Twins Minor League Report (4/5): Connor Prielipp Pitches, Dasan Hill Dazzles in Pro Debut

[Tom Froemming]

A couple of premium left-handed pitching prospects were making significant debuts tonight. Connor Prielipp made his Double-A debut for Wichita while Dasan Hill made his pro debut with Fort Myers. Come see how those two did and check out what else happened across the system Saturday.

Image courtesy of John Vittas- Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

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

TRANSACTIONS
None

SAINTS SENTINEL 
Today’s Saints game was postponed due to rain. That will be made up when St. Paul returns to Columbus later this month.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Springfield 6, Wichita 2
Box Score
Connor Prielipp made his Double-A debut tonight, but he wasn’t on the mound for too long. We’re accustomed to that being the case, of course, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Twins manage him this year. 

Prielipp only needed four pitches to record the first two outs of the game, but Springfield made him work before he got out of the first inning. The next four Cardinals batters reached safely, they scratched across a run and squeezed 21 more pitches out of Prielipp.

In the second inning, Prielipp retired the side in order, striking out the first two batters. He went back out for the third inning, but hit the leadoff man, his second hit batsman of the game. That was it for the Wind Surge lefty. He went two innings and threw 47 pitches.  

 

The Wichita lineup couldn’t get much of anything going. Tanner Schobel and Ricardo Olivar led off the second inning with back-to-back singles. The next batter, Jorel Ortega, hit into a double play and the Wind Surge recorded just one more hit up until the ninth inning, a leadoff single in the sixth by Walker Jenkins. 

Noah Cardenas drew a one-out walk in the ninth before Schobel hit a double. Olivar then grounded out, but it was enough to bring Cardenas home and end the shutout bid. Ortega followed that up with a wind-aided popup double the left fielder couldn’t handle to give Wichita their second run. The ninth-inning rally was halted there, however, as the Wind Surge dropped their first game of the season.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 6, Wisconsin 4
Box Score
With Cedar Rapids trailing 1-0, Brandon Winokur and Billy Amick drew back-to-back one-out walks, prompting a pitching change. Rayne Doncon quickly fell behind 0-2, but took a ball in the dirt and managed to foul off a pitch way inside. Wisconsin tried to jam Doncon again, but he crushed a breaking ball like he knew it was coming, slugging a three-run homer.

 

The Timber Rattlers wrestled the lead back in the bottom of the fifth. They tallied a pair of runs off Kernels starter Alejandro Hidalgo, who went four innings in his first start since September of 2023. Jeremy Lee, the first man out of the pen for Cedar Rapids, gave up two more runs in his inning of work. From there, the pen had it on lock. Gabriel Yanez and Paulshawn Pasqualotto both delivered two shutout innings. That bought the Cedar Rapids lineup some time to mount a second comeback. 

In the top of the seventh, a pair of singles by Caden Kendle and Kyle DeBarge, followed by a wild pitch, put two runners in scoring position. Winokur managed to tie the game at 4-4 with an RBI groundout. The top of the eighth started with a pair of walks followed by a hit-by-pitch to load the bases with no outs. Another wild pitch brought home Doncon to put the Kernels up 5-4 and Kendle later added an RBI groundout to tack on an insurance run.

Cedar Rapids was 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, but the one hit was Doncon’s home run. Sometimes one’s all you need. Kaelen Culpepper, who was removed in the eighth inning of Friday’s game, did not play today.

 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 6, Springfield 4
Box Score

Dasan Hill made his pro debut and did not disappoint. The Twins drafted the lanky lefty in the second round (69th overall) in the 2024 Draft. Still only 19 years old, it was no guarantee we’d see him break camp with a full-season squad, so it’s a treat just to have him out on the mound this early. That he was completely dominant is a cherry on top.

Hill struck out seven batters in four innings of work, got 13 swinging strikes, and topped out at 97.6 mph. He did not walk a batter. The only hit he surrendered was a solo home run. The Texas native threw 34 of his 50 pitches for strikes.

The Mighty Mussels lineup helped take the pressure off of Hill by scoring three runs in the top of the second inning. Poncho Ruiz singled and later scored on an error before Angel Del Rosario added a two-run single. All three runs came around with two outs in the inning.

Jose Rodriguez hit his first home run of the season in the sixth inning, and the Mussels manufactured two more runs in the eighth. Yasser Mercedes drew a leadoff walk, stole second base, advanced to third on a throwing error, and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Fort Myers scored another run on a wild pitch later in the same inning.

Jason Doktorczyk, 2024 ninth-round pick, also made his pro debut in this game. He struck out six batters over three innings, but also gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits, three walks and a hit batsman. Ivran Romero, who went undrafted after pitching out of the University of San Diego’s bullpen for four years, also made his pro debut tonight. He delivered two shutout innings while striking out three batters.

Leadoff man Byron Chourio reached safety in three of his five plate appearances, hitting two singles to go with a walk. 

