Twins Minor League Report (7/10): Marco Raya and Pierson Ohl Dominate in Saints Win vs I-Cubs

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photos of Marco Raya and Pierson Ohl)

What an interesting day in the Twins minor leagues. There was a tremendous pitching performance (or two) in St. Paul. Wichita fell behind early, but they nearly fought all the way back. The Kernels also fell behind early, and a big inning led them to a big win. Between those two teams, there were five three-hit games.  And it might be wise for Twins fans to start learning how to spell and pronounce the name Jhomnardo. 

TRANSACTIONS
The Twins put FCL Twins’ RHP Mitch Mueller on the 60-Day Injured List.
DSL Twins OF Carlos Taveras was also placed on the 60-Day IL. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 2, Iowa 1
Box Score
2-1 is not the kind of score you see often, especially at CHS Field. Based on the first couple of months of this season, it certainly isn’t what you would expect in a Marco Raya start. Raya has really turned things around in his season and is pitching with much more confidence.       

 

         

On this night, he earned his first Win of the season. He gave up just one run on three hits. In six innings, he had one walk and seven strikeouts. Because he was throwing so well, he reached 80 pitches. In his past six starts, he has given up seven earned runs over 30 2/3 innings (2.05 ERA). He’s given up 20 hits, walked 13 batters, and struck out 28 batters. Despite the high walk total, his WHIP is still a very solid 1.08. He has completed five innings in five of those six starts and this was his second straight game completing six innings. The only run he allowed came on an Owen Caissie homer. 

Equally impressive was the relief performance of Pierson Ohl. The 25-year-old, former 14th-round pick, recorded his first Saints save in about as difficult a situation to record a save. He tossed three scoreless innings in a one-run game. Following the game, Ohl told Twins Daily the key to his success, “Changing speeds and getting ahead. Going 0-1 makes all the difference in the world, especially at this level. These hitters are great, so giving myself any advantage is huge. Keeping the changeup in the bottom of the zone and mixing in my other stuff at the right time.”

The Grand Canyon grad was quick to credit his backstop. “It was my first time throwing to Mickey (Gasper) back there, and I could feel his confidence, and it’s contagious.”  

In his three weeks with the Saints, he has been working in the Travis Adams’ role. He’s made two starts and three relief appearances. He’s completed four innings twice and gone at least two innings in each outing.  

Ohl said, “The Twins could be onto something with this new role. Time will tell, but for now, it’s been great.” 

As for offense, there wasn’t much. Hats off to Chris Katchmar of the I-Cubs. He gave up a solo homer to Edouard Julien in the first inning. Julien went 2-for-3 in the game. It marked his eighth homer with the Saints this season. 

 

    

In the fifth inning, Jonah Bride led off with a double. He advanced to third on a deep fly ball by Jose Miranda. After Anthony Prato, Italian god of hit-by-pitches, was, well, hit by a pitch for the 15th time already this season. He was hit nine times a season ago with the Saints, and six more times in his 2023 half-season with the Saints. Anyway, Will Holland drove a ball to center field and Bride easily scored the go-ahead run. 

It was the third straight win in three attempts this week for the Saints. They’ll look to keep it going this weekend. Head out to CHS Field to see a couple of pretty solid teams.  

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 6, San Antonio 8
Box Score
The Wind Surge fell behind early. They kept trying to come back but came up just short. Before the game, manager Brian Dinkelman spoke about Culpepper, the Futures Game and more.  

Darren Bowen made the start for Wichita. He gave up four runs in the second inning, and then two more in the fourth inning, his final inning. He gave up six runs on seven hits and two walks. Joel Cesar came in and gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits over three solid innings. Jacob Wosinski gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning, and Tanner Andrews gave up three hits in a scoreless inning. 

The Surge got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning. Kala’i Rosario walked and went to second on a single by Kyler Fedko. On a double steal, Rosario stole third base and scored on a throwing error. It was Rosario’s 19th stolen base of the season. It was Fedko’s 22nd stolen base, and moments later he stole his 23rd base, taking third. 

Down 8-1 going to the bottom of the sixth inning, Gabriel Gonzalez led off with his second Surge homer. With one out, Fedko singled again and scored on a Ricardo Olivar double. With two outs, Olivar scored on a Nate Baez single which cut the deficit to 8-4.   

