of raking before I'd suspect the Twins would be willing to close the book on Kirilloff to make space.

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, mickster said:

I hate to say this, but it might be time for Wallner to take Kiriloff's place on the roster.   If one were RH it would make things much easier.

Kirilloff has been good of late so why now?  He looks like he is making adjustments.  Plus, I don't think the best plan for Wallner is to bring him back just yet.  He was stinking it up in AAA until the last 10 games.  They shouldn't bring him back until he demonstrates he can sustain whatever adjustments he has made.  We are going to need him next year with Kepler likely gone.  

[Obsvr]

2 hours ago, Dman said:

Yeah I don't know what is going on, but he seems like a shell of himself from past years.  His control hasn't been great but 27 hits in 16 innings pitched and 6 of those were HR's says his stuff is way, way too hittable right now. It looks like he is trying to stay more out of the zone to compensate, but they need to revamp pitch shape, how they are attacking the zone or maybe just new pitches but a 9.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP isn't going to bring him back to the show.

IMO somethings wrong as he has been better than this all the way up.  I have no idea what that something is, but hopefully they can get it corrected sooner rather than later.

Edit: sorry those were MLB numbers.  Actually even though his ERA is 5.31 at AAA his FIP is 3.78 and xFIP 3.58 which says the results should be better than they are.  The K 9 is still good at AAA. Walks are in-line too.  I don't know how to remove this post but it is not accurate.  He is doing ok at AAA, but not dominating like he had in the past.. 

This type of drastic drop off in performance usually precedes some kind of injury.  My bet would be that he isn't 100% healthy and is trying to pitch through whatever the issue is.

[SotaSports in NM]

2 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

I watch minor league games via milb.com...

I enjoy doing this, too and even do it while I'm at AAA games here in Albuquerque lol. Too bad the IL never comes down to play the PCL 😓.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Obsvr said:

This type of drastic drop off in performance usually precedes some kind of injury.  My bet would be that he isn't 100% healthy and is trying to pitch through whatever the issue is.

It's not a drastic drop off, though. Varland had a
3.97 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 3.91 xFIP at AAA St. Paul in 2023.
5.31 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 3.58 xFIP at AAA St. Paul this year.

Projections for a 4.00 ERA/FIP pitcher in AAA making the jump to MLB are not good, and Varland was a bad starter last year with the Twins. He had a 5.30 ERA with a 5.49 FIP last year at MLB as a starter. Only his cutter was a plus pitch for him in results in 2023, and even then, I'm pretty sure it was only a plus out of the bullpen.

No knock to Varland. Based on his draft position and scouting reports on him, he never should have made it above AA ball so making it to the big show and putting in many appearances and in the playoffs was already a big success. If he's going to continue his MLB career, it seems all but certain it's going to need to come out of the bullpen.

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

Kirilloff has been good of late so why now?  He looks like he is making adjustments.  Plus, I don't think the best plan for Wallner is to bring him back just yet.  He was stinking it up in AAA until the last 10 games.  They shouldn't bring him back until he demonstrates he can sustain whatever adjustments he has made.  We are going to need him next year with Kepler likely gone.  

Kirilloff's probably a blind squirrel finding a stash of acorns right now, but here's hoping his issues are mental and this gives him a big confidence boost. Over his past 10 games:
.296/.333/.593 OPS .926, wRC+ 156, 6.7% BB, 36.7% K,

He's making it work on some big barrels in a very small sample size. Just 17 batted ball events since he's striking out a ton, and one lone line drive over this .400 BABIP sample size. 

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

Kirilloff's probably a blind squirrel finding a stash of acorns right now, but here's hoping his issues are mental and this gives him a big confidence boost. Over his past 10 games:
.296/.333/.593 OPS .926, wRC+ 156, 6.7% BB, 36.7% K,

He's making it work on some big barrels in a very small sample size. Just 17 batted ball events since he's striking out a ton, and one lone line drive over this .400 BABIP sample size. 

Yep, I am with you.  I don't know what to expect but I would ride it out for now given he is going in the right direction.