Twins Minor League Report (9/3): Merphy Hernandez Keeps Racking Up Hits, Steals

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Merphy Hernandez)

TRANSACTIONS  
Fort Myers moved RHP Cristian Hernandez to the Development List. He started Game 1 of the Mussels doubleheader on Thursday and tossed three innings. 

RHPs Max Bayles and Tyler Bryan were assigned to the Mussels from the FCL Twins. Bayles was the Twins 7th-round pick in July out of Santa Clara. Bryan is a non-drafted free agent who pitched collegiately at the University of Houston earlier this year. The Twins signed him on July 22nd and he’s been hanging out, getting his work in at the Twins minor league complex. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 1, Omaha 7
Box Score
Cody Morissette hit his 15th Saints home run, a solo shot in the top of the seventh inning. It was the lone run scored by the Saints. 

The Saints had seven of their hitters with one hit each. They had four walks (three of them by the two batters that went hitless). Aaron Sabato had a single and a walk. David Banuelos walked twice. Alan Roden had a single and was hit by a pitch. 

Veteran German Marquez was charged with six runs on six hits (including two home runs) over the first six innings. However, just two of the runs were earned thanks to three errors by infielders.

Alejandro Hidalgo gave up one run on one hit (a solo homer) over two innings. He walked one and had two strikeouts.  

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 2, Tulsa 8
Box Score
Cory Lewis started for Wichita and worked the first four innings. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and two walks. He also had six strikeouts. Hunter Gregory came on and gave up three runs on four hits (including two home runs) in the fifth inning. Sam Armstrong gave up three runs on two hits (both homers) and a hit batter over the final three innings. He had five strikeouts. 

In the top of the fifth inning, Khadim Diaw hit his third home run with Wichita to make it a 2-1 ballgame.   

In the top of the eighth inning, Brandon Winokur, Garrett Spain, and Kyle DeBarge singled to give the Wind Surge their second run. Of course, by that time, they were down 8-2. 

Khadim Diaw went 3-for-5 with his third home run. Brandon Winokur was 3-for-5 as well. Marek Houston went 2-for-5. Caden Kendle was 2-for-4. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 5, South Bend 7
Box Score
The Kernels got a Quality Start from Reed Moring. The 2025 draft pick gave up two runs on five hits. He had seven strikeouts to go with zero walks. Sixty-one of his 81 pitches (75.3%) were strikes. 

Finnegin Wall gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and two walks in the seventh inning. 

The Kernels actually scored first. In the top of the first inning, Jacob McCombs scored on a double play ball. In the top of the fourth inning, Jose Salas tripled and then scored on a Byron Chourio single to tie the game at 2-2. 

The Cubs took the lead at 3-2 through seven innings. Salas started the top of the eighth inning with a single. He moved to second on a groundout and then stole third base. Irvin Nunez singled to drive in Salas and make it 3-3. Yilber Herrera followed with a single. After a pitching change and a strikeout, Vahn Lackey singled to left field to drive in Nunez. Herrera then scored on a wild pitch to give the Kernels a 5-3 lead. 

Wall faced one batter in the top of the eighth before exiting the game. Yehizon Sanchez came in and that runner scored to make it 5-4. Sanchez then gave up a three-run walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Cubs had a win.

Yasser Mercedes went 2-for-4 with a walk. Salas was 2-for-5 with a triple. He also stole a base. Vahn Lackey was 1-for-3 with two walks, and he stole his fourth and fifth bases. 

MIGHTY MATTERS
Game 1: Fort Myers 3, Clearwater 9
Box Score
The Mussels fell behind early in Game 1 on Thursday. Cristian Hernandez started and gave up three runs on five hits and four walks over three innings. He struck out two. However, Melvin Rodriguez came in for the fourth inning, and he gave up six runs on four hits, a walk, and two hit batters and recorded just two outs. Rainer Marin got the final out of the fourth inning (after allowing two of three inherited runners to score. He also got two outs in the fifth inning, but he gave up a hit and three walks but no runs. Nick McAuliffe got the final out of the fifth inning. Max Bayles became the first 2026 draft pick to pitch in a game this season. He walked three but struck out one in a scoreless inning. 

