Minor League Report (9/8): Kyle DeBarge Goes Out With a Bang

[Matt Braun]

What do you mean the season is already over (for some teams)?

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Kyle DeBarge)

TRANSACTIONS
LHP Steven Okert placed on temporarily inactive list (AAA St. Paul)
Jeff Johnson is reporting that OF Walker Jenkins and RHP Jacob Wosinksi are joining Wichita for the final week of their regular season

 

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 9, Iowa 3
Box Score
Travis Adams: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
HR: Carson McCusker (3)
Multi-hit games: Diego A. Castillo (2-for-4, R, 3 RBI, BB), Carson McCusker (3-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI), Chris Williams (2-for-4, R, RBI)

The Saints walloped their opponents on Sunday.

Travis Adams settled in for a much tamer second go-around as St. Paul’s starter. Outside of a cheesy 351-foot homer, Adams was pretty much perfect; he tossed a clean frame three times and twice allowed a lone runner to reach 1st before handling business with efficiency and professionalism. An excellent bounceback for our August Starter of the Month.

Unfortunately, he did not get the win for his work. The Saints offense was potent, but they were a bit tardy. No matter: runs are better late than never.

St. Paul plated early runs with RBI knocks from Payton Eeles and Chris Williams before roaring into overdrive the second the game transitioned to its final stage. An RBI double from Jeferson Morales wet the palette and ushered Carson McCusker into his place as the main attraction (it’s hard not to be the centerpiece when you stand 6’8”). McCusker tattooed a three-run shot in the 7th to bust the game wide open.

Then—in perfect opposition to McCusker’s power—Diego A. Castillo showcased the unique diversity of scoring opportunities in baseball with a bases-clearing single dropped directly between the communication of Iowa’s up-the-middle defense.

Both hits plated three runs. What a sport.

Caleb Baragar, Giovanny Gallegos, and Zack Weiss delivered the game to the finish line with relatively little drama; a homer off Baragar marked the lone run surrendered by the St. Paul bullpen on Sunday.

McCusker is slashing .327/.389/.612 with the Saints. Does anyone else see a little Tyler Austin in his swing?

The Iowa Cubs are led by infielder Matt Shaw, who clocks in as the 24th-best prospect in MLB. He was held hitless in four at-bats.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 4, Frisco 2
Box Score
C.J. Culpepper: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
HR: Jorel Ortega (10)
Multi-hit games: Jake Rucker (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI)

The Wind Surge won in extras on Sunday.

C.J. Culpepper made his finest start since coming off the IL. The flowing-blonde righty tossed four scoreless frames, whiffing six while allowing a pair of singles and a walk; just once did a runner reach beyond first base. That's more like the kind of pitching we've come to expect from Culpepper.

Scoring was sparse, but Wichita made it count when it mattered most, falling flat for long stretches before knotting the game and pulling ahead with the aid of the gifted Manfred Man. 

Jorel Ortega kicked off the scoring with a solo shot, marking Wichita's lone run before the 8th inning. There—after it seemed like the Wind Surge would never score—a single and two walks loaded the bases for Aaron Sabato. Standing in the box with the intention to cause damage he... got smoked by a fastball. That'll work, anyhow.

In extras, Kala'i Rosario walked to set up Jake Rucker with runners on the corners; he pushed a double into the right-field gap, sending the runners in a frenzy as both men came around to score.

Jarret Whorff brought the game to an end with his second scoreless frame. He capped a streak of tremendous relief pitching started by Taylor Floyd; between Floyd and Whorff, four hurlers combined to toss five shutout innings with seven strikeouts and no baserunners, at least none allowed through their own volition. 

The RoughRiders are an affiliate of the Texas Rangers, and their best player is the franchise's 16th-ranked prospect, outfielder Alejandro Osuna. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 10
Box Score
Tanner Hall: 4 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
HR: Kevin Maitan (8)
Multi-hit games: Misael Urbina (2-for-4, 3B, R), Poncho Ruiz (2-for-3, BB)

The Kernels imploded in sour fashion to end their season.

Tanner Hall simply didn’t have it. He allowed a homer three pitches into the start and only continued to tumble from there; three runs scored in total that frame—and despite two clean innings in response—the righty coughed up another trio of scores in the 4th to bring his day to a rough end. The start was a disappointment for the Southern Mississippi product who pitched solidly in August; hopefully a long offseason of rest provides the nourishment and reset he needs.

Cedar Rapids’ lineup was in no mood to aid their flailing starter, as came up empty in 14 at-bats on Sunday, with five batters striking out at least twice. Rayne Doncon bore the brunt of the whiff-fest with his first (and only) golden sombrero of the season. It sure is a cruel sport. 

The little offense they mustered manifested in a 2nd-inning Kevin Maitan homer, a Misael Urbina triple that begat an RBI single from Tyler Dearden, and an at-the-buzzer run-scoring double by Rixon Wingrove. 

Walker Jenkins reached base twice with a single and a walk. He ends September with more walks (8) than strikeouts (6). With Junior Caminero and Dylan Crews in the majors, he may soon become MLB Pipeline’s number 1 overall prospect.

The Timber Rattlers are a member of the typically talented Brewers farm system. They enjoy the services of shortstop Cooper Pratt, the 60th-ranked prospect in MLB. He homered and walked in five trips to the plate.

