Twins Minor League Report (7/31): Kaelen Culpepper and Walker Jenkins Remind Twins Fans That Good Things Are Possible

[Seth Stohs]

It was a rough day for Twins fans as the trade deadline. We all knew that the Twins were likely to be quite busy since they had so many players who were impending free agents. Understanding the prospect returns that high-leverage relievers were bringing back, if it had stopped with Jhoan Duran being traded, we all could have understand. But when Brock Stewart was traded for Josh Outman, I can't find any redeeming qualities about that trade. But when I saw the Louis Varland trade to the Blue Jays, it made me sink. First and foremost, Kendry Rojas is a lefty who just got promoted to Triple-A after a quick stint in Double-A. 

But, as this article's title mentions, thankfully we have the Twins minor leagues to follow so that we can work to tell ourselves that the future may be bright. There is certainly talent in the organization that we get to recognize each day. Check out what Kaelen Culpepper and Walker Jenkins did for the Wind Surge on Thursday. Marco Raya was strong again as well. 

TRADES
What… A… Day! Here are the Twins Daily articles for all of their trades at the deadline.

Chris Paddack, Randy Dobnak to Tigers
Jhoan Duran to Phillies
Harrison Bader to Phillies
Brock Stewart to Dodgers
Carlos Correa to Houston
Danny Coulombe to Texas
Willi Castro to Cubs
Griffin Jax to Tampa
Louis Varland to Toronto

TRANSACTIONS
LHP Kendry Rojas and OF James Outman were assigned to Triple-A St. Paul. 

RHPs Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong and OF Hendry Mendez were assigned to Double-A Wichita.

C Eduardo Tait, LPH Garrett Horn, and Matt Mikulski were assigned to Cedar Rapids.
RHP Geremy  Villoria was assigned to DSL Twins.

LHP Jaylen Nowlin returned to Wichita after spending one day with St. Paul.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 0, Toledo 2
Box Score
Marco Raya was very good and was on the mound a lot, but the Saints forgot to bring their bats on Thursday. Raya completed six innings and tossed 93 pitches in this game. He gave up two runs on six hits and two walks. The blemish was a four-inning home run by Jace Jung. He had six strikeouts. 

Aaron Rozek came on in relief. After a scoreless seventh inning, he gave up five runs in the eighth inning. 

Through eight innings, the Saints hitters had five walks, and no hits. With one out in the top of the ninth, Luke Keaschall pinch hit for Austin Martin. On a 3-0 count, Keaschall lined a single to left field. Well, that got things going. Edouard Julien followed with a single to right field. Jonah Bride singled to right to drive in Keaschall. A wild pitch put the tying runner on second base. However, the next two batters struck out, and the Saints fell short. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Game 1: Wichita 2, Amarillo 7
Box Score
This was actually a fairly close game. Amarillo led 3-1 until the bottom of the fifth when they added four runs and turned it into a blowout. 

The Wind Surge had just seven hits and three walks in the game. Kaelen Culpepper, the leadoff man, went 4-for-4 with his sixth Double-A homer and two RBI. Batting second, Walker Jenkins went 2-for-3 with a walk. Both added a stolen base. The rest of the lineup went a combined 1-for-20 with two walks. 

C.J. Culpepper started and went the first three innings. He gave up three runs on four hits and three walks. Mike Paredes gave up four runs on four hits and a walk in three innings.                                              

Game 2: Wichita 2, Amarillo 3
Box Score
John Klein made the start and tossed five scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, hit a batter, and had four strikeouts. Hunter Hoopes threw a scoreless sixth inning. Then in the seventh, he gave up a three-run, walkoff homer to Manuel Pena. 

The Surge got on the scoreboard in the third inning when Kaelen Culpepper doubled to drive in Jose Salas. 

In the sixth inning, Walker Jenkins knocked his fourth Wichita home run to make it 2-0. 

