Twins Minor League Report (5/6): Yasser Mercedes is a One-Man Show

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Yasser Mercedes)

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Sam Armstrong placed on 7-day IL (AA Wichita)
RHP Grant Hartwig activated from development list (AAA St. Paul)
OF Emmanuel Rodriguez placed on 7-day IL (AAA St. Paul)
INF Harry Genth promoted from A Fort Myers to AAA St. Paul
RHP Christian Roa DFA’d

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 11, Las Vegas 2
Box Score
SP: Mike Paredes: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
HR: Orlando Arcia (6), Ben Ross (2), Aaron Sabato (6)
Multi-hit games: Orlando Arcia (2-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI), Aaron Sabato (2-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI)

They say the PCL is a hitter’s paradise. Well, this amorphous “they” might be on to something.

The Saints scored in three consecutive innings, as Orlando Arcia homered, Ben Ross homered, and Aaron Sabato… singled, giving St. Paul a trio of runs early. 

Then, the floodgates. All that was dammed and protected broke free in a furious seventh. Sabato started the frame with a homer—because the power-hungry first baseman had gone all of a few hours without doing so and felt a need to punish—before a Ben Ross walk started the sequence. A Kaelen Culpepper walk, and a Ryan Kriedler single stuffed the bags full. Gabriel Gonzalez brought in a run on a walk. Arcia doubled. Hendry Mendez and Alex Jackson brought the run total to 10; Ross then capped the flurry by reaching on an error. 

The Saints bullpen pitched five shutout innings with six strikeouts and one hit allowed. They did not walk a batter. 

Sabato entered the game with a .679 slugging percentage on the season. 

Hendry Mendez reached base three times in his Triple-A debut.

The tremendously named Henry Bolte is the Athletics' fifth-ranked prospect. He homered once in five at-bats.

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 1, Amarillo 3
Box Score
SP: Ty Langenberg: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None

The Wind Surge struggled mightily on offense on Wednesday.

They actually took the first lead, plating a run in the second with the aid of a Sod Poodles error. 

That was it. If a Wichita Lineman were listening in the wires for another score, he would be disappointed. Maybe he should take that small vacation, after all. Instead, Wind Surge hitters suffered through a whiff-fest that would eventually grow to 17 punchouts. They had two hits and walked twice.

Once again, this author finds himself fascinated by Alejandro Hidalgo. He’s allowed an unfathomable six homers in his 14 ⅔ innings in 2026, yet he’s also struck out 27 batters. Once the home run rate stabilizes, we could be looking at a breakout for the 22-year-old.

Sod Poodles third baseman Jansel Luis ranks as the 13th-best prospect in the Diamondbacks system. He singled once in three at-bats.

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 4
Box Score
SP: Riley Quick: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Brandon Winokur (2-for-4, 2B, RBI)

The Kernels couldn’t pull themselves out of a deficit on Wednesday.

So, Riley Quick is human, after all. The righty entered the game with a 0.00 ERA, perhaps believing he may never allow a run again. The leadoff hitter sent his second pitch out of the park. So, it goes. Quick surrendered another score in the second. His season ERA is now 1.13. Unforgivable.

The Kernels’ first run of the game arrived in the fifth, when Eduardo Tait and Brandon Winokur smacked back-to-back doubles. 

The sixth-frame run was a Jacob McCombs special: the outfielder singled, stole second, then stole third and trotted home when catcher Blake Mitchell presumably fired the ball wildly into center field attempting to nab Rayne Doncon running for second (this author can’t speak for certain, as the highlight only shows a camera statically stuck on McCombs trotting home with ease.)

The aforementioned Mitchell is ranked as the 63rd-best prospect in MLB. He walked twice in four plate appearances. 

Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 3, Tampa 4
Box Score
SP: Matthew Dalquist: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
HR: Yasser Mercedes (5)
Multi-hit games: Dameury Pena (2-for-4, RBI, BB), (Ryan Sprock 2-for-2, R, 2 BB)

The Mighty Mussels stumbled late on Wednesday.

Starter Matthew Dalquist had his best start in the Twins system. The 5’10” hurler danced through five quality innings, whiffing four while allowing just one run. The start chopped almost a full run off his season ERA and dropped his WHIP from 1.80 to 1.53. The vibes were great for the 18th-rounder out of UC San Diego.

Fort Myers started quickly with a rocket off Yasser Mercedes’ bat, his fifth homer of the season.

Returning in the fourth, Dameury Pena singled to left, plating Ryan Sprock before Mercedes took over the game once more. He warped the entire fabric of the match around his speed. The outfielder stole second, swiped third (without a throw), then broke for home and slid in safely, even allowing Sprock to reach second on the play. That’s four bases, and a run he created with just his speed and madman baserunning.

Players went 0-4 on ABS challenges in the game.

Starter Mac Heuer is the 24th-best prospect in the Yankees system; he went 2 ⅔ innings with one earned run. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Matthew Dalquist
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Yasser Mercedes

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#2 – Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 0-4, R, 2 BB, K
#4 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 2B, R, 2 K
#7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-4, R, RBI, BB, K
#11 – Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
#12 – Andrew Morris (Twins) - ⅔ IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, K
#13 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, 2B, RBI, K
#14 – Quentin Young (Fort Myers) - 0-3, BB, K
#15 – Marco Raya (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
#16 – Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, K
#17 – Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 0-3, BB, 2 K
#19 – Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 3 K

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Las Vegas (9:05 PM) - RHP Andrew Bash
Wichita @ Amarillo (6:35 PM) - RHP Jose Olivares
Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30 PM) - RHP Jason Doktorczyk
Tampa @ Fort Myers (5:35 PM) - RHP Merit Jones
FCL Orioles @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM) - TBD

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[mikelink45]

I love the question - should Rodriguez be called up right now with the report of him going on 7 day IL at the top.  I think injuries are the constant threat for his call up.

