Twins Minor League Report (7/4): Rehabbing Ryan Jeffers and Bailey Ober Lead Saints to Win over Old Friend

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Matt Wallner)

 

TRANSACTIONS   
RHP Bailey Ober had his rehab transferred to the Saints.
LHP Aaron Rozek was placed on the temporary inactive list.
RHP Julian Merryweather began his (second) rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 6, Buffalo 5  
Box Score
On the Fourth of July, Saints batters hit some bombs off of an #OldFriend and held on until rains came and cut the game short. However, it counts as a full Win. 

Simeon Woods Richardson made his first start for the Bisons since being DFAd and clearing waivers last week. The Twins jumped on him right from the start. While SWR got fellow former Blue Jays prospect Alan Roden to start the game, Ryan Jeffers crushed a 1-2 splitter 105.4 mph and lined it over the fence in left center field.

The bottom of the second began with a walk to Orlando Arcia and a single by Hendry Mendez. After two strikeouts, Ben Ross drove in the team’s second run with a ground-rule double.

Ryan Jeffers led off the bottom of the third inning with a 97 mph double. Walker Jenkins walked, and Matt Wallner welcomed his former teammate to CHS Field by knocking the first pitch over the right-field wall for a three-run homer that made it 5-1.

Orlando Arcia followed with a home run of his own to make it 6-1. 

Woods Richardson finished the third inning. He was charged with six runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out four batters. 

On the other side of the ball, Bailey Ober was making a rehab start. Last weekend, Ober made a start in Cedar Rapids. He worked five innings and gave up four runs on six hits. He had five strikeouts without issuing a walk. 50 of his 76 pitches were strikes (66%). His four-seam fastball averaged 89.0 mph on the night. Just once, he topped 90 mph (90.1 mph). Most of his fastballs, especially after the third inning, were below 88 mph. 

Alejandro Hidalgo came in for the sixth inning. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks. He struck out two and earned a save. 

Ryan Jeffers went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run. Noah Cardenas came into the game to catch in the sixth inning. He gave up one stolen base and caught one attempting to steal. He had a throwing error, but that isn’t related to his readiness. 

Hendry Mendez went 2-for-3  Matt Wallner went 2-for-4 with his 14th home run and three RBI. Arcia’s homer was his 11th with the Saints. He went 1-for-2 with a walk. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 2, Tulsa 10
Box Score
The Wind Surge’s miserable season continued on Saturday with another lopsided loss. 

Sam Armstrong started the game by putting three zeroes on the board. He gave up two runs in the fourth inning. In total, he gave up two runs on three hits and a walk over four innings. He had five strikeouts. Not a bad start by any means. However, the Drillers scored in five straight innings, including three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to make it a laugher.

Wichita had just three hits and six walks to go with 14 strikeouts in the loss. Marek Houston was 1-for-3 with a walk. 

The only guy to really hit for Wichita has been on fire for awhile now. Andrew Cossetti went 1-for-1 with two walks, a sacrifice fly, and his 13th home run of the season. Consider that after the game on May 5th, he was hitting .131/.280/.148 (.428) with just one extra-base hit, a double. In 42 games since then, he has hit a robust .252/.407/.552 with five doubles, a triple, and 13 homers. He’s also walked 32 times. 

KERNELS CHRONICLE 
Cedar Rapids 9, Quad Cities 15 (completion of suspended game)
Box Score
The rain came down in Davenport on Friday night in the bottom of the fourth and the game was suspended until Saturday. Despite a lopsided 13-2 lead for Quad Cities, the teams finished this game before the regularly-scheduled game. 

A quick reminder that you probably didn’t want to re-read from yesterday’s article, “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.”

The Kernels offense put up seven runs in the five times they came to the plate in the completion of the game. 

Yasser Mercedes went 3-for-4 with his fifth home run since joining the Kernels. He was also hit by a pitch. Dameury Pena went 2-for-5 with a double and four RBI. Miguel Briceno was 2-for-4. Brandon Winokur added his 13th double. 

Brian Zeldin came into the game when play continued. There were two runners on base. Both scored and were credited to Nolan Santos. However, he worked 2 1/3 innings and gave up no additional runs on one hit, one walk, and he only had one strikeout. Christian Becerra pitched a scoreless inning, and then outfielder Graham Brown threw a perfect eighth inning. 

Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 4 (regularly scheduled game)
Box Score
The Kernels tried to carry a little of their offensive momentum into the regularly scheduled game. With one out in the top of the first, Eduardo Tait singled. After a wild pitch, he scored on Jacob McCombs ninth double of the season. 

