Twins Minor League Report (9/9): Kernels Begin Playoffs, Wind Surge Fight for Their Spot, Jenkins CHS Field Debut

[Steve Lein]

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Sam Armstrong)

 

TRANSACTIONS

• Over in St. Paul, the Saints activated OF Emmanuel Rodriguez from the 7-day injured list and his rehab assignment. RHP Noah Davis was also activated, while RHP Brooks Kriske was outrighted to St. Paul from the Twins.
• With the Wind Surge, catcher Ian Daugherty was promoted from Fort Myers.
• In advance of their Midwest League Playoff series, the Cedar Rapids Kernels activated OF Caden Kendle from the 7-day injured list and transferred RHP Julio Bonilla to the Development List.
• Despite their season being over, the DSL Twins joined in on the transaction action, activating RHP Fernando Hernandez from the restricted list.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Columbus 2, St. Paul 1
Box Score
The Saints got a quality start from right-hander Andrew Morris, who lowered his ERA to 3.80 on the season, but hits were hard to come by for both teams, with the Clippers pitching matching his efforts.

He gave up both of the Columbus runs, but they were of the unearned variety in the second inning after an error from Tanner Schobel at second base. After a leadoff double in the third, Morris retired nine in a row to keep the Saints within one in the middle innings. He finished six frames, allowing three hits and two walks, while striking out two.

The Saints lineup scored their lone run of the game in the bottom of the second. Emmanuel Rodriguez drew a leadoff walk in his first at-bat back with the Saints. A wild pitch and two groundouts later he was able to score to make it 2-1.

There were obviously nothing but zeroes over the final seven innings, as each team mustered only three apiece, and they combined to go 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Relievers Aaron Rozek (2 2/3 IP, 3 BB, 3 K) and Erasmo Ramirez (1/3 IP) finished off the final three innings for the Saints.

Gabriel Gonzalez had two of the Saints three hits, finishing 2-for-4 with two strikeouts. Jonah Bride picked up their other single. Will Holland drew two walks to turn the lineup over to Jenkins, who went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in his CHS Field debut. The Saints have now infamously lost 10 in a row, with the franchise record of 11 staring them down.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 4, Corpus Christi 0
Box Score
The Wichita Wind Surge began their final series of the regular season on Tuesday against the Corpus Christi Hooks. They still have a chance at securing a Texas League playoff spot, as they sit two games back of the Tulsa Drillers for second place in the North Division. The Springfield Cardinals won the first half, so despite leading the division comfortably in the second half as well, the playoff spot will go to the second place finisher.

Right-hander Sam Armstrong took to the mound for this one, and he held the Hooks scoreless over his five innings. He allowed just two hits, walked two, and struck out three to lower his ERA since coming over to the Wind Surge to 3.93. In his last three starts he’s thrown 16 innings, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits and four walks, while striking out 14. Those two earned runs also came in the first inning of the first game in that sequence, so his last 15 innings with the Wind Surge have been of the scoreless variety.

His offense put him in line for the win in this one by scoring in three of the first six innings. Ricardo Olivar delivered the first run of the game in the third with an RBI single. An error in the fifth allowed their second run to scamper home before the Wind Surge's power came out in the sixth. Ben Ross led off the inning with his 13th home run on the season.

Three batters later, Maddux Houghton launched his second of the year to put them in front 4-0

Logan Whitaker came on from the bullpen for the sixth and seventh innings, and did a perfect Armstrong imitation. His only baserunner was a walk, and he struck out two to lower his ERA below 2.00 with Wichita. Mike Paredes finished the shutout with two scoreless innings of his own. He allowed no hits, walked one, and struck out two to close it out.

The Wind Surge offense only outhit the Hooks 5-2 on the game and also struck out fifteen times as a team, but took advantage with some timely stolen bases and the two homers to push them to the victory. Kala’i Rosario finished 0-for-4 but also stole two bases, giving him 28 on the season. Harry Genth went 1-for-2, scored two runs, and stole his fourth base out of the nine-hole.

