Twins Minor League Report (6/8): Two Culpeppers and a Big Day for Edouard Julien

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

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

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 35-30 (2nd in AL Central, 7.0 games behind Detroit.)
St. Paul Saints: 30-30  (6th place in the International League West Division, 7.0 games behind Nashville.)
Wichita Wind Surge: 29-28 (tied 2nd in Texas League North, 2.0 games behind Springfield.)
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 32-24 (2nd place in the Midwest League’s West Division, 0.5 games behind Quad Cities.)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 26-31 (6th place in the Florida State League’s West Division, 7.5 games behind Lakeland.)
FCL Twins: 15-10 (1st in FCL South, 0.5 games ahead of the FCL Rays.
DSL Twins: 1-4  

TRANSACTIONS
The Twins optioned Travis Adams to St. Paul after Sunday afternoon’s game. With Zebby Matthews on the IL, it would make sense for the Twins to call up a starting pitcher for Tuesday. 

The Saints put infielder Ryan Fitzgerald on the 7-Day IL with an ankle sprain. 

CJ Culpepper had his rehab assignment moved to Fort Myers (to the Mighty Mussels). 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 2, Scranton Wilkes Barre 7
Box Score
It was a rough first inning for Randy Dobnak and the Saints. He gave up four runs, all in the top of the first inning. In three innings, he gave up three hits, walked three, and struck out two batters. 

Jarret Whorff was first out of the bullpen. He gave up an unearned run on one hit over his two innings. Ryan Jensen gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in the sixth inning. Jacob Bosiokovic struck out two in a scoreless inning. Cody Laweryson made his first appearance with the Saints since the 2023 season (when he spent the full season there). He worked two scoreless innings. 

The Saints avoided being shutout with two runs in the ninth inning. Edouard Julien led off the inning with a home run, his second with the Saints. Anthony Prato followed with a double. He scored on a triple by Jeferson Morales. 

The Saints had seven hits in the game. Julien was 4-for-4. Morales was 1-for-2 and walked twice. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 5, NW Arkansas 6
Box Score
The Wind Surge took an early lead, and in the fourth inning, they were ahead 4-0. But the Naturals kept the game close, slowly worked their way into the game. 

In the first inning, Gabriel Gonzalez and Aaron Sabato walked. With two outs, Kala’i Rosario lined a triple that drove in both runners. 

The Surge added on in the top of the second inning when Ben Ross launched his fourth homer of the season to make it 3-0. 

Wichita took a 4-0 lead in the top of the fourth when Andrew Cossetti hit his fifth homer of the season. 

Lefty Aaron Rozek was very good again on Sunday. He gave up a fourth-inning run, but that’s it. Over five innings, he gave up three hits, walked three and struck out three batters. 

John Klein came in to start the sixth inning. He gave up two runs in the seventh inning on one hit. He had three walks and two strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. With a runner on, John Stankiewicz walked two batters but ended the eighth inning without any further damage. 

With just a 4-3 lead, the Surge got back on the scoreboard in the seventh inning. With two outs, Kyler Fedko was hit by a pitch. Aaron Sabato followed with a double that scored Fedko and gave the Surge a 5-3 lead. 

In the eighth inning, Sabato hit a single to left, but Fedko was thrown out at home. The insurance run might have been good. 

Jaylen Nowlin started the ninth. He hit the first batter, but got a flyout for the first out. Gavin Cross hit a single, but another fly out put the Surge just one out from the win. Joel Cesar was brought in to replace Nowlin. On a 3-1 pitch, Dustin Dickerson hit a three-run, walk-off homer to give the Naturals a 6-5 win. 

Fedko was 2-for-4 and was hit by a pitch. Sabato was 2-for-4 with a walk and his 10th double. Kala’i Rosario was 2-for-4 with a walk and his second triple of the season. Jake Rucker was also 2-for-4.    

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 5, Wisconsin 7
Box Score
The Rattlers jumped ahead. Cedar Rapids scored four of the final five innings, but it wasn’t enough to catch up. The Kernels lost for the third straight time. 

Tanner Hall started for Cedar Rapids and gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks. Wilker Reyes came on and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk over 1 1/3 innings. Paulshawn Pasqualotto allowed two inherited runners to score, but over his 1 2/3 he was charged with no additional runs on two hits and a walk. He struck out three batters. Kade Bragg struck out one in a perfect eighth.  

