Twins Minor League Report (7/1): Saints and Wind Surge Pitching Staffs Shove

[Steve Lein]

TRANSACTIONS

• In Triple-A the St. Paul Saints activated RHP Erasmo Ramirez from the 60-day injured list, and transferred C Diego Cartaya to the Development List.
• The Wichita Wind Surge released OF Tyler Dearden.
• With the Cedar Rapids Kernels, RHP Xander Hamilton was sent on a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 4, Gwinnett 2
Box Score
40-man roster resident and St. Paul Saints piggy-backing pitcher Travis Adams made his fifth start of the season in 19 appearances on Tuesday, and went the first 2 2/3 innings. He picked up two quick outs to start the third, but then consecutive singles and a walk loaded the bases and prompted a move to the bullpen. Michael Tonkin proceeded to walk the next two hitters to put two runs on Adams ledger before escaping that jam with a strikeout. Adams was charged with those two earned runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out two.

Fortunately for Adams’ win-loss record, the Saints got started early. Edouard Julien led off the game with a triple, and scored one pitch later on a sac fly from Austin Martin. Payton Eeles followed with a single, as did Jose Miranda two batters later, but Miranda wandered too far around first as the relay throw came in, and got caught between first and second for the final out of the inning.

In the second, the first three batters for the Saints reached on a hit by pitch, walk, and single to load the bases, before a sac fly from Will Holland and RBI single from Julien put them up 3-0.

Tonkin added a one-two-three fourth inning, including two strikeouts to finish his appearance with 1 1/3 scoreless, walking two and striking out three in total. The just-activated Erasmus Ramirez then came out of the bullpen to begin the fifth inning, and was solid in two frames, working around singles in each of them. He struck out three. Cody Laweryson added two scoreless innings of setup work, striking out two.

The Saints added an insurance run in the top of the seventh after Holland led off the inning with a walk. He then stole second base, moved to third on a Martin single, and was brought home on an Eeles sac fly to make it 4-2.

Anthony Misiewicz came out of the bullpen for the save opportunity in the ninth, and set the Stripers down in order for his seventh save of the season. He struck out one.

Julien was the only hitter with multiple knocks for the Saints, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored, triple, and an RBI. As a team they took advantage of their limited opportunities, as they left just six men on base and were 3-for-5 with runners in scoring position. The bullpen combined for 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and striking out nine.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 7, Tulsa 1
Box Score
The Wind Surge got another strong pitching performance from big right-hander and #OneOfUs, John Klein, as he mowed through the Drillers for the first five innings in this one.

Klein was charged with just one earned run on four hits and a walk, while striking out four in his five frames. He needed just 67 pitches, with 45 of them going for strikes (67%). His fastball was living in the 95+ MPH range, and the Drillers never were able to string much of anything together.

The Wind Surge offense gave him plenty of run support early, as a four-run second inning would be more than enough for Klein and the pitching staff in the game. Kyler Fedko got it started with a leadoff single and Ricardo Olivar followed with the same. Two batters later they executed a double-steal to tie the game at one. An RBI single from Kaelen Culpepper put them in front, and after a walk to Gabriel Gonzalez the bases were loaded for Walker Jenkins. He sent a weak grounder toward first base that should have ended the inning, but it was booted, allowing Jenkins to win the foot race to first. With a full count and two outs, the runners were also moving, so it ended up scoring two more runs to give the Wind Surge the 4-1 lead.

After that, Cole Percival and Michael Martinez finished the job Klein started with four scoreless, and hitless innings, to end the game. They both struck out three in two innings pitched, with the lone baserunner allowed being a harmless walk from Martinez in the eighth.

The Wind Surge added a single run in the fourth thanks to a Jorel Ortega solo homer, and two more in the seventh on a two-run single from Olivar to make the final.

Culpepper (2-for-4, R, RBI, BB, K, SB) and Olivar (2-for-4, 2 RBI, SB) each had two hits. Kyler Fedko scored two runs by finishing 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and two stolen bases. Jenkins finished 1-for-4 with a run scored, a walk, and two stolen bases.

#OldFriend Noah Miller finished 1-for-3 with a walk for the Drillers and scored their lone run.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 8, Quad Cities 10
Box Score
A six-run inning was not enough for the Kernels to overcome rival Quad Cities on Tuesday, as the River Bandits also scored runs in bunches to come out on top.

Chase Chaney made the start for Cedar Rapids and was responsible for the first of those bunches, as the River Bandits sent three across the plate to take a 3-1 lead. Chaney finished three innings and was charged with three runs on six hits and two walks, striking out one.

