Twins Minor League Report (8/22): Deadline Acquisitions Garrett Horn, Hendry Mendez Turn Heads

[Tom Froemming]

Image courtesy of David Malamut (photo of Garrett Horn)

FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Round Rock 5, St. Paul 3
Wichita 9, Midland 4
Cedar Rapids 5, South Bend 2
Tampa 11, Fort Myers 2

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Anthony Narvaez assigned to Fort Myers.
Cedar Rapids IF Andy Lugo transferred to the 60-day IL.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Pitcher of the Day: Garrett Horn, Cedar Rapids (4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 69 pitches, 60.9% strikes)

Garrett Horn, who was recently acquired from Texas in the Danny Coulombe trade, delivered four no-hit innings and struck out half of the batters he faced (eight strikeouts, 16 batters faced).

Horn was particularly effective with his slider tonight, working that lower-80s breaking ball often in two-strike counts, and had some success elevating his fastball. Without the benefit of the Statcast data to back me up, I’d estimate he was sitting around 92 mph with his fastball while touching 95 mph (based on the velo readings available on the broadcast). 

Not only was Horn joining a new organization after the trade deadline, but he also jumped up a level. The 22-year-old lefty started the year with the Rangers’ complex league team but earned a promotion to Low-A in late June. He was checking all the boxes there, so the Twins bumped him up another level after acquiring him.

Horn’s first outing with the Kernels was forgettable, but his second (and most recent) performance included flashes of why the Twins targeted him. In that outing, Horn surrendered one hit and one unearned run while striking out five batters over four innings. Backing that up with another strong outing tonight is encouraging to see from a player navigating through so much change.

There’s always something to improve, however, and you don’t have to look too deep into tonight’s numbers to find where Horn needs work. He walked four of the 16 batters he faced and only threw about 60% of his pitches for strikes. On a more positive note, three of those four walks were issued in two-strike counts, so it’s not as if Horn ever completely lost command or was totally uncompetitive in those matchups. 

Hitter of the Day: Hendry Mendez, Wichita (1-for-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI, R)

Another new face played a key role in a victory tonight: Hendry Mendez.

With the Wind Surge trailing 4-1 in the top of the eighth inning, Walker Jenkins led off the frame with a four-pitch walk. Kala’i Rosario followed with an opposite-field single, and it appeared that perhaps the tides had turned on what had been a frustrating night offensively for Wichita.

Then Mendez put an exclamation point on that turning of the tide by delivering a tidal wave of a swing. A 2-2 breaking ball was left up, Mendez turned on it and took an opportunity to admire his work.

The Wichita lineup kept the waves rolling, and managed to tally five more runs, giving them an eight-run eighth inning. In addition to his leadoff walk, Jenkins also hit a two-run double to cap off the scoring in the inning. 

For Mendez, who was acquired in the Harrison Bader trade, it was his 10th home run of the season, second since joining the Twins org and his fourth off a left-handed pitcher this season. He has reverse platoon splits this season (.795 OPS vs. RHP, .889 OPS vs. LHP entering tonight).

Mendez drew a seven-pitch walk in his first plate appearance tonight, but he also struck out three times. That’s unusual for him; it’s just his second three-strikeout game in 100 contests this season. He entered tonight with an impressively low 12.9 K% on the season (for context, the Texas League average this year is a 23.1 K%).

STARTING PITCHING LINES
St. Paul: Andrew Morris (3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 43 pitches, 74.4% strikes)
Wichita: Sam Armstrong (4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 89 pitches, 62.9% strikes)
Cedar Rapids: Garrett Horn (4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 69 pitches, 60.9% strikes)
Fort Myers: Michael Carpenter (3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 K, 80 pitches, 57.5% strikes)

HOME RUNS
St. Paul: Payton Eeles (4), Kyler Fedko (6 with Saints, 26 overall)
Wichita: Hendry Mendez (2 with Wichita, 10 overall)

MULTI-HIT GAMES
St. Paul: Payton Eeles (2-for-4, HR, BB), Kyler Fedko (2-for-4, HR, BB)
Wichita: Kala’i Rosario (2-for-5, 2B), Maddux Houghton (2-for-4, 2B)
Cedar Rapids: Misael Urbina (4-for-5, 2B), Kyle DeBarge (2-for-5), Brandon Winokur (2-for-5), Danny De Andrade (2-for-4, BB)

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Offense was tough to come by in general tonight, but the system’s efforts with runners in scoring position certainly didn’t help. The four affiliates combined to go 8-for-42 w/RISP, a .190 batting average. 

Andrew Morris made his third appearance since returning from the IL. Over that span, he’s surrendered two earned runs in seven innings while striking out eight batters and only issuing one walk for the Saints. Of his 102 pitches thrown since returning, 73 have been strikes. He topped out at 98.6 mph tonight.

