Twins Minor League Report (7/5): Williams Blasts Lead Saints to Big Win

[Ted Schwerzler]

Lots of big flies took place during action for the Twins affiliates on Friday and they nearly found themselves sweeping the competition.

 

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 49-38
St. Paul Saints: 43-41
Wichita Wind Surge: 35-45
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 47-31
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 41-37
FCL Twins: 20-24
DSL Twins: 13-10

TRANSACTIONS

• RHP David Festa optioned to Triple-A St. Paul
• RHP Josh Winder recalled by Minnesota from Triple-A St. Paul
• RHP Jose Olivares placed on Fort Myers' 7-Day Injured List 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 11, Gwinnett 5
Box Score

Looking to rebound from the drubbing last night, Adam Plutko was on the bump. He worked six innings allowing four runs on six hits. He gave up a pair of walks and struck out four.

The Stripers jumped out to a 3-0 lead early, but the Saints weren’t going away quickly. Anthony Prato ripped a triple with the bases loaded, scoring Diego A. Castillo, Chris Williams, and Payton Eeles to tie the game at three.

A third inning run gave Gwinnett the lead, but Williams launched his seventh home run to tie things at four in the fourth inning. The fifth inning saw Williams drive in Yunior Severino and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. on a single, and he hit the ball to left fielder Eddie Rosario. Yes, that one.

Edouard Julien drove in Prato on a sixth-inning single, and WIlliams homered for the second time to make it 8-4 in the seventh inning. The eighth inning saw Julien launch a three-run homer to drive in Eeles and Prato putting St. Paul up 11-4. The Stripers got a ninth-inning home run against the recently re-signed Matt Bowman, but they couldn’t claw all the way back.

The Saints recorded 10 hits and got three of them from Williams with Julien grabbing a pair of his own.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Tulsa 7, Wichita 0
Box Score

Marco Raya was on the bump for Wichita and worked four innings while allowing two runs on five hits. He walked a pair and struck out seven, but exited with his lineup needing to provide some help.

The Wind Surge bullpen continued to bleed runs, and only the combination of Jared Solomon and Ricardo Velez were able to provide scoreless outings in relief. Wichita recorded just six hits throughout the game, and a pair each came from Jorel Ortega and Jake Rucker.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 11, Quad Cities 4
Box Score

It was John Klein’s night for the Kernels and he turned in six innings of three-run baseball. Scattering seven hits, Klein walked just one while striking out a pair.

Trailing by one after the first half inning, Cedar Rapids responded with a four-spot. Ricardo Olivar singled home Rayne Doncon before a Nate Baez single brought home Olivar and Jay Harry. Tyler Dearden then singled to drive home Agustin Ruiz and make it a 4-1 game.

In the second inning Gabriel Gonzalez drove in Olivar on a single, but the River Bandits plated two more in the third inning to make it 5-3. Another big inning commenced in the sixth with Gonzalez launching his third home run of the season, and Harry followed his lead with his seventh. Dearden then scored Baez on a double and it was an 8-3 lead.

Doncon homered for the seventh time this season with a seventh inning solo shot, and Harry brought in Olivar with a sacrifice fly. After Quad Cities answered with one in the eighth inning, Misael Urbina singled home Dearden to make it an 11-4 game. The River Bandits got one back in the ninth inning, but 11-5 is how this one ended.

The Kernels recorded 17 hits with Dearden recording four of them. Both Gonzalez and Baez had three hit nights. Doncon and Olivar both had a pair.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 7, Bradenton 3
Box Score

Dealing with weather yet again, because of course they were, Fort Myers got off to a late start. Charlee Soto worked four innings allowing a pair of runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out six.

Walker Jenkins was back in the lineup for Fort Myers, but for the 13th time in just 22 games, he was operating as the designated hitter. Coming back from the Opening Day hamstring injury, it seems extreme caution is being exercised.

