Twins Minor League Report (7/20): Saints Clobber Mudhens; Andrew Morris Continues to Deliver

[Seth Stohs]

What does Wichita starter Andrew Morris need to do to enter the top Twins pitching prospect conversation? 

Or is he already there? 

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 54-43
St. Paul Saints: 46-48
Wichita Wind Surge: 37-52
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 51-36
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-41
FCL Twins: 25-30
DSL Twins: 17-16

TRANSACTIONS
The Twins placed Chris Paddack and Carlos Correa on the 7-Day Injured List. Austin Martin was activated from the IL, and Edouard Julien was recalled from St. Paul. 

In addition, the Saints transferred Will Holland from the 7-Day IL to the 60-Day IL. Really it was just a formality since he has a fractured fibula. 

Wichita placed Regi Grace on the Injured List. 

Lefty Connor Prielipp’s rehab has been transferred to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.  

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 11, Toledo 3
Box Score
What an impressive offensive explosion for the Saints on Saturday night in Ohio. They scored 11 runs on 19 hits and eight walks. All nine Saints batters had at least one hit. Seven of the nine hitters had at least one hit and one walk. The Saints went 10-for-16 with runners in scoring position and they still left 11 men on base. They scored in just four of the nine innings including four runs in both the second and ninth innings. And they did so without the benefit of a home run. 

Anthony Prato went 3-for-3 with two walks, his third double, three runs scored and four RBI. Patrick Winkel went 3-for-4 with a walk, his 12th double, and two RBI. Wynton Bernard went 3-for-5. Dalton Shuffield went 2-for-5 with three RBI. Chris Williams went 2-for-5 with his ninth and 10th doubles. Yunior Severino went 2-for-5 with a walk. Rylan Bannon went 2-for-5 with a walk and his 15th double. DaShawn Keirsey and Payton Eeles each had a single and a walk

Adam Plutko was the recipient of all of the run support. The veteran went 5 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out six batters. Nick Wittgren got the final two outs of the sixth inning, both on strikeouts. Matt Bowman struck out three batters over two scoreless innings. Diego Castillo struck out three batters in the ninth inning, but not before giving up a run on two hits and a walk. 

Several former Twins are currently with the Toledo club. In this game, Austin Schulfer tossed two innings. Andrew Vasquez worked 2 1/3 innings. Even Drew Maggi came on and got the final out for the Mudhens. Akil Baddoo played center field and led off. And Sauk Rapids native Anthony Bemboom caught and batted eighth. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 4, Frisco 1
Box Score
Andrew Morris was back on the mound for the Surge. He gave up a first-inning run, but Wichita tied it up in the bottom of the first and then added on. 

Morris has been fantastic all season, especially since joining the Wind Surge. He gave up just one run on four hits over six innings in this game. He had one walk and five strikeouts. He is now 5-2 with a 1.19 ERA with Wichita. 

Scott Engler had two walks and two strikeouts in a scoreless seventh inning. Miguel Rodriguez finished things out with three strikeouts over two scoreless, hitless innings. 

With one out in the bottom of the first, Jake Rucker knocked his 15th double. After a wild pitch, Carson McCusker walked. Rucker scored on a ground out. 

The Surge added on in the bottom of the third inning. Luke Keaschall led off by reaching on a throwing error. With one out, he stole second. McCusker walked, and then Jeferson Morales was hit by a pitch which loaded the bases. With two outs, Andrew Cossetti lined a double, his 14th of the season, to score two runs and give them a 3-1 lead. 

That’s where the score remained until the bottom of the eighth inning. Tanner Schobel led off with a walk. He stole second and went to third on a throwing error. Schobel scored on an infield ground ball. 

Wichita scored their four runs on just three hits. They did walk seven times in the game. Kyler Fedko went 0-for-1 but walked three times. 

Ben Ross made a tremendous play  in center field. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 4
Box Score
The Kernels fell behind 3-0 after the top of the first. That’s where the score remained until the ninth inning when they added a fourth run for insurance. The Kernels mounted a big comeback in the bottom of the ninth, but it came up just short. 

