Twins Minor League Report (4/6): Affiliates Get Underway

TRANSACTIONS

• 2B Jorge Polanco assigned to Fort Myers for rehab assignment
• RHP Oliver Ortega (shoulder strain) placed on IL for St. Paul
• RHP Owen Griffith placed on IL for Cedar Rapids
• LHP Christian MacLeod placed on IL for Cedar Rapids
• RHP Mikey Paredes placed on IL for Cedar Rapids
• RHP Marco Raya placed on IL for Cedar Rapids
• LHP Zarion Sharpe placed on IL for Cedar Rapids
• RHP Zaquiel Puentes (forearm) placed on IL for Fort Myers
• C Nate Baez (hamate) placed on IL for Fort Myers
• RHP Logan Campbell (Tommy John) placed on IL for Fort Myers

SAINTS SENTINEL 
Iowa 12, St. Paul 11
Box Score

After a few days worth of postponements the St. Paul Saints finally got to usher in their 2023 regular season. Although it wasn’t quite the warm weather baseball fans had been hoping for, 37 degrees and sunshine was a good deal better than what Minnesota has seen in recent days.

Bailey Ober got the start for St. Paul with the rotation being shuffled a bit. Louie Varland will go tomorrow with Jordan Balazovic starting one of the Saturday doubleheader games. Twins Daily’s Theo Tollefson provided an in depth game recap for St. Paul’s home opener and you can check that out here.

Also, Edouard Julien rakes.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 4, Springfield 1
Box Score

Blayne Enlow got the Opening Day start for the Wind Surge. After an offseason in which he was removed from the 40-man roster, and a spring where he saw up and down results, a strong season could vault him right back into the Twins plans. Working five innings of one-run ball, Enlow's only damage was a solo shot by Cardinals prospect Irving Lopez. He punched out six and walked just one while allowing four hits.

For the Wind Surge, they got on the board first this season and it was DaShawn Keirsey Jr. driving in Brooks Lee with a single in the 1st inning. It wasn't until the 7th inning that the Wind Surge would jump ahead. Alerick Soularie took advantage of an error to score Keirsey Jr. before Lee singled scoring Soularie for the lead. Yunior Severino then singled to drive in Lee and the score was pushed to 4-1.

Up by three in a save situation Alex Scherff stepped up for the first save opportunity of the year. Pedro Pages flew out in this first at bat before Justin Toerner went down on strikes. Todd Lott entered the box having gone 0-for-3 on the night and his ground out to Aaron Sabato gave the Wind Surge a victory.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 2
Box Score

On the road in Peoria, Jaylen Nowlin took the ball for the Kernels. An underrated pitching prospect, he went four innings allowing just a single unearned run. Nowlin punched out four and walked three but gave up only a single hit. Finishing with 73 pitches, it was a good first start of the year.

After getting behind by a run in the 3rd inning, Cedar Rapids answered with a run of their own in the 6th inning. Misael Urbina put the ball in play and reached on a fielder's choice while Emmanuel Rodriguez scampered across the plate.

Peoria retook the lead in the 7th inning but that was short lived as the Kernels had a quick answer. Noah Cardenas blasted his first home run of the season to tie things, and former first round pick Keoni Cavaco singled to drive in Jose Salas. Acquired in the Luis Arraez trade, Salas has quickly made his presence felt in Twins Territory.

Miguel Rodriguez was given the Kernels first save opportunity for the season and he immediately punched out two. Osvaldo Tovalin stepped in for Peoria and grounded out to end the game allowing Cedar Rapids an opportunity to open with a win.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Dunedin 4, Fort Myers 2 (F/6)
Box Score

The story here was Minnesota Twins second basemen Jorge Polanco starting a rehab assignment. Despite missing the vast majority of spring training, he was batting second and playing second for the Mighty Mussels on Opening Day. A tarp pull had to happen because Southwest Florida weather exists, but Polanco got five innings in and went 1-for-3 at the plate.

2023 draft pick Cory Lewis made the start and worked 4 1/3 innings. He did allow four runs on six hits, but struck out four while walking just two. Zach Veen took over in relief.

Dunedin plated runs in both the 2nd and 3rd innings, but Fort Myers answered in the 3rd inning. Dalton Shuffield, who played briefly at Triple-A last year, launched his first dinger of the season. After Dunedin added another pair, it was Dylan Neuse that lifted a sacrifice fly in the 5th inning to score Mikey Perez and make it a 4-2 ballgame.

Thanks to the rain, this one was called after just six innings and everyone was cheated out of a full game to start the season.

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Iowa @ St. Paul (6:37PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland
Wichita @ Springfield (6:35PM CST) - RHP David Festa
Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD

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