Cedar Rapids did open the scoring in this one thanks to Kyle Hess in the top of the second, as he led off with his third home run of the season for the 1-0 lead.

In the top of the fourth the Kernels appeared to break the game open by batting around, but I have to poke a bit of fun at Hess here as well, as he started and ended this inning with a strikeout after hitting that home run shown above two innings prior. Poncho Ruiz clubbed an RBI double for the innings first run before Caden Kendle launched a two-run homer to put Cedar Rapids up 4-3. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, Misael Urbina delivered a bases clearing double that made it 7-3.

Unfortunately Gabriel Yanez gave it right back in the bottom half. Two singles, two doubles, and a triple tied the game back up at seven and it was all for naught.

Eston Stull came out of the bullpen to start the fifth and despite also allowing three more runs in that inning, was able to add two more frames to get the Kernels through the seventh. He allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits in his three innings, striking out two. Wilker Reyes pitched a scoreless eighth, walking one and striking out two.

It took some pain on the part of hitters in the top of the sixth to score the Kernels final run, as a walk to Brandon Winokur was followed by three consecutive hit batters to push their final run of the game across.

The bottom of the Kernels lineup led the way with Ruiz (2-for-4, R, 2 2B, RBI, BB, K) and Kendle (2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, K, SB) notching two hits in the loss. Winokur finished 1-for-4 with a walk and scored two runs. In addition to Hess getting a tag of infamy for bookending an inning with strikeouts, Billy Amick wore the golden sombrero for striking out four times in his five at-bats, though he did score a run after his single in the fourth.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 3, Bradenton 4
Box Score
The Mighty Mussels kicked off their series this week against the Marauders with righty Michael Ross on the mound. He worked around some traffic through the first two innings, before they got to him in the third. A two-run homer put the Marauders in the lead, and they added a solo homer the fifth before Ross’s day was done. He finished five innings, and was charged with three earned runs on five hits and a pair of walks, while striking out four.

Fort Myers chipped away with single runs in each of the fourth and sixth innings to close within one. Peyton Carr delivered an RBI double for their first run of the game in the fourth. In the sixth Caleb McNeely drew a leadoff walk, stole second base, moved to third on a fly out, and scored on a sac fly from Daniel Pena.

Matt Gabbert came out from the bullpen to start the sixth inning and would go the rest of the way. A leadoff double in the eighth led to an important insurance run for the home team, but that was his only run allowed. In three innings he allowed three hits and struck out three.

Down 4-2 in the top of the ninth, the Mighty Mussels had some life thanks to a one-out hit by pitch to put a runner on. Pinch runner Angel Del Rosario then stole second and third base before scoring on a two-out single from Blaze O’Saben. A pitching change followed, before a walk to Yohander Martinez put the tying run in scoring position for leadoff man Byron Chourio.

Unfortunately, he went down swinging to end the game.

The Fort Myers offense was only able to collect four hits on the game, but did have plenty of opportunities thanks to their running game, swiping six bags. But they finished just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
Monday: FCL Pirates 2, FCL Twins 9
Box Score
The Twins scored early and pulled away late to defeat the Pirates on Monday.

Starting pitcher Joel Garcia picked up his first win of the season by going the first five innings for the home team. He allowed just one hit and struck out five in a fantastic effort.

The bullpen duo of Andrew Huffman (1 2/3 IP, H, R, 3 BB, 2 K) and Aiberson Ventura (2 1/3 IP, 2 H, ER, K) pitched the final four innings to close out the victory.

The offense was led by Eduardo Beltre (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, K, SB) and Ramiro Dominguez (2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI) who each collected a pair of hits. Daiber De Los Santos and Yilber Herrera also added home runs, while Yandro Hernandez chipped in a double and a pair of RBI.

Tuesday: FCL Twins 7, FCL Pirates 9
Box Score
The Pirates got some revenge on Tuesday, using a big first inning to hold off a Twins comeback.

Starter Yoel Roque was only able to record one out, a strikeout of the first hitter of the game. The next five reached base, with four coming on walks, before he was lifted. He was charged with five earned runs as the first batter the bullpen faced, sent a ball out of the park for a grand slam.

Relievers Julio Bonilla (1 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER), Anthony Narvaez (1 1/3 IP, H, 3 K), Xander Hamilton (4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 8 K), and Anderson Ramos (1 IP, K) did their best to give the Twins bats a chance.

