Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Recommended Posts

Twins Daily Contributor
Posted

 

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Zak Kent was optioned to St. Paul and the Twins recalled RHP Garrett Acton, who was recently acquired from the Marlins.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Game 1: Worcester 4, St. Paul 2 (7 innings)
Box Score
Starting pitcher: Andrew Morris (3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 70 pitches)
Home runs: Kaelen Culpepper (2)
Multi-hit games: N/A

Sunday’s doubleheader got off to a great start for the Saints. Kealen Culpepper hit a leadoff home run off Red Sox No. 1 prospect Payton Tolle and Orlando Arcia put St. Paul up 2-0 in the second inning with a little league homer — a triple plus a throwing error that allowed him to come all the way around to score.

The Saints recorded just two more hits from there, but the pitching staff managed to keep the Sox off the board through six innings (of this seven-inning game). Andrew Morris delivered 3 2/3 innings of two-hit ball and was followed by John Brebbia, who pitched a pair of scoreless frames.

Veteran Dan Altavilla came in for the save and everything went sideways. He could not find the zone, issuing three walks while throwing less than half of his pitches for strikes. Altavilla blew the save and Worcester ended up scoring four runs in the inning. The Saints went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh to end the first game of this doubleheader.

Highlight: Culpepper's homer off Tolle.

Game 2: Worcester 11, St. Paul 9 (11 innings)
Box Score
Starting pitcher: John Klein (1 2/3 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 1 K, 55 pitches)
Home runs: Orlando Arcia (2), Emmanuel Rodriguez (2), Kaelen Culpepper (3), Alan Roden (1)
Multi-hit games: Roden (2-for-4, HR), Gabriel Gonzalez (2-for-4, 2B), Arcia (2-for-4, HR)

Things continued to go south to start the second game. The Saints found themselves down 8-1 heading into the bottom of the third inning, mostly due to former Saints great Mickey Gasper. Super Mickey his a solo homer in the first inning, then a grand slam in the second. 

The Saints kept at it. They chipped away a pair of runs in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth to bring the score to 8-6. Then Orlando Arcia hit an RBI single in the sixth to bring the Saints within a run. The St. Paul bullpen continued to hold and buy the lineup time to get back in it. 

In the bottom of the seventh (and scheduled to be final) inning, Worcester retired the first two Saints batters. Alan Roden was St. Paul’s last chance. He made sure there was more baseball to be played. A lot more.

Roden blasted a 2-1 changeup for a home run he sent 427 feet with an exit velocity of 106.6 mph to tie the game. 

Neither team was able to score their “bonus” runner who started the eighth inning at second base. The Saints bullpen could only hold on for so long. They finally gave way in the ninth inning, with the Sox scoring the go-ahead run.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Saints were down to their final out once again. And once again it was Roden to the rescue. He hit the first pitch he saw back through the middle to tie the game once again. 

The Saints showed impressive resolve in this game, battling back from an early seven-run deficit, but Worcester still prevailed. The Sox scored two more runs in the top of the 10th inning to finally finish off St. Paul.

One last item to add on Roden's heroic effort: He also made an excellent diving catch in left field to end the top of the seventh inning.

Highlight: Roden's game-tying home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

KERNELS CHRONICLE
Cedar Rapids 14, Peoria 8
Box Score
Starting pitcher: Nolan Santos (3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 61 pitches)
Home runs: Marek Houston (1), Brandon Winokur (1), Caden Kendle (1), Andy Lugo (1)
Multi-hit games: Houston (3-for-5, HR), Khadim Diaw (2-for-5), Winokur (2-for-5, 2B, HR), Jacob McCombs (2-for-3, 2 2Bs), Kendle (2-for-4, 2B, HR)

The Kernels carried a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning and absolutely blew this game open from there. Cedar Rapids tallied seven runs that inning, six of which were scored with two outs. Andy Lugo provided the knockout blow, a grand slam.

Also in that inning, Eduardo Tait was hit by a pitch either on his hand or wrist. Tait waved off the trainer, stayed in the game and eventually came around to score. Tait’s spot in the order came back up in the sixth but he was pinch hit for. Cedar Rapids broadcaster Calvin Christoforo noted that Tait was not receiving any medical attention in the dugout. With the Kernels already up 13-4, it appears that Tait’s exit was precautionary. 

