Twins Minor League Report (5/8): Wild Game in St. Paul Ends with a Walk-Off Win

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Mickey Gasper), Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Connor Prielipp)

On Thursday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins completed their sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. It was their fifth straight win. Since starting the season 5-11, the Twins have gone 13-9.  They have also won nine of their last 13 games. 

Long seasons are filled with good stretches and bad stretches for teams, but also for players. That’s, in many cases, even more the case in the minor leagues when development is the #1 key. 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 18-20
St. Paul Saints: 18-14
Wichita Wind Surge: 16-14
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 19-10
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 15-15
FCL Twins: 3-1

TRANSACTIONS
No surprise, but unfortunately, Austin Martin has been placed on the injured list with a hamstring strain. 

LHP Kade Bragg has been promoted to High-A Cedar Rapids from Fort Myers. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 13, Buffalo 10
Box Score
If you’re a fan of baseball games with big offense, you’ll like this game. The two teams combined for 23 runs and 26 hits.  

If you’re a fan of consistent scoring throughout the game, rather than one big inning and nothing else, you’ll like this game. Neither team scored more than three runs in an inning. Of the 18 half-innings played in the nine-inning game, just five times were no runs scored. 

All nine Saints hitters had at least one hit. They combined for four homers. The team also walked seven times. 

Oh, and hey, if you enjoy watching a baseball game in which one of your favorite team’s recently-optioned players with a great mustache ends the game with a walk-off home run. Then this is your game. 

Cory Lewis started and went the first four innings. He gave up one run in three of them yet really limited the damage. He gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks. 

Richard Lovelady threw the fifth inning. He gave up three unearned runs on one hit and one walk. The hit just happened to be a three-run homer by Ali Sanchez. That came in the fifth inning. Michael Tonkin was next, continuing his rehab stint. He was charged with two runs on three hits and two walks and a hit batter. He struck out two batters. Brady Feigl came on and calmed things down. He got five straight batters out, three of them on strikeouts. He got the Saints through the eighth inning. 

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the third, the Saints tied the game. With one out, Will Holland walked and stole second base, but he was able to jog home when Ryan Fitzgerald hit his fourth home run of the season. 

Let’s jump ahead. When the Saints came to the plate for the bottom of the fifth inning, they were behind 6-2. Jair Camargo led off with a double. After one out, Holland hit his second homer since his return from the IL to make it 6-4. 

With two outs, Mickey Gasper and Edouard Julien had back-to-back walks. Carson McCusker singled to left to drive in Gasper with the third run of the inning. In the top of the sixth, the Bisons scored two more runs and held an 8-5 lead. 

In the bottom of the sixth, a Jeferson Morales walk, a Camargo single, and Anthony Prato was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After a pitching change, Will Holland hit a sacrifice fly to make it 8-6. Unfortunately, that was all they were able to muster. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Carson McCusker hit his eighth double. With two outs, Morales singles to drive him in and make it 8-7. 

Because of the Feigl outing, Buffalo went scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings. Still down a run going to the bottom of the eighth, the Bisons brought in Eric Pardinho. Prato led off with a single. With one out, Fitzgerald singled. However, with two outs, Julien singled off of the pitcher to load the bases. A wild pitch scored Prato to tie the game for the first time since the third inning. McCusker walked. Then Mike Ford singled to drive in Fitzgerald and Julien and the Saints went to the ninth inning with a 10-8 lead. 

Lefty Anthony Misiewicz came on. With one out, he issued a walk and then gave up a home run to Riley Tirotta which again tied the game, this time at 10-10. He got the final two batters out. 

So, we jump to the bottom of the ninth with the score tied. Camargo led off with a single. After a ground out, Holland walked. A new pitcher was brought in, and he got a strikeout for the second out. 

Flashback - One night earlier, Josh Walker was brought in in the ninth inning. Mike Ford hit a three-run homer off of him. 

