Twins Minor League Report (8/27): Kala'i Rosario's Impressive Return, Brandon Winokur Walks It Off

[Steve Lein]

Minnesota Twins affiliates went 3-1 on Tuesday night, with only the weather standing in the way of a comeback from the Cedar Rapids Kernels. A 2023 minor league MVP made his return to the lineup in a big way, and thanks to his efforts another slugger walked it off in Fort Myers. Another starting pitcher in Double-A also continued an impressive streak.

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (Following the Winokur walkoff)

TRANSACTIONS
The Minnesota Twins selected the contract of RHP Caleb Boushley from the St. Paul Saints. 

The Wichita Wind Surge sent OF Kala’i Rosario on a rehab assignment with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.

Down in Florida, there was a bunch of roster shuffling. The Mighty Mussels placed RHP Julio Bonilla on the 7-day injured list, and OF Jose Rodriguez on the temporarily inactive list. They also added 2024 draftees RHP Christian Becerra and RHP Logan Whitaker in addition to undrafted RHP Tyler Stasiowski.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 8, Omaha 2
Box Score
If you just went by the scoreboard, the Saints put an end to this one in the first inning. They batted around to open the game, taking a 5-0 lead before their defense ever took the field against perhaps the best team in all of the minor leagues this season. 

They didn’t exactly hit the crap out of the ball in doing so, either. It was more like death by a thousand cuts. Payton Eeles led off with a single. Brooks Lee went down on strikes. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. beat out an infield single. Yunior Severino loaded the bases with a single of his own. Michael Helman drove in the first run of the game with another single. Diego Castillo drew a bases loaded walk. Jair Camargo lifted a sac fly. Rylan Bannon then drove in two with a single before Eeles grounded out to end the inning. Add it all up and you have a five-run lead that would be enough for the rest of the game.

St. Paul went with a bullpen game as Caleb Boushley was pitching for the Twins on Tuesday, with four relievers all throwing at least two innings. Ryan Jensen got the start as the opener and went the first two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and struck out three. Zack Weiss got the next two innings, being credited with the win after giving up one run on three hits and a walk, while striking out three. Nick Wittgren went the next three, surrendering the second Storm Chasers run on two hits and a walk. He also struck out three. Josh Winder finished off the final two innings, allowing one hit and striking out three of his own.

The Saints lineup added a single run in the fifth, and two in the sixth to pad their lead. In the fifth it was consecutive singles from Keirsey Jr. and Severino before an RBI groundout from Castillo. Carson McCusker led off the sixth inning with his first triple-A home run. Keirsey Jr. later added an RBI single.

Brooks Lee finished 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in his third rehab game. Keirsey Jr. (3-for-5, 2 R, RBI, K), Severino (2-for-5, R, 2 K), and Helman (2-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K) had multiple hits from the middle of the lineup to lead the way.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Springfield 3, Wichita 4
Box Score
On the mound for Wichita on Tuesday was right-hander Travis Adams, looking to continue his run of five consecutive starts without allowing more than one earned run. In his last outing he allowed just one hit and struck out ten in six innings. While this one wasn’t that good, he kept that streak going with flying colors. In his five innings he did not allow a run, gave up just three hits and walked two, and struck out three. He had thrown just 66 pitches, with 43 of them going for strikes (65%).

While he was doing that, his lineup was building him a lead as well. In the bottom of the first it was a two-out rally to get the scoring started. After Tanner Schobel and Ben Ross both struck out to open the game, Alex Isola delivered a single for their first baserunner. Aaron Sabato followed with a walk before Andrew Cossetti clubbed a two-run double for the early 2-to-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth Tyler Dearden reached with a one-out double and came around to score on an error off the bat of Jorel Ortega, who ended up on second base. Schobel then traded spots with him with a double of his own that made it 4-0 Wind Surge.

Pierson Ohl came on for the sixth and finished out the rest of the game. It got a little interesting as he allowed three runs in the middle of his four innings, but he buckled down and set the Cardinals down in order in the ninth to lock up the victory. Ohl was charged with three earned runs on five hits in his four innings. He struck out two.

The Wind Surge got multiple hits from Schobel (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, K) and Isola (2-for-4, R), while Cossetti led the way by driving in two. Ortega also clubbed a double.

In his last six games during the streak mentioned above, Travis Adams has thrown 31 2/3 innings, allowing just four earned runs on 15 hits and seven walks (0.69 WHIP) with 32 K’s, which has been good for a 0.85 ERA.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 2, Lake County 5 (6 innings)
Box Score
Bad weather moved into the Eastlake, Ohio area on Tuesday, but before that the Kernels and the Captains got into the sixth inning so this one was able to become official.

