Twins Minor League Report (6/19): Culpepper’s Clutch Homer Clinches Playoff Spot

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of David Malamut (photo of Kaelen Culpepper)

TRANSACTIONS

• St. Paul Saints placed LHP Brady Feigl on the 7-day injured list with left rotator cuff tendinitis. Feigl has posted a 5.93 ERA with a 1.46 WHIP and a 16-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 13 2/3 innings. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 8, Toledo 2
Box Score

Former first-round pick Aaron Sabato is quickly making his presence known in the Saints' lineup. On Thursday, the Mudhens jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. However, St. Paul put up crooked numbers in the fourth and fifth innings to jump ahead. Sabato smashed a no-doubt grand slam that traveled 426 feet and left the bat at 111.7 mph. It was his first Triple-A home run and he finished the night 2-for-4 with five RBI. Earlier in the game, Jose Miranda started the scoring with a solo home run. 

On the mound, Andrew Morris started and had an up-and-down performance. The good: he limited Toledo to two runs on three hits with eight strikeouts. The bad: he walked four and was removed after four innings. Morris threw 90 pitches and only 53 were strikes. Trent Baker followed Morris and tossed four scoreless innings by limiting Toledo to three hits. He struck out five and walked two. The win ended a seven-game losing streak for the Saints. 

 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 5, Arkansas 1 
Box Score

Wichita used a huge first inning to ambush Arkansas. Walker Jenkins was hit by a pitch and moved to third on a Kyler Fedko single. Kala’i Rosario drove in both runners with his 13th double. Rubel Cespedes singled to make the game 3-0. After two walks to load the bases, Tyler Dearden drove in a run on a ground out and Jose Salas extended the lead with a sacrifice fly to cap the five-run frame. Rosario reached base three times with a pair of doubles and a walk.    

John Klein got the start on the bump and breezed through five shutout innings after the early run support. He allowed one hit while striking out six. Ricky Castro pitched the final four innings for an unconventional save, his first of the season. He allowed one run on three hits with a pair of strikeouts.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 2, Beloit 0 (Game 1- 7 Innings)
Box Score

Three Kernels pitchers combined for a four-hit shutout in Game 1 of the doubleheader. Alejandro Hidalgo started and pitched three innings while scattering two hits. He struck out one and walked one. Over his last two appearances, he has combined for seven shutout innings. Kade Bragg took over for Hidalgo in the fourth and pitched two hitless innings. He ran into a little bit of trouble by walking a season-high three batters, but managed to escape. Paulshawn Pasqualotto pitched the final two innings and earned his sixth save. 

Offensively, one first-inning swing from Brandon Winokur made all the difference. With one out, Kyle DeBarge was hit by a pitch and quickly stole second base, his 37th steal of the season. Then Winokur cracked his ninth home run. He finished the game 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, and a stolen base. No other Kernels had a hit, but DeBarge reached base with two walks. 

 

Cedar Rapids 5, Beloit 4 (Game 2- 7 Innings)
Box Score
In a back-and-forth game, Kaelen Culpepper played the hero with a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning. Andy Lugo and Misael Urbina both reached base ahead of a Poncho Ruiz double that brought the score within one. Culpepper’s homer followed and secured the team’s second win of the day. Urbina led the team in hits as he finished 2-for-3. 

Chase Chaney pitched into the sixth inning and earned his fifth victory. In 5 2/3 innings, he allowed three earned runs on eight hits. Samuel Perez allowed two runners to reach in the seventh inning, so the Kernels called on Hunter Hoopes for the final out. He coaxed a groundout to end the game. With the win, the Kernels are going to the Midwest League Playoffs for the 11th time in 12 years. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers –, Lakeland – (Canceled)
Thursday’s contest between Fort Myers and Lakeland has been canceled due to inclement weather. The game was supposed to be the finale for the first half of the FSL season, and will not be made up. Lakeland clinched a playoff berth on Wednesday, so the contest had no postseason implications. The series will now be five games. This is the second game of the season to be cancelled for the Mussels. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 3, FCL Rays 2 (7 Innings)
Box Score

In a make-up game from June 3rd, the FCL Twins jumped out to a 3-0 lead before holding on for a one-run win. Eduardo Beltre started the game with a walk, stole second base, and came around on a Ramiro Dominguez double, his 10th of the year. Dominguez would later score in the inning on a sacrifice fly from Luis Fragoza to put the Twins up 2-0. In the top of the fourth, Javier Roman connected for a solo home run to extend the lead to 3-0. It turned out to be the game-winning run. 

