Twins Minor League Report (7/17): Return to Action, FCL Playoff Likelihood, and DSL All Star(s)

[Seth Stohs]

 

TRANSACTIONS   
The Twins released LHP Jake Higginbotham. The 30-year-old signed with the Twins on May 18 after starting the season in the Mexican League. He spent two weeks with the Wind Surge; he moved up to St. Paul. He stayed there until the All-Star break when it was announced that he was being assigned to Wichita. Two days later, he was released. 

RHP Camilo Made was assigned to the DSL Twins. 

Infielder Bryan Acuna began a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. 

RHP Justin Mitrovich was promoted from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids. The 22-year-old was the Twins ninth-round draft pick in 2025 out of Elon University where he played with now-former Twins minor league catcher Ryan Sprock (8th round, 2025). He has made 11 starts in Fort Myers and is 1-3 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. In 42 2/3 innings, he had 53 strikeouts and 18 walks. While playing at Pennsbury High School in Pennsylvania, he was a teammate of Callan Fang, the Twins 13th-round pick in 2025 out of Harvard. Fang recently came off the injured list and is pitching with the Mussels. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul vs Louisville  
The Saints will be hosting a four-game series against the Louisville Bats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. 

On Friday night, right-hander Jake Anderson will be making his debut in the Twins organization. He was claimed by the Twins after the Red Sox DFAd him. The 26-year-old pitched in three games and eight innings for the Red Sox earlier this season. With Triple-A Worcester, he pitched in 16 games (11 starts) and went 2-4 with a save, a 4.81 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. In 58 innings, he has walked 21 and struck out 51 batters.  

On Saturday, the teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader. Ryan Gallagher and Ricky Castro are scheduled to start those seven-inning games. The Saints have not yet announced a starter for Sunday afternoon. 

A couple of former members of the Twins organization on the Bats roster. Left-handed reliever Anthony Misiewicz pitched for the Saints and Twins in 2025. Right-handed reliever Johnathan Lavallee was the Twins 16th round pick in 2021 out of Long Beach State. Between 2021 and 2023, he pitched in four games in the FCL and 43 games for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. He was released in mid-August 2023 and signed with the Blue Jays before spring training 2024. He split that season between High-A and Double-A. He pitched in the Fall League after that season. He pitched in Double-A in 2025. He was released in mid-August that season. The Reds signed him in mid-February and sent him to Double-A Chattanooga to start the season. On June 30, he was promoted to Louisville. He was 3-3 with seven saves and a 2.94 ERA at Double-A. He has pitched in just three games for the Bats. In 5 1/3 innings, he’s given up four runs on four hits and two walks. He had four strikeouts. He also recorded a save.

In case you were wondering, 23-year-old Chase Petty was called up to the Reds just this week. The 2021 Twins top pick has been recalled May 4th, May 23rd, June 10th, and July 12th already this year. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita @ Arkansas
Wichita will be traveling to Arkansas to take on the Travelers. It kind of makes me wonder. When the Arkansas squad is playing at home, aren’t their opponents the travelers? 

On Friday night, Ty Langenberg makes the start for the Wind Surge. He is returning after working in the Saints pitching staff the past six weeks or so. 

On Saturday night, Riley Quick will be making his Double-A debut. His Cedar Rapids numbers certainly didn’t scream “Promotion!” So, let’s see how he does. Certainly, the key is for him to throw strikes and not hurt himself with walks. 

Preston Johnson will start on Sunday afternoon. Interestingly, the Wind Surge will not be facing RHP Ryan Sloan or LHP Kade Anderson. An argument could probably be made for Anderson being the best pitching prospect in baseball. Both of these pitchers represented the Mariners in Sunday’s Futures Game. According to MLB Pipeline, Anderson is the #5 overall prospect in baseball while Sloan ranks #8 in the game! 

KERNELS CHRONICLE 
Cedar Rapids vs Beloit
The Kernels return to action on Friday night. They are hosting the Beloit Sky Carp, the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. According to our fellow DiamondCentric site, Fish on First, the top Beloit prospect is shortstop Starlyn Caba, their #7 Marlins prospect. The other Sky Carp in the Fish on First rankings include #11 prospect, OF Dillon Head. 

On Friday night, 2025 draft pick Kolten Smith will start for the Kernels opposite Marlins #24 prospect, LHP Nate Payne. 

On Saturday night, the Kernels will send Adrian Bohorquez to the mound. An intriguing prospect coming into the season, 2026 has been disappointing to this point. The Marlins will send #29 prospect, righty Aiden May. 

Dasan Hill is set to start on Sunday afternoon. It’s certainly been a frustrating season for the lanky lefty. Beloit has not yet announced their Sunday starter. 

MIGHTY MATTERS
Lakeland @ Fort Myers
This weekend, the Mussels will be hosting the Lakeland Tigers for three games. On Friday night, Reed Moring will start. RHP Jason Reitz and his 2.84 ERA will start. On Sunday, Merit Jones will make the start for Fort Myers. 

The Tigers have not yet named their starters yet for the season. However, RHP Jackson Jobe began his rehab from Tommy John surgery on July 7th with Lakeland. His second appearance came six days later with the FCL Tigers since Lakland was on the All-Star break. He worked three innings in that outing. Could his next rehab start come on Sunday in Fort Myers?   

The Lakeland roster does not currently have a Top 100 prospect (according to MLB Pipeline). RHP Malachi Witherspoon, 21, was the Tigers second-round pick in 2025 out of Oklahoma ranks ninth. Shortstops Jordan Yost (#7) and Franyerber Montilla (#10) are also in the Tigers Top 10. RHP Kelvis Salcedo is their 12th-ranked prospect. Another middle infielder, Jude Warwick, ranks #20. Additionally, Lakeland’s roster includes Top 30 prospects OF Nick Dumesnil (#23), LHP Caleb Lays (#24), LHP Grayson Grinsell (#26), and OF Jesus Pinto (#30).  

