Twins Minor League Report (6/21): Saints Find Way to Win 10th Straight, Kernels Win in Walkoff, Bengard and Matthews Dominate Again

[Seth Stohs]

For the Saints, 10 Straight... That's great! For Wichita, it was a Marco Day and a Zebby Day. The Kernels won in a walkoff again. Fort Myers got some absolutely incredible pitching. Maybe we need t have a Bengard Day? The DSL got power from some youngsters to win. The lone loss in the Twins minor leagues was the FCL Twins, and that came in extra innings. 

And yes, Matt Wallner homered again! 

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 41-35
St. Paul Saints: 37-35
Wichita Wind Surge: 29-38
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 38-27
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 32-34
FCL Twins: 16-17
DSL Twins: 6-8

TRANSACTIONS
LHP Kody Funderburk was officially recalled from the Saints after RHP Jay Jackson was DFAd on Thursday. 
Infielder Angel Del Rosario was activated from the Fort Myers Injured List.  

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 4, Toledo 2
Box Score
The Saints have found a variety ways to post wins of late. A lot has been due to the offense and power, but on Friday night at CHS, it was the pitching that got the job done and pushed them to their 10th straight win. In a bend-but-don't-break way. Kind of.  

Randy Dobnak made the start. He went five innings and despite five walks and three hits, he gave up just one run. He had four strikeouts. Ryan Jensen came in and in 1 2/3 innings, he gave up one run on zero hits. He had four walks and two strikeouts. Hobie Harris got four outs, gave up no runs and no hits, but he walked two. Ronny Henriquez came on to protect the lead in the ninth inning and earned his third save with a scoreless frame. 

So, yes, the Saints pitchers gave up just two runs on four hits, but they issued 12 walks and were able to get away with it in this game. They came through when needed. Toledo went just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 12 on base. 

Frankly, the Saints weren’t a whole lot better in the clutch. In fact, they were just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. 

They certainly had chances. Down 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning, Diego A. Castillo and Patrick Winkel walked. Then Will Holland reached on a bunt single to load the bases. Anthony Prato walked to tie the game at 1-1. The Saints had bases loaded, nobody out and the top of the lineup coming up. However, Edouard Julien and Brooks Lee struck out and Matt Wallner flew out to end the inning. 

The Saints got a big hit in the fifth. With one out, Lee singled and then Matt Wallner hit his 18th homer to make it 3-1 Saints. 

 

 

Toledo scored one to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Saints added a run in the bottom of the eighth when Will Holland scored on a stolen base with a throwing error to make it 4-2. 

Castillo went 2-for-3 with a walk and his 10th double. Lee was 2-for-5. Holland went 2-for-4 with his 12th stolen base. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 3, Arkansas 2 
Box Score
It was a Zebby Day for the Surge, but not in his normal role. Marco Raya made the start for Wichita. As per usual, he went three innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. He had four strikeouts. Cody Laweryson pitched a perfect fourth inning with three strikeouts. All 11 of his pitches were strikes. 

Then it was Zebby Time! The right-hander was fantastic. In five innings, he gave up no runs and just one hit. He did walk a batter, but he had six strikes as well. He improved to 2-1 while dropping his Double-A ERA to just 1.55. He struck out two batters in the ninth inning. The final batter of the game was ejected for his excessive disagreement. The Saints are watching... 

 

The Surge fell behind 1-0 after two innings. Wichita tied it up in the top of the third. Ben Ross walked with one out and stole second base. With two outs, Luke Keaschall grounded to shortstop, but a throwing error allowed Keaschall to reach and Ross to score. 

The Travels reclaimed the lead with a single run in the bottom of the third. Then came a bunch of zeroes. In the top of the seventh, Carson McCusker singled with one out. He advanced to second on a Dalton Shuffield walk. Ben Ross then drove him in with a single to left field that tied the game at two. Jorel Ortega drove a single to left that scored Shuffield and put the Surge ahead.  

