Twins Minor league Report (5/19): Four Homers Power Cedar Rapids Over Peoria

TRANSACTIONS

• The Minnesota Twins officially optioned 3B Royce Lewis to the St. Paul Saints on Tuesday. They also purchased the contract of infielder Orlando Arcia and recalled RHP Travis Adams. To fill in for catcher Ryan Jeffers, they also recalled C Alex Jackson. To make room on the 40 and 26-man rosters, the Twins also DFAd RHP Justin Topa and moved Garrett Acton to the 60-Day Injured List.  
• In Double-A Wichita placed 3B Jake Rucker on the 7-day injured list and received SS Miguel Briceno from Cedar Rapids. The Wind Surge also activated LHP Jake Higginbotham who has pitched in Triple-A for multiple organizations the past three seasons but was in independent ball to begin 2026.
• The Kernels activated LHP Garrett Horn from the 7-day injured list.
• In the Florida State League, the Mighty Mussels placed RHP Jace Kaminska on the full-season injured list and sent RHP Matthew DesMarets to the FCL Twins. They also activated RHP Dylan Questad and RHP Jason Reitz from the 7-day injured list.
• In the Rookie Leagues, RHP Preston Johnson was assigned to the FCL Twins after signing with the Twins. He last made seven appearances in Triple-A with the Norfolk Tides in 2025.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Omaha 5, St. Paul 3
Box Score
Over his last five outings starting pitcher Mike Paredes had delivered a 1.47 ERA for the St. Paul Saints. He continued that strong trend by allowing just one in his four innings in this one. He allowed just two hits, walked two, and struck out six. 35 of his 57 pitches went for strikes (61%), including 12 swings and misses. Over his last 22 1/3 innings after this one, Paredes has allowed just four earned runs on 15 hits and five walks, while striking out 21.

He left the game with the Saints out front 2-1 thanks to an Aaron Sabato home run in the bottom of the second, and a bases loaded double-play ball to score a run in the third.

An RBI single from Ben Ross in the sixth would be all of their scoring for the game, however. Matt Wallner finished 1-for-4 with a double and a pair of strikeouts. Ross was the only batter with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-4. Sabato (2), Kyler Fedko (8), and Wallner (1) all stole a base.

Right-hander Andrew Bash was the first out of the bullpen in the fifth and was charged with two earned runs on two solo homers over his two innings. Marco Raya gave up a run of his own in the seventh, striking out one. Kody Funderburk had a scoreless inning, walking one but striking out two. Drew Smith allowed one earned run on two hits and a walk in the ninth. He struck out one.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Tulsa 7, Wichita 5
Box Score
After a scoreless top of the first inning from starting pitcher Sam Armstrong, leadoff man Kyle DeBarge wasted zero time getting this one going for the Wind Surge. He swung at the first pitch and launched it onto the berm in left field for the early 1-0 lead.

Caleb Roberts followed with a walk and later scored on a double from Ricardo Olivar to make it 2-0 after one. An RBI groundout from Billy Amick in the second made it 3-0 after two, but Armstrong wasn’t able to keep the Drillers at bay.

They scored three in the third then two in the fifth to chase him after 4 1/3 innings. He allowed those five runs (four earned) on seven hits and a walk but did strike out five. Spencer Bengard finished off the fifth and sixth innings but gave up two earned runs of his own on four hits while punching out four in his 1 2/3.

The Wind Surge were able to tie the game at five in the bottom of the fifth after Amick was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Olivar delivered another double to put them on second and third, and a walk from Andrew Cossetti loaded the bases. Murphy Stehly scored one with a sac fly, then a run-scoring balk knotted it up before the Drillers were able to retake the lead against Bengard in the top of the sixth.

Jarret Whorff (1 IP, H, BB) and Jacob Wosinski (2 IP) gave the lineup a chance by keeping the Drillers out of the run column the rest of the way, but Wichita’s offense wasn’t able to start any rallies over the final four frames.

Olivar (2-for-4, R, 2 2B, RBI, K) was the only batter with multiple hits and they tallied just five as a team compared to Tulsa’s 12.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 10, Peoria 5
Box Score
Catcher Eduardo Tait got the Kernels started early, launching his seventh home run of the season in the top of the first inning.