Darren Bowen started and gave up those three runs on five hits over 2 2/3 innings. He had three strikeouts without any walks. Mike Paredes was fantastic in relief. He tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings and gave up four hits. He had three strikeouts. Juan Mendez walked one in a scoreless eighth inning. AJ Labas got the ninth inning and gave up one run on two hits. 

Down 4-0 going to the bottom of the ninth inning, the Kernels didn’t give up. With one out, Rubel Cespedes singled and scored on a double by Kevin Maitan. Jay Harry was hit by a pitch. After the second out, Misael Urbina doubled to drive in Maitan and Harry and cut the deficit to 4-3. There was a pitching change, a strikeout and the end of the game. 

Cedar Rapids had seven hits and two walks, but they also struck out 13 times. Maitan went 2-for-4 with his ninth double. Harry was 1-for-2, was hit by a pitch and walked. The hit was his 14th double. Urbina’s double was his 11th of the season. He also threw out a runner on the bases.  

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 6, Clearwater 1 
Box Score
Lefty Connor Prielipp had his rehab transferred to Fort Myers. He worked the first two innings and gave up just one hit. He had three strikeouts to go with no walks. 

Tanner Hall came in and worked the next 3 2/3 innings. He gave up one run on two hits. He walked two and had eight strikeouts. Juan Mercedes went 1 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings. He also walked one and struck one out. Samuel Perez struck out three in two perfect innings to close out the win. 

Down 1-0 going to the fifth inning, the Mussels scored in four of the final five innings. With one out in the fifth, Walker Jenkins tripled and scored on a Byron Chourio sacrifice fly to tie the game. 

In the sixth inning, Nick Lucky’s third home run drove in Rixon Wingrove and gave the Mussels a 3-1 lead. 

With two outs in the top of the seventh, Poncho Ruiz doubled and scored third. Daniel Pena hit a ground-rule double to make it 4-1. Wingrove followed with an RBI single to make it 5-1.

Poncho Ruiz led off the top of the ninth inning with a solo homer to close the scoring. Ruiz went 3-for-5 with his 18th double and fourth home run. Nick Lucky went 3-for-5 with his third home run. Wingrove went 2-for-5. Walker Jenkins went 1-for-3 with three walks and a triple.    

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 5, FCL Red Sox 4
Box Score
The Twins jumped ahead early in the game, but the Red Sox tied it up in the third inning. That was it for the offense until the eighth inning when both teams scored. But which team got a second runner, beside the Manfred Man, to score. 

In the top of the first inning, Yasser Mercedes led off with a double (after hitting three doubles on Friday). Dameury Pena singled to right field. Bryan Acuna then doubled to drive in Mercedes. Amilcar Vasquez singled in Pena with the second run. 

With one out in the second inning, Cole Elvis doubled. That brought Yasser Mercedes to the plate, and guess what he did? That’s right. He hit another double to give the Twins a 3-0 lead. 

Liam Rocha started and gave up one hit in the first inning. Then Ezequiel Ventura came in and threw a scoreless second inning. However, he gave up three runs in the third inning and the game was tied up. 

Devin Kirby calmed things down a bit. He threw three scoreless innings. Alejandro Crisostomo pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh to send it to extra innings. 

The top of the eighth began with Mercedes on second base. Dameury Pena began things with a triple which gave the Twins the 4-3 lead. With one out, Amilcar laid down a safety squeeze bunt to score Pena. 

In the bottom of the eighth, the Red Sox had runners on second and third with nobody out. A fly ball to left field allowed the lead runner to score, but the following runner was thrown out trying to advance to third. Suddenly with two outs and no one on base, a strikeout ended the game.

