Twins Minor League Report (8/26): Pablo Lopez Continues Rehab, Walker Jenkins Debuts, Gabriel Gonzalez Players Hero for Saints

[Steve Lein]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Gabriel Gonzalez)

TRANSACTIONS

• The big news on the transaction front in the Twins system to start the week, was the promotion of top prospect OF Walker Jenkins to the St. Paul Saints on Monday.
• In addition, after outrighting RHP Jose Urena, he chose to elect free agency. SS Tanner Schobel was activated from the 60-day injured list, and IF Anthony Prato was released.
• For the Wind Surge, OF Kyle Hess was promoted from Cedar Rapids.
• In the Midwest League, RHP Eston Stull was activated from the 7-day injured list.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 5, Toledo 4
Box Score
Taking the mound for the Mud Hens was one of my personal favorite sports-humans, and one of my favorite Twins minor league stories in the last 10 years, in the recently traded Randy Dobnak. 

Facing off against his former teammates, he certainly started it like he had something to prove against them. His first three innings were of the perfect variety, and seven of those nine hitters went down via the strikeout. Including Walker Jenkins in his first triple-A at-bat. Ouch, Randy. Take it easy…

The Mud Hens had built a 3-0 lead at that point against the rehabbing Pablo Lopez, who would finish the first four innings on 68 pitches (46 for strikes). Lopez was charged with three earned runs on six hits, including a home run, and struck out five.

In the top of the fourth, Payton Eeles finally got a runner on base against Dobnak by drawing a five-pitch walk to lead it off. The just promoted Walker Jenkins then reached on an error and moved Eeles to second. Kyler Fedko followed with a single, and DaShawn Keirsey then brought in their first run on a fielder's choice. Johnny Pereda then drew a walk to load the bases before Gabriel Gonzalez delivered a two-run single to tie the game at three. After that first time through the order, Dobnak only struck out one other hitter and finished five innings.

The score remained tied until the eighth, as Cody Laweryson pitched a scoreless fifth, and was followed by Marco Raya to start the sixth. Raya finished 2 2/3, allowed an unearned run on one hit, and struck out four. 

Down 4-3 in the top of the ninth, it was Gonzalez who came through again. With one man on and two outs, he blasted his second home run with the Saints 409 feet to left field to put the good guys out front.

Travis Adams made it interesting in the bottom half by allowing a one-out double but locked in down with a K and a flyout to end the game. He allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out one in 1 1/3 innings to pick up his fourth win.

The Saints were outhit 7-5, but Gonzalez was clutch with his two hits in four at-bats that drove in four. Jenkins finished 0-for-4 with a K and scored a run in his Saints debut, playing centerfield and batting second.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Arkansas 3, Wichita 5
Box Score
The Wind Surge got four strong innings to start this one from Ricky Castro, while they built a 2-0 lead with him on the mound. Castro retired the first nine hitters of the game before allowing a leadoff single in the fourth.

In the bottom of the third the offense broke through by stringing together three singles and two walks. Kala’i Rosario’s single scored their first run, and a bases-loaded walk from Andrew Cossetti scored their second.

In the top of the fifth Castro finally ran into some trouble. He finished the inning but before it was over a three-run homer put the Travelers up by one. Castro ended up being charged with those three runs on four hits and no walks. He struck out five.

In the bottom of the sixth Wichita tied the game up at three on a two-out double from Jake Rucker to drive in Cossetti who led off the inning with a walk.

They took the 5-3 lead in the seventh when Kaelen Culpepper led off with a double, moved to third on a Rosario single, and scored on a slow roller to the pitcher from Nate Baez. Ben Ross followed later with an RBI single to make the final score.

After Castro was done, the bullpen battery of Jaylen Nowlin (1 IP), John Stankiewicz (W, 1 IP), Hunter Hoopes (1 IP), and Kade Bragg (1 IP, H) —despite not striking any hitters out— kept the Travelers from mounting any comeback by allowing just one baserunner in the final four innings and thanks to a double-play in the ninth faced their minimum.

Wichita got multiple hits from Culpepper (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, 2 K), Rosario (2-for-5, R, RBI, K), and Rucker (2-for-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB). Cossetti picked up a double and three walks in his four plate appearances.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Beloit 0, Cedar Rapids 2
Box Score
In a duel of pitching staffs at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, the Kernels came out on top.

Right-hander Chase Chaney made the start and completed the first four innings. He allowed just two hits and a walk, while striking out four to set the tone.