Like Game 1, it was just those top two hitters again. Culpepper was 1-for-3 with his fourth double. Jenkins was 2-for-3 with his eighth double and fourth homer. Jose Salas also doubled for the fourth time. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 7, Lansing 4
Box Score
A four-run sixth inning helped the Kernels to another win over Leo De Vries and the Fort Wayne, er, Lansing Lugnuts. Earlier in the morning, De Vries, a consensus top five prospect in baseball was the key component to the trade that sent Mason Miller from the A’s to the Padres. 

In the top of the third, Billy Amick doubled to drive in Caden Kendle with the game’s first run. 

Lansing scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. However, the Kernels reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth. Kyle Hess led off with his second triple of the season. Kendle followed with the sacrifice fly. Kyle DeBarge got things going again right away with a single and went to second on an error. He then stole third, his 55th base of the season, and scored on an Amick single. 

In the sixth inning, Jay Thomason singled to start the inning. Jaime Ferrer walked. After an out, Hess walked to load the bases. Kendle singled to drive in two runs and make it 5-2. DeBarge and Amick followed with RBI singles to make it 7-2. 

Ty Langenberg made the start. He went the first 5 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. He had two walks and four strikeouts. Nick Trabacchi faced eight batters and recorded seven outs, three on strikeouts. His only blemish was a hit batter. Sam Perez pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record his third save. 

DeBarge and Amick were both 3-for-5 with a double. Amick drove in three runs and DeBarge drove in one run. Ferrer went 1-for-2 with two walks. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 3, Bradenton 5
Box Score
A four-run third inning for the Marauders was pretty much the difference in this game. 

Jason Doktorczyk started and gave up four runs (2 earned) on three hits and two walks and a hit batters in four innings. He struck out three. Brent Francisco made his first Mussel appearance and struck out two batters over two, one-hit innings. Tyler Stasiowski gave up a solo homer over his two innings. 

Down 4-1 going to the sixth inning, the Mussels mounted a rally. Dameury Pena reached on an error and went to second. Yasser Mercedes singled to drive in Pena and went to second on the throw. After a ground out, Mercedes stole 29th. 

Next, 19-year-old newbie Enrique Jimenez lined a single to left, his first hit in the Twins organization, to drive in Marcedes and make it 4-3. 

The Mussels had seven hits. Caleb McNeely went 2-for-4

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins 5, DSL Phillies 3 
Box Score
The Twins fell behind early. Through five innings, they were down 3-0. In the top of the sixth Cristian Bonifacio walked and went to second and then third on wild pitches. Teilon Serrano walked. He went to second on a wild pitch which also allowed Bonifacio to score. Santiago Leon was hit by a pitch. 

After a pitching change, a flyout pushed the two runners to second and third. Serrano scored on a wild pitch. Joyner Perez doubled to drive in Santiago and tie the game at 3-3. 

That is where the score remained until the ninth inning. Gerardo Cardona singled to lead off the inning. Jhomnardo Reyes pinch ran for him and advanced to second on a passed ball and third on a wild pitch. Darwin Almanzar doubles to drive in Reyes and give the Twins the 4-3 lead. With one out, Serrano singled to right to drive in the fifth run. 

Jesus Gomez started and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in three innings. He had two strikeouts. Eli Urena pitched the fourth inning and gave up one run on one walk. He had two strikeouts. Eliezer Lucena worked the final five innings. He gave up no runs on one hit and a walk while striking out three.  

The Twins had six hits and eight walks in the game. Joyner Perez was 1-for-2 with two walks. Almanzar’s double was his 13th of the season. Cristian Bonifacio went 1-for-2 with two walks and his fifth double. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita):  5-for-7, 2B(4), HR(6), R, 3 RBI, K, SB(5)
Walker Jenkins (Wichita):  4-for-6, BB, 2B(8), HR(4), R, RBI, 2 K, SB(8)

Pitcher of the Day 
Eliezer Lucena (DSL Twins): 5 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 3 K.
John Klein (Wichita): 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, HBP, 4 K. 