They closed within two in the ninth, but that was as close as they could get. Ricardo Paez (2-for-3, 3 R, BB, K) and Yandro Hernandez (2-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI, BB) did the heavy lifting with two hits apiece. The rehabbing Emmanuel Rodriguez finished 1-for-3 with a strikeout from the leadoff spot.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
Monday: DSL Twins 2, DSL Tigers 6
Box Score
Right-hander Omar Montano took the mound for the Twins on Monday, and was ambushed by the Tigers. He was charged with five runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks in his 1 1/3 innings pitched. On the positive side, all four of his outs came on strikeouts.

Jensi Infante (1 2/3 IP, H, BB, 2 K), Agustin Campusano (4 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 3 K), and Greidi Pina (1 IP, BB) took on the rest of the work out of the bullpen.

The Twins scored their two runs on a Pablo Castillo RBI single in the seventh, and a Aaron Salazar RBI single in the ninth. Jhomnardo Reyes finished 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Castillo was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and the RBI. 

Tuesday: DSL Tigers 12, DSL Twins 15
Box Score
The Twins came out on top in a slugfest to exact vengeance on the Tigers at home on Tuesday morning.

Teilon Serrano was 4-for-5 with four runs scored, two doubles, and a triple to finish a home run shy of the cycle. He drove in one. Santiago Leon drove in two and scored two runs with three singles and a walk in five plate appearances. Haritzon Castillo added a double and drove in three. Darwin Almanzar scored three runs, clubbed a homer, and drove in three. As a team the Twins stole six bases and were 9-for-21 with runners in scoring position.

On the pitching front starter Jeicol Surumay went the first four innings. He was charged with four runs (two earned) on six hits, and struck out two. Juan Quinones gave up four earned runs in the fifth. Diego Rosal (2 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K) and Rey Pacheco (1 2/3 IP, 2 H, R) pitched the final four innings as the Twins pulled ahead for good with a five run eighth inning.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – John Klein, Wichita Wind Surge (W, 5 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 4 K)
Hitter of the Day – Caden Kendle, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI)

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, BB, 2 SB (7)
#2 – Luke Keaschall (Minnesota):
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Rehab w/FCL Twins): 1-for-3, K
#4 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 2-for-4, R, RBI, BB, K, SB (2)
#9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, 2 R, BB, K
#10 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, 2 K
#12 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, R, 4 K
#13 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita): 1-for-4, BB
#15 – Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins): 3-for-9, 3 R, HR (3), 2 RBI, 3 K, SB (13)
#18 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 2-for-4, 2 RBI, SB (5)
#19 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, R, BB, K
#20 – Payton Eeles (St. Paul): 1-for-3, RBI, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Gwinnett (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Jose Urena (0-1, 2.89 ERA)
Wichita @ Tulsa (7:00 PM CDT) - RHP Mike Paredes (8-0, 2.15 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30 PM CDT) - RHP Tanner Hall (3-3, 5.12 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 PM CDT) - LHP Michael Carpenter (0-3, 4.37 ERA)

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

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[Doctor Wu]

Julian continues his recent hot pace in AAA. Will he be rewarded with another trip across the river, or is our lineup already too potent without him?

[Doctor Wu]

I noticed that Diego Cartaya was put on the Development List again, which I think is the second time in the past month. What's up with that? In any case, it's looking like he won't be a contender for a backup catching position. 

[FlyingFinn]

Klein is having a year. He seems to be our breakout pitcher.

Miranda still making gaffes on the bases. Oof.

[Major League Ready]

51 minutes ago, Doctor Wu said:

I noticed that Diego Cartaya was put on the Development List again, which I think is the second time in the past month. What's up with that? In any case, it's looking like he won't be a contender for a backup catching position. 

Cardenas has taken Cartaya's spot which makes sense.  Cardenas is the only catcher in the system that might be able to help next year.

[DJL44]

58 minutes ago, Doctor Wu said:

Julian continues his recent hot pace in AAA. Will he be rewarded with another trip across the river, or is our lineup already too potent without him?

Which player would you bench to put Julien in the lineup? He's still bad on defense.

[Doctor Wu]

3 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Which player would you bench to put Julien in the lineup? He's still bad on defense.

That's true, but at least he could fill in as DH and hopefully provide more consistent at bats. This team needs to find a way to put more men on base ... more Twins on base, that is. 

[DJL44]

6 minutes ago, Doctor Wu said:

That's true, but at least he could fill in as DH and hopefully provide more consistent at bats. This team needs to find a way to put more men on base ... more Twins on base, that is. 

