Twins Minor League Report (9/8): Caden Kendle's Two Homers Lift Wichita Over Frisco

[Steve Lein]

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Caden Kendle)

TRANSACTIONS

• Minnesota Twins OF Austin Martin was sent on a rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints. He slotted in as the designated hitter and batted second in the lineup to start their game.
• RHP Yehizon Sanchez was assigned to the Wichita Wind Surge from the Cedar Rapids Kernels to bolster their pitching staff. This will be his second stint with the Wind Surge this season, as he made four appearances with them in early June before being returned to the Kernels.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Syracuse 5, St. Paul 4
Box Score
With the St. Paul Saints clinging to a faint playoff hope to begin their final home series of the season, they sent right-hander Ricky Castro to the mound Tuesday against the Syracuse Mets at CHS field on Tuesday night.

The Mets didn’t waste any time against him. A leadoff walk and stolen base put the first batter of the game in scoring position, and the second drove him in with an RBI single and very early 1-0 deficit for the Saints. Castro responded with a one-two-three top of the second, but although he finished four innings total, allowed further damage in each of the third and fourth frames. In the third it was another RBI single, and in the fourth it was back-to-back homers from #OldFriend Billy Amick and Vidal Brujan that made it 4-0 Syracuse. Amick’s blast was his 36th on the season, which ranks top five in all of the minor leagues this season.

The St. Paul lineup was finally able to muster a rally in the bottom of the fifth. After a nifty diving stop and shovel to start a double play in the top half, Tristan Gray started the bottom half with a single to right. After a pair of outs Emmanuel Rodriguez was hit by a pitch before the rehabbing Austin Martin sent a liner into center field for their first run of the game.

Matt Wallner led off the bottom of the sixth by getting plunked by a pitch, and Aaron Sabato followed with a single to put multiple runners on. A wild pitch moved each of them up a base and then a pair of groundouts from Cody Morrissette and Gray each scored a run to close the Mets lead to one run.

The Saints bullpen stabilized the middle innings after Castro’s exit, with C.J. Culpepper being the first arm summoned to start the fifth inning. Despite allowing a single and walking a pair of batters, he kept his inning clean by inducing an inning ending double-play ball shown above. Matt Bowman was next and was perfect over the next two frames, striking out four. Marco Raya added a scoreless eighth inning to keep the score at 4-3 going into the bottom of the eighth.

With one out, Wallner sent a deep fly ball the other way toward the line and it was just too long of a run for the left-fielder, who wasn’t able to corral it, allowing him to walk into second base with a double. Two batters later Morissette did the same thing to the right-fielder, though he hit a liner instead of a fly ball that caromed off the glove and kept rolling toward the fence. Wallner came around to tie the game at four and put the go-ahead run in scoring position.

Unfortunately, the Saints committed a gaffe in strategy in my opinion after that with a double-steal attempt. The Mets catcher kept a keen eye between the runners and opted to throw down Gray at second base easily to end the inning and the threat.

In the top of the ninth the Saints sent out Julian Merryweather looking to continue the bullpen’s success. With one out Brujan drew a walk and then stole second base to give the Mets a chance. A two-out double brought then gave the Mets back a one run lead going into the final half inning.

Jake Rucker led off by striking out, and the hot-home-run-hitting Kala’i Rosario was brought in to pinch hit for number nine hitter Noah Cardenas. He grounded out to the pitcher for out number two, bringing up Emmanuel Rodriguez as their last chance. He jumped on the first pitch down the middle of the plate, but chopped it to first baseman for the final out.

Seven of the nine hitters in the Saints lineup collected a hit in this one, but because they totaled only seven hits, that means none of them had multiple knocks. Wallner led the way with a double, two runs scored, a walk, and was hit by a pitch. Morissette drove in two runs. Martin finished 1-for-4 with an RBI in the first game of his rehab.

