Twins Minor League Report (6/5): Aaron Sabato Powers Wind Surge

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Aaron Sabato)

It was an offensive day for the Twins affiliates. Well, most of them. It was all about pitching in the Florida State League, but the Saints, Wind Surge, Kernels and FCL Twins all scored at least eight runs on Thursday. Names you'll want to check out below include Aaron Sabato, Carson McCusker, Tanner Schobel, Danny De Andrade, Nate Baez. And Walker Jenkins got a promotion, kind of, in his rehab.

The Twins loss on Thursday was ugly, and it will mean at least one transaction. We know that RHP Travis Adams will be called up and in uniform on Friday. After throwing a lot of pitches, one would assume Kody Funderburk would be optioned?

The Twins and all six of their affiliates played on Thursday Lots of good content for you below. 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 34-28 (2nd in AL Central, six games behind Detroit.)
St. Paul Saints: 29-28  (6th place in the International League West Division, 5.0 games behind Nashville.)
Wichita Wind Surge: 28-26 (4th in Texas League North, 2.0 games behind Springfield.)
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 32-21 (2nd place in the Midwest League’s West Division, 0.5 games behind Quad Cities.)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 24-30 (6th place in the Florida State League’s West Division, 7.5 games behind Lakeland.)
FCL Twins: 14-9 (2nd in FCL South, 0.5 games back of the FCL Rays.
DSL Twins: 0-3  

TRANSACTIONS
The Twins officially placed RHP Pablo Lopez on the Injured List and recalled RHP David Festa, who started for the Twins on Thursday afternoon.

After just one rehab game with the FCL Twins, Walker Jenkins has had his rehab transferred to the Mighty Mussels.   

Jesus Sanchez signed and sent to the DSL. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 8, Scranton Wilkes Barre 11
Box Score
Tanner Schobel homers for his first Saints hit. Patrick Winkel hit his fifth. Carson McCusker hit his 11th homer. Anthony Prato, DaShawn Keirsey, McCusker, Jeferson Morales each had two hits.  

Marco Raya went the first 3 1/3 innings. He gave up seven runs on six hits and two walks. He had seven strikeouts. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 10, NW Arkansas 8
Box Score
Have a day, Aaron Sabato! The Surge slugger went 3-for-5 with his sixth double and his sixth and seventh homers. He drove in five runs. Jorel Ortega, Andrew Cossetti, Jose Salas and Kala’i Rosario each had two hits in the game. Ortega hit his sixth homer.

Mike Paredes was pitching so well out of the bullpen, why not give him a start? The righty gave up three runs on five hits over four innings. Angel Macuare then had four strikeouts over three innings of one-run ball.   

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 10, Wisconsin 6
Box Score
The Kernels scored four runs in the first inning and then followed with one run in each of the next four innings. However, two seventh inning runs were needed for insurance late in the game. 

After starting both games of a doubleheader on Wednesday night, Kaelen Culpepper led of Thursday’s game with a solid single to right field. He proceeded to steal second base. Kyle DeBarge walked. Nate Baez singled to center which drove in Culpepper. DeBarge scored soon after on a passed ball. Brandon Winokur reached on an error. Danny De Andrade singled to drive in Baez. With two outs, Jay Thomason doubled which scored Winokur, but De Andrade was thrown out at home. 

21-year-old Rayne Doncon came into this game batting .028 with an OPS of .257. Of course, he had missed over a month with an oblique injury that was clearly affecting him before going on the IL. But after an 0-for-5 on Wednesday night, he was just 1-for-36 on the season. He led off the second inning with his first triple of the year and scored when Culpepper singled to center. 

Danny De Andrade led off the top of the third inning with a double. Healthy this season, he has been a doubles machine for the Kernels this season. He has 15 doubles, four triples, and five home runs. His 24 extra base hits is tied with Lake Country’s Jose Devers for the Midwest League lead. With two outs, he stole third base and scored on a Poncho Ruiz single. 

With two outs in the fourth inning, Baez singled. Brandon Winokur followed by hitting a triple to center and drive in Baez with the seventh run. 

Jay Thomason led off the fifth inning with his first Midwest League home run. He also hit his first Midwest League double. 

In the seventh inning, Doncon hit his second home run of the season. With the two hits and seven total bases, Doncon is now hitting .075 (.453). 

