Twins Minor League Report (8/15): Cody Morissette Leads Saints to Saturday Sweep in Iowa

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Lexi Ashcraft, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Jake Rucker)

TRANSACTIONS   
Two straight days with no transactions in the organization? Inconceivable!   

SAINTS SENTINEL
Game 1: St. Paul 6, Iowa 0  
Box Score
In the first game on Saturday afternoon, the Saints and the Cubs each had six hits. Yet when the seventh inning was complete, the Saints had a nice, 6-0 shoutout win.

Lefty Kendry Rojas made his second start of the week for the Saints. He also started the Saints Field of Dreams game on Tuesday night. On Saturday, he threw four scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked one and had five strikeouts. What is the most important thing for Rojas in his development? Throwing strikes, right? On this night, 40 of his 52 pitches were strikes (76.9%).  

Jack Anderson came and had five strikeouts over three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked one. 

The starter for Iowa was North Side Baseball’s #16 prospect, RHP Grant Kipp. He worked three scoreless, hitless innings. He walked three and had four strikeouts. NSBB’s #4 Cubs Prospect is catcher Owen Ayers. He went 0-for-3 in this game. 

Veteran Hoby Milner came out of the Cubs bullpen in the fourth inning and started by hitting Emmanuel Rodriguez. Next, he gave up a single to Matt Wallner. With two outs, Tristan Gray singled to drive in Rodriguez with the game’s first run. Cody Morissette followed with an RBI double to make it 2-0.    

In the sixth inning, the Saints added a run when Tristan Gray stole second and an Ayers throwing error allowed Hendry Mendez to score from third. Then Morissette came to the plate again. This time, he crushed a long home run to give the Saints a 5-0 lead.   

The Saints added one more in the top of the seventh. Walker Jenkins walked and went to second on a Ben Ross single. Jenkins went to third base on a fly out and then scored on a Matt Wallner sacrifice fly. 

Morissette went 2-for-3 with his 13th double and 10th Saints home run. He drove in half of the Saints' runs. He was the lone Saints hitter with a multi-hit game or an extra base hit. Aaron Sabato had a single and a walk. Walker Jenkins walked twice. 

Game 2: St. Paul 5, Iowa 4  
Box Score
The second game started out a bit different. The Cubs scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning, but the Saints worked their way back with a couple of crooked numbers and came away with a doubleheader sweep in Des Moines. 

Trent Baker started for the Saints. He gave up four runs (1 earned) in four innings, all in the first inning. He gave up five hits (2 homers), walked none and had six strikeouts. 

The Saints started to cut into the deficit in the top of the third. Noah Cardenas was hit by a pitch and scored on a Ben Ross double. Emmanuel Rodriguez followed with a double of his own to make it 4-2. 

Woo-Suk Go walked two batters in a scoreless fifth inning. With two outs in the top of the sixth frame, Kala’i Rosarios singled. He went to second on an infield single by Cory Morissette. Tanner Schobel walked to load the bases. Noah Cardenas came through with a huge, clutch hit. He doubled to left field which cleared the bases and gave the Saints a 5-4 lead. 

Eric Orze and Julian Merryweather each had two outs in a scoreless inning to give the Saints the sweep.

Aaron Sabato went 2-for-4, the lone multi-hit game for the Saints. Ross hit his 21st Saints double, and Rodriguez and Cardenas both doubled for the fourth time. Rodriguez also walked and stole a base. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 6, Corpus Christi 10
Box Score
A six-run sixth inning for the Hooks was something that the Surge were unable to overcome. 

Cory Lewis made the start. He gave up two runs on two hits over 3 2/3 innings. He walked three and had four strikeouts. Darren Bowen came on to get the final four outs of the fourth inning. He pitched a scoreless fifth inning. However, he gave up three runs in the sixth, and Jaylen Nowlin came in and gave up three more before the inning ended. Mitch Mueller struck out two batters in a one-hit inning. William Fleming gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits over the final two innings.  

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Wind Surge tied the game at 2-2, but it was an inning with a couple of big What Ifs. Brandon Winokur led off with a single, but he was caught stealing. Caden Kendle followed with a single. Garrett Spain hit the third straight single. Kendle advanced to third base, but Spain was thrown out at second base for the inning’s second out. Fortunately, Jake Rucker came through with a line drive home run that tied the game at two.   

When the Surge came up in the bottom of the eighth, they were behind 10-2. They sure attempted a comeback but fell well shy. Jaime Ferrer and Jay Thomason started the innings with singles. The next two batters got out, but Caden Kendle drove in Ferrer with a single. Spain then walked to load the bases. Jake Rucker came up again and came through again. He lined an opposite-field double to clear the bases and cut the deficit to 10-6, but that was as close as they got.   

