Twins Minor League Report (5/26): Hendry Mendez Is Unstoppable!

[Tom Froemming]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Hendry Mendez)

TRANSACTIONS
IF Harry Genth was assigned to Cedar Rapids from Wichita.
OF Kala’i Rosario was activated off Wichita’s injured list. 
OF Graham Brown was signed as a free agent and joined Fort Myers. He had been playing for the Washington Wild Things of the independent Frontier League.
C Ian Daugherty was placed on the developmental list.

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 6, Louisville 4
Box Score
SP: John Klein (3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K)
HR: Kaelen Culpepper (11)
Multi-hit games: Hendry Mendez (4-for-4, BB, 2 2B), Matt Wallner (2-for-5, 2 2B)

The Saints lineup steadily piled up runs, tacking on a pair in the first, third and sixth innings. Hendry Mendez was a menace. He went 4-for-4 with a walk and a pair of doubles. All four of his batted balls were hard hit, registering exit velos of 104.2 mph, 103.7 mph, 100.6 mph and 95.7 mph.

In 17 games with St. Paul, Mendez is hitting .400/.513/.600 (1.113 OPS). He also has more walks (18.8 BB%) than strikeouts (12.5 K%) so far is his first taste of Triple A.

The Saints lineup combined to record 11 batted balls hit in excess of 100 mph. Matt Wallner led the way with both of his doubles clocked at 109.1 mph. Wallner and catcher Richardo Olivar had two RBIs each.

Kaelen Culpepper led off the game by hitting a low 82 mph curveball out for his 11th home run of the season. He’s hitting .266/.392/.557 (.949 OPS) so far in May.

John Klein had a rocky first inning that featured two hits, two walks, a stolen base and a run-scoring wild pitch. After surrendering two runs in that first frame, Klein retired six of the next seven batters he faced. He topped out at 95.8 mph and got 10 swinging strikes on his 60 total pitches.

The only two runs the bullpen surrendered were unearned. Grant Hartwig and Cody Laweryson provided an inning each before both Marco Raya and Raul Brito went two frames.

Royce Lewis was 0-for-4, was hit by a pitch and drove in a run. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM 
Springfield 8, Wichita 5
Box Score
SP: Eli Jones (2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-5, 2 2B), Jaime Ferrer (2-for-4, 3B, BB)

Since this game was delayed and the first pitch wasn’t thrown until after 8 p.m. CT, you just knew the final innings were destined to drag on. Seven of the game’s 13 runs were scored in the final inning and a half. The final out was recorded at 11 p.m.

Wichita starter Eli Jones gave up a lot of traffic and surrendered a pair of runs before exiting with an injury in the bottom of the third inning. The Wind Surge could never climb out of that hole. Not only did Kyle DeBarge and Jaime Ferrer carry the offense, but the rest of the lineup struggled to just make contact, going 2-for-21 with 13 strikeouts.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 9, Quand Cities 8
Box Score
SP: Michael Ross (3 1/3 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)
HR: Yasser Mercedes (2)
Multi-hit games: Yasser Mercedes (2-for-4, HR, BB), Eduardo Tait (2-for-4, 2B, BB), Khadim Diaw (2-for-4, 2B, BB)

What a comeback! The Kernels entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 8-5. Brandon Winokur provided the spark, leading things off with a walk and then stealing second base. Eduardo Tait capped an eight-pitch at bat by hitting a double into the gap to plate Winokur.

Back-to-back singles followed from Khadim Diaw and Yasser Mercedes that brought Tait around to score, putting Cedar Rapids within a run of tying the game. Mercedes stole second to put two runners in scoring position, but Quinn McDaniel went down swinging for the first out of the inning.

Next, Jacob McCombs was intentionally walked to load the bases. Rayne Doncon managed to foul off two two-strike pitches in an eight-pitch battle that resulted in him drawing a bases-loaded walk to score the game-tying run. 

