Twins Minor League Report (4/20): Doncon, Winokur Lead Mussels; Boushley and the Bats Lead Saints

We are three weeks into the season already, and it's fun to see which players have stepped up and which are off to slow starts.  On Saturday, there was an intriguing pitching matchup in Fort Myers, pitting two top pitching prospects from the 2023 draft. Cedar Rapids offense showed up, but the pitching and defense had some rough innings. Wichita had a nice, clean win. The Saints got help up and down the order on their way to an easy win. 

Current W-L Records 
Minnesota Twins: 7-12 
St. Paul Saints: 8-11
Wichita Wind Surge: 3-11 
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 6-7
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 6-8   

Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. 

TRANSACTIONS
OF Carlos Aguiar was placed on the Mussels injured list with a strained intercostal. Taking his spot on the Fort Myers roster was Omari Daniel. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 12, Indianapolis 1
Box Score
Through three innings, the Saints were down 1-0 in Indianapolis. Then over the next five innings, they scored two, two, five, zero, and three runs. Alfonso, Virginia, in case you were wondering.    

In the fourth inning, Yoyner Fajardo singled to score two runs and give the Saints  the lead. Tony Kemp came up in the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded. He lined a single to right field that scored Max Kepler and DaShawn Keirsey. The Saints loaded the bases again in the sixth frame. Chris Williams and Alex Isola each walked in a run. Then Will Holland doubled to clear the bases just missing a grand slam by thismuch!.  

The Saints concluded their scoring in the eighth inning. Kemp scored on a Wild Pitch. Then Yoyner Fajardo’s third home of the year scored the final two runs. 

Kepler went 3-for-5 with a walk. Fajardo went 2-for-5 with a homer and drove in three runs. Alex Isola was 2-for-3 with two walks and three RBI. Anthony Prato went 2-for 4 with a walk and a triple. He was also hit by a pitch. 

Caleb Boushley was the recipient of all of the run support, though he probably would have been OK if they spread it out over a couple of his starts. In this game, he gave up only an unearned run on three hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out eight batters. Josh Staumont struck out three in a scoreless seventh. Ryan Jensen pitched a scoreless eighth inning before giving up three meaningless runs in the ninth. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 7, Tulsa 3                                                                                                                                                                                          Box Score
The Wind Surge took a 3-1 lead after one inning. Slowly, the Drillers fought back and in the top of the sixth frame they tied it 3-3. The Surge responded well by reclaiming the lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. After a couple of zeroes, Wichita added two more in the bottom of the eighth inning to give them the 7-3 lead. 

AJ Alexy made the start. The right-hander tossed four innings. He was charged with two runs (1 earned) on two hits in four innings. He walked three and struck out two batters. Hunter McMahon came on and gave up one run on three hits over two innings. Scott Engler gave up two hits and struck two batters out over two scoreless innings. Miguel Rodriguez struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning. 

Emmanuel Rodriguez got things started with a leadoff double. He stole second base and scored when Tanner Schobel singled. Jeferson Morales doubled in Schobel. Carson McCusker drove in Morales with a single, the third run of the first inning. 

With the game tied in the bottom of the sixth inning, Jake Rucker singled in Alerick Soularie and Rodriguez. Then the team added on in the bottom of the eighth. McCusker singled in Noah Cardenas and Morales took third base. Soon after, McCusker was caught stealing second, but not before Morales stole home. 

Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with two walks and his fourth double. He also stole his seventh and eighth bases. Schobel went 2-for-3 with two walks. Morales was 2-for-5. McCusker was 2-for-4 with a walk. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 8, Wisconsin 14  
Box Score
C.J. Culpepper was on the mound to start on Saturday in Appleton. He put two zeroes on the board, and then…

Dahlonega is the country seat of Lumpkin County, Georgia. A town of approximately 7,500 citizens, it was originally named Talonega. However, after a gold rush in about 1830, the Georgia General Assembly changed the name. Dalonige is a Cherokee-language word that means “yellow” or “gold.” The area is known as “the heart of North Georgia Wine Country.” There are many vineyards and five licensed wineries. So, if you’re looking for a vacation spot, Dahlonega is approximately 65 miles north of Atlanta. While there you can spend time in the Amicalola Falls State Park. You could go way down yonder on the Chattahoochee River and do some hiking on the Crown Mountain.  

