Twins Minor League Report (5/2): Saints Power Past I-Cubs; Jaime Ferrer Homers Twice in One Inning; Opening Day Walkoff Win in the FCL

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Kala'i Rosario)

Congratulations to RHP John Klein, the Minnesota native called up to the big leagues on Saturday morning. He made his MLB debut with a 12-pitch, 1-2-3 ninth inning against the Blue Jays. 

TRANSACTIONS   
On Saturday morning, we learned that the Twins were placing RHP Cole Sands on the Injured List with a forearm strain. Taking his place on the roster is RHP John Klein, the Minnesota native who was added to the Twins 40-man roster in November. 

The Saints activated C David Banuelos from the Development List. 

Saints RHP Cory Lewis began his rehab assignment with the FCL Twins on Saturday. 

The FCL Twins began their 2026 season on Saturday. Three players on their roster were officially placed on the long-term Injured Lists. RHP Rey Pacheco was placed on the 60-Day IL. RHP Anderson Ramos and infielder Santiago Leon were placed on the full-season IL.  For more on these players and the other three dozen FCL Twins on their Opening Day roster, check out the 2026 FCL Twins Roster Preview. 

RHP Yosangel Braffit was signed by the Twins in late February and assigned to the DSL Twins on Saturday. 

The Twins signed infielder Murphy Stehly to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Wichita. He was signed from the HIgh Point Rockers of the Atlantic League. The 27-year-old was the Nationals 10th round pick in 2022 from the University of Texas. Reached Double-A. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 16, Iowa 2  
Box Score
The Saints and Cubs have been exchanging wins and losses with some very different game types. On Saturday, the Saints pounded out a record 11 extra base hits and seven home runs on their way to a 16-2 win. 

But let’s start with this. For the second straight start, Zebby Matthews was really good. He gave up one run on three hits, and in five innings, he walked three and struck out seven batters. 

Marco Raya came on and gave up a solo homer to Kevin Alcantara who hit his International League-leading 11th home run of the season. But that was it. One run on one hit over two innings. He also walked one batter. Raul Brito gave up two hits and a walk over two scoreless innings. 

The Saints scored runs in seven of the innings they batted. Five of those innings were multi-run innings. Of the nine starters, only the slumping Gabriel Gonzalez went hitless, 0-for-5. Over his past four games, he is 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts. Seven of the hitters had at least two hits. Kyler Fedko went 3-for-5 with his eighth home run. Kaelen Culpepper had just one hit, but he also had a walk and was hit by a pitch. 

In the first inning, Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper walked to start the game. With one out, Ryan Kreidler hit his third homer, a three-run blast (108.8 mph at 30 degrees = 433 feet.) 

In the second frame, Ben Ross led off with a walk. He scored on a Tanner Schobel double (106.2 mph). Jenkins drove in Schobel with a single to make it 5-1 Saints. 

In the third inning, Fedko scored on a Kreidler single and an error. With two outs, Ben Ross doubled (104.3 mph) to drive in another run Alex Jackson hit his fourth homer of the season to give the Saints a 9-1 lead. (108.4 mph at 25-degree angle = 412 feet.)   

Kaelen Culpepper led off the bottom of the fourth inning with his sixth home run (100.3 mph at 29 degrees = 365 feet.). Fedko followed immediately with his eighth home run. (101.3 mph at 29 degrees = 401 feet.) 11-1 Saints. 

Ben Ross (103.1 mph) led off the fifth frame with his second double of the game. He scored on a single by Jackson (103.3 mph) to give the Saints a 12-1 lead. 

Just three Saints batted in the bottom of the sixth. But Orlando Arcia led off the seventh inning with his fourth homer of the season. (105.9 mph at 18 degrees = 377 feet.) 

With two outs, Schobel knocked his second double of the game. He came around to score on Walker Jenkins' second home run of the season. (91.7 mph at 32 degrees = 328 feet.) 15-2, Saints. 

Following the Jenkins homer, Culpepper was hit by a pitch in the right shoulder. A fastball ran in on him, but he had already dove a bit and opened up his hips and shoulders. Hopefully he is just suffering from bruising, and it didn’t break any bones. From what it looked like, he is going to be incredibly sore tomorrow and probably for a few days. He stayed in the game to run, but after the half-inning, he was removed from the game for the final half-inning. 

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Arcia knocked his second homer of the game and fifth of the season. (104.6 mph at 27 degrees = 388 feet.) 

Former Gopher and Minnesota native Brett Bateman led off and played center field for the I-Cubs. He went 1-for-2 with two walks. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 6, Arkansas 16
Box Score
It was a rough one for the Wind Surge on Saturday night, right from the start. 

Jose Olivares was able to complete just one inning. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. He had one strikeout. He needed 34 pitches to get through the inning. With this just being his second start after rehab, there was no need to push it. Sam Ryan came on in relief. He was charged with six runs on nine hits (including a home run). William Fleming came in and gave up three runs on four hits (including a home run).