Right-hander Tanner Hall was making his third start with the Kernels, and pitched into the fifth inning in this one. He allowed a single run in the first, and two in each of the second and fifth innings. In the latter he recorded one out before his outing came to an end. In those 4 1/3 frames, he was charged with five earned runs on six hits and a pair of walks. He struck out four.

Down 3-1 in the top of the fourth, the Kernels got on the scoreboard thanks to top prospect Walker Jenkins. He mashed a 2-1 pitch the other way for his second home run of the season in the Midwest League.

In the top of the fifth Jose Salas joined him with a long-ball of his own to bring Cedar Rapids within one, but that was as close as they’d get.

Lefty Gabriel Yanez recorded the final two outs of the fifth, allowing one inherited runner to score on a wild pitch for a 5-2 Captains lead. The Kernels then went down one-two-three in the sixth before the rain and lightning came calling.

The Kernels had just four hits in the game. Kyle Hess added a double so three-fourths of those went for extra bases, they just never had anyone else on the bases when they happened. They were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left only two men on base for the game.

2024 number one overall draft pick, Travis Bazzana, led off for the Captains and was 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Clearwater 7, Fort Myers 9 (10 innings)
Box Score
The Mighty Mussels built a big lead early to back starter Cesar Lares in this one. It started with a one-out double from Khadim Diaw in the bottom of the second. A single from Jaime Ferrer moved him to third, before Daniel Pena put the first run of the game on the scoreboard with a sac fly.

In the third, the rehabbing Kala’i Rosario made his presence felt, launching a two-run shot to make it 3-0. Not to be outdone, Billy Amick followed with a back-to-back solo shot of his own.

The offense added another run in the fourth thanks to a double steal from Brandon Winokur and Angel Del Rosario to make it 5-0. Then things went south.

Up to that point Lares had faced the minimum number of Threshers batters. He had allowed just one hit, a single, but promptly picked that runner off at first. But in the fifth, an error on the first batter threw off the vibe. A hit-by-pitch and single followed to score Clearwater’s first run. A one-out walk loaded the bases and was followed by an RBI single. After getting the second out, another single brought in two more and in the blink of an eye Fort Myers had just a one-run lead. Lares was lifted for Juan Mercedes who gave up an RBI single of his own and the game was tied.

Lares went a total of 4 2/3 innings. He was charged with five runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk, while striking out three.

The lineup did retake the lead in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Del Rosario, but the Threshers had some momentum. Logan Whitaker, the Twins 19th round pick this year out of High Point University (one of my favorite Twins prospects ever went to High Point…any idea who that was?) came on for the sixth to make his professional debut. He was promptly greeted with a double, but followed that up with his first strikeout. The next batter singled to move the runner to third, and then an errant pickoff throw led to a run scored.

Whitaker would go two innings, allowing an unearned run in each, and finished his time with the score 7-6 Threshers. He allowed three hits and struck out two.

In the bottom of the eighth Fort Myers got another huge blast from Rosario, who obviously was itching to make an impression after missing nearly three months. His second bomb of the game tied it back up at seven, and would push into extra innings.

After Whitaker was done pitching, the Mighty Mussels went to left-hander Wilker Reyes. He held Clearwater down for three innings, including the tenth, by retiring nine of the ten hitters he faced. He allowed just one hit and struck out two.

Winokur led off the bottom of the tenth with a runner on second base, and didn’t wait to put an end to this one. He jumped on the first pitch he saw and walked it off with his thirteenth home run of the season.

Fort Myers had 14 hits as a team in this one, with Winokur (2-for-6, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI), Rosario (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB), Diaw (3-for-5, R, 2B, K), Ferrer (2-for-4, R, K), and Del Rosario (3-for-5, R, RBI) each collecting multiple.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Travis Adams, Wichita Wind Surge (W, 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K)
Hitter of the Day - Kala’i Rosario, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (rehab, 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB)

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

#1 – Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-3, R, HR (2), RBI, K
#2 – Brooks Lee (Rehab w/St. Paul) – 0-for-4, 2 K
#7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-3
#9 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-2, HBP, SB (1)
#12 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 2-for-6, 2 R, walk-off HR (13), 2 RBI
#15 – Kala’i Rosario (Rehab w/Fort Myers) – 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 HR (2), 3 RBI, 2 BB
#17 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Louie Varland (4-8, 5.06 ERA)
Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-0, 11.81 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (11:05 AM CDT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (4-2, 4.78 ERA)
Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Charlee Soto (1-5, 4.86 ERA)

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

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[FlyingFinn]

Travis Adams has always thrown hard but, for the most part, has usually been hittable. This is the best streak I've seen him on. Maybe we have something here. Pierson Ohl really seems to have stalled out at AA though. 

