Twins Minor League Report (6/6): Walker Jenkins Blasts Go-Ahead Homer for Mussels

[Tom Froemming]

Image courtesy of © Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network-Florida / USA TODAY NETWORK

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 34-29
St. Paul Saints: 29-29
Wichita Wind Surge: 29-26
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 32-22
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 25-30
FCL Twins: 15-9
DSL Twins: 0-4

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Travis Adams recalled by the Twins; LHP Kody Funderburk optioned to St. Paul.
LHP Danny Coulombe was sent on a rehab assignment to St. Paul.
RHP Cody Laweryson promoted to St. Paul.
RHP Jacob Wosinski promoted to Wichita.

SAINTS SENTINEL 
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5, St. Paul 1
Box Score
SP: Andrew Morris (6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K)
HR: Carson McCusker (12)

 

Andrew Morris delivered a quality start for the Saints tonight, throwing six innings of two-run ball. He allowed a solo homer in the second inning before giving up a second run in a sloppy fifth inning that featured both an error and a balk by Morris himself. Despite Morris being his own worst enemy that inning, that run goes as unearned.

Morris lowered his ERA to 3.86 and topped out at 97.5 mph tonight. That the Twins had a rotation need and he wasn’t even in the discussion was both justified and a great illustration of the team’s pitching depth. This dude woulda been the No. 2 starter on some of the mid-2010s Twins rotations.

Unfortunately, the only offense the Saints could muster was a Carson McCusker home run in the bottom of the ninth. He now has a dozen homers this season. Payton Eeles and Anthony Prato were both 2-for-4, Prato also stole his 10th base. The Saints were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Danny Coulombe pitched the first game of his rehab assignment with the Saints tonight. He retired all three batters he faced on nine pitches, seven of them strikes. 

 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 8, Northwest Arkansas 2
Box Score
SP: Trent Baker (6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K)
HR: Aaron Sabato (8)

 

Is Aaron Sabato happening? Well, no matter how you want to look at it as it relates to his long-term outlook, Sabato is undoubtedly on a tear right now, having tallied six extra-base hits in his last two games. After hitting two home runs and an RBI double last night, he hit another homer to go with a pair of doubles tonight. 

In 35 games since rejoining the Wind Surge, Sabato has hit .306/.407/.565 (.972 OPS) with a 26.2 K% and 13.1 BB%. He’s reached base in 24 consecutive games. Tonight was his 220th Double-A game. 

Wichita opened an 8-0 lead through the top of the fourth inning and never looked back. Trent Baker was the beneficiary of all that run support, but he also held up his end of the bargain. Baker, who came over in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, went six innings and only surrendered two runs on four hits. Baker struck out five batters and walked one. Pierson Ohl earned a three-inning save.

Gabriel Gonzalez was hit by a batted ball while on the bases. He singled to lead off the third inning and advanced to third on a Sabato double. With Noah Cardenas up, Gonzalez was hit with a foul line drive. The trainer came out, but he stayed in the game at that time. He scored on the next pitch and played outfield in the bottom of the inning, but exited in the top of the fourth. 

 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Wisconsin 3, Cedar Rapids 2
Box Score
SP: Chase Chaney (7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K)
HR: Kyle DeBarge (6)

 

This game was tied 2-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Wisconsin’s Jadher Areinamo lined a ball into left field toward Jay Thomason, a recently-promoted Kernel who has mostly been an infielder. Thomason did an excellent job of aggressively getting to the ball, but his throw in short-hopped Kaelen Culpepper, who couldn’t corral it. Areinamo managed to not only stretch the hit into a double, but he advanced to third on the error. He later scored on a sacrifice fly to walk it off.

Kyle DeBarge broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning with his sixth home run of the season, putting the Kernels up 2-0. The lead was short-lived, as Wisconsin responded with a two-run shot of their own in the bottom of the frame.

Chase Chaney provided a quality start, as that two-run homer was the only damage he allowed over seven innings pitched. Brandon Winokur was 3-for-4 with a double. After getting off to a slow first two months of the season, Winokur is hitting .450/.500/.800 in the very early goings in June.

