Twins Minor League Report (4/12): Ober Dominates, Lee and Rodriguez Homer

TRANSACTIONS 

• Edouard Julien was officially called up from the Saints to the Twins. 
• Ernie Yake was promoted from Cedar Rapids to take Julien’s on the Saints roster.
• Wichita activated catcher Frank Nigro from the Development List and placed Aaron Sabato on the 7-day injured list

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 5, Indianapolis 1 
Box Score

Bailey Ober was on the mound for the third time this season and had his best start so far. The 6’9" righty dominated Indianapolis hitters striking out six while only allowing two runners to reach base through six innings pitched. Ober threw only 67 pitches with only 20 of those missing the strike zone, a great improvement from his previous start when he walked four batters through 3 2/3 innings. 

The offense was carried by a couple of two-run home runs by two Andrews; Bechtold and Stevenson. Stevenson had the first home run following the Saints' first run of the game, which came courtesy of a throwing error by Indianapolis catcher Grant Koch in the top of the fourth. 

The Saints only needed two relievers out of the bullpen Wednesday afternoon, Randy Dobnak and Trevor Megill. Dobnak threw two innings and allowed two hits, a walk, and Indianapolis’s only run in the game. Megill had his best inning of the spring in the ninth. He struck out the side on just 13 pitches. 

Mark Contreras led the offense. He went 2-for-3 and walked twice. He also stole his third base. Stevenson went 2-for-5

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 8, Naturals 2 
Box Score 

The Wind Surge had a fantastic day on offense led by Twins Daily top prospect Brooks Lee. Lee hit his first Double-A home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, extending his team’s lead to 6-0 over the Naturals. The home run may have been Lee’s only hit but was enough to extend his hitting streak to five games. 

Jake Rucker went 2-for-4 with a walk. Alex Isola was 2-5 and hit his first home run of the season. Pat Winkel and Anthony Prato each walked twice. 

Blayne Enlow made his second start of the season for Wichita. He threw 4 2/3 innings and struck out eight batters. However, he walked three batters and gave up four hits. 

The bullpen remained consistent keeping the Naturals bats quiet. Tyler Beck threw three scoreless innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit and two walks. He also struck out five batters. Jordan Brink recorded the final four outs for the Wind Surge, but not without giving up one run. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 10, Quad Cities 5
Box Score

Twins Daily’s #3 prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez followed up his walk-off grand slam from Tuesday night by crushing a three-run home run in his second at-bat on Wednesday. He struck out three times and is hitting just .167, but he has a .971 OPS and seven of his nine RBI came in those two at-bats. 

Noah Miller continued his hot start and has more than validated his spot at the top of the lineup. In this game, he went 2-for-2 with three walks. 2022 fifth-round pick Ben Ross went 2-for-5 including his first home run of the season. Jeferson Morales went 2-for-2 with two walks and his first double and home run of the season.

Jaylen Nowlin made his second start of the year and struggled. In just 3 1/3 innings, he was charged with four runs on five hits and three walks. Orlando Rodriguez came in and recorded four walks, but no hits, over 1 2/3 scoreless, hitless innings. John Stankiewicz was next out of the ‘pen. He struck out four over two innings. He gave up only a solo homer. Regi Grace finished by getting all six batters he faced out, two on strikeouts. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Clearwater 5, Ft. Myers 3
Box Score

The main news with the Mighty Mussels on Wednesday may have been who was not playing in their game, rather than who was. Jorge Polanco and Alex Kirilloff, who began rehab assignments with the team in the last week, were both on a scheduled rest day on Wednesday. They are expected to be in the lineup on Thursday. 

Starting on the mound for the Mighty Mussels was C.J. Culpepper, making his first-ever professional start. Culpepper tossed a strong four innings, but his command of the strike zone was inconsistent.  He walked three batters and gave up two hits. 

Culpepper was replaced by fellow 2022 draft pick Ben Ethridge. He gave up one run on two hits over two innings. Hard-throwing Juan Mendez took the loss. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in the seventh inning. Lefty Zach Veen needed just six pitches to work a perfect inning. 

The Mussels lineup had a great game getting on base eight times via the walk, but their hitting game did not translate into as great a performance. The Mussels five hits came at the wrong times (they were 0-for-12 with Runners in Scoring Position). 

2022 sixth-round draft pick Jorel Ortega went 0-for-2, but he walked three times. He also stole his third base of the season.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Bailey Ober (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
Hitter of the Day – Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-2, 2 R, 2 H, RBI (2), 3 BB

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 prospects performed today:

#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - (1-3, HR(1), 2 R, 2 RBI, K)
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - (1-for-4, HR(2), R, 3 RBI, BB, 3 K) 
#5 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - (0-for-2, BB) 
#8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - (0-for-4, R, K)
#11 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - (0-1, pinch hit for Julien)
#14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - (2-for-2, 2 R, 2 H, RBI, 3 BB)
#20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - (1-for-5, R, 3B, RBI)

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

• The Saints will play their third game in Indianapolis with Louie Varland on the mound. The game starts at 6:37 p.m. CT
• The Wind Surge will have their third game of the homestand against Northwest Arkansas. David Festa will pitch against Jonathan Bowlan with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. CT
• The Kernels will play another game at home against the Quad Cities River Bandits. First pitch (from Kyle Jones) is set for 6:35 p.m. CT. 
• Develson Aria is set to make his season debut for the Mussels on Thursday night against the Threshers with first pitch set for 5:15 p.m. CT> 

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games. 

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!