Twins Minor League Report (5/22): Matt Wallner Homers Twice in First Rehab Game with Saints

From yesterday's Twins Minor League Report, one of the big talking points in the comments was Connor Prielipp being placed on the Development List. It's a fair conversation, and because of his injury history, Twins fans will find reasons to be concerned. The general purpose of the Development List is to provide a way for teams to manage some aspect of a players development. If we're being completely honest, a lot of times the "DL" is often used as a spot for carrying an extra player in case there is a midweek injury, like the taxi squad. 

In the past, the Twins have used it when they have six or seven starters on a roster, they would alternate placing pitchers. The pitcher continues to work, and throw bullpens and go about their routines, just in a controlled environment in the bullpen.

As it relates to Prielipp, he has been working three or four innings each of his starts. He's been limited to 40 pitches and then 50 pitches as the season has moved from month one to month two. If there was an injury, he would be put on the injured list. If I had a guess, I would guess that Prielipp, along with a couple of pitching coaches and coordinators and members of the front office, met during spring training to discuss how the season might play out. They get on the same page about pitch counts and ups and downs. They likely agree that after X number of starts, we're going to put you the Development List for a week. 

We can guess (and maybe assume) that he'll continue on his same schedule, his same between-starts routine. On the day he would have normally started, maybe he throws a simulated game, but just 40 pitches. And that continues until he gets activated in a week to make his next start. It's also possible that they told him not to pick up a ball for four days, and maybe a pitching coordinator and a front office person and an analytics person and a video person will meet for a couple of days and determine how they want to proceed over the next couple of months.   

The first two months of the season and of their plan has seemingly gone quite well, and everyone (Twins, Twins fans, Prielipp) wants to see continued health for the talented southpaw. 

Alright, keep the conversation going in the comments below. Let's get to today's minor league report. 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 27-22
St. Paul Saints: 23-21
Wichita Wind Surge: 23-19
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 24-16
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 19-23
FCL Twins: 8-5
DSL Twins: Scheduled to start on June 2.  

TRANSACTIONS
After being the Twins 27th man on Wednesday, Mickey Gasper was optioned to St. Paul. So was infielder Ryan Fitzgerald, the 30-year-old who made his MLB debut last weekend for the Twins. 

With those two returning to St. Paul, infielder Jake Rucker was returned to Wichita after two days with the Saints.    

SAINTS SENTINEL
Game 1: St. Paul 3, Norfolk 8 
Box Score
The purpose of the minor leagues is to prepare players for the big leagues. Due to rain, Matt Wallner’s rehab assignment had to wait a day due to rain, but he started his preparation for his return to the big leagues in Game 1 on Thursday. Leading off the game, he grounded out to first base. In his second at-bat, Wallner crushed the first pitch, a fastball up-and-in, 95.8 mph at 34 degrees and it traveled 362 feet. 

In his third at-bat, he was called out on strikes. His fourth at-bat came in the bottom of the seventh inning with Patrick Winkel on first base. On a 1-2 pitch, he kept his hands back nicely on a changeup and crushed a 90 mph changeup 112.4 mph at 20 degrees, and it landed 409 feet from home plate in dead center. 

Now for the rest of the game. Well, Wallner had two of the Saints five hits, the only extra base hits. Wallner had all three of the team’s RBI. Jose Miranda and Eduard Julien each had first-inning singles. Jeferson Morales walked twice. 

Unfortunately, the pitching wasn’t quite as good in Game 1. Cory Lewis made the start. He gave up five runs (4 earned) on six hits and three walks in just 2 2/3 innings. He had three strikeouts. Ryan Jensen then gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit (a homer). He had two strikeouts. Randy Dobnak struck out two batters over two perfect innings. Tyler Beede got the final inning and gave up a run on two hits (including a homer).  

Game 2: St. Paul 3, Norfolk 2 
Box Score
With a short start and three relievers used in Game 1, the Saints really needed a strong start in Game 2. Enter Simeon Woods Richardson for his first start since his demotion recently. 