 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Pitcher of the Day: Dasan Hill (Fort Myers) 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Hitter of the Day: Rayne Doncon (Cedar Rapids) 1-for-3, HR (1), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 
1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 1-for-4, K
8 Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, R, RBI, BB, K 
10. Connor Prielipp (Wichita): 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HBP, 47 pitches (31 strikes)
11. Dasan Hill (Fort Myers): 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 50 pitches (34 strikes)
13. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5
15. Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers): 0-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, SB
16. Rayne Doncon (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, HR (1), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB
17. Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, 2B, R, BB, 2 K
18. Kala’i Rosario (Wichita): 0-for-3, BB, 2 K 
19. Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, R, BB, 2 K
20. Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul at Columbus (2:05 pm CT): Randy Dobnak
Wichita at Springfield (3:05 pm CT): Trent Baker
Wichita at Springfield (Game 2): Aaron Rozek
Cedar Rapids at Wisconsin (3:20 pm CT): Tanner Hall
Fort Myers at Palm Beach (1:30 pm CT): Michael Ross

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[DJL44]

One of these days we'll get to see all 4 teams play on the same day.

[DocBauer]

Mother nature hasn't been kind to the Saints so far.

So Prielipp was knocking the Sox off people in ST and had mediocre results his first game out. Who cares. The fact that he's healthy and throwing pure stuff is the point. A bad 1st start isn't important. My concern with Wichita is the number of guys out with injuries. The lineup has a lot of "OK, it's time to show something" bats, but they're down a handful of arms and players. 

I confess I had totally forgotten about Alejando Hidalgo who the Twins got in the Urshela trade in 2023. And, of course, forgot he was hurt and hadn't thrown since 2023. I am a bit surprised Lee took over for him. I thought he might still be a SP candidate. Was he piggybacking, or has he been transitioned to the pen?

Could we have possibly expected a better debut for Hill? My goodness! I know Doktorczyk relieved him and gave up some runs, with BB and a HB and 6 K's, proving himself wild but intriguing.  But his pro debut was the Futures Game where he wasn't great, but also flashed. He reminds me so much of a 3" shorter version of Ober in delivery, and possible deception, but with more velocity. His build reminds me of Matthews. I think he's an arm we should be following with this season being his debut. I can easily see him following the Mathews and Morris trajectory to some degree. I'd be willing to bet he will add velocity to a FB that sits around 92 and hits 94 and with additional command of his offspead stuff could have him at A÷ later in the season. 

Good start for Mercedes who i think will climb quickly.

Good start for Chourio, who is still a bit of a question mark. But the talent is there. 

 

 

[Dman]

That was an amazing first start for Hill. The HR spoiled things a bit but my o my no walks and7 K's in 4 innings that's a fantastic start for the 19 year old Hill.  Throwing almost 98 for a left hander is a cherry on top.  I liked the pick when the Twins made it and I like it even more now with how much he has improved.  Doktorczyk was pretty wild but,  he made pitches when he had to.  Hopefully the control improves as the weather improves.

Hidalgo pitched better than I expected and with his fastball around 95 it seems like he has a chance to be something.  Personally I see reliever in his future but he had a nice start on Saturday.

Prielipp had guys at two strikes but didn't put them away. If he just tightens that up a bit his line would look much better.  Cold weather seems to impact control.  He had batters reeling he just needed to put them away.

Doncon with the big HR and a couple of walks.  Need to keep an eye on him as his bat could be special. DeBarge needs to get under pitches and stop hitting them on the ground if he wants to move up. He has good contact skills but everything is on the ground.  If he can change that he has a good chance to move up.

Ferrar behind that plate and a good game offensively. Need to keep an eye on him as well. CR is a fun team to watch.

[Doctor Gast]

I'm just happy if Prielipp can stay healthy during this cold part of the season.

[Doctor Wu]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

I'm just happy if Prielipp can stay healthy during this cold part of the season.

Yes indeed. Despite the HBP it was encouraging start for him. I just hope he can go much deeper in his starts this season. 

[jmlease1]

Easy to see why Hill is #11 on the Twins prospect list. That's a very nice start to the season, and I'm happy to see him in A-ball rather than in rookie ball. Lot of upside with him and I'm excited to see how quickly he develops.

Thrilled to see Prielipp pitching. Health is the most important part for him right now, and I really don't care that much about the results yet. Not sure if they should keep developing him as a starter with his history; just don't know if his arm can hold up to the pounding and with his stuff he could be a deadly weapon in the bullpen.

[LambchoP]

Just really good seeing Jenkins and Prelipp healthy and playing games. Dasan Hill looks like he has the stuff of a future ace. Hopefully we keep him healthier than some of our other prospects. Between him and Prelipp we might have a new age Santana Liriano in our future rotation ;). At the very least they could end up relief weapons, maybe closers.

[rdehring]

Add me to those who are elated seeing Prielipp as Wichita's opening day starter.  To be honest, I thought 47 pitches was a few more than I expected.  Probably should have let him sit after that dominant second inning.  

Don't know what to say about Hill, other than "you betcha, he sure looked fantastic."

My son's office overlooks the ballpark in Columbus.  He confirmed the weather has been 100% horse crap for the last week, plus.

[HrbieFan]

If Bluesky can't be embedded in the article, why use it? 

[bean5302]

Prielipp getting the pitch count just about where I expected. 50 limit or so, just like Raya started last year. I expect the Twins will probably follow the '24 Raya approach this year with Prielipp, and provided the lefty can avoid injury problems, we'll be seeing 5-6 inning starts and 80 pitches from him by the end of the year. Maybe 100 innings total. He'll have to pitch better than he did in this game to get there, though.

AA will be a big test. Prielipp won't just be able to throw fastballs by guys, and the players in AA have the talent to punish pitches which aren't really "mistakes" at a much higher rate. We'll see how he adapts.