With 11 games left to play in the season, the Saints trail the top second-half International League team, the Rochester Red Wings, by three games. Only the first-half and second-half leaders receive playoff spots in the International League, with the winner of their three-game playoff series facing off against the Pacific Coast League counterparts in a Triple-A-winner-takes-all championship game to end the minor league season.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Frisco 2, Wichita 8
Box Score
Unlike their Triple-A teammates, the Wichita Wind Surge unfortunately are not in playoff contention in the Texas League. They finished last in their division in the first half of the season, and as it comes to a close are fighting to stay out of the position in the second half with their final series against the Frisco RoughRiders, who clinched a playoff spot in the first half.

They sent the speed-knuckleballing Cory Lewis to the bump in game one, and he did his part over the first four innings. After allowing a leadoff single to end a no-hit bid before it even started, Lewis struck out the next two hitters he faced before getting a groundout to end the inning. He retired the side in order in the second, including two strikeouts, before serving up a two-run homer to top 10 prospect in baseball, Sebastian Walcott in the third. This gave the RoughRiders a brief 2-1 lead, but it was also the only runs they would get in the game.

The Wind Surge struck first in the bottom of the opening frame thanks to the enflamed bat of Caden Kendle. His solo home run was his 10th with Wichita.

After Frisco took the lead in the third, Kendle again sheathed his bat in fire before taking a swing for his 11th to put Wichita back in front for good 4-2.

The offense tacked on three more in the fourth thanks to singles from Kyle DeBarge and Jaime Ferrer, followed by a double from Graham Brown and two-run single from Marek Houston. They added their eighth run in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single from Brown.

After Lewis finished the first four innings Hunter Gregory pitched a scoreless fifth inning to be credited with the win. In this day’s “quirks of stat lines” entry, Gregory allowed two hits and walked two batters but did not allow a run as Walcott apparently attempted to steal home with the bases loaded…but didn’t.

Right-hander Sam Armstrong came on for the sixth and finished out the game with an excellent four innings for his first save of the season. He scattered three singles and struck out five to close it out.

Kendle (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, K), Brandon Winokur (2-for-4, K, 2 SB), DeBarge (2-for-4, 2 R), Ferrer (2-for-4, R, RBI, BB), and Brown (2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI) each had two hits in the win.

KERNELS NUGGETS
The Cedar Rapids Kernels endured a woeful 2026 campaign, finishing the season with a 48-82 overall record, easily the worst in the Midwest League. Over a 162-game season that is a 60-win pace. They fared much better in the first half of the season, finishing 31-33, but that means they didn’t even win 20 games in the second half.

While their overall hitting ranked in the middle to lower-half of the Midwest League, it was their pitching that stood out the most as a contributor. Their 6.38 ERA as a team was worst in the circuit by 0.68 points and their .270 batting average against also ranked last.

Among players with at least 200 at-bats, Eduardo Tait led the team with 22 home runs and 73 RBI on the season. Marek Houston paced the squad with a .325 batting average. .406 on-base-percentage, and .461 slugging percentage before he was promoted to Wichita.

As far as pitchers with more than 40 innings on the season, Riley Quick’s 4.14 ERA led the way. Ivran Romero led the staff with 87 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings.

MUSSEL MATTERS
The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels had a strong first half of the season, finishing 37-28, but that was only good for second in their division, so they missed out on clinching a playoff spot. In the second half they finished 31-32 and well out of contention. So, despite being one of four teams to finish the year with an overall record above .500, they miss out on the Florida State League playoffs.

The Mighty Mussels offense ranked pretty highly among their FSL peers in team hitting categories, leading the league in stolen bases and on-base percentage. They ranked top three in runs, home runs, walks, batting average, and slugging percentage. The pitching staff also fared well in the league as a whole, posting a top three ERA, limiting walks, and allowing the fewest home runs in the league.

