Twins Minor League Report (7/8): Emmanuel Rodriguez Returns to CHS Field With Authority

[Steve Lein]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Emmanuel Rodriguez)

TRANSACTIONS
There was some relatively big news in the transaction lists of the Minnesota Twins system before this week's games kicked off.

• In Triple-A with the Saints, 2023 minor-league home run champion, 1B Yunior Severino, was released. C Jeferson Morales was also placed on the Development List, while in their places IF Mickey Gasper and CF Emmanuel Rodriguez were activated from the injured list.
• In the Midwest League, there was unfortunate news as C Khadim Diaw was transferred from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day, essentially ending his season due to a broken thumb. Diaw was having a nice breakout season, hitting .302/.455/.431 in 38 games for the Kernels.
• With the Mighty Mussels on Monday, RHP Josh Bortka was released as they activated RHP Julio Bonilla from the 60-day injured list.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Iowa 5, St. Paul 11
Box Score
The Cubs and Saints combined to rack up 24 hits in this one, but it was the power of the Saints that won out in the end.

The teams traded single runs back and forth in the first two-and-a-half innings, before the Saints broke through for more. Down 3-2 in the bottom of the third an error and single from the just returned Emmanuel Rodriguez, put two runners on base for Patrick Winkel, who clubbed his seventh home run of the year with the Saints to make it 5-3.

Darren McCaughan got the starting nod at CHS Field and battled through those first few innings to finish five in total. He was charged with three earned runs on six hits, including two homers, but worked around more damage by notching six punchouts.

Trent Baker was charged with a blown save after allowing the Cubs to tie the game at five in the sixth, but tacked on scoreless seventh and eighth innings to give the Saints offense the runway they needed.

Aaron Sabato put them in front for good with a three-run shot in the seventh, his fourth of the season, and Rodriguez did the same in the eighth to put them up by six. Rodreguez’s three-run blast was his fifth of the season in triple-A.

It was a booming return to CHS Field for Rodriguez, who hadn’t necessarily been performing up to his prospect status before missing three weeks to start the month of June with a hip injury. He finished this one 3-for-4 with four runs scored, a walk, and the exclamation point three-run blast. He also made a phenomenal grab in the left-center gap running full-steam up against the wall to rob extra-bases in the top of the third (that highlight is further below…).

Kody Funderburk closed out the game with a scoreless ninth to secure the win. 

In addition to Rodriguez’s outburst, Sabato (3-for-5, R, HR, 3 RBI, K) and Payton Eeles (4-for-5, 2 R) couldn’t be kept off the bases all night.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
San Antonio 2, Wichita 6
Box Score
The Wind Surge pitching staff got the backing of home runs from Rubel Cespedes and Kala’i Rosario to take game one of the series against the Missions in Wichita.

San Antonio struck first in the top of the second inning against starting pitcher Ricky Castro, thanks to an error with two outs. After the misplay, a double put the first run of the game across the plate. Castro finished three innings, and was charged with two runs (one earned) on four hits, striking out one.

In the bottom of the second the Wind Surge got that first run back after Rosario led off the frame with a walk, stole second base (his 18th on the season), and Ricardo Olivar delivered an RBI single.

In the bottom of the fourth Cespedes tied the game at two with a two-out RBI single, and it would stay that way until the seventh.

Jacob Wosinski was the first reliever summoned to start the fourth inning, and went the next two. He allowed two hits and a walk, but no runs. Pitching win scavenger Mike Paredes came on to start the sixth inning, and worked his magic again. He went the next three innings, during which the Wind Surge took the lead for good, allowing two hits, striking out one, and improving to 9-0 on the season in 22 appearances. Tanner Andrews closed out the ninth with a scoreless frame, walking one and striking out one.

Wichita got a solo home run from Cespedes in the bottom of the seventh, and Andrew Cossetti nearly went back-to-back, but was robbed just over the fence in left field, so it went to the eighth with the score 3-2 Wind Surge. Kaelen Culpepper led off the eighth with a single, Gabriel Gonzalez followed two batters later with one of his own, and after a wild pitch allowed Culpepper to score, Rosario sent his 10th home run of the season the opposite way to account for the final score.

The home team was an efficient 4-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and left only three men on base for the game. Culpepper (2-for-4, R), Gonzalez (2-for-4, 2 R), and Cespedes (2-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI) each collected multiple hits. In addition to his home run, Rosario scored two runs and drew a walk. Walker Jenkins finished 1-for-4 and batted second in the lineup behind Culpepper.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (Postponed, rain)
The Kernels series opening tilt with the Chiefs ran into bad weather on Tuesday, and was postponed. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Friday, July 11th, with game one starting at 4:30 PM.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 7, Clearwater 1
Box Score
Coming off of five hitless innings in his last appearance to earn the Florida State League pitcher of the week award, right-hander Adrian Bohorquez got the starting nod on Tuesday against the Threshers.

