Twins Minor League Report (7/25): For the Second Time in 3 Games, Kyle DeBarge Gives Kernels Walk-Off Victory

[Tom Froemming]

FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Worcester 5, St. Paul 3
Wichita 3, Frisco 0 (5 innings)
Cedar Rapids 4, Fort Wayne 3 (10 innings)
Fort Myers 8, Lakeland 6
DSL Twins 14, DSL Miami 5

TRANSACTIONS
With LHP Anthony Misiewicz placed on the Twins injured list, LHP Kody Funderburk was recalled by the Twins from St. Paul.
RHP Cole Peschl was placed on the Kernels’ 7-Day IL.
3B Jay Thomason joined Fort Myers on a rehab assignment.
RHP Matt Barr, LHP Matthew Becker, 2B Ryan Daniels and RHP Matthew Dalquist were assigned to the FCL Twins.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Hitter of the Day: Kyle DeBarge, Cedar Rapids (2-for-5, walk-off single, SB)
Cedar Rapids entered the bottom of the 10th inning trailing by a run, but luck was on their side. Leadoff man Andy Lugo sent a lazy dribbler up the middle that the Fort Wayne second baseman lost his footing while fielding. The infield single put runners at the corners with no outs. That same second baseman then had a potential double play ball hit to him that he booted for an error. The Kernels' bonus runner scored to tie the game, and they had two runners in scoring position with no outs. 

Despite first base being open, Fort Wayne decided to pitch to DeBarge. He ripped the second pitch of the at-bat through a drawn-in infield for a walk-off single.

Hitting Honorable Mention: Jay Thomason, Fort Myers (1-for-1, HR, 3 BB, 2 SB)
Thomason wrapped up a rough handful of games rehabbing with the FCL Twins and absolutely exploded in his first rehab game with the Mighty Mussels tonight. In addition to blasting a two-run homer, Thomason also drew three walks and stole two bases. He’s working his way back to Cedar Rapids, but Thomason has left quite a mark in Fort Myers this year, hitting .297/.465/.585 (1.050 OPS) with eight homers and 19 steals in just 38 games with the Mighty Mussels in 2025.

Pitcher of the Day: Ty Langenberg, Cedar Rapids (6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K)
Langenberg gave up singles on the first two pitches he threw tonight, followed by a stolen base to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Langenberg buckled down and struck out the next three batters to end the threat and set the tone for the evening.

More trouble came in the fourth inning, however, as Langenberg walked the leadoff man. A couple of one-out singles later and Fort Worth had scratched across the first run of the game. Langenberg responded once again, retiring eight of the next nine men he faced while racking up three more strikeouts along the way. Despite the strong outing in which he surrendered just the one run over six innings, the Urbandale, Iowa-product exited with the game in a 1-1 tie. 

Langenberg had a strong first full pro season in 2025 but stumbled out of the gates this year. He opened this campaign with a 7.79 ERA over his first nine games (32 1/3 innings). The 23-year-old right-hander has turned the corner since, as Langenberg has posted a 2.61 ERA over his last seven outings. While some of the other numbers don’t pop as much as the ERA — he’s posted 31 strikeouts against 17 walks during this positive stretch — tonight’s effort suggests there may be more improvement coming.

Here’s hoping Langenberg can keep it rolling and finish 2025 strong.

Pitching Honorable Mention: Bailey Ober, St. Paul (5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)
Ober has been sharp in both of his rehab starts with the Saints, though his velocity isn’t showing signs of climbing back to 2024 levels. He had a clean, efficient start but topped out at 91.6 mph and sat 90.5 mph with his four-seamer. While that’s not too far off the 91.7 mph mark, he averaged with that pitch last season, I’m sure the Twins would love to see him closer to that range.

While we’re on the subject of high-profile Saints rehabbers, I should call out that Luke Keaschall had a scheduled day off Friday.