Elsewhere in the Texas League, the Arkansas Travelers fell to the Tulsa Drillers in 13 innings by a score of 4-3. The Wind Surge remain two games behind the Drillers with five games to play. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Midwest League Playoffs, Game 1: Cedar Rapids 1, Beloit 7
Box Score
The Cedar Rapids Kernels punched their ticket to the Midwest League playoffs by winning the West Division in the first half with a 40-26 record. Their opponents, the Beloit Sky Carp won the second half with a 38-27 record while the Kernels finished 32-34.

Getting the game one starting nod for the Kernels, was righty Jose Olivares who was coming off a one-hit, six-inning effort his last time out, where he also set a career high for strikeouts with 10. He was on point again early in this one.

He allowed a leadoff double in the bottom of the first but got a double-play and a pop-out to escape. There was a two-out single and a walk in the second, but he picked up his second strikeout to end the frame. In the third there was a single, but another strikeout to keep the game 0-0 through three.

In the bottom of the fourth he made his first big mistake, leaving a pitch over the middle of the plate that was sent over the fence in right field by Beloit’s Wilfredo Lara for a 1-0 lead. Olivares did strike out all three other hitters in the inning, but the Sky Carp had struck first.

In the top of the fifth the Kernels finally answered despite chances in every inning to that point. Kyle DeBarge led off the inning with a walk, their seventh free pass so far. As he does, he would steal second base to put himself in scoring position, and Danny De Andrade drove him in with a two-out single to tie it at one.

In the bottom half, Olivares got two outs, but three walks also loaded the bases to end his start. Chase Chaney came on in relief and it almost turned into a disaster. DeBarge misplayed a ball at second, allowing one run to score, but Marek Houston was in the right spot to get to it and fire it home to catch the third out before he could score.

Olivares finished 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and four walks, while striking out seven. 53 of his 85 pitches went for strikes (63%), including 15 swings and misses.

Chase Chaney got the final out of the fifth and the first two of the sixth before disaster struck. A pair of singles, then two walks scored the first run of the inning and loaded the bases. Then two more singles finished a four-run two-out rally to give Beloit a 6-1 lead. Paulshawn Pasqualotto got a grounder to stop the bleeding, but the Kernels lineup would have a lot more work to do.

Pasqualotto would get the first two outs of the seventh, but a single and a pair of walks loaded the bases again to end his appearance. Ruddy Gomez then came on and walked his first batter making it 7-1, before striking out the next to end the inning. Pasqualotto was charged with one earned run on one hit, two walks, and struck out two. Jacob Kising pitched the eighth, striking out one.

The Kernels weren’t able to muster any comeback attempt, and their last 10 hitters of the game were retired by the Sky Carp bullpen. They were outhit 9-4 in the game and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, leaving nine men on base.

Houston (1-for-4, BB, 2 K), DeBarge (1-for-2, R, 2 BB, K), De Andrade (1-for-4, RBI, K) and Misael Urbina (1-for-4) collected the hits, all singles.

The Sky Carp lead the three-game Division series 1-0, and they will head to Cedar Rapids for the final two games (if necessary).

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Sam Armstrong, Wichita Wind Surge (W, 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K)
Hitter of the Day – Harry Genth, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, K)

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, 2 K (played CF)
#2 – Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): game in progress
#4 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-2, 2 BB (played C)
#5 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 0-for-3, R, BB, 3 K (played RF)
#10 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2 K (DH)
#12 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, BB, 2 K (played SS)
#16 – Andrew Morris (St. Paul): W, 6 IP, 2 R (0 earned), 2 BB, 2 K
#17 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-2, R, 2 BB, K, SB
#19 – Kyler Fedko (St. Paul): 0-for-3, BB, 2 K (played 1B)

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Columbus @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - RHP John Klein (0-3, 5.60 ERA)
Wichita @ Corpus Christi (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (2-2, 2.92 ERA)

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

 

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[mrguy]

Armstrong has been a very good addition, after having a couple rough outings when he first showed up in the Twins system, it feels like he's started to find his groove and has been pretty dominant since. I feel like Mike Paredes is probably ready to try St. Paul at this point. Over 100 innings, a 2.48 ERA, and over his last 5 outings, he's only allowed 4 hits(and 3 of those were in the first of the 5 outings) with 14K in 10 innings, don't really know what else there is to see with him down there maybe just waiting until the end of the regular season to let him play in the playoffs if they make it?