Flash to Current - That brought to the plate Mickey Gasper, recently optioned, fantastically-mustached, and to this point in the game, hitless. He took a hack at the first pitch, an 83 mph curveball that hung right over the middle of the plate and hit it 104.5 mph at a 21 degree angle, and it landed 402 feet from home plate, over the outfield fencing, to give the Saints a 13-10, walk off win. 

Carson McCusker went 3-for-3 with his eighth double, two walks and a stolen base. He extended his career-high, 11-game hitting streak. Through 30 games, he is hitting .352/.424/.686 (1.110) with eight doubles, nine homers and 29 RBI. 

Jair Camargo went 3-for-5 with a double. Fitzgerald was 2-for-6 with his fourth homer. Holland went 1-for-2, walked twice, and hit his second homer. 

What a fun game. If you were there, what did you see? Granted, I am not a fan of 3 1/2 hour games, but this one had game-action throughout. Was it as exciting, maybe even more exciting being there? 

The Buffalo Bisons are the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Check out our sister site, Jays Centre, and their Top 20 Blue Jays prospect rankings. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 5, NW Arkansas 3
Box Score
The Wind Surge started fast and held on through the end for a nice, 5-3 win. It ended their five-game losing streak, which was their longest of the season. A good way to start a game on the road is to score in the top of the first inning. With one out, Ricardo Olivar hit his fourth home run of the season to give the team a 1-0 lead.  

Rubel Cespedes singled to right which was followed by a Kala’i Rosario walk. The runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Ben Ross flew out to center, deep enough to score Cespedes. Kyler Fedko walked before Aaron Sabato crushed a double to score two runs and make it 4-0. It also caused a pitching change. 

That’s where the score remained until the top of the fifth. With two outs, Fedko walked again and stole second base. Sabato hit an infield single down the third base line. Andrew Cossetti drove in Fedko with a double. 

Connor Prielipp made the start and was really good. In his 46 pitches, he was able to complete four scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out a career-high six batters. Of his 46 pitches, 37 of them were strikes. That’s an impressive 80.4% It is rare to see a pitcher throw 80% strikes. I’m sure we haven’t seen it yet this season… (Note - you’ll want to see how many strikes one of the Mighty Mussels pitchers threw on Thursday.) 

Angel Macuare pitched a perfect fifth inning. Mike Paredes gave up two runs on one hit. In 2 1/3 innings, he walked three, hit one and had three strikeouts. He gets the Win to improve to 4-0. Michael Martinez came on with the bases loaded and got out of the jam in the eighth inning. He started the ninth and gave up one run. He got one out, but Joel Cesar came on with the bases loaded. He allowed one of the runs to score but got the final two outs for his third save of the season.  

Sabato led the way, going 3-for-4 with his fifth double and two RBI. Cespedes went 2-for-4 with a walk and stole his first base of the year. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 5, Beloit 14
Box Score
If you just see the final score, it sure tells a different story than what most of the game was. At the 7th inning stretch, Beloit led 2-1. 

Tanner Hall started and gave up two unearned runs on three hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings. He had two strikeouts.   

The Kernels actually scored first. In the top of the fifth inning, Nate Baez singles and Jose Salas was hit by a pitch. Caden Kendle knocked his sixth double to drive in Baez with the game’s first run. However, despite having runners on second and third and nobody out, the Kernels were unable to add another run. 

In the bottom of the fifth, the Sky Carp took the lead with two runs. 

Spencer Bengard came on with a runner on third base and two outs in the fifth and got the final out of the inning on a strikeout. In the sixth inning, he fielded a ground ball, got another soft groundout, and had a strikeout. Then came the National Anthem. 

When Bengard returned to the mound to start the bottom of the seventh, he uncharacteristically issued two walks before Eric Rataczak singled to load the bases. Bengard responded with a strikeout for the first out. Another walk tied the game at 2-2. But Bengard got another strikeout. However, Ryan Ignoffo hit a 2-0 pitch for a long, grand slam that turned a 3-1 game into a 7-1 game. Gabriel Yanez came in and gave up a double, followed by a triple and the score was 8-1 after seven innings. 

