Minor League Report (4/4): Charlee Soto, Spencer Bengard Impress on Opening Night

[Seth Stohs]

The Saints managed to get two games completed in between rain storms in Ohio. The Wind Surge were in Missouri and weren't as lucky. The Kernels were in Appleton, and despite the cold, played a really good, hard-fought game. The Mighty Mussels saw a couple of people make their professional debuts. 

Image courtesy of Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Abby Haling

 

The Saints and Twins opened their seasons a week ago. Friday was Opening Day for the three other Twins affiliates. Unfortunately, rain pushed one game back a day. As always, we encourage you to check back every day for the best Minnesota Twins minor-league coverage. See how the teams are doing, but more important, see how the players are doing. 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 2-5
St. Paul Saints: 2-3
Wichita Wind Surge: 0-0
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 1-0
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 0-1

TRANSACTIONS
No transactions on Friday that hadn't already been announced. Several players officially placed on the Injured List by Fort Myers (Rafael Escalante, Christian Becerra, Logan Whitaker) and Wichita (Christian MacLeod, Kyle Jones, CJ Culpepper, Aaron Sabato, Pierson Ohl), and Wichita also put Tyler Dearden.     

SAINTS SENTINEL
Game 1: St. Paul 2, Columbus 3 
Box Score
These teams were rained out on Thursday night, so the plan was to play two games on Friday. There was more rain in Ohio during the day so instead of starting Game 1 at 4:05 pm, it started at 5:40 pm. 

The game started well for the Saints. Austin Martin led off with a single to center. Luke Keaschall followed with a lined single to left off of the third baseman’s glove. Mike Ford singled to center field to drive in the game’s first run. Cleanup man Armando Alvarez singled to left which drove in Keaschall from second base to give the team a 2-0 lead. 

That was it for the Saints scoring in this game. In their first three games, the starting pitcher provided five scoreless innings. Could Marco Raya repeat the feat? Knowing that the pitchers all start the year with limits, it wasn’t likely. Raya threw 48 pitches. He gave up five hits and a walk, and he had five strikeouts. However, he also gave up no runs. Kody Funderburk came into the game with the bases loaded and just one out in the bottom of the third inning. He got Dom Nunez to ground into an inning-ending double play. 

 

Funderburk followed with two more scoreless innings. So, the combination of Marco Raya and Kody Funderburk gave the Saints their fourth straight game that started with five shutout frames. 

Ryan Jensen struck out two batters in a scoreless sixth innings. It wasn’t easy. He got the first two batters out before giving up a triple and a walk. A stolen base put the tying run on second base, but Jensen got a strikeout to end the threat. 

Manager Toby Gardenhire turned things over to Scott Blewett for the bottom of the seventh inning, looking for three outs to end the ballgame. It started out well, with a strikeout. However, a walk and a double put runners on second and third with one out. Angel Martinez singled to center which scored both runs and made the score 2-2. Will Wilson followed with a double to end the game. 

Austin Martin and Mike Ford each went 2-for-3 with a walk. Carson McCusker had the lone extra-base hit, his second double of the season. 

Game 2: St. Paul 1, Columbus 11 (6 innings)
Box Score
Game 1 started way late. Game 2 was over not long after it started. And when it rains it pours. The final innings were played in wet, miserable conditions. 

David Festa made his second start of the year, and it was a struggle. He gave up an unearned run in the first inning. He gave up  an earned run in the second, two more in the third, and two more in the fourth inning before a home run ended his night. In total, he gave up six runs (5 earned) on 10 hits and two walks. He struck out four batters.

Huascar Ynoa came on. He was charged with four runs (2 earned) on two hits and walked two batters. Kyle Bischoff came on and got two outs to complete the fifth inning but not before he gave up an unearned run. 

Luke Keaschall had two of the team’s four hits in this game. He had a double. Jair Camargo’s third double drove in the team’s lone run. Not sure it mattered in a blowout like this, but the Saints were also 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.  

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita, Springfield
Box Score
The rains came to the middle of Missouri on Friday which unfortunately meant that the Wind Surge will need to wait another day to play their season-opening game. It is expected that Connor Prielipp will make the start. He was scheduled to pitch on Friday night. 

The plan is to play the regularly-scheduled game on Saturday as the new Opening Day. Then they will make up Friday night’s game as part of a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 0
Box Score
You look at the score and think, that must have been a nice, easy win for the Kernels in the Timber Rattlers’ home opener. But it was anything but easy. 

Let’s start with the starting pitcher, Charlee Soto. His final line shows four shutout innings, two hits, three walks and five strikeouts. But he really had to work out of tough situation in each of the first two innings. The bases were loaded with one out in the bottom of the first, but he got a ground ball the ended up about an inch in front of home plate. Khadim Diaw picked it up, stepped on home plate and threw to first base to end the threat.  

After getting the first two batters out in the second inning, Soto walked two straight batters (although I would argue one of them should have been a strikeout on a check swing). But Soto got a strikeout to end that threat. 