[mikelink45]

Love to see Adams pitch longer in the game.  He is doing great and stretching him out would be great for the future.

Okay - serious question - what does Keirsey have to do to get called up?

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

Okay - serious question - what does Keirsey have to do to get called up?

Sadly, it will likely take an injury to Wallner or Larnach. Who knows.

On another note, Winokur continues to improve.

[ryan189]

nice to see wichita finally beat springfield for once adams another great game has a 2.38 era since June 1st 68 innings I think you can say he has figured out what works for him.

[SaberNerd]

Adams is having a great year, but a 25K% at AA while being 24 all year doesn't scream future starter.  Probably a guy who you stick in the bullpen and hope that improves the stuff enough.  Doing a better job at not walking guys than the past 2 years.

Amick making a bunch of really loud contact.  .196 ISO would be 3rd of 37 qualified players in the FSL and only has a 19K%.  Still way too early, but showing why some major boards had him as a fringe 1st rounder.

[Dman]

Really nice to see Rosario back with a vengeance.  Stinks that he had to miss so much of the season, but he looks ready to move back up to AA which is good.,

Will echo others on Adams that he has seemed too hittable at AA and then add in the walks giving him a 1.47 WHIP last year.  This year he was very inconsistent early in the year having games giving up 5, 6 and 4 runs mixed in with much better outings.

It looks like I have underestimated his ability as he has a good K/9 this year. His FIP and xFIP is lower than his ERA and his WHIP is down to 1.15 and those numbers include his rough start to the year. I don't know if it is the Zebby affect or maybe a pitch change, but Adams is starting to dominate.  Will have to see until next year if this is an Ohl like half year domination or something more solid.  Still it is nice to see him looking this good.

Also want to shout out Winokur for coming up clutch.  He has been so fun to watch this year.  Just hoping for a bit more contact and bit less chase next year and I think his numbers will be even better.

[2wins87]

Good to see Rosario coming back strong.  Not just the 109.6 mph HR, all 3 of his balls in play were over 100 mph, including a 111.5 out.  His raw power is elite, though it hasn't been talked about a lot because he's either had too many strikeouts or not enough launch angle to really show it off in games.

Winokur has been really good since June, even with a down month in July.  I think he's shown enough improvements this year that he should be a top 10 guy.  He's cut down on strikeouts, hits the ball hard and has been getting it over the fence more lately, steals a lot of bases, and is still playing at the top end of the defensive spectrum.

As a hitting prospect, I see a lot of similarities to Rosario actually.  Winokur has been on the same developmental timeline.  Both struggled with Ks when initially adjusting to professional ball but have worked to cut them down to a manageable level.  The game power hasn't always shown up in both cases, but Winokur's not too far behind Rosario's.  Rosario made a big improvement in his plate approach in high A, increasing his walk rate significantly, and it would be nice to see Winokur do something similar.

At any rate, both are very solid hitting prospects as is, and the breakouts could be massive if either manages to sync up all the improvements.  Winokur even more so with the positional value.

[TwinsDr2021]

2 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Okay - serious question - what does Keirsey have to do to get called up?

Go back in Time and be better as a 24 year old in A+ and as a 25 year old in AA. It probably also doesn't help him that the Twins had Stevenson last year and could be comparing the two and come to the conclusion he isn't as good as him? Also the fact that he wasn't protected last year and not one team thought he was good enough to be on their roster.

I would have loved if the Twins brought him up last year instead of Stevenson just to get a look.

[LambchoP]

Nice to see Rosario back. It'd be even better to get Emmanuel Rodriguez back, or even just an update on what the heck is going on with him. 3 months plus for a sprained thumb? Did they find something else while doing MRI's? If Lee is fully healthy I think they need to call him up to replace Julien immediately. Julien still strikes out looking way too much and is a defensive liability. As for Keirsey, I was hoping Kepler was going to the IL and we'd finally see him, but I think we have to give up hope of seeing him this yeAr. I just really hope they protect him this year because there's no way a team doesn't grab him from us. Even if he for some reason isn't part of our long term plan, with the numbers he's put up this year, you'd have to think we could get something of value in a trade for him. Or package him with someone else to get something back that we need. IE pitching, pitching and more pitching.

