Twins Minor League Week in Review (5/27-6/2): Wallner Busts Out; Keaschall, Santos Continue to Roll

TRANSACTIONS:

• INF Edouard Julien optioned to Triple-A St. Paul

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
Game 1: FCL Rays 2, FCL Twins 1
Box Score

Anthony Narvaez made the start today for the FCL Twins and he allowed just a single unearned run across four innings. Allowing three hits and a walk, Narvaez struck out nine. Walker Jenkins was not in the lineup today because he is joining Fort Myers tomorrow and being activated off the injured list.

Down 1-0 in the fifth inning, Javier Roman doubled to score Omari Daniel and the Twins tied the score with their first run. A sixth inning error by Hendry Chivilli allowed the Rays to score what wound up being the game winning run.

Roman and Anderson Nova were the only Twins players to get a hit.

Game 2: FCL Rays 7, FCL Twins 0
Box Score

Playing a makeup game for the May 16 rainout,  Yency De Jesus drew the start for the Twins. He worked three innings giving up two unearned runs. The bats were cold for the home club though as Giovanny Rivero was the only Twin to record a hit, and while it was a double, that wasn't going to get it done.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
The Twins were set to kick off their Dominican Summer League schedule on Monday against the Washington Nationals. Unfortunately weather caused a suspension of the game.

WEEK IN REVIEW
Triple-A: St. Paul Saints

• Overall: 25-31 (3-4 last week) Eighth place in the IL West
• Overview: Royce Lewis wrapped up his rehab assignment with St. Paul as they faced the former Twins Triple-A affiliate.
• Matt Wallner was joined by Michael Helman as the only players to appear in all seven games this week. He was dialed in with a 1.331 OPS, three doubles, and four home runs.
• Diego A. Castillo (.417), Tony Kemp (.391), Yunior Severino (.333), and Michael Helman (.333) all batted above .300.
• Adam Plutko turned in a scoreless start working four innings and striking out four.
• Louie Varland’s six strikeouts were a team high on the bump.
• What’s Next: It remains a New York state of mind but this time at CHS Field. St. Paul hosts Syracuse this week.

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge

• Overall: 19-31 (1-5 last week) Fifth place in the Texas League North
• Overview: Facing the top team in the Texas League North, it was tough sledding for the Wind Surge.
• Aaron Sabato posted a .471 average and 1.232 OPS with a double and a homer.
• Kyler Fedko also batted over .400, going 5-for-12 with three doubles.
• Luke Keaschall made his Double-A debut and acted like nothing had changed. He was 8-for-25 (.320) with a double.
• Austin Brice worked 2 2/3 innings of relief and posted a 7/1 K/BB.
• Jaylen Nowlin had a highlight start working 5 2/3 innings scoreless.
• What’s Next: NW Arkansas is just above Wichita in the Texas League North standings, and the Wind Surge will face them for a road series this week.

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels

• Overall: 30-20 (2-4 last week) First place in the Midwest League West
• Overview: Facing the top team on the East side of the Midwest League, the Kernels had a losing week.
• Misael Urbina and Dillon Tatum each had a pair of doubles and a dinger.
• Ricardo Olivar hit three longballs and his 17 total bases were nearly double the next closest teammate.
• Juan Mendez threw four scoreless innings in relief and his five strikeouts were a team high.
• A.J. Labas pitched a team high six innings across two relief outings allowing just a single run.
• What’s Next: Going to Great Lakes for a series, Cedar Rapids plays against the second best team in the Midwest League East.

Low-A: Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

• Overall: 24-27 (5-1 last week) Fourth place in Florida State League West
• Overview: Going up against a Bradenton team near them in the standings, Fort Myers handled business losing just one of the six games.
• Payton Eeles and Carlos Aguiar were on fire with each batting over .400 and posting a 1.200 OPS. Eeles also had the only Fort Myers homer and four stolen bases.
• Poncho Ruiz and Brandon Winokur each had a pair of doubles this week.
• Brooks Lee was with the Mighty Mussels on a rehab assignment and owned an .818 OPS.
• Ross Dunn worked a three inning start allowing just one (unearned) run while striking out four.
• A bunch of Fort Myers pitchers had scoreless weeks but Nolan Santos did so across five innings with an 11/1 K/BB.
• Samuel Perez had 10 strikeouts across 6 2/3 scoreless innings.
• What’s Next: Traveling to Tampa, the Mighty Mussels squad off against the bottom team in the Florida State League West division.

Complex League: FCL Twins

• Overall: 13-7 (2-2 last week) First place (tied) in Florida Complex League South
• Walker Jenkins continued his rehab assignment and lit up the FCL with a .462 average and 1/6 K/BB.
• Ricardo Pena, Dameury Pena, and Anderson Nova each went deep this week and all three had an OPS north of .900.
• Yilber Herrera, Yasser Mercedes, and Harold Grant each had a pair of steals.
• Cory Lewis continued his rehab assignment with a scoreless three-inning start. He struck out four.
• Dylan Questad made the best start of his young career going three scoreless innings and striking out five.

PROSPECT SUMMARY

#1– Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) – Rehab with FCL - 6-13, 5 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 1 K, 6 BB
#2 – Brooks Lee (St. Paul) – Rehab with Fort Myers - 6-18, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 K, 3 BB, SB
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) – DNP, IL
#4 – David Festa (St. Paul) – 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
#5 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – DNP, IL 
#6 – Marco Raya (Wichita) – 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, K
#7 – Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) – 2.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
#8 – Austin Martin (St. Paul) – 5-18, 5 R, 2 RBI, 2 K, 5 BB
#9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) - 8-25, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI, 5 K, BB, SB
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 4-13, 4 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 K, 4 BB
#12 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 4-20, 2 R, 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 8 K, 5 BB
#13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 3-19, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI, 6 K, 1 BB
#14 – Zebby Matthews (Wichita) – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
#15 – Cory Lewis (Wichita) – Rehab with FCL - 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
#18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 6-18, 2 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 7 K, 3 BB
#19 – C.J. Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) – 3.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 8-26, 3 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 6 K

Hitter of the Week - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 7-24, 8 R, 3 2B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 7 K, 4 BB

Pitcher of the Week - Nolan Santos (Fort Myers) - 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 11 K, 2 SV