Adrian Bohorquez pitched a scoreless first inning, but in the second, he gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out three batters, and that was the end of his game. Yehizon Sanchez came in and faced nine batters over three perfect innings. He struck out two batters. 

Down 3-1, Andy Lugo led off the top of the fifth inning with a walk. Two batters and two outs later, he went to third on a double by Tait. Lugo and Tait scored on a single by McCombs to tie the game at 3-3. 

Adam Falinski pitched a scoreless sixth inning. However, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, he gave up the game-winning run to take the loss. Falinski gave up one run on four hits and a walk over 1 2/3 innings.

The Kernels scored their three runs on six hits and three walks. Tait went 2-for-4 with his 16th double and two runs scored. McCombs went 2-for-4 with his ninth double and three RBI. Lugo returned to the Kernels lineup and walked twice. 

MIGHTY MATTERS
Ft. Myers 3, Clearwater 7
Box Score  
Hendry Chivilli started and gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. He had one strikeout. 

Callan Fang came in and gave up one run on two hits and two walks. And yes, he had two strikeouts. Dylan Questad came in for the eighth inning. He gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in 2/3 inning. Matt DesMarets came on with two on base. He walked a batter to load the bases but then got the final out without any additional runs scored. 

Down to 2-0 after one inning, Jayson Bass doubled to start the second frame. With one out, Quentin Young walked. Bass stole his 19th base. On the same pitch, Young went to second on a wild pitch. Byron Chourio followed with a two-run single to tie the game at 2-2. 

Ryan Sprock led off the top of the third inning with his 12th double. He went to third base on a fly out and scored on a JP Smith sacrifice fly to make it 3-2. Unfortunately, that was the end of the Mussels scoring runs in this game. 

Byron Chourio went 2-for-3. He was the lone Mussels batter with a multi-hit game. Bass’s double was his 11th, and Sprock’s double was his 12th of the season. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
Game 1: FCL Twins 10, FCL Red Sox 9
Box Score  
This was a high-scoring, back-and-forth game with big innings and a ton of walks. The Red Sox scored five runs in the second and three runs in the sixth. The Twins scored three runs in the third, four runs in the sixth and two runs in the top of the seventh. Despite some strange pitching lines, the Twins held on in the final inning for the win.

Saturday was a game for rehabbers, at least to start the day. Veteran Julian Merryweather gave up a single in an otherwise flawless first inning. Michael Carpenter came in and struggled to find the strike zone. The southpaw gave up four runs on three walks and a hit without getting an out. Billy Oldham came in to replace him with the bases loaded. He allowed all three inherited runners to score. In 1 1/3 innings, he gave up two of his own runs as well on two hits (including a homer). All four outs he got were on strikeouts. 

Santiago Rojas struck out four batters over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and two walks. Brad Rudis gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in one inning. He struck out two batters. 

Omar Montana had one of the strangest box score lines you will see. First, he was credited for blowing a save. He entered the game with the bases loaded and the Twins leading 8-6 with two outs in the eighth inning. He proceeded to walk the next three batters before getting the final out. He gave up a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh. He got a pop out and a fly out but then issued another walk. Jack Walker came in and got a ground out to end the game and record the save. 

So, Omar Montano worked one inning. He gave up no runs on one hit and four walks. He received the blown save but because the Twins went ahead in the top of the seventh, he gets credit for the Win. 

Between 10 hits and 12 walks, eight of nine Twins hitters had at least one hit. Seven of the nine had at least one walk. Eight of nine Twins hitters reached base at least twice. 

Carlos Taveras reached four times. He went 2-for-3 with two walks and his first home run of the year. Jhomnardo Reyes went 3-for-5 with his fifth home run of the season. Victor Leal reached three times. He hit his fourth double and walked twice. Teilon Serrano was 0-for-2 but walked three times. Yovanny Duran walked twice. 

Game 2: FCL Twins 5, FCL Red Sox 2
Box Score  
The Twins were the home team in the second game of the day. The second game was almost completely the opposite of the first game. In Game 1, the teams combined for 19 runs on 19 hits and 22 walks. In Game 2, the teams combined for seven runs on six hits and five walks. Fortunately, the Twins accounted for five of the seven runs, and they were able to sweep the doubleheader. 