STARTING PITCHING LINES
Bailey Ober (St. Paul): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 65 pitches (69.2% strikes)
John Klein (Wichita): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 71 pitches (64.8% strikes)
Ty Langenberg (Cedar Rapids): 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 92 pitches (64.1% strikes)
Jason Doktorczyk (Fort Myers): 4 1/3 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 90 pitches (60% strikes)
Santiago Castellanos (DSL): 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

HOME RUNS
St. Paul: Edouard Julien (10), Aaron Sabato (5th with STP, 14th of 2025)
Wichita: Ben Ross (6)
Cedar Rapids: Andy Lugo (3rd with CR, 7th of 2025), Justin Connell (2)
Fort Myers: Jay Thomason (8th with FTM, 9th of 2025), Jose Rodriguez (8)

MULTI-HIT GAMES
St. Paul: Edouard Julien (3-for-4, 2B, HR), Payton Eeles (3-for-4, SB), Aaron Sabato (2-for-4, HR)
Cedar Rapids: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-5, SB), Andy Lugo (2-for-4, HR)
Fort Myers: Yasser Mercedes (3-for-5, 2B)
DSL: Santiago Leon (2-for-4, 2B, BB, SB), Yovanny Duran (2-for-5, BB), Jose Barrios (2-for-6, SB)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 

1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 1-for-2, 2 B, K
3. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 1-for-3, K
8. Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita): 0-for-2
9. Marco Raya (St. Paul): 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 59 pitches (57.6% strikes)
11. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, 3 K
14. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, RBI, SB (51), 2 K
16. Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, BB
20. Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 1-for-1, BB

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 50-53
St. Paul Saints: 44-54
Wichita Wind Surge: 50-44
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 55-38
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 41-51
FCL Twins: 39-20 (regular season over, clinched postseason appearance)
DSL Twins: 15-23

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul vs. Worcester, 6:37 pm CT: José Ureña
Wichita vs. Frisco, 6:05 pm CT: Connor Prielipp
Cedar Rapids vs. Fort Wayne, 6:35 pm CT: Alejandro Hidalgo
Fort Myers vs. Lakeland, 5:05 pm CT: Dasan Hill
FCL Twins vs. FCL Tigers, 11 am CT: TBD (FCL Semifinals Game 1)
DSL Twins at DSL Angels, 9 am CT: TBD

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[Old Twins Hat]

Twins are very likely to trade Castro and install Keaschall in his place as Utility man.

[jmlease1]

Nice to see DeBarge stringing together some good games at the plate. I'm still concerned about his power outage in June & July (only 2 xbhs in July is not good), but he's collecting hits again and with his speed he can add bases if he gets on at least. But he's also not taking as many walks lately either. He's not having a bad season, but he's definitely faded after a hot start.

I do wonder if we'll see Julien and Sabato after the deadline if the Twins sell off some parts. Julien seems to be back on track; he's taking his walks and driving the ball pretty well, and Sabato's power is certainly playing (though I'm a little concerned that his plate discipline has slipped a bit). In other AAA news, Martin has been slumping; I still think I'd rather give him a shot over wasting a bench slot with Kiersey, but he's not really forcing this issue with his meh July. And disappointing to see Raya have back-to-back poor outings again after 4 good ones. Just not sure what to think of him at this point.

 

[thelanges5]

Good to see Langenberg starting to turn it around. Was looking for him to have a breakthrough season. Kernels are a fun team to watch.
If the free agents are dealt we may get to see Julien, Martin, others? Can they play their way into the Twins future plans or increase their trade value?

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

In other AAA news, Martin has been slumping; I still think I'd rather give him a shot over wasting a bench slot with Kiersey, but he's not really forcing this issue with his meh July. And disappointing to see Raya have back-to-back poor outings again after 4 good ones. Just not sure what to think of him at this point.

Many of the Saints have cooled off in July (except Julien).

[yeahyabetcha]

2 hours ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Twins are very likely to trade Castro and install Keaschall in his place as Utility man.

Has Keaschall actually done anything but DH since his return?

