Twins Minor League Report (4/22): Grand Slams, A Walk-Off, and a Gong Show

TRANSACTIONS

• In Triple-A with the Saints, the Minnesota Twins sent RHP Michael Tonkin on a rehab assignment to CHS Field, while LHP Brady Feigl was activated from the 7-day injured list.
• The Wichita Wind Surge activated LHP Christian MacLeod from the injured list, making room by sending RHP Chase Chaney to the Kernels.
• In addition to receiving Chaney from Double-A, Cedar Rapids activated SS Kaelen Culpepper from the 7-day injured list and he played shortstop and batted leadoff for the Kernels on Tuesday.
• Down in the Florida State League, UT Jose Salas began a rehab assignment with Fort Myers from Cedar Rapids.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Indianapolis 4, St. Paul 16
Box Score
Zebby Matthews again kicked off a series at CHS Field on Tuesday afternoon, but it was the Saints lineup jumping all over former major leaguer and 8th overall draft pick, Carson Fulmer that provided the headlines in this one.

Matthews allowed an unearned run in the top of the first as three singles combined with a fielding error on Armando Alvarez gave Indianapolis a 1-0 lead. It didn’t take long for St. Paul to get that run, and more, back in the bottom half.

Ryan Fitzgerald led off with a single and Mickey Gasper drew a walk. With one out, Jeferson Morales delivered a single to load the bases before Yunior Severino drew a walk to tie the game at one. After Mike Ford went down on strikes, big Carson McCusker stepped in, and did this:

With a 5-1 lead the Saints never looked back, but that was far from it when it came to scoring runs. Alvarez added a two-run homer in the third. Mickey Gasper a solo shot in the sixth. Then to top it all off Fitzgerald hit the Saints second grand slam of the game in the eighth as Indianapolis waved the white flag and brought in position player Alika Williams to pitch.

Five St. Paul hitters collected multiple knocks on the day, with Morales (4-for-4, R, RBI, BB) and Fitzgerald (3-for-5, 3 R, GS HR, 5 RBI, BB) leading the way. Fitzgerald, Gasper, and Alvarez each scored three runs. As a team they went 9-for-18 with runners in scoring position, leaving only 8 of 25 overall runners on base for the game.

As for Zebby, he wasn’t nearly as efficient as he had been in his prior three starts, but despite allowing seven singles and one walk in his 3 2/3 innings, did not allow an earned run and punched out four. His fastball topped out at 97.4 MPH and he picked up seven swings and misses between his cutter and slider. Of his 80 pitches, 55 of them went for strikes (nice…).

Kyle Bischoff finished off the fourth inning with a strikeout and picked up his first win of the season. Michael Tonkin allowed three runs on three hits, including two home runs, in his lone inning of rehab work. Travis Adams then finished off the final four innings to pick up his second save. He allowed three hits and struck out four to lower his ERA to 2.08 on the season.

Indianapolis and St. Paul square off with a double-header tomorrow, starting at 5:00 PM. Andrew Morris and Cory Lewis are the scheduled starters. Game 2 is a makeup of one of their postponements from opening weekend back on March 29th. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Springfield 1, Wichita 12
Box Score
The Wind Surge sent right-hander Ricky Castro to the mound, and he took advantage of an aggressive Cardinals lineup, needing just 57 pitches to get through his five innings. 42 of those went for strikes (74%) and he was charged with just one earned run on five hits, while striking out five. Five straight hitters from the end of the third into the fourth saw just one pitch each, and over those final three innings Springfield hitters made him throw just 29 pitches. This is an even more remarkable number as in that time they had four of their five hits against him.

Kala’i Rosario tied the game at one in the bottom of the fourth by hitting his third home run of the season.

Despite the low pitch count, Mike Paredes came out of the bullpen to start the sixth inning. He gave up one hit, walked one, and struck out one over the next three innings to keep the visitors off the scoreboard. Michael Martinez finished off the ninth with a scoreless appearance, allowing one hit.

This game became a bit of a laugher in the eighth inning, as the Wind Surge sent nine runners across the plate, culminating with a Jorel Ortega grand slam. In case you were wondering, Ortega was not in the lineup to start this game. He only entered because Aaron Sabato was ejected earlier in this inning because of…I don’t actually know what. Well, I do, that being Sabato went down on strikes due to an automatic strike call, but all I can say is the umpire decided he was going to be the stereotype of an umpire in this instance. Then he rewarded himself by having to stand behind the catcher for ten more batters as the Cardinals pitchers couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn if they were standing next to it (also much of the reason why Sabato had an issue with a call the umpire made).