Jacob McCombs followed up with a solo shot in the second inning for a 2-0 lead, before the Kernels plated three more in the fourth to take control. Danny De Andrade delivered a bases loaded single to score two and then executed a double steal with McCombs to make it 5-1 at the time.

Taking the mound for Cedar Rapids to start the game was righty Ivran Romero and he went the first three innings. He was charged with one earned run on two hits and two walks, while striking out three. Nolan Santos was the first reliever out of the bullpen to begin the fourth inning and finished 1 1/3 to be credited with the win. He allowed one earned run on two hits and two walks, striking out one. Nick Trabacchi scattered five hits over the next 2 2/3 innings, allowing just one run. He also walked two and struck out three. 

In the top of the seventh the Kernels lineup got back to business. De Andrade hit his fourth home run of the season and Jay Thomason followed with his fifth for back-to-back shots to make it 7-2 Kernels.

They tacked on three more insurance runs in the eighth thanks to an RBI double from Khadim Diaw, a run scoring balk, and an RBI groundout from McCombs.

Reliever Cole Peschl finished off the final two innings for the pitching staff, allowing two earned runs on three hits while striking out three.

While the Kernels four solo home runs were a big part of the win, the rest of the lineup's seven hits and situational success that did most of the damage on the scoreboard. Tait (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, 2 K), McCombs (2–for-3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI) and De Andrade (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K) each had two hits in the win.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers @ Dunedin
The series opening game in Dunedin was postponed on Tuesday as bad weather was moving into the area. They will make up the game as part of a doubleheader on Thursday.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
Monday: FCL Braves 0, FCL Twins 2
Box Score
Four Twins pitchers combined for a shutout against the Braves on Monday. As a staff they allowed just four hits, no walks, and struck out 14 for a dominating effort.

The rehabbing Garrett Horn made the start and went the first three innings, retiring all nine hitters he faced, including two strikeouts. Geremy Villoria pitched the fourth inning and struck out two. Hendry Chivilli began the fifth inning and finished the next three frames. He allowed two hits and struck out five. Nick McAuliffe finished off the final two innings to pick up the save. He gave up two hits and also struck out five.

The Twins lineup scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Murphy Hernandez was hit by a pitch, stole second base, and then scored on a double from Darwin Almanzar.

Miguel Caraballo added an insurance run in the eighth with his second home run of the season to make the final score. Yovanny Duran had two of their six hits on the game out of the leadoff spot and stole a base.

Tuesday: FCL Twins 3, FCL Braves 7
Box Score
The same two teams switched venues on Tuesday, and the Braves were able to exact some revenge.

Starting pitcher Cristian Hernandez held the Braves scoreless for the first four innings. He allowed three hits and three walks in his 4 1/3 innings but was not charged with any runs. Carter Holjes got the final two outs of the fifth with a pair of strikeouts.

Up to that point the Twins had taken the lead thanks to Teilon Serrano driving in Enrique Jimenez with an RBI single in the first (Jimenez had doubled in front of him). Daiber De Los Santos tripled in the third inning and scored on a wild pitch. And Jhomnardo Reyes hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot, to make it 3-0 after the top of the fourth.

But the Braves scored two runs against Rainer Marin (1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, K) in the sixth, and five against Yoel Roque (1 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER) and Brad Rudis (2/3 IP, 2 H, ER) in the eighth to take this one.

Reyes (2-for-5, R, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 K) and De Los Santos (2-for-4, R, 3B) each had two hits.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Mike Paredes, St. Paul Saints (4 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K)
Hitter of the Day – Jacob McCombs, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2-for-3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI)

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

#2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul): 0-for-2, R, BB
#5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (7), RBI, 2 K
#7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, 2B, 2 K
#10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-4, RBI, K                               
#13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul): 0-for-4, BB, K
#15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-5, K
#19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, 2 K
#20 - 2B/OF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita): 1-for-4, R, HR (5), RBI, BB, 2 K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Omaha @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (0-0, 0.96 ERA)
Tulsa @ Wichita (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (0-4, 4.71 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Michael Ross (2-2, 6.48 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Ramiro Villanueva (0-1, 2.08 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!