Impressively, the Kernels didn’t just give up. In the top of the eighth, Kyle DeBarge led off with a walk. Brandon Winokur and Gabriel Gonzalez singled to load the bases. Danny De Andrade knocked his 11th double to drive in two runs. Gonzalez scored on a sacrifice fly. De Andrade scored on a single that made it 8-5, a game again. 

But, the Sky Carp gave up six more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to put the game away.

The Kernels had seven hits and three walks. Kyle DeBarge was 0-for-1 but walked three times and was hit by a pitch. He also stole his 17th base without yet being caught this season. Gonzalez went 2-for-5. Baez was 2-for-4. 

While I rarely write about players on the opponent’s team (unless there is a connection to the Twins), Beloit catcher Ryan Ignoffo hitting two grand slams in the game seems noteworthy.       

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 5
Box Score
On Tuesday, the Mussels mounted a comeback and walked it off in extra innings. On Thursday, the teams battled to another close game. Were the Mussels able to complete the comeback again?  

Jakob Hall made the start. He gave up three runs in the first inning and one in the second inning. In four innings, he was charged with four runs on four hits. He walked two, hit two, and struck out three batters. 

Hall finished with two scoreless innings. Lefty Zander Secrist kept that streak going. He put four zeroes on the board which gave the Mussels the opportunity to play some catch up. He coaxed three groundouts in the fifth inning. In the sixth, a Peyton Powell single was surrounded by two groundouts and a strikeout. The seventh inning was another 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout, a groundout and a line out. In the eighth inning, he got an infield pop up and two outs. In other words, he was completely dominant for four innings. 

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Poncho Ruiz led off with a single. He advanced to second when Fort Myers’ own, Peyton Carr, was hit by a pitch. Maddux Houghton doubles to drive in the team’s first run of the game. Yohander Martinez followed with a two-run single to left field to cut the deficit to 4-3. 

With one out in the fifth frame, Jay Thomason singled to the opposite field. He stole second and reached base on a throwing error. That tied the score at four, and that's where it remained until the ninth inning. 

Secrist, who won a College World Series title at Tennessee less than a year ago, returned to the mound to start the top of the ninth inning. Unfortunately, Jean Joseph attacked the southpaw’s first pitch, a 70-mph slider, presumably meant to get a quick strike. Joseph hit it, 98.4 mph, and he flew 362 feet, landing in the left field berm at Hammond Stadium. Likely disappointed, he responded with two strikeouts and a ground out to first base to end the half-inning. 

Did the Mussels have another comeback in them? No. A flyout and two strikeouts and the Mussels dropped this game 5-4. 

Remember above my comments about how often we see a pitcher throw 80% strikes in a game? Connor Prielipp threw 37 strikes among his 46 pitches (80.4%). Secrist threw one more pitch than Prielipp (47) and one more strike (38). That’s 80.9%). I’m going to guess we won’t see 80% hit by a pitcher again this year. If I bet on stuff, I’d bet that there won’t be another day with two at 80+%!

Ruiz had two of the team’s seven hits. Houghton’s double was the lone extra base hit. 

The Dunedin Blue Jays are the Low-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Check out our sister site, Jays Centre, and their Top 20 Blue Jays prospect rankings. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 10, FCL Orioles 1
Box Score
The Twins swept the Orioles at Target Field, and down in Ft. Myers, the FCL Twins squad topped the FCL Orioles handily. 

The Twins got ahead early. They scored one run in each of the first two innings. In the first inning, he was Merphy Hernandez who led off with a walk. He stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. He scored on a ground out. In the second frame, Ricardo Pena led off with a walk. After a fly out, Isaac Pena walked. A force-out advanced Ricardo Pena to third base with two outs. After scoring the first run, Merphy Hernandez drove in the second, with Pena scoring on a line drive to center. 

The score remained 2-0 Twins through four innings. Melvin Rodriguez gave up two hits and a walk over four scoreless innings on the mound. He had two strikeouts. 