The young right-hander gave up just one run on four hits and a walk over six innings. He had eight strikeouts and was in control the whole game. Anthony Misiewicz gave up a solo homer to Chadwick Tromp in the seventh, but struck out two on the way to his fifth save of the season. 

The Saints got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second inning when Emmanuel Rodriguez hit his fourth home run of the season. (104.8 mph, 32 degrees, 388 feet) 

In the fifth inning, Will Holland led off with a double. He advanced to third on a groundout and then scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1. 

In the bottom of the sixth, the Saints added an insurance run that they wound up needing. Armando Alvarez singled to lead off and moved up a base on a passed ball. Emmanuel Rodriguez and Jair Camargo walked to lead the bases. Holland then flew out to the warning track in right field to drive in Alvarez and make it 3-1. 

The Saints had just six hits in game two. Of course, Mickey Gasper had two of them. Rodriguez hit the home run and walked two times. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 1, San Antonio 1
Box Score
It was a pitcher’s duel near the Alamo on Thursday night. 

Ricky Castro had his best start of the season. He gave up one run, on a first-inning solo homer by Francisco Acuna, over the first five innings. He gave up just four hits and walked none. 

Pierson Ohl came on and gave up one run on three hits over three innings. He had no walks and struck out three batters. 

The Wind Surge went scoreless until the top of the seventh inning. Aaron Sabato led off with his third home run of the season. 

Unfortunately, the Missions scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth and the Surge were unable to counter. 

Wichita had just seven hits and one walk in the game. Newcomer Gabriel Gonzalez led the way. He went 3-for-4. He is 5-for-11 through his first three Double-A games. 

San Antonio is the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. A month ago, we kicked off another sister site, Padres Mission. Be sure to check it out and tell your friends from San Diego! 

Henry Baez is a Top 15 Padres prospect. He tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings in this game. He gave up just three hits, walked one, hit one and had six strikeouts. Other Top 20 Padres prospects who played on Thursday night include RHP Bradgley Rodriguez, first baseman Romeo Sanabria.  

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 3, Fort Wayne 1 
Box Score
This was really a nice, clean win for the Kernels. A lot of times, the Kernels have won by just bashing the baseball, but in this game, they got enough key hits, and they got a really nice pitching performance from the starter and the bullpen. 

Hard-throwing Jose Olivares got the start. He gave up one run in the bottom of the first inning. He gave up three hits, walked four and had six strikeouts. It was his third start in which he recorded six strikeouts. He reached his pitch count limit and then was replaced by lefty Kade Bragg. He was fanatic, notching five strikeouts in 2 1/3 scoreless, two-hit innings. Cole Percival kept it going. He had four strikeouts over two scoreless innings. He gave up a hit and a walk. Paulshawn Pasqualotto had a walk and a strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning to record his fourth save. 

The Kernels scored their first run in the top of the third inning to tie the game at 1-1. Jaime Ferrer led off with a single. With one out, Kaelen Culpepper singled, and a throwing error allowed Ferrer to score and Culpepper to get all the way to third base. 

In the top of the fourth inning, the Kernels grabbed a 2-1 lead. Nate Baez led off with a walk. He advanced to second on a wild pitch. Khadim Diaw hit an infield singled Baez moved up to third. Caden Kendle drove a single to left to bring in Baez and give the team a lead. 

It remained a one-run game until the top of the eighth inning when Brandon Winokur led off with a walk. Nate Baez drilled a double and Winokur raced all the way home to make it 3-1. 

Nate Baez and Khadim Diaw each hit their fourth doubles of the season. Quietly, Baez is now hitting .337 with a .922 OPS. He was 1-for-3 with a walk. Diaw was the lone Kernel hitter with more than one hit. He was 2-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. He is hitting .306 with a .906 OPS. 

