Twins Minor League Report (8/14): Carson McCusker and the Wind Surge Doubled Up the Travelers

[Seth Stohs]

Wichita's Carson McCusker hit three of the team's seven doubles on Wednesday night helping them double-up Arkansas on the scoreboard. Also, Cory Lewis, Charlee Soto, and Ricky Castro all pitched really well. Check out all that happened in the Twins organization on Wednesday. 

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 67-53
St. Paul Saints: 56-59
Wichita Wind Surge: 48-62
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 59-49
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 58-47
FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete)
DSL Twins: 27-24 

TRANSACTIONS
The Twins optioned RHP Josh Winder to St. Paul. That allowed them to promote RHP Louie Varland to make the start on Wednesday afternoon. Following the game, Varland was optioned back to St. Paul. A corresponding move will likely be made before Thursday’s game in Texas.

OF Yasser Mercedes was placed on the 7-Day Injured List by the Mussels. 

RHP Omar Montano was signed on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, he was assigned to the DSL Twins. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 5, Indianapolis 6
Box Score
The Saints faced 23-year-old Jared Jones who was making his second rehab start before hopefully getting back to the Pirates. The flame-thrower had a tremendous start to his season and may have been a strong NL Rookie of the Year candidate (with Jackson Merrill) until teammate Paul Skenes arrived on the scene. 

The Saints were able to get to him early and often. With one out in the top of the first inning, Diego A. Castillo, Edouard Julien, and Jair Camargo hit back-to-back-to-back doubles to give them a 2-0 lead. With two outs, the speed of the Saints catchers showed itself. Camargo stole third base. Chris Williams walked and stole second. On a throwing error, Camargo scored from this base to make it 3-0. 

In the top of the third, Castillo led off with a single. One out later, Camargo singled Castillo to third base. After a pop out for the second out, Williams came through with a big, two-run double that made it 5-0. 

Unfortunately for the Saints, and for the second straight night, an early big league just wasn’t enough. That said, lefty Caleb Baragar had a very nice start. He tossed three shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and struck out four batters. 

Ryan Jensen came in next and gave up three runs on two hits and a walk over 1 2/3 innings. Hobie Harris allowed an inherited runner to score and one run over his own on three hits and two walks over 1 1/3 innings. However, through five innings the Saints still clung to a 5-4 lead. That's where the score remained through eight innings thanks to two scoreless innings by Nick Wittgren. 

Diego Castillo came on for the bottom of the ninth, trying to protect a one-run lead. He faced five batters. It went single, single, single, reach on error, walkoff single.

The Saints had nine hits and five of them were doubles. Diego A. Castillo went 2-for-5 with his 19th double. Camargo went 2-for-3 with a walk and his 13th double. Payton Eeles went 2-for-4 with his fourth double.  

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 8, Arkansas 4
Box Score
In the top of the first, it was Mariners’ catching prospect Harry Ford who put Arkansas on the scoreboard with a solo home run. Ford is a top 100 prospect. The Twins top catching prospect, Ricardo Olivar, evened the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning when he connected for his first home run with the Surge.  

Wichita took the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Jefferson Morales doubled to drive in Tanner Schobel. Morales then scored on a Carson McCusker double to make it 3-1. In the sixth inning, the lead jumped to 4-1 when McCusker scored on a Tyler Dearden double. 

Cory Lewis made the start for the Wind Surge. He gave up the first-inning Ford homer and that was the only run he allowed over 5 1/3 innings. He gave up five hits, walked three, hit one, and struck out seven batters. 

Regi Grace replaced Lewis with a runner on and got out of the sixth inning unscathed. Unfortunately, in the top of the seventh, he gave up three runs on three hits and a walk. He gave up an RBI triple to Cole Young and then Hogan Windish hit a two-run homer which tied the game 4-4. 

Following the seventh inning stretch, Jorel Ortega gave Wichita the lead back with his ninth homer of the season. 