 

 

The Surge had seven hits and four walks. Tanner Schobel had the lone extra base hit, his 10th double of the season. Shuffield went 2-for-3 with a walk. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 5
Box Score
Down a run heading into the bottom of the ninth, who played hero to help the Kernels to another win? 

Jeremy Lee made the start for the Kernels. He was charged with two runs on seven hits and two walks. He had five strikeouts. Both runs scored in the first inning. 

The Kernels responded with single runs in the second, third and fourth innings. In the second frame, Kevin Maitan’s third home run put the team on the scoreboard. In the third, it was a Rayne Doncon single that drove in Ricaro Olivar. In the fourth inning, it was Jay Harry’s turn. He launched his sixth home run of the season to put the Kenres ahead 3-2. 

Left Jordan Carr gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and two walks. He left with two runners on base. AJ Labas came in and allowed one of the two runners to score. He worked a scoreless seventh inning, but when the 7th Inning Stretch signing took place, the Kernels found themselves down by a score of 5-4. 

Then came Payton Eeles, and the legend continues. He knocked his first High-A homer to cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the seventh inning. 

Ricardo Velez has been fantastic all season. He worked two perfect innings and struck out three batters to send the game to the bottom of the ninth. 

Olivar led off with a walk. After one out, Doncon walked. After a pitching change, Nate Baez pinch hit for Agustin Ruiz. He singled to load the bases. Jay Harry came up and drove in Olivar with a sacrifice fly to tie the game. One batter later, Maitan reached on an error that allowed Doncon to score the walk-off, winning run.

Maitan went 2-for-3 wth a walk and his third homer of the season. Doncon went 1-for-3 with two walks. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 8, St. Lucie 0
Box Score
The Mussels showed their muscle offensively on their way to eight runs on 13 hits. However, when you throw a shutout, you guarantee a win and that we will write about you first! 

Spencer Bengard was the Twins 15th round pick in 2023 out of California Baptist. The 6-4, 220 pound right-hander has been nothing short of impressive this season with Fort Myers. In this one, he gave up just two singles over six scoreless innings. He hit a batter but walked none and struck out seven batters. He improves to 4-1 with a 1.23 ERA on the season. 

Paulshawn Pasqualotto, the team’s 12th round pick in 2023 out of California (Berkeley), came on and recorded the three-inning save. He gave up just one hit over those three innings, walked none and struck out six batters. 

Bengard threw 75 pitches. 55 were strikes. That’s 73.3%
Pasqualotto threw strikes on 29 of 37 pitches. That’s 78.4%
In total, of the 112 pitches thrown, 84 of them were strikes. That is 75.0%
That is remarkable! 

OK, now to the offense. The Mussels got on the board in the top of the third inning. With two outs, Walker Jenkins and Poncho Ruiz singled. Rixon Wingrove followed with a ground-rule double to drive in Jenkins. 

 

 

In the fourth, they used some extra base hits to add to their lead. Carlos Aguiar led off with a double. With one out, Yohander Martinez’s first home of the season. Later, Ryan McCarthy and Jenkins scored on a Ruiz double. 

 

 

Just off the IL, Angel Del Rosario had a Little League homer. OK, it was a triple, but a throwing error allowed Del Rosario to race home with the sixth run of the game. 

 

 

In the eighth inning, Del Rosario and Jenkins each had an RBI single to make it 8-0. 

 

 

Poncho Ruiz was 2-for-4 with a walk and his 14th double. Walker Jenkins was 2-for-4 with a walk. Rixon Wingrove was 2-for-5 with his fifth and sixth doubles. Carlos Aguiar was 2-for-5 with his fifth double. Del Rosario was 2-for-4 with his first triple. Ryan McCarthy went 1-for-2 with two walks and his second double.  

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 3, FCL Red Sox 4 (10 innings)
Box Score
The Twins needed a big play to send the game to extra innings but then lost the game in the 10th inning. 

