Twins Minor League Report (6/30): The Sevens Have It

[Ted Schwerzler]

With limited action on the Minnesota Twins farm Sunday it was clear that the key to winning was scoring seven runs. Both Wichita and Cedar Rapids got the memo.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 46-37
St. Paul Saints: 41-39
Wichita Wind Surge: 33-42
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-29
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 37-36
FCL Twins: 18-21
DSL Twins: 10-9

SAINTS SENTINEL
Iowa 9, St. Paul 1
Box Score

Adam Plutko drew the start and was exceptional for the Saints. Working five scoreless innings, he scattered four hits while walking none and striking out six.

St. Paul couldn’t find a way to break through, and the Cubs scored a pair of runs in both the sixth and seventh inning off of Hobie Harris to lead 4-0. 

Tony Kemp singled home DaShawn Keirsey Jr. in the eighth inning, but the one run didn’t make much of a difference. Scott Blewett was tagged for five runs while recording only a single out, and the 9-1 tally held as a final.

Brooks Lee had the afternoon off, and only Matt Wallner recorded a pair of hits. Edouard Julien struck out in three of his four plate appearances.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 7, NW Arkansas 3
Box Score

Cory Lewis took another turn in the Wichita rotation and worked 3 1/3 innings. He allowed three hits and four walks while striking out three during the scoreless outing.

A fifth inning, two-run homer, gave the Naturals the first lead of the game. Wichita responded with a run of their own in the bottom half. Jake Rucker singled to drive home Dalton Shuffield. Noah Cardenas took a bases loaded walk in the sixth inning to score Jeferson Morales, but the tie was all they could muster during the frame.

NW Arkansas took the lead again in the seventh inning, and Wichita was running out of chances now down 3-2.

A five-run seventh inning changed the course of the game and gave Wichita the victory. Carson McCusker doubled home Rucker and Aaron Sabato before Tanner Schobel brought him home with a single of his own. Jorel Ortega tripled and scored both Schobel and Noah Cardenas to make it 7-3. 

Jared Solomon worked the final inning and capped off the WInd Surge victory. Wichita recorded 14 hits on the afternoon and six of the nine starting hitters had multi-hit efforts.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 7, Beloit 3
Box Score

Christian MacLeod started for Cedar Rapids and worked five innings allowing three runs. He gave up six hits and walked three. MacLeod also struck out six on the afternoon.

After a scoreless first inning, the Kernels broke it open during the second inning. Jose Salas singled home Jay Harry before Ricardo Olivar’s double cleared the bases. Misael Urbina, Payton Eeles, and Salas all scored to make it a 4-0 game.

The Sky Carp chipped away and made it a one-run contest heading into the sixth inning, but Olivar doubled again and scored Agustin Ruiz with Salas to make it 6-3. Rayne Doncon tacked on a seventh run with a single that scored Salas.

Jarret Whorff recorded a hold with a scoreless outing as he worked three innings of relief. He allowed a single hit and struck out four. Olivar had a three-hit day and contributed five RBI. Urbina and Salas both had two hits.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Saturday’s game was resumed following a second inning suspension and Fort Myers played through the sixth inning with Tampa on Sunday. A 3-2 score was called final after six innings with rain coming once again and wiping out the potential doubleheader.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Adam Plutko (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Hitter of the Day – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 3-4, 5 RBI, 2 2B, BB, K

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday. 
#8 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) – 1-2, 2B, RBI
#9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 2-5, K
#13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 2-4, R, RBI
#15 – Cory Lewis (Wichita) – 3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
#18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 1-4, 2 K
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 3-4, 5 RBI, 2 2B, BB, K

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[FlyingFinn]

Olivar is hitting so well. It's probably time for him to be moved up to Wichita. Cossetti and Cardenas are in deep hitting slumps so that would make the catching situation interesting there.

[Ted Schwerzler]

2 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Olivar is hitting so well. It's probably time for him to be moved up to Wichita. Cossetti and Cardenas are in deep hitting slumps so that would make the catching situation interesting there.

Helps that Olivar plays everywhere.

[jkcarew]

Hey! Fort Myers got in 6 innings of baseball this weekend!

I see the FSL has given in (finally), and will schedule games on a Monday for tomorrow.

[ashbury]

I'll have to check my slide rule but I don't think 7 would have been enough to assure a win for St Paul.

[Rosterman]

There's 11 guys NO from the Twins system in St. Paul. Make some hard decisions if there is more than 1-2 keepers, and jettison the rest and advance guys from Wichita.

