Twins Minor League Report (9/5): Billy Amick Rediscovered His Power

[Tom Froemming]

FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Louisville 5, St. Paul 4 (10 innings)
Tulsa 6, Wichita 1
Cedar Rapids 7, Quad Cities 5
Fort Myers 4, St. Lucie 1 (7 innings)

TRANSACTIONS
OF DaShawn Keirsey Jr. optioned to St. Paul.
C Jhonny Pereda recalled by the Twins from St. Paul.
RHP Noah Davis sent outright to St. Paul.
3B Peyton Carr promoted from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids.
Fort Myers activated OF Jacob McCombs from the IL.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Hitter of the Day: Billy Amick, Cedar Rapids (4-for-5, 3 2B, 3 R).
Power was Amick’s calling card in college. He boasted a .667 slugging percentage and hit 36 home runs in 120 career collegiate games. While he’s had a productive 2025 at the plate, it’s come with less firepower than was expected.

Though his .305 batting average and .419 OBP were stellar, Amick hit just two home runs over his first 53 games of this season. Early last month, a shoulder injury sent him to the IL for the second time this season and it was easy to wonder if this was going to end up being a solid, but strange first full pro season for Amick.

The 22-year-old was activated off the IL this week, and after a quiet first game back he has flexed his muscles. Yesterday, Amick swatted a pair of home runs, doubling his dinger total for the season. He kept it rolling tonight by hitting three doubles in what was the first four-hit night of his pro career. His Kernels teammates brought him around to score three runs in what was a tight, 7-5 victory.

Though he remained productive despite the injury, it’s easy to look back and wonder if Amick’s shoulder issues sapped his power for much of this season. Either way, it’s exciting to see him finishing strong.

Pitcher of the Day: Michael Carpenter, Fort Myers (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K)
Carpenter was among the more intriguing picks in the Twins’ 2024 draft class. After an unbelievable year at Madison Area Technical College, a Division II Junior College, he was set to transfer to East Carolina. Instead, the Twins selected him and signed him to the sixth-highest bonus of anyone in their 2024 class.

Perhaps this was to be expected, but Carpenter has taken his lumps in his first full pro season. Not only is the jump from Madison Area Tech to full-season ball a big one, but Carpenter is also two years younger than the average FSL pitcher. He just celebrated his 21st birthday in late-July.

Despite the challenges, there have been flashes and Carpenter has managed to stay healthy. It’s all led up to tonight, the best outing of his career to date.

The southpaw led Fort Myers to a 4-1 victory by going five innings for the first time and tallying a career-high seven strikeouts. Carpenter surrendered just three hits — all singles — and walked one batter. The only run he surrendered was unearned. He topped out at 93.3 mph and worked with a five-pitch mix (sinker, slider, cutter, four-seamer, changeup).

STARTING PITCHING LINES
St. Paul: Mick Abel (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 70 pitches, 62.9% strikes)
Wichita: Alejandro Hidalgo (2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 52 pitches (59.6% strikes) 
Cedar Rapids: Chase Chaney (4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 59 pitches, 61% strikes)
Fort Myers: Michael Carpenter (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 73 pitches (69.9% strikes)

HOME RUNS
Cedar Rapids: Brandon Winokur (17), Jaime Ferrer (5)

MULTI-HIT GAMES
St. Paul: Gabriel Gonzalez (2-for-5, 2B), Walker Jenkins (2-for-4, BB), Tanner Schobel (2-for-5)
Cedar Rapids: Billy Amick (4-for-5, 3 2B), Eduardo Tait (2-for-5, 2 2B)

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Walker Jenkins made a nice leaping catch before crashing into the wall in center field tonight. He also reached base safely three times and has hit .471/.526/.706 (1.232 OPS) in his first four games of September.

Eduardo Tait won a battle in a tough left-on-left matchup against a sidearmer. Tait did chase a couple pitches out of the zone, but managed to lay off a pair of two-strike pitches to run the count full. He then barely made contact on a pitch that was in the right-hand batter’s box to stay alive, driving the ball straight down and having it hit him near the eye. After a look from the trainer, Tait collected himself and drilled a go-ahead two-run double.