Nate Baez was 3-for-5 and is now hitting .348. Culpepper was 2-for-5 and is now at .301. Jay Thomason hit his first double and his first homer with the Kernels. De Andrade went 2-for-4 with a double. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 1, Palm Beach 2  
Box Score
This game was quite the pitcher’s duel. The Mussels scored in the bottom of the fifth, but the Cardinals responded with two runs in the top of the sixth, and that was it for the scoring in this game. 

The story for the Mussels in this one was the start of Jason Doktorczyk. The 2024 draft pick struck out five batters over five scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and didn’t issue a walk. 

The other big story in this game was Walker Jenkins having his rehab transferred to the Mussels. As you might expect, he was involved in the Mussels’ fifth inning run, at least a little bit. After Dameury Pena doubled, Jenkins walked. They advanced to second and third on a ground out to first base. Jose Rodriguez grounded to shortstop. Pena was off with contact and thrown out at home for the second out of the inning. Fortunately, Maddux Houghton knocked a single to right field to drive in Jenkins with the team’s lone run. 

Lefty Zander Sechrist came on and gave up two runs in the sixth inning. He gave up just those runs on four hits and a walk and a hit batter over 2 1/3 innings. He left with one out in the seventh inning and two runners on. However, Jacob Kisting came in and shut the door. He got five outs including three on strikeouts. 

The Mussels had six hits and five walks. However, they went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base. 

Jose Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with his seventh double. Jenkins went 0-for-2 with two walks. He also threw out a baserunner trying to advance to third base for an outfield assist. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 8, FCL Braves 5
Box Score
The Twins scored three in the first inning and held on the rest of the way for a three-run lead. 

Bryan Acuna led off the bottom of the first inning with a walk. Eduardo Beltre followed with a double that drove in Acuna. Daiber De Los Santos followed with a two-run homer to center field to make it 3-0 three batters into the game. 

Ahead 3-2 going to the bottom of the second inning, Acuna hit a one-out double. Beltre followed by switching places with Acuna to give the Twins a 4-2 lead. 

Melvin Rodriguez started and gave up three runs on five hits over three innings. He walked two and had four strikeouts. Aiberson Ventura came on and was charged with two runs on two hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Ben Francisco came in and got a big strikeout in the fifth frame to leave the bases loaded. Matt Gabbert tossed two scoreless innings of one-hit ball to record his first save. He had two strikeouts. 

The bottom of the fourth inning began with a Ramiro Dominguez home run, his first of the season. 

Going to the bottom of the fifth, the game was tied 5-5. The inning began with an error, a single, and a double steal. Ariel Castro drove in Luis Fragoza with a sacrifice fly. With two outs, Carlos Silva doubled to drive in Irvin Nunez and give the Twins a 7-5 lead. 

The Twins added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning in a very FCL way. There was a walk, and soon after, a hit batter. With two outs, a passed ball moved runners to second and third. Another walk loaded the bases, and Ariel Castro drove in Bryan Acuna by being hit by a pitch. 

Beltre hit his third and fourth doubles of the season. Acuna hit his fourth double and walked twice. Nunez went 1-for-1 and walked three times. 

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins 5, DSL Rangers Red 9
Box Score
Baby steps, sure, but the DSL Twins had, by far, their best pitching performance of the young season on Thursday afternoon. You may read that and think, “Ummm, they gave up nine runs.” Yes, but in their first game, they gave up 23 runs, and in their second game, they gave up 21 runs. Giving up single digit runs is a nice step forward. We just won’t mention that the game only went six innings before the rains came.  

18-year-old Jensi Infante started. In his first pro appearance ,he gave up two runs on one hit and two walks in one inning. 19-year-old Eli Urena came in next and tossed three scoreless innings. 19-year-old Aaron Carranza, in his first appearance of the season, gave up six runs on two hits and four walks in one inning. Brandy Ceballos, who turns 18 on Saturday, came on to start the sixth inning. He gave up one run on one hit and two outs when the game came to an end due to weather. 

The DSL Twins scored five runs on nine hits and three walks in this game. Leadoff hitter Teilon Serrano, 17, went 2-for-3 in this game with a stolen base, his first. He is now 6-for-12 in his pro career. Jhomnardo Reyes, 17, went 2-for-3 in the game and is 5-for-10 on the season. 