[LambchoP]

Looks like Raya is back to getting shelled again :(. DeBarge is a menace on the bases, if he can hit well enough and play good defense he could be a valuable late game pinch runner. Kind of like what the Twins are unsuccessfully trying with the automatic out aka Keirsey.

[rdehring]

Nice night for Julien, 3-4 with a walk, double and home run.  Sure would be nice if he would be thought to be worthwhile to some GM out there so the Twins could include him in a deal that brings back a nice player for the future.  Meanwhile, Miranda continues hitting a buck 95.

DeBarge stole his 51st base last night.  I don't remember anyone in the organization being close to that in July.  Who has the most steals in Twins minor league history? 

[D.C Twins]

3 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Nice to see DeBarge stringing together some good games at the plate. I'm still concerned about his power outage in June & July (only 2 xbhs in July is not good), but he's collecting hits again and with his speed he can add bases if he gets on at least. But he's also not taking as many walks lately either. He's not having a bad season, but he's definitely faded after a hot start.

I do wonder if we'll see Julien and Sabato after the deadline if the Twins sell off some parts. Julien seems to be back on track; he's taking his walks and driving the ball pretty well, and Sabato's power is certainly playing (though I'm a little concerned that his plate discipline has slipped a bit). In other AAA news, Martin has been slumping; I still think I'd rather give him a shot over wasting a bench slot with Kiersey, but he's not really forcing this issue with his meh July. And disappointing to see Raya have back-to-back poor outings again after 4 good ones. Just not sure what to think of him at this point.

 

If Sabato ends up making the MLB and having an impact, it will be one of the best prospect comeback stories I've seen in a loooooooooooooooooooong time.... and I would be feasting on crow.... and I'm totally for it!

[Dman]

The under-rated John Klein with another solid outing.  I have had him as my dark horse arm that can be a legit MLB pitcher, but man he can give up some awfully hard contact at times.  Still if you look at his line it is strong all the way around.  I wish there was more information about what he throws etc., but for now he looks good to go to the next level to me.

Bummer on Raya. I just start getting behind him again and he tanks again.  It's frustrating.  He has plus pitches, but is still giving up solid contact.  I watched him the other night and he looked poised on the mound.  he looked in control.  Still the results aren't there. You would think that with the movement he has they could develop a better plan for how to use it.

Ober did what Ober does.  Hopefully he is back to full health and mechanic's are figured out.

Will echo others on Julien.  He seems to be back and has been back for a while now.  He likely has earned another shot at first.  We'll see how the deadline goes.

Also not sure if anyone else noticed, but Andy Lugo has .870 OPS at High A.  Still only 28 games or so, but nice to see the 21 year old doing well at that level.

[Seth Stohs]

3 hours ago, yeahyabetcha said:

Has Keaschall actually done anything but DH since his return?

Not yet. 

I think they're going to long-play his rehab, if possible. He only had 7 MLB games and then missed 2+ months. Definitely don't want to rush him back. 

[Wedman13]

5 hours ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Twins are very likely to trade Castro and install Keaschall in his place as Utility man.

This is probably true.  But I wouldn't mess around with Keaschall.  The best players thrive on routine.  Bring up Martin in Castro's spot and find a place -1 place- where Keaschall is your every day starter.  If that means putting Larnach or Wallner on the bench, so be it.  Just my opinion.

[Mike Sixel]

48 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

Not yet. 

I think they're going to long-play his rehab, if possible. He only had 7 MLB games and then missed 2+ months. Definitely don't want to rush him back. 

Gotta move slow. The twins way!

[Mike Sixel]

24 minutes ago, Wedman13 said:

This is probably true.  But I wouldn't mess around with Keaschall.  The best players thrive on routine.  Bring up Martin in Castro's spot and find a place -1 place- where Keaschall is your every day starter.  If that means putting Larnach or Wallner on the bench, so be it.  Just my opinion.

I agree! I'd put him at first the rest of the year. He can't throw much, I'd guess. 

[rdehring]

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I agree! I'd put him at first the rest of the year. He can't throw much, I'd guess. 

Was it his right arm that was broken?  Or left?