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) - 4-for-6, BB, 2B(8), HR(4), R, RBI, 2 K, SB(8) (CF both games)
#2 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - 1-for-1, R (PH)
#3 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 5-for-7, 2B(4), HR(6), R, 3 RBI, K, SB(5) (SS both games)
#8 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 0-for-6, BB, 3 K.
#9 - Marco Raya (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, HBP, WP, 6 K, 93 pitches, 55 strikes (59.1%)
#11 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-5, K (played SS)
#14 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, R, 2B(19),  RBI, K, SB(55) (played 2B)
#15 - C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 57 pitches, 34 strikes (59.6%)
#16 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 2B(12), 3 RBI (played 3B)
#19 - Eduardo Beltre (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, 2 K (played CF)
#20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0-for-6, 3 K (DHd, then played LF)

FRIDAY PITCHING PROBABLES
St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05 PM CT) - RHP Cory Lewis (3-4, 6.79 ERA),
Wichita @ Amarillo (7:05 PM CT) - LHP Connor Prielipp (0-4, 2.94 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05 PM CT) - TBD
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CT) - LHP Michael Carpenter (0-4, 4.66 ERA)
DSL Rockies @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CT) - TBD 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 51-57
St. Paul Saints: 46-57
Wichita Wind Surge: 52-47
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 58-40
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 43-54
FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs)
DSL Twins: 16-26

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

View full article

[Fatbat]

It’s the Culpepper/Jenkins show in Kansas. Excited to see them in St.Paul/MPLS next summer!

[FlyingFinn]

9 minutes ago, Fatbat said:

It’s the Culpepper/Jenkins show in Kansas. Excited to see them in St.Paul/MPLS next summer!

St. Paul is going to need reinforcements after the Twins fill their roster. How about calling them up now. The Twins aren't playing to win so we need to move the younger guys up faster, like some other teams do.

[Patzky]

27 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

St. Paul is going to need reinforcements after the Twins fill their roster. How about calling them up now. The Twins aren't playing to win so we need to move the younger guys up faster, like some other teams do.

A morbid curiosity like a bad accident will have me tuning in to see how they concoct their roster and lineup tonight.

Hey no pressure!

[bunsen82]

Culpepperm Jenkins and Gonzalez are studs. There will definitely be some openings today, we will see who gets called up.  

[mikelink45]

Good report and we needed it.  I can't wait to see the transactions that are going to be made before today's Twins game.  We might have to turn over the Twins report to Seth, he will be the only one to know the players!

[TwinsDr2021]

1 hour ago, Fatbat said:

It’s the Culpepper/Jenkins show in Kansas. Excited to see them in St.Paul/MPLS next summer!

With a complete rebuild, why bother having them play anywhere but on the Twins. Even if they are terrible who cares it is about the future. 

[TwinsDr2021]

42 minutes ago, Patzky said:

A morbid curiosity like a bad accident will have me tuning in to see how they concoct their roster and lineup tonight.

Hey no pressure!

It should be Jenkins, GG and ERod in the outfield. Lewis, Culpepper, Lee and Keaschall in the infield, Wallner DH with a new manager. Any thing less is a kick to the nuts to the fans. But my guess is we will see the retread team out there Rocco, Larnach, Keirsey, Outman, Julien, Miranda and possibly ever other non prospect late bloomer over the age of 25 player. 

There is no chance of me watching the Twins or even caring about them if the don't bring up at least two of the kids. 

[MinnInPa]

38 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

It should be Jenkins, GG and ERod in the outfield. Lewis, Culpepper, Lee and Keaschall in the infield, Wallner DH with a new manager. Any thing less is a kick to the nuts to the fans. But my guess is we will see the retread team out there Rocco, Larnach, Keirsey, Outman, Julien, Miranda and possibly ever other non prospect late bloomer over the age of 25 player. 

There is no chance of me watching the Twins or even caring about them if the don't bring up at least two of the kids. 

Outman is horrible...really a AA ballplayer at best

[Nashvilletwin]

……..until Rocco gets his hands on them.

[jimbo92107]

If your glass is half full...of that foamy stuff that erupts like a volcano(!), then a fire sale at the deadline is just the thing to make fan sites like TD even more popular. Let me tell you about a group of guys that just had a wonderful night of sweet, giddy dreams: Every ballplayer in the Twins minor league system. 

