Twins Minor League Report (8/13): The Kernels and Wind Surge Got Great Pitching, the Mussels Powered Their Way to a Win

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Luis Fragoza)

TRANSACTIONS   
The Twins activated Byron Buxton as their 27th man for the Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa. After the game, it was announced that catcher Alex Jackson was DFAd. Hopefully he will clear waivers and remain in the organization. 

The Saints released RHP Eduardo Salazar, and RHP Alejandro Hidalgo was placed on the Development List. 

The Twins signed RHP German Marquez to a minor-league deal. The 31-year-old former All Star had been released by the San Diego Padres last week. When he debuted with the Rockies in 2016, he was one of the youngest players in the big leagues. Pitching in Colorado makes it difficult to know just how good he was. From 2017-2022, he was worth 15.8 bWAR. Since then, he has fought injuries and the struggles of returning from a major injury. Over the past four seasons, he has been worth a total of -1.3 bWAR. Between 2023-2024, he pitched in just five total games. He was 3-16 with a 6.70 ERA in 126 1/3 innings in Colorado. He signed a deal with the Padres this spring and went 4-2 with a 5.26 ERA in 13 games (53 innings).   

Side Note: This is the type of signing that the Twins should consider over the next three weeks. While there can’t be any more trades of players on 40-man rosters, teams can make trades of minor leaguers for minor leaguers. They can also sign players to minor league deals. Is Marquez good? Not really. Can he eat innings in St. Paul and in Minnesota if needed? Sure. And if he turns out good? By having him in the organization before September 1st, he can be eligible for the playoffs. If he’s really bad? He costs them pretty much nothing. If he’s somewhere in the middle, he can opt out.    

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 3, Iowa 10
Box Score
I would guess that a lot of Twins fans, especially those who follow prospects, were hoping that Walker Jenkins would have just stayed in Dyersville, Iowa. So, on Thursday night, when Walker Jenkins led off a game in Iowa with an opposite field home run, maybe a few people thought that he had received The Call. He hadn’t. He was with the Saints in Des Moines.   

Unfortunately, the Iowa Cubs scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning and ran away with this one.

Down 10-1 in the eight, Hendry Mendez lined a homer over the wall in right field to cut the deficit to a touchdown with an extra point. The Saints were unable to get any closer.   

Ricky Castro started and was charged with six runs on five hits and a walk. He gave up three home runs and only got two outs in the first inning. C.J. Culpepper came in to get out of the first inning. He gave up one run in 2 1/3 innings. He had five strikeouts. Matt Bowman gave up two solo home runs over two innings of work. Garrett Acton gave up a run on three walks in the sixth. Marco Raya and Julian Merryweather each had 1-2-3 innings. 

Jenkins led the Saints offense. He went 3-for-5 with his seventh home run. Cody Morissette went 2-for-4. Mendez went 1-for-3 with a walk and his seventh homer. Gabriel Gonzalez walked twice.     

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 5, Corpus Christi 1
Box Score
The Caden Kendle train continues to role. On Thursday night, he got the scoring started with a two-out, first-inning home run. 

In the second inning, Kyle DeBarge and Graham Brown walked. With two outs, Marek Houston drove in DeBarge with a single. Brandon Winokur walked to load the bases. That brought Kendle to the plate, and he came through again with a two-run single to give his team a 4-0 lead. 

Riley Quick made the start, and it was easily his best start since joining the Wind Surge. He gave up one run on four hits in four innings. He walked two and had four strikeouts. 

Chris Vallimont came on and struck out six batters over four scoreless, hitless innings. He walked two batters. 

Hunter Gregory struck out one batter in a perfect ninth.  

Garrett Spain homered for the third time in his last two games in the seventh inning to give the team a 5-1 lead. That gives the minor-league Rule 5 pick 21 homers this season.   

Kendle went 2-for-4 with his sixth Surge homer and three RBI. In 26 Double-A games, the former fifth-round pick is hitting .400/.469/.674 (1.143) with eight doubles and six home runs. 

