Twins Minor League Report (7/18): Saints Sweep, Surge Secure Series Win, Justin Mitrovich Shines in Kernels Debut

[Seth Stohs]

TRANSACTIONS   
Marco Raya began a rehab assignment with the Saints. 

Garrett Acton’s rehab assignment was moved to the Mussels. 

Miguel Briceno was promoted from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids.    

SAINTS SENTINEL
Game 1: St. Paul 11, Louisville 3 
Box Score
The Saints grabbed a 4-0 lead after just one inning. The Bats scored one in the fifth, and then they added two more in the top of the sixth inning. With their lead cut to just one run, St. Paul put seven on the board in the bottom of the inning to run away with the first game. 

Walker Jenkins led off the bottom of the first inning with a double. He stole third and scored on a Kyler Fedko double. 

After Matt Wallner walked, Aaron Sabato singled to drive in Fedko. With two outs, Cody Morissette singled to drive in Wallner. Morissette stole second before Ben Ross walked. Following a pitching change, David Banuelos walked to drive in Sabato with the inning’s fourth run. 

Jump to the bottom of the sixth. The Saints held a 4-3 lead. Walker Jenkins led off with a walk. With one out, Jenkins stole second and went to third on a throwing error. He scored on a wild pitch. Wallner walked and stole second. Sabato walked. With two outs, Hendry Mendez singled to drive in Wallner. Morissette walked. Ben Rose drove in two runs with a single that made it 8-3. David Banuelos followed with his third home run of the season, a three-run shot that made it 11-3. 

Ryan Gallagher was on the mound to start Game 1. He tossed the first five innings and gave up just one run on four hits. He walked one and had four strikeouts. 

Marco Raya came in and gave up two runs on a walk and a homer. He struck out two batters. 

Eric Orze walked one and struck out one batter in the seventh inning. 

The Saints scored their 11 runs on nine hits and 10 walks. All nine starting hitters contributed by getting on base at least once. Jenkins was 1-for-3 with two walks and his 11th double. Morissette 2-for-3 with a walk and his fifth double. Ben Ross was 1-for-2 with two walks. Fedko had a walk and his 13th double. Wallner walked twice. Banuelos led the way with four RBI. 

Game 2: St. Paul 7, Louisville 0 
Box Score
This was a quality pitchers' duel in Louisville. The Saints were scoreless until the top of the fifth when they scored one. They followed with six runs in the top of the sixth. The key point of this game? If your pitching staff doesn’t give up any runs, it’s difficult to lose. Maybe more impressive, six Saints pitchers combined for the seven-shutout innings. 

Ricky Castro started and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and had one strikeout. Alejandro Hidalgo had a walk and a strikeout in his inning. C.J. Culpepper gave up a hit and had a strikeout over 1 1/3 innings. Raul Brito gave up two hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning without a run scoring. Matt Bowman gave up a hit in his inning. Grant Hartwig had one strikeout in a perfect seventh inning. 

The Saints got on the board in the fifth inning. With two outs, Kyler Fedko doubled and scored on a Matt Wallner singled to drive him in.

The Saints broke things open in the sixth frame. Gabriel Gonzalez led off with a single. Ben Ross followed with a single. Kala’i Rosario lined out to center which allowed Gonzalez to advance to third base. Following a pitching change, Cody Morissette singled to drive in Gonzalez. Tanner Schobel singled to drive in Ross and make it 3-0. 

With two outs, Walker Jenkins walked to load the bases. Fedko got an RBI for walking. Wallner singled to drive in Schobel and Jenkins. Gonzalez came up and drove in Fedko with a single to make it 7-0. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 6, Arkansas 5
Box Score
It’s just a three-game series, but with Saturday’s win, the Wind Surge won a series for the first time in two months. On Sunday, they will go for the sweep. 

Wichita scored one run in the top of the first inning and four more in the top of the second. In the first inning, Khadim Diaw scored on a Brandon Winokur single. Caden Kendle led off the top of the second with a double. He scored on a Jaime Ferrer single. After Quinn McDaniel walked, Marek Houston drove in Ferrer with a single to center. McDaniel scored on a single to right by Diaw. Andrew Cossetti was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With one out, Brandon Winokur flew out to center to drive in Houston and made it 5-0. 

Riley Quick made his Double-A debut. They always say that as you move up, the strike zones get smaller. In reality, the strike zones are supposed to stay the same. It’s just that the hitters are more discerning and know the strike zone better.  They don’t expand the strike zone. Quick walked too many in Cedar Rapids. How would that play out in Wichita? 