It's not that these underpaid, overworked young men wish any ill on the players at the club level...they just wish they'd go away! And over the last few days...oh, boy! Seems like half the players that were getting clutch hits, closing games, eating innings and playing multiple positions just left town.

It surprised me a bit to see that Byron Buxton was not (yet) emancipated from this mess. Face of the franchise? What franchise?? Buxton's first (relatively) healthy, all-star season, and the team has collapsed, again. Kevin Garnett can sympathize.

Now, a whole new game of musical chairs can begin. I expect to see several more trades soon, because the Twins still have a logjam of infielders, many of whom are currently stashed in AAA and AA, and some of whom could play at league level elsewhere. Lots more  promotions, too. 

Hey you, minor leaguers: Any of you pitch? Any of you steal bases? Play outfield? Shortstop? Pound baseballs for distance? 

The sun comes up on a new era in Minnesota. Let wild surmises launch like colorful balloons. Sweet dreams, boys.

[Major League Ready]

48 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

It should be Jenkins, GG and ERod in the outfield. Lewis, Culpepper, Lee and Keaschall in the infield, Wallner DH with a new manager. Any thing less is a kick to the nuts to the fans. But my guess is we will see the retread team out there Rocco, Larnach, Keirsey, Outman, Julien, Miranda and possibly ever other non prospect late bloomer over the age of 25 player. 

There is no chance of me watching the Twins or even caring about them if the don't bring up at least two of the kids. 

I would bet your prediction is correct.  I would not agree they should rush very good prospects at AAA when they just just acquired two OFers that already have Major league experience.  Outman produced 3.9 WAR his first year then got hurt and lost his job which can happen pretty easily in LA.  They would not have traded Stewart for him if they did not believe in Outman.  You can disagree with them on Outman but now that they have invested in him, Outman will get a look.  He is also the CF back-up. 

Roden has struggled in his first 100 ABs but he hit at every level including a 919 OPS at AAA this year.  There is nothing left for him to prove at AAA so now is the time to see if he can make the jump.  They have Martin as well.  They are not going to rush the guys in AA when they have three guys that are ready and need a look right now.  

Lee plays SS for now.  Culpepper likely gets promoted to AAA any day now and he takes over from Lee sometime next season.  Same reason, no reason to rush him.  They have a lot of players at AA / AAA that are ready or will be ready by this time next year.  The rest of 2025 and 2026 will be devoted to sorting out all of these OFers and Pitchers.    

[tony&rodney]

Lately I have been watching pretty much every plate appearance of K. Culpepper, Jenkins, and Gonzalez as well as trying to see how they look in the field.

Culpepper has improved nearly every week. He owns his at bats driving the ball all over the park. The outs are well struck. There are only a few random wild swings. Kaelen looks ready to move up to St. Paul. There isn't a better middle infielder as a fielder or hitter in the system. 

Jenkins has turned it on lately. He has a sweet stroke at the plate as advertised and is slowly getting to more power. He definitely is growing into his body. He plays hard, which I love. Walker also looks solid in the outfield although he will certainly need to move to a corner to get the best value from his good glove. Perhaps the Twins (expect it) leave him at AA for the remainder of the season but he could learn quickly at AAA.

Gonzalez is a bat to ball machine. Lately I have seen him go big on his swing several times with positive results. There may be a major league bat there if he can rein in some of his chasing pitches out of the zone. The glove has improved tremendously but his best position is still DH. That said, Gonzalez has looked better in the outfield than a couple of the Twins OF/DH guys. GG will stay in AA until next year I think.

[TwinsDr2021]

13 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

I would bet your prediction is correct.  I would not agree they should rush very good prospects at AAA when they just just acquired two OFers that already have Major league experience.  Outman produced 3.9 WAR his first year then got hurt and lost his job which can happen pretty easily in LA.  They would not have traded Stewart for him if they did not believe in Outman.  You can disagree with them on Outman but now that they have invested in him, Outman will get a look.  He is also the CF back-up. 

