Twins Minor League Report (8/23): Garlick Roasts Storm Chasers with Five Hits

Kyle Garlick signed a guaranteed contract to avoid arbitration before this season. Near the end of spring training, he was DFAd and outrighted to the Saints. He has played 14 games with the Twins, and when he was DFAd a second time, he decided to remain in the organization. Last week, the Twins claimed outfielder Jordan Luplow whose skill set is incredibly similar to Garlick's. On Wednesday night, Garlick reminds us that he doesn't want to be (and shouldn't be) forgotten. 

The short-season affiliates’ seasons came to an end on Tuesday. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Wednesday. 

   Minnesota Twins: 65-62
   St. Paul Saints: 70-51
   Wichita Wind Surge: 53-62
   Cedar Rapids Kernels: 72-44
   Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 57-59
   FCL Twins: 25-29 (season complete)
   DSL Twins: 14-37 (season complete)  

Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. 

TRANSACTIONS
-As we learned on Tuesday night, 2023 first-round pick, outfielder Walker Jenkins, was promoted to Low-A Fort Myers on Wednesday. He is expected to be in the lineup on Thursday.
-Lefty Develson Aria and infielder Kamron Willman were transferred to the Development List of Fort Myers.  

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 6, Omaha 4
Box Score
Kyle Garlick had five hits to help lead the Saints to a two-run win in Nebraska. 

The Saints got off to a fast start. Andrew Stevenson started the game with a double and advanced to third on a throwing error. Austin Martin walked and then stole second base. Garlick ripped a single to center to score Stevenson. Brooks Lee followed with a single that drove in Martin with the second run. Garlick scored on a ground out. 

In the fifth inning, the Saints added another run. Anthony Prato doubled Garlick, who singled, to third base. Garlick scored on a Trevor Larnach sacrifice fly. That gave the Saints a 4-1 lead. Omaha came back and tied the game at 4-4 after eight frames. 

However, the Saints responded in the top of the ninth. With one out, Stevenson got on with a bunt single and his 41st stolen base advanced him to second base. After a pop out, Kyle Garlick came through again with an RBI double. Brooks Lee blooped a single to right field to drive Garlick in with the sixth run. 

Kyle Garlick went 5-for-5 with his 17th double. Andrew Stevenson went 3-for-5 with his 23rd double. Brooks Lee went 2-for-5. Anthony Prato went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 21st double. 

Blayne Enlow served as the Opener. He gave up a hit, walked one, and struck out three batters in two scoreless innings. Patrick Murphy came on and worked the next five innings. He was charged with two runs on three hits (two solo homers). He struck out nine batters. Kody Funderburk came on for the eighth inning and gave up a two-run homer that tied the game at four. However, he worked a scoreless ninth inning. So he had a blown save but then improved to 4-1. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 5, Arkansas 1
Box Score
The Wind Surge scored in four different innings, and they received some great pitching throughout this game to score a really nice win. 

David Festa’s season in Double-A has been filled with ups and downs, but his start on Wednesday night was definitely a positive. The Twins representative in the Futures Game this year gave up one run on just two hits over five innings. He had seven strikeouts without any walks. 

At that point, the bullpen came on and three pitchers each recorded four outs and kept Arkansas off the scoreboard. Lefty Aaron Rozek and right-hander Taylor Floyd each had two strikeouts. Alex Scherff struck out three batters and earned his fourth save. 

This is your Alex Isola Appreciation paragraph. On Wednesday, Isola went 3-for-4 with three RBI. He has now hit in 10 of his past 11 games. He has had seven multi-hit games including five games with three hits. In those 11 games, he is 22-for-42 and has hit .524/.580/.929 (1.509) with two doubles, five homers, and 16 RBI. He has seven strikeouts and just six walks. 

Isola got the Wichita scoring started in the first inning when he drove in Seth Gray with a single. The Surge’s second run came on a wild pitch. In the seventh inning, Isola drove in Tanner Schobel with a single to make it 3-1. The Wind Surge added two insurance runs in the ninth inning. The first came when Yoyner Fajardo scored on a wild pitch. And, of course, it was Isola who drove in the team’s final run with another single to score Gray. 

So, Alex Isola went 3-for-5. Seth Gray was 2-for-4 with a walk. Jake Rucker went 2-for-5. Tanner Schobel walked three times.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 8, South Bend 4
Box Score
The Kernels bats were back on Wednesday night. They had three innings in which they scored more than one run. 

However, let’s start on the mound. Andrew Morris improved to 4-1 since joining the Kernels. He gave up three runs on nine hits and a walk. He had a walk with two strikeouts. Jordan Carr gave up one run on two hits (one was a solo homer) over three innings. He had three strikeouts to drop his season ERA to 1.48. John Stankiewicz worked a perfect ninth inning to shut the door. 

The Kernels fell behind 3-0 after two innings. In the top of the third, Emmanuel Rodriguez drove in two runs with his eighth double. 

It’s been a tough year for the recently-turned-20 Jose Salas. He came into the season hitting just .167 this season with the Kernels. Recently, his 17-year-old brother Ethan, who signed with the Padres in January, was promoted to Double-A. Jose Salas remains a solid prospect. He is very young for the High-A level, and he is a prospect that fans should not give up on. In this game, he went 3-for-4 with his 10th and 11th doubles, and he also stole his 18th base. It would sure be nice for him to end the season strong. 

Kyler Fedko went 2-for-3 with a walk and his fifth double. He stole his fourth base. Noah Miller went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 17th double. 

As you know, we have a sister site called North Side Baseball which covers the Chicago Cubs organization. South Bend is the High-A affiliate of the Cubs. Here is a quick look at how the North Side Baseball Cubs Top 20 Prospects in this game did in this game.

#3 Matthew Shaw - 1-for-3, HBP
#5 Kevin Alcantara - 1-for-4, K
#11 Moises Ballesteros - 1-for-4, K
#12 James Triantos - 2-for-4, 2 RBI

MUSSEL MATTERS
Daytona 3, Fort Myers 1 
Box Score
There was a pitchers duel in Fort Myers on Wednesday nights. Through seven innings, the score was tied at 1-1. Unfortunately, the Tortugas scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings. 

Jack Noble got the start and gave up one run on five hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out two batters. Sam Perez came on and struck out three batters over two scoreless, hitless innings. Juan Mendez pitched the final two innings and gave up those runs. He gave up four hits, walked two, and struck out five batters. 

The Mussels had seven hits and walked four times. Danny De Andrade went 2-for-4. He also stole his 16th base. Rafael Cruz was also 2-for-4 and drove in the Mussels’ lone run. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day – Kyle Garlick (St. Paul) - 5-for-5, 2B(17), 3 R, 2 RBI. 
Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 72 pitches, 48 strikes (66.7%)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. 

#1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, 2 RBI, K
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(8), 2 RBI, 2K
#6 - David Festa (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 B, 7 K, 72 pitches, 48 strikes (66.7%)
#7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, 2 BB, R, SB(10)
#8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-2, 3 BB, R,
#10 - Luke Keaschall (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-4, 3 K 
#13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2B(25), 3 K, OF Assist.
#17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, R, K, SB(16)

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES
St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (4-2, 5.01 ERA)
Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (2-0, 2.08 ERA)  
Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis (4-1, 2.42 ERA)
Daytona @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (0-2, 9.72 ERA) 

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics!

Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!