Down 2-0 after the top of the second inning, Fort Myers went to work in the bottom half. Carlos Aguiar hit his third home run of the season and Walker Jenkins singled home Wilfri Castro to tie the contest. Byron Chourio homered in the third inning to give Fort Myers a lead before Castro’s first home run of the season drove in Aguiar and made it 5-2 in the sixth inning. Yohander Martinez reached on an error that scored Ryan McCarthy to make it 6-2.

Another run scored for the Marauders in the seventh inning, but Martinez evened the score with a single, scoring McCarthy in the eighth inning. The Mighty Mussels held on for a 7-3 victory.

Chourio was responsible for two of the Fort Myers seven hits.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Red Sox 3, FCL Twins 0 (F/7)
Box Score

Adrian Bohorquez was tagged for three runs across five innings and the Twins lineup was never able to bounce back. Kyle Bloor and Cleiber Maldonado both worked a scoreless inning of relief.

The Twins had just four hits, with them being distributed evenly. They struck out 11 times on the afternoon, and drew just four walks.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins 9, DSL Tigers 2 5
Box Score

The Twins faced off against the Tigers second DSL squad on Friday. Putting up nine runs, they helped to bail out starting pitcher Enyer Cepeda, who gave up three runs in one inning of work. Yoel Roque struck out five across 2 2/3 innings of relief, and Melvin Rodriguez picked up his first career win by working three scoreless innings and striking out four.

Ricardo Paez recorded two of the Twins eight hits, and Irvin Nunez hit his first career home run. The grand slam was one of two hits for Nunez, and he drove in five RBI. Eduardo Beltre continues to hit, and his 1-for-2 day upped his average to .395.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) – 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Hitter of the Day – Tyler Dearden (Cedar Rapids) - 4-5, R, 2 RBI, 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) – 1-5, K
#2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 3-5, 2B(1), R, 2 RBI 
#5 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 3-6, R, 2 RBI, HR(3), 2 K
#7 – Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) – 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
#8 - Austin Martin (Minnesota) - 1-1, R
#9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 0-4, K
#13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 0-3, BB
#18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 1-4, R, BB, 2 K
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 2-4, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB, K, 3B

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul vs Gwinnett (6:37 PM CST) – RHP Aaron Rozek (0-0, 18.69 ERA)
Wichita vs Tulsa (7:00 PM CST) – RHP Cory Lewis (0-1, 2.61 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:35 PM CST) – RHP Christian MacLeod (2-1, 3.13 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:05 PM CST) – RHP Jose Olivares (2-1, 2.73 ERA)

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

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[ryan189]

raya line was 4er not 2 wichita has the worst outfield defense I understand they have infielders playing out of position in the outfield but it is hard to watch.

[FlyingFinn]

Noticed we don't even put Marco Raya in the prospect summary anymore.

As for Raya, I checked in online in the 4th inning. He had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs in the 3rd. At that point, he had walked none and given up only 3 hits while striking out 6. He struck out the batter but Cossetti apparently couldn't stop the ball and the batter reached on a wild pitch, scoring a run.

From that point on, every strike he pitched was hit. He walked the next batter on 4 pitches. The next batter swung on a 2-0 count and flied out. The next inning was a homer on the first pitch, a double on the first pitch and a 4 pitch walk. He went over 70 pitches. Yea! But those last 15 pitches were nothing like the first 55. Hopefully, he just needs more stamina because he normally doesn't throw this many pitches.

 

[ryan189]

5 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Noticed we don't even put Marco Raya in the prospect summary anymore.

As for Raya, I checked in online in the 4th inning. He had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs in the 3rd. At that point, he had walked none and given up only 3 hits while striking out 6. He struck out the batter but Cossetti apparently couldn't stop the ball and the batter reached on a wild pitch, scoring a run.

From that point on, every strike he pitched was hit. He walked the next batter on 4 pitches. The next batter swung on a 2-0 count and flied out. The next inning was a homer on the first pitch, a double on the first pitch and a 4 pitch walk. He went over 70 pitches. Yea! But those last 15 pitches were nothing like the first 55. Hopefully, he just needs more stamina because he normally doesn't throw this many pitches.

