Twins Minor League Report (5/28): You Can't Keep Gabriel Gonzalez Off the Bases

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (Gabriel Gonzalez)

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Christian Becerra activated from 7-day IL (Fort Myers)
RHP Devin Kirby released (Fort Myers)
3B Caleb McNeely assigned to A Fort Myers
OF Blaze O’Saben assigned to A Fort Myers

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 5, Omaha 2
Box Score
Simeon Woods Richardson: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
HR: Matt Wallner (4)
Multi-hit games: Jeferson Morales (2-for-3, 2 R, BB), Anthony Prato (3-for-3, R, RBI, BB)

The Saints cruised to a win on Wednesday

It was a day in which baseball was played, which means Matt Wallner hit a homer. International League pitchers keenly await his return to the bigs. Like the others before it, this one was no cheapie: the ball left Wallner’s bat at 108.8 MPH and landed 406 feet away. He is slugging .952 with the Saints.   

Simeon Woods Richardson commanded the ball well in yet another impressive outing with St. Paul. The righty followed up a six-inning one-run start on the 22nd with a six-inning two-run start on Wednesday in which he struck out five. He topped out at 94.9 MPH. 

The rest of St. Paul’s offense came off an Anthony Prato RBI single in the fourth, and a Mickey Gasper run-scoring knock in the sixth.

Travis Adams carried the game to its ending with three quality innings, striking out two while allowing just two baserunners.

The Storm Chasers are the AAA team for the Kansas City Royals, and employ the 10th-best prospect in baseball, Jac Caglianone. The human firecracker has obliterated minor league baseball in 2025; he’s slashing .326/.387/.599 after Wednesday. He doubled and singled twice in four at-bats on Wednesday.

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 7, Tulsa 10 (10 Innings)
Box Score
Ricky Castro: 3 ⅓ IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Gabriel Gonzalez (4-for-4, 2 2B, R), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, R, RBI, BB)

Wichita fumbled in extra innings on Wednesday.

The opening frame—typically a genteel affair—was anything but. Ricky Castro allowed a double to the leadoff hitter, who later became a run when an infield tapper and subsequent error by Jorel Ortega ushered him home. A sacrifice fly soon brought the deficit to two.

A third-inning run portended an ugly three-score fourth that Castro would not escape. Singles, walks, steals, errors. No Driller dominated with damage; rather, they scrapped and bothered with gnat-like intensity. 

Then, something funny happened. Though they were down six runs, the Wind Surge gathered themselves and composed a seven-run frame. Ricardo Olivar doubled, then Kala’i Rosario doubled, then Jorel Ortega doubled. A Tyler Dearden grounder to push the inning to two outs hardly mattered. Jake Rucker singled and stole second, auguring three consecutive base on balls for Tanner Schobel, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Kyler Fedko. With the bases juiced, Rubel Cespedes unleashed a liner to right that brought all three runners home safely. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Cespedes; he was thrown out at second to end the inning. Still, the Wind Surge somehow held the lead.

That lead lasted two batters. The following half-inning, Driller John Rhodes homered on the first pitch he saw. So it goes.

Both teams shifted into neutral, watching the frames fade into each other as each scoring threat suffered the same muffled fate; no one scored for the rest of the game’s scheduled run time.

Things finally changed in the 10th, with Tulsa furiously plating a trio of runs. Exhausted and demoralized, Wichita fell without even plating their free runner.

Wichita swiped six bases on Wednesday, with five different players earning at least one steal.

The Drillers are affiliated with the Dodgers. Although they’ve often stood as the zenith in the organization’s powerful prospect factory, the best they could offer Wednesday was the team’s 25th-ranked player, Peter Heubeck. He allowed five runs across 3 ⅔ innings.

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 1, Lake County 0 
Box Score
Jose Olivares: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
HR: Kaelen Culpepper (1)
Multi-hit games: None

The Kernels tossed a shutout on Wednesday.

Kaelen Culepper hit a lead-off homer. Thus concludes the game’s action. Cedar Rapids would go on to put just five more runners on base, while Lake County totaled the same. Only four runners reached second base; just once did a player greet the third baseman. It was a lonely day to be an infielder. 

Jose Olivares was the star of the pitching show, tossing five efficient innings with seven strikeouts. 46 of his 69 pitches went for strikes, a notable achievement given that the righty walked four men in two prior May outings, and entered the day with more free passes than innings in the month. Wednesday was a convincing rebuke of his previous command issues—and he put his team in an excellent position to win.

