Twins Minor League Report (6/8): Eeles, Rucker Power Mussels, Surge to Wins

[Seth Stohs]

It was a very busy day in the Minnesota Twins minor-league system on Saturday. There were several positives in the organization; from Simeon Woods Richardson's fantastic start in Pittsburgh, to Davirik Fuenmayor's doubles in the Dominican, and more in between. 

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Eeles), Ed Bailey (photo of Rucker)

The beauty of following the organization's minor-league system every day is that even when the Twins aren't playing well (they've lost five in a row and been very streaky all year), there's a chance that at least one of the six affiliates play well. And each of those teams have 24 to 30 players who can have a great day at any time. It's not just about the top prospects, and every individual has their own story. 

On Saturday, Fort Myers got a huge grand slam from Payton Eeles, a D2 standout who went to a top D1 school for a year, but was deemed undersized, so he had to go the independent route. He signed with the Twins just over a month ago and has been fantastic, and very appreciative. The Wind Surge got a big two homer game from Jake Rucker. He was the Twins seventh round pick in 2021 from an SEC powerhouse. Both players are 24 and flown a bit under the radar. Neither appears on a Twins Top 30 prospect list. Both are really good players and a reminder that all professional ballplayers are tremendous players and warrant a ton of respect. Also, player development is certainly not a linear path, and as long as a player still gets a uniform, they still have a chance. 

With that, let's take a look at what happened on Saturday in the minor-league ballparks. 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 33-31 
St. Paul Saints: 27-34
Wichita Wind Surge: 23-33
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 31-24
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 28-28
FCL Twins: 14-12
DSL Twins: 1-3

TRANSACTIONS
No minor-league transactions in the Twins farm system on Saturday. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 3, Syracuse 8
Box Score
This game started with three scoreless innings. However, Syracuse scored five runs in the fourth inning and another in the fifth. 

Randy Dobnak gave up five runs (4 earned) on six hits over 3 1/3 innings. He had six strikeouts without missing a walk. Nick Wittgren came into the game with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning and got the final two outs without further runs allowed. He went 2 2/3 innings and gave up one run on two hits. He had two strikeouts. Hobie Harris gave up two runs on five hits (including two home runs). He had four strikeouts. Jay Jackson pitched a clean ninth inning and had one strikeout. 

Down 8-0 going to the bottom of the seventh inning, Michael Helman and Diego A Castillo went back-to-back to put the Saints on the scoreboard. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Will Holland hit a solo home run. 

Holland went 2-for-3 with a walk and his fifth homer. Helman was 2-for-4 with his 10th double and ninth homer. Castillo was 2-for-3 with a walk and his third home run. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 7, NW Arkansas 2
Box Score
Wichita jumped to an early lead in this game. With one out in the top of the first inning, Jake Rucker hit his third home run of the season. 

The game was tied after the fourth inning, but in the top of the fifth frame, the Wind Surge reclaimed the lead. With one out, Ben Ross walked. Luke Keaschall drove him in with a triple, and Rucker singled to drive in Keaschall. 

With a 3-1 lead through six innings, the Surge powered their way to a four-run inning. Keaschall walked, and Rucker hit his second homer of the night. Jeferson Morales doubled. Kala’i Rosario followed with his sixth home run of the season. 

Andrew Morris was on the mound for the first six innings and earned his first Double-A Win. He gave up one run on four hits. He walked one, hit one, and struck out eight batters. 

Regi Grace tossed two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and had a strikeout. Austin Brice was charged with an unearned run on a hit and two walks in the ninth inning. 

Rucker led the way. He went 3-for-5 with his third and fourth home runs and four RBI. He also stole his third base. After the game, Rucker told Twins Daily, “I’ve only had like two other multi-homer games in my life.” 

Rucker is a 24-year-old Nashville native who was the Twins seventh-round draft pick in 2021 out of the University of Tennessee. Asked how many gloves he brings to the ballpark each day, he said, “I have my everyday infield glove, an outfield glove, and a first base mitt as well.” He continued, “I’ve played a lot of third base since college, but I’m probably a little more comfortable at second base since I’ve played most of my games there this year.” 

With the recent promotion of Luke Keaschall to the Wind Surge, Rucker will likely get more time at third base. That said, Keaschall has also started several games in center field, so Rucker will still get time at second base. 

