Twins Minor League Report (6/16): Mick Abel and Sam Armstrong Deal, Offenses Explode

[Steve Lein]

Image courtesy of Malamut Photography (photos of Eduardo Tait, Walker Jenkins, Enrique Jimenez)

TRANSACTIONS

• In Triple-A, SS Kaelen Culpepper was placed on the 7-day injured list with a left hip strain. RHP Eduardo Salazar was sent on a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. C Ian Daugherty was also activated from the Development List.
• The Wichita Wind Surge activated IF Jose Salas from the injured list and were assigned RHP Chris Vallimont. RHP William Fleming was placed on the 7-day injured list.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Omaha 2, St. Paul 21
Box Score
The St. Paul Saints tied a franchise record with 21 runs on 18 hits against the Omaha Storm Chasers Tuesday night. The margin of victory was their largest ever recorded. While the final score certainly shows a lopsided victory, the brutal truth for Omaha is this one was over just as quick as it started.

Mick Abel took the mound at CHS Field in his second rehab start, and the Storm Chasers got blown away by him before they even knew an offensive tornado was touching down. 

The right-hander was scheduled to throw about 65 pitches, and Abel’s efficiency in this one meant that was (more than) enough for him to finish five innings and pick up the win. He allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits, walked nobody, and struck out five. If not for an error that led to a couple of extra batters, he could have finished six innings with that modest cap. Instead, he needed just 61, with 44 of those going for strikes (72%), including eight swings and misses. Four of his five K’s were of the looking variety, as he dotted his 95-97 MPH fastball on the edges of the zone all game.

But that tornado I alluded to? By the time Abel’s outing was done the Saints were up 15-2. 

They batted around in the first and third innings. The returning Alan Roden was a triple shy of the cycle by the fourth inning and scored four runs. He homered and singled in the first inning.

Aaron Sabato finished with his 19th double and 13th home run with the Saints, and has 27 extra-base-hits in his last 35 games. He drove in four total.

Matt Wallner has 20 RBIs in his last 11 games. He only singled twice. Every hitter in the Saints starting lineup had at least one hit, and Harry Genth added his first hit in Triple-A with a two-run double as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning. Tanner Schobel added a home run, his third with the Saints. The only Storm Chaser pitcher who didn’t give up a run, was ironically a position player. Be sure to take in the entirety of the box score linked above, it is a thing of beauty.

Ty Langenberg was also excellent in piggy-backing Abel’s start. For reasons which would hold absolutely no merit in any situation, manager Brian Dinkelman left him in to start the top of the ninth only to pull him after getting one out. Just let him finish or don’t even put him out there at that point, what are we doing? But I digress. He pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings, scattering three hits and one walk, while striking out four. Marco Raya threw seven pitches to get the final two outs.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Springfield 3, Wichita 7
Box Score
The Wind Surge got a strong start from Sam Armstrong and big hits from the middle of their lineup to come out on top in this one.

Through four innings the only baserunner the Cardinals had was from a hit-by-pitch in the top of the first. Armstrong retired the next 11 men in a row before an error led off the fifth inning. That runner would score on a single for Armstrong’s only blemish on the night. He picked up his second win of the season with five one-hit innings. The lone run was unearned, and he struck out five compared to just one walk. 47 of his 71 pitches went for strikes (67%).

Wichita got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the third when Andrew Cossetti launched his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot. In the bottom of the fifth Kala’i Rosario delivered a bases loaded single to score two more, making it 4-1 Wind Surge. They added their final three insurance runs in the seventh when Billy Amick hit his 17th home run of the season to make it 6-1, then a pair of singles from Rosario and Garrett Spain along with a wild pitch put their final tally on the board.

The bullpen duo of Darren Bowen (2 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K) and Kyle Bischoff (1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 K) held off the Cardinals to back up Armstrong.

Amick (2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K) and Rosario (2-for-3, R, 2 RBI, BB) led the way with two hits each. McDaniel drew four walks from the nine-hole in the lineup, stole two bases, and scored three runs

KERNELS NUGGETS
Beloit 12, Cedar Rapids 19
Box Score
So many of our photos for these minor league reports come from the talented David Malamut of Malamut Photography. Here are hundreds of photos from Tuesday night's game. If you're into sports photography, or maybe collecting autographs of prospects, take a look at David's photos and your pick out some of your favorites. 

The Minnesota Twins’ old Midwest League affiliate and their new one combined for 31 runs on 31 hits, including 11 home runs in this slugfest at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Ivran Romero started for the Kernels and after two innings the Sky Carp led 7-2. But his lineup wasn’t about to let him suffer for a rough start. Romero would finish three innings total, allowing seven earned runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out four.

Cedar Rapids answered Beloit’s three runs in the top of the first with two of their own in the bottom half. Walker Jenkins started his rehab stint with the Kernels by hitting a home run in his first at-bat with the Kernels since the 2024 season.

