Twins Minor League Report (5/26): Hendry Mendez Is Unstoppable!

TRANSACTIONS
IF Harry Genth was assigned to Cedar Rapids from Wichita.
OF Kala’i Rosario was activated off Wichita’s injured list. 
OF Graham Brown was signed as a free agent and joined Fort Myers. He had been playing for the Washington Wild Things of the independent Frontier League.
C Ian Daugherty was placed on the developmental list.

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 6, Louisville 4
Box Score
SP: John Klein (3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K)
HR: Kaelen Culpepper (11)
Multi-hit games: Hendry Mendez (4-for-4, BB, 2 2B), Matt Wallner (2-for-5, 2 2B)

The Saints lineup steadily piled up runs, tacking on a pair in the first, third and sixth innings. Hendry Mendez was a menace. He went 4-for-4 with a walk and a pair of doubles. All four of his batted balls were hard hit, registering exit velos of 104.2 mph, 103.7 mph, 100.6 mph and 95.7 mph.

In 17 games with St. Paul, Mendez is hitting .400/.513/.600 (1.113 OPS). He also has more walks (18.8 BB%) than strikeouts (12.5 K%) so far is his first taste of Triple A.

The Saints lineup combined to record 11 batted balls hit in excess of 100 mph. Matt Wallner led the way with both of his doubles clocked at 109.1 mph. Wallner and catcher Richardo Olivar had two RBIs each.

Kaelen Culpepper led off the game by hitting a low 82 mph curveball out for his 11th home run of the season. He’s hitting .266/.392/.557 (.949 OPS) so far in May.

John Klein had a rocky first inning that featured two hits, two walks, a stolen base and a run-scoring wild pitch. After surrendering two runs in that first frame, Klein retired six of the next seven batters he faced. He topped out at 95.8 mph and got 10 swinging strikes on his 60 total pitches.

The only two runs the bullpen surrendered were unearned. Grant Hartwig and Cody Laweryson provided an inning each before both Marco Raya and Raul Brito went two frames.

Royce Lewis was 0-for-4, was hit by a pitch and drove in a run. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM 
Springfield 8, Wichita 5
Box Score
SP: Eli Jones (2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-5, 2 2B), Jaime Ferrer (2-for-4, 3B, BB)

Since this game was delayed and the first pitch wasn’t thrown until after 8 p.m. CT, you just knew the final innings were destined to drag on. Seven of the game’s 13 runs were scored in the final inning and a half. The final out was recorded at 11 p.m.

Wichita starter Eli Jones gave up a lot of traffic and surrendered a pair of runs before exiting with an injury in the bottom of the third inning. The Wind Surge could never climb out of that hole. Not only did Kyle DeBarge and Jaime Ferrer carry the offense, but the rest of the lineup struggled to just make contact, going 2-for-21 with 13 strikeouts.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 9, Quand Cities 8
Box Score
SP: Michael Ross (3 1/3 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)
HR: Yasser Mercedes (2)
Multi-hit games: Yasser Mercedes (2-for-4, HR, BB), Eduardo Tait (2-for-4, 2B, BB), Khadim Diaw (2-for-4, 2B, BB)

What a comeback! The Kernels entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 8-5. Brandon Winokur provided the spark, leading things off with a walk and then stealing second base. Eduardo Tait capped an eight-pitch at bat by hitting a double into the gap to plate Winokur.

Back-to-back singles followed from Khadim Diaw and Yasser Mercedes that brought Tait around to score, putting Cedar Rapids within a run of tying the game. Mercedes stole second to put two runners in scoring position, but Quinn McDaniel went down swinging for the first out of the inning.

Next, Jacob McCombs was intentionally walked to load the bases. Rayne Doncon managed to foul off two two-strike pitches in an eight-pitch battle that resulted in him drawing a bases-loaded walk to score the game-tying run. 

Jay Thomason came up with the opportunity to play the hero, and he was perfect for the role. Thomason chased a pitch away that was nearly in the opposite batter’s box but was able to get a bat on it. He swatted the pitch the other way, sending a soft liner through the drawn in infield to deliver a walk-off win.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Jupiter 9, Fort Myers 7
Box Score
SP: Ramiro Villanueva (3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K)
HR: Luis Fragoza (2)
Multi-hit games: Dameury Pena (2-for-5)

The Mussels led 7-3 heading into the seventh inning, but the Hammerheads, well, kept hammering ... ahead. Things really unraveled in the top of the ninth for Fort Myers, as some poor defense contributed to what ended up being a three-run inning.

Starter Ramiro Villanueva tallied another solid start. Over 3 2/3 innings, the 20-year-old surrendered one run on two hits. He did walk three batters, though. Villanueva struck out three batters, got eight swinging strikes and topped out at 96 mph. He has a 2.66 ERA through 20 1/3 innings but his 16 walks are cause for some concern. 

Matthew Dalquist had been among the many pitching bright spots for Fort Myers, but he was rocked for five runs (four earned) while only recording four outs.

Luis Fragoza, a 19-year-old playing in his fifth game with the Mussels, hit a two-run homer. He was in center field tonight and has played all three outfield positions in addition to first base in his handful of games with Fort Myers.

Enrique Jimenez had a pesky day at the plate. He went 1-for-1 with a two-run double and three walks. One of his free passes was thanks to a successful check swing challenge, which is something that’s being tested in some of the lower levels. 

Unfortunately, Jimenez also exited this game early. In that messy ninth inning, there was a play at the plate that put Jimenez in a tough position to both catch the throw and apply the tag at the same time. Though he couldn’t corral the throw, he managed to get through that unscathed. He actually appeared to suffer the injury retrieving the ball. He took an awkward step and came up limping. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 1, FCL Orioles 0 (8 innings)
Box Score
SP: Cristian Hernandez (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K)
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Miguel Caraballo (2-for-2, BB)

The Baby Twins finally broke through in the top of the eighth (which is an extra inning in the FCL) when Yovanny Duran drove in Jose Barrios on a single. That’s right, Duran driving in Barrios. It’s like we’re in the year 2057 in an OOTP simulation or something.

Pitching was the standout in this one, with Cristian Hernandez delivering five shutout frames of two-hit ball. Geremy Villoria, who was acquired alongside Hendry Mendez in the Harrison Bader trade, followed with a perfect inning. Villoria, 17, has now logged 5 2/3 scoreless innings to start his season. Carter Holjes held off the O’s in both the seventh and eighth innings 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Pitcher of the Day: Cristian Hernandez, FCL Twins (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K)
Hitter of the Day: Hendry Mendez, St. Paul (4-for-4, BB, 2 2B)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 

2. Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) 1-for-4, HR, BB, 2 R, RBI, K
5. Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) 2-for-4, 2B, BB, 2 R, RBI, K and threw out one of three attempted base stealers
7. Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) 0-for-4, BB
10. Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) 1-for-4, 2B, R
12. Andrew Morris (Twins) 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
13. Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) 4-for-4, 2B, BB, 2 R, CS
14. Quentin Young (Fort Myers) 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 K
15. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) 1-for-3, 2B, BB, HBP, SB, 3 R 
19. Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) 2-for-4, 2B, BB, R, RBI
20. Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) 2-for-5, 2 2B, R, RBI

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul: Mike Paredes
Wichita: Off
Cedar Rapids: Jason Doktorczyk
Fort Myers: Merit Jones

CURRENT W-L RECORDS
Minnesota Twins: 27-28
St. Paul Saints: 26-25
Wichita Wind Surge: 21-25
Cedar Rapids Kernels:  24-22
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 24-22
FCL Twins: 10-8
DSL Twins: (season begins Monday, June 1)

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!