The Kernels finished the season with a 67-63 record, a far fall from their dominant 82-50 heights from 2023, but good enough to secure their 11th straight winning season. The last time Cedar Rapids ended a year below .500 was as an Angels affiliate. Brian Dinkelman runs a tight ship—and despite the relative disappointment of 2024—the Kernels remain a shining beacon of consistency.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 9, Lakeland 4
Box Score
Anthony Narvaez: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
HR: Khadim Diaw (1), Maddux Houghton (4), Kyle DeBarge (1)
Multi-hit games: Kyle DeBarge (4-for-5, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI), Khadim Diaw (2-for-3, HR, R, RBI)

In their final game of the season, the Mighty Mussels blasted three homers to secure yet another winning year.

It was the Kyle DeBarge show: the recent 1st round pick broke out for his best game as a professional, blasting his first career homer and singling thrice on his way to a hearty 4-for-5 day at the plate. He knocked in four and stole two bases. That’s a packed box score.

Not to be overshadowed, Khadim Diaw also hit his inaugural pro ball home run (during a pinch-hit at-bat, nonetheless), and Maddux Houghton gave Fort Myers the lead with a two-run shot just moments after Diaw’s blast completed its return from tickling the stratosphere.

The pitching effort was an ensemble cast; Anthony Narvaez kicked things off with three solid innings before turning the ball over to Paulshawn Pasqualotto, Juan Mercedes, and Tomas Cleto. Pasqualotto earned the win with his timing, but Mercedes shined with a pair of scoreless innings to lower his Mighty Mussels ERA to 2.89. 

Everyone in Fort Myers’ lineup reached base on Sunday, even the substitute players. 

The Lakeland Flying Tigers—as you could guess—are an affiliate of their grounded parent team based in Detroit. While they no longer employ the wonderful talents of Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle, their DH, Josue Briceño, ranks as the franchise's 10-best prospect. He went 0-4 on Sunday.

Despite missing the playoffs, Fort Myers enjoyed yet another year above .500, their 11th in the past 12 years, and their fourth straight under manager Brian Meyer, who has yet to see a losing season. That’s quite the achievement. The minors are chaotic and volatile, with good players leaving quickly for greener pastures, making any sort of stability almost impossible. A ton of credit goes to Meyer, the Mussels coaching staff, the Twins organization, and—of course—the players for accomplishing this feat. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kyle DeBarge, Carson McCusker

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#1– Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, BB, K
#2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) - 0-3, K
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 1-5, R, 3 K
#9 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, R
#15 - Kala'i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-4, 2 R, BB
#16 - Kyle DeBarge (Fort Myers) - 4-5, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
#17 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-4, BB, 2 K
#19 - C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Columbus (5:15 PM) - LHP Brent Headrick
Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM) - TBD

View full article

[Guest]

Payton Eeles should be turning up on prospect lists soon.  And after watching Eddie whiff twice on low/inside breaking balls yesterday Eeles deserves a chance.

[mikelink45]

Eeles and McCusker could be two infusions of energy and hot bats.  After reading the Lewis article I see players like this that are hungry and still filled with energy as the pep pills the Twins need.

[Blyleven2011]

The season is coming to an end ...

Went by to fast  but many things were accomplished  , players showed off there skills and got promoted , some deserving and some maybe not deserving due to replacing injuries ....

They are all prospects and professionals  regardless of their age  , they all came to play ...

The fans were rewarded with alot of good baseball  , the future looks bright with some good drafting from the past few years ....

[chpettit19]

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Eeles and McCusker could be two infusions of energy and hot bats.  After reading the Lewis article I see players like this that are hungry and still filled with energy as the pep pills the Twins need.

I was talking to some buddies last night and said the way to (start to) make up for their absolutely horrid 10 months of PR is to give the fans a 5'5" hero to cheer for the rest of September. Giving them a 6'8" one as well would be really fun! But I'll start with them just playing the 2 rookies they've called up in the last week+ at this point and see if Keirsey and Helman can provide any kind of spark.

[LambchoP]

Even though we're technically still in a playoff spot, it sure seems like most of our veterans have checked out mentally and given up on the year. Buxton and Correa aren't coming back to save us. Lewis and Castro look completely lost at the plate. We've already got Lee, Helman and Keirsey up. Why not call up Eeles and Rodriguez and see what they can do. Austin Martin should be getting regular at bats too, auditioning for a backup outfield job next year.

[ryan189]

nice game by adams seems to be keeping his hot streak alive from AA his stats show he throws 6 or 7 pitches it takes some guys longer to control all those pitches not just a 3 pitch guy seems to be very valuable once you learn to mix them all. will be interesting to watch

[roger]

Best news of the day for me was Jenkins moving up to AA.  Should be great experience and put him in line to begin 2025 at Wichita.  A good first half should see him in St. Paul next summer.  Will he make the jump all the way to the Twins?  Wouldn't it be fantastic to have ERod and Jenkins both in the Twins lineup for the 2025 playoffs?

[gman]

Culpepper finished well at Witchita after slow start. 8 Innings 5 hits 2 runs 1 walk and 9 strikeouts. He looks like he could be in St Paul by mid season next year if there is room for him.

Rayne Doncon, The other player received from the Dodgers for Noah Miller looks like a player. I expect he lasts longer in the Twins system than Margot. He'll be 21 in a few weeks but could be at Double A well before he turns 22. 

[D.C Twins]

The likely end of the Sabato era.... what was your favorite memory?!