Twins Minor League Report (5/25): Don't Give Up on Brad Rudis!

As you know, the minor league schedule for full-season affiliates contains six-game series. The games are played Tuesday through Sunday. However, when there is a holiday on a Monday, such as Memorial Day (and sometimes the Fourth of July and Labor Day), some teams choose to alter that schedule to give fans a game to go to on a holiday day off.   

On Monday, the Wichita Wind Surge played a game. And since the FCL Twins (almost) always play on Monday, we have two games to write about. And several transactions were announced. So, I decided to write up a minor league report for Monday. 

Just to give you a little information, I decided to look at each of the five affiliates and noted the 10 youngest players at each level. Obviously, rosters change fairly frequently, so this is just a moment in time, but I think it’s important to look at. Why? In part, prospect ranking can be based on Age-to-Level-of-Competition. There’s a reason that you can’t look at what a 21-year-old Walker Jenkins is producing in Triple-A St. Paul and compare his future ability to a 26-year-old Garrett Spain, who is playing really well at Double-A Wichita. 

Now this is where I always have to remind people that the game of baseball is far too difficult to predict than to assume that there is anything that we can assume about a player’s future. Sure, a “top prospect,” especially one who got a nice signing bonus, will get more opportunities than non-drafted free agents, signings from independent leagues, late-round draft picks and senior signs.  

Mitch Garver was a ninth-round pick in 2013 after four years at the University of New Mexico. He was older than the average player throughout his minor-league career until he reached Triple-A Rochester. He made his debut at the end of the 2017 season at the age of 26. Too old to be a prospect, right? OK, maybe that’s true. Garver is still in the big leagues, 10 seasons later. He’s won a Silver Slugger Award and a World Series. Would he have been better if he had been pushed more quickly up the minor leagues? There’s no way to know that answer. The fact that he wasn’t drafted after his junior season might tell part of the story. (even though he posted an OPS well over 1.000 that year) Garver has also talked often, at least earlier in this career, about how he needed to do a ton of work defensively. He put in that work. And he’s had a very nice career. He has been “worth” 8.4 bWAR. If you look at the 39 players taken in the first round of that 2013 draft, only nine players have more bWAR.  

Brian Dozier was the Twins eighth round pick in 2009 out of the University of Southern Mississippi. He was a four-year guy who actually missed much of his 2009 senior season injured. Like Garver, Dozier was older than league average most of his minor-league career. He made his debut early in the 2012 season, less than three years after being drafted. He was 24 when he got called up, just days before his 25th birthday. Again, that’s “too old” for a prospect according to some. He got sent down late in the season and didn’t get a September call up. He came to spring training in 2013 and was a fixture in the Twins lineup until he was traded in 2018. He played in nine major-league seasons. He played in an All-Star game. He won a Gold Glove award. He received MVP votes over three seasons. His 42 home runs in 2016 were the most in MLB history by a second baseman. In his career, he accumulated 24.3 bWAR. Of 48 first-round and supplemental first-round picks, only Mike Trout (89.7), Zack Wheeler (42.5), and Stephen Strasburg (32.3) have accumulated more. Four more players drafted in the top eight rounds have accumulated more bWAR including fellow eighth round pick Paul Goldschmidt (64.7). 

One more for you; Trevor Hildenberger pitched for five years at the University of California before the Twins made him their 22nd round pick in 2014, a round that no longer exists in baseball’s draft. Development isn’t linear. It wasn’t until late in his college career that he was asked to pitch as a unique sidewinder, a move that ultimately gave him an opportunity. When he was called up to debut for the Twins in 2017, he was closer to 2017. That season, he posted a 3.21 ERA and had 44 strikeouts to just six walks in 42 big-league innings. He became one of Paul Molitor’s most reliable relief options. In 2018, he pitched in 73 games. By 2019, he was missing a lot of time due to arm issues. He spent a little time with the Mets in 2021. While his time in the big leagues was shorter than the first two examples, he was a huge part of the Twins bullpen for nearly two years. 