Rucker went 2-for-3 with his eighth doubles, his seventh home run, and five RBI. Kendle was 2-for-4. Kyle DeBarge was 1-for-2 with two walks and his 27th stolen base. Andrew Cossetti and Garrett Spain each had a single and a walk.  

KERNEL NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 15
Box Score
The Brewers organization is loaded, and even though the Rattlers roster is missing many of the top prospects that began the season in Wisconsin, but as this game shows, there are more terrific players on the way up. 

Another rough start for Cesar Lares in his return from Tommy John surgery. In this game, he went one inning and gave up three runs (1 earned) on one hit and three walks. He struck out three. He needed 38 pitches to get through the inning, so that was it for him. 

Christian Becerra came on and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Ross Dunn came in and got two outs. He was charged with three runs on four hits. Both outs were on strikeouts. Cleiber Maldonado walked one and struck out one in his inning. Cody Peschl gave up four runs on five hits (2 homers) and a walk. He struck out two. Brian Zeldin gave up three runs on two hits (1 homer). He walked two and had three strikeouts.     

It may not have made a difference since the Kernels were down, but they went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base. The Kernels had eight hits and four walks. Yasser Mercedes went 2-for-3 with a walk, his 19th stolen base, and his 34th stolen base. 

JP Smith went 1-for-2 with a walk and his fourth Kernels homer before being ejected after a strikeout in the sixth inning.   

Jose Salas hit his fifth double and was hit by a pitch. Irvin Nunez hit his first double with the Kernels. Quinn McDaniel and Miguel Briceno each had a single and a walk.  

None of the Brewer Fanatic Top 20 prospects played in this game. #2 Prospect Luis Pena and #16 Prospect Sawyer Strosnider didn’t even play in this game.  

MIGHTY MATTERS
Fort Myers 2, Clearwater 8
Box Score
The final score is not at all indicative to how this game played out. The score was 1-0 through seven innings. However, the Thrashers scored seven runs in the top of the eighth inning. 

With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Luis Fragoza homered to give the team a 1-0 lead.   

The Mussels didn’t score again until the bottom of the eighth, after they were behind 8-1. With two outs, Fragoza walked and went to second on defensive indifference. Aidan Teel had an infield single which advanced Fragoza to third. Quentin Young walked to load the bases. Bryce Fowler followed with another walk to drive in the team’s second and final run. 

Ramiro Villanueva started and gave up one run on three hits over three innings. He had four strikeouts with no walks. Matt Dalquist tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked three and had three strikeouts.   

Nick McAuliffe pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Then came the eighth inning. McAuliffe faced three batters. All three reached base. Michael Hilker came on and combined they gave up seven runs in the inning. Melvin Rodriguez struck out two in a perfect ninth inning. 

Fragoza went 2-for-3 with a walk and his 14th home run. He also stole his 13th base. Fowler was 1-for-3 with a walk and his first pro double. Teel was 1-for-3 with a walk. Young walked twice.   

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
DSL Twins 4, DSL Tigers 6
Box Score
This was a fantastic game for the Twins… until it wasn’t. 

Adrian Martinez made the start and gave up one run on three hits and two walks and a hit batter over three innings. He had four strikeouts. 

The Twins got on the scoreboard in the third inning. Fabian Ulloa singled to start the inning. He stole second. Luis Suarez walked. With one out, Jendy Martinez singled to drive in Ulloa and tie the game at 1-1. The Twins scored twice more, both on wild pitches. The Twins added a fourth run in the fifth inning on a couple of walks and a balk. 

Sebastian Echevarria walked two and had two strikeouts over two scoreless, hitless innings. Juan Quinones pitched a scoreless sixth inning. He also started the top of the seventh. He gave up three runs and Wisarly Reinoso gave up two more and abruptly the Twins were losing 6-5. They were unable to score in the bottom of the inning to take the loss. 

