Twins Minor League Report (7/12): Marek Houston is Incredible

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Marek Houston)

 

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Jack Anderson claimed and optioned to AAA St. Paul

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 5, Iowa 4
Box Score
Aaron Rozek: 4 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
HR: Kyler Fedko (16), Ben Ross (8)
Multi-hit games: Kyler Fedko (2-for-5, HR, R, RBI), Aaron Sabato (3-for-5, R), Ben Ross (2-for-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB)

The Saints eked out a win on Sunday.

The Cubs struck first, with James Triantos jumping on an Aaron Rozek fastball in the second, launching the pitch above the elevated wall in left field. St. Paul was in a responding mood, however, as the Cubs could only celebrate having the lead for five batters before they suddenly were at a disadvantage. How? A Matt Wallner hit by pitch—shocker—an Aaron Sabato single, and an Orlando Arcia double smoked down the left field line.

One inning later, Ian Daugherty extended the lead with his first AAA hit.

Moisés Ballesteros struck back with a solo homer—these Cubs seem to favor the long ball—which perhaps gave Kyler Fedko a wild idea. Why doesn’t he homer, too? Brilliant. 

Seeing some logic in this thinking, Ben Ross, too, homered, giving St. Paul their fifth and final run of the day.

Iowa struck for two in the ninth, but Trent Baker steeled himself, remained resolute, and whiffed Christian Betancourt on three pitches to end the game.

The aforementioned Triantos ranks as the seventh-best prospect in the Cubs system, and he added a double in a 2-4 day.

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 8, NW Arkansas 5
Box Score
Chris Vallimont: 3 ⅔ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
HR: Jaime Ferrer (3), Marek Houston (2)
Multi-hit games: Marek Houston (3-for-4, HR, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB), Jaime Ferrer (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI)

The Wind Surge rode an explosive offense to victory on Sunday.

Someone let Marek Houston know that Twins Daily writers are running out of superlatives to shower him with. His supernova season remains shining and dominant: on Sunday, he collected three hits—two for extra bases—and took a walk, his first time reaching base four times in a game at AA. Watch him uncork one over the berm and into the scattered fans in left field:

Art.

Further down the lineup, Jaime Ferrer also had a potent day at the ballpark. He actually preceded Houston’s bomb with a tank out to right-center—a blast self-evidently impressive yet accentuated even further by the fact that he scored a direct hit onto the bouncy house beyond the outfield wall. 

Ruddy Gomez dominated the game’s final two frames, striking out three without allowing a run. His season ERA sits at 2.30. 

Billy Amick’s 61 RBIs are good for sixth-most in the Texas League. 

The outfielder Carson Roccaforte is the 16th-ranked player in the Royals system. He tripled once in five trips to the plate. 

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 2, Iowa 5
Box Score
Dasan Hill: 2 2/3 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
HR: Jose Salas (3)
Multi-hit games: None

The Kernels struggled to get their bats going on Wednesday.

Four hits. Two walks. Hey, at least half of their knocks went for extra-bases! They plated two, at least, as Jose Salas blasted a solo homer and Henry Kusiak drove in the aforementioned Salas with a double socked into the left-center gap. 

Pitching wise, Dasan Hill put forth one of the strangest pitching lines you’ll ever see. No hits? Two earned runs? Spread across two innings? The first score came on a walk, balk advancement, stolen base, and RBI grounder sequence, while the second arrived on a walk, two steals, and run-scoring wild pitch progression. Both unusual events. Occurring in back-to-back frames. It’s been that kind of season for the young lefty. 

Yasser Mercedes stole his 36th base of the season, the 21st most of all qualified batters across all of MiLB, which totals 1,321 players. 

Kane Kepley, the fifth-ranked prospect in the Cubs system, tripled once in three at-bats on Sunday. His alliterative name remains exceedingly pleasant to write. 

Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 2, Bradenton 5
Box Score
Merit Jones: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
HR: Luis Fragoza (10)
Multi-hit games: Luis Fragoza (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, RBI)

The Mighty Mussels found little offense and lost on Sunday.

Though most of the bats oscillated between cold and tepid, Luis Fragoza continued to be a right-handed firecracker. The 19-year-old blasted one way out to left-center, not quite hammered enough to cause the outfielders to remain stationary yet crushed enough that they realized how feeble their efforts were before they could even touch the warning track. He also doubled in the ninth.

Fragoza might be the breakout Twins hitter of the low minors. He’s slashing a robust .343/.392/.650 in 137 at-bats for the Mighty Mussels this season, again, as a 19-year-old in his first taste of pro ball above the rookie levels. 

On the mound, Merit Jones enjoyed arguably his best start of the season, going five shutout innings with four strikeouts to lower his season ERA below “4”. He threw 58 pitches and earned eight swings-and-misses. 

