Twins Minor League Week in Review (5/13-5/19): Playoff Races Heating Up, Gonzalez Promoted

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of David Malamut (photo of Gabriel Gonzalez)

The Twins have kept together some of the organization’s top prospects at Cedar Rapids, but movement in the upper minors forced a move on Monday. Gabriel Gonzalez, Twins Daily’s 14th ranked prospect, is heading to Double-A. He had been riding a hot bat with Cedar Rapids and now gets an opportunity in the high minors. 

MONDAY’S TRANSACTIONS

• RF Gabriel Gonzalez assigned to Wichita Wind Surge from Cedar Rapids Kernels.
• RHP Josh Bortka has been signed as a MiLB free agent and been assigned to Fort Myers.
• INF Jake Rucker promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. 

 TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT
-Carson McCusker, Aaron Judge, and Realistic Expectations for Monster Mashers
-Twins Minor League Report (5/18): Farm System on Fire - Three Wins on the Day and The Mussels Edge Closer to .500
-Twins Daily Minor League Report (5/17): Surge Power Past Travelers
-Twins Minor League Report (5/16): Kaelen Culpepper Collects First Multi-Homer Game
-Simeon Woods Richardson Must Improve These 4 Things Following His Demotion
-Twins Minor League Report (5/15): Payton Eeles Rehabs; Khadim Diaw, Gabriel Gonzalez Power Kernels Offensive Explosion
-Mickey Gasper and the Danger of Being Labeled a Quad-A Player
-Twins Minor League Report (5/14): Ryan Fitzgerald Cannot be Stopped
-Twins Minor League Report (5/13): Jose Salas Pops for Cedar Rapids, But The Kernels Get Burned

WEEK IN REVIEW
Triple-A: St. Paul Saints
Overall: 22-20 (7.5 Games Out of First)
Last Week: 2-5

• Andrew Morris pitched his best outing this season. In five shutout innings, he allowed four hits while walking one and striking out eight, one shy of his career high. 
• Will Holland hit a towering two-run homer in support of Morris. It was his third of the season and he finished the game 2-for-3. 
• Entering play on Saturday, the Saints were tied for the most home runs in all of Minor League Baseball. Armando Alvarez hit the team’s 42nd homer in that game. 
• The Saints offense was clicking on Saturday. Eight of the nine batters collected a hit and scored a run while six different players had an RBI. 
• On Friday, the Saints played in rough conditions with 25 mph winds that were gusting to 40 mph. St. Paul and Iowa combined for 19 runs on 29 hits with seven home runs. 
• Edouard Julien hit his first home run since being demoted in the windy environment. 
• Mickey Gasper continued his hot hitting with a two-run homer on Friday. It was his seventh of the season. 
• Emmanuel Rodriguez is starting to heat up. He tied Friday’s game with a two-run homer. 
• St. Paul lost both games of a doubleheader on Thursday. The Saints had a four-run lead in the last inning but allowed four that inning before an extra-inning walk-off. 
• Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a double, triple, and RBI in Thursday’s second game.
• Jair Camargo hit his second homer of the season on Thursday, a two-run shot. Rodriguez had led off the inning with a double. 
• Carson McCusker finished 3-for-3 in Thursday’s first game. The perfect game raised his batting average above .350 for the season. 
• On Wednesday, the Saints stranded a franchise record tying 15 runners. They drew 10 walks and had 22 baserunners in the game. 
• Ryan Fitzgerald tied a career high with four hits on Wednesday. He finished going 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI, and a run. 
• Tuesday’s victory put the Saints a season high six games over .500. 
• In the win, Julien went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three runs. McCusker had a three hit game with a double and three RBI.

What’s Next: The Saints are off on Monday and return to action on Tuesday morning at 11:07 AM CST at CHS Field.