Miguel Rodriguez came on and struck out two batters over two scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit… though he hit two batters. 

The Surge added some insurance in the bottom of the eighth inning. McCusker scored again, this time on a single by Aaron Sabato. Later in the inning, Ben Ross (who pinch-ran for Sabato) scored on Noah Cardenas double. Ortega drove in Cardenas with a single to make it 8-4.  

McCusker led the way. He went 4-for-4 with three doubles. He now has 25 on the season. Ortega went 2-for-4 with his ninth homer and two RBI. He also stole his eighth base Dalton Shuffield went 2-for-4. Schobel (17th), Morales (20th), Dearden (7th) and Cardenas (9th) each added a double. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 5, South Bend 2 
Box Score
Ricky Castro put together his best start since joining the Kernels. He gave up a first inning run, but that was the only run he gave up over six innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and had eight strikeouts. An Illinois native, he went undrafted out of Tulane. He ended the 2023 season with Juliet in the independent Frontier League. He made three appearances with them this spring before the Twins signed him on May 29th. He made just a handful of appearances in Fort Myers before joining the Kernels about three weeks ago.

Down 1-0, the Kernels tied it in the bottom of the first inning. Gabriel Gonzalez hit a one-out single and scored on a Rubel Cespedes double. 

In the bottom of the second, Nick Lucky hit a one-out single and advanced to third on a Misael Urbina single. Lucky scored on a wild pitch. After Kyle Hess walked, Walker Jenkins singled to load the bases. Gonzalez followed with a walk to make it 3-1 Kernels. 

Mike Paredes gave up one run on one hit, a solo homer, over two innings. He had three strikeouts. Gabriel Yanez worked a scoreless ninth inning, although he did hit a batter. 

Gonzalez made it 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning when he singled in Misael Urbina. 

South Bend cut the lead to 4-2 in the eighth inning when Andy Garriola hit his second home run. The Kernels got that run back in the bottom of the eighth. Nate Baez doubled, and after a Lucky single, Misael Urbina hit into a double play that drove in the fifth run. 

Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBI. Nate Baez was 2-for-3 with a walk and his ninth double. Lucky went 2-for-4. The Cespedes double was his 16th of the season. Kyle Hess had three walks in the game.      

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 6, Lakeland 3
Box Score
The Mussels scored single runs in the first, second and fifth innings to take a 3-0 lead. In the first inning, Kyle DeBarge scored on a force out off the bat of Billy Amick. In the second inning, Caden Kendle hit an infield single to short, and Daniel Pena scored on the throwing error. In the fifth frame, the Mussels took a 3-0 lead when Brandon Winokur scored on a wild pitch. 

Charlee Soto continued his late-season success with another strong start. He gave up four hits and two walks over five scoreless innings. He had four strikeouts. 

Juan Bonilla worked a scoreless inning in his return from the injured list. 

Tomas Cleto was on the mound next. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning but was only able to get one out. He was charged with three runs on two hits and two walks. Juan Mercedes allowed an inherited runner to score, but he had three strikeouts in 1 2/3 scoreless, hitless innings.  

Lakeland tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the eighth inning, but the Mussels responded with a three-run inning to take the commanding 6-3 lead. With two outs, Billy Amick doubled and Khadim Diaw walked. Daniel Pena drove in Amick with a single to right. Derek Bender walked to load the bases. Caden Kendle drove in two runs with his third double. 

Brandon Winokur went 2-for-3 with a walk and his 14th double. He also stole his 16th base. Kendle went 2-for-4 with the big, two-run double. Pena went 1-for-3 with a walk. 

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins 6, DSL Mets Blue 12
Box Score                                                                                                                                              The game was back and forth through the first six innings when the Twins scored two runs to make it 5-5. Unfortunately, the Mets scored seven runs over the next two innings to take control of the game. 