Houston went 2-for-5 and stole his 23rd base. Andrew Cossetti walked three times. Graham Brown walked twice.  

Kernels Nuggets 
Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 0
Box Score
More high-quality pitching for the Kernels and specifically another tremendous outing for Adrian Bohorquez. The young right-hander tossed five shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked two, and he had four strikeouts. 

Michael Ross came on and got a four-inning save. He gave up two hits, walked none and had three strikeouts.

The Kernels didn’t score until the fifth inning. Quinn McDaniel led off the inning with his seventh Kernels double. With two outs, Byron Chourio switched places with him, recording his first Kernels double. Chourio scored on a Jacob McCombs single to center to make it 2-0.   

Jump to the eighth inning. With one out, Yasser Mercedes doubled. With two outs, JP Smith walked and stole second. Danny De Andrade walked to load the bases. McDaniel came up and drove a single past a diving second baseman. Mercedes and Smith scored to make it a 4-0 game.   

The Kernels scored their four runs on seven hits and four walks. McDaniels was 2-for-4 with his seventh double and sixth stolen base. McCombs was 2-for-4 with his 16th stolen base. Smith went 1-for-2 with two walks and his second steal. Yasser Mercedes went 1-for-3 with his 18th double and 33rd stolen base. 

MIGHTY MATTERS
Fort Myers 10, Clearwater 4
Box Score
After two scoreless innings, the Mussels scored in each of the next six innings. This was a solid all-around game for the Mussels, power, speed and some pitching in key moments. 

Matt Barr started and gave up three runs on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out three batters. Lefty Matthew Becker came in and struck out four batters over 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked a batter. Jake Covey came on and gave up a hit, hit a batter, and recorded a strikeout. Hendry Chivilli came in for the ninth inning. He gave up one run on two hits and a hit batter. 

The Mussels scoring started with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the third inning. Colby Turner and Carson Tinney hit singles. Luis Fragoza came up and drilled his 12th home run of the season to give the team a 3-2 lead.   

With two outs in the fourth, Merphy Hernandez walked, stole second and scored when the throw went into the outfield. Yes, he is that fast.   

The Mussels loaded the bases in the fifth inning with nobody out. With two outs, Isaiah Lane picked up his teammates with a line-drive single to center to drive in two runs and give the team a 6-3 lead. 

In the sixth inning, it was all Merphy Hernandez again. With one out, he hit his third home run. 

The team doubled the Mussel in the seventh inning. Luis Fragoza hit his second home run of the game, and two batters later, Quentin Young hit a homer to make it 9-3.   

The Mussels added one more run in the eighth inning. Hernandez doubled and went to third on a passed ball. He scored the 10th run on a groundout. 

Fragoza went 2-for-2 with two walks, his 12th and 13th home runs, three runs scored and four RBI. He is now hitting .314/.377/.588 (.965) with 17 doubles, 13 homers and 50 RBI in 56 Mussels games. Hernandez went 2-for-3 with a walk, his fifth double, his third home run. He also stole his 35th base in 47 games for Fort Myers. Both players started their seasons with 10 games with the FCL Twins.

Quentin Young went 2-for-4 with his 15th home run. Carson Tinney went 1-for-3 with two walks. Colby Turner and Isaiah Lane each had a single and a walk.      

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
DSL Twins 9, DSL Rockies 13
Box Score
If only the game would have ended after the top of the 7th… The DSL Twins had worked their way to a 7-2 lead. Unfortunately, the Phillies scored six in the seventh and fifth in the eighth. 

Yolcar Garcia started for the Twins. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in three innings. He had one strikeout. Alam Soriano came on and tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out three batters. Jeremy Jimenez came in to start the seventh. He recorded just one out and was charged with six runs (4 earned) on two hits, two walks, and a hit batter. Failin Placencio came on with the bases loaded and allowed all three runners to score. And, he gave up two of his own runs on one hit andfour walks. He recorded three outs. Wisarly Reinoso came in with two runners on in the eighth inning and allowed both inherited runners to score. Before getting two outs, he gave up another three runs on four hits and a walk. 