Sam Rochard and Andrew Huffman combined for five shutout innings to start the game. Rochard pitched three innings and collected five strikeouts. Will Armbruester took over in the sixth and allowed three hits but was only charged with one earned run after a throwing error by Daiber De Los Santos. Brent Francisco closed out the final inning for his second save. He allowed one hit and struck out two. 

 

FCL Twins 2, FCL Rays 1 (7 Innings)
Box Score

The FCL Twins trailed for most of this game but their pitching staff kept it close and the club squeaked out a win. Starter Melvin Rodriguez tossed five innings and limited the Rays to one run on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts. It was his second straight appearance where he made it through five innings. Xavier Kolhosser and Anderson Ramos combined to allow two base runners over the last two innings to preserve the win.

In the fifth inning, Ricardo Paez singled to start the frame. Ariel Castro followed with an RBI triple to tie the game at one. Yandro Hernandez quickly drove in Castro with what turned out to be a game-winning single. 

 

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Miami 1, DSL Twins 0 (7 Innings)
Box Score

The DSL Twins struggled to find any offense in this contest, being held to one hit. Teilon Serrano started the game with a four-pitch walk and proceeded to steal second, his fourth steal. With two outs, he moved to third on a ground out, but was left stranded in scoring position. The Twins got their lone hit in the second on a one-out single from Darwin Almanzar, which was quickly erased on a line drive double play. In the third, Serrano walked again and stole second base, but was left stranded again. 

Defensively, things got a little ugly in the bottom of the second. Eli Urena allowed a leadoff single to Moises Morales and the runner advanced to second on a wild pitch. He moved to third on a steal, and Twins catcher Gerardo Cardona threw the ball into the outfield, so the runner scored. Urena pitched two innings by allowing one unearned run. He walked four and struck out three. Marlon Mirabal and Aaron Carranza combined for four shutout innings to end the game. It was the first scoreless appearance for Carranza this season. 

 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – John Klein, Wichita Wind Surge (5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K)
Hitter of the Day – Aaron Sabato, St. Paul Saints (2-for-4, R, HR, 5 RBI, K)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they performed on Tuesday.
#1 – Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 1-for-4, R, K
#4 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-6, HR (9), 2 RBI, R, 3 K
#9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-7, HR (9), 2 RBI, R , SB (17)
#10 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, 2 BB, R, SB (37)
#15 – Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins): 1-for-6, BB, R, 2 K, SB (11)
#19 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, 2B, R, K
#20 – Payton Eeles (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2B (1), R, K

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP Darren McCaughan (4-2, 4.43 ERA)
Wichita @ Arkansas (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Tanner Hall (3-3, 4.29 ERA)
Lakeland @ Fort Myers (6:05 AM CDT) - RHP Adrian Bohorquez (1-3, 8.55 ERA)
DSL Twins @ DSL Rangers Blue (10:00 AM CDT) - TBD
FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (11:00 AM CDT) - TBD

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games!

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[Old Twins Hat]

Geez, Aaron Sabato. 

Next thing you know Keoni Cavaco is going to climb the MiLB ladder and lead the Twins to the World Series.

[Blyleven2011]

33 minutes ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Geez, Aaron Sabato. 

Next thing you know Keoni Cavaco is going to climb the MiLB ladder and lead the Twins to the World Series.

Last year the twins released cavaco and Houston claimed him ...

Houston has converted him into a pitcher , no idea how that has translated for him ...

[Cody Christie]

27 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Last year the twins released cavaco and Houston claimed him ...

Houston has converted him into a pitcher , no idea how that has translated for him ...

Houston released him. He is pitching for the Chicago Dogs of the American Association. In nine games, he has a 5.30 ERA with a 1.55 WHIP and a 14-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. 

[AceWrigley]

1 hour ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Geez, Aaron Sabato. 

Next thing you know Keoni Cavaco is going to climb the MiLB ladder and lead the Twins to the World Series.

Cavaco now pitching for the Chicago Dogs of the independent American Association.

[AceWrigley]

Aaron Sabato is really surprising me this year. That homerun was crushed, and he just went with the pitch and put a really good swing on the ball. 

[Linus]

I wonder what the single season record is for steals by a Twins minor league player?  DeBarge is really having a season in that regard. 

[Jeff K]

10 minutes ago, AceWrigley said:

Aaron Sabato is really surprising me this year. That homerun was crushed, and he just went with the pitch and put a really good swing on the ball. 

It was a monster shot and I love that his swing was controlled.  Wow!