After his 4-for-4 game on Friday, Mercedes went 2-for-4 with his 16th and 17th doubles. Pena was 2-for-4 with his first triple of the year. Acuna’s double was his sixth of the year. Elvis’s was his first double of the year. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris (Wind Surge) - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K; 80 pitches, 56 strikes (70.0%)
Hitter of the Day – Anthony Prato (Saints) - 3-for-3, 2-BB, 3B(3), 3 R, 4 RBI. 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday.
#1– Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) – 1-for-2, R, 3 BB, 3B(1)  
#2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 1-for-5, R, K 
#5 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-4, K  
#8 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) – 0-for-3, K   
#9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) –  1-for-4, R, SB(6) 
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4, BB, 4 K.
#13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 0-for-3, BB, R, 2 K, SB(10) 
#17 – Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) – 2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 26 pitches, 17 strikes (65.4%) (rehab in Fort Myers)
#18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 2-for-5, R, BB, K 
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-4, 2 K

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Toledo (3:05 PM CST) – RHP Zebby Matthews (first AAA start)
Frisco @ Wichita (1:05 PM CST) – RHP Cory Lewis (0-2, 5.09 ERA)
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM CST) – LHP Jordan Carr (2-3, 5.43 ERA)
Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (11:00 AM CST) – TBD 

ALUMNI of the DAY
Trey Cabbage is getting a lot of run for the Astros with Kyle Tucker on the Injured List. On Saturday night, the long-time Twins prospect robbed Julio Rodriguez of a home run.

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

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[wabene]

Just another fine start from Morris, does he follow Zebby? 

Prielipp with a second encouraging outing. He hasn't been hit at all yet. Good so far, baby steps. 

[Guest]

Walker Jenkins was terrific at the plate.  Triple was a foot from getting out, 3BB, and his lone out was a warning track fly to deep center.  Attaching 3 photos of his triple.

[Doctor Wu]

4 hours ago, wabene said:

Prielipp with a second encouraging outing. He hasn't been hit at all yet. Good so far, baby steps.

Baby steps indeed, but as you noted those steps ARE encouraging so far. If you can stay healthy from here on out that will be fun to see how he develops.

On a less encouraging note, I was checking Tanner Schobel's numbers and nothing looks impressive from the batting side. For a second round draft pick, now in AA and 23 years old, I would have hoped for more at this point. He DID hit well in Cedar Rapids last year, but he has struggled at the AA level. I know it's too early to call him a lost cause, but what does his future look like in this organization?

[mark sills]

Nice to see Prielipp continue with a solid two innings. Great game by Andrew Morris first earned run in four starts. He continues to make it a race with Zebby Mathews for best pitching prospect we have. Hopefully Zebby follows with a great outing today.

[DJL44]

I would appreciate a deep dive on Morris. What pitches does he throw? What is he good at and what is he working on?

[Doctor Gast]

2 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Baby steps indeed, but as you noted those steps ARE encouraging so far. If you can stay healthy from here on out that will be fun to see how he develops.

On a less encouraging note, I was checking Tanner Schobel's numbers and nothing looks impressive from the batting side. For a second round draft pick, now in AA and 23 years old, I would have hoped for more at this point. He DID hit well in Cedar Rapids last year, but he has struggled at the AA level. I know it's too early to call him a lost cause, but what does his future look like in this organization?

AA is the test. See if he can make the adjustments.

[SaberNerd]

2 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

On a less encouraging note, I was checking Tanner Schobel's numbers and nothing looks impressive from the batting side. For a second round draft pick, now in AA and 23 years old, I would have hoped for more at this point. He DID hit well in Cedar Rapids last year, but he has struggled at the AA level. I know it's too early to call him a lost cause, but what does his future look like in this organization?

The upside case for him is a better defensive Kyle Farmer.  He has significant L/R splits: at CR his OPS was .992 vs .823, at both levels he was 25BB/22K vs 36BB/82K, and while he hasn't had good SLG this year he is 12BB/13K compared to 30BB/65K.  Ability to play a passable SS would significantly help with flexibility.

[mikelink45]

I look at the players in ST Paul and still cannot understand having Castillo on the MLB roster.  Of course I would not have Margot or Farmer either.

Camargo sits on the bench - Winkel is delivering in St Paul.  Could Winkel pass Camargo? 

[SaberNerd]

Prielipp's slider looks to still be an elite pitch after the injury.  Max spin was 3178RPM, avg 3027 at 85.9MPH.  That velo/spinrate combination would be close to top 10 in the majors.

While Morris is definitely impressing, I don't have him in the Zebby/Festa tier.  He has a 24K% at AA vs 30% for Zebby, which gives me concerns that the stuff won't play in the majors.  I also just don't buy his 1.19 ERA, with him having the lowest BABIP and HR/FB rates that he has had at any level of his pro career.  He looks more like a mid-high 2 ERA pitcher at AA.

