Twins Minor League Report (8/30): Home Run Records for All

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Jake Rucker)

TRANSACTIONS
OF Gabriel Gonzalez recalled by Twins
RHP Woo-Suk Go outrighted to AAA St. Paul

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 6, Toledo 10
Box Score
Aaron Rozek: 3 2/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
HR: Aaron Sabato (22), Kala’i Rosario 2 (6, 7), Cody Morissette (12)
Multi-hit games: Emmanuel Rodriguez (2-for-4, RBI, BB), Alan Roden (2-for-5, 2B), Aaron Sabato (2-for-5, HR, 2B, R, RBI), Kala’i Rosario (3-for-5, 2 HR, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI)

Middle-inning madness sunk the Saints on Sunday.

All that starts well… cannot be predicted the rest of the way. But at least it felt good, just for a time. Aaron Sabato mashed a solo homer in the first and Aaron Rozek tossed three shutout innings with the aid of two double plays. The first, an unusual back pick from Matt Wallner, who tracked down a flyball and caught Josue Briceño drifting halfway to Mordor before he realized his mistake, and was cut down trying to return to the bag. The second, a traditional 6-4-3. 

Then, the fourth. Five runs. So it goes. Then, the fifth. Five more runs. The game, in essence, decided.

Despite the rough stretch, the Saints still had much to celebrate (at least on the other side of the game). Kala’i Rosario—who already homered twice on Saturday—deposited an 0-2 offering on the other side of the wall in the fourth, and returned in the seventh with a screaming liner that barely left play. Fortunately, it all counts the same.

The homer gave the Saints 231 round-trippers on the year, tying the International League record. That’s no small feat: the IL can trace its roots back to 1884, though the name and identity didn’t stick until 1912. That’s over 100 years of baseball history flattened by the slugging acumen of this 2026 squad.

Oh, and Cody Morissette set the record two batters later.

Eric Orze, Julian Merryweather, and Alejandro Hidalgo combined to pitch four scoreless innings out of the bullpen, striking out six.

Rehabbing big leaguer Riley Greene singled and worked two walks for the Mud Hens.

The aforementioned Briceño is the 69th overall prospect in MLB. He walked once but was pulled following his base running gaffe. 

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 8, Arkansas 9
Box Score
Riley Quick: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
HR: Jake Rucker 2 (9, 10), Luis Hernandez (1), Brandon Winokur (10)
Multi-hit games: Jake Rucker (4-for-4, 2 HR, 4 R, 2 RBI, BB), Garrett Spain (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI)

The Wind Surge lost a back-and-forther on Sunday.

There’s character to be had in getting decimated, though at some point, Riley Quick might opine for a break from it all. His time in Wichita hasn’t been pleasant. A 4.87 ERA entering the day ballooned to 5.79 after being drummed for four earned runs across just three innings of work. He surrendered a pair of homers and found only one clean frame: a 1-2-3 third capped with a strikeout. Still, one must remember context, as the 72 2/3 innings the first-year pro has now pitched in 2026 bests the 62-inning career-high he set with Alabama in 2025. Growing pains exist for pitchers, too.

Garrett Spain spanked an RBI double down the right field line to start the scoring in the first, and Jake Rucker smashed his first homer of the day in the fourth, setting the franchise record for blasts hit by a Wind Surge team in a single season (172).

Wichita saw run-scoring knocks in the sixth by Spain and Andrew Cossetti, but their deficit had grown even more unruly. Darren Bowen had been bludgeoned by a homer in the fourth. Preston Johnson took a wart in the sixth. Arkansas’ barrage gave them six runs by the end of the sixth, rendering the efforts by Spain and Cossetti mere claws towards the lead, which sat at 6-4 as the seventh entered into view.

Then, a flurry. Three long balls to slingshot ahead. First, Luis Hernandez for one, then, Brandon Winokur for two, and, finally, Rucker exploded for the second time in the game. 

Holding an advantage for the first time, Wichita’s pitchers folded, allowing three runs across the eighth and ninth to let what could have been an epic comeback fall by the wayside.

10 home runs were hit in the game, with four players going deep twice.

Travelers’ outfielder Jonny Farmelo is ranked as the 73rd-best prospect in MLB, according to Pipeline. He walked once in five plate appearances. 

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 5, Lake County 2 
Box Score
Christian Becerra: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
HR: Yasser Mercedes (11), Danny De Andrade (15)
Multi-hit games: Irvin Nunez (4-for-4, 2 RBI)

The Kernels won an all-around game on Sunday.

With relievers like these, who needs starters? Cedar Rapids needed a group effort on Sunday, and they received a great one: five hurlers combined to pitch all nine innings, with Christian Becerra, Ross Dunn, Michael Hilker, Brent Francisco, and Yehizon Sanchez working in beautiful harmony, allowing two earned runs with seven scattered hits and one walk. They struck out seven. 

Yasser Mercedes started the scoring for the Kernels with a first inning laser, which knotted the game as action remained cool for two innings.

Cedar Rapids returned in the fourth, plating a pair off a Danny De Andrade shot, and the second of Irvin Nunez’s four singles on the day.