[rdehring]

31 minutes ago, Linus said:

I wonder what the single season record is for steals by a Twins minor league player?  DeBarge is really having a season in that regard. 

Your comment led me to look at his numbers.  37 steals while being thown out only once is amazing.  Does he have blazing speed?  Or just good at stealing a base?  Or are the catchers in that league really bad?  See he is a shortstop playing mostly second as Culpepper is at short.  Would love to see the Twins get a few guys with some speed in their lineup.

Keep seeing all the positive comments about Culpepper.  Have never seen him play.  Is his D good enough to be a good major league shortstop, Cody?

See that the FCL Twins have a 21-11 record.  Yet, when I look at the box score there were only two players in yesterday's double-header hitting over .210..something.  How are they winning all those games?

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

Brandon Winokur is putting together a pretty solid June.  He seems like a streaky hitter.  With his speed and power he just needs to continue working on his hit tool.  

[LambchoP]

It's really nice to see some guys at A+ really putting up some good numbers. Culpeper, DeBarge, Winokur and Gonzalez before he moved up to AA. I wonder when Culpeper gets his promotion. The pitching side of things hasn't looked as promising. I think we should look to acquire some more SP at the trade deadline and off-season. Of course I'm not ready to give up on Raya, Morris or Lewis, they just look like they need more time in the minors. Raya especially probably needs to be sent down a level or two and try to get himself right.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

28 minutes ago, rdehring said:

See that the FCL Twins have a 21-11 record.  Yet, when I look at the box score there were only two players in yesterday's double-header hitting over .210..something.  How are they winning all those games?

1st off, batting average doesn't show the full story.  Biggest thing is they are getting walked a lot, and when they do hit they are doing damage.  10 players have an OPS over .750.  

2ndly -  This is the best pitching staff top to bottom the FCL has had since I have been following them.  

To sum it up as a team they have the 4th best offensive OPS in the league and the 4th best ERA in the league.  When you have good pitching and hitting you will win a lot of games.  

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

Speaking of FCL  -  Melvin Rodriguez is having another very strong year.  My guess is he will likely win the short season pitcher of the year for the 2nd year in a row.  

Just to show how big of a jump it is to the minors though,  I had high expectations for Bohorquez from last year and he has struggled mightily in A ball.  

Rodriguez probably has the most upside out of any pitcher in the DSL or FCL in the last 5 years.  Huscar Ynoa and Moran are the most notable name of winners in the last 10 years, so we really haven't had much in pitching prospects from the international side in quite a while.  

[Cody Christie]

2 hours ago, rdehring said:

Keep seeing all the positive comments about Culpepper.  Have never seen him play.  Is his D good enough to be a good major league shortstop, Cody?

I think he projects to be slightly below average at shortstop but could probably be athletic enough to hold his own. I likely ends up at third base where his strong arm would play well. 

[Cody Christie]

2 hours ago, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

Brandon Winokur is putting together a pretty solid June.  He seems like a streaky hitter.  With his speed and power he just needs to continue working on his hit tool.  

Keep in mind that he is over two years younger than the average age of the competition in the Midwest League. He only has 13 plate appearances versus younger pitchers this season. 

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, rdehring said:

Your comment led me to look at his numbers.  37 steals while being thown out only once is amazing.  Does he have blazing speed?  Or just good at stealing a base?  Or are the catchers in that league really bad?  See he is a shortstop playing mostly second as Culpepper is at short.  Would love to see the Twins get a few guys with some speed in their lineup.

Keep seeing all the positive comments about Culpepper.  Have never seen him play.  Is his D good enough to be a good major league shortstop, Cody?

See that the FCL Twins have a 21-11 record.  Yet, when I look at the box score there were only two players in yesterday's double-header hitting over .210..something.  How are they winning all those games?

From Fangraphs yesterday:

Culpepper is among the most entertaining defenders in the minors. He’s bold and creative, and has remarkable body control. He’ll pirouette and fire with plus arm strength, and his emphatic and precise tagging influences 50/50 calls at the bases. Culpepper has blown through his pre-draft evaluation on defense (he was evaluated on the SS/3B fringe in college) and now looks like a future impact defender at short.

[Guest]

Walker Jenkins got hit by a pitch and didn't go on the IL.  What's going on?

[jorgenswest]

3 hours ago, Linus said:

I wonder what the single season record is for steals by a Twins minor league player?  DeBarge is really having a season in that regard. 

I saw Alex Marte play for the Visalia Oaks in the 80s. He stole 82 bases for them in 1984. That team stole a lot of bases.