Jack Noble graced the mound next, offering a pair of scoreless frames in support of the shutout effort. Spencer Bengard arrived next, and, what, was he going to spoil the fun? Nope. He put up a 1-2-3 eighth to place the pressure on Jacob Wosinski. The Grand Rapids native surrendered a single, but erased that runner and concluded the game with ground ball double play.

Kyle DeBarge stole his 26th and 27th bases of the season. He leads the Midwest League.

The Lake County Captains are an affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. Their 6th-ranked prospect, 2023 first-rounder and DH Ralphy Velazquez, walked once and struck out twice in four plate appearances. 

Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 5, Bradenton 8
Box Score
Dylan Questad: 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Payton Eeles (2-for-3, 2B, R, RBI)

A five-run fifth blew up Fort Myers’ chances of winning on Wednesday.

Dylan Questad didn’t receive much help, but he also did it to himself. The righty walked four in a five-run/three-earned outing that saw him fail to exit to fourth. The worst of it was in the third when Konnor Griffin stole second and advanced to third off a throwing error by Jefferson Valladares. He eventually scored. Then, wouldn’t you know it, the same exact thing happened the following inning, this time with Eddy Rodriguez as the beneficiary of Valladares’ wildness. That’s in part how Questad could allow five runs without giving up a hit with a runner in scoring position.

The totality of Fort Myers’ offense on Wednesday was tepid but focused enough to plate a respectable five runs. They scored their first run off a Daniel Pena RBI double in the fourth and touched home once more with a fielder’s choice. In the fifth, Valladares worked to make up for his mistakes with an RBI double; he later scored when Payton Eeles called him home with a double of his own. 

Their final run came in the eighth thanks to Angel Del Rosario taking the hero’s journey around the bases with no help needed by his teammates. He singled on a bunt before swiping second and third in the same at-bat. Perhaps irked by the pest, Bradenton catcher Axiel Plaz attempted to pick him off but sent the ball sailing into no-man’s land. Del Rosario scampered home unscathed.

Angel Del Rosario’s 20 steals are the 2nd-most in the Florida State League.

Rehabbing minor leaguer Payton Eeles played shortstop and went 2-for-3 with an RBI double.

The aforementioned Griffin was a 2024 first-round draftee and is currently the 37th-best prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com. He went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jose Olivares
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Gabriel Gonzalez

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 0-3, R, 2 K
#6 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB, K
#9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, BB, 2 K
#11 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 3 K
#14 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 4-4, 2 2B, R
#17 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-4, R, BB
#19 - Carson McCusker (Minnesota) - 1-1 (first MLB hit)
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 1-5, 2B

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM) - RHP David Festa
Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM) - RHP Darren Bowen
Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Cole Peschl
Bradenton @ Fort Myers (5:30 PM) - RHP Eli Jones
FCL Twins @ FCL Orioles (11:00 AM) - TBD

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[FlyingFinn]

A whole lot of basestealing in Wichita as the two teams combined for to go 9 for 10 in steals, with Wichita going 6 for 7.

Two hits in Cedar Rapids with Culpeppers lead off homer being all they would need. Great pitching by Oliveras and the relief.

[RpR]

Wallner with another home run but his K rate is back to where it should not be.

[Doctor Wu]

5 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

A whole lot of basestealing in Wichita as the two teams combined for to go 9 for 10 in steals, with Wichita going 6 for 7.

Two hits in Cedar Rapids with Culpeppers lead off homer being all they would need. Great pitching by Oliveras and the relief.

Yes indeed! Especially fun to see DeBarge leading the league in steals. 

[Patzky]

2 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Yes indeed! Especially fun to see DeBarge leading the league in steals. 

DeBarge is the rhythm of the night on the bases.

[Trov]

6 hours ago, RpR said:

Wallner with another home run but his K rate is back to where it should not be.

His K-rate at AAA right now is like 25% it was worse at MLB before injury.  It was worse last year.  Yes, it is only 5 games and 23 PA so just a few games can swing that, but how is a K-Rate lower than it has been his whole career in his very SSS in AAA "back to where it should not be"? 

[Trov]

I sure hope they call Wallner back up this weekend.  Not sure what more they want to see him being ready to come back up.  

[Linus]

Apparently Gonzalez has been promoted. I’m not his biggest fan due to defensive limitations but always good to see someone go earn a promotion through superior performance. Hoping K Culpepper is next. 

