Twins Minor League Report (7/22): Wind Surge Batters the RoughRiders

[Steve Lein]

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Kyler Fedko)

• The Minnesota Twins made what one might classify in an alternate universe as a… [t]elling move… about intentions heading into the trade deadline, by claiming off waivers C Jhonny Pereda from the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday. He was immediately optioned to the Saints and gives the Twins a catcher with some recent MLB experience in reserve. To make room on the 40-man roster, fellow catcher Jair Camargo was designated for assignment. Or maybe for some reason they just wanted a guy who has proven he can strike out Shohei Ohtani?! (shrug)

• On Monday the Wichita Wind Surge placed RHP Tanner Andrews on the 7-day injured list, and in his place received LHP Kade Bragg from the Cedar Rapids Kernels.
• In Fort Myers, the Mighty Mussels activated RHP Anthony Narvaez from the 60-day injured list where he had resided the entire season thus far, and after multiple rehab assignments in the FCL.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Worcester 11, St. Paul 2
Box Score
The Red Sox came to CHS Field and blew the Saints out of their own building on Tuesday night.

Veteran Randy Dobnak made the start and certainly got his work in, but it was under duress. He finished four innings, but Worcester got him for two runs in each of the first, second, and third innings before he finished his night with a one-two-three fourth. He allowed five hits, including two home runs, and walked three while striking out none. Trent Baker came on in relief and had it even worse allowing five earned runs on six hits, including two more home runs, and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. He managed to strike out three. 

Mop up duty came from Kyle Bischoff (1 1/3 IP, 2 K), newcomer Noah Davis (1 IP, BB, K), and Michael Tonkin (1 IP, K).

The Saints four hits in the game came from Luke Keaschall (single), Austin Martin (single), Edouard Julien (single) and Noah Cardenas (double). Martin scored on an error in the bottom of the first after his single, and Cardenas' double in the second drove in Anthony Prato, who had drawn a walk. As a team the Saints had only two at-bats with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base.

Luke Keaschall served as the designated hitter in the leadoff spot, and finished 1-for-4 with a strikeout.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Frisco 5, Wichita 12
Box Score
In a reverse of fortune from their triple-A club, the Wind Surge put on a home run derby against the Roughriders at home. They had a season-high 18 hits, tied their franchise high with seven home runs, and added five doubles among that hit tally for an impressive display of power.

The only batters to not collect a hit, or multiple for that matter, were Walker Jenkins (0-for-4, HBP) and Rubel Cespedes (0-for-5, 4 K).

Kaelen Culpepper was the leadoff man and finished 4-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. His blast was his 5th in 20 games with the Wind Surge and for the month of July has 22 hits in 50 at-bats (.440).

The also scorching-hot Gabriel Gonzalez finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored, an opposite-field home run, and two RBI. Texas League home run leader Kyler Fedko clubbed his 19th and 20th bombs of the season, giving him the first 20-20 season in Wind Surge history. Kala’i Rosario also hit two out of the park, giving him 12 on the season and he and Fedko sit atop the league leaderboard for RBI’s on the year. Jake Rucker accounted for the seventh home run of the game and added a double for good measure. Not to be outdone, Ricardo Olivar finished 3-for-4 with three doubles. It was an absolute onslaught with two separate back-to-back jack sequences.

As far as the pitching went, if Mike Paredes enters the game you know you’re going to win anyway, but the offense left little doubt. Darren Bowen went the first four innings. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out five. Jacob Wosinski gave up three earned runs on two hits and three walks in his lone inning. Then came Paredes, who pitched three scoreless to improve to 10-0 on the season, which is tied for the lead in wins in all of minor league baseball despite him making the start in only 2 of his 25 appearances. John Stankiewicz then got the final three outs.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Fort Wayne 4, Cedar Rapids 2
Box Score
Chase Chaney was the starting pitcher for the Kernels on Tuesday and finished the first three innings in Cedar Rapids. He allowed one run on three hits while striking out four. The TinCaps tacked on two more runs against Gabriel Yanez, who pitched the next 1 1/3 innings. He gave up two hits, two walks, and struck out three.

Down 4-0 in the bottom of the seventh, the Kernels offense finally put together a rally. Danny De Andrade led off with a double. Kyle Hess drew a one-out walk. With two outs, Maddux Houghton delivered an RBI single to get them on the board. After a pitching change, the Kernels executed a double-steal to make it 4-2, but Houghton also was caught for the third out in a rundown on the play. That would be it for their scoring.