The zip code of Dahlonega, Georgia is 30533, and that is what the Wisconsin line of the scoreboard looked like between the second and sixth innings. They scored three runs in the second, fifth and sixth innings, and a five-spot in the fourth inning. 

Culpepper gave up five runs (just two earned) on five hits over 3 1/3 innings. He walked four and struck out three batters. He left the game with two runners on and Juan Mercedes came in and allowed both inherited runners to score. He then was charged with six runs (5 earned) on seven hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. Kyle Bischoff gave up three runs in the sixth inning. Ricardo Velez came on and struck out three batters over two perfect innings. 

The Kernels scored eight runs in the game, usually enough to put a tally in the Win column, but not on this day. They had a big, five-run third inning. Rubel Cespedes singled to score Agustin Ruiz with the first run. Danny De Andrade came up with the bases loaded and drilled a double to clear the bases and give the Kernels the 4-3 lead. Jay Harry followed with a single to score De Andrade. 

Down 11-6 through five innings, the Kernels kept putting pressure on the T-Rats. Gabriel Gonzalez doubled to score Luke Keaschall, and he then scored on a Cespedes single to cut the deficit to 11-8, but that’s as close as it got. 

De Andrade led the offense. He had two doubles in five at-bats. He also stole a base. Ricardo Olivar went 2-for-4 with a walk and two doubles. Cespedes had two RBI singles in five at-bats. 

Luke Keaschall went 1-for-3 with two walks and a double. He is now hitting .318 with a 1.019 OPS this season.  

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 5, Jupiter 3
Box Score
The pitching matchup was certainly intriguing. Two of the top prep pitchers from the 2023 draft met in Fort Myers. Jupiter starter Noble Meyer was the Marlins’ first-round pick, 10th overall, out of Portland’s Jesuit High School. In this game, his third start of the season, he went 4 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs on five hits. He had two walks and three strikeouts. 53 of his 85 pitches were strikes. 

The Twins used their Competitive Balance-A pick, 34th overall, to select Charlee Soto out of Reborn Christian Academy in Kissimmee, Florida. Soto was charged with two runs (1 earned) on four hits over three innings. He walked three and struck out five batters. He threw 36 of his 62 pitches for strikes. 

Meyer’s average fastball sat at 94.1 mph. For Soto, his average was 94.5. The max velocity for Soto was 97.1 mph and 96.6 mph for Meyer. 

Danny Moreno came in and gave up one run on two hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters. Nolan Santos came on and got out all seven batters he faced to earn a Win. Julio Bonilla worked a perfect ninth frame for the save. 

Rayne Doncon led the offense on Saturday. He went 3-for-4 with his seventh double. He is hitting .362 with an OPS at 1.015. Brandon Winokur went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs. His seventh-inning double scored Doncon to give the Mussels the lead. Gregory Duran followed by knocking in Winokur with a single, his second RBI of the day. Maddux Houghton went 1-for-3 with a walk. He’s hitting .500 with a 1.396 OPS. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day – Rayne Doncon (Fort Myers) - 3-for-4, 2B(7), 2 R.  
Pitcher of the Day – Caleb Boushley (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 61 strikes, 91 pitches.  

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. 

#1 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - IL
#2 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - IL
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2B(4), 2-2B(8), R, K.
#4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-5, 2B(4), R, RBI 
#5 - Marco Raya (Wichita) -
#6 - David Festa (St. Paul) -
#7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, 2B(4), 2 R,
#8 - Cory Lewis (Wichita) - IL
#9 - Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) - 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 36 strikes, 62 strikes.
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) –  2-for-4, 2B(3), R, 2 RBI,
#11 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2B(2), R, RBI, K
#12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, 2 BB, 2B(4), R, K
#13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) -  
#14 - C.J. Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 3 1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, HBP, 35 strikes, 65 pitches,
#15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-5, 2-2B(4), 2 R, 3 RBI, K, SB(2).
#16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) –
#17 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - IL
#18 - Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) - IL
#19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-4, BB, 2-2B(4), R, K
#20 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - DNP

SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES
St. Pau @ Indianapolis (12:35 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (1-1, 3.65 ERA)
Tulsa @ Wichita (1:05 PM CST) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (0-1, 5.40 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (1:10 PM CST) - RHP Darren Bowen (0-0, 19.29 ERA)
Jupiter @ Fort Myers (11:05 AM CST) - Paulshawn Pasqualotto (0-0, 2.00 ERA) 

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! 

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!