 

Make some ahrd decisions on the major league roster. Names like Margot, Farmer, Sands, Thielbar come to mind. See what you have in Severino. Dangle names like WInder and Kirilloff in trade add-ons (even Julien, if you will). Oakland has a couple of lefties.......

[Doctor Wu]

Edouard Julien struck out in three of his four plate appearances.

That could be the most discouraging stat of the day!

[jmlease1]

Right now I'm less concerned with the results than just having Lewis pitching in games right now. Hopefully he can shake the rust off and get through a few games pain-free. Been a bit of a lost season so far, and it would great if he can get on track with a strong second half.

Keaschall is doing a nice job in AA. I'll be watching to see if he can find that power stroke he flashed in A-ball, but he's doing everything else very well. Seems to be rotating between CF, 2B, and DH right now, which is good to see. Would love to know where he's looking better, on the grass or on the dirt?

[Trov]

13 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Olivar is hitting so well. It's probably time for him to be moved up to Wichita. Cossetti and Cardenas are in deep hitting slumps so that would make the catching situation interesting there.

I remember around this time last year many were calling for Cossetti to be listed as top prospect and fly up the minor leagues. 

[HrbieFan]

13 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Olivar is hitting so well. It's probably time for him to be moved up to Wichita. Cossetti and Cardenas are in deep hitting slumps so that would make the catching situation interesting there.

What is Olivar's long term position? Is he a C ? 

[Seth Stohs]

23 minutes ago, HrbieFan said:

What is Olivar's long term position? Is he a C ? 

Yes. He's a catcher that can play some LF to keep his bat in the lineup. 

[2wins87]

17 minutes ago, HrbieFan said:

What is Olivar's long term position? Is he a C ? 

Realistically, probably corner outfield.  They'll keep giving him reps at C but he seems to still have a ways to go defensively.

[LambchoP]

Keaschal has been fun to watch. I think he has more than earned a call up to St Paul once the twins wake up and dump Farmer and call up Lee to play second base everyday. I think both Cory Lewis and Soto just need innings at this point being they're so young. Still figuring out what kind of pitcher they are. Mathews has looked great, imo he is our best pitching prospect.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, Trov said:

I remember around this time last year many were calling for Cossetti to be listed as top prospect and fly up the minor leagues. 

well, he did hit the snot out of the ball at 2 levels last season. If he could have kept that up, you'd have to consider him a top prospect because of how difficult it is to find catchers who can hit their weight these days. He's really struggling to actually get the bat on the ball this year so far, but it's the first bump in the road for him in pro ball. Let's see how he responds. 

Olivar is doing very well in his first try at high A this season, and I hope he can stick at catcher. the fact that he's playing 2/3 of his games there is a good sign, but he's going to need to work on controlling the running game.

[Ted Schwerzler]

8 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Edouard Julien struck out in three of his four plate appearances.

That could be the most discouraging stat of the day!

He hasn't been good down there.

[Ted Schwerzler]

8 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Keaschall is doing a nice job in AA. I'll be watching to see if he can find that power stroke he flashed in A-ball, but he's doing everything else very well. Seems to be rotating between CF, 2B, and DH right now, which is good to see. Would love to know where he's looking better, on the grass or on the dirt?

I think, given the consistency in which he hasn't been at 2B, the infield isn't ideal.

[stringer bell]

14 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Edouard Julien struck out in three of his four plate appearances.

That could be the most discouraging stat of the day!

Actually, the MiLB baseball box score says he struck out four times, with a walk in his fifth PA. 

[Fatbat]

On 6/30/2024 at 7:02 PM, FlyingFinn said:

Olivar is hitting so well. It's probably time for him to be moved up to Wichita. Cossetti and Cardenas are in deep hitting slumps so that would make the catching situation interesting there.

He seems to have something special. A very exciting prospect!!

[wabene]

19 hours ago, LambchoP said:

Keaschal has been fun to watch. I think he has more than earned a call up to St Paul once the twins wake up and dump Farmer and call up Lee to play second base everyday. I think both Cory Lewis and Soto just need innings at this point being they're so young. Still figuring out what kind of pitcher they are. Mathews has looked great, imo he is our best pitching prospect.

Keaschall was playing in college last year and just got the call up to AA. You might want to hold your horses there. If things continue to go well for him AAA could be in the cards next year after starting the year in AA. That would make him a fast mover. 

As a side note we are well aware you want Farmer gone. It doesn't have to be mentioned in literally every post.