 

 

That’s where the score stood until the bottom of the ninth inning. With one out, Jose Salas launched his first Double-A homer. Kaelen Culpepper followed with his third homer with the Surge. But that’s as close as the team got. 

 

    

Culpepper led the offense. He went 3-for-5 with a homer. He is now hitting .368 since being promoted to Wichita. Fedko was 3-for-4 with two stolen bases. Baez went 2-for-4.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 9, Peoria 4  
Box Score
The Kernels fell behind early, but a huge fifth inning led to a big win in Peoria. 

Jose Olivares had a rough first inning. Three batters into the game, he gave up a single and two walks. The first run scored on a ground out. The second run scored on a balk, and the third run scored on another ground out. 

I believe that more important than the stats, it was great to see Olivares make some adjustments and get through five innings without giving up another run. He gave up just two hits and had three walks. He also struck out four batters. He allowed the Kernels offense to do what they really like to do, put big numbers on the scoreboard. 

That’s just what they did. Through four innings, the Kernels had just three singles and a hit batter. No runs. Then came the top of the fifth inning.

Caden Kendle tripled.
Maddux Houghton singled. Kendle scored.
Kyle DeBarge singled.
Billy Amick singled. Houghton scored.
Danny De Andrade singled. DeBarge scored.
Poncho Ruiz walked.
Brandon Winokur singled. Amick and De Andrade scored. 
Double play.
Jaime Ferrer tripled. Winokur scored.
Kendle flew out. 

That’s a quality six runs on seven hits and a walk. 

And more importantly, they didn’t stand pat. In the seventh, Kyle Hess walked and scored on a Ferrer double. Ferrer then scored on a single by Kendle. 

Brandon Winokur added one more insurance run in the top of the ninth inning with his 11th home run.   

 

  

The bullpen did their part too. Kade Bragg struck out four batters, and walked one, over two scoreless, hitless innings. Hunter Hoopes struck out two batters in his hitless inning. Nick Trabacchi got the bottom of the ninth and gave up one run on two hits to end the game.

Winokur was hit by a pitch and went 3-for-4 with his 11th homer. Amick was 3-for-5. Ferrer went 3-for-5 with his ninth double and second triple. DeBarge went 2-for-5. De Andrade went 2-for-5. Kendle was 2-for-5 with his second triple. The Kernels had 17 hits and two walks. 

 

    

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 4, Clearwater 7
Box Score
Eli Jones took the mound for the Mussels. The 2024 draft pick went five innings. He was charged with four runs (2 earned) on three hits. He walked one and had five strikeouts. Matt Gabbert came on and gave up two runs on four hits over his two innings. He had two strikeouts. Tyler Stasiowski gave up a run on a solo homer in the eighth innings. 

The Mussels had five hits and walked six times in the game. In the second inning, Byron Chourio scored on a Yohander Martinez double. The next time the Mussels scored came in the sixth inning. Martinez hit a fly ball to center, deep enough to drive in Caleb McNeely. Two batters later, Jose Rodriguez coaxed a walk to drive in Bryan Acuna. At that time, the Mussels were down just 4-3. 

In the top of the seventh, the Mussels tied the game at four when Acuna grounded out but drove in Yasser Mercedes. Unfortunately, that was it for Fort Myers scoring The Threshers scored two in the home half of the seventh inning. 

Then in the 8th inning, Dante Nori (son of Wolves lead assistant coach Micah Nori) hit his second home run of the season. Nori was the first-round pick of the Phillies, 27th overall, in 2024 out of high school in Michigan. The 20-year-old outfielder went 2-for-4 with his 14th doubles, second homer, three runs scored and two RBI. He also stole his 20th base of the season. He is hitting .261 with a .703 OPS. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 5, FCL Rays 2
Box Score
The FCL Twins started their day by completing a victory started two days earlier against the Rays. The Twins led 8-7 in the 8th inning when the game was suspended. They wound up winning that game 9-8. 

The Twins also grabbed the win in the regularly-scheduled game thanks to some strong pitching. Melvin Rodriguez is making a strong case for being the first back-to-back Twins Daily Short-Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He earned the award last season when he pitched in the DSL, and he’s made a strong transition to the States in 2025. On Thursday afternoon, he gave up two runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings. He walked two and had five strikeouts. He improved to 4-1 with a 3.13 ERA. Anderson Ramos followed with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and had one strikeout. He earned his fifth save of the season. 

The Twins got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning when Irvin Nunez hit his first home run of the season. 