Jendy Martinez went 2-for-3 with a walk. Fabian Ulloa was 2-for-3 and stole his seventh base. Jhon Gonzalez was 0-for-1, but he walked three times. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter(s) of the Day  
Jake Rucker (Wichita): 2-for-3, HBP, 2B(8), HR(7), R, 5 RBI
Cody Morissette (St. Paul): Game 1: 2-for-3, 2B(13), HR(10), R, 3 RBI, Game 2: 1-for-3, R.
Luis Fragoza (Fort Myers): 2-for-3, BB, HR (14), 2 R, RBI 

Pitcher(s) of the Day 
Kendry Rojas (St. Paul): 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 52 pitches, 40 strikes (76.9%)

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) - Game 1: 0-for-2, 2 BB, R, K (batted first, played LF)
#3 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, 2B(1), K (batted ninth, played SS)
#6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - Game 1: 0-for-3, HBP, R, K (batted third, played CF); Game 2: 1-for-3, BB, 2B(4), RBI, SB(3), K (batted second, DHd) 
#7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, K, R (batted sixth, played DH)
#8 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K (batted third, played DH) 
#9 - 1B/OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - Game 2: 0-for-3, BB (batted fourth, played RF)
#11 - C Carson Tinney (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, K (batted second, played catcher)
#12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 1-for-5 (batted second, played SS) 
#18 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 K (batted fifth, played 3B)
#19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B(19), R, SB(34) (batted fourth, played CF)

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Sunday, August 16
St. Paul @ Iowa (1:08 pm CT) - RHP German Marquez (First Saints start) 
Corpus Christi @ Wichita (1:05 pm CT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (1-4, 3.58 ERA)
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 pm CT) - RHP Kolten Smith (0-3, 3.32 ERA) 
Clearwater @ Ft. Myers (11:05 am CT) - RHP Callan Fang (3-3, 4.02 ERA)

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 60-64
St. Paul Saints: 68-50
Wichita Wind Surge: 45-66
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-67
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 61-50
FCL Twins: 33-26
DSL Twins: 17-34 

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]

It is now getting frustrating to see the Twins score 1 run two games in a row and no transactions. 

[DJL44]

Rojas has given up one run in 11 innings since his demotion with 11K and 2BB.

[terrydactyls]

You must have had a long day, late night, or both.

"Eric Orze and Julian Merryweather each had two outs in a scoreless inning"  (four outs?)

"Darren Bowen came on to get the final four outs in the fourth inning"  (four outs again?)

"Yassar Mercedes went 2-3 with a walk, his 19th stolen base, and his 34th stolen base"  (what happened to stolen bases 20 through 33?)

I'm sure it all made sense at the time.

 

[DJL44]

Another strong week at the plate for Caden Kendle. Can he catch the ball?

[PuckettPond]

We need better pitching prospects. what will Lopez, Ryan & Hoffman get us?

[rdehring]

As I opened your site today, Seth, was wondering how Rojas did in last night's start.  That sure went well.

As I read further through the post I got thinking about your comment, "the Brewers organization is loaded."  I recall that the Brewers spend a similar amount on their team as the Twins.  Yet, the Brewers have the best record in Baseball.  Wasn't that also the case last year?  Why are they so good while also being loaded with future prospects while the Twins aren't?  Why do the Brewers have a seemingly unending supply of International prospects arriving while we can't remember who the last one was for the Twins?  Was it Arraez? 

Continue shaking my head but sure seems to me the problem for the Twins isn't payroll, rather their front office and the entire organization who isn't getting it done on a championship level.  Makes me wonder if I would be happier going back to being a Brewer's fan?  

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, rdehring said:

As I opened your site today, Seth, was wondering how Rojas did in last night's start.  That sure went well.

As I read further through the post I got thinking about your comment, "the Brewers organization is loaded."  I recall that the Brewers spend a similar amount on their team as the Twins.  Yet, the Brewers have the best record in Baseball.  Wasn't that also the case last year?  Why are they so good while also being loaded with future prospects while the Twins aren't?  Why do the Brewers have a seemingly unending supply of International prospects arriving while we can't remember who the last one was for the Twins?  Was it Arraez? 

Continue shaking my head but sure seems to me the problem for the Twins isn't payroll, rather their front office and the entire organization who isn't getting it done on a championship level.  Makes me wonder if I would be happier going back to being a Brewer's fan?  

Twins spend 15% more. The Brewers trade their short term control players when their players have value to load the farm and avoid paying near market rates. That's a major factor. 

[Major League Ready]

7 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Twins spend 15% more. The Brewers trade their short term control players when their players have value to load the farm and avoid paying near market rates. That's a major factor. 

The Brewers would have never passed up the chance to get something good for Jeffers.  They traded Burnes in a year that they were expected to contend.   Their practices are just far more effective for building sustainable success.  They also seem to find a way to get significant contributions from players that fail elsewhere like Vaughn for example or Megill who we gave up on..  

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

The Brewers would have never passed up the chance to get something good for Jeffers.  They traded Burnes in a year that they were expected to contend.   Their practices are just far more effective and building sustainable success.  They also seem to find a way to get significant contributions from players that fail elsewhere like Vaughn for example or Megill who we gave up on..  