Morales went 2-for-5 with his ninth and 10th doubles. Keaschall went 1-for-3 with a walk and a triple. Rosario’s home run was his sixth of the season. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 3, Great Lakes 11
Box Score
It’s almost hard to believe that the Kernels grabbed a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth inning. Great Lakes scored five runs in the fifth inning and four more in the bottom of the sixth inning and won handily. Kernels pitchers gave up 11 runs on 11 hits and six walks and a hit batter. In addition, they committed five errors in the game which certainly didn’t help the cause. 

Miguelangel Boadas gave up two runs on four hits over the first four innings. He had six strikeouts and no walks. Juan Mercedes came on and was charged with five runs (3 earned) on four hits. Juan Mendez came in and got two outs, but not before he was charged with three runs (2 earned) on two hits and two walks. Sheldon Reed came on and gave up an unearned run on one hit and two walks in 1 1/3 innings. Rafael Marcano got the final four outs without issuing another run. 

Misael Urbina went 2-for-3 with a walk. Agustin Ruiz went 2-for-4. Jose Salas went 1-for-3 with a walk. Jay Harry walked twice and stole his fourth base. 

Noah Miller has seemingly enjoyed hosting some of his friends and former teammates in his new city. Since going 0-for-4 on Tuesday, he is 7-for-18 with a double and a home run in the past four games. He has scored five runs and driven in four more.  

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 8, Tampa 5
Box Score
Sometimes one big inning is all it takes for a team. Down 4-1, a seven-run seventh inning gave the team an 8-4 lead that they held onto for the final innings. 

Fort Myers took the early lead. Payton Eeles led off the game with his third triple. He scored on a ground out by Walker Jenkins. 

Charlee Soto was on the mound to start for the Mussels. He gave up four runs on five hits over the first three innings. He walked two and struck out four. Two of the five hits were home runs. Ross Dunn came on and worked the next four innings. He gave up a solo home run in the seventh. He gave  up one run on four hits to earn the win. Xander Hamilton recorded his fourth save of the season. He threw two scoreless, hitless innings. He had two walks and two strikeouts. 

Let’s get to the seventh inning. Rixon Wingrove singled to lead off the inning. Carlos Aguiar and Maddux Houghton walked to load the bases. Ryan McCarthy singled to score two runs. Yohander Martinez walked to reload the bases. After a pitching change, Payton Eeles got an 88 mph sinker and crushed it 106 mph at a 26-degree launch angle. 383 feet later, the ball landed beyond the wall for a grand slam. The Miracle led 7-4. Jenkins walked. After an out, Brandon Winokur was hit by a pitch. After a force out and a walk, the bases were again loaded. Maddux Houghton hit an infield single to score the team’s eighth run. 

Wingrove had a single and two walks. Winokur added his 13th double and stole his 12th base. Eeles went 2-for-5 with his third triple and third home run.  

Payton Eeles has been quite the find for the Twins pro scouting staff. After three years at a Division II school, he challenged himself and went to Division I Coastal Carolina. He put up massive numbers right away and was called a team leader. At just 5-7 and 180 pounds, the top-of-the-lineup spark plug went the independent ball direction, signing with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. 

On May 7th, he signed with the Twins and was assigned to the Mighty Mussels. In 28 games (and exactly 100 at-bats), Eeles has hit .350/.457/.560 (1.017) with six doubles, three triples, and three homers. He has 26 runs and 24 RBI. He’s also 12-for-15 in stolen base attempts. 

As he has everywhere else, he has taken advantage of the opportunity he has been given. Following Saturday night’s game, he told Twins Daily, “I absolutely love every day I’m here. It was a long journey to get here, filled with many rejections, doubts, and obstacles to climb through. However, I knew in the deepest part of me, my story wasn’t over.” 

As you might expect, he has persevered. He continued, “So, I put my head down, kept working, and consistently prayed to God for an opportunity. He delivered through the Twins, and I can’t thank them enough for giving me the shot.” 

And now, given that opportunity, he wants to reward the Twins' confidence. “I figured I’d pay them back by going out on the field and giving my all every day. It’s definitely a grind, but I get that little burst of energy when I need it, when I think about how far I’ve come, and the blessing of being able to play in affiliate ball. There are a lot of good players out there in indy ball that are hungry and deserving of a shot, just like I was.” 

So, Payton, which do you prefer? A.) A leadoff home run to give your team a quick start, or B.) a late-inning grand slam that alters the trajectory of the game for your team? 