There were three singles, five walks, a balk, three wild pitches, and a throwing error from the two pitchers in this inning (as well as a second play, that ended with the pitcher falling on his face, that could have had an error tacked on as well). They combined to throw 53 pitches in the inning, with just 21 of them landing for strikes (40%). I can’t stress enough how much of a gong-show this inning was, but I digress. When it finally ended it was 12-1 Wind Surge.

Tanner Schobel (2-for-5, R), Ricardo Olivar (3-for-4, R, BB, K), and Rosario (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, BB, 2 K) each had multiple hits in the win.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Wisconsin 2, Cedar Rapids 4
Box Score
The Kernels struck first in the bottom of the opening frame, thanks in large part to Kyle DeBarge clubbing a triple into right field. Two batters later Billy Amick sent a single into center to bring him home for an early 1-0 lead.

It remained that way until the top of the fifth inning, as Cedar Rapids starter Jose Olivares kept the Timber Rattlers off the scoreboard for his three innings. He allowed just one hit, walked one, and struck out five.

Spencer Bengard came out of the bullpen to begin the fourth inning and went the next four. He did get tagged for a two-run home run in the fifth that put Wisconsin out front, but otherwise put up zeroes. He was charged with those two earned runs on four hits, and struck out three. 

Gabriel Yanez (IP, K) and Paulshawn Pasqualotto (IP, H) kept the game close for the final two innings, giving the home team a chance in the bottom of the ninth.

Kevin Maitan delivered a one-out double to put the tying run in scoring position. Two-batters later Kaelen Culpepper drew a two-out walk and brought DeBarge to the plate as their last hope.

He didn’t waste it.

DeBarge belted a 2-1 pitcher over the wall in left for a three-run, walk-off blast in Cedar Rapids.

He finished the game a single shy of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a double, triple, and the walk-off homer. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 8, Clearwater 3
Box Score
Fresh off of shutting out the Bradenton Marauders in three games last week, the Mighty Mussels traveled up the gulf coast to face the Clearwater Threshers in this one.

In his last appearance Dylan Questad contributed three innings to one of those efforts, a 1-0 victory on Wednesday in which he picked up a three-inning save. Getting the start in this one, Questad went the first five innings. The only real trouble he had came in the first inning, as he walked the leadoff man and allowed a two-run homer two batters later. After that blast he did not allow another hit, walked only one the rest of the way, and faced the minimum thanks to a double-play ball. He retired the last seven hitters he faced and finished with two earned runs on one hit and two walks, while striking out six.

The game stayed 2-0 until the top of the fourth inning, when the rehabbing Jose Salas got their first hit in the game with a double. Yasser Mercedes followed with his first home run of the season to tie the game at two. Poncho Ruiz kept it going with a single, and Jose Rodriguez punctuated it all with the second two-run blast of the frame to make it 4-2 Fort Myers.

They added on in the top of the sixth thanks to four walks, a two-run double from Daniel Pena, and a two-run single from Yohander Martinez to take an 8-2 lead.

From there the bullpen trio of Hunter Hoopes (IP, H, BB, 3 K), Liam Rocha (2 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 K), and Tyler Stasiowski (IP, 2 H, K) kept the Threshers at bay. 

There were no hitters in the lineup who had multiple knocks, but Ruiz (1-for-3, 2 R, BB, K) and Rodriguez (1-for-3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K) each scored two runs. The team was 4-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left only four men on base in the game. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams, St. Paul Saints (S, 4 IP, 3 H, 4 K)
Hitter of the Day – Kyle DeBarge, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 3B, walk-off HR, 3 RBI, K)

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

#2 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 2-for-6, 2 RBI, 2 K, SB (2)
#3 – Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB
#7 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, R, BB
#8 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, 2 K
#13 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 3B, HR (2), 3 RBI, K
#15 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers): 1-for-5, R, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 K
#17 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, RBI
#18 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita): 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (3), RBI, BB, 2 K
#19 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, K
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 3-for-4, R, BB, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Indianapolis @ St. Paul (Game 1 - 5:00 PM CDT) - RHP Andrew Morris (0-1, 4.61 ERA)
Indianapolis @ St. Paul (Game 2) - RHP Cory Lewis (1-0, 9.82 ERA)
Springfield @ Wichita (11:05 AM CDT) - TBD
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (0-1, 7.50 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Clearwater (11:00 AM CDT) RHP Eli Jones (1-1, 3.14 ERA)

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

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!