[mikelink45]

Disappointing to see St Paul Lose 10 in a row. I know it keep filling the team with DFAs. But I was hoping one of our twin City teams would give us something more to cheer about.

[tony&rodney]

Andrew Morris (Saints) and Jose Olivares (Kernels) pitched very well and looked good too. Better defense is required.

Winokur must be injured from a HBP last week. He hasn't played since and the Kernels need him in the lineup.

Ball did not carry last night in St. Paul.

[stringer bell]

I was interested to see who would play center between Rodriguez and Jenkins. It would be nice to see an outfield with three legitimate center fielders playing next year for the Twins. 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

I was interested to see who would play center between Rodriguez and Jenkins. It would be nice to see an outfield with three legitimate center fielders playing next year for the Twins. 

Buxton, Jenkins, Rodriguez, Roden and Martin could be a really good fielding outfield.

[LambchoP]

If Fedko can continue hitting like this in the MLB I wonder if we see a platoon of Fedko and Clemens at 1st base next year. Or will they sign someone like Josh Naylor to a one year deal?

[jmlease1]

3 hours ago, stringer bell said:

I was interested to see who would play center between Rodriguez and Jenkins. It would be nice to see an outfield with three legitimate center fielders playing next year for the Twins. 

it's a fun question! I think there's some belief in the Twins organization that Rodriguez is actually the better CF at this point, but that neither are expected to make it their long-term position? The possibilities are really exciting to have an OF of Buxton flanked by Rodriguez in LF and Jenkins in right with Martin as an option off the bench (especially as a RH bat) and Wallner in more of a DH role that occasionally plays RF. I just hope the Twins don't play service time games with Jenkins in particular, but cheap-ass dumb Pohlad ownership...

Morris has been on a good run to close the season, and I'm high on him as a future starter. Can he stay healthy and be an impact arm? I'm leaning towards Preilipp and Raya moving to the bullpen to keep them healthy and give the bullpen some non-waiver wire, high impact arms (Adams looks like he could have success there too).

Tait has done fine this season; you can see the tools, and while the overall numbers don't jump off the page, doing it in his age 18 season (he just barely turned 19) in High A should change the calculus. He'll need to bring the OBP up, but no complaints for a guy adjusting to High A at a young age and dealing with a trade and a new organization. I suspect he'll be looked at favorably for his projectability.

Curious to know more about Sam Armstrong. he seems to have settled in after a shaky start and done some good work in Wichita, but I really don't know much about his pitches or what his ceiling might be. Be great if we ended up plucking a guy who stagnated in another system and we helped him find another gear, but he hasn't exactly dominated even in his best games. Not sure what to think about him other than he probably doesn't need to be in AA next season?

[Danchat]

Nice to see Morris hit his stride after it seemed like this might be a lost season for him. Not sure where he fits into the overall pitcher but he should be pitching in the majors in some capacity next year.

[tony&rodney]

5 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Nice to see Morris hit his stride after it seemed like this might be a lost season for him. Not sure where he fits into the overall pitcher but he should be pitching in the majors in some capacity next year.

My reply is not really directed towards you but for anyone who has not had a chance to see Andrew Morris pitch in several games this year. Looking over his numbers doesn't really do him justice.

Morris suffered a little setback with an injury and he does need to get more movement on his pitches as well as improved command (like most young pitchers) to be successful at the next level. Morris fell victim this year to two factors which I'm expecting/hoping will not follow him into the future. Morris was hurt on numerous occasions by poor defense (routine plays not made) and had more than the usual amount  of broken bat hits fall. Overall, I believe Andrew Morris is a bit underrated. He could steal a rotation spot next season with the Twins. 

[Steve Lein]

33 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I just hope the Twins don't play service time games with Jenkins in particular, but cheap-ass dumb Pohlad ownership...

Not that this doesn't still happen a...vast majority...of the time with prospects ready to be major leaguers, but there actually was a rule change in the last CBA that has helped to incentive teams to not do it with guys they might consider "can't miss" and are ready for the majors to start a new season (debatable on if this is or will be the case with Jenkins).