 

ted likes to protect the guys he likes and not put him in the prospects summary

[Dman]

Olivar second place in OPS for the Midwest league at .923. Guessing he makes the move to AA sometime after the draft?  They can move Poncho Ruiz up to take his place.

Doncon trying to work that OPS up .800 and really bringing the power stroke right now.  Kid is really hitting well for a 20 year old at High A.

I haven't been real high on Gonzalez but a 3 for 6 night with a HR sure gets me more exited about his hit tool.  He also is only 20 and he has an .836 OPS at  High A. 

De Andrade is also a 20 year old and hopefully is back as he should be a good hitter as well.  Lot's of young talent performing well at Cedar Rapids.

Getting Gonzalez back and with Doncon and Baez starting to show more power and hitting well along with Olivar, suddenly the lineup has been lengthened and they are scoring more runs.  The Kernals are a fun team to watch right now.

[Doctor Gast]

I must've missed when Eeles was promoted to AAA from high A. He is handling himself well and he plays the OF too

[roger]

Every morning with my coffee I always check the league's box scores to see how former Twins are doing.  You know, guys like Kyle Gibson, Sonny Gray, Berrios, Rogers and Eddie Rosario.  Hadn't seen Eddie's name in the Washington lineup the last few days.  Thanks for the heads up as you answered my question and I now know he is with Gwinnett after being released by the Nationals.

Great seeing Jenkins playing more regularly.  Checked his stats.  Interesting, very interesting.  In 110 at bats he has 23 walks and only 15 strikeouts.  That's amazing, at least in my opinion.  

This isn't about the minor leagues, but Margot's defense has been terrible  Weren't we told when they traded for him that he was a top notch defensive outfielder?  Well it wasn't just his mistake(s) last night.  This guy has been brutal in the outfield much of this season.  I think when Royce returns, the Twins need to move Lee to second and get Castro back into his utility role with Royce replacing Margot.  

[LambchoP]

Anyone else a little worried about Walker Jenkins? It seems he's being used as a DH almost as much as he's playing the field. Is he still nursing the hamstring? Is it a different injury? His performance when he is on the field is nothing close to what it was last year. He's still young, hopefully the further he gets from the injury he'll start to have better at bats and figure things out 

[FlyingFinn]

Emma Rodriguez on a rehab assignment today. Yea! One rule Emma - NO sliding head first. Let that thumb fully heal.

[madtowntwin]

Not just worried about Jenkins - But Lewis as well....Only in the form of mismanagement of the hamstring muscle. These are incredible athletes with premium fast twitch that need constant maintenance by themselves AND training staff - ESPECIALLY after an injury occurs. Controlled warmup with focused stretching is critical pre-game and in-game. I, of course, cannot say with certainty that this is not happening and nor that it is. With Lewis especially - Would it be organizationally offensive to bring in one's own personal trainer? Doesn't seem as if the "Twins Way"'is working. Does it?? Win Twins. 

[jorgenswest]

1 hour ago, madtowntwin said:

Not just worried about Jenkins - But Lewis as well....Only in the form of mismanagement of the hamstring muscle. These are incredible athletes with premium fast twitch that need constant maintenance by themselves AND training staff - ESPECIALLY after an injury occurs. Controlled warmup with focused stretching is critical pre-game and in-game. I, of course, cannot say with certainty that this is not happening and nor that it is. With Lewis especially - Would it be organizationally offensive to bring in one's own personal trainer? Doesn't seem as if the "Twins Way"'is working. Does it?? Win Twins. 

I suppose they could have let Lewis’ original injury heal which is reported to be 8 months. He would have missed the season. Is that what you would recommend?

[Obsvr]

1 hour ago, LambchoP said:

Anyone else a little worried about Walker Jenkins? It seems he's being used as a DH almost as much as he's playing the field. Is he still nursing the hamstring? Is it a different injury? His performance when he is on the field is nothing close to what it was last year. He's still young, hopefully the further he gets from the injury he'll start to have better at bats and figure things out 

Not even a little bit.