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge
Overall: 22-17 (1.0 Game Up)
Last Week: 3-3

• Jorel Ortega homered twice on Sunday as the Wind Surge scored multiple runs in three different innings. Six Wind Surge players recorded multi-hit games, with four tallying multiple RBI. 
• The 15 runs scored by Wichita on Sunday were a season high. 
• Andrew Cossetti, Kyler Fedko, and Tanner Schobel all hit home runs in a blowout win on Saturday night.
• Mike Paredes has five wins, tied for the best in the Texas League. He threw three innings by allowing three hits with two walks and five strikeouts. 
• Kyler Fedko hit his team-leading sixth homer of the season on Friday. All nine Wind Surge batters recorded a hit in the game. 
• Aaron Rozek struck out six batters over five innings on Thursday. He has struck out five or more batters in five of his six starts this season. 
• John Klein took over for Rozek and threw three innings of one-hit baseball with a walk and four strikeouts. 
• On Wednesday, three different Wind Surge hitters recorded multiple RBIs in the team’s win (Jorel Ortega, Tyler Dearden, Ricardo Olivar). Ortega recorded his second game with at least four RBI in 2025. 
• They were the first team in the Texas League North to get to 20 wins.
• Noah Cardenas started the week by homering in his second straight game. He is one of five Wichita players with multiple go-ahead long balls this season. 
• Trent Baker pitched five innings and allowed two runs on four hits with five strikeouts and no walks. 

What’s Next: Wichita heads down to Texas to begin a series with the San Antonio Missions on May 20 at 7:05 PM CST. 

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels
Overall: 22-16 (2.0 Games Back)
Last Week: 2-4

• Cedar Rapids fell behind early on Sunday, but their bullpen performed well. Eston Stull faces the minimum in the sixth while striking out his first batter as a Kernel. Gabriel Yanez tossed two perfect frames and struck out five of the six batters he faced. 
• On Saturday, the Kernels put the tying run into scoring position in each of the final four innings but couldn’t tie it up. Khadim Diaw and Kyle DeBarge had two hits each. 
• Jacob Wosinski pitched three shutout innings to end Saturday’s game. He allowed two hits and struck out a pair. 
• Kaelen Culpepper launched two homers on Friday night. He hit a three-run homer in the first and a solo homer in the fifth.
• In the fifth, Brandon Winokur (two-run HR) and Jaime Ferrer (three-run HR) joined the home run part.  
• Jeremy Lee allowed just one earned run across five innings of work en route to his third win of the season. 
• Behind Lee, Kade Bragg tossed three perfect innings and Cole Percival pitched a scoreless ninth of Friday’s victory.
• Diaw and Gabriel Gonzalez helped lead an offensive eruption on Thursday. Diaw crushed a pair of homers, while Gonzalez ended the night with three extra-base hits. 
• On Wednesday, Gonzalez and Danny De Andrade both hit home runs but the team lost in 11 innings. 
• Jose Salas started the week with a two home run game. He added five RBI but the Kernels lost 13-10.  

What’s Next: The Kernels hit the road Tuesday to open a series in Fort Wayne at 5:35 PM CST. 

Low-A: Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
Overall: 19-20 (4.0 Games Back)
Last Week: 4-2

• Dameury Pena and Daniel Pena came up with big hits on Sunday. Dameury hit a lead off homer in the first inning. Daniel drove in a run with a double later in the same frame. 
• Devin Kirby finished Sunday’s win with two shutout innings by allowing two hits and walking one. 
• Jose Rodriguez hit a big three-run homer on Saturday. Fort Myers was down three and with one swing Rodriguez tied the game. It was his fourth of the season. 
• Dasan Hill started on Friday and didn’t allow a hit in 2 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two. 
• Fort Myers had a power packed game on Friday. Yasser Mercedes and Maddux Houghton both hit home runs while Jefferson Valladares collected a pair of doubles. 
• Zander Sechrist and Hunter Hoopes ended the game with 3 1/3 shutout innings to preserve the win. 
• Houghton showed his speed tool in Thursday’s loss. He stole two bases and legged out a triple, the team’s only extra-base hit in the game. He reached base four times and scored three runs. 
• On Wednesday, Mercedes showcased his speed on the bases with a pair of steals, leading to two runs. He has 14 steals on the season.   
• Brennen Oxford, Sechrist and Hoopes combined for five shutout innings in relief to keep the team in Wednesday’s game. 
• Miguel Briceno started the week going 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, and two runs. 
• Poncho Ruiz reached base four times and scored two runs in Tuesday’s game. 
• Cole Peschl took his first loss but pitched 4 2/3 innings of relief. He allowed two runs (one earned) with three strikeouts and one walk.  