[jmlease1]

Mercedes is making the case for promotion right now. Good for him. I'd like to see him in Cedar Rapids before the end of May.

Quick still did fine; you knew he wasn't going to be perfect forever. Looking forward to seeing where he's at in a month or so; I suspect we'll still be looking at another promotion for him this season, which would be an excellent result.

Like seeing Mendez take some walks and get a hit in his AAA debut. I think he earned his promotion and it'll be fun to see how he progresses.

Not a lot else positive among the hitters on the prospect list yesterday, unfortunately.

[Jeff K]

As always, thank you for the informative updates and great writing.  I like this quote especially! "If a Wichita Lineman were listening in the wires for another score, he would be disappointed. Maybe he should take that small vacation, after all"

[tony&rodney]

A few brief observations from watching parts of games:

The Saints are punishing the ball. Plenty of good plate appearances all through the lineup.

Alex Jackson looks pretty good behind the plate and has hit the ball hard on a number of occasions recently. I was thinking that he may have been disappointed to not make the Minnesota Twins squad but has settled in comfortably with the Saints and must be pretty satisfied to have that sweet contract. Jackson can help a MLB team when the opportunity arises.

Hendry Mendez looked really good. He hit a screamer for an out, another shot for a double, had two fantastic plate appearances for walks, and looked reasonably comfortable in the field, moving his feet athletically. He looked like he did not want to walk in his last time up. One of the most difficult skills to learn is to focus on every trip to the plate, not giving away those chances to hit. Mendez impressed me more than he did for Wichita, although I liked how he performed for the Wind Surge as well.

Riley Quick has tools. Batters sat on his fastball and when Quick executed he still managed well with the heater. He needs more command with his pitches which is perfectly normal and to be expected. Quick is a big guy and he could be real tough in another year.

Winokur was smooth at shortstop yesterday and looked good at the plate as well. The swing is always a challenge for him and he looks to be working on shortening up a bit. 

Yasser Mercedes is healthy and looking to be promoted. Cedar Rapids should be his home by early June. He has some skills and just needs a ton of game experiences and refinement.

 

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, Jeff K said:

As always, thank you for the informative updates and great writing.  I like this quote especially! "If a Wichita Lineman were listening in the wires for another score, he would be disappointed. Maybe he should take that small vacation, after all"

Still on the line.....

[Patzky]

35 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

A few brief observations from watching parts of games:

The Saints are punishing the ball. Plenty of good plate appearances all through the lineup.

Alex Jackson looks pretty good behind the plate and has hit the ball hard on a number of occasions recently. I was thinking that he may have been disappointed to not make the Minnesota Twins squad but has settled in comfortably with the Saints and must be pretty satisfied to have that sweet contract. Jackson can help a MLB team when the opportunity arises.

Hendry Mendez looked really good. He hit a screamer for an out, another shot for a double, had two fantastic plate appearances for walks, and looked reasonably comfortable in the field, moving his feet athletically. He looked like he did not want to walk in his last time up. One of the most difficult skills to learn is to focus on every trip to the plate, not giving away those chances to hit. Mendez impressed me more than he did for Wichita, although I liked how he performed for the Wind Surge as well.

Riley Quick has tools. Batters sat on his fastball and when Quick executed he still managed well with the heater. He needs more command with his pitches which is perfectly normal and to be expected. Quick is a big guy and he could be real tough in another year.

Winokur was smooth at shortstop yesterday and looked good at the plate as well. The swing is always a challenge for him and he looks to be working on shortening up a bit. 

Yasser Mercedes is healthy and looking to be promoted. Cedar Rapids should be his home by early June. He has some skills and just needs a ton of game experiences and refinement.

 

If we can unload Caratini Jackson may be Jacksoning for the Twins by year's end.

[bunsen82]

1 hour ago, Patzky said:

If we can unload Caratini Jackson may be Jacksoning for the Twins by year's end.

The end game is trading Ryan and Jeffers.  We will have a Caratini and Jackson backstop for the last 2-3 months.  

[tony&rodney]

2 hours ago, bunsen82 said:

The end game is trading Ryan and Jeffers. 

Trading either is a good idea, but only if the return is worthwhile. The Twins do not need any more DH guys, bench players, or soft-tossing pitchers. Ryan has another year before he is a free agent and Jeffers is worth a QO if he maintains his year, despite the extremely high cost. The Twins books are pretty clean. 

I do agree both should be traded but want decent prospects/players coming back.

[Trov]

It is SSS of this season, but Yasser, sure has had a 180 from last year for him.  He was terrible in low A all year.  This year though he has increase his walk rate, increased his power, and just overall hitting.  His K-rate is the same at about 25%, but clearly he is making better contact when he does get hits, and walking at a slightly higher clip, but he must be making just a lot more solid contact.  

He has speed clearly, if he can get on base that will be huge, he will not need to hit a ton of HR.  He has been in the organization a long time, but still only 21 and could move up to High A soon.  If he keeps up his pace he will fly up the prospect list.