While he was on the mound the Kernels scored all the runs they would need. In the bottom of the third Jaime Ferrer got their rally started with a one-out double. Marek Houston drew a walk. Then with two outs, Eduardo Tait drove them both in with a double for the 2-0 lead that would hold up throughout.

Spencer Bengard picked up his fifth win of the season by pitching the next 2 2/3 innings. Of his eight outs, six of them came via the strikeout. He gave up two hits and walked one and retired the first two hitters of the seventh before being lifted for Nick Trabacchi. Trabacchi finished the seventh and got a big double-play from his defense to kill a rally in the eighth. He allowed one hit and struck out one.

Ruddy Gomez held it down in the ninth to pick up his fifth save, he struck out two.

The Kernels were outhit 5-3 but got the big hit from Tait with runners in scoring position to make the difference. They were 1-for-7, while the Sky Carp finished 0-for-7. Tait finished 2-for-4, and both of his hits were doubles. Houston was 0-for-3 but drew a walk and scored a run. Brandon Winokur drew a walk and stole his 25th base.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers @ Dunedin (Postponed, rain)
The opening game of the Mighty Mussels six-game series with the Blue Jays in Dunedin was postponed due to unplayable field conditions after the persistent rain in the Tampa area to start the week. They will try to make it up as a doubleheader tomorrow, with game one starting around 4:00 PM CDT. It marks the Mussels third straight rain out. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Spencer Bengard, Cedar Rapids Kernels (W, 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, BB, 6 K)
Hitter of the Day – Gabriel Gonzalez, St. Paul Saints (2-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI)

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 (St. Paul): 0-for-4, R, K (played CF)
#2 – Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): 1-for-4, R, HR (3), 2 RBI, BB, K (played 2B)
#3 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, 2 K (played SS)
#5 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K (Catcher)
#11 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 2-for-4, R, HR (2), 4 RBI (played RF)
#12 – Marco Raya (St. Paul): 2 2/3 IP, H, R (0 earned), 4 K (came into game following Pablo Lopez)
#13 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, R, BB (played SS)
#14 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, BB, 3 K, SB (25) (played 3B)
#17 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, K (played CF)
#20 – Hendry Mendez (Wichita): 0-for-3, BB, K (played LF)

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Toledo (5:35 PM CDT) - LHP Kendry Rojas (1-1, 6.62 ERA)
Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Ryan Gallagher (2-1, 5.85 ERA)
Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Jose Olivares (5-6, 4.97 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Dunedin, Game 1 (4:00 PM CDT) - RHP Michael Ross (4-5, 3.04 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Dunedin, Game 2 (30 min after game 1) - TBD

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

 

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[IndianaTwin]

And here’s your game winner from Gonzalez:

I drove the 2.5 hours to catch Jenkins’ debut and Gonzalez ended up being the hero. 

And after a fan yelled at Gaby at the beginning of the at bat, “Hey, Gonzalez. The state of the game is on your shoulders,” I may have stood to announce, “You’re right. The state of the game was on his shoulders!” as he rounded second. 

[IndianaTwin]

But for the record, Dobnak should have gotten out of the fourth scoreless. After the walk, Jenkins’ grounder was a tailor-made double play, but the second baseman blew it. Then after a bloop single, Dobnak got the next batter on a grounder that should have been the third out of the inning. You can’t assume the double play, so two of the runs were earned, but he shouldn’t have given up any. The three hits he gave up were a bloop and two seeing-eye singles. 

The most impressive pitcher of the night was Raya, however. He retired the first six, gave up a double, then got a dribbler and a strikeout looking before an error on the shortstop allowed the runner to score. And looked sharp doing it. 

Lopez did look sharp in his final two innings. I commented in the Twins game thread that with 68 pitches, it seems likely to think that his next outing will be with the Twins. It could come on Sunday on regular rest or on Monday when they will have been able to add an extra reliever if they don’t want him to go more than 80 or 85 pitches. 

[Doctor Wu]

4 hours ago, IndianaTwin said:

But for the record, Dobnak should have gotten out of the fourth scoreless. After the walk, Jenkins’ grounder was a tailor-made double play, but the second baseman blew it. Then after a bloop single, Dobnak got the next batter on a grounder that should have been the third out of the inning. You can’t assume the double play, so two of the runs were earned, but he shouldn’t have given up any. The three hits he gave up were a bloop and two seeing-eye singles. 