With 200 at-bats as the baseline, the Mighty Mussels were led in home runs by JP Smith and Quentin Young with 15. Young had 54 RBI. Luis Fragoza led the way in batting average (.322) and slugging percentage (.607).

Standouts on the pitching side included Merit Jones (5-1, 3.56 ERA, 102 K, 93 2/3 IP), Michael Hilker (6-2, 2.75 ERA, 64 K, 52 1/3 IP), and Reed Moring (1-1, 2.60 ERA, 56 K, 52 IP).

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Matt Bowman, St. Paul Saints (2 IP, 4 K)
Hitter of the Day – Caden Kendle, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, K)

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

#1 - OF Walker Jenkins (Minnesota): 0-for-3, K
#3 - SS Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota): 0-for-3, 2 K
#4 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita): 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI, BB
#6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 0-for-4, K
#12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita): 2-for-4, K, 2 SB (10)
#13 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita): 0-for-3, R

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Syracuse @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - RHP German Marquez (0-2, 5.68 ERA)
Frisco @ Wichita (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Preston Johnson (1-3, 3.86 ERA)

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

 

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[Coach]

How can Caden Kendle not be considered one of our top 20 prospects?  Being 24 yrs old should not be a factor.

[DJL44]

I am ready to see Martin up for Gonzalez 

[bean5302]

39 minutes ago, Coach said:

How can Caden Kendle not be considered one of our top 20 prospects?  Being 24 yrs old should not be a factor.

Kendle certainly has an interesting path. Generally, age + level + experience are factors. Kendle was signed as a senior from NCAA Div I. On the surface, you'd expect him to be over-experienced in MiLB, where it can be easy for experienced players to show polish over talent. Kendle's a little different.

He missed Jr and Sr years of high school, but absolutely raked after he gained weight back. He did have a hiccup in Cedar Rapids his first time through, but he's proving quite a bit at AA.

I can't say I love the K vs. BB rates, and the BABIP is floating his production a lot in AA, but I don't see a reason why he wouldn't pass by a guy like Young.

[MapleGroveTwinsFan]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I am ready to see Martin up for Gonzalez 

Why? the Twins have a 3% chance of making the playoffs, does Martin change that? IMO we know Martin is a backup player on any team trying to win. These last few weeks need to be used to see what some of the young guys have, I would be fine with not seeing much or any of Bell, Larnach, Lewis, Martin, Kreidler, or for that matter Clemens (but he is likely back so you don't want to piss him off)the rest of the season

[DJL44]

7 minutes ago, MapleGroveTwinsFan said:

Why? the Twins have a 3% chance of making the playoffs, does Martin change that? IMO we know Martin is a backup player on any team trying to win. These last few weeks need to be used to see what some of the young guys have, I would be fine with not seeing much or any of Bell, Larnach, Lewis, Martin, Kreidler, or for that matter Clemens (but he is likely back so you don't want to piss him off)the rest of the season

Gonzalez is an average AAA player. He shouldn’t have been called up in the first place. Sitting on the bench in the majors isn’t doing him any good.

[DJL44]

44 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Kendle certainly has an interesting path. Generally, age + level + experience are factors. Kendle was signed as a senior from NCAA Div I. On the surface, you'd expect him to be over-experienced in MiLB, where it can be easy for experienced players to show polish over talent. Kendle's a little different.

He missed Jr and Sr years of high school, but absolutely raked after he gained weight back. He did have a hiccup in Cedar Rapids his first time through, but he's proving quite a bit at AA.

I can't say I love the K vs. BB rates, and the BABIP is floating his production a lot in AA, but I don't see a reason why he wouldn't pass by a guy like Young.

He’s unlikely to hit .380 in the majors like he has in Double-A but there is a lot of room to fall and still contribute. He absolutely should begin 2027 in AAA. He should be in the 15-20 range for Twins prospects.