Melvin Rodriguez has done a nice job as a starter in his time in the Twins organization. Already 20, he has pitched a slightly different role in 2026. Saturday was just his third start in nine appearances this season. That said, he’s only worked less than two innings once. He had his best appearance of the season on Saturday. The right-hander gave up only a solo home run over five innings of work. He walked one batter and had five strikeouts. 

24-year-old Jake Covey signed as a minor-league free agent one month ago. In the sixth inning, he struck out three batters, but he gave up one run on two hits. He threw three wild pitches. He had one more strikeout in a 1-2-3 seventh inning. 

DSL Twins 3, DSL Cardinals 5 (Suspended in fourth inning)
Box Score  
For the second straight day, the DSL Twins had their game suspended by rain/lightning in the fourth inning. Will they finish the game? If they can before the end of the season. 

By the way, there was something unusual in this game, something we see in spring training once in a while. A starting pitcher will hope to go four innings in a particular start. However, in the second inning, he throws 32 pitches and only gets one out. A reliever can come in for him, but that starter can come back in the next half inning to get his work in, in preparation for the season. 

I had never seen that in a regular-season game, and certainly we never will see it in the big leagues. My assumption is we won’t see it in a full-season league, but in this game, it happened. Juan Collado started for the Twins. He had a regular first inning. In the second inning, he had three walks. With two outs, he gave up a two-run single. Jesus Moreno came in, and after a run-scoring single, recorded the final out of the inning. Collado re-entered the game in the third inning and went 1-2-3. He went out for the fourth inning but allowed two runs before being replaced by Alam Soriano with two outs in the fourth. He threw two pitches before the lightning got too close for comfort. 

My assumption is that, even in the DSL, there is probably a once-per-game type of rule so that teams aren’t taking too much advantage of it. 

Jhon Gonzalez had both of the Twins hits. In the bottom of the first inning, Jendy Martinez led off with a double. He stole second base, his 10th of the season. Daiyer Barboza then reached on another error which allowed Martinez to score. Gonzalez followed with a single. Luis Duarte reached on a fielder’s choice that allowed Barboza to score. There was another error on the play. After the second out, Enmanuel Merlo reached on an error. 

The Twins added another run in the third frame. Gonzalez singled. Luis Duarte then reached on an error that allowed Gonzalez to score from first base.  

Should they continue the game at a later date, you might read some of this a second time. I just thought there was enough that I found interesting in 1/3 of a game to write about. 

 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter(s) of the Day  
Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul): 2-for-3, 2B(1), HR(1), 2 R, 1 RBI
Matt Wallner (St. Paul): 2-for-4, HR(14), R, 3 RBI, K
Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-4, HBP, HR(5), 3 R, RBI, K, Game 2: 1-for-3, K, SB(22), CS(2)
Jhomnardo Reyes (FCL Twins): 3-for-5, HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K
Carlos Taveras (FCL Twins): 2-for-3, 2 BB, HR(1), 2 R, 2 RBI. 

Pitcher(s) of the Day 
Melvin Rodriguez (FCL Twins): 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 60 pitches, 39 strikes (65.0%)
Yehizon Sanchez (Cedar Rapids): 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 35 pitches, 20 strikes (57.1%)

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) - 0-for-3, BB, R, K (batted third, played CF)
#4 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1: 1-for-5, R, K (batted third, played catcher), Game 2: 2-for-4, 2B(16), 2 R, 2 K (batted second, DHd).
#5 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, 2 K (batted second, played SS)
#9 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, (batted sixth, played LF)
#12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, 2B(13), R (batted first, played 3B) , Game 2: 0-for-4, 3 K (batted first, played SS)
#13 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K (batted third, played catcher)
#14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, R, 3 K (batted sixth, played SS) 
#18 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, HBP, HR(5), 3 R, RBI, K (batted fifth, played RF), Game 2: 1-for-3, K, SB(22), CS(2) (batted sixth, played RF)
#19 - 1B/3B Billy Amick (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K (batted fourth, played 3B)
#20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 0-for-4, K (batted sixth, played 2B) 

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Sunday, July 5
Buffalo @ St. Paul (2:07 pm CT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (3-2, 4.76 ERA)
Tulsa @ Wichita (6:05 pm CT) - RHP Cory Lewis (0-2, 3.82 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (1:00 pm CT) - RHP Michael Ross (5-3, 7.07 ERA)  
Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (11:00 am CT) - RHP Justin Mitrovich (1-2, 2.38 ERA)

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 43-47
St. Paul Saints: 48-36
Wichita Wind Surge: 26-52
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 33-44
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-33
FCL Twins: 26-20
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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