In the top of the fifth inning, the Twins bats exploded with an eight-run inning. Ramior Dominguez led off with a walk, and Merphy was hit by a pitch. A ground out by Eduardo Beltre grounded out but both runners advanced and scored on a triple off the bat of Ariel Castro. Bryan Acuna singled him with the inning’s third run. Luis Fragoza ws hit by a pitch. After a second out, Yandro Hernandez loaded the bases thanks to a fielding error. Acuna scored on a passed ball. Isaac Pena walked to reload the bases. After a pitching change, a wild pitch scored Fragoza. Ramiro Domingez walks to again load the bases. Merphy Hernandez walked. Eduardo Beltre walked, and finally Ariel Castro walked before the inning ended. 

RBI walks are not all that uncommon in the Complex Leagues. Neither are wild pitches, passed balls and errors. Again, these are part of the reason that we have to be really careful about how much the stats matter this far down the organizational ladder. 

Santiago Rojas and Liam Rocha each threw a scoreless inning. Aiberson Ventura gave up one run on two hits in the bottom of the seventh. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Carson McCusker (St. Paul): 3-for-3, 2 BB, 2B(8), R, RBI
Aaron Sabato (Wichita): 3-for-4, 2B(5), 2 RBI

Pitcher of the Day 
Zander Secrist (Fort Myers): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. 47 pitches, 38 strikes (80.9%)
Connor Prielipp (Wichita): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 46 pitches, 37 strikes (80.4%)

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

#5 - Connor Prielipp (Wichita) - 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 46 pitches, 37 strikes (80.4%). 
#6 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-5, K.  (SS)
#9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, HBP, R, K (CF)
#11 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-1, 3 BB, HBP, R, K, SB(17). (DH)
#12 - Cory Lewis (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K. 79 pitches, 44 strikes (55.7%)
#14 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R, K
#16 - Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - 0-for-4, BB, RBI, 2 K
#17 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-5, 2 K
#18 - Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, BB, K.
#19 - Carson McCusker (St. Paul) - 3-for-3, 2 BB, 2B(8), R, RBI, SB(2), CS(2).
#20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB, HR(4), R, RBI, K. 

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Buffalo @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya (0-1, 9.00 ERA)
Wichita @ NW Arkansas (4:05 PM CST) - LHP Aaron Rozek (1-1, 3.86 ERA).
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Jose Olivares (0-0, 0.66 ERA).
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) - LHP Michael Carpenter (0-0, 3.00 ERA).
FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (11:00 AM CST) - TBD 

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

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[Doctor Wu]

More games like this from Connor Prielipp, please! Of course, we hope he will also be able to increase the number of innings he is allowed to pitch, but the early results this season are very encouraging!

[Doctor Gast]

IMO, the Saints game could be more about disappointing performances from their pitchers (that included C Lewis & Tonkin) on both sides.

Love Prielipp's performance & too I would like to see more innings but the focus has to be keep him on the mound.

[tony&rodney]

Kept circling back to watch the Saints and was never disappointed - what a finish .... again. McCusker is really staying on the ball and also being patient. Long scary plate appearances for the pitcher.  Happy for Gasper. He takes a grooved swing and the pitcher laid it right in there and Mickey didn't miss it. Big smile from him.

Prielipp looked good. I only managed to catch his last inning. 

Great write-up. Love looking over these minor league reports.

[FlyingFinn]

The minor league legend of Mickey continues! I can see why teams keep thinking, some of that has to transfer to the majors (but it never does).

[Blyleven2011]

Sabato still at Wichita  , will he ever get a promotion to AAA  ???

Preilipp healthy is the main reason to be encouraged , time for a promotion to AAA and see how that works out , then to the bullpen with the twins and manage his pitch count there if he earns it ...

[LambchoP]

Prelipp with a good start. I just hope that they start to allow him to throw more pitches soon if the plan is to keep him a starter long term. The other way to go would be a promotion to AAA and see how he does in 1-2 inning stints. Maybe a bullpen call up to the Twins could happen this year. It sure looks like Tonkin is not going to be able to replace Alcala. Funderburk either. I think Adams or Morris would be a better bet to reinforce the Twins' pen. 