The Kernels were unable to score in the first four innings. Rayne Doncon hit his third homer in the season to cut the deficit to 4-1. 

In the sixth, Kaelen Culepper led off with a double. He moved up a base on a passed ball and scored on a Kyle DeBarge sacrifice fly. 

With two on and two out in the top of the seventh, Culpepper tripled to drive in Caden Kendle and Misael Urbina. It cut the deficit to 7-4. 

Brandon Winokur led off the eighth with his 15th double of the season. Danny Andrade singled him to third. Winokur scored on a double play. However, 7-5 was as close as they could get. 

Culpepper went 3-for-5 with his ninth double and second triple. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 0, Palm Beach 4  
Box Score
This game was quite the pitcher’s duel. No runs scored until Palm Beach scored two runs in the top of the seventh. They added two more runs in the ninth, and that was it. 

C.J. Culpepper continued his rehab. He needed just 43 pitches to work through three scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked one and had four strikeouts. Michael Carpenter came in. He threw three zeroes on the board. In all, he went 3 2/3 innings and gave up one run on two hits and two walks. He struck out three batters. Jakob Hall came on and gave up two hits. He allowed an inherited runner to score and one of his own. Josh Bortka struck out three in the eighth inning. Zander Sechrist gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. 

The Mussels had just two hits. Ricardo Pena hit his second double. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids):  3-for-5, 2B(9), 3B(2), R

Pitcher of the Day 
Aaron Rozek (Wichita): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 80 pitches, 48 strikes (60.0%)

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

#1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - rehab in FM, 0-for-3, BB, K (DHd)
#6 - Kaelen Culpepper (C R (played SS)
#9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(15), R, K (played CF)
#11 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, SF, RBI, K (DHd)
#14 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 0-for-3, 2 BB, R (played LF)   
#15 - C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - rehab in FM; 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K. 43 pitches, 24 strikes (55.8%)
#17 - Tanner Schobel (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 3 K (played 3B)
#19 - Carson McCusker (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K  (DHd)
#20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0-for-4, BB (catcher)

MONDAY PITCHING PROBABLES
FCL Twins @ FCL Braves (11:00 AM CT) - TBD
DSL Giants Orange @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CT) - TBD 

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

 

 

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[rdehring]

Not a good day in the win-loss column.  

See that Carpenter had a nice game.  Was this his best outing of the season?

[jmlease1]

I really didn't think I'd be asking this question, but: when does Sabato get promoted to AAA? He's finally having the kind of season where he's earning a promotion, rather than getting there somewhat (or entirely) on scholarship. And in his 3rd turn at AA, what else are we going to learn about him there? Would like to see him moved up to see if this is for real, if he's found an approach that works for him, and see if there's an opportunity to keep going. He just turned 26, make it a happy birthday in Saint Paul.

Kaelen Culpepper is doing great. Can't wait to see him in AA. I don't think it'll be long now.

[DJL44]

Might be time to send Dobnak down and swap him with Trent Baker out of the Wichita rotation.

[Dman]

4 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I really didn't think I'd be asking this question, but: when does Sabato get promoted to AAA? He's finally having the kind of season where he's earning a promotion, rather than getting there somewhat (or entirely) on scholarship. And in his 3rd turn at AA, what else are we going to learn about him there? Would like to see him moved up to see if this is for real, if he's found an approach that works for him, and see if there's an opportunity to keep going. He just turned 26, make it a happy birthday in Saint Paul.

Kaelen Culpepper is doing great. Can't wait to see him in AA. I don't think it'll be long now.

Was thinking the same about Sabato, but he did have a late start to the season. Not sure if that plays into why they haven't moved him. I thought with Ford gone he would move up for sure.  He looks real good at the plate this year and with his age and experience I think they should move him sooner rather than later.  I still question his ability to make it to MLB with so much in zone swing and miss, but he seems to have cleaned that up some so far this year.  Time will tell if he has made enough adjustments to make it.

Culpepper continues to impress.  I know a few weeks doesn't really matter, but it would be nice to see him in AA right now.  If he can do well there he could be on the Keaschal track.

 

[Jeff K]

10 minutes ago, Dman said:

Was thinking the same about Sabato, but he did have a late start to the season. Not sure if that plays into why they haven't moved him. I thought with Ford gone he would move up for sure.  He looks real good at the plate this year and with his age and experience I think they should move him sooner rather than later.  I still question his ability to make it to MLB with so much in zone swing and miss, but he seems to have cleaned that up some so far this year.  Time will tell if he has made enough adjustments to make it.