Relievers Logan Whitaker (1 2/3 IP, H, K), Nick Trabacchi (1 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, K), and Paulshawn Pasqualotto (2 IP, BB, K) finished off the game for the Kernels.

Billy Amick (2-for-4, 2B, K) and De Andrade (2-for-4, R, 2B, K) each had two hits. The Kernels managed just six hits as a team, finished 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and left only four men on base. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 3, Lakeland 7
Box Score
The Mighty Mussels got on the scoreboard first in this one after Angel Del Rosario delivered a one-out single in the top of the second. Blaze O’Saben followed with an RBI double for a 1-0 lead.

Right-hander Eli Jones made the start, and pitched into the third inning. Before reaching his pitch count, he finished 2 1/3 innings, allowing just one hit, walking two, and striking out three. Jakob Hall came on in relief and managed to strand the runner who led off with a triple against Jones in the third but had some two-out trouble in the fourth. The Flying Tigers strung together a double and two singles to go up 2-1 and added another in the fifth to go up by two. Hall finished 1 2/3 innings and was charged with two earned runs on three hits while striking out two. 

In his 2025 Florida State League debut, Anthony Narvaez went two innings, allowing one run on one hit and one walk, along with striking out one.

Fort Myers was able to tie the game at three in the top of the sixth, thanks to a two-run homer from Peyton Carr, but that would be all of their offense for the game. I’ll note that Carr has quite the unique timing setup:

After Narvaez was done, Ivran Romero finished off the final two innings, but in the process took the loss. He was charged with four runs (two earned) on five hits.

Carr led the way for the offense with two hits in four at-bats, including the home run. Yasser Mercedes stole his 28th base of the season.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
Monday: FCL Pirates 0, FCL Twins 4 (7 innings)
Box Score
The teams combined for just seven hits in the game, but the Twins were able to finish 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position while the Pirates went 0-for-9.

Juan Cota made the start for the home team and was excellent over four innings. He allowed just one hit, walked none, and struck out five. Andrew Huffman added two scoreless innings after Cota’s exit, giving up one hit, one walk, and striking out three to pick up his fifth FCL win of the season. Aiberson Ventura got the final inning and gave up a leadoff double, but retired the next three in order, including a strikeout, to close out the game.

The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to an RBI double from Jayson Bass to drive in Eduardo Beltre, who led off with a single and then stole his 18th base of the season. They added three more in the fourth behind an RBI double from Ricardo Paez and bases-loaded walks from Jay Thomason and Ramiro Dominguez.

Tuesday:
Game 1: FCL Twins 1, FCL Orioles 0 (8 innings)
Box Score
With a doubleheader on the docket on Tuesday, this one actually remained scoreless through the scheduled seven innings.

Joel Garcia made the start for the Twins, and held the Orioles in check for the first 5 1/3 innings. It was a little odd as Garcia faced just one hitter in the sixth, so it wasn’t because he finally got into some trouble, but in total he allowed no runs on just three hits and one walk, while striking out two. Will Armbruester would finish the final 2 2/3 innings, including the “extra” eighth inning, where he retired all three hitters he faced to earn the win.

The Twins got that victory thanks to the extra runner to begin the top of the eighth. With Merphy Hernandez starting the inning on second base, two groundouts were able to get him to third before Ricardo Paez delivered what would be the game-winning RBI double. Each team had just four hits, but because of that the Twins were the only one able to get a base-knock with runners in scoring position.

Game 2: FCL Twins 3, FCL Orioles 9 (7 innings)
Box Score
The Orioles got a bit of revenge in game two, which was a makeup of their postponement from last Wednesday. They jumped out to a 7-0 lead before the Twins were able to put together any offense of their own.

Liam Roque started on the mound and made it through just 1 1/3 innings. He was charged with four earned runs on two hits and three walks. He struck out two. Teague Conrad went the next three innings, but had trouble of his own. He allowed three earned runs on seven hits and three walks, while striking out just one. Leonardo Rondon finished off the final 1 2/3 frames, and gave up two earned runs on two hits and a walk, while striking out two.