Lugo’s grand slam was the headliner, but Marek Houston, Brandon Winokur and Caden Kendle also homered. Cedar Rapids scored 22 runs over their first weekend of 2026.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Pitcher of the Day: Andrew Morris, St. Paul
Hitter of the Day: Alan Roden, St. Paul

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 

1. Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 0-for-3, K
2. Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul): 1-for-3, HR (2), R, RBI | 1-for-4, HR (3), R, 3 RBI, BB, K
3. Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 1-for-4, HR (2), R, 2 RBI, BB
4. Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-2, BB, R, K, HBP
7. Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-3, K | 2-for-4, R, K
9. Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, HR (1), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, K
12. Andrew Morris (St. Paul): 3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 70 pitches
13. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, HR (1), R, RBI, K, 2 errors
15. Marco Raya (St. Paul): 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
19: Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, 2 R, RBI

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 3-6
St. Paul Saints: 3-5
Wichita Wind Surge: 1-2
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 2-1
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 1-2

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
N/A (Monday is a travel day across the minor leagues)

 


View full article

Posted
48 minutes ago, Yoke said:

Good day for the potential future left side of the infield (Culpepper and Houston)

Culpepper played third today and struggled on two popups in a row wind was bad

 

Verified Member
Posted

Nice to see a bunch of guys hitting in Cedar Rapids. 

Frankly, a pretty good day for most of the top prospects across the system. Morris didn't go deep, but was otherwise effective.

Hope this fast start for Houston is a sign that his off-season work has been effective and he's making the necessary adjustments to succeed at the plate. I'll admit I've been skeptical about his bat, and I'd love to be wrong because the glove is legit. Nice to see him rip a homer; I don't need him to be a power hitter or anything, just enough of a threat that pitchers can't groove fastballs on him when they get down in a count because they know he can't do any damage to them.

Quick start at the plate for Winokur, which is good as well. He's been wobbly at 3B so far, and you do wonder if his future really is in the OF, so it's good he's also playing CF. But I don't mind him splitting time between 3B & CF right now.

Old-Timey Member
Posted
9 hours ago, jkcarew said:

This marks the first 5-game losing streak for the absolutely loaded Saints.

Getting the kids ready for the big league club, what could be more preparatory for the experience than that?

Posted
10 hours ago, mark sills said:

Culpepper played third today and struggled on two popups in a row wind was bad

 

FWIW, Culpepper has looked really good at shortstop, I mean really good. Maybe the Twins want to keep Arcia happy by giving him every third day at short but Kaelen is far superior to Arcia with the glove. 

The wind was crazy. The WooSox right fielder needs a chiropractor after getting twisted all around by the wind on Arcia's ball that went for a triple. 

Posted
1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

Morris didn't go deep, but was otherwise effective.

Morris was pretty good. He showed off multiple sharp pitches, especially his curveball,  and hit 97.7 mph with most fastballs at 96 mph. Both hits were pop ups that are usually very routine outs but the wind was howling. The announcer stated that Morris was specifically working on pitches and that the Saints had stated pre-game that he would only throw so many pitches or four innings because the Twins wanted both Brebbia and Altavilla to pitch in the first game. Altavilla had nothing going for whatever reason. No velocity, no movement, no control. He was lucky the pitches weren't in the strike zone. 

Posted

As always , thanks for the minor league reports on the players ...

As always in the minors it's not whether you win the game  , it how you play the game ...

And some players are doing just that , playing the game  ...

Verified Member
Posted
24 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

FWIW, Culpepper has looked really good at shortstop, I mean really good. Maybe the Twins want to keep Arcia happy by giving him every third day at short but Kaelen is far superior to Arcia with the glove. 

The wind was crazy. The WooSox right fielder needs a chiropractor after getting twisted all around by the wind on Arcia's ball that went for a triple. 