He gave up a single, walked a batter and struck out two batters in an 18-pitch first inning. He needed 33 pitches to complete the second inning. He gave up three runs on one hit and three walks. He had two more strikeouts as well. Of his 51 pitches, just 25 of them were strikes. 

William Fleming came in for the third inning with clear instruction to throw strikes. Andrew Cossetti led off the top of the fourth inning with his 15th home run to make it 6-3.   

He needed just eight pitches to complete the 1-2-3 inning. Cory Lewis came in for some bulk work. Over four scoreless innings, he gave up three hits, walked none and had four strikeouts. Paulshawn Pasqualotto gave up two runs on four hits and a walk over the final two innings to record the save. 

Caden Kendle led the offense. He went 4-for-5 with two doubles. Marek Houston and Khadim Diaw each went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Diaw was also hit by a pitch. Kyle DeBarge hit his 18th double. 

KERNELS CHRONICLES
Game 1: Cedar Rapids 2, Beloit 3
Box Score
Through seven innings, the game was tied at 1-1. 

Adrian Bohorquez started and tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and had two strikeouts. Mitch Mueller worked the next two innings and gave up one run on two hits. Cole Peschl gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings. 

Down 1-0, Eduardo Tait launched his 16th home run of the season to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning.   

Jesse Bergin came in for the eighth frame. He allowed the Manfred Man and one other runner to score. The bottom of the eighth inning began with Rayne Doncon at second base. Yasser Mercedes hit his 10th double to drive him in. However, the Kernels were unable to add one more and fell 3-2 in eight innings.

Jacob McCombs stole his 12th and 13th bases, and Graham Brown had his third and fourth stolen bases. 

Game 2: Cedar Rapids 5, Beloit 0
Box Score
Game 2 started out well for the Kernels. The bottom of the first began with a walk by Yasser Mercedes who followed it up with his 26th base. Dameury Pena drove him in with a single. Enrique Jimenez followed with his fourth home run of the season. Three batters and nine pitches into the game, the Kernels held a 3-0 lead.   

The Kernels scored one run in the bottom of the second inning on an error, a single, and a two-out wild pitch. 

In the bottom of the fifth, the Kernels added some insurance. Jimenez led out with a single. With one out, Jose Salas singled, and Graham Brown walked to load the bases. Miguel Briceno drove in two runs with a single to make it 6-0. 

But the highlight of Game 2 in Cedar Rapids was the performance of Justin Mitrovich in his Midwest League review. The 2025 draft pick from Elon University tossed five shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked three batters, and he had two strikeouts. Yehizon Sanchez tossed the final two innings and held onto the shutout. He gave up one hit, walked one, and he had five strikeouts. 

Jimenez went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. His homer was his fourth of the season. Jose Salas was also 2-for-3. 

MIGHTY MATTERS
Fort Myers 3, Lakeland 7
Box Score
Through three innings, this was a 3-3 game. However, Lakeland scored the final four runs to even the series at a game apiece.   

In the bottom of the first, Ramiro Dominguez led off with a single. Jake Rucker followed with a single. Luis Fragoza grounded out to third, but both runners moved up a base. Jayson Bass doubled to give the Mussels a 2-0 lead. 

Jason Reitz started with two scoreless innings. He gave up a three-run homer to rehabbing Gleyber Torres in the third inning. In total, he gave up five runs (2 earned) on six hits and two walks over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Nick McAuliffe got the final two outs of the fourth inning. 

Garrett Acton faced six batters over two perfect innings. Ramiro Villanueva came in and gave up one run on two hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings. Brent Francisco gave up a solo home run but had four strikeouts in his 1 2/3 innings.   

The Mussels had just seven hits in the game. Dominguez went 2-for-4. Jayson Bass drove in all three runs for the team. 

The Rucker Family Update: Jake Rucker, continuing his rehab, had four hits in five at-bats including a double. Carson Rucker, 21, went 3-for-4 with his seventh double and his eighth and ninth home runs. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins/FCL Red Sox
Box Score  
Rains came down on Saturday morning on the west coast of Florida. The Twins/Red Sox game was postponed until Wednesday. Meanwhile, up the Gulf the Orioles/Pirates game was cancelled.

The Twins Elimination # is just one. In other words, the FCL Twins need to win all three of their remaining games, and the FCL Orioles will need to lose their remaining games. 

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

DSL Twins
Teams across the Dominican Summer League had the day off on Saturday. On Sunday morning, the DSL All Star Game will be played. The Twins will be represented by infielder Daiyer Barboza.    

