Twins Minor League Report (7/29): Hendry Mendez Comes up Clutch

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Henry Mendez)

TRANSACTIONS
With Byron Buxton going on the injured list, INF Tristan Gray recalled by Twins
LHP Michael Carpenter sent to A Fort Myers on Minor League Rehab. RHP Jason Reitz was placed on the 7-Day Injured List. 

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 4, Omaha 3
Box Score
Trent Baker: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
HR: Hendry Mendez (6)
Multi-hit games: Kaelen Culpepper (2-for-4), Hendry Mendez (2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI), Cody Morissette (2-for-4, 2B, RBI)

The Saints struck late to win on Wednesday.

A rain delayed the start of the game, though the drizzle and mist did nothing to dampen a Saints offense that scored immediately. Walker Jenkins walked and Kaelen Culpepper shot a single to right. Up with a chance to strike first, Matt Wallner opted for a cool, democratic sacrifice fly to usher his leadoff comrade home. 

Though they may have been undampened initially, the lineup quickly turned soggy; the bats fell cold for five tortuous frames in which they squelched and pleaded, yet no Saints runner advanced beyond first base. Only twice did a runner even reach safely; both times a double play curtly cut their adventure down.

All the while, the pitching effort started by Trent Baker and continued by Garrett Acton wobbled and toppled. Ruddy Gomez—new to AAA baseball and its details and differences—greeted the level with a walk. A double and sacrifice fly branded him with his inaugural earned run. A wild pitch made it two. C.J. Culpepper’s one earned run a frame later proved to be good news, relatively.

Fortunately, by the time of Culpepper’s lapse, the game was simply tied. Hendry Mendez sat on a lethargic breaker from veteran Matt Moore—yes, that one—and drove the offering into right field for an RBI. Then Cody Morissette pounced on a sky-high heater and bludgeoned the wall for a run-scoring double.

Tied, Mendez acted. Though you do not see it. Justin Topa explains enough: with a smooth transition from pitched ball to snapped head, he reveals that something has happened, and that something was a solo homer shot the other way to give the Saints a lead they would not relinquish.

Rehabbing big leaguer Garrett Acton fired a clean frame, striking out one over 14 pitches.

No member of the Royals’ top 30 prospect list played in the game on Wednesday.

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 4, Springfield 7
Box Score
Preston Johnson: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Khadim Diaw (2-for-4, RBI), Kala’i Rosario, (2-for-4, R)

The Wind Surge stumbled in the seventh to fall on Wednesday.

First inning two-run blasts don’t tend to help winning. More at 11. The opening blast, hit by Deniel Ortiz, stuck Wichita in a deficit they would actually climb out of—before slipping and plunging back down into the depths dug by themselves early on. A third run came in the third.

A counterattack the Wind Surge broke the seal in the fourth, with a Brandon Winokur single dawning the scoring before the bats returned with trio in the fifth. Marek Houston netted a pair with a double smoked down the left field line, and Khadim Diaw followed his friend with a liner beyond the third baseman to score Houston.

An empty sixth perhaps fed Wichita a false confidence; as the seventh crushed their hopes for a glorious comeback win. The Cardinals struck with vigor, doubling around the field, taking hit by pitches, and reaching two outs before destroying the Wind Surge’s dreams with a back-breaking two-run homer. In response, two Wichita attempted rallies came up short. 

The smacker of that two-run homer was the 12th-ranked prospect in all of baseball, catcher Rainiel Rodriguez. He accrued three hits in the game.

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 10
Box Score
Kolten Smith: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
HR: Jose Salas (4)
Multi-hit games: Dameury Pena (2-for-3, R, RBI, 2 BB), Eduardo Tait (2-for-5, 2 RBI), Andy Lugo (2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI)

The Kernels fell apart and lost on Wednesday.

Well, it wasn’t Kolten Smith’s fault. The righty enjoyed perhaps his finest start as a Kernel. He navigated a shaky first and nurtured his outing accordingly, turning what could have been a dead-on-arrival start into four respectable frames. He allowed one earned run. He struck out five.

And the Kernels had the lead. Two arrived in the first on a Danny De Andrade double; one came in the second thanks to an Eduardo Tait single. 

Andy Lugo added a fourth run with an RBI double. Then the trouble started. 

Cleiber Maldonado started the downfall, though none could have known it at the time, as his work resulted in only one run. Reed Moring suffered the brunt of the collapse. In his Cedar Rapids debut, nonetheless. Four homers. Eight earned runs. Scores in every inning he oversaw except for one. Some part of him likely wanted to crawl into some unseen hiding place, but he took the violence naked and blatant in front of all to see. Better luck next time, youngster.

Chiefs starter Yhoiker Fajardo clocks in as the ninth-best prospect in the Cardinals’ system. He surrendered four earned runs in three innings.

Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 5, Palm Beach 19
Box Score
Michael Carpenter: 1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
HR: JP Smith II (13, 14)
Multi-hit games: Emmanuel Rodriguez (2-for-5, 2B, R), JP Smith II (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI), Bryan Acuña (2-for-4, R)

The Mighty Mussels were decimated on Wednesday.

Amazingly, the Cardinals racked up 29 hits without hitting a home run. Every Fort Myers pitcher allowed at least one earned run. This concludes the pitching portion of the writeup.

Rehabbing prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez DH’d after playing left field for a portion of Tuesday’s Mighty Mussels game. He whiffed thrice—perhaps his famous sweeping stroke is still a touch slow—but earned two hits, including a triple.

JP Smith II had the game of the day at the plate. He sent a fastball beyond the center field wall in the fourth and then made the batter’s eye his target once more with a blast in the eighth.

Palm Beach’s leadoff hitter, Sebastian Dos Santos, is the 12th-best prospect in the Cardinals system. He played shortstop and collected four hits.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Kolten Smith
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – JP Smith II

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

#1 – Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 0-2, R, 2 BB, K
#3 – Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 2-4, K
#4 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Fort Myers) - 2-5, 3B, R, 3 K
#5 – Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-5, 2B, R, RBI, 2 K
#7 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
#8 – Kendry Rojas (Twins) - 3 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
#10 – Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI
#14 – Khadim Diaw (Wichita) - 2-4, RBI
#15 – Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 1-4, RBI, 2 K
#17 – Quentin Young (Fort Myers) - 1-3, BB, 2 K

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
ST. Paul @ Omaha (7:05 PM) - RHP Ryan Gallagher
Wichita @ Springfield (7:05 PM) - RHP Chris Vallimont
Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Adrian Bohorquez
Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM) - RHP Jason Reitz
DSL Rangers Red @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM) - TBD

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[Cory Engelhardt]

I am very much enjoying seeing Kendry start to piece it together. I’m also excited for what the major league team will look like after the trade deadline along with some prospects debut. Should be a fun last few months of the year 

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I’m also excited for what the major league team will look like after the trade deadline along with some prospects debut.

If Larnach, Bell, and Roden are all still on the Twins after the deadline, there really isn't room for corner OF's. Normally a team that is trying to win, as the Twins say they are buyers, doesn't bring up prospects.