The Twins scored all three of their runs in the top of the sixth, with Irvin Nunez’s RBI double driving in two to get them on the board. Isaac Pena later added a sac fly to make it 7-3, but that was it for the Twins offense. Ramiro Dominguez chipped in his 15th double of the season, which ranks top three in the Florida Complex League.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
Monday: DSL Twins 14, DSL Rangers Red 13 (10 innings)
Box Score
A beer-league softball game broke out in the DSL on Monday, with each team scoring three or more runs in a frame twice, and the game ultimately going into extra innings thanks to a Twins comeback.

The Rangers were ahead 10-5 after the fourth, as Twins pitching had trouble recording outs early. Starter Omar Montano was charged with five earned runs in 2 2/3 innings thanks to four hits and five walks. He struck out two. Marlon Mirabal didn’t have any better luck, allowing five earned runs himself in 1 1/3 innings on five hits and one walk, while striking out one.

But the Twins lineup fought back and took an 11-10 lead after the top of the sixth where they plated five runs. Three singles, an error, a double, and a triple led to that lead change, and the game went into the final three innings within one run.

Reliever Agustin Campusano stabilized the game for the Twins, putting up four middle innings of one-run ball. He gave up two hits, one walk, and struck out four. Brandy Ceballos took them into the extra innings, and did just enough to get the infamous blown-save-and-win scenario.

Tied at 12 after nine innings, the Twins almost went down without a fight in extras. The first two hitters of the inning struck out, before Jose Barrios delivered an RBI single to put them up by one. Teilon Serrano followed with an RBI single of his own to give them the needed breathing room. The Rangers scored the ghost runner in the bottom half, but weren’t able to tie it back up.

Every batter in the Twins lineup reached base multiple times in the game, with five of nine batters picking up two or more hits. Their 16 hits on the game included just two extra-base hits, with Aaron Salazar delivering a double, and Barrios a triple. They also stole eight bases as a team and finished 9-for-22 with runners in scoring position.

Tuesday: DSL Twins 12, DSL NYY Yankees 7
Box Score
The Twins started the ninth inning of this one down 7-6 but exercised the parent club's demons to the tune of six runs to steal this one from the empire.

Jeicol Surumay got the starting nod and completed the first three innings. He allowed four earned runs on five hits and two walks, while punching out four. Juan Quinones was the first reliever, and allowed three of his own on two hits and two walks, striking out three in 1 1/3 innings. The bullpen trio of Juan Figaro (2/3 IP, 2 BB), Rey Pacheco (3 IP, H, BB, 5 K), and Nestor Cafe (1 IP, H, BB, K) combined to shut the Yankees down the final four-plus innings to give the lineup a chance.

Down 7-4 to start the eighth, the Twins closed it to a one run lead after Yovanny Duran led off with a single. He advanced to second on a balk before an RBI double from Darwin Almanzar, and a couple of wild pitches allowed him to scamper home to make it 7-6. In the top of the ninth a pair of singles put the go-ahead runs on base, but a strikeout and flyout put the Twins down to their last out. Almanzar delivered another double to put them out front and it cascaded into three consecutive errors along with a walk and RBI single from Santiago Leon to put the Twins ahead 12-7.

Teilon Serrano (2-for-5, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB), Haritzon Castillo (4-for-5, R, 2B, BB), and Almanzar (3-for-5, 3 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI) all had multiple hits to key the comeback win. Jamesson Val added a triple, stolen base, and scored three runs.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Mike Paredes, Wichita Wind Surge (W, 3 IP, 2 H, 3 K)
Hitter of the Day – Kyler Fedko, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-3, 4 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB)

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): 0-for-4, HBP
#2 – Luke Keaschall (Rehab w/St. Paul): 1-for-4, K
#4 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 4-for-5, R, HR (5), 2 RBI
#9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, 2 K
#10 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, BB, K
#12 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, 2B, K
#13 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita): 2-for-5, 2 R, HR (3), 2 RBI
#15 – Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins): 1-for-9, R, 3 BB, 2 K, SB (3 games)
#18 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 3-for-4, 3 2B, BB
#19 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, R, 2B, K 

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Worcester @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP Connor Gillispie (4-1, 6.35 ERA)
Frisco @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - LHP Christian MacLeod (0-2, 2.25 ERA)
Fort Wayne @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Tanner Hall (3-3, 5.05 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Christian Becerra (2-1, 2.63 ERA)
FCL Orioles @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CDT) - TBD (makeup of 7/3 postponement)

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

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[Yoke]

I’m not sure where Wichita is sitting for the playoffs, but I’d like to see quite a few players moved from AA to AAA after the trade deadline. The top 4 or 5 hitters in Wichita’s lineup are doing very well.