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter(s) of the Day  
Kyler Fedko (St. Paul): 3-for-6, 2 BB, 2-2B(14), 3 R, 2 RBI
Ben Ross (St. Paul): 3-for-6, 2 BB, 3B(2), 2 R, 2 RBI.
Cody Morissette (St. Paul): 3-for-6, 2 BB, 2B(5), 2 R, 2 RBI.
Matt Wallner (St. Paul): 3-for-6, 2 BB, 2 R, 3 RBI, K
Caden Kendle (Wichita): 4-for-5, 2-2B(3), R
Jake Rucker (Fort Myers-Rehab): 4-for-5, 2B(2), R, K

Pitcher(s) of the Day 
Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul): 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 70 pitches, 48 strikes (68.6%)
Cory Lewis (Wichita): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 67 pitches, 43 strikes (64.2%)
Justin Mitrovich (Cedar Rapids): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 62 pitches, 34 strikes (54.8%) 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. 

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

#1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - Game 1: 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2B(11), 2 SB(9), 2 R (batted first, played CF); Game 2: 0-for-3, BB, R (batted first, DHd)
#4 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1: 1-for-4, HR(16), R, RBI, 2 K (batted second, played catcher) 
#5 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 2-for-5, R, RBI (batted first, played SS)
#6 - RHP Riley Quick (Wichita) - 2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 51 pitches, 25 strikes (49.0%)
#7 - LHP Kendry Rojas (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K, 18 pitches, 13 strikes (72.2%)  
#9 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - Game 1: 1-for-4, R, RBI (batted sixth, played LF)
#10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - Game 2: 2-for-4, R, RBI, K (batted fourth, played 1B)
#12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 K, OF Assist (batted fifth, played CF) 

#13 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita) - 2-for-4, HBP, R, RBI, SB(5), (batted second, DHd)
#15 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - Game 1: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 70 pitches, 48 strikes (68.6%)
#17 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 15 pitches, 11 strikes (73.3%)
#18 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K, CS(4), E(6) (batted first, played RF); Game 2: 0-for-3, BB, R, 2 K, SB(26)
#19 - 1B/3B Billy Amick (Wichita) - 0-for-4, BB (batted fourth, played 3B) 
#20 - 2B/SS Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 1-for-5, 2B(18), K (batted sixth, played 2B) 

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Sunday, July 19
Louisville @ St. Paul (2:07 pm CT) - TBD
Wichita @ Arkansas (1:35 pm CT) - RHP Preston Johnson (0-3, 4.32 ERA)
Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 pm CT) - RHP Michael Ross (5-4, 7.45 ERA)  
Lakeland @ Ft. Myers (11:05 am CT) - RHP Merit Jones (3-1, 3.99 ERA)  
DSL Twins- No Game Scheduled, Sunday All Star game. 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 49-50
St. Paul Saints: 53-41
Wichita Wind Surge: 31-56
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 37-50
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 47-39
FCL Twins: 31-24
DSL Twins: 9-23 

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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[Nshore]

I know no one anywhere agrees with me, but I would switch Roden and Jenkins.

[tony&rodney]

14 minutes ago, Nshore said:

I know no one anywhere agrees with me, but I would switch Roden and Jenkins.

Actually most agree but Jenkins needs a steady run of injury free play without the stress of being in MLB. He will be up in August. The Twins are watching his progress.

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

Actually most agree but Jenkins needs a steady run of injury free play without the stress of being in MLB. He will be up in August. The Twins are watching his progress.

Also we're watching for roster moves these coming few weeks leading up to the trade deadline.  I believe there are currently 10 outfielders on the 40-man roster, which makes it already a little out of balance versus the infield, and Jenkins has to be added if he is to play for the big club, which would make 11 (along with 3 catchers, 5 infielders, 1 DH, and 21 pitchers).  At the moment the only position player you might try to slip through the waiver wire is Tristan Gray, but he's an infielder and doesn't address the outfield glut.  Jenkins is worth moving people around for, but we'd be yelling about bad stewardship by the FO if, say, Gabriel Gonzalez were let go for nothing tomorrow.  The right trade or two, and then we're good to go.

[rdehring]

40 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Also we're watching for roster moves these coming few weeks leading up to the trade deadline.  I believe there are currently 10 outfielders on the 40-man roster, which makes it already a little out of balance versus the infield, and Jenkins has to be added if he is to play for the big club, which would make 11 (along with 3 catchers, 5 infielders, 1 DH, and 21 pitchers).  At the moment the only position player you might try to slip through the waiver wire is Tristan Gray, but he's an infielder and doesn't address the outfield glut.  Jenkins is worth moving people around for, but we'd be yelling about bad stewardship by the FO if, say, Gabriel Gonzalez were let go for nothing tomorrow.  The right trade or two, and then we're good to go.

