Twins Minor League Report (7/18): Bailey Ober, Luke Keaschall Rehab With Saints

[Tom Froemming]

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Luke Keaschall, Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper)

FRIDAY’S RESULTS
St. Paul 3, Louisville 1
Springfield 4, Wichita 3
Cedar Rapids 5, Wisconsin 4 (10 innings)
Fort Myers 8, Daytona 6
FCL Twins 4, FCL Red Sox 1
DSL Blue Jays Blue 12, DSL Twins 9

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Bailey Ober and 2B Luke Keaschall were sent on rehab assignments to St. Paul.
Ober is working his way back from a left hip impingement that sent him to the IL on July 2. He was remarkably sharp tonight, tossing four shutout innings while throwing an incredible 86 percent of his pitches for strikes (43 of 50 pitches). Ober’s four-seam fastball, which averaged 90.4 mph during his time with the Twins this season, sat 90.1 mph tonight and topped out at 91.6 mph.

Keaschall suffered a right forearm fracture on a hit by pitch and was placed on the IL back on April 26. He served as the Saints’ DH tonight and went 1-for-5 with a clutch RBI single in the top of the ninth inning to give St. Paul a key insurance run. It’s noteworthy that Keaschall played the entire game, as it’s typical for a rehabbing hitter to exit early, even when they’re just DHing.

RHP Noah Davis was activated by the Saints.
The Twins acquired Davis from the Dodgers for cash considerations. He’s a right-handed pitcher with 23 career big league games to his credit, six of them starts. He had a 3.94 ERA and 1.22 WHIP with 38 strikeouts and 15 walks in 32 innings for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate this season.

OF Emmanuel Rodriguez was placed on the 7-day IL with a right oblique strain.
Sigh. The Saints played their 92nd game of the season tonight. Rodriguez has only been able to play in 43 of them.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Hitter of the Day: Walker Jenkins, Wichita
Jenkins provided half of Wichita’s hits tonight, including a clutch two-out, game-tying double in the top of the eighth inning. On an 0-2 pitch, Jenkins looked like he just slapped the ball the other way upon first glance, but the hit carried all the way to the warning track, allowing Jake Rucker to score from first base. 

The game remained tied into the bottom of the ninth inning, and with the first two Springfield hitters retired, it looked like Jenkins would have another chance in the top of the 10th inning. Unfortunately, that wasn’t meant to be. Springfield strung together a two-out rally with a single, wild pitch, walk and walk-off infield single to win.

Jenkins went 3-for-4 tonight, tallying his first three-hit game of the season. He’s hitting .270/.405/.393 (.798 OPS) in 24 games with the Wind Surge this season.

Pitcher of the Day: Santiago Castellano, DSL Twins
If you want to be a truly hardcore prospect sicko, you can watch DSL Twins games on YouTube. Here’s a link to Friday afternoon’s stream, in which Castellanos got things started with three excellent innings.

The video for these live streams is as barebones as it gets. There are two fixed cameras and no play-by-play, let alone any audio at all. Still, I applaud the organization for providing the opportunity for family and friends to be able to watch these guys play. Well, and us prospect sickos, too.

While the overall presentation of these live streams is rudimentary, there’s a bevy of real-time statcast data included toward the bottom of the screen. You can see the pitch velocity, spin rate, induced vertical break, exit velocity, launch angle and distance of every single pitch/hit as it happens. That’s incredible!

Back to Castellanos, with three one-hit innings of shutout ball Friday, he now has a 0.87 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 20 2/3 innings on the season. He struck out three batters and walked one today, giving him 26 Ks and seven walks total (31.3 K%, 8.4 BB%). He was consistently hitting 94 mph with his fastball. Among his secondaries, there were some mid-80s changeups I thought looked good, especially for a pitcher his age.

Speaking of which, let’s all wish Santiago a belated Happy Birthday! He turned 17-years-old yesterday. He was born in 2008 … let that sink in for a moment. I own multiple shirseys older than this kid.