The Twins did a nice job of putting up crooked numbers. They scored two runs in the third inning, both on wild pitches. The top of the fourth inning began with a walk, a hit batter, and a walk, but even despite a double play the Twins were able to score two more runs, both on RBI singles. 

Jhon Gonzalez hit his first home run as a professional leading off the top of the fifth. That gave the team a 5-2 lead. 

Then in the top of the seventh, Gonzalez led off with his 11th double. After a walk and a wild pitch, he scored on a sacrifice fly. They added one more to make it 7-2. 

Daiyer Barboza led off wand went 2-for-4 with two walks and three RBI. Gonzalez was 2-for-4 with a walk, his first homer and his 11th double. Misael Rodriguez went 2-for-3, and he stole his 10th base. Jefferson Abreu was 1-for-2 with two walks. Jendy Martinez stole his 20th base of the year. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter(s) of the Day  
Luis Fragoza (Fort Myers): 2-for-2, 2 BB, 2-HR(13), 3 R, 4 RBI
Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 3-for-5, HR(7), R, RBI, K
Merphy Hernandez (Fort Myers): 2-for-3, BB, 2B(5), HR(3), 3 R, RBI, K, SB(35) 

Pitcher(s) of the Day 
Adrian Bohorquez (Cedar Rapids): 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 63 pitches, 38 strikes (60.3%)
Riley Quick (Wichita): 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, HBP, 4 K, 68 pitches, 41 strikes (60.3%)
Chris Vallimont (Wichita): 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 64 pitches, 41 strikes (64.0%)
Michael Ross (Cedar Rapids): 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 40 pitches, 28 strikes (70.0%) 

 

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

#1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 3-for-5, HR(7), R, RBI, K (batted first, played CF)
#3 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota) -1-for-4, 2 K (batted ninth, played SS) 
#4 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 2-for-5, R, RBI, K, SB(23) (batted first, played SS)
#5 - RHP Riley Quick (Wichita) - 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 K, 68 pitches, 41 strikes (60.3%)
#7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, HR(7), R, 2 RBI, K. (Batted fifth, played LF) 
#8 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4 (batted third, played catcher) 
#9 - 1B/OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, 2 BB (batted sixth, played 1B)
#11 - C Carson Tinney (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, K (batted third, DH)
#12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 0-for-4, BB, 2 K, (batted second, played 3B) 
#18 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, HR(15), R, RBI, K (batted sixth, played SS),
#19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(18), R, SB(33), K (batted second, played CF)

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Friday, August 14
St. Paul @ Iowa (7:08 pm CT) - RHP Trent Baker (3-3, 5.40 ERA) 
Corpus Christi @ Wichita (6:35 pm CT) - TBD
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Justin Mitrovich (2-0, 2.41 ERA) 
Clearwater @ Ft. Myers (6:05 pm CT) - RHP Cristian Hernandez (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
FCL Twins - Season Complete. 
DSL Phillies @ DSL Twins (10:00 am CT) - No Game 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 60-63
St. Paul Saints: 66-50
Wichita Wind Surge: 44-65
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-65
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 61-48
FCL Twins: 33-26
DSL Twins: 17-32 

Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related!  

View full article

[FlyingFinn]

Vallimont has had enough great games that it's time to move him up to the Saints. Also nice to see Bohorquez turning his season around.

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

Another terrific roundup of the minor league action. Keep it coming, Seth! I agree about the Twins signing Marquez to a minor league deal. Definitely worth a roll of the dice. As you noted he was already on the Twins' radar a year or two back, so hopefully there is something there the team can use. Zebby and Ober haven't exactly been lights out recently, and even Bradley's game yesterday was cause for concern, so even a so-called innings eater might not be a bad thing to have the final month. 