What’s Next: After an off day on Monday, Fort Myers will travel to Lakeland to take on the Flying Tigers on Tuesday at 5:30 PM CST. 

Rookie: FCL Twins
Overall: 6-5 (2.5 Game Back)
Last Week: 1-4

• Daiber De Los Santos added his first double on the season in Monday’s loss. The team was limited to three hits.
• On Monday, Leonardo Rondon made his second appearance of the week and his first start. He allowed three earned runs on three hits with two walks. 
• Luis Fragoza and Ramiro Dominquez both collected doubles on Saturday to help the Twins win. Fragoza also stole his fourth base of the season. 
• Joel Garcia started on Saturday and allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts and no walks. 
• Eduardo Beltre had his first triple of the year on Friday. 
• On Thursday, Bryan Acuna went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. He had two of the team’s three hits. He added his second two-hit game on Monday. 
• Rudy Gomez and Santiago Rojas finished the game with three shutout innings in relief. Gomez struck out three while Rojas had a perfect final frame. 
• Murphy Hernandez started the week by going 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles. 
• Yoel Roque made his season debut and pitched a perfect inning on Tuesday.

What’s Next: The Twins have two games against the FCL Pirates and Red Sox during the coming week and another game versus the FCL Braves. 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. And, be sure to note the new, updated Top 20 rankings. 

1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): On injured list
2. Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): On injured list
3. Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 6-25, 1 HR, 1 3B, 3 2B, 3 RBI, 6 R, 4 BB, 12 K
4. Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids): On injured list
5. Connor Prielipp (Wichita): 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
6. Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 8-22, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, 5 K
7. Marco Raya (St. Paul): 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 2 K
8. Andrew Morris (St. Paul): 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
9. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 6-26, 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 3 SB
10. Dasan Hill (Fort Myers): 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
11. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 6-16, 2 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 6 R, 4 BB, 5 K, 3 SB
12. Cory Lewis (St. Paul): 3.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
13. Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): On injured list
14. Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids): 9-24, 3 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 6 K
15. C.J. Culpepper (Wichita): On injured list
16. Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins): 2-12, 1 3B, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K
17. Tanner Schobel (Wichita): 6-23, 3 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 2 K
18. Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers): 4-25, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 3 SB
19. Carson McCusker (St. Paul): 10-24, 3 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K
20. Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 6-22, 1 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Hitter of the Week: Gabriel Gonzalez, Cedar Rapids Kernels
9-for-24, .375/.433/.750 (1.183), 3 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 6 K

Pitcher of the Week: Andrew Morris (St. Paul Saints)
5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 8 K, 1 BB, 78 pitches (51 strikes), 17 swinging strikes

What questions do you have about the last week in the minor leagues? Leave a comment and start the discussion. 

 

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[FlyingFinn]

I was just looking at the OPS for our minor league hitters the past 15 days (top and bottom players - 20 AB minimum):

Saints - McCusker 1.213, Gasper 1.114, Winkel .524, Miranda .510

Wind Surge - Ortega .987, Cossetti .940, Ross .639, Rucker .610

Kernels - Ferrer 1.205, Gonzalez 1.114, Salas 1.042, De Andrade .587, Maitan .357

Mussels - Thomason .976, Mercedes .487

Cossetti surprised me. He's doing better lately.

