Twins Minor League Report (7/31): The Arm of Sam Armstrong and the Bat of Marek Houston Lead Wind Surge to Impressive Win

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Conor Lacefield, Midland RockHounds (photo of Marek Houston)

TRANSACTIONS   
Another Day, Another Trade
The Twins are in Seattle taking on the Mariners. On Friday night, they had a nice come-from-behind win. Shortly after the game started, news came out that the Twins had acquired right-handed starting pitcher Dean Kremer from the Orioles. The Twins sent outfielder Jhomnardo Reyes to the Orioles in return. 

Emmanuel Rodriguez had his rehab assignment transferred to Cedar Rapids. From the sounds of it, he could play on Saturday and Sunday for the Kernels before returning to the Saints. 

Yesterday, we highlighted three players that the Twins had signed as undrafted free agents from the MLB Draft League. On Friday, Kurt Barr and Finnegan Wall were assigned to the FCL Twins. 

More NDFAs!!
RHP Aidan Russell was also assigned to the FCL Twins. The Twins signed him from the Healdsburg Prune Packers of the Pacific Empire League. The 22-year-old pitched at San Diego State from 2023 through 2026. This season, he made 21 appearances out of the bullpen and went 6-2 with six saves and a 2.54 ERA.  

Also assigned to the FCL Twins was outfielder Bryce Fowler. A native of Madison, Mississippi, he pitched and played outfield in high school. He spent 2022 and 2023 in Hattiesburg at the University of Southern Mississippi. He redshirted the first year and played in 10 games the second season. In 2024, he went to Pearl River Community College, one of the top junior college schools in the country. He hit .419 (1.181) and then went to Alabama where he started in right field in 2025. He moved to center for his redshirt senior year and hit .320/.413/.488 (.901) with 19 doubles, six homers, and 15 stolen bases. (if you want to see an impressive walkoff celebration, click here)

How excited was Fowler to sign with the Minnesota Twins? From what I've heard, it may have been similar to his reaction after this catch, probably. 

Fowler's teammate at Alabama, another redshirt senior Hagan Banks. He spent 2022-2026 with the Crimson Tide. He primarily pitched out of the bullpen. In 2024, he made three starts but was injured in mid-March, had surgery, and didn't pitch again until 2025. In 2025, he had 10 walks and 18 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings. In 2026, he went 2-0 with six saves. In 23 1/3 innings, he walked eight and had 31 strikeouts.   

LHP Jack Walker was released from the FCL Twins roster. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 4, Omaha 10  
Box Score
The Storm Chasers scored in their first three innings, took a two-inning break, and then they scored in their final three times to bat. 

Aaron Rozek started and gave up four runs (3 earned) on six hits and two walks. He struck out three batters. The nice thing is he was able to end with a scoreless fourth inning. Garrett Acton worked a scoreless fifth inning with a strikeout as he continued his rehab. Grant Hartwig gave up one run in the sixth on two hits. Alejandro Hidalgo got the seventh inning, and he gave up four runs on six hits. He did strike out three batters. Marco Raya gave up a solo homer in the ninth. 

In the third inning, Kyler Fedko drove in David Banuelos and Walker Jenkins with his 16th double.   

In the fourth inning, Cody Morissette drove in Ben Ross with his ninth Saints double. Soon after, Morissette scored on a Banuelos sacrifice fly that tied the game at 4-4 in the fourth.   

Ben Ross was 2-for-3 with a walk. He was the only Saints batter with more than one hit. He also stole his 10th base. Fedko and Morissette had RBI doubles. Walker Jenkins hit his 16th doubles, and Tanner Schobel added his 14th double of the season. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 1, Springfield 6 
Box Score
This was one of the better all-around games for the Wind Surge in 2026. It really was a solid pitchers’ duel for the first six innings. The Surge were pitching a shutout until the ninth inning. The offense gave them a small lead and then added on late in the game. It’s essentially how you might write it up.   

