Twins Minor League Report (4/20): Cossetti Continues to Clobber

TRANSACTIONS

• C Charles Mack activated from IL for Cedar Rapids
• C Wilfri Castro transferred to FCL

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 5, Scranton/WB 3
Box Score

Toby Gardenhire turned to Jose De Leon for the start tonight, and he was nothing short of spectacular. Working four scoreless innings, De Leon allowed just two hits and two walks while punching out five. He once was dangled as a trade chip for Brian Dozier, and is now pushing for a debut with the Twins.

The scoring started and ended in the third inning for the Saints. Rehabbing Twins first baseman Alex Kirilloff doubled to score both Elliot Soto and Matt Wallner. It was Soto's double that set up the additional runs. Mark Contreras continued his hot hitting with a double of his own to plate Kirilloff and Kyle Garlick. St. Paul had put up a four spot in the third inning and jumped out ahead.

Scranton clawed back with runs in the fifth inning, seventh inning, and eighth inning, but ultimately they fell just short. Hernan Perez clubbed his second hit of the night, a solo shot in the eighth inning, to give St. Paul a bit of breathing room.

Kirilloff finished his night going 2-for-3 while also being hit by a pitch.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Tulsa 3, Wichita 0
Box Score

Making the start for Wichita was Travis Adams. He lasted four innings and allowed just a pair of runs on four hits. Adams walked a pair, but also struck out four batters. The pair of runs came on a solo homer and a wild pitch.

Jonny DeLuca led off the game for the Drillers with a solo blast in the bottom of the first inning. Adams buckled down, and while he did allow Diego Cartaya to score on a second inning wild pitch, no other damage mounted.

DaShawn Keirsey Jr. made an amazing catch in centerfield to rob additional runs, but that didn't spark a Wichita comeback. The Wind Surge tallied just three hits on the evening, and Brooks Lee finally went without a hit (ending his 10-game hitting streak), though he did reach on a walk. With the lineup stalling out, a comeback was never in the works.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Beloit 3, Cedar Rapids 2
Box Score

The Kernels turned to Jordan Carr for the start on Thursday, and he worked around six hits during his 4 1/3 innings of work. While two runs came across, only one was earned. Carr allowed a walk and struck out three.

Cedar Rapids scored first when Kala’i Rosario tripled to drive in Noah Miller as the third batter of the game. It was the start of what would wind up being an impressive night for the outfielder.

After giving the run back in the bottom of the second inning, and seeing another tacked on in the fifth inning, the sixth inning saw Cedar Rapids get even. Third baseman Ben Ross smacked his second home run of the season, and his blistering start to his 2023 season continued.

Unfortunately, the Sky Carp’s Yiddi Cappe singled for the second time on the night in the seventh inning, and his RBI was the difference in this one. Adding a run, the Kernels never rallied and that hit was the difference. Rosario was the lone Kernels batter to post multiple hits, but he was a perfect 4-for-4 with a double and triple.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 11, Jupiter 1
Box Score

Cory Lewis was on the bump for Fort Myers on Thursday, and he continued to rack up strikeouts. Working five innings, he allowed just a single run on a solo shot. It was the only hit against him, and while he walked a pair, Lewis also racked up six strikeouts.

Although Lewis kept Jupiter down in the game, he was also given immediate breathing room. Andrew Cossetti stepped in with Michael Helman, Jorel Ortega, and Ricardo Olivar all on base. He drilled his fourth homer of the year, a grand slam, and put the Mighty Mussels up early. It’s been an impressive week for the slugger.

After the solo blast against Lewis, Fort Myers immediately answered. Cossetti came through again, this time with a bases-clearing double. Ortega, Danny De Andrade, and Olivar all came across the plate. Maddux Houghton followed up with a fielder’s choice to score Cossetti, and it was an 8-1 lead when the bottom of the fifth inning concluded.

Looking for more insurance runs, Houghton hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to bring Carlos Aguiar home. The Mighty Mussels plated nine runs on just six hits. Both Cossetti and De Andrade recorded a pair of hits on the evening. Helman played shortstop and led off as he is rehabbing before returning to St. Paul. He did draw a pair of walks.

Capping off the scoring, Dalton Shuffield tripled in the eighth inning to score Mikey Perez and Dylan Neuse. A 10-run rule could have been enforced, but the ninth inning didn’t change the score either. Fort Myers did a great job continuing to add runs all night long.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Cory Lewis (Fort Myers) - 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Hitter of the Day – Andrew Cossetti (Fort Myers) - 2-4, 2 R, 2B, HR(4), 7 RBI

PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins top 20 prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:

#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-3, BB, K
#8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, K
#11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-2, R, 2 BB, K
#14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, R, BB, K
#20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, BB, 2 K

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Scranton/WB @ St. Paul (6:37PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson
Wichita @ Tulsa (7:05PM CST) - LHP Aaron Rozek 
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35PM CST) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo
Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP Jose Olivares 

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