Twins Minor League Report (9/13): Kendry Rojas Returns to the Mound

[Matt Braun]

 

TRANSACTIONS

LHP Kendry Rojas activated from IL (AAA St. Paul)
C Ian Daugherty transferred to Development List (AAA St. Paul)

Saints Sentinel

St. Paul 6, Syracuse 5
Box Score
Kendry Rojas: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
HR: Kala’i Rosario 2 (10, 11), Aaron Sabato (25)
Multi-hit games: Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI)

The Saints eeked out a win in their home finale on Sunday.

Kendry Rojas! He’s back! The lefty appeared in a game for the first time since suffering a right oblique strain during his outing on August 21st. He looked normal, which is about all you can ask from a pitcher returning from injury, tossing two scoreless innings with a strikeout and a walk. He topped out at 96.7 MPH. 18 of his 28 pitches went for strikes. 

Rojas’ exit portended a tough day for Trent Baker. The righty allowed a flurry of free passes and hard contact, totaling four earned runs in just two innings. 

After Baker, though, was a masterclass, with Paulshawn Pasqualotto, Eric Orze, and Marco Raya delivering suffocating, overwhelming pitching performances. Pasqualotto struck out four over two, Orze collected a pair in one frame, and Raya opted to let his defense have more fun; he punched out one batter in his inning. Overall, the three completed four perfect innings.

St. Paul’s offense on Sunday was… condensed. Effective enough. Kala’i Rosario blasted a solo shot in the fourth to break the seal, and more blasts in the fifth completed the run barrage. First, Aaron Sabato tucked a three-run shot around the fair side of the right field foul pole, then Rosario exited the building again, with a two-run shot cracked over the famous CHS field wall in right. 

Rosario presents a conundrum for the Twins this offseason. He’s Rule 5 eligible, and though the franchise finds outfielders in great abundance, 24-year-olds at AAA with his raw pop don’t grow on trees. Might they look to protect him? And how much does the looming lockout affect their plans? We shall see.

Émilien Pitre, a wonderful name, is ranked as the 10th-best prospect in the Mets’ system. The second baseman went 0-for-3 with a walk. 

Wind Surge Wisdom

Wichita 8, Frisco 10
Box Score
Preston Johnson: 3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Marek Houston (3-for-6, 2 R), Garrett Spain (3-for-6, 2 2B, R, RBI), Brandon Winokur (4-for-6, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI), Kyle DeBarge (2-for-4, R, RBI, BB), Danny De Andrade (2-for-4, R), Luis Hernandez (2-for-4, RBI, BB)

The Wind Surge ended their season with a loss.

It was a hitting clinic for Wichita. And they weren’t here for extra-base knock: like Motown before them, hit singles were the target. 14 of them marked an incredible day of line drives, grounders with eyes, dying quails, and whatever else is needed to rack up such an overwhelming total.

Wichita scored in seven separate innings. Brandon Winokur was the biggest fueler of the onslaught, collecting four hits and three RBIs. He was also the lone highlight the WInd Surge Twitter account decided to post.

Lest you think the offense was all about hits, they also ran wild on the bases, with the team netting seven steals on the day. Kyle DeBarge swiped four bases; Quinn McDaniel, Jaime Ferrer, and Andrew Cossetti—yes, Andrew Cossetti—totaled the other three steals. Cossetti’s was his 13th in 376 minor league games. It was just that kind of day.

Unfortunately, Wichita didn’t find such luck on the mound, a curse that befall them all year as they ended with the second-worst ERA in the Texas League. Preston Johnson was worked for six runs in three innings, and Cory Lewis fared only a little better, surrendering four in four frames. 

Tippy-top prospect Sebastian Walcott—ranked ninth overall by MLB.com—played shortstop and singled once in three at-bats. 

Kernels Nuggets

The Kernels season has ended. Come back in 2027 to read more about them.

