Minor League Report (7/14): Avert Your Eyes

TRANSACTIONS
INF Nick Lucky transferred from Low-A Fort Myers to AAA St. Paul

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 4, Louisville 9
Box Score
Aaron Rozek: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
HR: Anthony Prato (2)
Multi-hit games: Alex Isola (2-for-4, R, RBI), Maddux Houghton (2-for-3, R)

Middle relief failed the Saints on Sunday.

Aaron Rozek killed it. The 28-year-old Burnsville native—typically an up/down arm for the high minors—diced through the Bats lineup with ease, punching out five with unique efficiency. Louisville likely celebrated when they saw him stay in the dugout for the 4th inning.

And then they pounced. Good lord, did they pounce. Zack Weiss allowed a dinky single, struck out the next batter, then watched a line of shenanigans and singles turn a slim lead into a 4-1 deficit. Tossing a cement mixer to Livan Soto didn’t help, either; the lefty out of Venezuela deposited the offering over the right field wall. 

Louisville waited patiently and mercifully for one more frame before clubbing the Saints again—this time with a five-run attack. Weiss started that inning, quickly giving way to Austin Brice when it became clear to Toby Gardenhire that keeping him in could be deemed cruel and unusual punishment. Brice was no better. He hit one, walked three, allowed an RBI single, and elicited his only out when Chris Williams caught a runner attempting to swipe third. Ronny Henriquez cleaned up with mild resistance. 

Nine runs proved too much for a poorly coordinated but decently effective Saints offense. St. Paul could only jab; they plated four in single-run intervals, as each attempt at a crooked number ended before much could occur. Anthony Prato whacked his second homer of the year.

Louisville centerfielder Blake Dunn claims the 10th spot on the Reds’ prospect list. He struck out three times in four at-bats. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 9, Springfield 16
Box Score
Andrew Morris: 1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
HR: Carson McCusker (9), Dalton Shuffield (2)
Multi-hit games: Tanner Schobel (2-for-5, 2B, R), Ben Ross (2-for-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI), Dalton Shuffield (2-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI)

The Wind Surge lost a sloppy, sloppy game on Sunday.

Something must be in the water; Zebby Matthew, Cory Lewis, and now Andrew Morris turned in some of their worst performances as a pro this last week. Morris at least has some excuse, given that he needed to earn five outs just to escape the 1st. And, unfortunately, the 41 pitches he threw to earn what is usually a gimme took him out of the game for good. All five runs scored on him were unearned. He lowered his season ERA.

The Cardinals plated five more runs before Wichita’s bats woke from their slumber. They rose with a vengeance: nine furious runs pushed the game to a one-run match, at least for a time. 

Andrew Cossetti, Dalton Shuffield, and Jake Rucker had the run-scoring knocks in the 5th; Carson McCusker, Ben Ross, and Shuffield had them in the 6th. Between the two frames, Wichita collected six extra-base hits, reached base 11 times, and nearly evened what was once a 10-run deficit. 

As it happens, the Cardinals soon realized they could respond to Wichita’s flurry. They did. They continued to bleed the Wind Surge bullpen dry, scoring in the 6th, 7th, and 8th to mask the fact that this once looked like a close game.

Rehabbing big leaguer Tommy Edman collected two hits and three RBIs.

Despite claiming a plethora of excellent pitching prospects, Springfield’s highest-ranked youngster active on Sunday was the brilliantly named Jimmy Crooks. The catcher homered in a 2-5 showing. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 2, Beloit 3
Box Score
Jeremy Lee: 4 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Gabriel Gonzalez (2-for-4, R)

The Kernels couldn’t hold on to an early lead on Sunday.

Jeremy Lee was solid. A little inefficient, but solid. The Sky Carp knocked around him for six hits—mostly singles—and took two walks, but Lee nearly escaped without a scratch; too bad Carlos Santiago blasted a two-run homer off him. 

Lee’s elevated pitch count begat a tremendous 2 ⅓ inning, five punchout performance by Jacob Wosinski; the 6’8” righty from Grand Rapids blew through the Sky Carp, only faltering when that damned Santiago manufactured a run with a walk/stolen base/advance on a wild pitch combo. He scored on a single. 

In the background, the Kernels' offense was patient and ineffective. They plated a pair with an eventful 1st inning, but failed to capitalize more, eventually leaving the bases loaded with tepid at-bats from Jose Salas and Kyle Hess. 

And that was the last time a Kernel reached second base. Twice, they ended a frame with a double play; thrice, their attempted rally simply started too late. Overall, they took six walks but could muster up just four hits.

Typically, the Sky Carp are fronted by a duo of tremendous pitching prospects, Noble Meyer and Thomas White, but—because both hurlers participated in the Futures Game on Saturday, their best prospect to play on Sunday was first baseman Brock Vradenburg, ranked 18th in their system. He went 0-4 with three strikeouts.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 3, Daytona 6
Box Score
Spencer Bengard: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
HR: Poncho Ruiz (3)
Multi-hit games: Walker Jenkins (2-for-5, 2B, RBI), Yohander Martinez (2-for-3, 2B, BB)

The Mighty Mussels dropped their finale against the Tortugas on Sunday.

Starter Spencer Bengard pitched a working man’s five innings for Fort Myers. He didn’t dominate—his strike rate was just 60%—and ten men reached base against him, but only two scored; perhaps a sign of tremendous gumption or plain good luck. In any case, Bengard’s season ERA sits at a shiny 1.54, the fourth-lowest of all pitchers in the FSL with at least 50 innings pitched.

That dam held back by Bengard broke, though, the second he left the game: Daytona buried Ben Ethridge with three runs as he could only coax one out before exiting the mound, likely grumpier than before.

Fort Myers’ offense, in return, could not keep up with this flurry. Or, they at least ran out of time before finding the necessary gear. Walker Jenkins plated their opening run with a 5th-inning single, but the knock only portended a missed opportunity: Brandon Winokur snipped the rally prematurely by grounding into an inning-ending double play.

The next runs didn’t come until the 8th when Poncho Ruiz bruised the berm with a two-run smash.

The hit could only make the score look a little better, as the Mighty Mussels came up empty in the 9th and fell to just two games over .500.

Daytona’s best prospect is Ricardo Cabrera, ranked 8th in the Reds system. He collected three hits and two RBIs in five at-bats. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Rozek
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Dalton Shuffield

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#1 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - 2-5, 2B, RBI
#5 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, R, 2 K
#10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - 1-3, R, K
#13 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-5, 2B, R
#18 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-4, 2 RBI, K
#20 - Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, R, 2 BB

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
DSL Twins @ DSL Mets Orange (10:00 AM) - 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!