The team then added three runs in the fifth frame. Merphy Hernandez led off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Isaac Pena. Yilber Herrera and Edouard Beltre walked and moved up a base on a wild pitch. Jayson Bass drove in both runners with his first triple of the season. 

The Twins got an insurance run in the sixth inning. Ricardo Paez walked, stole second. Went to third on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch. 

Jayson Bass led the offense. He went 2-for-3 with the triple and two RBI. He is now hitting .300 on the season with an .850 OPS. Hernandez hit his first triple as well, and he added two stolen bases. Nunez went 1-for-2 with a walk and the homer. 

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins 3, DSL Rangers 13  
Box Score
Watch Game 
The Twins squad in the Dominican has been playing better of late and even pitching better. Thursday was not a good example of that. The Rangers jumped ahead with a five-run first inning, and they had innings in which they scored three and four runs to take a commanding lead and win.

Eli Urena started and didn’t get through the first frame. He was charged with four runs (1 earned) on no hits and the one out he recorded came on a strikeout. The unfortunate thing was the four walks, and two wild pitches, and an error mixed in doesn’t help either. Jensi Infante came in and gave up only an unearned run over the next 2 2/3 innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and had a strikeout. Aside from allowing all three of his inherited runners to score, it was a good outing.  

Eliezer Lucena came in and tossed three innings. He was charged with four runs (3 earned) on seven hits and two walks, but he had three strikeouts. He was hurt by three wild pitches too. Juan Quinones was next. He gave up four runs on four hits and two walks in just 2/3 of an inning. Greidi Pina came in with two runners on and didn’t allow either to score. He went two scoreless innings and gave up one hit and two walks. Jamesson Val gave up one hit before recording the final out. 

17-year-old Jhomnardo Reyes led the offense. He had two triples over four at-bats in the game and now has five on the season. Another 17-year-old, Yovanny Duran, continued his impressive run. He drove in a run with his third double. In seven games played in July so far, he has at least one hit in all seven games (and an eight-game hitting streak). In July, he is 13-for-25 (.520) with two doubles. He has walked twice and struck out just once. Six of his 12 stolen bases have come in July. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids):  3-for-4, HBP, HR(11), 2 R, 3 RBI
Jaime Ferrer (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 2B(9), 3B(2), R, 2 RBI, K.
Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K.
Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 3-for-5, HR(3), R, RBI, K
Kyler Fedko (Wichita): 3-for-4, 2 SB(23).
Jhomnardo Reyes (DSL Twins): 2-for-4, 2-3B(5), R, RBI, 2 K.

Pitcher of the Day 
Marco Raya (St. Paul): Win, 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K, 80 pitches, 49 strikes (61.3%)
Pierson Ohl (St. Paul): Save, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 41 strikes, 28 strikes (68.3%)

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

#1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 0-for-4, BB, K (played CF) 
#4 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 3-for-5, HR(3), R, RBI, K (played 2B)
#9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, HBP, HR(11), 2 R, 3 RBI (played SS)
#10 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R (played 2B)
#11 - Marco Raya (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K, 80 pitches, 49 strikes (61.3%)
#12 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K (DHd)
#13 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 1-for-5, HR(2), R, RBI, 2 K. (played LF)
#15 - Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - 0-for-2, BB, R, K
#18 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B(10), R, RBI, 2 K. (caught)
#19 - Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K. (played 3B)
#20 - Payton Eeles (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, K (played SS)

FRIDAY PITCHING PROBABLES
Pittsburgh @ Minnesota (7:10 PM CT) - RHP Joe Ryan (8-4, 2.76 ERA) vs RHP Paul Skenes (4-7, 1.94 ERA)
Iowa @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CT) - RHP Randy Dobnak (1-5, 6.56 ERA)
San Antonio @ Wichita (7:05 PM CT) - LHP Christian MacLeod (0-1, 2.06 ERA)   
Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (DH @ 4:30 PM) - Cole Peschl (3-1, 3.47 ERA), Chase Chaney (5-2, 3.57 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 PM) - RHP Christian Becerra (1-1, 2.84 ERA)
FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (DH @ 10:00 AM) - TBD, TBD
DSL Twins @ DSL Phillies (10:00 AM) - TBD 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 45-48
St. Paul Saints: 41-47
Wichita Wind Surge: 46-38
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 47-35
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 34-48
FCL Twins: 30-15
DSL Twins: 9-19 

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

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[Doctor Wu]

Another great report, Seth! As you noted, Marco Raya seems to be pitching with a lot more confidence, and his recent results back that up. Do you think the Twins will continue to be patient with him, and let him finish the season in AAA, or might he be a late season callup?