Luis Fragoza drove in a seventh inning run, while Nunez completed the quadruple showing in the eighth, netting his second RBI knock, an immaculate showing from the bottom of the Cedar Rapids lineup.

JP Smith II walked thrice, bumping his Kernels OBP to .441. 

Lake County second baseman, Welbyn Francisca, is the 21st-ranked prospect in the Cleveland Guardians system. He went 0-4 with two strikeouts. 

Mussel Matters
No matter how Fort Myers attempted to outwit Mother Nature—first by doubleheader; then by canceled second game yet continued first game—the result ended up the same as Friday and Saturday: a full match was not played. Sunday’s attempt was quickly quelled. No games from the day will be made up at a later date. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Alejandro Hidalgo
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jake Rucker

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

#1 – Walker Jenkins (Twins) - 0-3
#2 – Vahn Lackey (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, 2B, K
#3 – Kaelen Culpepper (Twins) - 1-3, K
#4 – Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-5, R, 2 K
#5 – Riley Quick (Wichita) - 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
#6 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 2-4, RBI, BB, K
#12 – Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 1-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
#19 – Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, HR, R, RBI, K

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
No games in the Twins’ system are scheduled for Monday.

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[DJL44]

Kala’i Rosario looked good today. They might need to protect him from the Rule 5 draft this December.

[DJL44]

Emmanuel Rodriguez was introduced as “Manny” at the Saints game today. Might be time to stop calling him Emma.

[DJL44]

Remember the article about Paulshawn Pasqualotto and him possibly helping the major league team this year? I wouldn’t worry about that. Woof.

[Old Twins Hat]

13 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Emmanuel Rodriguez was introduced as “Manny” at the Saints game today. Might be time to stop calling him Emma.

Yeah, I was thinking about that recently:  really, you're going to get to the Big Leagues as Emma?

[FlyingFinn]

36 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Kala’i Rosario looked good today. They might need to protect him from the Rule 5 draft this December.

I disagree. Teams just don't draft hitters much in the Rule 5 draft. It's pitching, pitching, pitching.

[S Bart]

1 hour ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Yeah, I was thinking about that recently:  really, you're going to get to the Big Leagues as Emma?

That is my aunt's name. I need to let her know that she has a twin.

[ashbury]

23 minutes ago, S Bart said:

That is my aunt's name. I need to let her know that she has a twin.

[AlLagoon]

Why is Gabriel Gonzales a Twin not the headline here?

[PuckettPond]

We need an influx of young pitching.

[Matt Braun]

8 hours ago, AlLagoon said:

Why is Gabriel Gonzales a Twin not the headline here?

Because the focus of these reports is the play in the minor leagues, and Gabriel Gonzalez being recalled means he is no longer a minor leaguer, at least for a moment. Typically, call-ups and notable recalls get their own piece. 

[Trov]

11 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

I disagree. Teams just don't draft hitters much in the Rule 5 draft. It's pitching, pitching, pitching.

That is because it much easier to put a pitcher at back end of pen for a year, but a hitter cannot ride the bench all year they need to play.  You can put a pitcher in low leverage spots all year if you feel they are not ready for more.  

[Trov]

11 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Kala’i Rosario looked good today. They might need to protect him from the Rule 5 draft this December.

He has been back and forth on prospect to fringe guy his whole career. He will be an interesting case actually. The fact he hits right handed will be a bonus for him. He is still young, just turned 24, has shown power potential for years.  His defense is limited.  I see him and Gonzalez as fighting for that right handed OF/DH spot as both similar ages and limited defense.  Both have been up and down as prospects. The big issue with Rosario is his K-Rate is high.  He is over 30% this year in minors and around that for his career.  That generally does not translate well in majors.

Gonzalez is under 20%.  If it is between them, then the question will be do you want the more power with more swing and miss, or the guy that has less power but will put ball in play more. Rosario has been better in AAA so far this year so will be interesting to see if both make 40 man or just one.  Rosario could get taken in rule 5, but unless you are sold on him being a good hitter against lefties at majors there is not a huge need for him on our roster either. 

[jmlease1]

13 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Kala’i Rosario looked good today. They might need to protect him from the Rule 5 draft this December.

He's having a good season, but he's still not much of a defender even for a corner OF and I think he would be difficult to hold on an MLB roster for a full season. If I were a bad team needing OF help I would probably take a swing at him, but he's still likely to pass through. It's just so hard to use a 26-man spot on a guy that might not be able to contribute, and Rosario is likely to struggle at the plate in his first taste of MLB. And I say that as someone who still likes him.

[LambchoP]

We really need pitching. Quick is one of our top pitching prospects and he has been lit up at AA. Really hope we can somehow aquire some young pitching with upside this off-season to go along with all the arms we drafted. We also need some of those guys to pan out.

[jkcarew]

Another 31 innings worth of development lost this week in Fort Myers relative to teams that train and play A- ball in Arizona/California.

[Obsvr]

On 8/30/2026 at 8:42 PM, Old Twins Hat said:

Yeah, I was thinking about that recently:  really, you're going to get to the Big Leagues as Emma?

This is Minneapolis...it would probably put more people in the seats.