The Marauders are, naturally, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, though this author must note a "marauder" sounds far more intimidating than a pirate, even if the words are synonymous. Anyways, their best prospect was the 21st team-ranked Edgleen Perez, who went 1-4 from the catcher position.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Merit Jones
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Marek Houston

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#1 – Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - DNP (went 0-2 with two walks in the Futures Game)
#4 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K
#5 – Marek Houston (Wichita) - 3-4, HR, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB
#8 – Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 0-4, 2 K
#12 – Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 0-2, 2 BB
#13 – Khadim Diaw (Wichita) - 1-4, BB
#14 – Quentin Young (Fort Myers) - 1-4, K
#18 – Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4
#19 – Billy Amick (Wichita) - 1-2, R, RBI, K

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
FCL Twins @ FCL Braves (11:00 AM) - TBD
DSL Twins @ DSL Rangers Red (10:00 AM) - TBD

 

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[D.C Twins]

My irrational optimism for Houston is getting hard to control.... he is going to be the Twins star SS for a decade... right....Right?.... RIGHT?!?!?!

[Mike Sixel]

28 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

My irrational optimism for Houston is getting hard to control.... he is going to be the Twins star SS for a decade... right....Right?.... RIGHT?!?!?!

This pick is looking very good! 

[HerbieFan]

Is there a point where we stop the Culpepper Watch and start the Marek Houston Watch?????  

In all seriousness, Houston's glove and, apparently his bat, make him the shortstop of the future.  

[wesnewy]

Marek will be in St Paul by season end

[Danchat]

Looks like Fedko is right back where he left off at AAA... but thanks to his 20 PAs in the majors, there will be no faith from the fans in him if he ever gets called up again.

[Sampson5]

I'm ready for Houston to be up in St Paul !! I mean way he's dominating AA gotta think that by the end of the years he's up with St Paul maybe even sooner if he continues this level of production 

[AlLagoon]

Got to watch Houston for a couple games with the Kernels, and man he just looks the part in the field.

The hitting and base running haven't slowed a bit since his promotion.

Poor man's Trea Turner?

[DJL44]

34 minutes ago, AlLagoon said:

Got to watch Houston for a couple games with the Kernels, and man he just looks the part in the field.

The hitting and base running haven't slowed a bit since his promotion.

Poor man's Trea Turner?

The guy with the 736 OPS in Double-A? That’s the guy everyone thinks is on the fast track to AAA?

[AlLagoon]

16 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

The guy with the 736 OPS in Double-A? That’s the guy everyone thinks is on the fast track to AAA?

After just 16 games, 2 years younger than league average. More than holding his own. A+ to AA is a big jump.

I never said anything about AAA. They have a pretty good shortstop up there already. 

 

[DataNerd]

56 minutes ago, AlLagoon said:

Got to watch Houston for a couple games with the Kernels, and man he just looks the part in the field.

The hitting and base running haven't slowed a bit since his promotion.

Poor man's Trea Turner?

Houston has nowhere near Turner's power but is a better defender.  My comp would be Dansby Swanson with half a grade more hit but a full grade less power.

[DJL44]

14 minutes ago, DataNerd said:

Houston has nowhere near Turner's power but is a better defender.  My comp would be Dansby Swanson with half a grade more hit but a full grade less power.

That’s Andres Gimenez

[stringer bell]

His nice game today puts Houston’s OPS at .844. He did have two hitless games prior to today. A plus fielding everyday shortstop would do wonders for the Twins’ team defense. I suppose Culpepper will get a chance, but his future could be somewhere other than SS. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Why was Houston playing second base today?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

43 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

The guy with the 736 OPS in Double-A? That’s the guy everyone thinks is on the fast track to AAA?

Who are you referring to? Who has the .736 OPS in AA?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

47 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

The guy with the 736 OPS in Double-A? That’s the guy everyone thinks is on the fast track to AAA?

?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

2 hours ago, HerbieFan said:

Is there a point where we stop the Culpepper Watch and start the Marek Houston Watch?????  

In all seriousness, Houston's glove and, apparently his bat, make him the shortstop of the future.  

I agree and I need to ask why Houston was playing second base today?

[DJL44]

5 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Who are you referring to? Who has the .736 OPS in AA?

Marek Houston

[tarheeltwinsfan]

12 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Marek Houston

I just checked and  Houston's OPS in AA is .844.

[tony&rodney]

Winokur was at shortstop today with Houston at second base. This may drive a few people crazy but these guys are taking a ton of ground balls at different positions, which allows them to be prepared with experiences to fill in wherever they fit and are needed.

FWIW, Winokur is still slow to fill in the holes in his bat but continues to also progress, just at a slow rate. The tall fellow has to figure out his hit tool still to add to his strong defense, rocket arm, excellent wheels, and good power skills. 

[TopGunn#22]

It seems like Winokur profiles more as a CF than a SS, but I get moving guys around in the minors to a certain degree.  He's such a great athlete at his size that the draft pick was always a reasonable gamble. 