STARTING PITCHING LINES
Bailey Ober (St. Paul): 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 50 pitches (86% strikes) 
C.J. Culpepper (Wichita): 3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 46 pitches (54.4% strikes) 
Ty Langenberg (Cedar Rapids): 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 77 pitches (64.9% strikes)
Michael Carpenter (Fort Myers): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 37 pitches (59.5% strikes)
Sam Rochard (FCL):  3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 38 pitches (71.1% strikes)
Santiago Castellanos (DSL): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

HOME RUNS
St. Paul: Carson McCusker (19)
DSL: Joyner Perez (1)

MULTI-HIT GAMES
Wichita: Walker Jenkins (3-for-4, 2B)
Cedar Rapids: Kyle Hess (2-for-4, BB)
Fort Myers: Peyton Carr (2-for-2, 3B, 2 BB), Bryan Acuña (2-for-4, BB)
FSL: Jayson Bass (2-for-3, SB)
DSL: Santiago Leon (3-for-4, 3B), Jose Barrios (3-for-5, SB), Darwin Almanzar (2-for-4, 2B), Cristian Bonifacio (2-for-4, 2B) 

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Kaelen Culpepper exited tonight’s Wind Surge game in the bottom of the fourth inning. I took a look back at his final plate appearance, which was to end the top of the third inning, and his final defensive play, which was in the bottom of the third, and saw no obvious signs of discomfort. 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 

1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 3-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, K
2. Luke Keaschall (rehab with St. Paul): 1-for-5, RBI, K
4. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 0-for-2
10. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, BB, RBI, SB (47)
12. Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-5, 2 K
13. Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita): 1-for-3, 2B, BB, R
14. C.J. Culpepper (Wichita): 3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 46 pitches (54.4% strikes) 
15. Eduardo Beltre (FCL): 0-for-2, BB, HBP R, 2 SB (17)
18. Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 1-for-4, RBI, K
19. Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, R, K
20. Payton Eeles (St. Paul): 1-for-4, K, SB (7)

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 47-50
St. Paul Saints: 43-49
Wichita Wind Surge: 46-42
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 52-35
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 37-49
FCL Twins: 35-18
DSL Twins: 12-22

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul at Louisville, 6:15 pm CT: Marco Raya
Wichita at Springfield, 6:35 pm CT: John Klein
Cedar Rapids vs. Wisconsin, 6:35 pm CT: Alejandro Hidalgo
Fort Myers vs. Daytona, 5:05 pm CT: Dasan Hill
FCL Twins vs. FCL Red Sox, 9 am CT: TBD

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[Dman]

I am a prospect sicko but I haven't watched any DSL video yet.  However, I have been keeping an eye on Castellanos and his box scores.  It looks like pretty elite stuff.  I hope they bring him over next year as he seems ready.

I am loving that Jenkins is looking so good at AA.  He's been injured so much he really needs the at bats just to get a feel for all the stuff these guys throw. He is young for the level but that doesn't seem to be impacting him.

McCusker with another home run and Eeles with another hit.  Some things never change.  Nice win for St. Paul.

 

[mikelink45]

I thought I would bring up Rooker just because mentioning his name gets one of the regular posters upset.  But the only reason I bring him up is to bring up McCusker.  Like Rooker if he has any chance to make the next jump start putting him at 1B of DH and give him at least two series of starts to get established.  

Let's hope Ober can move quickly to his past form and replace Paddack in the rotation.

And even more important we need Keaschall back like he was. 

On MLB.com the former GMs were talking about the Twins and one recommended trading Royce Lewis to get good prospects.  He likes Lewis but thinks the Twins are too fragile and need consistency.  If Lewis goes, Lee to 3B and Keaschall to 2B sounds good right now.

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

On MLB.com the former GMs were talking about the Twins and one recommended trading Royce Lewis to get good prospects.  He likes Lewis but thinks the Twins are too fragile and need consistency.  If Lewis goes, Lee to 3B and Keaschall to 2B sounds good right now.

