Twins Minor League Week in Review (5/8-5/14)

Don't forget to check out Nick's Week in Review.

TRANSACTIONS 

• Dereck Rodriguez was claimed off waivers by the Braves. Rodriguez was optioned to St. Paul on Saturday and it appears the Twins tried to slide him through waivers. There is now an open spot on the 40-man roster.
• Royce Lewis had his rehab transferred to St. Paul. He'll need to be re-added to the 40-man before being activated. He cannot come off of the 60-Day IL until June 1st. 

RESULTS

• Tuesday (5/9): Helboy? No, He Is a Helman!
• Wednesday (5/10): Big Bats, Big Innings, and Big Returns
• Thursday (5/11): Royce Returns
• Friday (5/12): Power Hitting and Solid Pitching Leads to Affiliate Wins
• Saturday (5/13): Offense Continues to Surge for Wichita
• Sunday (5/14): No-No for the Moms!

MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT 

• Minnesota Twins 2017 Draft Retrospective: Lewis Early, Ober Late
• Respect Michael Helman
• It's Louie's Time to Shine
• The Twins Shouldn't Ask Brooks Lee to Save the Team's Offense

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

• St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05PM CST) - RHP Jose De Leon (0-2, 3.62 ERA)
• Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - TBD
• Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - TBD
• Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30PM CST) - TBD

WEEK IN REVIEW 
Triple-A: St. Paul Saints (Week: 3-3)

• Overall: 21-16, 2.0 games back in the International League West. 
• Overview: The Saints split with Indianapolis, who is below .500 on the season but is one of the hottest teams in the International League as they game into the series on a five-game winning streak.
• 🔥: Trevor Larnach came back to St. Paul and had seven hits with four extra base hits (two doubles and two home runs) in four games and 14 at-bats before heading back to Minneapolis.
• 🔥: Michael Helman continued his hot stretch before going on the injured list with a shoulder injury. He collected six hits in 12 at-bats and had a double, triple and home run. He drove in eight runs over three games. 
• 🥶: Neither Ronny Henriquez, Simeon Woods Richardson nor Josh Winder had memorable weeks. They combined to give up 18 runs on 22 hits in only 10 2/3 innings. Their combined seven walks matched their combined seven strikeouts. 
• 🔥: …on the flip side of that, the bullpen (minus Henriquez, Winder and Connor Sadzeck) combined to throw 17 2/3 shutout innings. That’s quite impressive.
•  🥶: Jose Miranda played in only three games, but in his 12 at-bats only had two hits. He walked once and struck out twice. After appearing to be the third baseman of the future recently, there is plenty of competition for that title currently.
• What's Next: The Saints head to Columbus who, like Indianapolis, is 18-20. But their +41 run differential and 22-16 expected win-loss record suggests they’re a better team than their record shows. 

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge (Week: 5-0)

• Overall: 15-17, 6.5 games back in the Texas League North.
• Overview: The only thing that could stop the Wind Surge from going 6-0 this week was the weather as Sunday’s game was rained out. So the team will have to settle for 5-0. 
•  🔥: Yunior Severino deserves more than one fire emoji. He had 11 hits in 22 at-bats with a double and four home runs. He drove in eight and scored nine times. With all the attention on Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis, Severino has flown under the radar. He’s played mostly at third base but is also dabbling in left field now. He went hitless in 14 at-bats earlier this month but is now hitting .286/.375/.619 on the season.
•  🔥: David Festa allowed four hits and two walks in five innings. He took struck out four and the lone run scored was unearned. 
• 😏: Royce Lewis. He’s back!
•  🥶: Brooks Lee went 1-for-18 this week. He’s going to get back to hitting soon, but a good sign that his team can win five games without getting much of any production from Lee.
• What's Next: At home against Arkansas (22-11) who is tied for first place.

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels (Week: 5-2)

• Overall: 18-15, 2.5 games back in the Midwest League West. 
• Overview: The Kernels dropped two of their first three, but ended with a four-game winning streak. 
•  🔥: Jordan Carr threw six shutout innings in his lone start, striking out six while allowing four hits and two walks.
•  🔥: Noah Cardenas was limited to only 15 at-bats, but tied for a team-high with six hits.
•  🔥: Marco Raya is still on a short leash, but he struck out four in three one-hit innings. 
•  🥶: Noah Miller got only two hits in 25 at-bats. He also struck out seven times.
•  🥶: Emmanuel Rodriguez struck out 12 times and has now struck out 32 times in 55 at-bats. 
• What's Next: A two-week homestand, which begins with Peoria (18-15). Cedar Rapids and Peoria are in a second-place tie behind Beloit.

Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels (Week: 6-0)

• Overall: 19-14, 5.0 games behind Clearwater in the Florida State League West after making up three games in the standings. 
• Overview: Fort Myers got the brooms out against Tampa and ended the series with an exclamation point when they no-hit the Tarpons on Sunday.
•  🔥: Cory Lewis faced 17 batters and retired every one of them, striking out seven (including four on his knuckleball). He was the first leg of a no-hitter. The bullpen didn’t give up a hit, but they blew the perfecto (on a strikeout/wild pitch).
•  🔥: After a week of being human, Andrew Cossetti got back to doing ridiculous things. In 14 at-bats, he got five hits (including a double and two home runs), plus he walked six times, drove in seven runs and stole a base. His OPS was 1.381. It’s time to promote him.
•  🔥: Speaking of promotions, Jorel Ortega was 9-23 with two doubles, a triple and a home run. He did strike out eight times, but drew two walks and also stole a base (in two tries). He should move up too.
•  🔥: Danny De Andrade shouldn’t move up because he’s so young, but a 7-for-19 week is what he needed. He doubled, homered, stole a base and struck out five times versus four walks. 
•  🔥: C.J. Culpepper wasn’t perfect, but was really good. He struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed a run on four hits and a walk.
•  🔥: Develson Aria bounced back after a poor showing. He struck out seven in five innings. He walked three and gave up two hits, but no runs.
• What's Next: The Mighty Mussels will hit the road for two weeks, beginning with a stop at Lakeland (13-20). 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week. The Prospect Tracker will be updated several times throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. (Season-long stats will be in parenthesis.)

• 20. Misael Urbina, OF, Cedar Rapids: 5-for-21, 2B, 3 RBI, R, 2 BB, 8 K. (.150/.239/.240. .479 OPS) 
• 19. Jose Rodriguez, OF: Extended Spring Training
• 18. Tanner Schobel, 2B, Cedar Rapids: 6-for-23, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI, 5 R, 5 BB, 5 K. (.239/.315/.389. .704 OPS), played one game at second base (12 total) and committed no errors in four chances (two in 50 chances total); played six games at third base and had one error in 10 chances (has committed one error in 32 total chances in 15 games).
• 17. Ronny Henriquez, RHP: St Paul: 0-0, 10.80 ERA, 3.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K. (3.30 WHIP, .533 BAA)
• 16. Jordan Balazovic, RHP, St. Paul: 0-1, 3.52 ERA, 7.2 IP (2 starts), 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 9 K. (1.29 WHIP, .200 BAA)
• 15. Matt Canterino, RHP: Still recovering from Tommy John surgery.
• 14. Noah Miller, SS, Cedar Rapids: 2-for-25, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 K, 3 SB. (.200/.287/.258. .545 OPS), played shortstop in six games (25 total) and committed one error in 29 chances (three errors in 103 total chances); played one game (five total) at second base and committed no errors in no chances (15 total).
• 13. David Festa, RHP, Wichita: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 47 K. (1.34 WHIP, .257 BAA)
• 12. Yasser Mercedes, OF: Extended Spring Training
• 11. Matt Wallner, OF, St. Paul: 5-for-14, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB, 4 K. (.280/.423/.537. 960 OPS); Minnesota: (.000/.273/.000. .273 OPS)
• 10. Austin Martin, SS: Martin is still recovering from an arm injury.
• 9. Louie Varland, RHP, St. Paul: 1-0, 1.69 ERA, 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 K. (1.27 WHIP, .263 BAA); Minnesota: 1-0, 4.30 ERA, 6.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 HRA, BB, 7 K. (1.23 WHIP, .247 BAA)
• 8. Jose Salas, INF, Cedar Rapids: 3-for-20, 2 2B, 3RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 CS (.156/.250/.219. .469 OPS), played one at shortstop and had no chances (two errors in 26 chances in eight games total) and one game (seven total) at third base with an error in four chances (two errors in 16 total chances). He played four games (11 total) at second base with no errors in 18 chances (no errors in 41 total chances).
• 7. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids: On the injured list, but expected to resume throwing. (1.75 WHIP, .294 BAA)
• 6. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 10.38 ERA, 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 HRA, 1 BB, 4 K (1.59 WHIP, .295 BAA); Minnesota: (2.14 WHIP, .350 BAA)
• 5. Edouard Julien, 2B, St. Paul: 6-for-28, 2B, 5 R, 5 BB, 6 K. (.276/.427/.480. .907 OPS), has played all 23 games at second base and has committed two errors in 106 chances; Minnesota: (.222/.276/.444. .720 OPS)
• 4. Marco Raya, RHP, Cedar Rapids: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, H, 4 K. (1.84 WHIP, .184 BAA)
• 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 4-22, R, 3 BB, 12 K, 2 CS. (.164/.309/.382. 691 OPS)
• 2. Royce Lewis, SS: Wichita: 2-6, 2B, RBI, 3 R, BB, 3 K, 2 SB. (.333/.500/.500. 1.000 OPS), played one game (one total) at shortstop and committed no errors in four chances. Lewis played one game (one total) at third base and committed no errors in one chance.
• 1. Brooks Lee, SS, Wichita: 7-for-22, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 3 K. (.263/.323/.439. .762 OPS), played three games (27 total) at shortstop and committed no errors in 12 chances (three errors in 112 total chances). Lee played one game (one total) at third base and committed one error in three chances.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (as voted on by fans on Twitter... except for this week, where 81% of voters agreed it was "obviously these two.")

• PITCHER - Cory Lewis, Fort Myers.  The following tweet says it all. The Mighty Mussels combined for a no-hitter on Sunday, but when Lewis left the game he had retired all 17 batters he had faced. He had a perfect week... and it's hard to not be recognized for that.
• HITTER - Yunior Severino, Wichita.  Severino wasn't perfect... but he was as close as a hitter is going to get in a week's worth of games. 

Who would have been your picks? Any early season surprises or disappointments? Ask questions and discuss the Twins prospects in the COMMENTS below.