Garrett Spain put the Twins on the scoreboard with his 16th home run. It gave the team a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. 

In the seventh inning, Spain scored on a single by Jaime Ferrer. Then Ferrer scored a couple batters later on a Marek Houston single to make it 3-0. 

In the top of the eighth inning, Brandon Winokur provided the power for an opposite field homer. It was his fourth since joining the Wind Surge.   

With Jake Rucker on in the ninth, Houston hit his fifth homer to give his team a 6-0 lead.  

Sam Armstrong started for the Wind Surge after a few bullpen appearances. He tossed five shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and had four strikeouts. 

William Fleming gave up a single in a perfect sixth. Paulshawn Pasqualotto walked one and hit one but struck out three batters over two scoreless innings. Hunter Gregory gave up a run on three hits in the ninth inning. 

The Wind Surge have seen a lot of Cardinals top pitching prospect and fifth overall pick in the 2025 draft, Liam Doyle. On April 14, the Surge scored three runs on four hits in 2/3 of an inning against him. On April 19th, Doyle completed four innings and gave up just one run on two hits. He had one walk in each of those games. Jump ahead to May 29, Wichita scored two runs (1 earned) on two hits, a hit batter, and four walks. On June 16, he gave up four runs on three hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings. In this game, he gave up just one run (on the 0-2 pitch that Garrett Spain homered on) on four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He also had a career-high 10 strikeouts. 

Marek Houston continues to surprise, amaze, shock and most importantly, hit. Drafted as a glove-first shortstop in 2025, he had a breakout offensive season at Wake Forest that catapulted him into the first round. Could he put up solid offensive numbers and move up based on his strong defense? Could he carry the 2025 success into 2026? After going 3-for-5 with his fifth home run and 16th stolen base, he is now hitting .336/.410/.546 (.956) with eight doubles, a triple, and five homers in 29 games for the Wind Surge. That comes after he hit .325/.406/.461 (.867) with 14 doubles, a triple and five home runs in 56 games with the Kernels. He also leads the organization with 40 stolen bases and has been caught just four times. 

Garrett Spain was 2-for-4 with his 16th homer. Jorel Ortega went 2-for-4.  

KERNELS CHRONICLES
Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 0 (Suspended in 3rd inning)
Box Score
Tornado sirens were blaring throughout Cedar Rapids, but the Kernels kept playing. At least for a little while. 

The game was suspended in the bottom of the third. The teams will complete the nine-inning game on Saturday before playing the regularly scheduled game (7 innings). Danny De Andrade will be on first base. Dameury Pena will have a 2-0 count. 

We’ll write more tomorrow after the game goes final. Here are a couple of quick highlights. 

With one out in the bottom of the first, Eduardo Tait and Danny De Andrade hit back-to-back home runs.  

The most encouraging thing about the three innings that were played has to be the performance of Dasan Hill. There’s no denying that 2026 has been a disappointing season for the young southpaw. He’s struggled with control and command. The 20-year-old came into the game with a 1-8 record and a 6.64 ERA. While he had struck out 71 batters in 42 innings, he also gave up 39 hits and 37 walks. 

On Friday night, Hill worked three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits. He had six more strikeouts. And, maybe most important, he had ZERO walks. Forty-three of his 54 pitches were strikes. That’s a remarkable 79.6% Coming into the game, just 58.1% of his 890 pitches this season were strikes. At the end of the day, the suspended game might have been the best thing for the Twins organization and the development of Dasan Hill. 

Maybe.   

MIGHTY MATTERS
Fort Myers 1, Palm Beach 2
Box Score
The Mussels got a strong pitching performance. Unfortunately, the bats just did very little on Friday. 

Matt Barr made his first start for the Mussels this year. He was injured at the start of the season, and he struggled early in his rehab assignment in the FCL this year, so he stayed there after his rehab concluded. He was added to the Mussels roster days ago. However, he was very impressive in this start. He went four innings. He gave no runs on three hits. He walked one and had five strikeouts. He touched 96.5 mph. That’s a pretty nice performance! 

