Twins Minor League Report (8/31): Cory Lewis is Back in 2023 Form for Wichita

[Seth Stohs]

It was a rough night for the Twins big league squad, and it didn't get a whole lot better in the minor leagues. But a lot still going on throughout the system. The Mighty Mussels finally got to play some ball on Saturday, though there was a delay. A big "first" home run for one of the Kernels. But if Wins matter in the minors, Wichita was the place to be! 

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Cory Lewis)

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 73-62
St. Paul Saints: 62-68
Wichita Wind Surge: 54-71
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 64-59
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 64-55
FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete)
DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete) 

TRANSACTIONS
There were no transactions in the Twins organization on Saturday.   

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 1, Omaha 9 
Box Score
It wasn’t as bad as the big-league game, but the Saints had a rough one on Saturday night too. 

The Saints managed just five hits in the game. Patrick Winkel’s sixth home run provided the team with its only run. Diego A. Castillo had a single to go with the team’s lone walk in the game. 

Aaron Rozek made the start and actually pitched well for the Saints. The southpaw gave up four runs on nine hits over six innings. He had seven strikeouts without issuing a walk. 

Zack Weiss pitched an inning. He gave up two runs on four hits. Steven Okert made his first Saints appearance. He recorded just one out. He was charged with three runs on four hits and two walks. He left the game with the bases loaded and nobody out, but Nick Wittgren got two outs without another run scoring. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 6, Springfield 1
Box Score
In this game, The Wind Surge got on the board first and then had a big fifth inning. 

In the first inning, Kala’i Rosario singled to lead off. With one out, Tanner Schobel singled Rosario to third. Ricardo Olivar singled in the game’s first run. 

Fast-forward to the bottom of the fifth inning. Ben Ross led off with a single and stole his 18th base. Rosario reached second on a throwing error with Ross going to third. Jake Rucker singled in two runs. 

With two outs, Alex Isola singled to advance Rucker to second base. Dalton Shuffield followed with his fourth Surge homer, a three-run shot that made it 6-0 at that time. 

Cory Lewis was very good on this night. He gave up one hit over 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He had three walks and struck out six batters. Following the game, Twins Daily asked what he's had working of late. Lewis said, "Definitely the knuckleball, from the beginning of the game, it was doing what it’s supposed to do. Felt really comfortable with it, and it was in the zone more than prior which helps a lot. "

After missing the first two months of the season, Lewis was brought back slowly. However, it is clear that he has returned to his 2023 form. He feels he's there too. "I definitely feel like I’ve finally back to where I was last year. Ever since coming back from the all star break, I feel like everything is back to normal. It took a few starts in Double-A for everything to finally sync up again and I’ve been feeling more comfortable. The stuff piece of it has been pretty consistent. It’s just been trusting my pitches and just building up confidence in everything. More so in locations and just trusting that my stuff is what it was last year."

Ricardo Velez gave up one hit over 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He had two strikeouts. Mason Fox gave up an unearned run on one hit and one walk. 

Wichita had 12 hits. All nine Surge hitters had at least one hit. Isola and Ross were 2-for-4. Ortega went 2-for-3 and had the team’s lone walk. Eight of nine Surge hitters had at least one strikeout. Overall, the team had 15 strikeouts. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 3, Lake County 4 
Box Score
The value of being able to put crooked numbers on the scoreboard was evident in this game. 

The Kernels got on the board first in the top of the third inning. Misael Urbina led off with his 16th double. With one out, Walker Jenkins signed to right to drive in the first run. 

Connor Prielipp was on the mound and on his game in this one. He tossed three scoreless, hitless innings. He walked one batter and had five strikeouts. 

Darren Bowen came in and over 3 2/3 innings, he gave up three runs on five hits. He walked two batters and had three strikeouts. 

Down 3-1 going into the sixth inning, Kaelen Culpepper knocked his first Kernels home run to cut the deficit to 3-2. 

In the ninth inning, Nate Baez led off with a walk. Kyle Hess pinch ran for him. He moved to second on a wild pitch. With one out, Rubel Cespedes pinch hit and lined his 20th double to right field to drive in Hess with the game-tying run. 

Gabriel Yanez came in and got the final out of the bottom of the seventh inning. He tossed a 1-2-3 eighth inning. With the game tied 3-3 going to the bottom of the ninth inning, Yanez remained in the game. He gave up a leadoff single to Alex Mooney who then stole his 42nd base. Then there was an intentional walk, and then an unintentional walk loaded the bases. After getting an infield pop up, Yanez gave up a walkoff single to Kevin Rivas. 

