Twins Minor League Report (5/14): Ryan Fitzgerald Cannot be Stopped

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Jack Noble activated from 7-day IL (Cedar Rapids)
OF Byron Chourio placed on 7-day IL with left oblique strain (Fort Myers)
LHP Kody Funderburk recalled from AAA St. Paul (27th man)

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 5, Iowa 10
Box Score
Cory Lewis: 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Ryan Fitzgerald (4-for-5, 2 2B, R, RBI, BB), Will Holland (2-for-3, R), Patrick Winkel (2-for-5, R)

The Saints stranded a small army to lose on Wednesday. 

Really, it appeared neither team was interested in playing a clean game of baseball. Both squads walked more than they struck out; there were nine combined steals, with just one baserunner caught, and each squad netted an outfield assist. Perhaps the credit should go to the ones igniting the fury—the hitters who walked, the runners who stole, the outfielders who threw—but the end result was the same: someone often looked foolish on Wednesday. 

Cory Lewis continued his 2025 struggles. The hurler who looked so polished in 2023 and 2024 bears little resemblance to the one pitching these days, and his start on Wednesday only made matters worse, with nine allowed baserunners, five earned runs, and just three strikeouts. His ERA is over 9.00. His WHIP is over 2.00. He threw as many balls as strikes on Wednesday. Hopefully, he re-finds his groove soon.

On the surface, the Saints’ offense was potent: they took 10 walks and knocked 12 hits. Seven of their starting nine players reached base multiple times, and one of the ones who didn’t—Carson McCusker—still accrued two RBIs. 

But, the team couldn’t make the most of their opportunities, and left a franchise-tying record 15 men on base. This isn’t the juiced way to count runners left on base, either; even the typically conservative counting method couldn’t disguise the clutch impotence. 

Ryan Fitzgerald reached base five times to push his season slash line to .336/.431/.541. 

18th-ranked MLB prospect Matt Shaw played third for the Cubs, singling twice and walking in five plate appearances.

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 11, Arkansas 9
Box Score
Connor Prielipp: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
HR: Ricardo Olivar (5), Jorel Ortega (3)
Multi-hit games: Ricardo Olivar (3-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI), Rubel Cespedes (2-for-5), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, R), Jorel Ortega (2-for-3, HR, R, 4 RBI)

An offensive outburst favored the Wind Surge on Wednesday. 

Ricardo Olivar delivered the team’s first major knock, following up a Tanner Schobel RBI single in the third with a three-run homer just over the left field wall to give Wichita the lead.

The lead was only two, not four, because Connor Prielipp labored to start the game. He allowed four straight batters to reach before coaxing three consecutive outs. A clean second proved he was back on track, but an elevated pitch count of 49 was too high for manager Brian Dinkelman, who yanked his lefty to give him the rare all deuces pitching line.

Pierson Ohl, Jarret Whorff, John Stankiewicz, and Cody Laweryson combined to deliver the game’s remaining seven frames, with the four hurlers turning in inconsistent results. Ohl surrendered two over two innings, Whorff was knocked for one across a pair of innings, Stankiewicz was blasted for four in just 1 1/3 innings, and Laweryson saw the best of it, giving up two walks and two hits but nonetheless succeeding in earning five outs without an earned run. A bad day to be a bullpen man. 

Fortunately, Wichita’s bats never stopped attacking Travelers pitching. That four-run third portended dual empty frames, but the scoring roared into overdrive starting with a two-run knock by Jorel Ortega in the sixth. 

More shenanigans in the seventh allowed for a Tyler Dearden double to score two, before Ortega struck again, this time for a two-run blast. Kyler Fedko capped the action with a final run-scoring single in the eighth. 

Former Twins farmhand Yoyner Fajardo pinch-ran for Arkansas and scored a run.

The Travelers are an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Despite usually owning a talented farm system, the franchise is thin on excellent Double-A players; their best offering on Wednesday was their 24th-ranked prospect, outfielder Jared Sundstrom. He cracked three hits in five trips to the plate. 

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 7 (11 Innings)
Box Score
Tanner Hall: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
HR: Gabriel Gonzalez (4), Danny De Andrade (3)
Multi-hit games: Gabriel Gonzalez (3-for-5, HR, 2 R, RBI), Khadim Diaw (2-for-4, R), Misael Urbina (2-for-5, 2B, RBI)

The Kernels fell in extra innings on Wednesday.

The typical introductions for the game—a scoreless first; the almost gentlemanly formality that introduces our competitors—did not arrive for Tanner Hall. Not even close. He only escaped the frame once four Chiefs had crossed home plate, with the scores coming via an elaborate series of dinks and dunks that would make the piranhas of old proud. Someone even stole home (on a double steal, but still!)

Hall found his footing and worked four more innings without allowing any extra runs—an impressive outcome given how disastrous his outing started.

Cedar Rapids fought back against the fracas. Gabriel Gonzalez launched his fourth homer of the season in the fourth to get his team on the board.

An RBI double by Misael Urbina the next frame, and a two-run shot by Danny De Andrade the inning after that pushed the Kernels’ run total to four.

That didn’t tie the game, though, because the Chiefs had plated one more run in the sixth, but a clutch Nate Baez single in the eighth knotted the match at five.

So it stood until the two teams entered Manfred Ball time. They passed on scoring in the 10th before Peoria struck for two in the 11th, giving them a lead they would not relinquish. Kevin Maitan ushered in a run off a sacrifice fly in vain; the game ended two batters later with an Urbina strikeout.

The Chiefs are an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. None of their top 30 prospects played in Wednesday’s game. 

Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 4, Jupiter 3 (10 Innings)
Box Score
Michael Ross: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None

The Mighty Mussels won in extras on Wednesday.

2024 draftee Michael Ross earned the nod, going three solid innings with one earned run and a pair of strikeouts for his troubles. His career ERA after 13 frames stands at 2.77.

He enjoyed early run support, with a pair of first-inning runs coming from RBI singles by Yasser Mercedes and Miguel Briceno.

A third Mighty Mussels run scored in the fifth via a Jay Thomason sacrifice fly. 

Jupiter plated two to tie the game off Madison native Jacob Kisting when a 14-pitch at bat resulted in a double dumped into left field, taking out Thomason when another Mighty Mussel collided with him. Maddux Houghton replaced the injured left fielder. 

The game settled into a cold war equality, with neither team scoring in the seventh, eighth, or ninth to send the game into extra innings. Fort Myers plated their free run off a wild pitch, and Hunter Hoopes held the Hammerheads at bay in the bottom of the frame to clinch the win for the Mighty Mussels.

Second baseman Andrew Salas, brother of Jose, is the Marlins’ sixth-ranked prospect. He singled twice and earned a pair of walks in five plate appearances. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Michael Ross
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Ryan Fitzgerald

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 1-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K
#5 – Connor Prielipp (Wichita) - 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
#6 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5 2B, K
#9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, R, BB, K
#12 – Cory Lewis (St. Paul) - 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
#14 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-5, HR, 2 R, RBI
#17 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-5, R, RBI, K
#18 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - 1-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2 K
#19 – Carson McCusker (St. Paul) - 0-3, 2 RBI, BB, K
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 3-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, K

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08 PM) - RHP Marco Raya
St. Paul @ Iowa Game Two - RHP Darren McCaughan
Arkansas @ Wichita (6:35 PM) - LHP Aaron Rozek
Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Jose Olivares
Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30 PM) - LHP Michael Carpenter 
FCL Twins @ FCL Rays (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!