 Spencer Bengard struck out two batters over two scoreless innings. Alejandro Hidalgo gave up five runs on three hits (2 of them were homers). He walked three and struck out one batter. Hidalgo started the ninth and left the game with two runners on base and nobody out. Jorel Ortega came in and allowed one of the two inherited runners to score, but no more in before getting the final three outs. 

After two runs scored in the top of the first inning, Wichita put a four spot. With one out, Garrett Spain singled. Hendry Mendez singled, and then Billy Amick was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With two outs, Ricardo Olivar hit his sixth double which drove in two runs. Jose Salas followed with a two-run single to make it 4-2. 

After that, the Wind Surge offense was Jake Rucker. The infielder drilled two home runs, his first two of the season. He hit his first in the second inning. In the ninth inning, he hit his second. He went 3-for-4 in the game and also notched his fourth double.   

KERNELS CHRONICLE 
Cedar Rapids 11, West Michigan 6
Box Score
The final score of this game is not really indicative of the game. Nine-run innings in the late innings often have the kind of an effect on a game. 

The Kernels grabbed the first lead with a second inning run. Danny De Andrade hit his first triple and scored on a Caden Kendle single to make it 1-0. 

Jason Doktorczyk started the game with three scoreless innings. He gave up one run in the top of the fourth. Then the Whitecaps scored five runs in the top of the fifth inning in large part due to a couple of errors. In all, he was charged with six runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk. He had four strikeouts. Nick Trabacchi came into the inning with the bases loaded and allowed two of the three inherited runners to score. He worked a scoreless sixth inning. 

A Marek Houston single drove in Jay Thomason with the Kernels second run to make it 2-6 through five innings. 

Things were looking bleak, but remember that nine-run inning I mentioned? Well, that came in the bottom of the seventh. 

Andy Lugo led off with a single. Jaime Ferrer followed with his fifth home run of the season to cut the deficit in half.   

Marek Houston and Eduardo Tait followed with singles. Then with one out, Khadim Diaw singled to load the bases. Danny De Andrade walked to make the score 6-5. Caden Kendle lined a single up the middle to drive in Tait and tie the game. 

The Kernels took a 7-6 lead on a passed ball. Jay Thomason walked, which would have reloaded the bases, but on the fourth ball, a wild pitch gave the team an 8-6 lead. 

Jaime Ferrer came up with two on and two outs and launched his second home run of the inning to give the Kernels nine runs in the inning and an 11-6 lead. It was Ferrer’s second home run of the night. It was his third home run in two May games, and he’s hit four home runs over his past five games. The Kernels #9 hitter is currently hitting .319 with a 1.060 OPS. 

Yehizon Sanchez struck out four batters over two scoreless, one-hit innings to take the Win. Paulshawn Pasqualotto got the final three outs, two on strikeouts. 

MIGHTY MATTERS
Ft. Myers 6, Daytona Beach 7
Box Score  
Ramiro Villanueva made his second Mussels start. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits and three walks in three innings. He struck out three batters. Reed Moring struck out two batters over two perfect innings. 

Harry Genth led off the top of the third inning with his fourth double. He scored on a Dameury Pena single. After a Ramiro Dominguez single, Pena scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Yasser Mercedes. That tied the game at 2-2. 

In the top of the fifth inning, Pena and Dominguez hit back-to-back singles. Pena scored on a Mercedes single to grab the 3-2 lead. 

The Mussels added another run in the top of the seventh. Mercedes knocked a one-out double, went to third on a fly ball to center field and scored on a wild pitch. 

Adam Falinski came in next and worked 1-2-3 innings in both the sixth and seventh innings. 

In the top of the eighth inning, Irvin Nunez walked and scored on Harry Genth’s first home run of the season. It gave the Mussels a 6-2 lead. 

Falinski went back out for the eighth inning and struck out the first batter. That was the only one he recorded. He gave up two hits and a walk. When he left the game, there were two runners on. Mitch Mueller allowed both inherited runners to score. The three runs that inning (2 earned) were charged to Falinski. Mueller did get out of that eighth inning with the Mussels hanging on to a one-run, 6-5 lead. 

The Mussels went 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth. Mueller came back out for the ninth inning. He gave up a single and a walk to start the inning. A passed ball moved runners to second and third with no one out. A wild pitch allowed the tying run to score, making it 6-6. 

However, Mueller got a ground out to first base for the first out. He hit a b after. Then he got another ground out for the second out. Could he work out of the damage?

No, he threw a wild pitch, and the Tortugas topped the Mussels 7-6. 