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 3, FCL Pirates 2
Box Score  
The Twins got a very good pitching performance and scored just enough to hang on for a one-run win.

Cristian Hernandez started for the FCL Twins. In the first inning, he gave up a two-out solo home run to Carlos Tejera. In four innings, he gave up just one run on two hits. He walked one and had five strikeouts. 

Jake Covey came on and worked the final three innings. He gave up one run on one hit. He walked three and had five strikeouts.

The Twins matched the Pirates with a run in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Jake Rucker singled to left and went to second on a passed ball. With two outs, Teilon Serrano lined a single to left field to drive in the first run. 

The Twins took a 2-1 lead when Jhomnardo Reyes led off the bottom of the second inning with his seventh home run of the season. 

In the bottom of the fourth, the Twins added one more run. The inning started with walks by Serrano and Carlos Taveras. Reyes grounded into a fielder’s choice, beating the return throw to first base. Reyes stole second base, and Victor Leal walked to load the base. Serrano scored on a sacrifice fly by Joyner Perez to make it 3-1. 

The Pirates scored a run in Covey’s first inning (top of the fifth) to make it 3-2. And that’s how it ended. 

The Twins had just four hits, but they also walked six times, on their way to three runs. The rehabbing Rucker went 2-for-3. Teilon Serrano was 1-for-1 with two walks. Carlos Taveras walked twice. The lone extra base hit was Reyes’s seventh home run of the season. He also stole his 11th base. Serrano stole his 12th base. 

The FCL Twins have just five games remaining in the regular season. The final game is scheduled for Thursday, July 23rd. Four teams make the playoffs (3 divisional winners and a wild card). The semi-finals are on Saturday, July 25th. The FCL championship game will be Sunday, July 26th. 

Will the FCL Twins make the playoffs again this year? Right now, the Twins are one of five FCL teams with 30 or more wins in 2026. Unfortunately, three of those teams are in the FCL South Division. As you can see below, it would take a nearly perfect week for the Twins and an awful week for the Rays (another term might be “a miracle”), for the Twins to surpass them. So, it’s probably more realistic for FCL Twins fans to wish for the Twins to surpass the Orioles. They are currently 2 1/2 games behind heading into Friday. The two teams play twice in the final week.

Remaining Schedules:
FCL Twins: Friday (Home vs Red Sox), Saturday (@ Red Sox), Monday (@ Pirates), Tuesday (Home vs Orioles), Thursday (@ Orioles).
FCL Orioles: Friday (Home vs Pirates), Saturday (@ Pirates), Monday (@ Rays), Tuesday (@ Twins), Wednesday (Home vs Braves), Thursday (Home vs Orioles) 

DSL Twins 
The Twins had the day off in the Dominican, and they also have no game on Saturday. 

On Sunday morning, the DSL All Star game will be played starting at 9:00 am central time. The Twins will be represented by infielder Daiyer Barboza. 

I’m not sure how the DSL All Star rosters are created, but this is the second straight year that the Twins have had just one player represent them on the American League roster. Last year, infielder Haritzon Castillo was the lone representative. There are 40 DSL All Stars on each roster. There are 15 teams in the American League. Each team theoretically should have about 2 2/3 players on the roster. Of course, I don’t believe that every team needs to be equally represented, but have the Twins not had talent? Are the All Stars in the DSL based on a vote of players or coaches? 

Daiyer Barboza is very deserving. In 24 games, he has hit .302/.567/.508 (1.075) with four doubles and three homers. He has 10 stolen bases. Most impressive, he has walked 36 times and struck out 13 times. 

Juan Holmann is also very deserving. He has also played in 24 games and hit .313/.540/.552 (1.092) with seven doubles, three homers and 17 RBI. He has 13 steals. He has 29 strikeouts, but he has also walked 30 players.

Abel Sosa might be deserving. In 25 games, the outfielder has hit .333/.402/.500 (.902) with two doubles, two triples and three homers. He leads the team with 24 RBI. 

Admittedly, the DSL Twins do not have a deserving pitcher for an All-Star. 23 actual pitchers have pitched for the DSL Twins in 2026. Fernandez Hernandez’s WHIP is 1.24. He is the one pitcher with a WHIP under 1.55. Hernandez has thrown 5 2/3 innings. He also has a 3.18 ERA. None of the 14 pitches with more innings pitched than him have an ERA below 5.78.   

On Monday, teams will return to a regular schedule again. The final game of the regular season is on Tuesday, August 18th.     

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter(s) of the Day  
Teilon Serrano (FCL Twins): 1-for-1, 2 BB, R, RBI, SB(12). 

Pitcher(s) of the Day 
Cristian Hernandez (FCL Twins): 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K. 

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. Keep checking back to this site over the coming days. You will soon be able to help us re-rank our Top 20 prospects. 2026 draft picks will be included! 

In addition, keep up with the Twins draft pick signings at our Twins 2026 Draft Board.

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Friday, July 17
Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07 pm CT) - RHP Jake Anderson (2-4, 4.81 ERA)
Wichita @ Arkansas (7:05 pm CT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (0-4, 4.71 ERA)
Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Kolten Smith (0-1, 5.40 ERA)  
Lakeland @ Ft. Myers (11:05 am CT) - RHP Reed Moring (1-0, 2.49 ERA)  
FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (11:00 am CT) - 
DSL Twins @ DSL Phillies (10:00 am CT) -  

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 48-49
St. Paul Saints: 50-41
Wichita Wind Surge: 29-56
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 35-49
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 46-38
FCL Twins: 30-24
DSL Twins: 8-23 

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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