[Doctor Gast]

Great job, Seth. I'm really happy with Raya & Ohl's performances. We really need someone who can come up to help support our rotation & BP in long relief. IMO, we have a great pitching core, but fragile. When Lopez went down, it threw our rotation into a tizzy. For us to get to the postseason, we need to have better depth & long relief to keep the rotation & BP fresh & healthy. Something the Twins continually fail at.

 

[Doctor Gast]

It makes me sad to see Twins players with potential mismanaged. It should be the goal of the Twins to develop their own players to their full potential at their best position. If someone in the organization comes up & overtakes another player, fine, trade him, at least we gain something & that player can find success somewhere else. Instead of being cast off. There's a long list of players who have shown promise at the MLB level but have been mismanaged.

We are plenty deep at 3B, but the last 2 years, Miranda was our top candidate at 1B. When healthy, Miranda has been hitting very well. But Baldelli has bypassed him every year. Stating he doesn't have experience there. 1B can be learned & quite often player w/ no experience has been thrown in there. Miranda, if given the experience, could grade out very well at 1B. But the Twins go out of their way not to give Miranda experience there! It's obvious that Miranda isn't happy, if not motivated, how can we expect him to do anything?

[AWOLNATION_11]

I feel like I'm reading the name Nate Baez often lately.  Any of our prospect evaluators out there have any updates?  Is he becoming someone to watch or maybe just on a bit of a heater? How about his catching ability, does he have a chance back there?  Sorry if I missed any potential article(s) that would have covered this.  

[Dman]

So happy to see Raya pitching well!!  This time he kept the walks  and hits down as well. An absolutely dominant performance.  More of this please!!!!

I'm getting the feeling Culpeper doesn't like Gonzalez having a higher OPS than he does at AA.  Both those guys with .900 OPS's just wrecking AA pitchers.  I thought Keaschal was amazing last year, but I think Culpepper might out do him this year. 

Winokur with a big night as well.  Homered at the end.  He still needs some work, but happy to see him with three hits and getting his groove back.

[tony&rodney]

Thank you for the great roundup of the minor league games. 

Kaelen Culpepper is hitting everything hard. I know he is only at AA but I wonder if he can be plugged in to the Twins lineup in a similar fashion to how the LA Angels promoted Neto and Moore. Hopefully, Culpepper does get some time with St. Paul in August.

Brandon Winokur is a special athlete. There is no doubt he needs plenty of work on his swing and pitch recognition. He may take next year at AA and then another full year at AAA after that before he is ready for the majors. Still, he is really fun to watch. Thank you for including the highlight of the double play. People who wonder about his speed and athleticism can see it on display there. Winokur comes from deep in the hole, deftly grabs the ball, gets his footwork in sync, and fires a BB to first base. There are questions about his hitting but Winokur can play a high quality CF or SS in the majors right now. 

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

41 minutes ago, AWOLNATION_11 said:

I feel like I'm reading the name Nate Baez often lately.  Any of our prospect evaluators out there have any updates?  Is he becoming someone to watch or maybe just on a bit of a heater? How about his catching ability, does he have a chance back there?  Sorry if I missed any potential article(s) that would have covered this.  

He's been hitting the ball all year,  not just a heater.   .320/.430/.920 slash line for the year in 2 leagues.   To start the year I would have told you he didn't have much of a shot at catching,  playing primarily 1st base.  I really don't know much about his defensive metrics,  but since he came up to AA he has been playing catcher over 50% of the time - while crushing the ball.  His rotation appears to be catch 2 games, a game at 1st,  catch a game,  DH a game and then repeat.  His career averages throwing out a stealer at 10%, in extremely small sample size is at 26% in AA.   It does appear he may be making some improvements this year in that regards sitting at 16%.  

The catching prospects have been solid this year.  Although we have had a few fizzle out.    In AAA you have Winkle/Cardenas/Camargo.   Camargo has really struggled with the bat.  Winkle and Cardenas have had very solid years.  Winkle and Cardenas both have OPS in the .800's

AA - You have Baez, Cossetti and Olivar.  Cossetti maybe more of a 1st baseman.  Baez has been a stud with the bat both Cossetti and Olivar have been solid.  

