Twins Minor League Report (8/24): Harry Genth Hits First Pro Homer, but Overall Horrific Day for Twins Pitchers

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Harry Genth)

Quality Pitching and Defense help teams win. Likewise, bad pitching and defense help teams lose. On Sunday, the Twins and their affiliates pitched really poorly, and the results were a lot of losses.  

TRANSACTIONS
On Sunday, the Twins added RHP Taj Bradley to the big-league roster. He started on Sunday and went five innings in Chicago.

To make room on the 26-man roster, RHP Erasmo Ramirez was Designated for Assignment. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 5, Round Rock 11
Box Score
Saints Mount Mid-Game Comeback but Fell Behind Too Much Too Early  

The scheduled starters for the Saints this weekend were Mick Abel and Taj Bradley. Both were called up to pitch for the Twins. On Sunday, Cory Lewis got an opportunity to start for St. Paul. Every out he got came on a strikeout. Unfortunately, he got just one out. He gave up six runs on five hits and two walks. One of the hits was a grand slam. Just 20 of his 38 pitches were strikes. 

Lefty Aaron Rozek came in and gave up three runs on five hits over 3 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out one. Noah Davis gave up two runs on four hits. He had two strikeouts. Trent Baker tossed two scoreless innings. He gave up no hits, walked three, and had one strikeout. Jarret Whorff gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth frame. 

Down 9-0 going to the bottom of the fifth inning, the Saints scored four runs. The innings started with singles by Will Holland, Anthony Prato and DaShawn Keirsey. The latter drove in the first run. Gabriel Gonzalez drove in Prato with a sacrifice fly. Johnny Pereda walked, and Aaron Sabato singled to load the bases. After a pitching change, Carson McCusker drove in Keirsey with a sacrifice fly. Pereda scored the fourth run on a Jose Miranda fielder’s choice. 

Down 11-4, the Saints added one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Holland led it off with a single and went to second on a throwing error. Anthony Prato grounded out to first base to move Holland to third base. Keirsey singled to drive in Holland and make it 11-5. 

The Saints got base runners the rest of the way. They had two singles in the seventh inning and one in the eighth. They loaded the bases on a walk and two singles but were unable to cut the deficit. 

Will Holland went 4-for-4 with his seventh double. Aaron Sabato went 3-for-5. Keirsey went 2-for-5. Pereda went 2-for-4 with a walk. Carson McCusker went 1-for-3 with a walk and knocked his 22nd double. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 2, Midland 6
Box Score
Genth Slams First Pro Homer, but Wind Surge Fell Behind Too Early

The Wind Surge fell behind early and pretty much stayed there the rest of the game. Alejandro Hidalgo gave up two runs in the first inning, two more in the second inning, and another in the third frame. In total, he gave up five runs on six hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings. 

Gabriel Yanez gave up three hits but no runs in 1 1/3 innings. Logan Whitaker gave up two hits in a scoreless inning. Darren Bowen came in and gave up one run on four hits and a walk over the final three innings of the game. 

Things looked good for the Surge early in the game. Kaelen Culpepper led off the game with a single to right. Walker Jenkins followed with a bunt single. Unfortunately, three batters later, neither of them even advanced a base. 

In fact, the Surge went scoreless until the seventh inning. With one out, Jake Rucker walked. With two outs, Harry Genth got a 2-1 changeup down the middle of the plate and hit his first professional home run. He ripped a blast through the wind coming in from left field. Following the game, Genth told Twins Daily, "Definitely felt good to get the first home run out of the way!" 

The diminutive (listed at 5-8) infielder signed with the Twins a day after the conclusion of the 2025 draft. He had a monster offensive season at Division III Haverford College. When you put up those kinds of numbers, it’s definitely worth signing and giving some opportunity! 

Genth added, "The transition hasn’t been without its bumps and bruises, but the guys and coaches have been unbelievably helpful so far. The opportunity in Double-A has been awesome. Being able to watch how all these guys go about their work and be a part of the clubhouse has honestly been the coolest part. Whatever I can do to help our team win I want to excel at regardless of what my playing time looks like. I feel like I’ve learned a ton already in just a couple weeks."

That was really it for the offense. The team had six hits and three walks. Couple that with going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and you have a loss. The teams split the six-game series. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 4, South Bend 2
Box Score
Cubs Homers Top Kernels to Take Game and Series 4-2.

The Cubs got on the scoreboard first with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Jacob Kisting started and gave up two runs on three hits (including a homer) over 3 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out four batters. 

Ivran Romero came on and walked one and struck out one and recorded three outs. Matt Gabbert gave up two runs on two hits (including a homer) in 3 1/3 innings. He had one strikeout. 

Down 2-0 through five innings, Marek Houston led off with his first Kernels double. With one out, Eduardo Tait singled to score Houston and cut the deficit in half. 

Unfortunately, the Cubs responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 4-1. 

In the top of the ninth, the first two Kernels struck out. Danny De Andrade walked and scored on a double by Poncho Ruiz. 

The Kernels had just five hits, but three of them were doubles by Houston, Ruiz and De Andrade. It was De Andrade’s 25th double. Brandon Winokur stole his 24th base.  

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers/Tampa (DH Cancelled) 

If you read Saturday’s minor league report, you saw that I included the hour-by-hour weather forecast for today. If you saw that, you’re probably not even a little bit surprised that Sunday’s doubleheader games were cancelled. With both teams well out of playoff contention, they will not have to make up the games.  

