Twins Minor League Report (7/19): Connor Prielipp Starts a Rehab Assignment; Elsewhere, Offense

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of Malamut Photography (photo of Yasser Mercedes)

TRANSACTIONS
LHP Connor Prielipp sent to AAA St. Paul on rehab
LHP Ross Dunn sent to A Fort Myers on minor league rehab

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 5, Louisville 1
Box Score
Connor Prielipp: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
HR: Kala’i Rosario (1), Aaron Sabato (17)
Multi-hit games: Walker Jenkins (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI), Aaron Sabato (2-for-4, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI), Gabriel Gonzalez (2-for-4, 2B), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI)

The Saints cruised to victory on Sunday.

“Was I supposed to be rusty?” -Connor Prielipp, probably. The rehabbing lefty was utterly phenomenal, corkscrewing Louisville hitters into the dirt with his dastardly, cunning breaking stuff. The poor AAA batters quickly realized why the Wisconsin’s time at the level was previously curt. He ended the day with three strikeouts spread across a trio of scoreless frames.

St. Paul opted for an efficient day of plating runs, selecting the third frame as the vessel for the majority of their scoring; four runners would safely touch home plate in the inning. The first, Cody Morissette, trotted, as did Kala’i Rosario after him, as the latter singed his inaugural AAA homer out to left center. Observing the power of… power, Aaron Sabato followed suit, selecting Walker Jenkins as his trailing, sauntering mate. 

Have you ever seen anything as beautiful as Walker Jenkins slapping a double the other way? Not since Joe Mauer have the Twins had a lefty with the ability to make the simple pleasure look like art from a master craftsman. The seventh inning knock capped St. Paul’s scoring for the day.

John Klein, Eduardo Salazar, and Trent Baker each put forth two scoreless innings of relief to carry Prielipp’s excellent effort to the finish line (though Baker was struck for a solo homer to soil the shutout). 

The Bats employ an outfielder by the name of Héctor Rodríguez. The bastard. He’s terrorized the Saints all season—though his .902 OPS indicates that no one is safe from his wrath. The fourth-ranked player in the Reds’ system homered once in four at-bats on Sunday.

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 12, Arkansas 7
Box Score
Preston Johnson: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
HR: Jay Thomason (2)
Multi-hit games: Khadim Diaw (2-for-5, 2 R, BB), Andrew Cossetti (2-for-5, R, 3 RBI), Brandon Winokur (2-for-5, R), Garrett Spain (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB), Kyle DeBarge (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, BB), Jaime Ferrer (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, BB) 

The Wind Surge came out on top in an arms race on Sunday.

Wichita had more hits than Motown. Ok, that’s not true, but the offensive display was impressive: every batter earned a knock, and seven hitters reached base multiple times. Only four extra-base hits betrays that Wichita also stole six bases without being caught once. It was a pestering unseen outside the dreams of small-ball tacticians of years past.

And most of the action was in the bookends. No Mrs. Robinson, instead it was Cossetti, Amick, Spain, and Ferrer who delivered the goods in the first, though, admittedly, Paul Simon chose a more lithe surname than any of the four Wind Surge fellas. Woah, woah, woah. 

Two more scored in the second off a Cossetti knock, and four dormant innings begat a lone seventh-inning score made suddenly crucial as it was just a 7-6 lead before the knock (Kyle DeBarge provided the hit).

Entering the ninth up 8-7, the Wind Surge reached deep down and procured one final, concluding rally. With a man on first, squeezed an awkward fly ball beyond a slightly too lethargic center fielder, whose dive for the ball portended a miss, a ball nestled in the outfield, and a mad dash around the bases. The runner scored. DeBarge claimed third. Ferrer walked and stole second, an action soon rendered unnecessary as Jay Thomason walked to the plate and sliced a three-run homer to left field. Kyle Bischoff set down the Travelers in order to end the game.

The Travelers are an affiliate of the Mariners. While Wichita missed the deadly, excellent 1-2 punch of overall top-10 arms Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan, they encountered the team’s 12-ranked prospect, pitcher Teddy McGraw. Not a country singer, nor a long-lost Tug descendent, he allowed four runs in one inning of work. 

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 11, Beloit 15
Box Score
Michael Ross: 2 ⅓ IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
HR: Graham Brown (5), Andy Lugo (3)
Multi-hit games: Yasser Mercedes (3-for-6, 2B, R, 3 RBI), Miguel Briceno (4-for-4, 4 R, BB), Andy Lugo (2-for-4, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB)

A hitting melee broke out on Sunday. 

Nolan Santos pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the Kernels. Every other pitcher line requires parental consent to disseminate. 

Cedar Rapids’ 14 hits broke down as follows: three doubles, two homers, and nine singles. A bit tepid for an 11-run day? So thought this author. Going 7-for-15 with runners in scoring position helps, as does cracking a Grand Slam in the bottom of the ninth.

Sky Carp hurlers are still looking for ways to get Miguel Briceno out; they never did it on Sunday. The left fielder collected four singles and walked once, digging a well-worn trench between the right-handed hitter’s batter's box and first base that he could adventure between blindfolded. 