I think it's more about making sure they keep Arcia ready to play in MLB if they need an early-season call-up in the infield and aren't ready to put that on Culpepper than worrying about keeping Arcia happy. I suspect they would prefer to call up Culpepper when they think he has both the opportunity and readiness to stick in MLB if he performs, rather than bounce him up and down.

So far I think they've handled Culpepper pretty well: 8 games, he's gotten 5 starts at SS, 2 at 3B, and 1 at 2B. While I think he's likely to come up at SS, I don't mind seeing him get some reps at other spots in the INF to see how he handles it and to keep his bat in the lineup. He's doing everything right (again). Team has to be pleased with his development. There was a fair case to be made for him to start the season in AA (he only played 59 games there last season, and had 139 games as a pro, total, going into 2026), but the Twins have been aggressive in promoting him and he's responded incredibly well to the challenge. Hope he keeps it up!

Posted
38 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I think it's more about making sure they keep Arcia ready to play in MLB if they need an early-season call-up in the infield and aren't ready to put that on Culpepper than worrying about keeping Arcia happy. I suspect they would prefer to call up Culpepper when they think he has both the opportunity and readiness to stick in MLB if he performs, rather than bounce him up and down.

So far I think they've handled Culpepper pretty well: 8 games, he's gotten 5 starts at SS, 2 at 3B, and 1 at 2B. While I think he's likely to come up at SS, I don't mind seeing him get some reps at other spots in the INF to see how he handles it and to keep his bat in the lineup. He's doing everything right (again). Team has to be pleased with his development. There was a fair case to be made for him to start the season in AA (he only played 59 games there last season, and had 139 games as a pro, total, going into 2026), but the Twins have been aggressive in promoting him and he's responded incredibly well to the challenge. Hope he keeps it up!

Totally agree and meant to include that in my remarks.

While he cannot hit a lick, Ryan Kreidler as a 13th player would not bother me. He is the best defensive player at every position and takes hits away nearly every time he plays.

Verified Member
Posted
1 hour ago, Jeff K said:

How about we fire the front office regardless!

Nah.  Tom Pohald would just turn around and hire another one.  He's no Calvin Griffith.

Twins Daily Contributor
Posted
1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

I think it's more about making sure they keep Arcia ready to play in MLB if they need an early-season call-up in the infield and aren't ready to put that on Culpepper than worrying about keeping Arcia happy. I suspect they would prefer to call up Culpepper when they think he has both the opportunity and readiness to stick in MLB if he performs, rather than bounce him up and down.

Well laid out. Brian Dinkelman is doing a lot of juggling in his first taste of being a Triple-A manager. Gotta get the top prospects plenty of reps, though you still need to keep the MLB depth guys from getting rusty. At the same time, you need to make sure the clubhouse vibes are good and everybody understands what to expect. That's always the case at this level, but it's not often prospects at the level of Jenkins/KC/E-Rod/Gabby are all in Triple-A at the same time.

Verified Member
Posted
3 hours ago, Tom Froemming said:

Well laid out. Brian Dinkelman is doing a lot of juggling in his first taste of being a Triple-A manager. Gotta get the top prospects plenty of reps, though you still need to keep the MLB depth guys from getting rusty. At the same time, you need to make sure the clubhouse vibes are good and everybody understands what to expect. That's always the case at this level, but it's not often prospects at the level of Jenkins/KC/E-Rod/Gabby are all in Triple-A at the same time.

I always remind myself that AAA is unique, in that not one person involved in the game wants to be there.  Not one.  Every last person believes they belong in the majors, players and coaches alike.  Once I accepted that, AAA games made a lot more sense.  There's just a lot less hustle there than in AA or in the majors, to my eye at least - I still remember Willians Astudillo, a guy reputed to be a hustle guy, plod out to left field and then plod back to the dugout at inning's end.

And there's no game tactics to speak of - everyone is just getting their allotted repetitions in - so if you're a base stealer and the game is 8-1 you are still gonna steal, and if you're a left handed pitcher in a close game and there's a slew of righties coming up you will still face them.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
The Twins Daily Caretaker Fund
The Twins Daily Caretaker Fund

You all care about this site. The next step is caring for it. We’re asking you to caretake this site so it can remain the premier Twins community on the internet.

×
×
  • Create New...