I'd bet the twins feel like AB's are more important than playing in the field at this point.  Playing the field everyday gives more chance for re-aggravation and they probably want to get some development out of him this year rather than risk further injury.  

I'd also bet that as we get into late july/august he's playing more in the field.

[SaberNerd]

2 hours ago, roger said:

This isn't about the minor leagues, but Margot's defense has been terrible  Weren't we told when they traded for him that he was a top notch defensive outfielder?  Well it wasn't just his mistake(s) last night.  This guy has been brutal in the outfield much of this season.  I think when Royce returns, the Twins need to move Lee to second and get Castro back into his utility role with Royce replacing Margot.  

He was, but he has regressed significantly the past few years.  From 2017-2021, Statcast had him as a +45 run outfielder, which dropped to 0 from 2022-2023.  Currently -4 this year (and I'm not sure they have last night in the data yet).

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, madtowntwin said:

Not just worried about Jenkins - But Lewis as well....Only in the form of mismanagement of the hamstring muscle. These are incredible athletes with premium fast twitch that need constant maintenance by themselves AND training staff - ESPECIALLY after an injury occurs. Controlled warmup with focused stretching is critical pre-game and in-game. I, of course, cannot say with certainty that this is not happening and nor that it is. With Lewis especially - Would it be organizationally offensive to bring in one's own personal trainer? Doesn't seem as if the "Twins Way"'is working. Does it?? Win Twins. 

Lewis talked about the injury. https://www.mlb.com/news/royce-lewis-feels-loose-after-injury The doctors warned him of his elevated risk for this type of injury before the season began it seems. The info coming out about it does make me feel better about his future.

Lewis: 

“I don't think we did anything wrong. I think we did everything right,” Lewis said. “I guess I'm just going to have to be here eight or nine hours before the game. Whatever it takes, I'll do it. I'm sure people are going to blurt out 'He's not eating right. He's not doing this.' I've made significant changes. I've spent a lot of money on my body. I've been doing everything I possibly can. If I could think of something I'd do it.”

He added -- with a laugh -- that he’d even consider this drastic step:

“If someone said, 'Hey, if you smoke cigarettes like Babe Ruth,’ and that'll work, then I'll do that too. I'll do whatever. I'm open to anything.”

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, LambchoP said:

Anyone else a little worried about Walker Jenkins? It seems he's being used as a DH almost as much as he's playing the field. Is he still nursing the hamstring? Is it a different injury? His performance when he is on the field is nothing close to what it was last year. He's still young, hopefully the further he gets from the injury he'll start to have better at bats and figure things out 

It was a pretty nasty hammy pull so the Twins are bringing him along slow to try and prevent any significant aggravation. I was more concerned with his total lack of power for the first 80 or so plate appearances this year, but he's really turned it on lately. I don't think the Twins will keep him in Low-A too long if Jenkins sustains the hot production.

[FlyingFinn]

3 hours ago, madtowntwin said:

With Lewis especially - Would it be organizationally offensive to bring in one's own personal trainer?

Lewis said on yesterday's radio pregame that he comes to the park 6 hours before game time to fully get all his leg stretching done. He said him and the Twins knew one of these compensation injuries could happen. The other option was to sit out the rest of the season as it would take 8 months to build up the entire muscle package.

[madtowntwin]

It seems to me that the intra-game approach may be more critical than any treatment pregame or postgame....Is that muscle cooling and tightening while on the bench? Would serving as DH make this better or worse?? i've known athletes whose hamstrings  have been problematic their whole careers, I've had issues myself and had a near total tear....That was nearly twenty years ago. I still do the stretches that the Sports PT implemented to this day. For me - Religious post-activity stretching has been critical. All I am saying is that once Royce's / Walker's hamstring heals (several month process) analysis as to the factors leading to the injury and how best to prevent are key....There are a couple of talented wideouts for the Vikings and Packers facing the same dilemma. Much of that process will be outside the context of their seasons via their personal analysis and the personal therapists working with them.