If the Twins do make a deal or two bringing in some help over the next two weeks, have to believe one of those outfielders will be leaving, just not Jenkins.  

Cedar Rapids is a lot further from Target Field than one thinks, but is Mitrovich another of those mid-to-late round picks who ends up being pretty darn good and makes the journey?

Heard on the 10 o'clock news last night that Lackey had signed.  Checking the draft tracker doesn't show that.  Have you heard the details, Seth?  With him in the fold, are others being announced?

[Mike Sixel]

57 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Also we're watching for roster moves these coming few weeks leading up to the trade deadline.  I believe there are currently 10 outfielders on the 40-man roster, which makes it already a little out of balance versus the infield, and Jenkins has to be added if he is to play for the big club, which would make 11 (along with 3 catchers, 5 infielders, 1 DH, and 21 pitchers).  At the moment the only position player you might try to slip through the waiver wire is Tristan Gray, but he's an infielder and doesn't address the outfield glut.  Jenkins is worth moving people around for, but we'd be yelling about bad stewardship by the FO if, say, Gabriel Gonzalez were let go for nothing tomorrow.  The right trade or two, and then we're good to go.

Plus, they may want to keep Jenkins down so he can win rookie of the year next year. 

[Ricky Vaughn]

Tried to look at the first St. Paul game box score and it took me to a google sheets login?

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Plus, they may want to keep Jenkins down so he can win rookie of the year next year. 

Jenkins is merely an additional factor if they want to bring him up - which they indeed may not.  But in an era when one carries 21 pitchers, 10 outfielders (which Keaschall is now) just seems unwieldy as it is.  You can play (bringing up and down) only so many of one type.

[Mike Sixel]

3 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Jenkins is merely an additional factor if they want to bring him up - which they indeed may not.  But in an era when one carries 21 pitchers, 10 outfielders (which Keaschall is now) just seems unwieldy as it is.  You can play (bringing up and down) only so many of one type.

Oh, agreed. If they do trade prospects in the next two weeks, should be OF, or Hill or Soto. 

[gman]

Recently, I've been looking at the Twins system wide pitching. The pitching looks wretched. If they could trade some excess outfielders for pitching, it might help alot. The pitching looked good at the end of 2025, but I think they brought up everyone that could help, or they all got injured. With Ryan and Lopez possibly leaving by the end of 2027 they are going to really short handed.

[Mike Sixel]

4 minutes ago, gman said:

Recently, I've been looking at the Twins system wide pitching. The pitching looks wretched. If they could trade some excess outfielders for pitching, it might help alot. The pitching looked good at the end of 2025, but I think they brought up everyone that could help, or they all got injured. With Ryan and Lopez possibly leaving by the end of 2027 they are going to really short handed.

Agreed! I'm dealing wallner or Larnach ( for two) to Houston for a 40-45 tier pitcher. 

[Seth Stohs]

4 hours ago, rdehring said:

Cedar Rapids is a lot further from Target Field than one thinks, but is Mitrovich another of those mid-to-late round picks who ends up being pretty darn good and makes the journey?

Heard on the 10 o'clock news last night that Lackey had signed.  Checking the draft tracker doesn't show that.  Have you heard the details, Seth?  With him in the fold, are others being announced?

Mitrovich might be next in line to fit that mold. It's kind of impossible to know for sure. He isn't putting up the dominant numbers in the lower levels like Zebby and Morris and Festa and such, so it'll be interesting. 

Right from the beginning, there were rumblings that Lackey would sign for around $9.5 million.                                                

 

[Seth Stohs]

5 hours ago, rdehring said:

 

Heard on the 10 o'clock news last night that Lackey had signed.  Checking the draft tracker doesn't show that.  Have you heard the details, Seth?  With him in the fold, are others being announced?

I should add... The Twins will be bringing their other picks to Fort Myers, likely early-to-mid week, and get them all signed on the same day. My assumption is that they have agreed to terms with all (or nearly all) already. 

[Seth Stohs]

4 hours ago, Ricky Vaughn said:

Tried to look at the first St. Paul game box score and it took me to a google sheets login?

My bad! I"m not sure how that happened. I mean, I know how it happened, it just shouldn't. It's actually a link to my Twins org rosters, some position analysis, and a few more charts I'd like to add. I would like to make it viewable for all soon, just not yet.