I looked up Jarvis Brown. He was a pinch runner on the 1991 World Series team. Prior to that he had a season where he stole 72 bases in Kenosha,

I also recall and looked up Herman Hill. He was a pinch runner/defensive substitution on the 1969/1970 Twins. In 1967 he stole 58 bases for Orlando and another 6 in a Florida Instructional League.

The last player I looked up is Pat Kelly. He stole 250 bases in his major league career but had a few cups of coffee with the Twins before the Royals took him in the expansion draft. In 1966 he stole 52 bases for AA Charlotte and another 15 up in the instructional league.

This is not an exhaustive list. In looking up Visalia for Alex Marte I saw Jim Weaver stole 60 bases on the 1982 team. The Twins lost Weaver to the Tigers in the rule 5 draft. He had a handful of at bats in the majors.

Going by my recall it is 82 bases from Alex Marte. For some reason my recall is better for teams 40-50 years ago than the last 25 in the minors. Someone might come up with someone more recent that surpassed 82.

[Linus]

25 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

I saw Alex Marte play for the Visalia Oaks in the 80s. He stole 82 bases for them in 1984. That team stole a lot of bases.

I looked up Jarvis Brown. He was a pinch runner on the 1991 World Series team. Prior to that he had a season where he stole 72 bases in Kenosha,

I also recall and looked up Herman Hill. He was a pinch runner/defensive substitution on the 1969/1970 Twins. In 1967 he stole 58 bases for Orlando and another 6 in a Florida Instructional League.

The last player I looked up is Pat Kelly. He stole 250 bases in his major league career but had a few cups of coffee with the Twins before the Royals took him in the expansion draft. In 1966 he stole 52 bases for AA Charlotte and another 15 up in the instructional league.

This is not an exhaustive list. In looking up Visalia for Alex Marte I saw Jim Weaver stole 60 bases on the 1982 team. The Twins lost Weaver to the Tigers in the rule 5 draft. He had a handful of at bats in the majors.

Going by my recall it is 82 bases from Alex Marte. For some reason my recall is better for teams 40-50 years ago than the last 25 in the minors. Someone might come up with someone more recent that surpassed 82.

Thanks for that. I was wondering about Knoblauch in the minors as I believe he stole 55 as a rookie in the bigs?  It would also be an interesting thought exercise to try and translate stolen base numbers in the minors compared to the bigs n

[jorgenswest]

16 minutes ago, Linus said:

Thanks for that. I was wondering about Knoblauch in the minors as I believe he stole 55 as a rookie in the bigs?  It would also be an interesting thought exercise to try and translate stolen base numbers in the minors compared to the bigs n

Good call on Knoblauch. He only had one full season on the minors and stole 23 that year. In looking him up I found JT Bruett who stole 62 bases on his Kenosha team and ran into Jarvis Brown again on his Visalia and Orlando teams.

As for translating it will be difficult because if you don’t hit in the majors you don’t get the chance to steal bases. Pat Kelly hit well enough. His major league stolen base rate is lower than his minor league rate but he played to age 36. I think all those players would have stolena lot of bases in the majors if they could have hit the ball.

[Linus]

8 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Good call on Knoblauch. He only had one full season on the minors and stole 23 that year. In looking him up I found JT Bruett who stole 62 bases on his Kenosha team and ran into Jarvis Brown again on his Visalia and Orlando teams.

As for translating it will be difficult because if you don’t hit in the majors you don’t get the chance to steal bases. Pat Kelly hit well enough. His major league stolen base rate is lower than his minor league rate but he played to age 36. I think all those players would have stolena lot of bases in the majors if they could have hit the ball.

So true. 

[tony&rodney]

K. Culpepper is getting better and better at shortstop. He is athletic and clearly works at his craft. I'm hoping he can play for Wichita from July onward.

Winokur is a freak athlete and it is going to be several years before it is apparent what he can or cannot do. Right now he swings and misses quite a bit but he is well above average anywhere he has played with the glove. The Twins are putting him at CF because they are developing Culpeper at SS. Winokur can play both at a high level. He also has awesome power and is fast. Home runs and stolen bases are his thing. A very slow start has vanished and Winokur is doing well. I believe he may need a year at each level.

Andrew Morris was really good last night. The walks were unfortunate but broken bats bloop hits hit him too. Only one ball was squared up. Morris continues to work on all his pitches. He made Matt Vierling, on a rehab assignment fro Detroit, look pretty confused in several at bats. At times Morris looks better than Matthews did last season. Morris does need to be more consistent and efficient with his pitches and continue to refine his pitch sequencing.