It's called the "Prospect Promotion Incentive" and is meant "to encourage teams to promote their best young players to the big leagues as early as possible" by dangling a draft pick to be awarded based on the prospects performance (FAQ: https://www.mlb.com/news/prospect-promotion-incentive-faq).

It is still pretty hard to qualify for, as a "prospect" has to accrue a full year of service time and factor into a major league award (i.e.: Rookie of the Year, MVP, Cy Young). If they don't as a rookie, but still accrue a full year of service, they remain eligible to earn a PPI draft pick by factoring into the major awards before becoming arbitration eligible.

Bobby Witt Jr. did this for the Royals. Julio Rodriguez, Corbin Carrol, and Gunnar Henderson are the other three players that have. Could Walker Jenkins be the next?

Some of the leading contenders for Rookie of the Year in 2025 are probably Nick Kurtz in the AL, and Isaac Collins and Drake Baldwin in the NL. Kurtz would not be eligible to earn a PPI draft pick because the Athletics kept him down for service time, but I think Collins and Baldwin would be.

[DocBauer]

I don't believe, at this time, that Morris is a top of the rotation arm. But he was barely behind Matthews in a 2024 climb of an enormous season. Where he ranks on the rotation rankings just depends on way too many factors to assign a number at this early junction. But his finishing strong is a great positive.

A couple good, healthy weeks for St Paul for Rodriguez might be really important. I truly believe the Twins are really, really close to having a hell of an OF with Rodriguez, Buxton, Jenkins, Wallner and pick your favorite RH option. While I really embrace the Brewers approach...a very similar mid market team...of turning TOP prospects loose, I don't know that any team would start TWO rookie OF day ONE of the next season.

Unlike a few other posters, I wasn't in favor of handing Rodriguez LF to begin 2025. I felt a little time at AAA was warranted. Even with injuries that have hampered his season, he still has 179 PA there and more to come over the next couple of weeks. While the AVG has been disappointing, the OB and SLG and OPS numbers are solid. The speed, defense, and potential are still there. And his service time clock is ticking. I'd be willing to hand LF over to him to begin 2026, even with a low .200's AVG if he continues to show his other abilities and provide defense. 

I don't like the service time game, but I understand it. IF Jenkins played every day to finish the AAA season in the Saints lineup, he still only finishes with something like 120 PA. No matter how great he does, no matter how talented he is, I wouldn't have a problem with him getting another month or so at 21yo to begin 2026 just to get in a good groove, maybe flash a little more power...that's been starting to come on...and debut later than Rodriguez. The service time issue works in the Twins favor here, but I'm more concerned about Jenkins' continued development and readiness with so much time missed due to injuries, than I am about service time or any potential ROY draft reward.

But then again, after everything I've just stated, I can see a scenario where Rodriguez and Jenkins FLIP their debuts.

 

[DocBauer]

Good start for Armstrong. I think he was more of a "throw in" vs Gallagher in the Castro deal, but his MILB career numbers have been pretty solid so far. This is only his 2nd full pro season. He's still lacking in the K department. I don't want to speculate too soon about a prospects career trajectory, but I see him as a Jax/Sands type where the Twins see something they like, and he might end up as a better pen arm a year or so from now.

Really interesting to take a deeper dive in to Whitaker, and Parades, and even Hoopes and Bragg...who didn't pitch in this report...and realize these are 3 recent late draft picks, and a surprise RFA signing...who have been excelling as pen arms. None of them are top prospects as they ARE pen arms. But I find it interesting that under the radar, the Twins might have a handful of MILB arms that just might be actual ML pen arms in the near future. Not sure the last time was when I could look at a Twins MILB pen arm and actually believe he might be a future contributor. Hildenberger maybe?

 

[DocBauer]

4 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Buxton, Jenkins, Rodriguez, Roden and Martin could be a really good fielding outfield.

No room for Roden unless he's part of the 1B situation with someone else. I'm not giving up on him, but Wallner makes it over him every day of the week, and twice on Sundays. He becomes the PRIMARY DH and part time corner OF if/when the Twins and Rodriguez are the starting corner OF and backups to Buxton.