I have been wishing for that move for two years. Lewis was drafted #1-1, hit some grand slams (5), and is a fan darling. Those factors  make separation difficult. 

[LambchoP]

Twins aren't making the playoffs this year. They should trade off expiring contracts and get the best talent possible in return. Call up the young kids and see what we have for next year. Mccusker should get everyday at bats for a month. See if he's a viable big league. Maybe he could be an option at first. Give Eeles a shot. Maybe he's a decent Castro replacement at utility. See if any of these young position players can possibly help us next year. If so, we can focus our off-season attention on pitching. We need at least one solid SP. Most likely a few good relief pitchers too. Coloumbe will be traded leaving us with no decent lefties in the pen. Again....

[Tom Froemming]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

On MLB.com the former GMs were talking about the Twins and one recommended trading Royce Lewis to get good prospects.  He likes Lewis but thinks the Twins are too fragile and need consistency.  If Lewis goes, Lee to 3B and Keaschall to 2B sounds good right now.

I'd be shocked if the Twins could get much of anything for Lewis right now. He has a .600 OPS over the last 365 days. Where's there a market for that?

Contending teams will target guys playing well who can be expected to step right in and contribute. Rebuilding teams aren't giving up prospects for a reclamation project.

[tony&rodney]

2 minutes ago, Tom Froemming said:

I'd be shocked if the Twins could get much of anything for Lewis right now. He has a .600 OPS over the last 365 days. Where's there a market for that?

Contending teams will target guys playing well who can be expected to step right in and contribute. Rebuilding teams aren't giving up prospects for a reclamation project.

Hard sell, for sure. We can say the same for Julien, Miranda, and a few others. Evaluation of players and completing transactions is always tricky. Buy low, sell high is an idea but most people buy high and sell low.

Perhaps there are players who have tanked in a somewhat similar fashion with another team. A player I have  wondered about was Jordan Lawler. Arizona is holding third base for him but he has only 56 MLB PA with a .080 BA and .259 OPS. He really struggled this year. I doubt the Diamondbacks are down on Lawler totally but his is a thought worth exploring. There might be others too. The counter argument is that Royce Lewis needs to go on the Il for the remainder of the season to get his legs and muscles along with his mechanics squared away once and for all. The dream is he then comes back fully healthy and can play unencumbered by physical issues.

[Mike Sixel]

Please let Culpeper be ok. 

[rdehring]

Saw mention of EmRod above.  Didn't he go back on the IL yesterday or the day before.  Bloody shame the Twins can't keep all these potential stars on the field for any length of time.

Absolutely loved the photo at the top, Tom.  Jenkins is bigger than I expected.  Sure would be nice if that trio became the core the Twins could build around for the next decade.  And all three can run which would be out of character for the Twins.  Personally, would love it.

[Road trip]

Worth noting again that Gabriel Gonzalez is still dominating AA.  Just a year older than Jenkins, but that .982 OPS with more walks than strikeouts is starting to indicate "promotion time" before the end of the year.  I'm sure he still has plenty of things to work on, but it would be kinda nice to see if he could help the Twins at some point in 2026.

[Mike Sixel]

1 minute ago, Road trip said:

Worth noting again that Gabriel Gonzalez is still dominating AA.  Just a year older than Jenkins, but that .982 OPS with more walks than strikeouts is starting to indicate "promotion time" before the end of the year.  I'm sure he still has plenty of things to work on, but it would be kinda nice to see if he could help the Twins at some point in 2026.

I'd put him in Minnesota now. Other teams promote guys from AA. Trade Larnach. 

[tony&rodney]

EmRod back on IL.