Ryan Fitzgerald debuted at 31. Michael Helman was 28. Caleb Thielbar’s story alone could be a great example for Age-to-Level-of-Competition, or being drafted, or signing from independent leagues, twice. 

Summary: Don’t give up on Brad Rudis!! 

TRANSACTIONS   
Before Saturday afternoon’s game, the Twins activated RHP Taj Bradley. Part of the transaction included removing Luis Garcia from the 40-man roster (and 26-man roster too). He cleared waivers and on Monday selected free agency. 

Before Monday afternoon’s game, Tristan Gray returned to the Twins from the paternity list. Gabriel Gonzalez was optioned back to St. Paul. If you missed it, Gonzalez played in just one game. On Friday night, he started in left field and went 1-for-2 with two walks. 

Dan Altavilla was released by the Twins on Monday. The 33-year-old signed a minor-league contract with the Twins early in the offseason. He recorded some big outs out of the bullpen for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. He was showing a fastball at 96-97 and looked like he’d find his way to the Twins at some point. Instead, in 18 games and 19 2/3 innings, he posted a 7.32 ERA and a 2.03 WHIP. Opponents hit .312/.430/.506 (.937), and he walked 16 batters.   

Utilityman Henry Kusiak was moved from St. Paul back to Fort Myers. 

The Kernels placed RHP Nolan Santos on the 7-Day Injured List with a right scapula injury. 

RHP Hendry Chivilli returned to the FCL Twins after spending the weekend with the Mussels. 

RHP Matt Barr began a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. The 20-year-old was the Twins fifth-round pick in 2025 out of SUNY-Niagara CC in New York.    

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul, Louisville  
The Saints travel to Louisville to take on the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate. 

Who are the 10 youngest players on the current Saints roster?
  Walker Jenkins (2/19/05) - 21 years old.
  Gabriel Gonzalez (1/4/04) - 22 years old.
  Hendry Mendez (11/7/03)
  Alejandro Hidalgo (5/22/03) - 23 years old.
  Emmanuel Rodriguez (2/28/03)
  Ryan Gallagher (1/19/03)
  Kaelen Culpepper (12/29/02)
  Marco Raya (8/7/02)
  John Klein (4/22/02) - 24 years old.
  Ty Langenberg (12/8/01) 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita, Springfield  
Springfield took the early lead, but Wichita surged ahead in the middle innings. Through five innings, the Wind Surge held a 6-3 lead. Then the Cardinals scored eight runs over the final three innings. 

Wichita got on the scoreboard in the top of the third when Maddux Houghton led off the inning with his third homer of the season. 

Down 3-1 through three innings, the Wind Surge went back to work in the top of the fourth. With one out, Andrew Cossetti and Caleb Roberts both walked. With two outs, Murphy Stehly singled to drive in Cossetti. Then Roberts scored on a single by Houghton to tie the game at 3-3.   

With one out in the top of the fifth, Garrett Spain singled and stole second base, his 10th steal of the season. He scored on a Billy Amick single to left. Cossetti walked, and then after a pitch change, Roberts walked to load the bases. Amick scored on a sacrifice fly by Poncho Ruize, and then Murphy Stehly singled to drive in Cossetti and make it 6-3.   

Jose Olivares started and gave up three runs on four hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings. Preston Johnson gave up two runs on three hits and a walk over 2 2/3 innings. Spencer Bengard gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. Jacob Wosinski gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and two walks in one inning. 

Houghton went 2-for-4 with his third homer. Kyle DeBarge went 2-for-5 with his seventh double. He also stole his 13th base. Roberts was 1-for-2 with two walks. Stehly was 2-for-4. 

Who are the 10 youngest players on the current Wind Surge roster?
Kyle DeBarge (7/14/03) - 22 years old
Miguel Briceno (7/6/03) 
Eli Jones (6/17/03)
Jose Salas (4/26/03) - 23 years old
Jose Olivares (1/18/03)
Jaime Ferrer (12/27/02)
Billy Amick (11/4/02)
Harry Genth (9/3/02)
Kala’i Rosario (7/2/02)
Spencer Bengard (4/19/02) - 24 years old  

KERNELS CHRONICLE 
Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities 

Khadim Diaw was named to the MLB Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week. 