Callan Fang came in and gave up two runs on three hits and two walks over 2 1/3 innings. He struck out five batters. Mike McKenna went 1 2/3 innings and got all five batters that he faced out. Brent Franciso gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth inning. 

The offense had just one run on just two hits in the game. Surprising to see the struggle because they worked nine walks. They also had 13 strikeouts. Six players struck out twice. 

Quentin Young was 1-for-3 with a walk. Bryan Acuna had the other hit, the lone RBI, and a walk.

Calvin Scholvin made his professional debut in this game. He batted seventh and played shortstop. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. Three players that made their professional debuts on Thursday were also in the lineup in this game. Aidan Teel led off and went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. Vahn Lackey DHd and batted second. He was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Carson Tinney batted third and played behind the plate. He went 0-for-2 with two walks and two strikeouts. 

Also of note, Jhomnardo Reyes batted cleanup and played in left field. He went 0-for-2 and walked twice in what turned out to be his final game in the Twins organization.  

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
DSL Twins, DSL Rockies
Box Score
This game was postponed before it even got started due to lightning. The teams hope to make up the game next weekend. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter(s) of the Day  
Marek Houston (Wichita): 3-for-5, HR(5), SB(16), R, 3 RBI, 2 K 

Pitcher(s) of the Day 
Sam Armstrong (Wichita): 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 K, 63 pitches, 42 strikes (66.7%)
Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 54 pitches, 43 strikes (79.6%)
Matt Barr (Fort Myers): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 47 pitches, 36 strikes (76.6%) 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. Notice that the prospect rankings have been updated to include the Twins 2026 Draft picks.

#1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, 2B(15), R, 2 K (batted first, played CF)
#2 - C Vahn Lackey (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, 2 K (batted second, DHd)
#5 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 3-for-5, HR(5), R, 3 RBI, SB(16), 2 K (batted first, played SS)
#7 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, HR(19), R, RBI, K (batted second, played catcher)
#9 - LHP Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HB, 6 K, 54 pitches, 43 strikes (79.6%) 
#10 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) -1-for-4, (Batted fifth, played LF) .
#13 - C Carson Tinney (Fort Myers) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 K, CS(1) (batted third, Catcher)
#14 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita) - 1-for-5, 2 K (batted second, Catcher)
#15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 1-for-4, HR(4), R, RBI, 2 K (batted third, played CF)  
#17 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-3, BB, 2 K, CS(8) (batted sixth, played 3B)
#18 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 94 pitches, 56 strikes (59.6%)

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Saturday, August 1
St. Paul @ Omaha (6:05 pm CT) - RHP Ricky Castro (2-1, 4.00 ERA) 
Wichita @ Springfield (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Riley Quick (0-0, 9.00 ERA)
Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Justin Mitrovich (1-0, 1.80 ERA)  
Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (6:05 pm CT) - TBD 
FCL Twins - Season Complete. 
DSL Yankees @ DSL Twins (9:00 am CT) - TBD

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 56-55
St. Paul Saints: 60-45
Wichita Wind Surge: 38-60
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 38-59
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 52-46
FCL Twins: 33-26
DSL Twins: 11-29 

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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[mikelink45]

I am impressed with our trades so far.  The prospects not being in the top 10 and the return being live arms. 

[Coach]

Houston!!

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Marek Houston has hit at every level they have put him. He seems to have mastered AA as well. It is really nice to see Dasan Hill have a good start. I wouldn't trade him for a rental reliever, but anything else I would be open to and this start might have increased his trade value a bit. Also nice to see Tait homer.

[Coach]

Culpepper could become high leverage trade bait.  Houston could slide right in.

[tony&rodney]

The late game in Seattle allowed me to watch two minor league games at a time last night. I started with Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids but switched to Wichita and St. Paul after the rain in Iowa and after Matt Barr was finished in Florida.