 

Peyton Carr’s batting stance is…something.

[mikelink45]

I went to the cedar rapids game and it was really boring. Pulling our starting pitcher after three endings didn't make any sense. The relief pictures to followed don't have anything that looked major league and their arsenals. 

What I was hoping would happen was to see Winukor look like the prospect we've rated but seeing him a shortstop left me with the feeling that he could never make it there in the majors. He looked awkward, his reactions were slow and I saw none of the grace that I would expect in a shortstop prospect. On the other hand our third baseman look like he had the glove and reactions to hold down that position.  

[Doctor Wu]

Camargo DFA?! That's a bit surprising considering our lack of catching depth at the high levels. I don't know anything about this catcher that they picked up from Oakland, so I hope he's more than adequate. 

[MinnInPa]

2 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I went to the cedar rapids game and it was really boring. Pulling our starting pitcher after three endings didn't make any sense. The relief pictures to followed don't have anything that looked major league and their arsenals. 

What I was hoping would happen was to see Winukor look like the prospect we've rated but seeing him a shortstop left me with the feeling that he could never make it there in the majors. He looked awkward, his reactions were slow and I saw none of the grace that I would expect in a shortstop prospect. On the other hand our third baseman look like he had the glove and reactions to hold down that position.  

IMO Winokur is very overated ..will never be at SS at AAA or majors(if he ever makes it). He cant hit .225 ..what makes them think things are gonna finally click and he starts hitting .280 + and become an actual prospect w power??

[jmlease1]

Culpepper & GG continue to roll along. Love to see it. Good for them to show the power potential with dingers, even if the ball flies in Wichita. Again, they're doing everything you could ask for.

Fedko is a guy I'd like to see moved up sooner rather than later. His BA is relatively pedestrian, so I think it's going to be important to know whether or not he can sustain this level of contact against more advanced pitchers, and in AAA he'll see guys who are ex-MLB players, top prospects, guys who are moving back and forth as they sit on the cusp and it should be a good challenge. Because he's done a good job controlling the strike zone and letting his power play this season, but at 25 and on a repeat at AA there's really nothing left to prove there.

Sounds like the Twins had lost faith in Camargo's ability to hit enough and be a realistic catching option. I had a lot of hope, but last season's poor performance in AAA and this year's equally unimpressive work suggests he might have hit his ceiling. He's only 25 and catchers do develop later, but the International League is a good hitting environment and he's well below par.

[tony&rodney]

Kaelen Culpepper looks like he is setting up pitchers at times. That is probably not true but he sure looks for his pitch and puts a great swing on it. Fun to watch.

[rdehring]

Looked at the new catcher's minor league stats.  Consistently hit around .300 average with a 20% or so strikeout rate in AAA the last few years.  Know nothing about his defense, but seems like a good pickup.

Also looked further into Fedko's stats.  Saw he was at first base last night and wanted to see if he has been playing there of late.  Has had 11 games this year with none the last few years.  Seems like moving a kid with power to first base with their glaring void a smart move by the Twins.

Got another good smile and shake of my head when I opened the box score for Wichita.  Gotta believe Culpepper should be pushing for a spot with the Twins by this time next year, at the latest.  Can the Twins open their shortstop job by then or the start of 2027?  

[Steve Lein]

10 hours ago, Yoke said:

I’m not sure where Wichita is sitting for the playoffs, but I’d like to see quite a few players moved from AA to AAA after the trade deadline. The top 4 or 5 hitters in Wichita’s lineup are doing very well.

They took second in their division in the first half, at 37-32, which was six games behind the 1st half winners, the Springfield Cardinals. 

They are now 11-11 in the second half, four games back of first and in a jumble with three of the four other teams in their division at the bottom. Gonzalez and Culpepper are kind of on a timeline where they could get bumped to triple-A for a week when Wichita's season is over, or stay if they make the playoffs. Not really a big deal to do one or the other in the grand scheme, but you are right that those hitters are doing very well!

[Steve Lein]

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

On the other hand our third baseman look like he had the glove and reactions to hold down that position.  

Danny De Andrade is certainly a better shortstop prospect and one that might be able to stick there in comparison, but both are just getting moved around for experience I would think.