The key story from this game is that RHP Kyle Jones continued his rehab and looked really good. Scheduled to go to Wichita when deemed ready, Jones retired all nine batters he faced to cover three perfect innings. He had four strikeouts. 

Miguel Cordero came on and was charged with three runs on four hits and a walk over three innings. Yency De Jesus gave up three hits but no runs over two innings. Ezequiel Ventura pitched a scoreless ninth inning but allowed the Manfred Man to score in the top of the 10th inning to take a loss. He gave up zero hits and walked none. 

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Yasser Mercedes hit a one-out single. After the second out, Hendry Chivilli walks. Jayson Bass followed with a single to score Mercedes. After a pitching change, Chivilli scored on a Wild Pitch. 

Down 3-2 going to the bottom of the ninth inning, Bass singled to lead off the inning. Next, Ricardo Pena drove him in with a double to tie the score. After an intentional walk, a single loaded the bases. Unfortunately a short fly out and a double play ended the threat. 

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins 9, DSL Diamondbacks Black 6
Box Score
The Twins scored five runs in the fourth inning and single runs in four other innings and held on for the win. The big blow in the big inning came off of the bat of Daiber De Los Santos whose third home run of the season drove in three runs. 

Ricardo Paez went 2-for-3 in the game with a walk. He notched both his first double and his first professional home run in this one. Luis Fragoza went 2-for-3 with his first triple. He was also hit by a pitch and stole a base. Ruben Velazquez was 2-for-3 with a walk and his first two doubles. Eduardo Beltre walked three times. 

Christian Hernandez started the game for the Twins with four no-hit innings. He was charged with two runs (1 earned) on four walks and four strikeouts. Ramiro Villanueva pitched the fifth inning. He gave up three runs on four hits. Nestor Cafe recorded just two outs. He gave up a run as he walked four and struck out one. Fabian Herrera got a strikeout for the final out to earn the save in this rain-shortened game.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Spencer Bengard (Fort Myers) - 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K; 75 pitches, 55 strikes (73.3%)
Hitter of the Day – Ricardo Paez (DSL Twins) - 2-for-3, 2B(1), HR(1), 3 R, RBI.

 

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) – 2-for-4, BB, 2R, RBI, K 
#2 – Brooks Lee (St. Paul) – 2-for-5, R, K
#5 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-5, CS (rehab FCL, DH)
#6 – Marco Raya (Wichita) – 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; 58 pitches, 37 strikes (63.8%)
#8 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) – 2-for-3, BB, R (played CF)
#9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 1-for-4, BB, 2K
#13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-for-5, 2B(10), K 
#14 – Zebby Matthews (Wichita) – 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K; 69 pitches, 49 strikes (71.0%)
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-4, BB, 2B(10), 2 R, K 

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Toledo @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) – RHP Caleb Boushley (7-1, 3.90 ERA)
Wichita @ Arkansas (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Jaylen Nowlin (4-3, 3.44 ERA)
Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) – RHP Ty Langenberg (1-0, 5.40 ERA)
Fort Myers @ St. Lucie (5:10 PM CST) – RHP Charlee Soto (0-2, 6.68 ERA)
FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (9:00 AM CT) - TBD
DSL Phillies White @ DSL Twins (9:00 AM CST) - TBD 

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

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[bean5302]

I didn't realize Matthews was throwing that hard. The more I think about it... the more I wouldn't be mad if the Twins moved Paddack to the bullpen and replaced him with Zebby Matthews since Festa just can't be consistent.

[mikelink45]

I really think that zebby's stock rises every week. I definitely look at him as our number one pitching prospect at the moment

[FlyingFinn]

Spencer Bengard is looking like our next Bailey Ober. A 15th round pick, he is having a sensational season. It's early and only low A ball but a very nice start for him.

