Twins Minor League Report (9/14): Ohl-Righty Then; Wind Surge Starter Tosses 6 Scoreless

[Seth Stohs]

The Saints and Wind Surge have both had difficult seasons, filled with ups and downs. Despite a couple more L's, each team provided some highlights and performances worth watching. 

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Pierson Ohl)

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 78-70
St. Paul Saints: 68-74
Wichita Wind Surge: 55-80
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 67-63 (season complete)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 66-59 (season complete)
FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete)
DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete) 

TRANSACTIONS
The Twins activated SS Carlos Correa from the IL. To make room, DaShawn Keirsey was optioned to St. Paul.

To make room for Keirsey, the Saints put UT Anthony Prato on the Development List.    

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 3, Columbus 8 
Box Score
Travis Adams was on the hill to start for the Saints. He completed five innings and was charged with five runs.  Jaylen Nowlin came on to start the sixth inning, his Triple-A debut. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on a hit, a walk and two hit batters. He recorded just two outs, so Kyle Bischoff came on and got the final out of that frame, but the team was now down 8-1. Brent Headrick struck out three batters over the final two innings. 

The Saints scored first in the top of the first inning. Payton Eeles led off with a double and went to third on an Austin Martin single. Eeles then scored when Keirsey grounded into a double play. 

With two outs in the top of the third, Eeles and Martin were hit by pitches. Keirsey followed with an RBI single. 

Then with one out in the top of the ninth, Jair Camargo and Diego A. Castillo hit back-to-back doubles. 

Payton Eeles went 2-for-4, was hit by a pitch and added his 10th Saints double. DaShawn Keirsey returned to the Saints and went 2-for-4 with an RBI. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 2, Tulsa 3
Box Score
It’s been a rocky, up-and-down season for righty Pierson Ohl. On Saturday, Ohl was the starter for the team's penultimate game of their 2024 season. The Grand Canyon grad tossed six scoreless and had five strikeouts to no walks. Mike Paredes came in and  gave up one run over two innings. Miguel Rodriguez struck out three in the ninth inning, but he gave up two unearned runs in between to turn a 2-1 lead into a 3-2 deficit.  

Wichita got on the scoreboard first with a second-inning run. With one out, Aaron Sabato walked and Tanner Schobel singled him to second. A Jorel Ortega single loaded the bases. The speedy Sabato scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ben Ross. 

They added on in the bottom of the fifth frame. Kala’i Rosario was hit by a pitch. With one out, Alex Isola walked. After a pitching change, Andrew Cossetti walked to load the bases. Rosario scored when Sabato worked a walk. 

The Surge had just five hits in the game, but they also had seven walks and two batters were hit by pitches. Rosario had the lone extra base hit, his 19th double. Unfortunately, they were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day - Payton Eeles (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2B(10), HBP, 2 R, K.
Pitcher of the Day - Pierson Ohl (Wichita) - 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 63 pitches, 47 strikeouts (57.3%)

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 (Wichita) – 1-for-5, K, SB(1).   
#2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 0-for-2
#15 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-for-4, HBP, 2B(19), R, 2 K.
#17 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, K, SB(13).

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Columbus (12:05 PM CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (11-6, 3.87 ERA)
Tulsa @ Wichita (1:05 PM CST) – RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-1, 6.19 ERA) - final Surge game of season. 

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

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[mikelink45]

I'm sorry the Keirsey did not get enough chances to show his talent with the twins. 

[Doctor Wu]

I'm disappointed that Nowlin had such a rough AAA debut. Still some work to do, but hoping he can click at this higher level by next season.

[LambchoP]

Keirsey deserved a longer look, but roster crunches happen. If he's not traded, I'm sure we'll see him at some point next year. It is crazy that all our OFers are left handed. Wallner, Larnach, Keirsey, Kepler, Rodriguez, Jenkins....do we look for a RH bats to stick out there, or is Martin going to be our righty outfielder along with Mr. Glass?

[roger]

Great seeing Jenkins get a hit.  Expect just getting a few games at AA will be huge for his development.

Any word, Seth, on who is going to the AFL?  When does that season start?  Soon?

[DJL44]

6 hours ago, roger said:

Any word, Seth, on who is going to the AFL?  When does that season start?  Soon?

2024 Arizona Fall League teams and schedule (milb.com)

Season starts October 4 so teams will be announced sometime in the next 2 weeks.

[DocBauer]

Nice to see Ohl have a good final start. Really disappointed in his year. He threw so well in about 2/3 of a season at AA in 2023 I thought he might begin the year in AAA. He's usually a good strike thrower, even though henisnt much of a K pitcher. 

The BB were still OK this season, but his K's were down. I don't know what changed this year, but the HITS given up were much higher than the previous 3 years. He just seemed to lack consistency this year. Hopefully he'll bounce back strong in 2025.

[Jocko87]

I did get out to see our lovely boy king today.  Walker Jenkins is an actual thing, and he is nice.

He looks like he belongs.  Full stop.  I have no doubt he will open at AA next year.  He looks comfortable, he's not overwhelmed, he is as ready for AA as anyone else in a the ballpark today. 

One week is not a sample to draw to, but the quality of at bat is already AA level, at worst.  He hit several balls very hard, including pulling 97 on a line after swinging through 97 one pitch prior and a hard ground ball off a lefty that I scored a hit (official error).  He stole 2nd twice off the same lefty after being called back on a batter interference.  The run scoring double was 105 minimum off the bat, most likely more.  One foul ball was hit at least that hard as well, but at a home run launch angle. He was 3-5 in my score book. 

I wish he had been in center field as there were a couple of balls I would have like to see how he handled but its not his defense that has our attention. 

Last year when Paddack came to town for a late rehab I said he looked like a man among boys.  Walker Jenkins ain't that just yet, but he's barely 19.  He's as good as anyone here though, already.

I'll be at the ballpark many times early next year.