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Will Holland (St. Paul): 4-for-5, 2B(7), 2 R

Pitcher of the Day 
Darren Bowen (Wichita): 3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 38 pitches, 26 strikes (68.4%)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today.

#1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, K, (played CF)
#2 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(8), K, 2 E (played 2B)
#3 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 1-for-4, (played SS)
#5 - Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, RBI, K (DH)
#11 - Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, SF RBI
#13 - Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, 2B(1), K (played SS)
#14 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, SB(24), K (played CF)
#17 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K (played 2B)

UPCOMING PITCHING PROBABLES
Monday:
Minnesota @ Toronto (6:07 PM CT) - RHP Joe Ryan (12-6, 2.77 ERA)
Tuesday: 
St. Paul @ Toledo (5:35 PM CT) -
Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CT) -
Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CT) -
Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM CT) - 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 59-71
St. Paul Saints: 55-69 (22-29 second half, T-6th in IL West, 13 GB)
Wichita Wind Surge: 63-57 (26-25 second half, T-3rd in Texas Lg North, 4 GB)
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 66-54 (26-28 second half, T-3rd in MWL West, 3.5 GB, first half winner)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 46-69 (19-32 second half 6th in FSL West, 11.5 GB)
FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs)
DSL Twins: 24-32 (season complete)

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

 

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[tony&rodney]

I watch minor league games about 4-5 nights per week. I usually skip between 3 games. It seems quite difficult to judge the pitchers at times within the Twins system because there are  problems at times with decent defense. For example I watched Andrew Morris give up a few legitimate broken bat hits and then a run scores on an inexplicable play by Jose Miranda. I feel a number of pitchers including a few young Twins (Matthews) stretch for strikeouts. How comfortable are the pitchers with letting the opponents put the ball in play? The Wichita and Cedar Rapids teams seem to play better defense than the St. Paul squad. Pitching is tough if the guys behind you don't make routine plays.

[Dman]

Happy to see Genth get some movement in that OPS.  It's an interesting story. Seth can you tell us why they Twins have him at AA instead of A ball where most guys start?  the A ball team could really use the offense as well.  At any rate. I will be following Genth closely.

[wavedog]

And that puts a cap on another awful week of minor league play.  Since the traded deadline and influx of "talent" to the system making it one of the top-ranked in the minor leagues - the combined minor league record has been as bad as the major league club.  This management team has to be Top 3 in ineptness.  Honestly I don't see how there can't be a shake-up.  Not saying the talent isn't they but are getting less out of it.  

[tony&rodney]

2 minutes ago, wavedog said:

And that puts a cap on another awful week of minor league play.  Since the traded deadline and influx of "talent" to the system making it one of the top-ranked in the minor leagues - the combined minor league record has been as bad as the major league club.  This management team has to be Top 3 in ineptness.  Honestly I don't see how there can't be a shake-up.  Not saying the talent isn't they but are getting less out of it.  

Cedar Rapids and Wichita looked tired this week. Baseball players are human and the movement of guys has bound to be a little chaotic, even if it is a part of the business and to be expected. The managers at the minor league level need to focus the players in their final month of play. Careers are lost or won on how they play through the end of a long season.

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

Happy to see Genth get some movement in that OPS.  It's an interesting story. Seth can you tell us why they Twins have him at AA instead of A ball where most guys start?  the A ball team could really use the offense as well.  At any rate. I will be following Genth closely.

Wichita has very little depth, even now. They've done this in the past with Ernie Yake, Dalton Shuffield, Mikey Perez, etc. They aren't going to mess with "the plan" for development for the "prospects" like Marek Houston, Brandon Winokur, Kyle DeBarge, Danny De Andrade. Those guys they want to play most every day. Genth is a 4-year-college guy. He plays once, maybe twice a week. I'm sure he'd like to play more, but as a non-drafted guy who likely signed for a plane ticket to Fort Myers. 

 

[DJL44]

58 minutes ago, wavedog said:

And that puts a cap on another awful week of minor league play.  Since the traded deadline and influx of "talent" to the system making it one of the top-ranked in the minor leagues - the combined minor league record has been as bad as the major league club.  This management team has to be Top 3 in ineptness.  Honestly I don't see how there can't be a shake-up.  Not saying the talent isn't they but are getting less out of it.  

They should be pushing prospects to levels that require them to improve, not keeping them at levels that aren’t challenging just to win minor league games.

[jkcarew]

Not much of a day for the hitters, either.

[rdehring]

Thanks for the report, Seth.  One of the enjoyable things every morning of late for us Twins fans.

Two interesting tidbits today.  At least for me.  One was Winokur stealing his 24th base.  The other, Jenkins putting down a bunt and beating it out. 

The biggest news was Jenkins moving up to St. Paul following their game yesterday.  That will give him a full month of AAA.  He should have every opportunity to win a job with the Twins next spring.

[LambchoP]

It sure looks like our "pitching pipeline" is in real trouble. Just about every one of our upper level arms is having a terrible year. Raya, Morris, Adams, Festa, Abel, Bradley. These were guys who were supposed to be close to helping out in the rotation. Looking through our arms I see Prelipp and CJ Culpeper having a successful season. Other than that everyone is getting shelled and walking a batter per inning. Next year will be interesting that's for sure.