Anderson Chacon started for the Twins. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits and a walk over two innings. He had two strikeouts. Enyer Cepeda pitched the third inning and gave up an unearned run. Manuel Compres gave up a run on one hit and three walks over the next two innings. 

Aaron Carranza came in for the sixth inning. He gave up five runs (# earned) on three hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Raymi Castillo got three outs and gave up three runs on two hits and three walks. All three outs he got were on strikeouts. Daniel Manzueta got four outs and gave up only one walk.

Nestor Urbina led the offense. He went 3-for-3 with his fourth double. He also stole his seventh base. Ricardo Paez went 2-for-3 with a walk and his fourth steal. Luis Fragoza had a single and two walks.   

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Charlee Soto (Mussels) - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 64 pitches, 42 strikes (65.6%).
                                Ricky Castro (Kernels) - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 84 pitches, 57 strikes (67.9%).
Hitter of the Day – Carson McCusker (Wind Surge) - 4-for-4, 3-2B(25), 2 R, RBI 

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday.

#1– Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-5, K 
#7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-4, BB, R, 2 RBI, K 
#8 – Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) –  5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 64 pitches, 42 strikes (65.6%).
#9 - Kaelen Culpepper (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4.
#12 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 2-for-3, BB, 2B(14), SB(16).
#13 – Cory Lewis (Wichita) – 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, HB, 7 K, 86 pitches, 54 strikes (63.0%). 
#16 - Kyle DeBarge (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, BB, R, 2 K, SB(7).
#17 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-for-5, 2B(17), R, K.

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Indianapolis (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Aaron Rozek (0-1, 6.38 ERA)
Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) – RHP C.J. Culpepper (first AA start) 
South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) – RHP Tanner Hall (first High-A start)
Lakeland @ Ft. Myers (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Jose Olivares (2-1, 2.90 ERA)
DSL Rockies @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CST) - TBD

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

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[FlyingFinn]

Cory Lewis and Charlee Soto are really having great 2nd halves. Nice to see so many of our starters doing well. I wonder if Lewis will also get a call up to the Saints like Andrew Morris did.

[mikelink45]

I get concerned with the call up send down routine for players like Varland and Winder.  I have no idea what it means psychologically.  How does this affect service time?

Nice to see Lewis coming around - AAA should be soon.  

[Doctor Wu]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

Cory Lewis and Charlee Soto are really having great 2nd halves. Nice to see so many of our starters doing well. I wonder if Lewis will also get a call up to the Saints like Andrew Morris did.

I think Lewis is certainly deserving of a call-up at this point. And great to see Soto pitching deeper into games with positive results!

[Doctor Wu]

Diego Castillo came on for the bottom of the ninth, trying to protect a one-run lead. He faced five batters. It went single, single, single, reach on error, walkoff single.

Hmm ... so much for bullpen help down on the farm. 

[Omgbenji]

I like Lewis's game and he seems pretty nasty when healthy. I'm not sure what his velo is, but if it is mid 90's then this dude should be near the top of the list of our pitching prospects. 

LOVE Soto showing 5 inning stamina with some good run prevention. Does anyone have a good rundown of how last year's college pitcher draft picks are doing?

[madtowntwin]

I am trying to process the mental image of Brandon Winokur unfolding his 6'6" frame stealing a base and the fact that it has happened a sweet sixteen times. 

[madtowntwin]

The other image is the 18 y/o Charlie Soto's 6'3" inch frame gathering physicality, momentum, and mph on the mound. Both are impressive mental images for daydreaming Twins fans...

[Dman]

I'm not as convinced as the rest of the board that Lewis "should" move up to AAA.  While his K rate and ERA are really good for AA his FIP and xFIP say his ERA could be in the 4.40 range and his WHIP of 1.51 shows he has been good at stranding runners, but not as good keeping them off the bases. Right now he is more playing with fire than dominant IMO. I get that he is working his way back and AA is a tougher level, but I don't see a reason to move him just yet given his under lying numbers.