Soto followed with two quick frames in which he added three more strikeouts and ended his outing with a soft groundball to the mound. Soto was showing a good fastball that touched triple digits several times. He showed the makings of a good breaking ball, although I’m sure the 46-degree temps made that a bit more difficult to throw. He got a couple of strikeouts on a changeup. He didn’t throw many, but they were good when he threw it.

Manuel Rodriguez was the Wisconsin starter, and he was tough. In 4 1/3 innings, he gave up only an unearned run on three hits. He walked one and had 11 strikeouts. Through the first three innings, he faced 10 batters and had eight strikeouts. Fans in attendance got free Frosty’s thanks to his efforts. 

Kyle DeBarge led off the fourth inning with a solid single up the middle. He stroke second base. Brandon Winokur walked. Billy Amick then blooped a single to right field to score DeBarge. The right fielder may have had a play at the plate but dropped the ball. 

The Kernels doubled their lead in the sixth inning. With one out, DeBarge walked. Winokur lined a double down the third base line to drive him in. 

They doubled that lead with two more runs in the seventh inning. Khadim Diaw singled and went to second on a throwing error. Then Danny De Andrade reached on a throwing error. Gabriel Gonzalez lined a single to right to load the bases. Caden Kendle drove in two runs with his first double of the season. 

Spencer Bengard came in and calmed things down for four innings. He gave up no runs, no hits. He walked one and had six strikeouts. Jacob Wosinski came in for the ninth. Of course it wasn’t going to be easy. The first two batters singled. However, Wosinski got a fly out and a strikeout. But Tayden Hall (son of former MLB catcher Toby Hall) lined a single to left that drove in a run. But that was it. Wosinski got another strikeout to end the game. 

Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a double. Winokur was 1-for-3 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. 

It was a nice hard-fought Opening Night win for the Kernels. The Kernels struck out 17 times in the game but their pitchers were able to get 13 strikeouts as well. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 2, Palm Beach 8
Box Score
Overall, the Mighty Mussels’ season opener was a bit of a clunker. Of course, it’s OK to let the home team and their fans enjoy their home opener. Just go out and beat them the next two days. OK, maybe not, but not a lot went right for the Mussels. 

Eli Jones, the Twins seventh-round pick last summer out of South Carolina, made his professional debut on Thursday night. The right-hander gave up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits and a walk over 4 1/3 innings. He had one strikeout. 

Kade Bragg came in with a runner on and one out in the fifth inning. He got two batters out, both on strikeouts. 

Jakob Hall was the Twins eighth-round pick last year out of Oral Roberts. This was also his professional debut. He worked the final three innings. He was charged with four runs on six hits (one homer) and two walks. 

(Side Note: On Saturday, the projected Mussels starter is a really exciting, intriguing prospect who is also making his professional debut.) 

If you’re looking for one positive offensive performance from this game, look to right field. Byron Chourio came to the Twins before the 2023 season with Pablo Lopez and Jose Salas in exchange for Luis Arraez. I was surprised to see him with the Mussels to start this season. For whatever reason, I feel like he’s been around a long time. However, he spent 2023 in the FCL and played in just 84 games last season for the Mussels. The other thing? He’s only 19! He won’t turn 20 for another six weeks. 

In this game, Chourio led off. He went 1-for-2 and walked three times. He also stole a base. Last season, Chourio was a bit overwhelmed, but prior to that, he has always shown a good eye at the plate and had big on-base percentages. A year ago, he had 104 strikeouts to 29 walks. In his two pro seasons before that, he had 45 walks and 46 strikeouts. That will be the way to determine his readiness for the Florida State League, and potentially for the Midwest League late in the season. 

The Mussels had just five hits. Veteran Kevin Maitan went 2-for-4 in the game. Minor League Rule 5 pick, catcher Jefferson Valladares, had a single and the team’s lone RBI. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day - Byron Chourio (Fort Myers) - 1-for-2, 3 BB, SB(1).
Pitcher of the Day - Spencer Bengard (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 56 pitches, 40 strikes (71.4%). 

 

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

#1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) – Rained out.   
#2 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - Game 2 (0-for-2, BB, R, K)
#3 - Luke Keaschall (St. Paul) – Game 1 (1-for-3, R, K, played 2B), Game 2 (2-for-3, 2B(1).
#4 - Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids) – 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 62 pitches, 40 strikes (64.5%)
#5 - Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - DNP
#6 - Marco Raya (St. Paul) - 2.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 48 pitches, 29 strikes (60.4%)
#7 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K, played SS.
#8 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, HBP, 2B(1), RBI, 2 K (7 innings in CF, 2 innings at SS)
#9 - Cory Lewis (St. Paul) – DNP
#10 - Connor Prielipp (Wichita) – Rained out.
#11 - Dasan Hill (Fort Myers) - pro debut on Saturday.
#12 - C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - Injured List
#13 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, BB, 2 R, K, SB(1), E(1), played 2B.
#14 - Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - No games yet.
#15 - Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, E.
#16 - Rayne Doncon (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K.
#17 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 3 K.
#18 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - Rained out.
#19 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2B(1)
#20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - Rained out.       