Roden has struggled in his first 100 ABs but he hit at every level including a 919 OPS at AAA this year.  There is nothing left for him to prove at AAA so now is the time to see if he can make the jump.  They have Martin as well.  They are not going to rush the guys in AA when they have three guys that are ready and need a look right now.  

Lee plays SS for now.  Culpepper likely gets promoted to AAA any day now and he takes over from Lee sometime next season.  Same reason, no reason to rush him.  They have a lot of players at AA / AAA that are ready or will be ready by this time next year.  The rest of 2025 and 2026 will be devoted to sorting out all of these OFers and Pitchers.    

I agree with you, it is absolutely the MO of this FO to waste time on guys they shouldn't be wasting time on. Roden will be 26 next year, Outman 29 (in May), Larnach 29, Martin 27, Wallner (28) great ages for established players, not so great of age for rebuilding team to be figuring out what they have. (Roden, Outman, Larnach, and Wallner all hit left handed. what good is it having all these guys on the major league roster? )

As for Culpepper he played three years of college ball, has close to 500 at bats in the minors, and turns 23 in the offseason, if he needs much more time in the minors he isn't the player the Twins need him to be. 

Shouldn't a rebuild actually involve some sort of youth? I mean as it stands now, will the Twins have any player under the age of 25 going into next season?  I mean this could be considered the worst rebuild in the history of the game, when it isn't being rebuilt with youth.

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

It should be Jenkins, GG and ERod in the outfield. Lewis, Culpepper, Lee and Keaschall in the infield, Wallner DH with a new manager. Any thing less is a kick to the nuts to the fans. But my guess is we will see the retread team out there Rocco, Larnach, Keirsey, Outman, Julien, Miranda and possibly ever other non prospect late bloomer over the age of 25 player. 

There is no chance of me watching the Twins or even caring about them if the don't bring up at least two of the kids. 

I'd actually argue they should go with that second group of players until September. Don't use up rookie eligibility on the other group this year. Get them up in September to get their feet wet, but keep them eligible for the extra draft pick if any of them go nuts in 2026 and can snag rookie of the year.

[Bodie]

1 hour ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

With a complete rebuild, why bother having them play anywhere but on the Twins. Even if they are terrible who cares it is about the future. 

I thought, and still think, that Jenkins should get called up when the roster expands *assuming I remember rules correctly * without any hype or advanced notice.  Call him up play him and see what you actually have.

If he is as good as advertising, he is one of the 3 best guys to have out there, long-term.

Assuming he stays healthy,  of course. 

I would not expect instant stardom, but I'd like to see a) athleticism, b) defense and c)a willingness to address his weaknesses which will be exposed by the best in the majors.  

One way to find out just where in his progression he actually is.  Gives him immediate feedback on what he needs to work on.  Unless he is an utter trainwreck (and he seems professional enough that that won't happen, fingers crossed!) it seems like an idea worth exploring. 

My only worry is the new ingenious plan Rocco will have to throw a wrench into the works... but I know how to solve that!

[rdehring]

Continue to be impressed by Culpepper, who seems to be getting better every week.

Like how Jenkins has gotten hot.  Believe his slow start was to be expected after having missed, was it two months or longer?  Both seem to be legitimate prospects who could become stars beginning some-time next year. 

Trust the Twins goal for the rest of this season should be a top three draft slot next summer.  Hopefully, they will be better at that then they have been competing for a playoff spot the past four months.  

With what seems like their entire bullpen now pitching elsewhere, will some of these starters who are close be pitching out of the Twins pen the next couple months?  Will Raya be one of them?  Do they view Zebby Matthews as a future closer?  

[chpettit19]

24 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Lately I have been watching pretty much every plate appearance of K. Culpepper, Jenkins, and Gonzalez as well as trying to see how they look in the field.

Culpepper has improved nearly every week. He owns his at bats driving the ball all over the park. The outs are well struck. There are only a few random wild swings. Kaelen looks ready to move up to St. Paul. There isn't a better middle infielder as a fielder or hitter in the system. 