Two batters later Eduardo Tait clubbed his 12th home run of the year.

This would portend the theme of the night.

Tait hit his second homer of the game in the third inning. Enrique Jimenez joined the party in the fifth with his first homer for the Kernels. Caden Kendle followed with a two-run shot that made the score 10-9 in favor of the Sky Carp. Jenkins led off the sixth with a single, then two walks and an RBI single from Jay Thomason tied the game up at ten. Kendle added a sac fly to give the Kernels their first lead of the game.

Beloit took that lead back in the top of the seventh, but Tait’s RBI single knotted them up again after seven. Then the Kernels put the game away in the eighth.

Doubles from Thomason and Kendle put them up by one, but Graham Brown’s three-run shot, and Jimenez’s second blast of the game made it 19-12 Cedar Rapids.

Nick Trabacchi (2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K), Michael Ross (W, 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K), and Sam Rochard (1 IP, H, BB, 3 K) combined to pitch the final six innings.

Every batter in the Kernels lineup had at least one hit and scored at least one run. Tait finished 3-for-6 with two runs scored, two homers, and five RBI. Thomason racked up four hits in six at-bats. Kendle was 3-for-4 with a double, home run, four RBI, and two runs scored. Jenkins finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 9, Tampa 15
Box Score
The Mighty Mussels scored first in this one after Dameury Pena led off the game with a single. He proceeded to steal second base, then on an attempt to steal third drew a throwing error that allowed him to score.

Unfortunately for Fort Myers, the Tarpons answered in the bottom half with a grand slam off starter Hendry Chivilli and never looked back. Chivilli did deliver two scoreless frames after that but got hit for three more earned runs in the fourth to end his outing. He finished 3 2/3 innings and was charged with seven earned runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out three.

Relievers Merit Jones (2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB 5 K) and Jake Murray (1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K) didn’t fare much better.

The lineup at least did not go cold. In the top of the third they pulled within one thanks to a two-run homer from Ramiro Dominguez. In the fifth Merphy Hernandez led off with a homer, before Dominguez followed with another two-run shot to make it 7-6. Down by five in the eighth, Quintin Young joined the home run party with a 112.6 MPH blast. Later in the inning a double steal added their eighth run. Young added a sac fly in the top of the ninth to give them their final total on the scoreboard.

Pena led off and led the way with hits in all five of his at-bats. He scored four runs and stole a base. Dominguez had four RBIs and a walk thanks to his two homers in five trips to the plate. Jayson Bass (2-for-5, R, K) and Irvin Nunez (2-for-4, K) also collected multiple hits.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 9, FCL Orioles 10 (7 innings)
Box Score
A back-and-forth 7-inning affair came down to the final inning on Tuesday in the Florida Complex League.

Down 1-0 in the top of the third, the Twins used doubles from Yovanny Duran and Jhomnardo Reyes along with three walks, a balk, and a wild pitch to take a 4-1 lead. The Orioles answered with three runs in the bottom half to tie it, before the Twins went back ahead in the top of the fourth thanks to a triple from Daiber De Los Santos, who was able to score on the play thanks to an error.

The Orioles scored four in the bottom of the fifth to go ahead 8-5, but the Twins answered in the top of the sixth. A pair of walks, an RBI double from Teilon Serrano, sac fly from Reyes, and RBI double from Carlos Taveras tied it up at eight. The teams then traded single runs that made it 9-9 heading to the final Orioles at-bat. 

A one-out single included an error, and then a stolen base put the winning run 90-feet away. A single then brought it in to end the game.

Twins pitchers included the rehabbing Eduardo Salazar who served as an opener. He allowed one earned run on two hits and struck out one in his lone inning. Omar Montano delivered a one-tow-three second, including a K. Cristian Hernandez got the bulk of the work, pitching four innings but being charged with eight runs (seven earned) on five hits and three walks. Three of those hits were home runs, but in stat lines you don’t see every day, 11 of the 12 outs he recorded came on strikeouts. Pablo Castillo was the final pitcher, recording one out in the seventh before the Orioles pushed the winning run across.

The Twins had only six hits as a team, but nine walks combined with five of those hits going for extra bases turned into their nine runs. De Los Santos finished 2-for-3 with a walk, three runs scored, a triple, and a homer. Duran and Serrano each scored two runs.

DOMINICAN DAILY
DSL Twins 11, DSL NYY Yankees 25
Box Score
In what seems to be a developing theme in the Dominican Summer League, the Twins and Yankees organizations again combined to put up an NFL score. Unfortunately, the Twins weren’t on the good side of this one.

The Yankees racked up 19 hits and 12 walks, scoring in seven of their eight at-bats including multiple runs in six of those. They batted around three times.

The Twins had 17 hits and six walks, led by Juan Holmann (3-for-3, 3 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB) and Enmanuel Merlo (3-for-4, R, RBI, BB, K) with three hits apiece. Four other batters had two hits.