Speaking of Saints pitchers, John Klein followed Morris and was excellent tonight. The Brooklyn Park native was making his third appearance since being called up to Triple-A and worked 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball and struck out seven batters. Of Klein’s 13 swinging strikes, seven came on his four-seamer, which topped out at 96.3 mph.

St. Paul was one out away from a 3-2 victory, but Cody Laweryson gave up a two-run homer before surrendering another run prior to recording that final out of the top of the ninth.

Tonight, marked Misael Urbina’s 267th career game with Cedar Rapids. He celebrated the occasion by going 4-for-5 while driving in a pair of runs and scoring another to lead the Kernels to victory.

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 

1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 1-for-3, 2B, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI, K
2. Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): 2-for-4, BB, RBI
3. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 0-for-4, HBP, R
14. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, R, K, E
15. Andrew Morris (St. Paul): 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 43 pitches, 74.4% strikes
17. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, R, 3 K, CS
20. Hendry Mendez (Wichita): 1-for-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI, R, 3 K

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 59-69
St. Paul Saints: 55-67
Wichita Wind Surge: 62-56
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 66-52
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 46-69
FCL Twins: 39-20 (season over)
DSL Twins: 24-32 (season over)

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul vs. Round Rock, 6:37 pm CT: Mick Abel
Wichita at Midland, 7 pm CT: Ryan Gallagher
Cedar Rapids at South Bend, 6:05 pm CT: Dasan Hill
Fort Myers vs. Tampa, 5:05 pm CT: Christian Becerra

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[Dman]

Lot's of good games tonight.  If I were a pitcher I would never throw a fastball near the strike zone to Kyler Fedko.

Was awesome to see both Morris and Klein with great numbers at AAA.  Makes the future look a little brighter. Top that off with an impressive outing from Horn who is a lefty and it things seem even better.  4 walks was rough, but with no hits allowed not as big a deal as it could have been.

Jimenez still doing his thing.  2 Walks, no K's and another hit to keep his OPS in the 1.000 range.  He also more walks than strikeouts at A ball.  Kid id on heater right now for a guy that was supposed to be a so, so bat.

 

[SaberNerd]

Morris and Raya both didn't throw many pitches their last start, and it looks like that was planned. Wonder if they are looking at bringing them up for a September bullpen arm?

[HrbieFan]

So much for Fedko hitting HRs because he is extremely pull happy. Let the kid ride with the big club. And where is Rodriguez? Is he hurt again? 

[mikelink45]

I am ready for some more promotions - Outman doesn't do it for me.  Give a young batter a chance.  Same with Julien - I know he got two hits last night, but everyone hit against the Sox.  

I just went to the BR page to see the Twins batting stats.  Looking just at BA (I still like this stat) and out of 23 batters this year 6 are hitting under 200.  Mickey Gaspar is 117 and still on the team and playing?  And Julien is 198.

Six are hitting below Lewis 233 and four are on the current roster.  So of 23 batters for the year 13 are hitting 233 or lower!  Of the remaining 10 batters above 233 - 4 are gone in the big house cleaning.  I think we started on the wrong end of the list.

Out team BA is 238, 

If we look at OPS 10 are under 650 with Gaspar at 387 and 5 are on the current roster.  Martin escapes at 657.  And of course out of the other 12 four are traded.   Team OPS 705.

Of course we aren't winning and its time for some real experiments - give the young players a chance - I do not care about their time before arbitration - well before that they will be DFA'd, traded, or signed.

Or, how about pitching.  BR has 33 pitchers for the year which includes Bride - our team era is 4.27

11 pitchers have an era under 3 (this includes Willi Castro) - we have 2 left.  We have three more with eras in the 3's.  They are all on the team.  We have 13 (includes Clemens and Bride) with eras over five which includes Ober, Festa, Matthews, 

Then we have 10 with eras over 6 and six of them in double figures.  Yes Bride and Clemens are on this list and Cabrera is our active double digit era leader.  

 

 

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, SaberNerd said:

Morris and Raya both didn't throw many pitches their last start, and it looks like that was planned. Wonder if they are looking at bringing them up for a September bullpen arm?

Morris just came back after missing 2ish months. I'd be surprised if he's called up, but he'll definitely be added to the 40-man this offseason.

Raya is a possibility for September. But if Abel and Bradley are getting called up this weekend. Pablo and SWR will be coming up. And they probably want to make some decisions on some of the others. 

Klein has pitched a lot. I'd be shocked to see him called up in September. He's made himself into a serious candidate to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason.

[jmlease1]

K. Culpepper really scrabbling right now; wonder if he's getting a little worn down after playing more games in a season that he's ever done before? He's still had a fine season, but learning how to handle 120+ games in a season is something he might need to work on.

Mendez seems to be having a bit of a breakout season. Seems to have good bat to ball skills, and if the improvement in his power numbers is for real, we may have grabbed an underrated little gem in exchange for Bader. Be a nice piece of business if this is more who he is as a hitter. Would like to know more about his defense; quality in LF or not?