[LambchoP]

We should be playing and starting Jenkins, Culpeper, Keaschal, Rodriguez and maybe even Sabato every day. We need to get a jump on next years lineup and decide where we need to improve in FA. I'd say we are set in the field everywhere but catcher(depending on the Jeffers situation) and first base. Royce has had his chance, we need to do better. Aside from that, we need pitching, pitching and more pitching.

[DJL44]

17 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

We should be playing and starting Jenkins, Culpeper, Keaschal, Rodriguez and maybe even Sabato every day. We need to get a jump on next years lineup and decide where we need to improve in FA. I'd say we are set in the field everywhere but catcher(depending on the Jeffers situation) and first base. Royce has had his chance, we need to do better. Aside from that, we need pitching, pitching and more pitching.

The free agent market is providing second basemen. The Twins could easily fit a new 2B into their infield.

They need upgrades on defense, but those might come from within from Jenkins and Rodriguez.

[rdehring]

Kendle sure has gotten a lot of folk's interest.  Sure got mine this year.

Does he have a future in the show?  And if so, what role?  Your opinion, Steve?

[jmlease1]

8 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Kendle sure has gotten a lot of folk's interest.  Sure got mine this year.

Does he have a future in the show?  And if so, what role?  Your opinion, Steve?

He'd have a better chance if he were a real CF? Too soon to tell for him; he simply hasn't played that many games, really. Keep pushing him up to AAA next season and see if he can stay on the field and keep raking. Maybe he gets a shot. Feels a little fringy right now.

[Steve Lein]

28 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Kendle sure has gotten a lot of folk's interest.  Sure got mine this year.

Does he have a future in the show?  And if so, what role?  Your opinion, Steve?

Whatever adjustment/development he's had in the past year is certainly producing dividends.

The power increase is very notable, but as a corner outfield prospect that was drafted as a senior from a big baseball college, he's kind of meeting expectations more than drastically exceeding them, I think. 

He's been on the fringe of my top 20 votes, and would likely be in them if I were making another vote today. This is certainly an extended run of elite performance though, so I also am by no means counting that out.

K-rate is solid (my barometer is less K's than games played, and he's comfortably under that on the season), but the walk rate has lagged quite a bit in Double-A. He's getting by with hits, which I will not complain about, but those are less trustworthy as predictors as prospects advance toward the majors.

At this point he'd be in the same type of future role and tier as guys like Kyler Fedko, Carson McCusker, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Kala'i Rosario. Might find a role, but being a corner-only guy limits the opportunity unless he keeps crashing through it.

All that being said, he should probably run away with any "Breakout" prospect award. 😀

Edited 1 hour ago by Steve Lein

[Dman]

1 hour ago, Coach said:

How can Caden Kendle not be considered one of our top 20 prospects?  Being 24 yrs old should not be a factor.

I am a prospect believer.  Give me the smallest reason to hope and I will believe.  I really like what Kendle has been doing.  I think he had even splits with 15% Walk and K rate at high A so I think he has the plate discipline needed to get good pitches to hit.  The walk rate has dropped at AA but his K rate is still under 20% which tells me he has good contact skills despite taking on a more aggressive approach.  It's really only two months of good data, but I think he has what it takes with the bat to make it.

One thing that makes me nervous is his unsustainably high BABIP which is in the .400's.  He isn't an up the middle player so his bat will have to be really good and have power for a corner spot as I don't think he is a plus runner.  I don't know much about his defense but I think it solid for a corner spot.

I have jumped on late bloomers like Prato, Eeles, Fedko and others only to be disappointed in the end so I know enough not to get too excited just yet.  Still the way he hit AA running and has kept it going has me very intrigued. He'll have to do it again next year, but I think he can do it.  Both he and Houston hit AA at about the same time and faced essentially the same pitching and Kendle has been much better with the bat.  Just gonna need more data to see if it is sustainable or not and if it is then he has to be able somehow hit MLB pitching which is the hardest transition of them all.

Not sure I'd give him top 20 status just yet, but likely top 30 or just outside it.