[jorgenswest]

5 minutes ago, Trov said:

I sure hope they call Wallner back up this weekend.  Not sure what more they want to see him being ready to come back up.  

He played his first full 9 inning game in the field on Tuesday. He played a full game at DH on Wednesday.. They will probably see how he recovers this morning after the two back to back full games. I don’t know if they want to see back to back games in right field before he returns. That might be the next step in the progression or maybe he will return this weekend.

[mnfireman]

16 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

He played his first full 9 inning game in the field on Tuesday. He played a full game at DH on Wednesday.. They will probably see how he recovers this morning after the two back to back full games. I don’t know if they want to see back to back games in right field before he returns. That might be the next step in the progression or maybe he will return this weekend.

I think we will see Wallner, and Buxton, in Seattle this weekend. Coupled with Gonzalez's apparent promotion to AAA, I fear Bader may be headed to the IL with a finger injury, let's hope one more day of rest is enough. https://www.mlb.com/twins/news/twins-injuries-and-roster-moves.

SWR looking good, maybe he reset himself with a little success in AAA. I think Matthews needs a good start on Friday to remain with the big club.

[MinnInPa]

7 hours ago, RpR said:

Wallner with another home run but his K rate is back to where it should not be.

agreed same ol player ..one blast and 3 K's ..against AAA pitching.. what do you think he will do at Major league level against 1,2,3,4 starters???...exactly

[jmlease1]

54 minutes ago, Linus said:

Apparently Gonzalez has been promoted. I’m not his biggest fan due to defensive limitations but always good to see someone go earn a promotion through superior performance. Hoping K Culpepper is next. 

GG has been promoted to AAA already? After only 8 games in AA?

Hopefully Wallner is in Seattle for the weekend; we need his bat and he certainly seems healthy and ready.

It's nice to see DeBarge run wild on the bases, but it's still A-ball so I'm not sure the pitchers do well at holding runners or have catchers that are all that strong at gunning people down...but 27 steals without getting caught is still impressive. Looks a nice part of his toolkit

[LambchoP]

With the Twins desperate for offense, they need to get Wallner called up. Him and Buxton being activated this weekend would really help our struggling lineup. I really hope Gonzalez can keep this up, especially since I'm really starting to lose confidence in our top outfielders. Rodriguez seems overwhelmed at AAA and Jenkins is starting to look like Buxton/Lewis 2.0. How much more time is he going to miss because of a sore ankle? These are crucial development years and the kids never on the field. I wonder how fast they promote Eeles to get him back to AAA. With Royce Lewis needing a reset in the minors, the big league club could use an infielder who can hit.

[tony&rodney]

55 minutes ago, Linus said:

Apparently Gonzalez has been promoted. I’m not his biggest fan due to defensive limitations but always good to see someone go earn a promotion through superior performance. Hoping K Culpepper is next. 

Gonzalez was just recently promoted to AA Wichita. I didn't see anything and doubt he was promoted last night to AAA St. Paul. 

Having watched Gonzalez a couple of times when he was a Seattle prospect and then last year I was baffled why the Twins accepted him in a trade. Gonzalez was the single worst outfielder I think I have ever seen. He made Delmon Young look like a gold glove winner. On at least a dozen occasions Gonzalez let fly balls drop and then picked them up as opposed to catching the ball. Well, he has improved dramatically in the outfield. In roughly a dozen games this year where I have watched him as an outfielder he is making the routine plays. He still isn't a good outfielder but the movement to playable has been a significant leap which indicates that Gonzalez has really worked hard at his fielding.

Gonzalez has good bat to ball skills and it will be interesting to see how he does in the next few months for Wichita.

FWIW, Culpepper is pushing to join Gonzalez in AA and we should expect this to happen pretty soon.

[Mike Sixel]

Eeles at SS? I think they are trying to make him into Castro. Interesting. I'm ready for him to be back in AAA. 

[Linus]

50 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Gonzalez was just recently promoted to AA Wichita. I didn't see anything and doubt he was promoted last night to AAA St. Paul. 

Having watched Gonzalez a couple of times when he was a Seattle prospect and then last year I was baffled why the Twins accepted him in a trade. Gonzalez was the single worst outfielder I think I have ever seen. He made Delmon Young look like a gold glove winner. On at least a dozen occasions Gonzalez let fly balls drop and then picked them up as opposed to catching the ball. Well, he has improved dramatically in the outfield. In roughly a dozen games this year where I have watched him as an outfielder he is making the routine plays. He still isn't a good outfielder but the movement to playable has been a significant leap which indicates that Gonzalez has really worked hard at his fielding.

