Twins Minor League Report (7/3): Cody Morissette, Walker Jenkins, Matt Wallner Power Saints Win; Ryan Jeffers Begins Rehab

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Ryan Gallagher)

TRANSACTIONS   
Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers began his rehab assignment with the Saints on Friday night in St. Paul. 

IF Andy Lugo was activated by the Kernels. 

LHP Michael Carpenter went to the FCL to make a rehab appearance on Saturday. 

FCL Twins infielder Haritzon Castillo was placed on the 60-Day Injured List. He has not played since the first week of the DSL season.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 4, Buffalo 3  
Box Score
Ryan Gallagher has experienced several ups and downs since joining the Saints. This is one of his best Triple-A starts. He tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and had five strikeouts. 

Kendry Rojas came in to get the final out of the fifth inning and worked two more innings. In 2 2/3 innings, he gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. He had three strikeouts. 

C.J. Culpepper came in to get the final two outs of the seventh inning. He walked one but was otherwise unscathed. Paulshawn Pasqualotto came on for the ninth inning, attempting to hold onto a 4-2 lead. He gave up an unearned run on a hit and a walk but struck out three batters to complete the Saints win. Pasqualotto was just promoted to St. Paul a day earlier. This was his Triple-A debut, and he recorded his first Triple-A save. 

Walker Jenkins returned to the lineup on Friday night after one night off. In the third inning, he hit a solo homer, his third with the Saints to give the team a 1-0 lead. He went 2-for-4 in the game. In addition, he shared an assist with Tanner Schobel to record an out at home. 

After missing nearly two months with a broken hamate bone, Ryan Jeffers began his rehab. He DHd and got four at-bats. He went 2-for-4 with a couple of rocket singles to center, the first at 105 mph and the second at 108 mph. 

In the fourth inning, Cody Morissette hit his sixth home run with the Saints to make it 2-0. The 26-year-old was the Marlins second-round pick in 2021 out of Boston College. He reached Triple-A Jacksonville late in the 2025 season, and that’s where he began the 2026 season. He was released by the Marlins on June 2nd. He signed with the Twins on June 8th. He spent about one week with Double-A Wichita to get some at-bats. In his 15th game with the Saints, he went 2-for-4 with his fourth double and sixth home run. 

The Twins third run scored came on a sacrifice fly by Hendry Mendez that scored Matt Wallner. He had walked and went to third on Gabriel Gonzalez’s 14th double. Wallner was 1-for-2 with a walk, was hit by a pitch, and in the seventh inning, he hit his 13th home run with the Saints. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 5, Tulsa 10
Box Score
Through the first inning, Wichita had a 3-1 lead. Through five innings, they were ahead 4-2. However, the Drillers scored three runs in the sixth, three in the seventh, and two more runs in the eighth inning.  

Andrew Cossetti led off the bottom of the first inning with his sixth double. He advanced to third with one out. Garrett Spain walked. Cossetti scored on a sacrifice fly by Billy Amick. Kyle DeBarge followed with his ninth home run of the season, a two-run shot that made it 3-1. DeBarge went 2-for-4. 

Chris Vallimont started and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk over four innings. He had three strikeouts. Zach Vennaro came on and gave up two runs on one hit over 1 1/3 innings. Sam Ryan came on with a runner on base. He allowed the inherited runner to score and two more runs on two hits and two walks, and he recorded two outs. Nick Mikolajchak gave up two runs on three hits in one inning. Darren Bowen gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits in two innings. He walked three and had four strikeouts.

Amick went 2-for-4 with his 12th double. His 19th home run came in the third inning.   

Jaime Ferrer went 2-for-4 and stole a base. 

KERNELS CHRONICLE 
Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 13 (suspended in the 4th inning)
Box Score
The rain came in the bottom of the fourth and the game was suspended. The teams will finish this game on Saturday before the regularly scheduled game. Some might argue this one was over soon after it started. Quad Cities scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and four more in the top of the second. They had already scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth when the game was suspended with two outs. Finally, we’ll go into more detail when the game is complete. But just so you’re aware. Lefty Cesar Lares started and was charged with 11 runs (10 earned) on seven hits (including 2 homers) and three walks. 