Brandon Winokur exited early after being hit on the wrist by a pitch while checking his swing. He initially managed to talk his way into staying in the game, but was pinch hit for prior to his next at-bat.

Ricardo Olivar also suffered an injury while catching tonight. He had to exit in the top of the seventh and final inning tonight and was very slow to get back to the dugout despite having help from both the trainer and a teammate. 

Kyle DeBarge stole third tonight for his 65th swipe of the season. 

Payton Eeles was hit by two pitches tonight, giving him 15 HBPs in 88 games this season and 38 total in 199 career minor league games. I feel like that’s impressive for such a small target.

Merit Jones, 2025 14th-round pick, made his pro debut for the Mighty Mussels tonight. He earned a save by covering the final two frames and topped out at 94.3 mph.

Bruin Agbayani had a single, a walk and stole a base for Fort Myers. The 2025 sixth-round pick and son of Benny Agbayani is three-for-three in stolen base attempts over his first four pro games. He’s still adjusting to the pitch clock, though. Agbayani had a pair of pitch timer violation tonight.

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 

1. Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 2-for-4, BB, R, K
2. Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): 1-for-4
3. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 0-for-4, K
4. Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI
6. Mick Abel (St. Paul): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 70 pitches, 62.9% strikes
10. Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 2-for-5 2B, RBI, K
13. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-1, HR (17), R, 2 RBI, HBP
17. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, HBP, SB (65), R 
18. Quentin Young (Fort Myers): 0-for-3, 2 K
19. Kyler Fedko (St. Paul): 1-for-4, BB, R, K

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 62-79
St. Paul Saints: 58-76
Wichita Wind Surge: 71-59
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 72-58
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 52-72 
FCL Twins: 39-20 (season over)
DSL Twins: 24-32 (season over)

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul at Louisville, 6:15 pm CT: Connor Prielipp
Wichita vs. Tulsa, 6:05 pm CT: Ricky Castro
Cedar Rapids at Quad Cities, 5:30 pm CT: Ty Langenberg
Fort Myers vs. St. Lucie, 5:05 pm CT: Joel Garcia

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[Dman]

For all the worry about Amick;s power he has been really good at the plate all year.  He was super clutch with men on base early in the year as well. If he hadn't gotten injured it looked like he might have gotten promoted with Culpepper.  Despite just 4 HR's his OPS is .880 which is outstanding for that level.  Personally I was more worried about Amick's in zone contact than home run power.  The reason he fell out of the first round was that teams weren't sure he could make enough contact.  It looks like the Twins gamble might pay off, but he has a high BABIP and hasn't seen the breakers he will get at AA.  Still you have to be happy with season he has had IMO.

Really excited to see Carpenter with an excellent outing against a good team.  A playoff bound team.  His lack of control has really hurt him this year.  Hopefully he has finally put it all together so he can gain enough confidence to throw strikes more often.  He is young, but am hoping for a breakout year from him next year.

Agbayani seems like a gamer.  Nice to see the young man hit the ground running.  I have high hopes for him, but will know more after his first full pro year.  Nice to see him getting on base though.

[mikelink45]

Why do the Saints want Noah Davis?  I think DFA or just plain cut loose from minor league and everything is appropriate I'm tired of seeing these retreads come up and fail. 

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

Why do the Saints want Noah Davis?  I think DFA or just plain cut loose from minor league and everything is appropriate I'm tired of seeing these retreads come up and fail. 

Maybe the cost of DFA'ing a minor league player is 50 cents less than for a major leaguer?  The Pohlad's need every penny they can get if they aren't selling the team.

[D.C Twins]

I'm no scout, but Tait's swing looks so smooth and efficient... 

[Obsvr]

#FreeWalkerJenkins

[Seth Stohs]

5 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Why do the Saints want Noah Davis?  I think DFA or just plain cut loose from minor league and everything is appropriate I'm tired of seeing these retreads come up and fail. 

If I read it right... Davis was outrighted, which means he was DFAd and taken off the 40-man roster. He cleared waivers and went back to St. Paul. Why would they want him? Cuz he throws a baseball and is breathing. Wichita has playoff hopes, so they shouldn't be getting anyone from there. So, they just need arms.