[DJL44]

I am surprised they didn’t send Roden down to AAA. If they’re keeping him around, I don’t see how they add Jenkins. If they’re going to call up Jenkins next week, they could have optioned Roden now and waited to see if there was an injury this weekend instead of cutting Jackson.

[mikelink45]

I thought Jackson has outperformed expectations and I was surprised to see him go.

And yes, many of us wish Jenkins was now a Twins player.

[Dman]

First let me say I know I am a weirdo for analyzing  a minor move this much, but here it goes.

My numerous thoughts on Alex Jackson start with the fact that I understand the move to some degree.  While he currently has a .300 batting average he also has a 1% walk rate and 33% K rate.  I don't know that I have 'ever seen a walk rate that low for a MLB player. If I'm the other team I know he is gonna be aggressive at the plate and would work outside the zone as much as possible.  Throw him stuff that looks like it might be in zone but isn't like sweepers and changeups and high fastballs.  Given the walk rate he's likely to just get himself out as his 33% K rate indicates.  He does have an OK slugging that is helping his OPS stay around .700 but his BABIP is .450 and that kind of luck won't last. Offense for catchers doesn't have to be great, but he has some serious offensive flaws that can be exploited.

He has been a fairly good defensive catcher as he was positive there in 2024 and 2025 but at least at Fangraphs is negative there this year with a 12% caught stealing rate.  He hasn't had a ton of chances behind the plate, but he hasn't been that great back there either.

Why it makes sense to try and sneak him through waivers.  The Twins have three catchers and don't really need three catchers on the 26 man.  Moving him off might allow a better bat or more versatile defender to be added to the bench.  If he does sneak through they have lost nothing as he can get more playing time and be added at a later date.

Why it doesn't make sense.  Trading for a guy with no options left seems a bit odd to me if you never really planned on keeping him on 26 man. There is a decent chance that despite his flaws he might get picked up on waivers.  Now, does appear to be the best time to get Jackson through waivers as most of the playoff teams seem to have settled on catchers at the deadline .  Still, even if he isn't a good fit for a playoff team, teams that recently traded away a catcher like the O's or had one injured like the A's could be interested in a low cost option for this year and beyond.

If the Twins lose him to waivers then they don't really have a backup catcher for next year and beyond. While I get his production looks to be easily replaced it would likely cost more to get a vet in that role.  Or If they think he will be claimed does this move signal that the Twins might actually try and sign Jeffers in the offseason? Is Mr. Pohlad interested in ponying up for one of the better offensive catchers in the league?  Or is this just a low wattage move on a guy they don't really care if he makes it back or not.  Probably the later. 

It's just with the system so bare on catchers for next year and the fact he is cheap and controllable it seemed prudent to make sure they hung onto him. It's far from the end of the world if he gets claimed.  I just thought that if they had lived with three catchers up to now they would keep it that way.  I guess they might want to add another player or two to the main team.  My guess would be Rodriguez and Jenkins might be in play and they need the room.  We'll see what happens.  If they were always going to try and sneak him through I guess there is no better time to try.

[jmlease1]

Nice to see Bohorquez with another good outing; that's 3 straight for him. Maybe he's getting into a groove? The stuff is excellent, but whether or not he can find the plate consistently is the big issue. If he finishes strong people will be talking about him more next season and I suspect we'll see him in AA.

Nice to see Houston with a couple good ones in a row as well; he's had a rough August at the plate and it was looking like he might have hit the wall (not unreasonable, really, in his first full professional season). If he's already pulling out of it that's a great sign for him. I think regardless he's had a very good season, but it would be excellent for him to finish strong.

I would push Vallimont back up to AAA as well. He's still a long shot, but what's the point in having him face AA guys? He's settled back into the system, run him up to AAA and keep working him. You never know with these guys. He's got the stuff, and the fact that he's battled back after going to Indy ball says he's resilient and willing to work. Might not get there, but send him to AAA and see what he's got. Fun story. I expect little, but I'm rooting for him.

[rdehring]

2 hours ago, Dman said:

First let me say I know I am a weirdo for analyzing  a minor move this much, but here it goes.