In his pro debut, 17-year-old Cristian Bonifacio went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI. Yovanny Moran, 17, recorded his first pro hit, a triple. Darwin Almanzar, Jose Barrios, and Gerardo Cardona each had a single and a walk in the game. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Aaron Sabato (Wichita): 3-for-5, 2B(6), 2-HR(7), 2 R, 5 RBI, K

Pitcher of the Day 
Jason Doktorczyk (Fort Myers): 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 53 pitches, 37 strikes (69.8%)

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

#1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - rehab in FM, 0-for-2, 2 BB, R, Outfield Assist
#6 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R, RBI, K, 2 SB(14) (played SS)
#7 - Marco Raya (St. Paul) - 3 1/3 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (76 pitches, 46 strikes (60.5%)
#8 - Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 92 pitches, 55 strikes (59.8%)
#9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 3B(2), R, RBI, K, SB(13), (played CF)
#10 - Dasan Hill (Fort Myers) - 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 57 pitches, 34 strikes (59.6%)
#11 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, BB, R, SB(31) (played 2B)
#14 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 1-for-5, 2B(4), R, RBI,
#16 - Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - 2-for-4, 2-2B(4), R, 2 RBI (played CF)
#17 - Tanner Schobel (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, HR(1), R, 3 RBI, 2 K (played 3B)
#19 - Carson McCusker (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, 2 BB, HR(11), 2 R, 2 RBI (DHd)
#20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0-for-5, 2 K (played LF)

FRIDAY PITCHING PROBABLES
Toronto @ Minnesota (6:10 PM CT) - RHP Bailey Ober (4-1, 3.48 ERA)
Scranton/Wilkes Barre St. Paul (7:07 PM CT) - RHP Andrew Morris (2-2, 4.15 ERA)
Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CT) - RHP Trent Baker (1-2, 2.84 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40 PM CT) - RHP Chase Chaney (3-1, 3.97 ERA)
Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CT) - RHP Michael Ross (1-1, 3.68 ERA)
FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (11:00 AM CT) - TBD
DSL Twins @ DSL Blue Jays Blue (10:00 AM CT) - TBD 

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

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[Major League Ready]

Good news .... Quite a few great stories among position players this year.  The mid-year prospect updates are going to be very interesting.     

Bad News ...... Marco Raya.  

[FlyingFinn]

Great news for Travis Adams - he is being called up to the Bigs!

[rdehring]

Like how Winokur has been getting many doubles, triples and home runs of late.  Isn't it great seeing Jenkins in the daily box scores?

Also got a good smile from your explanation of the DSL Twins "best pitching performance."  Thanks!

[Danchat]

Time to give up on Raya as a starter... it's not like he was that particularly good at AA last year either. If they are insistent on developing him as a starter, send him back to AA and have him prove it - he's only 22 years old... and it's not as if he's eating many innings while starting. They're probably just better off fully moving him to the pen.

[jmlease1]

Congrats to Schobel for his first AAA hit. And congrats to Sabato, who is easily having his best pro season. Maybe he's a late developer and has figured something out, but credit to him for continuing to work and grind, after damn near everyone (including me) had written him off as a bust. He still might never make MLB, but he's at least got a chance now.

[DJL44]

In his 4th season at AA, it looks like Sabato is finally ready for a promotion to AAA. 

[Mike Sixel]

Kyle Teel in the majors........ Didn't need him 

DeAndrade is the most under rated player.

[LambchoP]

Dasan Hill with another solid outing. What to do with Raya? It's clear he's not cutting it in AAA? Do they demote him to AA or even A+ and try to fix his delivery or pitch mix? Move him to the pen and try him as a reliever? Right now he's not an option for a call up and I doubt with the year he's had that we could get anyone at all in a trade. It's not just him, but Morris and have also been lit up in St Paul this year. Doesn't bode well for this supposed pitching pipeline they've been bragging about.....

[Danchat]

2 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Kyle Teel in the majors........ Didn't need him 

DeAndrade is the most under rated player.

Who's Kyle Teel?

[jmlease1]

4 hours ago, Danchat said:

Who's Kyle Teel?

He's the guy we passed on to take Walker Jenkins.

[twinstalker]

Twinstalker top ten prospects (another thread):

10. Danny De Andrade.

Not playing short and striking out 25-26% of the time probably makes this way too high.  It makes me sad about a guy I thought was the next Greg Gagne.  I'm keeping him at 10 until Culpepper proves he can mash at the next level this year, where he should be at this stage.

 

[Major League Ready]

12 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

He's the guy we passed on to take Walker Jenkins.

Not really.  Unless my memory is failing me Teel was projected to go 8-10 picks after Jenkins which is what happened.