[DJL44]

There is plenty of room in the rotation in St. Paul. Move up Zebby so they don't have to piggy back the starting pitchers in Wichita.

[LambchoP]

It's time to finally dump Margot and call up Wallner. Dudes got a league leading 18 home runs, give him a shot and see if he can continue raking in the bigs. Mathews is definitely our best pitching prospect and he needs to be promoted to AAA. Paddack has looked terrible lately. I like the idea of moving him to the bullpen as a long reliever and giving his spot to Varland or Festa, with Zebby waiting for his chance. Keaschal sure looks like a steal from the draft, he should be in AAA soon too. Same with E Rodriguez when he gets healthy. Wish we had some updates on Topa and Canterino. Both those guys could really help our bullpen....

[Cory Engelhardt]

Came here just to add that Zebby at 14 is just comical at this point. If he isn’t their best prospect after Jenkins/Lee/Rodriguez, then I don’t know what to believe. Even then, easily their best starting pitcher prospect right? Festa is in that argument too, but Raya ahead of either of them feels just so wrong at this point. 
I should add, the top 3 with Zebby and Keaschall in my opinion are their top 5 prospects with a bullet. 

[Doctor Gast]

Dobnak was unimpressive but got the job done. IMO it was because of the defense. Good to see Julien at 1B. Why wasn't Lee at 2B? Don't the Saints have anyone decent to play at SS besides Lee? They better find one. We all know that Wallner can hit HRs at AAA but what I'm looking at is can he keep from striking out there? Evidently not, he struck out 3Xs. Zebbie is hot should arrive at AAA soon.

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

Don't the Saints have anyone decent to play at SS besides Lee?

Michael Helman, on the 7 day IL. The problem is that if Helman wants to get to MLB, he really needs to work more on in the outfield, at least as far as the current Twins roster goes. 

[Dman]

1 hour ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Came here just to add that Zebby at 14 is just comical at this point. If he isn’t their best prospect after Jenkins/Lee/Rodriguez, then I don’t know what to believe. Even then, easily their best starting pitcher prospect right? Festa is in that argument too, but Raya ahead of either of them feels just so wrong at this point. 
I should add, the top 3 with Zebby and Keaschall in my opinion are their top 5 prospects with a bullet. 

Festa is a really good pitcher as well and his K9 is better than Matthews and is elite.  Honestly I think they are pretty close, but Matthews has been better in the control department and that is a make or break skill at the MLB level.  Zebby should be ranked higher than Festa at this point and honestly most likely in line to be the next arm called up.

While he only has 35 IP at AA, as others have noted he should be moved to AAA to see if he can help the MLB club down the road this season.  You look at his AA numbers and there is nothing more he needs to prove there.  Walk rate is extremely low.  K rate 10 per 9. Home run suppression is great.  Fastball is up to 98.  FIP and xFIP agree with ERA.  He has the skills in place to make the move to AAA and if he maintains his numbers there then MLB is the next step.

Worst case scenario, even if he slows down at AAA it isn't going to hurt to see if he can make it there. He is mature enough as a person and pitcher for a quick move to AAA IMO.  I hope they keep him moving. 

[Dman]

Man you know things are going good in the system when a 5 inning 1 hit, 1 walk, 6k night doesn't get you pitcher of the day.  Bengard out Zebby'ed, Matthews with 6 innings of just 2 hits, no walks and 7 K's.  Someone always throwing a no walk Zebby game almost every night these days.  Would love to see Bengard with the Kernel's, but pitching seems in short supply at low A so maybe he will need to stay for a while.

A couple of call outs. The Twins missed out on Matain in the Atlanta debacle and got Severino instead who is currently on the 40 man. Now they have both in the system. Matain has been an important bat for the Kernal's and while the underlying numbers aren't kind (High BABIP, 30% K rate, low walk rate) for a team in need of hitting he has been producing.  Happy to see him having some success.  Hoping he keeps it going and can make a move to AA. 

