Minor League Report (3/31): Yoyner Fajardo Calls Game

TRANSACTIONS
There were no moves.
 

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 5, Columbus 4
Box Score
Brent Headrick: 3 ⅔ IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Anthony Prato (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB)

Brent Headrick, the slender lefty, made his 2024 debut on Sunday. He faced trouble immediately. He allowed three hits in the opening frame but escaped without an earned run thanks to two fortunate outcomes: a double play split between the knocks and a ground-rule double called despite neither outfielder raising his arms in surrender. The decision removed a score. 

Now blessed with a fresh slate, Headrick dominated; eight of his 11 outs came via whiffs. He topped out at 93.8 and earned 12 swings-and-misses. His lone error was a two-run shot in the third.

A critical part of Headrick's success? His breaking ball. "In the cold weather, the off-speed is important," he told our resident reporter, Theo Tollefson. "So seeing the slider [that the] was able to be in the zone and out of the zone where it needed to be was a positive." 

Perhaps fueled by Headrick’s tremendous effort, the rest of St. Paul’s pitchers on the day—an assortment of relievers mirroring the group needed by the parent club—combined to punch out 14 with two walks. 

One of those pitchers was a familiar name: Diego Castillo. The one-time dominant Ray inked a minor-league deal with the Twins on Saturday, and he reached the mound on Sunday. St. Paul’s equipment manager wastes no time. Castillo pitched a scoreless frame, topping out at 94.7 MPH. 

This four-paragraph ode to the Saints’ pitching staff offers thin protection for an ultimate truth: St. Paul’s bats were sluggish. They took four walks but failed to score outside of when DaShawn Keirsey Jr. flipped an RBI single into left in the 3rd inning. 

Until the 9th, that is. The seemingly magic frame that flips narratives and breathes life struck once again when the Saints—once presumed dead—rose to score the game-tying run. Anthony Prato singled. A wild pitch moved him to 2nd. A groundout sent him to 3rd. A sacrifice fly beckoned him home. The hero's journey in manufactured form. 

The game officially transitioned to Manfredball. The teams exchanged implied runs in the 10th before moving to the 11th. Columbus scored one more run. The Saints scored more.

With the bases loaded and an 0-for-4 weighing on his conscience, Yoyner Fajardo swung at a lethargic cutter and smacked the pitch up the middle. José Tena dove to stop the ball. He didn’t. The adventure ended with Prato galloping around 3rd as Columbus’ centerfielder Lorenzo Cedrola never even bothered with a courtesy throw home.

"He's a guy who's always going to give you a competitive at-bat," said Saints hitting coach Shawn Schlechter, "and we knew that even with the left-on-left matchup, he was a guy who could create some action by putting a ball in play. In those situations, we trust that he's going to grind out at-bats, and he's going to see pitches to move it forward."  

Columbus shortstop Juan Brito homered and drove in three in a 3-for-5 effort. He is Cleveland’s 7th-ranked prospect according to MLB pipeline. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Brent Headrick
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Anthony Prato

PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#16 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-5. 3 K

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

St. Paul @ Nashville (6:35 PM) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson

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!