100%. The Twins have done everything half way. Half way competitive. Half way rebuild. Half way investment. 

[Seth Stohs]

14 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

It is now getting frustrating to see the Twins score 1 run two games in a row and no transactions. 

There just aren't any moves to make. Wallner could come up for Martin if he's going to be out for a while. He could also switch places with Roden. Sabato probably deserves it, but they don't need a DH or 1B and doesn't make sense to have a pinch hitter only on this roster. 

Kendry Rojas is really good and could certainly be in the big leagues. I also understand them wanting him to go 4 or 5 innings instead of 2 or3 innings. 

Could switch out Ryan Kreidler for Ben Ross, but would that be an improvement? Not necessarily. 

The bullpen is kind of set at this point. Could drop Rogers, I guess, but would Orze, Raya, Bowman, Go, Anderson, Acton be an improvement?

 

[Seth Stohs]

11 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Rojas has given up one run in 11 innings since his demotion with 11K and 2BB.

Love it. I really think they're just trying to extend him just a little bit. They're really going to need some innings down the stretch. 

[Seth Stohs]

11 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

You must have had a long day, late night, or both.

"Eric Orze and Julian Merryweather each had two outs in a scoreless inning"  (four outs?)

"Darren Bowen came on to get the final four outs in the fourth inning"  (four outs again?)

"Yassar Mercedes went 2-3 with a walk, his 19th stolen base, and his 34th stolen base"  (what happened to stolen bases 20 through 33?)

I'm sure it all made sense at the time.

 

Just trying to keep you all on your toes... 

I spend WAY too much time on these reports. Uggh! 

 

[Seth Stohs]

11 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Another strong week at the plate for Caden Kendle. Can he catch the ball?

Yeah, he can play all three outfield spots. He's got good speed, not a burner. He's got a good arm. 

He's probably immensely underrated. He was a 5th round pick. It's not like he was a signing out of an indy league or something. There's a lot of talent there. Same thing with Ben Ross. We forget that he was also a 5th round pick. 

[Mike Sixel]

7 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

The Brewers would have never passed up the chance to get something good for Jeffers.  They traded Burnes in a year that they were expected to contend.   Their practices are just far more effective for building sustainable success.  They also seem to find a way to get significant contributions from players that fail elsewhere like Vaughn for example or Megill who we gave up on..  

They also promote their players to the majors instead of signing bad veterans over and over. 

[Mike Sixel]

7 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

The Brewers would have never passed up the chance to get something good for Jeffers.  They traded Burnes in a year that they were expected to contend.   Their practices are just far more effective for building sustainable success.  They also seem to find a way to get significant contributions from players that fail elsewhere like Vaughn for example or Megill who we gave up on..  

Or Ryan in the off-season. 

[Mike Sixel]

5 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

There just aren't any moves to make. Wallner could come up for Martin if he's going to be out for a while. He could also switch places with Roden. Sabato probably deserves it, but they don't need a DH or 1B and doesn't make sense to have a pinch hitter only on this roster. 

Kendry Rojas is really good and could certainly be in the big leagues. I also understand them wanting him to go 4 or 5 innings instead of 2 or3 innings. 

Could switch out Ryan Kreidler for Ben Ross, but would that be an improvement? Not necessarily. 

The bullpen is kind of set at this point. Could drop Rogers, I guess, but would Orze, Raya, Bowman, Go, Anderson, Acton be an improvement?

 

Rojas, Jenkins, Rodriguez. Those are easy decisions. I'm not sure how that's up for debate. 

[Seth Stohs]

11 hours ago, rdehring said:

As I opened your site today, Seth, was wondering how Rojas did in last night's start.  That sure went well.

As I read further through the post I got thinking about your comment, "the Brewers organization is loaded."  I recall that the Brewers spend a similar amount on their team as the Twins.  Yet, the Brewers have the best record in Baseball.  Wasn't that also the case last year?  Why are they so good while also being loaded with future prospects while the Twins aren't?  Why do the Brewers have a seemingly unending supply of International prospects arriving while we can't remember who the last one was for the Twins?  Was it Arraez? 

Continue shaking my head but sure seems to me the problem for the Twins isn't payroll, rather their front office and the entire organization who isn't getting it done on a championship level.  Makes me wonder if I would be happier going back to being a Brewer's fan?  