My numerous thoughts on Alex Jackson start with the fact that I understand the move to some degree.  While he currently has a .300 batting average he also has a 1% walk rate and 33% K rate.  I don't know that I have 'ever seen a walk rate that low for a MLB player. If I'm the other team I know he is gonna be aggressive at the plate and would work outside the zone as much as possible.  Throw him stuff that looks like it might be in zone but isn't like sweepers and changeups and high fastballs.  Given the walk rate he's likely to just get himself out as his 33% K rate indicates.  He does have an OK slugging that is helping his OPS stay around .700 but his BABIP is .450 and that kind of luck won't last. Offense for catchers doesn't have to be great, but he has some serious offensive flaws that can be exploited.

He has been a fairly good defensive catcher as he was positive there in 2024 and 2025 but at least at Fangraphs is negative there this year with a 12% caught stealing rate.  He hasn't had a ton of chances behind the plate, but he hasn't been that great back there either.

Why it makes sense to try and sneak him through waivers.  The Twins have three catchers and don't really need three catchers on the 26 man.  Moving him off might allow a better bat or more versatile defender to be added to the bench.  If he does sneak through they have lost nothing as he can get more playing time and be added at a later date.

Why it doesn't make sense.  Trading for a guy with no options left seems a bit odd to me if you never really planned on keeping him on 26 man. There is a decent chance that despite his flaws he might get picked up on waivers.  Now, does appear to be the best time to get Jackson through waivers as most of the playoff teams seem to have settled on catchers at the deadline .  Still, even if he isn't a good fit for a playoff team, teams that recently traded away a catcher like the O's or had one injured like the A's could be interested in a low cost option for this year and beyond.

If the Twins lose him to waivers then they don't really have a backup catcher for next year and beyond. While I get his production looks to be easily replaced it would likely cost more to get a vet in that role.  Or If they think he will be claimed does this move signal that the Twins might actually try and sign Jeffers in the offseason? Is Mr. Pohlad interested in ponying up for one of the better offensive catchers in the league?  Or is this just a low wattage move on a guy they don't really care if he makes it back or not.  Probably the later. 

It's just with the system so bare on catchers for next year and the fact he is cheap and controllable it seemed prudent to make sure they hung onto him. It's far from the end of the world if he gets claimed.  I just thought that if they had lived with three catchers up to now they would keep it that way.  I guess they might want to add another player or two to the main team.  My guess would be Rodriguez and Jenkins might be in play and they need the room.  We'll see what happens.  If they were always going to try and sneak him through I guess there is no better time to try.

Great review of the Jackson situation, Dman.  Was thinking much the same.  But after clearing the trade deadline, I thought the Twins were keeping him as their backup for next year.  Maybe they have decided their playoff chances are real and want the best 26 on the field.  Or could they be talking with Jeffers' agent about finding a way to keep him for next year and/or beyond?

Want to second jmlease1's comment above about Houston.  Isn't it fantastic seeing how dominant Jenkins has been of late.  Will join those praying that this kid is everything we have hoped he would be.  September 1 isn't that far off, will be interesting.  Won't it?

 

 

[bean5302]

Jenkins on a home tear lately. If there's one thing that can silence doubters, it's home runs. Batted ball data isn't needed when the ball leaves the field. That's no grounder or pop-up. Signs are really starting to point to him being dialed in and having it figured out.

Houston struggling with K's recently after being on absolute fire to end July, but it's all SSSS stuff. I'm not sure there's a lot left to prove in AA now that he's close to 200 PA (188) and Culpepper is in the big show. Here's hoping the Twins are just waiting for Houston to shake off a mini-slump before he moves to St. Paul.

Carson Tinney having a couple good games back to back is great to see. Hoping that's a sign the adjustment to wood bats is starting to happen. Hopefully, he's able to take some stuff away from Lackey and coaches to improve his transition time which is supposed to be one of Tinney's blockers on controlling the run game.