Winokur has played the most games this year in center field. Culpepper got basically all the work at shortstop while he was with the Kernels, now they're spreading it out a bit I think.

[D.C Twins]

Culpepper has me FIRED UP!

[Dman]

So if you are a team that really wants to see what your left handed pitchers can do against really good right handed bats, just have them pitch against the Surge.  The Riders lefty had a 2.70 EERA and nice peripherals coming into this game, but 4 home runs and 7 earned runs later he was a half a point higher at 3.28.  They went to another lefty and he gave up 3 home runs in one inning of work.  This lineup is death to lefties. Well except for the lefty batters in Jenkins who went 0 for 4 and Cespedes who K'd 4 times.

Culpepper finally caught and passed Gonzalez for the OPS lead on the team.  They both had Home runs but Culpepper had a 4 for 5 night that left him with a .996 OPS 10 points higher than Gonzalez.

I will echo the Fedko love.  A few years back when he was with Kernel's I went to a game in Beloit and he hit a home run that night too. I believe he leads the Texas league in HRs this year.  He went through a mini slump, but seems to be back.  OPS is close to .900 again.  He's always had a good approach and now that he is tapping into power pretty consistently they should take a close look at him.

[LambchoP]

That AA lineup is exciting! Cool to see Fedko getting reps at first base. It is a clear need for the Twins. He's 25 now I think, would like to see him against AAA pitching to see how he does. He has nothing left to prove at AA. I think late season promotions for Gonzalez and Culpeper could be an option as well. Now if we could just get some upper minors pitchers to have some success.

 

I'm a little surprised that they designated Camargo rather than Cartaya. I know Camargo hasn't had a good year, but Cartaya was hitting like .100 or something and hasn't been able to hit for two years. This new catcher from the A's hasn't done anything in MLB yet but his minor league numbers look great. Hopefully he can put it together, we need a second catcher.

[Dman]

4 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I went to the cedar rapids game and it was really boring. Pulling our starting pitcher after three endings didn't make any sense. The relief pictures to followed don't have anything that looked major league and their arsenals. 

I hate to be too negative but poor pitching really held that CR team back.  I am surprised they ended up first half winner's.  They were lucky they had such a great group of hitters there or that team would have been awful.  

I had hope that a lot of those arms would drastically improve over the offseason, but it doesn't seem like they improved all that much.  Having Soto out really hurt too.  Hoping this years draft fills some holes.

[chpettit19]

25 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

That AA lineup is exciting! Cool to see Fedko getting reps at first base. It is a clear need for the Twins. He's 25 now I think, would like to see him against AAA pitching to see how he does. He has nothing left to prove at AA. I think late season promotions for Gonzalez and Culpeper could be an option as well. Now if we could just get some upper minors pitchers to have some success.

 

I'm a little surprised that they designated Camargo rather than Cartaya. I know Camargo hasn't had a good year, but Cartaya was hitting like .100 or something and hasn't been able to hit for two years. This new catcher from the A's hasn't done anything in MLB yet but his minor league numbers look great. Hopefully he can put it together, we need a second catcher.

Cartaya was DFA'd earlier, FYI. They're both off the 40-man now.

[DocBauer]

Camargo is having, or has had, TJ surgery. He's out for the rest of this season and all or most of 2026. While a DFA might sound a little cold, he's probably not playing until 2027. 

Jeffers is going on 3 day paternity leave any moment now. Gasper is with the team now on the taxi squad for when that happens. St Paul ia down a catcher, that's why they picked one up. 

Fedko's AVG (.261) is nothing special, but his OB and SLG % are quite good. He's amongst the league leaders in all categories. You can't ignore that, or his 20/20 season. Get him up to AAA and see if you might have a quality platoon or 4th OF. He's almost 26yo and there's nobody blocking him at St Paul.

I keep getting this feeling that Darren Bowen is meant for the.pen and might climb quickly if that were to happen.

 

[Mike Sixel]

4 hours ago, Steve Lein said:

Danny De Andrade is certainly a better shortstop prospect and one that might be able to stick there in comparison, but both are just getting moved around for experience I would think.

Winokur has played the most games this year in center field. Culpepper got basically all the work at shortstop while he was with the Kernels, now they're spreading it out a bit I think.

Why? Winokur will never play SS for Minnesota. Put him where he might play. This is a continuing issue for them.