He picked up right where he left off, retiring the first eight hitters in this one before issuing a walk in the third inning. A leadoff single in the fourth was his only hit allowed in this one, and he finished five innings to pick up his second win of the year. He struck out three, and threw 42 of his 68 pitches for strikes (62%). He topped out just over 97 MPH in this one and induced seven swings and misses.

Fort Myers scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning giving Bohorquez a shot of confidence before even stepping on the mound. Yasser Mercedes drew a one-out walk, stole second base for his 22nd steal of the season (he added his 23rd later in the game), and scored on a Bryan Acuna RBI single.

They added two in the fifth and four in the sixth to put this one well out of reach. Mercedes delivered an RBI double and Caleb McNeely a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0 after five. In the sixth Jefferson Valladares delivered the biggest knock of the game, a three-run homer that made it 6-0. A throwing error on a pickoff attempt and wild pitch led to the final run of the inning after Dameury Pena followed that blast with a single.

Relievers Zander Sechrist (2 IP, H, BB, 3 K) and Ivran Romero (2 IP, ER, 2 BB, K) closed out the rest of the game with little resistance.

The Mighty Mussels got multiple hits from Pena (2-for-4, 2 R, BB, SB), Peyton Carr (2-for-5, K), and Blaze O’Saben (2-for-5, R, 2B). Acuna drew three walks in five plate appearances and drove in one.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
Monday: FCL Twins 2, FCL Orioles 6
Box Score
The Orioles used a four-run second inning to put this one out of reach, as the Twins managed just five hits as a team, were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and left seve men on base.

Joel Garcia pushed through that early onslaught, finishing four innings but was charged with five runs (two earned) on seven hits and a walk. He struck out four. Andrew Huffman pitched the final two innings, being charged with another unearned run on one hit and a pair of walks, while also striking out four.

Edouardo Beltre was responsible for two of the Twins five hits, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored out of the leadoff spot. Luis Fragoza added a double, while Daiber De Los Santos stole his 12th base.

Tuesday: FCL Twins 8, FCL Rays 7 (Suspended, to be completed 7/10)
Box Score
Eduardo Beltre clubbed a three-run homer, his fourth of the season, in the seventh inning to put the Twins up 7-2 at the time. The offense had put up three other runs in the third thanks to a rough inning on defense for the Rays, that included three errors and a wild pitch.

The Twins have used seven pitchers in the game to this point, with Teague Conrad doing the most lifting in the middle frames with 2 1/3 innings. But he also was on the mound to start the seventh where the Rays stormed back with five runs to tie it at seven.

Another error by the Rays in the eighth allowed a Victor Leal RBI single to put them back in front by one before the suspension.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
Monday: DSL Twins 4, DSL NYY Yankees 21
Box Score
Twins pitchers issued 14 walks to go along with 14 Yankees hits, leading to the class-A vs class-C softball score in the DSL on Monday.

Teilon Serrano finished 2-for-4 out of the leadoff spot. Jamesson Val added a double, Jose Barrios a triple, and Darwin Almanzar a home run to at least give the team a cumulative cycle to hang any hat on. 

Six Twins pitchers made an appearance, with Gerardo Cardona’s 1 2/3 scoreless innings to end the game the only one to come out unscathed in the box score.

Tuesday: DSL Rockies 3, DSL Twins 4
Box Score
Down 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Twins got the first two batters of the inning on base with singles, before a pair of groundouts sucked out some of the energy. However, the next batter was hit by a pitch to load the bases, before Pablo Castillo came through with a single to right field to walk off the Rockies.

The Twins got multiple hits out of Santiago Leon (2-for-4, R, K), Haritzon Castillo (2-for-4, 2 R, K), Yovanny Duran (3-for-4, R, RBI, 2 SB) and Pablo Castillo (3-for-4, RBI), and Darwin Almanzar added a double secure the win.

Jeicol Surumay made the start and went the first three innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out three. The bullpen trio of Nestor Cafe (1 IP, BB, K), Diego Rosal (2 1/3 IP, 2 H, R, 2 BB, 3 K), and Rey Pacheco (2 2/3 IP, K) finished out the game for the Twins.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Adrian Bohorquez, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (W, 5 IP, H, BB, 3 K)
Hitter of the Day – Emmanuel Rodriguez, St. Paul Saints (3-for-4, 4 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB)

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, K
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 3-for-4, 4 R, HR (5), 3 RBI, BB
#4 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 2-for-4, R
#13 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita): 2-for-4, 2 R
#15 – Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins): 3-for-8, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 K (2 games)
#18 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 1-for-3, RBI, BB, K
#20 – Payton Eeles (St. Paul): 4-for-5, 2 R

