Minor League Report (7/21): Rixon Wingrove Bashes; Zebby Debuts for the Saints

TRANSACTIONS

RHP Ronny Henriquez recalled by Twins 

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 10, Toledo 3
Box Score
Zebby Matthews: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB (naturally), 6 K
HR: Chris Williams (12)
Multi-hit games: Rylan Bannon (2-for-6, 2 R, RBI), Yunior Severino (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB), Chris Williams (4-for-4, HR, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB), Wynton Bernard (2-for-5, R, 2 RBI)

The Saints offense stayed hot on Sunday.

The leading story should have been Zebby Matthews’ AAA debut, but when a team dumps over another squad like this, the lineup steals the show. And what a show it was: Chris Williams went 4-for-4 with a walk, the first five batters in the Saints lineup reached base multiple times, and St. Paul scored double-digit runs for the second game in a row. Madness. 

That Williams homer—as the tweet says—ties him with Mark Contreras for the franchise lead. 

The aforementioned combo of DaShawn Keirsey Jr. , Rylan Bannon, Yunior Severino, Williams, and Wynton Bernard totaled 11 hits and reached base 15 times. That’ll score some runs. 

The outpouring of runs shouldn’t take away from the fact that Matthews pitched well in his first taste of AAA. Staked to a 3-0 lead before he even threw a pitch, the righty nabbed two quick outs, gave up a pair on a massive homer, and settled into standard Matthewsian efficiency, pounding the zone while halting any other scoring effort. He struck out six and topped out at 96.4 MPH.

He turned the ball over to Brock Stewart, who mowed down the Mud Hens in order with just 11 pitches. He may be ready to rejoin the Twins; just a guess.

Zack Weiss, Ryan Jensen, and Hobie Harris carried the effort the rest of the way, ensuring no funny business would soil St. Paul’s excellent, commanding victory. 

The Mud Hens are led by Jace Jung, brother of Josh, both belonging to a family that favors alliteration. Detroit’s 3rd-ranked prospect doubled once in four trips to the plate. Former 1st overall pick Spencer Torkelson walked once in four plate appearances. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 2, Frisco 1
Box Score
Cory Lewis: 4 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Ben Ross (3-for-3, 2B, RBI)

The Wind Surge won a pitching duel on Sunday.

Cory Lewis looked like the Cory Lewis of old. Following a horrifying seven-earned run outing, Lewis locked in and overwhelmed, punching out five over 4 ⅓ innings with a lone earned run. He threw 71 pitches. 

Lewis’ relatively curt outing put the much-maligned Wind Surge bullpen in a tight spot. They needed to accrue 4 ⅔ innings somehow. Taylor Floyd was first up, and he crushed his assignment, finishing Lewis’ while adding a full scoreless frame for good measure. John Stankiewicz worked around minor traffic jams to deliver the game to Wichita’s current quasi-closer, Cody Laweryson. He finished the deed, flipping to Luke Keaschall to end the game.

In an offensively-deficient game, Wichita’s lone runs came when three (!!!) hit by pitches begat a 1st inning sacrifice fly and RBI infield single by Ben Ross. That was it. The Wind Surge reached 2nd base only two more times in a game that made the deadball era look like the 2019 season.

Abimelec Ortiz, Frisco’s rightfielder, is the Rangers’ 11th-best prospect. He went 1-4 with two strikeouts. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 5
Box Score
Jordan Carr: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
HR: Rubel Cespedes 2 (9, 10)
Multi-hit games: Rubel Cespedes (3-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI)

Wisconsin-based baseball came out on top once again on Sunday. 

Don’t blame Jordan Carr, though. The lefty from Baltimore almost entirely neutralized the Timber Rattlers, allowing just one hit over five innings of work. Naturally, that one hit proved to be a run-scoring knock; only the finest fortune for the Twins franchise. Still, Carr struck out four and exited the game with the lead.

That lead was entirely created by Rubel Cespedes. He cracked a solo homer in the 3rd and decided to make it a two-fer with another shot in the 5th. Four more bombs will set a season-high for the Dominican lefty.

Unfortunately, no other Kernel saw the ball like Cespedes, leaving a vast chasm where any sort of offense went to die. Non-Cespedesian entities earned just four hits—all singles—and failed to claim a hit with a runner in scoring position. Cedar Rapids’ first three hitters combined to go 1-for-13 with two walks. 

The impotence put the Kernels' bullpen in a tight spot; just one false move could cause certain death, and it did. The typically excellent Jarret Whorff surrendered three runs (just one earned), ironically largely due to an error by Cespedes. 

Nolan Santos made his A+ Ball debut, pitching a scoreless 8th inning.

Wisconsin’s centerfielder, Luis Lara, is the Brewers’ 8th-ranked prospect. He singled once in four trips to the plate. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 10, Daytona 6
Box Score
Cesar Lares: 2 ⅓ IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
HR: Carlos Aguiar (5), Rixon Wingrove (6)
Multi-hit games: Walker Jenkins (2-for-4, R, RBI, 2 BB), Rixon Wingrove (3-for-4, HR, 3B, 2B, 4 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB), Matthew Clayton (2-for-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB), Carlos Aguiar (2-for-4, HR, R, 5 RBI)

Fort Myers’ bats exploded on Sunday.

It’s typically a good sign when your first two hitters take six at-bats in one game. Yes, the runs came easy for the Mighty Mussels; they put up four in the first act, rested in the second, and came back with maliciousness for one final blow late in the game, giving them a series sweep of the Threshers.

In a day full of big bats, Rixon Wingrove’s proved the most potent. He nearly hit for the cycle—and it was the single, of all things, he missed out on. No matter: he settled for three extra-base hits, two walks, and four runs scored, a tremendous engine in a great offensive machine. The 24-year-old Australian is now hitting .264/.366/.488 in 34 games with Fort Myers.

Walker Jenkins, Matthew Clayton, and Carlos Aguiar were the overqualified sidekicks of the day. Jenkins reached base four times; Clayton, the same; and Aguiar knocked in five runs, three of which scored on one swing.

Oh, and Nick Lucky took three walks and stole a trio of bases. 

Rehabbing big leaguer Rodolfo Castro collected two hits and a walk for the Threshers.

Philadelphia’s number six prospect, infielder Devin Saltiban, took two walks and DH’d. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Cory Lewis
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Rixon Wingrove (but shoot, take your pick)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#1 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - 2-4, R, RBI, 2 BB, K
#2 - Brooks Lee (Twins) - 1-4, RBI, BB
#5 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-5, 2 K
#8 - Austin Martin (Twins) - 0-3, 2 K
#9 - Luke Keaschall (Wichita) - 1-2, R, BB
#10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - 0-5, 3 K
#13 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-3, RBI, K
#14 - Zebby Matthews (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
#15 - Cory Lewis (Wichita) - 4 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
#18 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-4, 2 R, RBI, BB
#20 - Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, BB, 2 K

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
DSL Twins @ DSL NYY Yankees (10:00 AM) - TBD
FCL Twins @ FCL Pirates (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!