MIGHTY MATTERS
Ft. Myers 4, Clearwater 3
Box Score  
Five of the game’s seven runs were scored in the first inning. The Mussels scored three runs in the top of the first inning. Clearwater responded with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Just two more runs scored over the final eight innings.  

With two outs in the top of the first inning, Jayson Bass walked. Luis Fragoza followed with a single. Byron Chourio followed by crushing his fifth home run of the season to make it 3-0.   

Reed Moring started and gave up two runs on five hits over three innings. Merit Jones came in and gave up one run on five hits and four walks over 3 2/3 innings. Michael Hilker came in and tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his third save. He gave up just one hit, walked none, and had three strikeouts. He really ‘earned’ the save in the bottom of the seventh when he entered the game with the bases loaded and didn’t allow any to score.  

In the third inning, Ryan Sprock hit his fifth home run of the season. He went 2-for-5 in the game.   

Luis Fragoza went 2-for-2. Ricardo Pena had the other extra base hit, his first double. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins, FCL Red Sox (postponed)
Box Score  
Rain caused Friday’s game to be postponed. The cross-town rivals will attempt to play two games on Saturday. 

DSL Twins 1, DSL Marlins 2 (8 innings)
Box Score   
They were scheduled to play seven innings, but the Twins and Marlins were having so much fun, they played an extra inning too on Friday morning. Actually, when the score was tied 1-1 after seven innings, the rules of the game are to play another inning. 

The Twins jumped to an early lead when Fabian Ulloa walked with the bases loaded in the top of the first inning to drive in Daiyer Barboza. That was about it for the Twins offense.

The pitching was really good though. 16-year-old Adrian Martinez started and struck out eight batters over four scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked two batters. Herkyn Taveras came on and had a walk and a strikeout over two scoreless, hitless innings. Jeremy Jimenez came in for the bottom of the seventh, but he gave up a run to send it to an extra frame. He gave up a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the eighth which ended the game. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits. In his 1+ inning.

The Twins had just two hits in the game. They walked eight times. Abel Sosa and Anibal Beltre each walked twice. Enmanuel Merlo hit a single, and Daiyer Barboza hit his third double.  

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter(s) of the Day  
Cody Morissette (St. Paul): 2-for-5, 2B(4), HR(6), R, RBI, K.
Billy Amick (Wichita): 2-for-3, 2B(12), HR(19), SF, 2 R, 2 RBI

Pitcher(s) of the Day 
Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul): 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 61 pitches, 38 strikes (62.3%)
Michael Hilker (Fort Myers): 2.1 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 30 pitches, 18 strikes (60.0%)
Adrian Martinez (DSL Twins): 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 

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) - 2-for-4, HR(3), R, RBI (batted first, played CF)
#4 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2 (batted third, played catcher).
#5 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-for-4 (batted second, played SS)
#7 - LHP Kendry Rojas (St. Paul) - 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 46 pitches, 32 strikes (69.6%) 
#9 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, SF, RBI (batted fifth, played LF)
#10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2B(14), K (batted fourth, played 1B)
#12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, 2B(13), R (batted first, played 3B)
#14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-2, 2 K (PH, then played 3B) 
#15 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - 4 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 61 pitches, 38 strikes (62.3%)
#17 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul) - 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 13 pitches, 6 strikes (46.2%)
#18 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, R, K (batted fifth, played RF)
#19 - 1B/3B Billy Amick (Wichita) - 2-for-3, 2B(12), HR(19), SF, 2 R, 2 RBI (batted fourth, played DH)
#20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 2-for-4, HR(9), R, 2 RBI, K (batted fifth, played 2B) 

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Saturday, July 4
Buffalo @ St. Paul (6:07 pm CT) - RHP Bailey Ober (rehab) vs Simeon Woods Richardson
Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 pm CT) - RHP Sam Armstrong (2-6, 4.43 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (DH @ 4:00 pm CT) - RHP Adrian Bohorquez (0-0, 9.64 ERA)  
Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 pm CT) - RHP Hendry Chivilli (1-1, 6.75 ERA)
FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (DH @ 9:00 am CT) - 
DSL Cardinals @ DSL Twins (9:00 am CT) -  

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 42-47
St. Paul Saints: 47-36
Wichita Wind Surge: 26-51
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 33-42
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-32
FCL Twins: 24-20
DSL Twins: 6-16 

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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[DJL44]

Another dud outing from Rojas. He has not looked the same since returning from the IL.