Jay Thomason came up with the opportunity to play the hero, and he was perfect for the role. Thomason chased a pitch away that was nearly in the opposite batter’s box but was able to get a bat on it. He swatted the pitch the other way, sending a soft liner through the drawn in infield to deliver a walk-off win.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Jupiter 9, Fort Myers 7
Box Score
SP: Ramiro Villanueva (3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K)
HR: Luis Fragoza (2)
Multi-hit games: Dameury Pena (2-for-5)

The Mussels led 7-3 heading into the seventh inning, but the Hammerheads, well, kept hammering ... ahead. Things really unraveled in the top of the ninth for Fort Myers, as some poor defense contributed to what ended up being a three-run inning.

Starter Ramiro Villanueva tallied another solid start. Over 3 2/3 innings, the 20-year-old surrendered one run on two hits. He did walk three batters, though. Villanueva struck out three batters, got eight swinging strikes and topped out at 96 mph. He has a 2.66 ERA through 20 1/3 innings but his 16 walks are cause for some concern. 

Matthew Dalquist had been among the many pitching bright spots for Fort Myers, but he was rocked for five runs (four earned) while only recording four outs.

Luis Fragoza, a 19-year-old playing in his fifth game with the Mussels, hit a two-run homer. He was in center field tonight and has played all three outfield positions in addition to first base in his handful of games with Fort Myers.

Enrique Jimenez had a pesky day at the plate. He went 1-for-1 with a two-run double and three walks. One of his free passes was thanks to a successful check swing challenge, which is something that’s being tested in some of the lower levels. 

Unfortunately, Jimenez also exited this game early. In that messy ninth inning, there was a play at the plate that put Jimenez in a tough position to both catch the throw and apply the tag at the same time. Though he couldn’t corral the throw, he managed to get through that unscathed. He actually appeared to suffer the injury retrieving the ball. He took an awkward step and came up limping. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 1, FCL Orioles 0 (8 innings)
Box Score
SP: Cristian Hernandez (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K)
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Miguel Caraballo (2-for-2, BB)

The Baby Twins finally broke through in the top of the eighth (which is an extra inning in the FCL) when Yovanny Duran drove in Jose Barrios on a single. That’s right, Duran driving in Barrios. It’s like we’re in the year 2057 in an OOTP simulation or something.

Pitching was the standout in this one, with Cristian Hernandez delivering five shutout frames of two-hit ball. Geremy Villoria, who was acquired alongside Hendry Mendez in the Harrison Bader trade, followed with a perfect inning. Villoria, 17, has now logged 5 2/3 scoreless innings to start his season. Carter Holjes held off the O’s in both the seventh and eighth innings 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Pitcher of the Day: Cristian Hernandez, FCL Twins (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K)
Hitter of the Day: Hendry Mendez, St. Paul (4-for-4, BB, 2 2B)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 

2. Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) 1-for-4, HR, BB, 2 R, RBI, K
5. Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) 2-for-4, 2B, BB, 2 R, RBI, K and threw out one of three attempted base stealers
7. Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) 0-for-4, BB
10. Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) 1-for-4, 2B, R
12. Andrew Morris (Twins) 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
13. Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) 4-for-4, 2B, BB, 2 R, CS
14. Quentin Young (Fort Myers) 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 K
15. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) 1-for-3, 2B, BB, HBP, SB, 3 R 
19. Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) 2-for-4, 2B, BB, R, RBI
20. Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) 2-for-5, 2 2B, R, RBI

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul: Mike Paredes
Wichita: Off
Cedar Rapids: Jason Doktorczyk
Fort Myers: Merit Jones

CURRENT W-L RECORDS
Minnesota Twins: 27-28
St. Paul Saints: 26-25
Wichita Wind Surge: 21-25
Cedar Rapids Kernels:  24-22
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 24-22
FCL Twins: 10-8
DSL Twins: (season begins Monday, June 1)

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[Sampson5]

Mendez is a interesting prospect looks like a major league bat honestly wouldn't mind giving him the outman bench role it's probably time to dfa outman and get a prospect in as the 4th outfielder briefly thought outman was starting to turn in around enough to hold the job but lately even in the rare starts he's doing nothing but strikeout 

[DataNerd]

Offensively, Mendez is checking every single box there is.  BB/K, Exit Velos, traditional stats, chase/whiff.  His worst Statcast stat at AAA is Barrel%, which is 76th percentile.  You could probably make a strong argument for him being a top 100 guy even with the huge defensive questions.