Jenkins has turned it on lately. He has a sweet stroke at the plate as advertised and is slowly getting to more power. He definitely is growing into his body. He plays hard, which I love. Walker also looks solid in the outfield although he will certainly need to move to a corner to get the best value from his good glove. Perhaps the Twins (expect it) leave him at AA for the remainder of the season but he could learn quickly at AAA.

Gonzalez is a bat to ball machine. Lately I have seen him go big on his swing several times with positive results. There may be a major league bat there if he can rein in some of his chasing pitches out of the zone. The glove has improved tremendously but his best position is still DH. That said, Gonzalez has looked better in the outfield than a couple of the Twins OF/DH guys. GG will stay in AA until next year I think.

The "wild swings" are what I've been tracking with KC. I still see a few ABs here and there where he clearly just kind of loses himself at the end and chases things he has no business swinging at, but totally agree those are few and far between and getting fewer and fewer as we go. Love to see it and would love to see him up in AAA for August.

Jenkins looks like he's going into more ABs ready to let it rip earlier in counts. He has a little more Mauer in him at this stage than I'd prefer (I mean, I'll take a HOF career) in that his natural approach appears to me to be to take his singles or doubles to left center and be good with it. But lately it's felt (I don't watch enough to have anything more than hunches and feelings and guesses at this stuff) like he's gone up there looking to do more damage, especially early. His swing looks more violent, but still in a controlled way. In that HR AB yesterday he even swung hard enough on a couple swings that he lost his balance a little which I thought was weird for him and then he went yard. 

[Doctor Wu]

Ready for the callup of all callups. Please!

[tony&rodney]

4 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

The "wild swings" are what I've been tracking with KC. I still see a few ABs here and there where he clearly just kind of loses himself at the end and chases things he has no business swinging at, but totally agree those are few and far between and getting fewer and fewer as we go. Love to see it and would love to see him up in AAA for August.

Jenkins looks like he's going into more ABs ready to let it rip earlier in counts. He has a little more Mauer in him at this stage than I'd prefer (I mean, I'll take a HOF career) in that his natural approach appears to me to be to take his singles or doubles to left center and be good with it. But lately it's felt (I don't watch enough to have anything more than hunches and feelings and guesses at this stuff) like he's gone up there looking to do more damage, especially early. His swing looks more violent, but still in a controlled way. In that HR AB yesterday he even swung hard enough on a couple swings that he lost his balance a little which I thought was weird for him and then he went yard. 

I think the Twins have something with these two guys. I'm still holding out long term hope for Winokur but the real sale this winter needs to target guys like Culpepper and Jenkins no matter the cost.

Just for fun and with full knowledge that the offer would be turned down immediately by the Athletics , did you ever see my crazy trade idea? Ryan, Ober, Soto, Wallner or Larnach for Nick Kurtz.

[Fatbat]

3 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

St. Paul is going to need reinforcements after the Twins fill their roster. How about calling them up now. The Twins aren't playing to win so we need to move the younger guys up faster, like some other teams do.

If I was allowed to build tonight’s roster, KC & WJ would be in Cleveland and in the starting lineup.

[chpettit19]

15 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

I think the Twins have something with these two guys. I'm still holding out long term hope for Winokur but the real sale this winter needs to target guys like Culpepper and Jenkins no matter the cost.

Just for fun and with full knowledge that the offer would be turned down immediately by the Athletics , did you ever see my crazy trade idea? Ryan, Ober, Soto, Wallner or Larnach for Nick Kurtz.

That is a whole lot to give up for 1 guy. I actually think the A's would accept that and turn around and flip Ryan and Ober for other pieces. Or at least think about it. Or I would if I ran them. I'd call all my people in and have a meeting about it for sure.

[TwinsDr2021]

41 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

I'd actually argue they should go with that second group of players until September. Don't use up rookie eligibility on the other group this year. Get them up in September to get their feet wet, but keep them eligible for the extra draft pick if any of them go nuts in 2026 and can snag rookie of the year.

If they were doing it to lose and get a higher pick, sure. 

