Twins Minor League Report (9/11): Dasan Hill Steps Up, Helps Kernels Avoid Elimination

[Tom Froemming]

TRANSACTIONS
St. Paul Saints activated RHP Cory Lewis and transferred LHP Aaron Rozek to the Development List.

RHP Cody Laweryson will be promoted from Triple-A St. Paul up to the Twins to make his big league debut, per Theodore Tollefson.

SAINTS SENTINEL 
Columbus 4, St. Paul 3
Box Score
What a mess. The Saints are seriously up against it right now. This is the 12th-straight loss for St. Paul, and it was ugly. Columbus did their best to help break the streak, issuing a mind-boggling 14 walks. The Saints lineup couldn’t take advantage, essentially saying “no thanks, you can have this one.”

St. Paul combined to go 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 14 men on base. They had the game-tying run in scoring position with one out in the ninth inning but could not come back to tie it up. 

On a positive note, Saints starter Darren McCaughan struck out eight batters over 4 2/3 innings. He was cruising until the fifth inning, where he ran into trouble and made a mess the bullpen couldn’t clean up. McCaughan exited with the Saints still up 2-0, but Noah Davis gave up a grand slam.

On the hitting side, Gabriel Gonzalez hit his fifth home run since joining the Saints and 14th overall of the season. Gonzalez also drew a pair of walks, because of course he did, Columbus was walking everybody. Both DaShawn Keirsey Je. and Noah Cardenas drew three walks each while Payton Eeles and Tanner Schobel also drew two walks. 

Today was manager Toby Gardenhire’s birthday, and I’m sure this type of performance was not on his wishlist. Ugly game. Ugly streak. Oof.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Corpus Christi 2, Wichita 0
Box Score
Chasing Tulsa for the final spot in the Texas League North playoffs, Wichita has little room for error in this, their final week of the regular season. That being the case, tonight’s result is a tough pill to swallow.

The Wind Surge pitching staff brought it. The only two runs they yielded were unearned. Alejandro Hidalgo looked as good as he’s had in Double A, striking out seven batters over four innings while only allowing two hits and a pair of walks. The bullpen was also mostly on point.

Unfortunately, the Corpus Cristi pitching staff silenced the Wind Surge lineup. They combined for just five hits and struck out 13 times in the shutout. Kala’i Rosario was a bright spot, as he hit a double, drew a walk and stole his 30th base of the season. He had only 16 stolen bases in 348 career games entering this season.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 3
Box Score
These minor league three-game playoff series leave little room for error. The Kernels dropped Tuesday’s Game 1 by the score of 7-1 and returned home to Cedar Rapids with their backs against the wall, facing elimination. Luckily, they were up for the challenge.

Dasan Hill had a 10-pitch, 1-2-3 top of the first inning to set the tone. Eduardo Tait sparked a two-out rally in the bottom of the first and eventually scored the game’s first run on a Danny De Andrade single. That duo of dynamic Twins prospects Hill and Tait continued to carry the Kernels throughout the evening.

Hill turned in a magnificent outing when his team needed it most. The 19-year-old carved through the Beloit lineup, striking out seven of the 19 hitters he faced. He completed five innings for the first time in his pro career and limited the Sky Carp to two runs on two hits and a pair of walks. Tait, who was the DH tonight, drew a walk in the third inning before delivering a two-run go-ahead double in the fifth. 

The Cedar Rapids bullpen was stellar. After Hill’s exit, Nick Trabacchi delivered a scoreless sixth inning, Spencer Bengard gave up a run over two frames while striking out three and Ruddy Gomez earned the save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning in which he struck out a pair of batters. Gomez had an incredible regular season after signing with the Twins out of indy ball. Over three different levels, he had a 1.58 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 57 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings between three levels during the regular season. 

The Kernels lineup combined to go 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position. They combined to draw six walks, including two from Billy Amick. It was a great team effort to not only avoid elimination but also establish momentum.

Hill earned his first professional victory tonight. His record was 0-4 in the regular season. Great timing. 

The decisive Game 3 of this Midwest League Division Series is tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 pm CT. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Pitcher of the Day: Dasan Hill, Cedar Rapids
Hitter of the Day: Eduardo Tait, Cedar Rapids

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 

1. Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 0-for-4, BB, 3 K
3. Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-3, 2 2Bs, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, K
7. Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids): 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 76 pitches (61.8% strikes)
9. Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-3, HR, 2 BB, R, RBI
11. Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, 2B, R, RBI
14. Marco Raya (St. Paul): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 21 pitches (66.7% strikes)
16. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, 3 K
18. Kyler Fedko (St. Paul): 2-for-5, RBI, SB

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul vs. Columbus, 6:37 pm CT: Mick Abel
Wichita at Corpus Christi, 7:05 pm CT: Ricky Castro
Cedar Rapids vs. Beloit, 6:35 pm CT: TBD

 

 

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[High heat]

Debarge has really fallen off here the last month,  running out of gas in his first season or is something else going on?

[Dman]

Love that Hill was clutch in a big game.

[FlyingFinn]

Why wasn't Culpepper playing? 

Okay, found the answer. He was hit by a pitch on Sunday and hasn't played since. Tough break in a playoff race.

[tony&rodney]

Watched quite a bit of the Kernels and Saints games, flipping back and forth between them.

The minor league players look tired, at all levels. Hill looked ok. He has some stuff.

A player who has really surprised me is Gabby Gonzalez. Last year, especially early in the year, he was as bad as it ever gets in the outfield. Whatever caused the improvement, Gonzalez is now capable of playing in the field. He has his youthful moments at the plate but he can put the wood to the the ball. The kid has a future if he can continue to improve in all phases of the game. 

Tanner Schobel looks lost, both at the plate and in the field. Hopefully it is just a blip to be corrected next year but I'm not seeing much projection from the guy.

Lastly, the Saints have some real promise and a pile of dead careers in their lineup. No surprise really to see their putrid record.

[thelanges5]

Saints are poor with RISP just like the big club. 

[jkcarew]

Nobody questioning Em Rodriguez’s potential power…

213 career AAA at-bats, 6 HR; 240/404/401 (805) ISO: 161

 

Everyone questions Gabriel Gonzalez’s potential power…

113 career AAA at-bats, 5 HR; 304/357/470 (826) ISO: 166

 

Small samples…but neither screams ‘future big league slugger’. Gonzalez’s results seem more sustainable as they don’t rely on a ridiculous walk rate that has almost zero chance of being replicated in the majors…and comes with way fewer K’s. Gonzalez is a full year younger than Rodriguez.