Twins Minor League Report (6/2): Kaelen Culpepper Hits a Leadoff Homer, Royce Lewis Homers Twice; Rinse and Repeat

[Steve Lein]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Royce Lewis)

TRANSACTIONS

• The Minnesota Twins sent RHP Cole Sands on a rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints and also optioned LHP Kody Funderburk. C Luis Hernandez was brought up from Cedar Rapids to fill Ricardo Olivar’s catching void. LHP Jake Higginbotham was also promoted from the Wichita Wind Surge.
• In Double-A, Wichita received a bunch of pitching reinforcements. They were assigned MiLB free agent RHP Nick Mikolajchak, activated RHP Kyle Bischoff from the temporary inactive list, then RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto and RHP Yehizon Sanchez from the Cedar Rapids Kernels.
• In the Midwest League the Kernels received C Ian Daugherty and LHP Cesar Lares from the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. In addition, RHP Adrian Bohorquez was sent on a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins.
• With the Mighty Mussels, RHP Eric Hammond was activated from the 7-day injured list and sent SS Yilber Herrera to the FCL Twins roster.
• In the Rookie Leagues RHP Aldwin Morillo was assigned to the DSL Twins.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Indianapolis 6, St. Paul 7
Box Score
As has been his modus operandi on many occasions this season, Kaelen Culpepper led off the bottom of the first for the Saints with his 13th home run of the season. It is the sixth time he has led off a game with a home run so far on the season, which is ludicrous.

Saints starter Aaron Rozek was solid over his four innings. He held Indianapolis to just one hit and a pair of walks, while striking out four. He threw 59 pitches, with 32 going for strikes (54%).

The home team added three runs in the bottom of the third when Royce Lewis clubbed his eighth home run of the season. His three-run shot drove in Ben Ross who drew a walk, and Hendry Mendez who singled in front of him.

Matt Wallner led off the bottom of the fourth with a double and later scored on a sac fly from Aaron Sabato. Another Sac fly in the fifth from Kyler Fedko made it 6-0 Saints. Lewis then hit his second home run of the game to make it 7-1 after seventh. Lewis has now played 12 games on the season with the Saints, and his home run total sits at nine. Just his slugging percentage sits at .958 in Triple-A after this one.

Cole Sands made his first rehab appearance as the first reliever summoned for the fifth inning, and worked a one-two-three frame, including a strikeout. Alejandro Hidalgo went the next two innings, allowing a solo home run, two additional hits, and two walks, while striking out three. Andrew Bash came on to start the eighth inning and before it was done Indianapolis had pulled within one. Bash finished just 2/3 of an inning and was charged with five runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk, including a grand slam that made it 7-5. Raul Brito came on and induced what should have been an inning ending groundball to short, but Gabriel Gonzalez at first base wasn’t able to squeeze the glove on the throw and was charged with a missed catch error that closed the lead to one. Brito was back out for the ninth and though he put the tying run on base with a walk, was able to close it out. He walked one and struck out one in his 1 1/3 innings.

Culpepper (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI), Lewis (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI), and Wallner (2-for-4, R, 2B) each had two hits. Aaron Sabato added his 14th double of the season.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
San Antonio 4, Wichita 1
Box Score
The second hitter of the game for the Wind Surge was second baseman Kyle DeBarge, and he lined a single into left field for their first hit of the game. Unfortunately, they would not get another.

After the Missions took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, the Wind Surge did score a run after getting a leadoff walk from Billy Amick and a hit-by-pitch on Kala’i Rosario in the bottom half. A throwing error on a double-play ball led to their lone run. Amick drew both the walks they were able to coax out of Ian Koenig, the Missions starting pitcher who completed seven one-hit innings.

Wichita starting pitcher Sam Armstrong was able to complete the first four innings. He allowed two earned runs on six hits and a pair of walks, while striking out three. William Fleming went the next two innings, giving up a pair of earned runs on a walk and two hits. He struck out one. Darren Bowen (1 IP, H, 2 K) and Yehizon Sanchez (2 IP, H, BB, 2 K) finished off the final three innings. It was Sanchez’s Double-A debut.

Despite only one hit and two walks for the offense, they also had four hit batters which allowed them to go 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, leaving five men on base. This was the sixth loss in a row for the Wind Surge.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Wisconsin 14, Cedar Rapids 11
Box Score
The Kernels fell behind big early, stormed back with a big inning to take a lead in the middle frames, but then collapsed in the final ones to fall to the Timber Rattlers in this week's series opener.

None of the Cedar Rapids pitchers came out of this one unscathed, as Wisconsin put up crooked numbers in six of their nine at-bats. Ivran Romero got the starting nod and finished three innings. He was charged with six earned runs (two in each inning) on five hits and four walks, striking out three. Nick Trabacchi got them through the fifth inning but gave up three runs (two earned) of his own on four hits in his two innings. He struck out three.

The Kernels offense scored their first run in the bottom of the second thanks to the speed of Yasser Mercedes. He drew a walk to lead off the inning, stole second and third base, and then executed a double steal with Quinn McDaniel to steal home. In the bottom of the third Brandon Winokur led off with a double, and Khadim Diaw drove him in with a single. An error and RBI single from Winokur in the fourth made it 6-4 after four. 

Xavier Kolhosser took the mound in the sixth and despite loading the bases, got through his first inning unscathed. 

Then the Kernels offense came alive, batting around in the bottom of the sixth and plating seven runs to take an 11-9 lead. The first seven batters of the inning reached base, including three on errors, but the exclamation point was a grand slam from Jay Thomason that got them to 11.