Barr looked good. He is raw and there is talent there. The bats looked young, nothing to really note from this game in Ft. Myers.

Dasan Hill had an odd outing. He threw strikes and his outing was a success but he is clearly working on his breaking stuff and changeup. The batters were geared up for the high 90s fastball but I'm not sure Hill even threw a dozen fastballs last night. I didn't count but there were several instances of five non fastball pitches. It was interesting to watch. 

Houston had only one bad plate appearance. He seems more focused than most of the other players at AA. Marek also made a couple of smooth plays in the field. Only the Twins know if there is a chance for Houston to move up to St. Paul. That move would complicate who is next at shortstop. A month ago it seemed like Culpepper might get called up but he has has setbacks and is rusty now. Winokur is a dangerous bat. He has (mostly) cut down on his swing and is more in a crouch this year. One can see that simple contact for Winokur can be a HR as the video shows. 

Finally, it seemed like Walker Jenkins was pressing a little last night. I think he knows he is only a short hot streak away from being called up and certainly is aware that Max Clark made his debut. He did hit a hard line drive double.

[rdehring]

Have a question, Seth.  Why would a team from the middle of California's wine country be called the Prune Packers?

Continue to shake my head every day after looking at what Houston is doing.  Can the Twins be fortunate to finally find a future super star?  Hadn't realized he leads the organization with 40 steals with so few caught stealing.

[Mike Sixel]

18 minutes ago, Coach said:

Culpepper could become high leverage trade bait.  Houston could slide right in.

Or they could use them at second and short, and have their IF set for six years. 

Unless they get 3 plus years of a great player back, I don't like dealing Culpeper. 

[Permanent Twins Fan]

34 minutes ago, Coach said:

Culpepper could become high leverage trade bait.  Houston could slide right in.

Kaalen Culpepper and Riley Quick for Hunter Greene. Who says no?

[bean5302]

6 minutes ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

Kaalen Culpepper and Riley Quick for Hunter Greene. Who says no?

Reds would definitely say no. Guessing Kaelen Culpepper is maybe +30, Quick is maybe +10. Probably 20MM-ish of trade value short. Add Emma and you're probably there.

[Mike Sixel]

25 minutes ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

Kaalen Culpepper and Riley Quick for Hunter Greene. Who says no?

Hopefully the Twins. Greene can't stay healthy. 

[DataNerd]

Barr showing why some people were really high on him going into the draft.  He gets a ton of spin on the ball and is only 20.  Didn't throw a single changeup which is a bit concerning, but there is plenty to like.

[tony&rodney]

55 minutes ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

Kaalen Culpepper and Riley Quick for Hunter Greene. Who says no?

No way the Twins trade Quick and Culpepper for Greene. I watched Greene last night before the minor league games started and he is not that impressive. Yes, Greene was a stud for two years but that was yesterday and yesterday is gone. People making judgments on some of the minor league players need to watch then play a few times. Riley Quick goes tonight.

A comment on Barr by DataNerd was right on. Barr does look good. He is working on balance and command right now. There is no hurry for him to add pitches or work on other stuff while he gets comfortable. Conversely (mentioned in another place) Dasan Hill was pretty much only throwing breaking balls and changeups. 

[Connor Gould]

The more I look, the more I find myself liking Tait. I'd been hung up on hitting in the .220s, but his K rate is 24.7% so it's probably not too big of a red flag. And the fact that power usually takes time to show up for younger prospects makes it really impressive that he's hit 19 homers and 40 XBH in 90 games at 19 years old. Maybe my expectations to dominate a level he's 3.2 years younger than were dumb, a .213 ISO is very promising.

[Connor Gould]

Last year, Culpepper in his draft +1 year had an .864 OPS in 247 A+ PAs before getting promoted and having an .827 OPS in 270 PAs. This year, Houston had a .867 OPS in 268 A+ PAs and is now at .956 in 139 AA PAs. The bat is on a very comparable pace, so we may have 2 shots at developing a SS soon, which is nice. The jump to AA is when I start to really believe in a prospect, glad to see him survive and thrive that jump. Given Houston's defensive reputation, his offensive breakout and now upper minors success may make him a top 100 prospect, maybe even top 50 if he closes the season strong.