Such a great question, and something I've thought about a little bit, but it's likely a little bit of everything. International signings have been a huge part of it when you consider Chourio, Lara. They've been really good in trades. That William Contreras deal was amazing. Willie Adames was a great acquisition. They've drafted well, including taking a lot of high school kids and being very creative. The interesting long-term contracts for Chourio, Pratt, Lara. They have like 9 Top 100 worthy prospects... Andrew Fischer, their top pick in the 2025 draft, has 37 home runs this year between High-A and Double-A... and he's NOT in a top 100 list. They traded Corbin Burnes at the right time. They traded Freddy Peralta at the right time. They didn't even get back big returns for them, but they got out from under some big, long-term contracts. Signing flyers like Trevor Megill and turning him into an All Star is great. (The Twins kinda started that trend). Turning Aaron Ashby from a soft-throwing lefty starter to a late-inning reliever who touches triple digits. They also play really good defense. Gold Glove talent all around the outfield. Turang is tremendous. They don't hit for a ton of power, but they put together terrific at-bats. It'd be interesting to put this into a chart or something and compare to the Twins or other teams. 

[Seth Stohs]

9 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Twins spend 15% more. The Brewers trade their short term control players when their players have value to load the farm and avoid paying near market rates. That's a major factor. 

Yes, they do that well. Caleb Durbin and Isaac Collins were top 3 in Rookie of the Year voting last year, and they traded both of them. 

[tony&rodney]

4 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

Yes, they do that well. Caleb Durbin and Isaac Collins were top 3 in Rookie of the Year voting last year, and they traded both of them. 

Seth, the trades of Durbin and Collins tell me more than the deals sending Burnes and Peralta for prospects. The Brewers identify areas of need and players who might net a solid return even if those players are really good and still have years of control remaining. The Twins had a great chance to trade a couple or three guys after the 2023 season who held good value at the time. The question is - would the Twins trade a very highly thought of player this coming offseason because the return makes sense? 

[Seth Stohs]

13 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Rojas, Jenkins, Rodriguez. Those are easy decisions. I'm not sure how that's up for debate. 

I can't imagine bringing Rodriguez up at this point. He's had like 4 games at St. Paul after not having a great rehab. Give him another week of health and some production and then let him take Roden's spot, playing right field against right-handers and giving Buxton a day out of CF here and there.

I'm find with Jenkins coming up as long as he'll pay 4-6 games per week. He did play a second game in left field this week. What's the move? Play him in LF every day? Larnach DH most every day? Caratini strictly a backup catcher. 

C: Jeffers, Caratini
1B: Lewis, Caratini
2B: Clemens, Kreidler
3B: Lee, Kreidler s
SS: Culpepper, Kreidler
LF: Larnach, Martin
CF: Buxton/Kreidler/Keaschall
RF: Roden/Keaschall
DH: Bell/Larnach

[rdehring]

14 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

Such a great question, and something I've thought about a little bit, but it's likely a little bit of everything. International signings have been a huge part of it when you consider Chourio, Lara. They've been really good in trades. That William Contreras deal was amazing. Willie Adames was a great acquisition. They've drafted well, including taking a lot of high school kids and being very creative. The interesting long-term contracts for Chourio, Pratt, Lara. They have like 9 Top 100 worthy prospects... Andrew Fischer, their top pick in the 2025 draft, has 37 home runs this year between High-A and Double-A... and he's NOT in a top 100 list. They traded Corbin Burnes at the right time. They traded Freddy Peralta at the right time. They didn't even get back big returns for them, but they got out from under some big, long-term contracts. Signing flyers like Trevor Megill and turning him into an All Star is great. (The Twins kinda started that trend). Turning Aaron Ashby from a soft-throwing lefty starter to a late-inning reliever who touches triple digits. They also play really good defense. Gold Glove talent all around the outfield. Turang is tremendous. They don't hit for a ton of power, but they put together terrific at-bats. It'd be interesting to put this into a chart or something and compare to the Twins or other teams. 

Point after point is telling me that the Brewers are managed so well.  Much better than most teams, not just the Twins.  I know you guys have another site that covers the Brewers, don't you?  With that contact, do you have a clue why they are so much better in their front office?    

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, rdehring said:

Point after point is telling me that the Brewers are managed so well.  Much better than most teams, not just the Twins.  I know you guys have another site that covers the Brewers, don't you?  With that contact, do you have a clue why they are so much better in their front office?    

IMHO it's ownership. The Pohlads have not been good owners and they have not frequently held their front office's accountable or set goals or tolerances similar to other franchises. Historically, the Pohlad's have aimed for "competitive" as if they were running a typical business IMHO. Low risk tolerance, and an avoidance of rebuilding at the cost of also limiting investment when the window was open has been the strategy. That limits the front office somewhat.