 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 6, Palm Beach 2
Box Score
SP: Michael Ross (4 2/3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K)
HR: Maddux Houghton (6), Walker Jenkins (1)

Walker Jenkins back active is enough of a sight for sore eyes, that he blasted a go-ahead homer is the cherry on top. Jenkins, who was the DH tonight, got a single up the middle in the third inning, but that’s all the Fort Myers lineup could muster that frame. In the bottom of the seventh, Palm Beach committed an error that resulted in the game being tied at 2-2. That’s when Jenkins put the Mighty Mussels ahead with a beautiful blast.

 

Maddux Houghton, who had homered earlier in the game, added an RBI double in the eighth inning and he later scored on a Ricardo Pena sacrifice fly to provided Fort Myers with some insurance runs.

Michael Ross, the Twins 18th-round pick from last year's draft, had a solid outing despite not being able to get out of the fifth inning. He topped out at 95 mph. Brennen Oxford, who the Twins signed out of the independent Atlantic League, earned his first win in affiliated ball after pitching two scoreless frames.

 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 14, FCL Red Sox 4
Box Score
SP: Teague Conrad (4 IP, 5 H, 3R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K)
HR: Ariel Castro (3), Yilber Herrera (1)

 

The Twins trailed by a run heading into the top of the seventh inning, but their lineup exploded for seven runs. Right fielder Ricardo Paez got things started with a single, then advanced to second base on a balk, and would later score the tying run from second base on a wild pitch. That opened the floodgates.

The Twins landed multiple big blows in the seventh, including a two-run double from Eduardo Beltre, a two-run single from Victor Leal and a solo homer by Ariel Castro. Four Twins batters tallied multi-hit games, including Paez, Beltre, Ramiro Domninguez and Daiber De Los Santos, who also stole a pair of bases.

A couple of former indy ballers were featured on the mound. Teague Conrad, who the Twins signed out of the Frontier League, gave up three runs over four innings as the starter, though only one of those runs was earned. Will Armbruester, also from the Frontier League, finished off the game with three shutout innings. 

 

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Blue Jays 6, DSL Twins 4
Box Score
SP: Santiago Castellanos (2 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K)
HR: None

 

Right-handed pitcher Santiago Castellanos of Venezuela made his professional debut in this one. He held the Blue Jays scoreless over 2 2/3 innings, limiting them to two hits. He struck out three of the 12 batters he faced and walked two. Per Baseball America, Castellanos touches 97 mph despite still only being 16-years-old. They put a 60 grade on his fastball, meaning they consider that a plus pitch.

The Twins broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning by scoring all four of their runs. The bullpen couldn’t hold the lead, however, as the Blue Jays scratched across a run in the fifth inning before tallying five more in the sixth.

Jhomnardo Reyes, a 17-year-old from the Dominican Republic, was the only Twin with a multi-hit game. He was 2-for-3, and is 7-for-13 through four games this season (.538 average).

 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Pitcher of the Day: Chase Chaney, Cedar Rapids (7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K)
Hitter of the Day: Aaron Sabato, Wichita (3-for-5, 2 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, K)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 

1. Walker Jenkins (rehabbing with Fort Myers): 2-for-5, HR (1), R, 2 RBI
6. Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, 2B, R
8. Andrew Morris (St. Paul): 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
9. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-4
11. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, HR (6), R, 2 RBI, K
14. Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita): 1-for-2, R, K (was hit by a batted ball while running the bases and later exited the game)
16. Eduardo Beltre (FCL): 2-for-6, 2B, SB (9), R, 3 RBI
17. Tanner Schobel (St. Paul): 1-for-4, 2B
19. Carson McCusker (St. Paul): 1-for-4, HR (12), R, RBI, 2 K

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 6:37 pm CT: Darren McCaughan
Wichita at Northwest Arkansas, 6:35 pm CT: Connor Prielipp
Cedar Rapids at Wisconsin, 6:40 pm CT: Alejandro Hidalgo
Fort Myers vs. Palm Beach, 5:05 pm CT: Dasan Hill
FCL Twins vs. FSL Red Sox, 9 am CT: TBD
DSL TWINS vs. DSL Yankees, 9 am CT: TBD

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[FlyingFinn]

Jenkins playing and hitting a homer. Great news!