Klein should be moved to a 1 inning role to see how much he get get the fastball up to.  Doesn't get high spinrates, and the fastball as it is likely won't be enough to be more than an average pitch.

[LewFordLives]

I didn't know Laweryson was back in action. Hopefully he can get back into form and return to Target Field.

[MinnInPa]

maybe in Mendez we can finally get a hitter that doesnt K over 20% of the time,... 

[rdehring]

Thanks for the report, Tom.  They are appreciated.

Every year there is hope one top Twins prospect will arrive and be that guy.  You know, a star rookie who is in the running for ROY and future stardom.  Seemed this year just might be that year with EmRod, Jenkins, Rodon, Culpepper and Gonzalez all one step away at St. Paul.  But they can't become that player if they aren't playing and the year is already one-third over.

Probably too late in the season to become that stud rookie, but Mendez sure is getting it done on the field.  Not only didn't his production take a hit when moving up to AAA, but it got better.  Don't recall which of the many trades he was in last July, but it sure looks like a good one.

Also noticed the ERA's of the Twins pitchers at St. Paul.  And AA and Cedar Rapids aren't much better.  Ouch! 

Was excited seeing another good game from Jiminez, until I read the report and learned he may have again been injured.

 

 

[tony&rodney]

7 hours ago, Sampson5 said:

Mendez is a interesting prospect looks like a major league bat honestly wouldn't mind giving him the outman bench role it's probably time to dfa outman and get a prospect in as the 4th outfielder briefly thought outman was starting to turn in around enough to hold the job but lately even in the rare starts he's doing nothing but strikeout 

James Outman has been mostly toast at the plate. Hendry Mendez has been a line drive machine from line to line with power. However, Mendez will never play CF and suggestions to DFA Outman leaves the Twins short in CF, especially with Buxton at DH. In June we could see Culpepper up, which means one of Tristan Gray or Outman is let go but that is a ways off. Kreidler is needed at both SS and CF and doesn't exactly have a great bat. Finally, when Mendez gets an opportunity (called up to MLB) it doesn't make any sense to let him sit on the bench. We will almost certainly see some personell changes after the season, which may open a spot for Mendez.

I'm wanting to see the Twins put a juggernaut offense on the field as much as the next person but this team is competing better because the defense is better in support of some good pitching. My hope is that the Twins focus on converting outs until such time as a few prospects, who hit AND play defense, are ready.

[rdehring]

4 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

James Outman has been mostly toast at the plate. Hendry Mendez has been a line drive machine from line to line with power. However, Mendez will never play CF and suggestions to DFA Outman leaves the Twins short in CF, especially with Buxton at DH. In June we could see Culpepper up, which means one of Tristan Gray or Outman is let go but that is a ways off. Kreidler is needed at both SS and CF and doesn't exactly have a great bat. Finally, when Mendez gets an opportunity (called up to MLB) it doesn't make any sense to let him sit on the bench. We will almost certainly see some personell changes after the season, which may open a spot for Mendez.

I'm wanting to see the Twins put a juggernaut offense on the field as much as the next person but this team is competing better because the defense is better in support of some good pitching. My hope is that the Twins focus on converting outs until such time as a few prospects, who hit AND play defense, are ready.

Great comment, Tony.  But must disagree with two words.  I would replace "after the" season, with "later this" season.  Twins have been a huge surprise, but hopefully there will be several smart moves made a couple months from now.

[tony&rodney]

5 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Great comment, Tony.  But must disagree with two words.  I would replace "after the" season, with "later this" season.  Twins have been a huge surprise, but hopefully there will be several smart moves made a couple months from now.

It may be later in the season. The timing of changes has been upset to some extent by injuries to Jenkins and Rodriguez. Players like Larnach and Martin have really been a huge part of a fun team the first two months. Ryan Jeffers was on a great run and Joe Ryan has been a rock for the pitching staff. I find it hard to envision where (specifically) the changes take place. 