[mikelink45]

Jenkins is ready - time to bring him up!

[jmlease1]

Twins really do need to figure out what they're doing with their OF. They have AAA guys that need to be tested in MLB, but they currently have no spots available, and with Keaschall moving out there now they have less innings available it seems. Larnach is hitting too well to dump unless the team does a sell-off at the deadline and they're far to adverse to losing an asset to DFA Martin (who would get picked up by someone else despite a 2 month slump and getting wiped out by RHP). But at the same time, they need to make some calls with guys like Wallner, Roden, Jenkins, GG, Mendez for the future and they don't have any MLB innings available to do it.

Nice to see Amick & DeBarge have good days at the plate. Be very interested to see where they are at the end of the month; Amick's had a power explosion this season so his overall numbers look fine but the low BA and high K-rate will be unpalatable to many, and hanging around the Mendoza line with that kind of K-rate in AA doesn't suggest a workable approach as the pitching gets better. DeBarge is about a year in to his bat struggling now over 2 levels, and needs to start finding another gear or he'll be off the top prospect list completely. He adds some things with speed and defense, but has to hit better than this: he's striking out a lot, not making a lot of contact, not getting hits, not showing power, and not even getting on base enough.

Still not sure what to make of Gallagher; outing like this is encouraging! But he's done this before, and then gone out and given up 7 runs. The consistency is not there, and there's too many walks overall. But he might have a chance, which is pretty good for a guy we collected for a pending free agent who wasn't even playing well.

[terrydactyls]

Quad Cities must have set some kind of baseball record when they scored seven runs in the bottom of the first and four more in the top of the second.  Amazing!

[bean5302]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Another dud outing from Rojas. He has not looked the same since returning from the IL.

Strikeout
Pathetic ground out
Strikeout
Soft line out
Home run (hung two sliders middle-middle back to back)
Double (not a terrible pitch fastball)
Horrible, horrible walk.

Hard single (good pitch, and good sequence)


Double (again, not a bad pitch at all)

Strikeout
High fly out 

At bat by at bat looked good to start. He left back to back sliders middle-middle on the HR and next at bat gave up a hit on a first pitch fastball which caught a bit too much of the plate, but I don't think it was a bad first pitch.

Honestly, I think he pitched poorly to 2 hitters. Lots of bad luck for the rest.

[rdehring]

Fell asleep last night after the Twins finished batting in the first inning.  Imagine my surprise when I woke up with the Saints on the screen.  Like a lot about what I see from Rojas, even if his results aren't the greatest right now.  Also impressed when watching Jenkins do anything.  With Jeffers and Wallner both in the lineup along with Jenkins, Gonzalez and Mendez, kept thinking all of them could be with the Twins in New York.  Maybe should be.  And Bailey Ober will be on the hill tonight for the St. Paul Twins!

Although it came after the Twins were back, so I didn't see it, I don't know what to think about Wallner hitting #13 in 156 at bats.  Unfortunately, he continues to strike out nearly 30% of the time.  Has he made some adjustments so he can contribute back with the Twins?  Or is he one of those players who mashes AAA pitching, but fails when facing major league pitchers?  Regardless, he has proven that his defense is a liability so his only role with the Twins appears to be DH (which means Bell must be traded) or as part of a trade should some other GM believe in his power potential.

Looked at the Fort Myers box score after realizing they are in first place with the best record in the organization.  Realized I don't recognize any of the players' names other than Chourio (who isn't related to the Brewers star) and Pena, although the one I know something about is at Cedar Rapids.  Sprock seems to be an exciting prospect.  A catcher who can run some while hitting for average with a bit of power is someone worth watching.  Add that he walks 8 times for every 5 strikeouts makes this young man someone to follow.  Also want to keep my eye on Fragoza, someone I knew nothing about.  A 19-year-old third baseman hitting over .300 average with what, 9 home runs, is another young man we might be excited to follow.

[jaimedude]

Walker Jenkins should be playing left field for the Twins after All Star break. He doesn't have anything more to learn in AAA. It is time  to challenge Jenkins woth big league pitching, and to trade Trevor Larnach.