Fort Wayne is the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. A month ago, we kicked off another sister site, Padres Mission. Be sure to check it out and tell your friends from San Diego! 

Leo De Vries is the consensus top prospect in the Padres system. The 18-year-old shortstop is the youngest player in the Midwest League right now. He had a single and a walk on Thursday night. Third baseman Rosman Verdugo is the third youngest in the league. He ranks just outside of the Padres top 20 but should move up. He had an RBI single in this game. Clark Candiotti had nine strikeouts and one walk over 4 2/3 innings to start in this game. He appears in some Top 30 Padres prospect rankings.                                                                                                                                                                                        

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 1, Lakeland 4
Box Score
It was a tough night for the young Mussels, taking on the Lakeland Flying (and rehabbing) Tigers. Such is life in Low-A. The top three hitters for the Tigers were Wenceel Perez, Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling. And frankly, the Mussels have done fairly well against that group this week. 

Dylan Questad started and gave up four runs on four hits over 4 2/3 innings. He had three walks to go with six strikeouts. 

Tyler Stasiowski came on and allowed an inherited runner to score but then went 2 1/3 innings without allowing another run. He had three strikeouts. Ivran Romero hit a batter in an otherwise clean eighth inning. 

The Mussels had just one run on three hits and two walks in the game. In the fifth inning, Maddux Houghton scored on a Jefferson Valladares double. 

Rayne Doncon was 1-for-4 in his rehab appearance. Payton Eeles had a scheduled off day.  

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 10, FCL Pirates 2
Box Score
The Twins scored first in the bottom of the first inning, and then took the lead for good in the third frame. And then they just added on. 

The FCL Twins got an FCL run in the first inning. Two hit batters, a stolen base, and two walks. 

In the third inning, Ramiro Dominguez reached on an error. With two outs, Ariel Castro hit his first home run of the season. 

The fourth inning began with a couple of walks, and an infield single loaded the bases. With two outs, Dominguez hit his fourth double of the season to clear the bases and give the Twins a 6-2 lead. 

It was another FCL inning for the Twins in the fifth inning. A walk. A hit batter. A double steal. A throwing error. A hit batter. A steal. And then three straight strikeouts. 

Jump to the bottom of the seventh inning. With one out, Castro hit his second home run of the game and the season to make it 8-2. 

The eighth inning began with a walk. Javier Roman followed with his first homer of the season to make it 10-2. 

To summarize, the Twins scored 10 runs on five hits, seven walks, and five hit batters. 

Rehabbing Christian Becerra started and struck out five batters over the first two innings. He gave up one run on three hits. Melvin Rodriguez came on and gave up one run over the next four innings to earn his first Win of the season. Mitch Mueller and Ruddy Gomez struck out four batters over the final three scoreless innings.  

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Ariel Castro (FCL Twins): 2-for-3, 2-HR(2), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, SB(1) .

Pitcher of the Day 
Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul): 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. 88 pitches, 59 strikes (67.0%)

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

#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - Game 1: 0-for-3, 2 K, Game 2: 1-for-1, 2 BB, HR(4), R, RBI,
#6 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2 K. 
#9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, R, K  
#11 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2 K.
#12 - Cory Lewis (St. Paul) - 2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 78 pitches, 41 strikes (52.6%)
#14 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 3-for-4.
#16 - Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - 0-for-5, 2 K 
#17 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB
#20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0-for-5, 2 K.  

FRIDAY PITCHING PROBABLES
Kansas City @ Minnesota (6:10 PM CT) - RHP Pablo Lopez (2.40 ERA)
Norfolk @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CT) - RHP David Festa (2-1, 3.60 ERA)
Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CT) - RHP Darren Bowen (2-0, 2.89 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Fort Wayne (4:35 PM CT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (0-2, 7.52 ERA), TBD
Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM CT) - RHP Eli Jones (1-3, 4.41 ERA)
FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (11:00 AM CT) - TBD  

Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss Thursday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related!

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!