Last night Wallner hit two balls very hard but looked awful in the field and at the plate otherwise. Lewis has had a few good swings but I saw several swings yesterday where his body and feet were all over the place. Baseball is hard and we could see some big changes. I just don't know what they will be. In the past three years we pretty much knew that DK wasn't going to break up his dream team unless it was to add another DH, but things are changing now, slowly.

[Nshore]

It'll be kind of ironic if Henry Mendez ends up being the ML stud and E-Rod and Jenkins spend the rest of their careers in the hospital.  One never knows, does one.

[Trov]

8 hours ago, Sampson5 said:

Mendez is a interesting prospect looks like a major league bat honestly wouldn't mind giving him the outman bench role it's probably time to dfa outman and get a prospect in as the 4th outfielder briefly thought outman was starting to turn in around enough to hold the job but lately even in the rare starts he's doing nothing but strikeout 

With current injury to Buck not playing CF, Roden still out in minors, E-Rod, Jenkins both out, we have very limited options for defense at CF.  Mendez cannot play it.  Martin has the speed but not best at it either.  That really just right now leaves outman until Buck can play it regular again, which that may not happen this year.  We remember recently when he only DH all year basically.  

Also, why would you make a prospect the 4th or 5th outfielder? You want to give prospects at bats, not ride the bench with a few at-bats a week.  If you do not plan on playing a prospect at MLB level, keep them in minors so they can get regular playing time. 

[Trov]

Mendez appears to be possibly be one of those hitters that with the small adjustments can make big strides.  He has been known to have a good eye at plate, with solid contact and exit velo's but over his career has been a ground ball hitter so affecting his power numbers.  Does not matter if you hit the ball 110 off the bat, if it is on the ground you normally are at best getting singles, if not down the lines generally. 

This year though it would seem he must be getting more launch angel as his slugging is up over his career average.  Being he is on the 40 man he could be a call up with injury to one of our OF or if they decide to cut Bell Mendez could fill DH roll for this season if his hot bat continues. 

[jmlease1]

You have to feel great about Mendez so far this season. It's early days in AAA, and the leap to MLB is the most treacherous of all, but he's doing great so far. If he keeps rolling in June he'll be knocking on the door and I love it when prospects are trying to push their way on the team through performance. Mendez can play some 1B too, even if his best position might really be "hitter". Not a bad pickup for a rental trade.

Love seeing Tait, Diaw, and Mercedes all have multi-hit games at the same time like that. Those are 3 position players in Cedar Rapids that I find intriguing and will be following all season. Lots of talent, lots of upside there IMHO.

Klein will be in the 'pen sooner rather than later, IMHO, but I'd like to see him hand out fewer free passes and long balls. But I think he can be a useful high-velocity arm in the 'pen in the future.

[arby58]

5 hours ago, rdehring said:

Don't recall which of the many trades he was in last July, but it sure looks like a good one.

Yep - he came over in the Harrison Bader trade. Given that Bader was a rental, it looks like a really good value deal for the Twins.

[WarPath1211]

11 hours ago, DataNerd said:

Offensively, Mendez is checking every single box there is.  BB/K, Exit Velos, traditional stats, chase/whiff.  His worst Statcast stat at AAA is Barrel%, which is 76th percentile.  You could probably make a strong argument for him being a top 100 guy even with the huge defensive questions.

Mendez is a great offensive prospect: great contact skill, good raw power, solid plate discipline. But he does have one crippling weakness: he hits way too many groundballs for a guy with his raw power and lack of foot speed.

Before last year, Mendez routinely ran GB rates of around 60%, and this year, he's cut it to 54.5%. For reference, the major league leader last year, among qualified hitters, for GB rate was Christian Yelich at 56.7%, and nobody else was above 54%. Yelich has made a career out of GB rates in this mid-to-high 50s territory, and he's been productive, but his best, MVP-level years came when he cut the GB rate to about 50% or less.

You can be a solid hitter with a GB rate in Mendez's neighborhood, but your power output is going to be depressed to the point where you probably won't ever be a great hitter. Mendez will need to improve in this area to be a truly great bat. He is still very young and has made some promising steps this year though, so he may be on the path to doing that.