The Mussels got on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning. Merphy Hernandez drove in Bryan Acuna with a single to center. At the time, it cut the deficit to 3-1. 

In the top of the sixth inning, Charlie Scholvin walked. Hernandez hit a double to push Scholvin to third base. Carson Tinney walked to load the bases. Scholvin scored on a wild pitch. With two outs, Quentin Young singled to drive in Hernandez with the third and final run. 

Hernandez went 2-for-3 with his sixth double.  

Game 2: Fort Myers 5, Clearwater 6
Box Score
Game 2 was wonderful for the Mussels, well, for the first 6 1/2 of the seven innings. 

Matthew Dalquist started and tossed four scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and had six strikeouts.   

Tyler Bryan came on for his professional debut. In 1 2/3 innings, he gave up one hit and two walks but kept the Threshers scoreless. Hendry Chivilli got the final out of the bottom of the sixth.

Colby Turner led off the top of the second inning with his third home run.   

Bryce Fowler followed with a single. With one out, Jimmy Keenan knocked his first professional home run to give his team a 3-0 lead. 

Ricardo Paez led off the top of the fifth inning with a walk. He went to third on a Merphy Hernandez double. Carson Tinney walked to load the bases. Isaiah Lane walked to make it 4-0. Colby Turner was hit by a pitch which made it 5-0. 

Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Chivilli was back on the mound. The leadoff man reached on an error. That was followed by a ground out. A walk was followed with a line-drive single to lead the bases. Another single and the Threshers were on the board, down 5-1. A wild pitch made it 5-2. Another single made it 5-3. That ended Chivilli’s day. Jake Covey entered the game. A stolen base put runners on second and third. A single to right drove in both runs and the score was tied at 5-5. Two more singles and the game was over, the Mussels being walked off 6-5.  

The Mussels scored their five runs on seven hits and five walks. Merphy Hernandez led the way again. He was 3-for-4 with his seventh double. He also stole his 49th and 50th bases.   

Ricardo Paez had a single and a walk. The Mussels went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position with six left on base. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter(s) of the Day 
Khadim Diaw (Wichita): 3-for-5, HR(3), 1 R, 1 RBI, K
Merphy Hernandez (Fort Myers): 5-for-7, 2-2B(7), 2 R, RBI, 2-SB(50), CS(11)

Pitcher(s) of the Day
Reed Moring (Cedar Rapids): 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 81 pitches, 61 strikes (75.3%).

 

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

#2 - C Vahn Lackey (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, RBI, K, 2-SB(5) (batted second, played catcher)  
#4 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 2-for-5, K (batted first, played SS)
#6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, 2 K (batted first, played LF) 
#11 - C Carson Tinney (Fort Myers) - Game 1: 0-for-2, BB (batted second, DHd); Game 2: 0-for-3, BB, K (batted second, played catcher)
#12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 3-for-5, R (batted third, played 3B)
#13 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita) - 3-for-5, HR(3), R, RBI, K (batted second, played catcher) 
#18 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 1-for-3, RBI (batted fifth, played 3B); Game 2: 0-for-3, 3 K (batted sixth, played SS) 
#19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, BB, 2 K, (batted third, played RF)

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Friday, September 4
St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 pm CT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (3-5, 4.10 ERA)
Wichita @ Tulsa (7:00 pm CT) - RHP Preston Johnson (1-3, 3.94 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 pm CT) - RHP Merit Jones (0-1, 6.14 ERA)
Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 pm CT) - RHP Matt Barr (0-1, 6.75 ERA) 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 67-73
St. Paul Saints: 76-58
Wichita Wind Surge: 51-76 (Final Game 9/13)
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 47-80 (Final Game 9/6)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 67-58 (Final Game 9/6)
FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete)
DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete)

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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[DJL44]

Heckuva week for Morissette.

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

I love seeing players like Merphy Hernandez stealing bases. Doesn't seem like it's a skill that the modern stat guys care for all that much, but I still like to see speed on the base paths.

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

Veteran German Marquez was charged with six runs on six hits (including two home runs) over the first six innings. However, just two of the runs were earned thanks to three errors by infielders.

I'd almost forgotten that the Twins had signed Marquez last month. Doesn't he have some sort of out clause if he's not called up by a certain date?