[jmlease1]

It's been a bummer to have Rosario miss so much time this season, was really looking forward to seeing how he would handle AA this year. Wonder if they might send him back to the AFL just to get him some ABs or suggest he play winter ball or something? felt like he was holding his own in AA before he got hurt, which seemed fine for his age 21 season.

Schobel's had a pretty inconsistent year. He was having a nice bounce in August but then went into an 0-24 slump. He's got some things to figure out. Maybe AFL would be a good call for him too.

Jenkins has done pretty well this season despite the time missed to injury. More than holding his own at high A, even if he's not setting the world on fire, but he's doing just fine for 19. It'll be interesting to see how fast they push him for next season because the talent is right on.

[roger]

Had completely forgotten about Rosario.  Has a few weeks remaining to remind us that he is a good prospect.

Great seeing some of those doubles from Jenkins leaving the ballpark.  Nice progression to end the season after his late start.

[TwinsDr2021]

14 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

 As for Keirsey, I was hoping Kepler was going to the IL and we'd finally see him, but I think we have to give up hope of seeing him this yeAr. I just really hope they protect him this year because there's no way a team doesn't grab him from us. Even if he for some reason isn't part of our long term plan, with the numbers he's put up this year, you'd have to think we could get something of value in a trade for him. Or package him with someone else to get something back that we need. IE pitching, pitching and more pitching.

There is no reason to put him on the 40 in the offseason (if he isn't already on it) he will be 28 in May. Nick Gordon got the Twins Okert, I don't think the Twins could even do that good for Keirsey unless it is salary dump type situation.

[Fatbat]

Crazy to think that Rosario, Erod, Jenkins and Winoker are so young.  They will make some noise next year in AA and AAA.  Kiersey will likey get a prove it type invite/contract to someones MLB spring training in ‘25 

[Dman]

37 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Jenkins has done pretty well this season despite the time missed to injury. More than holding his own at high A, even if he's not setting the world on fire, but he's doing just fine for 19. It'll be interesting to see how fast they push him for next season because the talent is right on.

I liked the solid base of skills Jenkins had at low A.  He wasn't chasing a ton.  His OBP was really good.  It was a nice solid base that most great hitters have.  The only thing missing were more extra base hits as he wasn't generating hard contact at a rate that would have him at an elite status.  It looks like he is getting there at High A with an .800 OPS which as you stated isn't elite, but definitely shows improvement and at a higher level.

I guess what I am getting at is I think given what we are seeing at the end of the season here he could break out next year.  AA is a tough level but if he has a good eye at the plate hopefully it only takes one year to conquer that level. The base is solid he really just needs to work on exit velocity and once that is conquered and he has better control of all five tools it should be just a matter of time before we are asking for him to be called up. Even if it is still one level per year for him it will still be a good time frame, but I think next year he could wow us.  Will be fun to see what he does next year.

[Steve Lein]

2 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

It's been a bummer to have Rosario miss so much time this season, was really looking forward to seeing how he would handle AA this year. Wonder if they might send him back to the AFL just to get him some ABs or suggest he play winter ball or something? ...

Schobel's had a pretty inconsistent year. He was having a nice bounce in August but then went into an 0-24 slump. He's got some things to figure out. Maybe AFL would be a good call for him too.

The Twins have sent players to the AFL multiple times, so it's not out of the question for Rosario! Off the top of my head some guys I want to watch play there this year would be:

Emmanuel Rodriguez
Connor Prielipp
Cory Lewis
Tanner Schobel
Marco Raya
Payton Eeles
Jaylen Nowlin
Regi Grace

I'm probably missing a bunch of names if I were to do my research, and I wouldn't say many of these names are actually all that likely, but hopefully the list is better than last year, which I'm selfishly saying!

A lot depends on what positions the Twins get priority for (I would hope they're going for SP to get Lewis there), and at least 3 of the 7 will be relief pitchers, so we'll see!

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Steve Lein said:

The Twins have sent players to the AFL multiple times, so it's not out of the question for Rosario! Off the top of my head some guys I want to watch play there this year would be:

Emmanuel Rodriguez
Connor Prielipp
Cory Lewis
Tanner Schobel
Marco Raya
Payton Eeles
Jaylen Nowlin
Regi Grace

I'm probably missing a bunch of names if I were to do my research, and I wouldn't say many of these names are actually all that likely, but hopefully the list is better than last year, which I'm selfishly saying!