Rosario has quietly put together a pretty good season. He's on another hot streak in August, which is a nice recovery after a bit of a wobble in July. I'm always going to be concerned about his contact rates until he proves otherwise, but he takes his walks and causes damage when he swings. With all the LF OF bats we've assembled, his thump from the right could find a place at some point. I expect him in Saint Paul next season. Wonder how he rates with the Twins staff at this point?

Glad to see Morris pitching again. This season has been a bit of a mess for him: injuries and struggles, but I still like his talent. Hopefully he can finish strong and be an option.

[Otaknam]

Fedko is a good candidate for the team’s minor league offensive player of the year. I hope they give him a shot when the rosters expand. He deserves it, especially as a right handed hitter w some power and speed in an outfield that has plodding lefty hitters Larnach and Wallner, neither of whom provide ML defense. They already made a mistake on Rooker, so I hope they don’t make another one on Fedko without giving him a legit shot. 

[Otaknam]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

I am ready for some more promotions - Outman doesn't do it for me.  Give a young batter a chance.  Same with Julien - I know he got two hits last night, but everyone hit against the Sox.  

I just went to the BR page to see the Twins batting stats.  Looking just at BA (I still like this stat) and out of 23 batters this year 6 are hitting under 200.  Mickey Gaspar is 117 and still on the team and playing?  And Julien is 198.

Six are hitting below Lewis 233 and four are on the current roster.  So of 23 batters for the year 13 are hitting 233 or lower!  Of the remaining 10 batters above 233 - 4 are gone in the big house cleaning.  I think we started on the wrong end of the list.

Out team BA is 238, 

If we look at OPS 10 are under 650 with Gaspar at 387 and 5 are on the current roster.  Martin escapes at 657.  And of course out of the other 12 four are traded.   Team OPS 705.

Of course we aren't winning and its time for some real experiments - give the young players a chance - I do not care about their time before arbitration - well before that they will be DFA'd, traded, or signed.

Or, how about pitching.  BR has 33 pitchers for the year which includes Bride - our team era is 4.27

11 pitchers have an era under 3 (this includes Willi Castro) - we have 2 left.  We have three more with eras in the 3's.  They are all on the team.  We have 13 (includes Clemens and Bride) with eras over five which includes Ober, Festa, Matthews, 

Then we have 10 with eras over 6 and six of them in double figures.  Yes Bride and Clemens are on this list and Cabrera is our active double digit era leader.  

 

 

I think they will give Outman the rest of the season to show something, whether he is producing or not. Otherwise, they would have to admit acquiring him was a mistake, on top of all the other mistakes this front office has made.

[LambchoP]

Ok can we call up Fedko now? The kids gonna have a 30-30 season with a great BA. Plus, he's a RH hitting OF. Outman has shown absolutely nothing at the plate. A 45 percent K rate is laughable. Send him down and give Fedko a big league audition for next year. Pitching wise, let's dump some of these waiver wire veterans who we know are not going to be on the team next year and see what we have in some of our own pitchers. With Lopez and SWR, plus Able and Bradley making starts soon, we could try guys like Ohl, Adams, Raya and Morris in the pen. We are going to need to rebuild our relief corps from scratch, why not get an idea of who fits where right now in a lost season where nothing is at stake?

[DJL44]

9 minutes ago, Otaknam said:

I think they will give Outman the rest of the season to show something, whether he is producing or not. Otherwise, they would have to admit acquiring him was a mistake, on top of all the other mistakes this front office has made.

Outman has played 5 games for the Twins. They aren’t going to rotate in new players every 5 games. That would be an insane amount of roster churn.

[rdehring]

Will be surprised if Abel gets the start for the Saints tonight.  TV showed him in the Twins dugout last night in Chicago with today's starter listed as TBD.

It's getting to the point that we expect Fedko to have games like last night.  Will be shocked when we see an 0-4 with a couple strikeouts.  Add me to those above who are curious about Mendez' defense and speed.

Have a great weekend, Tom, and thanks for the report. 

 

 

[jkcarew]

14 hours ago, Dman said:

Jimenez still doing his thing.  2 Walks, no K's and another hit to keep his OPS in the 1.000 range.  He also more walks than strikeouts at A ball.  Kid id on heater right now for a guy that was supposed to be a so, so bat.

This! And he’s pretty young for A ball, as well. The first deadline acquisition, and immediately went under the radar with the subsequent blow-up and higher-profile acquisitions. The BB/K ratio really is encouraging. Obviously, there’s been a major effort to upgrade the catching depth in the org. We’ll see how it goes.

[jkcarew]

In other minor league catcher news…happy birthday to Khadim Diaw who turns 22 today. I wonder what the relative projections are defensively for Diaw, Tait, and Jimenez?