Minor League Report (4/8): Connor Prielipp Debuts in Twins' System; Zebby Matthews Silences for Fort Myers

TRANSACTIONS
OF Matt Wallner recalled from Triple-A St. Paul to Minnesota 

Saints Sentinel
Game One (7 Innings): St. Paul 7, Iowa 9
Box Score
Aaron Sanchez: 4 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Ryan LaMarre (3-for-3, 2 2B, R, 4 RBI), Andrew Bechtold (3-for-4, 2B, RBI)

The Saints lost a nasty, brutish, and short opening game of their doubleheader on Saturday.

It was a match neither side excelled in; both pitching staffs allowed seven walks, finding themselves outside of the strike zone and reliant on poor discipline to earn outs. Success with this strategy wavered.

The Cubs struck first, ambushing starter Aaron Sanchez in the third for a pair of runs; they could now claim the lead. The Saints responded—immediately softly; eventually prevailing—as a run-scoring wild pitch broke ground for a go-ahead two-run Ryan Lamarre double in the following frame. 

The fifth was chaos; a trio of Cubs runs were countered by four overwhelming Saints scores, handing St. Paul a two-run cushion heading into the sixth inning. They needed more. 

Iowa scored twice in the sixth, then ran it back in the seventh, finally burying St. Paul for good with nine runs to their seven; no Saints’ pitcher escaped without damage to their ERA and egos.

Seiya Suzuki played five innings on a rehab assignment; he collected a single and a walk. Technically old friend, Nick Burdi, struck out the side in the seventh to end the game. 

Iowa’s best prospect—Brennan Davis—walked once in four trips to the plate.

Game Two (7 Innings): St. Paul 8, Iowa 5
Box Score
Randy Dobnak: 1 2/3 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
HR: Andrew Bechtold (1)
Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (3-for-4, 2B, 2R), Kyle Garlick (2-for-4, R, RBI), Andrew Bechtold (2-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI)

Game two was a similarly sloppy pitching performance by St. Paul, but one they were able to overcome. 

Randy Dobnak struggled. A passable first frame begat a dreadful second filled with walks, hits, and runs—a pitcher’s worst nemesis. Dereck Rodriguez was forced to save his friend early, entering the game with two outs and soaking up 13 outs to save his team from potential disaster.

Nick Neidert—Iowa’s starter—fared no better. Allowing an astounding 11 hits over 2 1/3 innings, Neidert coughed up eight runs (four earned) and couldn’t escape the third, needing Anthony Kay to graciously relieve him. 

The game entered a strange quiet stage following the third; neither team scored as a scattered selection of baserunners all found themselves stranded, unable to find their way home. 

Andrew Stevenson, Hernán Pérez, and Andrew Bechtold all collected two RBIs; Edouard Julien enjoyed a trio of hits.

Manager Toby Gardenhire spoke highly of Bechtold after the game. “Bech's one of those guys where he's had a lot of success going up the minor leagues at different levels,” he said. “He's got a lot of tools, he's got a lot of power, he can do a lot of things. Him having days like this, I just hope it's a building block toward him consistently being able to do what we all know he can do. Because he's got a lot of tools and I hope he can just build off of this one and keep it rolling a little bit longer.” (Quote via Twins Daily’s resident journalist, Theo Tollefson.)

Old friend, Tyler Duffey, tossed a scoreless inning with two strikeouts.

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 4, Springfield 9
Box Score
Travis Adams: 2/3 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None

Wichita lost an uncompetitive match on Saturday.

Travis Adams… well, the line speaks for itself. After receiving a duo of first innings runs, Adams struggled to collect outs in the first, watching line drives shoot around the field as Springfield put up seven runs before Wichita could find the elusive third out. 

The game became a slog; the closest the Wind Surge came to threatening the lead came after a fifth-inning Aaron Sabato sacrifice fly moved the game to an 8-4 affair; Springfield tacked on another score the following frame out of spite. 

DaShawn Kiersey Jr. sparked in the three-hole, reaching base twice, stealing twice, and scoring twice to give him an aesthetically pleasing—and offensively stimulating—box score line. 

Brooks Lee and Jake Rucker both doubled; Aaron Sabato earned three RBIs. 

Springfield’s best prospect—Mike Antico—tripled and drove in two runs; he also struck out three times. 

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 8, Peoria 4
Box Score
Connor Prielipp: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Noah Miller (2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-5, R), Tanner Schobel (2-for-5, R), Keoni Cavaco (2-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI)

Cedar Rapids won comfortably on Saturday.

Connor Prielipp hadn't seen a competitive game in two years, and he pitched like it. With rust fully set in still, Prielipp got knocked around a bit, unwinding in the fourth as a singles-focused attack proved too much for the lefty, dirtying his line with three earned runs. Still, the relief for Prielipp must be immense; he can continue to find his footing in the coming months; Saturday’s start was simply a way to wet his toes.

Fortunately, the Kernels were up to the challenge offensively, as their bats totaled 11 hits and eight runs—more than enough to best the Chiefs. It was an all-around effort, with every starter outside of Willie Joe Garry Jr. scoring a run; he offered an RBI, proving that no batter would be left behind.

Cedar Rapids’ bullpen proved worthy as well; Orlando Rodriguez, John Wilson, Niklas Rimmel, and Charlie Neuweiler combined to toss five scoreless frames, carrying the to its ninth-inning conclusion. 

Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 8, Dunedin 5
Box Score
Zebby Matthews: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
HR: None

Multi-hit games: Ricardo Olivar (2-for-5, 2 R, RBI), Carlos Aguiar (2-for-4, R, RBI), Jorel Ortega (2-for-5, 2 2B), Rubel Cespedes (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB), Andrew Cossetti (2-for-3, 2B, R, BB), Dalton Shuffield (2-for-3, 2 RBI, BB)

Fort Myers escaped a ninth-inning nightmare, walking away on Saturday with a closer win than they hoped.

Zebby Matthews was magnificent. Minnesota’s 8th-round pick in 2022 eviscerated the Blue Jays lineup, punching out seven batters over five tidy innings; three measly singles served as the only blemishes on his line. The Western Carolina product—the college of Greg Holland and current Saint, Tyler White—may make a name for himself this season with more outings like this. 

And his offense had his back—but it did take a while.

Four empty innings only proved to be the build-up towards a fifth-frame eruption; the Might Mussels plated five runs off a flurry of knocks, releasing more hit singles than Earth Wind and Fire. 

With three more runs in their back pocket, Fort Myers nearly ruined the operation; reliever Gabriel Yanez struck out the first batter he faced before allowing four hits—including a stomach-sinking two-run shot to pull the game within four. Fortunately, Zach Veen clogged the bleeding, ending the deathbed rally before it could reverse the roles.

Jorge Polanco played seven innings, doubling and walking twice in four trips to the plate. 

Dunedin’s best prospect—Tucker Toman—singled, walked, and struck out twice in four plate appearances. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Zebby Matthews
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Andrew Bechtold

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-5, 2B, R, 2 K
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 3B, R, RBI, BB, 3 K
#5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 3-8, 2B, 2 R, BB, 4 K
#7 - Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
#14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, 2B, R, RBI, 3 K
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, R, K
#20 - Miseal Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, 2B, R, RBI, 2 K

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Iowa @ St. Paul (2:07 PM) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson

(Most of MiLB is off for Easter Sunday)

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!