Oh, and give Mccusker a major league chance already! What more could he possibly have to do in AAA? Unless they are keeping him there hoping he continues to dazzle so they can trade him for some big league help?

[DJL44]

Tonkin should not be having this much trouble with AAA hitters.

[D.C Twins]

15 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Tonkin should not be having this much trouble with AAA hitters.

Tonkin should not be on our 40 man. 

[DJL44]

5 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

Tonkin should not be on our 40 man. 

They have until May 21 to make a decision.

[terrydactyls]

"Carson McCusker went 3-for-3 with his eighth double, two walks and a stolen base. He extended his career-high, 11-game hitting streak. Through 30 games, he is hitting .352/.424/.686 (1.110) with eight doubles, nine homers and 29 RBI."

Why is he still in Saint Paul?  Can he play 1B?  If not, then start training him.

[DJL44]

Mickey Gasper has close to the same number of PAs in MLB/AAA. He has an OPS of .488 in MLB and 1.474 in AAA. Either he's not that good, or he's not that bad.

[rdehring]

Thought I had, Seth, looking at the AAA box score is that it is interesting that Gasper has been their catcher the past few games.  The Twins are going to need a #2 catcher next year.  Are they taking a longer look to see if Gasper should be under consideration?

Add me to those commenting about Prielipp.  Have a question, Seth.  Can a pitcher throw too many strikes?  Will batters eventually have better results if they know that most of the pitches are going to be in the zone? 

As for how many innings he is throwing, I expect they won't stretch him out too much further.  The young man hasn't pitched more than a few innings since high school.  Was that 2019?  Expect their goal is to see him, 1) stay healthy, and 2) gain experience and eventually move up to AAA.  Should he stay healthy and remain this successful, will he move beyond AAA this year?

Truth is, I have not been as excited about a lefty, heck any pitcher, since Liriano arrived on the scene. 

[Seth Stohs]

3 hours ago, D.C Twins said:

Tonkin should not be on our 40 man. 

My assumption is they're going to use the full 30 days rehab allowed. If they have a need, he'll get called up. If they don't, they'll DFA him, knowing his contract was high enough that a team isn't going to claim him (especially coupled with mediocre AAA numbers). 

[Seth Stohs]

51 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Thought I had, Seth, looking at the AAA box score is that it is interesting that Gasper has been their catcher the past few games.  The Twins are going to need a #2 catcher next year.  Are they taking a longer look to see if Gasper should be under consideration?

Add me to those commenting about Prielipp.  Have a question, Seth.  Can a pitcher throw too many strikes?  Will batters eventually have better results if they know that most of the pitches are going to be in the zone? 

As for how many innings he is throwing, I expect they won't stretch him out too much further.  The young man hasn't pitched more than a few innings since high school.  Was that 2019?  Expect their goal is to see him, 1) stay healthy, and 2) gain experience and eventually move up to AAA.  Should he stay healthy and remain this successful, will he move beyond AAA this year?

Truth is, I have not been as excited about a lefty, heck any pitcher, since Liriano arrived on the scene. 

I think they actually really like Gasper, but not sure how comfortable they are with him playing places other than 1B or 2B and C. I don't know if they'd have trust in him as a long-term #2, though when Christian Vazquez is the current #2, it could probably work. But he's not going to be good behind the plate. My assumption is they're just finding opportunities that make him considered for a call up. There's nothing wrong with him as a #3 catcher. 

As for Prielipp, definitely an incredible outing last night. I asked myself the same question (about too many strikes). I think the answer is "Yes, you can throw too many strikes" if those strikes are just meh pitches right down the middle. But if Prielipp is on the corners and getting the movement he gets with the velo he has, it's hard to think about it being a bad thing. And the best part of it, if you establish just throwing a ton of strikes, hitters will learn that and may - over time- start expanding the zone and then Prielipp gets quick, easy outs on pitches two inches off the plate. 