Kolhosser was back out for the top of the seventh and although he finished the inning, he was charged with three earned runs to immediately put the Timber Rattlers back in the lead. He allowed those runs on four hits and three walks in his two innings, while striking out four. Wisconsin added two insurance runs in the eighth against Sam Rochard, but he gave them a chance with a scoreless ninth. He allowed those two runs on one hit and two walks, while striking out three.

In the bottom of the ninth walks to Diaw and McDaniel brought the tying runner to the plate, but Rayne Doncon popped out to end the game.

The Kernels got multi-hit efforts from Winokur (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, K), Diaw (2-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB), and Thomason (2-for-3, 2 R, GS HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, K). McDaniel finished 1-for-3 with three walks, a run scored, and a stolen base. As a team the Kernels speedsters stole eight total bases without being thrown out.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 10, Lakeland 2
Box Score
Merit Jones took the bump for the Mighty Mussels as was effective over the first five innings, working around eight total hits and two walks with eight strikeouts to limit the damage he gave up to just a pair of solo home runs. Those eight strikeouts set a career high.

The offense backed him up with crooked numbers in the third and fifth innings to jump out to a lead they would not relinquish. Bryan Acuna got it started with a triple in the top of the third, scoring on a Dameury Pena single. A pair of walks then loaded the bases for Henry Kusiak, who drove in two with a double. In the fifth Enriquie Jimenez led off with a single, Ramiro Dominguez followed with a double, and after a run-scoring wild-pitch, JP Smith launched his sixth home run of the year to make it 6-2 Fort Myers.

Jones picked up his second win of the year as that offense added three more in the top of the seventh. Luis Fragoza drove in the first run with a double, and a pair of wild pitches scored two more. They finished their scoring off in the top of the ninth with an RBI double from Acuna to make the final score.

Relievers Jonathan Stevens (1 IP, 2 K), Eric Hammond (2 IP, 2 K), and Matt DesMarets (1 IP, K) kept the Flying Tigers hitless over the final four innings to close this one out.

The offense got multi-hit efforts from Jimenez (3-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB), Fragoza (2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 K), and Acuna (2-for-4, R, 2B, 3B, RBI, BB, K). Six of their 10 total hits went for extra bases.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 4, FCL Rays 5
Box Score
Right-hander Adrian Bohorquez made the rehab start and pitched the first inning, throwing 21 total pitches (15 for strikes). He gave up a double, a single, and hit a batter with a pitch, but allowed no runs and struck out one. Per the MLB gameday tracking, he also hit 98+ MPH with his fastball multiple times, topping out at 99.4.

After his rehab appearance the Rays attacked righty Cristian Hernandez to the tune of five runs (three earned) over the next three innings. He gave up five hits, including two home runs, walked three, and struck out four. Jack Walker (2 1/3 IP, H, BB, 4 K) and Brad Rudis (1 2/3 IP, 2 BB, 3 K) held the Rays scoreless over the final four innings to give the Twins lineup a chance.

The good guys scored their first run in the top of the third frame thanks to a two-out double from Teilon Serrano to drive in Yovanny Duran. They closed the Rays lead to one in the top of the fifth thanks to a run scoring error, an RBI double from Carlos Taveras, and an RBI single from Ricardo Pena. While they had at least one baserunner in each of the final four innings, they were unable to push one across the plate to tie the game. Taveras led the way for the Twins with two doubles in five at bats, scored a run, and drove in one.

DOMINICAN DAILY
DSL Twins 2, DSL Tigers 4 (7 innings)
Box Score
The Tigers 2 squad jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the third inning, and that would be enough to hold up through the seven-inning contest.

Emmanuel Mena pitched the first inning for the Twins and allowed a two-run homer for the early 2-0 Tigers lead. He gave up two total hits and struck out two in his lone inning. Yosangel Braffit did the bulk work, going the next three innings. He was charged with two earned runs on three hits and six walks, striking out one. After three consecutive of those six walks in the bottom of the fifth, the Twins called on Jermy Jimenez. He escaped that bases loaded and no outs jam by getting a pop-up and inducing a double play ball. He also set the Tigers down in order in the sixth to finish out the game for the Twins. Jimenez went two innings and allowed no baserunners.

The Twins as a team outhit the Tigers 7-5, but while the Tigers got two home runs all the Twins hits were singles. They scored their first run in the top of the third thanks to a sac fly from Jhon Gonzalez to score Jendy Martinez, who had singled earlier, stole second base, and reached third on a wild pitch. In the top of the fourth Luis Suarez delivered an RBI single to make it 4-2, but that’s as close as they would get. Enmanuel Merlo (2-for-3, BB) and Suarez (2-for-3, RBI, K) each collected two hits.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Rozek, St. Paul Saints (4 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K)
Hitter of the Day – Royce Lewis, St. Paul Saints (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI)

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

#2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (13), RBI, SB (13)
#4 - LHP Connor Prielipp (Minnesota): W, 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
#5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, R, RBI, BB, K
#7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, 2 BB, 2 K
#10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-4, 2 K
#12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota): 2/3 IP, H, 2 K
#13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul): 1-for-3, R, BB, K
#14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Fort Myers): 0-for-5, 2 K
#15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, K
#19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB
#20 - 2B/OF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita): 1-for-3

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Indianapolis @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP Ryan Gallager (1-1, 7.04 ERA)
San Antonio @ Wichita (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Cory Lewis (0-1, 6.52 ERA)
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - LHP Dasan Hill (1-4, 6.26 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Charlee Soto (0-0, -.-- ERA, rehab assignment)

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

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[jaimedude]

Royce Lewis is hitting well at AAA. Why don't the Twins see if he will play some LF or CF. The only thing James Outman does is run faster. Lewis has a better bat, with more HR potential. Seems like he has fun playing again, is being a good teammate, and making the plays in the field. Of the two that were sent down, Lewis is playing well, much better than Wallner.