[Fatbat]

Well we waited 10 years to get a 5+ WAR season out of Buxton… Lewis is gonna get a long string. Sorry guys but he wont be getting traded. We have a very wide open championship window since we have started drafting the best athletes instead of drafting for need. LK, WJ and KC will be regular twins next year and will be here for a decade. No way we are going to blow up the roster when Wichita has so much future talent.  mcCrusher should go to 1B mans camp and have his eye on ‘26 full time job. Or teach Larnach or Wallner… we got talented OF’s coming fast thru the system! 

[D.C Twins]

Jenkins... straight out of central casting... 

[D.C Twins]

11 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

EmRod back on IL.

Even when healthy, he can't hit strikes... so big problems.... shine is already off a bit but we should package him in a trade ASAP while he is still worth something

[Fatbat]

2 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

Even when healthy, he can't hit strikes... so big problems.... shine is already off a bit but we should package him in a trade ASAP while he is still worth something

He is an always injured prospect with immense talent. Not someone with high trade value.

[Doctor Gast]

9 hours ago, Dman said:

I am a prospect sicko but I haven't watched any DSL video yet.  However, I have been keeping an eye on Castellanos and his box scores.  It looks like pretty elite stuff.  I hope they bring him over next year as he seems ready.

I am loving that Jenkins is looking so good at AA.  He's been injured so much he really needs the at bats just to get a feel for all the stuff these guys throw. He is young for the level but that doesn't seem to be impacting him.

McCusker with another home run and Eeles with another hit.  Some things never change.  Nice win for St. Paul.

 

Yeah, you are a prospect sicko, I mean that in a good way :) . Quality ABs are essential. Jenkins has dropped in the ranking but I'm not worried.

Ober wasn't bad, Martin got on base 3 out of 5 PAs. Hoping that Funderburg can flip that switch to MLB.

[Dman]

1 minute ago, Doctor Gast said:

Yeah, you are a prospect sicko, I mean that in a good way :) . Quality ABs are essential. Jenkins has dropped in the ranking but I'm not worried.

Ober wasn't bad, Martin got on base 3 out of 5 PAs. Hoping that Funderburg can flip that switch to MLB.

Yeah I'd say most of us that hang in this section are Prospect siko's.  We care far more than we should, but it is fun to watch these guys all the way up even if 90% of them don't make it.  The farm is so important to this teams success I can't help but want to see these players succeed. 

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, Fatbat said:

He is an always injured prospect with immense talent. Not someone with high trade value.

Only other teams set the value of a player like EmRod. He has always had OBP above .400, hits the ball very hard, is an excellent base runner, and is an above average defensive centerfielder. He has, indeed, missed too much time  but at 22 years old time is still on his side.

I'm guessing he still has very high value. How high? Offer EmRod, Jax, Vazquez, and DSL player to the Dodgers for Rushing, Sheehan, and Ryan to find out. If not, bring him up when he heals and put him in the lineup full time to see what he can do.

[tony&rodney]

55 minutes ago, Dman said:

Yeah I'd say most of us that hang in this section are Prospect siko's.  We care far more than we should, but it is fun to watch these guys all the way up even if 90% of them don't make it.  The farm is so important to this teams success I can't help but want to see these players succeed. 

I think I have watched more minor league baseball this year than MLB games.

[DocBauer]

Good rehab start for Ober. Hopefully he feels great today and the velocity keeps climbing. 

I don't expect Keaschall to be a savior, and he'll need a couple weeks minimum to get his timing back. But just seeing him back on the field feels really good.

Really hard to move Larnach, potentially, at the deadline or the offseason and give LF to a top prospect like Rodriguez and tell him to run with it when you can't stay on the field. Bad luck? His body still growing in to itself? This is getting ridiculous. 

Langenberg seems to have been on a roll lately. That's great because he began the year pretty poorly. 

Whenever Jenkins learns to tap in to his power, there will be nothing holding him back.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

ERod—-wth else can go wrong?  Wrist, thumb, hip, ankle and now oblique.  You can’t make it up. 

