Twins Minor League Report (4/22): Ricardo Olivar Shoots for the Stars

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Travis Adams transferred to AAA St. Paul on rehab
RHP Raul Brito moved to the Development List. 
RHP Luis García signed and sent to AAA St. Paul
OF/INF Ryan Kreidler optioned to AAA St. Paul
LHP Connor Prielipp recalled by Twins
RHP James Ellwanger placed on 60-day IL with a right elbow sprain
RHP Jose Olivares returned to AA Wichita 

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 0, Indianapolis 12
Box Score
Andrew Bash: 2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Aaron Sabato (2-for-3, 2B)

It was all bad. Baseball is a genteel game ripe for purple prose and rosy words, yet sometimes someone just gets waxed. That was the Saints’ fate on Wednesday.

Starter Andrew Bash was harassed early. So was reliever Grant Hartwig. By the time Travis Adams entered for his ritual butt-kicking, the scoreboard sang for nine runs—a sour tune turned even uglier by three runs dashed onto the rehabbing righty. Only Aaron Rozek found Wednesday’s matters pleasant. The lefty tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings. 

As for St. Paul’s hitters, Walker Jenkins reached base twice, a walk and his second double of the year, Aaron Sabato collected a pair of hits including his third double, and little else of note occurred. The 1984 presidential election held more drama.

Part of the Saints’ struggles may be explained by their opponent: MLB’s 84th-ranked prospect, Hunter Barco. The former second-round hurler tossed five shutout innings with just 64 pitches. 

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 9, NW Arkansas 7
Box Score
Ty Langenberg: 3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
HR: Ricardo Olivar 2 (2, 3), Kala’i Rosario (4)
Multi-hit games: Hendry Mendez (2-for-3 2 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI), Ricardo Olivar (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI)

The Wind Surge won a high-scoring affair on Wednesday.

Good things happen when you score five runs in the first inning. Earl Weaver may have said that once. Ben Ross and Hendry Mendez drilled RBI doubles in the opening frame before Ricardo Olivar blasted a three-run homer to left-center. Three batters walked. Former seventh-overall pick, Frank Mozzicato was down big, early. 

Though the runs would satiate most teams, the Wind Surge continued to add on. Kala’i Rosario singled in a run in the second before smacking a two-run blast in the fifth. It’s hard to find a more non-chalant homer than this one.

Olivar homered once more in the eighth. Perhaps Naturals' pitchers should have stopped throwing him strikes. 

NW Arkansas doesn’t claim a major top prospect. Their best player, center fielder Carson Roccaforte, reached base three times in the game. He’s their 17th-ranked prospect.

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 5
Box Score
Dasan Hill: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Marek Houston (3-for-5, 2B, R)

The Kernels suffered an ordinary loss on Wednesday.

Dasan Hill Nolan McLean-ed it; that is to say, he looked incredible through the game’s first three frames before unwinding in the fourth. The first third of the game? Near immaculate. The lefty racked up seven strikeouts, appearing to be the next coming of Randy Johnson, if the Big Unit had been a slender prep Texan. But, that fourth. Hill allowed four hits, the final of which a three-run shot that soiled what was once a great start. So it goes.

Offensively, the Kernels signaled a tepid performance with a third-inning RBI double by Jacob McCombs before concluding their outburst with an Eduardo Tait two-bagger in the seventh; a Marek Houston single in the ninth was their final base runner of the day. 

Rainiel Rodriguez, the 32nd-ranked prospect in baseball, caught for the Chiefs and walked once in four plate appearances. 

Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 2, Dunedin 0
Box Score
Riley Quick: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Dameury Pena (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Eduardo Beltre (2-for-4)

The Mighty Mussels pitched a shutout on Wednesday.

Riley Quick started. That no one scored is no surprise. The Blue Jays started the game with an infield single, then—perhaps in a rage spurned by such insolence—Quick retired the next batters he faced. The rage of the mighty is powerful and us mere mortals are helpless to act in its wake. 

Facing off against Quick was one “Berríos.” Of course, that accented “i” gives away the game: José, the former longtime Twin, started for Dunedin on a rehab assignment. The 31-year-old fired four shutout innings with five strikeouts. He also probably bought his teammates BBQ or something before the game.

Once the Mighty Mussels were done struggling against a literal big leaguer, they found the runs needed to win the game. Two walks and a hit by pitch in the seventh loaded the bases. Yilber Herrera whiffed on three straight heaters. Dameury Pena did not. He smacked the first pitch he saw into right field, scoring the only two runs of the ballgame for either squad.

2025 first-rounder, JoJo Parker, played shortstop for Dunedin, singling and walking in five plate appearances. He is the 39th-best prospect in MLB according to MLB.com. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Riley Quick
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Ricardo Olivar

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#1 – Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 1-3 2B, BB
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 1-3 2K
#4 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5 2B, RBI, K
#5 – Connor Prielipp (Twins) - 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
#6 – Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
#7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-4
#8 – Kendry Rojas (Twins) - 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
#9 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 3-5, 2B, R
#11 – Riley Quick (Fort Myers) - 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
#13 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 3 K
#14 – Quentin Young (Fort Myers) - 1-3, BB, 2 K
#16 – Hendry Mendez (Wichita) - 2-3, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB
#17 – Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 1-5, R, 2B, K
#19 – Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, K

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Indianapolis (10:05 AM) - RHP John Klein
Wichita NW Arkansas (7:05 PM) - RHP C.J. Culpepper
Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM) - RHP Jason Doktorczyk
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM) - RHP Matthew Dalquist

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!