[Doctor Gast]

Morris had a solid start for the Saints but Winan had a better one. Winan is ready for the MLB.

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Morris had a solid start for the Saints but Winan had a better one. Winan is ready for the MLB.

Winans is 29 and has 8 MLB starts. He has nearly 300 innings at AAA and is in his third straight year of dominating that level. Teams don't seem to see "it" with him.

He's given up 51 hits in 40 innings pitched along with 12 walks allowed and two hit batters. He has a 7.20 ERA in the majors. He's a soft tossing righty (his fastball barely touches 90). That's a tough profile for major league success in this day and age. He's essentially a softer throwing Randy Dobnak. He's "ready for the MLB" in the same way Randy and the rest of the 29+ year old borderline MLB talent in AAA is "ready for the MLB."

[rdehring]

Several hitters for the Saints are smashing the ball.  Unfortunately, Miranda and Julien aren't among them.  Are they destined to AAAA status?

Another big night for Winokur, hopefully his early struggles are behind him and he gets the call to AA by late summer.  Also exciting seeing the results Jenkins is getting.  Two questions.  One, how long will he stay in Fort Myers?  And two, will he move up to the Kernels or go straight to Wichita?

Always exciting to see Prielipp's name as tonight's probable starter at Wichita.  And tonight will have two of those young lefties on the mound as Hill is also scheduled to start.

[LambchoP]

Eeles sure looks good since being activated. I wonder if Clemens continues to see his numbers dropping if Eeles becomes an option for our infield. I could see him being a great spark at the top of our lineup, adding another guy who can cause some havoc on the bases. Bride is already a wasted roster spot right now....

[Guest]

What adjustments has Sabato made?  If Torkleson could change, perhaps Sabato can, too.

[FlyingFinn]

43 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

Eeles sure looks good since being activated. I wonder if Clemens continues to see his numbers dropping if Eeles becomes an option for our infield.

No. Clemens has played great, including on defense. He can play, to my eyes, well in LF, RF, 2B and 1B. Eeles can play 2B. I see him in box scores at SS but I also see him making errors in those box scores. Eeles will not be called up this year.

[mikelink45]

I am still sad that the Twins did not give McCusker a real opportunity.  

 

[Paul Walerius]

8 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

No. Clemens has played great, including on defense. He can play, to my eyes, well in LF, RF, 2B and 1B. Eeles can play 2B. I see him in box scores at SS but I also see him making errors in those box scores. Eeles will not be called up this year.

I wouldn't make that statement.   That being said, how they handle the Pablo injury will determine what happens.   Eeles can hit and if they fall out of it I could see them trading Willi which would give him a spot.  What is with all the Lefty hitters though!?!  

[DocBauer]

Still a full half season for Jenkins to be healthy and get on a roll! He should be up at Wichita in about 10-14 days. Plenty of time to get back in a groove and still make this a successful season.

With a little bit of luck, Rodriguez will ALSO get healthy and get back to have a strong 2nd half. Aren't we due for a little bit of injury luck by now?

Super excited for the INF talent that is surging in the system right now!

[DJL44]

10 hours ago, rdehring said:

Several hitters for the Saints are smashing the ball.  Unfortunately, Miranda and Julien aren't among them.  Are they destined to AAAA status?

Miranda has been trending upwards (.364/.391/.682 in the last week). Julien, unfortunately, has not.

[Mike Sixel]

11 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

No. Clemens has played great, including on defense. He can play, to my eyes, well in LF, RF, 2B and 1B. Eeles can play 2B. I see him in box scores at SS but I also see him making errors in those box scores. Eeles will not be called up this year.

Eeles has played at least one game in LF this year also. But I agree, lots of things would need to go badly for him to be in Minnesota this year.