[Dman]

I always felt Houston would hit.  If you read the draft grades his bat mainly got dinged because they didn't believe the swing he had would produce enough power. So my biggest concern for him was would there be enough power there to make him more than a utility player.  It seems at least in the minors that he is getting to his power just fine. 

If that remains the case he could up his profile to All Star potential as his defense is very good to great.  BA was high man on his defense as they felt it was top notch and showed several highlight real plays of Houston's defense.  He needs to stay consistent, but he is looking really good right now.

[tony&rodney]

3 minutes ago, Dman said:

I always felt Houston would hit.  If you read the draft grades his bat mainly got dinged because they didn't believe the swing he had would produce enough power. So my biggest concern for him was would there be enough power there to make him more than a utility player.  It seems at least in the minors that he is getting to his power just fine. 

If that remains the case he could up his profile to All Star potential as his defense is very good to great.  BA was high man on his defense as they felt it was top notch and showed several highlight real plays of Houston's defense.  He needs to stay consistent, but he is looking really good right now.

My view on Marek Houston has changed quite a bit since early last year. He looked overmatched and frankly weak at the plate. His much lauded defense was decent but not anything overly impressive. There was quite a reckoning for Houston to consider when he reflected on his performance at Cedar Rapids last season. 

Something changed over the offseason. My guess is that Houston got quite a bit stronger but maintained his flexibility. Houston is noticeably better all around this season. He hunts pitches to torch, generally shows good discipline on pitches, and plays smart on the bases. His focus seems more complete than his peers at AA Wichita; he appears to be more mature in his approaches to the game. Houston is looking more athletic this year. There may be many factors involved with this transformation but the change has been really a big deal. Houston is built like Ryan Kreidler. They are both really athletic and the Twins need athletes. The skills have progressed much faster and likely beyond what people expected. The defense is smooth and most importantly very consistent. Marek turns batted balls meant to be outs into outs. The only question is whether the Twins will push him all the way up next year. I will continue to tune into Wind Surge games to watch Houston and Winokur.

[killercarewoliva]

2 hours ago, Coach said:

Culpepper could become high leverage trade bait.  Houston could slide right in.

Yes this is exactly what I'm talking about. I just don't think Culpeper is ready for Major League hitting and here we have a guy in  AA that actually might be already. so let's get him up to AAA for a couple of months. make him ready for next year to be the starter. Superstar

[DocBauer]

Don't want to put the cart before the horse, but do we start talking about BOTH Houston and Culpepper in the Twins INF opening day 2027? I thought mid year or so next season where it might happen. But the way Houston is progressing, would it be silly to think he might be ready game one?

Lee, Houston, Culpepper, Lewis, with Kreidler and Clemens as utility options sounds really good to me.

Nice to see Barr have such a great start. He was one of my favorite picks in the 2025 draft, and a potential steal IMO.

Just miserable that so many arms from last year's draft are either injured, or began the year that way.

[bean5302]

4 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Don't want to put the cart before the horse, but do we start talking about BOTH Houston and Culpepper in the Twins INF opening day 2027? I thought mid year or so next season where it might happen. But the way Houston is progressing, would it be silly to think he might be ready game one?

Lee, Houston, Culpepper, Lewis, with Kreidler and Clemens as utility options sounds really good to me.

Nice to see Barr have such a great start. He was one of my favorite picks in the 2025 draft, and a potential steal IMO.

Just miserable that so many arms from last year's draft are either injured, or began the year that way.

Culpepper is holding his own in AAA, but he's probably "adequate" at SS, and it's tough to say how Culpepper's bat will play at 3B. Culpepper is 100% a 3B if Houston is on the roster.

It's pretty tough to predict what the Twins look like next year AFAIC.