Rixon Wingrove is a big man and this is just my opinion and not meant to be mean but he doesn't really look like a baseball player to me.  And yet he is killing it at low A right now. A .292BA, .403 OBP, .523 SLG for a .926 OPS in a league where the average OPS is in the 700's.  His walk rate is 12% and K rate 22%.  He just turned 24 in May so a little old for the level, but that is a really nice line for the big fella. They probably should move him up and yet Fort Myers needs all the hitters they can get especially after losing Eeles, but hopefully in time he will get his chance at High A to see if he can handle that level.

 

 

[Blyleven2011]

Lots of twins wins in the minor leagues  ...

Helps with the awful taste of Losing to the A's ...

Thanks for the report ...

[wabene]

Move Zebulon to AAA and the Twins will have a couple of arms and a couple of position players locked and loaded. Zebby, Festa, Lee, Wallner and Julien. Not bad and a far cry from a few years ago.

[FlyingFinn]

2 minutes ago, wabene said:

Move Zebulon to AAA and the Twins will have a couple of arms and a couple of position players locked and loaded. Zebby, Festa, Lee, Wallner and Julien. Not bad and a far cry from a few years ago.

If Emma Rodriguez was healthy, he would also be on track for AAA at mid-season. If Helman could stay healthy, I'm a fan of his (I know he's older than the rest of these guys mentioned). Nice group of guys trying to push out some MLB guys and get their chance (or 2nd chance).

[roger]

Wanted to mention that Jenkins had a nice game for the Fort Myers squad with two hits and a walk.  Really want to see this young man begin mashing it and moving up to the Kernels before year end.

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Dobnak was unimpressive but got the job done. IMO it was because of the defense. Good to see Julien at 1B. Why wasn't Lee at 2B? Don't the Saints have anyone decent to play at SS besides Lee? They better find one. We all know that Wallner can hit HRs at AAA but what I'm looking at is can he keep from striking out there? Evidently not, he struck out 3Xs. Zebbie is hot should arrive at AAA soon.

The negativity around Wallner is getting comical...
Wallner last 5 games 57.1% K rate... lazy Wallner, he's broken again
Wallner 5 games prior 8.3% K rate... ZOMG, Wallner is Luiz Arraez with power who takes walks!
Wallner last 10 games 31.1% K rate.

Expand your sample size...

[Seth Stohs]

8 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Spencer Bengard is looking like our next Bailey Ober. A 15th round pick, he is having a sensational season. It's early and only low A ball but a very nice start for him.

They've got quite the long line of Day 3 guys pushing through the minors. Festa. Ohl. Varland, Culpepper. Several Day 2 guys too, like Matthews, Lewis, Jones, etc. 

[RpR]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

The negativity around Wallner is getting comical...
Wallner last 5 games 57.1% K rate... lazy Wallner, he's broken again
Wallner 5 games prior 8.3% K rate... ZOMG, Wallner is Luiz Arraez with power who takes walks!
Wallner last 10 games 31.1% K rate.

Expand your sample size...

You defense of Wallner, whose K rate makes his look like the much dissed Gallo, is just as comical.

Age 24 and 25 for Gallo and Wallner

I did not put in age 26 as that is where Wallner fell apart and Gallo hit best streak.

 

 

 

[bean5302]

1 minute ago, RpR said:

You defense of Wallner, whose K rate makes his look like the much dissed Gallo, is just as comical.

Age 24 and 25 for Gallo and Wallner

I did not put in age 26 as that is where Wallner fell apart and Gallo hit best streak.

 

 

 

I'm not defending Wallner. Stats are.

[mark sills]

4 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

If Emma Rodriguez was healthy, he would also be on track for AAA at mid-season. If Helman could stay healthy, I'm a fan of his (I know he's older than the rest of these guys mentioned). Nice group of guys trying to push out some MLB guys and get their chance (or 2nd chance).

Andrew Morris not far behind Zebby