Who are the 10 youngest players on the current Kernels roster?
Eduardo Tait (8/27/06) - 19 years old
Dasan Hill (12/25/05) - 20 years old
Charlee Soto (8/31/05)
Adrian Bohorquez (3/3/05) - 21 years old
Brandon Winokur (12/16/04)
Yasser Mercedes (11/16/04)
Michael Carpenter (7/28/04)
Jacob McCombs (7/7/04) 
Riley Quick (4/29/04) - 22 years old
Marek Houston (4/14/04)  

MIGHTY MATTERS
Ft. Myers, Jupiter
  
Who are the 10 youngest players on the current Mighty Mussels roster?
Bruin Agbayani (3/26/07) - 19 years old
Ramiro Dominguez (3/26/07)
Quentin Young (3/2/07)
Murphy Hernandez (12/12/06)
Luis Fragoza (10/26/06)
Eduardo Beltre (10/10/06) 
Ramiro Villanueva (5/14/06) - 20 years old
Jayson Bass (4/29/06)
Carlos Silva (3/1/06)
Irvin Nunez (2/21/06) 

COMPLEX CHRONICLE
FCL Twins 2, FCL Pirates 11
Box Score  
On Saturday, the FCL Twins scored 19 runs and had double-digit hits and walks. On Monday morning, the Twins had just two runs on two hits. 

Matt Barr was a very exciting draft prospect last year. Unfortunately, he started this season on the Mussels 60-Game Injured List with a fractured right elbow (ouch!). It was a successful first outing (and pro debut) for Barr. “Successful” meaning came out of it healthy. Barr walked the first batter he faced and he stole second base. Barr then recorded three groundouts to end the inning. A run scored on the second groundout. 

The Twins started well with two runs scored in the bottom of the first inning. Yovanny led off by reaching on an error. Miguel Caraballo and Teilon Serrano walked to load the bases. When Daniel Pena walked, Duran scored with the game-tying run. With one out, Daiber De Los Santos flew out to center field, deep enough to score Caraballo from third with the second run. 

Matt DesMarets came on and gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out two batters. Brad Rudis gave up one run on two hits, a hit batter, and a walk over his two innings. Next to the mound was Nick McAuliffe. He was charged with five runs, but just one of them were earned. He gave up five hits and had two strikeouts. Pablo Castillo gave up one run on two hits and a walk. 

Danny Almanzar went 1-for-2 with a walk. Joyner Perez had the other hit, his second double of the season. 

Who are the 10 youngest players on the current FCL Twins roster?
Miguel Caraballo (8/26/08) - 17 years old
Geremy Villoria (8/14/08)
Santiago Castellanos (7/17/08)
Santiago Leon (6/25/08)
Joyner Perez (6/19/08) 
Carlos Taveras (5/31/08)
Teilon Serrano (5/22/08) - 17 years old
Haritzon Castillo (3/23/08) - 18 years old
Jose Barrios (1/21/08) 
Yovanny Duran (11/3/07)

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Maddux Houghton (Wichita): 2-for-4, HR(3), R, 2 RBI, K

Pitcher of the Day 
Matt Barr (FCL Twins): 1 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, BB, 0 K. 

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

#20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2B(7), K (batted first, played 2B).

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Tuesday, May 26:
St. Paul @ Louisville (5:35 pm CT) - RHP John Klein (1-1, 6.10 ERA)
Wichita @ Springfield (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Eli Jones (0-1, 3.65 ERA)
Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Michael Ross (3-2, 5.70 ERA)
Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (6:05 pm CT) - TBD
FCL Twins @ FCL Orioles (11:00 am CT) - TBD  

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 26-28
St. Paul Saints: 25-25
Wichita Wind Surge: 21-24
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 23-22
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 24-21
FCL Twins: 9-8
DSL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, June 1) 

Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’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!