Twins Minor League Report (5/15): Saints Sweep Guardians' Triple-A Team in Columbus.

[Seth Stohs]

 

TRANSACTIONS   
2025 draft pick Jason Reitz began a rehab assignment in the FCL. So did 2024 draft pick, Michael Carpenter. Cody Laweryson will begin a rehab assignment with the Saints on Saturday.  

SAINTS SENTINEL
Game 1: St. Paul 8, Columbus 5 
Box Score
Going to the bottom of the fifth inning in Game 1 of a doubleheader, the Saints found themselves down by a score of 4-2. However, they tied it in the bottom of the fifth and added four more runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the first game. 

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Kaelen Culpepper led off the home half with his ninth home run of the season. 

Aaron Rozek started for the Saints. The lefty gave up one in the first inning, but he gave up a total of four runs (just one earned) on four hits over five innings. He had one walk and struck out six batters. 

The bottom of the fifth began with a Tanner Schobel double. With one out, Hendry Mendez walked. After a fielder’s choice left runners on first and third with two outs, Matt Wallner lined a single off the wall in right to drive in Schobel and make it 4-3. Wallner was then caught stealing, but Fedko was able to score from third to tie the game at 4-4. 

Kody Funderburk came on and gave up one run on two hits in the sixth inning. 

Orlando Arcia reached on an error in the bottom of the sixth inning. Gabriel Gonzalez followed with a single. After an out, Ben Ross stayed hot and drilled his eighth double since joining the Saints to drive in both runners and give his team the 6-5 lead. 

After Schobel walked, a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third. Hendry Mendez lined a single to right field to drive in two more runs and make it 8-5. 

Matt Bowman struck out the side in the bottom of the 7th inning to claim his third save. 

Ross was 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI. Gonzalez went 2-for-3. Schobel went 1-for-2 with a walk. Mendez was 1-for-2 with two walks and two RBI.  

Game 2: St. Paul 5, Columbus 3
Box Score
Without the help of a big inning, the Saints swept the Clippers with a solid Game 2 performance

They took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Tanner Schobel drove in Ben Ross with a single. 

In the third inning with two outs, Kyler Fedko was on first base. Orlando Arcia singled. Fedko scored on a single by Gabriel Gonzalez, and Arcia scored when Ben Ross reached on a throwing error to make it 3-0. 

The fourth frame began with walks to Schobel and Noah Cardenas. Two batters later, Fedko singled to drive in Schobel. 

Mike Paredes started and tossed four scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and had four strikeouts. Marco Raya came on to start the fifth. The inning started with a Dom Nunez homer. After a strikeout, Maick Collado homered. Next up was Kahlil Watson, and he drilled his eighth home run. The lead was down to just 4-3. Raya got a ground out but then walked a batter before Brian Dinelman turned to John Brebbia.

Brebbia got four outs, and then Drew Smith recorded his third save with a perfect seventh inning. 

The Saints got a little insurance in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Ross walked. He scored on an Aaron Sabato double. 

Gonzalez was again 2-for-3 in the game. Fedko, Ross, and Schobel each had a single and a walk. Sabato’s double was his sixth of the season. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 3, San Antonio 10
Box Score
This wasn’t a great game for the Wind Surge. 

Ty Langenberg started and gave up three runs on four hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings. Spencer Bengard then gave up one run on three hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings. Jacob Wosinski gave up four runs on three and four walks in 1 1/3 innings. Jarret Whorff was charged with two runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. Kyle Bischoff tossed one scoreless inning. 

The Surge scored their three runs on just three hits and two walks. Kyle DeBarge went 2-for-4. Andrew Cossetti hit his third double of the season. 

Check out the Top 20 Padres Prospects according to our sister site, Padres Mission. 

KERNELS CHRONICLE 
Cedar Rapids 3, Fort Wayne 12                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Box Score
After falling to Fort Wayne 11-3 on Thursday, a fictitious sportswriter asked Kernels manager Brian Meyer if things could have possibly gone any worse. Meyer fictitiously replied, “Sure, we could have lost 12-3.” 

And that’s just what they did on Friday night in Iowa. The Kernels had just five hits in the game. Only Yasser Mercedes, who was 2-for-3 with a walk, had more than one hit. The Kerels scored their three runs in the bottom of the sixth. They were already down 12-0 but kept battling. 

Michael Ross gave up six in the first inning but was able to give his team for innings. He was charged with eight runs on nine hits (2 homers). He had four strikeouts and no walks. Christian Becerra gave up four runs in one innings on four hits and a walk. He struck out three batters. Yehizon Sanchez gave up two hits and a walk over two scoreless innings. Nick Trabacchia also tossed two scoreless innings. 

Check out the Top 20 Padres Prospect according to our sister site, Padres Mission. LHP Kash Mayfield started and tossed five scoreless, one-hit innings. He had nine strikeouts and no walks. 

MIGHTY MATTERS
Ft. Myers 4, Bradenton 3
Box Score  
The Mussels fell behind 3-0 after one inning but then combined to toss eight scoreless innings. That allowed the Mussels hitters to ease their way back into the ball game. 