The Kernels had just six hits in the game, but they also walked five times. Culpepper had a walk to go with his first home run. Jenkins had a walk and a single. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Game 1: Fort Myers 1, Clearwater 5
Box Score
It was a sunny day in southwest Florida which was great for the Mussels schedule. This game actually started on Friday night. Anthony Narvaez started and was able to complete two innings. He gave up no runs and no hits. He walked one and had one strikeout. 

When play resumed on Saturday, Jose Olivares came on to pitch. He had a couple of walks, but through the fifth inning, he had yet to allow a hit. The sixth inning began with a walk and two batters later there was an error. Olivares gave up back-to-back doubles. In total, he was charged with three runs (2 earned) on two hits in four innings. He walked three and struck out three batters. 

Tomas Cleto pitched the seventh inning. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and one walk. 

Down 5-1 going to the bottom of the seventh inning (final inning), 2024 picks Derek Bender and Caden Kendle started the inning with a pair of singles. Emmanuel Rodriguez lined out to right, but then a wild pitch advanced the runners. A Brandon Winokur ground out drove in the Mussels second run. The previous runs scored on a wild pitch. 

Fort Myers managed just five hits in the game, and they coaxed four walks. Jay Thomason went 2-for-3. Kendle was 1-for-2 with a walk. Jaime Ferrer hit his seventh double. 

Game 2: Fort Myers 3, Clearwater 7
Box Score
There was a 90-minute delay after the first inning. After some early runs, the Mussels’ bats quieted while the Threshers continued to add. 

Adrian Bohorquez started for the Mussels and really struggled finding the strike zone. After getting a fly out, he walked Dante Nori (yes, the Wolves coach’s son). He then walked two more batters to load the bases. He got a fly out for the second out but it did score the game’s first run. After hitting a batter, he recorded the final out of the inning. 

Then came the lightning. When play returned, Christian Becerra came in to replace Bohorquez and make his professional debut. Bohorquez had thrown 31 pitches in the first inning (just 10 strikes), so his day may have been done regardless. Becerra gave up an unearned run on one hit and three walks over 1 2/3 innings. Cleiber Maldonado gave up two runs on one hit and two walks in one inning. Paulshawn Pasqualotto gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and two walks and recorded just two outs. Tyler Stasiowski came in for his pro debut. The non-drafted free agent walked one and had one strikeout over 1 2/3 innings. Juan Mercedes came in and gave up one run on one hit and two walks in an inning. The three outs came on strikeouts. 

So again, to summarize the Mussels pitching in Game 2; in seven innings, they gave up just four hits and walked an impressive 13 batters. 

The Mussels got on the board in the second inning. Daniel Pena singled. After one out, there was a wild pitch. With two outs, Byron Chourio singled to drive in Pena. 

With one out in the third inning, Kyle DeBarge reached on an error and then stole second base. Brandon Winokur singled which moved DeBarge to third. Winokur stole second. After a ground ball was fielded and thrown home for the second out, Jaime Ferrer doubled to drive in Winokur and Khadim Diaw. 

Ferrer went 2-for-3 with his eighth double. Winokur was 2-for-4 with his 18th double. He also stole his 23rd base. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – RHP Cory Lewis (Wichita): 5 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 89 pitches, 60 strikes (66.4%)
Hitter of the Day – Dalton Shuffield (Wichita): 1-for-4, HR(4), 3 RBI, R, 2 K

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

#1– Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-3, BB, RBI.    
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - Rehab in FM: Game 1: 0-for-3, BB, K.
#5 – Zebby Matthews (Minnesota) – 2 IP, 10 H, 9 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. 69 pitches, 45 strikes (65.2%)
#7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-4, 2B(18), RBI.    
#9 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, HR(1), R, RBI, K.  
#12 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – Game 1: 0-for-4, RBI, K. Game 2: 2-for-4, 2B(18), R, 2 K, SB(23) 
#13 – Cory Lewis (Wichita) – 5 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 89 pitches, 60 strikes (66.4%) 
#15 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-for-5, 2 R, 3 K.
#16 - Kyle DeBarge (Fort Myers) - Game 1: 0-for-3, 3 K, Game 2: 0-for-4.
#17 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-for-4, 2 K.
#20 – Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) – 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K. 38 pitches, 23 strikes (60.5%) 

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Omaha (2:05 PM CST) – RHP Travis Adams (1st Triple-A start)
Springfield @ Wichita (1:05 PM CST) – RHP Pierson Ohl (4-6, 5.48 ERA) 
Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (12:00 PM CST) – RHP Ricky Castro (1-3, 4.30 ERA)
Clearwater @ Ft. Myers (11:00 AM CST) – LHP Ross Dunn (1-4, 6.03 ERA) 

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

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[FlyingFinn]

Prielipp just looks so good at times. With health, he's going to fly up through the minors. But I think the Twins will be very cautious with his workload, both within each game and for next season.