[Mike Sixel]

Diaw should be higher ranked. Imo. 

[Blyleven2011]

The speed in the minors is awesome , lots of players stealing bases , stealing over 30 bases a season is really impressive but once that speed arrives in MLB where does it go …

[DJL44]

41 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Diaw should be higher ranked. Imo. 

It all depends on whether he can catch. If not he’s just another outfielder in the pile.

[DJL44]

38 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

The speed in the minors is awesome , lots of players stealing bases , stealing over 30 bases a season is really impressive but once that speed arrives in MLB where does it go …

MLB catchers are selected for pop time. If you can’t control the running game, you move positions before you make MLB.

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

It all depends on whether he can catch. If not he’s just another outfielder in the pile.

Except I think he's under rated there also. Ymmv, of course 

[DJL44]

3 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Except I think he's under rated there also. Ymmv, of course 

If he can play catcher he might make the team next season.

[Mike Sixel]

6 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

If he can play catcher he might make the team next season.

Agree

[Andy MacPhail]

German Marque has been a great GB SP. Wish we had a better INF to capitalize on that & bring him up.

[DJL44]

5 minutes ago, Andy MacPhail said:

German Marque has been a great GB SP. Wish we had a better INF to capitalize on that & bring him up.

That was five years ago 

[rdehring]

Appreciated your lead, Seth, referring to ten prospects with 24-56 stolen bases.  What is most surprising to me is Houston with 50.  If his defense is as good as people say, that type of speed almost guarantees he will have a long big league career.

[LambchoP]

It's hard not to be excited about some of these minor league hitters. Diaw is hitting great. Lackey and Tait at C. Houston hitting.300 with 50 SB! Only problem is, the lack of pitching prospects. We got a good start drafting arms this year, but hopefully we acquire some pitching in the off-season.

[DJL44]

7 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

It's hard not to be excited about some of these minor league hitters. Diaw is hitting great. Lackey and Tait at C. Houston hitting.300 with 50 SB! Only problem is, the lack of pitching prospects. We got a good start drafting arms this year, but hopefully we acquire some pitching in the off-season.

It is important to adjust for the inflated run scoring environment in the minor leagues when evaluating hitters and pitchers. MiLB teams are scoring one run per game more than MLB teams (5.4 runs per team vs 4.5 runs per team in MLB). That’s 20% more offense.

[PDX Twin]

So ... they all lost. One team twice. They're training to be Twins!

[jmlease1]

I'm very pleased with what we've seen from Winokur and Diaw upon promotion to AA. They're having nice seasons and are interesting prospects. It'll be interesting to see how aggressive the Twins are with promotion for them next season?

Houston had a pretty brutal August (I'm going to guess he hit the wall a bit with his first full pro season) but it'd be great if he can put together a good September and finish the year on a strong note. The overall season has been quite good and I'm much less concerned about his bat now.

I have trouble getting too excited about SBs in the minors, especially the low minors. Pitchers aren't doing a lot to hold runners on, the catchers are still developing so even ones with real arms aren't necessarily very accurate with them, and the inexperienced fielders aren't exactly polished up to handle every off-target throw and make a good tag. Kala'i Rosario stole 30+ bags in AA last season. He's not exactly running wild in Saint Paul and he's getting on base plenty. It's fun seeing a guy get 50 swipes, but how much does it really mean?

[MeleMouth]

4 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Except I think he's under rated there also. Ymmv, of course 

Diaw's caught stealing rate is below 10%. He needs to significantly improve his throwing before he can be a consideration for the majors.

His hitting is encouraging. Just a little more power and much better defense and he could have a good career.

[purplesoldier4u]

Speed kills!

[MeleMouth]

Hernandez and Turner have earned chances at A+ before the season ends.

Since July 12, when he became just 19 years and 7 months old, Hernandez has been excellent, and since about August 1 he has been dominant.

[rdehring]

57 minutes ago, MeleMouth said:

Hernandez and Turner have earned chances at A+ before the season ends.

Since July 12, when he became just 19 years and 7 months old, Hernandez has been excellent, and since about August 1 he has been dominant.

Their season ends Sunday, so probably not happening.  