I do wonder about Martin. Looks like his defense has improved some. And if true, that's a HUGE step forward to his ML roster viability. It's still a SSS, but his bat is starting to look more legit as well. But the weird base running mistakes don't help his cause. And I need to see more of any improved defense to convince me.

On the other hand is Fedko, yet to debut, but 6 months younger. No proof, but I'd be willing to bet he's a better, more natural OF at this point than Martin. He's a similar OB% guy with seemingly as much speed, and more power/pop.

I'm not anti-Martin, but if I could build a fantasy Twins team for 2026, I'd have to  take Fedko...who's also learning some 1B to increase his flexibility...over Martin. He offers more pop/power, possibly more position flexibility, and considering how much RF he's played, I'm guessing a better arm.

I'd be happy if Martin proved me wrong.

[DocBauer]

2 hours ago, LambchoP said:

If Fedko can continue hitting like this in the MLB I wonder if we see a platoon of Fedko and Clemens at 1st base next year. Or will they sign someone like Josh Naylor to a one year deal?

I think you've read enough of my posts to know I'm 100% on making Josh Naylor a prime FA for 2026. He's not an All Star or GG player. But he's a decent, veteran 1B, BAT, and player who helps the INF, Lineup, and probably the clubhouse as well. (A lot of young players for 2026 and beyond). You get a decent hitter with fairly neutral career splits...which is important...a decent OB% hitter, and almost a guaranteed 20 HR and around 50 XBH total. 

Considering how the overall value 1B have financially in the game today, I really think he might be brought on board for about $15M. That might require more than 1yr. Maybe 2 or 3? But even at 3yrs, not only can the Twins afford it, not only does he deepen a lineup that's struggled and might have a ton of young players in 2026, but there is NO direct replacement in the near future.

BUT, if the Twins DON'T spend a little $ for a veteran 1B...Naylor or someone else...I can see a scenario where they "try out" a combination of Julien, Roden, and Clemens from the LH side and Fedko from the RH side. (Personally, I'd have Lewis practice some 1B as well with K-Pep coming up soon).

I think that would be a huge mistake based on greed and organizational misguidance as 1B is the OPTIMUM place to spend a little $ to make a difference, but that's where they might go if they don't spend a little to improve the team.

 

[jmlease1]

54 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

I think you've read enough of my posts to know I'm 100% on making Josh Naylor a prime FA for 2026. He's not an All Star or GG player. But he's a decent, veteran 1B, BAT, and player who helps the INF, Lineup, and probably the clubhouse as well. (A lot of young players for 2026 and beyond). You get a decent hitter with fairly neutral career splits...which is important...a decent OB% hitter, and almost a guaranteed 20 HR and around 50 XBH total. 

Considering how the overall value 1B have financially in the game today, I really think he might be brought on board for about $15M. That might require more than 1yr. Maybe 2 or 3? But even at 3yrs, not only can the Twins afford it, not only does he deepen a lineup that's struggled and might have a ton of young players in 2026, but there is NO direct replacement in the near future.

BUT, if the Twins DON'T spend a little $ for a veteran 1B...Naylor or someone else...I can see a scenario where they "try out" a combination of Julien, Roden, and Clemens from the LH side and Fedko from the RH side. (Personally, I'd have Lewis practice some 1B as well with K-Pep coming up soon).

I think that would be a huge mistake based on greed and organizational misguidance as 1B is the OPTIMUM place to spend a little $ to make a difference, but that's where they might go if they don't spend a little to improve the team.

 

I don't think you're wrong necessarily, but I just have trouble imagining this franchise spending $15M total in FA next season...and that's if they deal Pablo (which I hope they don't do).  I think Falvey is going to get handed a payroll budget of $75-80M, because the Pohlads suck.

I've been disappointed in Roden's defense so far; he was advertised as being able to play CF and he looks stretched there to me, but he should be a good defender in LF. Fedko has played 2 games in CF for the Saints, and the one I saw he looked...meh. Think there's a reason he's played more 1B than CF in AAA, but he should still be fine in the corners. I could see Fedko getting a chance for some 1B time in MN, but not Roden.