Graham Brown authored Cedar Rapids’ other homer.

In an unusual performance, every time Yasser Mercedes earned a hit on Sunday, it scored a run. He drove a single to center in the second, snuck a grounder into left in the fourth, then served a double down the left field corner in the sixth. No big, opulent blasts for the 21-year-old; he preferred to scrap for his RBIS.

Every starter in the lineup outside of Jose Salas accrued at least one hit.

The Sky Carp are a member of the Marlins organization. Fittingly—in tying with the bird team theme—they are spearheaded by the team’s sixth-ranked prospect, Starlyn Caba, who becomes a flying and normal type Pokemon if his “n” is dropped. He totaled two hits and walked once in six plate appearances.

Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 3, Lakeland 4
Box Score
Ross Dunn: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
HR: Ramiro Dominguez (9), Jake Rucker (1)
Multi-hit games: Jake Rucker (2-for-3, HR, R, RBI, 2 BB), Harry Genth (2-for-4)

The Mighty Mussels came up short on Sunday.

Minor league rehabbers flocked to the game and gathered united in their attempts to heal their ailments and re-sharpen their baseball acumen. Some found better fortune than others. Jake Rucker was an offensive firehose: the infielder smacked a pair of hits—including a homer—and walked twice. He now carries a 1.667 OPS in three games with the Mighty Mussels.

The pitchers? Maybe skip talking to them after Sunday’s events. The starter, Ross Dunn, fired with scattershot results, walking a pair in a two-run first; just 16 of his 31 pitches went for strikes. Julian Merryweather had the opposite problem: he located the zone just fine but surrendered a two-run homer that counted as just one earned run, as an error preceded it. So, it goes. At least he struck out two and topped out at 98 MPH.

Hidden in the hefty seven-man pile of pitchers sent to the mound on Sunday was the awesome outing by Merit Jones. What a gem. He went three scoreless while piling up six strikeouts, as his non-fastballs befuddled Lakeland hitters.

Ramiro Dominguez obliterated a homer to start the game. Was his or Rucker’s more aesthetically brilliant? None can definitively say.

The Flying Tigers are the winged affiliate of the land-based Detroit Tigers organization. Their fifth-ranked prospect, DH Thayron Liranzo singled and walked in three plate appearances. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Merit Jones
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Miguel Briceno ft. Aaron Sabato

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#1 – Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 2-4, 2B, R, RBI
#4 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, 2B, RBI, 3 K
#5 – Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-5, 2 R, BB, 3 K
#10 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 2-4, K
#12 – Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 2-5, R
#13 – Khadim Diaw (Wichita) - 2-5, 2 R, BB
#14 – Quentin Young (Fort Myers) - 0-3, BB, 3 K
#18 – Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 3-6, 2B, R, 3 RBI, K
#19 – Billy Amick (Wichita) - 1-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI
#20 – Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 2-4, 3B, R, 2 RBI, BB

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
FCL Twins @ FCL Pirates (11:00 AM) - TBD
DSL Marlins @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM) - TBD

 

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[Wedman13]

Is it bad to admit I have a man crush on Walker Jenkins' swing?

[jmlease1]

I find Khadim Diaw fascinating. He's probably not going to stick as a catcher, but the fact that he's been catching and playing CF in AA is wild to me. He's been doing fine so far at the plate; no real power yet, but I love seeing guys stay patient when called up. (his pic on B-Ref where he looks about 14 is also hilarious to me) I don't know where he's going to land or how good he really is, but I find him super interesting and I'm rooting for him.

Mercedes is having a nice July so far; maybe it's a small sample, maybe he's just getting comfortable at High A? (He's got ugly home-away splits this year, which I presume will even out) I like his speed, I like his game, and I think it'll be interesting to see where he lands this season.

Looking forward to seeing where the new draftees get assigned!

[Wedman13]

41 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I find Khadim Diaw fascinating. He's probably not going to stick as a catcher, but the fact that he's been catching and playing CF in AA is wild to me. He's been doing fine so far at the plate; no real power yet, but I love seeing guys stay patient when called up. (his pic on B-Ref where he looks about 14 is also hilarious to me) I don't know where he's going to land or how good he really is, but I find him super interesting and I'm rooting for him.

Mercedes is having a nice July so far; maybe it's a small sample, maybe he's just getting comfortable at High A? (He's got ugly home-away splits this year, which I presume will even out) I like his speed, I like his game, and I think it'll be interesting to see where he lands this season.

Looking forward to seeing where the new draftees get assigned!

Great post!

#freebillyamick

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, Wedman13 said:

Great post!

#freebillyamick

Billy Amick is hitting .212 and has already racked up 100 strikeouts this season. He doesn’t play catcher or shortstop so that is not going to get it done.

[jmlease1]

3 hours ago, Wedman13 said:

Great post!

#freebillyamick

Amick is interesting, but he needs to extend his excellent July all the way through August, without having another June.

[Wedman13]

2 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Amick is interesting, but he needs to extend his excellent July all the way through August, without having another June.

I'm a UT Volunteer so my hopes may be too high :)