Mussel Matters

The Mighty Mussels season has ended. Come back in 2027 to read more about them. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Paulshawn Pasqualotto
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kala’i Rosario

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

#1 – Walker Jenkins (Twins) - 0-4, 3 K
#4 – Marek Houston (Wichita) - 3-6, 2 R, 2 K
#6 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Twins) - 1-4, 2 K
#9 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-3, BB, K
#12 – Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 4-6, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

No games in the Twins’ system are scheduled for Monday.

 

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[Jeff K]

Really nice seeing Houston and Winokur ending the season on a high note.  I'm looking forward to seeing both in St. Paul next season.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Twins move up to 8th in the draft lottery odds with potential to move up to 5th. Looking forward to replenishing the minor leagues after this season slipped away. Let's get a 1st round pitcher this year.

[DJL44]

Is Rojas still rookie eligible?

[rdehring]

Certainly, agree with Permanent regarding the draft.  Could the Twins again be lucky in the lottery with a top 3 pick?  Or higher?

Agree that Sunday was a perfect ending to the season for Houston and Winokur.  Will we see either of them at Target Field late next year?  Both? 

Also saw some excitement in St. Paul with the Rojas outing.  I keep hearing the Twins have 9 starters come spring training.  I don't understand, I count 11, if you include Festa and Paredes.  That's assuming they are all with the team whenever spring training begins.  Seems to make a lot of sense, at least to me, that one of those veterans should be moved over the winter as part of a deal to bring back a top high leverage reliever.

[mikelink45]

12 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Certainly, agree with Permanent regarding the draft.  Could the Twins again be lucky in the lottery with a top 3 pick?  Or higher?

Agree that Sunday was a perfect ending to the season for Houston and Winokur.  Will we see either of them at Target Field late next year?  Both? 

Also saw some excitement in St. Paul with the Rojas outing.  I keep hearing the Twins have 9 starters come spring training.  I don't understand, I count 11, if you include Festa and Paredes.  That's assuming they are all with the team whenever spring training begins.  Seems to make a lot of sense, at least to me, that one of those veterans should be moved over the winter as part of a deal to bring back a top high leverage reliever.

I have been reading about Festa all year in the we are missing Abel, Lopez and Festa like this really mattered.  We have no idea what Lopez will do after missing almost two years.  Abel has not established himself and Festa has a 5.12 ERA over two MLB years. We need some more high octane pitchers. 

[jmlease1]

56 minutes ago, Jeff K said:

Really nice seeing Houston and Winokur ending the season on a high note.  I'm looking forward to seeing both in St. Paul next season.

yes, Houston rebounded nicely after a dreadful August where it looked like he had really hit the wall (not all that unusual for a guy playing his first full pro season) and hit much more like he did in his terrific June & July. I hope that's a sign he was just a little ground down; the pro season is twice as long as the college one in terms of games and I imagine it takes some adjustment. I suspect he'll be better prepared for the grind next season, but regardless he had a very successful season and did a lot to quiet concerns about his bat. I won't be surprised if he starts the season back in Wichita, but I have little doubt that he'll be in Saint Paul fairly quickly.

Winokur had a nice last day, which is better than not, but he struggled in his conclusion at Wichita. I would still say it was a successful season for him as he did show more consistency this year and ability to let his athletic gifts play. He still needs work on his approach at the plate, but it's definitely improving. If he swings through fewer balls and chases a bit less then he's going to start looking very dangerous. I would like them to stop playing him at SS and focus on 1 infield position (like 3B) and some CF (where his athleticism plays up nicely). SS is really hard and he's exceptionally unlikely to ever play it in MLB, so why not take something off his plate? He'll be back in Wichita, but could jump up quickly if his bat takes another step forward.

[Blyleven2011]

51 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Is Rojas still rookie eligible?

Rojas has accumulated 29 innings but has 77 days service time , so I believe he has exceeded the service time and ineligible for rookie status in 2027 .

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

Twins move up to 8th in the draft lottery odds with potential to move up to 5th. Looking forward to replenishing the minor leagues after this season slipped away. Let's get a 1st round pitcher this year.

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the lottery rules; are the Twins still eligible to move up since they receive revenue sharing money and this will be at least 3 straight season in the lottery?