Culpepper continues to impress.  I know a few weeks doesn't really matter, but it would be nice to see him in AA right now.  If he can do well there he could be on the Keaschal track.

 

I'd like to see Kaelen Culpepper in AA now as well.  This is a recording!  He is ready!

[AceWrigley]

It would be cool if both Culpeppers make it to MLB. There has never been a player named Culpepper in the major leagues, so these guys would be the first(s), and we'd have both.

Dual Culpeppers. Yeah baby!!

[Fred]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

I really didn't think I'd be asking this question, but: when does Sabato get promoted to AAA? He's finally having the kind of season where he's earning a promotion, rather than getting there somewhat (or entirely) on scholarship. And in his 3rd turn at AA, what else are we going to learn about him there? Would like to see him moved up to see if this is for real, if he's found an approach that works for him, and see if there's an opportunity to keep going. He just turned 26, make it a happy birthday in Saint Paul.

Kaelen Culpepper is doing great. Can't wait to see him in AA. I don't think it'll be long now.

I thought that Sabato's performance might have a little to do with the release of Mike Ford, but then Sabato didn't get promoted.

[djm24]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Might be time to send Dobnak down and swap him with Trent Baker out of the Wichita rotation.

Hold on a minute, Bud! If any pitcher should be sent back to AA it should be Raya. It appears that some "prospects" are rushed through the system as soon as they show some inkling of potential. And BTW, have you EVER had ANYTHING good to say about Dobnak?!   ☹️

 

[DJL44]

31 minutes ago, Fred said:

I thought that Sabato's performance might have a little to do with the release of Mike Ford, but then Sabato didn't get promoted.

Miranda is getting Ford's playing time.

[DJL44]

17 minutes ago, djm24 said:

If any pitcher should be sent back to AA it should be Raya.

Raya should be sent to the bullpen. 

19 minutes ago, djm24 said:

BTW, have you EVER had ANYTHING good to say about Dobnak?!   ☹️

Has there ever been anything good to say about him? He's a 30-year-old pitcher at AAA with a terrible ERA and a bad K/BB ratio. He might make a good TV color analyst someday.

[jmlease1]

I hope Julien's 4-4 day with a homer is a sign of things to come. I'm not ready to give up on him (though I know many on this site would rather have him fired out of a cannon back to Quebec than ever play for the Twins MLB team again...) but he needs to keep making consistent contact and get back to hitting with authority. There have to be some xbhs in the mix for him to be a threat again. He's clearly still got the control of the strike zone where he's able to pull walks without trouble, but he can't be a slappy singles hitter only. Will be curious if he can get it figured out over the next 1-2 months and be an option again. He's had a solid month now at AAA...except for the power production. Hope the homer was a sign of more to come. 

He's been better than Miranda, who is still swinging at everything, it seems. Where these guys are sitting in July will be very interesting.

[LA Vikes Fan]

9 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I hope Julien's 4-4 day with a homer is a sign of things to come. I'm not ready to give up on him (though I know many on this site would rather have him fired out of a cannon back to Quebec than ever play for the Twins MLB team again...) but he needs to keep making consistent contact and get back to hitting with authority. There have to be some xbhs in the mix for him to be a threat again. He's clearly still got the control of the strike zone where he's able to pull walks without trouble, but he can't be a slappy singles hitter only. Will be curious if he can get it figured out over the next 1-2 months and be an option again. He's had a solid month now at AAA...except for the power production. Hope the homer was a sign of more to come. 

He's been better than Miranda, who is still swinging at everything, it seems. Where these guys are sitting in July will be very interesting.

Agreed. BTW, I like that you give the day's stats for the top 20 prospects. Unfortunately, guys like Julien and Miranda that have lost their prospect status by playing in the MLB don't show and they are the ones most likely to be promoted if they play well. Is there a way to have a listing of those kind of players with these reports?    

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

I hope Julien's 4-4 day with a homer is a sign of things to come. I'm not ready to give up on him (though I know many on this site would rather have him fired out of a cannon back to Quebec than ever play for the Twins MLB team again...) but he needs to keep making consistent contact and get back to hitting with authority. There have to be some xbhs in the mix for him to be a threat again. He's clearly still got the control of the strike zone where he's able to pull walks without trouble, but he can't be a slappy singles hitter only. Will be curious if he can get it figured out over the next 1-2 months and be an option again. He's had a solid month now at AAA...except for the power production. Hope the homer was a sign of more to come. 