The most impressive pitcher of the night was Raya, however. He retired the first six, gave up a double, then got a dribbler and a strikeout looking before an error on the shortstop allowed the runner to score. And looked sharp doing it. 

Lopez did look sharp in his final two innings. I commented in the Twins game thread that with 68 pitches, it seems likely to think that his next outing will be with the Twins. It could come on Sunday on regular rest or on Monday when they will have been able to add an extra reliever if they don’t want him to go more than 80 or 85 pitches. 

Very informative first-hand report! Very pleased that Raya was looking so good. You are probably right about Lopez: his next start should be back with the Twins. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

Tait turns 19 today, 8/27. Happy birthday Eduardo Tait!

[wavedog]

Lopez looks ready to join the Twins starting rotation - gives up runs early and then settles in.    3-0 last night in the minors and a win for the Twins so an undefeated night!!  Still fun to follow the prospects!

[djm24]

6 hours ago, IndianaTwin said:

But for the record, Dobnak should have gotten out of the fourth scoreless. After the walk, Jenkins’ grounder was a tailor-made double play, but the second baseman blew it. Then after a bloop single, Dobnak got the next batter on a grounder that should have been the third out of the inning. You can’t assume the double play, so two of the runs were earned, but he shouldn’t have given up any. The three hits he gave up were a bloop and two seeing-eye singles. 

The most impressive pitcher of the night was Raya, however. He retired the first six, gave up a double, then got a dribbler and a strikeout looking before an error on the shortstop allowed the runner to score. And looked sharp doing it. 

Lopez did look sharp in his final two innings. I commented in the Twins game thread that with 68 pitches, it seems likely to think that his next outing will be with the Twins. It could come on Sunday on regular rest or on Monday when they will have been able to add an extra reliever if they don’t want him to go more than 80 or 85 pitches. 

(Still a Dobnak fan here)  Yep. Poor defense will bite a pitcher in most cases. However, to his credit, Dobnak struck out the first five batters he faced; seven of the first nine. That disastrous fourth inning prevented a great overall performance. Obviously, he had trouble getting through the second go-around. But he recovered in the fifth inning not allowing a base runner. He appears to be pitching better since joining his new team. Perhaps the "change of scenery" is helping. Time will tell.

[jaimedude]

Pablo Lopez looks ready to come back. 

[terrydactyls]

Will the Mussels be able to play again in2025?  It seems like they have been rained out every day for the last two weeks.

[Jeff K]

Eduardo Tait is just killing it in High A ball.  I'm trying not to get overly excited about it, but what else is there?  Might as well hope he is a difference maker.

[tony&rodney]

8 hours ago, IndianaTwin said:

The most impressive pitcher of the night was Raya, however.

I thought so too. Raya looked very good.

[LambchoP]

Tait is looking like the real deal. Still few years away but hard not to be a little excited at the possibilities. Rya has looked much better in relief. They should call him up and see how he does in the pen in 1-3 inning outings.

[Steve Lein]

9 hours ago, IndianaTwin said:

The most impressive pitcher of the night was Raya, however. He retired the first six, gave up a double, then got a dribbler and a strikeout looking before an error on the shortstop allowed the runner to score. And looked sharp doing it. 

I agree, Raya looked excellent last night. Racked up seven swings-and-misses. Retired his first six in a row.

[SaberNerd]

In these shorter stints, Raya has been able to increase his spinrate on both the breaking pitches and fastball, but hasn't had a velo increase.  Hopefully he's in the MLB bullpen come September, wonder how the numbers would look in just an inning.

[jmlease1]

Some nice performances from the prospects.

I don't really care that Walker Jenkins didn't crush it in his first game with the Saints; I find it exciting that he's already in Saint Paul, and is there based on performance and merit, not just because of his draft status.

Nice to see a Big Fly from GG; he's had a good week and hopefully he's getting on track. Hasn't been a ton of power from him in AAA so far, and he needs to keep drawing walks like he did earlier in the season. If he's swinging too much he could get into the Miranda trap. But he's having a nice season and showing why the Twins wanted him in the Polanco trade.

Good to see Culpepper have a 2 hit game. He's been scrabbling a lot lately, and is probably feeling worn down. Be great if he can get a day or two off down the stretch, gather himself and finish strong. He's done enough this season to make me think he'll be starting in AAA next year, and hopefully he can get on a good offseason program that helps him handle the long grind of a pro season.

Happy birthday to Eduardo Tait! Lots of potential with this kid. Hopefully he can start showing a little more patience at the plate, but he's doing just fine in high A at his age.