Only one of the Twins six pitchers escaped without allowing a run, and that was Fabian Ulloa who gave up just one hit in his inning. Enmanuel Mena, Yosangel Braffit, Jeremy Jimenez, Juan Germosen, and Ashwar Sprok combined to give up everything else.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Sam Armstrong, Wichita Wind Surge (W, 5 IP, H, R (0 ER), BB, 5 K)
Hitter of the Day – Eduardo Tait, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-for-6, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI)

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 (Cedar Rapids, rehab): 2-for-5, 2 R, HR, RBI, K
#5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-6, 2 R, 2 HR (13), 5 RBI
#7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, K
#10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 2-for-5, 2 R, K
#14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Fort Myers): 1-for-4, R, HR (6), 2 RBI, 2 K
#15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, 2 R, RBI, BB, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Omaha @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP Austin Voth (1-2, 2.90 ERA)
Springfield @ Wichita (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Cory Lewis (0-2, 4.57 ERA)
Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Riley Quick (0-1, 4.32 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Tampa (4:00 PM CDT) - RHP Justin Mitrovich (1-1, 1.08 ERA)

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

View full article

[FlyingFinn]

Pitching seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur in the low minors lately.

[DJL44]

Chris Vallimont is back in the org? I would have been less surprised to see him return as a coach than as an active player.

[Jack Pine]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

Pitching seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur in the low minors lately.

Too early for the football season.

[Old Twins Hat]

Are Tait and Jimenez both catchers and both at Cedar Rapids?

Didn't Diaw just move up?

What's the plan here at catcher?

Going to need a someone next year with Jeffers on the move to a new team.

[jmlease1]

20 minutes ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Are Tait and Jimenez both catchers and both at Cedar Rapids?

Didn't Diaw just move up?

What's the plan here at catcher?

Going to need a someone next year with Jeffers on the move to a new team.

Next season might be a bridge year of Caratini and Jackson. Diaw did just move up, but I wouldn't expect him to go from AA to MLB, though I do like his bat. Tait has huge potential, but I expect him to be in AA in 2027. And maybe we'll be drafting Lackey. Short-term catching looks a little wobbly if Jeffers goes. Long term? There's more depth and upside in that department than we've seen in a while, and it becomes a real strength if we get Lackey. (particularly interesting if there's a lockout for a big chunk of 2027, which the owners and players are both greedy and stupid enough to do. Mostly the owners, who are always the greediest and stupidest. Neither cares about the fans.)

Some good days on the farm. Glad to see Jenkins playing, hope he's back in Saint Paul soon. Even better seeing Abel looking good; I expect he'll be back in MN soon and the rotation needs him (though it's battled through lately). I've been so impressed with Abel, so here's hoping for good health the rest of the season.

Bit of a weird season for GG; slow start, got a cup of coffee in MLB (and did very well in his 1 appearance) and has seen his power production come and go all year. Maybe he's getting his footing a little better? Not unhappy about him getting time at 1B either.

Amick's power is for real; that .507 SLG% is no joke even in Wichita, but people are going to hate his low BA and piles of K's. Weirdly bad against LHP this season? It's not a huge sample, and it wasn't an issue last season, so seems a bit fluky, but he's been absolutely dreadful against LHP and it's dragging his overall stats down. Think he's destined for 1B eventually, but I'm still ok with him splitting time at 3B/1B. He's not awful there, but could be pretty good at 1B. Be interesting to see how he finishes the season.

[Steve Lein]

35 minutes ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Are Tait and Jimenez both catchers and both at Cedar Rapids?

Didn't Diaw just move up?

What's the plan here at catcher?

Going to need a someone next year with Jeffers on the move to a new team.

Vahn Lackey? 😅

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Pitching seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur in the low minors lately.

Across the league. Fangraphs guys are trying to figure out if the ball is different or what. 

[DJL44]

Another successful start for Abel. He would be very helpful.

[D.C Twins]

Dear Jenkins,

Repeat after me: No more running into outfield walls in the minor leagues. 

It is not worth it. 

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Are Tait and Jimenez both catchers and both at Cedar Rapids?

Didn't Diaw just move up?

What's the plan here at catcher?

Going to need a someone next year with Jeffers on the move to a new team.

The plan at catcher is to have a whole bunch of catchers who can play in the big leagues. There will be injuries. There will be struggles. But if they can get one or two of them up to the big leagues, that's a huge success. 

Diaw moved up to Double-A. My assumption is he'll catch 2-3 days per week there, probably play a couple of games in CF and maybe DH a day. 

As for Tait and Jimenez, it's possible that they will just alternate at catcher and DH most of the time with each catching 2-3 games per week. Luis Hernandez will then likely catch one game per week. 

[jaimedude]

Abel seems ready to come back. Roden should be replacing Fedko soon. 

[Danchat]

13 minutes ago, jaimedude said:

Abel seems ready to come back. Roden should be replacing Fedko soon. 

It might be Wallner before Roden...