[tony&rodney]

4 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

That is a whole lot to give up for 1 guy. I actually think the A's would accept that and turn around and flip Ryan and Ober for other pieces. Or at least think about it. Or I would if I ran them. I'd call all my people in and have a meeting about it for sure.

Really? I do that trade all day, every day. Kurtz plays defense too and actually can go 1st to 3rd. I was just making a crazy idea. If there was even a remote chance that something like this would work, it should have been explored. Hell, add Raya. Kurtz is among the best young players in baseball. 

[chpettit19]

21 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

If they were doing it to lose and get a higher pick, sure. 

The extra month of ABs for guys like Jenkins, Culpepper, and Gonzalez aren't going to make or break their careers. They aren't going to win more games than Miranda, Julien, and Gasper in August with those 3 youngsters. Playing those 3 AA guys in the majors starting today would take them all well past their rookie eligibility without giving you any real added bonus. If any of them have monster years next year that would've won them the rookie of the year award all you did was cost yourself an extra draft pick. 

What is the point of that? Calling them up today provides no real added benefit. Give Miranda, Julien, and Gasper types their last month to see if they can save their careers. Then drop whoever isn't going to be here next year to call up Jenkins, Culpepper, Gonzalez, etc. and give them every AB in September. They get their MLB experience while maintaining rookie eligibility. 

Why wouldn't you want to give them MLB experience and also keep your chance to gain an extra late first round pick?

[FlyingFinn]

Domino's starting - Gonzalez, Fedko, MacLeod move to St. Paul. Why not Culpepper and Jenkins?

[The_No_Lifer]

2 hours ago, MinnInPa said:

Outman is horrible...really a AA ballplayer at best

Yep, the guy slugging .592 in AAA is an AA player.  I'm not big on Outman, but let's be realistic

[Yoke]

Feel like my thumb is going to get sore scrolling through transactions on the 8/1 minor league report.

[chpettit19]

29 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Really? I do that trade all day, every day. Kurtz plays defense too and actually can go 1st to 3rd. I was just making a crazy idea. If there was even a remote chance that something like this would work, it should have been explored. Hell, add Raya. Kurtz is among the best young players in baseball. 

Oh, he's been an absolute monster, no doubt. But it's 70 games. 

Joe Ryan should bring back 2 near MLB ready top 100 type guys, plus more. Kyle Teel has 32 games of a 117 OPS+ and the White Sox got 3 other guys on top of that. Ober should bring back at least 1 near MLB ready top 100 guy, plus more. If Wallner gets his s*** together the rest of the year he would bring back another one. I mean, you're talking about giving yourself 4 swings at the next Kurtz. You just have to pick the right guys. 

Trading 2 established playoff quality starting pitchers (plus more) for 1 player sounds like something that's probably never happened in the history of baseball.

[TwinsDr2021]

15 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

The extra month of ABs for guys like Jenkins, Culpepper, and Gonzalez aren't going to make or break their careers. They aren't going to win more games than Miranda, Julien, and Gasper in August with those 3 youngsters. Playing those 3 AA guys in the majors starting today would take them all well past their rookie eligibility without giving you any real added bonus. If any of them have monster years next year that would've won them the rookie of the year award all you did was cost yourself an extra draft pick. 

What is the point of that? Calling them up today provides no real added benefit. Give Miranda, Julien, and Gasper types their last month to see if they can save their careers. Then drop whoever isn't going to be here next year to call up Jenkins, Culpepper, Gonzalez, etc. and give them every AB in September. They get their MLB experience while maintaining rookie eligibility. 

Why wouldn't you want to give them MLB experience and also keep your chance to gain an extra late first round pick?

I get everything you are saying, but it just pushes off the rebuild and takes away any incentive to watch this team or cheer for them to win, with the Miranda, Julien, Gasper, Outman's I am just cheering them to lose, and I hate that, IMO I just don't see any of them being worthy 40 man spots, So besides the days Ryan pitches I will be hoping they lose and hoping the starters are doing well enough to be worthy of spots in the future. To me that is a bad spot for any team to be in. Unless they fire Rocco (which isn't happening) then I will want to new manager to have success.