Ober’s stats look good, but he’s gonna get crushed in the majors if he can’t get his fastball back to 93 which it’s been in the past.   Just can’t help but think it’s more than a hip. 
 

I’m hoping Keaschall is the 1B a lot in this second half. Get him ready for next year. 

[Major League Ready]

6 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I'd put him in Minnesota now. Other teams promote guys from AA. Trade Larnach. 

It's not crazy but I think there is a more ideal sequence of events that could take place.  GG is only 21 so rather than rush him, promote either Martin who has been great or Rodriguez if he is healthy and promote GG to AAA.  That gives them a good opportunity to evaluate GG at AAA in terms of his ability to take a roster spot in 2026.  The result would be the same, except Larnach gets traded this winter (if they are confident in having a replacement)  and GG or Some combination of GG, Rodriguez, and Jenkins are patrolling the OF at target field in 2026.  At some point between no and the 2026 deadline, Larnach and maybe Wallner are getting traded.  At least I sure hope that some combination of Jenkins / GG / E. Rod / Martin and Rosario displace them.  The picture I have in my head is that Jenkins and either E. Rod or GG will be corner OFer and Martin is a utility player or traded.

[Mike Sixel]

7 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

It's not crazy but I think there is a more ideal sequence of events that could take place.  GG is only 21 so rather than rush him, promote either Martin who has been great or Rodriguez if he is healthy and promote GG to AAA.  That gives them a good opportunity to evaluate GG at AAA in terms of his ability to take a roster spot in 2026.  The result would be the same, except Larnach gets traded this winter (if they are confident in having a replacement)  and GG or Some combination of GG, Rodriguez, and Jenkins are patrolling the OF at target field in 2026.  At some point between no and the 2026 deadline, Larnach and maybe Wallner are getting traded.  At least I sure hope that some combination of Jenkins / GG / E. Rod / Martin and Rosario displace them.  The picture I have in my head is that Jenkins and either E. Rod or GG will be corner OFer and Martin is a utility player or traded.

I mean, I'm calling up Martin now to replace France. I'm never counting on Rodriguez at this point. I doubt they promote GG until late in the year. Then he starts in the minors next year, because depth....I see them promoting Jenkins in 27 for the control. Frankly, I have zero confidence in this fo at this point..

[Major League Ready]

23 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I mean, I'm calling up Martin now to replace France. I'm never counting on Rodriguez at this point. I doubt they promote GG until late in the year. Then he starts in the minors next year, because depth....I see them promoting Jenkins in 27 for the control. Frankly, I have zero confidence in this fo at this point..

The optimist in me sees Jenkins finishing the year really strong in AA and starting 26 in AAA.  He tears up AAA for a couple months and gets promoted.  Your scenario might have a higher probability but humor me.

I would replace France with either Julien or Sabato.  We need a 1B for next year more than an OFer.  It also balances the roster better.  Of course, I am assuming Keaschall replaces Kiersey.  Then, I trade Castro or Bader if the offer is significant and bring up Martin.  I would not trade either one of those guys just to open a roster spot.  

 

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

The optimist in me sees Jenkins finishing the year really strong in AA and starting 26 in AAA.  He tears up AAA for a couple months and gets promoted.  Your scenario might have a higher probability but humor me.

I would replace France with either Julien or Sabato.  We need a 1B for next year more than an OFer.  It also balances the roster better.  Of course, I am assuming Keaschall replaces Kiersey.  Then, I trade Castro or Bader if the offer is significant and bring up Martin.  I would not trade either one of those guys just to open a roster spot.  

 

I'm good with that. But I'm trading all expiring deals. 

[arby58]

10 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

I have been wishing for that move for two years. Lewis was drafted #1-1, hit some grand slams (5), and is a fan darling. Those factors  make separation difficult. 

The real issue is you'd be selling extremely low. It's sort of the problem that Chicago has had with trading CF Luis Robert Jr. - he of the 2025 season .625 OPS and 74 OPS+.