He's been better than Miranda, who is still swinging at everything, it seems. Where these guys are sitting in July will be very interesting.

I don't know if Julien can make the adjustments he needs at AAA. His problem is he can't hit breaking balls at the edge of the zone. In AAA, not enough players can spot their breaking ball at the edge of the zone.

[RpR]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

I hope Julien's 4-4 day with a homer is a sign of things to come. I'm not ready to give up on him (though I know many on this site would rather have him fired out of a cannon back to Quebec than ever play for the Twins MLB team again...) but he needs to keep making consistent contact and get back to hitting with authority. There have to be some xbhs in the mix for him to be a threat again. He's clearly still got the control of the strike zone where he's able to pull walks without trouble, but he can't be a slappy singles hitter only. Will be curious if he can get it figured out over the next 1-2 months and be an option again. He's had a solid month now at AAA...except for the power production. Hope the homer was a sign of more to come. 

He's been better than Miranda, who is still swinging at everything, it seems. Where these guys are sitting in July will be very interesting.

Joey Gallo did that for the Twins! 😂

[djm24]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Raya should be sent to the bullpen. 

Has there ever been anything good to say about him? He's a 30-year-old pitcher at AAA with a terrible ERA and a bad K/BB ratio. He might make a good TV color analyst someday.

"Has there ever been anything good to say about him?" Sorry, but there are many people who don't display such negativity about him. And I guess there are some people who are just naturally negative.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Has there ever been anything good to say about him? 

He grows a heck of a beard and wears cool glasses!! :)

[jorgenswest]

I have the same hope for Miranda and Julien as I had for Wallner last year. Wallner struggled in his return to AAA for 6 weeks before turning things around the next 6 weeks. It is encouraging to see Miranda’s walk rate up and strike out rate down. His last 8 or so games have shown some signs to be encouraged. Really nice game from Julien. They gave Wallner about 300 AAA plate appearances last year to turn things around. I will wait and see how Miranda and Julien loom at 300 PAs before giving up on them. So far they aren’t even half way there yet.

Great article from @Nick Nelson about Randy Dobnak story before the hand injury.

 

[Seth Stohs]

14 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

I really didn't think I'd be asking this question, but: when does Sabato get promoted to AAA? He's finally having the kind of season where he's earning a promotion, rather than getting there somewhat (or entirely) on scholarship. And in his 3rd turn at AA, what else are we going to learn about him there? Would like to see him moved up to see if this is for real, if he's found an approach that works for him, and see if there's an opportunity to keep going. He just turned 26, make it a happy birthday in Saint Paul.

Kaelen Culpepper is doing great. Can't wait to see him in AA. I don't think it'll be long now.

I definitely think Sabato should get an opportunity for regular ABs in St. Paul soon. They've invested in him, and he keeps showing up and producing, and this year he is really producing well. Player development is rarely linear, and if he gets to the big leagues at 27 and can be a league-average 1B for 3-5 years, that'd be great. 

Culpepper must be nearing a promotion. Maybe another week or two at most. I really enjoy watching Ben Ross play shortstop for Wichita, and think he'll continue to play regularly in the infield and outfield, but Culpepper is ready to move up and they won't hold him back. 

[Seth Stohs]

14 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

It would be cool if both Culpeppers make it to MLB. There has never been a player named Culpepper in the major leagues, so these guys would be the first(s), and we'd have both.

Dual Culpeppers. Yeah baby!!

Now that is some good research! 

Maybe they've got it planned where Walker Jenkins and CJ Culpepper get back to Wichita at the same time, and Kaelen Culpepper gets promoted the same day. 

 

 

[Seth Stohs]

13 hours ago, Fred said:

I thought that Sabato's performance might have a little to do with the release of Mike Ford, but then Sabato didn't get promoted.

I wonder if Ford had an opt-out. And, with Toby trying to get playing time for Jose Miranda, Ed Julien and Mickey Gasper, they're certainly the priority. But, with St. Paul's ability to make hitters look really good, Sabato could really put up some numbers there. 

[Doctor Wu]

22 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

It would be cool if both Culpeppers make it to MLB. There has never been a player named Culpepper in the major leagues, so these guys would be the first(s), and we'd have both.

Dual Culpeppers. Yeah baby!!

Culpepper is the perfect baseball name! Hope they both can make the show!