I would like to see Houston get a promotion sometime around August 1st if he continues to play at this level.  He's clobbering AA pitching and the defense is elite.  Get him up to St. Paul for August and see how he responds to the challenge.  If it goes well, he's set up to begin 2027 in AAA with St. Paul and at least be playing to begin the season with a chance to join the Twins sometime in 2027.

If it doesn't go well, he's still set up to play most, if not the entire season at AAA.  But with the defense being elite, he could still see a late season 2027 call up.  He's never going to be Bobby Witt Jr. at the plate.  But how many guys ARE?  Walker Jenkins would be a Minnesota Twin by now had he not had such tough injury luck.  Marek Houston is earning his chances at promotion.  There is no need to rush, but if the play merits a promotion, don't play games, reward the effort and production.   

It's also probably true that Kaelon Culpepper would be a Twin by now if his injury luck had been better.  A future infield of Lee-3B, Houston-SS and Culpepper-2B looks promising.  Now that we've hit the All-Star Game and the trade deadline looms on August 1st, we should see a further shuffling of the Major League roster.  Hopefully, SOME of the players we acquire are able to join the big league team immediately.  It seems like Jenkins and Culpepper will be joining sometime in August as well.  

Houston, landing in St. Paul would be fine with me.  Has anyone heard what level the Twins plan to start Vahn Lackey at?  

[DJL44]

8 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I just checked and  Houston's OPS in AA is .844.

Ok. Baseball Reference hadn’t updated yet. Still, people seem to be getting excited based on the good games while ignoring the games where he struggles. The entire body of work is saying he spends the remainder of the season at Wichita.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, TopGunn#22 said:

I would like to see Houston get a promotion sometime around August 1st if he continues to play at this level.  He's clobbering AA pitching and the defense is elite.  Get him up to St. Paul for August and see how he responds to the challenge. 

He’s not clobbering Double-A pitching. Not even close.

[JD-TWINS]

11 hours ago, HerbieFan said:

Is there a point where we stop the Culpepper Watch and start the Marek Houston Watch?????  

In all seriousness, Houston's glove and, apparently his bat, make him the shortstop of the future.  

For sure, it’s Houston’s spot based on glove reputation & bat results to date. …… Culpepper in short-term (like 3-4 weeks)  & Houston a year from now…….Culpepper to 2B.🤞🤞🤞🤞

[JD-TWINS]

9 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Marek Houston

.304 BA after 79 plate appearances in AA. 10 walks & a .844 OPS.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

14 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

.304 BA after 79 plate appearances in AA. 10 walks & a .844 OPS.

Looks pretty good to me. It fits my definition of "clobber". In fact if Houston had enough at bats to qualify as a stats leader in AA he would be at number 11 in the top batting averages out of the 109 AA position players listed  in AA stats.  I know, I know, it's a small sample size, but " it  is what it is." 

[Rosie24]

Was at the Cedar Rapids game yesterday.  Does anyone know much about Yasser Mercedes?  I was so disappointed in him.  In his first at bat he led off, hit a ground ball to short and pretty much jogged to first.  Then in his second at bat there was a runner on second, he hit another ground ball to short and again half-ran to first.  He would have been safe by a mile if he ran it out because the runner on second went on contact and the SS pumped to third before throwing to first.  I don't want to hate the guy from this, but I can't stand watching lazy players.  Please tell me he was having an off day

[Jeff K]

8 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Winokur was at shortstop today with Houston at second base. This may drive a few people crazy but these guys are taking a ton of ground balls at different positions, which allows them to be prepared with experiences to fill in wherever they fit and are needed.

FWIW, Winokur is still slow to fill in the holes in his bat but continues to also progress, just at a slow rate. The tall fellow has to figure out his hit tool still to add to his strong defense, rocket arm, excellent wheels, and good power skills. 

I've seen Winokur in spring training a few times and he has looked really good in the field whereever he has played.  He is one of those players that are worth watching because you never know when he is going to do something.  Such a unique player.

[bean5302]

@DJL44 Good luck in your war against the TD Hype Machine hahah.

Houston's only got 79 plate appearance in AA, but it's impossible to ignore he's turned a corner in plate approach and power production. His bat is much better than expected. Even comparing Houston's A+ and AA performances against what he was doing in Ft Myers last year, he's walking way more, he striking out less (at AA compared to A ball), and he's generating more isolated power. 

The BABIP isn't supported by the batted ball types I'm seeing, and his power production is still below average, but it's nice to see the production.

He'll have substantial value even as a league average hitter.

[DJL44]

30 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Looks pretty good to me. It fits my definition of "clobber". In fact if Houston had enough at bats to qualify as a stats leader in AA he would be at number 11 in the top batting averages out of the 109 AA position players listed  in AA stats.  I know, I know, it's a small sample size, but " it  is what it is." 

Let’s see how he is doing when he has more than a small sample size of at-bats.

Wheres the hype for Caden Kendle?