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Columbus (3:05 PM CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (0-0, -.-- ERA)
Wichita @ Springfield (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Trent Baker (0-0, -.-- ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (1:10 PM CST) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo (0-0, -.-- ERA)
Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:00 PM CST) - LHP Dasan Hill (0-0, -.-- ERA)

Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the roster, and discuss Friday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related!

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[Doctor Gast]

Is Martin OK? He didn't play in the 2nd game.

Soto is progressing very nicely. It's a great start to a new season. Never heard of Bengard. But I haven't been following the MiLB as much.

[FlyingFinn]

Some good pitching performances from Bengard, Soto and Raya. Working out of jams is something you had better be good it. 

Listened a little bit to the Saints radio broadcast. The announcer said Funderburk and Blewett are going to be throwing multiple innings in preparation for doing that with the Twins. Funderburk was great, Blewett was terrible.

[tony&rodney]

Festa had a very difficult time putting batters away. Tons of foul balls. Tough game for the Saints batters as well. Weather is ridiculous this time of year. I chuckled seeing the looks on the faces of the players (both teams). 

[rdehring]

Thanks for the report, Seth.  Has been way too long waiting for these to return.

Two excellent articles in today's Strib.  One talks about the development of the Twins pitching pipeline.  The other talks about eight players who stood out this spring and will be playing in the lower minor leagues.  What I found most interesting is three of the eight are left handed pitchers, Prielipp, Carpenter and Hill.  

Sure looks like Keaschall's bat is saying I am ready for the 'show.'

[SD happy]

Thank you for doing this. It is such a treat to be able to read and soak in the information of these reports every morning.

[Seth Stohs]

4 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Is Martin OK? He didn't play in the 2nd game.

Soto is progressing very nicely. It's a great start to a new season. Never heard of Bengard. But I haven't been following the MiLB as much.

Martin's fine. Just game 2 off. E-Rod just played the 2nd game. Toby's got a tough job of keeping everyone happy while still meeting the organization's expectations. 

For more on Spencer Bengard, check here. He was the Twins Daily MILB Reliever of the Year in 2024.  

 

[Dman]

Yeah the cold weather really makes the first month of the season stats tough to translate.  Some do just fine in the cold others do not.  Soto couldn't find his control in the first inning and as he warmed up he looked better each inning.  The standout was the pitcher from the other team Rodriguez.  His stuff had so much break\movement our hitters were helpless against him.  His 11K's prove it.  At just 19 years old the Brewers have a real weapon there.  He looked much better than Soto in this game but he couldn't match Soto's 100mph fastball.  I guess as they move up levels we'll see how their stuff plays but I was very, very impressed with Rodriguez.

While I have generally been disappointed with Gonzalas's approach he and DeBarge looked like the best hitters on the team in this one.  Gabby was the only one to get a big hit off of Rodriguez and he looked good at the plate all game IMO.  DeBarge got on base three times although two were considered error's  He makes contact but hoping for more balls in the air at some point.  Still it looks like he can make contact with just about anything.

Bengard's stuff looks really good, really tough to hit and he didn't give up a hit.  I was a bit down on him last year because of the low K rate, but if he can put guys away like he did last night I think he has a good chance to make it.  AA is the true test but he looked good and is off to a good start.

That Cedar Rapids lineup is gonna be tough on pitcher's.  They all are good contact hitters just needing to maybe be a bit more patient at times.  Not sure if the pitching they have there will be good enough, but the lineup is must watch.

[tony&rodney]

4 hours ago, rdehring said:

Sure looks like Keaschall's bat is saying I am ready for the 'show.'

Personally, I love Keaschall's approach at the plate, but he has been swinging and missing a ton. Thus far he and Rodriguez look like they are trying to pull most everything into the third deck. They should both, hopefully, settle down.

[jkcarew]

6 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

 

Some good pitching performances from Bengard, Soto, and Raya.

 

Raya? Raya was very good in the first, struggled in the second, and was a complete train wreck in the third. Saved by a bases loaded double play ball by Funderburk.

[twinstalker]

Bengard's been in my top 10-12 since last year.   And Raya's been 20-25.  Because?  One's good, the other's very meh.  It's not that difficult.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

Bengard had an ERA of 2  last year,  and in 23 innings of A+ ball was 1.5.   This is not a guy to sleep on.  He didn't strike out a ton last year,  but he only walked 14 batters in 80 innings pitched.  Yes if he can get a little more swing and miss,  it may increase his chances,  but for now,  the kid can straight up pitch.  At the higher levels we will see if they can hit him more consistently and harder.  

[Ghost of Kirby Puckett]

Dasan Hill with 7k's thru 4 frames, 1 hit allowed tonight. Twins have some really nice young LH arms.

[Blyleven2011]

Thanks Seth  ....

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