I liked how Soto bared down with runners on base and didn't let them score.  Makes me think he knows his stuff and feels he can get outs when he absolutely needs to.  It's been several good outings in a row for him.  Still stuff to work on, but I like the progress he has made this year and the fact he has pitched all year.

McCusker with a big night and he has been the next best bat to Rodriguez and Keaschall at AA.  In fact he is top 5 in the Texas league for OPS for those that qualify.  He has worked to bring his K rate down from the 35% to 37% range to the 27% range this year and it has cost him some slugging (although just moving to AA probably costs most anyone some slugging).  So he has developed into a viable hitter at the higher levels.  He just needs to put a little polish on it ideally in the slugging department and he could make himself an option for the Twins or some other team. He is a big guy with a lot of power when he wants tap into it. His .284 average show he can hit and they could move him to AAA, but they probably need him more at AA right now.

[Major League Ready]

16 minutes ago, Dman said:

I'm not as convinced as the rest of the board that Lewis "should" move up to AAA.  While his K rate and ERA are really good for AA his FIP and xFIP say his ERA could be in the 4.40 range and his WHIP of 1.51 shows he has been good at stranding runners, but not as good keeping them off the bases. Right now he is more playing with fire than dominant IMO. I get that he is working his way back and AA is a tougher level, but I don't see a reason to move him just yet given his under lying numbers.

Like you, I don't understand the hurry.  he is not going to be promoted to the majors this year.  He needs to work on command.  Next year, they will have Zebby, Festa, Varland, and Morris at AAA.   That's plenty of depth to start the season even if they send Varland to the BP.  Lewis, Raya, Nowlin, and Prielipp can determine a pecking order to replace these guys at AAA as the AAA guys get their shot.   

[roger]

Thanks for the report, Seth, they are appreciated.

Add me to the list of those who are ecstatic with what we are seeing from Soto of late.  Let's hope he keeps it up for the rest of the season.

Was good to see Gonzalez both playing and getting a couple hits.  With all the time he has missed, we probably don't have a good feel for what he can be.  

[tony&rodney]

McCusker is so big (6'-8") that he has to conquer a huge amount of strike zone space. Carson is one of my favorite minor leaguers to watch this season and his improvement has been steady and quite impressive. He has sacrificed some power to improve contact but he is still hitting the ball hard. McCusker is athletic and has a chance to move up eventually. Agreeing with Dman above; McCusker is good and getting better.

[SaberNerd]

1 hour ago, Omgbenji said:

I like Lewis's game and he seems pretty nasty when healthy. I'm not sure what his velo is, but if it is mid 90's then this dude should be near the top of the list of our pitching prospects. 

LOVE Soto showing 5 inning stamina with some good run prevention. Does anyone have a good rundown of how last year's college pitcher draft picks are doing?

Lewis throws around 91, but does get high IVB.  If he threw 95 with the same movement, he'd be a borderline top 100 guy.  Knuckleball and Curveball both are good pitches.  Doubts about whether the fastball will work take a hit here.

On the college arms, nobody stands out, but a few guys that could be something if they add more to the fastball.  It's nowhere near as good as the 2022 draft class was.  Ty Langenberg has a 92.5mph fastball with a good sweeper.  Jeremy Lee is 91 with a 3000+ rpm curveball and a 6 pitch mix.  Nolan Santos 92 with intriguing cutter/curveball/changeup, although really SSS for data and has been used as a reliever.  Tanner Hall has a great changeup and good slider, throws a 89mph sinker with a ton of run.  Xander Hamilton 92 with a good slider/changeup, also as a reliever.