Eeles’ response? “Both options are great. I hit a couple of lead off homers in college which was cool, but now experiencing a late-inning grand slam, I’d have to choose the latter. Here, on Saturday night in Tampa, I hit my first grand slam EVER. So, especially in that moment, when we needed it, makes it so much better.” 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Red Sox 5, FCL Twins 4
Box Score
The Twins fell behind 2-0 after the first inning and then exchanged runs in the second and third. The Red Sox added one more in the sixth inning to take a 5-2 lead. The Twins scored two runs in the top of the seventh, but it wasn’t quite enough as they fell by a final of 5-4. 

Hendry Chivilli went 2-for-4 with his fifth double. Jayson Bass was 2-for-4 with his third double. Yasser Mercedes went 1-for-3 with a walk and his fifth double. Ariel Castro was 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. 

Juan Cota started for the Twins. He gave up two runs on three hits in the first inning. Alejandro Crisostomo went the next 1 2/3 innings. He gave up two runs on two hits. He struck out two batters. Ezequiel Ventura went the final 3 1/3 innings and gave up one run on four hits. He had four strikeouts. 

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Rangers Red 4, DSL Twins 2
Box Score
The Twins fell behind 2-1 after one inning. Over the next four innings, the Rangers added two more runs and the Twins added just one more run. 

Starting for the Twins was Ramiro Villanueva. He pitched the first inning and gave up two runs on three hits. Santiago Rojas came in and gave up one run over the next three innings. He gave up one hit, hit one, walked three and struck out three batters. Leonardo Rondon was even better. He gave up one run on three hits, a walk and was hit by a pitch over four innings. He struck out four batters. Nestor Cafe came in and threw a scoreless inning despite giving up a hit, a walk and hitting a batter. 

The Twins had just four hits in the game but they added seven walks. All nine batters reached base at least once. Davirik Fuenmayor had two of the team’s four hits and both were doubles. He also was hit by a pitch and stole a base. Maybe you remember Fuenmayor, I mean, if you keep up with all rounds of the Little League World Series. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris (Wichita) - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 8 K, 90 pitches, 61 strikes (67.8%) 
Hitter of the Day – Jake Rucker (Wichita) - 3-for-5, 2 HR(4), 2 R, 4 RBI, SB(3)  

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) – 0-for-3, 2 BB, R, RBI, K
#2 – Brooks Lee (St. Paul) – 1-4, K, E(2)
#7 – Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) – 3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 65 pitches, 40 strikes (61.5%)
#9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 1-for-3, BB, HBP, 3B(1), 2 R, RBI,
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, 2B(13), SB(12)
#11 – Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) – 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 97 pitches, 69 strikes (71.1%)
#12 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 1-for-5, HR(6), R, 2 RBI, 3 K
#18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-for-2, 2 BB

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul vs Syracuse (2:07 PM CST) – RHP Scott Blewett (3-2, 2.28 ERA)
Wichita @ NW Arkansas (2:05 PM CST) – RHP Zebby Matthews (1-1, 1.59 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Great Lakes (12:05 PM CST) – LHP Jordan Carr (2-1, 3.67 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Tampa (11:00 AM CST) – RHP Spencer Bengard (2-0, 1.19 ERA)

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

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[mikelink45]

Seth - I loved your lead paragraphs.

I know there is an article about what does Jenkins need to prove - but the question I have is what has he proven?  What are his stats.  I know we all dream of him rising quickly, but is he performing like he did last year.

Last note - I am always a skeptic when it comes to young and unproven talent and want to wait to move them up the prospect list.  This year I would have Soto dropped from number 7 to a late prospect number until he shows he has the professional prowess that a number 7 should have.

[tony&rodney]

29 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Seth - I loved your lead paragraphs.

I know there is an article about what does Jenkins need to prove - but the question I have is what has he proven?  What are his stats.  I know we all dream of him rising quickly, but is he performing like he did last year.

Last note - I am always a skeptic when it comes to young and unproven talent and want to wait to move them up the prospect list.  This year I would have Soto dropped from number 7 to a late prospect number until he shows he has the professional prowess that a number 7 should have.

Do you have mlb.com? If so, you can watch both low and high A, AA, and AAA games on milb.com. One can just pull up the games with four tabs and switch back and forth to watch the pitchers and batters you choose. Watching Festa, Raya, or Soto pitch can give you a sense of where they are in their development. The same goes for watching Jenkins, EmRod, Lee, or others. Naturally, one will not watch the entire games or hours per night but sampling at bats and innings is an option. 