As for working more pitches and more innings, I honestly don't care a whole lot if they increase it much. I'm sure it may go from 50 pitch to 60 pitches, and that might give him a chance to have up-downs. There's no need for him to be pushed beyond that this year. If he were to get called up, either to start or in the bullpen, and if he provides 60 pitches, that'd be great. 

My pre-season hope for him was to to this pattern. A few starts at 40 pitches, a few starts at 50 pitches, a handful of starts at 60-65 pitches. Then I'd move him up to Triple-A and have him work one or two inning stints, but out of the bullpen, but also only twice per week... And if that's going well, and the Twins are in a spot where they need an arm in a playoff race, call him up in mid-August, big maintaining intelligent usage. 

 

[Seth Stohs]

2 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

"Carson McCusker went 3-for-3 with his eighth double, two walks and a stolen base. He extended his career-high, 11-game hitting streak. Through 30 games, he is hitting .352/.424/.686 (1.110) with eight doubles, nine homers and 29 RBI."

Why is he still in Saint Paul?  Can he play 1B?  If not, then start training him.

It certainly makes a lot of sense for him to get some time at first base in St. Paul. Send Morneau over there to work with him a couple of times per week (depending on his TV schedule). My assumption is that Ty France won't be willing to come back for $1 million next year, so 1B could be open. McCusker makes a lot of sense as an option for the spot. 

 

[jorgenswest]

McCusker has no innings of first base. He didn’t play there in summer ball. He didn’t play there in college. He didn’t play there in independent ball. He didn’t play there in the majors. It doesn’t seem possible that at all those levels of playing corner outfield it never occurred to anyone to look at him at first base. It is likely they all did. It is also likely that he doesn’t have the skill set to play a passable first base. It takes good feet and good hands. There seems to be to be an assumption anyone can play first base. I believe that is true of catchers and infielders who need those hands and feet. If I see a right handed throwing player that has been strictly a corner outfielder with no innings at first base or anywhere in the infield I would assume that he had shots in practice and it didn’t work. 

They gave a Gasper a shot at catching a knuckleballer yesterday. He looked good from my view on MILB TV. He might be the Twins best option if a catcher goes down and it might be his best shot at a career in the majors. Glad they are giving him time behind the plate.

Has anyone noticed the Priellipp’s last two starts have come 6 days apart instead of the 7 that he started the year with? Last year his 9 appearances were spaced 7 days apart also. Small steps. 

 

[tony&rodney]

5 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

McCusker has no innings of first base. He didn’t play there in summer ball. He didn’t play there in college. He didn’t play there in independent ball. He didn’t play there in the majors. It doesn’t seem possible that at all those levels of playing corner outfield it never occurred to anyone to look at him at first base. It is likely they all did. It is also likely that he doesn’t have the skill set to play a passable first base. It takes good feet and good hands. There seems to be to be an assumption anyone can play first base. I believe that is true of catchers and infielders who need those hands and feet. If I see a right handed throwing player that has been strictly a corner outfielder with no innings at first base or anywhere in the infield I would assume that he had shots in practice and it didn’t work. 

They gave a Gasper a shot at catching a knuckleballer yesterday. He looked good from my view on MILB TV. He might be the Twins best option if a catcher goes down and it might be his best shot at a career in the majors. Glad they are giving him time behind the plate.

Has anyone noticed the Priellipp’s last two starts have come 6 days apart instead of the 7 that he started the year with? Last year his 9 appearances were spaced 7 days apart also. Small steps. 

 

Some of the best defensive outfielders were initially sent to the outfield because they could not field ground balls on the dirt. Perhaps McCusker is not cut out for infield duty. He works just fine with his current bat in right field or at DH. We shall see how this plays out.

[Danchat]

14 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Sabato still at Wichita  , will he ever get a promotion to AAA  ???

Preilipp healthy is the main reason to be encouraged , time for a promotion to AAA and see how that works out , then to the bullpen with the twins and manage his pitch count there if he earns it ...

He's hit well in 65 PAs so far this year, but he hit .650 OPS in 350 PAs there last year so he has a ton to prove. IMO he's a non-prospect at this point.