[LambchoP]

While it's really nice to see Lewis and Soto finding some second half success, I think they both need to show more consistency before talking about promotions. Like a lot of young pitchers, they've got great stuff and can rack out the strikeouts. But they can also rack up the walks due to poor command. If these guys can limit their walks a bit more, then next year should be a big development year for them, getting to the high minors. I'm starting to like the look of our pitching depth lately. That doesn't mean we shouldn't look for upgrades in free agency.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

I'm not as convinced as the rest of the board that Lewis "should" move up to AAA.  While his K rate and ERA are really good for AA his FIP and xFIP say his ERA could be in the 4.40 range and his WHIP of 1.51 shows he has been good at stranding runners, but not as good keeping them off the bases. Right now he is more playing with fire than dominant IMO. I get that he is working his way back and AA is a tougher level, but I don't see a reason to move him just yet given his under lying numbers.

I tend to agree on Lewis, especially because he missed so much time this season. It's not an indictment on him to not get promoted mid-season, especially when he's only had 9 starts in AA. he looks like he's starting to get himself back on track and the most important thing for him this season is to finish the year strong and healthy. he'll be in AAA soon enough. His last few outings have been good and it looks like he's starting to bring the hits down, but 11 BBs in his last 20 1/3 innings says to me that he's still not all the way there yet.

[mikelink45]

Interesting discussion.  I expect our rotation next year should be Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Festa and Zebby (at least I hope so) and I would really like to see Varland go to the pen.  So the AAA rotation has to be set to be the replacements that we know we will need.  I see Lewis and Morris leading that rotation.  I would also put Raya there - time to test him.  

I know I left off Paddack, but that is intentional.  I would trade him. 

[roger]

I like this discussion about several pitchers who won't be ready next spring, but are getting close.  Lopez. Ober, Ryan, SWR and Paddack are all back.  Add Festa, Matthews and Varland and you have 8 guys who should be very solid going into 2025. 

With more guys on the horizon, the Twins just may have too many starting pitchers.  I know that should never be a problem, but how long will it be before they don't have 40 man roster spots available and are looking to lose some good prospects to the Rule 5.  Certainly not this year, but next?  Should be fun seeing how the FO deals with this situation.  Hopefully, they make moves and get something in return.

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

Interesting discussion.  I expect our rotation next year should be Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Festa and Zebby (at least I hope so) and I would really like to see Varland go to the pen.  So the AAA rotation has to be set to be the replacements that we know we will need.  I see Lewis and Morris leading that rotation.  I would also put Raya there - time to test him.  

I know I left off Paddack, but that is intentional.  I would trade him. 

Wonder what where Woods Richardson fits in? He has increased velocity and command/control. Simeon also has a prototypical workhorse starting pitcher's build like Matthews.

These are good problems and I see Festa as the star if he harnesses his stuff and grows into his body. 

Hopefully Paddack rebuilds some value in September because it might be difficult to trade his $7.5M contract if teams don't see potential.

[mikelink45]

5 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Wonder what where Woods Richardson fits in? He has increased velocity and command/control. Simeon also has a prototypical workhorse starting pitcher's build like Matthews.

These are good problems and I see Festa as the star if he harnesses his stuff and grows into his body. 

Hopefully Paddack rebuilds some value in September because it might be difficult to trade his $7.5M contract if teams don't see potential.

I am embarrassed - I left Richardson off.  Thanks for catching that.  Maybe Zebby is six.

[Omgbenji]

On 8/15/2024 at 9:45 AM, SaberNerd said:

 

On the college arms, nobody stands out, but a few guys that could be something if they add more to the fastball.  It's nowhere near as good as the 2022 draft class was.  Ty Langenberg has a 92.5mph fastball with a good sweeper.  Jeremy Lee is 91 with a 3000+ rpm curveball and a 6 pitch mix.  Nolan Santos 92 with intriguing cutter/curveball/changeup, although really SSS for data and has been used as a reliever.  Tanner Hall has a great changeup and good slider, throws a 89mph sinker with a ton of run.  Xander Hamilton 92 with a good slider/changeup, also as a reliever.

Thanks for the rundown. I suppose it would be too much to ask for back to back grand slam college pitcher drafts for the Twins.