Minor League Report (5/19): Luke Keaschall and Emmanuel Rodriguez Crush

TRANSACTIONS
INF/OF Dalton Shuffield transferred to Cedar Rapids from AAA St. Paul.
RHP Caleb Boushley recalled by Minnesota.
INF Will Holland reinstated from 7-day IL (St. Paul).

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 2, Omaha 11
Box Score
Joe Gunkel: 3 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None

The Saints were demolished on Sunday.

The game ended before it could even begin: Omaha blitzed starter Joe Gunkel with an all-lineup attack in the opening frame, tagging him for six runs before St. Paul’s leadoff man could see his first pitch. 

Once he did, things didn’t improve. A six-run lead is hard to overcome, after all. And it’s even more difficult to surmount when it morphs into a nine-run lead. 

The Storm Chasers eased off Gunkel but nicked Josh Winder and dented Jordan Balazovic. They scored five more times against the two pitchers, with four runs coming against the poor Canadian. Ryan Jensen, Nick Wittgren, and Diego Castillo were ironically dominant following the melee. It’s all about timing.

Lethargic is the best way to describe St. Paul’s offensive effort. Daniel Lynch diced them up over 6 ⅔ innings before a series of relievers with sky-scraping ERAs held them at bay to end the game. They could only score twice. 

Saints pitchers have totaled 438 strikeouts so far this year, the 3rd-most in the International League.

Left fielder Tyler Gentry served as Omaha’s best prospect on Sunday. The left fielder doubled and struck out twice in five at-bats. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 5, Tulsa 6
Box Score
Pierson Ohl: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
HR: Emmanuel Rodriguez (6), Alerick Soularie (2)
Multi-hit games: Andrew Cossetti (3-for-5, 2B), Alerick Soularie (2-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB)

Wichita’s bullpen melted down on Sunday.

Entering the 8th with a 5-3 lead, Scott Engler wobbled a little, threatening to blow the game, but he ultimately left with an advantage. Peter Solomon faced a different fate. He allowed a single before plunking a batter to place men on 1st and 2nd. A botched double play allowed the lead runner to score. Alex Freeland singled home the game-winning run. So it goes.

Pierson Ohl was almost brilliant. Unfortunately, home runs exist. The righty walked one and allowed just three hits. Two of those knocks flew over the outfield wall, though, and they soiled what could have been an outstanding pitching line. Instead, Ohl had to settle for acceptable.

Emmanuel Rodriguez homered and walked twice. Nothing else needs to be said about him.

Alerick Soularie blasted what has to be the slicing-est homer a righty can hit. Just take a look at this:

That was a double with maxed-out optimism. 

Tulsa played a pair of outstanding prospects on Sunday. Catcher Diego Cartaya—now ranked 8th in the Dodgers’ system—struck out three times in four at-bats, perhaps proving why he isn’t quite the prospect he once was. Dalton Rushing, ranked 52nd on Pipeline’s top 100, was hit by a pitch in a pinch-hit appearance. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 5, Quad Cities 3
Box Score
Darren Bowen: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Luke Keaschall (2-for-2, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB, HBP), Ricardo Olivar (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI), Rubel Cespedes (2-for-4, RBI)

The Kernels rallied late to win on Sunday.

Once again, Luke Keaschall stole the show. Minnesota’s 2nd round pick last year reached base in all four plate appearances, scored two runs, and knocked in another run with one of his singles. His OPS is up to .968. His OBP is .449. It appears the only thing keeping him out of Wichita is an already-full infield at the level. Ben Ross, Tanner Schobel, Jorel Ortega, and Jake Rucker also play 2nd; something will need to give before Keaschall can earn his promotion. 

The next players fueling Cedar Rapids’ offense on Sunday were just as easily predictable.  Ricardo Olivar and Rubel Cespedes continued their decimation of the Midwest League with four combined hits, three RBIs, and a pair of runs scored by Olivar. The day pushed Cespedes’ RBI total to 36, tied with Xavier Isaac for the highest total in A+ ball. 

Darren Bowen pitched… fine. He only walked one for the second time on the season, but the River Bandits threatened constantly against him and pushed three runs across the plate on his watch. He struck out five. 

Cedar Rapids’ bullpen, though, was excellent. Gabriel Yanez lowered his ERA to 1.50 with a pair of scoreless innings, and Rafael Marcano and Kyle Bischoff added perfect frames of their own to neutralize Quad Cities’ offense. The River Bandits never scored again once Bowen exited. 

The win moved the Kernels’ record to 24-14, which puts them second in the Midwest League. Wisconsin leads them by 1.5 games. 

According to MLB Pipeline, Carter Jensen is the Royals’ 10th-best prospect. He homered and walked twice. Seems like a good ranking. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 8, Lakeland 2
Box Score
Ross Dunn: 2 ⅔ IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Isaac Pena (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI), Gregory Duran (2-for-4, 2 RBI)

The Mighty Mussels bullied their opponents on Sunday.

A breakthrough 6th proved to be the winning stroke. Fort Myers entered the frame with a slim 2-1 lead and left it a laugher, with six runs dropped on Lakeland’s unsuspecting arms. It was death by a thousand paper cuts: Brandon Winokur extended the lead with a single, Yohander Martinez continued the effort with an RBI walk, Isaac Pena summoned two more with a knock, and Gregory Duran capped the whole thing with a two-run grounder through the infield. 

Ross Dunn earned the start for the Mighty Mussels. He performed well, reaching the third inning with a lone earned run against him. Ben Ethridge was shockingly efficient in relief; the righty earned 10 outs on 36 pitches, good for a 3.6 pitch-per-out ratio. That’ll play.

Payton Eeles and Rayne Doncon set the table immaculately; the two combined to reach base six times and scored four runs with eerily identical stat lines. Eeles’ OPS now sits at .912 through 42 at-bats with the Mighty Mussels. 

Max Clark, the 3rd overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, singled and scored a run in four at-bats. He is slashing .250/.359/.320 so far in 2024. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ben Ethridge 
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Luke Keaschall

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 1-3, HR, R, RBI, 2 BB
#10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - 1-5, R, RBI, K
#11 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-0
#12 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-2, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB, HBP
#13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 0-3, BB, K
#19 - Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Buffalo (5:05) - RHP Louie Varland
San Antonio @ Wichita (7:05 PM) - TBD
Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM) - TBD
Fort Myers @ Daytona (5:35 PM) - TBD
FCL Twins @ FCL Braves (11:00 AM) - TBD

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!