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Iowa @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP Jose Urena (0-1, 2.31 ERA)
San Antonio @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - LHP Connor Prielipp (0-3, 3.38 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Tanner Hall (3-3, 4.79 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 PM CDT) - LHP Michael Carpenter (0-4, 4.81 ERA)

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

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[LambchoP]

Really great news that both Jenkins and Rodriguez are both healthy and productive. Let's keep it that way. 2 guys to be excited about, at least this year, are Culpeper and Gonzalez. Both are tearing it up in AAA and could move to St Paul by the end of the year. Eeles is another one to watch. While he may not hit for much power, he seems to have good hitting skills and can swipe bases. Could be a good table setter at the top of our lineup. Maybe we give him a shot at the utility position if Castro is traded? Maybe try out Sabato at first if we can unload France?

[AceWrigley]

Severino from HR king to see-you-later, wow.

[Linus]

I hope EmRod can stay healthy and take the next step. The Twins could really use an infusion of speed and defense in the outfield. 

[Five minute major]

Eeles, Sabata and EmRod.   Fun to see!

[Steve Lein]

1 hour ago, LambchoP said:

Really great news that both Jenkins and Rodriguez are both healthy and productive. Let's keep it that way. 2 guys to be excited about, at least this year, are Culpeper and Gonzalez. Both are tearing it up in AAA and could move to St Paul by the end of the year. Eeles is another one to watch. While he may not hit for much power, he seems to have good hitting skills and can swipe bases. Could be a good table setter at the top of our lineup. Maybe we give him a shot at the utility position if Castro is traded? Maybe try out Sabato at first if we can unload France?

Jenkins really starting to come around. Still needs to add some more power to his game, but he'll get his man muscles eventually!

Culpepper and Gonzalez have been really exciting. 

I am a huge Eeles fan. I will tell anybody who doubts him to stop doing that 😅 He is a sparkplug, lightning in a bottle table setter, and the idea that he needs to hit for "power," or specifically home runs, is drastically overstated. He's a havoc creator. Utility role like Willi Castro is exactly where he fits. People will fall in love with his effort and enthusiasm immediately.

Sabato is also a completely different guy so far this year. I've seen his batted ball slider graph from someone recently, and it's a whole lot of red, including 100% average exit velocity.

Edited July 9, 2025 by Steve Lein

[Major League Ready]

Great to see Rodriguez back.  I sure hope this guy can improve his contract rate.  An outfield of Buck, Rodriquez and Jenkins by this time next year would be great.  Martin is hitting 377 with a .487 OBP.  That would be a great 4th OFer and back-up 2B.

[jmlease1]

I was intrigued by Severino, but his lack of a defensive position (he apparently was bad everywhere they tried him) and increasingly poor performances at the plate in AAA doomed him. Poor contact rates, and increasingly looked like a guess hitter I think. That last step is a really big one.

I'm impressed with how well Sabato continues to do in AAA. He hasn't missed a beat since moving up and has kept his K-rate very manageable. It's taken him quite a while, but maybe he's figured it out? We always knew he had massive power potential, and he had quality patience even when he was struggling to hit, but he seems to have figured out his contact issues, which was clearly holding him back. Wonder how his defense at 1B is going?

Kaelen and GG are doing everything you could ask for at their age and point in development. I'll be very interested to see what the national guys think of GG when they do their prospect updates and see if any of them have substantially changed their thinking on him.

Bohorquez did exactly what you'd hope he'd do coming off a strong outing: repeating it! Happy to see him over 60% on his strike %. If he's starting to master things to the point where he can consistently throw strikes, then he's going to be very interesting. That's 3 good outings out of 4 now (I like that they're doing Game Score for minor league pitchers; it's nice shorthand for evaluating a starter's outing) and while they're clearly keeping him on a 60-75  pitch count/5 inning max right now that seems appropriate for a guy who can get wild and might have a 25 pitch inning. He's certainly got the stuff to be intriguing; I'd say Ft. Myers is a good place for him. He's still pretty inexperienced, but he's showing real improvement right now.

[stringer bell]

Nice game for Rodriguez as he returned from the Injured List. A lot of notable good hitting, including Eeles at St. Paul and Rosario, Gonzalez and Culpepper at Wichita.

I again want to inquire about Patrick Winkel. It has been my understanding that his bat is questionable, but he's a good receiver. He's a left handed hitter and he has an .844 OPS this year. He has seven homers in 95 plate appearances.

Aaron Sabato is another positive story. It seems that he was going to be confirmed as a first round bust, but has been among the most productive Twins' minor league hitters this year.

[tony&rodney]

What has impressed me about Sabato this year is how he never seems to get all juiced trying to pull the ball or crush home runs. His swing is (seemingly) quicker and to all fields. Having said that I have not looked at the data but have watched him at the plate a fair amount.