So bench Wallner or Larnach to play Julien? I don't agree.

[Doctor Wu]

2 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

So bench Wallner or Larnach to play Julien? I don't agree.

It's not an easy call. Wallner and Larnach certainly have a lot more power, but if Julien can hit like he's capable of doing (and like he has been doing the past few weeks, albeit in AAA), he could be a useful piece in the lineup again. But as you said before, he hasn't show the ability to stick at one position yet, so where does he ultimately play?

[HrbieFan]

17 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

So bench Wallner or Larnach to play Julien? I don't agree.

Wallner can have a seat or back to St Paul and figure out his swing. I don't enjoy the HR or bust approach and it isn't working 

[HrbieFan]

Is there a reason that John Klein is being limited on innings? 67 pitches and is pulled after 5, instructions from the big club 

[DJL44]

11 minutes ago, HrbieFan said:

I don't enjoy the HR or bust approach and it isn't working 

I have a feeling you would not be a fan of Julien's "wait for the pitcher to make a mistake" approach.

[Old Twins Hat]

Little blurry this morning.... thought the Twins team had played the Strippers last night.

Guess not.

Could be a minor league attraction with legs, though.

[TwinsDr2021]

47 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

So bench Wallner or Larnach to play Julien? I don't agree.

I tend to agree with you, but Wallner's struggles have now been a month, Larnach didn't have a bad month of June but it also didn't scream must play everyday. 

I am not sure what should be done but something has to change with Wallner, his only real success was hitting a few homers in blow out games. 

I guess if I was sitting in the front office I would looking to jump the trade market and try to move Larnach. Let Wallner try to figure it out and bring up somebody (really anybody not named Miranda) and give them a shot to see if they are an option for 26. At some point having a 40 man of unknowns has to change. 

[tony&rodney]

56 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Which player would you bench to put Julien in the lineup? He's still bad on defense.

This is a legitimate statement in my opinion.

The Twins, however, do not seem to have qualms about playing guys who cannot field at all or others who are below average. The philosophy is hit, hit, hit ..... and they are struggling with that process. My question is whether the Twins see any reason whatsoever to ever play Julien again. If not, just release him. If they think he has some value, bring him up and play him. Julien is bad in the field which means he fits in. I'm fine with releasing him because there are other bodies, but making decisions is a weak point of this front office.

To directly answer your question, if Julien were called up I would use him against RH pitchers and have him DH as well as play first and second base.

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Which player would you bench to put Julien in the lineup? He's still bad on defense.

I would like to see them trade France if they continue to struggle offensively.  Julien has offensive upside compared to France.  Let's find out this year if Julien or perhaps Sabato can provide a solution for next year instead of finding out next year that we still don't have a solution.   

[DJL44]

30 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

To directly answer your question, if Julien were called up I would use him against RH pitchers and have him DH as well as play first and second base.

Kody Clemens is a better choice for that role. He's already on the roster.

[tony&rodney]

2 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Kody Clemens is a better choice for that role. He's already on the roster.

This is clearly correct from the Twins perspective since it is the reality. Clemons didn't play last night versus a RH pitcher. One has to wonder what his role will be.

I'm wondering why keep Julien at all if he has zero role in the organization. Let some other team take a chance on him. It clearly would not hurt the Twins in any fashion to release Julien.

[DJL44]

Just now, tony&rodney said:

This is clearly correct from the Twins perspective since it is the reality. Clemons didn't play last night versus a RH pitcher. One has to wonder what his role will be.

I'm wondering why keep Julien at all if he has zero role in the organization. Let some other team take a chance on him. It clearly would not hurt the Twins in any fashion to release Julien.

Julien is AAA depth, like Mickey Gasper. He's there in case someone else gets hurt.

[tony&rodney]

Just now, DJL44 said:

Julien is AAA depth, like Mickey Gasper. He's there in case someone else gets hurt.

Except we know from past practice that he isn't .... at all. Bride was kept almost exclusively to pitch, which is weird. Lewis was brought up once when he was clearly not healed and it is a question whether he is ok now. The Twins will definitely call up Gasper and even Miranda before Julien. 

[mikelink45]

Quote

Tonkin added a one-two-three fourth inning, including two strikeouts to finish his appearance with 1 1/3 scoreless, walking two and striking out three in total.

Sounds good until you factor in the two runners he inherited and let score.  A RP is supposed to stop the bleeding, but getting them off the bases by letting them score is not good.  I am always more interested in a RP's inherited runner statistics than ERA.  He does not seem MLB ready.  