[DJL44]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

It is important to adjust for the inflated run scoring environment in the minor leagues when evaluating hitters and pitchers. MiLB teams are scoring one run per game more than MLB teams (5.4 runs per team vs 4.5 runs per team in MLB). That’s 20% more offense.

Since a 5.40 ERA is average, here are some pitchers having a decent season in the minors.

Merit Jones 3.90

Riley Quick 4.21

Eric Orze 2.25

Julian Merryweather 3.91

Cole Peschl 3.94

Ty Langenberg 4.12

Justin Mitrovich 3.23

 

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, MeleMouth said:

Diaw's caught stealing rate is below 10%. He needs to significantly improve his throwing before he can be a consideration for the majors.

His hitting is encouraging. Just a little more power and much better defense and he could have a good career.

Caught stealing just isn't that important. It takes a TON of extra stolen bases to come close to mattering over half a season.

[MeleMouth]

28 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Caught stealing just isn't that important. It takes a TON of extra stolen bases to come close to mattering over half a season.

Could be, but that's not what most analysts say. There are 60 catchers in MLB who have caught a min of 250 innings this year, and only two have a CS% lower than Diaw - Ivan Herrera, a middle of the order bat who might be moving to 1B or DH; and Austin Hedges (?!), who, but for having by far the best offensive year of his career while also having his worst defensive year, might be hitting the end of the line. 

Interestingly, of the 60 catchers, Jeffers is the fifth-worst at CS% and Caratini is 13th, so maybe the Twins don't care as much as other teams, but, of course, they haven't seemed over the last few years to prioritize defense in general as much as other teams.

It would be interesting to see the math or logic behind your assertion that SBs don't matter much. Diaw has given up 123 SBs this year and caught 10 runners. At 0.30 runs per extra base (approximate difference in run expectancy between a 1B and 2B), that's almost 34 more runs given up. Adding those to the Twins runs for and against so far this year produces an expected winning percentage of .448, which, after 140 games, would give a winning percentage of 63-77, or four games worse than their current record. Unless you think the math is different, I guess it's the eye of the beholder whether four extra losses would matter.

[Shaitan]

I wouldn't compare MLB CS rates to MiLB rates.

Defense overall is much worse in the low minors and there are far more SB because of it.

What was old joke: sit behind 1B at an A-ball game because you'll get a ball that the 1B missed?

It's just a different standard. I think CS rates matter, but Diaw should be compared to others in his league.

[jkcarew]

1 hour ago, MeleMouth said:

Could be, but that's not what most analysts say. There are 60 catchers in MLB who have caught a min of 250 innings this year, and only two have a CS% lower than Diaw - Ivan Herrera, a middle of the order bat who might be moving to 1B or DH; and Austin Hedges (?!), who, but for having by far the best offensive year of his career while also having his worst defensive year, might be hitting the end of the line. 

Interestingly, of the 60 catchers, Jeffers is the fifth-worst at CS% and Caratini is 13th, so maybe the Twins don't care as much as other teams, but, of course, they haven't seemed over the last few years to prioritize defense in general as much as other teams.

It would be interesting to see the math or logic behind your assertion that SBs don't matter much. Diaw has given up 123 SBs this year and caught 10 runners. At 0.30 runs per extra base (approximate difference in run expectancy between a 1B and 2B), that's almost 34 more runs given up. Adding those to the Twins runs for and against so far this year produces an expected winning percentage of .448, which, after 140 games, would give a winning percentage of 63-77, or four games worse than their current record. Unless you think the math is different, I guess it's the eye of the beholder whether four extra losses would matter.

Apples and oranges. 30 year old MLB pitchers are infinitely better at holding runners than inexperienced minor league pitchers. All kinds of minor league catchers have “bad” CS numbers. Also, there is less steeling in the majors as the games aren’t developmental and outs are valued much much more than one base. Yes, he’ll need to improve. But the numbers/impact don’t necessarily translate.

[jkcarew]

Young with 3 more K’s and his 33rd error of the season to open the flood gates for the improbable comeback against The Muscle. He seems like such a low-probability…albeit high upside…prospect. I hope he turns it around next season. It’s not the end of the world having to repeat A- as a 20 yo. And it seems obvious that’s what will happen. In the meantime, ranked way too high in our rankings, IMO.