Gonzalez has good bat to ball skills and it will be interesting to see how he does in the next few months for Wichita.

FWIW, Culpepper is pushing to join Gonzalez in AA and we should expect this to happen pretty soon.

I was referring to Wichita as I was out of the loop for a week. Agreed on his fielding ability but I think he could get better through better conditioning. Without getting too personal he doesn’t have the physique of a pro athlete. 

[rdehring]

Took a closer look at that KC prospect.  Looks like the real deal after being the #6 pick last year.  With KC's pitching, this kid will look awfully nice hitting behind Witt and that first baseman.  Impressed with the team KC is putting together.

What a night for Cedar Rapids.  Culpepper hits one out and their pitching made that work.  Personally, don't know much about that pitching staff.  Are there a couple big time prospects pitching for the Kernels?

 

[AKTwinsFan]

So why is he not playing for the Twins instead of Keirsey? Keirsey can't buy a hit.

[Seth Stohs]

9 hours ago, RpR said:

Wallner with another home run but his K rate is back to where it should not be.

As long as his hamstring is back to where it needs to be, that's all i care about at this point. 

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, Seth Stohs said:

As long as his hamstring is back to where it needs to be, that's all i care about at this point. 

His strikeout rate is fine. Seriously. 

[DJL44]

Glad McCusker got a hit before he got sent back to AAA.

[bean5302]

Gabriel Gonzalez fell way down the prospect list last year where he was hobbled up quite a bit. It's true that he's clearly chunked up a ton from the 165lbs he was listed at (doubt he's under 215 now and at 5'11" listed), but there are plenty of of slow or poor corner outfielders who thrive on contact rather than game power like ahem, Trevor Larnach or Alex Kirilloff did.

Gonzalez's hot start at AA is very highly encouraging. It's great for him and the Twins. What I see from his plate appearances was okay yesterday.

First at bat, double right on the first pitch in the upper/away part of the zone.
Second at bat, 3 pitches real close to the same location, 2 fouls, and another double.
Third at bat, promptly plunked.
Fourth at bat was the interesting one.
 

Pitches 2, 3 and 7 were all pretty close to his earlier doubles. You can see the at bat should have ended on pitch 5 with a strikeout looking, but he kept the plate appearance alive for another couple pitches pulling off a single.

Final at bat was first pitch for ball 1 (caught the low/away corner, should have been a strike), then promptly swung at and singled on a pitch pretty much in the exact location as his single from the previous at bat.

Not sure why the pitchers are working Gonzalez so hard on the far side of the zone, but they were really pounding it there yesterday. Gonzalez has so far shown good plate discipline in AA in a very limited sample size. He's limited in ceiling due to his conditioning, and I do find it concerning to be struggling with condition at his age, but I think it's more of a yellow flag than a red one.

[bean5302]

55 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Eeles at SS? I think they are trying to make him into Castro. Interesting. I'm ready for him to be back in AAA. 

Eeles played 27 games at SS last year.

[ryan189]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Eeles at SS? I think they are trying to make him into Castro. Interesting. I'm ready for him to be back in AAA. 

where are you going to play eles not going to take Fitzgerald off ss he has been great for st paul this year

[raindog]

2 hours ago, MinnInPa said:

agreed same ol player ..one blast and 3 K's ..against AAA pitching.. what do you think he will do at Major league level against 1,2,3,4 starters???...exactly

Brother, he’s got a career .864 OPS in the majors. I hope he’s the same ol player. 

[Mike Sixel]

26 minutes ago, ryan189 said:

where are you going to play eles not going to take Fitzgerald off ss he has been great for st paul this year

I'm not the one playing him at SS......

[cheeseheadgophfan]

I don't know when the picture of Gonzalez at the front of the article was taken, but he doesn't look obviously out of shape.  Maybe it's gotten worse?  He's not a physical specimen by any means, but neither was Kirby, Arraez, etc etc.....sometimes the guys that are physical specimens (see Buxton, Royce, etc) are the guys who spend tons of time on the DL with muscle pulls/strains, etc.....

[tony&rodney]

5 hours ago, ryan189 said:

where are you going to play eles not going to take Fitzgerald off ss he has been great for st paul this year

Play Eeles at second base and see if he can be a good fielder and also hit. We know what Miranda, Julien, and Gasper can do. The Twins don't need any more DHs.