It certainly would be nice to add a high-level pitching prospect for sure, but I still believe in "best player available" especially for the first round of the MLB draft.

[Trov]

The lockout will affect 40 roster decisions I do believe.  I think it will affect rule 5 draft decisions too, assuming nothing will change from them, with an expected shorter season, due to lock out, a team may be willing to take a position player. 

Rosario being right handed will be a factor in putting him on the 40 man or not.  We are so left handed heavy on our outfield that having some righties will be important.  I would not be surprised if we see both Larnach and Wallner non-tendered/DFA to free up some room for someone like him.  I am sure there would be a team willing to take a flier on him just based on the raw power potential. 

[Fatbat]

27 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the lottery rules; are the Twins still eligible to move up since they receive revenue sharing money and this will be at least 3 straight season in the lottery?

Any small market team (revenue sharing payee) that picks in the top 6 for 2 consecutive seasons is not eligible for the lottery the next season. 
Houston was pick #16 in 2025 so the Twins will be in the lottery in ‘27

[Twinsoholic]

An interesting, under-the-radar player this season has been Danny Andrade. He started out terrible this season, but he got better, swatted at least 14 homers, got promoted, and played shortstop, 3rd, and 2nd. An international signee projected to be a shortstop, he may have grown out of the position, and he may never have a stronger season than the one just concluding. However, he might also be an international player who figures it out and continue to rise towards making the Twins sometime during the next couple of years. 
 

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, Twinsoholic said:

An interesting, under-the-radar player this season has been Danny Andrade. He started out terrible this season, but he got better, swatted at least 14 homers, got promoted, and played shortstop, 3rd, and 2nd. An international signee projected to be a shortstop, he may have grown out of the position, and he may never have a stronger season than the one just concluding. However, he might also be an international player who figures it out and continue to rise towards making the Twins sometime during the next couple of years. 
 

I've always been a fan. 

[Mai.K]

Setting the new negotiations aside for a moment, if the Rule 5 Draft is conducted under the same rules as before, which prospects do you think will be added to our 40-man roster after the season?

Kala’i Rosario and Sabato, both mentioned in the article, and Danny De Andrade, who was mentioned in the comments above?

In a normal year, I feel like all of these guys would probably have had a hard time making the 40-man roster...

But looking at RosterResource’s information and the 2026 stats of the players who are Rule 5 eligible, it seems like we have an unusually weak group of candidates this year.

Are there any other players I’m overlooking?

[jmlease1]

25 minutes ago, Mai.K said:

Setting the new negotiations aside for a moment, if the Rule 5 Draft is conducted under the same rules as before, which prospects do you think will be added to our 40-man roster after the season?

Kala’i Rosario and Sabato, both mentioned in the article, and Danny De Andrade, who was mentioned in the comments above?

In a normal year, I feel like all of these guys would probably have had a hard time making the 40-man roster...

But looking at RosterResource’s information and the 2026 stats of the players who are Rule 5 eligible, it seems like we have an unusually weak group of candidates this year.

Are there any other players I’m overlooking?

CJ Culpepper? He's been inconsistent, but I could see him getting added. He's the sort of player that gets taken: pitcher with something interesting about them that you could stash in the bullpen for a year and work with? He's also the kind of guy that gets offered back after showing he's not ready and you need ot have the ability to option him.

Rosario & Sabato are interesting question marks. I'm not convinced that either are real MLB players; Sabato probably deserves a shot at this point, but are the twin interested in giving it to him? Rosario is a poor defender with holes in his swing but has huge power. That's usually not a great combo and can get exploited in MLB. But both did the job in AAA this year. But Rosario was excellent in Saint Paul (better than Wichita) and Sabato out-hit some guys who got looks by the Twins this season.

If I were a bad team/rebuilding, I would pluck one of them in the Rule 5 and see what you got, but it feels like the Twins are pretty ambivalent about them.

[DJL44]

10 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Rojas has accumulated 29 innings but has 77 days service time , so I believe he has exceeded the service time and ineligible for rookie status in 2027 .

Cool, then they should get him back up to the big leagues.