I do enjoy the minor league reports more than any other part of Twins Daily.

One unrelated note - I think the Twins are mishandling Julien. From my perspective he needs a reset, not AAA. Going down to base camp and reworking his swing and taking at bats in the GCL would be more valuable. Although Houston's Abreu is an experienced MLB player, he spent time working on his swing away from trying to contribute to AAA games. Then again, what do I know? Julien looks worse in St. Paul than he did for the Twins.

 

[DJL44]

How long until they push Eeles up to an age-appropriate level?

[Dave The Dastardly]

"Noah Miller has seemingly enjoyed hosting some of his friends and former teammates in his new city. Since going 0-for-4 on Tuesday, he is 7-for-18 with a double and a home run in the past four games. He has scored five runs and driven in four more."

Refresh my memory: Who did the Twins get for this guy?

[mark sills]

Andrew Morris with a great game giving tail wind of 11 mph. Nice to see the strike outs tick up

 

[Doctor Gast]

Eeles, has been electrifying (sorry for this pun again). He has become one of my favorite MiLB players, if not my favorite. I'd love to see him play. He seems like a diamond in the rough. A complete player with a great attitude & leadership quality. IMO a keeper & is overdue for a promotion. Thanks Seth for presenting this guy to us.

Miller, an elite SS who's just started to unlock his hitting potential.

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Eeles, has been electrifying (sorry for this pun again). He has become one of my favorite MiLB players, if not my favorite. I'd love to see him play. He seems like a diamond in the rough. A complete player with a great attitude & leadership quality. IMO a keeper & is overdue for a promotion. Thanks Seth for presenting this guy to us.

Miller, an elite SS who's just started to unlock his hitting potential.

Before we get too excited about Miller, he's on a repeat at A+ level in his 3rd full season in the minors with a .255/.340/.372 OPS .712 line which is good for a basically league average wRC+ 104. It's a small step forward at the plate, but he's going to need to add some game power or start hitting more line drives. He's been one of the slickest fielding shortstops in the minors, if not the outright best, so he's not going to need a plus bat to make it at the MLB level, but he's still not projectable.

The guy we got for Noah Miller is 20 year old shortstop Rayne Doncon, who was just promoted to A+ level after he hit .283/.374/.464 OPS .838 wRC+ 138 in Ft. Myers. He's been ice cold in Cedar Rapids so far in 65 plate appearances, but his K rate hasn't jumped so a lot of the ice cold is probably luck.

[DJL44]

3 hours ago, Dave The Dastardly said:

"Noah Miller has seemingly enjoyed hosting some of his friends and former teammates in his new city. Since going 0-for-4 on Tuesday, he is 7-for-18 with a double and a home run in the past four games. He has scored five runs and driven in four more."

Refresh my memory: Who did the Twins get for this guy?

Rayne Doncon. Noah Miller can only seem to hit the Twins minor leaguers.

[Blyleven2011]

Always nice to read these reports , especially when our twins are scuffling  ....

Helman seems like a player that could help the twins lineup , he seems to be consistent on hits in AAA  , plus he plays multiple positions in the field  ...

Time for the FO to give some playing time to Herman , Keirsey and others ...

We have nothing to lose with the way our current 26 man roster is playing  ...

They aren't on the 40 man roster but who cares , there are some players on the 40 man roster that shouldn't be  , FO needs to get with the program and play our best deserving players  ...

[Dman]

Its the unappreciated guys at AA that seem to be playing the best. Rucker doesn't really have any plus tools that I can see but is average all the way around.  Still after Rodriguez he is next in line for OPS for those who qualify at the AA Texas league. He has dropped his K rate to 12% so far this year which means he is making more contact and putting more balls in play.  Probably needs to work on the quality of that contact but his 2 home runs last night indicate he can do it.  Perhaps power and or contact can be his plus tools?

Morales doesn't qualify but has a higher OPS than Rucker at .847 which is second behind Rodriguez.  HIs K rate is 15% so surprise, surprise two guys that make a lot of contact and don't strike out are so far doing better than the top 30 guys ahead of them. Cardenes being the exception as his K rate and walk rate are almost equal but just no power at all so far. Although Schobels K rate is higher than the names mentioned above it only in the 20% range, but he too has not found a way to get to his power at AA.