[LambchoP]

Nice to see both Morris and Prelipp getting some good results. Hopefully Morris can keep it up and join Zebby as our top pitching prospects. I'm not ready to give up on Festa either. St Paul has a real good looking roster. No clue why the twins decided on a third catcher in Camargo and Diego Castillo to get called up. How about Keirsey, Severino or anyone else that might have some upside?

[roger]

I am a believer that pitching is the most important part of baseball.  So I am of the opinion that the most important aspect of yesterday's games was the two innings Prielipp pitched.

If memory serves many thought he was a steal when the Twins drafted him 48th overall what was it, two years ago?  Didn't he drop, Seth, because he was injured in college and had pitched very little?  After being drafted he pitched the grand total of 6 innings early last year before going on the shelf with another injury.  So his first appearance in the FCL a week ago was kind of like his professional debut.  The result, three K's in one clean inning.  Last night, he moves up to low-A ball and K's 3 in two innings with a single being the only baserunner.

How far do the Twins stretch him out over the next two months?  Does he move up to Cedar Rapids.  As he goes longer into games and moves up, will this level of success continue?  Don't know those answers, but he just might be that stud lefty the Twins haven't had since Liriano.  Guess only time will tell.  And if he is, when will he arrive at Target Field?

Those pictures of Jenkins' at bat were fantastic.  Did anyone else notice that on the close-up none of the three people in the stands were watching the game?

[Dman]

3 hours ago, SaberNerd said:

While Morris is definitely impressing, I don't have him in the Zebby/Festa tier.  He has a 24K% at AA vs 30% for Zebby, which gives me concerns that the stuff won't play in the majors.  I also just don't buy his 1.19 ERA, with him having the lowest BABIP and HR/FB rates that he has had at any level of his pro career.  He looks more like a mid-high 2 ERA pitcher at AA.

It's always a fine line on K rate for pitchers as efficiency is important too.  If he is getting guys out on the first or second pitch there isn't time to get the K and not every pitch is gonna be a swing and miss pitch.  Morris made it 6 inning's on 80 pitches which is very efficient. When you are throwing strikes as often as he he is K rate can be a bit more variable IMO. 

Agreed that he doesn't "appear" to have the deception that Zebby\Festa have, but it feels like he could K more guys if needed. I mean if they are willing to pop up or ground out you take that too.

I do agree it looks like he has been getting a little lucky on BABIP and thus ERA.  Neither mark will hold as he is bound to have some bad luck mixed in at some point. Still it looks like he is keeping hitters off barrels and that will certainly help with HR suppression and help with BABIP.  Need more data to say much for sure I am just happy to see him doing so well at a higher level.

[arby58]

2 hours ago, roger said:

I am a believer that pitching is the most important part of baseball.  So I am of the opinion that the most important aspect of yesterday's games was the two innings Prielipp pitched.

If memory serves many thought he was a steal when the Twins drafted him 48th overall what was it, two years ago? 

I think 'steal' is a bit too optimistic - many analysts noted his upside but also the injury downside risk. So, he was a high risk/reward draft pick.

[mark sills]

10 hours ago, Dman said:

It's always a fine line on K rate for pitchers as efficiency is important too.  If he is getting guys out on the first or second pitch there isn't time to get the K and not every pitch is gonna be a swing and miss pitch.  Morris made it 6 inning's on 80 pitches which is very efficient. When you are throwing strikes as often as he he is K rate can be a bit more variable IMO. 

Agreed that he doesn't "appear" to have the deception that Zebby\Festa have, but it feels like he could K more guys if needed. I mean if they are willing to pop up or ground out you take that too.

I do agree it looks like he has been getting a little lucky on BABIP and thus ERA.  Neither mark will hold as he is bound to have some bad luck mixed in at some point. Still it looks like he is keeping hitters off barrels and that will certainly help with HR suppression and help with BABIP.  Need more data to say much for sure I am just happy to see him doing so well at a higher level.

Just watching the game, don't see much hard contact last game only one legit hit.