Bowen seems like a Travis Adams clone. He throws hard but gets hit. Hopefully, some day, it will click like it has for Adams in the 2nd half.

[Doctor Wu]

5 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Prielipp just looks so good at times. With health, he's going to fly up through the minors. But I think the Twins will be very cautious with his workload, both within each game and for next season.

I think you are right about how they are going to handle Prielipp for the next year or so. I realize we are still dealing with a very small number of innings he's pitched this season, but it's still VERY encouraging to see him putting up such good numbers lately. 

[mikelink45]

I guess Okert needs to go down a level, he is still overmatched.

The pitching pipeline now looks like this to me:

1. Morris
2. Adams
3. Lewis

What am I missing?

[tony&rodney]

39 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

The pitching pipeline now looks like this to me:

1. Morris
2. Adams
3. Lewis

What am I missing?

Prielipp is not real close but he may be the best prospect. Also, don't leave out Bohorquez. 

Your top three look pretty good but need some polishing. The Twins are feeling positive about their starting pitching going forward: Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Woods Richardson, Festa, and Matthews top the list and mean it will take real talent to break on to the roster. Injuries happen but the starting pitching is a strength right now. 

[LambchoP]

Nice outing by Cory Lewis. Prelipp seems to remind me of Canterino (remember that guy)? Absolutely lights out IF we can just keep him healthy. It's hard not to be optimistic about our pitching pipeline of late. Zebby, Festa, Morris are probably closest. Still say we need another SP vet in our rotation for next year. Lower down we have Lewis, Raya, Culpepper, Rozek, maybe Canterino. Sure looks like Okert isn't making it back to A major league mound anytime soon. We couldn't even get a random A baller for him at this point. Sad that EVERYONE signed to pitch for us this year was a total bust. Seeing as it looks like we're not going to go out and sign anyone real, the Twins will be increasingly dependant on our minor league system. Hard to rely SOLELY on that, but we'll see, we've got some good promising players coming up 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

Prielipp is not real close but he may be the best prospect. Also, don't leave out Bohorquez. 

Your top three look pretty good but need some polishing. The Twins are feeling positive about their starting pitching going forward: Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Woods Richardson, Festa, and Matthews top the list and mean it will take real talent to break on to the roster. Injuries happen but the starting pitching is a strength right now. 

Charlee Soto. I think Prielipp is a reliever but he could be one helluva reliever.

[tampatwins]

I told yall when the Twins drafted him that you'd like Jaime Ferrer...so far looking pretty good

[roger]

6 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Charlee Soto. I think Prielipp is a reliever but he could be one helluva reliever.

Don’t often disagree, DJL44, but they have to keep him as a starter.  Certainly will be a few years before he gets well over 100+ innings.  But that’s ok.

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, roger said:

Don’t often disagree, DJL44, but they have to keep him as a starter.  Certainly will be a few years before he gets well over 100+ innings.  But that’s ok.

I'd make Preillip a RP and have him in the majors in a year, maybe two....

[DJL44]

7 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I'd make Preillip a RP and have him in the majors in a year, maybe two....

They can always move him back later if they really want to. He'll be on an innings restriction for several seasons but that's no excuse to keep a dominant arm in the minors. He's Rule 5 eligible next December.

Quote

Certainly will be a few years before he gets well over 100+ innings.  But that’s ok.

In a few years he'll be 27. I'm not sure you even want a pitcher putting that much torque on their arm for 100+ innings a year. He has so much spin on the breaking ball that he's already blown out his elbow twice.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

Priellip could be a #2 pitcher.  The question has been whether is elbow can hold up,  and to me it looks like it can.  You gradually increase his work load and keep moving him up and gradually increase innings per an outing.  Hopefully in a year or two lengthening him out more than they did with Raya.