AA is a tough level to master and it has slowed everyone except Rodriguez so far.  We'll see how Keaschal does but sample size is way too small so far.

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

Seth - I loved your lead paragraphs.

I know there is an article about what does Jenkins need to prove - but the question I have is what has he proven?  What are his stats.  I know we all dream of him rising quickly, but is he performing like he did last year.

Last note - I am always a skeptic when it comes to young and unproven talent and want to wait to move them up the prospect list.  This year I would have Soto dropped from number 7 to a late prospect number until he shows he has the professional prowess that a number 7 should have.

Walker Jenkins has plenty to prove, but the first thing is he just needs to be healthy and play. That's all. There is no rush to move him up, and there shouldn't be. He's young, immensely talented, has a good head on his shoulders, etc. 

Soto may fall a little bit, but you can't teach all the stuff/tools he has, so he's going to stay highly ranked for awhile. 

[Seth Stohs]

4 hours ago, Dave The Dastardly said:

"Noah Miller has seemingly enjoyed hosting some of his friends and former teammates in his new city. Since going 0-for-4 on Tuesday, he is 7-for-18 with a double and a home run in the past four games. He has scored five runs and driven in four more."

Refresh my memory: Who did the Twins get for this guy?

Manuel Margot and Rayne Doncon.

[Doctor Gast]

I just saw that Julien was playing 1B. He looked very good there.

[DJL44]

8 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Always nice to read these reports , especially when our twins are scuffling  ....

Helman seems like a player that could help the twins lineup , he seems to be consistent on hits in AAA  , plus he plays multiple positions in the field  ...

Time for the FO to give some playing time to Herman , Keirsey and others ...

We have nothing to lose with the way our current 26 man roster is playing  ...

They aren't on the 40 man roster but who cares , there are some players on the 40 man roster that shouldn't be  , FO needs to get with the program and play our best deserving players  ...

The backup QB fallacy at work again.

If the Twins want to improve the major league roster it won't be with a minor league utility player.  An 840 OPS in AAA is pretty unimpressive. Take 200 points off for a back of the envelope estimate and you would expect a 640 OPS in the majors. That's after the inevitable adjustment period that happens when players see major league pitching for the first time. There may not be a lot to lose (besides a playoff spot) but there's nothing to gain.

[DocBauer]

11 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Eeles, has been electrifying (sorry for this pun again). He has become one of my favorite MiLB players, if not my favorite. I'd love to see him play. He seems like a diamond in the rough. A complete player with a great attitude & leadership quality. IMO a keeper & is overdue for a promotion. Thanks Seth for presenting this guy to us.

Miller, an elite SS who's just started to unlock his hitting potential.

Eeles is a great story, agreed! I'd imagine he finishes the season at Cedar Rapids. He's just too good for low A much longer. Perhaps ready for AA next season? I just wish he was a couple years younger.

[DocBauer]

16 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

The backup QB fallacy at work again.

If the Twins want to improve the major league roster it won't be with a minor league utility player.  An 840 OPS in AAA is pretty unimpressive. Take 200 points off for a back of the envelope estimate and you would expect a 640 OPS in the majors. That's after the inevitable adjustment period that happens when players see major league pitching for the first time. There may not be a lot to lose (besides a playoff spot) but there's nothing to gain.

You're not wrong about Helman. His window was last season when the Twins needed to pick up a RH bat and settled for Luplow. Were Helman not banged up, he probably gets the call.

To be fair, his OPS in 2023 was .902. It's sitting at .838 now. He was slowed the first couple of weeks this season, and I'd bet he's well over .900 since then. His best chance to see the ML is probably with a different club as a super utility player who has pop and speed and can play 7 spots. I'm sure the Twins hope he comes back next season though. I'm still thinking he'd be an OK hitter with some power and speed, but not a starter for sure.

[DocBauer]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

I just saw that Julien was playing 1B. He looked very good there.

I've been really impressed with the improvement Julien has made at 2B. He's at least average there. But even if AK finally figures out how to hit consistently, I still see Julien being part of the 1B/DH situation in order to fit Lee in. Lewis and Correa are fixtures at 3B and SS respectively, with occasional rest and DH days. Lee can play 3 spots, Julien 2, and Miranda can cover some 3B once in a while in addition to 1B/DH. And that's not even including Castro in the INF as well. The future of the INF looks very promising.

Now...we need to get the corner OF spots settled.