High A - Diaw appears to be a legitimate prospect but I believe is shelved for the year with an injury. 

Low A - no major prospects in my opinion.   

The catching position looks a lot more solid than I expected when doing a deeper dive.  

[Dman]

1 hour ago, AWOLNATION_11 said:

I feel like I'm reading the name Nate Baez often lately.  Any of our prospect evaluators out there have any updates?  Is he becoming someone to watch or maybe just on a bit of a heater? How about his catching ability, does he have a chance back there?  Sorry if I missed any potential article(s) that would have covered this.  

I was hesitant to get too excited when he was at high A.  Kind of old for that level, but he was dominant there.  His numbers seem to be holding at AA except for walk rate which is down.  The sample size is pretty small at AA at just 16 games and sometimes it takes a while for other teams to adjust to players.  I think we need to give him more time to see if he keeps this up for a couple of months before crowning him.  Still the numbers right now are impressive.  Certainly as impressive as Culpepper and Gonzalez if you don't account for age. If this is who he is they have an impressive hitter on their hands.  

I don't know much about his defense.

[terrydactyls]

Paul Skenes is starting tonight for Tampa Bay?  When was he traded?

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

In reading the headline I expected the bats to be quiet.  Holy crap they were not.  Our top 20 prospects for the most part have been hitting the crap out of the ball the last month or so.  They started out a little slow but seem to be in the full swing of things.  

Culpepper and Gonzalez this year are just wow.  

Debarge - bat has been a little light,  OBP really good,  and then has been an absolute demon on the basepaths

Winokur -  the projection on him is pretty crazy.  Winokur is much better athlete than I anticipated.  The bat is violent.  He really seems to be a streaky hitter.  After doing pretty well at spring training, he really started off slow at Cedar Rapids.  He has gotten a little better each month,  and is starting off July on a bit of a hot streak.  Yesterday was 1st homer of the month but OPS is over .900 in  Those are long levers and and a big strike zone to manage at 6'5".  He has been the primary SS for the kernels in July.   I am also wondering if having a single position to focus on is helping.  Will keep an eye on this.  

Lots to be happy about this year so far.  I am very happy about Raya turning the corner.  Him and Bohorquez really started off the season rough.  Both have seemed to pull out of it.   

[chpettit19]

50 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

Paul Skenes is starting tonight for Tampa Bay?  When was he traded?

Making up for that Chris Archer debacle. 

[jorgenswest]

9 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

The Grand Canyon grad was quick to credit his backstop. “It was my first time throwing to Mickey (Gasper) back there, and I could feel his confidence, and it’s contagious.” 

It is very encouraging to see Raya’s recent success.

It is the quote above that jumped out at me though. Is Gasper a possibility as a catcher in the majors? I watched a previous good outing at catcher on MILB TV against the Mud Hens just prior to his injury. Morris and Baker pitched the bulk of that game. Gasper does not throw out runners well yet but maybe there are other aspects of catching where he is an asset. The confidence thing is important. Pitchers need to throw with conviction to be successful.

[rdehring]

Thanks for another great report, Seth.  They are appreciated.

I know Raya has been better of late, but last night was fantastic.  The part I liked best was the 7 K's to 1 walk.  

Also loved the three innings by Ohl.  I know he has been solid, but wasn't aware of his background.  Seeing he is from Grand Canyon brought back some memories.  My son played for Denver U back in the 80's when DU and Grand Canyon were both NAIA schools.  Remember one year they met in the regional playoffs.  Recall the final was Grand Canyon 20'something to DU's 3 or 4.  I think that team had 3 or 4 future major league players.  I remember one was Tim Salmon, can't remember the others.  Will Ohl get his first callup later this summer?

Saw Culpepper's line and again just shook my head.  Kid has been amazing.  What is most impressive to me is his 15 of 17 stolen bases at Cedar Rapids.  Heck, he might have 30 steals this year.  The Twins must find a way to get more team speed.

Enjoy your weekend, Seth.