A lot depends on what positions the Twins get priority for (I would hope they're going for SP to get Lewis there), and at least 3 of the 7 will be relief pitchers, so we'll see!

They don't usually send experienced AA players to the AFL and I can't remember a AAA player like Eeles being selected. The talent is usually random players with experience at high A or just debuted at AA. There is some talk about Walker Jenkins getting a spot.

[2wins87]

1 hour ago, Steve Lein said:

The Twins have sent players to the AFL multiple times, so it's not out of the question for Rosario! Off the top of my head some guys I want to watch play there this year would be:

Emmanuel Rodriguez
Connor Prielipp
Cory Lewis
Tanner Schobel
Marco Raya
Payton Eeles
Jaylen Nowlin
Regi Grace

I'm probably missing a bunch of names if I were to do my research, and I wouldn't say many of these names are actually all that likely, but hopefully the list is better than last year, which I'm selfishly saying!

A lot depends on what positions the Twins get priority for (I would hope they're going for SP to get Lewis there), and at least 3 of the 7 will be relief pitchers, so we'll see!

They definitely like to have guys who missed some time go to the AFL.

Depending on the timeline for Rodriguez, they might instead opt to have him play winter ball.

Olivar is on a similar timeline to a lot of past hitters that they've sent, so I'd add him to the list.  He could also possibly play winter ball instead.

Hard to guess who they would be willing to send among the pitchers, there usually aren't too many top prospects on the pitching side.  Prielipp will not have a lot of innings by the season end but how many more innings does he have left when he's already pitched more than in the previous 3 years combined?  I doubt they'd send him.

They've been cautious with Raya's innings, but he hasn't missed time and he's already set a new innings max so I'd rule him out.  They've been less cautious with Nowlin but he'll be around 100 innings as well.

Lewis would make sense.  CJ Culpepper is in a similar spot so he could make sense as well.  Either of them would probably be the best pitching prospect they've sent in quite some time.

[Steve Lein]

31 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

They don't usually send experienced AA players to the AFL and I can't remember a AAA player like Eeles being selected. The talent is usually random players with experience at high A or just debuted at AA. There is some talk about Walker Jenkins getting a spot.

I've written specifically about this league for nearly 15 years now, I know it better than most. There have been recent changes that make it a lot less likely than it used to be that AAA and AA players go there, but it is and has always been a place where some guys get sent as an input to a team's decision on whether they add them to the 40-man roster or not in the offseason. Those types usually aren't from A-ball.

https://www.mlb.com/news/arizona-fall-league-40-man-roster-rule-5-draft-2022

Before 2019, almost every single player there was from Double-or-Triple-A, and you needed an exemption to get anyone from A-ball.

Last year, of the Twins seven players, only two came from Double-A. The year before that, 5 of them did.

Back in 2016, as an example, the Twins got an extra exemption and Nick Gordon and Jon Curtiss were able to be sent out of Fort Myers (then A+). Mitch Garver and Tanner English were out of Triple-A. Stephen Gonsalves, Mason Melotakis, and Randy Rosario were all Double-A.

https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/twins-minor-league/afl-preview-gonsalves-and-gordon-highlight-twins-contingent-r5143/

On the Jenkins front, MLB Pipeline's crew did a recent article on top prospects they wanted to see in the AFL this year. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo went through their picks. Callis wants all the elite hitting position players from the 2024 draft there (I agree!).

They both gave a "yes" to predictions on Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez.

https://www.mlb.com/pirates/news/players-we-want-to-see-in-the-arizona-fall-league-2024

 

 

[Steve Lein]

50 minutes ago, 2wins87 said:

Lewis would make sense.  CJ Culpepper is in a similar spot so he could make sense as well.  Either of them would probably be the best pitching prospect they've sent in quite some time.

I mentioned last week that if Lewis were to be sent, he would likley be one of the highest profile pitchers there.

The two top 100 pitchers there last year were Ricky Tiedemann and Jackson Jobe, who were both making up missed time. 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Steve Lein said:

I've written specifically about this league for nearly 15 years now, I know it better than most. There have been recent changes that make it a lot less likely than it used to be that AAA and AA players go there

True. What is "usual" has changed in the last 5 years. It seems like the teams are afraid to send any good pitching prospects now which leads to high scores.

[Steve Lein]

59 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

True. What is "usual" has changed in the last 5 years. It seems like the teams are afraid to send any good pitching prospects now which leads to high scores.

Yes, I have come to see the hitting as being AA or above level in the league, whereas the pitching is more A+.

I really think either Lewis or Culpepper are pretty probable to go this year. We'll see!