[twinstalker]

Raya's week:  10 ERA with about 17 BB/9,  Thinking we should move him up the rankings.  

(Thanks for these, love them)

[twinstalker]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

Cossetti surprised me. He's doing better lately.

If you're looking for an old catcher who can help the Wind Surge in the future, he's your man.  I expect great things from him one day in Wichita. :-)

[Major League Ready]

According to BB Reference, The Wind Surge are basically rotating Cossetti, Cardenas, and Olivar pretty equally at Catcher.  I would like to see the one with the best chance of catching at the ML level promoted to St. Paul in the next month.   That would give the other AA catchers more reps.  It would mean cutting Cartaya but his OPS is .367.  Make room for someone that has a chance to play at the next level.

Nice to see Gonzalez headed to AA.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

According to BB Reference, The Wind Surge are basically rotating Cossetti, Cardenas, and Olivar pretty equally at Catcher.  I would like to see the one with the best chance of catching at the ML level promoted to St. Paul in the next month.   That would give the other AA catchers more reps.  It would mean cutting Cartaya but his OPS is .367.  Make room for someone that has a chance to play at the next level.

Nice to see Gonzalez headed to AA.

I'd like to see them promoted today. Demote Camargo or Winkel.

Cartaya is in Ft Myers on a developmental assignment and he's been there for a couple weeks.

[rdehring]

Did I read the summary correctly?  Winokur had 6 hits, 3 were doubles and 2 home runs? 

[Cody Christie]

1 hour ago, rdehring said:

Did I read the summary correctly?  Winokur had 6 hits, 3 were doubles and 2 home runs? 

Yes, that is correct. He had a .231 BA and a .577 SLG. 

[rdehring]

19 hours ago, Cody Christie said:

Yes, that is correct. He had a .231 BA and a .577 SLG. 

Thanks, Cody.

After a very slow start to the season, his bat is starting to pick up.  Kid is so young, hopefully, he makes it AA later this summer.  Will be interesting to see if he can stick at shortstop?

[Linus]

48 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Thanks, Cody.

After a very slow start to the season, his bat is starting to pick up.  Kid is so young, hopefully, he makes it AA later this summer.  Will be interesting to see if he can stick at shortstop?

Agreed. It would be nice to see if he can stick at SS. However he is getting very few starts there as Culpepper is the primary SS. This will be unpopular but I believe Winokur has a higher ceiling at SS then Culpepper. 

[jmlease1]

2 hours ago, Linus said:

Agreed. It would be nice to see if he can stick at SS. However he is getting very few starts there as Culpepper is the primary SS. This will be unpopular but I believe Winokur has a higher ceiling at SS then Culpepper. 

Culpepper has a much better chance at sticking at SS defensively. Winokur might have a higher ceiling on offense (also has a substantially lower floor), but if I was going to be on who is the guy more likely to being playing SS in MLB, it's Culpepper. Winokur has impressive athleticism, but as the competition levels have increased, he's struggled to make consistent contact. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy and he's a fine prospect, heating up this week and maybe starting to get comfortable in high A, but he's got a long ways to go and I think he's more likely to end up in CF than SS. Culpepper might actually be a real live SS and will probably be in Wichita soon.

[Linus]

31 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Culpepper has a much better chance at sticking at SS defensively. Winokur might have a higher ceiling on offense (also has a substantially lower floor), but if I was going to be on who is the guy more likely to being playing SS in MLB, it's Culpepper. Winokur has impressive athleticism, but as the competition levels have increased, he's struggled to make consistent contact. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy and he's a fine prospect, heating up this week and maybe starting to get comfortable in high A, but he's got a long ways to go and I think he's more likely to end up in CF than SS. Culpepper might actually be a real live SS and will probably be in Wichita soon.

To clarify I was talking in the field. Agreed Culpepper has the higher floor with the bat but is also older.