[LambchoP]

Really glad Raya has found something, we need him to be a solid SP for us. Now if we could get Morris and C Lewis to find some success we'd be set for depth. Offensively it's hard not to be excited about Culpeper and Gonzalez. This isn't just some month long hot streak, they've both been raking all year and haven't slowed down one bit in AA. Would be a bit aggressive, but I'd love to see them make it to St Paul this year. Speaking of St Paul, Julien sure seems to have found his bat. I hope they are playing him at first base. If the Twins can trade France, Julien should get a call up to play first base and see if he can stick with the big league club. Sabato would be fun to see too. Time to see what we've got in these young g kids. Eeles would be a fun guy to take over at utility if Castro is traded. Martin has good numbers since his return, why the heck is Keirsey still on the major league team?!? Why not give a few at bats to someone who might actually be on the big league club next year?

[DocBauer]

I may have to re-think my opinion on Raya. To repeat, despite being added to the 40 man, I've always believed this season was to get him ready for 2026 and he was behind Matthews, Festa, and even Morris and Lewis when the season began, even with Morris and Lewis not on the 40 man. But with Raya suddenly turning everything up a notch, and Morris out on the IL, and Lewis struggling, if there's another injury before someone comes back, Raya may still get a shot this season. 

Fedko should be at AAA. He's not blocked by anyone, and his breakout season can't and shouldn't be ignored.

I dare say Gonzalez and Culpepper should get a late season cup of coffee at St Paul as well.

I was a fan of Ohl, despite limited velocity, and then he had a poor 2024. But now his velocity is up and he's having a great rebound season. He probably fits best as a middle and long man. He might be a better prospect than Adams. Very encouraged by what he's done so far, and he may be the perfect 8th man come 2026 at least.

Who is this "Jhomnardo" that you mentioned in the opening? I swear I don't know the name and didn't spot him in the OP.

[DocBauer]

9 hours ago, AWOLNATION_11 said:

I feel like I'm reading the name Nate Baez often lately.  Any of our prospect evaluators out there have any updates?  Is he becoming someone to watch or maybe just on a bit of a heater? How about his catching ability, does he have a chance back there?  Sorry if I missed any potential article(s) that would have covered this.  

I've done this before, and will continue to do so as the CATCHING situation is of special interest and importance to me:

The Twins have been blessed to play the same two catchers for 2 1/2 years now, which is crazy! But the few times CAMARGO has appeared, they've only let him catch something like a single inning. I have no idea why as I've never actually heard a single negative about him behind the plate. He has a great career SB% and offers power, even though his bat has slipped from 2023. But he's now had TJ surgery and is probably for at least most of 2026, if not all of it.

The Twins seem to really like WINKEL behind the plate and he's been a non roster invite for each of the past 2 ST. He's a LH bat with limited ability and limited power. He's also been very poor at CS%, but is matching his career high of 19% this season. His bat had a bit of a breakthrough in 2023, and then tanked in 2024...seemingly like EVERY CATCHER in the system did as well. He is having a solid 2025 however, and might match or exceed his career HR mark of 10, with 7 in the bank already. 

CARDENAS, from all accounts I've ever ready is considered a quality backstop. And he has an excellent 29% CS for his career thus far. He's not a great hitter and has limited power to this point, but seems to have a good eye, controls the zone, and has maintained a solid OB%. He also is having a nice rebound season after a poor 2024, though his AAA numbers are a SSS and buoyed some by a sudden power surge.

COSSETTI was drafted as an offense 1st backstop who needed work behind the plate. Again, like everyone else, he tanked in 2024. While his AVG is a little low, he's been producing well at AA after a poor start. I don't know how much he's improved behind the plate, but after some initially good CS numbers, he's down in the teens for this year and last.

But to BAEZ in particular, he's a very good athlete who played around the field and seldom caught until 2022, the year he was drafted. He's more of an athletic, long term project still learning to catch. While he's caught 26% of base runners at AA so far, his career numbers to this point have him around 11%. So there's still real questions about his viability behind the plate. As a hitter, he's been a good AVG, high OB% hitter without great power, but some pop to be sure. At 24yo and a solid bat with good athleticism, he's got a chance if the CS% can rise and his defense/game calling have improved and continue to do so. He doesn't have enough power, barring an explosion, to be a 1B or DH. But again, he was drafted as more of a longer term, developmental receiver with potential.

LONG TERM, 2024 draft choices Diaw and Ferrer are the best PROSPECTS in the system. Unfortunately, Diaw is out for the season due to injury.

 

[Doctor Wu]

On 7/11/2025 at 8:48 PM, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

Diaw appears to be a legitimate prospect but I believe is shelved for the year with an injury. 

I've read about his injury a couple of times this week. What happened to him? He was one of those catching prospects that looked very good.