All nine Mussels in the starting lineup reached base at least once by hit or walk. Yasser Mercedes led the way. He went 3-for-5 with his second double. He stole his sixth base. Genth was 2-for-3 with a walk, his first home run, and his eighth stolen base.  Pena and Dominguez were both 2-for-5. Ryan Sprock, Quentin Young, and Jayson Bass each had one hit and one walk. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLE
FCL Twins 8, FCL Red Sox 6
Box Score  
There weren’t a lot of highlights in this game for FCL Twins fans until their final at-bat at Bill Smith Field. 

Learn more about the FCL Twins roster in our FCL Twins Season Preview. 

RHP Cory Lewis was on the mound to start the FCL Twins season. He restarted his rehab for a second time. He had pitched on April 17th for the Mussels and went just 1/3 of an inning and gave up two hits and two walks. Saturday, he started for the FCL Twins and went 1 2/3 innings. He gave up one run on one hit and three walks. The hit was a home run. He struck out two. Omar Montano got the third out of the second inning. 

Last Sunday, lefty Matthew Becker tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings in the Mussels’ combined no-hitter. He was sent back to the FCL a day later. On Saturday, he made his FCL debut. He gave up four runs on three hits. In 2 2/3 innings, he walked four and had three strikeouts. Carter Holjes got four outs and gave up just one hit and walked one. Nick McAuliffe came on for the top of the seventh. He gave up one run on two hits. 

Jose Barrios drove in the Twins first run in the bottom of the second when he reached on an error. In the bottom of the fourth, a Barrios single drove in Merphy Hernandez with the team’s second run. Down 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Barrios came to the plate again and drove in Hernandez for the third time to make it 5-3. 

That brings us to the bottom of the seventh inning, Twins down 6-3. Teilon Serrano led off with a walk. Yovanny Duran followed with his first home run of the season which cut the deficit to 6-5. 

Luis Fragoza walked, stole second, and went to third on a wild pitch. Joyner Perez walked. That brought Merphy Hernandez, and he ended the game with a long, three-run homer that made it 8-6. 

Hernandez walked his first three plate appearances, so he was just 1-for-1 with the three-run walkoff homer. He stole a base. Barrios went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a stolen base.  

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Jaime Ferrer (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, 2-HR(6), 2 R, 5 RBI

Pitcher of the Day 
Zebby Matthews (St. Paul): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 K, 80 pitches, 52 strikes (65.0%)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today.

#1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, BB, HR(2), 2 R, 3 RBI, K, SB(5). (batted first, played RF, then CF)   

#2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, HBP, HR(6), 2 R, RBI(batted second, played SS)
#3 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - Did Not Play. 
#4 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) -1-for-5, R (batted second, played Catcher)  
#5 - LHP Connor Prielipp (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch
#6 - LHP Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch
#7 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-5, 2 K (batted fifth, played 1B, then RF)
#8 - LHP Kendry Rojas (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch.
#9 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R, RBI (batted first, played 2B)
#10 - RHP Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List
#11 - RHP Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch
#12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch                                        
#13 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2 K (batted third, played SS)
#14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-4, BB, 3 K (batted sixth, played SS).
#15 - RHP Marco Raya (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 24 pitches, 15 strikes (62.5%)
#16 - OF Hendry Mendez (Wichita) - 1-for-5, R (batted third, played LF)
#17 - 2B/OF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K (batted fifth, played SS)
#18 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - Did Not Pitch.
#19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R, K (batted fourth, played CF)
#20 - RHP James Ellwanger (Ft. Myers) - 60 IL (right elbow sprain)

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Sunday:
Iowa @ St. Paul (2:07 pm CT) - RHP Andrew Bash (1-2, 6.00 ERA)
Arkansas @ Wichita (1:05 pm CT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-1, 2.75 ERA)
West Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 pm CT) - RHP Ivran Romero (1-0, 8.00 ERA)
Ft. Myers @ Daytona (12:05 pm CT) - RHP Justin Mitrovich (professional debut)

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 14-20
St. Paul Saints: 14-17
Wichita Wind Surge: 13-13
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 13-13
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 16-10
FCL Twins: 1-0
DSL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, June 1) 

Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related!

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[Paul Walerius]

I could be wrong, but I don't believe 68 yr old Jose Barrios drove in the first run in the 2nd inning. 

 

[mikelink45]

ITs time!  Jenkins and Fedko up - Wallner and Outman down.

Culpepper up - Lewis down.

Mathews up - SWR down

Rojas up - Garcia gone

 

[rdehring]

Couple things caught my eye this morning, Seth.  And thanks for another great report.

Excited seeing Ross have a great game at the plate with the Saints.  That was his first big game, wasn't it?  Seems like Houston has a multi-hit game nearly every time I check the Kernel's box score.  Getting time to start seeing his name when I check Wichita, not Cedar Rapids.

Was shocked seeing all 18 of the position players on the FCL Twins roster are from either Venezuela or the Dominican Republic.  Will assume there will be a few from the U.S. after the draft.