An Miranda getting caught off base is the kind of mental mistake that doomed him in Minneapolis. 

[Steve Lein]

28 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Sounds good until you factor in the two runners he inherited and let score.  A RP is supposed to stop the bleeding, but getting them off the bases by letting them score is not good.  I am always more interested in a RP's inherited runner statistics than ERA.  He does not seem MLB ready.  

Yeah, that's just the nature of reading and relaying the box score. I did mention how the runners Tonkin inherited scored. All-in-all, though, still great work from Tonkin and the bullpen beyond that.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

I would like to see them trade France if they continue to struggle offensively.

I suspect you will see your wish granted.

[jmlease1]

Beltre has really been struggling this season, so nice to see him have a good day. You just never know with the kids in rookie ball. 

Julien is doing great. Who knows how he'd do in a return to MLB, but I'm sure after he takes his first K people will demand for him to be cut. With Lewis back and Lee having been playing well all June, Julien probably won't get another chance until someone else gets hurt in the infield. It's too bad for Julien, but this is why you can't stink out the gate in MLB: someone will come and take your job.

Klein is doing a nice job this season and it's fair to say it's been a breakout. He's increased the K's while dropping the free passes, and that's almost always going to be a recipe for improvement. Since this is his first taste of AA, I'm not going to get too spun up if he rolls there for the rest of the season; if he keeps pitching like this he'll be well-positioned to go to AAA in 2026 and see what he can make happen for himself.

Wichita looks like the team to watch right now for the Twins minor league system: bunch of fun hitting and pitching prospects to track. Jenkins continuing to swipe bags suggests the ankle isn't bothering him, and the fact that he's allowed to do it suggests the club isn't worried about him reinjuring it. Hoping for a nice long stretch of health for him, but he's looking good otherwise. I was momentarily excited about Fedko's steals, and then I looked at Rosario (not exactly a speedster, IMHO) and saw he was at a pretty similar rate, so I'm back on the "maybe don't take minor league steals too seriously" train.

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

I would like to see them trade France if they continue to struggle offensively.  Julien has offensive upside compared to France.  Let's find out this year if Julien or perhaps Sabato can provide a solution for next year instead of finding out next year that we still don't have a solution.   

Agreed. France had been bad since the hot start. Move on. 

[Major League Ready]

11 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Agreed. France had been bad since the hot start. Move on. 

He has a wRC+ of 100 for the last 6 weeks.  He is neither hurting or helping.  I could see holding on to France if this team looked like a playoff team which they do not.  We should take note of what Detroit did last year.  They invested in the future.  (Keaschall / Julien / Sabato / Rodriquez / Martin / Cardenas) All of these guys could be auditioned this year.

[LambchoP]

Julien hitting like he wants a call up. I'm wondering, has he been playing any first base in St Paul? If France is traded at the deadline, that might be Julien's chance. Otherwise, it sure looks like Wallner could use a trip to AAA to get his swing right. Maybe they could give Mccusker a real chance this time.

[Mike Sixel]

37 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

He has a wRC+ of 100 for the last 6 weeks.  He is neither hurting or helping.  I could see holding on to France if this team looked like a playoff team which they do not.  We should take note of what Detroit did last year.  They invested in the future.  (Keaschall / Julien / Sabato / Rodriquez / Martin / Cardenas) All of these guys could be auditioned this year.

Huh. That's what I get for only paying attention when he's bad. Thanks. But as you say, this team isn't going anywhere, so he should for the future. 

[DJL44]

47 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

Julien hitting like he wants a call up. I'm wondering, has he been playing any first base in St Paul? 

Rarely - a total of 6 games. 

[rdehring]

Usually look at each box score before reading your article, Steve.  As mentioned above, thought Tonkin had a good outing until I read your article.  Letting two guys score coming in with the bags full is one thing, but walking two is something else.  OK, he may have pitched well after that, but he gets a big booo from me for those two walks.

Great seeing Julien hitting better of late.  Have only watched one early Saints game so I haven't seen him hit.  Has he learned to do something, heck anything, with two strikes and the pitch close to the strike zone?  If he has, he may have some value.  If not, I doubt it.  As for his future, agree with those that he doesn't really fit going forward.  Hopefully, he will continue hitting well and the Twins can get something for him in either July or the offseason.

What has caught my eye is what Martin has been doing since back playing.  Really hope that continues because he just may be the player best positioned to replace Castro, if he is traded this month or doesn't return over the winter, as he can play six positions similar to Willie.