Matthew Dalquist started and was charged with three runs on six hits and a walk. He had four strikeouts. Brent Francisco gave up three hits over three scoreless innings. He struck out one batter. Michael Zeldin earned his third save with two scoreless innings. He had four strikeouts and gave up just one hit. 

Dameury Pena led the offense. He went 3-for-5 at the top of the lineup. Quinn McDaniel went 2-for-3 despite not starting. 

Ryan Sprock put the team on the board in the top of the fourth when he hit his second home run of the season. The second run came on a two-out single by Dameury Pena that drove in McDaniel in the fifth frame. 

In the top of the sixth, JP Smith walked, Jayson Bass walked, and then Ian Daugherty walked to load the bases with one out. Smith scored on a wild pitch that tied the game 3-3. A fielder’s choice and a walk re-loaded the bases. Harry Genth came to the plate and took one for the team. He was hit by a running fastball in the elbow which drove in McDaniel with the go ahead run. The bullpen held on and the Mussels were victorious. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLE
FCL Twins 11, FCL Red Sox 12 (10 innings)
Box Score  
The big story in this game was probably the professional debut of RHP Jason Reitz. The Twins fifth round pick a year ago started this season on the IL with a foot injury. The 6-11 righty gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings. He walked none and had three strikeouts. 

Cory Lewis came on next to continue his rehab. He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk over 2 2/3 innings. He also hit a batter and threw two wild pitches. He struck out three batters. Jack Wagner, recently signed out of Notre Dame, came on next and got the final out of the fifth inning. However, he gave up one run on one hit, one walk, and one hit batter. He did record his first strikeout. 

Another rehabber came in next. Lefty Michael Carpenter worked 1 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on one hit and three walks. He had two strikeouts. Yoel Roque gave up a run on two hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings. He had two strikeouts. Nick McAuliffe also struck out two batters in 1 1/3 innings. He was charged with two runs on two hits and a walk. Carter Holjes got the final out, but not before giving up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and three walks. One of the walks was intentional, but the two wild pitches were not. 

Five Twins had multi-hit games. Merphy Hernandez was 2-for-6 with two RBI. Enrique Jimenez DHd in his second rehab appearance. He went 2-for-4 with a walk. Luis Fragoza went 2-for-4 with a walk and his fourth double. Ricardo Pena was 2-for-3. Victor Leal went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Daiber De Los Santos went 1-for-3 and walked twice in the game. Joyner Perez also notched his first double of the season.  

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Pal): 4-for-6, R, RBI

Pitcher of the Day 
Mike Paredes (St. Paul): 4 IP, H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 HB, 4 K, 64 pitches, 36 strikes (56.3%)

 

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) - 7 Day Injured List (left shoulder)
#2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - Game 1: 1-for-4, HR(9), R, RBI, SB(9) (batted first, played 3B); Game 2: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K (batted first, played SS)
#3 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (thumb)
#4 - LHP Connor Prielipp (Minnesota) - Pitches Saturday. 
#5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, R, 2 K (batted second, DH). 
#6 - LHP Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - Pitches Saturday. 
#7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Play.
#8 - RHP Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch.
#9 - LHP Kendry Rojas (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch.
#10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - Game 1: 2-for-3, R (batted sixth, played 1B); Game 2: 2-for-3, RBI (batted fifth, played RF)
#11 - RHP Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List
#12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota) - 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 24 pitches, 18 strikes (75.0%)                                        
#13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - Game 1: 1-for-2, 2 BB, 2 RBI (batted second, played LF), Game 2: 1-for-4, K (batted second, DHd)
#14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Play. 
#15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, BB, K (batted first, played SS)
#16 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - Pitches Saturday.
#17 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch.
#18 - RHP James Ellwanger (Ft. Myers) - 60 Day Injured List (right elbow sprain)
#19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2B(5), R, RBI, K  (batted third, played CF)
#20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 2-for-4, R, 2 K (batted fourth, played 2B)

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Saturday, May 16:
Columbus @ St. Paul (2:07 pm CT) - RHP Ryan Gallagher (0-0, 4.91 ERA)
Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 pm CT) - RHP Jose Olivares (0-2, 9.58 ERA)
Fort Wayne @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Michael Ross (0-3, 4.29 ERA)
Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 pm CT) - TBD
FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (11:00 am CT) - RHP Dylan Questad (Rehab), Melvin Rodriguez (Bulk)   

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 20-25
St. Paul Saints: 23-19
Wichita Wind Surge: 17-19
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 20-17
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 21-16
FCL Twins: 5-5
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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[FlyingFinn]

Any update on Soto's injury? He has missed so much time the past two years.

[High heat]

Nice to see aLawyerson starting a rehab assignment.  He looked good in ST and the first 2 weeks of the season before injury.

Ben Ross continues to hit, he might be the Royce Lewis replacement for the short term.

Any update on E Rod?  Hope he comes back soon.